Recently several Rutherford-type Nb Sn cables for possible use in new magnets for upgrades of the LHC have been measured at CERN. A summary is provided including a comparison of the critical current (Ic) of various cable types and strand materials versus their respective extracted strand measurements. The conductors were cabled at CERN and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The summary shows an unsurprising linear relation between the strand and the cable performance. However, assuming that the local peak magnetic field in the conductor is the relevant factor for determining the Ic(B) relation, a discrepancy is found when results from different directions of applied magnetic field on the cable are compared. In this paper it is shown that the critical current as a function of the peak magnetic field in the conductor can change in the range of 7-12% depending on the direction of the applied magnetic field. This effect originates from the superposition of the self field of the conductor and the applied magnetic field. When the direction of the applied magnetic field is changed, the position of the peak magnetic field in the conductor shifts. Mechanical degradation during the cabling process can create a local reduction in the critical current. When the position of the peak magnetic field shifts from a more degraded to a less degraded area, the measured Ic(B) curve of the conductor will change accordingly. The measured effect is in principle present in all cables exhibiting non-uniform cabling degradation but is substantially present in Nb3Sn conductors for the reasons mentioned.


Chronic, not acute treatment with carbamazepine enhanced the hypothermic response to a dose of clonidine thought to exert its predominant effect on the presynaptic alpha 2-autoreceptor. This response was markedly elevated both during the course of and 10 days after the discontinuation of treatment with carbamazepine. Sensitivity to clonidine returned to baseline 10 to 21 days after the discontinuation of treatment. Carbamazepine is the first treatment for the disorders of mood that has been demonstrated to enhance a physiological response to clonidine. The authors discuss the theoretical relationship between increased sensitivity of the presynaptic alpha 2-autoreceptor and the usefulness of carbamazepine in the treatment of bipolar disorder.


You do not see helicopters like this every day. Sikorsky-Boeing SB1 Defiant in his first demonstration flight showed that it is much more than just a fancy design on paper as he could initially think, with a first relevant flight demonstration. The initial flight lasted less than 30 min, enough time for Defiant to prove he can climb and descend easily, move back and forth and turn left and right with extraordinary ease and maneuverability. Companies have described this action as a low-speed flight maneuver and a short film has revealed that the helicopter can also operate in the area of about 10 to 20 m of land successfully. His first start in the inaugural flight test was held at a Sikorsky airport in West Palm Beach, Florida. SB1 Defiant has an unusual design that instantly conquers you. If most helicopters have one main rotor for vertical lifting, "Defiant" has a pair of coaxial rotors, one rotating clockwise and the other rotating trigonometrically (counterclockwise) to achieve a balancing the dynamics of the couple - that is, to prevent it from overturning one side or another. This means that the aircraft no longer needs the standard rotor at the helicopter tail. Instead, it has a new, distinctive, rear-wheel drive, which has the role of getting Defiant's zoom along the high-speed horizontal flight. "Defiant" is designed to fly at almost twice the speed of classic helicopters while maintaining the best low speed and hover performance of conventional helicopters. Coaxial design can also be found in some Russian military helicopters but without a propeller. Sikorsky used the project earlier (with the propeller) in the experimental X2 helicopter and the next S-97 Raider. The Defiant Project is considered by the United States Army for the Future Lift Vertical program, which intends to find a replacement for many of the US military helicopters used today (Finally, as in the early 2030s, where Defiant's rival in that area is the Bell V-280 Valor, which is not a helicopter, but rather a V-22 Osprey-like tiller-like aircraft used by US marines. The V-280 has been able to improve flight quality since its first flight in December 2017). The Sikorsky-Boeing team will then analyze the flight data recorder and film on this first demonstration flight with the aim of establishing a plan for several "Defiant" test flights in the coming weeks and months to confirm other important features of the new helicopter, before making a complete presentation, for massive future production orders. Sikorsky and Boeing have long been working on this high-speed military helicopter project and have released the first images of what is expected to become a very efficient utility helicopter of the United States Army sometime in 2030. SB1 Defiant is a technology demonstrator with Future Lift technology, built around the Sikorsky X2 platform, using two counter-rotating blades at the top of the plane to eliminate the problem of a 150 km/h traction rotor (~ 240 km/h).


Measures based on the group delay of the LPC residual have been used by a number of authors to identify the time instants of glottal closure in voiced speech. In this paper, we discuss the theoretical properties of three such measures and we also present a new measure having useful properties. We give a quantitative assessment of each measure's ability to detect glottal closure instants evaluated using a speech database that includes a direct measurement of glottal activity from a Laryngograph/EGG signal. We find that when using a fixed-length analysis window, the best measures can detect the instant of glottal closure in 97% of larynx cycles with a standard deviation of 0.6 ms and that in 9% of these cycles an additional excitation instant is found that normally corresponds to glottal opening. We show that some improvement in detection rate may be obtained if the analysis window length is adapted to the speech pitch. If the measures are applied to the preemphasized speech instead of to the LPC residual, we find that the timing accuracy worsens but the detection rate improves slightly. We assess the computational cost of evaluating the measures and we present new recursive algorithms that give a substantial reduction in computation in all cases.


The present author explored and studied 32 rock art sites, in Kaladgi basin, North Karnataka, among them 19 of which 67 localities are new discoveries in the Aihole-Badami-Kutakanakeri Series. This paper reviews of rock art of the series, a potential area of the Malaprabha river basin. The rock art includes both petroglyphs and pictograms in the form of cupules, geometrical lines, rhombus, human figures, historical paintings and many other motifs.


Not a great deal appears to be known about the genus Parametaria Dall, 1916. According to Jung (1994, p. 16) this genus has never been studied in detail. Reeve (1859) was the first investigator to describe these cone-like gastropods in his monograph on the genus Meta. In his presentation he noted that the members of this genus possess external morphological features that are intermediate in character between Swainson's two genera Stromboidea and Conella. In a subsequent study of the American Columbellidae, Dall (1916, p. 25) noted that the generic name Meta is preoccupied and proposed that it be replaced with Parametaria.


The use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to control insect pests has already been established in various agronomic and forest crops. It is a bacterium that does not pollute the environment, is safe for mammals and vertebrates, lacks toxicity to plants and specifically targets insects. To date in-depth studies have not been conducted about the use of Bt to control the main pest of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) and other Meliaceae species, the Hypsipyla grandella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Therefore, this study aimed to test the pathogenicity of Bt strains on H. grandella caterpillars, as well to determine the lethal concentration required to kill 50% of the population (LC50) of the most promising strains. Ten strains of Bt toxic to lepidopteran proven in previous trials were used and these were incorporated into a natural diet with mahogany seeds to check their mortality. The LC50 of the top five strains was determined. The results indicate that H. grandella is highly susceptible to Bt toxins and the S1905 strain is highly toxic. Therefore, the use of Bt strains may be a tool to be incorporated into the integrated management of this important pest.


