PURPOSE
To determine the capacity of ionizing radiation to inhibit proliferation, to suppress c-myc expression and to induce apoptotic cell death in the p53 wild-type MCF-7 cell line and the p53 mutated MDA-MB231 cell line.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Growth inhibition and cell killing were determined by cell number and trypan blue exclusion. Apoptosis was assessed through cell morphology and fluorescent end-labelling. c-myc expression was monitored by Northern blotting.

RESULTS
Inhibition of cell proliferation by ionizing radiation was similar in both cell lines. MDA-MB231 cells accumulated in G2 while MCF-7 cells accumulated in both the G1 and G2 phases of the cell cycle after irradiation. There was no evidence of apoptosis in either cell line. In MCF-7 cells, growth inhibition correlated closely with an early dose-dependent suppression of c-myc expression; in MDA-MB231 cells, there was no correspondence between growth inhibition and a transient, dose-independent reduction in c-myc message.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that in the absence of classical apoptotic cell death, radiosensitivity is not predictably related to the p53 status of the cell. While both p53 and c-myc may be linked to the DNA damage response pathway, neither p53 nor c-myc are essential for growth arrest in response to ionizing radiation.


Aimed at solving the optical defects of the traditional handled laser-cleaners, such as inhomogeneous power distribution, large caliber, high cost of range-finder and complex control system, the feature of the laser beam is analyzed, the formula of the power average density distribution in the fiber laser-cleaner are discussed, and a new optical shaping method is presented in this paper. In order to regulate the infrared gauss laser beam and redistribute the high density power from the center to the edge, the system simulation utilized a ray tracing method which contains a Kepler telescope system made by two aspherical lenses. As a result, the laser power was compensated and homogenized; the lap joint ratio of laser patch was reduced; and the cleaning speed can be increased. Based on the features of the free-space optical system, the multi-layer optical design method was utilized. The traditional laser range-finder was replaced by the optical focusing design which could clearly point out the best working area, reduce a lot of optic-electronic elements, and simplify the structure of the cleaner's output-end. On the other hand, this method would not cause any losses of the working laser power. Besides, a visible direction light was added into the invisible infrared working laser for safety.


A correlation between the characteristics of the 30-nm LG fin-shaped field-effect transistors and the static random-access memory performance is precisely studied. By investigating an effect of the Vth variation to the static noise margin (SNM) variation of two different memory states of the storage node, it is revealed that the Vth variations of the pull-up, pull-down, and pass-gate transistors correlate with the SNM. Moreover, the contribution and the severity of each transistor variation to σSNM are clarified.


OPTIGRAMI V2 is a computer program available for IBM compatible personal computers with 80286 and higher processors. OPTIGRAMI V2 determines the least-cost lumber grade mix required to produce a given cutting order for clear parts from rough lumber of known grades in a crosscut-first rough mill operation. It is a user-friendly integrated application that includes optimization for species graded under standard National Hardwood Lumber Association grade rules, as well as yellow-poplar and black walnut. Output information includes: gross volume of lumber required in each lumber grade, estimated total production cost, board footage of parts generated, percent yield, and range of costs within each lumber grade for which the given solution is valid.


Abstract Estimation of time-varying covariances is a key input in risk management and asset allocation. ARCH-type multivariate models are used widely for this purpose. Estimation of such models is computationally costly and parameter estimates are meaningfully biased when applied to a moderately large number of assets. Here, we propose a novel estimation approach that suffers from neither of these issues, even when the number of assets is in the hundreds. The theory of this new method is developed in some detail. The performance of the proposed method is investigated using extensive simulation studies and empirical examples. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.


Recent studies suggest that Magna Carta could have been published mainly by the Church, which had a specific interest in spreading copies of the charter, and the technical ability to write, distribute and preserve them. These researches confirm the special sway of the Church on the formation of English legal system. First, thanks to the action of the Ecclesiastical Courts, which had a jurisdiction larger than that possessed by any other Ecclesiastical Courts in Europe. Then, in the decisive importance of the cultural background, based on canon law, of the holders of administrative and judicial offices of the kingdom. Finally, for the concrete contents of rules transmitted to the Equity system, and generally to English law. The influence of ecclesiastical jurisdiction was indeed decisive in marriage, in defining rights and interests in estates, in the development of contracts; but it was paramount even in the concrete shaping of rules and institutions nowadays surrounded by «an aura of Englishness», like wills and trusts. The role of the Church in the history of Common law tradition is so evident, that «any account of English legal development that does not take account of ecclesiastical jurisdiction is therefore an incomplete account».

Keywords: Magna Carta; Ecclesiastical Courts; canon law; Equity system.


In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the 1st grade Turkish textbooks and teacher's manual according to the opinions of experts from different fields. Experts' opinions were taken by composing a group of 19 people and data was analyzed via document analysis technique. According to the results of this study, it was concluded that inconsistency existed among the curricular components such as objectives, content, measurement and evaluation; content was not well-structured; measurement and evaluation activities did not hold qualifications for evaluation; most of the activities and visuals were not appropriate for the target group's development level; books included negative hidden messages and finally there were many language and expression problems. Therefore, it is concluded that 1st grade Turkish textbooks and teacher's manual should be revised and redesigned by the responsible authorities in the framework of book design principles


The present study aimed to investigate phototactic response of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) to various intensities and colors of light emitting diode (LED) underwater lamps. Catches by traps equipped with lamps emitted six different light colors (red, green, yellow, blue, orange, and white) were compared with catches of control traps without any lamps. Each light color was estimated in three illumination levels. The trials consisted of 140-trap hauls per lamp type with a submersion time of 10 h. A. testudineus positively responded to all colors of the lamps regardless of its intensity. The light traps (except yellow and orange) were considerably higher in the number of catch as compared to the control (P<0.05). The daily averages of catch for male were 9 (2-24) fishes and 149 (28-399) g weights; while for female were 17 (1-43) fishes and 262 (22-785) g weight. The size of catch ranged of 60-170 mm total length and 4-84 g weight. The average catch per unit effort (CPUE) was from 0.04 to 2.36 fish trap-1 night-1, while the average yield per unit effort (YPUE) was from 0.32 to 40.76 g trap-1 trial-1. The mean condition factors of male and female were 1.41±0.18 and 1.52±0.25 respectively, indicating the fish are in better condition. The positive group responses of fish were more pronounced at the length sizes between 100 and 109 mm TL. Negative allometric growth pattern (b = 2.7255-2.8247) was observed in A. testudineus, implies that culture strategy should be developed. In addition, efforts to collect them from the wild for breeding and commercial purposes may benefit from this research.
Keywords: Anabas testudineus, LED underwater lamp, negative allometric, growth type, CPUE, YPUE.


The carbon cycle of carbonate solids (e.g., limestone) involves weathering and metamorphic events, which usually occur over millions of years. Here we show that carbonate anion intercalated layered double hydroxide (LDH), a class of hydrotalcite, undergoes an ultrarapid carbon cycle with uptake of atmospheric CO2 under ambient conditions. The use of (13)C-labeling enabled monitoring by IR spectroscopy of the dynamic exchange between initially intercalated (13)C-labeled carbonate anions and carbonate anions derived from atmospheric CO2. Exchange is promoted by conditions of low humidity with a half-life of exchange of ~24 h. Since hydrotalcite-like clay minerals exist in Nature, our finding implies that the global carbon cycle involving exchange between lithosphere and atmosphere is much more dynamic than previously thought.


The panoramic camera (PanCam) imaging experiment is designed to obtain high-resolution multispectral stereoscopic panoramic images from each of the four Mars NetLander 2005 sites. The main scientific objectives to be addressed by the PanCam experiment are (1) to locate the landing sites and support the NetLander network sciences, (2) to geologically investigate and map the landing sites, and (3) to study the properties of the atmosphere and of variable phenomena. To place in situ measurements at a landing site into a proper regional context, it is necessary to determine the lander orientation on ground and to exactly locate the position of the landing site with respect to the available cartographic database. This is not possible by tracking alone due to the lack of on-ground orientation and the so-called map-tie problem. Images as provided by the PanCam allow to determine accurate tilt and north directions for each lander and to identify the lander locations based on landmarks, which can also be recognized in appropriate orbiter imagery. With this information, it will be further possible to improve the Mars-wide geodetic control point network and the resulting geometric precision of global map products. The major geoscientific objectives of the PanCam lander images are the recognition of surface features like ripples, ridges and troughs, and the identification and characterization of different rock and surface units based on their morphology, distribution, spectral characteristics, and physical properties. The analysis of the PanCam imagery will finally result in the generation of precise map products for each of the landing sites. So far comparative geologic studies of the Martian surface are restricted to the timely separated Mars Pathfinder and the two Viking Lander Missions. Further lander missions are in preparation (Beagle-2, Mars Surveyor 03). NetLander provides the unique opportunity to nearly double the number of accessible landing site data by providing simultaneous and long-term observations at four different surface locations which becomes especially important for studies of variable surface features as well as properties and phenomena of the atmosphere. Major changes on the surface that can be detected by PanCam are caused by eolian activities and condensation processes, which directly reflect variations in the prevailing near-surface wind regime and the diurnal and seasonal volatile and dust cycles. Atmospheric studies will concentrate on the detection of clouds, measurements of the aerosol contents and the water vapor absorption at 936 nm. In order to meet these objectives, the proposed PanCam instrument is a highly miniaturized, dedicated stereo and multispectral imaging device. The camera consists of two identical camera cubes, which are arranged in a common housing at a fixed stereo base length of 11 cm. Each camera cube is equipped with a CCD frame transfer detector with 1024×1024 active pixels and optics with a focal length of 13 mm yielding a field-of-view of 53°×53° and an instantaneous filed of view of 1.1 mrad. A filter swivel with six positions provides different color band passes in the wavelength range of 400–950 nm. The camera head is mounted on top of a deployable scissors boom and can be rotated by 360° to obtain a full panorama, which is already covered by eight images. The boom raises the camera head to a final altitude of 90 cm above the surface. Most camera activities will take place within the first week and the first month of the mission. During the remainder of the mission, the camera will operate with a reduced data rate to monitor time-dependent variations on a daily basis. PanCam is a joint German/French project with contributions from DLR, Institute of Space Sensor Technology and Planetary Exploration, Berlin, Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, CNRS, Orsay, and Service d'Aeronomie, CNRS, Verrieres-le-Buisson.


