OBJECTIVES
Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) treatment is the gold standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). In this study, we aimed to show that the pulmonary functions, exercise limitation on the cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), and the health-related quality of life can be improved after a short treatment period by nCPAP.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Our case group with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) performed incremental CPET before and after 8 weeks of nCPAP treatment. All the subjects also underwent physical examination, body composition analysis, simple spirometric measurements, maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax)-maximal expiratory pressure (PEmax), and lung volume tests before and after nCPAP treatment.

RESULTS
Thirty-one patients (4 female, 27 male) completed the study. The mean age of the patients was 53.41 ± 1.46 years. Sixteen had at least one comorbidity. In addition, 17 of the subjects were ex-smokers. After nCPAP treatment for 8 weeks, higher PImax-PEmax (p< 0.05), peak oxygen uptake (p= 0.001), workpeak (p= 0.000), maximal heart rates (p= 0.000), and short form-36 scores (p< 0.05) were observed. nCPAP treatment helped control the blood pressure (p= 0.005). There was no significant change in body composition analysis, spirometric parameters, and lung volumes.

CONCLUSION
In a short time period, nCPAP can improve exercise capacity, respiratory muscle strength, and the health-related quality of life scores and help control blood pressure.


A new network transformation, called the source-sink-node (SSN) network transformation, is presented which transforms an arbitrary network into an equivalent active network containing only source and sink nodes (a so-called SSN-type network). The only active elements in the transformed network are inverting operational amplifiers. Although the transformation is very general, it is primarily useful for the analysis and design of switched-capacitor (SC) networks. Thus, for example, it permits the synthesis of stray-insensitive SC networks which are SSN-transformed versions of stray-sensitive SC networks. The transformation procedure is illustrated by some examples. >


The EM fields of charged particles moving with velocity v in a physical vacuum with wave carrier (substratum) are determined by means of the generalized, Galilei covariant Maxwell equations for inertial frames r. with substratum flow w. In this Galilean approach, all velocities have absolute meaning relative to the substratum rest frame r., and the relative velocity of material particles is given by the linear Galilean relation v6 v v2, permitting in principle superluminal relative velocities vl > %. Inter alias, the possibility of EM shock waves and Cerenkov radiation in the vacuum substratum is discussed. Experiments are proposed to test the theoretical predictions.


Reference Book for Dental anid Medical Practitioners). By Hubert H. Stones, M.D., M.D.S., F.D.S.R.C.S.(Eng.). Third edition. (Pp. xiv + 1,019; figs. 959. lOOs.) Edinburgh: E. & S. Livingstone, 1954. IIIAT three editions of this book have been published in six years is a testimony to its popularity wvith the dental professionl; its claim to be a r-eferenice book to the medical practitioner needs justification. Tlhe miiouth not only exhibits the ravages of dental and parodontal diseases but also acts as a mirror of general health. Many systemic illnesses have marked oral manifestations; sometimes these lesions are the first indication of illness. In this volume the physician will find clear, concise, and profusely illustrated descriptions of such lesions-for example, those associated with the osteodystrophies and the hypovitaminoses, the anwmias, purpura and the leukwmias, the various exanthemata, tuberculosis, and syphilis. A number of rarer conditions like vanadium poisoning and Sjdgren's syndrome, to mention but tvo, ai-e also dealt with. In addition, there are sections on tumours of the oral cavity, and on focal infection of dental origin. Even the chapters that appear to be of mainly dental interest can be dipped into wvith profit for a knowledge of the etiology of caries or the possibilities of treatment of simple parodontal disease may help to reduce misunderst,anding between doctor and dentist. The whlole text of the second edition has been revised and many recent references added. 13y pruning anything that has become obsolescent muclh newv material has been incorporated with the addition of only a fewv pages; in fact, the newv volume is somewvhat slimmer and weighs 4 lb. less than its predecessor-a matter of som1ie importance to the peripatetic student if not to the practitioner. Once again the publishers halve l)roduced a handsome volume wvith clear type and close on one thousand illustrations. P. F. S.


A model in integer linear programming (ILP) for the scheduling problem in the high-level synthesis of digital systems at register transfer level is developed using a new approach based on penalty weights. This approach avoids the inflexibility of the ILP formulations developed in related works where the functional unit performing each type of operation is fixed before scheduling. The Tabu search method was adapted for this purpose. The mathematical formulation developed takes into account almost all the area parameters and allows an unrestricted search in a large space delimited only by the components available in the library used.<<ETX>>


We used isolated superior mesenteric arteries (SMAs) from hemorrhagic-shock rats and hypoxia-treated vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs; mimicking the shock state) to observe the effects of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF; Rac1 stimulator) and NSC23766 (Rac1 antagonist) on vascular reactivity and the relationship with the Rho kinase-myosin light-chain phosphatase (MLCP) and p21-activated kinase (PAK)-myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) signal pathway. The results indicated that the contractile responses of the SMAs and VSMCs were significantly increased at early shock or after transient hypoxia. NSC23766 (Rac1 antagonist) further increased, whereas PDGF (Rac1 stimulator) decreased the contractile responses of SMAs and VSMCs. In the late period of shock or prolonged hypoxia, the contractile responses of SMAs and VSMCs were significantly decreased; NSC23766 increased (whereas PDGF further decreased) the contractile response of the SMAs and VSMCs. Activation of Rac1 with PDGF significantly increased the activity of PAK and MLCP, and decreased Rho kinase and MLCK activity and 20-kDa myosin light-chain phosphorylation in VSMCs. The PAK inhibitor PAK-18 significantly antagonized the PDGF-induced decrease in MLCK activity, whereas the Rho kinase antagonist Y-27632 further enforced the PDGF-induced increase in MLCP activity. Simple fluid resuscitation did not improve but in combination with NSC23766 significantly improved vascular reactivity and animal survival at 24 hours. This suggested that Rac1 has an inhibitory effect on vasoreactivity after shock. Rac1-mediated regulation of vascular reactivity is mainly through activation of PAK, inhibition of MLCK and inhibition of Rho kinase, unpack the inhibition of Rho kinase to MLCP. Rac1 may be a potential target to treat vascular hyporeactivity in many critical conditions.


Flowering plants integrate endogenous and external cues to accurately time the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth (Cho et al., 2017). Many plants, including Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), sense changes in daylength (photoperiod) to transition to flowering as the season changes. Decadesof carefulmolecular genetic dissections have uncovered the photoperiod-induced flowering pathway of Arabidopsis, which is centered on sensing increases in daylength within leaf phloem cells to activate the expression and transport of phloemmobile florigen (FLOWERING LOCUS T [FT]) to the shoot apical meristem to trigger the floral transition (reviewed in Song et al., 2015). The underlying molecular mechanisms controlling FT movement from phloem companion cells (CCs) to sieve elements (SEs) for access to the phloem translocation stream are not well understood. To address this issue, Liu et al. (2019) genetically interrogated membrane-resident soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor protein attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins controlling endosomal vesicular trafficking for potential roles in regulating the CC-to-SE movement of FT during photoperiod flowering in Arabidopsis. The authors identified a late-flowering phenotype exclusively in syntaxin of plants 121 (syp121-4) mutants under long-day conditions that was recapitulated by artificial microRNA-mediated SYP121 knockdowns in wild-type plants and complementedby transformingagenomic gSYP121 fragment back into syp121-4. To understand how SYP121 contributes to photoperiod-induced flowering, the authors drew from knowledge of animal syntaxin function and performed yeasttwo-hybrid interactionscreensagainst truncated multiple C2 domain-containing transmembrane proteins (MCTPs) lacking transmembrane domains. Surprisingly, this analysis revealed a specific interaction with QKY rather than FT-INTERACTING PROTEIN1 (FTIP1), an MCTP previously implicated in FT movement through the endoplasmic reticulum (Liu et al., 2012). Phenotypic analysis of qky mutants and knockdown lines demonstrated delayed flowering time in longdays relative towildtype plants (Liu et al., 2019). Expression analysis using promoter-reporter fusions revealed thatQKYexpression is restricted to phloem CCs, and subcellular localization studies determined that QKY-GFP is located in endosomal vesicles and colocalizeswithRFP-SYP121at theplasma membrane.Collectively, thesedatasuggest that a SYP121-QKY complex regulates photoperiod-induced flowering. Next, the authors addressed whether QKY interactswithFT to regulate its transport fromCCs toSEsduring photoperiodinduced flowering. As anticipated, protein–protein interaction assays confirmed that QKY interacts with FT, much like the MCTP protein FTIP1 (Liu et al., 2012). To assess the extent towhichQKY, SYP121, and FTIP1 contribute to FT movement, the authors performed elegant FT transport assays in the wild-type and mutant backgrounds. Using an estradiolinducible FT-GFP expression system limited to CCs (pER22-SUC2:FT-GFP), the authors demonstrated that estradiol treatment in wild-type leaves led to the accumulation and transport of FT-GFP in distally locateduntreatedpetioles. Bycontrast, FT-GFP was not detected in ftip1, qky, or syp121 petioles after estradiol induction in leaves (see figure). Similarly, immunogoldelectronmicroscopyofplants transformedwithSUC2:FT-9myc revealed FT in CCs and SEs in the wild-type background but in CCs and not SEs in the ftip1 qky,syp121qky, and ftip1qkysyp121backgrounds. Therefore, a QKY-SYP121 complex mediates FT movement from CCs to SEs through endosomal vesicular trafficking to the plasmamembrane, which occurs alongside the FTIP1-mediated transport of SYP121 Controls Long-Distance FT Movement Alongside the MCTP Proteins QKY and FTIP1.


Researchers in all areas of medicine and biology have long awaited a user-friendly, low-acceleratingvoltage cryo-EM for a wide variety of applications. New low voltage cryo-scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) has been developed based on conventional high-resolution SEM, which enables to observe a transmitted image and a secondary electron (SEM) image simultaneously in a fresh frozen state [1].


