Abstract : In an irregular sea, waves having different wave numbers interact nonlinearly, giving rise to long waves at the difference frequency and wavenumber. The long waves are associated with motions that have large characteristics time and space scales. The method of multiple scales in time and in space, in conjunction with perturbation expansions, enables us to separate the flow into components for the general case when there are wave-trains propagating in different directions. In particular, it is of great interest to study the effect of modification of the short waves by diffraction, refraction, reflection and radiation. Using the method of matched asymptotics we determine the long-wave, that consists of forced waves travelling with the short-wave groups and of an additional wave that propagates away from the 'zone of modification' at the long-wave velocity (gh) to the 1/2 power. The resulting theory has a wide range of applications. We have studied the following problems: (a) Slow sway of a moored floating body in water of finite depth; (b) Wave trapping on a shelf; and (c) Excitation of interfacial waves in the lee of a breakwater. The present method of analysis, and in particular the multiple scales expansion, proves to be a useful tool in studying modulation and nonlinearity in several aspects at wave propagation, and can be extended to the study of a heretofore unexplored aspect of harbor resonance.


The presence of associated incisional and groin hernias is relatively rare and it represents an important problem in surgical treatment. The authors here report their experience of three patients treated with no reabsorbable prostheses placed according to Rives' technique for incisional hernias, and according to Stoppa's for inguinal hernias.


New cathode materials will lead to technological advances for implantable cardioverter defibrillators, ICDs, such as reduced size and increased performance of the device. While the industry standard silver vanadium oxide Ag2V4O11 exhibits great chemical/electrochemical stability, dense silver oxide fluoride materials are advantageous because of high crystal density that can result in an increased capacity above 3 V. This report highlights the reactivity at room temperature between Ag2O and V2O5 in an aqueous HF solution which affords a rapid precipitation of sub-micrometer sized Ag4V2O6F2 (SVOF), a high capacity Li-battery cathode material. This system opens new and novel synthetic strategies in the design of new oxide fluoride materials.


Public-Private Partnership has been high on the agenda of public decision makers since the 1990's. Primarily a contractual approach to the delivery of infrastructures, goods and services traditionally provided by the public sector or by private operators submitted to tight regulation, PPP is also a very special contractual practice as it seeks to introduce market-type relationships in a context in which non-market forces play a major role. An important consequence is the overlapping of decision rights as well as property rights, which exposes PPP to a double alignment problem, organizational and institutional. Away from the ideological controversies about the legitimacy of PPP in provisioning public goods, this chapter focuses on problems rooted in the very nature of PPPs and the actual design of their supportive contracts, as well as in the institutions in which they are embedded and that define the capacity to implement and monitor these arrangements properly.


Investigating and explaining the patterns of learners' engagement in adaptive learning conditions is a core issue towards improving the quality of personalized learning services. This article collects learner data from multiple sources during an adaptive learning activity, and employs a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) approach to shed light to learners' engagement patterns, with respect to their learning performance. Specifically, this article measures and codes learners' engagement by fusing and compiling clickstreams (e.g., response time), physiological data (e.g., eye-tracking, electroencephalography, electrodermal activity), and survey data (e.g., goal-orientation) to determine what configurations of those data explain when learners can attain high or medium/low learning performance. For the evaluation of the approach, an empirical study with 32 undergraduates was conducted. The analysis revealed six configurations that explain learners' high performance and three that explain learners' medium/low performance, driven by engagement measures coming from the multimodal data. Since fsQCA explains the outcome of interest itself, rather than its variance, these findings advance our understanding on the combined effect of the multiple indicators of engagement on learners' performance. Limitations and potential implications of the findings are also discussed.


The problem of persistence of typical preoperative symptoms after cholecystectomy for supposed cholecystic disease is well known and extremely perplexing. Probably because their cause is not known, a voluminous literature containing many conflicting theories on the subject has appeared. The symptom complex has been given many names, best known of which are biliary dyskinesia, 1 biliary dyssynergia and postcholecystectomy syndrome. The purpose of this study was to survey an obscure aspect of the problem, namely, the role played by a remnant of the cystic duct and the effect of its removal. The material was obtained from a review of 44 cases in which operation was performed at the Mayo Clinic in the years 1910 to 1940 inclusive because of persistence of symptoms after cholecystectomy. These are, of course, only a small proportion of the cases in which exploratory operation was performed for such symptoms in that period, but in each


In recent years Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been found to be have extraordinary effects on the properties of composite structures. Generally the most desired properties for composites are toughness and hardness and recently a number of studies have focused on the enhancement of interfacial bonding between composite fibres and polymer matrix material in order to increase the mechanical properties of the final laminate This paper reports on two different techniques for the coating of traditional carbon fabrics with nanotubes to enhance the interaction between constituent fibre yarns. In the first technique CNTs were dispersed in a range of solvents via ultrasonic mixing and then either sputtered onto the fibres using a modified spray-gun or alternatively applied to the fibres using a pipette. A second batch of solutions was prepared dispersing CNTs in the same solvents with the addition of Gum Arabic to the formulation. The use of Gum Arabic leads to the creation of a continuous film, which allows nanotubes to completely cover the fabric surfaces and to bridge larger gaps between the fibre yarns. In addition, Gum Arabic is able to exfoliate and stabilizes the nanotubes in solution increasing their shelf-life.


A hemorrhagic aortopulmonary artery sheath (HAPS) is an infrequent and critical complication of aortic dissection (AD), which is caused by a hematoma extending through the ruptured aortic wall into the aortopulmonary artery sheath. The adventitial hematoma might narrow or even occlude the lumen of the pulmonary arteries and extend into the pulmonary interstitium and alveoli. The prompt and accurate recognition of HAPS on computed tomography (CT) is crucial and might assist in the diagnosis of unidentifiable AD. HAPS was manifested as high attenuation areas surrounded the pulmonary arteries without enhancement on CT; even thickened bronchovascular sheath and ground-glass consolidations surrounded bronchovascular distribution, which might be associated with the prognosis. Aggressive and effective surgical treatment is the primary determinant of short-term survival.


OBJECTIVE
Mechanical ventilation is thought to increase the risk of nosocomial pneumonia by permitting leakage of bacteria-laden gastro-oropharyngeal secretions into the upper airways. The goal of this study was (a) to validate radiographic signs of pooled secretions above endotracheal-tube cuffs (supracuff liquid) in an animal model and (b) to determine whether suctionable pooled supracuff liquid can be identified on bedside radiographs of intubated patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Diagnostic criteria for supracuff liquid were initially validated by three radiologists interpreting 162 randomized radiographs made in an intubated sheep cadaver. The primary criteria included (a) replacement of the normal supracuff lucency with liquid opacity and (b) the formation of a sharp interface between the lucency of the upper edge of the cuff below and the liquid above. Graded infusions of 0, 3, 8, 13, and 23 ml of saline were made in triplicate into the space above the cuff, and radiographs were evaluated for the presence or absence of saline. The validated diagnostic criteria were used by two radiologists to estimate the frequency with which pooled liquid was seen on portable chest radiographs of 47 patients undergoing elective short-term postanesthetic mechanical ventilation.

RESULTS
In the sheep-cadaver model, the diagnostic criteria for supracuff liquid allowed successful differentiation between no liquid, a small amount of liquid (3-8 ml), and a large amount of liquid (13-23 ml; c2, p < .0001). In a clinical study, radiographic signs of supracuff liquid were identified in 57% of 47 patients. In a small subset of patients (n = 18), the estimated liquid volume (mean +/- SEM) was calculated to be 7.8 +/- 1.1 ml (range = 2.1-18.4 ml).

CONCLUSIONS
Radiography is a sensitive means of identifying small volumes of supracuff liquid above the inflated cuffs of endotracheal tubes. Potentially contaminating liquid pooled above the cuff of an endotracheal tube can be identified in about half of patients undergoing short-term mechanical ventilation. Our results suggest the suction of the supracuff space may be a reasonable prophylactic maneuver against nosocomial pneumonia. A much larger study is suggested to investigate the actual relation between pooled supracuff liquid and the development of nosocomial pneumonia.


Nitrous acid (HONO) is an important radical precursor that can impact secondary pollutant levels, especially in urban environments. Due to uncertainties in its heterogeneous formation mechanisms, models often under predict HONO concentrations. A number of heterogeneous sources at the ground have been proposed but there is no consensus about which play a significant role in the urban boundary layer. We present a new one‐dimensional chemistry and transport model which performs surface chemistry based on molecular collisions and chemical conversion, allowing us to add detailed HONO formation chemistry at the ground. We conducted model runs for the 2010 CalNex campaign, finding good agreement with observations for key species such as O3, NOx, and HOx. With the ground sources implemented, the model captures the diurnal and vertical profile of the HONO observations. Primary HOx production from HONO photolysis is 2–3 times more important than O3 or HCHO photolysis at mid‐day, below 10 m. The HONO concentration, and its contribution to HOx, decreases quickly with altitude. Heterogeneous chemistry at the ground provided a HONO source of 2.5 × 1011 molecules cm−2 s−1 during the day and 5 × 1010 molecules cm−2 s−1 at night. The night time source was dominated by NO2 hydrolysis. During the day, photolysis of surface HNO3/nitrate contributed 45%–60% and photo‐enhanced conversion of NO2 contributed 20%–45%. Sensitivity studies addressing the uncertainties in both photolytic mechanisms show that, while the relative contribution of either source can vary, HNO3/nitrate is required to produce a surface HONO source that is strong enough to explain observations.


