We reported that bilingualism affects BNT performance, and that people who are "more bilingual" show larger "bilingual effects" on naming. The commentators suggested the interesting possibilities that degree of bilingualism may not be as critical as immersion in two different language environments over the course of a lifetime (Bialystok & Craik, this issue), and that proficiency in Spanish (or lack thereof in English-dominant speakers; Acevedo & Lowenstein, this issue) may be more powerful predictors of the effects we reported. In our response, we use the literature on bilingualism, and additional exploratory analyses of the data we published in this issue to predict that our findings will generalize (a) to bilinguals who speak languages other than Spanish and English, and perhaps even to (b) English-dominant bilinguals who were educated in an English speaking environment. (JINS, 2007, 13, 215–218.)


In this paper we discuss how AI can contribute to support the documentation and vitalization of Indigenous languages and how that involves a delicate balancing of ensuring social impact, exploring technical opportunities, and dealing with ethical constraints. We start by surveying previous work on using AI and NLP to support critical activities of strengthening Indigenous and endangered languages and discussing key limitations of current technologies. After presenting basic ethical constraints of working with Indigenous languages and communities, we propose that creating and deploying language technology ethically with and for Indigenous communities forces AI researchers and engineers to address some of the main shortcomings and criticisms of current technologies. Those ideas are also explored in the discussion of a real case of development of large language models for Brazilian Indigenous languages.


Abstract—The problem considered is the mapping of a functional's multidimensional bounded domain onto a bounded interval of the real line. This transformation is to have the property that "neighboring" points in the bounded interval are necessarily mapped from "neighboring" points in the bounded domain. The multidimensional bounded domain is partitioned into a finite number of elementary regions while the bounded interval is partitioned into the same finite number of elementary intervals. A one-to-one correspondence is defined between the elementary regions and intervals such that neighboring elementary intervals have corresponding multidimensional elementary regions that are neighboring. The degree of neighborliness is controlled by controlling the fineness of partitioning. By suitably defining an equivalent function over the bounded interval, properties of the original functional can be displayed.


The paper analyses the connection between the ties interdependence and the experience as two organizational variables that affect the behaviour of project networks for local systems development in Transition Countries. The research investigates from one side the ties interdependence of project units coming from their participation to previous initiatives and, from the other side, the experience derived by the years in which each unit accomplished project management activities. The hypothesis of a connection between these variables is verified by analysing five projects managed by Bologna University through its decentralized bodies for Western Balkans development in the period 2004-2013. The results confirm the correlation between ties interdependence and experience obtained by each single unit in project networks. This means that the development of many project networks over the years has been happened through the consolidation and creation of partnerships.


A pot experiment was carried out to test the effects of salt levels on root morphology as well as the relationship between root morphology and salt tolerance with four cotton cultivars (salt-sensitive cultivar CCRI45, weak salt-resistance cultivar XLZ17, moderate salt-resistance cultivar XLZ13 and salt-resistance cultivar CCRI35). Results showed that dry mass and K+/Na+ ratio of cotton root and leaf were significantly reduced by salt stress. Dry mass of root and leaf and K+/Na+ ratio of root of cultivars XLZ13 and CCRI35 were 69.3%-104.4%, 24.8%-45.3% and 25.0%-45.8% higher than those of cultivar CCRI45, respectively. Root development was significantly restrained by salt stress. Total root length, total root surface area and total root volume of cultivars XLZ13 and CCRI35 were 15.2%-85.8%, 12.0%-68.5% and 31.7%-217.8% higher than those of cultivar CCRI45, respectively. Furthermore, the length of fine and middle roots, root surface area and root volume of cultivars XLZ13 and CCRI35 in 0-10 cm soil layer were 27.2%-73.9%, 39.6%-74.3% and 99.0%-309.7% higher than those of cultivar CCRI45, respectively. Results from principal component analysis showed that the variations of specific root length, root length ratio at 0-10 cm soil layer and fine root length ratio at 0-10 cm soil layer among cultivars was significant. Specific root length, root length ratio at 0-10 cm soil layer and fine root length ratio at 0-10 cm soil layer were the main root characters to distinguish different salt tolerant cotton cultivars. Results from the stepwise regression analysis showed that specific root length, coarse root length, coarse root area, and coarse root volume at 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm soil layers, as well as fine root area and middle root ratio at 0-10 cm soil layer were sensitive to salt. Salt tolerant cultivar adapted to salt stress through increasing root length ratio, fine length ratio, and specific root length.


In this study, ultrasonic assisted machining (UAM) technique is applied in side-surface milling experiment for glass-ceramic workpiece material. The tungsten carbide cutting-tool with diamond coating is used in conjunction with two kinds of cooling/lubrication mediums such as water-soluble (WS) cutting fluid and minimum quantity lubricant (MQL). Full factorial process parameter combinations on the milling experiments are planned to investigate the effect of process parameters on cutting performance. From the experimental results, it tries to search for the better process parameter combination which the edge-indentation and the surface roughness are acceptable. In the machining experiments, ultrasonic oscillator was used to excite a cutting-tool along the radial direction producing a very small amplitude of vibration frequency of 20KHz to assist the machining process. After processing, toolmaker microscope was used to detect the side-surface morphology, edge-indentation and cutting tool wear under different combination of cutting parameters, and analysis and discussion were also conducted for experimental results. The results show that the main leading parameters to edge-indentation of glass ceramic are cutting depth and feed rate. In order to reduce edge-indentation, it needs to use lower cutting depth and feed rate. Water-soluble cutting fluid provides a better cooling effect in the primary cutting area; it may effectively reduce the edge-indentation and improve the surface morphology of the glass ceramic. The use of ultrasonic assisted technique can effectively enhance the surface finish cleanness and reduce cutting tool wear and edge-indentation. Keywords—Glass-ceramic, ultrasonic assisted machining, cutting performance, edge-indentation.


Elementary volume-phase holograms (Bragg gratings) are recorded into photosensitive lithium-aluminium-silicate glass doped with silver and cerium at a writing wavelength of 302 nm and an exposure dose of 86 J/cm2, yielding diffraction efficiencies of 0.06 %. By subsequent annealing, diffraction efficiencies up to 24 % are achieved. The refractive-index changes are accompanied by strong absorption changes from 300 nm to 1200 nm.


Netherton syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by erythroderma, ichthyosis linearis circumflexa, atopy, failure to thrive and a specific hair shaft abnormality called trichorrhexis invaginata or bamboo hair, considered pathognomonic. We report the case of a 4-year-old boy with erythroderma since birth, growth deficit and chronic diarrhea. Trichoscopy was used to visualize typical bamboo and "golf tee" hair and of key importance to diagnose Netherton syndrome. We suggest the use of this procedure in all children diagnosed with erythroderma.


Some scholars insist that modern Korean literature began when Western literature was introduced after the Kabo Reforms of 1894. Others see its indigenous beginnings in late Chosŏn times, from about the eighteenth century. This work sees some validity in both views. It identifies two stages in a period of transition that began as early as the seventeenth century. During the first stage, lasting until 1860, traditional literati writing in classical Chinese began to show a critical awareness of then-current social conditions, even while others writing in vernacular Korean continued to depict traditional Chinese settings and Confucian morals. Even the p'ansori novels are moralistic, in spite of their insistence on liberation from social constraints. After the first Western impact about 1860, writers of shinsosŏl [the new novel] began to stress themes of enlightenment and national revitalization, even though an undercurrent of conservative fatalism flows beneath the surface. By the beginning of the modern period in 1919, medieval themes of moral imperative had yielded to modern themes of confrontation between the self and the world.


Geometric manipulation of 3D objects can benefit from analogies among similar shapes and parts. However, analogies that are easily found by humans are difficult to detect and maintain in algorithms that manipulate 3D meshes. One of the reasons for this is that such analogies are perceived between 3D volumetric parts of the objects whereas models defined by mesh surfaces are boundary representations of the object. The shape-diameter function (SDF) maps volumetric information of the shape onto the boundary mesh and provides a link between the two. This function is related to the medial axis transform, measuring the local diameter of the object at points on its boundary. The SDF remains largely oblivious to pose changes of the same object and maintains similar values in analogue parts of different objects. By using the SDF attribute of an object we are able to find similarities between object parts, even when the topology or structure of the objects are different.


Background: There is limited long-term data comparing selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) to the newer micropulse laser trabeculoplasty (MLT) using a laser emitting at 532 nm. In this study, we determine the effectiveness and safety of MLT compared to SLT. Design: Retrospective comparative cohort study. Participants: A total of 85 consecutive eyes received SLT and 43 consecutive eyes received MLT. Methods: Patients with open-angle glaucoma receiving their first treatment of laser trabeculoplasty were included. Exclusion criteria are prior laser trabeculoplasty, laser cyclopho-tocoagulation or glaucoma surgery, and follow-up of less than 1 year. Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was success at 1 year, defined as a reduction in intraocular eye pressure (IOP) by ≥20% from baseline or met prespecified target IOP with no additional glaucoma medication or subsequent glaucoma intervention. Results: Baseline IOP was 18.0 mmHg (95% CI=16.4–19.5) in the MLT group on an average of 1.8 (95% CI=1.4–2.2) glaucoma medications compared to 18.2 mmHg (95% CI=17.2–19.3) for the SLT group on an average of 2.0 (95% CI=1.6–2.3) medications. At 1-hour post-laser, the SLT group had more transient IOP spikes (MLT 5% vs SLT 16%, P =0.10). There was a trend toward increased success in the SLT group compared to MLT at 1 year (relative risk=1.4, 95% CI=0.8–2.5, P =0.30). Conclusion and Relevance: Eyes had similar success after MLT compared to SLT at 1 year. Laser trabeculoplasty with either method could be offered as treatment with con-sideration of MLT in those eyes where IOP spikes should be avoided.


