The application of reactive solvents (RSs), namely hydroxymethyl derivatives of acetone for digestion of isocyanuric acid, which is insoluble in most organic solvents except for DMSO, makes the substrate available for further conversions. At this step, the incorporation of perhydro-1,3,5-triazine ring into RS takes place. The obtained solutions were used for synthesis of polyetherols containing perhydro-1,3,5-triazine rings in reaction with oxiranes: ethylene and propylene oxides. The polyetherols were then used to obtain foamed polyurethanes with enhanced thermal stability. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011


This article explores the multifactorial relationship between mastication and cognition, with a focus on dementia. Older persons, especially those with dementia, are at great risk of suffering from oral health problems such as orofacial pain and loss of natural teeth. A possible explanation could be that the cognitive and motor impairments resulting from dementia cause a decrease in self‐care and as such, a worsening of oral health. An alternative explanation is that cognition and oral health influence each other. Animal studies show that a decrease in masticatory activity, for example, due to a soft diet or loss of teeth, causes memory loss and neuronal degeneration. The relationship between mastication and cognition has also been researched in human studies, but a cause‐effect relationship has not been proven. It is likely that multiple factors play a role in this relationship, such as self‐care, nutrition, stress and pain.


With the development in drilling technology, operators are now drilling further into unknown temperature and pressure regimes, extending the typical well depth to limits never seen before. To deal with these unseen depths, wellbores are being re-designed with more casing strings. Consequently, under-reamers are being used much more frequently to help achieve the optimum hole size for casing. In bottomhole assemblies (BHAs) with under-reamers it is not unusual to have two neutral points in the assembly, creating a transition zone between both neutral points. To comprehend the effects of placing a reamer in this transition zone, some field cases with reamers placed in this zone were studied. Based on the findings, the reaming bottomhole assembly was optimized to eliminate dual neutral points, which resulted in extended under-reamer life. This paper discusses the benefits of optimizing hole-opener placement in regards to neutral points and the transition zone. Some precautionary procedures are mentioned that can be implemented to optimize bottomhole assemblies that include reamers, reduce BHA failures and improve drilling efficiency.


Although the Poisson's ratio of concrete is known to vary within a significant range of values, the resulting effects on impact-echo test results have not been studied. In this regard, background to the problem is given followed by an introduction to the impact-echo test technique. An exact analysis model for impact-echo data guide-wave analysis (GWA) based on elastic guided wave-propagation theory is introduced and experimentally demonstrated to be a powerful alternative to the existing impact-echo analysis model (IEM). It is shown that the IEM model cannot account for changing values of the material Poisson's ratio, whereas the new GWA model can. Relationships among the Poisson's ratio, shear-wave velocity, and longitudinal-wave velocity of a material and the associated impact-echo test results are developed through the use of the GWA model. This development involves a parametric investigation of predicted impact-echo test results for solid- and hollow-rod structures. The significant effect of Poisson's ratio as well as longitudinal- and shear-wave velocity on such impact-echo results is demonstrated, and directions for future work are suggested. Conclusions concerning the validity of the GWA and IEM models and the significance of IEM analysis errors, owing to the disregard of Poisson's ratio as a significant factor, are given.


The basal plane resistivity rho of stage 2 SbCl5 intercalated graphite has been measured as a function of temperature T and pressure p in the range 195-300K and 0-1.75 GPa, using a contactless method. rho is found to increase with increasing p. New evidence is found for the existence of the high-pressure (>1 GPa) phase suggested by Houser and co-workers (1984). The p/T phase boundaries for the low T( 0.35 GPa) ordered phases are outlined. A re-analysis of previous results for stage 1 SbF5 intercalated graphite indicates a similar phase diagram for this material.


Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive disorder of phenylalanine (Phe) metabolism characterized by a deficiency of the hepatic enzyme, phenylalanine hydroxylase, an enzyme responsible for the conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine, and elevated levels of Phe and Phe metabolite. All women with PKU or hyperphenylalaninemia should be strongly encouraged to receive family planning and preconception counseling. Women with PKU or hyperphenylalaninemia should begin appropriate, medically directed dietary phenylalanine restriction before conception.


To reducing chemotherapy‐related toxicity, the chemo‐free regimens become a new trend of Ph + ALL treatment. Therefore, we conducted a phase 2 trial of dasatinib plus prednisone, as induction (Course I) and early consolidation (Courses II and III) treating newly diagnosed Ph + ALL. The trial was registered at www.chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR2000038053. Forty‐one patients were enrolled from 15 hospitals. The complete remission (CR) was 95% (39/41), including two elderly induction deaths. By the end of Course III, 25.6% (10/39) of patients achieved a complete molecular response. With a median follow‐up of 15.4 months, 2‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) were 100% and 33% for patients who receiving haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) at CR1 and receiving chemotherapy alone respectively. When censored at time of HSCT, 2‐year DFS were 51% and 45% for young and elderly patients (p = 0.987). 2‐year overall survival were 45%, 86% and 100% for patients without HSCT, receiving HSCT after relapse and receiving HSCT at CR1 respectively. A total of 12 patients had marrow recurrences and one had CNS relapse, with 38% occurred early (between Courses I and III). IKZF1 gene deletion was shown to be associated with relapse (p = 0.019). This chemo‐free induction and early consolidation regimen was efficacious and well‐tolerated in de novo Ph + ALL. Allogeneic HSCT conferred definite survival advantage after chemo‐free induction.


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

Background: Specific inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the most promising treatment in the clinical setting. Cetuximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody that binds to the extracellular domain of EGFR, has activity in colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and so on. Because cetuximab is very expensive and has unique side effects, the development of appropriate evaluation for the therapeutic effects is necessary to use this drug effectively. Measurement of tumor proliferative activity by PET using 18F-Fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) may serve to assess early therapeutic effect. The purpose of this study is to determine whether 18F-FLT is useful to evaluate response to cetuximab treatment at a very early time-point in human lung cancer cell line xenograft.

Methods: Human tumor xenograft model was established in male BALB/c athymic mice by human lung cancer cell line NCI-H1975. These mice were assigned to two groups (n=5, each group): control and cetuximab-treated groups. Cetuximab was intra-peritoneally given 1.0 mg/body on the first day. 3H-FLT was given intravenously on day 3 and radioactivity in the tumor and other tissue samples (%Injected Dose/g/kg) was measured using liquid scintillation one hour later. Immunohistochemical labeling index (LI, %positive cells) staining of nuclear antigen Ki-67 was also studied in tumor tissues as a tumor cell proliferation marker.

Results: 3H-FLT uptake was higher in tumors compared with any other organs. The mean value of 3H-FLT uptake in tumor was significantly decreased to 55% of control value (0.38 ± 0.03 %ID/g/kg in control group vs. 0.21 ± 0.07 %ID/g/kg in cetuximab-treated group; p < 0.05). As compared with control, Ki-67 LI was significantly decreased in cetuximab-treated group (21.8 ± 6.7 %positive cells in control group vs. 2.2 ± 1.2 %positive cells in cetuximab-treated group; p < 0.001), while there was no significant changes in tumor volume and body weight between two groups.

Conclusions: In this animal model, 3H-FLT uptake and Ki-67 expression were decreased in cetuximab-treated group just two days after the treatment start. These results indicate 18F-FLT-PET can be a useful predictor to evaluate response to molecular targeted medicine such as cetuximab at a very early time-point of treatment before significant change of tumor size.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3743.


Introduction: Heart failure is one of the leading cause of hospital admision because of the lack of adherence to treatment of these patients. This study was designed to know patients knowledge about heart failure. Patients and methods: 75 patiens admited in ward with the diagnosis of heart failure were asked about the illness and the treatment they took. Results: Patiens considered weight gain, dyspnea and edemas a cau se of consultant to their doctors (99%). They understood as necesary the weight control to their stabilization (82%). One half of the interviewed did not consider important the control of diuresis and water ingestion. Most of the patients thought that mild physical exercise and sodium restriction could improve their physical status (85% and 100% respectively). 24% of the patiens considered they could use any kind of non steroid anti-inflammatory drug. 79% of the patients knew the diuretic effect of furosemida and 70% the cardiologic effect of digoxina, all thought only just 46% recognized the use of angiotensin converse enzyme inhibitors for heart failure and blood presure. The adverse events of these drugs were unknow (56%, 65% and 80% respec tively). Conclusions: Patients with heart failure had poor information about dietary and medical treatment. This could expain the problems their have for the optimal use of effective medication, being poor patients adherence to pharmacologic and dietary therapy a common cause of exacerbation. It would be necesary to increase patients information to avoid heart failure progression and descompensation.


The accumulation of mucus in affected organs is characteristic of cystic fibrosis (CF). The CF mouse small intestine has dramatic mucus accumulation and exhibits slower interdigestive intestinal transit. These factors are proposed to play cooperative roles that foster small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and contribute to the innate immune response of the CF intestine. It was hypothesized that decreasing the mucus accumulation would reduce SIBO and might improve other aspects of the CF intestinal phenotype. To test this, solid chow-fed CF mice were treated with an osmotic laxative to improve gut hydration or liquid-fed mice were treated orally with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to break mucin disulfide bonds. Treatment with laxative or NAC reduced mucus accumulation by 43% and 50%, respectively, as measured histologically as dilation of the intestinal crypts. Laxative and NAC also reduced bacterial overgrowth in the CF intestine by 92% and 63%, respectively. Treatment with laxative normalized small intestinal transit in CF mice, whereas NAC did not. The expression of innate immune response-related genes was significantly reduced in laxative-treated CF mice, whereas there was no significant effect in NAC-treated CF mice. In summary, laxative and NAC treatments of CF mice reduced mucus accumulation to a similar extent, but laxative was more effective than NAC at reducing bacterial load. Eradication of bacterial overgrowth by laxative treatment was associated with normalized intestinal transit and a reduction in the innate immune response. These results suggest that both mucus accumulation and slowed interdigestive small intestinal transit contribute to SIBO in the CF intestine.