Increased levels of complexity in today's business world has seen a shift towards consultative sales environments where the customer evaluation of the salesperson is a key factor in success. Despite widespread acknowledgement of the important role this customer perspective plays sales performance research has traditionally focused on the salesperson perspective. While the extant literature has seen a move to a more customer orientated approach, the need still exists to better understand customer perception across the continual sales interaction.
A contextual conceptualisation of customer perceived sales performance as success in social interaction and a qualitative case study methodology to support the illumination of this phenomenon in its natural contemporary setting are presented. Perceptions of warmth and competence universally recognized as predictors of success in social interaction are proposed performance indicators and are considered through the Stereotype Content Model.
With a focus on star performers within a single organisation, the application of a multiple perspective interview design and template analysis strategy illuminates a comprehensive model of customer perception in relational interfirm buyer-seller interaction. This model highlights customer behavioural and emotive responses to perceptive warmth and competence combinations. In addition star performer behaviours and the role that their emotional and social competencies play in the generation, maintenance, balance and reinforcement of warmth and competence perception are illuminated. This makes relevant customer perception insight for the purpose of effective selection and development practice in consultative selling contexts.
The contribution of this model extends work on the Stereotype Content Model beyond its traditional transactional application. Through its application in a relational context it has illuminated the role of relationship interdependency in the reversal of the primacy warmth judgement in comparative person perception and reveals the role of emotional and social competencies as influencers of impression management specific to the unique compensation effect that exists between the dimensions of warmth and competence.
Key Words: Warmth, Competence, Stereotype Content, Person Perception, Relational, Sales Performance, Customer Orientation, Emotional and Social Competencies, Qualitative Case Study


OBJECTIVE
We report a group of nine patients with atypical, nonneoplastic intramedullary spinal cord lesions. By retrospectively reviewing these patients, we hoped to elucidate characteristics that would identify these patients as harboring nonneoplastic lesions before surgical intervention.

METHODS
We reviewed the histological findings of 212 patients undergoing surgery for intramedullary spinal cord tumors between 1989 and 1994. We identified nine patients with nonneoplastic lesions (4%); case histories and radiographs were reviewed.

RESULTS
All patients were evaluated preoperatively using magnetic resonance imaging. The extent of enhancement with gadolinium varied from homogeneous enhancement to no enhancement. All lesions showed marked T2 changes. There was a lack of significant spinal cord expansion associated with the lesions in all cases. All patients underwent surgery. The histology of the surgical specimens showed demyelinating lesions in four patients, sarcoidosis in two patients, amyloid angiopathy in two patients, and a mass of nonneoplastic inflammatory cells of unknown origin in one patient.

CONCLUSION
Although it was difficult to antecedently distinguish these lesions from neoplastic spinal cord tumors by case history and physical examination, the most consistent clue was absent or minimal spinal cord expansion on the preoperative magnetic resonance images.


Recommended multidimensional models for talent selection are difficult to implement for practitioners in the field. Furthermore, their application has not been established from a scientific point of view, with a lack of clarity concerning how to integrate manifold test results with respect to loading, interaction, and compensation phenomena. Consequently, the question of powerful single predictors for future player status are still of interest within talent research in order to determine promising content for less extensive selection procedures. The aim of the current study is an immediate comparison of the prognostic validity of two frequently used areas within talent selection in youth football: general motor performance (e.g., speed and endurance) and specific motor performance (i.e., technical skills). Participants completed four general and four specific motor performance tests at early adolescence (U13/U14, 133 players) and middle adolescence (U16/U17, 85 players). The area under the curve (AUC) from the receiver operating characteristic was used to compare the prognostic validity of both motor performance areas (predicting U20 player status: professional vs. non-professional). Although no comparison at the four different age levels led to a significant difference (.07 ≤ p ≤ .65), there was a continuous superiority of specific over general motor performance in descriptive AUC values. These descriptive differences reached relevant extent within early adolescence (ΔAUCU13 = .09; ΔAUCU14 =.14) and were partially accounted for by the influence of biological maturation. In line with theoretical considerations and earlier research, these results provide further evidence of the superiority of specific over general motor performance in predicting future player status. Until the applicability of multidimensional models is further established, specific motor performance rather than general performance should be included in less extensive talent selection models, especially in early adolescence.


We report a method for determination of vanillylmandelic acid,vanhllactic acid,andhomovanillic acid by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), with coulometric electrochemical detection, for mass screening of neuroblastoma. Urine samples were collected on filter paper, dried, and then pretreated. The chromatographic procedure is reliable and fast, allowing for a large sample throughput for routine screening. Intricate extraction procedures and centrifugal separation are unnecessary. Screening for neuroblastoma by HPLC is rapidly gaining acceptance in Japan, and our method is being used at many screening centers. Of 26 571 infants screened in one year in Yokohama City, our method detected five with neuroblastoma.


This paper aims to calculate the optimal operation of offshore wind farms (OWF) working with wind turbines based on doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) technologies, and with a high-voltage dc transmission connection. The objective of the optimization problem is to maximize the active power output of the arrangement, while considering certain factors, i.e., the restrictions imposed by the available wind power, the capability curve of the DFIG, the dc-link model, and the operative conditions. The accomplishment of this aim implies setting, adjusting, and operating the system under study in order to produce a reliable and cost-efficient electric energy supply. A realistic simulation test case is performed to evaluate the proposed method, and the optimal operation analysis takes into account different wind speeds and high-voltage dc-link lengths. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed method, demonstrating the advantages of using the reactive control performed by the DFIG to manage the operational requirements of the dc link.


Background BRCA1 is a pivotal tumor suppressor. Its dysfunction is known to play a role in different tumor entities. Among others, BRCA1 germline mutations account for higher risk and more aggressive course of prostate cancer (PCa). In addition, somatic BRCA1 gene loss was demonstrated to be a signature of PCa dissemination to regional lymph nodes and peripheral blood, and indicate worse clinical outcome. In order to substantiate the data for BRCA1 gene loss in PCa and to reveal its phenotypical background, BRCA1 gene status was assessed in a large cohort of PCa patients and compared to different molecular factors. Methods BRCA1 gene dosage was assessed in 2398 tumor samples from 1199 PCa patients using fluorescent in situ hybridization. It was compared to clinic-pathological parameters, patients' outcome as well as selected proteins (Ki-67, apoptosis marker, cytokeratins, vimentin, E- and N-cadherin, ALDH1 and EGFR) examined by immunohistcohemistry. Results BRCA1 losses were found in 10%, whereas gains appeared in 7% of 603 informative PCa patients. BRCA1 losses correlated to higher T status (p=0.027), Gleason score (p=0.039), shorter time to biochemical recurrence in patients with Gleason score >7 independently of other factors (multivariate analysis, p=0.005) as well as expression of proteins regulating stemness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition i.e. ALDH1 (p=0.021) and EGFR (p=0.011), respectively. BRCA1 gains correlated to shorter time to metastasis (p=0.012) and expression of ALDH1 (p=0.014). Conclusions The presented results support the assumption that BRCA1 gene losses contribute to a progressive and stem cell-like phenotype of PCa. Furthermore, they reveal that also BRCA1 gain might mark more invasive tumors.


Retrospective studies have suggested that combination antibiotic therapy for severe bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia may reduce mortality. We assessed this issue in a prospective, multicenter, international observational study of 844 adult patients with bacteremia due to Streptococcus pneumoniae. The effect of combination antibiotic therapy versus monotherapy on mortality was examined by univariate analyses and by logistic regression models. The 14-day mortality was not significantly different for the two groups. However, among critically ill patients, combination antibiotic therapy was associated with lower 14-day mortality (23.4 versus 55.3%, p = 0.0015). This improvement in survival was independent of country of origin, intensive care unit support, class of antibiotics, or in vitro activity of the antibiotics prescribed. Combination antibiotic therapy improved survival among critically ill patients with bacteremic pneumococcal illness.


Scabies is a neglected tropical disease of the skin, causing severe itching and stigmatizing skin lesions. Further, scabies leads to impetigo, severe bacterial infections, and post-infectious complications. Around 200 million people are affected, particularly among disadvantaged populations living in crowded conditions in tropical areas. After almost 50 years, research into scabies control has shown great promise, particularly in highly-endemic island settings, but these findings have not been widely adopted. Newer approaches, utilizing ivermectin-based mass drug administration, appear feasible and highly effective. Inclusion of scabies in the WHO portfolio of neglected tropical diseases in 2017 may facilitate renewed opportunities and momentum toward global control. However, further operational research is needed to develop evidence-based strategies for control in a range of settings, and monitor their impact. Several enabling factors are required for successful implementation, including availability of affordable drug supply. Integration with existing health programs may provide a cost-effective approach to control.


Palygorskite clay has been investigated as low cost and ecofriendly adsorbent for the removal Basic Red 2(BR-2) from aqueous solution. Batch adsorption studies are carried out by observing effect of amount of adsorbent dose, contact time, pH, initial concentration of ( BR-2) and particle size of adsorbent on the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent were studied. Adsorption data fits the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The calculated value of the Langmuir parameter for adsorption capacity of the dye over the adsorbent is 200mg/g adsorbent. This study shows that natural clay is successfully used to remove the Safranin-O dye from aqueous solutions as alternative to activated carbon.


(illustrated by his account of the revolts of Civilis and of Boudicca, and by his observations on Parthian affairs). The work presents a valuable collection of material on subjects of the utmost importance. A good deal of space is naturally taken by summaries or expansions of Tacitus' narrative: this element is on occasions too full, as in the account of Agricola. The chief criticism to be made is that a general summary of the author's conclusions is lacking, though throughout the view is stressed and perhaps overstressed that Tacitus especially in his accounts of barbarian peoples lacks the objectivity which Walser seems to think he should show, and reflects strongly in narrative and speeches the rhetorical tendencies of his time. Any other clearly expressed conclusions are absent, and the reader is left with the impression that the whole is a piecemeal construction which does not really hang together. None the less it collects much useful detail, made readily available by three indexes.