In a quantum key distribution system, it is crucial to keep the extinction ratio of the coherent pulses stable. This means that the direct current bias point of the electro—optic modulator (EOM) used for generating coherent pulses must be locked. In this paper, an autobias control system based on a lock-in-amplifier for the EOM is introduced. Its drift information extracting theory and control method are analyzed comprehensively. The long term drift of the extinction ratio of the coherent pulses is measured by a single photon detector, which indicates that the autobias control system is effective for stabilizing the bias point of the EOM.


Conventional self-supervised monocular depth prediction methods are based on a static environment assumption, which leads to accuracy degradation in dynamic scenes due to the mismatch and occlusion problems introduced by object motions. Existing dynamic-object-focused methods only partially solved the mismatch problem at the training loss level. In this paper, we accordingly propose a novel multi-frame monocular depth prediction method to solve these problems at both the prediction and supervision loss levels. Our method, called DynamicDepth, is a new framework trained via a self-supervised cycle consistent learning scheme. A Dynamic Object Motion Disentanglement (DOMD) module is proposed to disentangle object motions to solve the mismatch problem. Moreover, novel occlusion-aware Cost Volume and Re-projection Loss are designed to alleviate the occlusion effects of object motions. Extensive analyses and experiments on the Cityscapes and KITTI datasets show that our method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art monocular depth prediction methods, especially in the areas of dynamic objects. Code is available at https://github.com/AutoAILab/DynamicDepth


We have prepared energetic nitrate ester derivatives of 1,2,4,5-tetrazine and 1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-b]-[1,2,4,5]-tetrazine ring systems as model compounds to study the electrochemical behavior of tetrazines in the presence of explosive groups. The model compounds showed lower thermal stabilities relative to PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate), but slightly improved mechanical sensitivities. The presence of electron-rich amine donors leads to a cathodic shift of the tetrazine redox potentials relative to those of previously reported tetrazine explosives. At these potentials, electron-rich tetrazines with either covalently bound or co-dissolved nitrate ester groups are irreversibly reduced. Effectively, changes in the electronic structure of tetrazines affect their electrochemical response to the presence of nitrate ester groups. Thus, it may be possible to develop tetrazine-based electrochemical sensors for the detection of specific explosives and electrocatalysts for their disposal.


The reactive dye produce a lot of effluent problems in terms of % AOX, BOD, COD, TDS etc. in spite of its
capability of produce wide range of colours and varieties of gamut in hue. In addition the use of salt as electrolytes provides higher chances of eco-hazardous impact problems and end-users comfort related properties. The % dye fixation is being always a problem to reactive dyeing on cotton due to the higher degree of dye hydrolyzation inside the dye bath. In this current work we had tried to develop an unconventional reactive process in both like salt free acidic medium reactive dyeing and salt free alkaline dyeing on pure cotton fabric. Results of the current study shows that alkaline medium salt free reactive dyeing on cotton shows higher colour strength (K/S value), good mechanical properties-bending length modulus, flexural modulus, less generation of the % AOX etc. It also can be concluded that acidic medium salt free reactive dyeing is also better in terms of quality than the conventional reactive dyeing
method in the industries.


Mimicking the multilayered structure of blood vessels and constructing a porous inner surface are two effective approaches to achieve mechanical matching and rapid endothelialization to reduce occlusion in small-diameter vascular grafts. However, the fabrication processes are complex and time consuming, thus complicating the fabrication of personalized vascular grafts. A simple and versatile strategy is proposed to prepare the skeleton of vascular grafts by rolling self-adhesive polymer films. These polymer films are directly fabricated by dropping a polymer solution on a water surface. For the tubes, the length and wall thickness are controlled by the rolling number and position of each film, whereas the structure and properties are tailored by regulating the solution composition. Double-layer vascular grafts (DLVGs) with microporous inner layers and impermeable outer layers are constructed; a microporous layer is formed by introducing a hydrophilic polymer into a polyurethane (PU) solution. DLVGs exhibit a J-shaped stress–strain deformation profile and compliance comparable to that of coronary arteries, sufficient suture retention strength and burst pressure, suitable hemocompatibility, significant adhesion, and proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Freshly prepared PU tubes exhibit good cytocompatibility. Thus, this strategy demonstrates potential for rapid construction of small-diameter vascular grafts for individual customization.


Introduction: Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is a metabolic enzyme involved in DNA synthesis. Most standard treatment protocols for lung cancer (LC) include cytotoxic agents, which are potential modulators of TK1. We aimed to assess the prognostic significance of serum TK1 activity and its role in monitoring chemotherapy in LC patients. Methods: TK1 activity was measured using the DiviTum (Biovica) assay in sera from 233 patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 91 with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), and 90 with benign lung disease. Results: TK1 activity was significantly associated with age, performance status, and stage in NSCLC and with stage and weight loss in SCLC. In multivariate analysis, pretreatment TK1 activity, adjusted for performance status, stage, and weight loss, independently affected survival in NSCLC (relative risk =1.45, p = 0.031) and SCLC (relative risk = 2.49, p = 0.001). In NSCLC patients, adjusted elevated TK1 activity (>100 Du/L) at pretreatment was a significant predictor of treatment failure (odds ratio = 2.55, p = 0.01). A small (less than twofold) increase in TK1 activity after the first and second cycle of chemotherapy was significantly associated with treatment failure and poor overall survival. Conclusions: Elevated pretreatment serum TK1 activity was an independent, adverse prognostic factor, based on survival, in the two main histological types of LC. A small (less than twofold) increase in TK1 activity after the first and second cycle of chemotherapy was associated with treatment failure and poor overall survival.


Based on data of a quantitative longitudinal study (one year) in two gerontopsychiatric catchment areas in Northrhine-Westfalia (FRG, City of Bielefeld and the district of Gütersloh) the question is discussed, whether an extramural (i.e. home-based outpatient- and day hospital-) treatment concept can be realized without selection of patients by diagnoses or severity of their mental disorders and that of their need of care. These three variables, which are important indicators of the necessary quality and quantity of treatment as well as of care for the patients, are surveyed. In three analytic steps the distribution of the gerontopsychiatric research population--concerning these three variables--over the three treatment settings (in-/outpatient and day hospital) in the two catchment areas is compared. For the district of Gütersloh--with an institution specialized on extramural treatment (the Gerontopsychiatric Center with a combination of a clinical outpatient service and a day hospital) the findings proof, that outpatient--in comparison with inpatient treatment--does not select patients by diagnoses nor by severity of their mental disorders nor by severity of their need of care. The outpatient service in Gütersloh--and nearly in the same degree the day hospital there--can actually integrate older patients with a higher severity of psychiatric symptoms and need of care in average than the inpatient departments in the two clinical gerontopsychiatric units under research.


SCIENCE AND SCHOOLSThe National Science Foundation's flagship educational effort--the Urban Systemic Initiatives program, launched in 1994 to target the 25 cities with the largest number of poor children in the country--has a big advantage over its statewide programs. City schools are usually run by a single administrator or school board--a definite advantage when you're trying to cut through layers of bureaucracy and overturn the status quo. State systemic efforts, in contrast, must negotiate among several, often competing, sources of power.


BACKGROUND
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the leading cause of the morbidity and mortality in India as well as worldwide and last decade has seen a steep rise in incidence of CAD in India. Direct visualization of the coronary arteries by invasive catheterization still represents the cornerstone of the evaluation of CAD. Cardiac imaging is a challenge of 21 (st) century and is being answered by 128 slice dual source CT as it has good temporal resolution, high scanning speed as well as low radiation dose.

AIM
To assess the diagnostic accuracy of 128-slice dual source CT Cardiac Angiography in comparison with Conventional Catheter Cardiac Angiography.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Forty patients attending the cardiology OPD with complaint of chest pain and suspected of having CAD were evaluated by CT coronary angiography and conventional invasive Catheter coronary angiography and the results were compared. All patients were checked for serum creatinine and ECG before the angiography. Computed Tomography (CT) coronary angiography was done using SIEMENS 128-slice Dual Source Flash Definition CT Scanner under either Retrospective or Prospective mode depending on the heart rate of the patient. Oral/IV beta-blocker were used whenever required.

RESULTS
Coronary arteries were assessed as per 17- segment AHA model. A total of 600/ 609 segments were evaluable in 40 suspected patients on CT coronary angiography, of which 21 were false positives and 8 were false negatives with specificity of 95.12% and sensitivity and positive predictive value of 95.26% & 88.46% respectively.

CONCLUSION
Non-invasive assessment of CAD is now possible with high accuracy on 128-slice dual source CT scanner.


