Peripheral blood cytopenias may precede the development of hematological malignancies and frequently pose clinical challenges in the older population. The natural course of (mild) cytopenias during aging and their association with hematological disorders in community-dwelling individuals are not well studied. Within the population-based Lifelines cohort (n = 167729), we studied changes in peripheral blood counts, occurrence of cytopenias, and associated hematological outcomes in the context of aging. Development of hematological malignancies and (cause-specific) mortality were evaluated by linkage to nationwide registries. Anemia and thrombocytopenia emerged with older age, in line with a general age-related decline in these blood counts. For neutropenia, no increase in prevalence with older age was observed. Using standard reference limits to define cytopenias, anemia (hazard ratio [HR], 1.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59-2.12), thrombocytopenia (HR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.32-1.89), and, especially the concomitant presence of anemia and thrombocytopenia (HR, 4.75; 95% CI, 2.98-7.55) were associated with inferior overall survival. Only a minor proportion of deaths was explained by diagnosed hematological malignancies, with the majority attributable to other causes. Neutropenia, either isolated (HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.73-1.06) or combined with another cytopenia, did not affect overall survival. For individuals aged ≥60 years, 5-year cumulative incidence of hematological malignancies was 0.60% (95% CI, 0.50-0.70), with higher incidences among those with anemia (P < .001) or thrombocytopenia (P < .001) but not neutropenia (P = .201). Highest cumulative incidences of diagnoses and mortality from hematological malignancies were observed in individuals with >1 cytopenia. We conclude that anemia and thrombocytopenia, but not neutropenia, are associated with inferior overall survival of community-dwelling individuals. Hematological malignancies develop in a small fraction of these cases.


Dark chocolate is a very complex food and scientists continue to investigate it in order to unlock its potential benefits and secrets. Cocoa and cocoa derivatives have recently attracted the attention of many investigators and general public because of their potential nutritional, medicinal and mystical properties. Studies have shown that dietary supplementation with flavonoid rich cocoa and dark chocolate may exert a protective and preventive effect on human health. Dark chocolate consumption plays an important role in reducing the risk of chronic conditions including the cardiovascular diseases, central nervous system, diabetes and immune system related diseases. Some of the identified benefits of flavonoid rich dark chocolate include its antioxidant properties, improved endothelial function, decrease in blood pressure and modulation of the immune system. Dark chocolate has also been reported to have aphrodisiac and mood lifting effects. New studies have claimed that dark chocolate could improve the brain function and help keep Dementia and Alzheimer at bay. Cocoa polyphenols in dark chocolate also show anticariogenic activity and thus prevent tooth decay. Maintaining the overall health has become crucial in today"s world. This review article mentions all the beneficial effects of cocoa polyphenols in dark chocolate thus stating that dark chocolate is not just a mere delicacy, but also an effective tempting drug.


BACKGROUND
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), and especially its treatment often leads to irreversible consequences in the central and peripheral nervous system. ALL and its treatment as well, may cause disturbances of central transmission of acoustic stimuli.

THE AIM
To establish, if testing of egzogenic provoked brain stem potentials can be useful for evaluation of complications of ALL treatment. The issue of analysis was the influence of past ALL and type of therapy on parameters of egzogenic potentials triggered by acoustic stimulus (BAEP) in patients after termination of treatment.

RESULTS
In the group of patients treated with NY program results of middle latencies of the wave I and III were normal, however latencies of wave V and interlatencies of waves I-III, I-IV and III-V were mildly elongated. Latencies and interlatencies elongated above the upper normal range were detected in 4 patients of this group: in one patient elongation of the wave V and interlatencies of waves I-IV and III-V was detected, while in the other one interlatencies of waves I-III and I-V and in the last two patients only interlatencies of waves I-III. In the group of patients treated with BFM 86/87 programs results were similar. Latencies of waves I and III were normal, while mean latencies of wave V and interlatencies of waves I-III, I-V and III-V were mildly elongated. In this group mild pathological elongation of BAEP interlatencies were detected in 5 patients. Non of them had elongation of latencies of waves I, III or V. In one patient elongated interlatencies of waves I-V and III-V were detected, in another one interlatencies of waves I-III, while in other 3 patients elongation of latencies of waves I-V. In the group of patients treated with BFM 95 program latencies of waves I, III and V were normal, while interlatencies of waves I-III, I-V and III-V were mildly elongated. In 2 patients of this group mild elongation of interlatencies of waves I-III or III-V were detected. In each patient of this group, similar as in the group BFM 86/87, latencies of waves I, III and V were normal.

CONCLUSIONS
(1) BAEP abnormalities in 22.4% of patients after the treatment of childhood ALL suggest that hearing monitoring in these patients is recommended. (2) Elongation of BAEP interlatencies and latency of wave V in patients after radiation OUN therapy warrant to develop new and less toxic therapies.


Abstract Thirteen previously treated patients with metastatic tumors were subjected to systemic hyperthermia, alone or in combination with chemotherapy (melphalan, 5 patients; VP16, one patient), during their third treatment session. Heating was performed under general anesthesia by using water blankets at a water temperature of 49°. The treatment temperature of 41.9° to 42.0° was achieved within 1.5 to 3.5 hr and was maintained for 4 hr. Altogether 32 treatment sessions were associated with sinus tachycardia, a reduction in diastolic blood pressure, skin burns, and temperature elevation to >38° persisting for 24 to 36 hr after treatment. Mild to moderate diarrhea and nausea and/or vomiting were noted in one-half of all treatments. General weakness and fatigue prevented full ambulation in two-thirds of patients for 48 hr following treatment. Four patients with extensive prior Vinca alkaloid exposure developed peripheral neuropathy, one with additional severe rhabdomyolysis. Laboratory abnormalities included signs of low-grade disseminated intravascular coagulation with thrombocytopenia 24 hr after treatment, appearance of fibrinsplit products, and occasional prolongation in prothrombin and partial thromboplastin time. Moderate hyperglycemia and mild degrees of hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, hypophosphatemia, and hypokalemia occurred acutely during therapy. Marked creatinine phosphokinase elevation was noted particularly after the first heat treatment. Electroencephalograms were recorded in 4 patients during 10 treatment sessions, revealing a marked slowing with temperature elevation beyond 40° and seizure activity in 2 patients. Convulsions were manifest in 2 patients without central nervous system metastases. Of 11 patients evaluable for antitumor effect, 7 achieved stable disease status. Four of these patients had objective signs of tumor regression (melanoma, 3 patients; lymphoma, one patient), all of which occurred after hyperthermia alone. Total-body hyperthermia at 42° for 4 hr is tolerated with acceptable toxicity by selected patients.


We consider a variation on the classic Weitzman search problem: competing firms with products of unknown quality may design how much information a consumer's visit will glean. After observing these information structures, the consumer then decides how to search sequentially across the firms for a high value product. If there are no search frictions, then there is a unique symmetric equilibrium in pure strategies, and the firms are not fully informative. With search frictions, the information a visit will reveal depends in a systematic way on the ex-ante probability that a firm's product is high quality. When the expected quality of the product is sufficiently high, there is a unique symmetric equilibrium in which firms are fully informative. There, a small search cost leads to the perfect competition level of information provision--consumers gain when firms are forced to compete on information. Conversely, in the low and medium expected quality cases there are no pure strategy equilibria. Instead, firms mix over a continuum of levels of information: in the low expected quality case they provide full information with probability zero; and in the medium expected quality case they provide full information with positive probability. In both cases there are mixed strategy equilibria in which the firms' realized information structures are Blackwell comparable. Moreover, though recall is permitted, in each case there are equilibria in which the consumer never returns.


Chicken is one of the source of protein that is widely consumed by the public because it contains nutrients at affordable prices and easy to obtain. Various processed foods from chicken are widely developed in the community. Safe food is one that is free from contamination, both physical, chemical, and microbiological. Microbiological food safety is major concern in the world of health because it causes various disease problems. The most frequently reported disease due to this bacterial infection is typhoid. Based on SNI 7388 2009 concerning the maximum limit of microbial contamination in food, it is stated that fresh chicken meat must not contain the pathogenic bacteria Salmonell sp. To protect the public from these danger and increase awareness about food safety, it is necessary to conduct research on the presence of Salmonella sp microbial contamination in fresh chicken meat, especially those sold in the research area, namely Ponorogo. The problem can be formulated to wheter there si the contamination of Salmonella sp bacteria in fresh chicken meat sold at Legi Market Ponorogo. The purpose of this study was to isolate and identify Salmonella sp in fresh chicken meat sold at Legi Market Ponorogo. The long-term goal of this research is to increase public awareness of microbiological hazards in food, especially chicken meat. Sampling was conducted randomly on traders at Legi Market Ponorogo. Of the ten samples analyzed, eight samples were isolated and identified the presence of Salmonella sp. This illustrates that there are still a lot of fresh chicken meat sold in Legi Market Ponorogo that does not meet the quality based on SNI 7388 2009, which is 80 %.


Background: Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains a significant and costly issue for healthcare in South Africa, where few interventions have been implemented. Active visualisation is a new area of health research, where tools are created to visually demonstrate a disease or treatment process to patients in order to improve understanding and adherence. We developed an active visual demonstration depicting how adherence and non-adherence to ART affects HIV disease progression.
Methods: The active visualisation using a Perspex body-shaped container, standard laboratory chemicals, and aspirin tablets was used in a randomised controlled intervention study to improve adherence to ART in a South African community hospital. We recruited 78 patients from Helderberg Hospital in Western Cape from May to November 2016. 34 participants were randomised to the intervention and answered quantitative and qualitative questions regarding feasibility and acceptability of the device.
Findings: There were no significant changes in illness perceptions from baseline to after seeing the device in the intervention group. Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with the device. Participant's thoughts when they saw the device were most frequently related to adherence (53.8%, 21/39), and an improved understanding after seeing the device (43.6%, 17/39). Some participants also reported concern beliefs after seeing the device (17.9%, 7/39).
Discussion: A brief, visualisation device showing the purpose of ART appears to have high feasibility and acceptability in a community sample of patients in South Africa. The device may have high clinical applicability as an adherence tool to use with non-adherent patients.


