Soil carbon sequestration (SCS) has been identified by the IPCC as one of the most promising and cheap methodology to reduce atmospheric CO2. Moreover, an increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) levels improves soil quality by increasing soil structure (and, hence, resistance to erosion) and promoting soil ecosystems services like water retention, productivity, and biodiversity. Various agricultural techniques are available to increase SOC; among them, crop rotation can improve SOC through soil coverage, changes in water regimes, increase in both carbon inputs, and increase in soil aggregates formation.

SOC dynamic models, such as RothC, have been suggested by the IPCC as a way to evaluate the SCS potentials of different soils. Such models could also be used to evaluate the sequestration potential of different agricultural practices. Moreover RothC allows to estimate the time within which the SOC variation, due to a certain agronomic management, can be considered significant as measurable above a threshold value.

In this study, we evaluated the SOC changes for different crop rotations through direct measurements and RothC modelling, with the objective of: (a) estimating their SCS potential, and (b) propose a robust monitoring methodology for SCS practices. We performed the study in an agricultural field close to Ravenna (Italy) characterized by Cambisols and humid subtropical climate. Soil carbon content was assessed before the setup of the crop rotation, and after 3 years of rotation. A RothC model was calibrated with field data, and used to estimate SOC dynamics to 50 years, in order to assess long-term SCS. The model results were also used to assess the best methodology to estimate the SOC variation significance.

The measured SOC was similar to the equilibrium SOC predicted by the RothC model, on average, for the crop rotations. The measurements showed that the SOC, already low at the beginning of the experiment, further decreased due to the crop rotation practice. Of those tested, the best for SCS involves the following crops: corn, soybeans, wheat on tilled soil, and soybeans; while the worst is with corn, wheat on tilled soil, and wheat on untilled soil. However, the SOC variations predicted by RothC for the various rotations were too small to be observable in the field during experimentation. This could be due both to the uncertainty associated with SOC sampling and analysis, and to the short duration of the experiment. The moving average computations on the simulation values allowed us to assess the time required to measure the long-term trend of SOC variation as significant with respect to the environmental background, instrumental error, and SOC periodic fluctuations. That time was estimated to range from 8 to 50 years, changing depending on the rotation type. Periodic fluctuations in SOC should be carefully considered in a monitoring protocol to assess SCS.


Abstract With increasing atmospheric CO2 the oceans are becoming progressively more acidic, with the lowered pH beginning to impact on the calcification of foraminifera, pteropods, calcareous nannoplankton and other invertebrate groups. Our work in the Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of California, Caribbean Sea, and elsewhere has shown how modern assemblages are responding to acidification. Around Ischia (Italy) natural seafloor CO2 vents are creating a low pH environment in which it is possible to observe the response of benthic foraminifera. At a pH of 7.8, the assemblage is already becoming less diverse and below pH 7.6 there are no calcite-secreting benthic foraminifera. In the Gulf of California, in a deeper-water setting, natural CO2 (and methane) vents are, again, lowering seafloor pH. The foraminifera show the impact of this change, although the relatively high carbonate saturation ensures that calcite-secreting foraminifera are able to live and reproduce in relatively low pH environments, only becoming impacted by dissolution effects once dead. Using data from a number of global bioevents (Triassic/Jurassic boundary, Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary and the Paleocene/Eocene boundary) it is now possible to determine the contribution of acidification to global bioevents, both in the near-surface and in deeper-water environments caused by the migration of the carbonate compensation depth (CCD). In Texas and Alabama, the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary successions record no direct evidence of ocean acidification despite the proximity to the Chicxulub impact site and the proposed source of some of the CO2 (in addition to that from the Deccan Volcanic Center in India) required to cause the acidification. Interpretation of changes in the biota during global bioevents is complicated by the changing nature of the oceans through time, which have switched from being aragonitic to calcitic a number of times during the Phanerozoic. The other significant change is that from a 'Neritan Ocean' to a 'Cretan Ocean' in the mid-Jurassic.


Featured Transition Systems (FTSs) is a popular representation for software product lines: an entire product line is compactly represented as a single transition-machine model, in which feature-specific behaviour is guarded by feature expressions that are satisfied (or not) by the presence or absence of individual features. In previous work, FTS models were mono-lithic in the sense that the modeller had to construct the full FTS model of the product line in its entirety. To allow for modularity of FTS models, we propose here a language for extending an existing FTS model with new features. We demonstrate the language using a running example and present results about the language's expressivity, commutativity of feature extensions, feature interactions, and resolution of such interactions.


ABSTRACT Analysis of an RNA-seq strand-specific library revealed a complete genome of Hardenbergia mosaic virus (HarMV) from RNA extracted from a native wisteria (Hardenbergia comptoniana) plant from southwest Australia. We compared it with eight other complete HarMV genomes. It most resembled (85.8% nucleotide identity) the genome of HarMV isolate MD4-D.


There have been several reductions from multivalued consensus to binary consensus over the past 20 years. To the best of our knowledge, none of them solved it for Byzantine asynchronous settings. In this paper, we close this gap. Moreover, we do so in subquadratic communication, using newly developed subquadratic binary Byzantine Agreement techniques.


Bubbles bursting at the ocean surface are an important source of ocean‐spray aerosol, with implications on radiative and cloud processes. Yet, very large uncertainties exist on the role of key physical controlling parameters, including wind speed, sea state and water temperature. We propose a mechanistic sea spray generation function that is based on the physics of bubble bursting. The number and mean droplet radius of jet and film drops is described by scaling laws derived from individual bubble bursting laboratory and numerical experiments, as a function of the bubble radius and the water physico‐chemical properties (viscosity, density and surface tension, all functions of temperature), with drops radii at production from 0.1 to 500 µm. Next, we integrate over the bubble size distribution entrained by breaking waves. Finally, the sea spray generation function is obtained by considering the volume flux of entrained bubbles due to breaking waves in the field constrained by the third moment of the breaking distribution (akin to the whitecap coverage). This mechanistic approach naturally integrates the role of wind and waves via the breaking distribution and entrained air flux, and a sensitivity to temperature via individual bubble bursting mechanisms. The resulting sea spray generation function has not been tuned or adjusted to match any existing data sets, in terms of magnitude of sea salt emissions and recently observed temperature dependencies. The remarkable coherence between the model and observations of sea salt emissions therefore strongly supports the mechanistic approach and the resulting sea spray generation function.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Cells require regular maintenance of proteostasis. Synthesis of new polypeptides and elimination of damaged or old proteins is an uninterrupted mechanism essential for a healthy cellular environment. Impairment in the removal of misfolded proteins can disturb proteostasis; such toxic aggregation of misfolded proteins can act as a primary risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases and imperfect ageing. The critical challenge is to design effective protein quality control (PQC) based molecular tactics that could potentially eliminate aggregation-prone protein load from the cell. Still, targeting specific components of the PQC pathway for the suppression of proteotoxic insults retains several challenges. Earlier, we had observed that LRSAM1 promotes the degradation of aberrant proteins. Here, we examined the effect of resveratrol, a stilbenoid phytoalexin compound, treatment on LRSAM1 E3 ubiquitin ligase, involved in the spongiform neurodegeneration.

METHODS
In this study, we reported induction of mRNA and protein levels of LRSAM1 in response to resveratrol treatment via RT-PCR, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence analysis. The LRSAM1-mediated proteasomal-based clearance of misfolded proteins was also investigated via proteasome activity assays, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence analysis. The increased stability of LRSAM1 by resveratrol was demonstrated by cycloheximide chase analysis.

RESULTS
Here, we show that resveratrol treatment induces LRSAM1 E3 ubiquitin ligase expression levels. Further, our findings suggest that overexpression of LRSAM1 significantly elevates proteasome activities and improves the degradation of bona fide heat-denatured luciferase protein. Exposure of resveratrol not only slows down the turnover of LRSAM1 but also effectively degrades abnormal proteinaceous inclusions, which eventually promotes cell viability.

CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest that resveratrol facilitates LRSAM1 endogenous establishment, which consequently promotes the proteasome machinery for effective removal of intracellular accumulated misfolded or proteasomal-designated substrates. Altogether, our study proposes a promising molecular approach to specifically trigger PQC signaling for efficacious rejuvenation of defective proteostasis via activation of overburdened proteolytic machinery.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

The discovery of novel biomarkers is essential for the early diagnosis of malignant diseases as well as for patient stratification to improve oncological therapies. Nevertheless, most biomarkers discovered so far have not satisfied the hopes laid upon them. Following a novel strategy we have started to systematically investigate different types of cells in different functional states to create a "protein-atlas". We believe that only if we know the "normal" proteome of a cell at different functional states we will be able to efficiently deduct specific pathological changes. The associated proteome alterations may thus qualify as biomarkers. Based on this cell centered approach we created a novel proteomics database: the Griss Proteomics Database (GPDE). The GPDE is free, open-source software available at http://gpde.sourceforge.net. The GPDE is based on a standardized data format for proteomics experiments, the Proteomics Idenitification Database (PRIDE) data format, and thus allows the integration of proteomics experiments from different research groups. Here we present a new set of tools that was specifically developed to support the identification of biomarker candidates. The main feature of these new tools is the automated interpretation of any given protein list with respect to cells already represented in the GDPE. To ensure correct comparison results protein accessions are converted to the IPI accession system, updated to the currently suggested accession and cleared of duplicate entries caused by redundant accessions. In addition, biological knowledge is integrated into the GPDE and presented to the user to aid the interpretation of the results. With this tool it is, e.g., possible to analyze the proteome profile of hepatocytes isolated from a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) against other types of hepatocytes represented in the GPDE. By this comparison to multiple references the function now returns three main conclusions: (1) A quality assessment regarding reference protein profiles of this cell type. A wide coverage of proteins known to be present in the investigated cell type is an indicator for the reliability of the experiment. (2) Identification of specifically expressed proteins implies the presence of functional cell states in the investigated sample. Thus, functional states such as proliferation, occurrence of apoptosis, inflammatory activation or establishment of drug resistance can immediately be identified. (3) The most likely and plausible biomarkers are promptly highlighted by the automated identification of atypical, unexpected alterations which may be specific for the investigated disease. With the GPDE any researcher gets the possibility to quickly and easily assess, interpret and further use huge amounts of complex proteomics data. Thus the often experienced gap between the abstract results of basic research and their biological relevance is maybe a little bit closed.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3997.