This research compares the level of media literacy, social stigma, and the correlation between media literacy and social stigma in Indonesia and Japan, in order to know the right measures to eliminate the social stigma, as one of the inequality that occured in the pandemic. The research question proposed in this study include: 1) Media literacy correlation with social stigma towards the infected person, 2) The severerity of social stigma towards the infected person, and 3) How to solve the social stigma caused by social media in times of the current digital society. In the era of pandemic, people are not only fear the disease, but also the social stigma it brings. With that in mind, we would like to see whether or not the media literacy have any significance towards the occurence of the social stigma. In this research, we found that people with low media literacy have a bigger chance to have a high social stigma towards the person with COVID-19 . The result of this research could also be implemented in the government polocy making to prevent the ostracization of a certain group related to COVID-19.


Proton line shapes were acquired for the easy-axis antiferromagnet CsFeCl3.2H2O. The line shapes were acquired at 250 K for a complete 360 degrees rotation about the b axis of the crystal, and at various temperatures between 250 K and 23 K, for two orientations. A model for the line shapes has been created based on the temperature dependence of the interaction between protons and the local magnetic field differences at each proton site. The field differences lead to symmetric line shapes whose peaks have a separation that increases as the temperature decreases. This model accounts well for the major component of the observed line shapes, provided that the proton-proton separation is increased over the separation obtained from published data. The residual portion of the observed line shapes appears to be a single line which results from water molecules that behave as though they are not part of the crystal structure.


The surface-potential-decay measurement techniques are commonly employed for the adjustment of Xerox photography processes, development of electrets, and assessment of polyethylene films for cable insulation. In all these situations, it is important to evaluate the surface charge density and compare it to the limit imposed by the dielectric rigidity of atmospheric air. The aim of the experiments reported in this paper is to enhance the efficiency of the corona charging of nonwoven filter media for heat, ventilation, and air-conditioning applications. Samples of nonwoven polypropylene fibrous media were exposed to positive corona discharges from a wire electrode, as the efficiency of the filter can be enhanced when the insulating fibers are electrically charged. The observed surface potential levels and the potential decay characteristics indicate that the charge of the filter is limited by the local discharges that occur inside the fibrous dielectric. The performance of the filter can be further improved by using a triode-type electrode system that assures a uniform distribution of the electric charge at the surface of the filtering media.


The corneal neovascularization produced by NaOH burns was examined in two groups of pigmented rabbits following laser treatment. The treatment was carried out with energy level 500 mW, spot diameter 200 micron, and exposure time 1 s throughout. In the first group, a single newly formed vessel was coagulated in each case. Subsequent fluorescein angiography invariably showed an incomplete occlusion of the vessel. In the second group, we coagulated a section of the neovascularization network at its origin in the corneal limbus. After 48 h, fluorescein perfusion was once again observed, but the vessels were predominantly finer than before. Fluorescence microscopy revealed a rich neovascularization of the more superficial layers of the corneal stroma. To be successful, laser treatment must involve both supplying and draining vessels.


Disparities in cancer incidence and mortality persist between African Americans and other racial/ethnic groups. Cancer communication that increases screening behaviors and improves diet may help reduce disparities. Culturally appropriate communication may provide an important opportunity to address health disparities, but the specific strategies used to realize this potential can take many forms. There is widespread agreement that communication programs and materials will be more effective when they are "culturally appropriate" for the populations they serve (Brach & Fraser, 2000); however, transmission of information does not equal effective communication. It is widely assumed that cancer communication is more effective when culturally appropriate for a given population, yet little is known about what strategies, at what levels, make materials culturally appropriate. We must understand what elements -evidence, cultural constructs, graphics- related to culture and social context affect response to health communications. Investigators have articulated several approaches to cultural appropriateness; however, three are particularly relevant to cancer communications. Peripheral approaches package generic content in colors, fonts, images, pictures or declarative titles likely to appeal to a given group. Evidential approaches provide and discuss data specific to that group. Sociocultural approaches discuss health in the context of specific social and/or cultural characteristics of the group. This presentation will provide an overview of the findings from studies that examine perceptions of cultural appropriateness (text and graphics), differences in affective response, cognitive processing and intent to screen between targeted publications that use cultural values (spirituality, collectivism, ethnic identity, fatalism, and mistrust - SC) and publications that provide evidence (E) on colorectal cancer prevention specific to African Americans. Preproduction testing was conducted with 30 African Americans (15 men, 15 women), with each gender-specific text and graphics, Evidential, and Sociocultural focused publication being reviewed 10 times. The process sought to test the incorporation of the formative research findings related to group preferences into the publications and determine whether strategy implementation achieved our hypothesized outcomes, specifically whether text and graphics enhanced materials increased attention and perceived attractiveness, Evidential focus increased perceived importance of information, and Sociocultural focus increased perceived personal and group relevance. The text and graphics and Sociocultural publications, respectively, scored higher than the Evidential publication on attention and attractiveness. The Evidential publication scored higher than the text and graphics enhanced and Sociocultural publications, respectively, on the perceived importance of information. The text and graphics and Sociocultural publications, respectively, scored higher than the Evidential publication on personal and group relevance. In the two-armed randomized trial, 761 African American participants (401 females, 360 males), 45 and older with no history of colorectal cancer were randomly assigned to one of two conditions Evidential (E) vs. Sociocultural (SC). The results from exit surveys administered to the first one hundred and twenty five participants were very skewed to the "strongly agree" or agree categories for items that address magazine liking, quality, and professionalism. This affective response persists over a two week response period. There were no differences between the E and SC groups; whether stock or localized photos were used. Relevance, Identity, Motivation, and Attention scores are related to participant group assignment as predicted; higher relevance, identity, motivation, and attention scores among SC participants and higher cognitive processing scores among E participants). These findings remained constant at follow-up after the delivery of publication 2. Male participants reported greater intent to screen when receiving targeted publications that use a socio-cultural strategy; there were no significant differences in the responses of female participants. Effective targeted health communication may require developing the appropriate balance between evidential and socio-cultural strategies, while addressing gender preferences.


Charter schools have become a US phenomenon, garnering praise from Democrats and Republicans. Because they appear to sidestep both political stalemate and the practical difficulty of implementing widespread change - the traditional barriers to improvement in the American public sector - charter schools hold great promise as an educational reform. Now, with charter laws on the books in more than 30 states, Bryan Hassel investigates whether charter schools have been able to avoid the pitfalls that have tripped up so many other "revolutionary" school reforms. After a broad overview of how charter laws have been adopted nationwide, the study focuses in depth on charter schools in Michigan, Colorado, Georgia and Massachusetts. Hassel reviews the four states' implementation of charter laws and whether their programmes are providing sufficient autonomy, resources and potential to influence the broader educational system - all essential components for charter schools' success. He concludes that if states want to give charter schools a full test, they should empower nonlocal entities to approve the schools, establish them as distinct local entities, allow per-pupil funding to go with students to the charter schools, and impose minimal constraints on the source and number of charter schools. The schools themselves will need to improve their infrastructure, and charter-granting agencies will have to rebuild the systems for monitoring schools' academic results and compliance with regulations. These policies are suggested to be vital for charter schools to realize their potential as a significant educational reform.


ABSTRACT The interplay between menstrual waste and urban sanitation infrastructure is largely hidden from view. Qualitative research has highlighted socio-cultural aspects of menstruation, but few quantitative studies have mapped the physical situation at scale. This study surveyed 258 women in Blantyre, Malawi about their menstrual absorbent choices, disposal practices, and socio-demographic characteristics. A Sankey diagram visualised flows of menstrual waste in the urban environment and identified ultimate disposal points. Most participants used either disposable pads and/or old cloth and disposed of them by either burning and/or throwing in pit latrines. Pad and cloth use were associated with age, education, employment, marital status, and household wealth. Younger women's preference for disposable pads suggests that demographic shifts may cause volumes of menstrual waste to increase. However, differences in waste volume produced by disposable and reusable absorbents was less than previously assumed. The volume of menstrual waste discarded in pit latrines, and cultural barriers to disposing it elsewhere, highlights challenges for the pit emptying industry and faecal sludge value recovery sector, with the problem anticipated to be most acute in high-density settlements. Widening access to sustainable disposal strategies, affordable reusable menstrual products, and tackling stigma, are key to addressing this social and environmental challenge.


Symmetric droplet-etched quantum dots (QDs) are the leading candidate for generating high-performance polarization-entangled photon pairs. One of the challenges is how to precisely engineer the properties of QDs by controlling the morphology of etched nanoholes. In this paper, we systematically investigate the influence of the underlying material, showing the morphological evolution of the nanohole structure as well as symmetric GaAs QDs with an average fine-structure splitting (FSS) of (5.9 ± 1.2) μeV. Moreover, we develop a theoretical model that quantitatively reproduces the experimental data and provides insights into the mechanisms governing the relationship between the anisotropy of nanoholes in the 11ˉ0 crystallographic direction and the growth parameters. Our theoretical analysis also indicates how to improve the symmetry of nanoholes to meet the requirements for implementing QDs in entangled photon sources.