The design of a superconducting coil and cryostat for 3MJ class SMES was completed in 2002. Before assembling the full system, some important parts were fabricated in order to find out whether their operating properties were fit for our 3MJ SMES or not. The assembling process will be performed in 2003. The 3MJ SMES will be operated at 1000 amps in the cryogenic environment of 4.2 K. So, it is essential to minimize the heat load from room temperature and to optimize its ohmic heating. A bundle of brass sheets with optimized length/area ratio was used for the metal part of the current lead and it is connected to HTS current lead in series. Two GM cryocooler sinks out the heat load and also the ohmic heating of the current lead which is located in vacuum chamber of the cryostat. Cold head of the cryocooler which is extended to the HTS lead with layered OFHC sheets keeps the temperature under the critical temperature of the HTS lead. We performed some experiments to examine the thermal and electrical properties of the current lead. In this paper, the fabrication process and test results of the current lead will be introduced in detail.


We introduce non-Hermitian plasmonic waveguide-cavity systems with topological edge states (TESs) at singular points. The compound unit cells of the structures consist of metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) stub resonators side-coupled to an MDM waveguide. We show that we can realize both a TES and an exceptional point at the same frequency when a proper amount of loss is introduced into a finite three-unit-cell structure. We also show that the finite structure can exhibit both a TES and a spectral singularity when a proper amount of gain is introduced into the structure. In addition, we show that we can simultaneously realize a unidirectional spectral singularity and a TES when proper amounts of loss and gain are introduced into the structure. We finally show that this singularity leads to extremely high sensitivity of the reflected light intensity to variations of the refractive index of the active materials in the structure. TESs at singular points could potentially contribute to the development of singularity-based plasmonic devices with enhanced performance.


This paper presents the results of an experimental and numerical study on aluminium honeycomb sandwich structures under low-velocity impact loadings. In order to investigate the impact behavior of honeycomb sandwich structures, which is consisted of two identical aluminium facesheets and an aluminium honeycomb core, an experimental study was carried out by using a drop-weight impact test system. Using this system, the contact forces and absorbed energies were measured to determine the influence of impact energy for one configuration of the sandwich structure. According to these results, a numerical model by finite element method of sandwich structures was developed, which is in good agreement with experimental results in terms of contact forces and deformations. Later, the effect of the cell size and the height variation of aluminum honeycomb core on the impact response of sandwich structures were investigated using the improved numerical model. The obtained numerical and experimental results were interpreted in detail.


International investment agreements have become increasingly controversial. The agreements are alleged to be beset with a large number of deficiencies that harm host countries in particular. For instance, they are said to cause "regulatory chill", to distorts investment patterns, and to lead to excessive litigation due to the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms they almost invariably contain. Many of the issues brought up in this debate have evident economic aspects. But until recently there has been very little economic literature on the driving forces behind these agreements, on their appropriate design, and on their effects. There is a nascent theoretical literature on investment agreements and regulatory expropriations, however. This literature is still very much in its infancy. The purpose of this note is to explain in non-technical terms some observations that emerge from this early literature.


A new high-speed digital distance relaying algorithm using artificial neural networks is presented. The proposed artificial neural network models are trained with the input patterns of distorted voltage and current signals passed a lowpass filter and with the target patterns of real and imaginary components of DC-offset free current and voltage signals conditioned by a DC-offset removing algorithm. The artificial neural networks play the roles of a DC-offset removing filter and a Fourier filter. In accordance with a series of tests, the relay operating time is less than 9 ms after faults in a 80 km, 154 kV, 60 Hz overhead transmission line system.


The work described in this thesis focused on 2-oxoacid-dependent oxygenase enzymes. Most of the work focused on iron- and 2-oxoglutarate (2OG)-dependent oxygenases including JMJD6 and JMJD5, which are human enzymes of unassigned or controversial functions. Work was carried out also on human 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD), which is a structurally distinct 2-oxoacid oxygenase involved in tyrosine catabolism. The work involved protein purification, biophysical analysis, substrate screening, and inhibitor profiling. Chapter 1 gives an introduction to 2OG oxygenases summarizing their functions, structures, and mechanisms. Chapters 2-6 describe functional assignment, structural, and inhibition studies on JMJD6, which has been previously reported as phosphatidylserine receptor (PTDSR), as an N -methyl arginine demethylase, and as a lysyl-hydroxylase. The overall results using peptide as substrate support the assignment of JMJD6 as lysyl C-5 hydroxylase. Crystallographic studies reveal JMJD6 to be more similar to the JmjC hydroxylases than demethylases. JMJD6 was found to act on sequences of substrates including splicing regulatory (SR) proteins, such as U2AF65 (U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein auxiliary factor 65 kDa subunit), LUC7L2 (putative RNA binding protein luc 7-like 2), and CROP (cisplatin resistance-associated overexpressed protein). It also acted on sequences of substrates including p53, estrogen receptor α (ERα), and von Hippel-Lindau (VHL). There was no evidence for JMJD6-catalysed demethylation activity either on N -methyl arginine- or N -methyl lysine-residues. Studies on the non-catalytic domain of JMJD6 reveal a role of the polyserine domain in regulating catalytic activity. Structural and kinetic studies reveal how JMJD6 is inhibited by the structural analogues of 2OG. Chapters 7-8 describe crystallographic and other studies on JMJD5, which has been assigned as an arginine residue C-3 hydroxylase, and N -methyl lysine demethylase. The results support the assignment of JMJD5 as a hydroxylase rather than demethylase and will enable the development of selective JMJD5 inhibitors. Chapter 9 describes studies on human HPPD from crystallographic and inhibition perspectives. The results highlight common features at the active sites of the two classes of human 2-oxoacid oxygenases. Overall, the results inform on the functions of JMJD6 and JMJD5 as hydroxylases and will enable the development of selective inhibitors of them for use in target validation and the assignment of their biological roles.


Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common cause for prescription of antibiotics among women in general practice. Diagnosis is often established by inquiry into clinical history and symptoms, and these may be experienced differently depending on menopause status of the woman. The aim of this study was to assess differences in severity and bothersomeness of UTI symptoms between pre- and postmenopausal women. We used a convenience sample of 313 women with suspected UTIs and typical symptoms recruited in general practice. Each woman completed the Holm and Cordoba UTI score (HCUTI), measuring the severity and bothersomeness of the dimensions: dysuria, frequency, lower back, and general symptoms. The exposure was menopausal status. Differences in the various HCUTI dimensions between the menopause groups were investigated in linear regression models, adjusting for potential confounders. Premenopausal women had a significantly higher severity score for the item "feeling unwell" than postmenopausal women (mean difference −0.59, 95% CI −0.88 to −0.31). They also had a significantly higher bothersomeness score for the items "pain on urination" (mean difference −0.54, 95% CI −0.83 to −0.25), "feeling unwell" (mean difference −0.62, 95% CI −0.92 to −0.32), and for the dimension "dysuria" (mean difference −0.38, 95% CI −0.61 to −0.15) than postmenopausal women. This study found differences in some aspects of symptom severity and bothersomeness between pre- and postmenopausal women presenting in general practice with suspected UTIs. Menopausal status should be taken into account when using symptoms to diagnose and evaluate response to UTI treatment in both clinical practice and research.


Objective Peritoneal inflammation results from a complex interplay of events initiated by macrophage activity in response to infection, with the stimulation of mesothelial cell cytokine release amplifying the recruitment of blood-borne defense cells to the site of injury. Resident peritoneal mast cells may add to this complexity with mast cell derived cytokines released during this cascade. This study examined the influence of histamine, a mast cell derived inflammatory mediator, on the initial activation of human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMC) by intracellular free calcium (Cai2+) mobilization, and changes to the actin cytoskeleton. Design HPMC signal transduction was examined in response to histamine (1.0 mmol/L) compared to fetal bovine serum (FBS) (0.1 %) and 4-br-A23187 (1.0 μmol/L). Intracellular free calcium was measured in fura-2 loaded cells with and without external calcium (Ca2ex+t), or Ca2ex+t with verapamil (100 μmol/L). Following treatment with agonists, HPMC actin cytoskeleton was stained using direct immunocytochemistry. Results HPMC responded to histamine with a twofold transient rise in Cai2+ which returned to the baseline, in contrast with FBS and A23187–induced Cai2+ transients, which returned to elevated resting values. In the absence of Ca2ex+t' all agents produced a calcium transient indicative of calcium release from intracellular stores. Histamine induced calcium -dependent changes to the cytoskeleton and cellular organization, including increased actin stress fibers. Conclusion Histamine produced large specific receptor-mediated calcium transients in HPMC, which included components of calcium release from intracellular stores and receptor -mediated calcium influx processes. The observed response to histamine raises the possibility that histamine derived from resident mast cells may modulate mesothelial cell function, in part by calciumdependent pathways, and influence the performance of the peritoneal membrane during peritoneal dialysis.


For some time now, the wildland fire community has been interested in 'organizational learning' as a way to improve safety and overall performance. For instance, in the US, federal agencies have established the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center, sponsored several national conferences, and are currently considering how incident reviews might be used to further organizational learning. To assist in this effort, we embarked on a Joint Fire Science Program-sponsored research project to understand what organizational learning - even simply 'learning' - looks like currently, and to explore what facilitates or impedes learning in the context of escaped prescribed fire reviews. Results serve as a benchmark by which strengths, opportunities and challenges may be assessed and addressed.


Within the framework of Skyrme-Hartree-Fock theory based on the extended Skyrme effective interaction, the proton fraction in beta -stable neutron stars was investigated for the charge neutrality condition. The density dependence of symmetry energy strength coefficient was studied with different potential parameters, and the behavior of proton fraction in neutron stars at high density for these potential parameters was obtained. The calculated results show that the proton fraction disappears at high density for potential parameters SII, SIII and SKM, which implies that the pure neutron matter may exist in the interior of neutron stars. It is also found that adding muons in neutron stars will increase the proton fraction.