1 The worldwide epidemic of obesity in adults has been mirrored in children in developed and developing countries. 2 Central obesity appears to be driving a cluster of abnormalities often referred to as the metabolic syndrome. 3 The definition of the metabolic syndrome in children is not suited to arbitrary cut‐offs and a definition using the significant clustering of risk factors that is already evident in childhood and adolescent populations may be preferable. 4 An Australian population study showed that 25% of 8‐year‐olds and 29% of 14‐year‐olds could be described by the high risk cluster with features similar to adult metabolic syndrome. 5 The high risk cluster was significantly linked to high and low birthweight, shorter duration of breast‐feeding, larger postnatal weight gains after 12 months of age and raised C‐reactive protein, gamma glutamyl transferase and alanine transaminase levels. At‐risk young adults have also been shown to have macroscopic atherosclerosis in post‐mortem studies. 6 Identification of at‐risk children has obvious benefits for the individual and as well, for prevention of a future cohort with raised cardiovascular morbidity and mortality; however, complexities and controversies exist in doing so. Familial, genetic and lifestyle risk factors aggregate and labelling children with predisease may be problematic. Committed political and societal changes are necessary to reduce childhood obesity and subsequent adult cardiovascular disease.


Cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases are major health threats in many developed countries. Recently, target tissues derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), such as cardiomyocytes (CMs) or neurons, have been actively mobilized for drug screening. Knowledge of drug toxicity and efficacy obtained using stem cell-derived tissues could parallel that obtained from human trials. Furthermore, iPSC disease models could be advantageous in the development of personalized medicine in various parts of disease sectors. To obtain the maximum benefit from iPSCs in disease modeling, researchers are now focusing on aging, maturation, and metabolism to recapitulate the pathological features seen in patients. Compared to pediatric disease modeling, adult-onset disease modeling with iPSCs requires proper maturation for full manifestation of pathological features. Herein, the success of iPSC technology, focusing on patient-specific drug treatment, maturation-based disease modeling, and alternative approaches to compensate for the current limitations of patient iPSC modeling, will be further discussed. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(5): 256-265]


John Tone recounts the dramatic story of how, between 1808 and 1814, Spanish peasants created and sustained the world's first guerrilla insurgency movement, thereby playing a major role in Napoleon's defeat in the Peninsula War. Focusing on the army of Francisco Mina, Tone offers new insights into the origins, motives, and successes of these first guerrilla forces by interpreting the conflict from the long-ignored perspective of the guerrillas themselves. Only months after Napoleon's invasion in 1807, Spain seemed ready to fall: its rulers were in prison or in exile, its armies were in complete disarray, and Madrid had been occupied. However, the Spanish people themselves, particularly the peasants of Navarre, proved unexpectedly resilient. In response to impending defeat, they formed makeshift governing juntas, raised new armies, and initiated a new kind of people's war of national liberation that came to be known as guerrilla warfare. Key to the peasants' success, says Tone, was the fact that they possessed both the material means and the motives to resist. The guerrillas were neither bandits nor selfless patriots but landowning peasants who fought to protect the old regime in Navarre and their established position within it. from the book: "That unfortunate war destroyed me; it divided my forces, multiplied my obligations, undermined my morale. . . . All the circumstances of my disasters are bound up in that fatal knot.--Napoleon Bonaparte on the Spanish war


Researchers for the connection between external signs of the human been and his character are made for first time in the Ancient East. In the Antic age these researches are defined in systematic type. The science which works for discovery of the characteristic features and definition of character of the researched object is the physiognomic. In 1824 is published the book of Ch. Bell "Anatomic and Philosophy of Expression as a connection with the painting Art". In the book he writes about the gestures and mimics. Part of the newer ideas in the researches ofnonverbal behavior are based on the ethology.


This study analyzed the testing case law comprehension by applying Genera Based Approach. Case law reading comprehension of Pakistani law students have been investigated by Ahmad (2009) by recording the stakeholders' perceptions using questionnaire as a tool. Through a different tool, i.e. test, the same problem is investigated in this research to check whether the findings correlate with the previous research. Taking insights from the review of literature and having consultations with the subject specialists, a test was designed. Data was analyzed quantitatively. The results revealed that the present research's findings match with the results of the previous research carried out through a different tool. This confirms that the problem investigated from different angles reveals the same result: poor case law reading comprehension. This reassures that there is a strong justification to implement a legal English course in institutions of legal education in Pakistan.


An experimental and theoretical description of ionization fronts propagating into hydrogen with a bias magnetic field in the plane of the front is presented. The experimental evidence showed that the absolute light intensity behind the front corresponds to a fully ionized plasma. The density ratio was obtained by measuring the magnitude of the current in the front, the front speed, and using the equation of mass and momentum. The front speeds are small compared to the Alfven velocity and are characterized by a critical velocity Uc, where Uc is the velocity a molecule must have so the kinetic energy equals the energy necessary to ionize it. A theory for the ionization front was developed which neglects the plasma pressure and abandons the condition E = V × B both ahead and behind the front. The theory predicts the front velocity and the rather unusual variation of the density ratio across the fronts with the front speed.


Renewable distributed energy resources (DERs) will play a large role in the future energy infrastructure because of advantages like lower carbon imprints, lower fuel costs, and reduced power flows on transmission lines. The unreliability of many renewable DERs due to the intermittent nature of their supply, especially in the case of solar and wind generators, can be mitigated with energy storage that brings a host of additional benefits including load leveling, frequency control, and power quality compensation. One barrier to adoption of these technologies is the need for interfaces between the different voltage levels and waveforms produced by the various systems. This paper, which is tutorial in nature, examines several possible interfaces presented in the literature and provides a comparison between their advantages and disadvantages.


Background: Endoscopic sinus surgery is mostly conducted for the removal of the inflammatory as well as infectious diseases of sinus and malignant or benign nasal, paranasal & nasopharyngeal pathologies. The various surgical approaches that have been used range from transpalatine to a lateral rhinotomy and to mid-facial degloving. Aim: To determine the outcome of mid-facial degloving approach facilitated with endoscope for nasal, paranasal and nasopharyngeal pathologies. Methods: Forty five patients that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. All the patients were then underwent surgery by the researcher along with a surgical team under general anesthesia by using Mid-facial degloving approach. The patients were followed - up on 3 & 6 months after the surgery and underwent clinical examination and endoscopic nasal examination to assess the complications, cosmetic outcome and recurrence after the procedure during the follow-up period. Data was entered & analyzed using SPSS v. 23. Results: Mean age of the patients in the sample was 25.47±10.52 years. There were 39(86.7%) male patients and 6(13.3%) female patients. Cosmetic outcome was excellent in 31(68.9%) cases, satisfactory in 12(26.7%) while 2(4.4%) variable comments about the cosmetic effects of the procedure. Bleeding was most common complication 3(6.7%), however recurrence occurred in 3(6.7%) cases. Conclusion: It is concluded that mid-facial degloving approach is a highly successful method for removal of nasal, paranasal or nasopharyngeal pathologies. Key words: Mid-facial degloving, endoscope, nasal, paranasal, nasopharyngeal, pathologies


This study tests the purported signal amplification capability of the glutamine synthetase (GS) regulatory cascade in Escherichia coli. Intracellular concentrations of the pivotal regulatory protein GlnB were modulated by varying expression of its gene (glnB). Neither glnB expression nor PII* (i.e. the sum of the concentration of the PII‐like proteins GlnB and GlnK) had control over the steady‐state adenylylation level of GS when cells were grown in the presence of ammonia, in which glnK is not activated. Following the removal of ammonia, the response coefficient of the transient deadenylylation rate of GS–AMP was again zero with respect to both glnB expression and PII* concentration. This was at wild‐type PII* levels. A 20% decrease in the PII* level resulted in the response coefficients increasing to 1, which was quite significant yet far from expected for zero‐order ultrasensitivity. The transient deadenylylation rate of GS–AMP after brief incubation with ammonia was also measured in cells grown in the absence of ammonia. Here, GlnK was present and both glnB expression and PII* lacked control throughout. Because at wild‐type levels of PII*, the molar ratio of PII*‐trimer/adenylyltransferase‐monomer was only slightly above 1, it is suggested that the absence of control by PII* is caused by saturation of adenylyltransferase by PII*. The difference in the control of deadenylylation by PII* under the two different growth conditions indicates that control of signal transduction is adjusted to the growth conditions of the cell. Adjustment of regulation rather than ultrasensitivity may be the function of signal transduction chains such as the GS cascade. We discuss how the subtle interplay between GlnB, its homologue GlnK and the adenylyltransferase may be responsible for the 'redundant', but quantitative, phenotype of GlnB.


Abstract : Human blood platelets play critical roles in normal hemostatic processes and pathologic conditions such as thrombosis (i.e. cardiovascular disease and stroke), vascular remodeling, inflammation, and wound repair. Despite the biological importance of platelets and their intact protein synthetic capabilities, remarkably little is known about platelet mRNAs. The pathogenesis of essential thrombocytosis (ET), a disease of platelet number and function, is poorly understood at the molecular level. The main goal of this project is to build on our preliminary data that suggests that patients with ET have distinct platelet transcript profiles that differ from those of normal platelets. The three main hypotheses to be tested are: (1) patients with ET have mRNA profiles that are distinct from those of normal controls; (2) these differences can be used to elucidate the molecular basis of ET; and (3) these differences can be used to differentiate ET from other causes of thrombocytosis (ET diagnostics). Completion of the specific aims as outlined below should (i) provide considerable insight into the molecular basis of ET, (ii) assist with molecular diagnostics, and (iii) help to devise rational approaches for pharmacological intervention.