The Mg ii resonance lines in a Cygni (A2Ia) are studied from 22 spectral scans obtained by the experiment S59. The cores of the resonance lines are shifted by — 130 km/s and the short wavelength side of the core is shifted by about — 350 km/s. The lines are compared with predicted profiles in an expanding atmosphere. This comparison suggests a rate of mass loss of 3 x 10-10 ^®/year. The atmosphere seems to be accelerated up to a velocity of 300 km/s. The acceleration might be produced by the near-u.v. resonance lines of singly ionized metals. The observations of the near-u.v. spectrum of A-type supergiants with a high spectral resolution is recommended.


Summary The staurolite-bearing schists of the area were metamorphosed in the staurolite-kyanite zone of the amphibolite facies. The various assemblages of the pelitic schists are represented in the AKF and Thompson's AFM diagrams. Within the PT conditions of stability of staurolite, this mineral develops in pelitic schists that have a high Al2O3 (excess)/(K2O+FeO+MgO) ratio so that the plots of analyses lie above the muscovite-garnet join in the AKF diagram. The three-phase field of staurolite-kyanite-biotite in the AFM diagram migrates towards the lower FeO/MgO side with increasing oxidation ratio and thus staurolite-bearing rocks are not necessarily restricted to pelitic schists with high FeO/MgO ratio as is commonly believed. On the other hand, the three-phase field shifts towards the higher FeO/MgO side with increasing grade of metamorphism assuming oxidation ratio and pressure to be constant, thus reducing the composition field of staurolite schists in the AFM diagram.


The quality of electrical energy supply, especially voltage quality, is becoming more and more important in both industrialized and developing countries. An insufficient supply quality can lead to an inadequate quality of products, interruption of important industrial processes and therefore to economic losses. The amount of equipment and industrial processes which are sensitive to insufficient voltage quality, such as harmonics and sags, is increasing. This paper describes the main power quality problems and their solution with IGBT converter based power conditioning equipment.


The criticality of a rear end event depends on the brake reaction time (BRT) of the driver. Therefore, distracted driving poses greater threat in such events. Evidence accumulation model (EAM) that uses looming of the lead vehicle as main stimuli has shown significant success in estimating drivers' BR Ts. It is often argued that drivers collect evidence for braking through peripheral vision, especially during off-road glances, and transition to forward. In this work, we have modeled evidence accumulation as a function of gaze eccentricity for off-road glances while approaching safety critical events. The model is tested with real world crash and near crash event data from SHRP2 naturalistic study. Our model shows that linear relation between gaze eccentricity and evidence accumulation rate during off road glances helps to improve EAM estimation in predicting BRT. We have also shown that brake-light onset does not influence EAM in presence of active looming.


Ion angular current and energy distributions are important parameters for ion thrusters, which are typically measured at a few tens of centimetres to a few metres distance from the thruster exit. However, fully kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are not able to simulate such domain sizes due to high computational costs. Therefore, a parallelisation strategy of the code is presented to reduce computational time. The calculated ion beam angular distributions in the plume region are quite sensitive to boundary conditions of the potential, possible additional source contributions (e.g. from secondary electron emission at vessel walls) and charge exchange collisions. Within this work a model for secondary electrons emitted from the vessel wall is included. In order to account for limits of the model due to its limited domain size, a correction of the simulated angular ion energy distribution by the potential boundary is presented to represent the conditions at the location of the experimental measurement in $1~\text{m}$ distance. In addition, a post-processing procedure is suggested to include charge exchange collisions in the plume region not covered by the original PIC simulation domain for the simulation of ion angular distributions measured at $1~\text{m}$ distance.


Background: Aging is associated with some cognitive decline and enhanced risk of development of neurodegenerative diseases. It is assumed that altered metabolism and functions of neurotrophin systems may underlie these age-related functional and structural modifications. CerebrolysinTM (CBL) is a neuropeptide mixture with neurotrophic effects, which is widely used for the treatment of stroke and traumatic brain injury patients. It is also evident that CBL has an overall beneficial effect and a favorable benefit-risk ratio in patients with dementia. However, the effects of CBL on cognition and brain neurotrophin system in normal aging remain obscure. Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine the age-related modifications of endogenous neurotrophin systems in the brain of male Wistar rats and the effects of CBL on learning and memory as well as the levels neurotrophins and their receptors. Methods: Old (23–24 months) and young (2–3 months) male Wistar rats were used for the study. A half of animals were subjected to CBL course (2.5 ml/kg, 20 i.p. injections). Behavior of rats was studied using the open field test and simple water maze training. The contents of NGF and BDNF were studied using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; the expression of neurotrophin receptors was estimated by Western-blot analysis. Results: CBL treatment did not affect general status, age-related weight changes, general locomotor activity as well as general brain histology. In a water maze task, a minor effect of CBL was observed in old rats at the start of training and no effect on memory retention was found. Aging induced a decrease in neurotrophin receptors TrkA, TrkB, and p75NTR in the neocortex. CBL counteracted effects of aging on neocortical TrkA and p75NTR receptors and decreased expression of proNGF without influencing overall NGF levels. BDNF system was not significantly affected by CBL. Conclusion: The pro-neuroplastic "antiaging" effects of CBL in the neocortex of old animals were generally related to the NGF rather than the BDNF system.


This article derives a rationale for the service architecture of the ATM Forum's Traffic Management 4.0 specification. This model distinguishes a small number of general ways to provide quality of service (QoS) which are appropriate for different classes of applications. We construct the set of ATM service categories by first analyzing the QoS and traffic requirements for a reasonably comprehensive list of applications. The most important application properties and the complexity of the related network mechanisms are used to structure the services. This method has the desirable property that the number of service categories does not expand rapidly with the introduction of new applications. We also discuss packet scheduling as the key component for realizing such a set of services, and report on an experimental realization of a fair queuing scheduler.


Respiratory gating for radiotherapy beam delivery is a widely available technique, manufactured and sold by most of the major radiotherapy machine vendors. Respiratory gated beam delivery is intended to limit the irradiation of tumours moving with respiration to selected parts of the respiratory cycle, and thereby enable dose escalation and/or reduction of dose to organs at risk. Without adequate use of respiratory correlated image guidance on a regular basis, respiratory beam gating may however have a detrimental effect on target coverage. Image guidance of tumour respiratory motion is therefore of utmost importance for the safe introduction of respiratory gating. In this short overview, suitable image guidance strategies for respiratory gated radiotherapy are reviewed for two cancer sites; breast cancer and lung tumours.


Free trade or preferential trade areas (PTAs) allow importers who belong to the area to export to each other while paying zero or preferential tariffs as long as Rules of Origin (ROOs) are met. Meeting them is costly not only in terms of production costs but also in terms of documentation costs. We ask if these fixed costs of documentation change over time with the experience of the firm in obtaining preferential tariffs. We explore this using a unique importer-exporter matched transaction-level customs data set on a group of Latin American countries. Our estimating equation is model-based and shows that these fixed costs depend on the history of preference utilization. Most of the effect comes from experience in the same product and same partner, with some spillover to other partners buying the same product. There is little learning from experience in other products and other partners. When considering products that have been under preferences for a while, some learning might have occurred prior to the start of our data. Using a natural experiment in Argentina, where some products were newly brought under preferences, we show that learning is indeed larger for such products. As facilitating preference use today also makes it easier to use preferences in the future, interventions early on in the life of the FTA to reduce such costs would be more effective.


Studied is the behaviour to phages of 136 strains of coagulase positive cstaphylococci, isolated from raw (82), pasteurized milk stored in tanks (30) and pasteurized milk in bottles (24). The Staphylococcus aureus strains investigated are sensitive to bovine phages and, above all, to those of the 4th group (102, 107, 117 and 42D) or in combination with them. No lyses are established in the 1st and 3rd phage groups. The 107/117 and 107/117/42D are the phage types most frequently identified. The same phage types are found in both raw and pasteurized cow milk. It is established that 82 per cent of the Staphylococcus aureus strains studied with the rystal-violet test belong to types A and B after Meyer.


The present invention relates to an apparatus for the production of Embolisatpartikeln including a micropipette for the production of radically polymerizable droplets. The droplets open into a central channel in which the droplets are carried away from the fluidic outlet opening of the micropipette. Here, already induced a first, optionally not complete free-radical polymerization of the droplets after exit from the outlet of the micropipette. In the direction away from the exit opening of the micropipette central channel an additional acceleration of the droplets or particles takes place, can be prevented from influencing each other, the droplets. This can achieve a precise adjustment of the particle size distribution by preventing coalescence of Embolisatpartikel. If appropriate, finally, a further post-polymerization of the particles.