Background Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is the most common hair loss disorder in women that can be classified into three patterns, including Ludwig, Olsen, and Hamilton-Norwood subtypes. Information regarding the comparison of demographics, clinical characteristics, and associated comorbidities among subtypes of FPHL is scarce and contradictory. Objective To evaluate and compare the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and comorbid conditions of FPHL subtypes and determine their associated factors. Methods This retrospective study included patients who were diagnosed with FPHL between January 2000 and November 2021. Participants were classified into three subtypes, namely Ludwig, Olsen, and Hamilton-Norwood, and were statistically compared. Variables significantly associated with each FPHL subtype were identified using multivariable multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results Among the 519 patients with FPHL, the Ludwig subtype was the most prevalent (51.1%), followed by the Olsen (32.9%) and Hamilton-Norwood (16%) subtypes. The Hamilton-Norwood subtype revealed significantly higher frequencies of early disease onset (61.4%), menstrual irregularity (22.9%), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS, 18.1%), and seborrhea (30.1%) but lower frequencies of overweight (24.1%) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM, 2.4%). Multivariable multinomial regression analysis demonstrated that the Hamilton-Norwood subtype was a predictor for early disease onset and PCOS compared to Ludwig (early onset: odds ratio (OR) = 2.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.39–4.22, P = 0.02; PCOS: OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.55–4.84, P = 0.03), and Olsen (early onset: OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.03–3.92, P = 0.04; PCOS: OR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.89–5.31, P = 0.01). In contrast, the Hamilton-Norwood pattern was at decreased risk for type 2 DM compared to Ludwig (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.03–0.82, P = 0.02), and Olsen (OR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.04–0.79, P = 0.03). Conclusion The Ludwig pattern was found to be the most prevalent FPHL subtype among Thai patients. Moreover, the Hamilton-Norwood subtype was associated with early disease onset and PCOS, whereas the Ludwig and Olsen subtypes were associated with type 2 DM.


Two novel formazan derivatives, FNB and FDNB, were synthesized from the corresponding phenylhydrazones and characterized by various spectroscopic methods. The sensing ability of these formazan sensors towards different anions was determined in THF by a colorimetric UV-vis spectroscopy method. FNB had an efficient colorimetric sensing ability for fluoride anions by changing colour from red to green then blue with a Δλ shift of ca. 138 nm, whilst FDNB acted as a colorimetric sensor by changing colour from yellow to red with a Δλ shift of ca. 95 nm, which could be recognised by the naked eye. The detection limit of sensor FNB was found to be 0.051 ppm (under the WHO permitted level) in the presence of F− anions. Moreover, the binding forms of F− with the sensors were examined by 1H NMR experiments. These results indicated that sensors FNB and FDNB, containing nitro groups and hydrazo unit (–NH) hydrogen bond donation, exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity toward fluoride, which has biological importance.


Despite their many advantages, e-businesses lag behind brick and mortar businesses in several fundamental respects. This paper concerns one of these: relationships based on trust and reputation. Recent studies on simple reputation systems for e-Businesses such as eBay have pointed to the importance of such rating systems for deterring moral hazard and encouraging trusting interactions. However, despite numerous studies on trust and reputation systems, few have taken studies across disciplines to provide an integrated account of these concepts and their relationships. This paper first surveys existing literatures on trust, reputation and a related concept: reciprocity. Based on sociological and biological understandings of these concepts, a computational model is proposed. This model can be implemented in a real system to consistently calculate agents' trust and reputation scores.


The problem of designing an optimal quantizer with a fixed number of levels for a wide class of error weighting functions and an arbitrary distribution function is discussed. The existence of an optimal quantizer is proved, and a two-stage algorithm for its design is suggested. In this algorithm, at the first stage, Lloyd's iterative Method I is applied for reducing the region where, at the second stage, the search for an optimal quantizer is performed using a hybrid of the dynamic programming algorithm and the Lloyd-Max algorithm, which achieves the absolute optimality of dynamic programming with much less computational effort. For a continuous distribution with log-concave density and an increasing convex weighting function of the absolute quantization error, a reliable method is presented to compute the parameters of the optimal quantizer with a known precision using a generalization either of Lloyd's Method I or of the Lloyd-Max algorithm. >


One of the defects of stepped frequency radar systems is their sensitivity to target motion. In such systems, target motion causes range cell shift, false peaks, Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) reduction and range profile spreading because of power spectrum interference of each range cell in adjacent range cells which induces distortion in High Resolution Range Profile (HRRP) and disrupt target recognition process. Thus Target Motion Parameters (TMPs) effects compensation should be employed. In this paper, such a method for estimating TMPs (velocity and acceleration) and consequently eliminating or suppressing the unwanted effects on HRRP based on entropy minimization has been proposed. This method is carried out in two major steps: in the first step, a discrete search method has been utilized over the whole acceleration-velocity lattice network, in a specific interval seeking to find a less-accurate minimum point of the entropy function. Then in the second step, a 1-D search over velocity is done in locus of the minimum for several constant acceleration lines, in order to enhance the accuracy of the minimum point found in the first step. The provided simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Keywords—ATR, HRRP, motion compensation, SFW, TMP.


Traditional Qiang culture is the sum of all civilizations created by Qiang people in the long historical development of the national minority, and is an important component of Chinese civilization. However, traditional Qiang culture suffered from the attack of the great 5.12 Wenchuan Earthquake in the more and more vigorous process of industralization and globalization nowadays. Based on difficulties and problems encountered in post-disaster reconstruction for cultural preservation and development, this article takes into an overall consideration of Qiang traditional cultural preservation and post-disaster reconstruction, protection of nonphysical cultural heritage and national cultural resources, tries to explore the principle, approach and method of traditional Qiang cultural preservation and development and attempts to present the current situation and analyze problems, and accordingly puts forward some countermeasures, measures and specific projects with the features of scientificalness, maneuverability and development.


This presentation was given as part of the 2011 London Workshop on Problem Gambling: Theory and (Best) Practice by Dr Daniel Rhind from the Sports Sciences subject area at Brunel University. The workshop was organised by Professor Fernand Gobet and Dr Marvin Schiller and hosted by Brunel University on the 13th September 2011.


Dynamically vulcanized thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/millable polyurethane (MPU) blend nanocomposites, simple TPU/MPU blend nanocomposite, and TPU nanocomposite with 3 parts per hundred (phr) of organoclay were melt compounded in an internal mixer. Interfacial interactions between the organoclay and polyurethanes were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscope analysis, which revealed that the dispersion of organoclays significantly improved with increasing TPU content in the TPU/MPU blends and dynamic vulcanization process. Tensile test and dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the mechanical properties are improved with the TPU content in the TPU/MPU blends and dynamic vulcanization process. Both hardness and tension set of the samples decreased with increasing MPU content in the TPU/MPU blends. Thermal stability determined by thermo-gravimetric analysis revealed that it increased with increase in TPU concentration in the samples. Differential scanning calorimetry study showed that the glass transition temperature (Tg), melting temperature (Tm), and melt crystallization temperature (Tc) of the samples were significantly affected by the blend composition and dynamic vulcanization. Dynamic melt rheology of the nanocomposite samples in the molten state revealed a pseudo solid-like behavior as well as an enhanced shear thinning behavior, and the variation of the rheological properties are well correlated with blend compositions and morphology of the nanocomposites. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 4014–4023, 2013


This paper introduces a system for three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of underwater environments using multiple images acquired by an acoustical camera from different points of view. The final target of the work is to produce a full 3D representation of the observed environment to improve its exploration and analysis. Indeed, as the DIDSON acoustic camera provides sequences of 2D images (distance and azimuth), the challenge consists in determining the missing elevation information about the observed scene in order to reconstruct (x,y,z) models, together with the geometrical transformation parameters between the acquisition view points, using image information only. Our research work is in its early stage, the work presented in this paper is particularly focused on the first step of the 3D reconstruction system which is feature point extraction as feature points must represent the scene geometrical characteristics. Thus, the proposed methodology is based on corner detection from extracted contours. However, speckle noise introduces local, non-geometrically relevant contours that should be removed. Embedded within a multi-scale edge analysis approach, analyzing extracted contours from several consecutive images allows relevant contours selection. This methodology applied to real and simulated images, shows promising results to complete the full 3D reconstruction process.


