Huge tsunami, which was generated by the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake (Mw9.0), attacked the coastal areas in the north-eastern Japan and gave severe casualties and property damages. Before this disaster, there were poor on-line read-time seismic and tsunami observation networks in sea area around Japan, and information of ground motion and tsunami heights were very limited. To break this serious situation, the project to construct a large-scale seafloor network of cable-linked observatories around Japan Trench and Kuril Trench, named Seafloor Observation Network for Earthquakes and Tsunamis along the Japan Trench (S-net), started in 2011. This network is for earthquakes, tsunamis and vertical crustal deformations. Such real-time data from the seafloor observatories make it possible to forecast the next-generation early tsunami warning which could precisely predict coastal tsunami height. Also the data may make it possible to forecast an earthquake warning much earlier than the present system. The network consists of about 150 ocean bottom observation stations. Ocean bottom fiber optic cables, about 5,700 km in total length, connect the stations to land. Observation stations with tsunami meters and seismometers will be placed on the seafloor off Hokkaido, off Tohoku and off Kanto, in a spacing of about 30 km almost in the direction of East-West (perpendicular to the trench axis) and in a spacing of about 50 - 60 km almost in the direction of North-South (parallel Broadband seismometer data are essential for the development of seismological studies such as those investigating earthquake sources and the Earth's structure. However, these data types are possible to be contaminated by instrumentation response errors that are often difficult to recognize from visual waveform checks. Kimura et al. [2014] developed a systematic method of assessing the seismometer's conditions for recording ground motions at a period range of 50-200 sec in observation networks whose station intervals are as small as 200 km. The method was based on comparisons between teleseismic surface wave records at a target station and those at multiple surrounding reference stations, from which we calculated three index parameters and evaluate in-situ instrumentation conditions, including amplitude and phase responses against input ground motions. Kimura et al. [2014] applied the proposed method to F-net broadband seismometers covering the Japanese Islands, where station intervals are approximately 100 km, and assessed the sensor conditions. However, instrumentations at stations in isolated islands and edges of network could no be evaluated because the number of surrounding reference stations was insufficient. In this study, we applied the systematic assessing method to not only the broadband seismometers but also the strong-motion velocitymeters which are installed at all the F-net stations. We could evaluate the seismometer conditions using surface wave records with amplitudes larger than 2.0E+4 nm for VSE-355G3 sensors and 2.0E+5 nm for TSM-1 sensors at a period range of 50-100 sec, and 1.0E+5 nm for VSE-355G3 and 5.0E+5 nm for TSM-1 at a period range of 100-200 sec. This extension made the density of sensors higher, and allowed us to check broadband seismometer conditions at isolated stations and strong-motion velocitymeter conditions. We have installed and been maintaining the Metropolitan Seismic Observation network (MeSO-net) which consists of 296 seismic stations in Tokyo metropolitan area. The advantage of the network is that we continuously record wide frequency band and dynamic rage seismic data. We developed an autonomous cooperative transfer protocol (ACT) to use a relatively low cost communication line. We have developed a new automatic event detection method, the apparent velocity matching (AVM) method. We tested the AVM method for the MeSO-net data durng a period of 13 days from September 4, 2011. An event detection rate of 94% and a correct answer rate of 98 % have been achieved after manual inspection of an operator. 24 % of the detected events are not listed in Japan Meteorology Agency (JMA) unified catalogue. However, still 12% events that are judged as an earthquake by the AVM method are noises that are verified by a manual inspection. We propose a method to reduce the noise ratio by calculating cross correlation of waveforms between a target event and a reference event that is estimated to occur near the target event. The method works well and reduces the noise ratio dramatically. We are now developing a total system that consists of automatic event detection, estimating absolute arrival times, measuring relative arrival times, verification of measurements by manual inspection, and reporting. The system will be implemented in the MeSO-net and tested under real time processing. Seismic stations of the integrated seismic network of Japan are in the elevation range from -4000 to 2000m. However, station elevation is ignored in a calculating traveltime and partial derivatives of travel time with respect to hypocentral coordinates in the Japan Meteorological Agency's (JMA's) hypocenter determination program. The traveltime in the program is based on the condition that station elevation is fixed to 0m. Further, sedimentary layer with extremely low seismic velocity under OBS station affects a traveltime at OBS station. But the effects of it on OBS stations are neglected. Therefore, hypocenters in the JMA's seismic catalogue (the JMA's catalogue) have an absolute error which is caused by station elevation and sedimentary layer under OBS stations. Considering station elevation and station correction for OBS, we have improved the JMA's hypocenter determination program without significantly changing algorithm. In the new program, traveltime tables of each station elevation are used. Each traveltime in these tables was calculated by Pseudo-bending method [Um and Thurber (1987)] and seismic velocity structure of JMA2001 [Ueno et al. (2002)]. In order to shorten the processing time of calculation, these tables are stored in the memory of a server in advance. The values of station correction at each OBS station were estimated from one-dimensional seismic velocity model and arrival time differences between P and PS wave converted from P wave at the base of sedimentary layer. These values are stored in the memory, too. We calculated hypocenters listed in the JMA's catalogue using the new program. One in the border region of Nagano and Gifu Prefecture where stations are at higher area above sea level, new hypocenters became shallower, the other in the Kanto Plain where most of stations are at around and below sea level, new hypocenters became deeper than that of the JMA's catalogue. Around the Sanriku-oki OBS We are developing an instrument to detect slow earthquakes with duration of 200 seconds to 1 day, which are not observed yet. Obstacles for detection include not only an instrumental noise but also background motion. By comparing strain measured at Inuyama Observatory in Aichi prefecture and Kamioka Observatory in Gifu prefecture, and comparing the data of seismometer and that of strainmeter, background motion is estimated to have large sources whose spatial scale is more than hundreds of kilometers. On the other hand, the focal area of a slow earthquake and the distance between hypocenter and an observatory will be several kilometers to tens of kilometers. For these reasons, intensifying small scale phenomena will make detecting slow earthquakes possible. The earthquakes. interferometer the gradient of strain of the ground, and that it reduces common-mode noise such as the instability of the laser frequency. The were laboratory. The interferometer was in a vacuum adjusted to have its optical path difference below 0.5mm. Noises were caused by thermal expansion or contraction of the optical board and the optical devices. the spectrum of thermal fluctuation of the an observatory was estimated. thermometer, extension variation The value 4.5 x 10 − 4 [K 2 /Hz] at f=3.2 x 10 − 5 [Hz] the extension of the and the of sensors, actual temperature fluctuation be smaller. detect slow earthquakes with of 10,000 (fc=3.2 [Hz]) at the distance of 50km, the noise level of 1.4 x 10 − 25 [/m 2 Hz] must be achieved. From these figures, temperature fluctuation of an optical board and optical devices must be suppressed to 1/90 of the temperature fluctuation in an observatory. This can be achieved by thermal coupling of a vacuum chamber with the ground, and thermal insulator which covers the chamber. Our previous study assumed that high vacuum, radiation shields, and a ceramic column will reduce heat transfer from the vacuum chamber to the optical board. However, these were not needed, and there was difficulty in preparing an optical board with large heat capacity. In addition to thermal noises, laser intensity fluctuation, current noise of trimmer resistors, thermal coefficient of them, ADC noise, and axis deviation of laser beam noise were important factors. Except ADC noise, these noises were reduced by introduc-ing a photosensor that monitored the laser intensity, replacing trimmer resister with fixed resistors, using lens that concentrated a beam to photosensors. As a future plan, we will measure how much the heat transfer from the air to vacuum chamber can be reduced both in the laboratory and in Nokogiriyama Observatory. In Nokogiriyama Observatory, we will also conduct an experiment that what type of noise will arise when the interferometer is set as a strain gradiometer. Then we will construct a strain gradiometer which is 15m long, measuring the noises caused by local inhomogeneity. New Quartz Crystal Resonator pressure sensors, accelerometers, and tiltmeters have been developed for disaster warning systems and geodetic measurements. Earthquake, tsunami, and extreme weather warning systems require high-resolution, high-speed, high-range sensors to measur


Except in very controlled or fortuitous circumstances, good coordination between agents does not spontaneously occur. In general, agents need to plan for coordination, anticipating how their activities can affect each other and choosing actions that dovetail well together to achieve their separate and common goals. Of course, this is easier said than done, since the potential space of agents' action and interaction sequences to consider is intractable. I discuss some technologies that make it practical to plan for good coordination by exploiting algorithmic, representational, and problem-specific structure. Furthermore, when conducted by the involved agents, the processes for planning coordination need to be coordinated themselves. Toward this end, I also outline meta-level strategies for coordinating the agents' planning processes.


This paper is an examination of how research ethics committees have evolved from being advisory committees to more formal regulatory authorities. It is argued that the role of ethics committees should be broader than simple ethical review. Inconsistency in outcome should not be taken to signal failure. Procedural fairness is of the utmost importance. Nor should ethics committees be seen to diminish the ethical responsibilities of researchers themselves.


Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive subtype of breast cancer, which is relatively resistant to anti-programmed cell death-1 (α-PD1) therapy, characterized as non-immunogenic, dense stroma and accumulation of M2 tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Despite progress in strategies to deplete extracellular matrix (ECM) and enhance tumor-cell immunogenicity, the combinatorial anti-cancer effects with α-PD1 need to be explored. Here, we applied doxorubicin hydrochloride liposome (Dox-L) as immunogenic cell death (ICD)-inducing nano-chemotherapy and used losartan as stroma-depleting agent to improve α-PD1 efficacy (Losartan + Dox-L + α-PD1). The results showed that losartan could cause ECM reduction, facilitating enhanced delivery of Dox-L and further dendritic cell (DC) maturation. Additionally, losartan could also alleviate hypoxia for TNBC, thus reprogramming pro-cancer M2 TAMs to anti-cancer M1 TAMs, successfully overcoming immune-suppressive microenvironment. These modifications led to a significant increase in T cells' infiltration and augmented anti-tumor immunity as exemplified by the notable reduction in tumor size and lung metastases. In summary, our findings support that combined treatment of losartan with Dox-L normalizes immunological-cold microenvironment, improves immuno-stimulation and optimizes the efficacy of TNBC immunotherapy. A novel combinational strategy with FDA-approved compounds proposed by the study may potentially be useful in TNBC clinical treatment.


