Structural elements such as beams, slabs, and columns may require strengthening or repair during their service life. Different repair materials (RMs) are available and it is usually difficult to choose the best ones, especially when considering the cost of such materials. This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of patch RMs on plain concrete prisms as well as on reinforced concrete beams. Three cement-based RMs available in the market with different mechanical properties and an ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mix produced in the lab were used in the study. Damage was induced in prisms/beams and then repaired using different materials. The experimental work included assessment of the flexural strength of damaged/repaired plain concrete prisms; slant shear (bond) strength between the concrete and the RM; axial strength of damaged/repaired plain concrete prisms and bond of the repair materials in damaged/repaired reinforced concrete beams loaded to failure. The test results showed that all RMs performed well in restoring the strength of damaged plain concrete. Compatibility of the RMs with substrate concrete was found to be more important in the behavior than superior mechanical properties of the RMs. No difference was noted in the behavior between the RMs in repairing reinforced concrete beams at the tension side.


BACKGROUND
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbances in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism arising from defect in insulin secretion or action or both. The clinical guidelines recommend measurement of BMI as "vital signs" for evaluating the obese and diabetic patients.

METHODS
This study was carried out on 160 diabetics, which were divided on the basis of BMI into obese (120) and non-obese (40) diabetics from Peshawar district. All patients had their triglycerides and glucose checked after over night fast.

RESULTS
The serum triglyceride in diabetics having BMI >30 (obese) was increased as compared to patients having BMI <30 (non-obese). The comparison of serum glucose level in obese diabetics was found to be significantly raised as compared to non-obese diabetics.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
It was concluded that dyslipidemia is common in all diabetics. The abnormal triglyceride level can improve with good glycaemic control, but do not reach the normal state. Good glycaemic control, Reducing BMI, periodic checkups of lipids and blood glucose are recommended for all diabetics in order to avoid complications.


The work is concerned with the signal-to-symbol problem of building skinned, segmented, landmarked and labeled 3D models of the whole human body from range data. A fully automated model based process is presented that takes raw range data, cleans and skins it, and then locates "interesting" features, to enrich the surface with symbolic information for specific applications. The method is validated via volumetrics in medicine and surface anthropometry.


In this paper a summary of the use of the construct "mental model" in Science Education literature produced in the last ten years is presented. The diversity of understanding found on the different articles allows us to state that the concept of mental model, clearly defined and identified in Cognitive Science, is a polysemic term, in such a way that its genuine meaning is impossible to guess from reading only this literature. As a consequence, the construction of scientific knowledge in this field is quite difficult, because in this situation the conditions for it (communication of findings, comparing, discussing, evaluating, achieving consensus) are not possible, due to the lack of convergence in the meaning of the data. Other important issue can be foreseeing for Science Education itself: all the didactic consequences of applying research's finding on mental models, as are those related to understand the students' spontaneous thinking, its mental organisation, the uncovering of mechanisms capable to drive a conceptual change, etc., can be missed, and the teachers obstructed to apply them in their teaching activities.


Cloud computing is a fast-growing technology used by major corporations these days because of the flexibility framework it provides to consumers. Cloud technology requires large data centers consisting of multiple IT equipment and servers. One main problem with these data centers is the vast amount of power consumed during servers operation. This reduces financial benefit and increases the need to produce more energy to cover the needs of operating the cloud infrastructure. This paper proposes an approach for managing the virtual central processing unit (vCPU) of a virtual machine to improve server power efficiency. A framework is used to study the proposed approach while processing different types of workloads widely found in most general-purpose cloud computing applications. Results indicate an improvement in server power saving.


Introduction: Social conduct is a behaviour aimed at the society and among members of the same species, having influence in the surrounding environment, where ludic actions may play a role . Objective: The paper studies the effect of 15 recreational activities on the social behavior of children and adolescents in the Guamani neighborhood, south of the city of Quito, Republic of Ecuador. Method: Using a sample of 25 subjects with various problems of social behavior, aged 9-14 years, the research strategy starts with the diagnosis of 12 indicators or aspects of social life and manifestations of conduct. Results: The Friedman test determined the existence of significant differences between two (initial, p = 0.004, & final, p = 0.03) tests, with data obtained from the observation guides respectively, being the average ranks of the final tests, the best ones, demonstrating a significant difference between the initial and final test (p = 0.003) in the variable "Always" and the variable "Never" (p = 0.002) as determined by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Conclusion: The research shows that recreational activities are a viable and efficient alternative to improve social behavior in the sample studied.


"This should be required reading by every school administator, every teacher, every board member and all university faculty involved in the training of teachers. There is no doubt that we need to squeeze all blame, all coerion and all criticism out of any people-related business. Not until we realize that schools are in a people business will we ever be able to make meaningful changes." --Dr. Albert Mamary, former superintendent of schools, Johnson City, New York


A system has been developed to produce live 3D volume renderings from an MR scanner. Whereas real-time 2D MR imaging has been demonstrated by several groups, 3D volumes are currently rendered off-line to gain greater understanding of anatomical structures. For example, surgical planning is sometimes performed by viewing 2D images or 3D renderings from previously acquired image data. A disadvantage of this approach is misregistration which could occur if the anatomy changes due to normal muscle contractions or surgical manipulation. The ability to produce volume renderings in real-time and present them in the magnet room could eliminate this problem, and enable or benefit other types of interventional procedures. The system uses the data stream generated by a fast 2D multi- slice pulse sequence to update a volume rendering immediately after a new slice is available. We demonstrate some basic types of user interaction with the rendering during imaging at a rate of up to 20 frames per second.


It is known to be largely related to behavioural changes and neuropsychiatric disorders, and studies demonstrating the influence of eNOS gene variants in the development of depressive, aggressive and suicidal behaviours exist in the literature. Here, we investigate two polymorphisms in the eNOS gene, namely, G894T (Glu298Asp) and intron 4 VNTR, as possible genetic contributing factors to cannabis addiction. DNA samples used in this work were purified from the peripheral blood of 94 unrelated Turkish cannabis-dependent subjects and 100 Turkish control subjects from the southeastern region of Turkey. The eNOS polymorphisms were characterised by the PCR and/or PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) method. The De-finetti programme, chi-square, Fisher's exact test, odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used for statistical analysis. The incidence of aa and TT genotypes and the frequency of the alleles a and T were found to be significantly higher in the cannabis addicts group than in the control subjects (p < 0.05). The results indicate that G894T and intron 4 VNTR eNOS gene polymorphisms are statistically-significant contributing factors to susceptibility to cannabis addiction, while the same polymorphism alleles associated with high NO levels are a protective factor in Turkish subjects. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on eNOS gene polymorphisms involving the Turkish population.


ABSTRACT A triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily with an established role in innate and adaptive immune response. We aimed to determine the plasma concentrations and clinical association of sTREM-1 in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) patients. Plasma from 79 SLE patients and 35 normal healthy subjects were assayed for sTREM-1 and IL-6 levels using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay (ELISA). The clinical disease characteristics and serological data were prospectively assessed. Disease activity was scored using the SLE disease activity index. We detected significantly higher levels of sTREM-1 in plasma of SLE patients than the healthy control group. We also detected high sTREM-1 levels in subgroups of patients with neuropsychiatric manifestations (NPLE) and patients with the total high disease activity and NPLE activity. In addition, sTREM-l levels were significantly correlated with parameters of disease activity, i.e. SLEDAI score, IL-6, hypoalbuminemia. On the other hand, we did not find significant differences in sTREM-1 levels in relation to age, disease duration, medications, ESR, other organ system involvement, or the presence of anti-dsDNA. Our preliminary data indicated that sTREM-1 levels may be an additional useful marker of disease activity in SLE. It also highlights its importance in patients with NPLE. An additional prospective longitudinal study should be carried out to support these findings.


Using the series of hourly broadband solar radiation observations from the Camaguey (21,4 degrees N y 77,85 degrees W) meteorological station, covering the years 1985 to 2007 a series of aerosol optical depth estimates is de-rived. For such a goal a Bouger-Lambert-Beer law implementation method developed by Gueymard (1995, 1998) is employed. Because this method requires the selection of hours with clear sky conditions, the characterization of the monthly and hourly frequencies of that condition for Camaguey is conducted. The mean hourly and monthly courses of the aerosol optical depth as well as its trends during the period under analysis are studied. Results are similar to the observations registered in Barbados (13,18 degrees N; 59,43 degrees W) for the period 1996-1999 using solar photometry. The influence of Saharan Dust is evident in the annual course of the aerosol optical depth, causing its maximums to occur in summer. Comparisons with other short period's observations also show agreeing results. Aerosol optical depth trends during the period of study are -1.46/(1000 x year), statistically significant at the 95 per cent level, in agreement with reports from other regions of the planet like in Northern Africa, Middle East and Central Asia.


Joint representation learning over multi-sourced knowledge graphs (KGs) yields transferable and expressive embeddings that improve downstream tasks. Entity alignment (EA) is a critical step in this process. Despite recent considerable research progress in embedding-based EA, how it works remains to be explored. In this paper, we provide a similarity flooding perspective to explain existing translation-based and aggregation-based EA models. We prove that the embedding learning process of these models actually seeks a fixpoint of pairwise similarities between entities. We also provide experimental evidence to support our theoretical analysis. We propose two simple but effective methods inspired by the fixpoint computation in similarity flooding, and demonstrate their effectiveness on benchmark datasets. Our work bridges the gap between recent embedding-based models and the conventional similarity flooding algorithm. It would improve our understanding of and increase our faith in embedding-based EA.