Non-Gaussian cold side temperature distribution tails occur in spatially coherent patterns in winter and summer across the globe. Under such conditions, future changes in extreme cold temperature exceedances may be manifested in more complex ways than if the underlying distribution were Gaussian. For example, under a uniform warm shift, locations with shorter- or longer-than-Gaussian cold side tails would experience a more or less rapid decrease in the number of extreme cold threshold exceedances, respectively, compared to if the tail were Gaussian. In many places in the mid- to high latitudes, shorter-than-Gaussian cold tails occur where there is a climatological limit on the magnitude of cold air to be transported by synoptic flow. For example, some high-latitude regions are already among the coldest in the hemisphere, thus limiting the availability of extremely cold air, in an anomalous sense, that can be transported to the region. In other short tail regions, anomalously cold air originates from or travels over large water bodies, which limits the magnitude of the cold anomaly. Long tails are often present when the cold source region is downstream of the climatological flow, requiring a highly anomalous circulation pattern to transport the cold air. The synoptic evolution of extreme cold days at several short- and long-tailed weather stations are presented to help diagnose the mechanisms behind extreme cold temperatures under conditions of non-Gaussianity. This provides a mechanistic view of how extreme cold occurs at each location, as well as an explanation for the notable deviations from Gaussianity.


Background Direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) medications are frequently associated with inappropriate prescribing and adverse events. To improve the safe use of DOACs, health systems are implementing population health tools within their electronic health record (EHR). While EHR informatics tools can help increase awareness of inappropriate prescribing of medications, a lack of empowerment (or insufficient empowerment) of nonphysicians to implement change is a key barrier. Objective This study examined how the individual authority of clinical pharmacists and anticoagulation nurses is impacted by and changes the implementation success of an EHR DOAC Dashboard for safe DOAC medication prescribing. Methods We conducted semistructured interviews with pharmacists and nurses following the implementation of the EHR DOAC Dashboard at 3 clinical sites. Interview transcripts were coded according to the key determinants of implementation success. The intersections between individual clinician authority and other determinants were examined to identify themes. Results A high level of individual clinician authority was associated with high levels of key facilitators for effective use of the DOAC Dashboard (communication, staffing and work schedule, job satisfaction, and EHR integration). Conversely, a lack of individual authority was often associated with key barriers to effective DOAC Dashboard use. Positive individual authority was sometimes present with a negative example of another determinant, but no evidence was found of individual authority co-occurring with a positive instance of another determinant. Conclusions Increased individual clinician authority is a necessary antecedent to the effective implementation of an EHR DOAC Population Management Dashboard and positively affects other aspects of implementation. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.1186/s13012-020-01044-5


In the present study, the effects of brain-skull boundary conditions on the responses of a simplified three-dimensional finite element model of a thin sagittal slice of the human head were investigated. The model was excited using a time-dependent angular velocity with a maximum of 16 rad/s (maximum angular acceleration, around 5 000 rad/s 2 ). The present study was conducted using the non-linear explicit finite element code LS-DYNA. Three methods for simulation of the brain-skull boundary conditions were investigated: 1) with brain rigidly attached to the skull; 2) using frictionless sliding contact allowing no separation between the brain and skull; and 3) direct simulation of cerebrospinal fluid CSF using a layer of eight-noded solid elements with fluid-like properties. Varying the method for simulation of the brain-skull boundary conditions appreciably affected the brain responses. However, varying parameters of a given method, such as viscosity of cerebrospinal fluid CSF and CSF-skull friction coefficient, exerted only minor effects on these responses. The present results suggest that accurate simulation of brain-skull boundary conditions requires direct representation of the subarachnoidal space/CSF as a fluid-like medium.


This collection focuses on questions that arise when morality is considered from the perspective of recent work on rational choice and evolution. Linking questions like "Is it rational to be moral?" to the evolution of cooperation in "The Prisoners Dilemma," the book brings together new work using models from game theory, evolutionary biology, and cognitive science, as well as from philosophical analysis. Among the contributors are leading figures in these fields, including David Gauthier, Paul M. Churchland, Brian Skyrms, Ronald de Sousa, and Elliot Sober.


This paper analyzes the behavior of columns under eccentric loading, with concrete compressive strength of around 80 MPa. The columns have cross section area of 15 x 30 cm at the test region, and an effective length of 174 cm. Six columns were tested. The main variables are the stirrup volumetric ratio and the longitudinal steel ratio. Articulation devices and load application devices were mounted in order to approach the proposed theoretical model as much as possible. The columns with smaller stirrup volumetric ratio showed a brittle mode of failure accompanied by the buckling of the longitudinal reinforcement. Differently, the columns with larger stirrup volumetric ratio presented ductile failure accompanied by concrete crushing on the most compressed side of the column. Theoretical models were used to obtain values of the maximum axial loads and ultimate flexural moment. The results were compared with the experimental ones obtained in the tests.


The correct use of tires, as for its construction type as for internal pressure calibration and the optimal weighting for each load condition are factors that impact significantly on their performance. This study aimed to compare the performance of a tractor equipped with radial tires and bias ply tires in three conditions of liquid ballast (0%, 40% and 75% water), three surface conditions of a Dystrophic Red Alfisol (firm surface, tillage surface and surface with corn residues coverage) and three theoretical traveling speeds (4 km h-1, 5 km h-1 and 7 km h-1), as indicated at the tractor display, related to the gear boxes B1, B2 and C1. The best tractor's performance, equipped with bias ply tire happened at 75% water in the tires and it had provide a higher traveling speed, lower slippage, lower fuel consumption per hour and higher drawbar pull power. The radial tires with the best performance happened at 40% water in tires and it has provided a higher traveling speed, lower slippage, lower fuel consumption per hour, lower specific fuel consumption and higher drawbar pull power bar.


Abstract: Many teaching hospitals in the United States were founded on philanthropic principles and aimed to aid the urban poor and underserved. However, as times have changed, there has been a divide created between the urban poor and teaching hospitals. There is a plethora of reasons why this is the case. This paper will specifically focus on the histories of ten hospitals and medical schools and the effect that white flight, segregation, elitism, and marginalization had on healthcare institutions all over the United States. It will call for a reexamination of the values of Ivy League and Ivy Plus teaching hospitals and medical schools and for them to take an intentional look into their communities.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to investigate PG0717 gene of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) in subgingival plaque of the chronic periodontitis patients and periodontal healthy subjects, and to find out the relationship of detection rate of PG0717 and periodontal clinical parameters.

METHODS
A total of 540 subgingival plaque samples were collected from 180 subjects including chronic periodontitis (CP) patients (n=90) and periodontal healthy individuals (n=90). The periodontal clinical parameters including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BOP) were estimated by Florida probe. The extracted DNA samples of P. gingivalis positive was amplified with the sequence specific primers designed to obtain the PG0717 gene.

RESULTS
In subgingival plaque of P.gingivalis positive, the detection rate of PG0717 in CP group was significantly higher than that in periodontal healthy subjects (56.22% versus 41.27%, chi2=4.50, P<0.05). The detection rate of PG0717 in CP group showed the increasing tendency in accordance with the depth of PD and CAL. A higher detection rate of PG0717 was observed in the sites of BOP positive than that in BOP negative (57.73% versus 14.29%, chi2=42.01, P<0.01).

CONCLUSION
The findings suggest that the PG0717 gene may influence the virulence of P. gingivalis.


During FY 1981 the TA-55 Implementation Support Project provided assistance to the Los Alamos Plutonium Facility in materials accounting and control, including testing and evaluation of a solution mass measurement system, development and testing of a low-level plutonium assay system, holdup measurements, instrument design, and advice and consultation following the observation of semiannual inventories. This report describes the program envisioned for FY 1982, including demonstration of the solution mass measurement system and the associated calibration system, extension of the low-level plutonium assay system to solutions with americium/plutonium ratios of 10: to 20:1, and development and demonstration of a method to calibrate and routinely verify the plutonium oxalate assay instrument performance. The FY 1982 program is subject to changes based on TA-55 reevaluation of facility needs.


