Myelin basic protein (MBP) is an essential structure involved in the generation of central nervous system (CNS) myelin. Myelin shape has been described as liquid crystal structure of biological membrane. The interactions of MBP with monolayers of different lipid compositions are responsible for the multi-lamellar structure and stability of myelin. In this paper, we have designed MBP-incorporated model lipid monolayers and studied the phase behavior of MBP adsorbed on the plasma membrane at the air/water interface by thermodynamic method and atomic force microscopy (AFM). By analyzing the pressure–area (π–A) and pressure–time (π–T) isotherms, univariate linear regression equation was obtained. In addition, the elastic modulus, surface pressure increase, maximal insertion pressure, and synergy factor of monolayers were detected. These parameters can be used to modulate the monolayers binding of protein, and the results show that MBP has the strongest affinity for 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3- phosphoserine (DPPS) monolayer, followed by DPPC/DPPS mixed and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-choline (DPPC) monolayers via electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. AFM images of DPPS and DPPC/DPPS mixed monolayers in the presence of MBP (5 nM) show a phase separation texture at the surface pressure of 20 mN/m and the incorporation of MBP put into the DPPC monolayers has exerted a significant effect on the domain structure. MBP is not an integral membrane protein but, due to its positive charge, interacts with the lipid head groups and stabilizes the membranes. The interaction between MBP and phospholipid membrane to determine the nervous system of the disease has a good biophysical significance and medical value.


On computers, discrete problems are solved instead of continuous ones. One must be sure that the solutions of the former problems, obtained in real time (i.e., when the stepsize h is not infinitesimal) are good approximations of the solutions of the latter ones. However, since the discrete world is much richer than the continuous one (the latter being a limit case of the former), the classical definitions and techniques, devised to analyze the behaviors of continuous problems, are often insufficient to handle the discrete case, and new specific tools are needed. Often, the insistence in following a path already traced in the continuous setting, has caused waste of time and efforts, whereas new specific tools have solved the problems both more easily and elegantly. In this paper we survey three of the main difficulties encountered in the numerical solutions of ODEs, along with the novel solutions proposed.


William Shakespeare's protagonists, Richard III and Othello, notably find themselves in conflict with their respective environments for their "otherness." Richard III is ubiquitously known as the "villain, great deformed," while Othello is cast as "The Moor." Both characters are objectified and marginalized within the respective environments of the plays they traverse, as a result both have been analyzed through the lens of gender, race, politics, religion and post-modern literary criticism. However, few scholars have engaged in exploring the plays through the lens of changing ideas around families and components which created "successful" families in Early Modern England (est. 1486-1625). With the shifting demographics of the era, the familial structure evolved taking into account such factors as high mortality, especially infant mortality, an unstable political climate, and a rigid patriarchal family structure. These factors contribute to illuminate procreative anxieties possessed by the populous at large and dramatized by these Shakespearean characters. My thesis draws on current discussions around evolutionary theory in literature, specifically Christopher Perricone's "Shakespeare's Procreation Sonnets: a Darwinian View" and Joseph Carroll's Literary Darwinism, this paper explores aspects of both plays through the lens of evolutionary theory, recasting aspects of these plays as acts of ultimate causation vs. proximate causation. I argue that when reframed as acts of ultimate causation, the procreative anxiety is elucidated.


This note proves two theorems. The first is that it is consistent to have for every n, but not have . This is done by carefully collapsing a supercompact cardinal and adding square sequences to each ωn. The crux of the proof is that in the resulting model every stationary subset of ℵω+1 ⋂ cof(ω) reflects to an ordinal of cofinality ω1, that is to say it has stationary intersection with such an ordinal. This result contrasts with compactness properties of square shown in [3]. In that paper it is shown that if one has square at every ωn, then there is a square type sequence on the points of cofinality ωk, k > 1 in ℵω+1. In particular at points of cofinality greater than ω1 there is a strongly non-reflecting stationary set of points of countable cofinality. The second result answers a question of Džamonja, by showing that there can be no squarelike sequence above a supercompact cardinal, where "squarelike" means that one replaces the requirement that the cofinal sets be closed and unbounded by the requirement that they be stationary at all points of uncountable cofinality.


This paper, based on the analysis and calculation of the groundwater resources in an arid region from 1980 to 2001, put forward the concept of ecological groundwater level threshold for either salinity control or the determination of ecological warning. The surveys suggest that soil moisture and soil salinity are the most important environmental factors in determining the distribution and changes in vegetation. The groundwater level threshold of ecological warning can be determined by using a network of groundwater depth observation sites that monitor the environmental moisture gradient as reflected by plant physiological characteristics. According to long-term field observations within the Ejin oases, the groundwater level threshold for salinity control varied between 0.5 m and 1.5 m, and the ecological warning threshold varied between 3.5 m and 4.0 m. The quantity of groundwater resources (renewable water resources, ecological water resources, and exploitable water resources) in arid areas can be calculated from regional groundwater level information, without localized hydrogeological data. The concept of groundwater level threshold of ecological warning was established according to water development and water resources supply, and available groundwater resources were calculated. The concept not only enriches and broadens the content of groundwater studies, but also helps in predicting the prospects for water resources development.


Objective: To compare mean endotracheal tube cuff pressures generated using two endotracheal tube cuff inflation methods;just-Seal versus Stethoscope-Guided in patients undergoing elective surgery under general Anaesthesia.
Study Design: Quasi-experimental study.
Place and Duration of Study: Anesthesia Department, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jan to Jul 2021.
Methodology: A total of 100 patients undergoing elective surgery under general endotracheal tube anaesthesia between 18–60 years of age of either gender were included. Patients were equally allocated (n=50 each) to two Groups, A (Just Seal Group) and B (Stethoscope Guided Group). In the Group-A method, the air was injected until no air leak could be heard. The pressure was measured using a "Portex cuff pressure manometer". In the Group-B method, a stethoscope bell was placed on the thyroid lamina, and harsh breath sounds were auscultated during ventilation. Cuff was inflated till the sounds changed to smooth sounds. The pressure was measured and then noted down.
Results: Among 100 patients, 39 % were males, and 61 % were females. The mean endotracheal cuff pressure in Group-A was 39.90±3.19 centimetres of water and 28.42±3.52 centimetres of water, with Group-B (p-value of 0.001).
Conclusion: Post-intubation cuff pressure measured in patients undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia of the just seal group is higher than that in the stethoscope-guided group.
Keywords: Cuff pressure, Stethoscope-guided, Tracheal intubation.


Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon! It is both an honor and a privilege to present a brief summary of the career accomplishments of my very good friend and colleague, Dr. Martin A. Buzas. Putting together the nomination for the award that Marty will receive today, I was impressed by the warmth of feeling that emanated from the letters of support I received from 13 paleontologists, workers in four countries on three different continents, who wrote on his behalf. Let me briefly summarize the thoughts of that group, and add a few of my own.

Marty was introduced to foraminifera at Brown University by Dick Cifelli. He moved to Yale, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1963 after just three years. His broad education under Karl Waage (paleontology), G. Evelyn Hutchinson (ecology), and Hilary Seal (statistics) established the intellectual basis for his research career. One letter of support was right on the mark in noting that the beginning of Marty's career at the Smithsonian, in 1963, coincided with the shift from a world of primarily qualitative investigation to the era of quantitative analysis in paleontology. Marty helped to lead the charge. His early work centered on the distribution of foraminifera at various scales, from a few centimeters (laterally and vertically) to the scale of biofacies, and then to ocean basins (his work on diversity with Gibson). To these studies, Marty brought a statistical rigor that was new to paleontology. This characteristic permeates the whole body of …


As the Internet is transforming the global information economy, the Telecollaboration (TC) system services are moving at a transitional pace dictated by market forces. However, the pace is turning out to be a lot slower than expected. This has prompted us now to approximate and synthesize the design concepts of building a scalable biomimetic system manager for a telecollaboration service taxonomy. Thus, it is expected that if there is more correlation across the design concepts of the system manager, the greater will be the likelihood of demonstrating a rescue-like operation for humans in this new taxonomy. The main goal of this paper is initially to over view the bio-swarm behaviours of insect colonies to embrace a notional computing architecture that enables an individual TC service entity. It is important that these behaviours along with the proposed self-x autonomic functions offered by the system manager need to be pursued, and indeed continue, in a highly correlated way to fulfil the opportunistic functional tasks related to the discovery and delivery of Telecollaboration services. In this context next, we attempt to study the significant usability benefits of qualitative and quantitative execution pressures related to the implementation of these functions. This includes a better understanding of the constraints of implementation of these functions to deal with complex usability performance baselines. Finally, we give an updated foresight of process deployment strategies through a group of highly diverse and autonomous objects called Teleholons whilst exploiting the role of these self-x autonomic functions.


Chronic alcohol consumption can lead to the development of alcoholic fatty liver disease. The underlying pathogenic mechanisms however, have not been fully elucidated. Here, we review the current state of the art regarding the application of lipidomics to study alcohol's effect on hepatic lipids. It is clear that alcohol has a profound effect on the hepatic lipidome, with documented changes in the major lipid categories (i.e. fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, sterol lipids and prenol lipids). Alcohol's most striking effect is the marked change in the hepatic fatty acyl pool. This effect includes increased levels of 18-carbon fatty acyl chains incorporated into multiple lipid species, as well as a general shift toward increased unsaturation of fatty acyl moieties. In addition to our literature review, we also make several recommendations to consider when designing lipidomic studies into alcohol's effects. These recommendations include integration of lipidomic data with other measures of lipid metabolism, inclusion of multiple experimental time points, and presentation of quantitative data. We believe rigorous analysis of the hepatic lipidome can yield new insight into the pathogenesis of alcohol-induced fatty liver. While the existing literature has been largely descriptive, the field is poised to apply lipidomics to yield a new level of understanding on alcohol's effects on hepatic lipid metabolism.