Tolerance for ambiguity is a personality characteristic that reflects the general feelings and attitudes of an individual toward ambiguity and ambiguous situations. Prior research has found accounting students to be significantly less tolerant of ambiguity than the general population, with female accounting students less tolerant than their male counterparts. The research on which this article is reporting aimed to examine the personality characteristic 'tolerance for ambiguity' among accounting students to determine whether those currently being attracted to the profession are still less tolerant of ambiguity than the norm as reported by prior research, taking into account the drive from the accounting profession to attract individuals to the profession who are effective communicators, who can think and act strategically, are able to solve unstructured problems, and are aware of business issues. Tolerance for ambiguity was measured using the AT-20 scale, a widely used and validated instrument developed by MacDonald (1970). The results of this study confirm that students enrolled for accounting degree programmes are less tolerant for ambiguity (mean = 7.50) than students enrolled for other business programmes (mean = 8.16). Female students enrolled in accounting degree programmes were significantly less tolerant for ambiguity than their male counterparts.


Abstract Cystinuria is a rare genetic condition that is responsible for cystine stones. Besides stone recurrence, patients with cystine stones have reduced health-related quality of life, increased rates of chronic kidney disease and hypertension. Although lifestyle measures, medical therapy and close follow up are essential to reduce and monitor cystine stone recurrences, surgical intervention is frequently needed for most cystinuria patients. Shock wave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy and active surveillance all have a role, and technological advances in endourology are vital in achieving a stone-free status and to prevent recurrences. The complexity of managing cystine stones necessitates a multidisciplinary team discussion, patient involvement and an individualised approach in a specialist centre for optimum management. Thulium fibre laser and virtual reality may have an increasing role in the future of cystine stone management.


Wood products are usually treated with wood preservatives to protect them from deterioration. Pressure or non-pressure preservative treatments can be utilized to incorporate biocide into the wood, depending on the applications of the end-products. Thermal and chemical modifications of wood represent alternative treatments that enhance the dimensional properties of wood and provide biological resistance. However, there is also a current trend to apply nanotechnology for wood preservation. Nanomaterials with unique properties can enhance the performance of wood preservatives, thereby increasing the service lifetime of the wood products. Nanotechnology can be applied for this purpose through impregnation of wood with a suspension of metallic nanoparticles, or through encapsulation of biocide with nanocarriers. Additionally, various nanomaterials also can be used in wood modification, especially coating treatment to provide superior service ability. Nevertheless, more studies are required to provide guidelines regarding the safety upon application of nanomaterials. This review will give an overview of current wood preservation techniques. Additionally, this paper examines current research on how nanotechnology is being applied for wood preservation.


Background Dermatological diseases, among which acne vulgaris, have psychological impact on the affected generating feelings of guilt, shame and social isolation. Objectives To compare quality of life, self-esteem and other psychosocial variables amongst adolescents with and without acne vulgaris, and between levels of severity. Methods Cross-sectional observational study in a sample of 355 high school students from the city of João Pessoa. Data collection was performed with questionnaires and clinical-dermatological evaluation. The primary variables were the incidence of AV; quality of life, set by the Children's Dermatology Quality of Life Index and Dermatology Quality of Life Index; and self-esteem, measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. For calculation of statistical tests, we used the SPSS 20.0 software, considering p=0.05. Results The sample, with an average age of 16, showed 89.3% prevalence of acne vulgaris. The most prevalent psychosocial issue was "afraid that acne will never cease", present in 58% of affected youth. The median score of Quality of Life in Children's Dermatology Index was different amongst students with and without acne vulgaris (p=0.003), as well as the Quality of Life in Dermatology (p=0.038) scores, so that students with acne vulgaris have worse QoL. There was a correlation between the severity of acne vulgaris and worse quality of life. Self-esteem was not significantly associated with the occurrence or severity of acne vulgaris. Conclusions acne vulgaris assumes significance in view of its high prevalence and the effect on quality of life of adolescents, more severe at the more pronounced stages of disease (p<0.001). The psychosocial impact of acne vulgaris should be valued in the management of patients with this condition.


Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is one of the most used in the industries. Wide range of dimension and material of the product that wanted to do the welding should include the possible defect that occur when the welding process is done. This project is focusing on finding the relationship between distortion of the plate and thickness of the plate during welding. The scope of this project is on SMAW welding on stainless steel plate that are joined by T- joined. This project also was focusing on evaluating if the ANSYS is the right software to do the simulation and what subsystem to use in ANSYS that are suitable to do this simulation. The project is using three (3) different thickness of plate. 10mm, 20mm and 30mm. The height and length of the plate remain constant, 80mm and 100mm. conclusion of the project is the lower the thickness of the plate, the higher the distortion of the plate.


We show that an electrical shift current is generated when electrons are photoexcited from the valence to conduction bands on a BN nanotube. This photocurrent follows the light pulse envelope and its symmetry is controlled by the atomic structure of the nanotube. We find that the shift current has an intrinsic quantum mechanical signature in which the chiral index of the tube determines the direction of the current along the tube axis. We identify the discrete lattice effects in the tangent plane of the tube that lead to an azimuthal component of the shift current. The nanotube shift current can lead to ultrafast optoelectronic and optomechanical applications.


Zeta potential, particle size distribution and molecular weight distribution of dissolved TOC were studied to elementarily disclose the mechanism of the chemical-biological flocculation (CBF) process to treat municipal wastewater. Chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) process and primary sedimentation tank process were taken as the parallel-compared wastewater treatment processes. The experimental results show that under the same dosage, Zeta potential of the CBF process effluent is equal to that of the CEPT process, which indicates that flocculant in return sludge does not change the stabilization of particles in CBF reactor, and the biological flocculation is the key reason for CBF is superior to CEPT. In CBF process, good removal results are achieved for particles >10 microm and dissolved TOC with molecular weight >6 ku by chemical dosage, and biological flocculation can not only promote the removal of particles >10 microm and dissolved TOC with molecular weight >6 ku, but also have high capacity to remove small particles and dissolved TOC with small molecular weight, with the results that particles >3 tpm are removed completely and TOC with molecular weight of 2-6 ku are removed by 42.5% .


Chile implemented a radical reform in favor of decentralization at the beginning of the 1980s, with municipalities taking over the administration of public school education. The government that came to power in 2014 is committed to revert this reform, removing public schools from municipal control. Using panel data gathered between 2005 and 2013, this study shows that municipalities with greater autonomy performed better when administrating schools. Two major conclusions may be drawn. First, selective decentralization in favor of more autonomous municipalities is a better public policy approach relative to an all across the board solution. Second, since this autonomy is very unevenly distributed across municipal governments, a renewed and more effective fiscal equalization system should be established in Chile.


The host–guest inclusion complex between β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and cephalexin was investigated spectrofluorometrically. The results showed that β-CD reacted with cephalexin to form 1:1 stoichiometry host-guest inclusion complex. Inclusion constant (K = 5.33×10 L mol) was ascertained by the typical double reciprocal plots in pH 5.0 buffer solution. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters ( H°, S° and G°) associated with the inclusion process were also determined. The factors affecting the inclusion complex formation were carefully studied, incorporated in the procedure and optimized. A spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of cephalexin in solution in the presence of β-CD was developed based on the remarkable enhancement of the fluorescence intensity of cephalexin. Under the optimum reaction conditions, linear relationships with good correlation coefficients (0.9992) were in the concentration range of 1–10 μg/mL was obtained. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were found to be 0.001 μg/mL and 0.036 μg/mL, respectively. The recovery was in the range of (104–124.5) %. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of cephalexin in pharmaceutical formulation with good accuracy. Key word: cephalexin, inclusion complex; β-cyclodextrin; spectrofluorimetric


Low-frequency time-dependent noise is one of the main obstacles on the road toward a fully scalable quantum computer. The majority of solid-state qubit platforms, from superconducting circuits to spins in semiconductors, are greatly affected by 1/f noise. Among the different control techniques used to counteract noise effects on the system, dynamical decoupling sequences are one of the most effective. However, most dynamical decoupling sequences require unbounded and instantaneous pulses, which are unphysical and can only implement identity operations. Among methods that do restrict to bounded control fields, there remains a need for protocols that implement arbitrary gates with lab-ready control fields. In this work, we introduce a protocol to design bounded and continuous control fields that implement arbitrary single-axis rotations while shielding the system from low-frequency time-dependent noise perpendicular to the control axis. We show the versatility of our method by presenting a set of non-negative-only control pulses that are immediately applicable to quantum systems with constrained control, such as singlet-triplet spin qubits. Finally, we demonstrate the robustness of our control pulses against classical 1/f noise and noise modeled with a random quantum bath, showing that our pulses can even outperform ideal dynamical decoupling sequences.


Retroviral vectors are an efficient and widely employed means of introducing an exogenous expression cassette into target cells. These vectors have been shown to integrate semi-randomly into the cellular genome, and can be associated with genotoxicity due to impact on expression of proximate genes. Therefore, efficient and accurate integration site analysis, while quantifying contributions of individual vector-containing clones, is desirable. Linear amplification-mediated polymerase chain reaction (LAM-PCR) is a widely used technique for identifying integrated proviral and host genomic DNA junctions. However, LAM-PCR is subject to selection bias inherent in the reliance of the assay on the presence of a restriction enzyme-cutting site adjacent to a retrievable integration site, and it is further limited by an inability to discriminate prior to sequencing between the flanking genomic DNA of interest and uninformative internal vector DNA. We report a modified restriction enzyme-free LAM-PCR (Re-free LAM-PCR) approach that is less time and labor intensive compared to conventional LAM-PCR, but in contrast to some other nonrestrictive methods, compares in efficiency and sensitivity, excludes retrieval of uninformative internal vector sequences, and allows retrieval of integration sites unbiased by the presence of nearby restriction sites. However, we report that Re-free LAM-PCR remains inaccurate for quantitation of the relative contributions of individual integration site-containing clones in a polyclonal setting, suggesting that bias in LAM-PCR retrieval of integration sites is not wholly explained by restriction enzyme-related factors.