Primary malignant melanoma is a very rare tumour of the oesophagus, and although this is the first case reported in a black patient in South Africa, the clinical, radiographic and histopathological features were characteristic of this malignancy. Primary oesophageal melanoma is a highly lethal tumour--fewer than 2% of patients are surviving 5 years after diagnosis. Flow cytometric DNA analysis of the resected specimen in this case revealed two populations of malignant cells, one of which had grossly abnormal DNA. Existence of two clones of malignant melanoma cells supports the observations that this tumour is biologically aggressive, radioresistant and almost always incurable.


HVOF sprayed cermet coatings are used for wear protection in numerous application fields. Most feedstock powders can be processed successfully with different spraying guns but optimized parameters for high quality coating production cannot be transferred directly. Besides substrate temperature only particle velocity and temperature inflight and at impact on the substrate determine the resultant coating properties. Two typical HVOF powders, WC/Co 88/12 and Cr3C2/Ni20Cr 75/25, are sprayed using the kerosene fuel system GTV K2 and particle parameters are recorded just prior to impact on the substrate with the passive diagnostic tool Spray Watch. Detailed correlation of particle parameters and the coating properties porosity and micro hardness as well as deposition efficiency is worked out in order to deduce particle parameter ranges providing coatings with defined optimum properties. The transferability to another kerosene fuel HVOF spraying gun, Tafa JP5000, is tested. It is also shown that effects like wear of the nozzle can be detected by use of the Spray Watch. Secondary correlation of particle parameters and machine settings is carried out to build a base for straight forward closed-loop control of the HVOF spraying process applying process diagnostics


Document retrieval has been extensively studied within the index-retrieve framework for decades, which has withstood the test of time. Unfortunately, such a pipelined framework limits the optimization of the final retrieval quality, because indexing and retrieving are separated stages that can not be jointly optimized in an end-to-end manner. In order to unify these two stages, we explore a model-based indexer for document retrieval. Concretely, we propose Ultron, which encodes the knowledge of all documents into the model and aims to directly retrieve relevant documents end-to-end. For the model-based indexer, how to represent docids and how to train the model are two main issues to be explored. Existing solutions suffer from semantically deficient docids and limited supervised data. To tackle these two problems, first, we devise two types of docids that are richer in semantics and easier for model inference. In addition, we propose a three-stage training workflow to capture more knowledge contained in the corpus and associations between queries and docids. Experiments on two public datasets demonstrate the superiority of Ultron over advanced baselines for document retrieval.


The paper presents genetic-based wavelet networks (GWNs) for fault identification of power transformers. GWNs are three-layer structures, which contain wavelet, weighting and summing layers. Using a genetic-algorithm (GA) based optimisation process, the GWNs automatically tune the network parameters, translation and dilation in the wavelet nodes and the weighting values in the weighting nodes. The GWNs, with global search abilities of the GA and the multiresolution and localisation natures of the wavelets, can identify the complicated relations of dissolved gas contents in transformer oil to corresponding fault types. The proposed GWNs have been tested on the Taipower Company diagnostic records and compared with the fuzzy diagnosis system, artificial neural networks as well as the conventional method. The experimental results reveal that the GWNs have remarkable diagnostic accuracy and require far less construction time than conventional methods.


Emergency foster care is a relatively new measure of protection in our country and one that is scarcely studied. The aim of this study is to perform a descriptive analysis of the status of emergency foster care since being put in place in the Province of Malaga. The sample comprised 89 children, 84 biological families and 38 foster families. The instrument used for data collection was the Data Collection Sheet. The findings are the following: a) 59.6 per cent of the children had suffered mistreatment; b) a socio-demographic profile characterized by addiction and psychopathology was found in the biological families; c) the quality and regularity of the parents' visits to their children was superior to that found in other modalities of foster care; d) foster families had a high number of fostering and had received several children simultaneously; e) 20.3 per cent of the children had been in other previous foster care; f) the average stay in emergency foster care was 5.7 months; and g) 32.4 per cent of children were successfully reintegrated to their biological families after the emergency foster care terms were concluded.


We propose a novel easy-to-implement stroke detector based on an efficient pixel intensity comparison to surrounding pixels. Stroke-specific keypoints are efficiently detected and text fragments are subsequently extracted by local thresholding guided by keypoint properties. Classification based on effectively calculated features then eliminates non-text regions. The stroke-specific keypoints produce 2 times less region segmentations and still detect 25% more characters than the commonly exploited MSER detector and the process is 4 times faster. After a novel efficient classification step, the number of regions is reduced to 7 times less than the standard method and is still almost 3 times faster. All stages of the proposed pipeline are scale-and rotation-invariant and support a wide variety of scripts (Latin, Hebrew, Chinese, etc.) and fonts. When the proposed detector is plugged into a scene text localization and recognition pipeline, a state-of-the-art text localization accuracy is maintained whilst the processing time is significantly reduced.


This paper studies the error propagation effect that is caused by certain ambiguities in joint data detection-channel tracking algorithms for transmission diversity schemes. Here, we use a space-time (ST) receiver based on the maximum a posteriori (MAP) method that takes into account the channel estimation error assuming the unknown channel to have a given complex multivariate Gaussian probability density function (pdf) (i.e., a Ricean channel). The decision criterion that is expressed in quadratic form represents either a linear detector or a noncoherent-nonlinear detector in extreme cases. Then, the channel pdf for the next iteration is updated by estimates of the second-order statistics of the channel coefficients, and a very simple decision-directed adaptive algorithm is derived for adaptive channel estimation. The adaptive algorithm can efficiently track a fast Rayleigh fading channel and, as a result, achieves robust performance. However, the occurrence of two types of ambiguities initiated in deep fades result in error propagation. Some remedies called space-time ambiguity remedies (STARs) are proposed to prevent error propagation. A new time-varying space-time coding (TVST) scheme is suggested as a bandwidth-efficient method to combat the permutation ambiguity impairment. This coding scheme, in conjunction with a differential detector, can resolve the ambiguity problem.


Abstract The debate about the place of linguistic theory in cognitive science encouraged by The Linguistic Review is a good example of communication between different research communities. In this follow-up paper we (1) clarify our theoretical and methodological positions, (2) propose a theoretical model for language production similar to Jackendoff's Parallel Architecture, and (2) discuss emerging empirical evidence for this model. Our data suggest that perceptual, semantic, and syntactic information becomes available to the speaker in parallel providing competing production cues. Main architectural parameters of the proposed model are similar to Parallel Architecture, but we put a greater focus on the interface between language-specific and general cognitive domains. We view such interface as a regular mapping mechanism between the grammatical constraints imposed by the language system and the perceptual, semantic, and grammatical priming parameters available in the communicative environment.


SUMMARY Quality-of-service (QoS) is essential for multimedia applications, such as video-conferencing and voice over IP (VoIP) services, in wireless mesh networks (WMNs). A consequence of many clients accessing the Internet via the same backhaul is that throughput depends on the number of hops from the backhaul. This spatial bias problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem that considers end-toend delay in terms of gateway selection, least-hop and load-balanced routing, and link capacity constraints. In this paper, we propose a routing algorithm for the network layer and a bandwidth allocation scheme for the medium access control (MAC) layer. The latter achieves fairness in both throughput and end-to-end delay in orthogonal mesh backbone networks with a distributed scheme, thereby minimizing the objective function. Our experiment results show that the proposed algorithm achieves throughput fairness, reduces end-to-end delay, and outperforms other general schemes and algorithms by at least 10.19%.


With the explosively increasing cost/size-effectiveness of computers, mechatronic systems are becoming common in any engineering discipline dealing with the modulation of physical power. In this article, I attempt a definition of mechatronics that will allow for its differentiation as an identifiable field of engineering and then follow this direction to discuss some of the associated design philosophy. The definition draws on the centrality of computing in mechatronic systems.


Objective: It is well known that certain personality traits are associated with alcohol use. Because less is known about it, we wished to investigate whether changes in alcohol use were longitudinally associated with changes in personality and in which direction the influence or causation might flow. Methods: Data came from the self-reported questionnaire answers of 5,125 young men at two time points during the Cohort study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF). Their average ages were 20.0 and 25.4 years old at the first and second wave assessments, respectively. Four personality traits were measured: (a) aggression–hostility; (b) sociability; (c) neuroticism–anxiety; and (d) sensation seeking. Alcohol use was measured by volume (drinks per week) and binge drinking (about 60+ grams per occasion). Cross-lagged panel models and two-wave latent change score models were used. Results: Aggression–hostility, sensation seeking, and sociability were significantly and positively cross-sectionally associated with both alcohol use variables. Drinking volume and these three personality traits bidirectionally predicted each other. Binge drinking was bidirectionally associated with sensation-seeking only, whereas aggression–hostility and sociability only predicted binge drinking, but not vice versa. Changes in alcohol use were significantly positively associated with changes in aggression–hostility, sensation seeking, and sociability. Associations reached small Cohen's effect sizes for sociability and sensation seeking, but not for aggression–hostility. Associations with neuroticism–anxiety were mostly not significant. Conclusion: The direction of effects confirmed findings from other studies, and the association between changes in personality and alcohol use support the idea that prevention programs should simultaneously target both.