BACKGROUND: Asymmetric and dynamic lifting is known to be one of the leading causes of occupational lower back disorders (LBDs). Biomechanical modeling has been utilized to investigate lifting task characteristics so that the task demands can be kept within a limit, and internal muscles and joints are not injured. OBJECTIVE: This study implemented AnyBody to analyze internal torso loading in asymmetric and dynamic lifting tasks. METHODS: A six-camera motion capture (mocap) system collected dynamic motion data of lifting 30 lb (13.6 kg) weight at 0o, 30o and 60o asymmetry. The mocap data drove the AnyBody model, and the study investigated the effect of the asymmetry. RESULTS: Erector spinae was the most activated muscle for both symmetric and asymmetric lifting. When lifting origin became more asymmetric toward right, erector spinae activity was reduced, but oblique muscles increased their share of activity to counter the external moment. Most muscle tensions peaked at the lift initiation phase except left external oblique and right internal oblique. Left external oblique played a minor role in the right asymmetric lifting task, and the difference of activation for right internal oblique may be due to variance of the motion. Surprisingly the lift asymmetry decreased both compression and shear forces at the L5/S1 joint. CONCLUSIONS: This finding contradicted the results obtained from other research studies. The reduction in spine forces is postulated to have resulted from the increased oblique muscles' share in the production of back extensor moment. Since these muscles have longer moment arms, they generated lesser spine force to counteract the external moment. The subject also tended to squat as lifting origin became asymmetric, which effectively reduced the load moment on the spine.


NHS Dumfries and Galloway Sleep medicine service has 700 clients living across 2,500 square miles of rural Scotland. Considerable travelling distances, and time are involved for patients attending centralised clinics and clinicians attending peripheral clinics. We have piloted potential Tele-clinic reviews, seeking clients feedback regarding its acceptability. Aim - Assess the potential for tele-clinic follow-up for patients in a remote and rural sleep service Methods - Patients were offered choice of tele-clinic or usual review method. Feedback was sought from participations, using a standardised proforma. Video Conferencing was used with the Clinician based in the main centre and the patients attending the nearest community unit. Results - We have conducted 4 Tele Sleep clinics with 43 clients. Conclusion: All participants accepted Tele Clinic review. The time saved for clinicians and patients is significant, with reduced clinician time being utilised for additional clinical care. In remote and rural areas Tele-clinic sleep medicine review offers a useful cost-effective, and patient-centred, option, appearing acceptable to patients and clinicians with the addition of potential reduced environmental impact. Our clinical team will now progress the use of this technology for future service delivery and given the increase in long-term conditions requiring some specialist follow-up this might offer potential for other areas of healthcare.


1. The nature of nitrogen (N) corrected true metabolisable energy (TMEN) was derived using a linear model of N balance, constructed from the relationship between excreted and ingested N. 2. TME was described in terms of a regression line, formed from 'fed' points relating energy voided to energy ingested (GE), as GE - (afed + bGE) + afast. On assignment of theoretical excreta and ingested energy components, a deviation from conceptual metabolisable energy (MEc), equal to the difference between afed and afast, was established and attributed to metabolic urinary energy (UmE). 3. The N balance model is based on the form of relationship between N excreted and N ingested (NI) that exhibits a linear deviation at 'initial' rates of N ingestion. The model postulates the following: The deviation is the result of a sparing effect of ingested N on the N component of UmE, viz. metabolic urinary N (UmN); The magnitude of UmN, through 'initial' values of fed N, is described by an intercept component, aNp, and a slope quantity, -(bNr - bNna) NI, where bNna and bNr are respectively the slopes of N excretion through 'initial' and 'subsequent' rates of ingested food N; The magnitude of the deviation from zero nitrogen balance (ZNB) through 'initial' and 'subsequent' rates of ingested N is the sum of the previous terms and aNm - (1 - bNr) NI, where aNm is the intercept component representing maintenance losses of N at fasting and (1-bNr) NI is the quantity of fed N retained to replace maintenance N loss. 4. Application of the appropriate energetic forms of UmN and aNm, viz. Et aNp - Et (bNr - bNna) NI and EuaNm, to the expression for obtaining TME, demonstrated that TME exceeded MEc by the quantities Et (bNr - bNna) NI and Et aNp, for test food intakes resulting in 'initial' and 'subsequent' rates of food N, respectively. 5. Application of appropriate energetic components of the model to simulate correction of TME to ZNB, demonstrated TMEZNB to be a biased quantity, deviating from MEc by the amount -Eu (1 - bNr) NI or expressed as an excreta energy slope component, [formula: see text] where Eu is an appropriate energy coefficient. An alternative perspective is that ZNB correction removes the energetic form of UmN as a source of bias, but introduces one related to EuaNm. Its nature may be perceived by regarding TME as a function of a regression line relating energy excreted (EE) to energy ingested that has been corrected for UmN energetic bias and is pivoting on a fulcrum vertically aligned with the position of ZNB on the GE (x) axis. The regression line rotates anti-clockwise in response to ZNB correction by an amount equal to the magnitude of EuaNm measured on the EE (y) axis from the point of interception. 6. The study identified processes that may be employed to remove bias and improve precision of TME.


This article provides new information on the creole Filipino, Fr. Pedro Pablo Pelaez, who, together with Fr. Jose Burgos, was the most outstanding clergyman in the nineteenth-century Philippines. It discusses Father Pelaez's previously unknown activities in the cabildo of the Manila Cathedral, where he was its most distinguished member. It analyzes his reformist ideas, and explains his work and strategy to defend the Filipino secular clergy, whose rights were being violated by the royal orders of 1848 and 1861. Against the reactionary religious orders, Pelaez had a detailed modus operandi to defend the legitimacy of native priests' control of parishes. Although his activities were cut short by his unexpected death in the earthquake of June 1863, Pelaez served as an inspiration to be emulated.


The rigorous calculation of electromagnetic properties of periodic meshes using moment methods requires considerable algebraic work and computer resources. In this paper, a number of easy to use approximation techniques for analyzing thin structures with square, rectangular, and circular holes are presented. Formulas for the effective impedante of these meshes are described which can easily take into account oblique incidence and the presence of a dielectric substrate. In addition, techniques for analyzing more complex-shaped apertures such as a cross are discussed. These methods are more accurate than existing approximation techniques and can be applied to a wide range of situations that could not be handled before.


We studied effect of A. indica and W. somnifera crude extracts against the multi-drug resistant strains (MDR) and synergistic activity of A. indica and W. somnifera crude extracts on MDR strains (Agar well diffusion method). Both aqueous as well as alcoholic extracts of the plant (root as well as leaves) were found to possess strong antibacterial activity against a range of bacteria. Combination exhibited excellent synergy. The aqueous extract and ethanolic extract of A. indicaand W. somnifera exhibited very good synergistic activity against the MDR strain. Extracts were examined for its free radical scavenging activity by DPPH assay. IC50 value was found that 68.75 μg/ml (ethanolic extract) and 74.83 μg/ml (aqueous extract) of A. indica and 94.28 μg/ml (ethanolic extract) and 88.79 μg/ml (aqueous extract) of W. somnifera, which is significant when compared to solution of Ascorbic acid 50.58 μg/ml. Reducing ability of the crude extracts of Azadirachta indica (aqueous and ethanolic extract) and W. somnifera (aqueous and ethanolic extract), which is significant when compared to the standard butylatedhydroxy toluene (BHT). Results obtained from this study suggests that A. indica and W. somnifera (aqueous and ethanolic) extracts may be attractive for the 'drug hunters' as a potential agent for the management of infectious diseases against the human pathogens.


Post-pandemic health strategies will be critical to hotel success. Guests' expectations regarding sanitation, cleanliness, safety, and health continue to rise. As a mitigation plan, hotel preparedness is essential to ensure guest satisfaction. Still, few studies examine the relationship between preparedness and guest satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to determine the effect of preparedness on guest satisfaction and assess the preparedness's importance and performance on guest satisfaction in Bandung. The mid-scale hotel category was chosen as the unit of study since it contains the majority of hotels in Bandung. This quantitative cross-sectional study was undertaken. The data was gathered using a questionnaire survey of respondents who had stayed in the mid-scale hotel in Bandung during the pandemic. The data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) PLS and Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA). According to the research findings, hotel preparedness has a synergic effect on guest satisfaction. Preparedness is a process, not a product, and each practice cannot be attained separately but must be integrated to ensure guest satisfaction. This research contributes that implementing crisis management through preparedness has an essential role in guest satisfaction; practically, hotels are expected to focus on cleanliness quality and strengthen human resources by enhancing employee competencies since they have the highest level of importance in reducing the risk of COVID-19.
Keywords— COVID-19, Guest Satisfaction, Mid-Scale Hotel, Preparedness


The mechanism by which judges make their decisions is one of the mysteries of the legal world. This raises the natural query whether the mechanism by which arbitrators make their decisions is the same or different from that of the judges. That mechanism is the same in the abstract, but different in practice. This article analyses the reasons for such differences.


The Southern Cone of the Americas, although geographically remote, had evolved in the 1920s and 1930s into a vital arena for architectural and urban ideas. For European visitors expecting a tabula rasa on which their visions and dreams could be explored, this proved to be a fiction when they encountered sophisticated local schemes and ambitions. This essay provides a look at the urban discourse in Buenos Aires and Rosario that coalesced around the presence of two international urbanists representing distinct positions: Le Corbusier and Werner Hegemann. Consideration is given to the cultural and social ambient. A historical overview of urban development and a discussion of the complex politics in the area are beyond the scope of this study.


Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) is often carried out at low temperatures to utilize the high spin polarization of the radical electrons at these temperatures. We have observed that in the absence of microwave irradiation and radical a transient negative polarization is observed for the methyl signals of acetone and DMSO. We suggest that this polarization arises from rotational tunneling levels in this system. For samples dissolved in these solvents, we see a diminished polarization with a microwave frequency of omegae - omegaN compared to omegae + omegaN, and we relate the two effects due to constructive/destructive interference with proton spin diffusion and spin symmetry diffusion mediating the intermolecular transfer of polarization. Perdeuteration of the solvents acts to nullify this effect. Awareness of this additional factor in the temperature jump DNP experiment allows improved experiment design and polarization of samples which have otherwise proven virtually impossible.