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

Tubulin remains a persistent and promising target for anti-cancer therapy. This is well validated by the already approved clinically used drug classes such as taxoids and vincas. We have previously discovered a new class of anti-microtubule (MT) drugs, noscapinoids. The lead compound, noscapine, is an orally available anti-cough plant alkaloid that binds tubulin and makes MTs less dynamic. Using computational algorithms such as Glide Extra Precision, Quantum Polarized Ligand Docking (QPLD), Molecular Mechanics Generalized Born Surface Area (MM-GB/SA), EmBrace and Solvation Generalized Born-Linear Interaction Energy (SGB-LIE), we have generated molecular models of noscapine-tubulin complex. Furthermore, based upon structure-function analyses of noscapine, we have identified a key residue on the isoquinoline ring of noscapine that can be modified without losing its biological activity. We report a library of novel derivatives, based upon combinatorial in silico approaches that can be chemically synthesized and tested in vitro and in vivo in animal models of human tumor xenografts in immune compromised mice. The prototype analogs synthesized so far have non-toxic to normally dividing healthy tissues but pro-apoptotic in a wide variety of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Some of these prototypes have shown already that these approaches can generate compounds more effective than the lead compound. Unlike currently available clinical anticancer MT-drugs, noscapine and its derivatives are orally available, and display no toxicities such as myelosuppression and immunosuppression, peripheral neuropathies, or pathology of gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, noscapine readily crosses the blood brain barrier. The in silico libraries generated here promise to be even more effective. Additionally, because the mechanisms by which different anti-MT drugs induce apoptosis can vary widely in both, the same cell lineage as well as in distinct lineages, there is a tremendous opportunity for a better therapeutic outcome by combining noscapinoids with already approved MT-drugs in a cancer type specific manner.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 97.


Exploring gene-disease associations improves the understanding of the underlying cause of the disease, which leads to further improvements in the diagnosis and treatment. Since genes that belong to the same topological, functional or disease module has an increased tendency of being involved in the same disease or phenotype, cluster analysis is the efficient approach to identify functionally similar genes. The aim of this work is to identify biologically relevant gene clusters using graph theory, which is an essential and influential scientific tool for modeling and exploring interconnected groups. The current work exhibits a computationally efficient algorithm for improving the performance of community detection in graphs using edge pruning techniques. The algorithm does not demand a priori judgment on the size of communities; it helps in automatic detection of gene communities with better performance. The optimized and streamlined approach is applied on cancer dataset and is compared and validated with standard clustering solutions using different validation measures.


In recent trials in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma a clinical benefit of treatment with anti-IL-5 antibodies was only demonstrated in terms of exacerbations. Aim of the present analyses was to identify patient characteristics associated with a treatment response beyond exacerbations.

45 patients (27 [female], mean±SEM: age 51.3±1.3 yrs., FEV1 1.7±0.1 L / 57.2±2.7 % pred., FeNO 54.9±7.8 ppb, blood eosinophils 440/µl (median, range 10-2100/µl) were treated with an anti-IL-5-antibody for up to 12 months as part of blinded, randomized clinical trials (36 mepolizumab or reslizumab, 9 placebo).

There was no FEV1 benefit after 1, 4 or 12 months in patients treated with placebo (median change 1.2%, -5.5% and -2.9%). In patients treated with anti-IL-5 FEV1 increased significantly by 17.9% (265 ml) after 1 month (p<0.001), by 17.3% (240 ml) after 4 months (p=0.002) and by 21.1% (295 ml) after 12 months (p=0.003). FEV1 response to anti-IL-5 was fast with maximum effects already seen after the first month. In patients with ≥600 eosinophils/µl FEV1 increased by 30.1% after 1 month and by 27.8% after 12 months, compared with 15.6% and 10.7% in patients with ≤300 eosinophils/µl (p=0.065, 1 month; p=0.277, 12 months). In contrast, sputum eosinophilia (≥ 2%) or FeNO did not predict FEV1 response (change in FEV1 after 1 month: sputum eosinophils <2% vs. ≥2% 17.2 vs. 11.0%, FeNO <50 ppb vs. ≥50 ppb 17.4 vs. 19.6%).

In conclusion, the clinical benefits of anti-IL-5 in patients with eosinophilic asthma may well reach beyond exacerbations. Anti-IL-5 treatment seems to be most effective in asthma patients characterized by blood eosinophilia.


At the heart of this article are two eyewitness accounts of the religious life of pre-Reformation Biberach an der Riß in Upper Swabia . Written between ca . 1531 and 1545 by two brothers who had remained Roman Catholic while their home city had converted to Protestantism, the two reports provide a virtually unparalleled glimpse into the material and visual culture of a small Imperial Free City on the eve of the Protestant Reformation . So far, the two narratives have been primarily mined for their portrayal of religious customs taking place within the city walls . Almost no attention has been paid to the fact that the two accounts chart the richly textured sacred landscape that unfolded in every direction in the peri-urban spaces just outside the town walls . Rather than looking at the pre-Reformation city from within, this article considers the late medieval urban space from the outside .


Background: Pattern of psychiatric disorders found among patients visiting the hospital helps in understanding the epidemiology, heath seeking behavior as well as strategic service planning and development. Methods: A retrospective health record review, of all the patients visiting out-patient care and in-patient care of psychiatry department of a tertiary care hospital in a period of two years, was conducted to assess the prevalence and trend of most common psychiatric disorders among them. Results: Major depressive disorder and Alcohol use disorder were the most common conditions found in out-patient and in-patient settings respectively. Out-patient consultations were consistently increasing whereas in-patient admissions were variable and decreasing with time. Conclusion: Current scenario and trends of psychiatric disorders among this group of patients is in line with epidemiological patterns and reflects a healthy trend of community oriented (out-patient based) care.


The mode of action of artificial hearts is in a wide range variable and to be adapted to different conditions of the circulatory systems. The direct regulative function of the peripheral circulation is restricted by the rigid ability of artificial hearts bound to motor drive parameters. Their great dependence on pre- and afterload already in normal calves presumes a harmonized functional capacity of the right and left ventricle. As to the situation in potential recipients of artificial hearts with considerably disturbed macro- and microhaemodynamics there are problems for the choice of suitable conditions of motor drive, in order to favour a right-left balance and an adequate volume. The substitution of the natural regulators by suitable sensors and the regulation of the artificial hearts according to haemodynamic controls and pump parameters, respectively, is necessary to achieve a balanced adequate ventricular function. This complex is subject of an intensive research.


Modern parallel architecture design has increasingly turned to throughput-oriented devices to address concerns about energy efficiency and power consumption. However, graph applications cannot tap into the full potential of such architectures because of highly unstructured computations and irregular memory accesses. In this paper, we present GraphPhi, a new approach to graph processing on emerging Intel Xeon Phi-like architectures, by addressing the restrictions of migrating existing graph processing frameworks on shared-memory multi-core CPUs to this new architecture. Specifically, GraphPhi consists of 1) an optimized hierarchically blocked graph representation to enhance the data locality for both edges and vertices within and among threads, 2) a hybrid vertex-centric and edge-centric execution to efficiently find and process active edges, and 3) a uniform MIMD-SIMD scheduler integrated with a lock-free update support to achieve both good thread-level load balance and SIMD-level utilization. Besides, our efficient MIMD-SIMD execution is capable of hiding memory latency by increasing the number of concurrent memory access requests, thus benefiting more from the latest High-Bandwidth Memory technique. We evaluate our GraphPhi on six graph processing applications. Compared to two state-of-the-art shared-memory graph processing frameworks, it results in speedups up to 4X and 35X, respectively.


INTRODUCTION
Every year, a large number of patients with dysphagia are placed on feeding tubes to prevent aspiration pneumonia. This prospective study was planned to compare the incidence of aspiration pneumonia and death in patients with dysphagia who were either fed orally or through a nasogastric tube.

METHODS
All patients aged 65 years or older, at the point of discharge from the geriatric medicine ward of a hospital, were recruited over a six-month period with a two-month follow-up. Patients diagnosed with dysphagia by the speech therapist were recommended to have either oral feeding with modified diet or nasogastric tube feeding. The incidence of aspiration pneumonia and death among patients on oral feeding, nasogastric tube feeding and patients who refused nasogastric tube feeding were compared.

RESULTS
A total of 122 patients completed the study. The rate of aspiration pneumonia and death were, respectively, 31.2 percent in nasogastric tube-fed patients and 10.3 percent in orally-fed patients (Fisher's exact test, p-value equals 0.007). Multivariate analysis showed that the mode of feeding predicted outcome (p-value equals 0.03). The rate of aspiration pneumonia and death were 31.2 percent in nasogastric tube-fed patients and 11.5 percent in those who refused nasogastric tube feeding (Fisher's exact test, p-value equals 0.064). Nasogastric tube-fed patients were more cognitively- and functionally-impaired compared to those on oral feeding.

CONCLUSION
In our study, patients on nasogastric tube feeding did not have a better outcome against aspiration pneumonia and mortality when compared to those who were on oral feeding. The poorer outcome of nasogastric tube-fed patients could be attributed to their worse cognitive and functional statuses. Larger studies are needed to refute or confirm the usefulness of nasogastric tube in elderly patients with dysphagia.