Roma communities in central and southeastern Europe have a history of being excluded from the labor market and still face severe barriers to employment. Besides being marginalized socially, Roma were typically the first to lose their jobs at the outset of the post-communist transition. Many in their next generation grew up in unemployed households, with low educational attainments and limited job skills. The labor market exclusion of Roma persisted even through the years of buoyant economic growth and increasing employment levels prior to the economic slowdown triggered by the global financial crisis in 2008. Many governments in central and southeastern Europe are trying to address the unemployment problem of Roma and other disadvantaged groups by introducing measures to restrict or cut welfare benefit entitlements, so as to strengthen incentives to work. However, research by the World Bank and others shows that simply cutting benefits is unlikely to result in higher employment the labor market exclusion and social marginalization of Roma is a multifaceted issue, and their communities face multidimensional barriers to employment. A more effective way to promote employment among Roma (and other disadvantaged groups) is the employment activation approach increasingly being introduced across many countries in the European Union and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This approach balances the mutual obligations of jobseekers and state employment offices in order to secure the successful integration of the most disadvantaged workers.


Purpose: The most common cause of death in massive burn patients is burn wound sepsis. Therefore we have been using allograft skin for preventing burn wound sepsis. Methods: Included in this study were 71 subjects who had sustained extensive burns from December 2003 through February 2006. 1. Early selective Escharectomy was performed for full thickness burn areas. 2. Allograft skins were grafted on excision area. 3. An autograft was performed for areas with a formation of granulation tissue after the allograft skin had come away. 4. A modified sandwich grafting technique (1:4∼6 meshed autograft with Cultured Epithelial Autografts) was performed in large sized burns. 5. Acellular dermal substitute was concurrently used to prevent burn scar contraction on joint areas. Results: Seventy one subjects were included (Fresh allograft: 9 cases, Cryo-preserved allograft: 42 cases, Glycerol preserved allograft: 20 cases). The average burn area was 41.8 (20∼92) %TBSA (Total Body Surface Area). The mean area of the allograft skin used was 26.9 (8∼70) %TBSA. The grafted allograft skins usually came away 3 weeks later. Four cases of initial take failure were occurred. All of these cases were pediatric patients using cadaver skin. Nine patients were dead from heart failure, severe inhalation, respiratory failure, pneumonia in old age, renal failure etc. There was no definite wound sepsis. Cultured Epithelial Autografts (CEAs) were used in fourteen cases. In twentyfive cases, acellular dermal substitute was simultaneously used. Conclusion: Early selective escharectomy, allograft skin coverage, acellular dermal substitutes and wide meshed autograft with CEA application would be immensely helpful techniques in patients with extensive burns.


Abstract In the present study, we investigated the potential changes in the corneal nerve terminals in non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus of moderate duration. The dissected corneas were subjected to a protocol of ultracentrifugation to obtain synaptosomes of sensory nerve terminals. Within these nerve varicosities, 2 major mechanisms were examined, viz., alterations of the mechanosensitive channel pannexin1 and ATP release on stimulation of these terminals. We hypothesized that altered cellular location and function of the pannexin channel may contribute to altered mechanosensitivity of the cornea, which in turn may affect wound healing and primary visual function of the cornea. The chief rationale for focusing on examining the pannexin channel is due to its role in mechanosensitivity, as well as its glycosylation property. Pannexin1 remains unchanged between diabetic subjects in comparison to nondiabetic controls. However, lectin immunoassay showed that pannexin1 is significantly more glycosylated in diabetic corneal synaptosomes. Membrane biotinylation assay showed that membrane localization of pannexin1 is significantly enhanced in diabetic samples. Furthermore, S-nitrosylation of the glyco-pannexin1 is significantly decreased in comparison to pannexin1 obtained from corneal varicosities of normoglycemic subjects. The diabetic corneal synaptosomes show enhanced ATP release after potassium chloride stimulation, when compared to controls. Furthermore, we have shown that S-nitrosylation of pannexin1 actually diminishes the ability of pannexin1 to release ATP. Thus, much like the peripheral nerves, the corneal nerves also show increased hypersensitivity in diabetes of chronic duration. All of these pathological changes may cumulatively alter corneal function in diabetes.


† Cloud computing has been a revolutionary advancement towards the technological development of information technology. Further, big data took the benefits of cloud services in order to provide better storing, handling and extracting data of different kinds (structured, semi-structured and unstructured). Apache spark is a lightning fast cluster which has enhanced the computing capabilities of Hadoop by providing faster results. In this paper we also discuss about the encrypted cloud data and propose a secure and privacy preserving algorithm for the same. Encrypted cloud data contains a secure mechanism to secure the actions happening in the cloud server. The Data Owner uploads the data into the cloud, whereas the Data User searches for the required file and then asks for the permission to download it from the Data Owner. The Data Owner and Data User both have their own secret key which helps them to authenticate themselves.


A new electron density profile reconstruction procedure based on the PARK-matrix method has been firstly exploited for the multi-chord formic acid (HCOOH, λ=432.5 μm) laser interferometry system on the HL-2A tokamak. According to the geometric coordinates of the magnetic surfaces reconstructed by the CF (current fitting) code and the assumption that the electron density between two adjacent magnetic surfaces is a constant, the local electron density is calculated layer by layer, and the electron density profile ne(Z) can be determined, as well as the density profile ne(R). The simulation result indicates that the error of the PARK-matrix method is acceptable for the four-chord HCOOH laser interferometer. In the applications, it shows that the reconstructed electron density profile agrees well with the microwave reflectometry measurement, and the sawtooth reversion radius is consistent with that deduced from the soft X-ray signals. Meanwhile, the electron density profiles with electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) and supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) are also reconstructed and analyzed.


An increasing number of studies have documented the central role of T cell costimulation in autoimmunity. Here we show that the autoimmune diabetes-prone nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse strain, deficient in B7-2 costimulation, is protected from diabetes but develops a spontaneous autoimmune peripheral polyneuropathy. All the female and one third of the male mice exhibited limb paralysis with histologic and electrophysiologic evidence of severe demyelination in the peripheral nerves beginning at 20 wk of age. No central nervous system lesions were apparent. The peripheral nerve tissue was infiltrated with dendritic cells, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells. Finally, CD4+ T cells isolated from affected animals induced the disease in NOD.SCID mice. Thus, the B7-2–deficient NOD mouse constitutes the first model of a spontaneous autoimmune disease of the peripheral nervous system, which has many similarities to the human disease, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). This model demonstrates that NOD mice have "cryptic" autoimmune defects that can polarize toward the nervous tissue after the selective disruption of CD28/B7-2 costimulatory pathway.


PURPOSE
Many methods of realigning the patella have been described. Most techniques for proximal realignment involve an open medial reefing or advancement of the vastus medialis obliquus. Arthroscopically assisted methods have been described, but these all involve the need for a medial incision to tie sutures. This article describes an entirely arthroscopic technique for proximal realignment that eliminates the need for an incision, and reports the 2-year follow-up results using this technique.

TYPE OF STUDY
Retrospective review.

METHODS
Over a 5-year period, 26 patients (29 knees) with patellar instability were treated with an outpatient arthroscopic all-inside medial reefing and lateral release. Arthroscopic reefing was performed by percutaneous passage of suture followed by arthroscopic retrieval and knot tying inside the joint. Before knot tying, a healing response was initiated along the medial retinaculum by either gentle shaving with a whisker blade or by radiofrequency thermal response. Rehabilitation consisted of 1 week of immobilization followed by an accelerated program of range of motion exercises and vastus medialis obliquus strengthening.

RESULTS
At follow-up, 93% of patients reported significant subjective improvement. The average Lysholm score improved from 41.5 to 79.3 (P <.05). Preoperative and postoperative radiographs were measured for congruence angle, lateral patellofemoral angle, and lateral patella displacement, and all showed significant improvement postoperatively (P <.05). There were no complications and no redislocations. Patients reported a significant improvement in pain, swelling, stair climbing, crepitus, and ability to return to sports (P <.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Arthroscopic patella realignment is a viable technique that offers results comparable or superior to published results for open or arthroscopically assisted realignment.


The paper deals with numerical simulation of the response of the three types of helmets (combat helmets, helmets for military policeman and helmet for the paratroopers) to ballistic impact by the fragment simulating projectile (1.1 g). All tested helmets were made from aramid laminate. The geometry of the helmets was obtained using 3D scanning and following smoothing. The simulations of the frontal, side and back impacts of the fragment-simulating projectile (FSP) were carried out using LS-DYNA. As a ballistic limit V50 was taken the fragment striking velocity when 90% of layers were damaged. The simulation results showed that ballistic performance of the helmet is affected namely by the impact point position.


Stimulus expectation can modulate neural responses in early sensory cortical regions, with expected stimuli often leading to a reduced neural response. However, it is unclear whether this expectation suppression is an automatic phenomenon or is instead dependent on the type of task a subject is engaged in. To investigate this, human subjects were presented with visual grating stimuli in the periphery that were either predictable or non-predictable while they performed three tasks that differently engaged cognitive resources. In two of the tasks, the predictable stimulus was task-irrelevant and spatial attention was engaged at fixation, with a high load on either perceptual or working memory resources. In the third task, the predictable stimulus was task-relevant, and therefore spatially attended. We observed that expectation suppression is dependent on the cognitive resources engaged by a subjects' current task. When the grating was task-irrelevant, expectation suppression for predictable items was visible in retinotopically specific areas of early visual cortex (V1-V3) during the perceptual task, but it was abolished when working memory was loaded. When the grating was task-relevant and spatially attended, there was no significant effect of expectation in early visual cortex. These results suggest that expectation suppression is not an automatic phenomenon, but dependent on attentional state and type of available cognitive resources.


moral purpose is frank and sincere. No one can read the stories without fresh appreciation of all the flne factors which lift this war up to the plane of the world's great experiences in its spiritual evolution. The soldier lives before you and you know him here at his best, all the way from starting camp to Hun:s undoing. France's woes and glory are seen in one fine silhouette chapter that is sketched with great artistic power. It is a book that ought to be read with great zest still after the war is over. W. O. CARVER.