Microscopic features associated with cleavage in micaceous sandstone, siltstone, and silly slate include mica films, mica beards, homogeneous distribution of oriented mica, and equant or inequant quartz. These features occur in rocks in a wide variety of combinations. In experiments, somewhat similar microstructures are obtained by slow folding of wet, salt-mica specimens. Points of resemblance between the artificial cleavage and natural examples are the presence of mica films, the axial-plane orientation of the cleavage, convergent and divergent cleavage fans, refraction of cleavage across lithological boundaries, evidence of possible solution effects, and total strains that are broadly similar in magnitude and orientation to strains estimated in rocks with slaty cleavage.


The pervasive use of wireless networks and mobile devices has been changing our living style significantly. Along with great convenience and efficiency, there are new challenges in protecting sensitive and/or private data carried in these devices. The most challenging part lies in a dilemma: while it should be computationally infeasible for adversaries to decrypt the data. The security requirements for mobile devices are inherently different from stationary Mobility exposes them to different threat environments and excludes them from relying on external physical security. Productive application from enterprise, government, and military will invariably deal with sensitive data. A risk management and security framework is needed to protect applications and data on mobile devices when they are lost. We propose annovalapplication lockbox concept that compartmentalizes mobile devices at the application level. It is a practical approach that improves the security of mobile devices without requiring significant changes in the current mobile technology.In this paper we have created application such as lockbox in this we can store Sensitive data such as ATM PIN, password for online transaction etc.this information will in encrypted form on mobile device we can decrypt it on mobile but encryption and decryption keys will store on server. To open application longitude and latitude parameters parameter should match.All these parameters act as the policy decision point.Here we are providing physical security to mobile devices like pc, because of mobility now a days mobile devices work like pc,it is easy to handle in crowded area so physical security for mobile device is must. If mobile is lostwe can protect the data in mobile from adversaries[8].


Recommended Citation Marchbanks, Miner P. III; Blake, Jamilia J.; Smith, Danielle; Seibert, Allison L.; Carmichael, Dottie; Booth, Eric A.; and Fabelo, Tony (2014) "More than a Drop in the Bucket: The Social and Economic Costs of Dropouts and Grade Retentions Associated With Exclusionary Discipline," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 5: Iss. 2, Article 17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58464/2155-5834.1226 Available at: https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol5/iss2/17


Carijoa riisei is a snowflake coral that has aggressively spread across many coastal habitats in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, threatening a number of tropical ecosystems worldwide, including coral reefs. The aim of this work was to evaluate the distribution and provide an estimation of abundance of the invasive octocoral C. riisei along the Ecuadorian coast, as well as the relationship between its abundance and different environmental variables. In a field survey, high abundances of C. riisei colonies were reported growing over corals and sessile communities at 5 of 43 sampling sites. The areas with highest relative abundance were found in the Manabí province, at two sites in Jama: Bajo Londres (44.57% coverage) and Vaca Brava 1 (20.25%). Results of ordination and grouping statistical analyses showed no significant differences between invaded and not invaded sites as regards community composition or environmental characteristics, suggesting neither biotic nor abiotic factors could be limiting C. riisei dispersal along the Ecuadorian coast. Results from a bibliographic survey covering occurrence data up to 2020 were in accordance, showing that in that period C. riisei became an established species to the Ecuadorian coast, being present in at least 22 of the 43 sites, including various sites in Marine Protected Areas. Based on these findings, recommendations are made to promote urgent monitoring programs to detect C. riisei in new areas along the coast of Ecuador and in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, in order to develop a mitigation program and to take actions to conserve the ecosystems affected by this invasion.


Contemplations over the training of a modern healthcare manager are reflected in the article; the key organizational and methodological aspects of such training are analyzed; program-based measures related with personnel management are defined; training modules on training the healthcare personnel are designated; the experience and promising trends, as implemented in the above sphere by Semashko's Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, as well as new program "Head Doctor of the 21st Century", offered by the department of academic educational programs of the People's Economy Academy of the Government of the Russian Federation, are discussed.


Recent policy interest in managing local population growth has drawn attention to the fiscal pressures that population growth imposes on local governments. This paper uses 1985 data for 247 large county areas to determine the separate impacts on local government spending of two dimensions of residential development patterns, the rapidity of population growth and the intensity of land use as measured by gross residential densities. Based on a regression model that controls for other determinants of per capita spending, this study provides careful estimates of the nonlinear impacts of population growth and population density on three types of local government spending: current account spending, capital outlays and spending on public safety. The study balances the engineering and planning view that greater population density lowers the costs of providing public services by documenting a U-shaped relationship between spending and density; except in sparsely populated areas, higher density typically increases public sector spending. In addition, the results suggest that rapid population growth imposes fiscal burdens on established residents in the form of lower service levels.


Kinases are members of a large dynamic and cooperative signaling network, which senses inhibition of key nodal kinases and induces compensatory responses that offset pharmacological intervention. Combination therapies that target multiple growth- and survival promoting kinases are proving to be a better strategy for successful cancer therapy. What is lacking is the ability to measure whole kinome activity and to assess kinome adaptation and resistance to targeted therapies. We have developed a chemical proteomics approach that couples kinase affinity capture with quantitative mass spectrometry, providing a systems biology platform to profile global kinome activity in cancer cells, GEMM tumors and patient biopsies. Our chemical proteomic approach captures the majority of the expressed kinome estimated by RNA-seq and detects altered kinome activity profiles in response to stimulus or kinase inhibitors. Kinases from all major kinome subfamilies are captured with a large percentage representing the understudied kinome. For example, we discovered previously undefined activation of tyrosine and serine/threonine kinases in breast cancer cell lines in response to targeted kinase inhibitors that are currently in clinical trials. Combined kinome activity assessment using chemical proteomics and RNAi synthetic lethal screens predicted a specific kinase inhibitor combination therapy. The combination therapy gave apoptosis and tumor regression in a breast cancer GEMM, where single agents were largely ineffective. Thus we predicted an effective combination therapy based on assessment of kinome response to treatment of cells with drug.


Million (1981) argues that permissiveness and an overvaluation of children by parents promotes the narcissistic personality disorder. In theory, children without brothers or sisters or "only children" are especially vulnerable. "Not only are these children fawned over, but they frequently experience few of the restrictions and learn few of the responsibilities of sharing acquired by youngsters with siblings" (p. 177). In the present project, students in Introductory Psychology noted the number of their siblings while responding to several questionnaires including the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Hall, 1981), the narcissistic Superiority Scale (Robbins & Patton, 1985), and an instrument measuring perceptions of parents as permissive (Buri, in press). Of the 324 subjects 45 were only children. Data analyses included a focus on factors of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Emmons, 1984) and remained sensitive to the interactions between adaptive and maladaptive forms of narcissism (Watson, McKinney, Hawkins, & Morris, 1988). No tendency at all appeared for only children to be more narcissistic, and a weak, but significant, direct relationship appeared between the numbers of siblings and subjects' perceptions of their mothers (rm = .12, P< .05) and their fathers (rm =.13, P< .05) as permissive. These results suggest that narcissism is not a reliable correlate of only-child status and indicate that the presence of fewer siblings may be associated with less rather than more of the parental permissiveness thought to interfere with a maturation of the self.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder with multifactorial etiology; both genetic and environmental factors are known to be involved in pathogenesis. Treatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) plays an essential role in controlling disease progression and symptoms. DMARDs have immunomodulatory properties and suppress immune response by interfering in various pro-inflammatory pathways. Recent evidence has shown that the gut microbiota directly and indirectly modulates the host immune system. RA has been associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Patients with RA treated with DMARDs show partial restoration of eubiotic gut microbiome. Hence, it is essential to understand the impact of DMARDs on the microbial composition and its consequent influences on the host immune system to identify novel therapies for RA. In this review, we discuss the importance of antirheumatic-drug-induced host microbiota modulations and possible probiotics that can generate eubiosis.


Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multicomponent disease that is highly preventable and treatable. The predominant presenting feature is one of progressive dyspnoea. This occurs as a result of airflow limitation due to a combination of damage to the airways and parenchyma. The other important aspects of the disease are the presence of an abnormal inflammatory response and the presence of systemic manifestations. Treatment of COPD is effective in multiple patient-centred outcomes, and this has been demonstrated in a number of treatment studies over the last decade.