We present a theoretical study of vortices in arrays of photon condensates. Even when interactions are negligible, as is the case in current experiments, pumping and losses can lead to a finite vortex core size. While some properties of photon condensate vortices, such as their self-acceleration and the generation of vortex pairs by a moving vortex resemble those in lasers and interacting polariton condensates far from equilibrium, in several aspects they differ from previously studied systems: the vortex core size is determined by the balance between pumping and tunneling, the core appears oblate in the direction of its motion, and new vortex pairs can spontaneously nucleate in the core region.


Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) consisting of a large number of sensor nodes are being deployed in potentially hostile environments for applications such as forest fire detection, battlefield surveillance, habitat monitoring, traffic management, etc. One common assumption in traditional WSNs is that a trusted third party, i.e., a sink, is assumed to be always available to collect sensed data in a real time or near real time fashion. Although many WSNs operate in such an on-site mode, there are WSN applications that do not fit into the real time data collection mode. For example, data collection in Unattended WSNs (UWSNs) relies on the periodical appearance of a mobile sink. As most existing security solutions developed for traditional WSNs rely on the presence of a trusted third party, it makes them not applicable to UWSNs directly. This motivates the research on security mechanisms for UWSNs. This dissertation contributes to security mechanisms in UWSNs from three important aspects, as, confidentiality and reliability, trust management, and capture resistance. The first aspect addresses data confidentiality and data reliability in UWSNs. We propose a data distribution scheme to provide forward secrecy, probabilistic backward secrecy and data reliability. Moreover, we demonstrate that backward secrecy of the historical data can be achieved through homomorphic encryption and key evolution. Furthermore, we propose a constrained optimization algorithm to further improve the above two data distribution schemes. The second study introduces trust management in UWSNs. We propose a set of efficient and robust trust management schemes for the case of UWSNs. The Advanced Scheme utilizes distributed trust data storage to provide trust data reliability and takes the advantages of both Geographic Hash Table (GHT) and Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing (GPSR) to find storage nodes and to route trust data to them. In this way, it significantly reduces storage cost caused by distributed trust data storage and provides resilience to node compromise and node invalidation. The third study investigates how to detect a captured node and to resist node capture attack in UWSNs. We propose a node capture resistance and key refreshing scheme for UWSNs based on the Chinese remainder theorem. The scheme is able to provide forward secrecy, backward secrecy and collusion resistance for diminishing the effects of capture attacks.


This paper introduces the concept of residence-time, from the Eulerian view point, in a rigorous manner. The equations for various flow regimes are derived and a numerical solver is introduced based on Lax-Wendroff integration. An implementation is discussed that allows the coupling of this solver to any explicit CFD code. Examples of this concept are shown for extracting recirculation regions by segregating old fluid from fluid that has not been in the simulation for much time. The comparison of iso-surfaces generated using this procedure and separation surfaces are examine-d.


This paper introduces a novel set of one-to-one matching problems: matchings subject to location restrictions. When scarcity of matching locations exists some agents may want to form a new partnership without being able to implement it. In this general setting we develop two stability concepts, direct and (coalition) ex- change* stability, akin to Gale Shapley stability and exchange stability (Alcalde, 1995) respectively. We show that coalition-exchange* stability is a refinement of direct stability. When no location scarcity exists then direct stability is equivalent to Gale Shapley stability and coalition-exchange* stability is equivalent to requiring both exchange stability (Alcalde, 1995) and Gale Shapley stability. We show that the set of coalition-exchange* stable matchings is a superset of the farsighted core, and equal to the farsighted core if locations are not scarce and the matching problem is individually rational. The paper also shows that an exchange* stable set can not be a strict subset of a farsighted stable set and provides an example of a roommate problem in which no farsighted stable set exists while an exchange* stable set does exist. Finally, the paper obtains that deciding whether the farsighted core of an individually rational roommate problem exists is NP-complete.


2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetie acid] and dalapon (2,2-dichloropropionic acid) were applied to a natural stand of annual weeds at a time near flowering to determine effects on seed production and the dormancy and viability of seeds produced. At rates of 0.6 and 1.1 kg/ha, 2,4-D reduced, respectively the seed production of common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.) 99 and 99%, redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) 77 and 84%, and jimsonweed (Datura stramonium L.) 64 and 100%, while giant foxtail (Setaria faberi Herrm) seed production was increased to 307 and 381% of the control, respectively. Dalapon at rates of 2.2 and 4.5 kg/ha reduced respectively seed production of giant foxtail 100 and 100%, and jimsonweed 100 and 91%. Before and after overwinter burial in the soil, common lambsquarters seeds from plants treated with 4.5 kg/ha dalapon were less dormant than control seeds. After overwintering, redroot pigweed seeds from dalapon-treated plants were less dormant than controls, and more seeds survived the winter burial. Common lambsquarters and redroot pigweed seeds from plants treated with 1.1 kg/ha 2,4-D were more dormant than control seeds before overwintering,' while giant foxtail seeds from 2,4-D treated plants were less dormant than controls after overwintering. Viability of seeds produced by herbicide-treated plants, as determined by germination in KCN, was not greatly different from control seeds. Treatment with 2,4-D or dalapon resulted in the production of common lambsquarters seeds which produced seedlings about half as vigorous as controls. Jimsonweed seedlings grown from seeds from 2,4-D-treated plants showed phenoxy herbicide injury symptoms.


Our experience with comparative measurements using various methods of diagnosis of urinary incontinence resulted in the development of a urodynamic measurement station within the department. This station is equiped for urethrocystotonometry with microtransducers for urethrocystograms and for lateral urethrocystograms. The technological details of the apparatus are described. The greatest diagnostic value give measurements in the standing patient. The methods of measurement, the interpretation of the results and the pre-operative records of urethral pressure profiles are described. The urethrocystotonometry is especially valuable for functional diagnosis. For the morphologic evaluation and especially in view of the choice of the operative procedure a modified method of the lateral urethrocystogram is used.


ABSTRACT: For successful grassland restoration, commercial soil inoculants are often recommended to increase establishment success. In spring 2009, a 0.94-ha tract was targeted for restoration at Phil Hardberger Park, a 126-ha park in the heart of San Antonio, Texas. Woody species, mainly Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana Scheele), and Ashe juniper (Juniperus asheii Buchholz), were removed and the area was divided into 10 subplots measuring 911 m2 on average. In September 2009, over 40,000 plugs of seven native grass species were planted. In addition, native prairie seed mixes, including various grass and forb seeds, were sown into the site at a rate of 11.26 kg/ha. Half of the native grass plants were treated with a soil bacteria inoculant plus additional nutrients (IN) (BioGensis IIITM DS Tainio Technology and Technique Inc.), and half were left as controls (C). Soil samples from the plots were taken in February 2010 and 2011 and analyzed for soil nutrients, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. Vegetation data were collected October 2010 and May and October 2011 to assess differences in percent cover between the treatments. The IN treatment resulted in significantly higher percent cover in the second growing season of three native grasses, Eriochloa sericea (Scheele) Munro ex Vasey, Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths, and B. curtipendula (Michx.) Torr; however, no significant differences were found between the IN and C plots for measures of overall native species abundance, soil resources, or the presence of soil microbes. We concluded that commercial soil inoculants may not have been necessary for the successful establishment of a native grassland community.


This study aims to investigate macro-economic variables on the financial ratios of Islamic banks in Indonesia, using simultaneous impulse response function (IRF) and forecast error variance decomposition (FEVD) analisys. The object in the sample research is one of the Islamic banks in Indonesia, namely the bank muamalah. The data used in this study consists of 4 macroeconomic variables of Indonesia and 4 variable ratio of Islamic banks in Indonesia. From the research that has been done macro economic variable response is still very volatile in the first month until month 10, positive and negative response (up and down) since the occurrence of shock or shock to the variable banking sector. Next, from the 9th to the 10th month the fluctuations begin to shrink meaning that the macroeconomic variables are no longer very volatile like the previous period. By using Impulse Response (ROA) in the results that in the first period of variable banking ROA ratio is strongly influenced by FDR shock (12.6%) while the period of the period of shock ROA and other variables still not give influence.


This Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) Preliminary Interpretive Report presents U-Pb ages of zircons from 14 sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous samples collected during 2017 and 2018 field investigations in the northeastern Tanacross Quadrangle, Alaska. The DGGS Northeast Tanacross project is a part of multi-year effort to investigate the geology and mineral-resource potential of the Yukon-Tanana Uplands region in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey. The purpose of the U-Pb isotopic study is to better understand the Devonian-to-Mississippian and Mesozoic-to-Early Paleogene episodes of magmatic and tectonic events within the Yukon-Tanana Uplands and the relationship of magmatism to the metallic mineral deposits. This area is characterized by the presence of two Late Devonian to Mississippian metamorphic assemblages--Lake George and Fortymile River. Both assemblages are composed of metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks that have been intruded by Devonian to Eocene intrusive rocks of varying composition and texture. Paleozoic intrusive rocks are deformed and metamorphosed and include prevalent Late Devonian-Early Mississippian augen orthogneiss, herein called the Divide Mountain suite, that was emplaced into and deformed together with the Lake George assemblage. The Fortymile River assemblage is primarily cross cut by Mississippian to Permian intrusive rocks that are also pervasively deformed and metamorphosed. Following Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous regional metamorphism and deformation, all metamorphic rock packages were intruded by Mid- to Late-Cretaceous volcanic and plutonic rocks, some of which have known or suspected potential for gold together with silver, zinc, copper, and lead mineralization. Products included in this data release are: A summary of sample-collection methods, the laboratory report, analytical data tables, and associated metadata. All components of this data release are available on the DGGS website: http://doi.org/10.14509/30465.


An introducer-sheath dilator is described, which was modified to protect the leading lip of the sheath during insertion, thus reducing arterial damage. The new sheath and a standard sheath were inserted into the femoral arteries of six dogs. Subsequent histologic examination of the arteries proved the new sheath to be both safe and effective.