Creative teaching is an art form - aesthetic, intuitive and expressive. The recent proliferation of new educational policies and the related increase in tensions and dilemmas facing schools, combined with the growing demand for a wider range of skills and knowledge among children mean that there is an even greater need for creative teaching than before the National Curriculum.

This book addresses this need by:

* exploring the features of creative teaching with a focus on the day to day practice of primary teachers

* showing how teachers use emotion, create atmosphere and stimulate imagination to enhance their teaching

* examining the ways in which teachers have managed the National Curriculum and developed a new professional discourse in response to government pressures

This book is a sequel to Creative Teachers in Primary Schools (Open University Press 1995) and builds upon this work to provide new insights into the art of teaching.


Background: The association and potential role of the protein hormone adiponectin in autoimmune diseases causing musculoskeletal disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), are controversial. Conflicting results may arise from the influences of confounding factors linked to genetic backgrounds, disease stage, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and patients' metabolic characteristics. Here, we examined serum level of adiponectin and its relationship with disease activity score 28 with erythrocytes sedimentation rate (DAS28[ESR]) and Sharp score in a treatment-naïve Han Chinese RA population.Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 125 RA patients. Serum level of total adiponectin was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Other important clinical and laboratory parameters were collected from the hospital database. DAS28(ESR) was calculated according to the equation previously published. Sharp score was evaluated based on hands radiographs by an independent radiologist. The correlation between serum adiponectin level and DAS28(ESR) or the Sharp score was investigated by univariable and multivariable regression analyses. Multiple imputation by chained equations was used to account for missing data.Results: Univariable analyses showed significant positive correlation between DAS28(ESR) and age or C-Reactive Protein (CRP) (both p = 0.003), while serum adiponectin level was negatively correlated with DAS28(ESR) (p = 0.015). The negative correlation between adiponectin level and DAS28(ESR) remained true in multivariable analyses adjusted for confounders. In addition, the univariable analyses revealed positively correlations of Sharp score to disease duration (p < 0.001), CRP (p = 0.023) and ESR (p < 0.001). In the multivariable model adjusted for confounders, adiponectin was negatively correlated with Sharp score (p = 0.044).Conclusion: In this single-institution cross-sectional study, serum adiponectin level in treatment-naive RA patients is negatively correlated with DAS28(ESR) and the Sharp score after adjustment for prominent identified confounders. Serum adiponectin may be potentially useful for assessing disease activity and radiographic progression of RA.


The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) intends to measure a single dominant factor representing global self-esteem. However, several studies have identified some form of multidimensionality for the RSES. Therefore, we examined the factor structure of the RSES with a fixed-effects meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach including 113 independent samples (N = 140,671). A confirmatory bifactor model with specific factors for positively and negatively worded items and a general self-esteem factor fitted best. However, the general factor captured most of the explained common variance in the RSES, whereas the specific factors accounted for less than 15%. The general factor loadings were invariant across samples from the United States and other highly individualistic countries, but lower for less individualistic countries. Thus, although the RSES essentially represents a unidimensional scale, cross-cultural comparisons might not be justified because the cultural background of the respondents affects the interpretation of the items.


: Effects of culture density on expressivity of character eyeless and polyteny of giant chromosomes were studied in Drosophila melanogaster. Larval crowding was shown to significantly reduce eye facets. The expression of eyeless was sex-dependent: in females, this character was expressed more strongly than in males. Larval crowding resulted in a decrease of chromosome polyteny in larval salivary glands. A strong negative correlation was established between the expressivity of eyeless and the degree of giant chromosome polyteny.


In languages with distributed heap data structures, the type system typically conveys only coarse locality information: whether a reference is local or possibly remote. Often, of interest to the optimizing compiler or the user is a more fine-grain information, such as whether two remote references point to objects in the same partition of the distributed heap. This paper proposes a dependent type system, called place types, to capture such fine-grain locality information. The type of each reference identifies the heap partition, called a place, that the reference points to. This type system is expressive enough to statically type several commonly used distributed data structures. It also accommodates a "dynamic" type when no suitable static type exists. We show how to embed this type system as type annotations in the X10 programming language. We also present a type inference algorithm for saving programmers from the burden of inserting type annotations. The type inference has been inspired by the use of type inference in functional programming languages such as ML. We have implemented the type inference algorithm in the X10 compiler. Experiments with small programs, but with the full set the relevant language features, have been successful in automatically finding the expected place types in these programs.


High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) originates in the fallopian tube epithelium and is characterized by ubiquitous TP53 mutation and extensive chromosomal instability (CIN). While the direct causes of CIN are errors during DNA replication and/or chromosome segregation, mutations in genes encoding DNA replication and mitotic factors are rare in HGSOC. Thus, the drivers of CIN remain undefined. We therefore asked whether the oncogenic lesions that are frequently observed in HGSOC are capable of driving CIN via indirect mechanisms. To address this question, we genetically manipulated non-transformed hTERT-immortalized human fallopian tube epithelial cells to model homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) and oncogenic signalling in HGSOC. Using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing, we sequentially mutagenized the tumour suppressors TP53 and BRCA1, followed by overexpression of the MYC oncogene. Single-cell shallow-depth whole-genome sequencing revealed that loss of p53 function was sufficient to lead to the emergence of heterogenous karyotypes harbouring whole chromosome and chromosome arm aneuploidies, a phenomenon exacerbated by subsequent loss of BRCA1 function. In addition, whole-genome doubling events were observed in independent p53/BRCA1-deficient subclones. Global transcriptomics showed that TP53 mutation was also sufficient to deregulate gene expression modules involved in cell cycle commitment, DNA replication, G2/M checkpoint control and mitotic spindle function, suggesting that p53-deficiency induces cell cycle distortions that could precipitate CIN. Again, loss of BRCA1 function and MYC overexpression exacerbated these patterns of transcriptional deregulation. Thus, our observations support a model whereby the initial loss of the key tumour suppressor TP53 is sufficient to deregulate gene expression networks governing multiple cell cycle controls, and that this in turn is sufficient to drive CIN in pre-malignant fallopian tube epithelial cells. SUMMARY STATEMENT High-grade serous ovarian cancer is defined by TP53 mutation and chromosomal instability, the cause of which remains poorly understood. We developed a novel model system that implicates cell cycle deregulation upon p53-loss as cause of CIN.


Type I restriction enzymes comprise three subunits only one of which, the S polypeptide, dictates the specificity of the DNA sequence recognized. Recombination between two different hsdS genes, SP and SB, led to the isolation of a system, SQ, which had a different specificity from that of either parent. The finding that the nucleotide sequence recognized by SQ is a hybrid containing components from both the SP and SB target sequences suggested that DNA recognition is carried out by two separable domains within each specificity polypeptide. To test this we have made the recombinant gene of reciprocal structure and demonstrate that it encodes a polypeptide whose recognition sequence, deduced In vivo, is as predicted by this model. We also report the sequence of the SB specificity gene, so that information is now available for the five known members of this family of enzymes. Ali show a similar organization of conserved and variable regions. Comparisons of the predicted amino acid sequences reveal large non‐conserved areas which may not even be structurally similar. This is remarkable since these different S subunits are functionally identical, except for the specificity with respect to the DNA sequence with which they interact. We discuss the correlation of the variation in polypeptide sequence with recognition specificities.


Among the numerous processes that will cause anomalous temperature distributions in geologic basins is the spatial redistribution of heat by moving ground water. This problem is examined by solving the energy equation for the simultaneous transport of water by hydraulic gradients and heat by forced convection. The factors that affect the temperature distribution in a given basin include the intrinsic properties of the medium and contained fluid—namely, the thermal diffusivity of the solid-fluid complex and the hydraulic conductivity, the water-table configuration, and the ratio of basin depth to basin length. The severity of an anomalous geothermal gradient or temperature measurement depends primarily on the relative magnitude of the ratio of hydraulic conductivity to thermal diffusivity, and on the geometry of the flow field. A dimensionless group may be formulated from these parameters, and provides a relative measure of the simultaneous transport of heat by the bulk motion of the fluid to that by pure conduction. Solutions to the equation itself indicate that convective heat losses in ground-water recharge areas are balanced by convective heat gains in discharge areas. The geothermal gradient accordingly increases with increasing depth in recharge areas, decreases with increasing depth in discharge areas, and is a manifestation of pure conduction at the hinge line separating areas of recharge and discharge.


I read with interest the study of a diet for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) based on serum IgG levels to foods ( Gut 2004; 53 :1459–64).

In rigorous elimination diet studies, about one third of IBS patients are found not to have food intolerance.1–3 Yet it appears that everyone tested for food specific IgG in this study had some positive reactions and was therefore subjected to dietary recommendations. This does not in itself suggest that serum IgG is a particularly useful test.

One notable finding of this study appears to be that 87% of patients gave a high level of IgG to yeast. In two large scale studies of IBS using diagnostic elimination diets, the percentages who had a symptomatic reaction to yeast when challenged were 5.5% (out of 73 unselected IBS patients)1 and 12% (out of 122 unselected IBS patients).2 It seems unlikely that yeast causes IBS symptoms in 87% of patients in Manchester but in only 5–12% of patients in Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire. A logical implication is that high levels of IgG against yeast do not, in themselves, reveal anything significant in relation to IBS symptoms.