In this thesis, we investigate the impact of firms' financial conditions on three key corporate activities: fixed capital investment, cash holdings, and acquisition behavior. Our study provides an important extension to the related literature in the Chinese context by employing a 14-year panel of Chinese listed firms during the period 1998-2011.
In chapter 2, we investigate the sensitivity of abnormal investment to free cash flow. First, we find that firms with free cash flow below (above) their optimal level tend to under- (over-) invest, which can be attributed to financial constraints (agency costs). We also find that significant heterogeneity in the sensitivities appear among firms with different financial conditions, ownership structure. Whether or not firms engage in exporting or Mergers & Acquisitions also affects the sensitivities. Additional analyses show that the 2005 exogenous split share reform reduced the agency problems faced by state controlled firms, particularly those controlled by local governments.
In chapter 3, we focus the behavior of corporate cash holdings. We find evidence supportive of a cost-benefit trade-off model of cash holdings, suggesting that Chinese firms tend to actively manage their cash balances towards a target level. Reported evidence also shows that consistent with the presence of adjustment costs, there exists considerable heterogeneity in adjustment speeds of cash holdings across firms. Furthermore, we show that cash-rich, acquiring, and state-owned firms are characterized by a lower value of additional cash. At the same time, financially constrained firms have a higher marginal value of cash, suggesting that more difficulties in accessing capital markets encourages firms to make better use of additional cash.
In chapter 4, we investigate the extent to which corporate liquidity affects Chinese listed firms' acquisition decisions, method of payment choices, and consequent performance following mergers. In line with the free-cash-flow motive of acquisitions, we find that cash-rich firms are more likely to attempt acquisitions. Furthermore, the agency costs effect of acquisitions is greater for firms who are subject to tunneling. Finally, we provide empirical evidence to support the fact that financially constrained firms with higher growth prospects tend not to use cash payments in acquisitions. We attribute this finding to the higher opportunity cost of cash faced by firms who face more difficulties in accessing capital markets. This finding is consistent with the under-performance of cash acquisitions in both the short and long-term.


Solar thermochemical energy storage systems, utilize the entire spectrum of solar radiation to drive endothermic chemical reactions, have received great interest in concentrated solar power applications during the past years. Storing solar radiation as chemical energy during the day can be utilized at night times and cloudy days. In these solar thermochemical processes, chemically reactive and radiatively participating multiphase flows in various regimes are frequently encountered. Numerical modeling of multiphase flows assists to optimize the processes of solar thermochemical reactors by reducing the time-consuming experimental testing and cost. In this study, an Euler-Euler two phase model has been developed to investigate the fluidization behavior of 2:1 ironmanganese oxide redox and spinel particles for thermochemical and sensible heat storage systems respectively. In order to validate the model, a pseudo 2D experimental set up has been made. Experimental and numerical results have been compared for various conditions. The effect of gas flow rate on the fluidization behavior has been analyzed.


This paper presents the results of an experimental study carried out to comprehend the physical, mechanical, and microstructural behavior of cement pastes subjected to static magnetic fields while hydrating and setting. The experimental methodology consisted in exposing fresh cement pastes to static magnetic fields at three different magnetic induction strengths: 19.07, 22.22, and 25.37 Gauss. The microstructural characterization makes evident that there are differences in relation to amount and morphology of CSH gel; the amount of CSH is larger and its morphology becomes denser and less porous with higher magnetostatic induction strengths; it also shows the evidence of changes in the mineralogical composition of the hydrated cement pastes. The temperature increasing has no negative effects over the cement paste compressive strength since the magnetostatic field affects the process of hydration through a molecular restructuring process, which makes cement pastes improve microstructurally, with a reduced porosity and a higher mechanical strength.


Nowadays, frequent Infant Mortality for the married women are prevailing in Iraq. It may be also considered as a risky phenomenon in developing countries. It is the loss of an infant after viability. The estimated number is 2.5 million deaths occurring in the first month of life in 2017 alone. On the other hand, the survival rates of newborn infants reflect the quality of pregnancy care provided during work and viability and the infrastructure for the infant care in the different regions and countries of the world. Numerous risk factors are causing this phenomenon. Logistic regression is a statistical technique can be used to express the association between the number of infant mortality and the risk factors cause it. It helps to select the most influential risk factors for this case. The aim of this study is to use logistic regression to examine the association between biological, behavioral and lifestyle risk factors and the number of infant mortality, and to identify the most influential risk factors affected it. A simple random sample is drawn with size of 200 persons that consists of all mothers who visit the primary health care centers in Babylon province in year 2018. Seventeen risk factors are representing biological, behavioral and lifestyle factors of women under the study. The results of fitting binary and ordinal logistic regressions with all seventeen risk factors show that four risk factors show a significance effect on the dependent variable. Consequently, a stepwise logistic regression was fitted, and ordinal logistic regression model has fitted. Nevertheless, there are no much differences between the results of these models with different methods of fitting. All results show that husbands working has two times more likely to exhibit infant mortality than Husbands not working. Increasing age at marriage and woman weight were associated with an increased likelihood of exhibiting infant mortality, but increasing number of hours of women's sleeping was associated with a reduction in the likelihood of exhibiting infant mortality.


Infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) is an important risk factor for the incident of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (iROA)1, 2. However, the potential of being an independent biomarker to predict iROA is untapped. Deep learning (DL) is a set of algorithms that enable computers to discover complicated patterns in large data sets3. In this study, we train a DL model to predict iROA with auto-segmented IPFP, comparing it to the DL model set up with corresponding whole knee MR images (MRI). The results reveal that IPFP alteration can predict iROA independently comparably to the whole knee MRI at one year before iROA.


Background: Management of atrial fibrillation (AF) is complex and requires active patient engagement in shared decision making to achieve better clinical outcomes, greater medication adherence, and increased treatment satisfaction. Efficacy in patient-physician interactions is a critical component of patient engagement, but factors associated with efficacy in older AF patients have not been well-characterized. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the ongoing Systematic Assessment of Geriatric Elements in Atrial Fibrillation (SAGE-AF) study, a cohort study of older adults (age ≥ 65) with non-valvular AF and CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score ≥ 2. Participants were classified according to their Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interactions (PEPPI-5) score (lower: 0-44; higher: 45-50). Logistic regression analysis was used to identify sociodemographic, clinical (AF type, AF treatment, medical comorbidities), and geriatric (cognitive impairment, sensory impairment, frailty, independent functioning) factors associated with lower reported efficacy. Results: Participants (n = 1209; 49% female) had a mean age of 75. A majority (66%) reported higher efficacy in their interactions with physicians. Lower efficacy was associated with persistent AF (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.52; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13-2.04) and with symptoms of depression (aOR = 1.67; CI = 1.20-2.33) or anxiety (aOR = 1.40; CI = 1.01-1.94). Decreased odds of lower efficacy were observed in participants with chronic kidney disease (aOR


Abstract
This chapter will introduce circular economy and cradle to cradle models of sustainable production. It will reflect on the key blockages to a meaningful sustainable production and how these could be overcome, particularly in the context of business education. The case study of the course for bachelor's students within International Business Management Studies (IBMS) program at three vocational schools, and at University College in The Netherlands will be discussed. Student teams from these schools were given an assignment to make a business plan for a selected sponsor company in order to advise them how to make a transition from a linear to circular economy model. These case studies will illustrate the opportunities as well as potential pitfalls of the closed-loop production models. The results of case studies' analysis show that there was a mismatch between expectations of the sponsor companies and those of students on the one hand and a mismatch between theory and practice on the other hand. Helpful directions for future research and teaching practice are outlined.


Abstract. The anthropogenic impact is a major factor of the climate change which is highest in industrial regions and modern megacities. Megacities are a significant source of emissions of various substances into the atmosphere, including CO2 which is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas. In 2019 and 2020, the mobile experiment EMME (Emission Monitoring Mobile Experiment) was carried out on the territory of St. Petersburg which is the second largest industrial city in Russia with a population of more than 5 million people. In 2020, several measurement data sets were obtained during the lockdown period caused by the COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease of 2019) pandemic. One of the goals of EMME was to evaluate the CO2 emission from the St. Petersburg agglomeration. Previously, the CO2 area flux has been obtained from the data of the EMME-2019 experiment using the mass balance approach. The value of the CO2 area flux for St. Petersburg has been estimated as 89±28 kt km−2 yr−1 which is three times higher than the corresponding value reported in the official municipal inventory. The present study is focused on the derivation of the integral CO2 emission from St. Petersburg by coupling the results of the EMME observational campaigns of 2019 and 2020 and the HYSPLIT (HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectories) model. The ODIAC (Open-source Data Inventory for Anthropogenic CO2) database is used as the source of the a priori information on the CO2 emissions for the territory of St. Petersburg. The most important finding of the present study based on the analysis of two observational campaigns is a significantly higher CO2 emission from the megacity of St. Petersburg as compared to the data of municipal inventory: ~75800±5400 kt yr−1 for 2019, ~68400±7100 kt yr−1 for 2020 (~70000±16000 kt yr−1 during the lockdown) versus ~30000 kt yr−1 reported by official inventory. The comparison of the CO2 emissions obtained during the COVID-19 lockdown period in 2020 to the results obtained during the same period of 2019 demonstrated the decrease in emission of 8 % or 5800 kt yr−1.