'What has been the quality of jobs generated by Punjab's urban unorganised establishments in an era of globalisation?' is the central question addressed in this paper. It is argued that the unorganised establishments' growth, under the conditions of exogenous technology, may be due to intensive and extensive usage of hired labour. Through secondary and primary data analysis, it is concluded that these unorganised establishments have generated a sufficiently large number of such jobs that may be characterized as of poor quality in terms of low earnings, limited upward mobility, unjust wage setting, uninformed job termination and low job satisfaction.


RNA interference has broad therapeutic potential due to its high specificity and ability to potentially evade drug resistance. Three cationic α-cyclodextrin:poly(ethylene glycol) polyrotaxanes derived from polymer axles of different sizes (MW 2,000, 3,400, and 10,000) have been synthesized for delivering siRNA. These polyrotaxanes are able to condense siRNA into positively charged particles that are <200 nm in diameter, enabling their facile internalization into mammalian cells. The cationic polyrotaxanes display cytotoxicity profiles that are >10(2)-fold lower than the commercial standard bPEI and gene silencing efficiencies that are comparable to those of both Lipofectamine 2000 and bPEI. Our findings suggest that the cationic polyrotaxanes display a size-activity relationship, wherein the higher molecular weight polyrotaxanes (PEG3,400 and 10,000) are able to condense and deliver siRNA better than the lower molecular weight material (PEG2,000).


Reactions of the complexion [Mo2O4(C2O4)2(H2O)2]2– with potential ligands have been investigated. According to continuous variation studies the reacting ratios (ligand : molybdenum) were : with ethylenediaminetetra-acetate and 1,10-phenanthroline, 1 : 2; with pyridine-2-carboxylic acid, 1 : 1; with 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulphonic acid, 1 : 1 and 2 : 1. The following compounds have been isolated: (pyH)2[Mo2O4(C2O4)2(H2O)2], (pyH)2[Mo2O4(C2O4)2(py)2], Na2[Mo2O3(C2O4)2(oxinate)2],5H2O, [Mo2O3(oxinate)4],H2O, Na2[Mo2O3(C2O4)2(pic)2],3H2O, and [Mo2O3(C2O4)2(phen)2],2H2O. The ease of replacement of ligands was H2O > bridging oxygen > C2O42– terminal oxygen, and of substitution, 8-hydroxyquinoline > 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulphonic acid EDTA picolinic acid > phenanthroline > pyridine. The magnetic properties, infrared and electronic spectra of the complexes, and their probable structures are discussed and also internal ligand transitions in the oxinate complexes. The relevance of the results to molybdenum–substrate interaction in the enzyme xanthine oxidase is also discussed.


Hemoglobin is a unique protein, which is responsible for oxygen and carbon dioxide transportation all the body. The protein location is inside the erythrocytes and the special oval shape makes it easily pass through blood walls to supply oxygen to the tissues and organs. It is supposed that the hemoglobin amount could change depending on the person`s age, gender or nationality. We designed a research to see the molecular differences among Bosnian and Turkish young person`s whose age interval is 18-23 and old person`s age interval is 43-65. Totally 300 person`s, 50 from each Bosnian/ Turkish Female/Male and 50 old male and 50 old female were selected for the research. The students` the hemoglobin amount has been recorded individually and presented in a table. As a result of the measurement, The Turkish females average has the lowest hemoglobin Turkish males average shows the maximum amount of hemoglobin, 12.01 g/dl and 14.65 g/dl respectively. When the female gets older their the hemoglobin amount increase in their blood, 7.3% in Bosnian and 12.2% in Turkish. On the other side, the male blood the hemoglobin amount is almost similar by aging, Bosnian male hemoglobin just increase 0.74%, but in Turkish male 1.3% decrease. The result shows that female the hemoglobin amount is affected by age more than male.


About a third of HIV-positive patients have high blood pressure. Is this a predictable consequence of ordinary aging, or do their history of HIV infection and treatment play a role? Whatever the explanation, many of these patients don't take the problem seriously enough.


This is the second part of a paper describing the digital simulation of an ac drive system consisting of a three-phase induction motor supplied by a cycloconverter. In Part I, it is assumed that the cycloconverter is connected to a three-phase sinusoidal power source having negligible impedance. In this part, the complete system is simulated, including a three-phase synchronous generator, which in a practical system is driven by a prime mover at constant speed. To simplify the simulation process, it is assumed that the commutation of the generator phase currents takes place instantaneously. The results of the simulation are compared with test results. Both the calculated rms values and waveshapes of voltage and current show good agreement with test data.


Abstract Li-rich micas are crucial in the exploration for and exploitation of Li resources. The determination of Li in mica using classical bulk chemical methods or in situ microanalytical techniques is expensive and time-consuming and has stringent requirements for the quality of micas and reference materials. Although simple linear and nonlinear empirical equations have been proposed, they are inconsistent with the complex physicochemical mechanisms of Li incorporation and commonly lead to large errors. In this study, we introduce a refined method of multivariate polynomial regression using a machine learning algorithm to estimate Li from multiple major oxide abundances. The performance of our regression model is evaluated using the coefficient of determination (R2) and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) of the independent test sets. The best-performed models show R2 of 0.95 and a RMSE of 0.35 wt% for the test set of data set 1 (all compiled data, n = 2124) and R2 of 0.96 and a RMSE of 0.22 wt% for the test set of data set 2 (only data obtained using in situ techniques, n = 1386). Our results indicate that integration of electron probe microanalysis and multivariate polynomial regression (based on data set 1) presents a robust and convenient approach to quantify Li contents in micas. The application of the proposed approach to micas from central Inner Mongolia, NE China, suggests that in addition to the Weilasituo ore bodies, the Jiabusi granite and greisen and the Shihuiyao metamorphic sediment formation have good potential for Li exploration. Our study also provides preliminary constraints on the genesis of Li deposits.


The article discusses forms of narrative orientation, both towards the ending of a narrative and governed by it. Prevalent in pre-modern fiction is a specific kind of motivation, which the German scholar Clemens Lugowski called 'motivation from behind'. This kind of motivation operates on the level of narrative discourse. Modern fiction tends to minimize this motivation in favour of causal motivations on the level of the narrated events or story. Finality (teleology) is a trait shared by all plots, therefore a story can be anticipated by readers. The article differentiates forms of finality and inquires into the transformation of finality from the beginning of oral narration in folktales to modern fiction.


This study examines why non-financial publicly traded firms knowingly issue wealth destroying Rule 144A debt, which is associated with a negative announcement return and a higher yield. We provide a plausible 'demand-side' explanation (i.e. last-resort debt financing) for the motivation for issuing such debt. We also provide evidence as to what drives this negative reaction. Our findings suggest that the negative market impact is mainly driven by short-selling pressure from convertible bond arbitrageurs.


ABSTRACT Group B streptococcus (GBS; Streptococcus agalactiae) is the most common cause of neonatal and obstetric sepsis and is an increasingly important cause of septicemia in elderly individuals and immunocompromised patients. Ongoing surveillance to monitor GBS serotype distribution will be needed to guide the development and use of GBS conjugate vaccines. We designed sequencing primers based on the previously published sequences of the capsular polysaccharide (cps) gene clusters to further define partial cps gene clusters for eight of the nine GBS serotypes (serotypes Ia to VII). Subsequently, we designed and evaluated primers to identify serotypes Ia, Ib, III, IV, V, and VI directly by PCR and all eight serotypes (serotypes Ia to VII) by sequence heterogeneity. A total of 206 clinical GBS isolates were used to compare our molecular serotype (MS) identification method with conventional serotyping (CS). All clinical isolates were assigned an MS, whereas 188 of 206 (91.3%) were assigned a serotype by use of antisera. A small number of isolates (serosubtypes III-3 and III-4) showed different serotype specificities between PCR and sequencing, but the PCR results correlated with those obtained by CS. The overall agreement between the MS identification method and CS for isolates for which results of both tests were available was 100% (188 of 188 isolates). The MS identification method is a specific and practical alternative to conventional GBS serotyping and will facilitate epidemiological studies.


Polycystic kidney diseases (PKDs) comprise a subgroup of ciliopathies characterized by the formation of fluid-filled kidney cysts and progression to end-stage renal disease. A mechanistic understanding of cystogenesis is crucial for the development of viable therapeutic options. Here, we identify CDK5, a kinase active in post mitotic cells, as a new and important mediator of PKD progression. We show that long-lasting attenuation of PKD in the juvenile cystic kidneys (jck) mouse model of nephronophthisis by pharmacological inhibition of CDK5 using either R-roscovitine or S-CR8 is accompanied by sustained shortening of cilia and a more normal epithelial phenotype, suggesting this treatment results in a reprogramming of cellular differentiation. Also, a knock down of Cdk5 in jck cells using small interfering RNA results in significant shortening of ciliary length, similar to what we observed with R-roscovitine. Finally, conditional inactivation of Cdk5 in the jck mice significantly attenuates cystic disease progression and is associated with shortening of ciliary length as well as restoration of cellular differentiation. Our results suggest that CDK5 may regulate ciliary length by affecting tubulin dynamics via its substrate collapsin response mediator protein 2. Taken together, our data support therapeutic approaches aimed at restoration of ciliogenesis and cellular differentiation as a promising strategy for the treatment of renal cystic diseases.