The sex of the turtles is determined by the incubation temperature of the eggs during the mid-trimester of development. In green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), recent studies show that sex ratios are changing, producing a female-biased sex ratio within the population. We developed a novel continuous model to analyze the dynamics of the green sea turtle population longterm. We determine the safe operating space for the proportion of eggs that become male at which the population of green sea turtle can exist without going to extinction. When the proportion of male eggs leaves this range the overall turtles' population collapses. Additionally, we examined how temperature changes affect the sex ratios of the green sea turtle population.


To assess the reliability of dc energy measurement equipment on-board trains, a setup was developed to characterize current transducers under realistic operating conditions. The operating principle is based on a current ratio measurement technique. The reference sensor is a high-precision zero-flux current transducer in combination with a broadband high-precision current shunt. The influence of ac distortion on this reference sensor was found to be within a few parts in 106 using an initial version of the setup, in which ac distortion was applied through a separate winding. A revised version of the setup employs a programmable electronic load to apply dynamic currents up to 600 A. The setup was used to characterize a 100 $\mu \Omega $ high-current shunt resistor. The effect of dissipative heating on the dc transresistance error was around 0.03 %, with a settling time of about half an hour. The short-term intrinsic current dependence was also around 0.03 %. The effect of ac distortion was within a few parts in 106. The intrinsic current dependence and the onset of the heating effect were also observed when exposing the sensor to a dynamic current profile that was recorded during a trip between two successive underground train stations on Metro de Madrid. These results demonstrate that the setup described in this paper is very effective for characterizing dc current sensors for practical railway applications. Future work will concentrate on even more demanding current signals, such as chopped signals, and on other types of sensors and measurement systems.


Shenqi Fuzheng injection is extracted from the Chinese herbs Radix Astragali and Radix Codonopsis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of Shenqi Fuzheng injection in cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. Aged rats (20-22 months) were divided into three groups: sham, model, and treatment. Shenqi Fuzheng injection or saline (40 mL/kg) was injected into the tail vein daily for 1 week, after which a cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury model was established. Compared with model rats that received saline, rats in the treatment group had smaller infarct volumes, lower brain water and malondialdehyde content, lower brain Ca 2+ levels, lower activities of serum lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase, and higher superoxide dismutase activity. In addition, the treatment group showed less damage to the brain tissue ultrastructure and better neurological function. Our findings indicate that Shenqi Fuzheng injection exerts neuroprotective effects in aged rats with cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury, and that the underlying mechanism relies on oxygen free radical scavenging and inhibition of brain Ca 2+ accumulation.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of nucleos(t)ide analogues (NA) treatment and to assess the long-term outcomes, including survival, liver function improvement and virologic response, in patients with decompensated cirrhosis due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

METHODS
Patients with Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) scores more than or equal to 7, who had been treated with either lamivudine or other agents, but who were free of co-infection with other hepatitis virus were enrolled between January 2005 and December 2009. The study participants were subgrouped according to the antiviral drugs received or model for endstage liver disease (MELD) score for comparative analyses.Additionally, the 19 patients who were treated with NA for more than 5 years were investigated for changes in biochemical and virological indices, before and after the antiviral treatment.

RESULTS
A total of 166 patients (125 males; 89 e-negative) and 52 untreated healthy patients (as control) were analyzed.The cohort of patients receiving antiviral therapy had significantly better 5-year actuarial survival than the untreated patients (74.1% vs.34.9%, P less than 0.001). For patients with MELD score more than or equal to 18, actuarial survival was not significantly different between the two groups (P=0.073).

CONCLUSION
Antiviral therapy significantly increases survival and improves the clinical long-term outcome of patients with HBV-induced decompensated cirrhosis.Antiviral treatment should be initiated at an early stage to maximize benefit in the improvement of clinical status.


Repeated exposure to the acute pro-inflammatory environment that follows ovulation at the ovarian surface and distal fallopian tube over a woman's reproductive years may increase ovarian cancer risk. To address this, analyses included individual-level data from 558,709 naturally menopausal women across 20 prospective cohorts, among whom 3,246 developed invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (2045 serous, 319 endometrioid, 184 mucinous, 121 clear cell, 577 other/unknown). Cox models were used to estimate multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) between lifetime ovulatory cycles (LOC) and its components and ovarian cancer risk overall and by histotype. Women in the 90th percentile of LOC (>514 cycles) were almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer than women in the 10th percentile (<294) [HR (95% confidence interval): 1.92 (1.60-2.30)]. Risk increased 14% per five-year increase in LOC (60 cycles) [(1.10-1.17)]; this association remained after adjustment for LOC components: number of pregnancies and oral contraceptive use [1.08 (1.04-1.12)]. The association varied by histotype, with increased risk of serous [1.13 (1.09-1.17)], endometrioid [1.20 (1.10-1.32)], and clear cell [1.37 (1.18-1.58)], but not mucinous [0.99 (0.88-1.10), P-heterogeneity=0.01] tumors. Heterogeneity across histotypes was reduced [P-heterogeneity=0.15] with adjustment for LOC components [1.08 serous, 1.11 endometrioid, 1.26 clear cell, 0.94 mucinous]. Although the 10-year absolute risk of ovarian cancer is small, it roughly doubles as the number of LOC rises from ~300 to 500. The consistency and linearity of effects strongly support the hypothesis that each ovulation leads to small increases in the risk of most ovarian cancers, a risk which cumulates through life, suggesting this as an important area for identifying intervention strategies.


This edited volume on "Credit, Currency, or Derivatives: Instruments of Global Financial Stability or Crisis" contains original papers that examine various issues concerning the role, the structure and functioning of credit, currency and derivatives instruments and markets as they relate to financial crises. We stress the importance of the inter-linkages of these instruments and markets in promoting or hindering financial stability or crises as well as government policies, on a local and global level. The papers in this volume highlight various aspects of credit and currency instruments and markets, along with their interactions, for the stability of domestic and international financial systems. Particular emphasis is given on the failures of regulatory systems and their implications for systemic financial crises. Also, the papers analyze the costs of financial crises and explore the institutional and economic arrangements that could ameliorate the adverse effects of financial crises in advanced and emerging-market countries.


Primulina pseudomollifolia W.B. Xu & Yan Liu and P. multifida B. Pan & K.F. Chung from karst caves in Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region, China are described and illustrated as two new species. Their generic placement in the recently recircumscribed Primulina is supported by phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence nuclear ITS and chloroplast trnF-L intron spacer regions. Primulina pseudomollifolia is similar to P. mollifolia (D. Fang & W. T. Wang) J.M. Li & Y.Z. Wang in being densely pubescent on both blade surfaces, but differs in the base of its blades being cuneate to broadly cuneate, its 12-14 mm long white to pink corolla 8-9 mm long tubular corolla tube, 5-6 mm long filaments, 3 staminodes, and flowering from July to September. Primulina multifida resembles P. renifolia (D. Fang & D. H. Qin) J. M. Li & Y. Z. Wang, but differs in the blade margins being pinnatifid; its ovate to broadly ovate bracts, 3-4 × 1.5-2 mm, 5-7 mm long tubular corolla tube, 3-5 mm long filaments, 3 staminodes, linguiform stigma, and flowering from June to August.


In this brief, a split-capacitor correlated double sampling (SC-CDS) technique is proposed to improve the performance of CDS. Using the proposed technique, low-gain operational amplifiers (op-amps) can be employed to implement a low-power pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC). A power-efficient class-AB pseudodifferential op-amp and its corresponding integrator-based common-mode stabilization (IB-CMS) method are developed to further reduce the power consumption of the ADC. The proposed pipelined ADC fabricated in a pure digital 0.18-¿m 1P5M CMOS process consumes 18 mW at 60 MS/s from a 1.8-V power supply. The active die area is 0.84 mm2.


aspersions on Cush reflect the biases of the interpreter rather than the thinking of the ancient Israelites. He painfully admits that there are some references to Cush (Isa 43:3; 45:14; Dan 11:43) that value Cush less than Israel (though not by using "racialized" language) in order "to build the fragile self-esteem of [Israel]" (p. 84). Sadler provides fair presentations of scholarly interpretations that are in opposition to his own. The book is, of necessity, technical because it carefully examines issues of literary and proposed historical context. Hebrew is transcribed for critical texts, but translations are always pro\4ded for the non-specialist. Sometimes, Sadler tries a little too hard to excuse the probable prejudices of biblical authors. It is true that they were not racist or even racialized in modern terms, but they did have their own biases. It is unclear why he assumes that Num 12:1 contains a statement about race. There are a few minor errors in the book, such as when he places the Buba "clan" in the category of "tribe," but this is atypical of his scholarship. Sadler's goal is clearly to correct misconceptions about the profile of Cush in biblical literature, and he succeeds in this endeavor.