Acute Guillain Barre syndrome is a common type of autoimmune mediated acute peripheral neuropathy. Its initial symptoms are symmetrical limb weakness, sensory disturbance, pain or other symptoms. This paper reports a case of acute Guillain Barre syndrome in a uremic patient with diabetic nephropathy and long-term regular hemodialysis, in order to further explore the clinical manifestations and differential characteristics of uremic patients with acute Guillain Barre syndrome, improve the early diagnosis rate of uremic patients with acute Guillain Barre syndrome, make the patients get timely treatment, so as to reduce the disability of such patients To improve the prognosis of the disease.


Over past few years, the studies of cultured neuronal networks have opened up avenues for understanding the ion channels, receptor molecules, and synaptic plasticity that may form the basis of learning and memory. The hippocampal neurons from rats are dissociated and cultured on a surface containing a grid of 64 electrodes. The signals from these 64 electrodes are acquired using a fast data acquisition system MED64 (Alpha MED Sciences, Japan) at a sampling rate of 20 K samples with a precision of 16-bits per sample. A few minutes of acquired data runs in to a few hundreds of Mega Bytes. The data processing for the neural analysis is highly compute-intensive because the volume of data is huge. The major processing requirements are noise removal, pattern recovery, pattern matching, clustering and so on. In order to interface a neuronal colony to a physical world, these computations need to be performed in real-time. A single processor such as a desk top computer may not be adequate to meet this computational requirements. Parallel computing is a method used to satisfy the real-time computational requirements of a neuronal system that interacts with an external world while increasing the flexibility and scalability of the application. In this work, we developed a parallel neuronal system using a multi-node Digital Signal processing system. With 8 processors, the system is able to compute and map incoming signals segmented over a period of 200 ms in to an action in a trained cluster system in real time.


Androgen receptor (AR) is a key regulatory transcription factor in the development of prostate cancer (PCa). Common treatments for PCa include hormone therapy, radiotherapy and surgery. However, many PCa patients develop resistance towards hormone therapies in later stages of PCa. There is growing evidence suggesting that AR splice variants render PCa treatments that target the LBD, such as enzalutimide, ineffective. Our objective is to develop a drug to treat recurrent and metastatic PCa by targeting the DNA Binding Domain (DBD). Through in silico docking prediction and in vitro bioassays, we have identified a novel small molecule - VPC-14449 (4-(4-(4,5-bromo-1H-imidazol-1-yl)thiazol-2-yl)morpholine) - that may inhibit AR activation through targeting DBD. In order to bring VPC -14449 into the clinic, we conducted preclinical in vivo studies to determine both toxicity and efficacy. CD1 mice were treated with 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg of VPC-14449 I.P. twice daily for four weeks to determine the maximum tolerable dose. During this time, we assessed the signs of physical toxicity, behavioral changes, and gross manifestations of stress. At the end of the experiment, the mice were euthanized and organs were collected for further immunohistochemical analysis. Furthermore, we assessed the in vivo therapeutic effects of VPC-14449 in different nude mouse xenograft models including LNCaP, MR49-F, and C4-2. Body weight, tumor volume (π/6 x length x width x height) and PSA were measured weekly. LNCaP xenograft mice were castrated when PSA level reached 25 ng/ml. Mice were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups (VPC-14449 (100mg/kg), enzalutimide (10 mg/kg), or vehicle) when PSA level returned to 25 ng/ml (for LNCaP xenografts) or when the tumor sizes reached 100mm3(for MR49-F and C4-2 xenografts). The mice were treated I.P. twice daily for four weeks before euthanization. Toxicity studies revealed no signs of physical toxicity, behavioral changes, and gross manifestations of stress in animals treated with up to 100 mg/kg dose of VPC-14449. Efficacy studies revealed that VPC-14449 effectively suppresses tumor growth in LNCaP, MR49 and C4-2 xenografts with P value Citation Format: Mohamed DH Hassona, Leslie G. Chan, Gray R. Meckling, Huifang Li, Eric LeBlanc, Fuqiang Ban, Artem Cherkasov, Paul S. Rennie, Emma Guns. DNA-binding domain as an alternative target site on androgen receptor for prostate cancer therapy: Pre-clinical in vivo study of a novel small molecule for drug development. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1727. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1727


Kiteto District Arusha region is one of the semi – arid and arid areas in Tanzania. WaterAid (UK, NGO)Tanzania, Kiteto programme has been working in this area since 1997 to improve rural water supply, hygiene promotion and sanitation. WaterAid Kiteto programme is working together with local NGO known KINNAPA and Kiteto District Council (KDC) under tripartite partnership. Currently, this WaterAid /KINNAPA /KDC programme is implementing six borehole schemes. The big challenge that the programme faces is to locate the borehole sites. According to the hydrogeological studies it was noted that water is found in fault and not in sand aquifers which is very difficult to locate them. Also their recharge is minimal due to little amount of rainfall in a year (400mm – 600mm). Even the cost is high compared to the rural communities' income especially, when considering the issue of operation and maintenance costs. Therefore the programme started to opt to other alternative technologies for water sources such as improvement of traditional wells and harvesting rainwater. The rainwater harvesting technologies include sand dams, small dams, underground tanks and roof catchment for domestic uses. Responding to this it is planned to conduct training to the mobilization team regarding the rainwater harvesting technologies. Thus the paper wrote by the Project Engineer WaterAid Kiteto is aimed to build the capacity of the TUWI * team to disseminate Rainwater harvesting technologies particularly for roof catchment (starting with Ndaleta village).


The hippocampus is a brain region that plays a critical role in memory formation. In addition, it has been suggested that this brain region is important for 'updating' information that is incorrect or outdated. The main goal of this thesis project was to investigate which neurobiological processes underlie these processes. In the majority of the experiments the following method was used: by means of training in a spatial maze, mice learned to visit a specific location to obtain a food reward. After training, the mice were confronted with a modified situation: the food reward was now at a novel location, with no food reward at the previously learned location. To associate the new location with the food reward, mice had to modify the previously formed memory for the original location of the food reward. We show that within the hippocampus, the protein calcineurin, which has been suggested to suppress the formation of memories, plays a crucial role in modifying previously formed memories. In addition, we reveal that the protein PKA plays a crucial role in the detection of changes in a well-known environment or situation and is involved in the processes required for updating outdated memories. We also show that sleep loss attenuates the functioning of PKA in the hippocampus. As a result, updating of previously formed memories is delayed. This study gives new insight into the role of sleep in memory processes and shows which proteins play a key role in changing previously stored memories.