Segmentation is a characteristic feature of seafloor spreading along the global mid-ocean ridge system. While segmentation of active spreading centers has been the focus of much recent research, the process by which a rifted continental margin develops into a segmented mid-ocean ridge is still poorly understood. In this study we investigate the segmentation character of the U.S. East Coast margin through a modeling study of the margin basement structure, magnetics, and gravity anomalies. The East Coast margin is of particular interest because it is one of several rifted continental margins that display thick sequences of high seismic velocity igneous crust, presumably formed during rifting. The East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA), a distinct total field magnetic high running offshore along the margin, is commonly located seaward of the thickest sections of the high-velocity crust and displays segmentation on length scales (100–120 km) similar to the segmentation observed at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). Isostatic gravity anomalies were calculated by removing from free-air gravity the predicted effects of seafloor, sediments, and a crust-mantle model assuming local isostatic compensation. The resultant residuals show a corridor of high anomaly running along the margin, situated close to the maximum thickness of the high seismic velocity crust as determined from the two available seismic refraction lines. Reduction to the pole (R-T-P) of the total field magnetic anomaly shows that after the removal of skewness from the ECMA, the location of the isostatic gravity high is closely correlated to the ECMA. The isostatic gravity high is also segmented but in two distinct wave bands: 100–150 km and 300–500 km. The short-wavelength (100–150 km) segmentation in the R-T-P magnetic and isostatic gravity anomalies is similar in wavelength to segmentation in magnetization and mantle Bouguer anomaly observed along the present-day MAR. The 300–500 km segmentation in the along-margin isostatic gravity anomaly is similar in length scale to both intermediate-wavelength tectonic segmentation observed in the South Atlantic and variations in lithospheric strength observed along the African margin. Furthermore, two of the intermediate-wavelength (300–500 km) isostatic gravity lows correspond to the early traces of the Kane and Atlantis fracture zones, suggesting that these two fracture zones may define boundaries of a single tectonic corridor in the North Atlantic. We hypothesize that the direct cause of the intermediate-wavelength segmentation may be along-margin variations in both the amount of underplated igneous crust and the strength of the lithosphere, although the relative importance of these two effects remains unresolved. Our results imply that segmentation is an important feature of margin development and that segmentation at mature oceanic spreading centers may be directly linked to segmentation during continental rifting.


Background According to the current concept, non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) represent two stages of one disease (axial SpA). In cross-sectional studies it has been demonstrated that nr-axSpA does not differ from AS with respect to clinical signs of disease activity. Prospective studies comparing clinical course of the disease over time are, however, lacking. Objectives To investigate the clinical course of the disease over two years in patients with nr-axSpA in comparison to AS. Methods In total, 210 patients with early axSpA (115 with AS according to the modified New York criteria and symptom duration ≤10 years, and 95 with nr-axSpA and symptom duration ≤5 years) from the German Spondyloarthritis Inception Cohort (GESPIC) were included. Data on the radiographic course of the disease have been reported elsewhere [1]. Clinical assessment, which included standard disease activity (BASDAI, C-reactive protein - CRP), function (BASFI) and spinal mobility (BASMI – 3 point definition) assessments as well as therapy recording, was performed at baseline and every 6 months thereafter. Starting from the visit at month 6 (6M), the ASDAS-CRP and the ASAS NSAID intake score were calculated. Results The majority of patients were included in GESPIC and followed-up prior to marketing authorisation of TNF blockers for AS and nr-axSpA. However, 17 AS patients (14.8%) and 5 nr-axSpA patients (5.3%) received at least one prescription of a TNF blocker during 2 years of follow-up and were excluded from the further analysis. Remaining patients with nr-axSpA (n=90) did not differ from AS patients (n=98) with respect to the BASDAI and the BASFI at any time point during 2 years of follow-up (figure). AS patients had however significantly higher level of CRP at all time points but ASDAS-CRP was significantly higher in AS at 6M only (figure). There were also no substantial differences in the treatment between two groups. Especially, there were no differences in the proportion of patients taking NSAIDs at any time point, as well as there was no difference in the NSAIDs dose/intake frequency as reflected by the NSAIDs intake score over 2 years: 33.7±28.0 in nr-axSpA vs. 34.2±28.4 in AS, p=0.9. Spinal mobility (as measured by BASMI) was generally better in nr-axSpA as compared to AS, but this difference was statistically significant only at two time points (6 and 12 months). Figure 1. Disease activity parameters and functional status over time in patients with nr-axSpA (n=90) and AS (n=98) in the GESPIC cohort. Conclusions Patients with nr-axSpA and AS demonstrated the same course of the disease over 2 years as evaluated by the level of symptoms, functional status and NSAIDs treatment (except anti-TNF). Higher level of CRP and worse spinal mobility might indicate higher activity of systemic inflammation and more structural damage in AS patients. References Poddubnyy D, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011;70:1369-74. Disclosure of Interest : None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.3599


In this paper, a T-type common ground transformer-less single phase inverter with dynamic swing of the dc-link voltage is presented for photovoltaic (PV) application. The topology is a combination of a bi-directional, partial-power-processing boost stage and an asymmetric half-bridge inverter stage along with a T-branch. It takes advantage of the three-level switching states with reduced voltage stress on the main switches to achieve lower switching loss and almost one-half the inductor current ripple w.r.t. two level implementation. The double line frequency power decoupling is addressed by a dynamic dc-link approach, which allows a large swing of the dc-link to reduce the decoupling capacitor requirement, enabling an all-film capacitor implementation. This topology also significantly reduces the high-frequency capacitive coupled ground current by directly connecting the PV negative terminal to the grid neutral. Moreover, an adaptive dc-link voltage control scheme that optimally changes the average value of the dc-link voltage as the operating conditions (load and power factor) vary, has been proposed and thoroughly investigated from the perspective of better utilization of passive components and further reduction of switching losses. A SiC MOSFETs-based 1 kVA laboratory prototype has been built to validate the converter's operation at 200 V dc nominal input and 120 V/60 Hz ac nominal output with a wide range of power factor and load operations. Extensive experimental results validate the superior performance of the topology with the adaptive dc-link voltage control implementation showing a peak efficiency of 98.22% and a CEC efficiency of 98.03% at 50 kHz switching frequency.


Abstract The northern margin of the Gulf of Cadiz is swept by Mediterranean Outflow Water between about 500 and 1000 m water depth. This warm, saline, thermohaline, bottom current attains velocities in excess of 1 m s-1 through the narrow and relatively shallow Gibraltar gateway, and then descends and slows as it moves towards the north and west around the Iberian margin. It was established in its present form in the latest Miocene, following tectonic re-opening of the Gibraltar gateway, and has since helped to sculpt the slope region in conjunction with downslope processes and diapiric intrusion. The principal area of contourite deposition, up to 600 m in thickness, is the Faro-Albufeira drift complex in a mid-slope setting some 30 km south of Faro. This comprises an elongate low-mounded drift (Faro-Albufeira) and adjacent broad sheeted drifts (Faro and Bartolomeu Dias Planaltos), flanked and partly dissected by deep, erosional, bottom-current channels and buried channels. The seismic character is one of progradational-aggradational depositional units with laterally extensive sub-parallel reflectors, widespread discontinuities and a large-scale cyclicity in seismic facies. The upper 10 m of cored section comprises muddy, silty and sandy contourites of mixed terrigenous and biogenic composition, that show small-scale cyclicity in grain size and associated sedimentary features. Rates of accumulation varied from < 1 to 14.5 cm ka-1 (cores), and 3.5 to 29.5 cm ka-1 (seismics). The large and small-scale cyclicity noted can be related to fluctuation in bottom current velocity related to climate and sea-level changes, although the precise correlation between these events remains uncertain.


The transformations of W-type entangled states by using local operations assisted with classical communication are investigated. For this purpose, a parametrization of the W-type states which remains invariant under local unitary transformations is proposed and a complete characterization of the local operations carried out by a single party is given. These are used for deriving the necessary and sufficient conditions for deterministic transformations. A convenient upper bound for the maximum probability of distillation of arbitrary target states is also found.


The dried and powdered root of Rumex abyssinicus was extracted with increasing gradient of solvents (petroleum ether, chloroform, acetone and methanol) and screened for antibacterial activity on four pathogenic bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella thyphimurium. The acetone extract showed promissing antibacterial activity. Chromatographic separation of the acetone extract led to isolation of three compounds of which two of them (Betulone and oleic acid) were isolated for the first time from the plant. The structures of these compounds were charachterized with the help of spectroscopic methods (IR, NMR). Two compounds, RA-1 and RA-2, were identified to be betulone and oleic acid respectively based on spectroscopy data and literature reports, whereas the third compound RA-3 was only partially characterized. Ciprofloxacin was used as a reference drug during antibacterial assay.


In policy and research on sustainable consumption in general, and climate-oriented consumption specifically, key questions centre around whether people are motivated and prompted to support such consumption. A common claim in the scholarly debate is that policy makers, in face of fundamental governance challenges, refrain from taking responsibility and instead invest unrealistic hopes in that consumers will solve pressing environmental problems through consumer choice. Although green consumption is challenging, specifically climate-friendly consumption is even more so, due to the particularly encompassing, complex and abstract sets of problems and since climate impact concerns the totality of one's consumption. Nevertheless, consumers are called to participate in the task to save the planet. This article draws on existing literature on climate-oriented consumption with the aim of contributing to a proper understanding of the relation between consumer action and climate mitigation. It provides a synthesis and presents key constraining mechanisms sorted under five themes: the value-action gap, individualisation of responsibility, knowledge gap, ethical fetishism and the rebound effect. This article concludes with a discussion of perspectives that endorse a socially embedded view of the citizen-consumer. The discussion indicates pathways for how to counteract the constraining mechanisms and open up room for climate-friendly citizen-consumers.


The objective of this research was to examine that the use of short dialogue can improve the students' ability in mastering the present continuous tense at SMP Negeri 19 Palu. This study applies intact group research design. The research sample was class VII C and VII D which consist of 18 students. The sample was taken throughcluster sampling tehnique. The data were collected by using test. The result of the data analysis showed that there is a significant difference between control group and experimental group. It was proved by testing hypothesis. By applying 0.05 level of significance with 17 (18-1) degree of freedom (df), the t-counted value (12.69) is higher than the t-table value (2.110). It means that the research hypothesis was accepted. In other words, the use of short dialogue is effective to improve students' ability in mastering the present continuous tense. Keywords: Teaching; Present Continuous Tense; Short Dialogue.