To identify existing intermittent urinary catheterisation practices, and related barriers among people with spinal cord injury living in the community in five districts of Nepal, a descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken. A structured questionnaire and observation checklist were used to collect data during home visits. A total of 78 individuals with spinal cord injury were included in this study, mean age 36.5 years. Seventy-five (96%) reused catheters. Variations were seen in the frequency of catheterisation, type of catheter used, duration of reuse, and cleaning and storage techniques. Common perceived barriers were inaccessibility of toilets (73%) and difficulties obtaining supplies (72%). More than half (52%) the participants self-reported urinary tract infection two to three times a year. From this study we identified a need to develop strategies to maintain continuum of care after discharge. The existing education and training for those doing intermittent catheterisation is inadequate to address common problems such as infection, and further training should be standardised along with an effective system of evaluation. Collaboration with government and non-government agencies could initiate programs for long-term home and workplace modification to assist people with spinal cord injury to live successfully in the community and increase the availability and ongoing institutional supply of necessary items for intermittent catheterisation. This study should increase awareness among the health professionals in the communities of Nepal about intermittent catheterisation practice and its barriers.


A careful investigation of a CCD spectrum of the SB1 system κ Cnc in the spectral region 3800 Å – 8000 Å resulted in the discovery of the lines of the secondary star. We then analyzed several short-wavelength range Reticon spectra obtained at different orbital phases to find additional radial velocities. The mass ratio is mA/mB = 2.2 ± 0.1 and, from binary spectrum-synthesis, the ratio of radii is RA/RB ≥ 2.


The conodont fauna from the Upper Vis¾an deposits of the Cracow Upland, contacted by the subvolcanic porphyry intrusion, and exposed at the Orlej Quarry includes stratigraphically important forms, indicative of the Gnathodus girtyi collinsoni Zone. The conodont-bearing algal-foraminiferal boundstones in their postdepositional history underwent the thermal influence of the porphyric intrusion of Zalas. The employment of conodont alteration index ( CAI ) indicates that the layer of algal-foraminiferal boundstones occurring 80 m off the contact with intrusion was heated over a temperature of 210° C during the period not shorter than 800 years.


Bexarotene is an oral rexinoic receptor (RXR) agonist that has anti-proliferative activity in breast cancer. RXRs are nuclear receptors that heterodimerize, including with the retinoic acid receptor (RAR), to activate transcription for processes including cellular differentiation, embryonic development, proliferation, and metabolism. We have demonstrated that bexarotene can enhance cancer vaccine efficacy by synergizing with a multi-antigen vaccine to prevent breast cancer in the TgMMTV-neu model. Bexarotene as a single agent increased CD8 T-cell tumor infiltration. We therefore questioned the mechanism by which bexarotene acted as an immunomodulatory drug. Evaluating RXR expression in human peripheral blood monocytes (PBMC) (n=10), we found that RXR is not expressed in NK T-cells or B-cells and in only a minority of CD4+ (5.1 ± 4%) and CD8+ T-cells (3.6 ± 3%). RXR, however, is expressed in 24.9±13% of macrophages, 38.6 ± 14% of plasmacytic dendritic cells (pDC), and 33.1 ± 16% of monocytic dendritic cells (mDC). PMBC treated with increasing doses of bexarotene for 48 hours had increased co-stimulatory CD40 expression on mDC (p=0.0011 between 0 and 20 uM bexarotene) and increased type 1 cytokine release including IL-1β (p=0.03 between 0 and 20 uM bexarotene) and TNFα (p=0.02 between 0 and 20 uM bexarotene) but not type 2 cytokine release of IL-10 (p=0.21) and IL-4 (p=0.5). These data demonstrate that bexarotene can activate type 1 dendritic cells Since activated type 1 dendritic cells are effective at presenting tumor antigens from dying tumor cells, we wanted to determine if bexarotene could increase type 1 immunity in the tumor and thereby enhance the efficacy of paclitaxel chemotherapy. In TgMMTV-neu mice with 100 mm3 established spontaneous tumors (n=5), 50 mg/kg bexarotene inhibited tumor growth by 49% and increased the influx of intratumoral CD8+ T-cells by 61% as compared to PBS treated mice (p=0.01). 10 mg/kg paclitaxel inhibited tumor growth by 57% and increased intratumoral CD8+ T-cells by 45% as compared to PBS treated mice (p=0.003). Paclitaxel and bexarotene together inhibited tumor growth by 83% (p=0.02 compared to bexarotene or paclitaxel alone) and increased intratumoral CD8+ T-cell infiltrate by 58% as compared to PBS treated mice (p=0.01). Bexarotene could both activate type 1 APC and increase the CD8 T-cell infiltrate in the tumor and enhance the efficacy of paclitaxel. These data suggest concurrent adminstration of immunomodulatory bexarotene with paclitaxel may result in augmentation of the anti-tumor activity of chemotherapy in breast cancer. Citation Format: Sasha Elizabeth Stanton, Ekram Gad, Lauren R. Corulli-Rastetter, Mary L. Disis. Bexarotene activates type 1 antigen presenting cells, increases tumor infiltrating CD8 T-cells, and augments the anti-tumor activity of chemotherapy in breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3687. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3687


Eighty-six patients who had adenoma and underwent colonoscopic polypectomy were examined by colonoscopy over a long period (mean follow-up time: 5 years) to establish an effective long-term surveillance program. The incidence of neogenetic lesions in patients with a large monoadenoma (diameter 0.5 cm; LA 69.7%) and polyadenoma (PA 74.2%) was higher than in those with a small monoadenoma (diameter <0.5 cm; SA 27.3%). We found 4 and 2 carcinomas in patients with LA and PA, respectively. The high incidence of neogenetic lesions in patients with LA (40.7%) and PA (50.0%) did not decrease with the passage of time. Long-term surveillance with total colonoscopy should be performed every two years in patients with large monoadenoma or polyadenoma for effective detection of neogenetic lesions.


We examined a case of choledochal cyst in an adult having congenital dilatation of the bile duct classified, according to Todani's, as type I and treated by excision with hepatic-jejunostomy Roux-en Y. This procedure is recommended as the best treatment for eliminating pancreatitis by pancreaticobiliary disconnection and thus for reducing the risk of malignancy.


The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanism of torsional interaction with SVC. For no loss of generality, a single machine infinite bus system is studied in this paper. A simplified damping torque analysis is presented to get an insight into the torsional interaction caused by the SVC controller. The expression of electrical damping torque (T/sub De/), which estimate whether SSTI occurs or not, is proposed. The influence of the controller parameter of SVC on T/sub De/, which is deduced in a simplified damping torque analysis, is also studied.


The present study aims to investigate the distribution and diversity of dipterous flies in Tayma (Saudi Arabia) during the spring of 2018. A total of 12 dipterous species were collected from three different sites located in Tayma (Tabuk, Saudi Arabia) located in the Northern part of Saudi Arabia. The taxa of flies were dominated by Musca domestica and Musca sorbens . No significant difference were observed between the total number of flies collected using different traps (t-test, P>0.05) and among the studied sites (ANOVA, P>0.05). The highest number of flies was recorded from Site 3 (a cattle farm). However, lower number of flies was reported from the dates palm farms. In conlusion, the species Musca domestica were found to be the most abundant species in all locations with remarkable high abundance in animal facilities (slaughter house and animal farm). The pheromone traps were found to be the most effective trap catching high number of individuls and high number of fly species.


Probably the most important aspect of e-Business and e-Commerce is that it mediates the interaction between various stakeholders in a business setting. New organizational forms such as virtual organizations emerged in which independent companies form a strategic alliance for a close collaboration towards a shared goal (e.g., shared product development). New forms of B2C (business-to-customer) interaction argue for the importance of hearing the customer's voice e.g., by providing means for customization (Piller, 2006) or by collecting the customers' feedback (Levine, Locke, Searls, & Weinberger, 2000). And in some cases, C2C (customer-to-customer) interaction has become an integrated part of the business (in settings where customers also act as providers of goods or services). Closely related to these trends is the emergence of the Web 2.0 as "a set of economic, social, and technology trends that collectively form the basis for the next generation of the Internet – a more mature, distinctive medium characterized by user participation, openness, and network effects." (Musser, O'Reilly et al., 2006, p. 4). Again, collaboration and user participation is one of the most important terms in this definition and it is what makes Stephan Lukosch Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands


A lyophilized kit has been developed to produce 99Tcm-citrate (99%) instantly when mixed with 99TcmO4-. The ingredients of the kit, citrate and stannous chloride, are in a ratio of 100:1 (w/w) and are bound to 700 MBq 99Tcm, sufficient for use in a single patient. The shelf life of the kit when kept refrigerated is at least 3 months. The blood clearance and organ distribution of 99Tcm-citrate have been studied in rabbits and mice respectively, showing its fast clearance (55% at 5 min) and low uptake by the reticulo-endothelial system and other organs. The main route of clearance is via the kidneys. Scintigraphic studies in experimental mice have demonstrated high levels of accumulation of 99Tcm-citrate in turpentine-induced abscess (target-to-non-target ratio 4.2:1) and EAT implanted tumour in mice (T/NT 5:1) 1 h after its administration. In keeping with these animal studies, low uptake of 99Tcm-citrate by normal organs and fast blood clearance have been demonstrated in human patients with infection and tumour as early as 5 min post-administration. This study documents a new kit developed for the preparation of 99Tcm-citrate suitable for the scintigraphic assessment of abscess, infection and tumour.