The same, in my view, would follow for several other foods. The numbers of patients with positive responses to eggs, cow's milk, and cashew nuts, as judged by IgG levels, are much higher than one would expect from empirical dietary studies,1,2 while the …


Connectivity is a fundamental property in many networked systems for communication and coordination among the agents. Removal of any agent from a network may destroy its connectivity. In order to maintain the connectivity of mobile networked systems in agent loss, one can design a robust network topology such that the network is tolerant to a finite number of agent losses, and/or develop a control strategy, such that the network reconfigures itself until the connectivity requirements are satisfied. In this paper, we introduce a decentralized control scheme based on a sequence of replacements, each of which occurs between an agent and one of its neighbors. The proposed scheme always maintains the graph connectivity, and it does not rely on any gathering of global information either a priori or at the intermediate steps of a mission. Moreover, the proposed scheme does not cause any increase in the total number of edges and the maximum node degree in a graph, thus it assures no increase in the overall communication cost due to the topological changes. In this study, we validate the control strategy by means of an analytical proof and simulation results.


Xiang-qi-tang (XQT) is a Chinese herbal formula containing rhizoma Cyperi, Andrographis paniculata and Astragalus membranaceus. The present study investigated the effects of XQT on the mortality and inflammatory mediators in a chicken model challenged with avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC). To detect the effect of XQT, the chickens were pretreated with the formula 12 h before being challenged with 10(8) colony forming unit (CFU) of APEC. The results showed that 0.6 g/kg XQT significantly elevated the survival rate of infected chickens. To further investigate the mechanism of decreasing mortality of XQT, we examined plasma inflammatory mediator levels. The levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 (IL-1) and soluble endothelial protein C receptor (sEPCR) were significantly increased in chickens challenged with APEC alone, whereas chickens pretreated with 0.6 g/kg XQT showed marked decrease of these inflammatory mediator levels during the death peak. Taken together, this study demonstrates that XQT has protective effects in APEC-treated chickens. The action mechanisms of XQT involve anti-inflammation and antithrombotic activity. These findings may contribute to future research on the action mechanisms of this formula, as well as prevention of or therapy for avian colibacillosis.


LRR‐containing proteins are present in over 2000 proteins from viruses to eukaryotes. Most LRRs are 20–30 amino acids long, and the repeat number ranges from 2 to 42. The known structures of 14 LRR proteins, each containing 4–17 repeats, have revealed that the LRR domains fold into a horseshoe (or arc) shape with a parallel β‐sheet on the concave face and with various secondary structures, including α‐helix, 310‐helix, and pII helix on the convex face. We developed simple methods to charactere quantitatively the arc shape of LRR and then applied them to all known LRR proteins. A quantity of 2Rsin(φ/2), in which R and φ are the radii of the LRR arc and the rotation angle about the central axis per repeating unit, respectively, is highly conserved in all the LRR proteins regardless of a large variety of repeat number and the radius of the LRR arc. The radii of the LRR arc with β‐α structural units are smaller than those with β‐310 or β‐pII units. The concave face of the LRR β‐sheet forms a surface analogous to a part of a Möbius strip. Proteins 2004;54:000–000. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


The mode structure of supercontinuum emission generated by femtosecond pulses of Ti:sapphire laser radiation in microstructure fibres is studied. The long-wavelength (720 — 900 nm) and visible (400 — 600 nm) parts of supercontinuum are shown to be emitted in spectrally separable isolated spatial modes. These spectrally sliced single modes of supercontinuum emission possess a high spatial quality, verified by efficient nonlinear-optical frequency conversion.


Optimal gene replacement protocols would include both inhibition of the endogenous gene and overexpression of the preferred (or mutant) gene. We have developed a novel gene transfer method to test whether antisense-resistant genes (designed by deletion of antisense RNA target sequences) can replace the function of endogenous genes. Immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that inducible anti-fos RNA (antisense directed against the c-fos gene) reduces endogenous c-fos expression by 90%, but did not affect the transfected antisense-resistant mutant c-fos genes. Cell growth studies demonstrated that full-length and minimally truncated c-fos expression vectors could restore serum-induced DNA synthesis but that C-terminally truncated Fos mutants including FBR v-fos could not. Transcriptional studies demonstrate that the endogenous c-fos protein contributes to AP-1 activity and normally suppresses regulated SRE (serum response element) activity. This "gene transplant" method for inhibition of endogenous genes and replacement with preferred genes has implications for gene therapy of hereditary hematologic disorders and for the correction or "repair" of oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes in leukemias and lymphomas.


Precision Farming merges the new technologies borne of the information age with a mature agricultural industry. It is an integrated crop management system that attempts to match the kind & amount of inputs with the actual crop needs for small areas within a farm fields. This study is basically based on the secondary data and it is a review paper. As it is a review paper so, there was less opportunity to follow any specific method in preparing this paper. Valuable information has been collected through internet browsing, journals etc. In this paper, we examine that, GPS, GIS, VRT, profitability, yield mapping etc. are most common precision agriculture techniques where, GIS can help in site-specific applications of fertilizers and soil amendments and help effectively detect and map black fly infestations, making it possible to achieve precision in pest control. Remote sensing combined with GIS and GPS can help in site-specific weed management. From the review we observed that, the global adoption of yield monitors has been predominated in North-America and Europe. The precision technologies have been used on a wider variety of crops in Denmark and UK than in the US. In Bangladesh, precision agriculture has great prospect as our country is highly natural calamity sensitive and through it we can easily take measure to prevent our agricultural products from damage caused by natural calamities. Though, precision agriculture is very costly but the benefit from it is more than its cost for most of the developing countries. So, the precision agriculture has great prospect in Bangladesh as well as in the world and it is the utmost time to adopt this technology in our traditional agriculture. Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.3(1): 1-14, April 2016


The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway blockers and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors have dramatically improved the treatment options and outcome for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, because the vast majority of patients will still succumb to their disease, novel treatment approaches are still necessary. Efforts to identify novel therapeutic target treatments are focused on better understanding unique aspects of tumor cell biology guided the Cancer Genome Atlas analyses and the interaction of the tumor with its microenvironment. Areas of promising investigation include a) the identification of mechanisms of acquired resistance to VEGF pathway inhibition and developing agents targeting these in combination with VEGF receptor (VEGFR) pathway blockade; b) the identification of novel therapeutic targets, particularly for patients with VEGF pathway blocker refractory disease; and c) the development of novel immunotherapies, particularly those involving checkpoint inhibitors used alone or in combination with other immunotherapies of VEGF pathway blockers. Specific targets or agents of interest include angiopoietins (trebaninib), c-Met (cabozantinib), activin receptor-like kinase-1 (ALK-1; dalantercept), interleukin (IL)-8, and HDM2 for acquired resistance to VEGF pathway inhibition; hypoxia inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2 alpha), TORC1/2, and the Hippo pathway for novel targets, and PD1 and PDL1 antibodies given either alone or in combination with other checkpoint inhibitors, other immunotherapies, or VEGF pathway blockers for novel immunotherapies. In addition, the application of genetic, immunologic, or other biomarkers developed in the context of this research has the potential to select patients with specific tumor types for therapy targeted to specific vulnerabilities within the tumor or tumor microenvironment. Together, these developments should enable the transition to a new era of rational and more effective therapy for patients with advanced RCC.


The induction furnaces are loads having high power and nonlinear characteristic. The power consumption depends on the stage of melting metal in its interior and can cause serious problems on the electric power distribution systems, such as voltage fluctuations, voltage sags, current harmonics and voltage distortion. Thus, this paper presents the modeling and computational simulation of a six-pulse induction furnace, in order to contribute in power quality studies and connection disturbing loads in electrical power systems. The model of the induction furnace was implemented in PSIM software and used for analysis and evaluation of the potential impacts due to the connection of the induction furnace on the electrical power system, as well as the power quality. Furthermore, an analysis of the power quantities of IEEE 1459 standard are presented.


Evaluation of growing media for vegetable seedlings. An agronomic evaluation of vegetable seedlings under greenhouse conditions was made at the Fabio Baudrit Moreno Agricultural Research Station, Alajuela, Costa Rica, from April 12th to May 7th. The selected vegetables tomato, cucumber, broccoli and lettuce were established in plastic containers filled with different growing media. When the plants achieved transplant conditions, vigor values, germination, plant development and adobe quality were evaluated. The substrates that allowed the best tomato, cucumber and broccoli plant development were Juan Vinas compost, earthworm castings + Juan Vinas compost + rice hulk, and Juan Vinas compost + rice hulk. Substrates partially composted of Gmelina arborea sawdust + soil + rice hulk, and peat moss + perlite, were good substrates for the lettuce. The partially composted Gmelina arborea sawdust + coconut coir + bagasse ashes, Juan Vinas compost + partially composted Gmelina arborea sawdust + rice hulk; and sugar cane bagasse + partially composted Gmelina arborea sawdust + Juan Vinas compost substrates provided excellent adobe quality, although plant development lacked vigour. The substrates fermented soil, coconut coir, commercial substrate 2, and sugar cane bagasse + coconut coir + pumice were the worst growing media, constraining plant growth.


Chinese astronomy differed from that of the Western world in two important respects: (a) it was polar and equatorial rather than planetary and ecliptic, (b) it was an activity of the bureaucratic state rather than of priests or independent scholars. Both features had advantages and disadvantages; the first led to the mechanization of celestial models long before the West, but deferred recognition of equinoctial precession till later. The second ensured remarkable sets of celestial observations antedating most of those recorded elsewhere, but discouraged causal speculation, especially in the absence of Euclidean deductive geometry. In cosmology, China developed three doctrines: (a) the Kai Thien universe, a domical geocentrism not unlike early Babylonian ideas, (b) the Hun Thien universe, essentially the recognition of the primary celestial spherical coordinates, and (c) the Hsiian Yeh system, which accepted the Hun Thien as methodologically necessary but viewed the heavenly bodies as lights of unknown nature floating in infinite empty space. Instrumentation developed early, armillary rings being in use by the end of the — 2nd century and the complete armillary sphere by the end of the + 1st.