In order to determine if iron load was able to stimulate specifically ferritin synthesis and secretion in adult human hepatocytes, primary cultures were submitted to increasing concentrations of ferric iron. The following results were obtained: 1. iron incorporation within the hepatocytes increased as a function of culture time and reached a high level after 48 h of treatment; 2. a dose-dependent significant stimulation of ferritin synthesis and secretion was observed when the medium iron concentration increased from 1 to 40 mumols.1(-1); 3. transferrin and albumin secretions were unaffected. The present data demonstrate that, in adult human primary cultures, iron load increases ferritin synthesis and secretion in a specific manner.


A true 3D image is synthesised from many 2D views of the original. The views are presented in rapid succession on a CRT whose field of view is restricted to a different zone for each view. This restriction is achieved by using optical fourier transforms which result in a 3D image that is especially sharp and clear. The display is bulky but inherently robust and flexible. It is therefore well adapted for the design of novel 3D systems.


Abstract Insects use semiochemicals to mediate important behaviours such as mating, oviposition, and foraging for resources. Chemical ecology research aims to identify these message-bearing chemicals and develop synthetic copies of semiochemicals for use in integrated pest management (IPM). There has been, and continues to be, an extensive research effort to understand the chemical ecology of various insects considered to be pests of forests in Canada. Canadian chemical ecology research has had an impact on IPM of forest insect pests in Canada and around the world. Canadian researchers have been involved in the identification of semiochemicals used by forest insects and the development and implementation of semiochemical-based management tactics for forest pest management. Semiochemicals have been incorporated into forest pest management for a variety of insect taxa primarily as tools to monitor and control forest insect pests in Canada. The goals of the current review are to: (1) highlight research conducted on semiochemical-based management of forest pests in Canada; (2) discuss the current and potential uses of semiochemicals in IPM of forest pests in Canada; and (3) evaluate potential areas for increased research and implementation of semiochemicals into the management of forest pests in Canada.


This study intends to ascertain how private university lecturers in North Sulawesi understand digitalization in order to enhance their performance. The performance of private university professors will improve with knowledge of the servant leadership philosophy. This study focused on North Sulawesi-based private university lecturers. Purposive sampling is used to support the descriptive research methodology. In this study, the participants were professors at private universities in North Sulawesi. Thirty PTS lecturers in North Sulawesi who were known to be PTS teachers had their samples collected. The findings demonstrated a favourable correlation between lecturers' participation and their comprehension of digitalization in education. However, the lack of PTS leaders' involvement in providing their staff with opportunities for growth, encouragement, trust, and service undermines their potential, sense of pride, and capacity to uphold the tridharma of higher education. The organisational culture's value alignment does not promote the best teaching, volunteerism, or research in fields like community pride. Lack of leadership and a culture that supports the role of self-efficacy and work spirituality as performance intervenors are the root causes of the failure to carry out education and teaching, research, and community service.


A population-based aetiological study was carried out on 6 to 14 years-old severely visually handicapped children in Hungary. Of the 547 recorded cases 491 (90%) were included in the analysis. Eleven aetiological groups were separated: isolated cataracts (16.7%), congenital abnormalities of the eye (15.1%), high myopia +/- retinal detachment and other cases (13.4%), retinopathy of premature (11.0%), choroidoretinal degenerations (10.0%), syndromes (9.6%), nystagmus and/or hypermetropia (9.0%), isolated and complicated optic atrophy (6.7%), postnatal causes (4.9%), retinoblastoma (1.8%), prenatal causes (1.8%). A significantly higher rate of previous induced abortions was found in the group of retinopathy of premature. Perinatal damage syndrome and Mendelian monogenic defects are the two most common aetiological categories in the origin of severe visual handicaps in Hungary.


Abstract Hematophagous arthropod bloodmeal identification has remained a challenge in the field of vector biology, but these studies are important to understand blood feeding patterns of arthropods, spatial, and temporal patterns in arbovirus transmission cycles, and risk of human and veterinary disease. We investigated the use of an existing vertebrate primer set for use on the droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) platform, to explore the use of this technology in the identification and quantification of vertebrate DNA in mosquito blood meals. Host DNA was detectable 48-h post-engorgement in some mosquitoes by ddPCR, compared with 24-h post-engorgement using traditional PCR. The capability of ddPCR for absolute quantification of template DNA offers unique potential applications of this new technology to field studies on the ecology of vector-borne diseases, but currently with limited scope.


Electromagnetic interference effects of transmission lines on nearby metallic structures such as pipelines, communication lines, or railroads are a real problem, which can place both operator safety and structure integrity at risk. The level of these voltages can be reduced to a safe value in accordance with the IEEE standard 80 by designing a proper mitigation system. This paper presents a Fuzzy algorithm that can predict the level of the metallic conductor voltage. The model outlined in this paper is both fast and accurate and can accurately predict the voltage magnitude even with changing system parameters (soil resistivity, fault current, separation distance, mitigated or unmitigated system). Simulation results for three different scenarios, confirm the capability of the proposed Fuzzy system model in modeling and predicting the total voltage and are found to be in good agreement with data obtained from the CDEGS software.


While Mandatory Access Controls (MAC) are appropriate for multilevel secure military applications, Discretionary Access Controls (DAC) are often perceived as meeting the security processing needs of industry and civilian government. This paper argues that reliance on DAC as the principal method of access c ontrol is unfounded and inappropriate for many commercial and civilian government organizations. The paper describes a type of non-discretionary access contro l - role-based access control (RBAC) that is more central to the secure processing needs of non-military systems than DAC.


s: Research Question: What is the situation of iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) and salt consumption in Bhavnagar district? Hypothesis: The prevalence of IDD has increased markedly as a result of medical as well as socio-economic factors. Objective: To assess the magnitude of IDD in Bhavnagar district and also assess the salt consumption patterns in the region. Design: Crosssectional study. Setting: Primary schools in rural areas. Study Tools: Clinical examination of study population for goitre, laboratory assessment of casual urine sample for urinary iodine estimation of I2 content of salt samples collected from sub-samples of study population. Participants: Study was conducted among 2,940 School children in the age group of 6-12 years were selected for study using WHO 30-cluster methodology, urine samples were collected from 15% of selected children and salt samples from 43% of sub-sample. Ethical Concern: No ethical issues were involved. Results: An overall goitre prevalence of 34.19% was observed in the region. Females had a prevalence of 32.9% and males 35.4%. The median urinary iodine excretion in the region was 11.0 μg/l (range: 29.0-190.0 μg/l). Ninty-seven percent of subjects had biochemical iodine deficiency with 73.87% having severe deficiency, 21.38% having moderate and 4.04% mild iodine deficiency. In Bhavnagar region, only 34.27% households consume powdered salt having an Iodine content of greater than 15 ppm. Conclusion: Present study showed severe goiter prevalence in primary school children in Bhavnagar district [ Rathod S et al NJIRM 2011; 2(4) : 18-21]


Low-temperature 6Li{31P} rotational-echo, double-resonance (REDOR) measurements were used to study lithium mobility within each of the three Li sites in monoclinic Li3V2(PO4)3. Each of the Li ions was found to experience a different reduced dipolar coupling with the nearest 31P nucleus. Under fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) conditions (40 kHz), the three crystallographic 31P sites in Li3V2(PO4)3 were resolved. On the basis of the known Li−P internuclear distances, the 31P resonances were assigned by determining the degree of signal attenuation at each phosphorus site. The attenuation of the Li−P dipolar coupling, compared to simulations of the static case, was associated with rattling of the Li ions within the lattice. The relative mobility at each Li site is correlated with structural properties including the shortest Li−O contact within the void and bond valence calculations.


This book examines rural households' use of and views toward different types of services during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the market economy. Using data from 1991 and 1993 household surveys in two rural villages, one in southern Russia and the other in eastern Ukraine, the researchers describe how rural residents viewed the transition from state, mainly kolkhoz (collective farm), monopolies on the provision of retail food and consumer goods, health, housing, education, and communications/transportation, to the beginning of mixed public and private service provision. This book provides a unique benchmark for the study of rural quality of life at the end of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the post-Soviet era.


Listeria monocytogenes is a major human foodborne pathogen and a ubiquitous environmental saprophyte. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and characteristics of Listeria spp. from beach sand in the coastal environment. Three different Listeria spp., Listeria monocytogenes (n=16), Listeria fleishmanii (n=7), and Listeria aquatica (n=3) were isolated from 769 beach sand samples and demonstrated diverse biofilm forming capacity. The L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to four distinct sequence types (ST87, ST121, ST35, and ST85) and contained the majority of virulence genes, some isolates were hypervirulent clones or had close phylogenetic relatedness with clinical cases. The ST87 isolates showed higher ability of biofilm formation in seawater than other STs strains. As a reservoir of microbes from marine environments and human/animal excrement, coastal sand would play an important role in the spread of L. monocytogenes and is an environmental risk for human listeriosis.


The thyroglossal tract cyst is an uncommon developmental cyst which may form anywhere along the embryonic thyroglossal tract.This article presents a case of thyroglossal cyst. The 31-year-old male patient complained of a tumor in the midline of the anterior neck for about one month. Ultrasonography showed an echo-free cystic pattern with a comparatively defined and irregular border. Computed tomography also revealed a cystic lesion with inflammation. An exploratory puncture aspirated yellow-colored mucoid fluid. Microorganisms were not isolated from fluid, and the cytology revealed basal cells, foam cells, macrophages, lymphocytes, keratin, and numerous neutrophils with no evidence of malignancy.The cyst was excised under clinical diagnosis of thyroglossal cyst. A cord-like structure was seen to the level of the hyoid bone during the surgery, that followed Sistrunk's principles.