Abstract This study investigated concepts of inclusive education for pupils with autism in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Palestine. The "contextual collaborative enquiry" methodology was rooted in praxis, and drew on social learning theory and communities of practice to gather a community of researchers, parents and practitioners in Palestine to investigate understandings of autism educational practice in order to identify how to move practice forward. Through mixed methods, we interviewed a purposive sample of key people (n = 19) to gain access to a broad range of perspectives on the research topic; visited centres of provision for children with special needs (n = 6) and other specialist settings (n = 8); and ran a two-day interactive and dialogic workshop with staff (n = 40) from the special needs department of the Ministry of Education. Through a rigorous Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of interviews, field notes, questionnaires and focus groups, we found that the biggest obstacles to inclusion were stigma, lack of knowledge and poor diagnostic practices, coupled with a rigid education system and an absence of shared understanding of what inclusion might mean for Palestine. There were gaps between beliefs in social justice and the concrete reality of including children with autism. Despite obstacles and barriers to inclusion, participants were passionate about gaining new knowledge, adopting different pedagogies and enabling inclusion. These findings are significant as they highlight that a push towards more inclusive practices through social learning approaches could be a powerful driver in mounting a challenge to the inflexibility within the current education system in Palestine.


This study was aimed to develop an efficient tumour-targeted liposome nanobubbles (LNBs) system using ultrasound-targeted nanobubble destruction for enhanced release and transfection of miRNA-199a-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapy. The prepared LNBs comprised a polyethylene glycol-modified liposome shell and a perfluoropentane (PFP) core. MiRNA-199a-3p was attached to the nanocomposite surface via electrostatic adsorption, while RGD peptide functionalized the LNBs surface for enhanced HCC cell targeting, namely PFP@miR-RGD-LNBs. The LNBs were spherical with a narrow size distribution. The gene-loaded LNBs effectively condensed miR-199a-3p and protected it from enzymatic degradation. Low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) promoted a fast release of miR-199a-3p from the prepared LNBs, thereby enhancing therapeutic effects. The combined application of PFP@miR-RGD-LNBs and LIFU exhibited a more potent inhibitory effect on HepG2 cells than the other groups, potentially due to LIFU promoting rapid and efficient gene release at the target site and increasing cell membrane permeability. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed significantly increased mRNA expression levels of key apoptosis markers (Bad, Bax, Caspase-9 and Caspase-3) in the PFP@miR-RGD-LNBs + LIFU group compared to other groups. These findings suggest that the prepared LNBs are highly likely to be promising candidates for further exploration of HCC gene delivery and therapy.


Spectral, cyclic voltammetric and molecular modeling studies have been carried out on some 3-(2-hydroxybenzalhydrazino-4-thiozolyl)coumarins (1), to understand their solution and electrochemical characteristics. These investigations reveal structural alterations in the conjugates of their acid-base equilibria as indicated by considerable bathochromic shift in electronic spectra and changes in electron transfer properties with rise in pH. The pKa values and electrochemical data such as Ep, ip, αna, k ° h, etc., of 1 were evaluated. Further, the compound 1 is found to be good chelating ligands. Molecular modeling studies were also performed to correlate the spectral and electrochemical observations. Voltammetric analysis of 1 is also presented.


The material investigated is from a rocky outcrop of the Lena Dura formation about 50 miles southwest of Punta Arenas, Brunswick peninsula, Magallanes province, southernmost Chile. The formation has been variously considered Oligocene or Eocene in age. The floral component from one level seems to offer firm evidence for an Eocene age. The marine algae, especially Deflandrea, dominate the microflora. The microplankton consists of dinoflagellates, hystrichospheres, and acritarchs, including Baltisphaeridium severinii n. sp. New records for both South America and the southern hemisphere are established.


Sławińska et al. questioned the involvement of supraspinal centers in restoring locomotion after multisystem neuroprosthetic training in rats with paralyzing spinal cord injury. Here, we clarify misconceptions and present additional results illustrating the robust influence of brain input on electrochemically enabled spinal circuitries. We reassert that our intervention reestablished supraspinal control over hindlimb locomotion in paralyzed rats.


We consider Toeplitz operators with symbols enjoying a uniform radial limit on Segal-Bargmann type spaces. We show that such an operator is compact if and only if the limiting function vanishes on the unit sphere. The structure of the C∗-algebra generated by Toeplitz operators whose symbols admit continuous uniform radial limits is also analyzed.


Understanding threatened species diversity is important for long‐term conservation planning. Geodiversity—the diversity of Earth surface materials, forms, and processes—may be a useful biodiversity surrogate for conservation and have conservation value itself. Geodiversity and species richness relationships have been demonstrated; establishing whether geodiversity relates to threatened species' diversity and distribution pattern is a logical next step for conservation. We used 4 geodiversity variables (rock‐type and soil‐type richness, geomorphological diversity, and hydrological feature diversity) and 4 climatic and topographic variables to model threatened species diversity across 31 of Finland's national parks. We also analyzed rarity‐weighted richness (a measure of site complementarity) of threatened vascular plants, fungi, bryophytes, and all species combined. Our 1‐km2 resolution data set included 271 threatened species from 16 major taxa. We modeled threatened species richness (raw and rarity weighted) with boosted regression trees. Climatic variables, especially the annual temperature sum above 5 °C, dominated our models, which is consistent with the critical role of temperature in this boreal environment. Geodiversity added significant explanatory power. High geodiversity values were consistently associated with high threatened species richness across taxa. The combined effect of geodiversity variables was even more pronounced in the rarity‐weighted richness analyses (except for fungi) than in those for species richness. Geodiversity measures correlated most strongly with species richness (raw and rarity weighted) of threatened vascular plants and bryophytes and were weakest for molluscs, lichens, and mammals. Although simple measures of topography improve biodiversity modeling, our results suggest that geodiversity data relating to geology, landforms, and hydrology are also worth including. This reinforces recent arguments that conserving nature's stage is an important principle in conservation.


Natural substances extracted from plants have been gaining attraction as protective agents due to their safety and responsible for multiple biological effects on skins. The present study was to determine the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, Sun Protection Factor (SPF), and antioxidant potential of different solvent extracts of Graptophyllum pictum leaves. The dried powdered leaves were extracted by the cold maceration method, using three different solvents, i.e., methanol, ethanol, and water. The extracted leaves was tested for antioxidant activity using of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl). Total phenolic content was determined using the Follin-Ciocalteu and for total flavonoid content with used the aluminium chloride. The SPF of all extracts were analyzed by ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry. The total phenolic content is the highest in methanol extract (377.61±0.31 µg/ml), and total flavonoid content is the highest in ethanol extract (158.06 ± 0.18 µg/ml). For DPPH free radical scavenging activity, ethanolic extract showed the maximum percentage of inhibition, and for SPF, methanol extract had displayed the highest. The study recommends that methanol is a good solvent for the extraction of sun-protective constituents from G. pictum.


"Collective Rights and Digital Content: The Legal Framework for Competition, Transparency and Multi-Territorial Licensing of the New European Directive on Collective Rights Management" is a part of Springer Briefs in Law book series written by Claudio Lucena, a Brazilian researcher at Paraiba State University. This book published at 2015, and divided to 5 chapters. At the first chapter we have an introduction and the last one is the Conclusion. Thanks to digital technologies wide growth social, cultural, and economic interaction is completely transformed.The impact of collaboration tools in the activity of creating intellectual content transformed the way collective management organizations operate and current market requirements demand legal adaptation to face this new reality The last conclusion in this book emphasizes on necessity of global copyright database's formation, which is based on European legal and cultural matter. While non-European areas are completely deferent and it would be a great challenge. These countries also need to be examined in terms of their own cultural, political, economic and technical infrastructure, then we would have a real global copyright database.


A new method for extraction of general features in ECGs with atrial tachyarrhythmias is presented. The method is based on our recent method for atrial signal characterization which sequentially decomposes a time-frequency distribution into a set of parameters. In addition to rate and amplitude, the method tracks information on regularity, waveform, and structure of the atrial signal. The proposed method includes a feature tracker which continuously tracks the structure of the harmonic spectral pattern in order to determine which of a set of archetype waveforms that is best matched. The method also includes a trend detector, which detects significant long-term changes in the time series of frequency estimates. The results, illustrated by signals obtained during different interventions and a test signal, show that the algorithms can discriminate between different types of atrial rhythms.


Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from the brain tissue of local freshwater fish, Tor tambroides was isolated through affinity purification. Acetylthiocholine iodide (ATCi) was preferable synthetic substrate to purified AChE with highest maximal velocity (V(max)) and lowest biomolecular constant (K(m)) at 113.60 Umg(-1) and 0.0689 mM, respectively, with highest catalytic efficiency ratio (V(max)/K(m)) of 1648.77. The optimum pH was 7.5 with sodium phosphate buffer as medium, while optimal temperature was in the range of 25 to 35 degrees C. Bendiocarp, carbofuran, carbaryl, methomyl and propoxur significantly lowered the AChE activity greater than 50%, and the IC50 value was estimated at inhibitor concentration of 0.0758, 0.0643, 0.0555, 0.0817 and 0.0538 ppm, respectively.


Objective—Actin dynamics in vascular smooth muscle is known to regulate contractile differentiation and may play a role in the pathogenesis of vascular disease. However, the list of genes regulated by actin polymerization in smooth muscle remains incomprehensive. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify actin-regulated genes in smooth muscle and to demonstrate the role of these genes in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle phenotype. Approach and Results—Mouse aortic smooth muscle cells were treated with an actin-stabilizing agent, jasplakinolide, and analyzed by microarrays. Several transcripts were upregulated including both known and previously unknown actin-regulated genes. Dystrophin and synaptopodin 2 were selected for further analysis in models of phenotypic modulation and vascular disease. These genes were highly expressed in differentiated versus synthetic smooth muscle and their expression was promoted by the transcription factors myocardin and myocardin-related transcription factor A. Furthermore, the expression of both synaptopodin 2 and dystrophin was significantly reduced in balloon-injured human arteries. Finally, using a dystrophin mutant mdx mouse and synaptopodin 2 knockdown, we demonstrate that these genes are involved in the regulation of smooth muscle differentiation and function. Conclusions—This study demonstrates novel genes that are promoted by actin polymerization, that regulate smooth muscle function, and that are deregulated in models of vascular disease. Thus, targeting actin polymerization or the genes controlled in this manner can lead to novel therapeutic options against vascular pathologies that involve phenotypic modulation of smooth muscle cells.