SMS has grown to be a common form of interaction in Norwegian society. Its adoption started among teens but has since been taken into use by other age groups. However, the use patterns for teens seem to be different from those of older users. This paper examines the assertion that SMS is a life phase and not a cohort phenomenon. That is, its use is more intense among teens and more moderate among older age groups. Data for the analysis comes from a series of six nation-wide surveys of Norwegians over the age of 13. Questions on the reported use of SMS were included in all these surveys. This information was adjusted in order to remove the effects of generally increased use over time. The analysis shows that the proportion of text messages sent by different age groups stays rather stable over time. Indeed there seems to be a type of ''standing wave'' of use associated with older teens and those in their early 20s. While there are cohort effects visible in the data, the analysis indicates that texting is largely a life phase phenomenon. If the curve had flattened out with time it would have indicated that the teens are carrying texting with them as they grow older. This, it seems is not the case. The overall use of SMS has increased in Norwegian society but the relative distribution of the text messages has remained centered around those in their late teens. This seems to indicate that the intense use of SMS is a life-phase phenomenon.


In recent years novel architecture components for image classification have been developed, starting with attention and patches used in transformers. While prior works have analyzed the influence of some aspects of architecture components on the robustness to adversarial attacks, in particular for vision transformers, the understanding of the main factors is still limited. We compare several (non)-robust classifiers with different architectures and study their properties, including the effect of adversarial training on the interpretability of the learnt features and robustness to unseen threat models. An ablation from ResNet to ConvNeXt reveals key architectural changes leading to almost $10\%$ higher $\ell_\infty$-robustness.


We present a radiative transfer model for Earth-Like-Planets (ELP). The model allows the assessment of the effect of a change in the concentration of an atmospheric component, especially a greenhouse gas (GHG), on the surface temperature of a planet. The model is based on the separation between the contribution of the short wavelength molecular absorption and the long wavelength one. A unique feature of the model is the condition of energy conservation at every point in the atmosphere. The radiative transfer equation is solved in the two stream approximation without assuming the existence of an LTE in any wavelength range. The model allows us to solve the Simpson paradox, whereby the greenhouse effect (GHE) has no temperature limit. On the contrary, we show that the temperature saturates, and its value depends primarily on the distance of the planet from the central star. We also show how the relative humidity affects the surface temperature of a planet and explain why the effect is smaller than the one derived when the above assumptions are neglected.


Nowadays, a lot of machines are able to execute complex processes in the manufacturing units. Other machines can execute complex treatments for medical units. The main constraint for using these machines is the good scheduling of the tasks of preparation and the preventive maintenance tasks, which are required. These tasks are manual or semi-automated tasks but they need operators. When several machines are grouped in a unit, it is important to organize the environmental tasks for getting the effectiveness of the entire unit. In order to increase the effectiveness of this kind if units, we studied a decision support system (DSS) for the unit's operators. The objective of this system is to communicate with each operator category in order to give him the list of next executable actions. This DSS does not control the production facilities; it does not define very elaborate strategies for management: it is based on decisions taken by the operators. The paper discusses about the architectures of the DSS. We identified a hybrid architecture with generic subsystems to manage different types of resources. The DSS has a distributed architecture which can use a distributed environment (object based on MOM middleware). The objective of the distributed environment is to simplify the applications and to insure the independence of the DSS from the communication network. The case study is taken in the domain of the manufacturing: the diesel engines for trucks are manufactured on three assembly lines and the studied unit performs the test of the engines coming from the lines. The case study illustrates the use of the generic part of DSS (subsystems) and that of the message oriented middleware (MOM) system for insuring the communication between the distributed part of the DSS.


The chemical control of hydrolysis-condensation reactions of transition metal alkoxides can be performed through the modification of the transition metal coordination sphere by using strong complexing ligands (SCL). Complexing organic groups can be bonded to the transition metal oxide network in two different ways, as network modifiers or network formers. Different illustrations of the role of complexing ligands on Ti(IV) and Zr(IV) alkoxides are presented. As a network modifier, SCL act as termination agents for condensation reactions allowing a control of particle growth. The complexing ligands being located at the periphery of the oxo core open many opportunities for colloid surface protection. SCL carrying organofunctional groups which exhibit non linear optical (NLO) properties have also been used as probes to study sol-gel transformations. SCL functionalized with organic polymerizable functions act as network formers. Hybrid organic-inorganic copolymers intimately interpenetrated on a nanometer size scale were synthesized from zirconium oxo polymers chemically bonded to polymeric methacrylate chains via a complexing function.


Medicinal products for the treatment and prevention of influenza and acute respiratory infection (ARI) are listed. Clinical symptoms of ARI in the period of enhanced morbidity during 2009-2010 are described. Different forms of control of viral infections are discussed. Clinical and epidemiological efficacy of cyclopheron for the treatment of ARI and influenza in organized groups of population is assessed.


In remote Australia there is an expanding emphasis on the employment and training of Indigenous people in the mining industry. Employment and training programs are presented as an effective strategy for breaking welfare dependence and empowering individuals and communities to take responsibility for their future. Using the case of programs targeting Warlpiri people's participation in the gold mining industry in the Tanami Region of the Northern Territory of Australia, this paper explores some of the different ways in which Warlpiri people are being governed. It investigates the endeavours, through various practices and discourses, to constitute Warlpiri people as particular kinds of neoliberal and 'job ready' subjects. Whilst the employment and training programs claim to respect the culture and liberties of Warlpiri people, there are clearly outlined attempts to construct self-reliant, autonomous and active individuals. Finally, the paper explores the potential links between rationalisations justifying the programs and the current concern, at the level of state and national governments, to direct various populations into work.


This study was designed to determine whether ropivacane decreases the severity of acu te post - thoracotomy pain scores and whether ropivacane decreases the dosage and need of rescue analgesics in comparison with placebo. In our study Patients were randomly assigned in a blinded fashion to receive either 0.5 % ropivacaine or p lacebo. B etween March 2012 and march 2013, 63 patients underwen t thoracotomy in our hospital. 53 subjects were randomized to receive either 0.5 % ropivacaine (n = 28) or saline (n = 25). Pain scores (at rest, during deep breathing, and coughing), intra - op erative opioid requirement, requirement of rescue analgesics and adverse events were assessed for 12 hours. Mean opioid (morphine) requirement in the ropivacaine group was 5.786 mg (SD 1.272), while as the mean requirement of morphine in the saline group was 6.0 mg (SD 1.299), the difference in the intraoperative opioid requirement was statistically insignificant (p value = 0.5472). Mean paracetamol requirement at 6 hours post - procedure was 0.18 g (SD 0.39) in t he ropivacaine group and 0.52 g (SD 0.51) in the saline group, the difference between the groups was statistically highly significant (p value = 0.0081). O ur study concluded that ropivacaine 0.5 % improves pain scores. It is also concluded that ropivacaine 0.5 % in comparison to placebo decreases the requirement and dosage of rescue analgesics.


One of the inherent complexities associated with queueing models for store and forward data communications networks arises from the fact that messages typically preserve their length as they traverse the system. The interarrival and service sequences at queues internal to the network are thus dependent, making standard methods of analysis realistically inappropriate (except in an approximate sense). In an effort to find methods of dealing with such nonstandard queueing systems, a model for sparsely-connected networks (or network segments) called a message channel has been studied. A message channel is defined as a tandem connection of single server queues in which the successive service times experienced by any particular customer are scaled versions of the same random variable. A number of recent results concerning the delay properties of such systems are presented. These include: ordering relations for the successive waiting times in the channel; characterizations of waiting time properties under extreme conditions (simultaneous arrival of all customers): and, simple bounds on performance parameters for systems with uniformly bounded service processes. A general integral equation for the distribution of the equilibrium cumulative waiting time in GI/(G/1)^{M} queueing systems (which are instances of uniform message channels) is also derived. The solution of this equation for systems with discrete service time distributions and Poisson arrivals is indicated and explicitly exhibited for the case of two discrete levels (corresponding to a message switching system with two packet classes).


Traffic systems are often highly populated discrete event systems that exhibit several modes of behavior such as free flow traffic, traffic jams, stop-and-go waves, etc. An appropriate closed loop control of the congested system is crucial in order to avoid undesirable behavior. This paper proposes a macroscopic model based on continuous Petri nets as a tool for designing control laws that improve the behavior of traffic systems. The main reason to use a continuous model is to avoid the state explosion problem inherent to large discrete event systems. The obtained model captures the different operation modes of a traffic system and is highly compositional. In order to handle the variability of the traffic conditions, a model predictive control strategy is proposed and validated.


Background In spite of a consistent protection against tuberculosis (TB) in children, Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) fails to provide adequate protection against the disease in adults as well as against reactivation of latent infections or exogenous reinfections. It has been speculated that failure to generate adequate memory T cell response, elicitation of inadequate immune response against latency-associated antigens and inability to impart long-term immunity against M. tuberculosis infections are some of the key factors responsible for the limited efficiency of BCG in controlling TB. Methods/Principal Findings In this study, we evaluated the ability of a DNA vaccine expressing α-crystallin- a key latency antigen of M. tuberculosis to boost the BCG induced immunity. 'BCG prime – DNA boost' regimen (B/D) confers robust protection in guinea pigs along with a reduced pathology in comparison to BCG vaccination (1.37 log10 and 1.96 log10 fewer bacilli in lungs and spleen, respectively; p<0.01). In addition, B/D regimen also confers enhanced protection in mice. Further, we show that B/D immunization in mice results in a heightened frequency of PPD and antigen specific multi-functional CD4 T cells (3+) simultaneously producing interferon (IFN)γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α and interleukin (IL)2. Conclusions/Significance These results clearly indicate the superiority of α-crystallin based B/D regimen over BCG. Our study, also demonstrates that protection against TB is predictable by an increased frequency of 3+ Th1 cells with superior effector functions. We anticipate that this study would significantly contribute towards the development of superior booster vaccines for BCG vaccinated individuals. In addition, this regimen can also be expected to reduce the risk of developing active TB due to reactivation of latent infection.