In this article, we place clinical sepsis trials from the past year in the context of similar sepsis trials run over the past three decades. These recent clinical sepsis trials include studies of agents administered to limit the effects of specific host proinflammatory mediators (tumor necrosis factor, platelet-activating factor and prostaglandins), studies of use of corticosteroids at low doses late in sepsis, and studies of adminstration of high doses of a nonspecific nitric oxide synthase inhibitor to decrease nitric oxide production in septic shock. The three trials of agents designed to limit host proinflammatory mediators showed minimal beneficial effects, results that are similar to those of the approximately 20 previous trials of similar agents. Low-dose corticosteroid therapy reversed shock and showed nonsignificant trends towards improvements in survival rates. In contrast, high doses of corticosteroids given early in sepsis have shown harmful effects in clinical sepsis trials. Finally, inhibition of nitric oxide production was lethal, indicating that high doses of nonspecific inhibitors of nitric oxide production are contraindicated in septic shock.


Motivated by XML applications, we address the problem of answering k-ary queries, i.e. simultaneously locating k nodes of an input tree as specified by a given relation. In particular, we discuss how binary queries can be used as a means of navigation in XML document transformations. We introduce a grammar-based approach to specifying k-ary queries. An efficient tree-automata based implementation of unary queries is reviewed and the extensions needed in order to implement k-ary queries are presented. In particular, an efficient solution for the evaluation of binary queries is provided and proven correct. We introduce fxgrep, a practical implementation of unary and binary queries for XML. By means of fxgrep and of the fxt XML transformation language we suggest how binary queries can be used in order to increase expressivity of rule-based transformations. We compare our work with other querying languages and discuss how our ideas can be used for other existing settings.


ABSTRACT Deniawan Pambudi. K6413017. THE INTERNALIZATION STRATEGY OF VALUES OF UNITY (A CASE STUDY ON THE PASOEPATI FOOTBALL FANS IN SURAKARTA CITY) Thesis, Surakarta: Education and Teacher training Faculty. Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, September 2017. The purposes of this study are: 1) to find out the Pasoepati council' strategies in internalizing the value of unity to the member of Pasoepati; 2) to find out the obstacles faced by the council in internalizing the values of unity to the member of Pasoepati; 3) to find out the Pasoepati council' solution in internalizing the value of unity to the member of Pasoepati. This study used qualitative approach, a single instrumental case study design. The data of this study were gained from the informants, events, activities, and documents. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. The data were collected through interviews, observations and document analysis. The source triangulation was done to validate the data. The data analysis was done by using interactive analysis model Based on the result of the study, it can be concluded that: 1) In order to internalize the values of unity to the members of Pasoepati, the strategy done by the Pasoepati council were as follow: a) Hang out together that create a harmony since there were no diversity among the member of Pasoepati, it taught the importance of unity, b) Social service, an activity that grows care and solidarity among the members, c) recitation. 2) While the obstacles faced by the Pasoepati Council were as follow: a) Internal obstacle: (1) reorganization that too quick; (2) personal ego; and (3) insufficient funds to do the work plan. b) external obstacles: (1) There were still provocateurs who want ruin Pasoepati' reputation; (2) There were hoax news in social media that lead to disunity. 3) the Pasoepati council' solution to internalize the values of unity towards the members of Pasoepati are as follow: a) mass media socializations, b) banner socializations and c) socialization through songs and movements. Keywords: Values internalization, Unity, Pasoepati Football Fans


An immune—reduction-suppression protocol using spleen cell infusion followed by cyclophosphamide (CP) or azathioprine (AZ) to reduce the immunocompetent cells and maintenance suppression with low-dose cyclosporine (CsA) was highly effective in a rat cardiac transplant model. Following one or two spleen cell infusions, AZ or CP treatment was given before transplantation. After transplantation the animals were maintained with low-dose CsA. Among those treated with AZ, five of eight survived >100 days, and among those treated with CP, six of eight survived >100. These two protocols were far superior to 28 other permutations of treatment consisting of 164 transplants, such as infusions plus AZ without CsA and infusions without AZ but with CsA. We conclude that CsA can most effectively be used in low dose as a maintenance drug and that immunoreduction therapy is optimized by prestimulation and expansion of reactive cells. Another important feature of this proposal is that the immunoreductive risk phase, performed before transplantation, can be separated from the operative risk period. This avoids the conventional superimposition of the two risks.


Although macrophages (Mφ) and monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC) come from a common precursor, they are distinct cell types. This report compares the two cell types with respect to the metabolism of platelet-activating factor (PAF), a biologically active lipid mediator. These experiments were prompted by our studies of localized juvenile periodontitis, a disease associated with high IgG2 production and a propensity of monocytes to differentiate into MDDC. As the IgG2 Ab response is dependent on PAF, and MDDC selectively induce IgG2 production, we predicted that PAF levels would be higher in MDDC than in Mφ. To test this hypothesis, human MDDC were prepared by treating adherent monocytes with IL-4 and GM-CSF, and Mφ were produced by culture in M-CSF. Both Mφ and MDDC synthesized PAF; however, MDDC accumulated significantly more of this lipid. We considered the possibility that PAF accumulation in MDDC might result from reduced turnover due to lower levels of PAF acetylhydrolase (PAFAH), the enzyme that catabolizes PAF. Although PAFAH increased when monocytes differentiated into either cell type, MDDC contained significantly less PAFAH than did Mφ and secreted almost no PAFAH activity. The reduced levels of PAFAH in MDDC could be attributed to lower levels of expression of the enzyme in MDDC and allowed these cells to produce PGE2 in response to exogenous PAF. In contrast, Mφ did not respond in this manner. Together, these data indicate that PAF metabolism may impinge on regulation of the immune response by regulating the accessory activity of MDDC.


It is of great value by using PET imaging in oncology to recognize any atypical uptake not related to the underlying disease. That helps in avoiding the false positive finding and may contribute in extending the application range of used radiopharmaceuticals in further disorders. It is well known that radiolabeled choline is an essential PET tracer used currently in prostate cancer. The physiological choline distribution was described. Nevertheless there is still a lack of studies, which describe this distribution in young patients; given that the radiolabeled choline is generally being used in the field of prostate cancer. Whether the thymus exhibits normally a positive choline uptake or not is still unknown. In particular, it is known that the lymphocytes express high affinity of choline transporter and enzymes involving its metabolism. Some cases of thymus carcinoma exhibiting a positive choline had been reported in the literature, however, mostly using 11C-choline. We report a rare case of metastatic thymic carcinoma detected incidentally using 18F-choline-PET in a 78-year-old male patient referred with elevation of prostate specific antigen. Moreover we present a comparison pattern with 18F-FDG-PET modality, in which 18F-choline-PET was turned out to be superior in tumor delineation.


We study the response of a starved Kerr black hole magnetosphere to abrupt changes in the intensity of disk emission and in the global magnetospheric current, by means of one-dimensional general relativistic particle-in-cell simulations. Such changes likely arise from the intermittency of the accretion process. We find that in cases where the pair-production opacity contributed by the soft disk photons is modest, as in, e.g., M87, such changes can give rise to delayed, strong teraelectronvolt (TeV) flares, dominated by curvature emission of particles accelerated in the gap. The flare rise time, and the delay between the external variation and the onset of the flare emitted from the outer gap boundary, are of the order of the light-crossing time of the gap. The rapid, large-amplitude TeV flares observed in M87, and perhaps, other active galactic nuclei may be produced by such a mechanism.


The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been a popular model to study cAMP signaling and resultant behaviors due to its powerful genetic approaches. All molecular components (AC, PDE, PKA, CREB, etc) essential for cAMP signaling have been identified in the fly. Among them, adenylyl cyclase (AC) gene rutabaga and phosphodiesterase (PDE) gene dunce have been intensively studied to understand the role of cAMP signaling. Interestingly, these two mutant genes were originally identified on the basis of associative learning deficits. This commentary summarizes findings on the role of cAMP in Drosophila neuronal excitability, synaptic plasticity and memory. It mainly focuses on two distinct mechanisms (global versus local) regulating excitatory and inhibitory synaptic plasticity related to cAMP homeostasis. This dual regulatory role of cAMP is to increase the strength of excitatory neural circuits on one hand, but to act locally on postsynaptic GABA receptors to decrease inhibitory synaptic plasticity on the other. Thus the action of cAMP could result in a global increase in the neural circuit excitability and memory. Implications of this cAMP signaling related to drug discovery for neural diseases are also described.


Corn silk is traditionally regarded as waste material, however recently is gaining much interest in Asian and African countries particularly due to its several health promoting effects. For instance, several corn silk-derived extracts and bioactive constituents have been demonstrated to exhibits antidiabetic, antihyperlipidaemic, antiobesity, anticancer, antihepatotoxicity, antinephrotoxicity and antimicrobial effects. Moreover, various studies have established that corn silk contains many bioactive compounds including proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fixed and volatile oils, steroids, flavonoids and phenolic compounds which perhaps are responsible for the potential health benefit reported. Most of these bioactive compounds present in corn silk exhibited antioxidant properties and confers health beneficial effects against several chronic and age-related diseases including diabetes, hypertension, cancer, hepatic and cardiovascular diseases. In view of the fact that many studies have continuously investigated the potential health benefits of corn silk which was traditionally regarded as waste material, the present review principally examine various experimental reports in vitro and in vivo studies using PubMed and reputable indexed journals to highlights the potential health benefits of corn silk against chronic and age-linked diseases.