Abstract Purpose: Transition from female to male gender after initiation of hormonal therapy involves both phenotypic and physiological changes. The response to treatment can vary widely from person to person. In this study, we looked at the response of the menstrual cycle after the initiation of testosterone therapy and we wished to determine the time period and dose of testosterone leading to the cessation of menses in transgender men. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 114 transgender men (individuals assigned female gender at birth but later identify themselves as males) seen for hormonal therapy in our transgender clinic from 2006 through 2016. Results: Forty patients were excluded from the study as they were either not menstruating (19), started therapy elsewhere (13), had incomplete data (6), or were treated with transdermal testosterone (2). Of the 74 patients begun on low dose (20–40 mg weekly) intramuscular testosterone, 55% had cessation of menses within 6 months, 32% took more than 6 to 12 months, and 7% had not had complete cessation by 1 year and were prescribed progesterone (5% were given progesterone after menses had not ceased by 4 months for personal preference). The dose of testosterone correlated only loosely with the time of cessation (mean dose 40.1±8.1 mg/week for those <6 months and 56.1±12.0 mg/week for those who took 6–12 months). Conclusion: The initiation of low to moderate testosterone was sufficient in leading to menstrual cessation in the majority of patients by 6 months and nearly all by 1 year. There was individual variability in the time to cessation with little correlation to testosterone dose.


The detection of hate speech, especially in online platforms and forums, is quickly becoming a hot topic as anti-hate speech legislation begins to be applied to public discourse online. The HatEval shared task was created with this in mind; participants were expected to develop a model capable of determining whether or not input (in this case, Twitter datasets in English and Spanish) could be considered hate speech (designated as Task A), if they were aggressive, and whether the tweet was targeting an individual, or speaking generally (Task B). We approached this task by creating an LSTM model with an embedding layer. We found that our model performed considerably better on English language input when compared to Spanish language input. In English, we achieved an F1-Score of 0.466 for Task A and 0.462 for Task B; In Spanish, we achieved scores of 0.617 and 0.612 on Task A and Task B, respectively.


Malware has become a widely used means in cyber attacks in recent decades because of various new obfuscation techniques used by malwares. In order to protect the systems, data and information, detection of malware is needed as early as possible. There are various studies on malware detection techniques that have been done but there is no method which can detect the malware completely and make malware detection problematic. Static Malware analysis is very effective for known malwares but it does not work for zero day malware which leads to the need of dynamic malware detection and the behaviour based malware detection is comparatively good among all detection techniques like signature based, deep learning based, mobile/IOT and cloud based detection but still it is not able to detect all zero day malware which shows the malware detection is very challenging task and need more techniques for malware detection. This paper describes a literature review of various methods of malware detection. A short description of each method is provided and discusses various studies already done in the advanced malware detection field and their comparison based on the detection method used, accuracy and other parameters. Apart from this we will discuss various malware detection tools, dataset and their sources which can be used in further study. This paper gives you the detailed knowledge of advanced malwares, its detection methods, how you can protect your devices and data from malware attacks and it gives the comparison of different studies on malware detection.


Objective Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) are common viruses that can affect critically ill patients who are not immunocompromised. The aim of this study was to determine whether the identification of CMV and/or HSV in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients suspected of having pneumonia was associated with an increased mortality. Design Prospective epidemiological study. Setting Medical intensive care unit of a tertiary medical center. Patients Ninety-three patients with suspected pneumonia. Interventions Patients with suspected pneumonia had bronchoalveolar lavage and blood samples taken to confirm the diagnosis. Antigenemia was used to detect CMV in the blood. Bronchoalveolar lavage samples were submitted to testing using quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction. Measurements and Main Results We identified 22 patients with a CMV infection, 26 patients with an HSV infection and 45 patients without CMV or HSV infection (control group). Mortality at day 60 was higher in patients with a CMV infection than in patients from the control group (55% vs. 20%, P<0.01). Mortality at day 60 was not significantly increased in the group with HSV infection. Duration of ICU stay and ICU mortality were significantly higher in patients with CMV infections when compared to patients from the control group, whereas ventilator free days were significantly lower in patients with CMV infections when compared to patients from the control group. Conclusions In critically ill patients, a CMV infection is associated with an increased mortality. Further interventional studies are needed to evaluate whether treatment could improve the prognosis.


This special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A is the third in a series devoted to the work of young scientists (see Thompson 2002). The first issue appeared in December 2002 and covered the fields of Astronomy and Earth science. The second issue appeared in December 2003 and covered Mathematics, physics and engineering. This third issue covers Chemistry and life science. This triennial pattern will now be repeated, rolling cyclically through the physical sciences according to the scheme: (i) 2005 and 2008 to cover Astronomy and Earth science; (ii) 2006 and 2009 to cover Mathematics, physics and engineering; (iii) 2007 and 2010 to cover Chemistry and life science. It seems likely that a similar scheme will be started in the near future by the companion journal on the biological side, Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B. Following the successful pattern established by the three Millennium Issues of the journal, I am soliciting articles for this Triennial Series from leading young scientists, including holders of Royal Society (RS) Research Fellowships (University Research Fellows and Dorothy Hodgkin Fellows). For compatibility with these awards, 'young' is being interpreted as scientists with no more than about 12 years post–doctoral experience: all existing RS Research Fellows are deemed to be eligible. The three–year cycle will ensure that the majority of research fellows receive a relevant invitation: and this new series will act as a valuable forum for them. The three Millennium Issues appeared as vol. 357 (no. 1763) December 1999, vol. 358 (no. 1765) January 2000 and vol. 358 (no. 1766) January 2000 and can be accessed freely on http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk. They formed the basis of three popular paperback books published by Cambridge University Press (Thompson 2001a–c), which are currently being translated for Chinese editions. These collections gave a unique snapshot of the state of physical science at the turn of the millennium, of interest to researchers and the public at large. The excitement and enthusiasm of the young scientists was strongly conveyed. In a similar fashion, the present Triennial Series will form the basis of a series of books to be published by Imperial College Press under the general title Advances in science. The first of these is now in press (Thompson 2005).


BACKGROUND
Among spinal cord injuries, secondary injury is considered to be a "reversible" process and seems to be a key target for the treatment of spinal cord injury. Recently, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been reevaluated as being one of the most important cytokines which act during wound healing, proliferation and differentiation of cells. However, the expression of MIF in the spinal cord has not been investigated yet.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the MIF expression in normal rat spinal cord and to evaluate the kinetics of MIF after spinal cord injury.

MATERIALS & METHODS
Female Wistar (280-320 g) rats were studied. Spinal cord injury was made by the clip compression method at the level of C7/Th1 (56 g, For 1 min.). The expression of MIF was examined by immunohistochemistry and northern blot analysis. MIF content in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Furthermore, to examine the MIF function on neuronal cell, cell proliferation assay (MTS assay) was carried out using PC12, pheochromocytoma cell line, and LN444, glioblastoma cell line, in the presence of anti-MIF monoclonal antibody.

RESULTS
MIF stain was positive in normal rat spinal cord white matter. The expression of MIF decreased between 1 hour and 6 hours after injury. It was found to have re-appeared 24 hours after injury. The kinetics of MIF mRNA expression showed reverse-correlation with those of the MIF positive stain. MIF content in CSF was found to be elevated soon after injury. MTS assay suggested that MIF had some proliferative function on neuronal cells.

CONCLUSION
MIF exists in the rat white matter. And it's immediately released into the CSF and then re-synthesized 24-hr after injury. MIF shows a cell proliferative function on neuronal cells. These results suggest that MIF plays an important role for secondary spinal cord injury.


Aim: Community-based psychosocial support centres for cancer patients and their relatives (CBPSCs) in the Netherlands offer easily accessible contacts with fellow patients and support by trained volunteers and/or professionals. We studied if the participants in the social support and/or therapy activities are satisfied with these services and if the visits do affect their well-being in terms of bodily and emotional health and their health quality of life (HQoL).Methods:  In 25 CBPSCs, 701visitors filled out a web-based questionnaire about  their experiences with CBPSCs. Within this sample, 203 participants answered a part of the questionnaire again after 3-5 months about their personal characteristics, the type participation  at the visits, their satisfaction with the offered activities, the experienced health complains, and  three HQoL questions of the EORTC measure.Results: The study confirms the significance of CBPSCs contacts with fellow patients, resulting in satisfaction with the increased communication about their illness and talks about their problems. The results show further that after a 3-5 months the health complains did not change, but the HQoL decreased significantly for all  visitors, except  for more serious ill patients in comparison with less ill patients.                                                              Discussion and conclusion CBPSCs play an important and highly evaluated role in psycho-oncological support. The visit for serious ill patients may function as a buffer for preventing the decrease of their HQoL. Insight in effects of such visits is still limited in other studies. Differences in the health care organization restrict the comparability with the CBPSCs in other countries. More studies are needed to show the long-term effects of CBPSCs visits.