For colloquium style presentations where audience attention is voluntary, computing devices present an interesting conundrum. Audience members may benefit from simultaneously using a device to take notes or perform other tasks while still attempting to pay attention to the lecture, but the device may also distract its owner, other audience members, or the speaker. We report on two studies of the use of computing devices by people attending colloquium style presentations. We first conducted a survey exploring perceptions of speakers and attendees about the disruptiveness of laptop and smartphone usage during presentations. Then we explored and validated some of the findings in an observational study. We used video to study shifts of attention between devices and presentations, matching them to conceptual blind spots identified by short quizzes given to attendees. We find significant losses of recall associated with increased attention to devices and motivation for attending the presentation, and individual differences in recall of presented information and levels of concern about missing information.


We present the results of Magellan/MMIRS and Keck/NIRSPEC spectroscopy for five Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z ≃ 2.2 for which high-resolution FUV spectra from Magellan/MagE are available. We detect nebular emission lines including Hα on the individual basis and low-ionization interstellar (LIS) absorption lines in a stacked FUV spectrum, and measure average offset velocities of the Lyα line, ΔvLyα, and LIS absorption lines, Δvabs, with respect to the systemic velocity defined by the nebular lines. For a sample of eight z ∼ 2–3 LAEs without active galactic nucleus from our study and the literature, we obtain ΔvLyα = 175 ± 35 km s−1, which is significantly smaller than that of Lyman-break Galaxies (LBGs), ΔvLyα ≃ 400 km s−1. The stacked FUV spectrum gives Δvabs = −179 ± 73 km s−1, comparable to that of LBGs. These positive ΔvLyα and negative Δvabs suggest that LAEs also have outflows. In contrast to LBGs, however, the LAEs' ΔvLyα is as small as |Δvabs|, suggesting low neutral hydrogen column densities. Such a low column density with a small number of resonant scattering may cause the observed strong Lyα emission of LAEs. We find an anti-correlation between Lyα equivalent width (EW) and ΔvLyα in a compilation of LAE and LBG samples. Although its physical origin is not clear, this anti-correlation result appears to challenge the hypothesis that a strong outflow, by means of a reduced number of resonant scattering, produces a large EW. If LAEs at z > 6 have similarly small ΔvLyα values, constraints on the reionization history derived from the Lyα transmissivity may need to be revised.


How to select the service components and coordinate services composition have become key problems in dynamic web services. Based on the original discrete probability distribution, we propose a QoS model to support dynamic Web services composition, develop a WS_TSC algorithm for services composition QoS. We finally carry out a simulation experiment via this algorithm. Compared with San-Yih Hwang's work, the experimental result shows that this model markedly reduces the response time and improves the rate of success and the rate of composition in dynamic Web services composition.


Nosocomial (i.e., hospital-acquired) infections (NI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitals. NI rate is higher in intensive care units (ICU) than in the general ward due to patients with severe symptoms, poor immunity, and accepted many invasive therapies. Contact behaviors between health caregivers and patients is one of the infect factors. It is difficult to obtain complete contact records by traditional method of retrospective analysis of medical records. This paper establishes a contact history inferential model (CHIM) intended to extend the use of Proximity Sensing of rapid frequency identification (RFID) technology to transferring all proximity events between health caregivers and patients into clinical events (close-in events, contact events and invasive events).The results of the study indicated that the CHIM can infer proximity care activities into close-in events and contact events. The infection control team could redesign and build optimal workflow in the ICU according to the patient-specific contact history which provided by our automatic tracing system. Keywords—Active Radio Frequency Identification, Intensive Care Unit, Nosocomial Infections


Immunization of sows with boar spermatozoa had no effect on the sows' fertility or on the number of liveborn young from the first pregnancy. An effect was not recorded until the second pregnancy, when the number of stillborn young increased. The total number of young in the litters was not reduced. Pig and rabbit antibodies to boar spermatozoa had no negative effect on the fertilizing capacity of rabbit spermatozoa. The intravenous administration of antibodies against boar spermatozoa to inseminated female rabbits did not affect their fertility. If the antibodies were injected intramuscularly 7 days before and 10 days after insemination, degenerating fetuses were found in the uterus of inseminated female rabbits. After immunizing sows with boar spermatozoa, specific cellular immune reaction was not demonstrated.


This article explores the reasons why previous attempts at 'green' legislation in the United States have not been successful and focuses upon market-level incentives that drive consumer willingness to engage in environmentally-friendly behaviors. Despite flagrant evidence decrying the need for a rapid transition into a 'sustainable economy,' America's decisively anti-environmentalist policies and infrastructure – coupled with tepid consumer demand for green purchases – continue to hinder an appropriate response. Still, environmental decision-making has failed to assimilate into the mainstream not because Americans are eager to destroy their homes and their futures, but because current sustainability initiatives are incongruent with the pragmatic, short-term concerns of the working populace. In order to create a more sustainable America, economic and environmental considerations must inter-mesh. To do so, incentives to purchase 'green' consumer products and transition to renewables should become more consumer-centric and should assimilate into the capitalist structure that pervades contemporary American society. These measures will help the average American to adopt a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle and incorporate 'greener' choices in their day-to-day lives. This article considers the application and limitations associated with three areas implicated in offsetting environmental harms, including (1) renewables, (2) infrastructure and transportation, and (3) consumer purchases of green products retailed at mainstream stores. First, a brief review of the U.S.'s renewables framework will be provided, including an overview of certain mandates and production incentives supporting these products; infrastructure issues will be considered as part of this framework. The factors affecting consumer purchases for those items for which a 'green' substitute may be available will then be explored. Second, the shortcomings of the U.S.'s current policy initiatives will be elucidated, incorporating both consumer-centric and market considerations. Lastly, several recommendations will be suggested in hopes of providing an avenue for needed reforms.


ABTSRACT Relational reflexivity (RR) is an increasingly important aspect in order to understand the agency of individuals and the couple's life, particularly in postmodern society. This mixed-methods research aimed to observe different dimensions of RR in 32 couples (25–40 years), married or cohabiting with at least one child, during the process of building the "we." Quantitative instruments (Perspective Taking Scale, Couple Generativity Scale, Quality of Marriage Index) together with semi-structured interviews with the administration of projective instruments (the family line and IOS scale) were used to collect information about this process. With the first set of results, the couples were classified into 3 groups with different levels of relational reflexivity (high, medium, and low). Each group had specific dynamics and ways to deal with the challenges of life as a couple. The construction of the "we" was a common process for all of them influenced by structural elements (marriage, cohabitation number of children and relationship duration) but couples differed in their communication processes, social resources, intergenerational relationships and ways of managing stressors. This study provides an innovative assessment of couples, based on their reflexivity, and suggestions for the development of new kinds of intervention to foster couple reflexivity.


We present numerical evidence that, in the presence of a suitable electric field, an isolated broken plane wave retracting originally in subexcitable media can propagate continuously and eventually evolve into a rotating spiral. Simulations for the FitzHugh-Nagumo, the Barkley, and the Oregonator models are carried out and the same electric-field-sustained spiral phenomena are observed. Semianalytical results in the framework of a kinematic theory are quantitatively consistent with the numerical results.


This paper extends existing analyses of the performance of heuristic search in several directions. First we show experimentally that, with minor modifications, an existing analysis of IDA* also applies to A*. Furthermore, we apply a related model to predict the performance of IDA*, using only the branching factor of the problem, the search depth, and the size of a pattern database, to the 15 puzzle. Finally, we extend this existing model to additive disjoint pattern databases. The reduction in the number of nodes expanded for IDA* using multiple additive pattern databases is the product of the reductions achieved by the individual databases. We experimentally verify this result using the 4-peg Towers of Hanoi problem. This is the first analysis of the performance of disjoint additive pattern databases.


The agaves, endemic species of America with center of origin in Mexico are plants of semi arid environments such as the mountains and plains of northern Guanajuato. In this subprovince are located the two municipalities of Guanajuato with designation of origin mezcal (DOM), which like tequila is distilled drink of agave with growing popularity inside and outside the country demanding more raw material and industrialization of processes including monoculture of species native or introduced agave, which reduces its genetic variability, putting at risk its diversity in the region. The objective of the research was to identify mezcalero agave species and their genetic diversity in the mountains and plains of northern Guanajuato, to generate base information to implement projects of dissemination, conservation, protection and rational use of agave, as well as to revalue this valuable resource, especially in the municipalities of San Felipe and San Luis of the Paz where there is a DOM. From 2014 to 2015, the field was identified, taxonomically characterized and collected samples of agave species distributed in the region. Later in the laboratory, they were analyzed using ISTR DNA markers, the Nei gene diversity was calculated. The taxonomic characterization allowed the identification of nine agave species and the diversity analysis determined that the agave populations of the mountains and plains of northern Guanajuato are poorly differentiated. 19% of the variation detected belongs to differences between species, the rest 81% represents genetic diversity within the species studied.


The duration of action of nalmefene, a relatively new opiate antagonist, on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis of the rhesus monkey was compared to that exhibited by naloxone. Ovariectomized monkeys (n = 5) were pretreated with 10 mg nalmefene, 10 mg naloxone or an equivalent volume of saline 12, 24, or 48 h prior to the administration of 10 mg morphine. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 h after injection of morphine and were assayed for luteinizing hormone (LH) and prolactin (PRL). Duration of action of these two opiate antagonists was estimated from their ability to block morphine inhibition and stimulation of LH and PRL release respectively. Morphine reduced serum LH concentration by 60% and increased PRL levels approximately 4-fold in saline-pretreated animals. Administration of nalmefene either 12 or 24 h, but not 48 h prior to morphine, significantly antagonized the effects of this opiate on LH and PRL release. In contrast, naloxone at all pretreatment intervals failed to block morphine's effect. We conclude that a single 10 mg bolus injection of nalmefene exerts significant activity at the opiate receptors that mediate the effects of morphine on LH and PRL release for at least 24 h after administration, whereas the same dose of naloxone has a duration of action less than 12 h. Based on this finding it is likely that the effects of endogenous opioid peptides in the rhesus monkey can be chronically antagonized by the daily administration of nalmefene.