Abstract The refinements of modern ultrasound techniques permit a renewed examination of old concepts of fetal circulation. The concept of preferential streaming of umbilical blood through the foramen ovale is verified by animal experiments, and ultrasound studies have confirmed that a similar mechanism operates in human fetuses. However, the normalized umbilical flow appears to be less in the human than in fetal sheep, and decreases with advancing gestational age (115 ml min−1 kg−1 at 20 and 64 mL min−1 kg−1 at 40 weeks). Compared to the 50% shunting of umbilical blood through the ductus venosus found in animal experiments, the degree of shunting in the human fetus under physiological conditions is considerably less, 30% at 20 weeks, which decreases to 18% at 32 weeks, suggesting a higher priority of the fetal liver than previously realized. Augmented pulsatility in the precordial veins, ductus venosus, and umbilical vein is an important clinical sign that is poorly understood. Recent fluid dynamic studies show that, apart from the pressure generated in the atria, it is the stiffness of the vessel wall, compliance, and notably, impedance which modify these waves. Particularly the substantial shift in impedance at the ductus venosus-umbilical vein junction causes wave reflection and reduced transmission of waves, the result being diminished or absent pulsation in the umbilical vein.


Anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) are found in many conditions, such as lupus erythematosus, but also in other connective tissue diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To determine the prevalence and significance of aCL in RA, we evaluated the frequency of anticardiolipin and anti-β2 glycoprotein 1 (β2GP1) antibodies in patients with RA.

We studied serum samples from 50 consecutive patients (36 women, 14 men) with RA satisfying the 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria for RA. Serum IgG and IgM aCL were characterised by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)1 using microtitration plates (Immunosorb, Nunc, Roksilde, Denmark) coated with cardiolipin purified from bovine heart (Sigma, St Louis, MO). Wells were saturated with 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA; Diamed, Cressier/Morat, …


Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and tuberculosis among smokers have turned out to be major public health concern, accounting for millions of deaths annually. Smoking is becoming like a trend in human society. This adds in maximizing the risk of people suffering from most dreadful health issues and the reason for extensive morbidity and mortality around the world. People who smoke have approximately twice the risk of suffering from tuberculosis and also COPD patients with the history of tuberculosis writhes in agony. To scrutinize spread of this disease, an understanding of the epidemiological relationship between them are important. The relation between COPD, tuberculosis among smokers and medication is studied in this research work and the formulation for the mathematical model is done using system of non-linear ordinary differential equations. The threshold for smokers suffering from COPD and tuberculosis who needs medication is computed using next generation matrix method. Also, stability analysis and numerical simulations are carried out to validate the data.


Dhoopan is a procedure in which fumes or smoke produced from defined drug formulations are inhaled/exposed by patients for the therapeutic relief or externally as a cleanser to the environment. There is a significant risk of spread of airborne infections with hospital-acquired infections and to mitigate Dhoopan is safe and effective to prevent such infections. The aim and objectives were to review and re-publicize the efficacy of Dhoopan in the prevention of diseases with the published data and Ayurveda compendium. The literature has been searched from database like Pubmed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Dhara online, other database and Ayurveda compendia from1980 to 2020. Dhoopan is an ancient method of sterilization for Vranitagar (vran/wound healing), Sutikagar, Kumaragar, etc. with preventive as well as curative efficacy. Smoke can be facilitated to expose or inhale in various diseases such as cough, coryza, piles, epilepsy, insanity, Asthma and wounds. The content of Dhoop are herbs, animal products (skin, hair, bones, horn, etc.) and minerals, described in Ayurveda compendia are potent anti-microbial, anti-fungal and antiviral action. Since time immemorial, sages used to clean the environment by Homa-havanadi rituals. However, due to the lacking scientific validation, these Dhoop methods are not popular, which bring attention to research opportunities and understand its safety and efficacy to prevent airborne infections. Dhoopakalpas are beneficial in dealing with airborne infection because of antioxidant and anti-microbial activity with safe, economical and eco-friendly potential. Thus, it can be publicized in the prevention of COVID 19 like a pandemic situation as an adjuvant.


A comprehensive one-day renal function test consisting of a single outpatient visit lasting nine hours, with a minimum of time off work or away from home, is described in detail. Although a large number of laboratory tests are performed in one day, patients usually appreciate thoroughness, and the cost is more than offset by the saving in occupancy of hospital beds and by the early and precise diagnosis of reversible aspects of renal disease. Some aspects of improved methodology, such as the sequential determination of minimum urinary pH, bicarbonate, titratable acid, ammonium, and total acid on a single sample using an automatic titrator, are given in detail. Clinical application of the comprehensive nine-hour renal function testing system is illustrated by the result sheet of a patient with analgesic nephropathy, who was shown in one day to have secondary severe renal failure (glomerular filtration rate 20% of normal for age and surface area), renal tubular acidosis of the distal gradient type (minimum urinary pH 6·20), increased urinary white cell excretion rate, hyaline casts, and absence of red cell casts, consistent with a diagnosis of analgesic nephropathy and urinary tract inflammation. Normal values with 95% range for this laboratory are also given. This testing system has been found to be very useful in investigating patients with analgesic nephropathy, renal tubular acidosis, and after renal transplantation.


The results of a survey conducted on the practice of using physician-hired nurses in hospitals are reported. Nursing administrators need information on the nursing services that are being provided in direct association with the medical practice of physicians, particularly when those services influence the quality and cost-effectiveness of patient care. The information can be used to plan more effective approaches to the delivery of nursing health care services.


The 'Forage for Later-life Learning' Project is an EU Lifelong Learning Programme Grundtvig multi-lateral network, funded 2012-2015. Its rationales are the development of a database of knowledge on later-life learning and the use of that database as a means of promoting discussion, understanding, recognition and change in later-life learning.
This article discusses the objectives and rationale of the ForAge database and considers its intended target audiences. In particular, it argues that the database became eclectic, deliberately identifying and drawing on different "kinds" of knowledge. It shows how the main database categories, which determined how the knowledge was "constructed" were allowed to evolve and define themselves as the content of the database increased.
The article discusses the justification and operational implications of the inclusion of material according to criteria of "relevance, quality and usefulness" and in both English and in other European languages.
The article concludes that the database does not reveal the presence in Europe of a significant volume of fundamental research-based knowledge on later-life learning; that much of the knowledge collected is based on the presumption that later-life learning has second-order goals and that the database usefully hedges its bets on what counts as "knowledge" in the field of later-life learning.


The South American guinea pig rodent has become a livestock animal acceptable for human consumption in different parts of the world. Its white meat has a great potential as a new protein source, and its social and economic importance for different human populations is considered key for development. Scarce data are found in the literature when the statistical livestock information is checked, and few researches have been done about morphological characteristics of guinea pigs carcasses. These works do not follow the same procedures, using different criteria, overall the jointing, making it difficult to compare different studies. The aim of the present study is to suggest a practical and normalized method to analyse the guinea pig carcass characteristics allowing their evaluation. It describes the main traits to be considered from the birth of the animal to the carcass analysis. This work concerns: (1) growth, feeding, pre-slaughter and slaughter processing, (2) method for the definition, hanging and presentation of the carcass, (3) carcass morphological characteristics, (4) jointing procedure based on four anatomically defined regions, (5) methods for evaluating meat pH and colour and (6) method for tissue separation. This proposal could be useful to compare data of these animals under different conditions.


Tracking program elements in the commit history of a project is essential for supporting various software maintenance, comprehension and evolution tasks. Accuracy is of paramount importance for the adoption of program element tracking tools by developers and researchers. To this end, we propose CodeTracker, a refactoring-aware tool that can generate the commit change history for method and variable declarations with a very high accuracy. More specifically, CodeTracker has 99.9% precision and recall in method tracking, surpassing the previous state-of-the-art tool, CodeShovel, with a comparable execution time. CodeTracker is the first tool of its kind that can track the change history of variables with 99.7% precision and 99.8% recall. To evaluate its accuracy in variable tracking, we extended the oracle created by Grund et al. for the evaluation of CodeShovel, with the complete change history of all 1345 variables and parameters declared in the 200 methods comprising the Grund et al. oracle. We make our tool and extended oracle publicly available to enable the replication of our experiments and facilitate future research on program element tracking techniques.


Environments with large number of interrelated information uses several advanced concepts as computer description of different aspects of modeled objects in the form of feature based models. In this case a set of features is defined then used for the purpose of modification of an initial model to achieve a final model as a description of an instance of a well-defined complex object from a real world environment. Utilization this approach and some relevant methods have been investigated by the authors to establish course modeling in virtual university environments. The main objective is definition generic model entities for courses and instance model entities for student course profiles. Course model entities describe virtual university activities. The modeling can be applied generally but it is being developed for the domain of higher education in virtual technologies. The paper introduces some virtual university related concepts and the approach of the authors to virtual university. Following this feature driven associative model of virtual course developed by the authors is explained. Some issues about the conceptualized application oriented virtual course features are discussed as a contribution to implementation of a virtual classroom model proposed by the authors. Finally, possibilities of integration of the university model with engineering modeling systems are discussed taking into account present day virtual universities and possibilities to communicate with prospective students both in professional design and home computer environments.