Abstract The accuracy of absolute pitch has often fallen into mythical perspectives, as this rare ability tends to fascinate people through its spectacular results. Many people tend to think that a musician with absolute pitch is always capable of identifying the musical note of any sound in any circumstances. The research literature has revealed that this is rarely true. Although there is a significant difference between real absolute pitch owners and pseudo-absolute pitch owners, the accuracy of absolute pitch is highly influenced by a series of musical factors such as: pitch chroma, pitch height and musical timbre. Therefore, it has been proven that the best absolute pitch accuracy manifests for medium pitch sounds, while very high or very low sounds tend to often be misidentified. Even more, absolute pitch owners tend to make an unusual mistake of misidentifying the octave. The familiar sounds (for example from the instrument the musician has studied in childhood) tend to produce less identification errors. Nevertheless, the piano timbre is usually associated with the best accuracy of absolute pitch. The aim of the present research is to synthetize up-to-date literature regarding the way these factors influence the accuracy of absolute pitch. The study focuses on the idea of normalizing the general perspective of absolute pitch accuracy, as musicians and teachers often tend to have very high expectations regarding this ability. The educational implications of the new perspective drawn here contribute to a better relation between teachers and students, as well as to a better understanding of this interesting musical ability.


This paper analyzes a scenario in which two objects are sold in sequence at two second-price auctions. There are two bidders, and each bidder's valuations of the two objects are affiliated. Participating in each auction is costly. Bidders decide whether to enter each auction, observing their entry decisions in any previous auction. We study the properties of equilibria and provide a sufficient condition for their existence. Due to affiliation, a bidder's entering the first auction may signal his strong interest in the second object. Hence, a bidder with a higher valuation of the second object tends to participate in the first auction more aggressively in order to preempt the opponent's entry into the second auction. Because of this signaling motive, the sequential auction format can generate higher revenue in the first auction and lower revenue in the second auction than those obtained by the simultaneous counterpart.


As poverty remains rampant, the Millennium Development Goals have been established to address what is one of the most chronic challenges to growth and development. With numerous governments and international organizations adopting these eight international goals focused on combating both the income and non-income dimensions of poverty, it is imperative to measure the performance toward and success of the MDG initiative. By exploring the interplay among poverty, growth and inequality, this study evaluates the progress of 90 developing countries in attaining the income poverty target contained in the first MDG (MDG1), focusing on developing Asia. To help inform future, results-based development policies, it also examines whether adopting the MDGs has contributed to income poverty reduction by measuring the growth elasticity of poverty, controlling for growth. Through an achievement index developed by Kakwani in 1993, the study estimates that an annual poverty reduction of around 2.77% between 1990 and 2015 is needed for countries to attain MDG1. Across developing Asia, half of the 22 countries included in the study will definitely attain the target and 46% are "likely" to achieve it. Can such gains in poverty reduction be ascribed to the espousal of the MDGs? The study finds that improvements in poverty elasticity are statistically insignificant in the post-MDG period, implying that the acceleration of poverty reduction has been mainly due to economic growth and not the adoption of the MDGs


On the basis of a critical approach to the concept of 'social exclusion,' this contribution explores the intersections between translation theory and social theory by offering a conceptual framework to study the impact of translation and interpreting in exclusion and inclusion processes. It examines the case of a migrants' translation rights movement that took place in Lavapiés (Madrid, Spain) during the Covid-19 pandemic that sought to provide – and demand – medical interpreting in healthcare centers and other public areas. The article gives some insights into the complexities of the role of translation and interpreting as an inclusive practice in the context of a pandemic.


The elution characteristics of metal ions from dental casting alloys were studied in vitro. Large amounts of nickel (0.12-4.94 mg/cm2) and chromium (< 0.01-0.63 mg/cm2) were solubilized from the surface of seven brands of nickel-chromium alloy in either 1% lactic acid or 0.05% hydrochloric acid solutions. The elution of chromium from two brands of cobalt-chromium alloys in both eluents was below the detection limit or less than 0.01 mg/cm2. The elution of tin, copper, and zinc from a gold-palladium-silver alloy in both eluents was below the detection limit or less than 0.01 and 0.04 mg/cm2. Some amounts of tin (0.19-1.92 mg/cm2) and zinc (0.56-1.73 mg/cm2) were eluted from a silver alloy in both eluents. The effects of five eluting metal ions, i.e., nickel, chromium, tin, copper, and zinc, on the conversion of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) to hydroxyapatite (HAP) in vitro also were studied by a pH drop method. All divalent cations except for chromium decreased the rate of HAP transformation and elongated the induction time. Nickel had an inhibitory effect comparable to 1-hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-bisphosphonate (HEBP) on the rate of HAP transformation. Tin, copper, and zinc inhibited similarly, but the inhibition was weaker than that by nickel. Chromium did not inhibit these reactions.


Withdrawal of care has increased in recent years as the population older than 65 years of age has increased. We sought to investigate the impact of this decision on our mortality rate. We retrospectively reviewed a prospectively collected database to determine the percentage of cases in which care was actively withdrawn. Neurologic injury as the cause for withdrawal, age of the patient, number of days to death, number of cases thought to be treatment failures, and the reason for failure were analyzed. Between January 2008 and December 2012, there were 536 trauma service deaths; 158 (29.5%) had care withdrawn. These patients were 67 (6 18.5) years old and neurologic injury was responsible in 63 per cent (6 5.29%). Fifty-two per cent of the patients died by Day 3; 65 per cent by Day 5; and 74 per cent Day 7. A total of 22.7 per cent (6 7.9%) could be considered a treatment failure. Accounting for cases in which care was withdrawn for futility would decrease the overall mortality rate by approximately 23 per cent. Trauma center mortality calculation does not account for care withdrawn. Treating an active, aging population, with advance directives, requires methodologies that account for such decision-making when determining mortality rates.


COMMUNICATIONSTO THE EDITOR 615 misdiagnosed as diffuse alveolar damage or fibrosing alveolitis. Dr. Carrington has re-reviewed the slides and agrees that this is an example of eosinophilic pneumonia with an unusual degree of bronchiolitis obliterans. The patient has also been included in another report4 as an example of acute fibrosing alveolitis. It is recognized that patients with rheumatoid arthritis and eosinophilia are more likely to have systemic complications of rheumatoid disease, including lung complications. The levels of eosinophils in the blood are not recorded in the report by Geddes et al6 of rheumatoid bronchiolitis, but two patients had pulmonary infiltrates and in one this was transient. No coherent hypothesis can be presented, but it appears that there is an overlap between rheumatoid disease, eosinophilic pneumonia and bronchiolitis obliterans. It also appears that while the lung infiltrate of eosinophilic pneumonia is rapidly reversible, the airway lesions are not. The development of chronic airflow limitation and the disappearance of lung infiltrates is not a common feature of fibrosing alveolitis and this occurrence should suggest an unusual condition.


Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of death in Europe and worldwide. One of the most common pathologic processes involved in CAD is atherosclerosis. Coronary stents are expandable scaffolds that are used to widen the occluded arteries and enable the blood flow restoration. To achieve an adequate delivery and placement of coronary stents different parameters play a significant role. Due to the strain that the stents are exposed to and the forces they should withstand, the stent design is dominant. This study focuses on investigating the effect of the stent design in two finite element models using two stents with difference in the strut thickness. The in silico deployment is performed in a reconstructed patient specific arterial segment. The results are analyzed in terms of stress in the stent and the arterial wall and demonstrate how stent expansion is extensively affected by the scaffold's design.


This paper is about fault detection and identification of discrete event systems. The proposed approach is based on Petri nets (PNs) that are used to design reference and faulty models. The main contribution concerns the design and identification of these models according to the statistical analysis of the alarm sequences that are collected on the considered system. The model structure is described as a state graph, and the parameters of the probability density functions (pdfs) for transition firing periods are estimated. Normal and exponential pdfs are considered, and estimation is detailed in case of concurring behaviors. The reference models, described as timed PNs, are then used for fault detection and isolation issues. Finally, stochastic PNs with normal and exponential pdfs are considered to include a representation of the faulty behaviors.


Author(s): Allahviranloo, Mahdieh | Advisor(s): Recker, Will | Abstract: Understanding the choices that each individual in the population makes regarding daily plans and activity participation behavior is crucial to forecasting spatial-temporal travel demand in the region. In this dissertation, we develop a comprehensive mathematical/statistical framework to infer and replicate travel behavior of individuals in terms of their socio-demographic profiles. The framework comprises series of distinct modules that employ statistical segmentation, Bayesian econometrics, data mining, and optimization techniques to predict individuals' activity types, activity frequencies, and the travel linkages that make them possible. The key advantages of the model are: first, providing the likely content of activity agenda as part of the inference procedure; second, integrating transportation network topology within activity scheduling step; and third, capability of integrating modal components. The data used for the analysis is the California Household Travel Survey data, 2000-2001, (Caltrans, 2002). After preprocessing (which includes queries to match, clean, and prepare data), the final cleaned data is consisted of activity patterns of 26,269 individuals. In the model-building process, we initially cluster individuals in the sample based on their reported (one-day) activity patterns. Later, we argue and demonstrate that clustering activity/travel patterns in terms of such activity characteristics as type, duration, scheduling, and location can be an effective tool to capture preferential distributions of arrival time, departure time, and duration, which are unobservable inputs to activity-based travel models. Representative patterns are found based on two measures of dissimilarities between activity patterns, Sequence Alignment Method and Agenda dissimilarity, resulting in 8 clusters. A decision tree based on socio-demographics of individuals is fitted to infer the cluster to which each individual belongs. Inference on agenda formation in each cluster is based on ensemble of three different modules--"multivariate probit model," "Markov chains with conditional random fields," and "adaptive boosting"-- applied to individuals within each cluster. In each of these modules, the inputs are socio-demographic attributes of individuals, and the outputs are discrete outcomes indicating participation in each activity type. Arrival time and activity duration inference for each activity type in each cluster, is performed using the adaptive boosting algorithm. Having identified the type of activities, and their arrival time and duration, activities are scheduled in the agenda using two approaches: decision rules, and Household Activity Pattern Problem (HAPP: a variation of pickup and delivery problem with time windows, (Recker, 1995) ). Testing the entire modeling system on an out-of-sample population--15% of the entire sample-- shows that the model is able to predict on average 80.3% of daily activities of individuals; correct activities during 867 minutes of 1080 awake minutes in a day was predicted.