Salmonella induces a wide spectrum of disease in cattle ranging from inapparent subclinical infections to acute fulminant bacteremia, endotoxemia, and death. The variable manifestations of disease reflect the virulence of different Salmonella serotypes and the influence of challenge dose and host immunity. Many salmonella infections reflect opportunistic infections of compromised hosts. Strategies to prevent and manage salmonella outbreaks should emphasize minimizing pathogen exposure and maximizing hosfimmunity.


OBJECTIVE
To report a new case of penile testicular ectopia.

METHODS
We present the case of a three-year old boy who was diagnosed of penile testicular ectopia and underwent surgery.

RESULTS
Physical examination revealed on ovoid tumor in the center of the dorsal side of the penile root, together with empty left scrotum. Inguinal incision revealed the exit of the spermatic cord from the left superficial inguinal ring, which was directed to a testicle in a subdermal position in the root of the penis. Funiculolysis and orchyopexy were performed.

CONCLUSIONS
The case here reported corresponds to a penile testicular ectopia of central localizations, with normal inguinal course of the spermatic cord.


It is typical of reporting Turkey, only so far as it relates to US policies. For example, in the 1990s when there were horrible atrocities being car- ried out in the south eastern Turkey, thousands of villages were de- stroyed, people became refugees, all the arms were coming from the US. The flow of arms increased. There was no reporting. The New York Times has a bureau in Ankara and quite a good correspondent there. There was nothing appeared about Turkish human rights violations. In 2003, something extremely interesting happened. The US wanted Tur- key to participate the invasion of Iraq and Turkish refused. The govern- ment did not pay attention to the US, but simply responded to the pop- ulation. 95 percept of the population was opposed. They were bitterly attacked here. At that point the press started to point Turkish human rights violations. Because Turkey did not follow the US orders. That is the way it works. That is reporting Turkey because it is not cooperating with the US coalition now


The Compound Astronomical Low-Cost Low-Frequency Instrument for Spectroscopy and Transportable Observatory (CALLISTO) is a worldwide network of radio spectrometers designed for 24-hour solar observation. It is a collaboration among the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and numerous local host institutes, spread out around the world. This paper presents an overview of the CALLISTO spectrometer system at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The "Malaysia-UKM" station is installed inside the campus area, at the Permata Pintar School building. In particular, this paper explains the details of the instrument's setup, and reports some of the data observed from this station. The realtime data are available from the e-CALLISTO International Network of Solar Radio Spectrometers.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract Background: Whether to use limited fluid resuscitation (LFR) in patients with hemorrhagic shock or septic shock remains controversial. This research was aimed to assess the pros and cons of utilizing LFR in hemorrhagic shock or septic shock patients. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of science, CNKI, VIP, and Wan Fang database searches included for articles published before December 15, 2020. Randomized controlled trials of LFR or adequate fluid resuscitation in hemorrhagic shock or septic shock patients were selected. Result: This meta-analysis including 28 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and registered 3288 patients. The 7 of 27 RCTs were the patients with septic shock. Others were traumatic hemorrhagic shock patients. Comparing LFR or adequate fluid resuscitation in hemorrhagic shock or septic shock patients, the summary odds ratio (OR) was 0.50 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42–0.60, P < .00001) for mortality, 0.46 (95% CI 0.31–0.70, P = .0002) for multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), 0.35 (95% CI 0.25–0.47) for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and 0.33 (95% CI 0.20–0.56) for disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Conclusion: Limited fluid resuscitation is the benefit of both traumatic hemorrhagic shock patients and septic shock patients.


In this paper, a novel multistage reliability model is provided as systems are often divided into many stages according to system degradation characteristics. Multistage hard failure (caused by random shock) process (MHFP) and multistage soft failure (caused by random shock and continuous degradation) process (MSFP) are introduced to describe the competing failure processes, where either the MSFP or MHFP would break down the system. The shock processes impact the system in three ways: (1) fatal load shocks cause hard failure immediately in the hard failure process; (2) time shocks cause a hard failure threshold changing; (3) damage load shocks cause degradation level increasing in the soft failure process. In this paper, a density function dispersion method is carried out to address the multistage reliability model, and the effectiveness of the proposed models is demonstrated by reliability analysis with the one‐stage model. Finally, the multistage model is applied to a case study, the degradation process is divided into three stages, and the hard failure threshold can be transmitted twice. The proposed model can be applied in other multistage situations, and the calculation method can satisfy the accuracy requirements.


The cells of the corpuscles of Stannius appeared to be more active in eels acclimated to sea water than in eels acclimated to fresh water. In acclimated eels, however, total and ionic plasma calcium concentrations and stanniocalcin titers did not differ. This suggests that levels of stanniocalcin in freshwater-acclimated eels are sufficient to maintain normocalcemia in sea water. When freshwateracclimated eels were transferred directly to sea water, total and ionic calcium concentrations in the plasma increased significantly within 24 h but there was no apparent effect on the corpuscles of Stannius within the same time. This suggests that changes in secretory activity of the corpuscles of Stannius do not occur rapidly when they are presented with a hypercalcemic challenge. Conversely, when seawater-acclimated eels were transferred to fresh or distilled water there appeared to be a very rapid reduction in secretory activity in the corpuscles of Stannius, as indicated by the rapid accumulation of secretory granules. These data suggest that stanniocalcin turnover is more rapid in seawater-acclimated eels and that the secretory activity of the corpuscles of Stannius is rapidly reduced when a hypercalcic challenge is removed.


Undoped single crystalline aluminum nitride films were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at 1200 °C. The precursors used were trimethylaluminium (TMA) and ammonia (NH 3 ) in a hydrogen carrier flow, at a pressure of 10 Torr. Silicon carbide substrates of the 4H or the 6H polytype with an epilayer on the silicon face, were used to grow the 200 nm thick A1N films. Aluminum was evaporated and subsequently patterned to form MIS capacitors for high frequency (400 kHz) capacitance voltage measurements at room temperature. It was possible to measure the structure and characterize accumulation, depletion and deep depletion. However, it was not possible to invert the low doped SiC epilayer at room temperature. From an independent optical thickness measurement the relative dielectric constant of aluminum nitride was calculated to be 8.4. The films were stressed up to 50 Volts (2.5 MV/cm) without breakdown or excessive leakage currents. These results indicate the possibility to replace silicon dioxide with aluminum nitride in SiC field effect transistors.


Background Accurate assessment of predictive biomarker expression is critical in patient selection in clinical trials or clinical practice. However, changes in biomarker expression may occur after treatment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of chemotherapy on MET expression in gastric cancer (GC). Methods MET expression was examined immunohistochemically before and after treatment in 122 patients with unresectable or recurrent GC, and was evaluated according to H-score or the scoring criteria used in the MetMAb trial. MET gene amplification was assessed by chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH). The antitumor effect of MET targeted therapy was investigated in human gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, and the underlying molecular mechanisms were analyzed by western blot. Results MET expression was associated with Lauren classification as well as tumor differentiation by either scoring system. MET amplification was not associated with clinical characteristics. Of the 71 patients who had paired pre- and post-treatment tumor tissues, 28 patients (39%) were initially positive for MET expression, and 43 (61%) were negative. Twenty-five patients (35%) showed significant changes in MET expression after treatment (P=0.007). Additionally, there was a concomitant overexpression of MET and HER2 in a subset of GC patients. MET inhibitor volitinib could significantly inhibit cell proliferation and xenograft growth in vitro and in vivo in MKN45 cells with MET and phosphorylated MET (pMET) high expressions via suppressing downstream PI3K/Akt and MAPK signaling pathways. Furthermore, combination therapy targeting both MET and HER2 demonstrated a synergistic antitumor activity. Conclusions MET expression is altered post chemotherapy and MET status should be evaluated in real-time. Both MET and pMET expressions might need to be considered for patients suitable for volitinib treatment.


The stereochemical complexity of roflamycoin and other polyene macrolide antibiotics presents a formidable challenge to the synthetic chemist, and the lack of obvious disconnections makes the retrosynthetic analysis very complex. The alternating (1, 3, 5, ...) polyol chain in roflamycoin is difficult to synthesize in part because there is no simple method to assemble these chains from smaller subunits. We have addressed this problem and developed a simple, convergent method for assembling alternating polyol chains. It is designed around a new class of 1,3-diol synthons: 6-alkyl-4-thiophenyl-1,3-dioxanes. These 1,3-diol synthons are readily available from either homoallylic alcohols or beta-hydroxyesters, which are themselves readily prepared in optically pure form. Reduction of these synthons under the appropriate conditions gives configurationally stable alkyllithiums with either syn or anti stereochemistry. Reaction with electrophiles produces protected syn or anti-1,3-diols.


In this contribution we propose a new non-asymptotic method of macro-modelling of periodic materials and structures. The obtained models can be applied to the analysis of vibration and wave propagation problems with the wavelength of an order of a periodicity cell dimension. The consideration are restricted to the linear elastic and viscoelastic materials and the small deformation gradient theory.


Tax is the main source of a country that is used by the government to finance expenses in order to achieve prosperity and prosperity. Local taxes and levies are a source of regional original income (PAD), one of the potential taxes, namely the tax on non-metallic minerals and rocks. This study aims to see how the tax on non-metallic minerals and rocks in increasing tax revenues and to determine the contribution of non-metallic and coal mining taxes to regional original income (PAD). The research method used is a qualitative descriptive method. The results of this study note that the average contribution of local taxes to PAD over a period of 5 years is 0.268%, which means that the contribution of local taxes is very lacking and for calculations obtained by the Office of BPP-Retda in Minahasa District through the tax base Predetermined nonmetallic minerals and rocks.