177Lu-DO3A-CH2CO-G-4-aminobenzoyl-Q-W-A-V-G-H-L-M-NH2 (177Lu-AMBA) is a radiolabeled bombesin derivative that is bound and internalized by cells expressing the G-protein–coupled gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRP-R) and is currently in phase I clinical trials. In previous radiotherapy studies with PC-3 xenografted mice, 177Lu-AMBA treatment significantly increased survival and reduced tumor growth rates. The PC-3 tumor cell line has an elevated expression of GRP-Rs (2.5 × 105/cell), whereas LNCaP—a prostate cancer metastatic cell line representing the early androgen-sensitive stage of prostate cancer—and DU145—an androgen-insensitive metastatic line—express lower receptor numbers (5.9 × 103 and 1.2 × 104/cell, respectively). Because of tumor heterogeneity, the high number of receptors in the PC-3 line may not represent the clinical situation, and little definitive work on the GRP-R status of primary prostate tumors and metastases exists. We sought to evaluate the tumor binding and imaging potential of 177Lu-AMBA in low GRP-R models of prostate cancer and determine how reduced expression affects 177Lu-AMBA radiotherapy efficacy. Methods: The LNCaP and DU145 cell lines were used to determine the binding (Kd), retention, and efflux of 177Lu-AMBA. Biodistribution radiotherapy, imaging, and autoradiography studies were performed in LNCaP, DU145, or PC-3 tumor–bearing male nude mice. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the proliferative state in LNCaP and DU145 models and the vascular phenotype of LNCaP radiotherapy tumors. Results: 177Lu-AMBA binds to GRP-R in these cell lines with high affinity (Kd of LNCaP, 0.65 ± 0.2 nM; Kd of DU145, 0.53 ± 0.1 nM). The uptake of 177Lu-AMBA is at least 10-fold less in LNCaP and DU145 cell lines than it is in the PC-3 cell line. Autoradiography identifies activity concentrated in areas of viable tumor tissue, and γ-images of 177Lu-AMBA identify tumors in vivo. Despite having lower uptake, 177Lu-AMBA demonstrated radiotherapeutic efficacy and decreased proliferation in the LNCaP and DU145 xenografts; in the LNCaP model, 177Lu-AMBA normalized the phenotype of microvasculature, reducing tumoral blood pooling. Conclusion: 177Lu-AMBA is a single radiolabeled agent that combines targeted radiotherapy after imaging dosimetry with the potential for single-agent or multimodality therapy for prostate cancer.


By making use of variational method, the authors obtain some results about existence of multiple positive solutions and their asymptotic behavior as the parameter λ→+∞ for asemilinear elliptic problem in RN.


Although it is commonly known that intestinal parasites are very prevalent in China, but little definite statistical work has been done, and so far as can be ascertained none in this province of Kiang Su. China, considered medically, is rather an indefinite term with its great extent of territory and its hundreds of millions of people. The eighteen provinces vary in many important essentials as: 1. Climate; from the arctic cold of the northern to the tropical heat of the southern. 2. Elevation; from the plains and level provinces to the mountainous. 3. Density of population; from 30 to a square mile to 600. 4. Amount of rainfall. Therefore, it is quite probable that the prevalence of intestinal parasites in one province will be quite different from that in another. The present series of examinations of stools of Chinese was made at the laboratory of St. Luke's Hospital, Shanghai, through


Unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA) aims to learn a model trained on source domain and performs well on unlabeled target domain. In medical image segmentation field, most existing UDA methods depend on adversarial learning to address the domain gap between different image modalities, which is ineffective due to its complicated training process. In this paper, we propose a simple yet effective UDA method based on frequency and spatial domain transfer under multi-teacher distillation framework. In the frequency domain, we first introduce non-subsampled contourlet transform for identifying domain-invariant and domain-variant frequency components (DIFs and DVFs), and then keep the DIFs unchanged while replacing the DVFs of the source domain images with that of the target domain images to narrow the domain gap. In the spatial domain, we propose a batch momentum update-based histogram matching strategy to reduce the domain-variant image style bias. Experiments on two commonly used cross-modality medical image segmentation datasets show that our proposed method achieves superior performance compared to state-of-the-art methods.


BACKGROUND
Patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) are often re-hospitalized, worsening both their quality of life and prognosis. Although renal dysfunction reportedly increases the risk of CHF, the association between renal dysfunction and re-hospitalization for CHF remains unclear.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Patients with CHF and decreased renal function were reviewed. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was calculated with the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation. Patients with decreased renal function (estimated GFR on admission <45 ml .min(-1) . 1.73 m(-2)) were re-hospitalized more frequently than were patients with preserved renal function (estimated GFR on admission >or=45). Patients with decreased renal function were older and had higher rates of anemia, worsening renal function during hospitalization, and previous hospitalization for CHF. Independent predictors of re-hospitalization for CHF identified with multivariate analysis were age, previous hospitalization for CHF, decreased renal function, and non-use of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin-receptor blocker.

CONCLUSIONS
Renal dysfunction is an independent predictor of re-hospitalization for CHF, so careful follow-up is needed, even after discharge.


Objective: The goal was to determine whether young children and their parents prefer physicians wearing clear face shields or surgical masks. Methods: Eighty children (4–10 years of age) and their guardians were recruited from a pediatric emergency department. A survey and color photographs of the same male and female physicians wearing face shields and surgical masks were distributed. The parents were asked to decide which set of physicians they would prefer to care for their children and with which set of physicians they thought their children would be most comfortable. The children then were asked to decide which set of physicians they would prefer to take care of them and why. The children also were asked whether they found any of the physicians frightening and, if so, why. Results: Fifty-one percent of parents preferred the pictures of physicians wearing face shields, and 62% thought that their children would choose the physicians in the face shields because their faces were visible and therefore less frightening. However, 59% of children stated that either set of physicians would be fine and neither was frightening; if given a choice, 49% would choose physicians in face shields. Conclusions: Physicians and parents have a perception that surgical masks are frightening to all children. Our study has shown that this perception is not completely true. Face shields may be a better choice, however, because both parents and children would prefer this option.


To survive and multiply in different environments, Vibrio cholerae has to coordinately regulate the expression of genes involved in adaptive responses. In many pathogens, adaptive responses, including pathogenic responses, are regulated by two-component regulator (TCR) systems. It is likely that members of a TCR family play a role in the regulation of processes involved in intestinal colonization, and therefore pathogenesis, in V. cholerae. We have identified and characterized a TCR system of V. cholerae: this system is a homologue of Escherichia coli PhoBR. The presence of a putative Pho box suggests that the V. cholerae phoBR operon is regulated by inorganic phosphate levels. The phoR and phoB genes are organized the same way as in E. coli. Mutation of the V. cholerae phoB gene affected the expression of the putative Pho regulon, including PhoA, but did not affect the production of cholera toxin. V. cholerae phoB mutants are less able to colonize rabbit intestine than wild-type V. cholerae. The addition of inorganic phosphate at a high concentration to the inoculum only partially restored the ability of the mutants to colonize the intestine, suggesting that the V. cholerae Pho regulon in vivo may not be regulated by inorganic phosphate levels alone.


This article presents psycholinguistic views of English as a second language reading, discusses types of reading to teach, and provides the findings of the survey conducted among the university students in order to find out their reading preferences and factors affecting their reading.
The results of the survey and the discussions with each learner have led to the following conclusions: university students – would-be specialists in computing enjoy reading and acquiring various reading techniques ("skimming", "scanning") according to the intended purpose; they are aware of the volume of information that can be received, through the English language, in exceptional cases (hazard emergency situations) for the ship and crew safety (this depends on the speed of deciphering messages and taking appropriate measures); and that guessing the meaning of words in context is less time-consuming and even enjoyable.


This paper is about the emergence of new political idioms in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in Britain, and how this was closely involved with the complexities of British imperial experience in India. In particular, I shall concentrate on the radical rhetoric of Utilitarianism expressed by Jeremy Bentham, and especially by James Mill. This rhetoric was an attack on the revitalized conservatism of the early nineteenth century, which had emerged in response to the threat of the French revolution; but the arena for the struggle between this conservatism and Utilitarianism increasingly became defined in relation to a set of conflicting attitudes towards British involvement in India. These new political languages also involved the formulation of aesthetic attitudes, which were an important component of British views on India. I shall try to show how these attitudes, or what we might call the politics of the imagination, had a lot to do with the defining of cultural identities, with which both political languages were preoccupied.