Activities related to foreign trade and specifically to the manufacturing sector represent a strength of the Mexican economy. In 2018, exports and imports totaled 914 986.9 million dollars, the value of total exports reached 450 684.5 million dollars and the value of total imports amounted to 464 302.4 million dollars (INEGI, 2019). Therefore, it is important to carry out studies that allow a better positioning of the manufacturing sector. In this article, organizational innovation was explored as a strategy to achieve that the companies of the Manufacturing, Maquiladora and Export Services Industry (known in Spanish as IMMEX) of Tijuana, Baja California, manage to incorporate advanced manufacturing practices; a hypothesis, objective and research questions were proposed, which were tested and answered by applying the statistical tool linear analysis of regression.


The Philosophy of Forgiveness is multi-dimensional and complex. As recent scholarly philosophical works on forgiveness illustrate, incorporating personal, relational, political, ethical, psychological, and religious dimensions into one consistent conception of "forgiveness" is difficult. As part of Vernon Press's series on the Philosophy of Forgiveness, Explorations of Forgiveness: Personal, Relational, and Religious begins the task of creating a consistent multidimensional
account of forgiveness by bringing together multiple voices from around the globe to analyze, discuss, and draw conclusions about how best to understand forgiveness. The volume's three opening chapters examine forgiveness as a relational concept, and offer insights into the role of forgiveness in repairing, sustaining, stewarding, and healing relationships damaged by wrongdoing. Continuing with the relational theme, the next four chapters incorporate Hannah Arendt's philosophical teachings (both her writings and her life) into the discussion to offer several intriguing conclusions relating to "unforgivable" persons and acts. The final chapters examine the nature of forgiveness from three major world religions: Buddhism, Christianity, and Confucianism.


The stabilisation of preserves through the lowering of water activity (a w ) and the reduction of pH value are studied as alternatives to the traditional pasteurising/sterilising treatments. a w of samples of pesto has been reduced using two binary systems of humectants: K-Cl-fructose and KCl-saccharose. The microbiological stability of samples was assessed through the inoculation of Clostridium perfringens spores. Moreover, pH values, a w and colour parameters were measured. The results have pointed out that a w reduction and controlled temperature of storage inhibited the development of C. perfringens. In particular, run 1 (a w 0.92 and temperature 25 °C) allowed a significant increase of the stability time of the samples. The reduction of a w may be a valid alternative to the traditional treatments of stabilisation in maintaining the organoleptic characteristics of the fresh product.


Using an immunohistochemical procedure, I studied the possible relationship between the distribution of the basement membrane glycoprotein laminin (LN) or fibronection (FN) and the histological type or the pattern of infiltrating growth into surrounding tissue of the superficial depressed-type early gastric cancer in 78 cases (mucosal cancer: 36 cases, submucosal cancer: 42 cases). The staining patterns of the basement membrane LN and FN were divided into continuous (C), discontinuous (D), and negative (N). The patterns of infiltrating growth into surrounding tissue were classified into expanding growth and infiltrating growth. In regard to the relationship between LN staining patterns and histological types, the frequency of C pattern was significantly high in tubular adenocarcinoma (51.9%) but none in poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (0%). On the other hand, the frequency of N pattern was significantly lower in tubular adenocarcinoma (3.9%) than in poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (61.5%). Also in regard to the relationship between FN staining patterns and histological types, similar results were observed. There was no significant relationship between the mucosal staining patterns of LN or FN and the depth of invasion. I compared the staining patterns between the mucosal lesions and the submucosal lesions in submucosal carcinoma. In regard to the relationship of LN staining, the frequency of N pattern was significantly lower in mucosal lesions than in submucosal lesions. There was no difference in patterns of FN staining between the mucosal lesions and the submucosal lesions. In regard to the relationship between the LN staining pattern and the pattern of infiltrating growth into surrounding tissue, the frequency of N pattern was significantly lower in expanding growth (23.5%) than in infiltrating growth (68.0%). There was no significant relationship between the FN staining pattern and the infiltrating growth pattern. These findings suggest that the disappearance of LN in gastric cancer is an important factor in the invasion of the submucosa or in determining the pattern of infiltrating growth of tumors into surrounding tissue.


Echocardiography is a powerful noninvasive cardiovascular diagnostic tool. In the emergency room, an outpatient setting, and the intensive care unit, physician-performed point-of-care (POC) echocardiography is particularly important to understand the concurrent pathophysiology of unstable patients. In POC echocardiography, the purpose of examination should be clearly decided in advance by performing careful symptom assessment and physical examination, including heart and lung auscultation. In this article, heart failure, cardiac murmur-, ischemic heart disease, and acute pulmonary artery thromboembolism are selected and overviewed to assess the utility of POC cardiovascular ultrasound. In heart failure, visual assessments of the left ventricular ejection fraction, chamber size ratio, and inferior vena cava diameter are important. An ultrasound lung comet is a very useful finding, suggesting the presence of lung congestion. In patients with a cardiac murmur, the source of the abnormal sound can easily be confirmed by the color Doppler signal in conjunction with chamber size assessment. On the other hand, judgment of the severity of valvular heart disease should be reserved for detailed echocardiography. In acute coronary syndrome, POC echo is extremely important for prompt diagnosis and complication assessment. An understanding of the coronary artery territory and method to detect regional wall motion abnormality in ischemic heart disease is necessary. Papillary muscle rupture and ventricular septal perforation are both fatal complications of myocardial infarction, and they should be kept in mind and pan-systolic murmur should be detected before echocardiography. In acute pulmonary thromboembolism, the right heart size and characteristic wall motion abnormality should be focused on using echocardiography in addition to tricuspid regurgitant flow velocity measurement. Femoral vein ultrasonography with a compression test should be performed for all patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism to search for potential embolic sources.


Policymakers need to reassess the role of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in regulatory review. Although it remains a valuable tool, a number of pressing current problems do not fit well into the CBA paradigm. In particular, climate change, nuclear accident risks, and the preservation of biodiversity can have very long-run impacts that may produce catastrophic and irreversible effects. This article seeks to put cost-benefit analysis in its place by demonstrating both its strengths and its limitations. The Obama Administration should rethink the use of CBA as a way to evaluate regulatory policies and develop procedures to restrict its use to policy areas where its underlying assumptions fit the nature of the problem.


Abstract Research purpose. The subject of this paper is the role of e-commerce for companies in increasing their competitive advantage in the market during and after the pandemic. The paper monitors the digital transformation and e-commerce implementations in a developing country (North Macedonia) and whether this can lead to a better position in the market. Design / Methodology / Approach. The design of the research contained both a literature review from relevant secondary sources, as well as primary research through empirical analysis. The empirical analysis was performed through a survey questionnaire containing 28 questions of open and closed nature, including a five-point Likert Scale. The data was subject to quantitative and qualitative analysis and presented in the paper. Findings. E-commerce has been seen as the future of shopping; however, due to the pandemic, the adoption rates increased significantly in the past two years. Primary data from the research shows that consumers in developing countries are open to online shopping, with satisfied trust and security parameters. The research implies that companies can safely implement e-commerce by following several important aspects to ensure customer interest in converting to their e-stores. Originality / Value / Practical implications. The paper contributes to the e-commerce research field by providing newer data after a global situation-changer, such as the pandemic. The research data can be utilized to compare statistics and generate trends for developing countries in further research, as well as broader usage for customer preferences from other academics and the business sector.


Our goal is to synthesize PEG-derivatized PPMP as a dual-function carrier for anticancer drugs to co-deliver PPMP and classic anticancer drugs. The clinical application of anticancer drugs has been limited by low water solubility, rapid elimination, lack of tissue-specificity and toxicity. A number of macromolecular delivery systems are under investigation to circumvent these limitations and improve the potential of the anticancer drugs. However, for most delivery systems, vehicles themselves rarely possess pharmacological activity. One interesting approach in the design of a carrier is that components of the carrier system exhibit biological activity, either possessing antitumor effect or sensitizing tumor cells to loaded anticancer drugs. PPMP blocks glucosylation of ceramide, a tumor-suppressor lipid, which induces antiproliferative and apoptotic responses in cancer cells. We conjugate PPMP with PEG to increase solubility. At the same time, amphiphilic PEG5K-PPMP2 could self-assemble into micelles and serve as a carrier for other hydrophobic anticancer drugs. We propose that PEG5k-PPMP2 could be an effective and novel dual functional carrier for anticancer drugs.

In this thesis, the first aim was to examine the efficacy of co-treatment of PPMP with other anticancer drugs (camptothecin and doxorubicin) in different cancer cell lines. In vitro cytotoxicity studies showed more effective tumor-killing effect in the combination treatment than single drug treatment. The combination of PPMP and CPT or DOX showed synergism in all of the cancer cell lines examined. The second aim was to synthesize PEG5K-PPMP2 as an amphiphilic prodrug for PPMP and a carrier for other anticancer drugs. PEG5K-PPMP2 was successfully synthesized from Z-D-Ser-OH through a scheme with 12 steps. The products of each steps were confirmed by NMR.


A case study of the clinical and economic impact of filgrastim in cancer patients in the home care setting is described. The risk of febrile neutropenia is greatly reduced when filgrastim therapy is begun prophylactically after a course of antineoplastic drug therapy. Such use of filgrastim may also reduce the need for hospitalization, prevent mucositis, and enable the next course of chemotherapy to be administered on schedule. Investigators at the University of New Mexico, noting studies showing merit in early hospital discharge of pediatric cancer patients with febrile neutropenia, decided to take the approach a step further by treatment febrile neutropenia entirely at home. Patients seen in the pediatric oncology clinic at the university hospital were considered candidates for home treatment if they had stable vital signs, were already receiving filgrastim after the completion of cancer chemotherapy, and lived within one hour of the hospital. Six cancer patients 2-17 years of age were studied between August 1992 and February 1994. These patients had 16 episodes of febrile neutropenia that were treated at home. The drug regimen consisted of prophylactic filgrastim (begun the day after completion of a course of antineoplastic therapy) and ceftazidime (when febrile neutropenia developed). None of the children were readmitted to the hospital. Infections resolved within 12 days in all cases. The total charge for treating the 16 episodes at home was $22,400 (drug charge for ceftazidime, visits by nurses, infusion-pump rental, and ancillary charges). The total charge for hospital treatment of these episodes would be $112,924 (bed charge and pharmacy charge). The difference suggests a potential savings of $90,524 from home care for this small group of patients. Treating febrile neutropenia in pediatric cancer patients at home is effective and cost-efficient if the patients are clinically stable and prophylactic filgrastim therapy has been started after the completion of cancer chemotherapy.