Basic medical insurance is the critical medical security system to realize common prosperity in China. This study explores the impact of basic medical insurance on elderly family income inequality in China using the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data in 2018. Our finding shows that basic medical insurance is significantly negatively correlated with elderly family income inequality, indicating basic medical insurance has a positive impact on narrowing the elderly family income inequality. The heterogeneity analysis shows that basic medical insurance has a more significant reduction effect among the eastern elderly and the younger elderly family. The results also suggest that health performance significantly mediates the relationship between basic medical insurance and elderly family income inequality. This study implies that the Chinese government should increase the proportion of basic medical insurance reimbursement and expand the scope of reimbursement for basic medical insurance to realize income fairness among elderly families.


No effective blood-flow enhancement therapies are available for patients with severe peripheral arterial disease (SPAD), thus amputation remains the only option for relief of rest pain or gangrene. Autologous bone marrow-derived stem cell therapy (ABMSCT) is an emerging modality to induce angiogenesis from endothelial progenitors. Eight lower limbs of seven patients with SPAD (seven limbs of six patients with Buerger's disease) were treated by ABMSCT using isolated CD34+ cells with characterized phenotype and administered by intramuscular injections. The follow-up before and 1-, 3-, 6-, 9- and 12 months after ABMSCT was based on clinical (rest pain, walking distance without pain, non-healing ulcers, ABI) and laboratory (DS-angiography, duplex- and laser ultrasonography, TcPO 2 ) measurements. Therapeutic benefit was demonstrated by complete regression of rest pain in all of the 7 patients, and by the significant improvement of pain-free walking distance (40 m vs 500 m). The average of ABI improved significantly on the treated (before:0.41, after twelve months: 0.83), but did not change on the contralateral limb. Non-healing ischemic ulcers disappeared in five, and became smaller and thinner in two lower limbs, the ulcer remained unchanged in one case, only. The clinical improvement started one month after ABMSCT, it became more prominent after at three months, and the best clinical results were observed after twelve months of the stem cell therapy. In all of the seven cases we observed improvement on the treated limb only, the contra-lateral symptoms and ulcers remained unchanged or worsened. Confirmed by posttrial observations obtained at 18 months after ABMSCT the clinical improvement was evaluated as stable and long lasting. New collaterals were detected by angiography in three patients, but duplex ultrasonography detected improvement in two patients only. Laser ultrasonography did not show significant changes whereas TcPO 2 values improved on the foot from 18.80/16.78/23.83 mmHg, and on the calf from 36.66/31.25/45.00 mmHg. These laboratory parameters did not show improvement after 1 month, however, after 6 and 12 months improved values were recorded. Severe adverse events, complications were not observed. We conclude that ABMSCT with isolated CD34+ cells is safe, effective, localized and results in local and sustained clinical benefit for patients with severe forms of Buerger's disease. We show for the first time that low number of isolated bone marrowderived CD34+ stem cells that involve CD34+CD133+, CD34+CD133−, CD34+CD45− and CD34+CD45+ cells with different vessel forming ability confers vasculogenesis upon intramuscular implantation to patients with Buerger's disease.


In this issue, we report on the first phase of MPEG-V, a work that started in 2007. MPEG-V was conceived as a unified effort to develop standards within virtual worlds, and between virtual worlds and real worlds. This work culminated in the publication of the ISO/IEC MPEG-V 'Media context and control' standards in January 2011. The papers in this issue of the Journal of Virtual World Research expose both the many current standards for virtual worlds, as well as the many missing standards. As such, the issue hints at many more places where standards are needed. To fulfill the potential of virtual worlds much more standardization (MPEG-V, and other standards) is needed.


When children present with a urinary tract infection (UTI), the goal is early recognition and treatment in an attempt to prevent renal parenchymal damage and subsequent renal scarring. The risks of these events are greatest during infancy. However, a delay in diagnosis and treatment of acute pyelonephritis (APN) can result in scarring at any age. In cases of recurrent pyelonephritis, progressive damage to the kidney can occur (Jakobsson et al., Arch Dis Child 70:111, 1994; Jakobsson et al., Pediatr Nephrol 6:; 328, 1992 ). Renal cortical scarring can result in long-term sequelae including uremia, hypertension, in girls, toxemia of pregnancy and in severe cases, end-stage renal disease. Since renal scarring is the fourth leading cause of renal transplantation in children, the need for early diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of children with UTIs is significant.


Background: Many reports indicate the existence of high rate of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in Cameroon. Children, pregnant and lactating mothers are the most affected groups. Objective: This study was designed to assess breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices that influence nutritional status of young children and their mothers in Bangang rural community in the West Region of Cameroon. Methods: The study was descriptive and exploratory. A questionnaire previously developed was submitted to the 244 mothers or caregivers with 270 young children aged 0 to 24 months, during nutritional survey in Bangang rural community to understand breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices. Anthropometrics measures were recorded and statistical analyses where done using SPSS version 17. Results: The prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting of children was 42.22%, 6.67% and 3.33% respectively. BMI classification of mothers was done according to WHO criteria, 3.28% of mothers were underweight, and 29.09% were overweight and 9.84% obese. Low breastfeeding rate 69.58% (P<0.05) was observed. The frequency of exclusive breastfeeding was 60.08%. However, 50.39% had introduced complementary foods before six months. The most frequent complementary foods were cereals, tubers, but minerals and vitamins intake were low. Conclusion: Breastfeeding was still practiced by many of the mothers but exclusive breastfeeding was scarce. Nutritional problems observed were due to poor knowledge on feeding practices and low education and socio economic level of mothers. There is a great need of developing educational program based on locally available foods


The C‐type natriuretic peptide (CNP)–natriuretic peptide receptor 2 (NPR2) signaling pathway plays an important role in chondrocyte development. Homozygous loss‐of‐function mutations of the NPR2 gene cause acromesomelic dysplasia, type Maroteaux (AMDM). The aim of this study was to identify and characterize NPR2 loss‐of‐function mutations in patients with AMDM. The NPR2 gene was sequenced in three Korean patients with AMDM and functional analysis of the mutated proteins was performed in vitro. Five novel NPR2 mutations were found in the three patients: two compound heterozygous mutations [c.1231T>C (Tyr411His) and c.2761C>T (Arg921X) in Patient 1 and c.1663A>T (Lys555X) and c.1711‐1G>C (M571VfsX12) in Patient 3] and a homozygous mutation [c.2762G>A (Arg921Gln) in Patient 2]. Serum NT‐proCNP concentration was significantly increased in each patient compared to control subjects. Cells transfected with the expression vector of each mutant except those found in Patient 3 showed a negligible or a markedly low cGMP response after treatment with CNP. HA‐tagged wild‐type (wt) and HA‐mutant NPR2 were expressed at comparable levels: there were two bands of ∼130 and ∼120 kDa in wt and Arg921Gln, a single ∼120 kDa band in Tyr411His, and a single ∼110 kDa in the nonsense mutant. With respect to subcellular localization, Arg921Gln as well as wt‐NPR2 reached the cell surface, whereas Tyr411His and Arg921X mutants did not. The Tyr411His and Arg921X NPR2 proteins were co‐localized with an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) marker and failed to traffic from the ER to the Golgi apparatus. These results are consistent with deglycosylation experiments. Tyr411His and Arg921X NPR2 are complete loss‐of‐function mutations, whereas Arg921Gln behaves as a receptor for CNP with limited function. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Endometriosis is a gynaecologic disease characterized by endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Commonly it affects the pelvic organs. When endometrial nodules or plaques are localized in sites other than the uterus or ovaries, it is termed extragenital endometriosis. Adequate pre-operative assessment is essential for treatment planning. MRI is a non-invasive method with high spatial resolution that allows the multiplanar evaluation of genital and extragenital endometriosis. Herein, we present a pictorial review of a variety of extragenital endometriosis cases, all of which can be encountered in clinical practice.


Lipoic acid (Lip), a naturally occurring disulfide compound, was found to augment markedly in vitro antibody responses to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC), dinitrophenyl-Ficoll and trinitrophenyl-lipopolysaccharide (TNP-LPS) as effectively as 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) in murine lymphocytes. The mitogenic response to LPS or concanavalin A (Con A) was augmented by Lip only slightly. 2-ME has been reported to facilitate cystine utilization by the lymphocytes, but Lip did not, indicating that the mode of action of Lip is different from that of 2-ME. Lip-augmentation of anti-SRBC response was markedly abrogated when murine lymphocytes were depleted of T cells and cultured in the presence of Con A-conditioned medium containing T cell-replacing factor. The effect of Lip was also diminished in the response to TNP-LPS when the spleen cells were depleted of T cells. These observations suggest that Lip could augment the antibody response by stimulating a T cell subpopulation. This idea was confirmed by the experiment that Lip could enhance helper T cell activity which was induced by culturing murine lymphocytes with the antigen.


This report assigns official national administration unit codes to Vietnam GADM Shapefile 2018 at ward level. The output is a new shapefile with official administration unit codes. These codes allow to join geographical data in shapefile with social-economic data to perform spatial econometric analysis or graph the map of social economic data at ward level. The assigning process finishes with 11,154 out of 11,163 wards (99.91%) assigned official admin codes.


Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in young adults worldwide. TBI-induced long-term cognitive deficits represent a growing clinical problem. Stem cell factor (SCF) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) are involved in neuroprotection and neuronal plasticity. However, the knowledge concerning reparative efficacy of SCF+G-CSF treatment in post-acute TBI recovery remains incomplete. This study aims to determine the efficacy of SCF+G-CSF on post-acute TBI recovery in young adult mice. The controlled cortical impact model of TBI was used for inducing a severe damage in the motor cortex of the right hemisphere in 8-week-old male C57BL mice. SCF+G-CSF treatment was initiated 3 weeks after induction of TBI. Results Severe TBI led to persistent motor functional deficits (Rota-Rod test) and impaired spatial learning and memory (Morris water maze test). SCF+G-CSF treatment significantly improved the severe TBI-impaired spatial learning and memory 6 weeks after treatment. TBI also caused significant increases of Fluoro-Jade C positive degenerating neurons in bilateral frontal cortex, striatum and hippocampus, and significant reductions in MAP2 + apical dendrites and overgrowth of SMI312 + axons in peri-TBI cavity frontal cortex and in the ipsilateral hippocampal CA1 at 24 weeks post-TBI. SCF+G-CSF treatment significantly reduced TBI-induced neurodegeneration in the contralateral frontal cortex and hippocampal CA1, increased MAP2 + apical dendrites in the peri-TBI cavity frontal cortex, and prevented TBI-induced axonal overgrowth in both the peri-TBI cavity frontal cortex and ipsilateral hippocampal CA1. Conclusions These findings reveal a novel pathology of axonal overgrowth after TBI and demonstrate a therapeutic potential of SCF+G-CSF in ameliorating TBI-induced long-term neuronal pathology, neural network malformation, and impairments in spatial learning and memory. acute phase of experimental stroke results in infarction size reduction. Neuroprotective effects of G-CSF [47] or SCF+G-CSF [27] treatment in the subacute phase of experimental stroke have also been demonstrated. These studies suggest that SCF+G-19


Summary Balloon dilation of native aortic coarctation was performed in a three-month-old boy. Angiography immediately after dilation revealed a localized bulge on the anterior as pect of the descending aorta interpreted initially as an aneurysm. Angiography four months later, however, failed to detect this bulge. We speculate that the early aneurysmal appearance of the anterior wall of the aorta may have been caused by factors other than a tear in the aortic adventitia.


Controllable synthesis of atomically ordered intermetallic nanoparticles (NPs) is crucial to obtain superior electrocatalytic performance for fuel cell reactions, but still remains arduous. Herein, we demonstrate a novel and general hydrogel-freeze drying strategy for the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide ( rGO ) supported Pt 3 M (M= Mn, Cr, Fe and Co etc.) intermetallic NPs (Pt 3 M/rGO-HF) with ultrasmall particle-size (about 3 nm) and dramatic monodispersity. The formation of hydrogel prevents the aggregation of graphene oxide and significantly promotes their excellent dispersion, while a freeze-drying can retain the hydrogel derived three-dimensionally (3D) porous structure and immobilize the metal precursors with defined atomic ratio on GO support during solvent sublimation, which is not afforded by traditional oven drying. The subsequent annealing process produces rGO supported ultra-small ordered Pt 3 M intermetallic NPs (~3 nm) due to confinement effect of 3D porous structure. Such Pt 3 M intermetallic NPs exhibit the smallest particle size among the reported ordered Pt-based intermetallic catalysts. A detailed study of the synthesis of ordered intermetallic Pt 3 Mn/rGO catalyst is provided as an example of a generally applicable method. This study provides an economical and scalable route for the controlled synthesis of Pt-based intermetallic catalysts, which can pave a way for the commercialization of fuel cell technologies.


Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common cause of upper and lower respiratory tract infections in persons of all ages and may be responsible for up to 40% of community-acquired pneumonias. A wide array of extrapulmonary events may accompany the infections caused by this organism, related to autoimmunity or direct spread. This review includes a discussion of the latest knowledge concerning the molecular pathological basis of mycoplasmal respiratory disease, how the organism interacts with the host immune system and its association with the development of chronic conditions such as asthma, recent emergence of macrolide resistance and the status of laboratory diagnostic methods.


We use a carbon-cycle data assimilation system to estimate the terrestrial biospheric CO2 flux until 2090. The terrestrial sink increases rapidly and the increase is stronger in the presence of climate change. Using a linearized model, we calculate the uncertainty in the flux owing to uncertainty in model parameters. The uncertainty is large and is dominated by the impact of soil moisture on heterotrophic respiration. We show that this uncertainty can be greatly reduced by constraining the model parameters with two decades of atmospheric measurements.


The pharmacokinetic behaviour of nivalin (galanthamine hydrobromide) and its effect on the contractile response of electrically stimulated m. tibialis anterior were simultaneously studied after an i.v. administered dose of 3 mg/kg in cats. The determination of some basic pharmacokinetic parameters revealed that nivalin was distributed in a large volume (Vss = 2.17L/kg) and was quickly eliminated (t0.5 of elimination was 1.7 h), the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC was 5.93 micrograms . h/ml and the total clearance (CL) - 1.05 L/h . kg. The pharmacological effect appeared almost instantly after nivalin administration, went through a maximum and slowly decreased for a period of 1.5-2 hours. Linear and logarithmic-logistic functions were used to detect the correlation between the pharmacokinetic and the pharmacodynamic data. The calculated correlation coefficients showed that the linear function better described the relationship between plasma concentrations and tibial muscle contractile response than the logarithmic-logistic function. In comparison with the classical anticholinesterase drugs nivalin showed some advantages concerning its pharmacokinetics, namely the prolonged residence in the cat's body and, as a result, a longer-lasting pharmacological effect.


We have designed a therapeutic HIV-1 vaccine concept based on peptides together with the adjuvant CAF01. Peptides represented 15 HLA-supertype-restricted subdominant and conserved CD8 T cell epitopes and three CD4 T-helper cell epitopes. In this phase I clinical trial, safety and immunogenicity were assessed in untreated HIV-1-infected individuals in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Twenty-three HIV-1-infected individuals were randomized to receive placebo (n=5) or vaccine (n=18). Safety was appraised by clinical follow-up combined with monitoring of biochemistry, hematology, CD4 T cell counts, and HIV-1 viral loads. T cell immunogenicity was monitored longitudinally by interferon (IFN)-γ ELISpot. New vaccine-specific T cell responses were induced in 6/14 vaccinees for whom ELISpot data were valid. CD4 T cell counts and viral loads were stable. The study shows that therapeutic immunization is feasible and safe in Guinea-Bissau and that it is possible to redirect T cell immunity with CAF01-adjuvanted HIV-1 peptide vaccine during untreated HIV-1 infection in some patients. However, relatively few preexisting and vaccine-induced HIV-1 T cell responses to CD8 T cell epitopes were detected against HIV-1 using IFN-γ ELISpot in this chronically infected African population.


Abstract Radiocesium dispersal in a forest floor food web is being studied in a Liriodendron stand previously tagged with 137Cs. Initial studies traced the movement and equilibration of 137Cs in the forest floor stratum. Subsequently, weekly samples are revealing seasonal shifts in concentration of 137Cs in available food materials (leaf litter, wood, roots and mosses). Pitfall trap collections form the basis for estimates of 137Cs equilibrium concentrations in arthropods. Laboratory measurements of biological half lives are being made for radiocesium in the major arthropod species. A preliminary synthesis of these data suggests that radiocesium techniques can be used to provide much detail on structure and function in this food web, but some relationships between animal species remain obscure.


AIMS
IVUS is currently recommended by international guidelines to guide left main stem (LMS) PCI. Although OCT resolution outmatches IVUS, this tool is not yet recommended in LMS angioplasty due to the absence of data. This pilot study aimed to analyze the feasibility, safety and impact of OCT-guided LMS PCI.

METHODS AND RESULTS
This prospective, multicenter trial investigated whether patients might benefit from OCT-guided PCI for mid/distal LMS according to a pre-specified protocol. The primary endpoint was procedural success defined as follows: residual angiographic stenosis <50% + TIMI 3 flow in all branches + adequate OCT stent expansion (LEMON criteria). Seventy patients were included in the final analysis (median age: 72 (64-81) y, 73% male). The OCT pre-specified protocol was applied in all patients. The primary endpoint was achieved in 86 % of subjects. Adequate stent expansion was observed in 86%, significant edge dissection in 30% and residual significant struts malapposition in 24% of the cases. OCT guidance modified operators' strategy in 26% of the patients. The one-year survival free from major clinical adverse events was 98.6 (97.2-100) %.

CONCLUSIONS
This study is the first to report the feasibility and performance of OCT-guided LMS PCI according to a pre-specified protocol.


It may seem inconceivable that the basic epidemiology of HIV infection remains undocumented in many parts of the world at the close of 2004. Indeed, while descriptions of HIV prevalence and associated risk factors may not be readily available for low-risk, possibly obscure settings, noticeable gaps today of basic information in societies with well-documented high prevalence epidemics strains credulity. Yet, that is exactly the case of HIVepidemiology among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Thailand [1]. This is particularly ironic since the first case of AIDS reported in Thailand in 1984 occurred in a Thai male with a male partner [2]. The voluminous Thai record of its explosive and high prevalence HIVepidemic has been extremely well documented and published widely in international scientific journals [3–6]. However, the focus was primarily centered on demonstrating the escalating rates of HIV/AIDS among heterosexuals and, more recently, injection drug user populations. How is it that the MSM epidemic was ignored in Thailand? In two words – stigma and discrimination!