Graphene, which is a one atom thick layer of graphite, has been considerably studied in the past decade due to its extraordinary physical properties. The development of new routes of synthesis facilitates the use of graphene in polymer nanocomposite. The addition of very small amounts (<1%) of graphene in a polymer matrix does not only increase its thermal and mechanical properties, but it would also enhance permeability, by limiting the diffusion of water through the material. Graphene-polymer nanocomposite would be an interesting alternative to conventional polymer nanocomposite such as nanoclay-polymer nanocomposite. In this study, graphene oxide is synthesized from graphite flakes, following the Tour method, and modified with silane to improve its compatibility with the polymer. Polymer nanocomposite made from vinylester resin and 0.5 wt% graphene oxide is prepared as well as other types of typically used polymer nanocomposite such as graphite flake, silica fume or nanoclay based composite. Samples are soaked in a water bath to study the water absorption of these nanocomposites. Mechanical property measurements and thermal analyses are performed to evaluate the benefit of using graphene oxide. Results show a significant enhancement of the mechanical and thermal properties with a graphene oxide content ten times lower than the one needed with conventional nanoparticles. Moreover, unlike nanoclay-based polymer nanocomposite, graphene oxide does not increase water absorption at saturation.


A National Health Service that works to prevent ill health and provide care that is personal, effective and safe is a key policy objective. This article considers the implications of this agenda for NHS primary dental care and discusses current thinking on how improvements to the quality of care may be achieved and monitored.


The main aim of this investigation is to produce high performance lightweight concrete sandwich panels consisting of two layers of mortar having different mesh reinforcement and feeded polystyrene concrete core in between. Locally pozzolanic material (ultra – fine feldspar) is used to produce the high performance mortar as partial replacement of cement. The effect of various factors such as core thickness, volume fraction and type of reinforcement (polyimide grids, polypropylene meshes and chicken wire meshes) has been investigated. The work covers the physical properties of the mortar and polystyrene concrete core. Also the structural properties and behaviour of eight series of 1000mm length and 200mm width concrete sandwich panels with two reinforced mortar faces of 20 mm in thickness and core of 30 and 50mm in thickness from polystyrene concrete were investigated by nondestructive and destructive methods. The nondestructive tests included the density and dynamic modulus for mortar and polystyrene concrete. Also the density and dynamic properties of the concrete sandwich panels as a whole (dynamic modulus of elasticity, Poisson's ratio and stiffness constant) were determined by ultrasonic pulse velocity. Flexural properties such as, first crack and ultimate loads, moment capacity, modulus of rupture, resilience, ductility and toughness of the concrete sandwich panels were investigated from the destructive tests . The results show that the ultimate moment increases as the core thickness and the volume fraction of different types of reinforcement increase and the modulus of rupture increases as volume fraction of reinforcement increase. Also it was shown that concrete sandwich panels with high toughness and ductility can be obtained by using polyimide grids or polypropylene meshes to reinforce the compression and tension faces of the panels.


This article describes how a sexual health service for young people can be provided in a school setting using a multi-agency drop-in approach.


ANSYS® SCADE Suite® is a development environment for safety critical embedded software used for more than twenty years in various application domains like avionics, nuclear plants, transportation, automotive. Its code generator is qualified for several industrial standards (DO-178C, IEC 61508, EN 50128, IEC 60880 and ISO 26262) to be used in the development of the most safety critical systems. Scade is historically based on the synchronous language Lustre designed in Grenoble in the VERIMAG laboratory by its two mains authors Paul Caspi and Nicolas Halbwachs. In its early days, it was mainly seen as a graphical notation for this academic language. In 2008, a major new version was released, based on the language Scade 6 that extended the dataflow point of view offered by Lustre to integrate new constructs inspired by Esterel and SyncCharts in order to allow more control oriented design style. This language is formally specified following the work of Marc Pouzet on the design of Lucid Synchrone, in particular on the static correction of programs. The formalized aspects cover mainly the static semantics i.e. the type systems that define what a correct program is; this correction is based on four type systems: Types (in the most classical sense), Clocks, Initialization analysis and Causality analyses. As a formal language, Scade is also well suited to apply formal verification on the applications developed with it. Programs are guaranteed to run in finite memory which allows to use state of the art model checking techniques. The talk will go through this history, giving some insights on the new Scade 6 constructs, its differences with Lustre and on the development of its qualified code generator. The formal verification of Scade 6 programs will also be illustrated.


Objective: To establish the characteristic method of rude medicinal material of rhizome of Begonia sinensis. Method: The characteristic features of the rhizome were studies by morphological and microscopic observation. Results: The description and transverse features of transverse section of the rhizome were described, and in the powder the microscopic features such as cluster needle crystals, tentacle, ring-thread vessel were found. Conclusion: The characteristics can be used to differentiate the rhizome of Begonia sinensis.


BACKGROUND
When lithium is administered, the clinician needs to know when the lithium in the patient's blood has reached a therapeutic level. At the initiation of treatment the level is usually achieved gradually through the application of the titration method. In order to increase the efficacy of this procedure several methods for dosing lithium and for predicting lithium levels have been developed.

AIM
To conduct a systematic review of the publications relating to the various methods for dosing lithium or predicting lithium levels at the initiation of therapy.

METHOD
We searched Medline systematically for articles published in English, French or Dutch between 1966 and April 2012 which described or studied a method for dosing lithium or for predicting the lithium level reached following a specific dosage. We screened the reference lists of relevant articles in order to locate additional papers.

RESULTS
We found 38 lithium prediction methods, in addition to the clinical titration method. These methods can be divided into two categories: the 'a priori' methods and the 'test-dose' methods, the latter requiring the administration of a test dose of lithium.

CONCLUSION
The lithium prediction methods generally achieve a therapeutic blood level faster than the clinical titration method, but none of the methods achieves convincing results. On the basis of our review, we propose that the titration method should be used as the standard method in clinical practice.


Reflects on how a pastoral care department utilized a Joint Commission review in the education of five pastoral care residents enrolled in their third unit of Clinical Pastoral Education in a medical center. Outlines how residents prepared for the review, the learning opportunities for residents and medical staff, the outcomes, and the recommendations.


Direct load control -- load which is under the control of the system dispatcher, such as could be the case under say demand subscription service -- can be used to reduce system spinning reserve. Such a reduction may constitute a significant additional saving in system variable cost. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the viability of this philosophy. A quasi-static system simulation algorithm is employed to compute the potential variable cost saving for a sample system consisting of thermal generation and direct load control. This algorithm considers probabilistic load models, outage probabilities and reliability economics.


Carbon blacks such as Vulcan XC-72 are widely used to support platinum (Pt) or Pt alloy catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Despite their widespread use, carbon blacks are susceptible to corrosion during fuel cell operations. In this work, the corrosion behaviors of platinized Vulcan XC-72 nanoparticles under thermal and electrochemical conditions were monitored by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal corrosion experiment was carried out in a gas-cell TEM, which allows for a direct observation of the thermal oxidation behavior of the nanoparticles. The electrochemical corrosion experiment was performed outside of the TEM by loading the nanoparticles on a TEM grid and then electrochemically corroding them step by step followed by taking TEM images from exactly the same nanoparticles after each step. This work revealed four types of structural changes: (i) total removal of structurally weak aggregates, (ii) breakdown of aggregates via neck-breaking, (iii) center-hollowed primary particles caused by an inside-out corrosion starting from the center to outer region, and (iv) gradual decrease in the size of primary particles caused by a uniform removal of material from the surface. These structural changes took place in sequence or simultaneously depending on the competition of carbon corrosion dynamical processes. Themore » results obtained from this work provide insight on carbon corrosion and its effects on fuel cells' long-term performance and durability.« less


We describe a method for approximating a single-variable function $f$ using persistence diagrams of sublevel sets of $f$ from height functions in different directions. We provide algorithms for the piecewise linear case and for the smooth case. Three directions suffice to locate all local maxima and minima of a piecewise linear continuous function from its collection of directional persistence diagrams, while five directions are needed in the case of smooth functions with non-degenerate critical points. Our approximation of functions by means of persistence diagrams is motivated by a study of importance attribution in machine learning, where one seeks to reduce the number of critical points of signal functions without a significant loss of information for a neural network classifier.


The present invention relates to a method for producing an anode active material precursor for a sodium secondary battery by using a coprecipitation technique and an anode active material precursor for a sodium secondary battery produced thereby. The method for producing an anode active material precursor for a sodium secondary battery by using a coprecipitation technique according to the present invention can provide an anode active material precursor, having improved lifespan characteristics and a new composition, for a sodium secondary battery by aptly adjusting the types of complexing agents and pH values while using a coprecipitation technique.


Problems that appear in a company that produces refined sugar, the production floor has not reached the level of critical machine availability because it often suffered damage (breakdown). This results in a sudden loss of production time and production opportunities. This problem can be solved by Reliability Engineering method where the statistical approach to historical damage data is performed to see the pattern of the distribution. The method can provide a value of reliability, rate of damage, and availability level, of an machine during the maintenance time interval schedule. The result of distribution test to time inter-damage data (MTTF) flexible hose component is lognormal distribution while component of teflon cone lifthing is weibull distribution. While from distribution test to mean time of improvement (MTTR) flexible hose component is exponential distribution while component of teflon cone lifthing is weibull distribution. The actual results of the flexible hose component on the replacement schedule per 720 hours obtained reliability of 0.2451 and availability 0.9960. While on the critical components of teflon cone lifthing actual on the replacement schedule per 1944 hours obtained reliability of 0.4083 and availability 0.9927.