Traditional identification techniques for electronic payments, such as the Personal Identification Number (PIN), are becoming outdated and unsafe, while mobile payments are becoming more popular and widely used. It presents a risk to issuers since there is no reliable consumer verification method available, and the lack of safe and reliable e-payment systems is one of the key issues restricting progress. As a result, efforts have been made to develop and maintain a unified payment system that is well-organized, efficient, dependable, and secure. This system avoids the need for physical cash while also still satisfying all payment and identification requirements, a safe and trustworthy method is required for the country's successful adoption of an e-payment system. This article focuses on the future of online payment and the security problems through using effective biometric authentication technologies to provide a trustworthy authentication method for an e-payment system.

Index Terms— Payment System, IoE, Mobile Payment, biometric, NFC, Smart Card.


Summary In addition to warfarin, there are four non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) available for stroke prevention in non valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). There are limited data on the comparative risks of major bleeding among newly anticoagulated NVAF patients who initiate warfarin, apixaban, dabigatran, or rivaroxaban, when used in 'real world' clinical practice. The study used the Truven MarketScan® Commercial & Medicare supplemental US claims database. NVAF patients aged ≥18 years newly prescribed an oral anticoagulant 01JAN2013–31DEC2014, with a ≥1-year baseline period, were included (study period: 01JAN2012–31DEC2014). Major bleeding was defined as bleeding requiring hospitalisation. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance age, sex, region, baseline comorbidities, and comedications. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the PSM hazard ratio (HR) of major bleeding. Among 45,361 newly anticoagulated NVAF patients, 15,461 (34.1 %) initiated warfarin, 7,438 (16.4 %) initiated apixaban, 17,801 (39.2 %) initiated rivaroxaban, and 4,661 (10.3 %) initiated dabigatran. Compared to matched warfarin initiators, apixaban (HR: 0.53; 95 % CI: 0.39–0.71) and dabigatran (HR: 0.69; 95 % CI: 0.50–0.96) initiators had a significantly lower risk of major bleeding. Patients initiating rivaroxaban (HR: 0.98; 95 % CI: 0.83–1.17) had a non-significant difference in major bleeding risk compared to matched warfarin patients. When comparisons were made between NOACs, matched rivaroxaban patients had a significantly higher risk of major bleeding (HR: 1.82; 95 % CI: 1.36–2.43) compared to apixaban patients. The differences for apixaban-dabigatran and dabigatran-rivaroxaban matched cohorts were not statistically significant. Among newly anticoagulated NVAF patients in the real-world setting, apixaban and dabigatran initiation was associated with significantly lower risk of major bleeding compared to warfarin initiation. When compared to apixaban, rivaroxaban initiation was associated with significantly higher risk of major bleeding. Note: The review process for this paper was fully handled by Christian Weber, Editor in Chief. Supplementary Material to this article is available online at www.thrombosis-online.com.


The use of modern NMR Fourier spectrometers to study heterogeneous catalysts and molecules adsorbed on their surface has been examined. Data obtained in the study of vanadium catalysts for the oxidation of sulphur dioxide; the state of aluminium and silicon in aluminium and silicon oxides and in zeolites; hydroxide groups; and platinum in deposited platinum catalysts, and also the first data on the 17O NMR of oxide catalysts, have been summarised. The results of the study of adsorbed molecules, including the use of the high-resolution NMR spectroscopy of solids, have been discussed. The bibliography contains 158 references.


The origins of monetary union the fundamental economics exchange rates - fixed and floating controlling inflation the exchange rate mechanism - how it operates the exchange rate mechanism 1979-91 volatility of the problems of companies the transition from ERM to EMU the decisions at Maastricht the economic consequences of EMU the need for convergence the European system of central banks the ECU monetary union and Europe's financial institutions implications for fiscal and regional policies the reluctant suitor - the United Kingdom.


Poetry tries to bridge the abyss lying between the name and the thing. That language is a problem is no news to poets. --CHARLES SIMIC YEARS AGO I REMEMBER being asked why I wrote poems about paintings and answering spontaneously, "Because I'm lonely." I was at lunch with an acquaintance, the first lunch I'd allowed myself "out" since the birth of my first child a month earlier. We were at a neighborhood restaurant, its patio full of doctors from the medical university nearby, the dessert board listing "homemade chocolate pudding," and to be adventurous I'd ordered the hominy, thinking it would be some less tame variation on old-fashioned grits. Now I sat in front of a plate of milky, alien, beanish things with no idea how to eat them or what to say to explain what I had just said. My companion was nice enough, faced with a silly answer to her reasonable question. An artist herself--she was a doctor and a painter; she'd organized her life well enough to paint half time and work half time--she volunteered how lonely art-making was, and what followed was the usual talk about how isolating it can be to create, et cetera. I saw it dwindling before my eyes--the possibility of our being friends, sure, but also the possibility of my explaining what I meant; put more fairly, I saw dwindling the possibility of my knowing what I had meant. Yes, writing is solitary work, and so is painting. Theoreticians of a higher pay grade than she and I have discussed such matters in terms far more elevated than I might hope to with my plate of hominy and my dream of a lunch that extended into a pudding course, but there it was: I'd said something a little bit alarming about my relationship to art. There was something particular to this brand of loneliness. What was my artist-acquaintance to do with that level of vaguely Romantic candor? I'm not certain if she cut things short or I did, but we didn't make it to the pudding, and we didn't have lunch again. I was on my own to figure out what I meant by being lonely, or how looking at paintings by dead people--some long dead and anonymous (like the Master of the Vyssi Brod Altarpiece, ca. 1350, Prague) and others dead in my century by their own hands (like Arshile Gorky)--made me feel any less so. In truth, I would write hundreds of poems without figuring it out, and finally, I would start writing this essay in which I confess that I dislike the term ekphrasis, a general term for any piece of art composed to describe or respond to any other piece of art. Perhaps that's unfair, since I no more know why I dislike the term than I do how to begin to explain my relationship to art or how it informs my solitary creative life. The name may be ekphrasis, but what is the thing? And what might bridging the abyss between the two mean? Dear onion with seven feathers. Dear father-riding-away-in-mist. Dear lakeside bath. Dear terrace-weaver, shepherd, genocider. * For certain periods of my life I have felt as if I've lived fullest when I've allowed myself to think deeply about visual art, and art, in some extravagant, pesky way, has made it into my everyday life, so that I live somewhat according to its terms, rather than the other way around. I should mention the main "aim" of this living with art is not the writing of poems; it's living. I read books, travel places, and generally think overmuch about it. In one legendary example, my husband and I carried our seven-and three-year-old sons up a mountain and across what our guidebooks called a scree--we were dismayed to realize we did not know the meaning of this word until we were compelled to cross one on foot--to see some thirteenth century devotional paintings that were reputed to exist behind a church in a hermit's cave above the village of Pale, in eastern Umbria. Finding the door to the church locked and our way to the paintings blocked: that was one experience that did not end up with an ekphrastic poem in its honor. …


Secondary data and survey information are used to develop a large data set for analyzing water demand in 221 communities. The resulting monthly data are employed to examine seasonal variability in consumer price sensitivity. Several functional forms are contrasted for their abilities to identify monthly price elasticities. Results demonstrate the statistical contribution of a new climate variable for fitting monthly data, generally indicate that summer price elasticities exceed winter price elasticities by 30%, and appear to reject the use of the translog functional form as well traditional linear and Cobb-Douglas forms for statistical analyses of pooled monthly data. The generalized Cobb-Douglas and augmented Fourier forms are more viable alternatives for pooled monthly data.


Abstract Australian prisoners of war (POWs) captured by the Japanese in the Second World War are central figures in Australian memory of that war. A resurgence of cultural interest in their experiences began in the 1970s. This occurred within the context of three developments: the ending of the White Australia Policy, defeat in Vietnam, and the creation of the psychiatric category of post-traumatic stress disorder. In the 1970s, POWs often became a metaphor for Australia's relations with the Asian region, thereby underscoring the racial dimensions of their experience, whereas by the 1980s and into the 1990s they were prominent as the traumatized survivors of an earlier war. The article argues for the need to historicize the influence of trauma as a way of understanding the war experiences of POWs.


SUMMARY
Experiments were carried out to investigate the possibility that vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal infection of grass (Lolium perenne L.) and clover (Trifolium repens L.) roots can enhance the exchange of nitrogen between the root systems of nitrogen-fixing pasture legumes and associated grasses.

The results showed higher rates of transfer of 15N applied as (15NH4)2SO4 to the clover plants to companion grass plants when the roots were mycorrhizal. In some cases but not all the grass grew better in the mycorrhizal treatments.

An experiment in which the clover and grass roots were separated by a 60 μm (mean pore size) nylon mesh screen showed that translocation of the nitrogen was probably along the mycorrhizal hyphae. It was not clear from the data whether transfer was mediated by a common hyphal net or some other less direct means.


Abstract Monitoring gas-phase pollutants is essential to understand exposure patterns and to establish a link between exposure and health. Measurement of the low concentrations found outdoors or in indoor living space normally requires large, expensive instruments that use electrical power. In this study, colorimetric passive diffusion tubes, normally used to monitor high concentrations of airborne contaminants in the workplace for sampling periods of a few hours, were evaluated to measure much lower concentrations of the same pollutants for periods of up to 1 wk. These tubes are small, inexpensive, and require no electrical power. Responses of diffusion tubes for carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and benzene were studied. Low pollutant concentrations measured with passive diffusion tubes matched reasonably well with true concentrations for all pollutants except NO2. These results suggest that passive diffusion tubes can provide an inexpensive, unobtrusive, and effective method to monitor low pollutant concentrations. Passive diffusion tubes may be particularly useful in surveys where the spatial variability in concentrations is high and where the cost of traditional monitoring instruments is a concern.