The present study aims to determine self-perceptions of three groups of adult EFL learners on language learning strategies and evaluate the relationship between variables such as gender and age of the learners, their level, type of the high schools the learners graduated, and the strategies used by the students in the foreign language learning process. In order to gather data, "Strategy Inventory for Language Learning" (SILL) questionnaire developed by Oxford was applied to 185 randomly-selected participants attending in preparatory classes at Pamukkale University from different levels ranging from elementary to intermediate levels. Overall findings indicate that adult EFL learners have a moderate use of language learning strategies, and the highest strategy use is meta-cognitive strategies, while the lowest strategy used by the participants is affective strategy. On the other hand, it can be concluded from the research that as the proficiency level of the learners rises, their strategy use rises, as well. Although there is no meaningful difference between female and male learners, the results regarding with high schools the learners graduated have a meaningful difference.


Research demonstrated that folate deficiency in either the mother or father could impact the biological functions of the offspring's of neural cells. Folate deficiency can also impair the methionine cycle, thus contributing to the conversion of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) to S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH), which could potentially cause damage to the central nervous system. The study focused on the effect of parental folate deficiency on neural cell apoptosis in offspring neonatal rats and whether it is mediated by the levels of SAM and SAH in brains. The experimental design was conducted by feeding female and male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats with either folate-deficient or folate-normal diets, sacrificing the offspring within 24 h and isolating their brain tissue. Rats were divided into four groups: the maternal-folate-deficient and paternal-folate-deficient (D-D) group; the maternal-folate-deficient and paternal-folate-normal (D-N) group; the maternal-folate-normal and paternal-folate-deficient (N-D) group; and the maternal-folate-normal and paternal-folate-normal (N-N) group. There was down-regulation of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) expression, up-regulation of Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and Caspase-3 expression of neural cells, and pathological changes in the brain ultrastructure, as well as decreased SAM levels, increased SAH levels, and a decreased SAM/SAH ratio in the rat fetal brain via parental folate deficiency. In conclusion, parental folate deficiency could induce the apoptosis of neural cells in neonatal offspring rats, while biparental folate deficiency had the greatest effect on offspring, and the unilateral effect was greater in mothers than in fathers. This process may be mediated by the levels of SAM and SAH in the rat fetal brain.


The investigation results of thermal compensation systems for thermoelectric cooling modules parameters determination have been given. Thermoelectric thermal meters were used at heat balance sensors, stage thermoelectric batteries were used as compensating heat and cold sources. Methods and devices made it possible to determine parameters of thermoelectric cooling modules with increased accuracy.


Activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family, is an important cellular response that modulates the outcome of the cells which are exposed to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or the genotoxic stress including DNA damaging agents. Although it is known that JNK is activated in response to genotoxic stress, neither the pathways to transduce signals to activate JNK nor the primary sensors of the cells that trigger the stress response have been identified. Here, we report that the receptor interacting protein (RIP), a key adaptor protein of TNF signaling, was required to activate JNK in the cells treated with certain DNA damaging agents such as adriamycin (Adr) and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C) that cause slow and sustained activation, but it was not required when treated with N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and short wavelength UV, which causes quick and transient activation. Our findings revealed that this sustained JNK activation was not mediated by the TNF (tumor necrosis factor) receptor signaling, but it required a functional ATM (ataxia telangiectasia) activity. In addition, JNK inhibitor SP-600125 significantly blocked the Adr-induced cell death, but it did not affect the cell death induced by MNNG. These findings suggest that the sustained activation of JNK mediated by RIP plays an important role in the DNA damage-induced cell death, and that the duration of JNK activation relays a different stress response to determine the cell fate.


The genome-wide role of heterotrimeric G-proteins in abiotic stress response in rice has not been examined from a functional genomics perspective, despite the availability of mutants and evidences involving individual genes/processes/stresses. Our rice whole transcriptome microarray analysis (GSE 20925 at NCBI GEO) using the G-alpha subunit (RGA1) null mutant (Daikoku 1 or d1) and its corresponding wild type (Oryza sativa Japonica Nipponbare) identified 2270 unique differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Out of them, we mined for all the potentially abiotic stress-responsive genes using Gene Ontology terms, STIFDB2.0 and Rice DB. The first two approaches produced smaller subsets of the 1886 genes found at Rice DB. The GO approach revealed similar regulation of several families of stress-responsive genes in RGA1 mutant. The Genevestigator analysis of the stress-responsive subset of the RGA1-regulated genes from STIFDB revealed cold and drought-responsive clusters. Meta data analysis at Rice DB revealed large stress-response categories such as cold (878 up/810 down), drought (882 up/837 down), heat (913 up/777 down), and salt stress (889 up/841 down). One thousand four hundred ninety-eight of them are common to all the four abiotic stresses, followed by fewer genes common to smaller groups of stresses. The RGA1-regulated genes that uniquely respond to individual stresses include 111 in heat stress, eight each in cold only and drought only stresses, and two genes in salt stress only. The common DEGs (1498) belong to pathways such as the synthesis of polyamine, glycine-betaine, proline, and trehalose. Some of the common DEGs belong to abiotic stress signaling pathways such as calcium-dependent pathway, ABA independent and dependent pathway, and MAP kinase pathway in the RGA1 mutant. Gene ontology of the common stress responsive DEGs revealed 62 unique molecular functions such as transporters, enzyme regulators, transferases, hydrolases, carbon and protein metabolism, binding to nucleotides, carbohydrates, receptors and lipids, morphogenesis, flower development, and cell homeostasis. We also mined 63 miRNAs that bind to the stress responsive transcripts identified in this study, indicating their post-transcriptional regulation. Overall, these results indicate the potentially extensive role of RGA1 in the regulation of multiple abiotic stresses in rice for further validation.


The work report the in vitro and in vivo assessment of antimicrobial poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) sutures loaded with noble natural extracts, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) from natural propolis. The mechanical characteristics of the medical sutures have been elucidated including tensile strength as a function of biodegradability, and the sustained release profile of CAPE on sutures has been measured as a function of time, concentration and optimization with the aim of maximizing their antimicrobial effect against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia DH5α bacteria. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial assessments – cytotoxicity tests, bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) assays, and micronucleus assays – were achieved to investigate biocompatibility. Real time RT-PCR showed that the antimicrobial effect of CAPE is related to outer membrane damage and reactive oxygen species synthesis in bacteria.


In this article, a new way is explored, which uses the method of image reconstruction from the projection based on the theory of random transformation, to determine simultaneously the magnetic configuration and 2-D distribution of physical quantities of non-circular cross-section plasma from the diagonostic results. Assuming that the distributions of the physical quantities only depends on the magnetic surface function and all the surfaces are similarly concentric, we have proposed three methods of treatment. For D-shaped plasma, the analytical treatment and numerical simulation have been discussed in detail. An example of determination of magnetic configuration and electron temperature and density from soft X-ray and microwave interference measurements has been demonstrated.


The cover collapse sinkholes occurred and concentrated in Wugaishan town, Chen zhou city since 1996. The results are combined with results of site investigation, geophysical prospecting and in situ groundwater monitoring data, allowing the development characteristics and formation mechanism of surficial collapse incidents to be summarized. Collapse sinkholes are significantly active in recent years and mostly develop in the rainy season ranging from April to June and generally show a zonal distribution along the topography of study area from SW to NE. 92.31 % of total collapse events occurred in the thickness of overburden material ranged from 0 to 15 m, which indicated that overlying material less than 15 m was easier to collapse. The results show that collapse sinkholes have strong relationship with characteristic of overburden material, which sharply decrease in internal physical and mechanical property of bottom layer. Furthermore, substantial cavities formed within bedrock are the best transport channels and storage spaces for the unconsolidated material, especially under the condition of dynamic undulation of groundwater level. The formation mechanism of collapse sinkhole is divided into three types: infiltration erosion, coupling air implosion with vacuum cavitation and saturation erosion. Each formation mechanism is related to changes of groundwater level. When groundwater level rose above the soil-bedrock interface, saturated subsoil were easier to disintegrate into small particles and migrate downward as the vertical seepage of groundwater. The hydraulic gradient increased and became the predominant factor for the development of soil cavity as groundwater level dropped below the soil-bedrock interface. Moreover, when groundwater level sharply surged up at the relative sealed environment, the upward erosion roof of cavity would be more likely to collapse by the entrapped air blasting.


Quantifying energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectra acquired in a transmission electron microscope can produce inconsistent and unreliable results even if correct values for specimen thickness and density are being used for calculating an appropriate absorption and fluorescence correction. This can be due to various factors, such as incorrect k-factors, faulty absorption corrections due to specimen roughness, specimen buckling or wrong estimates of the detector's take-off angle, complicated fluorescence effects not accounted for in the software etc. For a thorough investigation of the InGaAs system, wedge shaped specimens were cleaved from GaAs and InAs wafers and studied by EDX spectroscopy in a JEOL2010F instrument, with thicknesses ranging from a few nanometres up to several microns. The thickness dependence of the relative intensities of X-ray lines that remains after nominal absorption and fluorescence correction were taken into account could be used to perform linear least-squares fits, thereby eliminating to a first order the apparent remaining thickness dependence of the k-factors. The resulting fits demonstrate this correction improves the quantification of the chemical concentrations of indium and gallium in InGaAs samples of known thickness to 1at%.