Recent studies have demonstrated a role of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in schizophrenia. An association between the Val66Met BDNF polymorphism has been reported but the results of different studies are inconsistent. An aim of the present article is to study the allele and genotype distribution in patients with schizophrenia (783) and mentally healthy controls (633). No statistically significant between-group differences have been found. When the group of patients has been stratified by sex and form of schizophrenia, the higher frequency of the Val/Val genotype is observed in the subgroup of men with continuous (chronic) schizophrenia as compared to men with attack-like form (p = 0.047). Clinical symptoms assessed with the PANSS were more severe in male patients with the Val/Val genotype. The Val66Met polymorphism was not associated with forms of schizophrenia or clinical symptoms in female patients. The results obtained suggest that the association between the BDNF gene and schizophrenia may be related to sex and clinical heterogeneity of disease. The Val/Val genotype is associated with severer form of schizophrenia in men.


Purpose: At a time when the distribution industry is dominated by capital and technology, win-win growth among businesses groups (BGs) in wholesale market is becoming a social issue. Therefore, through analysis of market growth, market concentration (MC) and market power (MP), we want to identify the structure of the wholesale market and the competitiveness of the BGs in terms of market share (MS), sales-profit ratio (SPR), and labor productivity (LP) to explore the possibility of win-win growth. Market situation: Wholesale and Retail sales ratio (W/S) continues to increase, which also means inefficiency in distribution channels or opportunities in wholesale markets. Wholesale sales have grown 8.3 percent annually over the past 15 years, while the number of companies and workers has declined since 2017, which is why some restructuring is believed to begin in the wholesale industry. In terms of MC and MP, the growth potential of SBG can be found in FCB, ARM, FBT and CME BTs. Methodology and data: Through ANOVA and Regression Analysis, the 2015 Economic Census Data of KOSTAT was analyzed. Results: The results of ANOVA show that statistically significant SBG has a larger MS than LBG. The SPR was not different among BGs. LP is higher for LBG than for other BGs. Regression results show that the employment weight (EW) and the company size (SC) have positive effects on the MS, but the company weight (CW) and employment size (SE) have negative effects. In the case of SPR, the CW is positive and the EW is negative. In addition, LP appears to be more positive as SC in the BGs is larger. Conclusions: Although there is sufficient potential for SBG in the wholesale market, there is a problem that needs to increase LP. Therefore, the SBG needs to restructure in terms of number of companies and SC to improve the efficiency of employment. In terms of MC and MP, the SBG looks for possibilities in FCB, ARM, FBT and CME BTs. In addition, SBG that seeks higher returns with human services rather than simple sales is found to be competitive in the HHG, MES and CME BTs.


Abstract Hydrological and glaciological data were gathered in the watershed (1.37 km2) of the Antizana Glacier 15 (0.7 km2) in the periods 1997–2002 and 1995–2005, respectively. In addition, tracer experiments were carried out to analyse the flow through permeable morainic deposits located between the glacier snout and the runoff gauging station. Over 11 years, the mean specific net balance of the glacier was negative (–627 mm w.e.), despite the occurrence of positive values in the La Niña years (1999–2000). From the glacier net mass balance between 1997 and 2002, it was found that the mean flow originating from ice melt was significantly higher than the mean discharge measured at the hydrological station. Analyses of tracer experiments and of the different components of the hydrological balance suggest groundwater flow that originates below the glacier accounts for the remaining water. This result is important for regional analyses of available water resources and for the relationship between hydro-cryospheric processes and volcanic activity.


The additive under assessment, manganese hydroxychloride, contains ≥ 45% manganese (Mn). Manganese hydroxychloride is a safe source of manganese for all target species when used up to the maximum level of total manganese in complete feed authorised in the EU ( Fish 100 (total) and Other species 150 (total) mg Mn/kg feedingstuffs). Manganese hydroxychloride would substitute for other manganese sources in feed. It does not differently affect tissue deposition compared to manganese sulphate. The Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) concludes that the use of manganese hydroxychloride in animal nutrition is safe for the consumers, provided the maximum authorised manganese content in complete feed is respected. In the absence of speci fi c data, the FEEDAP Panel cannot conclude on the safety for the user when handling the additive. The use of manganese hydroxychloride in animal nutrition for all animal species is not expected to pose a risk to the environment. Manganese hydroxychloride is considered a source of bioavailable manganese as indicated by a dose-dependent increase of manganese deposition in bone and liver based on two studies on chickens for fattening. The FEEDAP Panel concludes that the additive is ef fi cacious in meeting the manganese requirements for all animal species/categories. any for for Lab2: / merged haematological


Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of dentists towards Topical fluoride application in Delhi, National Capital Region (NCR). Materials and Method: A self-made questionnaire was designed in a manner through which Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of the practitioners on topical fluoride application could be studied. The validated questionnaire was mailed to 100 dentists. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20 for inferential statistics and Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results: 70 0f 100 respondents filled the questionnaire. Majority of the practitioners who were enrolled in the study were paediatric dentists (50.7%), followed by General practitioners (31.9%). Majority of the dentists (71%) did not face any difficulty in integrating preventive procedure in their practice. Acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF)/Sodium Fluoride (NaF) gel was the preferred choice amongst the practitioners. Most of the dentists had a positive attitude regarding practicing preventive procedure and thought it is for the betterment of their patient. There was no correlation found in the knowledge and attitude scores as well as attitude and practice scores. Conclusion: Dentists had average knowledge and positive attitudes towards fluoride application. Paediatric dentists were more knowledgeable towards practising preventive dentistry and were more likely to manage the high-risk patients more efficiently.


Renal clear cell carcinoma (ccRCC) comprises over 75% of all renal tumors and arises in the epithelial cells of the proximal convoluted tubule. Molecularly ccRCC is characterized by copy number alterations (CNAs) such as the loss of chromosome 3p and VHL inactivation. Additional driver mutations (SETD2, PBRM1, BAP1, and others) promote genomic instability and tumor cell metastasis through the dysregulation of various metabolic and immune-response pathways. Many researchers identified mutation, gene expression, and proteomic signatures for early diagnosis and prognostics for ccRCC. Despite a tremendous influx of data regarding DNA alterations, gene expression, and protein expression, the incorporation of these analyses for diagnosis and prognosis of RCC into the clinical application has not been implemented yet. In this review, we focused on the molecular changes associated with ccRCC development, along with gene expression and protein signatures, to emphasize the utilization of these molecular profiles in clinical practice. These findings, in the context of machine learning and precision medicine, may help to overcome some of the barriers encountered for implementing molecular profiles of tumors into the diagnosis and treatment of ccRCC.


Purpose: Aneurysms of the upper extremity arteries are uncommon and may be difficult to manage with standard surgical techniques. We report the exclusion of three axillary-subclavian aneurysms with covered stents. Methods and Results: Palmaz stents were covered with either polytetrafluoroethylene (2 cases) or brachial vein and deployed to exclude pseudoaneurysms in 1 axillary (ruptured) and 2 left subclavian arteries. Two of the patients had advanced cancer and died within 52 days and 3 months of treatment, but their aneurysms were occluded at the time of their death. The repair in the third patient is patent at 9 months. Conclusions: Endovascular exclusion of axillary and subclavian aneurysms with covered stents may offer a useful alternative to operative repair, particularly in patients with significant comorbidities.


We aimed to re-evaluate the 'two-step' antenatal glucose screening programme in relation to maternal and foetal outcomes in pregnant women screened for gestational diabetes mellitus and to compare maternal and foetal outcomes between different groups divided according to glucose tolerance test results. Two-thousand four-hundred and two pregnant women attending for antenatal care were recruited retrospectively for the study. Mean birthweight for pregnancies with single-value abnormality (SVA) in 100-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was significantly higher than the control group [3420 ± 378 vs. 3294 ± 444]. We found a significantly higher rate of macrosomia in the subgroup of 50-g glucose challenge test (GCT) between 130 and 140 mg/dl [9.7% vs. 4.8%]. Pregnant women whose 50-g GCT results are between 130 and 140 mg/dl or who have SVA in 100-g OGTT not only have gestational diabetes, but are also at increased risk for diabetic complications.


lished in numerous editions) is able to dispense with academical dryness. The book's lively yet polished prose often reads like a friendly chat without sacrificing complexity and precision. This is an engaging and eminently readable collection. While scholars will profit in numerous ways, the volume can additionally be recommended to any general readers who might want to deepen their knowledge about the genre (and perhaps discover new authors) alongside their enjoyment of mysteries.


A well-defined compositionally-equivalent linear analog to a previously reported hyperbranched fluoropolymer (HBFP) was synthesized and each was subjected to characterization studies as a fundamental investigation of the role of architecture on solution and solid-state properties. Condensation polymerization of 3-{[(tert-butyl)dimethylsilyl]oxy}-5-[(2′,3′,4′,5′,6′-pentafluoro)oxy]benzyl alcohol in the presence of an excess of elemental sodium dispersion, followed by removal of the TBDMS protecting group, and finally alkylation with 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl bromide afforded linear fluorinated poly(benzyl ether)s (LFP)s. Molecular weights were typically 7000 to 15000 Da (Mn) with molecular weight distributions of ca. 2, as determined by size exclusion chromatography. Confirmation of the isomeric structures of LFP and HBFP was made by 1H, 19F, and 13C NMR, and IR spectroscopies. Evaluation of the effects of molecular architecture on solution behavior were examined by solubility and 19F NMR diffusion measurements. There was no significant difference in solubility in a wide range of organic solvents. 19F NMR diffusion experiments measured diffusion coefficients of ca. 3 × 10−6 cm2 s−1 and estimated Stokes radii of 15–26 A, depending upon the solvent, regardless of polymer architecture. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis studies revealed similar thermolytic profiles with a glass transition temperature of 53 °C for both systems and thermal stability up to 290 °C. Our studies show that the difference in polymer architecture (linear versus hyperbranched) does not necessarily mandate obvious discrepancies in spectroscopic or solution behavior, although the molecular weights for these polymers were maintained at relatively low values.