INTRODUCTION
The leaves of Corylus avellana L. (common hazel, Betulaceae), a plant with a wide distribution in Europe, have been used in folk medicine for various diseases, but phytochemical exploration of C. avellana is still incomplete. To the best of our knowledge there is no previous report concerning diarylheptanoids in C. avellana, although these compounds show a frequent occurrence among Betulaceae plants.

OBJECTIVE
To improve existing online chromatographic methods for the investigation of the phenolic compounds in C. avellana leaves and bark, focusing on diarylheptanoid-type molecules.

METHODS
Dried and powdered leaves and bark of C. avellana were extracted with increasing polarity solvents (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol) in Soxhlet extractor apparatus. For the characterisation of the phenolic compounds in the ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts, UV spectral data, obtained by LC with a diode-array detector (DAD), accurate molecular mass and formula, acquired by LC and electrospray ionisation (ESI) with time-of-flight (TOF) MS and fragmentation pattern, given by LC-ESI/MS/MS analyses were used. Quantitation of the compounds was performed by LC-MS/MS.

RESULTS
In the methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of C. avellana bark four flavonoid glycosides and a caffeoyl hexoside derivative were detected and characterised, while in C. avellana leaves, seven diarylheptanoid-type molecules were tentatively identified in addition to six flavonoid components. As far as we know this is the first study where the presence of diarylheptanoids in C. avellana is reported.

CONCLUSION
The improved HPLC/DAD-ESI/MS method was successfully utilised for the characterisation and quantitation of the phenolic compounds in C. avellana bark and leaves extracts.


Abstract The last 50 years have seen an increasing dependence on academic institutions to develop and commercialize new biomedical innovations, a responsibility for which many universities are ill-equipped. To address this need, we created LEAP, an asset development and gap fund program at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). Beyond awarding funds to promising projects, this program aimed to promote a culture of academic entrepreneurship, and thus improve WUSTL technology transfer, by providing university inventors with individualized consulting and industry expert feedback. The purpose of this work is to document the structure of the LEAP program and evaluate its impact on the WUSTL entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our analysis utilizes program data, participant surveys, and WUSTL technology transfer office records to demonstrate that LEAP consistently attracted new investigators and that the training provided by the program was both impactful and highly valued by participants. We also show that an increase in annual WUSTL start-up formation during the years after LEAP was established and implicate the program in this increase. Taken together, our results illustrate that programs like LEAP could serve as a model for other institutions that seek to support academic entrepreneurship initiatives.


Malignant pleural diseases, comprising metastatic lung and breast cancers and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), are aggressive solid tumors with poor therapeutic response. We developed and conducted a first-in-human, phase I study of regionally delivered, autologous, mesothelin-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Intrapleural administration of 0.3M-60M CAR T cells/kg in 27 patients (25 with MPM) was safe and well tolerated. CAR T-cells were detected in peripheral blood for >100 days in 39% of patients. Following our demonstration that PD-1 blockade enhances CAR T-cell function in mice, 18 patients with MPM also received pembrolizumab safely. Among those patients, median overall survival from CAR T-cell infusion was 23.9 months (1-year overall survival, 83%). Stable disease was sustained for {greater than or equal to}6 months in 8 patients; 2 exhibited complete metabolic response on PET scan. Combination immunotherapy with CAR T cells and PD-1 blockade agents should be further evaluated in patients with solid tumors.


An update about pulmonary tuberculosis aimed at increasing the level of information of medical doctors and the personnel who are in charge of the control of this disease was conducted analyzing the worldwide and Cuban situation. Criteria of diverse experts about the causes that have favored the emergence of tuberculosis and the factors falling through the control programs, where among the most important are: the deficient active searching of cases who are considered reservoirs and the multi-drug resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, due to the application of inadequate treatments. DeCS: Pulmonary tuberculosis, Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.


Three patients with inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP) of the stomach underwent operation with a diagnosis of submucosal tumor, polyp, and intramural tumor of the stomach, respectively. Resected specimens grossly showed a deep ulcer accompanied by surrounding upheaval, a sausagelike polyp 6.5 cm long, and a pedunculated tumor with a short pedicle, respectively. Histologic examination showed that each lesion was typical of IFP of the stomach, with a mixture of fibroblasts and thin-walled blood vessels, and further by an intense infiltrate of eosinophils. These cases indicate that IFP of the stomach can vary in gross appearance. Practitioners and pathologists must remember that not only a polypoid lesion, but also a pedunculated or even ulcerated lesion, in the gastric antrum may be IFP.


Abstract Taylor, JB, Barnes, HC, Gombatto, SP, Greenwood, D, and Ford, KR. Quantifying external load and injury occurrence in women's collegiate volleyball players across a competitive season. J Strength Cond Res 36(3): 805–812, 2022—Volleyball demands repetitive jumping, with high loads linked to risk of injury. The purpose of this study was to examine jumping demands and injury patterns throughout a women's volleyball season. Sixteen Division-I female volleyball players wore an accelerometer to record jump count (JC) and jump height during every practice and match throughout the season. Physical health was documented using a weekly modified Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Overuse Injury Questionnaire (OSLO) and time-loss injuries were recorded. Multivariate analyses of variance were used to compare measures across phases of the season, between types of session (practice vs. match), and between injured and noninjured players (α = 0.05). Results showed the greatest training demands in the preseason with larger jump counts than during the nonconference, conference schedule, and postseason schedules (p < 0.001). Performance increased throughout the season with greater jump heights in the nonconference and conference schedule than in the preseason (p = 0.01). There were no significant differences in JC between practices (65.5 ± 30.5) and matches (67.5 ± 46.4). An injury incidence of 5.49 injures per 1,000 athletic exposures was identified, with injuries accounting for 31 days lost, or 2.1% of total exposures. Injuries affected performance throughout the season, as noted by an average weekly OSLO score of 15.1 ± 13.9%. Injured players had significantly lower jump counts per exposure (p = 0.03) and a larger variation in training load than uninjured players (coefficient of variation: injured = 54%, uninjured = 41%; p = 0.006). These data help provide coaches and clinicians for training and rehabilitation program designs.


With the development of advanced manufacturing engineering, selecting supplier scientifically makes for improving competitive power. The evaluative architecture is afforded. Then the method of confirming the supplier evaluation indicator-weight based on the theory of entropy lies in information is given. Further more, the model of supplier selection is build up. Finally, the example is given. It illustrates the method avail to select the supplier to enhance the enterprise competence.


Free energy based lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) has been used to simulate the rising bubble flows with large density ratio. LBM with compact discretization is able to reduce the spurious current of the static bubble test and be satisfied with the Laplace law. The terminal rise velocity and shape of the bubbles are dependent on Eotvos number, Morton number and Reynolds number. For single bubble flows, simulations are executed for various Eotvos number, Morton number and Reynolds number, and the results are agreed well with the experiments. For multiple bubbles, the bubble flow characteristics are related by the vortex pattern of the leading bubble. The coalescence of the bubbles are simulated successfully and the subsequent results are presented. The present method is validated for static, dynamic bubble test cases and compared to the numerical, experimental results.


Sorbus commixta Hedl. (Rosaceae) has been traditionally used in oriental countries for the treatment of asthma and other bronchial disorders. In this study, a chalcone glycoside was isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the fruits of this plant. The compound was identified as neosakuranin based on the spectroscopic analysis and comparion with literature data. This is the first report of isolation of neosakuranin from Sorbus commixta.


Among the most common and life-threatening cancers world-wide, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) exhibit high rates of tumor recurrence following anti-cancer therapy. Subsets of cancer stem cells (CSCs) often escape anti-cancer therapeutics and promote recurrence. However, its sources and mechanisms that generate tumor heterogeneity and therapy-resistant cell population are largely unknown. Tumor microenvironment may drive intratumor heterogeneity by transmitting signaling factors, oxygen and metabolites to tumor cells depending on their proximity to the local sources. While the hypothesis is attractive, experimental evidence is lacking, and non-genetic mechanisms that drive functional heterogeneity remain largely unknown. As a potential non-genetic factor, we focused on TGF-β because of its multiple roles in tumor progression. Here we devise a functional reporter system to monitor, track and modify TGF-β signaling in mouse skin SCC in vivo. Using this approach, we found that perivascular TGF-β in the tumor microenvironment generates heterogeneity in TGF-β signaling in neighboring CSCs. This heterogeneity is functionally important: small subsets of TGF-β-responding CSCs proliferate more slowly than their non-responding counterparts. They also exhibit invasive morphology and a malignant differentiation program compared to their non-responding neighbors. By lineage tracing, we show that although TGF-β-responding CSCs clonally expand more slowly they gain a growth advantage in a remarkable ability to escape cisplatin-induced apoptosis. We show that indeed it is their progenies that make a substantial contribution in tumor recurrence. Surprisingly, the slower proliferating state of this subset of CSCs within the cancer correlated with but did not confer the survival advantage to anti-cancer drugs. Using transcriptomic, biochemical and genetic analyses, we unravel a novel mechanism by which heterogeneity in the tumor microenvironment allows a subset of CSCs to respond to TGF-β, and evade anti-cancer drugs. Our findings also show that TGF-β established ability to suppress proliferation and promote invasion and metastasis do not happen sequentially, but rather simultaneously. This new work build upon the roles of this factor in tumor progression, and sets an important paradigm for a non-genetic factor that produces tumor heterogeneity. Citation Format: Naoki Oshimori, Daniel Oristian, Elaine Fuchs. TGF-β-induced tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance of cancer stem cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-146. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-LB-146


In the latest PRAM/DRAM hybrid MLC NAND flash storage systems (NFSS), DRAM is used to temporarily store file system data for system response time reduction. To ensure data integrity, super-capacitors are deployed to supply the backup power for moving the data from DRAM to NAND flash during power failures. However, the capacitance degradation of super-capacitor severely impairs system robustness. In this work, we proposed a low cost power failure protection scheme to reduce the energy consumption of power failure protection and increase the robustness of the NFSS with PRAM/DRAM hybrid buffer. Our scheme enables the adoption of the more reliable regular capacitor to replace the super capacitor as the backup power. The experimental result shows that our scheme can substantially reduce the capacitance budget of power failure protection circuitry by 75.1% with very marginal performance and energy overheads.