Identification of trans-crustal magma reservoir processes beneath volcanoes is a crucial task to better understand the behaviour and possible future activities of volcanic systems. Detailed petrological investigations have a fundamental role in such studies. Dacitic magmas are usually formed in an upper crustal magma reservoir by complex open-system processes including crystal fractionation and magma mixing following recharge events. Conditions of such processes are usually constrained by crystal-scale studies, whereas there is much less information about the petrogenetic processes occurring in the lower crustal hot zone. Here we provide insight into such processes by new results on amphibole crystal clots found in dacitic pumices from an explosive volcanic suite of the Ciomadul volcano, the youngest one in eastern-central Europe.

Amphibole is a common mineral phase of the Ciomadul dacites, occuring as phenocrysts and antecrysts, but occasionally they also form crystal clots with an inner core of either pyroxene or olivine with high Mg-numbers. Olivine is observed mostly in the 160-130 ka lava dome rocks, whereas the younger explosive eruption products are characterised by orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene. Such mafic crystal clots are most common in the pumices of the earliest explosive eruptions, which occurred after long quiescence at 56-45 ka. The most common appearance has high-Mg pyroxene core (mg#: 0.76-0.92) rimmed by amphibole. Two types of amphibole are found in such clots: irregular zone of actinolite to magnesio-hornblende directly around orthopyroxene and high Mg-Al pargasitic amphibole as the outer zone. Several crystal clots contain smaller amphibole crystals with diffuse transition to clinopyroxene at the inner part and complexly zoned amphibole with biotite inclusions in the outer part. These amphibole and pyroxene have lower Mg-number (< 0.80), and higher MnO content (up to 0.52 wt%) than the most common type. In both cases, amphibole could be a peritectic product of earlier-formed pyroxenes, which reacted with water-rich melt at higher and lower temperatures, respectively. Actinolite to magnesio-hornblende at the contact represents a transitional phase between pyroxene and the newly formed amphibole. In a few cases, crystal clots contain amphibole inclusions in pyroxene macrocrysts. These amphiboles have a particular composition not yet reproduced by experiments: they have high mg# (>0.86), but low tetrahedral Al (0.9-1.0 apfu) and usually high Cr content (Cr2O3 is up to 0.9 wt%), similar to the orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene hosts (0.26-0.71 and 0.78-0.89 wt%, respectively). We interpret these amphiboles as an early formed liquidus phase crystallized along with pyroxene from an ultra-hydrous mafic magma. Occasionally, crystal clots are complexly zoned amphibole macrocrysts with dispersed clinopyroxene inclusions. The amphibole has a wide compositional range, usually with high Mg-Al pargasitic core. These amphiboles could have formed by peritectic reaction between clinopyroxene and a water-rich melt.

The observed mafic crystal clots in the dacites indicate the presence of strongly hydrous mafic magmas accumulated probably at the crust-mantle boundary. During mafic recharge, volatile transfer may contribute to the crystal mush rejuvenation at shallow depth and triggering explosive eruptions.

This research was financed by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Fund (NKFIH) within K135179 project.


From birth to the age of eight children begin to form an understanding of themselves as an individual in society, during this stage one of the earliest identities children develop is gender. As they learn to make sense of the world around them and begin to interact with others, children start to construct their own perspective of what it means to be a boy or a girl. This dissertation explores how children from birth to the age of eight develop their understandings of gender, examines potential issues which may impact this learning process as well as investigating the impact gender has on play and educational achievement. Through thorough investigation this dissertation concluded that the main gender issues impacting children aged 0-8 are social, finding that children's understanding of gender is largely impacted by the behaviour of others around them and their desire to conform to society's expectations of gender. This conclusion is also reflective of the links found between gender, play and educational achievement in primary schools, finding that the main impacting issues came from social variables.


Understanding a physics equation: Comparing the views of students and teachersAbstractAs a discipline, physics is concerned with describing the world by constructing models, the end product of this modelling process often being an equation. Despite their importance in the representation of physics knowledge, physics equations have received surprisingly little attention in the literature. The work that has been done has tended to focus on the use of equations in problem solving (see Hsu, Brewe, Foster, & Harper, 2004 for an overview and Hegde & Meera, 2012 for a more recent example). One significant study is that of Sherin (2001) who examined students ability to construct equations. Very little work has examined what it means to understand a physics equation, the only work we could locate was that of Domert, 2007 and Hechter, 2010. Building on these two sources a study that examined how students understand an equationwas recently carried out (Airey, Grundstrom Lindqvist & Kung, in production Grundstrom Lindqvist & Airey 2013a 2013b). The result of that study was twelve questions that the authors suggest can be used by students orlecturers to develop the understanding of physics equations. These questions were generated by the answers that over 300 students in Sweden, USA and Australia gave to the question; How do you know when you understand a physics equation?This project builds upon this earlier study by investigating the use of the twelve questions with focus groups of students and by ascertaining the opinions of physics lecturers.ReferencesAirey, Grundstrom Lindqvist & Kung (in production) What does it mean to understand a physics Equation?Domert, D., Airey, J., Linder, C., & Kung, R. (2007). An exploration of university physics students' epistemological mindsets towards the understanding of physics equations. NorDiNa, Nordic Studies in Science Education(3), 15-28.Grundstrom Lindqvist, J., and Airey, J. (2013). "Forstaelse av fysikekvationer: Vad sager studenter?"Konferens i universitetspedagogisk utveckling, Uppsala, 16 October. City: Uppsala Universitet.Grundstrom Lindqvist, J. (2013). "Vad innebar det att forsta en ekvation inom fysiken enligt studenter?"Uppsala Universitet Teknisk-naturvetenskapliga fakultetens Universitetspedagogiska Konferens, TUK 2013, 19 April. City: Uppsala Universitet.Hechter, R. P. (2010). What does it understand the equation' really mean? Physics Education, 45(132).Hegde, B. Meera, B. N. (2012). How do they solve it? An insight into the learner's approach to the mechanism of physics problem solving. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 8, 010109Hsu, L., Brewe, E., Foster, T. M., & Harper, K. A. (2004). Resource Letter RPS-1: Research in problem solving. American Journal of Physics, 72(9), 1147-1156.Sherin, B. L. (2001). How students understand physics equations. Cognitive Instruction, 19, 479-541.


A longitudinal study was designed to characterize developmental patterns of plasma (PL) and synovial fluid (SF) total insulin-like growth factor –I (IGF-I) concentrations, as well as their association with measurements of skeletal growth in Thoroughbred horses. Horses were randomly assigned to one of two dietary treatment groups and fed diets with either a high or low starch content to examine the effects of dietary energy source on PL and SF IGF-I. At 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 mo of age, PL and carpal SF samples were collected for analysis of total IGF-I. Body weight gain, wither height gain and forearm length gain were calculated for the 90 day periods between SF and PL sampling. No influence of diet on PL or SF IGF-I was detected (P > 0.05). Average SF IGF-I concentrations were 30.1 ± 1.8% of that found in PL, and PL and SF IGF-I were positively correlated (r = 0.48, P = 0.0003) There was an effect of month of age on both PL and SF IGF-I concentrations (P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between all measures of gain except forearm length gain with PL and SF IGF-I (r = 0.41 to 0.55, P < 0.05). In our second study, we evaluated the use of a liquid-nitrogen cooled mortar and pestle, motorized freezer mill and rotor-stator homogenizer for homogenization of small (<50mg) articular cartilage samples. The rotor-stator homogenizer produced quanitfiable RNA yields, and was used to evaluate three different RNA isolation protocols. Two of the protocols were commercially available RNA extraction kits, with the third a modified guanidinium isothiocyanate/acid-phenol extraction procedure. The combined average yield for all protocols was 91.9 ng RNA/mg of cartilage. All protocols yielded a sufficient quantity of quality RNA suitable for gene expression analysis.