Although microRNA (miRNA)-mediated functions and gene expression regulation are involved in the susceptibility to vascular diseases, the potential effect of miRNA polymorphisms on the susceptibility of patients to hypertension (HTN) remains to be sufficiently elucidated. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the potential association between miRNA (miR)-200bT>C (rs7549819) and miR-495A>C (rs2281611) polymorphisms, which may be implicated in stroke and vascular pathogenesis, and the susceptibility to HTN and relevant risk factors in a Korean cohort recruited from Jeju National University Hospital (Jeju, South Korea). Using an analysis of PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, genotype analysis was conducted to assess the frequency of miR-200bT>C and miR-495A>C gene polymorphisms in the HTN group (n=232) and the non-HTN healthy control group (n=247). The results showed significant differences in the genotype distributions of the miR-495A>C polymorphism between the HTN and control groups, specifically with the CC genotype and C allele. However, neither the miR-200bT>C nor the dominant and recessive models were found to be distributed differently between the two groups. Following analysis of the genotype combination of the single nucleotide polymorphisms, the TC/CC and CC/CC combined genotypes of the miR-200bT>C and miR-495A>C polymorphisms were observed to be associated with susceptibility to HTN. The haplotype results demonstrated that the allele combination frequency of haplotype C-A was significantly different between the two groups. The stratified analysis revealed that the miR-200b and miR-495 polymorphisms are associated with the risk of HTN, exhibiting differences in the levels of body-mass index (<28.12 kg/m2), fasting blood glucose (<106.26 mg/dl), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (<44.29 mg/dl) and systolic blood pressure (≥132.67 mmHg). Data from the present study suggested that the variant of miR-495A>C polymorphism and allelic combinations (haplotype C-A of miR-200bT>C/miR-495A>C) can increase hypertension susceptibility among a Korean population.


. Nonlinear mathematical models are becoming increasingly important for new applications of low-dimensional semiconductor structures. Examples of such struc- tures include quasi-zero-dimensional quantum dots that have potential applications ranging from quantum computing to nano-biological devices. In this contribution, we analyze presently dominating linear models for bandstructure calculations and demonstrate why nonlinear models are required for characterizing adequately opto- electronic properties of self-assembled quantum dots.


This research explored Dhaka slum dwellers' (n=434 using convenience, quota, and judgmental sampling) view about COVID-19, its causes, preventive measures, potential high-risk groups, self-awareness, transmission prevention, orthodox beliefs, and vaccine effectiveness using 56 simple variables grouped in eight complex variables. The slum dwellers viewed COVID-19 as a fatal and chronic disease spread by Chinese. They perceive that direct contact with infected persons, cough and sneeze droplets, and physical proximity cause the disease. Regarding preventive measures, they think that they must wear masks, frequently wash hands, face, and feet, use soap or hand sanitizer to wash hands. They assume that hot water gargle, more lime/lemon intake, sunlight exposure, and physical activities can reduce the risk of infection. They also perceive that people of any age bear the risk of contagion; but asthmatic, heart and diabetic patients fall in the high-risk group.

The slum people self-protect covering nose and mouth while sneeze and cough, take precaution if tested positive, and maintain social distance. They take this disease seriously, as such, they wear masks, avoid guests, friends, and mass transports. They subscribed that if affected they will be in self-quarantine and follow prescribed movement and lockdown decisions to prevent transmission. They believe that home quarantine is for the infected persons only. Slum residents are found to recognize preventive mechanism and self-awareness tactics; but they are carried away by some religious beliefs like the disease is Allah's will, a curse from Allah, results of our misdeeds, and Allah will save COVID-affected people. Because of their doubt of vaccine effectiveness, they are not quite confident about taking vaccine. Overall, the respondents do not think that they are risk-free. It is found that some of their views are not factual, like COVID-19 is a chronic disease, spread by Chinese; sunrays, hot water gargle reduces risks; lime/lemon intake prevent the disease; or diabetic, asthmatic, and heart patients are at more risks.
It is noted that most of the perceptional differences are observed with family types. Nuclear family respondents believe that cold weather causes it and perceive strongly that asthmatic patients are more susceptible to infection. They perceive similar risk of being affected if exposed to a diseased person; however, infected elderly people with comorbidities are more prone to serious illness. They blindly perceive that COVID-19 is all Allah's will. Education wise, the participants differ in their opinion in almost all the variables. Female slum members firmly believe that Chinese has brought the disease; but males are noted to be more self-aware than females. Married slum residents strongly believe that sunlight exposure and physical activities can prevent the disease and hold the misconception that COVID-19 is a curse from Allah and results of all our misdeeds. Irrespective of their literacy level all respondents believe that Allah will save COVID-affected people. Further, occupation-wise slum dwellers have similar viewpoint about preventing the disease and curbing community transmission.

Slum residents' opinion related to causes of the disease and vaccination has no association with age and income. Older slum residents are found to be more self-aware and cautious in limiting disease transmission, although they possess stronger orthodox religious views and more dubious about vaccination. Slum dwellers' perception to several aspects of COVID-19 are noticed to be weakly positively related with income, indicating that even when the relatively higher income groups retain views closer to reality, their tendency to be conscious and abide by protective mechanism to reduce risk and control spread of the disease is less as opposed to insolvent slum inhabitants. The factor analysis has found that the grouping variables and the factor variables are quite consistent. It is noted that "self-awareness" and "risk reduction" are the most important factors followed by perception regarding COVID-19 vaccine. In short, slum dwellers are not observed to have a very clear idea about COVID-19, its causes, prevention mechanism, etc. They are aware of some methods of self-protection and deterrence of transmission. However, it is to be ensured that they strictly follow the methods to protect themselves and avoid community spread of the disease.


Objectives Cold is an important factor contributing to the high incidence of hypertension. In order to explore the mechanisms of cold-induced hypertension. This study observed whether Large conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (BKCa) on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) played a role in the development of hypertension during chronic exposure to cold. Methods Forty-eight rats were divided into cold-treated group and control group randomly, then, one subgroup of the cold-treated and one subgroup of control rats were sacrificed at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks. Results Systolic blood pressure started to rise after 2 weeks of cold exposure and continued to increase, reaching a maximal level by the 6th week of exposure to cold, and then pressure begin to decrease slowly throughout the remainder of the experiment. The BKCa current and BKCa peak current density in aortic VSMC increased significantly as the time of exposure to cold went until the 6th week exposure to cold. Furthermore, the expression of L-type Cav1.2 channelα1C subunit mRNA in the cold-treated rats were higher than those in the control rats. Conclusions Cold stress increased expression of L-type Cav1.2 channelα1C subunit mRNA, indicate that cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration increased with cold-treated extended at 6 weeks in the beginning, resulting in increasing blood pressure. BKCa channel currents increased in this progress as the negative-feedback regulators of vascular tone. Our results indicated that activation of BKCa channel could reduce blood pressure (7th and 8th week) in hypertensive subjects.


According to the institutional theory and the theory of long waves, as to RAS corr.-member V.E. Dementiev, the interdependence of development of the Dutch capitalism and Calvinism (or so called the Dutch reformed church) in Holland in 16th–19th centuries and in the South Africa since the 17th century until today, including the apartheid's period, is considered. It is studied the Anglo-Dutch and Dutch-Portuguese rivalry and cooperation, the international ties of the Dutch Calvinist bureaucracy, which could create the technologically and industrially developed regime. In details the activity of The Broederbond society and the methods of direct and indirect economic control, which it uses, is analyzed. In addition the conception of the compulsory market, which is described in the diary of the official of the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee A.Chernyaev, is studied. With using Max Weber's information the interpretation of the covered meaning of the modern Midas list, the best deal makers in High-Tech Venture Capital, is proposed.


Ergothioneine is a well‐known antioxidant that is abundant in both human red blood cells and in fission yeast responding to nutritional stress. In frail elderly people, whose ageing organs undergo functional decline, there is a correlation between ergothioneine levels and cognitive, but not skeletal muscle decline. In patients suffering from dementia, including Alzheimer's disease with hippocampal atrophy, deteriorating cognitive ability is correlated with declining ergothioneine levels. S‐methyl‐ergothioneine, trimethyl‐histidine and three other trimethyl‐ammonium compounds also decrease sharply in dementia, whereas compounds such as indoxyl‐sulfate and quinolinic acid increase, possibly exacerbating the disease. Using these opposing dementia markers, not only diagnosis, but also therapeutic interventions to mitigate cognitive decline may now become possible.


This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) of low frequency on the vastus lateralis muscle. Eleven dogs were randomly placed in 3 groups: I (control), II (NMES post immobilization), and III (NMES during and post immobilization). The right femoral-tibial-patellar joint was immobilized for 30 days by the percutaneous transfixation type II method. The dogs from group III were placed on electrotherapy 3 times a week during (30 days) and post-immobilization (60 days) and the dogs from group II post-removal of the temporary rigid immobilization. The parameters evaluated consisted of: measurement of thigh circumference, joint motion using a goniometer, gait analysis, creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels and morphometry of the longitudinal muscle fibers of vastus lateralis muscle. The gait analysis was performed daily and the circumference of the thigh, joint motion, and muscle biopsy were performed on days 0, 30, 60 and 90 post-immobilization. The blood samples for CK and AST were collected before and immediately after 6, 24 and 48 hours post-NMES on days 0, 1, 7, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90. The NMES was employed on the femoral quadriceps muscle group with a frequency of 50Hz post-duration of 300msec on an on-time/off-time ratio of 1:2. There was no significant difference on the gait analysis, thigh circumference, joint motion, and CK and AST values. The greatest hypertrophy change was observed on longitudinal fibers of the dogs from group II (P=0.0005), followed by the dogs from group III. NMES of low frequency causes hypertrophy of the vastus lateralis muscle in dogs post-temporary immobilization of the stifle joint, recommending its use in animals with muscular atrophy.


In this study, effect of material on usage and visual properties on an apparel product produced from leathers tanned with different types of tanning materials, was evaluated. For this purpose, skirts were manufactured from chromium, semi-vegetable and vegetable tanned leathers obtained from two tanneries. Skirt patterns were prepared by using Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) systems. Leather skirts were evaluated by specialists by using subjective rating scale and the obtained data were analyzed by fuzzy logic method. As conclusion of this study; when visual effects of these skirts were evaluated, it was observed that skirts produced from chromium tanned leathers had better results than the skirts produced from the leathers tanned with other types of tanning materials.