OBJECTIVES To examine the association between intraoperative cerebral microembolic signals (MES) and postoperative neuropsychological deficit in patients with valve replacement (VR) and patients with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHODS Neuropsychological examination (10 tests) was performed 1–2 days before and 2 months after surgery (VR (n=26) and CABG (n=14)). The intraoperative number of cerebral MES were monitored from the right middle cerebral artery using transcranial Doppler. RESULTS A higher number of cerebral MES were detected in VR patients with neurological deficit (6/26) compared with those without deficit (20/26) (MES median number 2083 v645, p=0.04). No such difference was found in patients with CABG (2/14v 12/14) (MES median number 50 v 112, p=0.2). CONCLUSION A high number of MES were detected in patients with VR with neuropsychological deficit. In patients with CABG with such a deficit, a low number of MES were detected. This difference in number may be explained by relatively more gaseous emboli in the first and more solid in the second. However, the results in the patients with CABG should be interpreted with caution due to the few patients in this subgroup.


A survey based on a probability sample of U.S. households was suggested as a method to determine the number of persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). To test the feasibility of such a survey, CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) recently conducted a pilot study in two sites through a contract with the Research Triangle Institute. The first field test, conducted in January 1989, used a random sample of adults from households in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania; the response rate of 81% suggested that the majority of the sample population might participate in a carefully planned household HIV survey. This report summarizes the second field test, which was conducted in Dallas County, Texas, from September through December 1989.


BACKGROUND
Detection of childhood traumas is important both in clinical practice and in research. There is a pressing need for methods that are relatively simple but comprehensive, non-intrusive, and possess adequate psyc - ho metric properties. In this study we translated one of the most widely used and well-studied measure of childhood abuse and neglect and explored the psychometrical properties of this questionnaire.

METHODS
The study was based on data from a clinical (N=171) and a normative (N=358) sample. In total 529 adults participated in the testing process. Beside the trauma questionnaire Parental Bonding Inventory, Impact of Events Scale and Dissociative Experiences Scale were administered.

RESULTS
We examined the internal consistency of the translated trauma questionnaire. The Cronbach's a coefficients for the five subscales ranged from 0,639 to 0,934. Participants in the clinical sample reached higher scores on all trauma subscales except sexual abuse, than normative adults [PA: t (398)=-2,771; p=0,006; PN: t (398)=-5,990; p=0,000; EA: t (398)=-3,679; p=0,000; EN: t (398)=-4,759; p=0,000; total score: t (398)=-4,669; p=0,000]. Correlations among the trauma questionnaire total score and the scales of Parental Bonding Inventory indicating some medium effects (with maternal care: r=-0,661; p=0,000; with paternal care: r=-0,483; p=0,000).

CONCLUSION
Our preliminary findings suggest that this trauma questionnaire is practical and facilitates the systema - tic evaluation of adverse early life events and maximizes the possibility of detecting childhood abuse and neglect.


Pork plays a central role in culinary tradition in Central Europe. Most of the studies determine the fatty acid (FA) content separately in muscles and subcutaneous fat. However, it is also important to determine the FA content of meat products, which contain a mixture of muscles and fat. The determination of FA in carcass tissues is difficult and leads to the destruction of the whole carcass. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate the FA content of carcass meat (muscles with inter- and intramuscular fat, MC), and carcass soft tissues (muscles with inter- and intramuscular fat and subcutaneous fat, SC) based on a single muscle. Fatty acids were analysed using gas chromatography. Thirty crossbred pigs were fed diets differing in their fatty acid content and n-6:n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio. Samples of Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LL), Biceps femoris (BF), Semitendinosus (ST), and Semimembranosus (SM) muscles, MC, and SC were taken. Correlation between linolenic, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids contents and n-6:n-3 PUFA in examined muscles and MC ranged from 0.809 (SM) to 0.961 (LL), from 0.708 (LL) to 0.954 (ST), from 0.907 (SM) to 0.941 (ST), respectively (P = 0.000). Correlation between linolenic, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids contents and n-6:n-3 PUFA in examined muscles and SC ranged from 0.773 (SM) to 0.954 (LL), 0.763 (LL) to 0.983 (BF), and from 0.909 (LL) to 0.940 (ST), respectively (P = 0.000). Results allow estimate the FA content of MC and SC based on their content in single muscles.


In many respects, Australian boards more closely approach normative "best practice" guidelines for corporate governance than boards in other Western countries. Do Australian firms then demonstrate a board demographic-organisational performance link that has not been found in other economies? We examine the relationships between board demographics and corporate performance in 348 of Australia's largest publicly listed companies and describe the attributes of these firms and their boards. We find that, after controlling for firm size, board size is positively correlated with firm value. We also find a positive relationship between the proportion of inside directors and the market-based measure of firm performance. We discuss the implications of these findings and compare our findings to prevailing research in the US and the UK.


A problem has been identified with the handling of information tones by the full-rate GSM voice activity detector (VAD). The paper describes the modifications made in the half-rate GSM VAD which significantly improve the transmission of information tones, thus enabling the implementation of discontinuous transmission (DTX) in the GSM down-link. The modification consists of the addition of a tone detection algorithm to the basic full-rate GSM VAD architecture. The underlying assumptions behind the tone detector are discussed and the potential performance limitations identified. The half-rate GSM VAD successfully detects almost all tones that are likely to be encountered in networks across the world.


There have been increasing the necessity of areas for relaxation
and play in the process of urbanization. The purpose of this study
is to apply the TDR for development of pocket park in urban space.
As a result, the TDR is an effective method in developing pocket
park in economically and institutionally.


The aim of this work is to evaluate the extent of usage of the System for BMSI and the profile of users, as well as to compare the results with data from the previous period. Information were gathered from the request forms for searching databases, filled out by the users. In the 4-year period (1990-1993) 1640 searches were carried out, 870 for women and 770 for men. There were 1301 users from Belgrade and 339 from outside Belgrade. Compared with the previous period (1988-1989), the usage of biomedical databases increased remarkably (58%) and played a major role in the research of scientific workers in Serbia, especially considering serious deficit of contemporary periodicals.


Using synthetic seismograms, we study the influence of the widely observed strong scattered noises in complex near-surface areas. Our studies show that an intense scattering occurs in near surface regions, especially in the near-source and near-receiver regions. The scattering is dominated by rugged topography. These strong near-surface scatterings can seriously decrease the energy of valid signals and significantly increase noise levels that mask the interesting reflections. The study of simulating wave scattering by a low-velocity topographic structure in the western areas of China shows that the topographic effect is the most important factor to degrade the quality of seismic data in these areas.


Background: Oncologic defects resulting from extremity amputations are often extensive and require substantial soft tissue for reconstruction. Methods: A review of all patients, who underwent an external hemipelvectomy, forequarter amputation, or hindquarter amputation from 2001 to 2010 at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, was performed. Results: A total of 50 patients were identified; of them, 21 underwent external hemipelvectomy, 22 had forequarter amputation, and 7 had hindquarter amputation. The mean defect size was 644 cm2; defects were repaired using fillet flaps (n = 22, 44%), free flaps (n = 4, 8%), or local/regional flaps (n = 24, 48%). Of the fillet flaps, 16 were free flaps and the remaining were pedicled flaps. In all, 29 patients (58%) received preoperative radiation therapy, and 26 patients (52%) received preoperative chemotherapy. Two patients (4%) received postoperative radiation therapy, and 1 patient (2%) received postoperative chemotherapy. Three patients received both pre- and postoperative radiation therapy, and 10 patients were treated with both pre- and postoperative chemotherapy. Patients undergoing free flap reconstruction had significantly fewer complications compared with patients reconstructed using other modalities (2/20 vs. 13/30; P = 0.003). The majority of patients achieved excellent postoperative function, with 73% of upper extremity patients functioning independently and 57% of lower extremity amputees ambulating. Conclusions: Reconstruction for extensive defects following oncologic extremity amputation is often optimally done using free tissue transfer, particularly by salvaging "spare parts" from the amputated limb for a free fillet flap.


This paper addresses problems associated with the production and interpretation of traditional fault coverage numbers. The first part addresses the issue of non-uniform distribution of detected faults. It is shown that there is a large difference in final quality between covering the chip all over and leaving parts relatively untested, even if the coverage is the same in both cases. The second part deals with the use of weighted, rather than unweighted fault coverages and investigates the use of readily-available extracted capacitance information to produce a weighted fault coverage which is more useful for producing quality estimates, without having to perform a full defect analysis. Results show significant differences in weighted versus unweighted coverages, and also that these differences can be in either direction.


Following the great success of ACE 2004 in Singapore and ACE 2005 in Valencia, we have great pleasure in announcing ACM SIGCHI ACE 2006 to be held in the capital of entertainment: Hollywood, USA on 14th - 16th June 2006 www.ace2006.orgSimilarly to ACE in 2004/5, ACM, the world's leading computer science society will be publishing all accepted papers, in both the proceedings and the ACM Digital Library and the conference is fully in technical association with the prestigious ACM SIGCHI.Furthermore, the Best Demo (Gold Medal), Best Paper (Gold Medal), and Excellent Paper prizes will again be awarded. Furthermore the Best papers will be published in the leading ACM publication: ACM Computers in Entertainment as well as the Journal of Virtual Reality and Broadcasting.This year we have very exciting new developments such as new call for art works and the Exhibition: Leonardo II where we call for exhibitions in Interactive Art and Digital Cinema. Furthermore prizes will be given for the best art works.Also we have an exciting line-up of Keynote Speakers which will be announced soon.