Are communities limited by biotic interactions, or are they random draws from regional species pools? One way to tell is to compare total species counts in geographic regions to average counts in ecological samples falling within those regions. If species richness is limited regionally, then the relationship should be curvilinear even in a log-log space. Global sets of samples including trees and 10 groups of animals are analysed to test this hypothesis. Most relationships are indeed curvilinear. To explain these patterns, a simple model is proposed that invokes biotic interaction-limited speciation or immigration rates combined with extinction or extirpation rates that fall as the number of occupied patches increases. Local and regional richness come into balance as the rates trade off, causing global richness to also be limited. Surprisingly, however, the data for trees break the pattern, suggesting that the great adaptive radiation of seed plants may still be unfolding.


Summary Post-fledging survival plays a vital role in the dynamics of bird populations and yet is the least-studied avian life-stage. Habitat requirements post-fledging may have important implications for behaviour and survival, especially for declining populations in landscapes that have undergone wide-scale anthropogenic modification, resulting in an altered distribution and composition of habitats. The European Turtle Dove is a widespread but rapidly declining species both within the UK and across Europe. Reduced seed food availability is thought to influence breeding success of this species, but it is not known whether post-fledging survival may also be influenced by seed availability. Here, we use leg-ring radio-tag attachments to monitor post-fledging survival and movements in 15 Turtle Dove nestlings from eight nests monitored during 2014 as part of a wider autecological study. Fledglings remained in close proximity to their nest for three weeks post-tagging, spending more than half their time in the immediate vicinity (within ∼20 m) of the nest. 95% of foraging trips during this period were within 329 m of the nest and fledglings selected seed-rich habitat (semi-natural grassland, low-intensity grazing, fallow and quarries). Fledglings that were heavier and in better body condition at seven days old were more likely to survive for 30 days post-fledging, and the proportion of available seed-rich habitat was a strong predictor of nestling weight and condition at seven days old. Whilst our sample size is modest, this study highlights the crucial role of food availability in juvenile survival, both while adults are feeding nestlings, and to recently fledged young, and the potential for agri-environment schemes providing foraging and nesting habitats in close proximity to provide important benefits.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study key economic strategies in Asia laid out by the Chinese Government since Xi Jinping became the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper is composed of six parts. The first part analyzes China's Asian trade strategy with a focus on the free-trade agreement. The second part elaborates the Asian finance and currency strategy with the core being the regionalization of RMB. The third part introduces China's newly proposed Belt and Road Initiative (B&R). The fourth part deals with the China–USA economic relationship with a view to China's economic strategy in Asia. The fifth part explains China's domestic economic policy which forms the basis of the Asian Economic Strategy.

Findings
A marked change has taken place in China's economic strategy in Asia, namely, giving more consideration to how to offer more public goods to the region. This is natural as China's economic power is developed to a certain level and it is highly related to China's attempt to growing its economic influence in this region. China believes that the B&R Initiative and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are both public goods China has provided to Asia. China's economic strategy in Asia demonstrates that China, as a rising power, though faced with domination of established power and the original regional economic rule system, still promotes the cooperation, integration, participation and development of this region. In general, China's economic strategy in Asia offers an alternative for countries in this region so that Asian countries can better safeguard their rights amid China–America competition, and a new Asian economic order can be better built.

Originality/value
The paper contributes to the researched area of China's economic strategy in Asia by comprehensively elaborating its trade, money, B&R Initiative and so on. This paper also shows the major challenges of China's economic strategy in Asia and therefore is helpful to fully understand China's economic statecraft.


Since publishing On Death and Dying in 1969, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has given approximately 700 workshops and lectures throughout North America and Europe. This book is a collection of her responses to some of the questions most frequently asked by her audiences. The book focuses almost exclusively on adult patients. Another book, On Children and Death , is promised as "forthcoming." Questions and Answers is directed primarily toward health care workers and is organized in three parts. The first part, on understanding the dying patient, will be familiar to readers of On Death and Dying . The second part deals with patient-related issues. The chapter on "Special Forms of Communication" is, in my opinion, worth the price of the volume. It summarizes and illustrates the difference between "nonverbal symbolic language" and "symbolic verbal language"—an important distinction for those of us who work directly with patients, especially verbally incapacitated patients. The third part


Alludes to five leadership styles which are: the strategic approach — the traditional view of a CEO; the human assets approach — they believe strategy formulation is the job of those closest to the markets and the customers; the expertise approach — this identifies the core capabilities leading to success; the box approach — this points to the 'control box', procedural, financial and cultural in every company; the change approach — CEO's who concentrate less on where organizations are going, more on how to get there. Proposes that, with 160 CEO's interviewed worldwide, most focus on one or two of the above — the stakes are too high for CEO's not to have to focus on one approach.


Certain statistical strategies that cater to a particular team's style of play can enable a team to establish a competitive advantage in a sporting event. The purpose of this paper is to cultivate a linear statistical model that contributes to the success of a competitive sporting game between two teams. Using a linear success metric, this paper also examines the relationship between the success of both teams and the scoreboard outcomes of these respective sporting events. This linear statistical model is independent of the given score of a sporting event. This researcher uses empirical data from 5,200 games in the 2017-2018 season across all 4 major professional sports leagues in North America (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL). Results suggest that roughly 94% of the scoreboard outcomes agree with the success rate instituted in this study. The results also highlight Coach Wooden's distinction between winning and succeeding where the conclusion of 306 games comprises of winning teams that do not have a higher "success rate" than the losing team. The principles of the statistical metric used in this paper provide practical implications in economics through game theory and technical analysis in finance.


To the Editor: In August 2007, the Green Journal published an article by Van Wyck et al1 that was a randomized controlled trial comparing intravenous ferric carboxymaltose (Injectafer, American Regent, Inc., Shirley, NY) with oral iron in postpartum patients. During the trial, one patient who was given the intravenous ferric carboxymaltose died 7 days after the intravenous injection. The article described that event as follows: "One patient assigned to IV ferric carboxymaltose (baseline Hb 7.9 g/dL) died 13 days after vaginal delivery, 7 days after IV iron injection, and autopsy confirmed peripartum cardiomyopathy. [The] event was [not] considered by the investigator to be drug-related." Elsewhere in the manuscript, it was stated, "No serious drug-related adverse events occurred in either treatment group." In February 2008, a Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research drew attention to a dramatic increase in mortality among patients treated with intravenous ferric carboxymaltose.2 In the several studies the Committee evaluated, there were 10 deaths after intravenous ferric carboxymaltose exposure and no deaths after oral iron exposure.3 Five of these deaths were from cardiac causes. In answer to the question: "Do the clinical data indicate that intravenous ferric carboxymaltose is associated with a mortality disadvantage compared to oral iron?" the committee voted overwhelmingly, "Yes" (12 to 2). In March 2008, the FDA issued a non-approvable letter for intravenous ferric carboxymaltose, requesting safety data from additional clinical studies to address concerns over the safety of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose, specifically the mortality signal. Given the information that has emerged from the FDA, readers should be made aware of the mortality signal associated with intravenous ferric carboxymaltose. The statements in the original article, which notes that the maternal death was not considered to be drugrelated and that no serious drug-related adverse events occurred in either treatment group, should be clarified in light of the overall data now pointing to possibly increased mortality with the use of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose.


It is widely agreed that SMEs, unlike big firms, are sensitive to specifically, among other things, changes in their cash flow position. Negative cash flows threaten the survival of SMEs and situations that create these conditions making them vulnerable  are to be avoided. An example of such a situation is when there is delay in paying SMEs for goods and services rendered. While it is recognised that Government through its structures such as Local Government and Municipalities is a key customer for SMEs pre-qualified as suppliers, there are complaints that Government delays in paying its suppliers. This would seem to contradict Government policy as Government also tries through various initiatives to develop and promote SMEs. This study undertakes a survey  of SMEs that supply one of the major municipalities in South Africa and investigates factors affecting the average credit collection period. A similar study in South Africa is not known. Findings from the study are expected to highlight weaknesses in the  current procurement practices of South African Government structures that disadvantage SMEs, hence contradicting Government's policy of promoting SMEs in business, which are flags for policy makers to pay attention to.


Stomatal guard cells regulate the size of the stomatal pore by the changes in their shape and volume, which are associated with changes in their turgor. Accumulation of potassium salts plays a major role in this process, and frequently chloride, if available, provides the major balancing anion. Measurements have been made of two-way ion fluxes in guard cells, in epidermal strips of Commelina communis L., after treatment at low pH to kill all cells except the guard cells. In such material, opening depends on the ion concentration in the bathing solution, and for this purpose the three salts KCl, KBr and RbCl seem to be equivalent. $^{82}$ Br $^-$ and $^{86}$ Rb $^+$ fluxes have been measured in a range of steady states, with different apertures, and in the transitions between one steady state and another. Analysis of the kinetics of tracer efflux in the steady states allows calculation of the cytoplasmic and vacuolar contents, and their changes with aperture, with wider opening produced by increasing concentration in the bathing solution, or by light incubation compared with dark incubation. The results show that the increases with aperture of the cytoplasmic salt concentration are comparable with the osmotic changes required, but the changes in vacuolar concentration are much less than those required osmotically. Opening must therefore be associated with vacuolar accumulation not only of salt, but also of some other solute. The decrease in aperture on addition of 2 x 10 $^{-5}$ M abscisic acid to the solution bathing `isolated' guard cells, or on their transfer from light to dark, is achieved by marked transient increases in ion efflux, with little change in influx. There are also changes in tonoplast fluxes. The aperture is determined by the level of vacuolar solute accumulation, and thus the results show that this responds to environmental signals by control of plasmalemma efflux rather than influx, and by control of tonoplast fluxes. The ability to transfer salt from cytoplasm to vacuole may be critical for the maintenance of turgor and aperture.


Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be divided into primary and secondary brain damage. The primary damage occurs at the time of impact, induces neuronal death and is refractory to treatment. The secondary damage occurs at some time after the impact, has extracranial (hypoxia/hypotension) and intracranial (haematomas/swelling) causes and is largely preventable and treatable. Initially, TBI should be treated by the principles of ATLS. Space-occupying haematomas should be evacuated and neuro-intensive monitoring and treatment of intracranial pathology are mandatory in severe TBI.


Introduction: Maestro et al. presented a detailed preoperative measuring and classification technique for the forefoot. The purpose of this paper was to determine if the PACS system will allow the Maestro measuring technique and classification system to be reliable and precise. Materials and Methods: This radiographic study was conducted on 73 subjects (36 females, 37 males, age 30.4 ± 9.9) who had given informed consent. The geometrical progression was measured for each foot of each subject by the two observers according to the measuring methodology of Maestro. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and the 95% lower confidence limit (95% LCL) were calculated for the geometrical progression variables of the lesser metatarsals. Once the feet were classified by each observer, the accordance in classification of the feet was analyzed between the two observers. Results: The radiographic measuring technique of Maestro was a reliable method for analyzing the mathematical progression of the lesser metatarsals through the use of the PACS system. A 92.6% concordance in the classification of the radiological forefoot morphotypes was found between the two observers. Conclusion: We found Maestro et al.'s measuring technique and classification system precise and reproducible using PACS digital radiographs. It is hoped that utilization of this technique will lead to better forefoot outcomes and patient satisfaction. Level of Evidence: IV, Case Series


Retrospective analysis of the urinary infection course involved 55 elderly patients. The patients were divided into groups basing on the clinical diagnosis. These groups included patients with obstructive chronic pyelonephritis and the patients with lower urinary infections. It was found that reinfections occur in the elderly patients with both upper and lower urinary infections while recurrence is seen in case of the upper urinary infections. Bacteriuria is significantly more frequent in the obstructive chronic pyelonephritis than in other urinary infections. This form of bacteriuria is frequently accompanied by exacerbations than in bacteriuria of periodic origin. Arterial blood hypertension is frequent in the elderly with urinary infections but its incidence does not correlate with the localization of the infection. Decompensated renal failure in the course of the urinary infections in the elderly is nearly always combined with arterial blood hypertension.


Abstract Preliminary results of a chemical analysis of hailstone slice residues are reported. The radial pattern of Fe particles shows a marked outer ring of relatively high concentration. The possible causes are discussed and it seems reasonable to attribute it to a final freezing of contaminated liquid water contained in the hailstone outer layer.


Gel formation was monitored by low amplitude rheometry during acidification at 40 degrees C with 1.5% glucono-delta-lactone in combined milk systems containing soluble and/or micelle-bound heat-induced (95 degrees C/10 min) aggregates of denatured whey proteins and kappa-casein and in heated dairy mixes with varying micellar casein/whey protein ratio (CN/WP). Both soluble and micelle-bound aggregates increased gelation pH and gel strength. Micelle-bound aggregates seemed to modify the micelle surface so that micelles were destabilized at a pH of 5.1 (instead of 4.7), while soluble aggregates precipitated at their calculated pI of approximately 5.3, and initiated an early gelation by interacting with the micelles. Decreasing the CN/WP ratio produced larger aggregates with higher whey protein: kappa-casein ratio, which gave more elastic gels. The specific effects of the micellar and soluble aggregates on gel strength are discussed with respect to their relative proportions in the heated milk.


Many genetic studies collect structured multivariate traits that have rich information about the traits encoded in trait covariates, in addition to the genotype and covariate information on individuals. Examples of such data include gene-environment studies where the same genotype/clone is measured in multiple enviroments, and longitudinal studies where a measurement is taken at multiple time points. We present a flexible multivariate linear mixed model suitable for QTL (Quantitative Trait Loci) analysis of structured multivariate traits (flxQTL). Our model can incorporate low- and high-dimensional trait covariates to test the genetic association across structured multiple traits while capturing the correlations due to individual-to-individual similarity measured by genome-wide markers and trait-to-trait similarity measured by trait covariates.


Mastocytosis is a disease characterized by the abnormal clonal proliferation of mast cells in skin and/or extracutaneous organs, often relating to activating mutations of c-KIT. Histopathology special stains, such as Giemsa, Leder, and Toluidine blue, are key for the diagnosis of cutaneous mastocytosis (CM). In adults, skin lesions can be associated with systemic disease. Tryptase is a diagnostic marker in mastocytosis and thought to reflect the burden of mast cell disease. In this report, we present a case of cutaneous mast cell disease with associated findings of elevated serum tryptase and mast cell infiltration of the bone marrow consistent with indolent systemic mastocytosis.


Online communication among patients and consumers through support groups, discussion boards, and knowledge resources is becoming more common. In this article, the summary of a workgroup discussion, we discuss key methods through which such web-based peer-to-peer communication may affect health promotion and disease prevention behavior (exchanges of information, emotional and instrumental support, and establishment of group norms and models). We also discuss several theoretical models for studying online peer communication, including social theory, health communication models, and health behavior models. Although online peer communication about health and disease is very common, research evaluating effects on health behaviors, mediators, and outcomes is still relatively sparse. We suggest that future research in this field should include formative evaluation and studies of effects on mediators of behavior change, behaviors, and outcomes. It also will be important to examine spontaneously emerging peer communication efforts to see how they can be integrated with theory-based efforts initiated by researchers.


The biological character of epithelioid angiomyolipoma (EAML) remains controversial and little is known about EAML in children. We present a case of a 7-year-old boy with abdominal distention, diagnosed as EAML. Under microscopy, epithelioid cells were observed, with eosinophilic or slightly eosinophilic cytoplasm and nuclear pleomorphism, thick-walled blood vessels, and some cells that were differentiated to smooth muscle cells or fat cells were easily observed. Immunochemical staining showed that Melan-A and HMB45 were positive. The tumor presented highly aggressive biobehavior. Furthermore, we reviewed and analyzed cases of diagnosed EAML in our hospital and those reported in the literature. Renal EAML (10/17) was most common, and the EAML of 3 of 17 patients metastasized to other organs.


Parallel multi-level algorithms combining a time discretization and an overlapping domain decomposition technique are applied to the numerical solution of singularly perturbed parabolic problems. Two methods based on the Schwarz alternating procedure are considered: a two-level method with auxiliary \correcting" subprob-lems as well as a three-level method with auxiliary \predicting" and \correcting" subproblems. Moreover, modiications of the methods using time extrapolation on subdomain interfaces are investigated. The emphasis is given to the description of the algorithms as well as their computer realization on a distributed memory multipro-cessor computer. Numerical experiments illustrate the performance of the algorithms on parallel environment and their behaviour with respect to the critical parameters, such as the perturbation parameter and the size of the auxiliary subdomains.


Predictors map individual instances in a population to the interval $[0,1]$. For a collection $\mathcal C$ of subsets of a population, a predictor is multi-calibrated with respect to $\mathcal C$ if it is simultaneously calibrated on each set in $\mathcal C$. We initiate the study of the construction of scaffolding sets, a small collection $\mathcal S$ of sets with the property that multi-calibration with respect to $\mathcal S$ ensures correctness, and not just calibration, of the predictor. Our approach is inspired by the folk wisdom that the intermediate layers of a neural net learn a highly structured and useful data representation.


In this Letter, we address two issues affecting the use of a variational argument to determine stability of conservative fluid systems. We build on ideas from bifurcation theory, and thereby for families of steady flows, we link turning points in a velocity-impulse diagram to gains or losses of stability. We further introduce concepts from imperfection theory into these problems, enabling us to reveal hidden solution branches. Our approach applies to a wide range of flows. As an illustration involving a well-defined problem, we study a pair of counterrotating vortices. The approach results in stability boundaries in agreement with linear analysis, yet further enables us to discover a new family of steady vortices, which surprisingly do not exhibit any symmetry. All applications of our approach so far, using imperfect-velocity-impulse (IVI) diagrams, lead us to the discovery of lower-symmetry solutions.


BACKGROUND
Factor V (FV) [G1691A], methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) [C677T] and prothrombin (PT) [G20210A] mutations are all well-recognized genetic risk factors for venous thrombosis. Although their prevalence in coronary artery disease has been established through debate, their role in patients with arterial thrombosis remains to be clarified. We investigated the prevalence rates of FV, MTHFR and PT gene mutations in patients with arterial thrombosis and in healthy controls.

METHODS
All subjects and controls were from Central Anatolia. Thirty (8F) patients with median (range) age of 63 (16-88) years and 90 (52F) healthy controls with median (range) age of 31 (20-73) years were studied. DNA was extracted using conventional methods (proteinase K/phenol-chloroform) followed by PCR amplification and restriction endonuclease digestion (using Hinf I and Hind III). Digested PCR products were identified using agarose gel electrophoresis and stained with ethidium bromide.

RESULTS
The prevalence rates of MTHFR and PT gene mutations were not significantly different between the groups. The prevalence rate of FV mutation was significantly higher in patients with arterial thrombosis. Coinheritance of FV and MTHFR was found in 67% of patients, which was significantly higher in arterial thrombosis, suggesting the MTHFR mutation as a synergistic risk factor for thrombosis in patients with FV mutation. PT gene mutation has no effect on arterial thrombosis.

CONCLUSION
The increased prevalence rate and coexistence of both FV and MTHFR found in this group of patients suggest that these mutations might increase the risk of arterial thrombosis.