In the present work, we investigate the effects of short-range correlations (SRC) on the dimensionless deformability of the binary neutron system related to the GW170817 event. We implemented phenomenological SRC in a relativistic mean-field model in which the bulk parameters, namely, incompressibility (K0), effective nucleon mass ratio (m ), symmetry energy (J) and its slope (J0), are independently controlled. Our results point out that the SRC favor the model to pass through the constraints, established by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration, on the values of Λ1.4 and on the Λ1 × Λ2 region. We also found a clear linear correlation between Λ1.4 with K0 and L0 (increasing dependence), and with m and J (decreasing dependence). Finally, we also obtained compatible numbers for R1.4 (model with and without SRC) in comparison with recent data from the neutron star interior composition explorer mission.


Complete sequences of myriad eukaryotic genomes, including several human genomes, are now available, and recent dramatic developments in DNA sequencing technology are opening the floodgates to vast volumes of sequence data. Yet, despite knowing for several decades that a significant proportion of cytosines in the genomes of plants and animals are present in the form of methylcytosine, until very recently the precise locations of these modified bases have never been accurately mapped throughout a eukaryotic genome. Advanced "next-generation" DNA sequencing technologies are now enabling the global mapping of this epigenetic modification at single-base resolution, providing new insights into the regulation and dynamics of DNA methylation in genomes.


Resveratrol is a polyphenol that plays a potentially important role in many disorders and has been studied in different diseases. The research on this chemical started through the "French paradox," which describes improved cardiovascular outcomes despite a high-fat diet in French people. Since then, resveratrol has been broadly studied and shown to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and anti-angiogenic effects, with those on oxidative stress possibly being most important and underlying some of the others, but many signaling pathways are among the molecular targets of resveratrol. In concert they may be beneficial in many disorders, particularly in diseases where oxidative stress plays an important role. The main focus of this review will be the pathways affected by resveratrol. Based on these mechanistic considerations, the involvement of resveratrol especially in cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and possibly in longevity will be is addressed.


This work focuses on interactions between DNA and a group of newly developed unsymmetrical cyanine dyes. The aim of the work was to discover fluorescent dyes that can be used in biophysical studies of natural DNA where minimum perturbation of the DNA-helix is essential, where a slow dissociation rate of the dyes is needed and where the ionic strength is an important parameter. One long-term goal is to be suitable for use in fluorescence based techniques to study ejection of pre-stained DNA from bacteriophages. Since bacteriophage DNA is naturally densely packed in a restricted volume inside the phage capsid, the dyes used for staining the DNA should preferably bind in such way that the DNA conformation is altered as little as possible.
 The new dyes are structurally very similar to the cyanine dyes TO and BO, but are extended with different heterocyclic groups. In our newly developed time-resolved electrophoretic mobility shift assay, it was found that none of the new dyes is able to unwind supercoiled DNA, and we therefore concluded that the new dyes do not intercalate DNA. Instead, the new dyes were found to bind to the DNA grooves. The crescent shape and the enhanced hydrophobic properties of the new dyes seem essential for groove-binding. In free solution, the new dyes dissociate more slowly from DNA and, in contrast to predictions, demonstrate a reduced sensitivity to the ionic strength compared to the corresponding intercalating dyes. Since BOXTO exhibits the highest increase in fluorescence quantum yield upon DNA-binding among the new dyes and has the slowest rate of dissociation from DNA, we suggest that BOXTO is the most promising candidate for future DNA applications.
 Finally, we discovered that both intercalating and groove-binding cyanine dyes are able to bind to densely packed phage DNA and that the association rates are inversely proportional to the size of the dyes. Counterintuitively, the phages seem less affected by binding of intercalators, despite intercalation perturbing the DNA-helical structure more than groove-binding.


PREMISE OF STUDY
Deciduous woody species invest considerable resources in the growth of new foliage and distal stems. This new growth is at risk for mechanical damage from high winds and storms. Pawpaw has large leaves borne distally on thin twigs. Following a storm, pawpaw branches sometimes exhibit a persistent "flipped" orientation, slowly returning upright over 24 h. We investigated biomechanical properties of pawpaw twigs, comparing them to co-occurring species with similarly high leaf areas and loads, which do not exhibit this "flipping". Our goal was to determine biomechanical and structural properties in these species and how variation in form might relate to functional differences.

METHODS
We measured flexural stiffness, torsional stiffness, and viscoelastic creep in pawpaw and co-occurring trees Liriodendron tulipifera and Carya cordiformis. We also recorded twig/foliage reconfiguration in high winds. We stained thin cross sections of distal twigs and recorded images using fluorescent light microscopy.

KEY RESULTS
Flexural and torsional stiffness increased with twig radius in pawpaw and tulip tree, although torsional stiffness increased more slowly in pawpaw. Pawpaw had a high ratio of flexural to torsional stiffness (EI/GJ) across a range of twig radii and significant viscoelastic creep compared with the other species.

CONCLUSIONS
Biomechanical data showed that pawpaw twigs were "twistier" than the comparison species, which were shown previously to alleviate drag-induced damage by reorienting petioles and leaves. Pawpaw has an unusual strategy of low torsional stiffness in twigs, allowing for reorientation of the entire distal appendage, likely minimizing drag-induced damage in storms.


The metabolism of cities bears important anomalies: high levels inflow of resources and large quantities outflow of (hazardous) wastes. In order to decrease cities' environmental footprint, Girardet (1996) and Rogers (1997) suggested making a transition from a linear to a circular urban metabolism. Even though the concept was coined a few decades ago, it still holds prominence among academics and practitioners (see for instance Newman and Jenning 2008; Lehman 2012; Beatley 2012, van Bueren et al 2012). However, few cities have made such a transition. This shows that creating a circular urban metabolism is complex and challenging. Research so far mainly considered the creation of a circular urban metabolism as a technical process. We would like to argue that organisational and institutional aspects of such process are also important for understanding why there are implementation gaps. However these have been understudied. This paper tries to bridge this gap by adopting a different conceptual approach. We consider that the creation of a circular urban metabolism passes through multiple innovation processes. Such processes happen in a systemic manner wherein, not only technical but organisational and institutional solutions and changes are adopted and adapted. In this paper we conceptualise the circular urban systems, as a robust concept to address the anomalies of the metabolism of cities. We discuss how this concept is different from existing one and why we think it can help in better grasping the challenges ahead. We also focus on the kind of insights that can be gained by adopting this new conceptual understanding and how this can open a new agenda for future research.


As one of the richest human languages in terms of words constructions and diversity of meanings, judging similarity amongst statements in Arabic documents is complex. In this paper, we present a mechanism for gauging similarity of Arabic documents using fuzzy IR model. Similarity degree of two documents is the averaged similarity among statements treated as equal although they have been restructured or reworded. We introduced some fuzzy similarity sets such as near duplicate, very similar, similar, slightly similar, dissimilar and very dissimilar. These similarity sets can be implemented as a spectrum of values ranges from 1 (duplicate) and 0 (different). Our corpus collection has been built in which all stop words were removed and nonstop words were stemmed using typical Arabic IR techniques. The corpora has 100 documents with 4477 statements and 54346 non-stop-word, stemmed words in total. Another 15 query documents with 303 statements and 1620 words were specifically constructed for our test. Experimental results show that fuzzy IR can be used to define the extent documents are similar or dissimilar, where similarity can be mapped to one of the proposed fuzzy sets. The performance of our fuzzy IR system, measured in fuzzy precision and fuzzy recall, shows that it outperforms Boolean IR in retrieving more documents that have similar content but with different synonyms.


Existing polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) image classification methods cannot achieve satisfactory performance on complex scenes characterized by several types of land cover with significant levels of noise or similar scattering properties across land cover types. Hence, we propose a supervised classification method aimed at constructing a classifier based on self-paced learning (SPL). SPL has been demonstrated to be effective at dealing with complex data while providing classifier performance improvement. In this paper, a novel support vector machine (SVM) algorithm based on SPL with neighborhood constraints (SVM_SPLNC) is proposed. The proposed method leverages the easiest samples first to obtain an initial parameter vector. Then, more complex samples are gradually incorporated to update the parameter vector iteratively. Moreover, neighborhood constraints are introduced during the training process to further improve performance. Experimental results on three real PolSAR images show that the proposed method performs well on complex scenes.


In 2016, the Laboratory of Ship Structures and Construction Diponegoro University organized a research group to develop an alternative hullform for the tsunami lifeboat. The research group proposed a cone capsule shaped portable tsunami lifeboat to support tsunami evacuation system, especially to give a portable protection facility that easily accessed by disable person, senior citizens and children.In order to fulfi ll the requirement that the lifeboat structure should be able to withstand the impact load, the aimed of the study is focused on the performance of the drop impact test of the developed portable tsunami lifeboat using numerical simulation.The tsunami lifeboat has to maintain its structural integrity when dropped on 3m free fall height. The orientation confi gurations are considered for the numerical analysis includes end drop, side drop and reversed drop. The explicit fi nite element with penalty method contact analysis is used to evaluate the drop test performance.The results show that the maximum effective stress and plastic strain is found in the side drop condition.It is indicated that the side structure is more vulnerable than the top and bottom structure. The maximum absorbed rupture energy is occurred on the frame structure for reversed drop condition, however it is transmitted effectively to all of the connected frames, outer-shell and inner-shell structures. According to the results of simulation analysis, it can be concluded that the structure of the cone capsule tsunami lifeboat is reliable to withstand the severe load during the tsunami disaster.