ABSTRACT The farAB operon of Neisseria gonorrhoeae encodes an efflux pump which mediates gonococcal resistance to antibacterial fatty acids. It was previously observed that expression of the farAB operon was positively regulated by MtrR, which is a repressor of the mtrCDE-encoded efflux pump system (E.-H. Lee and W. M. Shafer, Mol. Microbiol. 33:839-845, 1999). This regulation was believed to be indirect since MtrR did not bind to the farAB promoter. In this study, computer analysis of the gonococcal genome sequence database, lacZ reporter fusions, and gel mobility shift assays were used to elucidate the regulatory mechanism by which expression of the farAB operon is modulated by MtrR in gonococci. We identified a regulatory protein belonging to the MarR family of transcriptional repressors and found that it negatively controls expression of farAB by directly binding to the farAB promoter. We designated this regulator FarR to signify its role in regulating the farAB operon. We found that MtrR binds to the farR promoter, thereby repressing farR expression. Hence, MtrR regulates farAB in a positive fashion by modulating farR expression. This MtrR regulatory cascade seems to play an important role in adjusting levels of the FarAB and MtrCDE efflux pumps to prevent their excess expression in gonococci.


Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc.) is one of the highly commercial woody species in Northeast China. In this study, six nonlinear equations and artificial neural network (ANN) models were employed to model and validate height-diameter (H-DBH) relationship in three different stand densities of one Korean pine plantation. Data were collected in 12 plots in a 43-year-old even-aged stand of P. koraiensis in Mengjiagang Forest Farm, China. The data were randomly split into two datasets for model development (9 plots) and for model validation (3 plots). All candidate models showed a good perfomance in explaining H-DBH relationship with error estimation of tree height ranging from 0.61 to 1.52 m. Especially, ANN models could reduce the root mean square error (RMSE) by the highest 40%, compared with Power function for the density level of 600 trees. In general, our results showed that ANN models were superior to other six nonlinear models. The H-DBH relationship appeared to differ between stand density levels, thus it is necessary to establish H-DBH models for specific stand densities to provide more accurate estimation of tree height.


The standard-of-care (SOC) for genomic testing of myeloid cancers primarily relies on karyotyping and fluorescent in situ hydridization (FISH) (cytogenetic analysis) and targeted gene panels ([≤]54 genes) that harbor hotspot pathogenic variants (molecular genetic analysis). Both cytogenetic and molecular testing workup is necessary for the identification and detection of large structural variants (SVs) and small variants like single nucleotide variants (SNV) and indels, respectively. Despite this combinatorial approach, ~50% of myeloid cancer genomes remain cytogenetically normal, and the limited sequencing variant profiles obtained from targeted panels are unable to resolve the genetic etiology of these myeloid tumors. In this study, we evaluated the performance and clinical utility of optical genome mapping (OGM) and a 523-gene next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel for comprehensive genomic profiling of 15 myeloid tumors and compared it to SOC cytogenetic methods (karyotyping and FISH) and a 54-gene NGS panel. OGM and the 523-gene NGS panel were found to have an analytical concordance of 100% with karyotyping, FISH, and the 54-gene panel, respectively. Additionally, OGM better characterized and resolved the structural variants previously reported by karyotyping in five cases, such as identifying the genomic content of marker and ring chromosomes. OGM also identified several additional translocations and eleven copy number variations (CNVs), of which the CNVs were validated/confirmed by the 523-gene panel. The 523-gene panel identified seven additional clinically relevant SNVs (two tier 1A variants and five tier 2C variants, as per the ACMG/AMP guidelines) in four cases. The simultaneous visualization of SVs and small NGS detected sequence variants (SNVs and small indels) from OGM and 523-gene NGS panel, respectively in the NxClinical software v6.1 identified two clinically relevant compound heterozygous events in two samples. This study demonstrates the higher sensitivity, resolution, accuracy, and ability to reveal cryptic and clinically relevant novel variants in myeloid cancers as compared to SOC methodologies. Our cost-effective approach of using OGM and a 523-gene NGS panel for comprehensive genomic profiling of myeloid cancers will not only increase the yield of actionable targets leading to improved clinical outcomes but also help resolve our ongoing conundrum of apparently genomically normal myeloid cancers by providing more answers.


BACKGROUND
We have previously reported that men who look older than their contemporaries have a significantly higher risk for myocardial infarction. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether persons with pronounced aging signs such as graying of hair, baldness, or facial wrinkles are prone to a shorter life span compared to their contemporaries.

METHODS
In the Copenhagen City Heart Study comprising a random sample of 20,000 men and women, we also recorded, in addition to cardiovascular risk factors, data on signs of aging: extent of gray hair, baldness, facial wrinkles, and arcus senilis (corneal arcus). During 16 years of follow-up, 3,939 persons (1,656 women and 2,283 men) had died. The Cox regression model for proportional hazards, which included age as an explanatory variable, was used for descriptive analysis of the correlation between these aging signs and all-cause mortality.

RESULTS
We found no correlation between the mortality and the extent of graying of the hair, or baldness or facial wrinkles in either of the sexes, irrespective of age. A single exception was observed in a small subgroup of men with no gray hair. They had a slightly, but significantly, lower mortality than the rest [relative risk (RR) = .81, 95% confidence interval (CI) .67-.98; p < .05]. The presence of arcus senilis was significantly correlated with a shorter life span in women (RR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.08-1.46; p < .01). For men the same tendency was found, but the correlation was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that the degrees of graying of the hair, baldness, and facial wrinkles are not predictive of a shorter life span in men and women in the Copenhagen City Heart Study.


Of course, I don't personally remember the days when Freud sketched his pictures of crayfish neurons (Fig. 1) before his quest to understand the darker mysteries of the human soul. I was still in elementary and high school when the fathers (and the forgotten mothers) of neuroscience studied a variety of invertebrate nervous systems to first reveal some of the most basic understandings in neuroscience. These included, among too many to mention, the mechanism of the action potential (Hodgkin and Huxley 1952), the nature of the resting potential in glia (Kuffler and Potter 1964; Baylor and Nicholls 1969), fundamentals of the stretch response (Kuffler 1954), the demonstration of electrical coupling in the nervous system (Furshpan and Potter 1959), lateral inhibition (Hartline and Ratliff 1957Hartline and Ratliff 1958), the early descriptions of pacemaking and bursting in isolated neurons (Alving 1968), and the direct demonstration that GABA is the transmitter used by many inhibitory neurons (Otsuka et al. 1966Otsuka et al. 1967). In those early years, it was customary for pioneering scientists such as Steve Kuffler and Ted Bullock to search for the "ideal preparation" with which to study the problem that interested them. It was then thought perfectly normal, or at least reasonable, to embark on a seagoing vessel or to prowl the desert or jungle with a bottle of methylene blue, a microscope, scissors, and forceps, and look for large neurons likely to welcome the relatively crude electrodes of the day. The neuroscience that grew from the tradition of the naturalists was invariably comparative,...


Carbon dots (CDots), generally defined as small carbon nanoparticles with various surface passivation schemes for bright and colorful fluorescence emissions, have emerged to represent a rapidly advancing and expanding research field. Building upon the basic structural configuration of CDots, iron oxides were introduced for both magnetic and fluorescence properties in the resulting hybrid dots, thus resulting in more capabilities beyond those of neat CDots. The carbon/Fe3O4 hybrid dots with oligomeric polyethylene glycol or polyethyleneimine for surface functionalization and passivation were prepared in a facile thermal carbonization synthesis using microwave energy, coupled with magnetic separation. The magnetic hybrid dots were fluorescent over the visible spectrum, but the fluorescence quantum yields were found to be lower than those of their neat CDots counterparts, for which a possible quenching effect due to the Fe3O4 in the dot structure was probed and evaluated. The results support the notion that the hybrid dot configuration could serve as a platform for imparting magnetic properties into brightly fluorescent CDots. Also investigated were the dot structures and compositions to gain a rough view of the carbon–iron oxide configurations in the hybrid dots. The application potential of the hybrid dots and opportunities for their further improvements are discussed.


An integrated framework was employed to develop probabilistic floodplain maps, taking into account hydrologic and hydraulic uncertainties under climate change impacts. To develop the maps, several scenarios representing the individual and compounding effects of the models' input and parameters uncertainty were defined. Hydrologic model calibration and validation were performed using a Dynamically Dimensioned Search algorithm. A generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation method was used for quantifying uncertainty. To draw on the potential benefits of the proposed methodology, a flash-flood-prone urban watershed in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, was selected. The developed floodplain maps were updated considering climate change impacts on the input uncertainty with rainfall Intensity–Duration–Frequency (IDF) projections of RCP8.5. The results indicated that the hydrologic model input poses the most uncertainty to floodplain delineation. Incorporating climate change impacts resulted in the expansion of the potential flood area and an increase in water depth. Comparison between stationary and non-stationary IDFs showed that the flood probability is higher when a non-stationary approach is used. The large inevitable uncertainty associated with floodplain mapping and increased future flood risk under climate change imply a great need for enhanced flood modeling techniques and tools. The probabilistic floodplain maps are beneficial for implementing risk management strategies and land-use planning.


Most studies dealing with the arterial system impedance as resistance to blood ejection from the left ventricle are based on catheterization examinations of the aorta and the great arteries. The present work shows the possibility of using non-invasive approaches and describes one of them consisting in non-invasive determination of arterial impedance by measuring arterial pressure, cardiac output and the cardiac cycle phase structure. The results are compared with those of other studies.


1. The pharmacological and toxicological properties of streptormycin were found to be greatly influenced by the presence of traces of impurities and varied considerably in different animal species. One such impurity has histaminelike properties and can be inactivated by histaminase.

2. The signs observed after administration of large doses of streptomycin consist, in order of appearance, of restlessness, respiratory distress, loss of consciousness, coma and respiratory failure. The latter is apparently the cause of death, since the heart continues to beat for several minutes after cessation of the respiration.

3. The acute intravenous toxicity of streptomycin increases greatly with the speed of injection. This factor is less influential with the intramuscular and subcutaneous administration. The rate of absorption varies with different lots and influences and outcome of subcutaneous and intramuscular toxicity experiments.