The climate of the Earth is changing in response to natural and anthropogenic forcing agents. Emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants have led to significant changes in the Earth's climate systems and projections indicate that further extensive changes are likely. Increased scientific understanding into the processes responsible for climate change and the possible consequences of assumptions regarding future climate and air pollution policy is important to formulate effective response strategies based on mitigation and adaptation. Earth System Models (ESMs) can be used to make climate projections based on emissions or concentrations projections for greenhouse gasses and aerosols derived from socio-economic scenarios. Such scenarios are produced by Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), based on detailed descriptions of population growth, energy demand and land use. There has been increasing interest in coupling different disciplines involved in climate research. The current cooperation efforts among scientists from different disciplines have led to an improved representation of climate forcings in ESMs, and of climate responses impacts in IAMs. In this thesis, we contribute to this cooperation by exploring the consequences of emission scenarios under different assumptions regarding air pollution and climate policy. To do so, we utilize a set of scenarios similar to the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), developed using the IAM IMAGE. These scenarios combine scenarios with radiative forcing targets in 2100 of 2.6 W/m2 and 6.0 W/m2 with different assumptions for air pollution policies (low/high). These scenarios are subsequently used in the global atmospheric chemistry and transport model TM5. Results reveal that both climate and air pollution control policies have large-scale impacts on pollutant concentrations, often of comparable magnitude. We also find that air pollution control measures could, on a global scale, significantly reduce the warming induced by tropospheric ozone and black carbon and the cooling resulting from sulphate in the coming decades. These effects tend to cancel each other on a global scale. Next, we evaluate the equilibrium climate response to aerosol reductions in different parts of the world in 2050, using the global climate model EC-Earth. Reductions in aerosol concentrations increase downward surface solar radiation and surface temperature concomitantly in various parts of the world. The increase in surface temperature is dominated by the reduced cooling effect of sulphate which in some areas is partially compensated by the decreased warming effect of black carbon. Also, we find that aerosol reductions can significantly affect climate at high latitudes especially in the winter, mostly as a result of teleconnections between the low and high latitudes. Due to the inhomogeneous spatial distributions of air pollutants, changes in their emissions can have strong regional climate impacts. Using EC-Earth, we assess in Chapter 4 the effectiveness of different aerosol forcing agents in causing climate change in 2050. Our results show that different anthropogenic aerosol components may have a broad range ofefficacies. The results also reveal that there are large interhemispheric differences in aerosol forcings, which result in changes in circulation patterns. By using surface ozone concentrations simulated by TM5 as input to IMAGE, we estimate ozone impacts on crop production, and subsequent impacts on land use and carbon fluxes in 2005 and 2050. In the absence of new climate and air pollution policies, higher ozone concentrations could lead to an increase in crop damage in 2050 compared to present day. This may lead to a global increase in crop area notably in Asia. Implementation of air pollution policies and climate policies (co-benefits of reducing ozone precursor emissions) could limit future crop yield losses due to ozone in the most affected regions. At the local scale, the changes can be substantial.


Six gypseferous soil samples were collected from Tel-Afar area, northern Iraq. geotechnical properties were determined. Tests were conducted on specimens containing different gypsum contents. The testing program comprises the determination of the natural gypsum content effect on the shear strength characteristics of the soil specimens under consideration. The results showed that the shear strength of Tel-Afar soils increases as gypsum content increases, while shear characteristics (cohesion= C, and the angle of internal friction=O) revealed different behavior when gypsum added to a natural soil. When the gypsum content increases the C value decreases whereas the O increases.


This study used a nationally representative sample of African American and Caribbean Black adolescent females to examine the relation between perceived pubertal timing relative to peers and discriminatory experiences. Participants included the 607 girls who participated in the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent (NSAL-A), and ranged in age from 13 to 17. Most African American girls perceived their development as on-time relative to their same-aged peers; whereas the majority of Caribbean Black girls perceived their development as earlier than their same-aged peers. The results indicated that girls who perceived that their pubertal development was earlier than their same-aged peers reported more general and racial discrimination experiences.


ABSTRACT Surface melt in the ablation zone is dominated by atmospheric temperature and surface albedo. We developed a surface mass-balance model with a dynamic component of glacier ice albedo which includes surface properties, clouds and the angle of the sun. The ice albedo reduction is mainly caused by impurity accumulation of non-biological origin such as dust and black carbon (BC), which is currently not included in other surface mass-balance models. Simulations show that dust from meltout is the main source of impurity mass at the melting glacier ice surface, and current rates of atmospheric deposition of dust play only a minor role. However, for BC the atmospheric deposition is the main source where ice melt rates are below 1 m, and atmospheric deposition is most likely from intercontinental transport due to the scarce population and lack of forests in Greenland.


A direct route to pure peroxide Despite the widespread use of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant and disinfectant, its commercial synthesis still requires inefficient concentration and purification steps. Xia et al. now report an electrochemical approach to synthesizing pure peroxide solutions straight from hydrogen and oxygen. Using a solid-state electrolyte, they avoid contamination of the product solution by extraneous ions. Varying the flow rate of water through the electrochemical cell tunes the final concentration over a range from 0.3% to 20% by weight. Science, this issue p. 226 A solid electrolyte enables hydrogen peroxide synthesis straight from hydrogen and oxygen, with no purification required. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) synthesis generally requires substantial postreaction purification. Here, we report a direct electrosynthesis strategy that delivers separate hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) streams to an anode and cathode separated by a porous solid electrolyte, wherein the electrochemically generated H+ and HO2– recombine to form pure aqueous H2O2 solutions. By optimizing a functionalized carbon black catalyst for two-electron oxygen reduction, we achieved >90% selectivity for pure H2O2 at current densities up to 200 milliamperes per square centimeter, which represents an H2O2 productivity of 3.4 millimoles per square centimeter per hour (3660 moles per kilogram of catalyst per hour). A wide range of concentrations of pure H2O2 solutions up to 20 weight % could be obtained by tuning the water flow rate through the solid electrolyte, and the catalyst retained activity and selectivity for 100 hours.


This research is dedicated to a problem of leadership effectiveness in the context of changing social situation. As part of the research generalized competency model «20 dimensions» was created. Results of comparing «20 dimensions» to three popular Western models demonstrated that despite significant similarities between these models, several competencies crucial to defining the success of a manager in Russia are not in demand abroad. Theoretical analysis and research results allowed us to formulate Dynamic Leadership Concept that describes effective behavior of a leader as a function of strategic goal and social situation represented on three levels: micro-, mesoand macro-social.


This study knew that comparing type 2 diabetes mellitus and some pro-inflammatory immune factors, IL-6 and CRP clarified the higher glucose and their relationship in stimulating these immune factors. Type II diabetes mellitus, elevated incidence of disease, elevated IL6 and CRP II, in the absence of substrates run on elevated blood glucose.


The paper considers a model of adiabatic waveguide modes in the zero approximation applied to the numerical solution of the problem of single-mode propagation of guided modes in a smoothly irregular integrated optical waveguide. Within the framework of the model, the solution to the Maxwell system of equations is reduced to a form that is expressed through the solution of a system of four ordinary differential equations and two algebraic equations for six components of the electromagnetic field. The multilayer structure of waveguides makes it possible to carry out one more stage of reducing the system of equations of the model to a homogeneous system of linear algebraic equations, the condition of nontrivial solvability of which specifies the dispersion equation. Auxiliary eigenvalue and eigenvector problems for describing adiabatic waveguide modes are solved. Example solutions for single-mode propagation of adiabatic waves are presented.


Neuritin is important in neuritogenesis, neurite arborization, and neurite extension. Lignosus rhinocerotis sclerotia extracts and nerve growth factor (NGF) have been well documented to possess positive neurite stimulatory effects. However, the correlation of neuritin expression with neurite outgrowth of L. rhinocerotis and NGF cotreatment of PC12 cells remains unknown. Thus, the present study investigated neuritin expression in PC12 cells treated with 5 ng/mL of NGF and L. rhinocerotis extracts (20-1280 μg/mL) concurrently for 48 h. The neurite outgrowth score was quantitated, and total protein was harvested for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. There was a significant difference (P = 0.051) in neuritin protein abundance in 640 μg/mL of L. rhinocerotis aqueous cotreatment with 5 ng/mL of NGF-treated cells (5 ± 0.39 ng/mL) and 50 ng/mL of NGF-treated PC12 cells (5 ± 0.48 ng/mL) compared to untreated cells (1.9 ± 0.65 ng/ mL), with an average neurite length of 98 ± 3.66, 106 ± 3.00, and 73 ± 4.79 μm, respectively. Expression of microtubule element β3 tubulin was increased in PC12 cells treated with 50 ng/mL of NGF (3.5 ± 0.21-fold) and also cells cotreated with 640 μg/mL of extract and 5 ng/mL of NGF (4.9 ± 0.29-fold) compared to untreated cells. Upregulation of β3 tubulin expression in this study confirmed the elongation of PC12 cell processes. Correlation analysis showed that neuritin protein abundance is positively proportional to the average neurite length in PC12 cells cotreated with L. rhinocerotis extract and 5 ng/mL of NGF. This study highlights that neuritin modulation is involved in neurite outgrowth induced by L. rhinocerotis treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first report to show that tiger milk mushroom extracts induce neuritin expression.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the understandings of graduate students in biology education department about the aspects of nature of science. The study was conducted with case study methodology and included four graduate students. Questionnaire of definitions and VNOS-C (Views on Nature of Science Questionnaire-C) as data collection tools were used. The results indicated that "biology education" graduate students showed misunderstandings about "tentativeness", "objectivity", "social and cultural embeddedness of scientific knowledge", "hierarchical relationship among hypothesis, theory and law", "definition of science" and" creativeness and imagination in science". In addition, the participants presented disciplinedependent understandings. In this paper, the results of the study are discussed and limitations and important points of the study are explained for further research.