Benthic components of tropical mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are home to diverse fish assemblages, but the effect of multiscale spatial benthic characteristics on MCE fish is not well understood. To investigate the influence of fine‐scale benthic seascape structure and broad‐scale environmental characteristics on MCE fish, we surveyed fish assemblages in Seychelles at 30, 60 and 120 m depth using submersible video transects. Spatial pattern metrics from seascape ecology were applied to quantify fine‐scale benthic seascape composition, configuration and terrain morphology from structure‐from‐motion photogrammetry and multibeam echosounder bathymetry and to explore seascape–fish associations. Hierarchical clustering using fish abundance and biomass data identified four distinct assemblages separated by the depth and geographic location, but also significantly influenced by variations in fine‐scale seascape structure. Results further revealed variable responses of assemblage characteristics (fish biomass, abundance, trophic group richness, Shannon diversity) to seascape heterogeneity at different depths. Sites with steep slopes and high terrain complexity hosted higher fish abundance and biomass, with shallower fish assemblages (30–60 m) positively associated with aggregated patch mixtures of coral, rubble, sediment and macroalgae with variable patch shapes. Deeper fish assemblages (120 m) were positively associated with relief and structural complexity and local variability in the substratum and benthic cover. Our study demonstrates the potential of spatial pattern metrics quantifying benthic composition, configuration and terrain structure to delineate mesophotic fish–habitat associations. Furthermore, incorporating a finer‐scale perspective proved valuable to explain the compositional patterns of MCE fish assemblages. As developments in marine surveying and monitoring of MCEs continue, we suggest that future studies incorporating spatial pattern metrics with multiscale remotely sensed data can provide insights will that are both ecologically meaningful to fish and operationally relevant to conservation strategies.


Tilting of large lakes due to differential isostatic uplift in the glaciated regions of the Northern Hemisphere is a welldocumented process. With the help of accurate digital elevation models and spatial GIS analysis techniques, the resulting hydrological changes, including shifts in the outlets and changes in the size and configuration of lakes, can now be mapped and calculated more precisely than before. As a case study to highlight the magnitude of such changes in Fennoscandia, we investigated and reinterpreted the Holocene palaeogeography and palaeohydrology of Lake Pielinen in eastern Finland. This lake is currently 99 km long and located parallel to the direction of land uplift, being thus particularly sensitive to the impacts of tilting. Our results show that the lake was formed at the end of the regional deglaciation, following drainage of a local ice-dammed lake. In its initial stage until 10 200 cal yr BP, the outlet of the newly-formed lake was located in its northwestern end, but the tilting led to a major water level transgression in the basin, eventually causing formation of a new outlet over the southeastern threshold. The lake area was 143 km long and its area was 1998 km at the time of formation of the southeastern outlet at 10 200 cal yr BP. The lake level has been regressive throughout the basin during the last 10 200 years. This regression will continue for approximately another 10 000 years until all the glacial isostatic adjustment has occurred, after which Lake Pielinen will be only 89 km long and 565 km in area.


Purpose

The College, Career, and Civic Life Framework and recently revised social studies standards in a number of states have placed renewed emphasis on inquiry-based instruction rooted in rigorous and relevant questions, which necessitates a better understanding of how teachers develop questions capable of meeting the expectations set forth in these documents. The purpose of this paper is to examine teachers' question-development processes and the impact of question development and implementation on their understanding of compelling questions.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study examined how six high school civics teachers from a single Kentucky school district defined and developed compelling questions. Following recommendations for in-depth phenomenological interviews, this study implemented a three-interview sequence, each of which included a verbal report component. Additional data were generated through teacher-completed Question Development Tasks and Question Evaluation Tasks.

Findings

The findings suggest that participants' attempts to craft questions that balanced relevance and complexity led them to engage in a deliberate, reflective question-development process. Teachers' understandings of compelling questions were shaped by their question-development experience; however, teachers who implemented their compelling questions emerged with a more nuanced understanding of their construction and a deeper commitment to their use.

Originality/value

Although focused on a small group of teachers, this study provides valuable insight into teachers' conceptions of inquiry, which may strengthen the supports teacher educators and administrators provide to those attempting to implement inquiry in their classrooms.


Author(s): Rutaganira, Florentine Uwamahoro | Advisor(s): Shokat, Kevan M | Abstract: As key modulators of cellular processes, kinases are promising disease targets and inhibition of kinases with small molecules has now become an effective means of treating severe diseases. Although kinases play a large role in cellular signaling and aberrant kinase activity can have profound effects on cellular state, many kinases lack pharmacological tools that are potent and specific enough to accurately assess their function. Even fewer kinases possess pharmacologic tools with desirable pharmacokinetic characteristics that are required to assess clinical utility in animal models. Among these kinases are human phosphoinositide kinases, which have been implicated as novel targets for asthma and pan viral replication, as well as parasitic calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPK) that can serve as novel targets for parasitic diseases. Through multi-lab collaborations, I have designed, synthesized, optimized, and biochemically evaluated ATP-competitive small molecule inhibitors for human type III phosphatidylinositol 4-kinases (PI4KIII) and type I phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase (PIP5K) kinases as well as Toxoplasma gondii CDPK1. We have achieved potent and selective pharmacological tools for these kinases and inhibitors to PI4KIIIβ and TgCDPK1 have been optimized for desirable pharmacokinetic characteristics and serve as clinical leads for pan antivirals and toxoplasmosis respectively.


We have synthesized two highly efficient phosphorescent iridium metal complexes, Ir(DPQ)2(acac) and Ir(FPQ)2(acac), which are based on cyclometalated quinoline ligands, and discuss details of their electrochemical behavior and photophysical properties (viz. absorption and photoluminescence). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of Ir(DPQ)2(acac) reveal a distorted octahedral geometry, in which the quinoline N atoms and the C atoms of the orthometalated phenyl groups are located at mutual trans and cis positions, respectively. In contrast, Ir(FPQ)2(acac) is an amorphous solid and undergoes a glass transition at 92 °C, which we attribute to the presence of the long di-n-octyl chains in the fluorenyl groups. The phosphorescence of these Ir complexes originates from the dominant 3MLCT excited state shifts to red that occur upon introducing a phenyl substituent and/or a large conjugating aromatic ring into the ligand. A polymer light-emitting diode (PLED) device that uses Ir(FPQ)2(acac) as a phosphorescent dopant and a PVK/PBD blend as the host material produces very high efficiency (an external quantum efficiency of 8.16% at 100 mA cm−2) and a pure-red emission with 1931 CIE (Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage) chromaticity coordinates of (x = 0.68, y = 0.32).


There are great knowledge gaps concerning the population dynamics and behavioral ecology of wild camels. This study focused on grouping behaviors of camels (Camelus ferus) through the use of continuous camera trapping at 11 water source sites and eight field surveys conducted in the Kumtag Desert to evaluate seasonal variation in grouping behavior. We recorded 430 individual wild camels in a total of 64 groups. The largest group contained 71 individuals, the smallest group 1. The average group size was 10.74 during the breeding season, and 2.94 during the non-breeding season. Our data on seasonal grouping of camels, including average and maximum group size, supported the idea that wild camels live in open fission fusion groups, which tend to concentrate during the winter rutting season. At these 11 water source sites, 281 groups were recorded over the course of one year. Though no difference in average group size was detected between seasons in the camera trap data, both camera trap and field survey data supported the hypothesis that maximum group size was larger in the breeding season than in the non-breeding season. Group size was larger on the northern slope of the Altun Mountains than at Xihu wetland. Topography of the water source sites, the camera angle view, and the monitoring duration of cameras could all lead to an underestimate of wild camel group size. Even considering the limitations of our study, camera traps provide a new method and in第 6 期 薛亚东等: 利用红外相机视频数据进行库姆塔格沙漠地区野骆驼集群行为研究的可行性 747 sights compared with traditional field surveys, and they are more economical and practical as well.


Hyperspectral image (HSI) denoising is a crucial preprocessing procedure to improve the performance of the subsequent HSI interpretation and applications. In this paper, a novel deep learning-based method for this task is proposed, by learning a nonlinear end-to-end mapping between the noisy and clean HSIs with a combined spatial–spectral deep convolutional neural network (HSID-CNN). Both the spatial and spectral information are simultaneously assigned to the proposed network. In addition, multiscale feature extraction and multilevel feature representation are, respectively, employed to capture both the multiscale spatial–spectral feature and fuse different feature representations for the final restoration. The simulated and real-data experiments demonstrate that the proposed HSID-CNN outperforms many of the mainstream methods in both the quantitative evaluation indexes, visual effects, and HSI classification accuracy.