This paper will deal with the role of vena cava filters in the management of venous thromboembolism. The role of medical therapy, indications and contraindications for the placement of caval filters will be discussed. An overview of the currently available filters will be given, and technical aspects, as well as complications related to the procedure will be discussed. Finally the management of patients with a filter in situ and indications for caval filter removal shall be dealt with.


The evolution of human health is a continuum of transitions, involving multifaceted processes at multiple levels, and there is an urgent need for integrative biomarkers that can characterize and predict progression toward disease development. The objective of this work was to perform a systems metabolomics approach to predict metabolic syndrome (MetS) development. A case-control design was used within the French occupational GAZEL cohort (n = 112 males: discovery study; n = 94: replication/validation study). Our integrative strategy was to combine untargeted metabolomics with clinical, sociodemographic, and food habit parameters to describe early phenotypes and build multidimensional predictive models. Different models were built from the discriminant variables, and prediction performances were optimized either when reducing the number of metabolites used or when keeping the associated signature. We illustrated that a selected reduced metabolic profile was able to reveal subtle phenotypic differences 5 years before MetS occurrence. Moreover, resulting metabolomic markers, when combined with clinical characteristics, allowed improving the disease development prediction. The validation study showed that this predictive performance was specific to the MetS component. This work also demonstrates the interest of such an approach to discover subphenotypes that will need further characterization to be able to shift to molecular reclassification and targeting of MetS.


Changes in the tracheal smooth muscle tone have been studied in 30 cats anaesthetized with a chloralose-urethane mixture and paralyzed with succinyl choline bromide during electrical stimulation of the medulla oblongata. Constrictor responses were evoked from the regions including the caudal portion of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, nucleus ambiguous and neighbouring structures of the reticular formation. Dilatory responses of the tracheal smooth muscle were observed during stimulation of the reticular formation at the level from 1 mm caudally to 6 mm rostrally of the obex. It is supposed that structures responsible for contractile responses are vagal preganglionic neurons, located in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, in the nucleus ambiguous and in neighbouring regions and axons of these cells, looping through the medial part of the medulla. It is also supposed that dilatory responses are associated with excitation of sympathotonic reticular neurons, inhibitory neurons activated by the input from pulmonary stretch receptors and, possibly, vagal efferent neurons belonging to the nonadrenergic nervous system of the bronchi.


Carbidopa (L-alpha-hydrazino-alpha-methyl-b-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) propionic acid is a known inhibitor of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. In both humans and monkeys, we studied the effects of carbidopa on plasma and brain kinetics of 6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA (FDOPA), an analog of L-DOPA used for PET studies of the central dopaminergic system. Pretreatment with carbidopa resulted in increases in the plasma levels of FDOPA and 3-O-methyl-6-[18F]fluoro-L-DOPA (3-OMFD). Total striatal and cerebellar activities measured with PET were also increased. Furthermore, increases observed in the specific striatal activity (striatum minus cerebellum total activity) were correlated with increases in the plasma FDOPA curve. Carbidopa pretreatment did not affect the influx rate constant (K) for FDOPA from plasma to striatum in humans as determined by Patlak graphical analysis. Thus, an increase in measured striatal tomographic activity was secondary to the increase in plasma FDOPA levels rather than as a result of changes in the FDOPA influx rate constant.


Multidomain proteins are often composed of rigid domains that can reorient in solution more or less freely. Calmodulin (CaM) is a two domain protein which can experience a large degree of conformational freedom thanks to a mobile linker connecting the N-terminal and C-terminal domains of the protein. The maximum occurrences (MOs) of the possible protein conformations have been analyzed using the paramagnetic relaxation enhancements (PREs) induced by a gadolinium(III) ion together with the paramagnetic pseudocontact shift and residual dipolar coupling restraints measured in the presence of terbium(III), thulium(III) or dysprosium(III) ions. The results suggest that the PREs provide complementary information useful for improving the description of the conformational heterogeneity of the protein. The data, acquired at 298 K and at 278 K, suggest that compact conformations are disfavoured by decreasing the temperature.


In this paper, we present Point Cloud Color Constancy, in short PCCC, an illumination chromaticity estimation algorithm exploiting a point cloud. We leverage the depth information captured by the time-of-flight (ToF) sensor mounted rigidly with the RGB sensor, and form a 6D cloud where each point contains the coordinates and RGB intensities, noted as (x,y,z, r,g, b). PCCC applies the PointNet architecture to the color constancy problem, deriving the illumination vector point-wise and then making a global decision about the global illumination chromaticity. On two popular RGB-D datasets, which we extend with illumination information, as well as on a novel benchmark, PCCC obtains lower error than the state-of-the-art algorithms. Our method is simple andfast, requiring merely 16 x 16-size input and reaching speed over 140 fps (CPU time), including the cost of building the point cloud and net inference.


Objective: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of three depression screening scales to diagnose major depressive episodes in the elderly. Methods: Participants (n=129, 88% female) answered a semi-structured psychiatric interview (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) to determine the diagnosis of major depressive disorder. After this, depressive symptoms in depressed and non-depressed subjects were assessed by independent administration of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS-17). Results: Patients with major depression and controls did not differ in age and gender distribution. The sensitivity and specificity of all scales to identify a major depressive episode in older adults were ≥ 90%. There were no significant differences between the areas under the curve for PHQ-9 vs. HDRS-17 (z = 1.2, p = 0.2), PHQ-9 vs. GDS-15 (z = 0.26, p = 0.8), or HDRS-17 vs. GDS-15 (z = 1.2, p = 0.2). Conclusion: This study provides evidence supporting the use of PHQ-9 and GDS-15, both of which are simple to administer and easy to interpret, to diagnose major depressive episodes in older adults without neurocognitive disorders.


PURPOSE
The purposes of this study were to determine the previously unreported prevalence of antral pseudocysts in an exclusively pediatric dental population, characterize their presentation, and investigate potential correlates to the presence of these lesions.

METHODS
A tripartite chart review was conducted of 2,000 five- to 21-year-old pediatric dental patients at Yale-New Haven Hospital for the presence of antral pseudocysts identifiable on panoramic radiographs. Demographic, medical, and dental variables potentially influencing their pathogenesis were analyzed via descriptive statistics, odds ratios, and Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS
Thirty-six antral pseudocysts were identified in the study sample (1.8 percent). They presented as asymptomatic solitary lesions with a slight male predominance and occurring with greater frequency in individuals with reported allergies. No significant relationship was found between maxillary extractions, orthodontics, obstructive sleep apnea, or history of orofacial trauma and the presence of antral pseudocysts.

CONCLUSION
The prevalence of antral pseudocysts in the pediatric dental population falls among the lower end of ranges previously reported in the literature and may reflect their development over time in response to environmental exposures.


Spinal cord compression from catheter tip granulomatous masses following intrathecal drug administration may produce devastating permanent neurologic deficits. Some authors have advocated intrathecal catheter placement below the conus medullaris to avoid the possibility of spinal cord involvement. Multiple cases of catheter tip granulomas in the thoracolumbar region have been reported. We present a unique case of a sacral region catheter tip inflammatory mass producing permanent neurologic deficits. A 71‐year‐old white male with a diagnosis of failed back surgery syndrome was referred to the senior author for evaluation. After more extensive conservative therapy, including spinal cord stimulation, failed to yield adequate pain relief, he was offered implantation of an intrathecal pump for opioid administration. Excellent pain relief was achieved in the postoperative period; however, three years after implantation, he presented with progressive saddle anesthesia and bowel/bladder incontinence. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a space occupying lesion associated with the catheter tip. The patient underwent emergent second level complete sacral laminectomy with partial resection of an intradural extra‐axial mass and removal of intrathecal catheter. At discharge, the patient had no restoration of neurologic function. Histologic examination of the mass confirmed a sterile inflammatory mass. It has been suggested that intrathecal catheters be placed below the conus medullaris to avoid the possibility of spinal cord involvement. We present an unusual case documenting devastating permanent neurologic deficits from a catheter tip granuloma in the sacral region.


Methanolic-aqueous extracts of 70 plants were investigated for their ability to inhibit HIV-1 reverse transcriptase activity in vitro. Two thirds of the extracts screened showed more than 50% inhibition. Two extracts inhibited the enzyme completely while four exhibited more than 90% inhibition. Tannins as nonspecific HIV-1 RT inhibitors were detected and removed from the extracts. The IC50 values of the most potent extracts after the removal of tannins for the HIV-1 RT inhibition are as follows: Sambucus racemosa 0.017 mg/ml and Geranium phaeum 0.067 mg/ml. Daunomycine was chosen as a standard substance in the non-radioactive immuno assay used for screening. As a result from the future isolation and characterization of these compounds, new leading structures are expectable.


Abstract The aim of this research was to prepare biocompatible riboflavin laurate (RFL) long-acting injectable nanosuspensions for intramuscular injection with a small particle size allowing sterile filtration. RFL nanosuspensions were manufactured by a precipitation-combined high-pressure homogenization method. Three kinds of mixed stabilizers-d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) as a primary stabilizer, and egg lecithin (PL-100M), Kollidon VA64, Kollidon S-630 as a secondary stabilizer, were separately applied to avoid further aggregation. In the three optimized formulations, the mean particle size of the RFL nanosuspensions was about 170 nm allowing sterilization by filtration. Results from transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimeter, powder X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared reflectance spectroscopy revealed that RFL existed as rod-like crystals. However, a few nano-spheres under 100 nm were found only when PL-100 was used as a secondary stabilizer, possibly due to TPGS and PL-100, which inserted into RFL during the process of crystallization and homogenization. In irritation testing, RFL long-acting injection (LAI) stabilized by TPGS and PL-100 led to mild paw-licking responses and a slight inflammatory reaction, which returned to normal by 14 d after administration. The endogenous PL-100 and nano-spheres with a small size may have contributed to the excellent biocompatibility. As a result, TPGS and PL-100 were selected as blended stabilizers to prepare the irritation-free RFL-LAI that could be sterilized by passage through a 0.22 μm millipore membrane filter.