Five women (23-32 yr) performed bicycle work in a hypobaric chamber for 2 h at 41% of their respective altitude maximal oxygen uptakes (VO2) at 758, 586, 523, and 446 Torr barometric pressures (PB). Steady-state VO2 was achieved within 5 min work at all altitudes. Pulmonary ventilation (29.2 +/- 1.9 (mean +/- SE) 1/min, BTPS), respiratory rate (22 +/- 2 breaths/min), cardiac output (8.5 +/- 1.4 1/min), heart rate (115 +/- 6 beats/min), and stroke volume (75 +/- 13 ml) were similar at all altitudes, but time-related changes differed with altitude. Blood lactates did not change with work duration and were similar at 758 and 586 Torr PB but progressively elevated at 523 and 446 Torr. Blood norepinephrine, measured only at 758 and 446 Torr PB, increased with work but not altitude; epinephrine increased only at altitude. Norepinephrine levels and respiratory, cardiovascular, and thermoregulatory functions were essentially dependent on relative work load; blood lactates and epinephrine levels were not. Many physiological functions in these women performing sustained light work during acute altitude exposure were remarkably stable in contrast to previously reported studies on men.


Snow-fed River Pinder -a tributary of River Alaknanda in central Himalaya was explored for fish assemblages and habitat specificity. Altogether 27 fish species were reported from three orders, four families and nine genera. Cypriniformes order was dominating followed by Siluriformes and Salmoniformes. Shannon-Weiner diversity index (3.09 to 4.10) and Simpson index of diversity (0.81 to 0.92) of four sites specified strong relationship with species richness. The distribution of fish species showed interesting patterns, 33% species were common to all four sampling sites while 14.80% were restricted to single site and the remaining species were randomly distributed among two or three sampling sites. Habitat variability in the river significantly influenced the species assemblage structure. About 7.40% species were found common to all habitats while 3.70% species were restricted to only single habitat type. The remaining 88.90% of species were dwelling between two to three habitat types. Deep pools recorded maximum species richness followed by shallow pools, while least species richness was recorded in cascade habitats. The conservation status of fish fauna of the river was ascertained by CAMP (Conservation Assessment and Management Plan). Out of 27 species, the status of 8 species was not assessed due to data being deficient, 7 species were categorised as lower risk near threatened, 6 as vulnerable, 5 as endangered while 1 species was exotic.


We find a parametric solution of an arbitrary symmetric homogeneous diophantine equation of 5th degree in 6 variables using two primitive solutions. We then generalize this approach to symmetric forms of any odd degree by proving the following results.
(1) Every symmetric form of odd degree $n\ge 5$ in $6 \cdot 2^{n-5}$ variables has a rational parametric solution depending on $2n-8$ parameters. (2) Let $F(x_1, ..., x_N)$ be a symmetric form of odd degree $n\ge 5$ in $N=6 \cdot 2^{n-4}$ variables, and let $q$ be any rational number. Then the equation $F(x_i)=q$ has a rational parametric solution depending on $2n-6$ parameters.
The latter result can be viewed as a solution of a problem of Waring type for this class of forms.


Abstract Pacific storms entering Southern California have been intensely sampled and subjected to detailed investigation through a storm study program in the Santa Barbara area during the 1960–63 (inclusive) winter storm seasons. One result which has emerged from the analyses of precipitation and upper-air data was the discovery that organized convection bands were a common feature within the main precipitation region. These bands were detected from storm precipitation distributions, which, through quasi-objective methods, have been separated into the following three components: storm mean motion precipitation, orographic precipitation, and convection band precipitation. The typical convection bands appear to be 20 to 40 miles wide, centered some 30 to 60 miles apart, oriented along the upper shear vector (between winds in the convective cloud layers and the adjacent layer above), and moving along a direction of the lower shear vector. There is evidence that the increased convective activity within the ba...


The effect of heating rate upon the formation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a SiC(000 ) surface was investigated. The samples were heated to 1700°C at a heating rate of 100–400°C min−1 in the ultrahigh vacuum (<1.0×10−8 Pa) or low vacuum (1.0×10−2 Pa) chamber and held at temperature for 1 h. Sample cross sections were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with a 300 kV electron beam. When using a slow heating rate, CNTs are observed on the SiC(000 ) surface. However, when the heating rate exceeds 400°C min−1, an amorphous layer is formed on the interface between the CNT layer and the SiC substrate. It is thought that excess carbon atoms are decomposed and cannot form CNTs, but instead form an amorphous layer at the interface.


Abstract Recent research looks increasingly at languages with more than one system of nominal classification and first systematic typological assessments of so-called "concurrent noun classification" exist with a focus on cases involving classifiers and gender. We elaborate on this work by dealing with Niger-Congo languages that have restructured their inherited noun classification in a particular way. The inherited system entailing a strong parallelism between agreement-based gender and affix-based noun inflections shifted toward one where the gender system is reduced to an animacy-based opposition while nominal inflection maintains a considerable amount of original complexity with semantic criteria beyond those of the innovative gender distinction. While the phenomenon as such is not a new discovery, its typological relevance has gone unrecognized so far. We argue that such cases of restructured gender systems in Niger-Congo prima facie suggest themselves as candidates for a new type of concurrent noun classification, both from a synchronic and diachronic perspective. We present a detailed description of the phenomenon in the Guang language Gonja and determine whether or how it can be integrated in the available typology. We also survey its wider distribution and discuss some recurrent historical aspects of its emergence in the family.


Very recently, a breaking finding from two groups demonstrated that telomere DNA is transcribed into telomeric repeat-containing RNA in mammalian cells. Telomeric RNA, a newly appeared player in telomere biology, may be a key component of telomere machinery. However, structure and function of the telomeric RNA in chromosome ends have not yet been elucidated. In the current studies, we found that the human telomeric RNA sequence can form parallel G-quadruplex structure in the presence of K(+) or Na(+) ions. These results provide valuable information to allow understanding of the roles of human telomeric RNA in chromosome ends regulation and protection.


A more precise analysis of the singular structure of some spacetimes recently studied by Frolov and Garfinkle (1990) is presented. In particular, it is shown that the curvature of the Frolov-Garfinkle metric for a travelling cosmic string has on top of the conic singularity a non-scalar or intermediate singularity. A metric that represents a string in an accelerated spacetime is exhibited.


Abstract: The story of Polycarp presents the challenge of steering a via media between hagiographical and demythologizing interpretations. The article explains the problems with regard to dating his martyrdom and the method of separating out the anachronistic and hagiographical details within the account. There is nothing in the Martyrdom that could not have been written in the mid-second century, and there is no compelling reason why it must be dated considerably later than the events it describes. At a time when the church was growing, Polycarp's fate was not just a story but also a sign and a pastoral encouragement.


Patchy landscapes select for invasiveness Invasive species are ubiquitous in human-dominated landscapes, yet we have only limited understanding of their ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Williams et al. used an experimental system with the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana to examine how evolution affects the spread of plant populations through landscapes of varying patchiness. Plant height and dispersal ability evolved more rapidly in patchier experimental landscapes, suggesting that fragmentation can select for more rapid invasion velocity. Hence, evolution may need to be taken into account in predictions of future invasion rates. Science, this issue p. 482 Habitat patchiness enhances evolution of dispersal and spread in an experimental plant population. Predicting the speed of biological invasions and native species migrations requires an understanding of the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of spreading populations. Theory predicts that evolution can accelerate species' spread velocity, but how landscape patchiness—an important control over traits under selection—influences this process is unknown. We manipulated the response to selection in populations of a model plant species spreading through replicated experimental landscapes of varying patchiness. After six generations of change, evolving populations spread 11% farther than nonevolving populations in continuously favorable landscapes and 200% farther in the most fragmented landscapes. The greater effect of evolution on spread in patchier landscapes was consistent with the evolution of dispersal and competitive ability. Accounting for evolutionary change may be critical when predicting the velocity of range expansions.


Apparent kinetic rate constants and activation energies for catalyst activation, deactivation, and propylene propagation with a 4th-generation Ziegler-Natta catalyst are estimated. The rate of polymerization in the presence of donor and hydrogen is higher than in their absence. Catalyst activation and propagation rate constants increase with the addition of hydrogen, likely because hydrogen frees 2–1-terminated dormant sites. The deactivation term was the highest without electron donor, presumably because the nonspecific sites deactivate faster than the specific sites. Apparent activation energies for catalyst activation, deactivation, and propagation are not significantly influenced by the presence of hydrogen or external donor, indicating that they do not affect these mechanisms substantially.


International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have been promoted as a global set of financial reporting standards that will help integrate global capital markets. We examine whether the mandatory European-wide adoption of IFRS in 2005 improved the forecast accuracy for foreign analysts relative to that of domestic analysts. We find that, on average, foreign analysts experience no incremental improvement in forecast accuracy relative to domestic analysts. However, we find that those foreign analysts who are familiar with IFRS do experience an incremental improvement in forecast accuracy relative to domestic analysts. We also find that this incremental improvement in forecast accuracy relative to domestic analysts is concentrated among firms domiciled in countries with both strong enforcement regimes and domestic accounting standards that differ significantly from IFRS. Our results highlight that both familiarity with IFRS and the quality of countries' enforcement environments play key roles in determining the extent to which IFRS adoption can reduce information asymmetry between foreign and domestic analysts.