Quantum metrology makes use of quantum mechanics to improve precision measurements and measurement sensitivities. It is usually formulated for time-independent Hamiltonians, but time-dependent Hamiltonians may offer advantages, such as a T4 time dependence of the Fisher information which cannot be reached with a time-independent Hamiltonian. In Optimal adaptive control for quantum metrology with time-dependent Hamiltonians (Nature Communications 8, 2017), Shengshi Pang and Andrew N. Jordan put forward a Shortcut-to-adiabaticity (STA)-like method, specifically an approach formally similar to the "counterdiabatic approach", adding a control term to the original Hamiltonian to reach the upper bound of the Fisher information. We revisit this work from the point of view of STA to set the relations and differences between STA-like methods in metrology and ordinary STA. This analysis paves the way for the application of other STA-like techniques in parameter estimation. In particular we explore the use of physical unitary transformations to propose alternative time-dependent Hamiltonians which may be easier to implement in the laboratory.


Digestate contains a high proportion of mineral nitrogen (N) especially in the form of ammonium which is available for plants. Moreover, it contains other macroand microelements necessary for plant growth. Therefore the digestate can be a useful source of plant nutrients, it seems to be an effective fertilizer for crop plants. On the other hand, the organic fractions of digestate can contribute to soil organic matter (SOM) turnover, influencing the biological, chemical and physical soil characteristics as a soil amendment.


THE EFFECTS OF MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING IN PREGNANCY ON KNOWLEDGE AND RETENTION OF INFANT ORAL HEALTH INFORMATION By Andrew D. Zima, Jr., B.S., M.S., D.D.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Major Director: Tegwyn H. Brickhouse, D.D.S., Ph.D Associate Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry Purpose: The purpose was to examine the effect of motivational counseling in pregnancy with readiness and acceptance of infant oral health information. Methods: The study used a prospective cohort design to examine the effect of prenatal education and motivational counseling with expectant mothers about infant oral health care readiness. Participants were all enrolled in a prenatal care program called Centering Pregnancy offered by VCU's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. They all completed a pre-survey questionnaire, followed by a motivational counseling intervention, and then completed a post-survey questionnaire. A third survey was sent out 1 year post-partum. The participants were evaluated for their willingness to accept v vi information, their knowledge about infant oral health, and the retention and implementation of infant oral health information. Results: A sample of 87 pregnant women completed the preand post-survey and 11 of these participants completed and mailed back the 1 year post-partum survey. Based on the analysis of the readiness (RAPIDD scale) responses, the participants showed statistically significant overall improvements in their pre versus post survey openness to health information (p < .0039) and value for dental health (p < .001). The results for the knowledge portion of the survey demonstrated an increase in their infant oral health education, showing a significant change across time (p < .0001) from the pre survey to both the post and 1 year post partum surveys. The results to the last portion of the pre, post, and 1 year survey illustrated that the participants learned at what age to establish a dental home for their infant. Conclusion: This study has shown that with the proper educational tools parents are able to accept and improve their knowledge related to infant oral health and the prevention of early childhood caries. Data suggests that parents are implementing routine home infant oral health measures, but fewer have established a dental home by age 1.


Systems for which no observer with linear error dynamics exists are termed non-integrable. Generically, nonlinear systems are non-integrable. Using results developed for approximate feedback linearization, we propose two approaches to observer design for non-integrable, unforced, single-output systems. An example illustrates the design procedure.


Background People with axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA) suffer from lengthy diagnostic delays of ~7 years. The usage of screening tools to identify axSpA patients in primary care can reduce diagnostic delays by facilitating early referral to rheumatologic care. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a potential screening tool for patients with axSpA. Method Content validity was evaluated by soliciting feedback from 7 rheumatologists regarding the relevance and content representativeness of the proposed screening questions. For the test-retest study, participants ≥18 years of age with chronic back pain (≥3 months) without a diagnosis of mechanical or inflammatory back pain (n = 91) were e-recruited through ResearchMatch. Participation included completing identical baseline and follow-up questionnaires ~14 days apart. Weighted quadratic kappa was used to measure test-retest reliability between the two ratings of the ordinal scales. Construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and items with factor loadings ≥0.6 were extracted. Scale dimensionality and simplified factorial solutions were measured using Kaiser's criteria (Eigenvalue >1). Cronbach's alpha was used to measure internal consistency. Results Most participants were women, non-Hispanic white, and had at least some college education, with a mean age of 45 years. On average, the age at onset of back pain was 31 years. Eleven questions yielded test–retest reliabilities ranging from 0.6 to 0.76. Results from EFA extracted two factors relating to: 1) how pain affects daily life functioning and 2) whether pain improves with movement. Internal consistency was high for questions evaluating how pain affects life, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.81. Following assessment for validity and reliability, the questionnaire was revised to create the 6-item screening tool. Conclusions The 6-item SpA-SED screening tool designed to identify potential cases of axSpA was found to have good test–retest reliability and high internal consistency.


An experimental hydrodynamic investigation has been carried out for a novel internally circulating chemical looping (ICCL) reactor concept proposed to reduce the technical complexities encountered in conventional chemical looping combustion (CLC) and reforming (CLR) technologies. The concept consists of a single reactor with internal physical separations dividing it into two sections, i.e., the fuel and air sections. The trade-off for this reduction in process complexity is increased gas leakage between the two reactor sections, so a pseudo-2D cold-flow experimental unit was designed. The ICCL concept remains highly efficient in terms of CO2 separation while ensuring significant process simplifications. The solids circulation rate also proved easy to control by adjusting the fluidization velocity ratio and the bed loading. In the light of the excellent hydrodynamic performance, the ICCL concept appears to be well-suited for further development as a CLC/CLR reactor model.


In Black and Blue: The Origins and Consequences of Medical Racism, the author argues that the persistence of folkloric beliefs about racial differences both inside and outside of the medical profession affects the medical treatment received by African Americans. Hoberman provides a thorough discussion of the historical legacy of this practice beginning with plantation medicine and continuing through the 21st century. Much of the book is devoted to demonstrating how deeply this practice is embedded in physicians' thinking about the minds and bodies of their African American patients. He goes on to state that another significant issue is the lack of demand for African American physicians' insights on racerelated behaviors in the medical world. The author contends that the current orientation of the medical profession regarding racial issues continues to preserve some dysfunctional habits. Suggestions for transforming these habits are offered with the goal of improving medical treatment for African Americans. He states that transformation of these habits is the responsibility of medical educators who supervise the training of medical students. Practical guidelines are provided to initiate changes. For example, he argues for more humanities in the curriculum of medical student's educational experience, with the rationale that such additions to the medical curriculum would strengthen future physicians' encounters with such frequently encountered phenomena as therapeutic fatalism. Extra instruction would introduce future practitioners to the legacy of mistrust among some of the nation's underserved and allow them to establish better working relationships with Black patients. Hoberman critiques cultural competency programs as a series of do's and don'ts that define how to treat a patient of a given ethnic background (pg. 225). He states that the problem with such an approach to difference is that it oversimplifies the cultural and ethnic medical experience, a simplification that can hinder accurate medical diagnosis. He argues that the idea that physicians' attitudes toward patients must become more empathetic and humanized is not new and has circulated in medical circles for centuries. Finally, he asserts that the medical establishment has not elected to treat the African American health crisis as an emergency and that it has not accepted racial health disparities as a fact of life. Though the book provides a reasonably thorough review of the historical literature to back the author's claims, it seems to see the African American experience as monolithic. This is particularly noticeable in repeated references to a shared socioeconomic status among African Americans. Such over-generalization serves to reinforce stereotypes


Testosterone is converted to estradiol in specific regions of the primate brain and accumulates as such in the nuclei of cells in hypothalamus, preoptic area, and amygdala. To locate more precisely those neurons in which nuclear estrogen receptors were occupied by estrogenic metabolites of testosterone, we injected 8 castrated male rhesus monkeys with [3H]-estradiol. Four were injected with oil for control purposes, and 4 were pretreated for 3 days with 2 mg/day testosterone propionate. This dose raised plasma testosterone levels into the high physiological range for intact males. After 60 min, brains were rapidly removed, the levels of [3H]-estradiol in nuclei were measured in the right halves of the brains by high-performance liquid chromatography, and labeled neurons were located in the left halves by autoradiography. Compared with the 4 control animals, nuclear levels of [3H]-estradiol in testosterone-treated males were reduced by 77% in the hypothalamus (p less than 0.001), by 93% in the preoptic area (p less than 0.001), and by 90% in the amygdala (p less than 0.05). In autoradiograms from testosterone-treated males, the labeling of neurons was reduced by 72-96% in most of the regions in which the control males showed high percentages of labeled cells. However, there were only small reductions in the number of labeled neurons in lateral septum (by 31%) and arcuate nucleus (by 23%). These two regions, therefore, contained estrogen receptors that were not blocked by pretreatment with testosterone. The simplest explanation for these results is that estrogenic metabolites of testosterone prevented the uptake of [3H]-estradiol by prior occupation of estrogen receptor sites. The rather precise neuroanatomical localization of the effects pointed to the existence of two populations of estrogen target neurons in the primate brain depending on the presence or absence of local aromatase activity.


Although the symbionts of non-vertebrate metazoans have received scarce attention, scientific interest has recently increased as these symbionts can spread diseases and alter the diversity of the ecosystem where hosts are introduced. We report here a symbiont newly described by molecular markers and observed on the yabby Cherax destructor Clark, 1936, collected in Italian freshwaters. Preliminary morphological observations were performed and a species identification was proposed using molecular techniques. In particular, a 644-bp long 28S rDNA fragment was successfully sequenced and could be aligned for the entire sample set. The minimum spanning network identified two haplotypes clustered into a single haplogroup (H1) together with Temnosewellia minor Haswell, 1888 reference sequences. Considering the introduction of temnocephalans, this represents the third discovery of alien crayfish symbionts in Italian freshwaters, but the first obtained by molecular data. Outside Europe, there are only few records of alien temnocephalans worldwide, introduced with the crayfishes from Australia. The occurrence of this new temnocephalid species and the great number of potential hosts species inhabiting Italian freshwaters suggest that the Italian peninsula might have many undescribed temnocephalid populations/species.