The bio-medical investigation from images through computational techniques is very common in these days. Automatic Lesion extraction from skin, is very important to aid the dermatologists in the diagnosis of cancer part from skin. Usually, some skin lesions are very subjective and small, there for not detected by the clinicians by visual examination or sometimes, the clinicians have some problems in their classification. This work presents a comparative study on different techniques to pre-process the lesion image to enhance its readability and the techniques that automatically segment skin lesions from images. Moreover, pros and cons of various methods are also focused to provide a help for the researchers starting work in automated lesion detection system.


The shoreline is one of the most important features on earth's surface. They are highly dynamic and ever changing. Changes are over time scales including minutes, hours, decades and Centuries. Spatial scales vary from local to regional to worldwide. Although change is continuously occurring, it doesn't occur in a constant manner. Many factors influence these changes including the type of shoreline (rocky, sandy), wave activity, tidal variations, storms and human impacts. The shoreline change study is necessary for updating the shoreline change maps and management of natural resources. Shorelines are the key element in coastal GIS and provide the most information on coastal landform dynamics. The frequently monitoring coast only to accesses variation of shoreline changes. In this paper investigate the shoreline changes of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh coast, as well as find the quantity of the erosion and accretion rate. Using multi-temporal resolution satellite data (TM & LISS III, IV) and Geographic information system (GIS) for past 25 years period i.e., from 1989 to 2015. Nellore having length of coast line is 167 km for this study used. The resultant coastal maps were used to estimate the geomorphologic changes and shifting of the shoreline position. This integrated study is found useful for exploring accretion and erosion processes in the region. About 87.6 km of coastline was found to be accreting nature with average of +1.40 m/yr followed by 38.4 km of coastal line eroding with average of -1.36 m/yr and stable coastline of 41.4 km was found. This study demonstrates that combined use of satellite imagery and statistical method such as linear regression for shoreline change analysis are helpful for erosion monitoring and preventive measure.


This slim volume focusses on a very speciμc topic within Achaemenid history, the status of Cyprus within the Persian empire. The author wants to highlight the problems involved in drawing μnal conclusions from the available written and archaeological evidence by presenting the views of earlier research and their critique expressed in the assessments of recent studies. The text begins with a discussion of the limits of the Greek sources (pp. 1–16) which focus on the political con·icts between Cyprus and Persia. This is followed by a discussion of the views expressed in the 1930s and 1940s by E. Gjerstad according to whom the political situation on Cyprus re·ected an unambiguous Persian/Phoenician – Greek/Cypriote antagonism (p. 17–31). Gjerstad not only took Isocrates' Evagoras uncritically at face value, but also interpreted the archaeological μnds at Vouni and Palaepaphos as evidence for the Persian oppression of local power. The next section (p. 33–46), entitled 'Sources and Problems', o¶ers a critical discussion of this view. It provides an account of the μrst critical views expressed by R. Meiggs, followed by G. Hill and E.A. Costa, on the contacts between Greece and Cyprus and on the problematic historical value of Isocrates' Evagoras. μnally J. Seibert and, most recently, F.G. Maier, have convincingly argued against the alleged Persian/Phoenician – Greek/Cypriote antagonism. The debate about Cyprus' place within the satrapal system (p. 47–60) repeats the discussion about Herodotus' satrapy list without adding any new insights. Presumably its purpose was to remind the reader of the co-existence of satrapies and city-states within Achaemenid administration. In the μnal section, 'Questions and Prospects' (p. 61–73), Z. summarises the debate, accepting the locally autonomous rule of the Cypriote cities, regardless of the question of their place within a satrapy, and resolves the question of the Persian/Phoenician – Greek/Cypriote antagonism by concluding that the relationship between Persia and Greece changed in each case according to political circumstances. Although the author has presented the problematic research history on Cyprus in the Achaemenid period in a clear manner, there is an overall question as to the aim of this publication. While it reiterates the current state of research, it does not o¶er new insights beyond those reached by J. Wiesehöfer in his article on 'Zypern unter persischer Herrschaft' (AchHist 4 [1990], 239–52) and F.G. Maier's recent analysis in his contribution to CAH VI on 'Cyprus and Phoenicia' (19942, pp. 294–336; see esp. pp. 300–1 on Vouni and Paphos). The latter publication is conspicuously absent from the bibliography, while it appears that little use has been made of Wiesehöfer's article, which o¶ers a thorough account of the problematic research history due to Gjerstad's assessment and the subsequent revision of his view. Unlike Z.'s volume, his article also o¶ers perspectives in regard to further research (p. 250). Thus, the purpose of the present publication remains puzzling. In its brevity and its subject matter it almost appears as if the text ought to belong in a larger context. As a monograph, however, at least in the view of this reviewer, its beneμts, unfortunately, remain limited.


Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of adjusted body weight (AjBW)-based dosing of unfractionated heparin (UFH) in obese patients vis a vis actual body weight (ABW)-based dosing in non-obese patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE).Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for obese and non-obese patients initiated on UFH for treating VTE from September 2013 to December 2014. Patients were excluded from the study if they were under 18 years old, developed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia during treatment, received thrombolytic therapy prior to UFH, or received UFH at a dose that did not follow the institution's protocol. The primary objective was to assess the efficacy of dosing UFH based on AjBW in achieving a therapeutic activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) within the first 24 h in obese patients, in comparison to the standard ABW-dosing for non-obese.Results: Of the 57 patients included in the study, 27 patients (47.4 %) were obese, and 30 patients (52.6 %) were non-obese; 16 (59.25 %) of the obese patients achieved a therapeutic aPTT within the first 24 h of AjBW-based dosed UFH, while 18 (60 %) of the non-obese patients achieved a therapeutic aPTT within the first 24 h of ABW-based dosed UFH (p = 0.45).Conclusion: AjBW-based dosing of UFH in obese patients demonstrates comparable efficacy to ABWbased dosing in non-obese patients.
Keywords: Obesity, Unfractionated heparin, Venous thromboembolism, Adjusted body weight, Ideal body weight


Definitions of empowerment abound in contemporary literature of many disciplines. The purpose of this article is to apply strategies by Walker and Avant to analyze the concept of empowerment from the nursing discipline. Definitions of empowerment and contextual applications are examined using dictionaries and professional literature. Defining attributes are identified and listed in order of importance. Antecedents and consequences of empowerment are discussed, and model, borderline, and contrary cases also are presented. A summation of the analysis along with directions for further research are presented. Clients are limited to and defined for this article as patients and families.


Professors David Chidester and Cornelia Roux support the new policy on religion education promulgated in 2003 that emphasises the value of exposing learners to the diversity of religious traditions in the country. In this essay, I identify the frameworks they adopt for the study of religions, and argue that they be further developed for the religion education classroom. I propose that both dynamic discursive traditions (Chidester) and texts (content) (Roux) provide key frameworks for religion education. Discursive traditions open the door to a critical and contextual appreciation of religions that is open to change, renewal and innovation. I do not support the hermeneutical preoccupation of Roux, but find her emphasis on the texts and content of religions useful for thinking about the semiotics of religious traditions on self, society and the world. I provide the justification for these frameworks from reflections in the study of religions.


The screen quota system is one of the most controversial issues in the Korean film industry. There are two different points of view regarding the system. Some say it is highly effective to protect and nurture Korean movies. However, others argue that it hurts the duality of the Korean movies. The number of days, for which Korean movies have to play on local screens, has been reduced to 73, starting on July 1st, 2006. Actually, it is 50 percent fewer than the previous year. In facL Korea has implemented the screen quota. system two times. First, it was practiced from 1935 to 1945, during the Japanese colonial period. This was to regulate imported movies, especially American ones, as the Japanese government was to use movies for the political propaganda. In 1935, the number of foreign movies screened had to be less than three fourths of the total. And they gradually reduced the size by two thirds in 1936, and again by half in 1937. After the attack on Pearl Harbor when the Pacific War happened, Japan completely banned importing American movies in Korea. The reason why it regulated the imported foreign films is to increase the number of domestic movies, both Japanese and Korean. It was for making propaganda films fur carrying the war. The second practice of the screen quota is from 1967 to the present year. It was designed to boom the Korean film industry. However, the competitive power of Korean films has not been improved in spite of the practice of the system. Moreover, the film industry has gone through the depression. Korean film agencies have occupied the Korean film market thanks to the protection by government. The founding of the film agencies has been strongly regulated. So has importing foreign movies. Under the special protection like this, Korean film agencies have been enjoying the monopoly In the mean time, they have pursued income not by making quality movies but by importing foreign movies. As a result, cinema audiences turn away form Korean films and prefer foreign movies. Furthermore, the screen quota system hurts the relationship between film producers and distributors, imposing the duties only on theaters. In short, the screen quota system has satisfied neither film producers, theater runners, nor film goers. In other words. the excessive protection has weakened the competitive power of Korean film industry.


9-O-acetylation of sialic acid is a common modification that plays important roles in host-pathogen interactions. CASD1 has been described as a sialate-O-acetyltransferase and has been shown to be essential for 9-O-acetylation of sialic acid in some cell lines in vitro. In this study, we used knockout mice to confirm that CASD1 is indeed responsible for 9-O-acetylation of sialic acids in vivo. We observed a complete loss of 9-O-acetylation of sialic acids on the surface of myeloid, erythroid and CD4+ T cells in Casd1-deficient mice. Although 9-O-acetylation of sialic acids on multiple hematopoietic lineages was lost, there were no obvious defects in hematopoiesis. Interestingly, red blood cells from Casd1-deficient mice also lost reactivity to TER-119, a rat monoclonal antibody that is widely used to mark the murine erythroid lineage. The sialic acid glyco-epitope recognized by TER-119 on red blood cells was sensitive to the sialic acid O-acetyl esterase activity of the hemagglutinin esterase from bovine coronavirus but not to the corresponding enzyme from the influenza C virus. During erythrocyte development TER-119+ Ery-A and Ery-B cells could be stained by catalytically inactive bovine coronavirus hemaggutinin-esterase but not by the inactive influenza C hemagglutinin esterase, while TER-119+ Ery-C stage cells and mature erythrocytes were recognized by both virolectins. These results suggest that throughout murine erythrocyte development, cells of the erythroid lineage express a glycoconjugate bearing a modified 7,9-di-O-acetyl form of sialic acid, that is recognized specifically by the bovine coronavirus lectin and not by the influenza C hemagglutinin, and this modified sialic acid moiety is a component of the TER-119 epitope. As erythrocytes mature, the surface of Ery-C cells and mature erythrocytes also acquires a distinct CASD1-dependent 9-O-acetyl sialic acid moiety that can be recognized by virolectins from both influenza C and bovine coronavirus that are specific for 9-O-acetyl sialic acid.