Introduction. There is a lack of knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms that form peripheral nerve disorders in mercury lesions of professional origin. The study aims to reveal the mechanisms underlying peripheral nerve damage in the long-term post-contact period of chronic mercury intoxication (CMI). Materials and methods. Fifty-one people had the diagnosis of a long-term period of CMI. The post-contact period was 8.5±2.6 years. The authors compared the results with a control group of 26 healthy men who had no contact with toxic substances. Stimulating electroneuromyography was performed. We studied the body systems that could contribute to the formation of disorders in the peripheral nerves. Changes in peripheral hemodynamics were studied using reovasography. The content of autoantibodies, neuron-specific enolase, serotonin, histamine, catecholamines (epinephrine, dopamine), metanephrine, and neurotrophin-3 was reviewed. The content of ceruloplasmin, secondary products of lipid peroxidation processes, reduced glutathione, the activity of superoxide dismutase and the content of nitric oxide levels were determined. Results. The study established pathogenetic structural links of peripheral nerve disorders. The autoimmune process's role was to increase the range of antibodies to the MAG protein and increase the level of antibodies to DNA. Violations of elastic-tonic properties of peripheral vessels could be associated with the functional state of motor axons. The increased content of neurotransmitters is related to the state of peripheral blood circulation; the most pronounced changes were on the legs, which could contribute to the occurrence and maintenance of vasoconstriction. The role of oxidative stress in the formation of demyelinating disorders in patients' peripheral nerves in the long-term period of CRI is possible. Conclusion. Neuroimmunological processes has an essential role in the development of peripheral nerve demyelination was shown, which consists in an increase in the content of antibodies to the MAG protein expressed on Schwann cells of peripheral nerves and in an increase in the level of antibodies to DNA involved in the formation of demyelinating changes when exposed to metallic mercury. The revealed pathological changes in the state of the peripheral blood circulation, characterized by a violation of the vessels' elastic-tonic properties, leading to demyelination of motor axons in patients in the long-term period of CMI. The increased content of neurotransmitters in the examined is of great importance in the state of peripheral circulation. Pronounced changes in blood circulation are established on the lower extremities, which may be associated with the predominance of α-adrenergic receptors in the arterial bed and may contribute to the occurrence and maintenance of vasoconstriction in the legs. The relationship between changes in indicators of oxidative stress, consisting of a decrease in the value of superoxide dismutase and reduced glutathione, and the formation of demyelinating disorders of peripheral nerves in patients in the long-term period of CMI has been proved.


ABSTRACT An advanced along-track scanning radiometer (AATSR) global multi-year aerosol retrieval algorithm is described. Over land, the AATSR dual-view (ADV) algorithm utilizes the measured top of the atmosphere (TOA) reflectance in both the nadir and forward views to decouple the contributions of the atmosphere and the surface to retrieve aerosol properties. Over ocean, the AATSR single-view (ASV) algorithm minimizes the discrepancy between the measured and modelled TOA reflectances in one of the views to retrieve the aerosol information using an ocean reflectance model. Necessary steps to process global, multi-year aerosol information are presented. These include cloud screening, the averaging of measured reflectance, and post-processing. Limitations of the algorithms are also discussed. The main product of the aerosol retrieval is the aerosol optical depth (AOD) at visible/near-infrared wavelengths. The retrieved AOD is validated using data from the surface-based AERONET and maritime aerosol network (MAN) sun photometer networks as references. The validation shows good agreement with the reference (r = 0.85, RMSE = 0.09 over land; r = 0.83, RMSE = 0.09 at coasts and r = 0.96, RMSE = 0.06 over open ocean). The results of the aerosol retrievals are presented for the full AATSR mission years 2002–2012 with seasonally averaged time series for selected regions.


Thermodynamic stabilities of 2 × 2 nucleotide tandem AG internal loops in RNA range from −1.3 to +3.4 kcal/mol at 37 °C and are not predicted well with a hydrogen-bonding model. To provide structural information to facilitate development of more sophisticated models for the sequence dependence of stability, we report the NMR solution structures of five RNA duplexes: (rGACGAGCGUCA)2, (rGACUAGAGUCA)2, (rGACAAGUGUCA)2, (rGGUAGGCCA)2, and (rGACGAGUGUCA)2. The structures of these duplexes are compared to that of the previously solved (rGGCAGGCC)2 (Wu, M., SantaLucia, J., Jr., and Turner, D. H. (1997) Biochemistry 36, 4449−4460). For loops bounded by Watson−Crick pairs, the AG and Watson−Crick pairs are all head-to-head imino-paired (cis Watson−Crick/Watson−Crick). The structures suggest that the sequence-dependent stability may reflect non-hydrogen-bonding interactions. Of the two loops bounded by G-U pairs, only the 5′UAGG/3′GGAU loop adopts canonical UG wobble pairing (cis Watson−Crick/Watson−Crick), with AG pairs that are only weakly imino-paired. Strikingly, the 5′GAGU/3′UGAG loop has two distinct duplex conformations, the major of which has both guanosine residues (G4 and G6 in (rGACGAGUGUCA)2) in a syn glycosidic bond conformation and forming a sheared GG pair (G4-G6*, GG trans Watson−Crick/Hoogsteen), both uracils (U7 and U7*) flipped out of the helix, and an AA pair (A5-A5*) in a dynamic or stacked conformation. These structures provide benchmarks for computational investigations into interactions responsible for the unexpected differences in loop free energies and structure.


At present, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is considered a type of autoimmune disease. Its pathology is not certain, and effective drugs with less toxicity have not been established. The establishment and application of animal models are effective methods for RA research, especially using animal models similar to humans. Arthritis is more heterogeneous, and this is an important starting point when discussing animal models for arthritis. Animal models are instrumental in understanding the etiology and pathogenetic mechanisms of RA. Appropriate animal models should be selected according to experiments because they have different traits. Various methods have been applied to induce arthritis in animal experimental models, which have provided important insights into the etiopathogenetic mechanisms of human RA. This review was written to give a broad introduction of the current stage of RA model and hope to offer beneficial help for RA-related research.


Blood lactate is an important biomarker that has been linked to morbidity and mortality of critically ill patients, acute ischemic stroke, septic shock, lung injuries, insulin resistance in diabetic patients, and cancer. Currently, the clinical measurement of blood lactate is done by collecting intermittent blood samples. Therefore, noninvasive, optical measurement of this significant biomarker would lead to a big leap in healthcare. This study, presents a quantitative analysis of the optical properties of lactate. The benefits of wavelength selection for the development of accurate, robust, and interpretable predictive models have been highlighted in the literature. Additionally, there is an obvious, time- and cost-saving benefit to focusing on narrower segments of the electromagnetic spectrum in practical applications. To this end, a dataset consisting of 47 spectra of Na-lactate and Phosphate Buffer Solution (PBS) was produced using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and subsequently, a comparative study of the application of a genetic algorithm-based wavelength selection and two interval selection methods was carried out. The high accuracy of predictions using the developed models underlines the potential for optical measurement of lactate. Moreover, an interesting finding is the emergence of local features in the proposed genetic algorithm, while, unlike the investigated interval selection methods, no explicit constraints on the locality of features was imposed. Finally, the proposed genetic algorithm suggests the formation of α-hydroxy-esters methyl lactate in the solutions while the other investigated methods fail to indicate this.


The structure elucidation of drug metabolites directly from urine by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for a new bronchodilator is described. When urine samples from human subjects dosed with 400 mg of MDL 257 were examined by MS/MS, three major urinary metabolites previously characterized in animal studies were confirmed and two previously unsuspected metabolites were identified. Using the operational modes of a triple stage quadrupole mass spectrometer, it is possible both to detect and to identify possible metabolites. Since the pure drug and its metabolites often contain common structural daughter ions, the parent spectra of these common daughter ions should contain some or all of the molecular ions of possible metabolites. Daughter spectra of these suspected molecular ions were obtained and the resulting daughter spectra were interpreted for structural information of suspected metabolites. This study confirms the utility of MS/MS to do rapid metabolic profiling and identification directly from complex samples such as urine, with minimal time for sample preparation and analysis. This technique can provide unique and complimentary data when combined with the more classical approaches such as HPLC profiling, isolation, and off-line spectroscopy.


The relative speed and ease with which the EU and ASEAN reached an agreement in 2007 to initiate negotiations for a free trade agreement may create the impression that this constituted a success for the EU's Asia strategy. In reality, the launching of negotiations represented a series of failures for the EU. By 2007, neither of the two conditions the EU had a few years before set for such negotiations (a convergence between EU and ASEAN regulations and the successful conclusion of WTO negotiations) had been fulfilled. Moreover, the EU was compelled to accept the ASEAN format for negotiations implying the participation of Myanmar, at a time when repression in Myanmar had intensified and the EU had renewed its sanctions against the latter.


Stemming is the process of extracting root word from the given inflection word. It also plays significant role in numerous application of Natural Language Processing (NLP). The stemming problem has addressed in many contexts and by researchers in many disciplines. This expository paper presents survey of some of the latest developments on stemming algorithms in data mining and also presents with some of the solutions for various Indian language stemming algorithms along with the results.