4. No pathologic changes were found in the organs and tissues of animals killed in acute toxicity experiments.

5. The signs and symptoms produced by repeated daily administration of streptomycin over periods of 5-80 days vary greatly with the animal species. Weanling rats show a slight retardation of growth and develop a pronounced nervous hyperexcitability. No such changes were noted in adult rats or in mice. Monkeys exhibit a slight impairment of hepatic and renal function and show upon autopsy a fatty infiltration of the liver and, to a lesser degree, of the kidney. These changes are reversible. Dogs develop a mild to severe impairment of renal function, and show upon autopsy lipoid deposits in the kidney and liver. In addition, they exhibit signs of cerebellar or labyrinthine disturbance.

6. The injection or topical application of streptomycin usually does not produce marked local effects.

7. Intravenous injection of streptomycin concentrates is often followed by a sharp drop of arterial blood pressure due to a histamine-like impurity. Pure streptomycin is free from this effect, but produces in large doses a gradual and prolonged depression of the blood pressure.

8. Injection of a large dose of streptomycin concentrate may cause a marked temporary inhibition of water diuresis. No such effect is found with pure streptomycin.

9. Streptomycin causes a relaxation of the isolated intestine.


Sexual dimorphism exists in the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which indicates the involvement of sexual hormones in the pathophysiology of CVD. In particular, ample evidence has demonstrated estrogen's protective effect on the cardiovascular system. While estrogen receptors, bound to estrogen, act as a transcription factor which regulates gene expressions by binding to the specific DNA sequence, a subpopulation of estrogen receptors localized at the plasma membrane induces activation of intracellular signaling, called "non-nuclear signaling" or "membrane-initiated steroid signaling of estrogen". Although the precise molecular mechanism of non-nuclear signaling as well as its physiological impact was unclear for a long time, recent development of genetically modified animal models and pathway-selective estrogen receptor stimulant bring new insights into this pathway. We review the published experimental studies on non-nuclear signaling of estrogen, and summarize its role in cardiovascular system, especially focusing on: (1) the molecular mechanism of non-nuclear signaling; (2) the design of genetically modified animals and pathway-selective stimulant of estrogen receptor.


Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a technique widely used to image protein-DNA complexes, and its application has now been extended to the measurements of protein-DNA binding constants and specificities. However, the spreading of the protein-DNA complexes on a flat substrate, generally mica, is required prior to AFM imaging. The influence of the surface on protein-DNA interactions is therefore an issue which needs to be addressed. For that purpose, the extensively studied EcoRI-DNA complex was investigated with the aim of providing quantitative information about the surface influence. The equilibrium binding constant of the complex was determined by AFM at both low and high ionic strengths and compared to electrophoretic mobility shift assay measurements (EMSA). In addition, the effect of the DNA length on dissociation of the protein from its specific site was analyzed. It turned out that the AFM measurements are similar to those obtained by EMSA at high ionic strengths. We then advance the idea that this effect is due to the high counterion concentration near the highly negatively charged mica surface. In addition, a dissociation of the complexes once they are adsorbed onto the surface was observed, which is weakly dependent on the ionic strength contrary to what occurs in solution. Finally, a two-step mechanism, which describes the adsorption of the EcoRI-DNA complexes on the surface, is proposed. This model could also be extended to other protein-DNA complexes.


This study presents design and implementation of a wireless energy and transfer system. The system is targeted to work in accordance with neural recording and stimulation purposes, more specifically for in-vivo epilepsy monitoring. A brief overview of the system is given and supported with detailed explanations of functional blocks. An in-vitro experimental setup has been designed and used for performance characterization while mimicking tissue absorption. 35% power transfer efficiency has been achieved to transfer 10 mW to the implant unit from 10 mm. Moreover, 50 kbit/s and 500 kbit/s downlink data communication has been realized with 19% and 33% power transfer efficiencies, respectively.


Stay at home orders, changes in business and clinic operations, and financial concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected how adults with diabetes obtained food, medications, medical care, and performed diabetes self-management. These impacts may be most pronounced among people in low-resource urban communities. We assessed the experiences of adults with type 2 diabetes participating in a federally-qualified health center diabetes management program. Of 72 patients called, 61 completed telephone surveys from July to October 2020 in Spanish and English. 74% of respondents were Latino with Spanish as their preferred language. Respondents' mean age was 54 years, 62% were female, and 57% had less than a high school degree. Five patients reported testing positive for COVID-19, and 7 lived with someone who tested positive. Of 33 respondents who worked outside the home before COVID-19, 61% had lost their jobs or now worked fewer hours. When asked how diabetes management behaviors changed during the pandemic, 53% of respondents reported less physical activity, while 25% reported more. 18% reported eating less healthfully, while 38% reported eating more healthfully. 43% found it more difficult to obtain healthy food. 15% reported taking their medications more regularly, while 5% reported less. 61% reported increased difficulty accessing medical care. 41% felt more worried about being able to manage their diabetes during the pandemic and 49% felt more socially isolated. Changes in diabetes self-management behaviors related to COVID-19 were both positive and negative for patients in this low-resource urban setting. Programs supporting patients with diabetes could help patients adapt to pandemic changes by facilitating access to medications and health care, providing virtual support for self-management and other health habits, connecting patients with financial and food security concerns to community resources, and addressing stress and social isolation through virtual diabetes support groups. Disclosure M. Zupa: None. A. Rosland: None. S. Perez: None. G. Palmisano: None. E. C. Kieffer: None. G. Piatt: None. F. Valbuena: None. D. J. Deverts: None. J. Yabes: None. M. Heisler: None. Funding National Institutes of Health (R01DK116733)


This study presents a learning behavior diagnosis system to study students' learning status from learning portfolios. The proposed linking layer enables the proposed system to work on various e-learning platforms without reprogramming. Additionally, the use of a supervisory agent enables teachers and students to obtain their learning status or information provided by the proposed system in both Web and e-mail. Furthermore, the computer engineering curriculum operating systems was adopted to evaluate the proposed system. Evaluations of confidence between learning status and learning achievement yield positive experimental results.


Some statements concerning the distribution of imaginary parts of zeros of the Riemann zeta\,-function are established. These assertions are connected with so\,-called `Gram's law' or `Gram's rule'. In particular, we give a proof of several Selberg's formulae stated him without proof in his paper `The Zeta Function and the Riemann Hypothesis' (1946), and some of their equivalents.


In this study, tin dioxide (SnO2) thin films were deposited on the silicon substrate using thermal evaporation method. This study proposes a low-cost thermal evaporation method to fabricate different forms of SnO2 structures and it is expressly beneficial for large area of nanotechnology utilizations. This novel process is fast and can be completed at lower temperature. In addition, thermal evaporation deposition has the advantage over the other methods in that it does not take much time and is a template-free method to prepare SnO2 nanostructures. After the tin (Sn) powders evaporate, the silicon substrate was cooled down and then removed to furnace (under air flow). All sample substrates were annealed in air with difference temperatures (400 oC, 500 oC, 600 oC, 800 °C, 1000 °C) in furnace. The degree of crystalline strongly increases by increasing the annealing temperatures. All sample layers were translucent in visible range and so do the white layer on the substrate. The morphology the SnO2 thin films were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).


An improved route to 3,4-dihydro-2-phenylnaphtho[1,8-b,c]furan-5-one (2) and a convenient preparation of furan-3,4-dicarbaldehyde (4) are described. The dihydro-derivative of (2) was condensed with (4) to give 4-(4-formyl-3-furylmethyl)-2-phenylnaphtho[1,8-b,c]furan-5-one (5), which after preparation of its 1,3 dithiolan derivative was photocyclised to a polycyclic compound (7). Owing to problems of deprotection of (7) further steps towards adriamycin (1) were abandoned.


ABSTRACT The signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana, 1852) of North American origin was introduced to Europe (to Scandinavia) in the 1960s. Since that time due to translocation to many countries, biological features and ecological plasticity, it became widespread, invasive and displaced native species. The paper reports first multi- point colonization of P. leniusculus in the Polish rivers. The aim of the study was to determine the current distribution of the signal crayfish in the coastal Baltic tributary (the River Wieprza) after 20 years of deliberate releases in its drainage area. During sampling at 28 sites with use of the "Pirate" crayfish traps and hand collection methods in spring and summer 2014, 127 P. leniusculus individuals were found at 8 sites in the Wieprza and its two tributaries, both away from and close to known sites of their introduction in 1995 and 1996 in the Wieprza River drainage area. The species spreads via the Wieprza River towards the Baltic brackish waters. With such expansion of this species, it is expected to be found in Polish coastal waters of the Baltic Sea and in other coastal rivers in the near future. The conflict between legal aspects of the signal crayfish farming, colonization by the species of the natural aquatic ecosystems and the expectations of consumers is discussed.


A robust H∞ controller was developed to deliver insulin via a mechanical pump in Type I diabetic patients. A fundamental nonlinear diabetic patient model was linearized and then reduced to a third-order linear form for controller synthesis. Uncertainty in the nonlinear model was characterized by up to ± 40% variation in eight physiological parameters. A sensitivity analysis identified the three-parameter set having the most significant effect on glucose and insulin dynamics over the frequency range of interest ω = [0.002, 0.2] (rad/min). This uncertainty was represented in the frequency domain and incorporated in the controller design. Controller performance was assessed in terms of its ability to track a normoglycemic set point (81.1 mg/dL) in response to a 50 g meal disturbance. In the nominal continuous-time case, the controller maintained glucose concentrations within ± 3.3 mg/dL of set point. A controller tuned to accommodate uncertainty yielded a maximum deviation of 17.6 mg/dL for the worst-case parameter variation.