Among the factors associated with the risk of colorectal cancer and other large bowel diseases are gender, with women having lower incidence than men, and free-radical mediated oxidation. Dietary fiber has been attributed a protective role in human gastro-intestinal health. The main aim of this study was to determine the degree of association between dietary fiber consumption and fecal free-radical production in healthy rural and urban Guatemalan women, moreover, to look for associations between gender and fecal reactive oxidative species (ROS) basal production, a marker of in situ colonic free-radical-based oxidation. For this purpose, we assessed the dietary fiber consumption, using two 24-h recalls, in urban and rural females, and compared the baseline data, i.e., of iron-supplement-free periods, in three previous studies. Two of these trials quantified the fecal ROS generation as total hydroxylated products resulting from free-radical attack on salicylic acid along with residual non-heme iron content in stool samples from 27 Fe-replete men. The third study assessed the same variables in 20 rural and 20 urban women, all consuming their respective habitual diets. The average fiber consumption for females was more than double in the rural group than in the urban population. As for the average ROS responses, a 2.5-fold difference was observed between men and women, with men having the higher concentrations of total hydroxylated products. This difference was sex-linked, unaffected by statistically significant differences in dietary fiber intake, nor by different concentrations of residual fecal non-heme iron between rural and urban women. The difference in background ROS production between men and women suggests a gender-related influence on intraintestinal oxidation that may protect women from harmful effects of dietary oxidants, such as iron.


The present study examines the link between children's number of older siblings and their cognitive development, as measured by executive function (EFs) skills and verbal skills (VIQ) in a sample of 1,302 4-year-old children (54% boys) living in rural Pakistan. Specifically, we investigate whether the links between the number of older siblings and preschoolers' EFs and VIQ are moderated by preschoolers' quality of home stimulation and gender. Multivariate regressions revealed that the number of older siblings was positively associated with EFs for boys in homes with both higher and lower levels of stimulation, and for girls in homes with lower levels of stimulation (p < .05). However, the number of older siblings was negatively associated with EFs for girls from homes with higher levels of stimulation (p = .03). Further, the number of older siblings was positively associated with VIQ in homes with lower stimulation (p < .05), but not for higher stimulation homes. Gender was not a statistically significant moderator of the association between the number of older siblings and VIQ. Findings suggest that living with more older siblings may promote emerging EFs and VIQ among boys and girls with fewer opportunities for cognitive stimulation. However, more older siblings may hinder EF development for girls in the context of adequate home stimulation, perhaps due to inequitable allocation of resources among boys and girls in more affluent, larger families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


In this work, we present a simple yet effective unified model for perceptual quality assessment of image and video. In contrast to existing models which usually consist of complex network architecture, or rely on the concatenation of multiple branches of features, our model achieves a comparable performance by applying only one global feature derived from a backbone network (i.e. resnet18 in the presented work). Combined with some training tricks, the proposed model surpasses the current baselines of SOTA models on public and private datasets. Based on the architecture proposed, we release the models well trained for three common real-world scenarios: UGC videos in the wild, PGC videos with compression, Game videos with compression. These three pre-trained models can be directly applied for quality assessment, or be further fine-tuned for more customized usages. All the code, SDK, and the pre-trained weights of the proposed models are publicly available at https://github.com/Tencent/CenseoQoE.


The key characteristics of entrepreneurs of
the twenty-first century include the willingness to take responsibility,
ability to develop strategic visions and objectives, and powerful motivation to
succeed. The challenges of the entrepreneurial environment are mirrored in the
higher education system that has the task of preparing students for the
unpredictable and turbulent labour market. Business decisions are vital for the
survival of an enterprise, together with the entrepreneurial functions of
project planning, development and execution, as well as the ability to adapt to
teamwork settings, be proactive and take risks. Accordingly, keeping abreast of
innovative and interactive trends in teaching is a crucial element in the
overall development of the skills and competencies of future entrepreneurs, in
particular, and the teaching process, in general.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate
the satisfaction of students with regard to the benefits derived from the
application of active teaching methods in an undergraduate university study
programme at the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management of the
University of Rijeka. Using business simulations in teaching the course
"Entrepreneurial Management and Innovation" is an active learning method that
allows students to experiment with business strategies, in a risk-free setting,
in the strategic areas of managing human resources, capacities, investments,
service quality, prices and marketing. Research for the purposes of this paper was
conducted among second-year, full-time students of the undergraduate university
study programme, using the survey method and a pre-designed structured
questionnaire. Research results point to a high level of student satisfaction
with regard to the innovative approach to teaching and the benefits of active
learning methods used, which the respondents distinctly prefer relative to
traditional seminar-based teaching. The study indicates a high level of
satisfaction with the benefits of simulations in the process of developing
entrepreneurial spirit and managerial skills but also a lower level of
satisfaction in the segment of complexity in connection with previously
acquired knowledge. The
results of this study can contribute to improving the existing knowledge and to
expanding the use of active learning through the application of a hybrid
learning model that opens up opportunities for achieving the ultimate goal of
enhancing the employability of students and increasing their competitiveness


In this study, a new hybrid energy dissipation device was developed by combining two friction dampers (auxiliary and main fuse) in series to be used for seismic control of two different earthquake intensities. Compared with the conventional friction dampers, the new hybrid damper has an advantage in which only auxiliary fuse (with low sliding force) is activated for moderate earthquakes and both fuses work simultaneously for strong earthquakes. Cyclic loading tests of the combined hybrid dampers were carried out in order to evaluate their seismic energy dissipation capability. The obtained experimental force-displacement indicated proper details of the new damper to create two performance level. Finite element analyses of the test specimens were also carried out for comparison, which had good agreement with the test results. Force displacement characteristics, Energy dissipation and equivalent viscous damping were also derived and good agreement has been found with code requirement for displacement dependent dampers. Also, it was demonstrated that engaging the main fuse with non-loaded pretention bolts, strength losses of the hybrid damper in subsequent cycles were limited compared to the common friction dampers which can be called "resurrection-type" behavior of the main fuse in the main shocks. Review History: Received: Revised: Accepted: Available Online:


Methods :As a part of an on-going collaboration between Pneu-maCare Ltd. and Queen Elizabeth (QE) Hospital (Birmingham, UK), 107 healthy adult subjects between ages of 18 to 69 were measured with SLP during 4 to 5 minutes of seated tidal breathing. Parameter means and standard deviations for males and females aged 18 – 39 and 40 – 69 were calculated and gender and age related comparisons were made (t-test). Results Tables 1 summarises the normative values for males and females older and younger than 40 years. Three parameters showed age related differences and one parameter showed a gender related difference. Conclusion Preliminary normal values for SLP derived tidal breathing parameters are reported. Some gender and age related differences are apparent. It is interesting that tPTEF/tE was significantly lower in the older participants, possibly a sign of natural airway obstruction associated with age.


Neurophysiological evidence from animal studies suggests that frontal corticolimbic systems support early stages of learning, whereas later stages involve context representation formed in hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex. In dense-array EEG studies of human learning, we observed brain activity in medial prefrontal cortex (the medial frontal negativity or MFN) was not only observed in early stages, but, surprisingly, continued to increase as learning progressed. In the present study we investigated this finding by examining MFN amplitude as participants learned an arbitrary associative learning task over three sessions. On the fourth session the same task with new stimuli was presented to assess changes in MFN amplitude. The results showed that MFN amplitude continued to increase with practice over the first three sessions, in contrast to P3 amplitudes. Even when participants were presented with new stimuli in session 4, MFN amplitude was larger than that observed in the first session. Furthermore, MFN activity from the third session predicted learning rate in the fourth session. The results point to an interaction between early and late stages in which learning results in corticolimbic consolidation of cognitive context models that facilitate new learning in similar contexts.


Objective: We present the prevalence and incidence rates of alcohol, nicotine, and illicit substance use, abuse, and dependence in a sample of German adolescents and young adults. Patterns of onset, cohort trends, and use of various substance classes are also analyzed. Method: A prospective longitudinal epidemiological study with a representative sample of adolescents and young adults (n = 3,021; baseline age range = 14–24 years) was conducted in Munich, Germany. Participants were assessed between 1995 and 1999 with the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results: Cumulative lifetime incidence (up to age 28) of any substance abuse or dependence was 43.8%, and 12-month prevalence of any substance abuse or dependence was 24.4%. The lifetime incidence of nicotine dependence was most frequent (24.8%), followed by alcohol abuse (19.3%) and alcohol dependence (9.2%); 61.7% endorsed the regular use of a substance for at least one circumscribed period during their lifetime. Age-specific incidence rates and age at onset of substance use disorders differed by age cohorts. Furthermore, nicotine dependence was significantly associated with illicit substance use disorders (HR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.7–4.0). An interactive relationship between age, age at onset of nicotine dependence, and subsequent onset of illicit substance use disorders was found. Conclusions: Since the baseline investigation in 1995, high incidence rates of substance use disorders and substance use have been observed in this young German sample. Especially younger cohorts report significantly earlier ages at onset of abuse and dependence. There also seems to be a trend towards a secondary age at onset peak of nicotine dependence after the onset of illicit drug use disorders. Further investigations are needed to study these patterns in younger samples. However, results emphasize the need for a combined prevention of illicit drugs and nicotine dependence.


A bio-inspired shape feature of an object of interest emulates the integration of the saccadic eye movement and horizontal layer in vertebrate retina for object recognition search where a single object can be used one at a time. The optimal computational model for shape-extraction-based principal component analysis (PCA) was also developed to reduce processing time and enable the real-time adaptive system capability. A color feature of the object is employed as color segmentation to empower the shape feature recognition to solve the object recognition in the heterogeneous environment where a single technique - shape or color - may expose its difficulties. To enable the effective system, an adaptive architecture and autonomous mechanism were developed to recognize and adapt the shape and color feature of the moving object. The bio-inspired object recognition based on bio-inspired shape and color can be effective to recognize a person of interest in the heterogeneous environment where the single technique exposed its difficulties to perform effective recognition. Moreover, this work also demonstrates the mechanism and architecture of the autonomous adaptive system to enable the realistic system for the practical use in the future.


The nonlinear wave structures of large-amplitude positron-acoustic waves are studied in an electron–positron plasma with an electron beam. We present the region where positron-acoustic waves exist by analysing the structure of the pseudopotential. The region depends sensitively on the positron density, the positron temperature and the electron beam temperature. It is shown that the maximum amplitude of the wave decreases as the positron temperature increases, and the region of positron-acoustic waves spreads as the positron . Temperature increases. The present theory is applicable to analysing hirge-amplitude positron-acoustic waves associated with positrons which may occur in interplanetary space.