mall systems servNDWC RESULTS database. The Naing fewer thaipt 10,000 people still have tional Drinking Water Clearinghouse difficulty nteetillg Safe Drinking Water (NDWC) RESULTS [Registry of EquipAct (SDWA) t%quirements because of ment Suppliers of Treatment Technologies problems associated with treatment (e.g., for Small Systems] database houses inforupgrading infrastructure and installing mation helpful to small systems. NDWC new treatment technologies) and affordgathers this information from operators, ability. The US Environmental Protecstate drinking water offices, equipment tion Agency (USEPA), in its August 1997 vendors, and others. Information in Small System Compliance Technology RESULTS may be obtained free by accessList for the Surface Water Treatment ing the database through NDWC's Web Rule, reported that between 1963 and site at . You 1993 the number of systems serving may also call the NDWC at (800) 624fewer than 500 people increased from 8301 or (304) 293-4191. 5,433 to 35,598 and that the number of NDWC tech briefs. The NDWC's systems serving between 501 and 10,000 tech briefs are four-page fact sheets, people increased from 1 1,308 to 18,573. Each provides concise technical information about a drinking water treatInformation about treatment ment technology relevant to small systechnologies is available terns. A package of the tech briefs is USEPA lists. When the SDWA was now available for purchase online at reauthorized in 1996, USEPA addressed or via small community drinking water cone-mail at . cerns by assessing technologies relevant You may also call (800) 624-8301 or to systems serving three population cat(304) 293-4191 to order. egories: 25-500, 501-3,300, and USEPA/NSF ETV Program. I neon 3,301-10,000. MMMHHUwnstrdtirig and receivUSEPA discussed difH^HBHSBHte approval for techferent technologies suitjmk site to site and able to small systems in state has been an three guidance documents: concern for equipSmall System Compliance TECI^|H^H|^HHHpanufacturers introTechnology List for the new technologies. Surface Water Treatment ^^^^^H^^^^^^HKEPA's EnvironmenRule and Total Coliform SYsflBHl^^H^H^Bpnology Verification Rule, Small System Comsu|T^H||H||HHHHwrogram, managed by pliance Technology List for Office of Research Nonmicrobial ContamiSYSTEMS. and Development, is a direct nants Regulated Before response to this concern. 1996, and Variance Technology FindUSEPA and the National Sanitation ings for Contaminants Regulated Before Foundation (NSF) International are 1996. For information about the availconducting the packaged drinking water ability of these documents, contact the treatment systems pilot program. Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) Public water system personnel or 426-4791, by fax (703) 285-1 101, or by equipment manufacturers interested in e-mail at . learning more about the program are urged to log on to the NSF Web site at . You may also call (724) 543-6547 or (800) 673-6275. USEPA TACs. The 1996 SDWA provided for regi nal unive sity-based technical as istance centers (TACs) to help s all systems with c pacity development. TACs will


Prompted by a recent claim by Barrows et al. that X-ray AGN are often found significantly offset from the centres of their host galaxies, we have looked for examples of compact radio sources which are offset from the optical centroids of nearby (z < 0.2) galaxies. We have selected a sample of 345 galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxy catalog which have nearby compact radio sources listed in the Cosmic-Lens All Sky Survey (CLASS) catalog. We find only three matches (0.87 per cent of the sample) with offsets greater than 600 milliarcsec (mas), which is considerably fewer than we would have expected from the Barrows et al. X-ray survey. We fit our histogram of offsets with a Rayleigh distribution with {\sigma} = 60.5 mas, but find that there is an excess of objects with separations greater than approximately 150 mas. Assuming that this excess represents AGN with real offsets, we place an upper limit of approximately 17 per cent on the fraction of offset AGN in our radio-selected sample. We select 38 objects with offsets greater than 150 mas, and find they have some diverse properties: some are well known, such as Mrk 273 and Arp 220, and others have dust lanes which may have affected the optical astrometry, while a few are strong new candidates for offset AGN.


Research in nanotechnology has progressed in the last decades, and it is purposeful to explore the applications of biocompatible nanoparticles in general and their anticancer attribute specifically. This study is aimed at examining the cytotoxic effects of biocompatible Northern Cyprus propolis extract of iron oxide nanoparticles (PE-Fe2O3-NPs) on MDA-MB-231 epithelial human breast cancer cell line, in vitro. Propolis extract were used to obtain PE-Fe2O3-NPs and further characterized using several methods like ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electronic microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The PE-Fe2O3-NPs has a distinctive Surface Plasmon Resonance band at 350 nm. The prepared PE-Fe2O3-NPs had a size of 108 nm by diameter with a zeta potential of +33.9 mV which indicates a good stability of the nanoparticles' while the size of Fe2O3-NPs was 89.40 nm by diameter. Antibacterial result showed that Fe2O3-NPs has highest Minimum Inhibitory Concentration and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration as compared to PE-Fe2O3-NPs with different concentration of propolis extract as regards the tested microorganisms. This indicates that PE-Fe2O3-NPs possesses a more effective threat to eliminating pathogenic bacteria at lesser dosages, be it Gram-ve or Gram+ve. PE-Fe2O3-NPs effectively halted the spread of MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines and thus, prove to be commendable for anticancer biomedical uses.


Systematic knowledge of the theorems available for building statically determinate frameworks appears to be restricted in this country to a very small circle. Many engineers are content with the knowledge that a simply-stiff plane framework can be produced by attaching a joint O by bars OA, OB. to joints A and B of a simply-stiff plane framework; and that a simply-stiff space framework can be produced by attaching a joint O by bars OA, OB, OC to joints A, B and C of a simply-stiff space framework. By these simple means, two- and threedimensional simply-stiff frameworks can be built up respectively from the basic triangle and basic tetrahedron. Most textbooks give no other rules of synthesis, and are content to give as " proofs " of the relationships existing between the number of joints j and the number of bars m of a simply-stiff framework (m = 2j—3 in the two-dimensional case and m=3j—6 in the three-dimensional case) the obvious inferences of these relationships from the system of synthesis just described.


Intraperitoneal growth of (DBA/2) P-815 tumor cells in heavily irradiated C3H mice was prevented by intravenous or intraperitoneal injection of immune, but not normal, C3H spleen cells. Tumor rejection occurred also in irradiated animals reconstituted with a pure population of immune thymus-derived (T) cells, free of bone marrow-derived (B) lymphocytes and alloantibody-forming cells. Immune spleen cells depleted of T cells were ineffective, although they contained the full complement of IgM alloantibody-forming cells. Intravenous injection of immune T cells also prevented the subcutaneous growth of P-815 cells in heavily irradiated C57BL/6 recipients. It is concluded that immune T cells played a predominant role in the rejection of allogeneic tumor cells.


With the advance of power electronic technology, novel control strategies and new circuit topologies direct driven permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG) have increasingly drawn interests to wind turbine manufactures. In the proposed wind energy system, a PMSG is used as a variable speed generator. The generator model is established in the synchronous-rotating dq reference frame. The torque of PMSG is suitably controlled according to a generator speed and thus the power from a wind turbine settles down on the maximum power point by the proposed MPPT control without a wind speed detector. The speed control is realized through field orientation where the q-axis current is used to control the rotational speed of the generator according to the variation of wind speed and the d-axis current is set to zero. Active and reactive power can be controlled by direct and quadrature current components, respectively.


The study of scientific buildings will never be finished. Scholars are always offering the latest ideas to develop science. One of them is the Scientific Research Program initiated by Imre Lakatos.Departing from Popper's Falsification and Kuhn's Paradigm Shifting, Lakatos developed a new scientific direction; the Research Program. Lakatos' idea rests on three main aspects: a hard core, the protective belt and a series of theories. A sturdy protective belt will strengthen a hard core. Meanwhile, the protective belt is supported by a series of theories.Then, how is the application to real research? Especially for student thesis. This research is based on a literature review of the idea of Imre Lakatos, then apply it to student theses of IAIN Purwokerto (Religions Studies Concentration) and then give commensurate criticism. the conclusion, that the Imre Lakatos Scientific Research Program provides a new discourse on theories that were previously deemed a failure. Its failure is not the essence of the theory, but rather the weak supporting theory. As for the analysis related to the Student thesis, that there are still many deficiencies in the protective belt to establish a hard core of the topic.


Potassium voltage-gated channel, subfamily H (eag-related), member 1 (KCNH1) potassium channels are potential tumour markers and cancer therapeutic targets and are up-regulated by oestrogens and human papilloma virus (HPV) oncogenes. However, the role of KCNH1 in normal tissues is poorly understood, and its expression in pregnancy is unknown. We wondered whether KCNH1 channels are expressed in cervical cells from pregnant patients and whether progesterone (P4) regulates KCNH1. The association with HPV was also investigated. KCNH1 protein expression was studied by immunocytochemistry in liquid-based cervical cytologies; 93 samples were obtained from pregnant patients at different trimesters, and 15 samples were obtained from non-pregnant women (controls). The presence of HPV was studied by PCR with direct sequencing and nested multiplex PCR. HeLa cervical cancer cells were transfected with human progesterone receptor-B (PR-B) and treated with P4. KCNH1 mRNA expression in these cultures was studied by real-time PCR. KCNH1 protein was detected in 100% of the pregnancy samples and in 26% of the controls. We found 18 pregnant patients infected with HPV and detected 14 types of HPV. There was no association between the percentage of cells expressing KCNH1 and either the presence or type of HPV. P4 induced KCNH1 mRNA and protein expression in cells transfected with human PR-B. No regulation of KCNH1 by P4 was observed in non-transfected cells. We show for the first time the expression of an ion channel during human pregnancy at different trimesters and KCNH1 regulation by P4 in human cells. These data raise a new research field for KCNH1 channels in human tissues.


GENESIS is an Open Source distributed platform supporting cooperative software engineering. All requirements concerning cooperation, collaboration, and coordination have been derived from actual user needs, collected from some of the largest software development companies in the European scenario; moreover, an integrated approach, merging both process-centered and product-centered ones, has been adopted. In this paper we present such two basic facets of GENESIS, which constitute some of the main achievements of the project, and therefore provide an innovative platform to be experienced both by practitioners and researchers.


Surabaya City has the potential for an earthquake of 6.5 SR. Based on the previous research, the level of emergency health infrastructure readiness in Surabaya City is 0-34%. It was reported that due to the unpreparedness of the health infrastructure during the Lombok Earthquake (2018), 1,477 injured victims did not get proper treatment. Therefore, this research is aimed to formulate the concept of providing emergency health infrastructure to reduce the earthquake risk. This research is qualitative research type with two methods of analysis, particularly content analysis and triangulation. Content analysis was utilized to identify criteria for providing emergency health infrastructure. Meanwhile, triangulation was utilized to formulate the concept of providing emergency health infrastructure. The results of this study are 32 criteria in the provision of emergency health infrastructure. From these criteria, the concept of providing emergency health infrastructure was formed, divided into three disaster phases: 1) Mitigation, 2) Preparedness, and 3) Response. In the mitigation phase, the concept focuses on procuring medical supplies, increasing the competence of health workers, and mapping potential emergency care at the disaster site. In the preparedness phase, the concept focuses on cross-sectoral coordination for activating the emergency care unit in a disaster site, synchronizing the availability of medical equipment, and establishing a health team. Meanwhile, in the emergency response phase, the concept focuses on mobilizing the required medical equipment and health workers, also optimizing health services based on health standards.