The openEHR foundation is an independent, non-profit community, facilitating the creation and sharing of health records by consumers and clinicians via open-source, standards-based implementations. 1. This document is protected by copyright and/or database right throughout the world and is owned by the openEHR Foundation. 2. You may read and print the document for private, non-commercial use. 3. You may use this document (in whole or in part) for the purposes of making presentations and education, so long as such purposes are non-commercial and are designed to comment on, further the goals of, or inform third parties about, openEHR. 4. You must not alter, modify, add to or delete anything from the document you use (except as is permitted in paragraphs 2 and 3 above). 6. This document is being provided as a service to the academic community and on a non-commercial basis. Accordingly, to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, the openEHR Foundation accepts no liability and offers no warranties in relation to the materials and documentation and their content. 7. If you wish to commercialise, license, sell, distribute, use or otherwise copy the materials and documents on this site other than as provided for in paragraphs 1 to 6 above, you must comply with the terms and conditions of the openEHR Free Commercial Use Licence, or enter into a separate written agreement with openEHR Foundation covering such activities. The terms and conditions of the openEHR Free Commercial Use Licence can be found at 1.3 CR-000141. Allow point intervals in ADL. Updated atomic types part of cADL section and dADL grammar section. CR-000142. Update dADL grammar to support assumed values. CR-000143. Add partial date/time values to dADL syntax. CR-000149. Add URIs to dADL and remove query() syntax. CR-000153. Synchronise ADL and AOM for language attributes CR-000156. Update documentation of container types. CR-000138. Archetype-level assertions.


An ensemble many particle Monte Carlo simulation of both electron and hole impact ionization superlattice avalanche photodiodes is presented. The effects of the well depth, width, and applied electric field are analyzed for both the electrons and holes in the quantum well structure. The results are consistent with the current theory of impact ionization first proposed by Shichijo and Hess. It is found that the ratio of the electron to hole impact ionization rates is roughly two orders of magnitude in the staircase APD while α/β is enhanced by one order of magnitude in the quantum well device.


: This article discusses the role of counseling men in the postpartum period in addition to individual counseling and services for postpartum women. About 30% of couples rely on contraceptive methods that require men's active participation, such as condoms, vasectomy, withdrawal, or periodic abstinence. Communication between spouses about fertility and contraception and involvement of men in contraceptive services is constrained by cultural barriers, providers' lack of training on how to counsel men, health systems that discourage men from using services, and men's attitudes toward reproductive health. Counselors also must understand what husbands need to know and what women would like husbands to know. Couples need to know when women's fertility resumes in the postpartum period. Fertility returns shortly after an abortion (within 3 weeks) and after 6 weeks in postpartum women who are not breast feeding. Full breast feeding can delay the return to menses for 6 months. All male methods are appropriate in the postpartum period for breast-feeding women. Condoms are important for AIDS and sexually transmitted disease prevention. Natural family planning is unreliable until menstrual cycles become regular and ovulation resumes. Men need to be informed about family planning methods and about their own reproductive health. Men could be encouraged to help with child care and to value a girl child. Messages must be culturally specific and address the needs of both partners. Post-abortion counseling for men might address the issues of wives' need for recuperation, warning signs of complications, the importance of iron for prevention of anemia, and fertility return. Research findings indicate that counseling mattered, particularly in Turkey where the failure of withdrawal was related to repeat abortions. Brochures were the best means of conveying information to men.


The transcriptional activation of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is an important step during cellular immortalization and tumorigenesis. To study how this activation occurs during immortalization, we have established a set of genetically related pre-crisis cells and their immortal progeny. As expected, hTERT mRNA was detected in our telomerase-positive immortal cells but not in pre-crisis cells or telomerase-negative immortal cells. However, transiently transfected luciferase reporters controlled by hTERT promoter sequences exhibited similar levels of luciferase activity in both telomerase-positive and -negative cells, suggesting that the endogenous chromatin context is likely required for hTERT regulation. Analysis of chromatin susceptibility to DNase I digestion consistently identified a DNase I hypersensitivity site (DHS) near the hTERT transcription initiation site in telomerase-positive cells. In addition, the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) induced hTERT transcription and also a general increase in chromatin sensitivity to DNase treatment in telomerase-negative cells. The TSA-induced hTERT transcription in pre-crisis cells was accompanied by the formation of a DHS at the hTERT promoter. Furthermore, the TSA-induced hTERT transcription and chromatin alterations were not blocked by cycloheximide, suggesting that this induction does not require de novo protein synthesis and that TSA induces hTERT expression through the inhibition of histone deacetylation at the hTERT promoter. Taken together, our results suggest that the endogenous chromatin environment plays a critical role in the regulation of hTERT expression during cellular immortalization.


The notions and motivations of inter-organisational rivalries among employees have to some extent been highlighted by classical theories of management such as tournament theory. However, employees' and entrepreneurs' competitions are fundamentally different in pattern. Based on the doctrine of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial competitions are essential for a productive economy. Even so, there have been few in-depth holistic attempts to understand the rivalry process among corporate entrepreneurs. During the last three decades, various fragmented studies have been conducted from different standpoints to clarify the process of corporate entrepreneurship (CE). Nevertheless, considerable room remains for developing a model of the rivalry process with respect to entrepreneurial activities within large and complex organisations. Hence, the main contribution of the research can be claimed as investigating and formulating the rivalry process. For this purpose, a systematic qualitative grounded theory methodology (GTM) was used. During a five-month period, corporate entrepreneurs from one of the chief Iranian research institutes were systematically interviewed. Based on the research results, in addition to endorsing the existence of such a rivalry process among corporate entrepreneurs, the GTM model extends the literature of CE by examining the previously unaddressed part of the process, i.e., disclosing the corporate entrepreneurs' implemented strategies, among other blocks of the theory.


When choosing auction mechanisms sellers can decide how much information to reveal to buyers regarding the quality of the goods sold. Using a field experiment in a market for wholesale automobile auctions we are able to measure the effects of information on auction outcomes. We create random assignments of information about quality, and manipulate the availability of information over time. Our results suggest that, as the theoretical literature generally predicts, more information increases expected revenues. Furthermore, by measuring the effects on different quality grades of automobiles it seems like the increase in revenues are due to more competition for any given vehicle. Finally, we quantify the value of gathering information and releasing it to potential buyers in this setup. JEL classifications C93, D44, D82, L15.


Most of the slaughterhouses in Nagpur city do not have any proper effluent treatment facilities. Hence, a study was undertaken to assess the feasibility of anaerobic treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater in an anaerobic fixed film fixed bed reactor packed with specialized ultraviolet stabilized media matrix. This media matrix provides surface area of 400m2/m3 which is much more than the other conventional media. These anaerobic fixed film reactors are more favoured due to its capacity to withstand high organic loading and short retention time. Slaughterhouse wastewater was collected from a local medium scale slaughterhouse where a total of 300 bovines are slaughtered per day. Wastewater was collected on hourly basis for six hours (till slaughtering process was going on) and a combined and homogenised wastewater was prepared. This combined wastewater was settled for half an hour to remove suspended solids before feeding it to the anaerobic reactor. Study was evaluated to see the performance of the upflow fixed film fixed bed reactor at various organic loading rates varying between 0.8 – 3.2 kg COD/m3/day at two different HRT's of one and two days. COD and BOD reductions varied between 85.4 – 91.8% and 87.4 – 93.2% respectively at one day HRT while it varied between 87.0 – 93.5% and 89.2 – 95.8% respectively at two days HRT. Corresponding biogas production varied between 0.196 – 0.295m3/kg COD added and 0.263 – 0.332m3/kg COD added for one day and two days HRT respectively. It is seen from the results that as the HRT increased, gas production also showed increased trend. Gas composition indicated methane content in the range of 65 – 67%.