Designing for the freeform fabrication of heterogeneous tissue scaffold is always a challenge in Computer Aided Tissue Engineering. The difficulties stem from two major sources: 1) limitations in current CAD systems to assembly unit cells as building blocks to form complex tissue scaffolds, and 2) the inability to generate tool paths for freeform fabrication of unit cell assemblies. To overcome these difficulties, we have developed an abstract model based on skeletal representation and associated computational methods to assemble unit cells into an optimized structure. Additionally we have developed a process planning technique based on internal architecture pattern of unit cells to generate tool paths for freeform fabrication of tissue scaffold. By modifying our optimization process, we are able to transfer an optimized design to our fabrication system via our process planning technique.


CONTENTS I. Introduction 546 II. Methods for the preparation of synthetic polysaccharides 546 III. New methods for the investigation of synthetic polysaccharides 552 IV. Principal uses of synthetic polysaccharides 553


In order to obtain bright and compact Zn-Fe-RE ternary alloy coating with excellent corrosion resistance, the technology for electrodepositing Zn-Fe-RE ternary alloy coating in chloride bath was studied. The formula of electroplating bath and working conditions were optimized by investigating the effects of bath composition and pH value, additives and rare earth salt LaCl3 on the composition and structure of the ternary alloy plating. Results showed that Zn-Fe-RE ternary alloy plating was obtained in water solution at optimized pH value of 3, plating time of 10 ruin, current density of 3.5 A/dm^2 ambient temperature, and the resulting alloy coating contained RE up to 4.61%. Moreover, the introduction of rare earth ash (LaCl3) led to change in the composition of the ternary alloy coating and enhanced the cathodic polarization, while the anti-corrosion performance of the Zn-Fe-RE ternary alloy coating was almost doubled as compared with that of Zn-Fe alloy coating.


A nephrotic syndrome which appears during the first few months of life always provides a diagnostic challenge. Congenital nephrosis of the Finnish type (CNF) is a distinct, recessively inherited entity provided that the diagnostic criteria are kept strict. Very important but often forgotten is the presence of a large placenta. Among other alterations tubular dilatations are typical histological findings, even if not pathognomonic. Greatly elevated AFP concentration in the amniotic fluid, due to intrauterine proteinuria, offers an unfailing prenatal diagnosis in CNF but is seldom useful in other types. Renal transplantation has radically changed the prognosis of this otherwise lethal disorder. The histopathological diagnosis diffuse mesangial sclerosis (DMS) was supposed to represent another etiological entity, probably also autosomal recessive. It, however, seems to be heterogenous. The Drash syndrome (nephrotic syndrome, male pseudohermaphroditism and Wilms' tumor) has interesting connections with this group. The number of cases of congenital, infantile and/or familial nephrotic syndromes other than CNF and DMS seems to be surprisingly large. Their exact classification is still not possible. Even if late, "infantile" onset rules out the diagnosis of CNF, many etiological alternatives remain for the "congenital" cases.


Tetraphenylethene derivatives [Ph(PhCH=CHPhR)C=C(PhCH=CHPhR)Ph, R=H, CN, NO2, NPh2] with green, yellow-green, and orange emission colours were designed and synthesized. These molecules are practically non-emissive in their dilute solutions but emit intensely as nanoaggregates in poor solvents, demonstrating a novel phenomenon of aggregation-induced emission. Their blended films with poly(methyl methacrylate) also display bright emissions. Restriction of intramolecular motion in the condensed phase may be responsible for such unusual behaviour. Multilayer electroluminescence devices with a configuration of indium tin oxide/N,N′-di(1-naphthyl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine/emitter/tris(8-hydroxyquinolinolato)aluminum (Alq3)/LiF/Al were constructed, which gave green light with a maximum luminance and current efficiency of 12930 cd cm–2 and 3.04 cd A–1 respectively. The tetraphenylethenes can serve as excellent cell staining agents for selectively illuminating the cytoplasm and vesicles of living cells.


Capacitively-coupled resistivity imaging systems have been available as commercial geophysical instruments for over eight years and have seen increased acceptance in near-surface engineering applications (Ball 2006), (Garman et. al. 2004). In order for a geophysicist to determine whether a capacitively-coupled resistivity meter would be appropriate for a particular application requires a fundamental understanding of the technique and its relative capabilities and limitations in relation to other near-surface imaging tools. The underlying principles of the technique are outlined in the existing literature (Kuras et. al. 2006), (Timofeev et. al. 1994). This paper is intended to point out and discuss some of the most common misconceptions about capacitively-coupled resistivity (CCR) and to review practical considerations in basic survey fundaments compared to other resistivity measuring techniques. The Geometrics OhmMapper TRN is a commonly used CCR instrument, using a dipole-dipole configuration, and will be the base of reference for this paper (Figure 1). Figure 1: Towed capacitively-coupled, dipole-dipole array (photo courtesy of Geometrics, Inc.)


The antibacterial activity of SCH 27899, was compared with vancomycin in vitro against 210 recent clinical isolates representing eight major genera of Gram-positive organisms. MIC90 values for everninomicin were consistently better than those of vancomycin for all Gram-positive bacteria tested. Although everninomicin was less bactericidal than vancomycin against staphylococci, it was inhibitory against vancomycin-resistant enterococci. This novel antibiotic may, therefore, provide a clinical alternative to penicillin and vancomycin for therapy of Gram-positive infections.


Twenty patients, ten suffering from disseminated granuloma anulare and ten from necrobiosis lipoidica, were treated with clofazimine 200 mg p.o. daily. Six patients in each group (60%) responded to this regimen, and three of the responders in each group achieved complete remission of the dermatosis. In eight patients (40%) no improvement at all was observed. All the patients treated had reddening of the skin, but this was reversible after the end of therapy, as were the other side-effects, i.e. diarrhoea and dryness of the skin, which were not experienced by all patients.


Phytoplankton community and limnochemistry of Piburger See, a small soft-water, meromictic lake situated at 913 m a.s.l. in a crystalline area of the Central Eastern Alps of Tyrol (Austria), were investigated 28 years after the beginning of lake restoration. Although long-term data of the lake show a declining trend in total phosphorus concentrations and phytoplankton biovolume, the response of Piburger See to the restoration measures carried out in 1970 was delayed by about 20 years. At present the lake is approaching its former oligotrophic level. The most evident difference between the past and present phytoplankton species composition of Piburger See is the actual absence of the Cyanophycean Oscillatoria limosa C. A. Agardh, which markedly increased during the first two decades after the lake restoration (1970-1987). The phytoplankton biovolume recorded in 1998 was lower than in the 1970s and 1980s, while seasonal patterns were similar to those recorded before and later on in the lake restoration. The lowest annual phytoplankton biovolume in 1998 occurred in early winter, while the absolute maximum was observed in metalimnetic water layers in late spring. In 1998 the intra-annual patterns of phytoplankton biovolume and chlorophyll-a compare well. Phytoplankton succession started in early 1998 under ice with coccal green algae followed by flagellated Chrysophyceae during spring. The mid-summer phytoplankton community was dominated by centric Bacillariophyceae, which were later replaced by coccal Cyanophyceae. During autumn, Dinophyceae and Chrysophyceae prevailed. Epilimnetic dominance of centric diatoms during mid summer appears to be a new feature, which in 1998 was related to a strong depletion of dissolved silica and nitrate. Long-term water chemistry and phytoplankton data were checked against local weather data in order to explain the delay in the re-oligotrophication process of Piburger See. However, no clear relationship could be detected between the trends observed in the lake and weather conditions during the past 30 years.


Since the first description of the hog cholera bacillus by Salmon and Smith in 1885, many reports of food poisoning as well as of sporadic infection in human beings due to this organism have appeared. Twenty-one patients with Salmonella suipestifer infection have been treated at the Johns Hopkins Hospital since April 1933. In view of the relative frequency of this infection in Baltimore, it seems desirable to report these cases and to review the literature in order to determine more clearly the clinical manifestations of S. suipestifer infection in man. In 1902 Longcope published a report of two cases of human infection of a typhoid-like nature with leukopenia caused by a "paracolon" bacillus. Later studies by Ten-Broeck revealed that the organism isolated by Longcope belonged to the hog cholera bacillus group. Prior to the appearance of this article no infection due to this organism in human beings had been described.


ABSTRACT Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are both common and fatal in older patients. We describe data from studies evaluating older patients hospitalized with BSIs. Most older patients with BSIs present "typically" with either fever or leukocytosis. The most common source of BSI in older patients is the urinary tract, and accordingly, Gram-negative organisms predominate. A significant part of these BSIs may thus be preventable by removal of unnecessary urinary catheters. Increased long term mortality is reported following BSIs in older patients, however, data on other long-term outcomes, including functional capacity, cognitive decline and others are lacking. Management of BSIs may include less invasive procedures due to the fragility of older patients. This approach may delay the diagnosis and treatment in some cases. Older patients are probably under-represented in clinical trials assessing treatment of bacteremia. Physicians treating older patients should consider the relevance of these studies' outcomes.


Abstract The objective of this study was to make a SBR+MBR complex process to evaluate the possible use of the advanced water treatment system for ships (SBR+MBR complex process) in accordance with the amendments MAPOL 73/78 that went into effect. The conditions 1 and 2 did not show the quick reduction in anaerobic condition while in the precipitation and stirring stages of the SBR treatment which was determined to be ineffective denitrification, same as with the ORP. Removal of organic matters such as BOD 5 and COD Cr in the SBR treatment was observed to happen smoothly and going through the MBR treatment as well would provide a stable water quality. However, the results were not satisfactory in accordance with BOD 5 25 mg/L and COD Cr 125 mg/L. Thus, the operating conditions improvement is deemed necessary. Likewise for the nutrients (T-N and T-P), the nitrification in bioreactor, denitrification and phosphorus absorption in aerobic tank due to phosphorus release in anaerobic tank had not been proceeded effectively. It was concluded that the improved operating conditions and structural changes would provide more effective treatments since the removal rates of T-N and T-P were less than 70% and 80%, respectively, which were standards specified by the MEPC. 227(64).