Vibration comfort of agricultural tractor driving is closely related to driver's physical and mental health. It was evaluated by measuring several operators' physiological response through applying resonance excitation with 3 Hz to a tractor seat attached on a vibration platform. The vibration comfort of the operator was analyzed by regression analysis and subjective psychological scale. It was found that subjective sensation with "slight discomfort ", "moderate discomfort" and "severe discomfort" respectively occurred when the vibration lasted ~40 min, 80 min and 100 min. The Y-Avg index of objective sEMG, Y-RMS and Power index of PPG changed to a certain threshold over time. They tended to be flat after 40 min, 90 min, 90 min respectively. The AVNN index of ECG rose steadily in the early period and fluctuated sharply about 100 minutes later. The results indicate that the tractor operator should be arranged for rest when the driving time lasts 40 min in a vibration with 3 Hz; the operating time for one time has better less than 90 min for the sake of physiological safety.


The extent of marine pollution in İzmit Bay is studied using geochemical data in surface sediments. The concentrations of 41 elements in 24 samples establish that surface sediments in inner and central İzmit Bay display significant enrichments in Ag, As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Hg, Mo, P, Pb, Sb, Ti, V, and Zn associated with high concentrations of total organic carbon and sulphur. Geo-accumulation indices indicate that the inner and central İzmit Bay surface sediments are moderately to very strongly polluted with respect to Ag, Cd, Hg, Mo and Sb, and unpolluted to moderately polluted with respect to As, Co, Cu, Pb, and Zn. Despite total sedimentary concentrations above their pre-industrial background levels, geo-accumulation indices show that the surface sediments in İzmit Bay are unpolluted with respect to Cr, Ti and V. Except for a localized area offshore Tuzla, the outer İzmit Bay is generally unpolluted with respect to heavy metals.


This paper concerns with convergence properties of the classical proximal point algorithm for nding zeroes of maximal monotone operators in an innnite-dimensional Hilbert space. It is well known that the proximal point algorithm converges weakly to a solution under very mild assumptions. However, it was shown by G uler 11] that the iterates may fail to converge strongly in the innnite-dimensional case. We propose a new proximal-type algorithm which does converge strongly, provided the problem has a solution. Moreover, our algorithm solves proximal point subproblems inexactly, with a constructive stopping criterion introduced in 31]. Strong convergence is forced by combining proximal point iterations with simple projection steps onto intersection of two halfspaces containing the solution set. Additional cost of this extra projection step is essentially negligible since it amounts, at most, to solving a linear system of two equations in two unknowns.


Untreated pharmaceutical pollution and their possibly more toxic metabolites, resulting from outdated traditional wastewater treatment processes, end up in aquatic environments and are hazards to the ecosystem homeostasis. Biological wastewater remediation could supplement traditional methods and overcome the dumping of these biologically active compounds in the environment. Mycoremediation is especially promising due to the unspecific nature of fungi to decompose compounds through exoenzymes and the uptake of compounds as nutrients. In the present study, we improved on the previous advances made using the fungus Mucor hiemalis to remediate one of the most commonly occurring pharmaceuticals, acetaminophen (APAP), at higher concentration. The adjustment of pH, nitrogen limitation, and comparison with, as well as co-cultivation with the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium were tested. Nitrogen limitation did not significantly improve the APAP remediation efficiency of M. hiemalis. Maintaining the pH of the media improved the remediation restraint of 24 h previously seen. The APAP remediation efficiency of P. chrysosporium was far superior to that of M. hiemalis and co-cultivation of the two resulted in a decreased remediation efficiency compared to P. chrysosporium in single.


The biosynthesis of steroids and the production of spermatozoa are two major functions of the mammalian testis, which are tightly controlled by gonadotropins and numerous locally produced factors. Among these are the estrogens that are produced within the seminiferous epithelium via the irreversible transformation of androgens (C19) into estrogens (C18) by aromatase. We have recently reported that male germ cells are the new source of estrogens in the testis. For instance, estrogen receptors (ER) are found mainly in spermatids that give rise spermatozoa. Moreover, it is noteworthy that GPR30 (a transmembrane ER) induces rapid responses after estradiol binding, which, in turn, modulates cyclins and proapoptotic factors (e.g., BAX) to affect germ cell cycle progression and apoptosis. In summary, at least in the animal species that were studied thus far, germ cells are the major source and the target of estrogens, affecting normal male gonadal development and spermatogenesis, in particular spermiogenesis. These findings have also shed new light on the possible adverse effects of endocrine disruptors having estrogenic activities that can cause abnormal development of the male genital tract.


The purpose of this study waw to investigate the effect of consumer knowledge of adolescents, money attitudes and consumption values on rational consumption behavior and the direct and indirect effects of these variables on rational consumption behavior. The subjects of this study were 524 students who were in the first grade and second grade of high school in Daegu. Multiple Regression Analysis and Path Analysis were employed for the data analysis. The major findings of this study were as follows: First, the knowledge of money management, the purchase knowledge and the consumerism knowledge effected on the money attitude, which regarded money as an instrument of future safety. Among these, it was found that the money management knowledge had the highest affect on this money attitude. The result suggests that the consumer knowledge affects desirable money attitude which regarded money as an instrument of future safety, and then consumer education influences positively money attitude. Second, the money attitude which regarded money as an instrument of future safety affected consumption values most, and the money attitude which regarded money as a means for approval of another person affected the ostentation, the conformity, the discrimination and the aesthetic enjoyment of consumption values. Third, the present study showed that the money attitude which regards money as an instrument of future safety and the economical consumption values were the important factor which affecting each subdimension of the rational consumption behavior. The result suggests the adolescents, who managed money well, saved it for the future, and saved the resources as much as possible when consuming, behaved rational and planned way through all process all process all consumption behaviors. Fourth, the consumer knowledge did not affect the rational consumption behavior directly, but indirectly through the money attitude and the consumption values. Therefore, the consumer knowledge, the money attitude and the consumption values were the important factor for the rational consumption behavior, and it revealed money attitude and consumption values played role as mediate variable. This study results suggest the consumer knowledge that adolescent have learned in school was theoretical and abstract, so it does not affect directly the rational consumption behavior. However these consumer consumption values affect the consumption behavior.


We have previously shown that a homozygous mutation encoding a substitution of proline for leucine at position 233 in the insulin receptor is linked with the syndrome of leprechaunism, being a lethal form of insulin resistance in newborn children. Specific binding of insulin and insulin-stimulated autophosphorylation of the insulin receptor are nearly absent in fibroblasts from the leprechaun patient. To examine the molecular basis of the observed insulin receptor abnormalities, CHO cell lines overexpressing mutant insulin receptors were made by transfection. The results show that the mutation inhibits cleavage and transport of the proreceptor from intracellular sites to the cell surface. As the mutant receptor is poorly precipitated by two different monoclonal antibodies recognizing epitopes on undenatured wild-type alpha-subunits, the mutation probably affects overall folding of the alpha-subunit. The mutant proreceptor is unable to bind insulin and exhibits no insulin-stimulated autophosphorylation. These data explain the abnormalities seen in the patient's fibroblasts. Pulse-chase labeling experiments on transfected cells show that the mutant precursor has an extended half-life (approximately 5 h) compared to the precursor of wild-type insulin receptors (approximately 2 h). This mutation is the first example of a naturally occurring mutation in the insulin receptor which completely blocks cleavage of the proreceptor and transport to the cell surface.


Based on the steady-state solution of finite-state birth and death process, the principle of line configuration for shared multi-channel system is analyzed. Call congestion ratio equation and channel utilization ratio equation are deduced, and visualized data analysis is presented. The analy-sis indicates that, calculated with the proposed equations, the overestimate for call congestion ratio and channel utilization ratio can be rectified, and thereby the cost of channels can be saved by 20% in a small system.With MATLAB programming, line configuration methods are provided. In order to generally and intuitively show the dynamic running of the system, and to analyze,promote and improve it, the system is simulated using M/M/n/n/m queuing model and Monte-Carlo method. In addition, the simulation validates the correctness of the theoretical analysis and optimizing configuration method.


Parasitic infestation as an etiology of uveitis was seldom considered in the temperate climate zone prior to 1950. This view had to be changed when Wilder, 1 in the histological study of pseudoglioma, found nematode larva. Only recently Ashton, 2 in England, reported 24 cases of uveitis secondary to toxocara proven by histological study. Although intraocular parasites are one of the leading causes of blindness in Africa, finding a worm in the eye in this country remains an ophthalmological curiosity. This case is presented to add another such unique case to the literature. Report of Case This 8-year-old Negro female was first seen by her ophthalmologist on April 11, 1961, with a history of having been hit in the right eye with a ball approximately 4 days previously. Following the injury, the patient developed pain, redness, and blurred vision of the affected eye. On first observation, the vision was reduced


This paper tries to study the integration and spillover effect between Shanghai Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. At first, similar to Chow and Lawler (2003), the weekly return and volatility of Shanghai and New York Stock Exchange composite indices are analyzed with vector auto regression, stationarity test, and Granger causality test in order to study the co-movement between these two markets. Then considering the existence of ARCH effect, multivariate volatility models including MGARCH and MSV models are used to characterize the dynamics of volatilities. The empirical results show that to some extent there exists spillover effect. In order to test whether the integration between Shanghai and New York stock market is affected by some great economic events, we also study the integration with sub sample data instead of full sample data.