During pulmonary development, Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) signalling both contribute to branching morphogenesis. In interstitial lung disease, the complex alveolar structure of the lung is disrupted and remodelled, which leads to fibrosis, loss of respiratory surface, morbidity, and mortality. It is well documented that TGF‐β1 is involved in fibrosis. However, little is known about Shh signalling in damaged epithelia. This study examined whether or not components of the Shh signalling pathway, as well as TGF‐β1, are expressed in human fibrotic lung disease (cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis and bronchiectasis) and in murine experimental models of fibrotic and non‐fibrotic chronic pulmonary inflammation. Using immunohistochemistry, it was observed that Shh, like TGF‐β1, is up‐regulated in epithelial cells at sites of fibrotic disease but not non‐fibrotic inflammation. The Shh receptor patched was detected in infiltrating mononuclear cells and alveolar macrophages, as well as normal resting peripheral blood T lymphocytes. Neither Shh nor patched is expressed by hyperproliferative goblet cells in inflammatory epithelium. This study demonstrates that patched is present in human peripheral CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes at both protein and mRNA levels. Taken together, these results suggest that components of the highly conserved Shh signalling pathway may play a role in the remodelling of damaged pulmonary epithelium and that damaged epithelium and cells of the immune system may communicate via this pathway. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Currently, vector control is used for speed control of trains because induction motor has high performance is installed in Electric railroad systems. Also, control of the induction motor is possible through various methods by developing inverters and control theory. Presently, rolling stocks which use the induction motor are possible to brake trains by using AC motor. Therefore model of motor block and induction motor is needed to adapt various methods. There is Variable Voltage Variable Frequency (VVVF) as the control method of the induction motor. The torque and speed is controlled in the VVVF. The propulsion system model in the electric railroad has many sub-systems. So, the analysis of performance of the speed control is very complex. In this paper, simulation models are suggested by using Matlab/Simulink in the speed control characteristic. On the basis of the simulation models, the response to disturbance input is analyzed about the load. Also, the current, speed and flux control model are proposed to analyze the speed control characteristic in the train propulsion system.


This paper presents our latest investigation on Densely Connected Convolutional Networks (DenseNets) for acoustic modelling (AM) in automatic speech recognition. DenseN-ets are very deep, compact convolutional neural networks, which have demonstrated incredible improvements over the state-of-the-art results on several data sets in computer vision. Our experimental results show that DenseNet can be used for AM significantly outperforming other neural-based models such as DNNs, CNNs, VGGs. Furthermore, results on Wall Street Journal revealed that with only a half of the training data DenseNet was able to outperform other models trained with the full data set by a large margin.


Time series models have been utilized to make accurate predictions in production. This paper employs a 3 year
period of aviation fuel production data of Turkey as experimental data set. To forecast the aviation fuel
production amounts, fuzzy time series forecasting based on difference parameters and two-factor time-variant
fuzzy time series models are used and the results have been compared in this study. Based on the comparison
results in the case of aviation fuel production, we conclude that both of the fuzzy time series models have
advantages and disadvantages in use.


Cue reactivity is an important biomarker of cannabis use disorder (CUD). Despite high rates of cigarette and cannabis co‐use, its role in cannabis cue reactivity remains unclear. Using a visual functional magnetic resonance imaging cue reactivity paradigm, we investigated interactive effects of cannabis and cigarette use on cannabis cue relative to cigarette and neutral cue reactivity in a priori regions of interest—the amygdala, striatum, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), ventral tegmental area (VTA), and orbitofrontal cortex—and a whole‐brain analysis. In our sample of cannabis users and controls closely matched on cigarette use, significant interactions between cannabis and cigarette use status emerged in the amygdala, striatum, ACC, frontal pole, and inferior frontal gyrus. Cannabis‐only users showed heightened cue reactivity in the amygdala compared with nonusing controls. Co‐users did not show heightened cue reactivity compared with cigarette smoking controls, although cue‐induced VTA activity was positively correlated with grams per week of cannabis. Cigarette smoking controls showed unexpectedly heightened cue reactivity compared to co‐users and nonsmoking controls. These findings and the high prevalence of cannabis and cigarette co‐use underscore the importance of considering cigarette smoking status when investigating the role of cue reactivity in heavy cannabis use.


This paper investigates the extent to which stocks of Building materials firms listed in Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are a hedge against the expected and unexpected inflation in Nigeria over the period 2000?2011. Unexpected inflation is computed as the difference between the actual inflation and the estimates of the expected inflation. The study used real rate of return on equity and regression analysis to find the stocks that provide positive real return and offer inflation-hedging potentials respectively. The findings revealed that in terms of real return based on shareholders? funds and total return to equity, all the firms were not susceptible to adverse effect of inflation but when based on dividend yield all the firms offered no significant hedge against inflation.


In this timely book, Sven Rudolph and Elena Aydos take an interdisciplinary approach that combines sustainability economics, political economy, and legal concepts to answer two fundamental questions: How can carbon markets be designed to be effective, efficient and just at the same time? And how can the political barriers to sustainable carbon markets be overcome? The authors advance existing theoretical frameworks and examine empirical data from various real-life emissions trading schemes, identifying strategies and policy windows for implementing truly sustainable ETS.


Handling Editor: Craig White Abstract 1. Body size is associated with many aspects of the life history, ecology and physiology of animals. Within a species, body size can vary substantially across space and time, and the mechanisms generating these patterns have been the focus of evolutionary and ecology research. 2. Bergmann's rule predicts a negative relationship between body size and temperature across the geographic range of endothermic animals; larger animals have a lower surface to volume ratio, which would allow for greater heat conservation. Despite the broad support for this pattern, its underlying mechanisms are heavily debated. Numerous alternative explanations have been proposed to explain why larger animals are found in colder climates and vice versa, including heat dissipation, environmental seasonality and resource availability. 3. We used the Pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus, as a model to evaluate Bergmannian size patterns and the relative support for major explanatory hypotheses of geographic body size variation. We tested the hypothesis that geographic size variation is predicted by productivity, as opposed to seasonality, heat conservation or dissipation, or some combination of these processes. Additionally, we investigated the potential ecomorphological consequences of size variation in Pallid bats by determining if skull shape (an indicator of bite performance) varies with size. 4. Whereas we did find that Pallid bat populations in northern latitudes are composed of larger individuals, our results suggest that net primary productivity and, to a lesser extent heat conservation, best explain size variation throughout the western range of this species. We also found that skull shape in Pallid bats changes in tandem with skull size, with larger bats having cranial traits associated with greater bite force production. 5. The results of our study indicate that variation in resource availability may be a key factor underlying spatial patterns in size, morphology and, possibly, feeding performance within wide-ranging bat species.


Summary During the 10-year period 1986–1995, Getech undertook five gravity and five magnetic continental-scale data-compilation projects funded by the oil and mineral industries. The projects significantly improved the resolution of the gravity and magnetic fields over most of the continental land areas to provide new geophysical exploration tools of 5-minute (∼ 10-km) grids for gravity and 1-km grids for magnetic data. The databases were designed to help evaluate the regional nature and extent of sedimentary basins and how they relate to plate-tectonic processes. The five projects discussed here were challenging and involved complex negotiations with Russian and Chinese authorities as well as encouraging oil companies to sponsor and open their archives to release long-forgotten data sets into the studies. This article examines how these studies came about, how they evolved with new data-processing methods and technologies, and how the projects tend to be open-ended.


Sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) are incessant non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade in both intra and extra-African trade. New SPS measures are now set up in the African Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) that amalgamate three existing regional economic communities (RECs): The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the South African Development Community (SADC), and the East African Community (EAC).
This article compares and contrasts the SPS measures obligations as set out in Annex 15 of the TFTA to the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). Additionally, the application of 'abusive SPS measures based on minority science' as non-tariff trade barriers to both internal and external African trade especially on agricultural products is analysed. An increase in transparency and accountability in the formulation of NTBs monitoring mechanisms in the COMESA, SADC, and EAC would address this ever present problem. The TFTA in Annex 15 is a case of SPS-Minus as it has a number of serious shortcomings including the lack of important obligations of sufficient risk assessment, non-discrimination, equivalence, the precautionary principle, and specific reference to consultations and dispute settlement. Notwithstanding these omissions, the TFTA has the potential for great achievement in the curbing of NTBs generally and unjustified SPS measures specifically because of the monitoring, transparency, and harmonisation obligations. If the Tripartite mandate, however, turns out to be like most other 'loose' integration efforts in Africa, then there is reason to believe that the NTB monitoring and reporting mechanism is not going to bear much fruit.


Although ionizing radiation is strongest factor linked to multiple myeloma, increased myeloma risk has not been fully explained after pelvic radiation. Pleural involvement of MM is also rare. We present a MM case with pleural involvement as an unusual presentation diagnosed in fifth years of pelvic radiotherapy. A sixty-two-year-old woman with dyspnea and a mass in forehead was admitted to our clinic. Before five year, the patient had received pelvic external beam radiotherapy (RT) with dose of 40 Gy for endometrial adenocarcinoma. PET/CT scan detected FDG uptakes in frontal bone, right pleura, and sacrum. Lambda light chain type multiple myeloma with pleural involvement was diagnosed with histopathological examinations of frontal bone mass, bone marrow, and pleural fluid and with serum/urine electroforesis. The patient died in second course of VAD chemotherapy. Although relation between increased myeloma risk and pelvic radiation is not clear and pleural involvement is rare, multiple myeloma should be included to the differential diagnosis in patients received pelvic radiotherapy or in unexplained pleural effusion.