Collaborations between the pharmaceutical industry and contract research organizations continue to represent an attractive alternative to internal drug discovery within a single organization. This Viewpoint covers many of the business models and strategies that are employed in industry-contract research organization collaborations.


In Reply. —Dr Page is correct in pointing out that our abstract was potentially misleading. Our article examined both the crude (or unadjusted) costs of fetal cocaine exposure and those obtained from regression models. In the abstract we included only the unadjusted costs and the most interesting regression results, ie, the differential effects of crack and multiple substance exposure. We regret not clearly stating in the abstract the method by which each of these was calculated; however, as Page notes, we did so in the body of the article. However, Page's objections to our national projections are unfounded because the projections were based on a regression model where the cost of cocaine was statistically significant (model 3, the effects of crack vs other forms of cocaine exposure). His conclusions about the lack of statistical significance of the variable for all cocaine-exposed infants (model 1) deserves comment. Although it did not


The solutions of four meso-tetrakis(N-alkylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin salts and of the p-toluenesulfonate salt of meso-tetrakis(4-trimethylammoniumphenyl)porphyrin, in methanol, were studied by electrospray mass spectrometry, in order to investigate the influence of the type of counter ion, the length of the substituent N-alkyl groups of the four (N-alkylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrins and the presence of an aromatic (alkylpyridinium) or aliphatic (trimethylammonium) nitrogen, in ion formation. In our experimental conditions, adducts with the counter ions were formed only for the meso-tetrakis(4-trimethylammoniumphenyl)porphyrin and were not observed for the other porphyrins, even when the counter ion was the same. In contrast, formation of reduced species, such as the [M(4+) + e(-)]3+, [M(4+) + 2e(-)]2+, [M(4+) + 4e(-) + 2H(+)]2+, and [M(4+) + 5e(-) + 2H(+)]+ ions was observed only for the (N-alkylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrins and the appearance of these species is apparently solvent related and may occur via counter ion/solvent adducts.


This work provides the first broadly based documentation and analysis of the evolution of abortion from criminal act to personal choice. The author places the abortion question in the wider context of change in the social realm and in law, politics, economics, and medical practice. Dealing with the confrontation between pro-life and pro-choice groups, Davis analyzes feminist interpretations of abortion reform and discusses efforts to create a human-centered procedure that will benefit women themselves rather than doctors or clinic managers. Other important issues covered include the historical inconsistency of abortion laws and their enforcement; social and institutional support systems before and after legalization; social policy and abortion; the effects of legalized abortion on women's kinship ties; the Equal Rights Amdendment; and biological politics.


The OR channel provides an unusual opportunity where single-user decoding permits operation at about 70% of the full multiple-access channel sum capacity. The interleaverdivision multiple access technique applied in this paper can approach that performance with turbo and LDPC solutions. The current paper focuses on very low latency codes with simple Viterbi decoding, intended for very high speed (gigabits per second) applications. Namely, it focuses on nonlinear trellis codes that provide about 30% of the full multiple-access sum capacity at high speeds and with very low latency. These trellis codes are designed specifically for the Z-channel that arises in a multipleuser OR channel when the other users are treated as noise. In order to optimize the sum-capacity of the OR-MAC, the trellis code transmits codewords with a ones density much less than 50%. Also, a union bound technique that predicts the performance of these codes is presented. Results from simulations and an award-winning FPGA implementation are shown.


Trierarchy was a leitorgia, which the richest citizens could be called on to perform 'public-services' for a year at Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Trierarch means 'trireme-commander' but he is not only to command the ship but also to bear the cost of the maintenance and repair. Trierarchy was probably established between the last quarter of the 6th century and 480 BC. Thanks to the discovery of the silver mines in the south of Attika(Maroneia, Laureion) in 483 BC, Athens built one hundred trirems at Themistokles' disposal. According to Themistokles' navy bill, one hundred talents was deposited with the hundred richest men of Athens who had triremes built from this money(AP. 22.7). I think that 'richest men' in this navy bill reflect two points. The one is the rising of the wealth. They came into military and political world by developing sea-trade. The other is the possibility that the richest men could be converted to trierarchs. It is indirectly verified by the distribution of belonging demes of leitourgia in 5th century BC, which was concentrated near seaside and city. The first record on trierach was inscribed on Themistokles Decree (line 18-23, ML. No.23) in 480 Be. This inscription explained how to appoint trierarch and his requisition. Trierarchy was needed land and house possession within Attica and a legitimate son. It shows trierarch's military importance. For this requsition was involved to a high-ranking politicians such as strategos(generals) who appointed trierarchs. So it is possible that the trierarchs were connected politically because most of the strategos were politicians in 5th century Be. To clear trierarchs' political relations, I compared trierarchs who acted politically and didn't. But only 3.27% (4 of 327 leitourgia) was in politics. However the case of Lykomedes who performed trierarch in 480 Be shows that they had political orientation, especially democratic will. I think that the other side of the trierarch's military obligation is the increasing power of the wealth and their ascending political status. Also it may reflect decreasing influence of traditional aristocrats.


The cause of intergranular brittleness in a number of alloys based on Fe-8%Mn has been investigated. The intergranular brittleness in as-water quenched alloys was mainly because of segregation of N to austenite grain boundaries, but some specimens did show the presence of P as well. A desegregation of carbon in the vicinity of the grain boundaries was also observed which may have also contributed to embrittlement. This embrittlement was further enhanced on air cooling, with segregation of N and Mn to prior-austenite grain boundaries. On ice-brine quenching the alloys, the DBTT was lowered. Intergranular fracture was avoided and the brittle fracture mode changed to cleavage. However, preliminary examination by AES indicated a rise in N content on the cleavage facets.Aging quenched alloys at 450°C resulted in a rapid rise in DBTT and further embrittlement, with further segregation of Mn, N and at a later time P, to prior austenite grain boundaries. Reverted austenite was not detected until after 60h at 450°C, and the hardness rose <12HV30 on aging. These factors were thought to have little effect on embrittlement.Analysis of segregation kinetics at 450°C showed that the segregation of Mn and P was consistent with bulk diffusion of Mn and P in a-Fe, while measurement of the kinetics of embrittlement by tensile ductility tests indicated that diffusion of N in a-Fe was the main rate controlling factor in isothermal embrittlement.Above 450°C reverted austenite formed rapidly on aging and was thought to be responsible for de-embrittlement.A thermal cycling treatment was devised to overcome embrittlement. Such treatment caused improvement in impact toughness through refinement of grain size and introduction of Y and e phases into the microstructure. The alloys showed resistance to embrittlement at 450°C and evidence of deformation induced transformation on tensile testing at -78°C.


The objective of this thesis is the assessment of a biomechanical heart model using experimental data, and the investigation of clinical applications with patient-specific modeling. At the 1D level we aimed at reproducing physiological experiments with myocardial fiber contraction. For the 3D validation we performed in co-operation with a clinical partner an experiment with animals (pigs) in order to obtain data in the healthy stage and after creating a myocardial infarct. We showed that our model can reproduce the pressures and motion of a healthy heart and that the infarct can be represented by changing only the parameters directly related to the pathology. The objective of the first clinical application was to predict the short-term effect of the Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) by means of an increase of 'max LV dp/dt'. The model personalization was performed using patients MRI and pressure data in the baseline condition – prior to CRT. Then we fixed the values of all parameters and applied electrical activation patterns according to the pacing modes considered. We obtained a very good prediction of max LV dp/dt using various pacing patterns in 3 clinical cases. This preliminary clinical validation shows that the modeling of CRT is a very promising approach as an assistance to therapy planning. The second application is based on the adaptation of data assimilation methods developed in the MACS team at INRIA. We performed joint state-parameter estimation with real image data. We showed the effectiveness of these algorithms in automatic model personalization and that the estimated contractility values can serve as an indicator of the local heart function.


There is no doubt that the new media heralded a dawn of technological advancement which certainly altered the way things were done in the media realm, this change did not only affect the way news and other media products are packaged, but the relationship between media and politics, political campaigns, issues of governance and so on. Interestingly, Facebook, one of the popular platforms of social media has been identified as a tool for political participation. Using a survey of 400 persons drawn from Anambra State as a focal point, the researchers examined the audience perception, believability and the extent of use of political messages on the Facebook. The study came up with the following findings: that the audience in Anambra state relied on the Facebook as a source of political messages, that they did not perceive these political messages from the Facebook as credible, and/or reflection of what they say, but more as propaganda statements. That Facebook users in Anambra State do not believe these political messages and finally that they employed the Facebook particularly as a tool for accessing political information and at other time for political education. The study is significant in that it will serve as a mirror to the political class on the effect of their various political messages on facebook. The study recommended among others that the political class while using facebook for political communication should repackage the contents to look credible and believable like those on the mainstream media.


Richard H. Rossiter is an expert at treating repetitive motion injuries. Using Rolfing body therapy he developed stretching techniques which relieve pain and restore connective tissue. Throughout this guide, photographs help clarify instructions and illustrate the variety of stretches that Rossiter has developed for the relief of upper-body pain and for back pain.