INTRODUCTION :
Stroke is one of the leading causes of morbidity and ranks next only to coronary artery disease and malignancy as the leading cause of mortality worldwide. At least fifty percent of neurological disorders in a general hospital are due to stroke.
As remarked by a renowned neurologist, C. M. Fisher, neurology is learnt stroke by stroke.
Eighty percent of stroke is ischemic; twenty percent of ischemic events involve tissue supplied by posterior circulation. The paralysis of vertebrobasilar stroke can devastating and some forms have high rates of death. Many cases of vertebrobasilar diseases remain undiagnosed or are incorrectly diagnosed. Formerly clinicians used the catchall term vertebrobasilar insufficiency to indicate a hemodynamic cause of all cases of posterior circulation ischemia.
During the past fifteen years information provided by detailed clinical studies and brain imaging has revolutionized our understanding of clinical aspects, mechanism, treatment and prognosis of posterior circulation ischemic stroke.
The etiology of posterior circulation ischemia has been thought to be primarily due to local arterial atherosclerosis (large artery disease) and penetrating artery disease (lacunes) However there is increasing evidence that cardiogenic embolization is more common than previously suspected and is responsible for 20 – 50% of posterior circulation strokes.
The posterior circulation, unlike the intracranial portions of the anterior circulation, is prone to atherosclerosis much as other systemic arteries. In the case of one vertebral artery being occluded, collateral flow comes from the opposite vertebral artery, from muscular cervical artery branches, and from posterior communicating artery.
Now with better understanding of risk factors involved in stroke the emphasis should be prevention rather than management.
AIMS OF THE STUDY :
1. To evaluate the etiology in posterior circulation stroke.
2. To study the commonest mode of clinical presentation in posterior circulation ischemic stroke.
3. To evaluate the commonest anatomical area involved and the size of the infract with the help of imaging modalities (CT and MRI).
4. To assess the outcome.
MATERIALS AND METHODS :
This study was carried out in patients who presented with posterior circulation ischemic stroke to the medicine and neurology department of PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore.
The study was conducted during the period of January 2005 to march 2006.
All patients admitted with clinical features suggestive of posterior circulation stroke were taken. All were subjected to CT scan brain. Patients with evidence of posterior circulation stroke clinically and imaging wise were taken up for the study.
Inclusion Criteria:
All patients with clinical features suggestive of posterior circulation stroke Imaging showing infarcts within the posterior circulation territory.
Exclusion Criteria:
CT evidence of showing haemorrage
Patients having evidence of infarcts in other areas ie. , territory of anterior circulation, border zone infarcts.
Patients on ventilator, global aphasia, in coma were excluded from studies.
All the patients were evaluated in detail. A detail history was recorded with special emphasis on risk factor, mode of presentation, time interval between onset and arrival to hospital.
Major risk factor included in this study are hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, age sex, coronary artery disease, smoking, alcohol intake, and transient ischemic attack
Special emphasis was given for clinical evaluation of cardiovascular system with regard to rhythm disturbances cardiac failure, and valvular heart disease.
Detailed clinical neurological examination was done and the patients were grouped into posterior circulation stroke Blood haemogram, peripheral smear, haematocrit, blood sugar lipid profile, and renal function tests were done. Echocardiogram was done. to rule out intracavitary clots and vegetation. Imaging studies including CT, MRI and Doppler Studies were done to localize the anatomical area involved and to know the size of the area involved.
Outcome was assesed according to the modified rankin scale at 30 days.
DISCUSSION :
Cerebrovascular disease was more common in men in the age group of >60 years. In 'tufts posterior registry' 52% were male and 48% were females. Smajlonc D33 studied ischemic insult in both anterior and posterior circulations and he found 18. 2% had posterior circulation stroke and he also found females and males were equally affected in posterior circulation stroke.
In this study 63. 75% were males. Though the above mentioned study showed sexual equality our study showed a male preponderance.
Mean age of pts in our study was 60 years which was similar to other studies.
The risk factors in stroke are classified as modifiable and non modifiable. Male sex and older age are non-modifiable risk factors.
Hypertension is the most common risk factor associated with stroke.
In our study 52. 5% were hypertensives this was similar to the stoke study of Nizam's Institute Hyderabad.
Diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterimia, smoking, obesity, ischemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heamatocrit elevation are other modifiable
risk factors.
CONCLUSION :
In my study I found that
• Males were affected more than females.
• Age group commonly involved was above sixty yrs.
• Hypertension, diabetes and smoking contributed the major risk factors followed by cardio embolic source.
• Giddiness was commenest symptom at the onset.
• Most of the patients had clinical signs of cerebellum and brainstem lesions.
• The territory commonly involved was mid-brain, cerebellum, thalamus, occipital and temporal lobes.
• MRI was found to be more sensitive than CT in identifying brain stem lesions.
• Outcome in posterior circulation stroke was found to be better than anterior circulation stroke.


Increasing amounts of DNA and proteins are released from the suspensions of chromatin from thymuses and spleens of irradiated mice (6 hours after 600R whole-body) by the action of alkaline solutions (pH 8-10) at physiological ionic strengths. The suspension of chromatin from normal tissues releases in this pH range only a small amount of proteins and negligible amount of DNA. The behaviour of liver and kidney chromatin to alkaline solutions shows no difference between normal and irradiated tissues. The time of onset and dose relation of the increased sensitivity of thymus and spleen chromatin from irradiated mice to alkaline solutions show a similar course as earlier described signs of postirradiation damage to chromatin of these tissues.


We study self-acceleration in a parabolic tight-binding lattice and construct a self-accelerating wave packet in k-space. As opposed to accelerating Airy wave packets in free space, self-acceleration occurs in k-space and this leads to self-oscillation in the lattice. We analytically derived a formula for self-acceleration and perform numerical computation to see such an oscillation for the truncated wave.


This issue of the BJD includes the important paper by Wong et al., 'Partner bereavement and risk of psoriasis and atopic eczema: cohort studies in the UK and Denmark'. It was proposed for decades that severe stress increases the risk of atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis. This study clears up the facts using evidence from large longitudinal cohorts in two countries. As many as 5–10% of adults have AD and 1–2% have psoriasis, which implies the largest global burden of disability due to skin diseases. Moreover, recent research suggested a fairly high incidence of AD in adulthood for what had previously been seen as a childhood disease, and stress might be one risk factor. Patients and their physicians, as well as standard dermatological literature, often claim stress as a trigger factor for AD and psoriasis. However, recall bias might contribute to this clinical impression, and there is astoundingly little evidence on this proposal. Wong et al. now provide the first large longitudinal epidemiological study on the relationship between AD and psoriasis, and stress. Two large matched longitudinal studies were performed on the role of stress as a trigger of new onset of psoriasis and atopic eczema. In both studies, people who had undergone partner bereavement were compared with a matched cohort of 10 peoples without partner bereavement, and the onset of psoriasis and AD was compared in both groups. The UK study covered two decades (1997–2017) using longitudinal linkage data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. An equivalent period (1997–2016) was covered in Denmark using the Danish nationwide registries. More than 9 million individuals were included in the studies. The studies are methodologically very sound. For example, physician diagnoses were used for assessing dermatological diseases, established algorithms were used to identify partners, and sensitivity analyses were performed to explore the robustness of the findings. Finally, data from both studies were pooled in a meta-analysis. For AD, an increase in risk within the first 3 years following partner bereavement was reported, with the highest increase in risk during the first 3 months. In contrast, no effect of partner bereavement on the onset of psoriasis could be proven with this reliable data. The UK and Danish studies have the strengths of providing evidence from linkage datasets of high quality. The two studies complement each other; for instance, the UK study includes medical records from general practices and the Danish study includes hospital contacts including inpatient, outpatient hospital clinic and emergency records. Furthermore, the registry from Denmark holds data on partnership status. As potential contacts with healthcare units related to bereavement may potentially increase the chance of skin disease detection, it is beneficial that the findings were confirmed in the two settings and for two different diseases. An increased risk of AD associated with partner bereavement that persisted for 3 years was observed, but not difference in risk of psoriasis in any followup periods using the same study populations. Thus, any potential effect of healthcare contacts on being diagnosed with AD or psoriasis might be very limited. However, using secondary data also has limitations. Stress could not be measured directly, and there might still be misclassification regarding partnership status, especially in the UK cohort. In the Danish study, disease onset was assessed using hospital records, which might include missing mild cases and certainly a delay until the onset of most cases of AD and psoriasis was noticed. The findings of the paper from Wong et al. are of high importance for patients, researchers and physicians. For patients with AD, the study confirms the impression that stress might trigger disease onset. The study suggests that treatment of skin diseases should not be forgotten in times of partner bereavement.


We perform a kinetically complete measurement on the fragmentation of Coulomb explosion of H2O molecules in intense few-cycle linearly and circularly polarized laser fields. Both the fragmentations of H2O3+ and H2O4+ reveal the concerted pathway of dissociation. The length of the O—H bond prior to the Coulomb explosion of both molecular ions is sensitive to the laser pulse duration and laser intensity. However, the bending angle of H—O—H is less sensitive to the pulse duration and laser intensity. We introduce the mechanism of charge resonance enhanced double ionization to elucidate the triple (or quadruple) dissociative ionization dynamics of H2O, in which two electrons are non-adiabatically localized at the protons of the precursor ion H2O+ (or H2O2+) and are released simultaneously due to the over barrier ionization in the combined laser field and molecular ionic potential. Such charge resonance enhanced multiple ionization is not suppressed in few-cycle laser fields and elliptically polarized laser fields.