The renormalized contribution of fermions to the curvature masses of vector and axial-vector mesons is derived with two different methods at leading order in the loop expansion applied to the (2 + 1)-flavor constituent quark-meson model. The corresponding contribution to the curvature masses of the scalar and pseudoscalar mesons, already known in the literature, is rederived in a transparent way. The temperature dependence of the curvature mass of various (axial-)vector modes obtained by decomposing the curvature mass tensor is investigated along with the (axial-)vector– (pseudo)scalar mixing. All fermionic corrections are expressed as simple integrals that involve at finite temperature only the Fermi-Dirac distribution function modified by the Polyakov-loop degrees of freedom. The renormalization of the (axial-)vector curvature mass allows us to lift a redundancy in the original Lagrangian of the globally symmetric extended linear sigma model, in which terms already generated by the covariant derivative were reincluded with different coupling constants.


Cervical cancer is almost completely preventable, yet it is the second most prevalent cancer amongst women in South Africa. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in particular has a high mortality rate of cervical cancer and 1:40 women die from cancer of the cervix. Therefore, in 1997 a cervical screening. policyand-. programme was implemented in the province. The KZN Department of Health and the Sub-Directorate Maternal, Child and. Women's Health needed to know what was happening currently in terms of implementation of the cervical screening programme since it was first implemented three years ago. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the implementation of the Provincial Cervical Screening Programme in selected Primary Health Care clinics in lIembe Region, KZN. This study took the form of formative evaluation research. The target population consisted of PHC clinics in KZN that have implemented the cervical screening policy and the programme. The accessible population for this study consisted of the clinics in the lIembe Region. A four-stage selection plan was applied to select the sample from the accessible population. The first stage involved a random selection of two clinics from an urban area and two from a rural area. Within each of the selected clinics, three types of evidence for the evaluation of the implementation of the cervical screening programme were sampled. Therefore, the second stage of the plan was the selection of records. A purposive sample of all records of clients who were diagnosed with abnormal smears was assessed. The third stage involved the selection of all Professional Nurses from each of the selected clinics. Lastly, the fourth stage involved the selection of the day for collecting data on the facilities and resources. The sources of evidence that were used to evaluate the implementation of cervical screening programme by the clinics were non-participant observation, which involved clinic audit, a review of abnormal smear records and self-reports from nurses regarding the cervical screening programme. Results indicated that there was a lack of resources needed for implementing the programme in rural clinics compared to urban clinics. However, all clinics in the study had an adequate supply of the drugs needed for the treatment of abnormal smears. The researcher also found that nurses lacked knowledge regarding the indications for taking smears. On reviewing the records, the researcher noted that most of the results indicated that smears had adequate cells needed for analysis. However, the results indicated that there was a problem with follow-up of clients with abnormal smears. There was lack of necessary resources such as telephones needed to do proper follow-up. Feedback to the clinics from the referral hospital regarding the outcome of the visit was inadequate. The results also indicated thatthe mechanisms of record keeping were poor. Nurses were of the opinion that women should have their first Pap smear at the age of 20 and thereafter at intervals of five years, once they start to be sexually active because of the high rate of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS in KZN. Therefore, the above results indicate that problems exist at the selected PHC clinics that may result in ineffective implementation of the cervical screening programme.


A matrix always has a full-rank submatrix such that the rank of this matrix is equal to the rank of that submatrix. Furthermore, the rows (columns) of this matrix are linear combinations of the rows (columns) of this matrix, corresponding to that submatrix. These two properties form the corner stones of matrix theory. We may call that submatrix a base submatrix of this matrix, and the two properties the sub-full-rank property and the base submatrix property, respectively. In this paper, we explore these two properties for tensors. We first present a theory for tensor ranks such that they are natural extension of matrix ranks. We propose some axioms for tensor rank functions. Then we introduce proper and strongly proper tensor rank functions. We define a partial order among tensor rank functions and show that there exists a unique smallest tensor rank function. We introduce the concepts of full-rank tensors and base subtensors, and show that the max-Tucker tensor rank function always has the sub-full-rank property and the base subtensor property. We then define the closure for a proper tensor rank function, and show that the closure of a proper tensor rank function is a proper tensor rank function with the sub-full-rank property. We also show that the smallest tensor rank function is strongly proper and has the sub-full-rank property.


This paper presents impacts of different permanent magnet materials and operational temperatures on the performance of interior permanent magnet (IPM) machines for electric vehicle applications. Variations of the average torque, torque ripple, cogging torque, and no-load EMF with different neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet materials and operational temperatures are investigated. Based on finite-element method (FEM), performance about the ripple and cogging torques of the IPM machine will be analyzed and some useful conclusions can be provided for researchers and engineers in the related traction motor industries.


The professionalization of transitional justice (TJ) has received extensive academic attention in TJ and related international relations and peacebuilding scholarship. This article adds an element that has received hardly any attention: namely the presence of activism even among professional and usually donor-funded TJ work. I argue that noticing activism in professional contexts requires attention to the 'everyday', meaning to life in between, aside and beyond high politics and officially important actors, actions, processes and events. Based on field research in Sierra Leone and Kenya, I describe and discuss everyday examples of a specific form of activism, namely tacit activism that I encountered with three key interlocutors, one Sierra Leonean and two Kenyan nationals involved in professional donor-funded TJ work. Their activism was 'tacit' in the sense that it was not part of their official project activities and my interlocutors did not advertise their extra plans and efforts to (prospective) donors. And yet, it was precisely through these tacit plans and efforts that they hoped to meet at least some of the expectations that had been raised in the context of professional TJ projects.


The present meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the strength and the consistency of the association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and non–Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and other lymphoid neoplasms. Only studies with ≥100 cases which were also adjusted for sex and age were included. Fifteen case-control studies and three prospective studies contributed to present analysis, nine of which had not been included in previous meta-analyses. We calculated the pooled relative risks (RR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), as a weighted average of the estimated RRs by random-effect models. The pooled RR of all NHL among HCV-positive individuals was 2.5 (95% CI, 2.1-3.0), but substantial heterogeneity was found between studies and by study design. Pooled RRs were 2.5 (95% CI, 2.1-3.1) in case-control studies and 2.0 (95% CI, 1.8-2.2) in cohort ones. The strongest source of heterogeneity seemed to be the prevalence of HCV among NHL-free study subjects (RR for NHL among HCV-positive individuals 3.0 and 1.9, respectively, for ≥5% and <5% HCV prevalence). RRs were consistently increased for all major B-NHL subtypes, T-NHL, and primary sites of NHL presentation. Thus, previous suggestions that the RRs for HCV differed by NHL subtype were not confirmed in our meta-analysis. Associations weaker than with NHL were found between HCV infection and Hodgkin's lymphoma (RR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0-2.1) and multiple myeloma (RR, 1.6; 95% CI, 0.7-3.6), but they were based on much fewer studies than NHL. The etiologic fraction of NHL attributable to HCV varies greatly by country, and may be upward of 10% in areas where HCV prevalence is high. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15(11):2078–85)


After immunization with vaccinia virus an increase in frequency of aneuploids and secondary chromosomal constrictions is observed in adult mice. Moreover, an increased frequency of chromosomal aberrations was demonstrated. The increase in the number of secondary chromosomal constrictions indicates an activation of nucleolar-organizing regions.


The long-term effects of ouabain on transepithelial Na(+) transport involve transcriptional downregulation of apical Na(+)/H(+) exchanger isoform 3 (NHE3). The aim of this study was to determine whether ouabain could acutely regulate NHE3 via a posttranscriptional mechanism in LLC-PK1 cells. We observed that the basolateral, but not apical, application of ouabain for 1 h significantly reduced transepithelial Na(+) transport. This effect was not due to changes in the integrity of tight junctions or increases in the intracellular Na(+) concentration. Ouabain regulated the trafficking of NHE3 and subsequently inhibited its activity, a process independent of intracellular Na(+) concentration. Ouabain-induced NHE3 trafficking was abolished by either cholesterol depletion or Src inhibition. Moreover, ouabain increased the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration. Pretreatment of cells with the intracellular Ca(2+) chelator BAPTA-AM blocked ouabain-induced trafficking of NHE3. Also, blockade of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase endocytosis by a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor was equally effective in attenuating ouabain-induced NHE3 trafficking. These data indicate that ouabain acutely stimulates NHE3 trafficking by activating the basolateral Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase signaling complex. Taken together with our previous observations, we propose that ouabain can simultaneously regulate basolateral Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and apical NHE3, leading to inhibition of transepithelial Na(+) transport. This mechanism may be relevant to proximal tubular Na(+) handling during conditions associated with increases in circulating endogenous cardiotonic steroids.


Three components of complement and six other serum proteins were assayed in synovial fluid and serum samples from 25 patients with acute rheumatic fever in Trinidad. The resulting data indicate a relative decrease in both early and late components of complement within the synovial fluids which suggests local activation by immune complexes. Such activation of complement within the joint spaces may play a primary role in development of the inflammatory arthritis of acute rheumatic fever.