Introduction The allostatic load model explains the additive effects of multiple biological processes that accelerate pathophysiology related to stress, particularly in the central nervous system. Stress-related mental conditions such as anxiety disorders and neuroticism (a well-known stress vulnerability factor), have been linked to disturbances of hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal with cognitive implications. Nevertheless, there are controversial results in the literature and there is a need to determine the impact of the psychopharmacological treatment on allostatic load parameters and in cognitive functions. Gador study of Estres Modulation by Alprazolam, aims to determine the impact of medication on neurobiochemical variables related to chronic stress, metabolic syndrome, neurocognition and quality of life in patients with anxiety, allostatic load and neuroticism. Methods/analysis In this observational prospective phase IV study, highly sympthomatic patients with anxiety disorders (six or more points in the Hamilton-A scale), neuroticism (more than 18 points in the Neo five personality factor inventory (NEO-FFI) scale), an allostatic load (three positive clinical or biochemical items at Crimmins and Seeman criteria) will be included. Clinical variables of anxiety, neuroticism, allostatic load, neurobiochemical studies, neurocognition and quality of life will be determined prior and periodically (1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks) after treatment (on demand of alprazolam from 0.75 mg/day to 3.0 mg/day). A sample of n=55/182 patients will be considered enough to detect variables higher than 25% (pretreatment vs post-treatment or significant correlations) with a 1-ß power of 0–80. t Test and/or non-parametric test, and Pearson's test for correlation analysis will be determined. Ethics and dissemination This study protocol was approved by an Independent Ethics Committee of FEFyM (Foundation for Pharmacological Studies and Drugs, Buenos Aires) and by regulatory authorities of Argentina (ANMAT, Dossier # 61 409–8 of 20 April 2009), following the law of Habeas Data and psychotherapeutic drug control. Trial registration number GEMA 20811.


Abstract Microstructure development during liquid-phase sintering has been analysed using the pore-filling theory. The interdependence between sintered density and average grain size, i. e., the relative density – grain size trajectory has been described for various types of processing and sintering parameters. The effects of sintering temperature, initial porosity, average pore size, liquid volume fraction, dihedral and wetting angle, and sintering atmosphere pressure have been evaluated. A critical examination has also been made of the factors determining the trajectory shape and the implication of activation energy for densification. The predicted microstructure developments should demonstrate various possibilities of controlling microstructure during liquid-phase sintering.


Abstract 'Open government' refers to transparent, participative decision-making and platform-based citizen-government collaboration and has emerged as one paradigm at the local government level, in particular. However, substantial disparities exist in open government adoption among municipalities, and the empirical evidence on the determinants of open government adoption is sparse and mixed. This article considers open government adoption by integrating the resource- and knowledge-based views and decision-makers' open government willingness. We argue that the positive impacts of internal capacity depend on the municipal decision-makers' open government willingness. Using data from a survey conducted among local decision-makers, we investigate organizational ability to implement open government and decision-makers' preferences and adoption level. The findings indicate that organizational capacity is positively associated with open government. In addition, the effect of ability on adoption is partially mediated by leaders' perceptions that open government is a meaningful opportunity for the municipality.


Low-lying electronic states of are computed using ab initio configuration-interaction (MRD-CI) calculations based on relativistic effective core potentials. Effects of the spin - orbit coupling on the electronic states which are formed from the two ground state atoms studied. We have computed potential energy curves for all 23 states which dissociate into and limits. Spectroscopic constants of the bound states are estimated. The ground state of is originating from the configuration with and . The maximum spin - orbit splitting among the components of is about . The spin - orbit interaction has little effect on the composition of the low-lying states. The dissociation energy of the ground state is calculated to be 1.17 eV. The splitting between and of the atom calculated at the dissociation limits of the molecular state is about compared with the experimental value of .


Metadata vocabularies are used in various domains of study. It provides an in-depth description of the resources. In this work, we develop Algorithm Metadata Vocabulary (AMV), a vocabulary for capturing and storing the metadata about the algorithms (a procedure or a set of rules that is followed step-by-step to solve a problem, especially by a computer). The snag faced by the researchers in the current time is the failure of getting relevant results when searching for algorithms in any search engine. AMV is represented as a semantic model and produced OWL file, which can be directly used by anyone interested to create and publish algorithm metadata as a knowledge graph, or to provide metadata service through SPARQL endpoint. To design the vocabulary, we propose a well-defined methodology, which considers real issues faced by the algorithm users and the practitioners. The evaluation shows a promising result.


The demographic change in Finnish population has forced us to develop digital solutions to meet health care requirements. To respond to the need, we designed and piloted a one-day Multidisciplinary Digital Clinic (MDC) education for medical and nursing students.
In this report, we describe our project of the one-day MDC education of digital solutions in primary care for medical and nursing students, and their learning experiences. Additionally, we describe the realization of the intended learning outcomes. The MDC education was conducted by flipped learning method with pre-studying materials. The MDC day was divided into three topical workshops: Remote Care, Digital Symptoms and Health care assessment, and Assessment of Need for care. Students formed three multidisciplinary teams.
The students (N=108) valued the opportunity to train with modern technological equipment. Learning in the multidisciplinary teams enabled their knowledge and expertise sharing beyond study field limits, and provided a unique opportunity to discuss together, and thus, helped generate future-proof cooperation skills. The MDC training improved students' understanding of digitally enhanced health care services and increased their understanding of the automated digitalized service pathways, and the continuity of care.
In conclusion, the students described MDC as a unique opportunity, and future oriented education. The MDC encouraged students to get involved in the digitally and technologically enhanced health care eco-system in their professional careers.


Background & Aims Intratumoral lactate accumulation and acidosis impair T-cell function and antitumor immunity. Interestingly, expression of the lactate transporter monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) 4, but not MCT1, turned out to be prognostic for the survival of patients with rectal cancer, indicating that single MCT4 blockade might be a promising strategy to overcome glycolysis-related therapy resistance. Methods To determine whether blockade of MCT4 alone is sufficient to improve the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy, we examined the effects of the selective MCT1 inhibitor AZD3965 and a novel MCT4 inhibitor in a colorectal carcinoma (CRC) tumor spheroid model co-cultured with blood leukocytes in vitro and the MC38 murine CRC model in vivo in combination with an antibody against programmed cell death ligand-1(PD-L1). Results Inhibition of MCT4 was sufficient to reduce lactate efflux in three-dimensional (3D) CRC spheroids but not in two-dimensional cell-cultures. Co-administration of the MCT4 inhibitor and ICB augmented immune cell infiltration, T-cell function and decreased CRC spheroid viability in a 3D co-culture model of human CRC spheroids with blood leukocytes. Accordingly, combination of MCT4 and ICB increased intratumoral pH, improved leukocyte infiltration and T-cell activation, delayed tumor growth, and prolonged survival in vivo. MCT1 inhibition exerted no further beneficial impact. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that single MCT4 inhibition represents a novel therapeutic approach to reverse lactic-acid driven immunosuppression and might be suitable to improve ICB efficacy.


Statement of Problem: The human teeth have a lot of anatomical variations, and treatment of each tooth is under the influence of its configuration. Therefore, recognizing canal configuration is necessary for proper endodontic therapy, and lack of knowledge about it leads to failure in therapy. Purpose: Since one of the most effective factors in canal configuration is race, we planned an in vitro investigation in canal configuration of the mandibular first and second molars. Materials and Method: This descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 160 extracted mandibular first and second molars, collected from a number of clinics and private offices in Isfahan. Access cavities were made and canal systems were stained with India ink. The teeth were decalcified with 10% nitric acid, dehydrated and cleared with methyl salicylate. Then, they were studied to determine the number of roots and type of canal configuration in each root using Weine classification. Mandibular first molars were additionally cut in cross-sections in three points of the root and then canal configurations of the teeth were evaluated. For statistical analysis, Chi-square test was used. Results: In this study, using the clearing method, out of 80 mandibular first molars, 98.75% had two roots and 1.25% had three roots. The mesial roots had type II and III (50.63%, 31.65%) configuration. The distal root had I and II (84.82%, 10.12%) configuration. Out of 80 mandibular second molars, 90% had two roots, and 10% had single root, 6.25% of which had C-shaped root. In the two- rooted molars, the mesial roots had type I and II (31.95%, 42.22%) and distal roots had type I and II (88.88%, 6.95%) configuration. Out of 80 mandibular first molars in the sectional method, the mesial roots had type II and III (51.90%, 46.83%) configuration. The distal roots had type I and II (56.49%, 31.65%) configuration. The difference between clearing and sectional methods was statistically significant ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: In other countries, many researches have been done using different methods about internal anatomy of teeth; their results are different form those of this study. It appears that these differences are due to genetic or race factors and the methods used. Additionally, the results of different studies indicate that more attention should be paid to new studies on canal configuration of these teeth. Key words: Root canal, Configuration, Mandible, Molar


Fully hydrogenated expanded press soybean oil (FHEPSO) rich in naturally bioactive components was prepared using Palladium on Carbon (Pd/C) catalyst. Interesterified fat was prepared from binary blends of FHEPSO and cold press corn oil (CPCO) with FHEPSO/CPCO mass ratios of 50:50, 40:60 and 30:70. Lipozyme RM IM (6 wt% of total substrate) was used in a supercritical CO2 system to catalyze the transesterification. The fatty acid compositions had no significant changes in the fats before and after interesterification, and trans-fatty acid (TFA) was not detected. The fatty acid compositions within triacylglycerol (TAG) were rearranged, and the amounts of trisaturated and triunsaturated TAG decreased, whereas that of mixed TAG increased as a result of interesterification. The enzymatic interesterified fats (EIEF) had a lower solid fat content (SFC), broader melting and plasticity ranges compared to the noninteresterified blend (NIB). According to X-ray diffraction (XRD), the predominant crystal form had changed from β to β'. EIEF contained 0.33-0.51 g/100 g phospholipids, 88.6-105.6 mg/100 g total tocopherols, and 916-1053 mg/100 g total phytosterols, which could confer health benefits. The results indicated that EIEF may have a potential use in trans-free margarine stock preparation.