Approximately 20-50% of ultraviolet A (UVA) irradiation delivered to the skin surface may reach the human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMEC) that play a pivotal role in cellular inflammatory tissue; however, the pathophysiologic role of HDMEC in UVA-induced skin changes is largely unknown. Based on previous in vivo and in vitro studies revealing UVA-induced expression of endothelial adhesion molecules, we studied isolated HDMEC under various conditions in order to further delineate the impact of UVA on these cells. The expression of cell adhesion molecules was determined by flow cytometry and the resulting changes of stable adhesion of leukocytes to endothelial cells were quantitated for granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes using a newly developed multicellular adhesion assay. Additionally, antibody blocking experiments were performed to delineate the role of individual cell adhesion molecules in UVA-induced leukocyte adherence. High-dose polychromatic UVA (25 J per cm2, maximal emission at 375 nm) induced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and E-selectin with different kinetics but correlating the adhesion of leukocyte subsets. This effect subsided, however, in the course of 3-6 daily applied UVA doses. Moreover, pro-inflammatory cytokine challenge by tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1-alpha resulted in significantly weaker induction of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and E-selectin in repeatedly UVA-exposed HDMEC. Differential quantitation of peripheral blood derived granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes revealed reduced adhesion particularly of lymphocytes followed by monocytes and granulocytes compared with leukocyte adhesion to nonirradiated but cytokine-stimulated HDMEC. It is concluded that UVA substantially influences endothelial cell adhesion molecules expression and thus directly interferes with leukocyte adhesion to endothelial cells. Divergent UVA-induced effects in this respect can be attributed to the mode of UV exposure as well as to the condition of endothelial cells prior to UVA exposure.


By including trap‐limited recombination in a time‐domain drift‐diffusion model of a P3HT:PCBM solar cell, experimental transient photocurrent (TPC) measurements across the current–voltage (J–V) curve in both the light and the dark can be reproduced. Using the same set of model parameters, the steady‐state current–voltage curves and charge‐extraction data are also reproduced. The model is validated by predicting the recombination rate at open circuit and comparing results with the rate as measured by the transient photovoltage (TPV) measurement technique. It is demonstrated that the model, which incorporates transport, carrier trapping, carrier de‐trapping, and recombination, is able to reproduce device dynamics correctly. The fit of the model to the experimental results is improved by varying the shape of the electron and hole density of state (DoS) functions. By discretizing the DoS in energy space and allowing its shape to vary, the TPC transients can be closely fitted and the form of the tails of the electron and hole DoS extracted. It is found that the DoS of trapped carriers can be represented by a series of Gaussians offset in energy. This is tentatively attributed to electronic disorder introduced by molecular packing of the molecules.


A patient with a suspected malignancy and pancytopenia warrants much consideration. Most clinicians would consider bone marrow infiltrative process, heralding a grave prognosis. However, rare occurrence of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is another diagnostic possibility we should keep in mind. The treatment choices and overall prognosis may differ from patients without hemophagocytosis. We present a case of incidentally found advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) concurrent with hemophagocytosis process in the bone marrow. We also discuss the importance of this finding.


Minimally invasive surgery is defined as a procedure involving a smaller access opening and less-extensive surgical manipulation of the tissues that surround the target structure. It represents a rapidly advancing and expanding therapeutic modality in medicine and dentistry. Minimally invasive surgery has been touted as one of the major advances in medicine of the past two to three decades. The revolution in this field has been made possible by technological advances in imaging, instrumentation, and robotics. These advances have been driven in part by patient demand. Today's patients lead a busy and active lifestyle, and prolonged periods of convalescence are not acceptable for many. Therefore, the advent of minimally invasive surgery has promoted increased patient acceptance, which result from decreased morbidity associated with the minimally invasive surgery approaches.


PURPOSE
To develop and implement a fully automated approach to intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning.

METHOD
The optimization algorithm is developed based on a hierarchical constrained optimization technique and is referred internally at our institution as expedited constrained hierarchical optimization (ECHO). Beamlet contributions to regions-of-interest are precomputed and captured in the influence matrix. Planning goals are of two classes: hard constraints that are strictly enforced from the first step (e.g., maximum dose to spinal cord), and desirable goals that are sequentially introduced in three constrained optimization problems (better planning target volume (PTV) coverage, lower organ at risk (OAR) doses, and smoother fluence map). After solving the optimization problems using external commercial optimization engines, the optimal fluence map is imported into an FDA-approved treatment planning system (TPS) for leaf sequencing and accurate full dose calculation. The dose-discrepancy between the optimization and TPS dose calculation is then calculated and incorporated into optimization by a novel dose correction loop technique using Lagrange multipliers. The correction loop incorporates the leaf sequencing and scattering effects into optimization to improve the plan quality and reduce the calculation time. The resultant optimal fluence map is again imported into TPS for leaf sequencing and final dose calculation for plan evaluation and delivery. The workflow is automated using application program interface (API) scripting, requiring user interaction solely to prepare the contours and beam arrangement prior to launching the ECHO plug-in from the TPS. For each site, parameters and objective functions are chosen to represent clinical priorities. The first site chosen for clinical implementation was metastatic paraspinal lesions treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). As a first step, 75 ECHO paraspinal plans were generated retrospectively and compared with clinically treated plans generated by planners using VMAT (volumetric modulated arc therapy) with 4 to 6 partial arcs. Subsequently, clinical deployment began in April, 2017.

RESULTS
In retrospective study, ECHO plans were found to be dosimetrically superior with respect to tumor coverage, plan conformity, and OAR sparing. For example, the average PTV D95%, cord and esophagus max doses, and Paddick Conformity Index were improved, respectively, by 1%, 6%, 14%, and 15%, at a negligible 3% cost of the average skin D10cc dose.

CONCLUSION
Hierarchical constrained optimization is a powerful and flexible tool for automated IMRT treatment planning. The dosimetric correction step accurately accounts for detailed dosimetric multileaf collimator and scattering effects. The system produces high-quality, Pareto optimal plans and avoids the time-consuming trial-and-error planning process.


This research aims at showing the fruit of the fundamentals of jurisprudence science. Principles of Jurisprudence science gains status through linking it to its fruit which is training on deriving jurisprudential rulings and choosing the best ruling, branching out issues and building them on evidence, as well as gaining knowledge of the imams' opinions on topics about which there is no text and on the rulings of emergent calamities as well. If it were only a theoretical science with no application, then it would be useless; a scourge for its owner. The fundamentals of jurisprudence science must be linked to its fruit for its benefit to be complete. The science of Takhrīj 'extraction' and branching has a close relationship with the science of usul al- fiqh, as it brings it out from the theoretical to the practical, pragmatic side. Thus, it is of great benefit and great importance for the one studying this field of science. The research also explains the approach of imam Abu al- Khattab; an important Hanbali imam by highlighting his rules and linking them with jurisprudential branches, and identifying the extent of the contravention and approval, especially in the section on Exceptional Uṣūl "principles" depending on the inductive analytical approach.


We report here three cases of squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus following endoscopic injection sclerotherapy for esophageal varices. All three patients were men and cigarette smokers, with a mean age of 58.3 +/- 5.0 years. Hepatitis B and C virus infection tests were negative, and alcoholic cirrhosis was present in each patient. The interval between sclerotherapy and the development of carcinoma was 9, 10, and 33 months, in the respective cases. The sclerosant used was 5% ethanolamine oleate with a mean total volume of 51.0 +/- 18.9 ml. While we have no evidence of a direct relationship between sclerotherapy and esophageal cancer, in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis who have risk factors for esophageal cancer there may be an acceleration of the potential malignancy, as a result of the chronic inflammation related to sclerotherapy. Such patients should be closely followed, using endoscopy.


A distinct class of El Niño events with extreme magnitude (termed "super El Niño" events in this study) is identified after removing decadal variation. These events occurred in 1972/1973, 1982/1983, and 1997/1998. They are distinguished not only by their size but also by associated features such as a Southern Hemispheric transverse circulation that is not similarly robust in other El Niño events. This transverse circulation is characterized by a low‐level equatorward flow, which spins off from a high sea‐level‐pressure anomaly around Australia and then merges into the deep convection anomalies over the central Pacific, and by an upper‐level southward divergent flow, which branches off from the convection center and connects to the subsidence of the Australia high. It is suggested that this transverse cell, peaking in boreal summer, serves as an effective booster during the developing stage of a super El Niño by intensifying tropical Pacific low‐level westerly winds.


We developed a compound library for orally available gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonists that were based on a uracil scaffold. On the basis of in vitro activity and CYP inhibition profile, we selected 18a (SKI2496) for further in vivo studies. Compound 18a exhibited more selective antagonistic activity toward the human GnRH receptors over the GnRHRs in monkeys and rats, and this compound also showed inhibitory effects on GnRH-mediated signaling pathways. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluations of 18a revealed improved bioavailability and superior gonadotropic suppression activity compared with Elagolix, the most clinically advanced compound. Considering that 18a exhibited highly potent and selective antagonistic activity toward the hGnRHRs along with favorable pharmacokinetic profiles, we believe that 18a may represent a promising candidate for an orally available hormonal therapy.


The authors present three security claims for iterated message authentication codes (MAC functions). Next, they propose ALRED, a construction method for MAC functions based on a block cipher that has provable security in the absence of internal collisions. They apply this construction to advanced encryption standard (AES) resulting in two MAC functions: ALPHA-MAC and PELICAN. The authors provide a model for describing different types of internal collisions in ALRED and provide evidence that the security claims they propose are usable for MAC functions that use the ALRED construction. Finally, they provide a motivation for the security claims that accompany PELICAN.