To show the applicability of a solution model, i.e. the Jouyban-Acree model, for predicting the solubility of a solute in ternary solvent systems based on model constants computed using solubility data of the solute in binary solvent systems, the solubility of salicylic acid in water-ethanol, water-propylene glycol, ethanol-propylene glycol mixtures was determined. A minimum number of three data points from each binary system was used to calculate the binary interaction parameters of the model. Then the solubility in other binary solvent compositions and also in a number of ternary solvents was predicted, and the mean percentage deviation (MPD) was calculated as an accuracy criterion. The overall MPD (+/-SD) was 7.3 (+/-7.3)% and those of a similar predictive model was 15.7 (+/-11.5)%. The mean difference between the proposed and a previous model was statistically significant (paired t-test, p < 0.004).


This paper presents Norwegian early childhood teachers' own evaluations of their practices, interests and attitudes, and of their kindergarten's learning culture, related to daily activities with children. The purpose of this study was to examine the focus and priority given to activities related to science, technology, environmental issues and sustainability, in comparison to other subjects. Semi-structured questionnaires were completed by 93 randomly selected early childhood teachers. The results show that most of them hold positive attitudes towards science, and are personal interested in science-related subjects. They state that their activities with the children mainly consist of nature- and outdoor-related subjects, followed by social competences, language stimulation and physical education. Activities related to chemistry, geology, physics, technology, gardening and sustainability are infrequent. Science is a natural part of many interdisciplinary themes. Appropriate science competence among early childhood teachers is needed to increase children's opportunities to gain specific science related experiences.


Background This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory efficacy of preemptive intravenous ibuprofen on inflammatory complications such as edema and trismus in patients undergoing impacted mandibular third molar surgery. Methods Sixty patients were included and divided into three groups (800 mg IV ibuprofen + 50 mg dexketoprofen, 800 mg IV ibuprofen, and control). In all patients, preoperative hemodynamic values were recorded before the infusions. The operation was started at 15-min post-infusion. Evaluation of edema size on the face and mouth opening (trismus) was conducted in the preoperative period, and at postoperative 48 h and 1 week. Results No difference was determined among the groups in trismus and edema size in postoperative measurements (P > 0.05). There was a difference between group 2 and group 3 only in measurement value of tragus-corner of the mouth on the postoperative day 2 (P < 0.05). A difference was found between the measurement values of trismus preoperatively and at preoperative day 2, and between postoperative day 2 and 1 week in group 3 based on time (P < 0.05). In group 3, edema on the face on postoperative day 2 increased significantly compared to that in the preoperative period (P < 0.001); in addition, edema increased significantly in groups 1 and 2 in the postoperative period but was less than that in group 3 (P < 0.001). Conclusions In this study, intravenous ibuprofen was determined to be more effective alone or in combination in alleviating trismus and to better limit the postoperative edema.


The (1-3,1-4)-beta-glucanase from barley (Hordeum vulgare, cv Alexis) degrades mixed linked beta-glucan in the cell wall of the starchy endosperm. Isoenzyme II of the (1-3,1-4)-beta-glucanase forms large single crystals when a protein solution is equilibrated against 20% (w/w) polyethylene glycol 8000 at acidic pH using the hanging drop vapour diffusion method. The crystals diffract to better than 2 A resolution. They are monoclinic, space group P2(1), with cell dimensions a = 49.58 A, b = 82.99 A, c = 77.56 A and beta = 104.36 degrees. Two protein molecules are estimated to fill the asymmetric unit.


Neutrino astronomy offers the possibility to perform extra-galactic observations well beyond the photon absorption cutoff above 5 × 1013 eV. Based on observations of cosmic rays, we already know that astrophysical sources produce particles with at least a million times more energy than this photon cutoff. Once discovered, either the nature of the sources themselves or the cross sections of ultra-high energy neutrinos with terrestrial matter may reveal exotic physical processes that are inaccessible to modern accelerators. Some of these processes may be due to as-yet unknown physics at the grand unification scale or beyond. Neutrino telescopes based on optical techniques currently operating and under construction have apertures measured in several km3-sr. Radio and acoustic detection techniques have been demonstrated in laboratory experiments and are currently used for instrumentation of apertures 10 to 10,000 times larger than optical techniques for neutrinos above 1016 eV. I discuss the status of current and proposed neutrino telescope projects based on these techniques. These telescopes have already ruled out some of the more exotic predictions for neutrino intensity. The upcoming generation of radio-based and acoustic-based detectors should be sensitive to cosmic neutrinos above 1018 eV originating through the so-called GZK process. A comparison of different neutrino telescopes using a common aperture variable shows how they are complementary in the trade-offs of volume versus threshold. I include a proposal for how neutrino telescopes should report their sensitivities to facilitate direct comparisons among them and to allow testing of neutrino brightness models that appear even after publication of the experimental results.


The Finnish collections of Graeco-Roman pottery result mostly from haphazard acquisitions since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and are in only a very few cases the fruits of systematic collection. As, for almost two centuries, the tradition of classical archaeology in Finland has depended on the interest of private individuals, it is no wonder that only two objects in the present CVA volume are previously published.The CVA Finland, fascicule 1 thus fills a major scholarly and museological gap. The study and publication of these vases aims to dispel their anonymity, conveying them to anyone interested in Greek and Roman pottery.


Abstract : The subset selection algorithm is extended to search for a best subset from a large set of complex-valued basis functions. This algorithm is used to design digital finite-duration impulse response (FIR) filters having fewer coefficients than conventional FIR filters. An optimum conventional FIR filter is derived which has best uniform spacing of the fixed number of samples which are to be used, and examples are presented which show that, for the same number of coefficients, the complex-subset-selection filter can give better results than the optimum conventional filter. The complex subset selection method is also applied to estimation of the frequencies of sinusoids in the presence of noise. A windowing technique is introduced to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the algorithm for frequency estimates. The results are compared with Cramer-Rao bounds. (Author)


A modified version of the IERM approach is applied to electron scattering from hydrogen atoms at intermediate: energies to evaluate integrated cross sections for the n=2 to n=3 transitions. Results ale compared with earlier work which overestimates these cross sections due to the omission of continuum channels. These results have important applications in astrophysics.


A case of lorcainide poisoning with fatal outcome is reported. A young girl of 15 ingested, without high lethality of intent, 2500 mg lorcainide, an antiarrhythmic agent. Bradycardia, shock, coma, and cerebral convulsions rapidly occurred. Despite immediate resuscitative measures with high doses of catecholamines and hypertonic sodium bicarbonate the patient died three hours later. The course of lorcainide poisoning was similar to that of other class Ic antiarrhythmic agents.


Abstract The forests of the north-east USA were once home to the wolf Canis lupus, a species that played an important role in the ecology of this region. However, wolves were eradicated from the region more than a century ago, altering the species composition of the landscape and driving cascading changes in this ecosystem. Outdoor recreation is a major component of the economy of this region, and outdoor recreationists, including the hunting community, have a strong influence over decision-making related to policies on natural resources. Given their powerful position, hunters are important stakeholders whose views need to be taken into account when designing policies related to wildlife, in particular in relation to a controversial species such as the wolf. In this study, through expert interviews and an online survey, we gained a deeper understanding of the attitudes of hunters towards wolves, and how these attitudes could affect any future reintroduction programme or natural movement of wolves into the state. We found that the majority of hunters hold a suite of negative attitudes towards wolves, their role in the landscape and their potential impact on the region. However, for hunters who were able to recognize the ecological roles of wolves, these negative attitudes were mostly reversed.


The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of taurine on heat stress by evaluating them RNA and protein expressions of HSP90, 70 and 60in Ross broilers. Birds were distributed in a control group (CO) reared at 24oC, a heat-stress group (HS) maintained at 34°C (weeks 3-5) and not supplemented with taurine, and a heatstress group (HST) maintained at 34°C (weeks 3-5) and supplemented with 0.1% taurine from 2 weeks of age. The final body weight was significantly higher in the HST group than in the HS group (p<0.05). The mRNA expression of all three genes in the liver and of HSP90 in the muscle were significantly lower in the HST than in the HS group (p<0.05). In the liver, the expression of HSP70 and HSP60 proteins was significantly higher in the HS group compared with the CO and HST groups (p<0.05), while HSP90 expression was not different (p>0.05). In the muscle, HSP70 expression was significantly lower in the HST group than in the CO and HS groups and HSP60 expression was dramatically decreased in HS group, whereas no differences in HSP90 expression were detected among groups. In conclusion, the broilers exposed to heat stress and supplemented with taurine showed lower expressions of heat shock genes and proteins both in the liver and muscle tissues, indicating that taurine supplementation improved broiler thermotolerance.


This dataset represents depth predictions from a bathymetric model developed for the New York offshore spatial planning area. The model also includes spatially-explicit uncertainty estimates represented in another raster dataset. The model used to derive depth estimates builds on previous predictive bathymetric modeling approaches in the region (e.g. Calder, 2006), provides a continuous gridded bathymetric surface, and allows users to view and explore spatial variation in the vertical accuracy of depth predictions. The spatial resolution of the model is identical to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coastal Relief Model (CRM; horizontal resolution approximately 83.8 m) in the study area and was built from the same database of hydrographic survey points.