Phenotypic heterogeneity in microbial communities enables genetically identical organisms to behave differently even under the same environmental conditions. Photorhabdus luminescens, a bioluminescent Gram-negative bacterium, contains a complex life cycle, which involves a symbiotic interaction with nematodes as well as a pathogenic association with insect larvae. P. luminescens exists in two distinct phenotypic cell types, designated as the primary (1°) and secondary (2°) cells. The 1° cells are bioluminescent, pigmented and can support nematode growth and development. Individual 1° cells undergo phenotypic switching after prolonged cultivation and convert to 2° cells, which lack the 1° specific phenotypes. The LysR-type regulator HexA has been described as major regulator of this switching process. Here we show that HexA controls phenotypic heterogeneity in a versatile way, directly and indirectly. Expression of hexA is enhanced in 2° cells, and the corresponding regulator inhibits 1° specific traits in 2° cells. HexA does not directly affect bioluminescence, a predominant 1° specific phenotype. Since the respective luxCDABE operon is repressed at the post-transcriptional level and transcriptional levels of the RNA chaperone gene hfq are also enhanced in 2° cells, small regulatory RNAs are presumably involved that are under control of HexA. Another phenotypic trait that is specific for 1° cells is quorum sensing mediated cell clumping. The corresponding pcfABCDEF operon could be identified as the first direct target of HexA, since the regulator binds to the pcfA promoter region and thereby blocks expression of the target operon. In summary, our data show that HexA fulfills the task as repressor of 1° specific features in 2° cells in a versatile way and gives first insights into the complexity of regulating phenotypic heterogeneity in Photorhabdus bacteria.


Several chemokine molecules control cell movements during early morphogenesis. However, it is unclear whether chemokine molecules affect cell fate. Here, we identified and characterized the CXC‐type chemokine ligand in Xenopus laevis, Xenopus CXCLh (XCXCLh), during early embryogenesis. XCXCLh is expressed in the dorsal vegetal region at the gastrula stage. Both overexpression and knockdown of XCXCLh in the dorsal region inhibited gastrulation. XCXCLh contributed to the attraction of mesendodermal cells and accelerated the reassembly of scratched culture cells. Also, XCXCLh contributed to early endodermal induction. Overexpression of VegTmRNA or high concentrations of calcium ions induced XCXCLh expression. XCXCLh may play roles in both cell movements and differentiation during early Xenopus embryogenesis.


This study empirically examined the relationship between poverty, income inequality and economic growth in Nigeria. The study used time series data from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin between the periods from 1981 to 2019. The study employed the use of Augmented Dickey Fuller test, Co integration test and Error Correction technique. The unit root test results indicated that all the variables were stationary at first difference and co-integration test confirmed a long run relationship among the variables. The error correction model shows that about 96 percent of the discrepancy between the actual and the equilibrium value of economic growth is corrected or eliminated each year. The coefficient of determination (R2) is 0.68 which shows that about 68 percent variations in the economic growth were explained by the independent variables . Furthermore, the Breusch-Godfrey Serial Correlation LM Test shows that the probability of the chi-square (2) is 0.2775 and this is greater than 0.05 at 5% significance level. This therefore confirms the absence of serial correlation. Also, the Breusch-Pagan-Godfrey Heteroscadaticity test indicates that the probability of chi-square (5) is 0.1242 and this is greater than 0.05 at 5% significant level. This also confirms the absence of heteroscedasticity in the model. From the study, the findings revealed that income inequality has a negative relationship with economic growth in the country while poverty was found to be positively related to economic growth. Similarly, the findings also revealed that poverty and income inequality has an insignificant effect on economic growth in Nigeria. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that poverty and income inequality has not significant relationship with economic growth in Nigeria. Thus, the study concludes that there is need for government of the country to come up with an all-inclusive policy and programme that will be targeted to the poor and give them ample opportunities to improve their welfare.


Mutations in tumor suppressor STK11/LKB1 are associated with negative predictive and prognostic impact in NSCLC patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) in several published cohorts, although there have been some conflicting reports on the association of such mutations with patient outcomes in this setting [1–9]. STK11/LKB1 tumors are characterized by a suppressive tumor micro-environment devoid of cytotoxic T cells, and we hypothesized that targeting the receptor tyrosine kinase AXL, a known driver of an innate immune suppressive microenvironment, would restore sensitivity to PD-1 in syngeneic pre-clinical models as well as in patients harboring STK11/LKB1 mutated NSCLC.Stk11/Lkb1 (L) mutation was introduced by CRISPR technology into murine lung adenocarcinomas driven by mutant Kras and Trp53 loss (KP). Sensitivity towards anti-PD-1 was evaluated in the absence and presence of the small molecule AXL inhibitor bemcentinib in the KPL model and in a human NSCLC xenograft model carrying a STK11/LKB1 mutation. The immune tumor landscape was mapped following introduction of the Stk11/Lkb1 mutation and therapeutic intervention with anti-PD-1/pembrolizumab and bemcentinib. FFPE fine-needle aspirate biopsies of target lesions were acquired from patients at screening immediately prior to enrollment in BGBC008, a PhII single-arm, 2-stage study with bemcentinib (200mg/d) and pembrolizumab (200 mg/q3wk) for previously-treated stage IV lung adenocarcinoma patients who were CPI naïve or CPI refractory. Patients were assessed for response according to RECIST1.1 criteria at scheduled scan intervals.Introduction of a STK11/LKB1 mutation into murine lung adenocarcinomas driven by mutant Kras and Trp53 loss resulted in a PD-1 refractory syngeneic KPL tumor. Mechanistically this occurred because KPL mutant NSCLCs lacked TCF1-expressing CD8 T cells, a phenotype that was recapitulated in human STK11/LKB1 mutant NSCLCs. Systemic inhibition of AXL with bemcentinib resulted in increased type I interferon secretion from dendritic cells resulting in expansion of tumor-associated TCF1+PD-1+CD8 T cells and restored therapeutic response to PD-1. This effect was observed in a syngeneic immunocompetent mouse model and in humanized mice bearing STK11/LKB1 mutant NSCLC human tumor xenografts.In an ongoing clinical trial (NCT03184571), 3 evaluable NSCLC patients with identified STK11/LKB1 mutations demonstrated objective clinical response/clinical benefit to the combination of AXL inhibitor bemcentinib and pembrolizumabIn these models, AXL is a critical targetable driver of immune suppression in STK11/LKB1 mutant NSCLC contributing to CPI resistance. Our results show that inhibition of AXL rescues this deficit and represents a new clinical strategy in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy in NSCLC patients carrying a STK11/LKB1 mutationThe authors would like to thank all patients and their caretakers for participating in this trial.Patients treated with bemcentinib and pembrolizumab combination therapy were enrolled in the BGBC008 clinical trial (BerGenBio ASA and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth NJ, USA, NCT03184571)Gu M, Xu T, Chang P. KRAS/LKB1 and KRAS/TP53 co-mutations create divergent immune signatures in lung adenocarcinomas. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2021;13:17588359211006950.Cho BC, Lopes G, Kowalski DM. Relationship between STK11 and KEAP1 mutational status and efficacy in KEYNOTE-042: pembrolizumab monotherapy as first-line therapy for PD-L1 positive advanced NSCLC. Cancer Res. 2020;80(16 Supplement):CT084.Aredo JV, Padda SK, Kunder CA. Impact of KRAS mutation subtype and concurrent pathogenic mutations on non-small cell lung cancer outcomes. Lung Cancer. 2019;133:144–150.Kwack WG, Shin SY, Lee SH. Primary Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Blockade in an STK11/TP53/KRAS-Mutant Lung Adenocarcinoma with High PD-L1 Expression. Oncol Targets Ther. 2020;13:8901–8905.Shire NJ, Klein AB, Golozar A. STK11 (LKB1) mutations in metastatic NSCLC: Prognostic value in the real world. PLoS One. 2020;15(9):e0238358. 6. Skoulidis F, Goldberg ME, Greenawalt DM. STK11/LKB1 Mutations and PD-1 Inhibitor Resistance in KRAS-Mutant Lung Adenocarcinoma. Cancer Discov. 2018;8(7):822–835. 7. Wang H, Guo J, Shang X. Less immune cell infiltration and worse prognosis after immunotherapy for patients with lung adenocarcinoma who harbored STK11 mutation. Int. Immunopharmacol. 2020;84:106574. 8. Kitajima S, Ivanova E, Gou S. Suppression of STING Associated with LKB1 Loss in KRAS-Driven Lung Cancer. Cancer Discov. 2019;9(1):34–45. 9. Mograbi B, Heeke S, Hofman P. The Importance of STK11/LKB1 Assessment in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinomas. Diagnostics (Basel). 2021;11(2):196.This study was approved by the following ethical committees: Use of human cord blood: UT Southwestern (UTSW) Parkland Hospital, STU 112010-047Animal studies: UTSW Medical Center, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, APN 2015-100921Clinical study: London Bridge Research Ethics Committee (UK): 17/LO/0418; REC-South East (Norway): 2017/473; Drug Research Ethics Committee of the University Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (Spain): BGBC008/MK-3475_PN-531; Medical College of Wisconsin Institutional Review Board #4 (USA): PRO00029453


We study the average X-ray and soft γ-ray spectrum of Cyg X-1 in the hard spectral state, using data from INTEGRAL. We compare these results with those from CGRO, and find a good agreement. Confirming previous studies, we find the presence of a high-energy MeV tail beyond a thermal-Comptonization spectrum; however, the tail is much softer and weaker than that recently published by Laurent et al. In spite of this difference, the observed high-energy tail could still be due to the synchrotron emission of the jet of Cyg X-1, as claimed by Laurent et al.