This article focuses on Eginald Schlattner's novel Rote Handschuhe (2001). Upon its publication, the author claimed to have written it in an attempt to reconcile with former friends whose lives, similarly to his, had been dramatically altered by events taking place in the late 1950s in communist Romania—events which involved all of them and the Romanian secret police, Securitate. While through the writing of the novel Schlattner recognizes he was at fault in the unfolding of events, I claim that certain stylistic choices prevent his work from being a true mea culpa document. After a summary of the novel, my analysis centers on Schlattner's style followed by a discussion of its reception in the German-language press in Europe. (CLP; in German)


The main focus of the study was to analyze trends and variability of wheat crop in Pakistan. Semi-log trend model was used to find trends and growth rate in area, yield and production of wheat crop whereas the variability was measured by Cuddy-Della Valle index of variability. The findings of the study illustrate that wheat area in Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan was increased over the time whereas cultivated area of wheat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was marginally decreased during 1981-85 to 2011-15. The results show that there was substantial increase in wheat yield and production in all four provinces of Pakistan. The increase in wheat yield may due to the adoption of new varieties of wheat in the country over the time. It was also concluded from the results that area and yield of wheat in Baluchistan recorded the highest degree of variability whereas in Punjab province area and yield of wheat crop were noticed the lowest degree of variability. Similarly, the maximum variability in wheat production was recorded for Baluchistan province followed by Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab. Mostly the variability in wheat production was due to the variability in wheat area and their yield.


Today's era of science in which everyone is busy to get luxurious life style, here the people of India have not much knowledge about actual effect of this plant. Today normally Mansoa alliacea (Lam.) used in many part of the world, but this plant is also found in Chattishgarh in India. Lahsun Bel or Jangali Lahsun are a very important folk medicine in India. Mansoa alliacea (Lam.) is an important drug is not namely mentioned in the traditional medicinal texts. It is a very efficacious plant remedy for the pain and inflammatory conditions like arthritis and rheumatism as well as it also can be used in cold, flu and fever. Generally leaves are used in form of infusion or decoction. Roots are used in the preparation of cold maceration and tincture andgenerally taken as a whole body tonic. The plant has antibacterial,anti-cholesterolemic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-rheumatic, antispasmodic, antitussive and antiviral used traditionally. Whole part of Jangali Lahsun or Lahsun Bel are used for medicinal purpose. Pharmacognostic study or phytochemical investigation of these leaves has not been performed yet. The present work deals with the qualitative phytochemical evaluation of the leaf of Mansoa alliacea (Lam.) and establishment of its quality parameters.


I had in mind calling attention to certain recent developments in cancer research. As it would be impossible, however, in the limits of this paper, to outline the advances made in so extensive a field, I shall attempt to appraise the value of certain new discoveries, without attempting sweeping generalizations, in the belief that this will prove more profitable than a more general survey of the subject. Perhaps the more important problems in cancer research center in the so-called parasitic theory. In the past there has been intense and at some times almost bitter controversy over the tenability of this theory. To-day, however, through the discoveries of filterable viruses causing different types of sarcoma in chickens, we may assume that the parasitic hypothesis is at last justified. When it has been determined that one genuine neoplasm is caused by a viable agent or organism, those who have contended for the


Apoptosis has been proposed as a mechanism responsible for T cell depletion in HIV-1 infection. In the present study we have phenotyped apoptotic T cells in tonsillar lymphoid tissue from 11 HIV-1-infected patients by flow cytometry light-scatter characteristics during 48 weeks of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). We found that the decline in tonsillar viral load was associated with a decrease in the proportion of apoptotic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. CD4 cell apoptosis was predominantly seen within the memory CD28+ Fas+ FasL+ population. The increased level of apoptotic CD8+ T cells was found among activated Fas+ memory cells irrespective of CD28 and FasL expression. These T cell subsets were expanded in untreated infection, but normalized with therapy. We conclude that HIV-1 triggers FasL-mediated apoptosis of uninfected CD4+ T cells, whereas CD8+ T cell apoptosis is driven by chronic immune activation. Virus suppression reverses both of these mechanisms, contributing to immune reconstitution during HAART.


We derive the action for a massive tensor multiplet coupled to chiral and vector multiplets as it can appear in orientifold compactifications of type IIB string theory. We compute the potential of the theory and show its consistency with the corresponding Kaluza‐Klein reduction of N = 1 orientifold compactifications. The potential contains an explicit mass term for the scalar in the tensor multiplet which does not arise from eliminating an auxiliary field. A dual action with an additional massive vector multiplet is derived at the level of superfields.


Introduction: Combination of Anterior Glenohumeral Dislocation with Ipsilateral Shaft humerus fracture is an rare co-occurrence and guidelines of its management are lacking. It is a rare opportunity for orthopaedic surgeon to observe simultaneous shoulder dislocation with ipsilateral humeral shaft fracture. There has been a total of around twenty cases reported since 1940. Case presentation: A case of elderly female with medical co-morbidities who sustained this injury while working in wheat farms. She presented with complaints of pain and swelling in right arm with inability to move right arm. She was diagnosed as a case of ipsilateral fracture of proximal humerus with anterior glenohumeral dislocation. She was successfully treated with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) for fracture shaft humerus with long proximal humerus locking plate, because of proximal extension of long oblique fracture line using standard delto-pectoral approach with anterolateral distal extension of surgical approach after visualising radial nerve. Following fixation of shaft, close reduction was carried out for anterior shoulder dislocation under image intensifier. Patient was put on regular physiotherapy and follow up at 4 weekly interval for a period of 3 months and subsequently bimonthly interval upto 1 year. Patient achieved near normal and pain- free range of motion at 1 year. Conclusion: Anterior Glenohumeral Dislocation with Ipsilateral Shaft humerus fracture, can be easily missed clinically in obese patients. Close reduction is possible after attaining adequate lever arm by fixing shaft followed by attempt to reduce dislocation. Meticulous surgical technique coupled with dedicated and supervised physiotherapy is essential to bring out good functional outcome.


One of the solutions to the shortages of social workers in England has been to employ social workers on a temporary or locum basis, often these social workers are called agency social workers as their contract of employment is with a employment agency rather than the social work employer. This paper explores the background to the use of agency social workers in the current context of government efforts to reduce the expenditure of public sector employers on agency staff. Data were collected through interviews with 40 social workers working with adults in England, in three diverse local authority settings; spanning those social workers whose careers in social work were in their early years; those with that were experienced and third group who while experienced and specialist were considering possible retirement or career moves. The aim of the interviews was to investigate motivations and experiences around this type of social work employment. The findings of the interviews are presented, with illustrations of 'push and pull' factors around agency working. The article concludes that agency working presents opportunities for social workers that may be within the power of social work employers to foster more generally, such as ways to minimise 'office politics' and to provide greater variety of work.


A blood test for 10 protein biomarkers in people with mild cognitive impairment can predict who will develop Alzheimer's disease over the following year with a high degree of accuracy, a new study has claimed.1

Abdul Hye, lead author and a researcher at King's College, London, said, "There are thousands of proteins in the blood, and this study is the culmination of many years' work identifying which ones are clinically relevant. We now have a set of 10 proteins that can predict whether someone with early symptoms of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment, will develop Alzheimer's disease within a year, with a high level of accuracy."2

The secretary of state for health, Jeremy Hunt, released a statement saying, "This is welcome research on …


A precast concrete deck system is considered an effective alternative in terms of its rapid construction and quality assurance than cast-in-place concrete deck. In precast concrete deck system, structural performance and serviceability are mostly determined by the connection methods between the precast decks. This research proposes more improved precast deck system with asymmetric ribbed connection details improving the disadvantage of previous precast deck system such as difficulties in assembling precast decks. And in this precast deck system, a separate form is not required at the site because partition wall of the precast decks serves as a form when placing non-shrinkage mortar in the connection part of the precast decks. Therefore, rapid construction is possible. Flexural performance is verified through load tests considering main parameter such as rib length in the precast deck connection. From the test results, it can be inferred that the development of the rebar and prevention of adhesion failure in the partition wall of the precast deck system are important factors in securing the flexural performance. Although the structural performance of the precast deck system with asymmetric connection details is gradually reduced as the rib length in the precast deck connection increases, the proposed precast deck system shows sufficient flexural performance and can be applied to the connection part of precast decks effectively.


This report presents a case of lethal invasive mucormycosis, a rare fungal infection, which predominantly affects immunocompromised patients, and is reported in a 57-year-old female who presented with cerebral abscess. The patient, who had undiagnosed diabetes mellitus, presented with extensive right hemifacial deficiency of the bones and soft tissues consequent to surgical resection of the ethmoid-spheno-maxillo-orbital district after mucormycosis. A reconstruction with a pectoral pedunculated flap was performed. The maxillary swelling extended to the contiguous area, involving the palate and homolateral orbital floor. Mucous and cutaneous samples showed the presence of Aspergillus fumigatus, and diagnosis of rhinocerebral mucormycosis was made. The patients also presented with a right hemiplegia consequent to a cerebral abscess by Eikenella corrodens. The authors decided to position an intraoral prosthesis to restore palatal integrity and masticatory function and inserted four titanium fixtures for the retention of the bone-anchored facial prosthesis.


The Central European panic of the spring 1931 is often presented as a cause of the sterling crisis of September. But what was the transmission channel? This article explores how the continent's financial troubles affected Britain's banking system. The freeze of Central European assets created a liquidity strain for London merchant banks because they had accepted (guaranteed) the commercial bills of German merchants. I use new balance sheet data to quantify this shock and explore how the liquidity crisis contributed to the sterling crisis. The evidence demonstrates that international contagion was crucial in transmitting the 1931 global financial crisis.