Pregnancy and puerperium increase the relative risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and the absolute risk remains low, around 1 per 1,000, with induced mortality of around 1 per 100,000. Analysis of large databases has helped specify the modes of presentation and risk factors (RF) whose impact is greater after than before childbirth, since VTE during pregnancy and post-partum obey different RFs. The evolution of the population concerned (mostly women over 35, obese, of multi-ethnicity undergoing medically assisted reproduction) affects the frequency of these RFs. Pulmonary embolism (PE) is over-represented after childbirth, but 30% of PE in pregnancy occurs without any RFs. Recommendations for prevention, mainly from expert groups, are heterogeneous and often discordant. Low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) are the mainstay of pharmacological thromboprophylaxis, in a field where randomized controlled studies are definitely lacking. VTE risk assessment in pregnancy must be systematic and repetitive. Risk assessment methods and scores are beginning to emerge to guide thromboprophylaxis and should be used more systematically. In the future, analyzing observational data from huge, nationwide registries and prospective cluster clinical trials may bring to light clinically relevant outcomes likely to feed comprehensive guidelines.


Was 1993 a happening year or was 1993 a happening year! A number of significant events, in national as well as global terms, occurred. It was: the centenary year of Women's Suffrage in Aotearoa; the International Year of the World's Indigenous People, linking "an estimated 250 million indigenous people in more than seventy countries around the world" (Te Puni Kokiri, 1993a); an election year; and the final year of the Development Decade, which was outlined as the third objective of the kawenata, the covenant, declared by Maoridom at the Hui Taumata, the Maori Economic Development Summit held in 1984, marked in Te Rapa this year with the holding of the 1993 National Commercial and Economic Development Conference, organised by the Ki Tua o Te Arai Trust (Te Puni Kokiri, 1993b). Each of these events has major implications for Maori education during 1993 and beyond. Analyses of the implications of these events for Maori education provide the major organising themes for this paper. The events of 1993 have stimulated much critical debate, research and scholarly analyses of the issues they encompass. We will all be the richer for the publication of these new works. Numerous conferences have been held and books launched. Some of the books capturing this year's themes with significance for Maori education include: Standing in the Sunshine (Coney, 1993); Maori Women and the Vote (Rei, 1993); Nga Mahi Whakaari a Titokowaru, Ruka Broughton's previously unpublished draft doctoral thesis (Broughton, 1993) (the first Maori text on Titokowaru to be published, following the two previously published texts in English by Pakeha writers); Learning Liberation: Women as Facilitators of Learning (Manchester and O'Rourke, 1993); Te Ara Tika: Maori and Libraries – A Research Report (MacDonald, 1993); Educating Feminists: Life Histories and Pedagogy (Middleton, 1993); Te Maori i roto i nga Mahi Whakaakoranga – Maori in Education (Davies and Nicholl, 1993); Women Together: A History of Women's Organisations in New Zealand (Else et al., 1993); and Te Hikoi Marama, Volume 2 – A Directory of Maori Information Resources (Szekely, 1993)...


The objective of this study was to quantify the relationship between trunk posture and trunk muscle function in a group of young, normal male and female subjects. Ten male and 10 female subjects performed isometric flexion and extension tasks using a trunk dynamometer. Peak isometric torque was recorded in flexion and extension at 10° increments over a sagittal posture range of −20° extension to +50°of flexion. Significant differences in trunk strength (isometric torque) were found between males and females, at various sagittal plane trunk postures, and between flexion (F) and extension (E) tasks. Flexion torque was greatest at 20° to 30° flexion, whereas extension torque was greatest at 50° flexion. Gender-specific differences in trunk strength were markedly reduced when the torque data were normalized by the subject's height multiplied by body weight. The E/F torque ratio showed a relatively linear, over twofold increase with increasing flexion angle, and was significantly greater for female subjects compared with male subjects at most sagittal postures. The baseline trunk isometric strength data provided by this study should help clinicians to use strength testing more precisely and specifically in prevention and diagnosis of patients at risk for back disorders.


Background: Varicose veins of lower extremities are the most common peripheral vascular disease and it calls for treatment due to the morbidity and loss of working hours it causes. In advocating surgery the need to establish the need for surgery in the patient cannot be over emphasized. In the present study, the various surgical methods available and the outcome of the treatment for varicose veins in patients were evaluated. Methods: The study was conducted in teaching & general hospital and government general hospital, attached to medical college. The various available surgical procedures were used in the present study after the informed consent from all the patients. Results: Trendelenburg's operation was done in 4.76% of cases, it was coupled with stripping of long saphenous and subfascial ligation of perforators 33.33% cases. In 9.52% cases with competent saphenofemoral junction, only subfascial ligation was carried out by small transverse incisions. Postoperative wound infection was seen in 20.59% of cases. Conclusion: Our study revealed that the Trendelenburg's operation is carried out in all the patients with saphenofemoral incompetence. Stripping of the long saphenous vein from above downwards is safer for the saphenous nerve than stripping from below upwards. Stripping of long saphenous vein till the below knee level is an adequate procedure. This can be combined with the multiple ligation or excision of varicose tributaries.


ASCO phenotyping (A: atherosclerosis; S: small-vessel disease; C: cardiac pathology; O: other causes) assigns a degree of likelihood of causal relationship to every potential disease (1 for potentially causal, 2 for causality is uncertain, 3 for unlikely causal but the disease is present, 0 for absence of disease, and 9 for insufficient workup to rule out the disease) commonly encountered in ischemic stroke describing all underlying diseases in every patient. In this new evolution of ASCO called ASCOD, we have added a 'D' for dissection, recognizing that dissection is a very frequent disease in young stroke patients. We have also simplified the system by leaving out the 'levels of diagnostic evidence', which has been integrated into grades 9 and 0. Moreover, we have also changed the cutoff for significant carotid or intracranial stenosis from 70% to more commonly used 50% luminal stenosis, and added a cardiogenic stroke pattern using neuroimaging. ASCOD captures and weights the overlap between all underlying diseases present in ischemic stroke patients.


The efficiency of excess sludge disintegration play a major role in protein extraction qualification. Hence, the use of optimal method is likely to promote the study of protein extractive rate in excess sludge. The objective of this study was to develop protein extraction by papain hydrolysis. There are four different factors were correlated to the protein yield during papain hydrolysis. These factors are protease content ,the ratio of solid to liquid, reaction time and temperature. The ratio of solid to liquid had a more significant influence on the total amount of protein than papain content. protein extraction concentration ranged from 8.23g/l to 9.98 g/l, and protein recovery rate was in the range of 42.3-52.7%.According to these data corresponded with high crude protein. In addition, the results showed that heavy metals of extractive protein was analysed below limited value. Thereby, papain hydrolysis treatment is recommended for practical extraction method because of its shorter extraction time. The nutrient composistion of protein recovered from excess sludge were feasible with animal protein feed.


Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) recently have been shown to play a physiological role in the female genital system, including the ovarian follicular system. However, little is known about the role of the IGF system in malignant ovarian disease. To assess possible mutual correlations between alterations in circulating IGFBP profiles and tumuor markers in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, we performed an RIA for IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-3 and a Western ligand blotting (WLB) in serum samples from 20 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, 10 patients with benign ovarian tumors, and 8 healthy age-matched controls. The epithelial ovarian cancer group had a mean IGFBP-2 level that was 253% (RIA) and 105% (WLB) above that of controls. IGFBP-2 even correlated positively with the highly sensitive serum tumor marker, cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) (r = 0.71, P < 0.001) but not with the less sensitive tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor. In contrast, serum IGFBP-3 (by RIA and WLB) was decreased in patients with ovarian cancer, and IGFBP-3 proteolytic activity was detectable in some of the patients. Neither IGFBP-3 nor IGFBP-3 proteolytic activity correlated with CA 125; but the former correlated inversely, and the latter positively, with tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor. In conclusion, IGFBP-2 levels are high in serum of epithelial ovarian cancer patients, and the increment in serum IGFBP-2 correlates positively with CA 125. Alterations in serum IGFBP-2 levels may therefore, serve as a potential additional marker for ovarian cancer.


Purpose of review We review the preclinical and clinical experience with first and subsequent generation Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors in B-cell lymphoproliferative diseases, highlighting the rationale for their clinical use in primary central nervous system diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PCNSL). Recent findings Growing knowledge on the molecular and genetic profile of PCNSL has provided the basis for new drug development targeting aberrantly activated oncogenic signal transduction pathways. PCNSL exhibits frequent genetic alterations of components of the B-cell and Toll-like receptor signalling pathways. On the basis of these discoveries and the limited efficacy obtained with chemotherapy in refractory and relapsed PCNSL, activity of new targeted agents, such as Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors, has been explored with promising results. Summary Innovative therapeutic strategies, applied in first line, have contributed to improved outcomes in patients with PCNSL, making this disease potentially curable in young and fit patients. However, response to induction therapies remains suboptimal and the best consolidative therapy has yet to be defined. In this regard, given the activity of Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the refractory and relapsed PCNSL setting, these agents are currently being explored as part of combination regimens for induction therapy of newly diagnosed PCNSL.


The gastrointestinal tract is comparatively resistant to food-born germs, but recent studies suggest that nosocomial infections may be triggered by this route. In a study with industrialized diets, prepared with aseptic technique and stored up to 24 hours, aerobic and anaerobic contaminants were searched. Samples were taken after 0.8 and 24 hours, whereas half of these last two analyses were carried out in material left at room temperature, and the other half in refrigerated diets. Initial examination revealed 50% of positive cultures, but part of this was due to non-pathogenic Bacillus germs. After 8 and 24 hours 90% of the samples grew organisms, again with a large proportion of Bacillus, but also with several Gram-negative bacteria, as well as rare Gram-positives. Diarrhea and fever were not registered in patients submitted to enteral nutrition during the study period, nor could any episodes of bacteremia or septic shock be attributed to contaminated feeding material. This lack of clinical consequences of the reported bacterial isolations is not unexpected, and suggests that low concentrations of microorganisms were probably present in the preparations, below a critical level. Nevertheless, attention will be required in the future for better quality control of enteral nutrition mixtures, specially when resistant strains of Gram-negative species are identified, and also in the management of debilitated or immunologically compromised hosts.