In order to test this possibility, we study optically thin synchrotron and self-Compton emission from partially self-absorbed jets. We develop formalisms for calculating both emission of the jet base (which we define here as the region where the jet starts its emission) and emission of the entire jet. We require the emission to match that observed at the turnover energy. The optically thin emission is dominated by that from the jet base, and it has to become self-absorbed within it at the turnover frequency. We find this implies the magnetic field strength at the jet base of , where z0 is the distance of the base from the black hole centre. The value of B0 is then constrained from below by the condition that the self-Compton emission is below an upper limit in the GeV range, and from above by the condition that the Poynting flux does not exceed the jet kinetic power. This yields B0 of the order of ∼104 G and the location of the jet base at ∼103 gravitational radii. Using our formalism, we find the MeV tail can be due to jet synchrotron emission, but this requires the electron acceleration at a rather hard power-law index, p≃ 1.3–1.6. For acceleration indices of p≳2, the amplitude of the synchrotron component is much below that of MeV tail, and its origin is likely to be due to hybrid Comptonization in the accretion flow.


Direct and largeeddy simulations of the interaction between the wake of a circular cylinder and a flat-plate boundary layer are conducted. Two Reynolds numbers are examined. The simulations indicate that at the iower Reynolds number ihe boundary layer is buffeted by the unsteady K & m h vortex street shed by the cylinder. The fluctuations, however, cannot be seif-sustained due to the low Reynolds-number, and the flow does not reach a turbulent state within the computational domain. In contrast, in the higher Reynolds-number case, boundary-layer fluctuations persist after the wake has decayed [due, in part, to the higher values of the local Reynolds number Rea achieved in this case); some evidence could be observed that a self-sustaining turbulence generation cycle was beginning to be established.


Over 1.5 million people live in 16,000 nursing homes in the USA and experience an average of 2 million infections a year. Infections have been associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, rehospitalization, extended hospital stay and substantial healthcare expenses. Emerging infections and antibiotic-resistant organisms in an institutional environment where there is substantial antimicrobial overuse and the population is older, frailer and sicker, create unique challenges for infection control. This review discusses the common infections, challenges, and a framework for a practical infection prevention program.


Algorithms for self-learning systems have made considerable progress in recent years, yet safety concerns and the need for additional instrumentation have so far largely limited learning experiments with real robots to well controlled lab settings. In this paper, we demonstrate how a small bipedal robot can autonomously learn to walk with minimal human intervention and with minimal instrumentation of the environment. We employ data-efficient off-policy deep reinforcement learning to learn to walk end-to-end, directly on hardware, using rewards that are computed exclusively from proprioceptive sensing. To allow the robot to autonomously adapt its behaviour to its environment, we additionally provide the agent with raw RGB camera images as input. By deploying two robots in different geographic locations while sharing data in a distributed learning setup, we achieve higher throughput and greater diversity of the training data. Our learning experiments constitute a step towards the long-term vision of learning "in the wild" for legged robots, and, to our knowledge, represent the first demonstration of learning a deep neural network controller for bipedal locomotion directly on hardware.


Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have emerged as attractive direct bandgap semiconducting materials with remarkable properties. Recently, TMDC-based electronic and optoelectronic systems have been demonstrated with various chemical doping and functionalization approaches for modulating their physical properties and enhancing device performances. However, the dependence of intrinsic properties of TMDCs on diverse solvents, which are used necessarily in fabrication processes and chemical doping, remains largely unaddressed. Here we report a charge transfer mechanism in TMDCs by commonly used solvents such as chloroform, toluene, acetone, and 2-propanol, which significantly changes the physical properties of monolayer MoS2 and WSe2. We find that the relative difference in electronegativity between solvents and TMDCs drives the transfer of electrons from or to the TMDCs, which results in photoluminescence (PL) enhancement or quenching depending on the change of carrier density in TMDCs. The analysis of exciton and trion spectral weights in MoS2 as a function of solvent electronegativity provides evidence of charge transfer. Finally, conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) on TMDCs before and after immersion in the solvents further supports the charge transfer mechanism and resulting changes in carrier density. Our results highlight the importance of selection of solvents for solution-processed 2D TMDC devices and systems.


The paper examines the Fractional Fourier Transform (FRFT) based technique as a tool for obtaining the probability density function and its derivatives; and mainly for fitting stochastic model with the fundamental probabilistic relationships of infinite divisibility. The probability density functions are computed, and the distributional proprieties are reviewed for Variance-Gamma (VG) model. The VG model has been increasingly used as an alternative to the Classical Lognormal Model (CLM) in modelling asset prices. The VG model was estimated by the FRFT. The data comes from the SPY ETF historical prices. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) goodness-of-fit shows that the VG model fits better the cumulative distribution of the sample data than the CLM. The best VG model comes from the FRFT estimation.


This paper states that even though the Antarctic Treaty is a remarkable instrument for peaceful collaboration and scientific research, it is, basically, a by-product of the Cold War that reaffirms a particular status quo. This paper explores whether the ATS will meet the needs of an emerging world order. Particularly, the paper evaluates the ATS in the face of new global challenges, both internal and external to the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) itself, as well as power shifting processes on a world scale, climate change and the changing interests of new states. China is a key component in understanding this issue because its Antarctic engagement is entering a new phase one that challenges current multilateral provisions. China's Antarctic program will be analyzed within the framework of International Relations approaches and theories.


Detecting serum-autoantibodies by anti-Desmoglein-1 (anti-Dsg1) and anti-Dsg3 ELISAs as well as indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) are established complementary methods to diagnose pemphigus. Whether autoantibody levels also reflect clinical disease activity is still a matter of debate, as head-to-head comparisons of ELISA values and IIF titres with clinical activity over a longer treatment period are scarce. In our retrospective study, we compared aggregated repetitive intra-patient ELISA values and IIF titres with grades of clinical disease (1 = remission, 2 = moderate activity, 3 = exacerbation) in 47 patients suffering from pemphigus vulgaris (PV, n = 36) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF, n=11). We found that anti-Dsg1 ELISA values in PF and mucocutaneous PV as well as anti-Dsg3 ELISA values in PV best reflect disease activity. IIF titres, by contrast, did not show a significant association with disease severity. From these data we conclude that ELISA index values can be a valuable tool to monitor disease in patients with pemphigus, whereas IIF titres reflect clinical activity only insufficiently.


The influence of food on the bioavailability of a conventional tablet and of a slow-release capsule of diltiazem was investigated in two separate groups of 24 healthy volunteers in two open crossover studies. Diltiazem, as a conventional tablet (2 x 30 mg, first group) or as a slow-release capsule (120 mg SR, second group), was administered in a fasting condition and 30 min after a breakfast of 784 kcal (23 per cent proteins, 55 per cent lipids, and 22 per cent of carbohydrates). Multiple blood samples were withdrawn during the next 24 h and diltiazem, desmethyldiltiazem, and deacetyldiltiazem were assayed by HPLC. Neither the rate of absorption, assessed by the rate constant of absorption, the peak plasma concentration, and the time required to reach the peak, nor the amount of drug reaching the systemic circulation, assessed by the area under the plasma concentration time curve (AUC infinity) were influenced by food, and that independently of the formulation. Compared to the fasting experiment, food did not affect either the rate of formation or the AUC infinity of desmethyldiltiazem or deacetyldiltiazem. The results of the present study show that the relative bioavailability of the single dose of diltiazem administered as a slow-release capsule is significantly higher (69 per cent) than that estimated after the administration of diltiazem in a conventional tablet. It was concluded that food does not influence the bioavailability of diltiazem administered as a conventional tablet or as a slow-release formulation.


This paper deals with the approximation of the average likelihood function (ALF) in the Gaussian context. This function is obtained by averaging the likelihood function (LF) over all the random parameters for which a probability density function (PDF) is assumed to be known. We show that it is possible to express the ALF by a power series expansion which involves higher-order statistics (HOS). The obtained expression turns to be a weighted sum of the cross-correlation between some "integrated moments" of the reference signal and estimated moments of the observation. This expression leads to practical tests and allows us to solve many classification and estimation problems. As an application we derive here the fourth-order multicycle detector.


Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) is produced by bone cells, is abundant in bone matrix, and regulates bone cell biochemical processes. In osteoblast-enriched fetal rat parietal bone cell cultures, low TGF-beta doses increase DNA synthesis, whereas higher levels are less mitogenic, stimulate collagen production, and decrease alkaline phosphatase activity. Parathyroid hormone by itself has minimal effects on these processes, but it opposes the effects of TGF-beta and alters TGF-beta binding to its receptors in osteoblast-enriched cultures. Some functions ascribed to parathyroid hormone in bone may therefore result from alterations in TGF-beta activity, suggesting that the local effects of TGF-beta in bone are under systemic hormonal control.