Cassava brown streak disease is caused by two devastating viruses, Cassava brown streak virus (CBSV) and Ugandan cassava brown streak virus (UCBSV) which are frequently found infecting cassava, one of sub-Saharan Africa's most important staple food crops. Each year these viruses cause losses of up to $100 million USD and can leave entire families without their primary food source, for an entire year. Twelve new whole genomes, including seven of CBSV and five of UCBSV were uncovered in this research, doubling the genomic sequences available in the public domain for these viruses. These new sequences disprove the assumption that the viruses are limited by agro-ecological zones, show that current diagnostic primers are insufficient to provide confident diagnosis of these viruses and give rise to the possibility that there may be as many as four distinct species of virus. Utilizing NGS sequencing technologies and proper phylogenetic practices will rapidly increase the solution to sustainable cassava production.


Downstream vortex generators that involve a pair of rectangular plates arranged in an open V shape placed just downstream of each film-cooling hole was shown to create vortical structures that entrain lifted film-cooling flow back to the surface and increase its lateral spreading on the surface (GT2020-14317). In this study, computations and measurements were performed to examine the flow mechanisms this vortex generator induces to improve film-cooling effectiveness of a flat plate with the cooling flow emanating from one row of inclined holes. Parameters studied include blowing ratio (BR = 0.75 and 1.0) and temperature ratio (TR = 1.07 and 1.9). The computational study is based on steady RANS closed by the shear-stress transport (SST) turbulence model with and without conjugate analysis. The experimental study was conducted by using a conjugate heat transfer test rig with a plenum, where cooling flow is introduced. Measurements made include velocity and temperature profiles upstream and downstream of the film-cooling holes as well as temperature at several locations on the hot and cold sides of the film-cooled-flat plate. The computational study was validated by comparing computed results with those from measurements at BR = 0.75 and 1.0 and TR = 1.9. Computational and experimental results are presented to show the effects of BR and TR on the flow structures and how those structures improve the effectiveness of film cooling with and without the downstream vortex generators and with and without conjugate heat transfer.


The discharge of organic pollutants poses a serious threat to public health and the environment. Developing new strategies and materials to remove organic pollutants from water efficiently and completely is of great importance. Herein, a SnS2 -modified porous β-cyclodextrin-containing polymer (SnS2 @PCDP), which was derived by nucleophilic aromatic substitution of the hydroxyl groups of both β-CD and SnS2 -OH by tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile, was prepared for the rapid, complete removal of organic pollutants from water . The porous structure and well-defined cavities of β-CD endow SnS2 @PCDP with a facile and high adsorption capacity, and the modification with SnS2 leads to simultaneous adsorption and photodegradation processes for the rapid and complete removal of organic pollutants. In addition, SnS2 @PCDP can be regenerated several times using light irradiation with no loss in performance. Overall, the efficient removal performance and excellent reusability indicate that SnS2 @PCDP has potential for practical applications in the efficient treatment of organic pollutants.


In the present study an attempt has been made to highlight the various business activities and marketing of product by Tharu tribal people. The development of human resources in the tribal areas is the most important element in the rapid industrialisation and is an adjunct of the much needed occupational diversification so as to relieve pressure on land in tribal areas. The study area lies in the Nighasan Tahsil of Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh. The study area comprises of 41 villages. The study covers all the 144 respondents who were involved in any kind of entrepreneurial activity in the study area. The respondents were engaged in various type of business activities but were not aware of all the organised marketing strategies.


Background: Prophylactic migraine therapy includes beta-blockers, anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants and calcium channel modulators. These drugs have been serendipitously identified as agents capable of migraine control. In order to reduce drug intake, interactions and potential adverse events, patients who have high blood pressure and migraine are often prescribed beta-blockers or calcium channel antagonists. Patients with epilepsy and migraine can use anticonvulsants, those with depression and migraine can be treat with antidepressants, and those with heart arrhythmia or recurrent vertigo and concomitant migraine can benefit from use of calcium channel antagonists. The beneficial effects of vitamin K or thrombin inhibitors on migraine attacks were first described decades ago, and there may be a place for these drugs in migraine prophylaxis. Objective: To investigate the potential beneficial effects of this class of anticoagulants regarding prevention of migraine attacks. Method: Systematic review of the literature including papers with patients' results. Results: A search of the literature yielded 16 papers with data on patients using inhibitors of vitamin K or thrombin for thromboembolic conditions. Articles typically reported on single cases or small case series. In all but one of these reports, the effect of the drug was remarkable in decreasing migraine severity. Conclusion: Although the level of recommendation is low due to the lack of proper clinical trials, vitamin K or thrombin inhibitors may be useful for migraine management in patients who also require anticoagulation. For these individuals, use of this class of anticoagulants could avoid adding extra drugs for migraine management.


We experimentally study the formation and evolution of threads containing more viscous liquids surrounded by less viscous, immiscible liquids through hydrodynamic focusing in square microchannels. Over a large range of viscosities and interfacial tensions, five characteristic regimes of flow behavior are identified: threading, jetting, dripping, tubing, and displacement. We locate the boundaries between these regimes on a flow map based on the capillary number of each fluid. In the jetting and the dripping regimes, the droplet size is measured and related to fluid properties, flow parameters, and geometry. The critical thread length before jetting droplets and the critical length of a viscous tail before breakup in dripping are also examined. This study classifies and defines regimes of thread instabilities that can be used to produce supra- and subchannel size viscous droplets in an elementary microfluidic geometry.


Reading comprehension was assessed in 1974 and again in 1979 for 1,664 hearing-impaired students enrolled in special education programs across the United States. The Special Edition for Hearing Impaired Students of the 1973 Stanford Achievement Test, an adaptation of the regular edition of the Stanford but with identical items and subtest structure, was used to assess students' achievement both years. The major research question concerned the relative importance for achievement growth of the most salient handicapping characteristics of the population (specifically, the degree of hearing loss and the presence of any additional, educationally significant handicaps) compared with basic student demographic characteristics, such as race, age, and sex. A repeated-measures statistical analysis' of the data indicated that the growth in reading achievement of the typical hearing-impaired student over a 5-year period was approximately one-third that of the average hearing student. In addition, degree of hearing loss, age, and racial background had significant effects on reading-comprehension growth.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the short-term therapeutic efficacy of integrated traditional and Western medicine (ITWM) in treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in III and IV phase.

METHODS
Adopting the prospective, multi-centered, randomized and controlled method for clinical research, 324 patients who conformed to the enrolling standard were divided by ratio of 1:1:1 into the Chinese medicine (CM) group (n= 99), the ITWM group (n 03) and the Western medicine (WM) (n=92) group. The excluded or dropping off cases were 10 in CM, 6 in ITWM and 14 in WM. Clinical trials were conducted in 6 hospitals and 3 months of treatment was taken as one therapeutic course. The main observation indexes were tumor size, Karnofsky scores, body weight, adverse reaction, etc.

RESULTS
The total effective rate of tumor remission in the 3 groups was 4.0%, 26.2%, and 14.1%, respectively, statistical significance was shown in the difference among them (chi = 21.72, P = 0.000 < 0.017). The total tumor stabilization rate was 66.7 , 81.6%, and 76.1 , respectively, by rectification test, no significance was shown in difference among them (chi2 = 6.052, P = 0.049 > 0.017). Karnofsky scoring showed that after 90 days of treatment, Karnofsky score raised in the CM and ITWM group, but lowered in the WM group, paired t-test showed significant difference in the ITWM group before and after treatment. The Karnofsky score in IWTM was higher than that in CM and WM with significant difference (H = 10.572, P = 0.000 < 0.05). The patients' body weight in the 3 groups were all reduced. The reduction in the CM and ITWM group was lower than that in WM group, among which, significant difference was shown in CM and WM group when compared with the same group before treatment (P < 0.05). The effect in the ITWM and CM group was better than that in WM group in aspects of improving such tumor related symptoms as cough, short breath, anorexia, fatigue, etc. Observation of adverse reaction showed that lesser hemotoxicity of III and IV grade appeared in the CM and ITWM group than that in the WM group, and significant difference was shown in counts of white blood cells, granulocytes, platelets hemoglobin, etc. among the 3 groups (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION
ITWM therapy showed better short-term efficacy in treating patients with NSCLC than CM or WM alone, showing the superiority of ITWM therapy. It can be adopted as an effective therapeutic program with low-toxicity.


The pathogenicity and diagnostic methods were standardized for Ganoderma disease of coconut. The pathogenicity of Ganoderma lucidum isolated from coconut was tested using six types of inoculation techniques. Two diagnostic methods, viz. indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were applied for the confirmation of pathogenicity in coconut seedlings. Polyclonal antibodies (PAbs) were raised against mycelial, basidiocarp and specific proteins of Ganoderma and used for detection of Ganoderma in inoculated seedlings through indirect ELISA technique. All the three PAbs could detect Ganoderma in diseased coconut root tissues in early stage of the disease before symptom expression by indirect – ELISA at the antiserum dilution of 1 : 1000 for mycelial protein, 1 : 700 for Ganoderma specific protein and 1 : 3000 for basidiocarp protein. Low cross-reactions were observed with saprophytic fungi occurring in coconut roots and also with other basidiomycetous fungi. In PCR, primers Gan1 and Gan2 generated from internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA were used the detection that produced a product of 167-bp size in Ganoderma infected plants. In the present investigation, spawn inoculum responded earlier within 8 weeks compared with other methods of inoculation as expressed by OD value in ELISA test. This was also confirmed by PCR technique. The combination of these two diagnostic methods for detection of Ganoderma infection was highly reliable, rapid and sensitive.