Abstract From the ancient times up till now hysteria has been a mysterious and intriguing issue. The authors of this article using mainly the work of Etienne Trillat of the same title, present the most important facts from the history of hysteria. Our work shows how notions of hysteria known initially as uterine dyspnoea, which was the term used by Hippocrates in the seventh tome of his "Collected Works" evolved step by step. At the end of 1st century AD a newcomer to Rome, Soranus of Ephesus, as an experienced anatomist in his "Treatise on midwifery and the diseases of women" moved away from the old ideas of Plato and Hippocrates equating uterus to an animal. How did views on hysteria develop throughout Middle Ages, Renaissance or World Wars period? In this article the authors are trying to determine the nature of hysteria as well as what remained from hysteria in the contemporary times, depicting hysteria's elusiveness as a disease, many difficulties with its definition and connection with many shocking events in history of mankind. From the ancient sages, through Kramer, Sprenger, Wier, Harvey, Willis, Sydenham, Blackmore up until Mesmer, Freud and many others. From hysteric witches, beings suffering from vapors, through sensitive, fragile and musing women up until mythomaniacs, nymphomaniacs and what we define today as histrionic personality disorder. In the words of French neurologist and a creator of psychiatry – Charcot – hysteria existed forever, everywhere and all-time. Why did it vanish though? Authors of this article will address this problem in the final part, trying to determine the cause.


A 28-year-old man with active aortic valve endocarditis underwent emergency surgery. Because he had progressive congestive heart failure and uncontrolled infection. Aortic root replacement for Ross procedure was required because of complete debridment of infective tissue. His operation were performed under extracorporeal circulation and moderate hypothermia, the operation procedure was following, (1) taking off auto-pulmonary artery valve, (2) removing dysfunctional aortic valve and auto-transplantation of pulmonary valve on aortic root, (3) putting a pulmonary Freestyle Aortic Valve to rebuild right ventricular outflow tract. Follow-up showed heart function was in class I (New York Heart Association) , aortic and pulmonary valve function was very well. Streptococcus milleri group was isolated from his blood and infectious aortic valve postoperatively. We believed that a Ross operation with Freestyle Aortic Valve is more resistant to infection, therefore, it might be an option for infective endocarditis with aortic valve endocarditis.


There are names that personify their people, their country, as if they merged into the consciousness of people together, and are inseparable from each other: Navoi of the Turkic-speaking peoples, Pushkin Russia, Shakespeare England, Goethe Germany, the Kazakh land - Abai, Kyrgyzstan - Chingiz Aitmatov. The historical roots of the Turkic peoples developed from one soil, and in the era of the Great Silk Road, the culture of the Turkic peoples began to be identified. Since ancient times, our peoples have been linked through the Great Silk Road, enriched science and culture, and exchanged experiences. The development of friendly relations between peoples on the Great Silk Road is relevant both from the point of view of the revival of historical ties and in the light of the tasks of the modern world. In this regard, the work of Chingiz Aitmatov is of particular interest, whose work represents not only Kyrgyz literature, but also serves to identify all Turkic-language literature in the system of world literature.


Advanced femtosecond laser technology allows the fabrication of arbitrary 2D and 3D dielectric micro- and nanoscale structures by two-photon polymerization (2PP). In this paper, we present first investigations on excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on dielectric 2D structures fabricated on metal surfaces with this technology. Straight and curved line- and dot- structures built of the negative-tone photoresist ORMOCER (organically modified ceramic) are investigated by plasmon leakage radiation microscopy. Polarization dependent excitation efficiencies and focusing of SPPs are investigated.


Background For word production, we may consciously pursue semantic or phonological search strategies, but it is uncertain whether we can retrieve the different aspects of lexical information independently from each other. We therefore studied the spread of semantic information into words produced under exclusively phonemic task demands. Methods 42 subjects participated in a letter verbal fluency task, demanding the production of as many s-words as possible in two minutes. Based on curve fittings for the time courses of word production, output spurts (temporal clusters) considered to reflect rapid lexical retrieval based on automatic activation spread, were identified. Semantic and phonemic word relatedness within versus between these clusters was assessed by respective scores (0 meaning no relation, 4 maximum relation). Results Subjects produced 27.5 (±9.4) words belonging to 6.7 (±2.4) clusters. Both phonemically and semantically words were more related within clusters than between clusters (phon: 0.33±0.22 vs. 0.19±0.17, p<.01; sem: 0.65±0.29 vs. 0.37±0.29, p<.01). Whereas the extent of phonemic relatedness correlated with high task performance, the contrary was the case for the extent of semantic relatedness. Conclusion The results indicate that semantic information spread occurs, even if the consciously pursued word search strategy is purely phonological. This, together with the negative correlation between semantic relatedness and verbal output suits the idea of a semantic default mode of lexical search, acting against rapid task performance in the given scenario of phonemic verbal fluency. The simultaneity of enhanced semantic and phonemic word relatedness within the same temporal cluster boundaries suggests an interaction between content and sound-related information whenever a new semantic field has been opened.


Background The effect of contact reduction measures on infectious disease transmission can only be assessed indirectly and with considerable delay. However, individual social contact data and population mobility data can offer near real-time proxy information. Aim To compare social contact data and population mobility data with respect to their ability to predict transmission dynamics during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Germany. Methods We quantified the change in social contact patterns derived from self-reported contact survey data collected by the German COVIMOD study from 04/2020-06/2020 (compared to the pre-pandemic period), and estimated the percentage mean reduction in the effective reproduction number R(t) over time. We compared these results to the ones based on R(t) estimates from open-source mobility data and to R(t) values provided by the German Public Health Institute. Results We observed the largest reduction in social contacts (90%, compared to pre-pandemic data) in late April corresponding to the strictest contacts reduction measures. Thereafter, the reduction in contacts dropped continuously to a minimum of 73% in late June. R(t) estimates based on social contacts underestimated measured R(t) values slightly in the time of strictest contact reduction measures but predicted R(t) well thereafter. R(t) estimates based on mobility data overestimated R(t) considerably throughout the study. Conclusions R(t) prediction accuracy based on contact survey data was superior to the one based on population mobility data, indicating that measuring changes in mobility alone is not sufficient for understanding changes in transmission dynamics triggered by public health measures.


Description: Written for scientists, researchers, and engineers, Non–volatile Memories describes the recent research and implementations in relation to the design of a new generation of non–volatile electronic memories. The objective is to replace existing memories (DRAM, SRAM, EEPROM, Flash, etc.) with a universal memory model likely to reach better performances than the current types of memory: extremely high commutation speeds, high implantation densities and retention time of information of about ten years.


Sleep quality changes dramatically from young to old age, but its effects on brain dynamics and cognitive functions are not yet fully specified. We applied Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to resting-state MEG data from a large cohort (N=564) of population-based adults (aged 18-88), in order to characterize transient neural networks and to relate their temporal dynamics to sleep quality and to cognitive performance. Using multivariate analyses of brain-sleep profiles and of brain-cognition profiles, we found that an age-related "neural shift", expressed as decreased occurrence of "lower-order" brain networks, coupled with increased occurrence of "higher-order" networks, was associated with both increased sleep dysfunction and decreased fluid intelligence above and beyond age. These results suggest that poor sleep quality, as evident in ageing, may lead to a behavior-related shift in neural dynamics.


The RRT algorithm is widely used in the high-dimensional path planning in a dynamic environment, and well adapted to the dynamics of motion of the mobile node needs. However, in large scale wireless sensor networks (WSN), the RRT algorithm lacks stability and is easy to deviate from the optimal path. In this paper we proposes a path planning algorithm called E-RRT to improve the problems that RRT has. The method proposed includes the coverage density of obstacle for initialize searching area for the exploring random tree, and the gradually extended region used to ensure the path to be found. The method also adopts the greedy algorithm to delete the intermediate point in the point sequence of path for an optimal path, and the quadratic Bezier curve to smooth the path for the mobile sensor node. The path found can be the shortest, collision-free and smoothing, and therefore to satisfy the requirement of path planning for mobile sensor nodes. The simulation results show that the E-RRT algorithm outperforms the RRT algorithm.


Real life data often includes information from different channels. For example, in computer vision, we can describe an image using different image features, such as pixel intensity, color, HOG, GIST feature, SIFT features, etc.. These different aspects of the same objects are often called multi-view (or multi-modal) data. Low-rank regression model has been proved to be an effective learning mechanism by exploring the low-rank structure of real life data. But previous low-rank regression model only works on single view data. In this paper, we propose a multi-view low-rank regression model by imposing low-rank constraints on multi-view regression model. Most importantly, we provide a closed-form solution to the multi-view low-rank regression model. Extensive experiments on 4 multi-view datasets show that the multi-view low-rank regression model outperforms single-view regression model and reveals that multi-view low-rank structure is very helpful.