The etiology of childhood brain tumors (CBTs) remains unknown. Tobacco smoke contains several known carcinogens and can induce DNA adducts in human placenta and hemoglobin adducts in fetuses. We present the results of an international case‐control study to evaluate the association between CBTs and exposure of parents and children to cigarette smoke. The study was undertaken as part of the SEARCH program of the IARC. Nine centers in 7 countries were involved. The studies mainly covered the 1980s and early 1990s. Cases (1,218, ages 0–19 years) were children newly diagnosed with a primary brain tumor; there were 2,223 population‐based controls. Most mothers who agreed to participate were interviewed in person at home. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by unconditional logistic regression, adjusted for age, sex and center, for all types of CBT combined, 4 CBT histotypes, 5 age groups and each center. There was no association between the risk of brain tumors in the child and parental smoking prior to pregnancy, maternal smoking or regular exposure to others' cigarette smoke during pregnancy at home or at work, or passive smoking by the child during the first year of life. These results did not change considering the child's age at diagnosis, the histologic type of tumor or center. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Objective Meeting the demand for clinical placements in an environment of increasing university cohort growth and changes in health service delivery models is challenging. This paper describes the outcomes of a quality review activity designed to gain key stakeholder perspectives on the enablers and barriers to sustaining effort to placement provision and reports on: (1) measures used to determine the effect of a jurisdiction-wide initiative in clinical education for five allied health professions; (2) outcomes of data related to key factors affecting placement supply and demand; and (3) qualitative perspectives from management, workforce and university stakeholders on placement sustainability.Methods This study reviewed clinical placement, staff full-time equivalent numbers, university program and student cohort data for five allied health professions from 2013 to 2016. In addition, qualitative response data from key stakeholder surveys was analysed thematically.Results In the study period, the rate of growth in placement offers did not match that of university program student numbers and full-time equivalent staff numbers. All stakeholders agreed that sustaining placement provision is enabled by collaboration, continuation of management support for dedicated clinical education staff, a focus on clinical education capacity building activities, outcome data reporting and statewide profession-specific governance, including leadership positions. Collaborations and networks across health and education sectors were reported to enhance efficiency, minimise duplication, streamline communication and support information and resource sharing within and across professions and stakeholders, ultimately sustaining placement provision. Identified barriers to sustainability centred on resourcing and the continued increasing demand for placements.Conclusion Sustaining pre-entry student placements requires stakeholder flexibility and responsiveness and is underpinned by collaboration, information and resource sharing. Dedicated clinical education positions were highly valued and seen as a key contributor to placement sustainability.What is known about the topic? The increasing demand for student placements and strategies used to enhance placement capacity are well known. To date, there have been limited studies investigating cross-sectoral trends and health service enablers and barriers to sustaining responses to placement demand.What does this paper add? This paper describes outcomes of a clinical placement capacity building initiative within public health services, developed from a unique opportunity to provide funding through an industrial agreement. It presents key allied health staff and university partner perspectives on enablers to sustaining placement supply in an environment of increasing placement demand.What are the implications for practitioners? This paper demonstrates that key enablers for the sustainability of placement provision are collaboration between university and health sectors, continuation of management support for dedicated clinical education staff, outcome data reporting and statewide profession-specific governance and leadership. It supports current practices of profession-specific and interprofessional clinical education resource and strategy development and the sharing of expertise for sustained placement provision.


This study aims to respond to the recent call for more research, investigating the applicability of management accounting practices (MAPs), in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those operating in developing economies. Accordingly, stemming from escalating importance of SMEs in the development of the Egyptian economy, this study employs a questionnaire, to collect information about the extent of usage of five MAPs (namely, cost accounting systems, budgeting systems, financial and non-financial performance evaluation tools, decision support systems, and strategic management accounting systems), by SMEs that are listed on the Nile Exchange (NILEX), and those operating in Gamasa Industrial Zone, at Dakahlia Governorate. Additionally, the study questionnaire investigates the main determinants of usage of MAPs by SMEs operating in Egypt. The study results suggest that MAPs are employed by Egyptian SMEs at varying degrees. The reliance on advanced MAPs is not as common as traditional ones. However, employing advanced MAPs by some SMEs is a good sign that there is an awareness among accountants and owners in such SMEs about the types and uses of different MAPs. On the other hand, results generated through regression analysis, indicate that the extent of usage of MAPs is significantly and positively influenced by owner/manager belief in the importance of MAPs, listing status, company size, SME industry, and employment of technology within the firm. These results lend support to the contingency theory. Accordingly, the study made a number of recommendations including increasing awareness about the advantages of using MAPs among owners of SMEs and the need to provide training to inform them about management accounting different practices and uses of each, as well as the necessity of reviewing and developing management accounting modules that are taught by Accounting professors at Egyptian universities. On the other hand, the findings of this study could be considered as a starting point for further future research, targeting a greater number of Egyptian SMEs, as well as other MENA developing economies.


Abstract Gambusia holbrooki (Eastern Mosquitofish) are often characterized as opportunistic surface feeders. We examined seasonal shifts in prey use, feeding specialization, and prey electivity to determine whether a feeding bias existed toward small planktonic prey. We sampled invertebrates (from the water column and from near plant surfaces) and Eastern Mosquitofish over 4 seasons in a wetland (Cobb County, GA). Gut analysis indicated seasonal shifts from large to small prey, particularly toward cladocerans, even when larger prey remained abundant. Small planktonic prey were consumed by all sizes of Eastern Mosquitofish. Electivities for cladocerans tended to be positive, whereas electivities for other prey, and especially copepods, were negative. Prey that would be expected to aggregate at the air—water interface were consumed in much greater proportions than those sampled elsewhere in the environment, suggesting that Eastern Mosquitofish are able to consume cladocerans caught in the surface tension.


Isolates within the Clostridium estertheticum complex (CEC) have routinely been identified through the 16S rRNA sequence, but the high interspecies sequence similarity reduces the resolution necessary for species level identification and often results in ambiguous taxonomic classification. The current study identified CEC isolates from meat juice (MJS) and bovine fecal samples (BFS) and determined the phylogeny of species within the CEC through whole genome sequence (WGS)-based analyses. About 1,054 MJS were screened for CEC using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Strains were isolated from 33 MJS and 34 BFS qPCR-positive samples, respectively. Pan- and core-genome phylogenomics were used to determine the species identity of the isolates. Average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) were used to validate the species identity. The phylogeny of species within the CEC was determined through a combination of these methods. Twenty-eight clostridia strains were isolated from MJS and BFS samples out of which 13 belonged to CEC. At 95% ANI and 70% dDDH thresholds for speciation, six CEC isolates were identified as genomospecies2 (n=3), Clostridium tagluense (n=2) and genomospecies3 (n=1). Lower thresholds of 94% ANI and 58% dDDH were required for the classification of seven CEC isolates into species C. estertheticum and prevent an overlap between species C. estertheticum and Clostridium frigoriphilum. Combination of the two species and abolishment of current subspecies classification within the species C. estertheticum are proposed. These data demonstrate the suitability of phylogenomics to identify CEC isolates and determine the phylogeny within CEC.


Garcinia cambogia, a tropical fruit traditionally used in India and Southeast Asia for culinary and therapeutic purposes, recently became a popular ingredient in weight-loss over-thecounter supplements. Hydroxycitric acid, considered its main active ingredient, has serotoninergic effects and has been implicated in cases of severe serotoninergic syndrome. Such effects have been proposed to underlie the occurrence of mania associated with consumption of supplements containing Garcinia (Hendrickson et al., 2016; Narasimha et al., 2013). Here, we present the case of a 51-year-old woman with a 12-year history of type 1 bipolar disorder. Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of patient information. After introduction of mood stabilizers, the patient remained stable, with only occasional episodes of hypomania or mild depression. After 2 years of full stability, under treatment with valproic acid 1250 mg/day and paroxetine 20 mg/day, the patient started consumption of a weight-loss dietary supplement containing Garcinia cambogia, calcium, chromium and potassium. After 2 weeks, irritability, agitation, increased energy and decreased need for sleep were noticed, that were sustained until the next routine visit with the psychiatrist, which was 2 weeks later. Given the assessment of a hypomanic episode temporally related to consumption of the dietary supplement, and considering the available literature (Hendrickson et al., 2016; Narasimha et al., 2013), the patient was advised to discontinue the supplement, while maintaining other medication. She returned 2 weeks later and reported that approximately 1 week after ceasing the supplement, while maintaining treatment with valproic acid and paroxetine at the same doses, her mood had stabilized with full remission of all symptoms of hypomania. We believe this case supports and extends prior reports of Garciniaassociated mania. Critically, prior reports either omitted full supplement composition (Hendrickson et al., 2016) or reported on mania after consumption of a supplement containing also other active stimulants, such as caffeine and guarana (Narasimha et al., 2013), rather than only Garcinia and inert ingredients, as reported here. Furthermore, in previous cases, treatment included introduction of mood stabilizers, neuroleptics and/or benzodiazepines, such that improvement could not be attributed specifically to withdrawal of the supplement (Hendrickson et al., 2016; Narasimha et al., 2013). Here, improvement of manic symptoms resulted only from withdrawal of Garcinia, meriting an assessment of a probable/likely causal association between consumption of the Garcinia supplement and occurrence of hypomania (Edwards and Aronson, 2000). This case thus underscores the need to explore and record use of dietary supplements in patients with bipolar disorder, while reinforcing the adequacy of recommending against the use of Garcinia supplement in this patient population.