The case focuses on the dilemma faced by Dipak Mane, Buhler's President, South Asia as he pursues opportunities for sustainable growth in India's rapidly growing but competitive food processing industry. Buhler's corporate objectives, innovative technologies, superior quality, positioning as a premium global brand, competition and value chain requirements, determined its product - market strategies in India. Buhler was traditionally focused on the top-level market in several geographies that it served around the world. However, the company had experienced rapid growth during the last decade after it entered the mid-level market with new offerings and a value proposition tailored to the needs of the mill owners. Dipak's dilemma revolved around growing the business in India by consolidating in the mid-level market and/or targeting a new segment, namely the entry-level segment. The key issues relate to - Should Buhler target the entry-level segment? If yes, what adaptations will be needed to target customers in the entry-level segment? What will be the potential cannibalization in the mid-level segment where Buhler enjoyed a sizeable presence and reputation? What should be the differentiation strategy in the entry-level segment? What would be the go-to-market strategy for the entry level?


Introduction The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination has been suggested for those with comorbidities, although there are concerns regarding the vaccine's safety. This study aimed to compare the severity and incidence of post-vaccination side effects in people with and without comorbidities. Another aim of this study was also to look for the effect of multimorbidity on adverse events. Methods This observational study was conducted from November 2021 to February 2022. Data were collected from all over Pakistan using a self-administered online questionnaire that inquired about the subject's demographic, clinical, and COVID-19 vaccination profiles. Data analysis was done by using SPSS software version 22.0. (Chicago, IL, IBM Corp.). Results A total of 421 participants were included in the study, and 31.4% of individuals had underlying comorbidity. The overall mean age was 33 years (range: 13-85 years). This study included recipients of all major types of COVID-19 vaccines being used in Pakistan. Only 67.4% of the subjects had only underlying comorbidity, and hypertension was the most common one out of all comorbidities. Participants with comorbidities were not at a greater risk to produce vaccine-related adverse events when compared to those with no comorbidities. Comorbidity was also found to be statistically non-significant to the severity of the side effects. Only one subject with comorbidity produced a side effect and required hospitalization. Multimorbidity was not associated with a greater incidence of side effects. Multimorbidity was not significantly linked with the severity of the adverse effects, except muscle pain (p<0.05) and breathlessness (p<0.05). Conclusion It can be concluded that comorbidities do not affect the COVID-19 vaccine's reactogenicity but studies on an extensive scale should be conducted regarding individuals with multiple pre-existing comorbidities.


AIMS
To assess the impact of messages recommending the concomitant use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and cigarettes on smokers' intention to quit smoking.

DESIGN
Randomized trial.

SETTING
Internet.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 2027 people who answered an e-mail sent to 9074 current and former smokers recruited on a smoking cessation website.

INTERVENTION
Participants were divided randomly into four groups, each of which received a unique message (in French) by e-mail. The 'control' message said that nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) attenuates withdrawal symptoms in smokers who want to quit. The 'temporary abstinence' message added that NRT can also be used by current smokers to manage smoke-free situations. The 'reduction' message indicated that NRT can be used by current smokers who do not want to quit but want to smoke fewer cigarettes. The 'side-effects' message discouraged concomitant use of NRT and cigarettes.

MEASUREMENTS
Perceived impact of these messages on motivation to quit smoking.

FINDINGS
The e-mail was answered by 2027 people (25% of 8124 valid addresses). Smokers who received the 'reduction' message were slightly more likely than controls to report that this message increased their motivation to quit (66% versus 60%, P = 0.02). In contrast, smokers who received the 'side-effects' message were less likely than controls to report that this message increased their motivation (45% versus 60%, P < 0.001). The 'temporary abstinence' message had no detectable impact on motivation to quit.

CONCLUSIONS
Among smokers recruited via a smoking cessation website, messages encouraging concomitant use of NRT and cigarettes may have either no effect or a positive effect on motivation to quit smoking.


The sociocultural theory offers a theoretical and methodological ways to explore the relationship between the macro-structure of sociocultural model and the micro-structure of individual context of EFL (English as a foreign language)teachers. It provides a unique perspective to investigate the dialogic processes on the construction of EFL teachers' professional development. Thus, the article focuses on the four core concepts of sociocultural theory that mediation, internalization, the zone of proximal development and activity theory to interpretate the EFL teachers' professional development.


Engineering behaviour of uplift-resisting ground anchors constructed in weathered rocks has been investigated by carrying out a series of full scale pull-out tests. The anchor was to resist uplift forces (buoyancy) associated with high groundwater table acting on the basement of a rail way station. The study has included the ultimate pull-out capacity of the anchors and shear stress transfer mechanism at the anchor-ground interface. The pull-out tests were conducted by changing bonded lengths of the anchor (2~7 m) and diameter of drilled borehole (108~165 ㎜) to investigate their effects on the behaviour of the anchor. The measured results showed that the ultimate capacity of the anchors was increased with an increase in the bonded length, diameter of drilled borehole as expected. The ultimate capacity of the anchors deduced from the pull-out tests ranged from 392 to 1,569 kN, depending on the above-mentioned factors. This corresponds to the interface shear strength of about 227~505 ㎪. Interface shear stresses deduced from the pull-out test showed that the larger the pull-out force, the larger the mobilisation of the interface shear strength. The failure mode of the anchors heavily depended on the bonded lengths of the anchors. When the bonded length was short (2~3 m), a cone-type failure was observed, whereas when the bonded length increased (5~7 m), failure developed at the grout-ground interface.


BACKGROUND
Asthma is a common respiratory disease caused by genetic and environmental factors. It has been suggested that TGF-beta1, IL-4 and IL-13 play important roles in asthma.

OBJECTIVES
We attempted to confirm the roles of TGF-beta1, IL-4 and IL-13 polymorphisms in asthma in a Chinese population.

METHODS
Five SNPs (rs1800469, rs2241712, rs2070874, rs20541 and rs1800925) in TGF-beta1, IL-4 and IL-13 were genotyped using the MassArray SNP genotyping system. Allelic and genotypic associations between these SNPs and asthma were evaluated using logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS
The CT genotype of rs1800469 and T allele of rs20541 were significantly associated with asthma. Among atopic subjects, the CT genotype of rs1800469 and GA genotype of rs2241712 decreased the risk of asthma, while the CC genotype of rs2070874 showed a decreasing trend of asthma risk with a borderline significance. No significant association was found between rs1800925 and asthma.

CONCLUSION
In the present study, we confirmed the association of rs1800469 in TGF-beta1 and rs20541 in IL-13 with asthma and found a trend toward association between rs2241712 in TGF-beta1 and rs2070874 in IL-4 with asthma among atopic subjects, suggesting TGF-beta1, IL-4 and IL-13 may be associated with the susceptibility and development of asthma in this Chinese population.


Doxorubicin (DOX) is a leading anthracycline drug with exceptional efficacy; however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of its side effects, which include heart muscle damage, noncancerous cell death, and drug resistance. A total of 17,950 human proteins expressed in HEK293 cells were screened and yielded 14 hits. Competitive and binding experiments further verified the binding of DOX to UMP/CMP kinase 1 (CMPK1), and microscale thermophoresis showed that DOX binds to CMPK1 with a Kd of 1216 nM. In addition, we observed that the binding of DOX to CMPK1 activated the phosphorylation of CMP, dCMP, and UMP. A significant activation was observed at the concentration of 30 µM DOX and reached plateau at the concentration of DOX 30 µM, 150 µM, and 100 µM, respectively. DOX would add up stimulation of CMPK1 by DTT and overcome inhibition of CMPK1 by NaF, EDTA. In summary, we showed that DOX might bind to the nonactive site of CMPK1 and regulate its activity with magnesium.


Aonla is an important fruit crop which has high nutritive and medicinal value. It is one of the richest sources of vitamin 'C' ranging from 500 to 1500 mg/100 g pulp (Chandra and Chandra, 1997). Fruits are also rich in pectin and minerals like iron, calcium, phosphorus. The aonla has been recommended by Ayurveda for balanced diet and sound health and is important ingredient of triphala and chavanprash. There is ample scope for improving both fruit yield and quality of it by technological interventions. This book includes various aspects ranging from soil profile studies to leaf nutrients contents and quality aspects covering benchmark survey at grower's fields, fertility status of soil, root distribution pattern studies and quality assessment of aonla fruits. All these aspects have been given in simple and lucid language under stable to all. It is beneficial to Researcher, Students, Field Extension workers and farmers. The authors gratefully acknowledge the help, support and guidance received during course of his PhD. Research work done from SKRAU,Bikaner Lastly, it is humble request to valuable readers to render their valuable suggestions for improvement of the book.


The persistence of a low productive peasant sector in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the enigmas of development research. This study approaches the question from a historical perspective by analysing the paths of agrarian change in two contrasting cases in Malawi from the mid-1930s to the late 1970s. The cases - Thyolo and Mzimba districts - with their overt differences in terms of population density, infrastructure and environmental contexts, are compared with a focus on changes in agricultural production and farming systems. A common way of addressing the failures of agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa is to focus on the role of national agricultural policies. The basic argument is that the poor-performing peasant sector is an outcome of policies that ? intentionally or not ? harm the sector by limiting peasants? access to productive resources and/or markets. This has also been the dominant approach in studies of Malawi. This study differs in that it takes its point of departure in the structure of peasant economies and contrasts these structures with possible strategies of increasing production per capita. Through an extensive use of archival and oral sources, the author shows that, given the technology level, the persistence of low production capacity is found in local structures and institutions that are similar in the two cases. Of crucial importance are the structures of partial integration that set limits to labour supply and flexibility, as are the property regimes that create institutional barriers to the profitable use of additional labour. In sum, peasant farms lack access to cheap and easily available labour. In the concluding chapter the historical findings are related to current trends of peasant agriculture in Malawi. The author argues that the limitations and barriers to increased production still prevail, and that any strategy to increase production per capita of peasant farms has to be based on the awareness that labour is not a low-cost and easily attainable factor of production. (Less)