The patient is a 70's man. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy and contrast-enhanced CT scan of the abdomen revealed gastric cancer, 2 liver metastases, and peritoneal dissemination. He was diagnosed with unresectable advanced gastric cancer and received 5 courses of chemotherapy(CapeOX plus T-mab). The primary tumor size had reduced, and liver metastases and peritoneal dissemination were not detectable, so laparoscopic distal gastrectomy and partial hepatectomy were performed. Histopathological findings revealed no viable cancer cells in either the primary tumor or the hepatic resection site, and the histological response was Grade 3. The patient has been recurrence-free for 6 months since the surgery. Even in Stage Ⅳ gastric cancer with multiple distant metastases, long-term survival may be expected by conversion surgery after response to chemotherapy.


This dissertation includes two projects and an R package for the 1 project, focusing on choosing cutoff values to estimate the sensitivity and specificity for continuous diagnostic tests. A continuous diagnostic test needs to be dichotomized to generate positive and negative test outcomes by choosing a cutoff value. The choice of the cutoff value depends on the estimates of the sensitivity and specificity of the dichotomized test with this cutoff. There are two challenges during this process: 1) a typical experiment to validate a new diagnostic test usually involves multiple observations from the same subjects, resulting in correlated data values. This correlation increases the complexity of calculating the confidence intervals of the sensitivity and specificity given the true statuses. 2) In many diagnostic trials, the true statuses are unknown, which make it difficult even to calculate the point estimates of the sensitivity and specificity. In the 1 project (Chapter 2), we propose a method to calculate the confidence intervals of sensitivity and specificity with the true statuses of subjects given based on a parametric model for the correlated continuous diagnostic test data. In the second project (Chapter 3), we focus on the challenge of unknown statuses. Due to the lack of the statuses, only the model-based method can be used to estimate the sensitivity and specificity. However, the estimations of model parameters are difficult because of the unknown statuses. We propose a Bayesian model with latent variables to model the unknown statuses. In Chapter 4, I create an R package for the 1 project for future uses.


The whole-body counter considered is based on a design which uses total internal reflection as the method of light collection. It is shown that a calibration curve in which the response of the counter is plotted as a function of weight is adequate over a wide range of patient size. The results are compared with those obtained with a whole-body counter based on the cylindrical design, and it is shown that the calibration of the two types of counter is similar.


BACKGROUND
The attentional blink (AB) phenomenon was used to assess the effect of emotional information on early visual attention in typically developing (TD) children and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The AB effect is the momentary perceptual unawareness that follows target identification in a rapid serial visual processing stream. It is abolished or reduced for emotional stimuli, indicating that emotional information has privileged access to early visual attention processes.

METHODS
We examined the AB effect for faces with neutral and angry facial expressions in 8- to 14-year-old children with and without an ASD diagnosis.

RESULTS
Children with ASD exhibited the same magnitude AB effect as TD children for both neutral and angry faces.

CONCLUSIONS
Early visual attention to emotional facial expressions was preserved in children with ASD.


Defatted soy flour (DSF) is an abundant renewable commodity and is more economically favorable then soy protein isolate or soy protein concentrate. DSF contains soy protein, soy carbohydrate, and soy whey. The aqueous dispersion of DSF was blended with styrene-butadiene latex to form elastomer composites. The inclusion of soy carbohydrate increased the tensile stress in the small strain region, but reduced the elongation at break. The shear elastic modulus of the composites showed an increase in the small strain region, consistent with its stress-strain behavior. The inclusion of soy carbohydrate and soy whey also improved the recovery behavior in the nonlinear region. At small strain, the shear elastic modulus of 30% filled composites at 140°C was about 500 times higher than that of the unfilled elastomer, indicating a significant reinforcement effect generated by DSF. Compared with soy protein isolate (SPI), the stress softening effect and recovery behavior under dynamic strain indicate the addition of soy carbohydrate and soy whey may have increased the filler-rubber interaction. In general, the DSF composites gave better mechanical properties compared with the protein composites. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 353–361, 2005


Visual object recognition under situations in which the direct line-of-sight is blocked, such as when it is occluded around the corner, is of practical importance in a wide range of applications. With coherent illumination, the light scattered from diffusive walls forms speckle patterns that contain information of the hidden object. It is possible to realize non-line-of-sight (NLOS) recognition with these speckle patterns. We introduce a novel approach based on speckle pattern recognition with deep neural network, which is simpler and more robust than other NLOS recognition methods. Simulations and experiments are performed to verify the feasibility and performance of this approach.


Hardware-realizable learning probabilistic RAMs (pRAMs) which implement local reinforcement rules utilizing synaptic rather than threshold noise in the stochastic search procedure are described. The design allows for both global and local rewards and penalties (in this latter case implementing a modified version of backpropagation). The architecture allows for serial updating of the weights of a pRAM net according to a reward/penalty learning rule. It is possible to generate a new set of pRAM outputs at least every 100 mu s, which is faster than the response time of biological neurons. >


The increasing incidence of vitamin A toxicity is related to vitamin A supplementation for unfounded reasons. This article describes the common symptomatology of vitamin A toxicity, including hypercalcemia, hepatomegaly, and dermatological and neurological effects. Retinol supplements, but not carotene supplements, become toxic when free retinol circulates. Responsibilities of health professionals include questioning vitamin use when taking health histories, educating themselves with scientifically based nutritional studies and applying RDAs (recommended daily allowances) when advising clients.


Given the motivation that overflow processes, which supply source waters for most of the deep and intermediate water masses in the ocean, pose significant numerical and dynamical challenges for ocean general circulation models, an intercomparison study is conducted between field data collected in the Red Sea overflow and a highresolution, nonhydrostatic process model. The investigation is focused on the part of the outflow that flows along a long narrow channel, referred to as the ''northern channel,'' that naturally restricts motion in the lateral direction such that the use of a two-dimensional model provides a reasonable approximation to the dynamics. This channel carries about two-thirds of the total Red Sea overflow transport, after the overflow splits into two branches in the western Gulf of Aden. The evolution of the overflow in the numerical simulations can be characterized in two phases: the first phase is highly time dependent, during which the density front associated with the overflow propagates along the channel. The second phase corresponds to that of a statistically steady state. The primary accomplishment of this study is that the model adequately captures the general characteristics of the system: (i) the gradual thickening of the overflow with downstream distance, (ii) the advection of high salinity and temperature signals at the bottom along the channel with little dilution, and (iii) ambient water masses sandwiched between the overflow and surface mixed layer. To quantify mixing of the overflow with the ambient water masses, an entrainment parameter is determined from the transport increase along the slope and is expressed explicitly as a function of mean slope angle. Bulk Richardson numbers are estimated both from data and model and are related to the entrainment parameter. The range of entrainment parameter and its functional dependence on bulk Richardson number in this study are found to be in reasonable agreement with those reported from various laboratory experiments and that based on measurements of the Mediterranean overflow. The results reveal a complex dynamical interaction between shear-induced mixing and internal waves and illustrate the high computational and modeling requirements for numerical simulation of overflows to capture (at least in part) turbulent transports explicitly.


The pharmacokinetic disposition of numerous antimicrobial agents is altered in critically ill patients. Pharmacokinetics of trovafloxacin, a fluoroquinolone indicated specifically for severe, life‐threatening infections in the intensive care unit, have not been well studied in this population. We characterized the pharmacokinetic disposition of trovafloxacin after administration of alatrofloxacin, the intravenous prodrug, in critically ill adults. Seven patients (3 men, 4 women; mean ± SD age 59.4 ± 20.6 yrs; baseline aspartate aminotransferase [AST]/alanine aminotransferase [ALT] 66.0 ± 40.6/51.5 ± 37.5 IU/L; median Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation [APACHE II] score 27, range 15–32) were studied at estimated steady state. Calculated (mean ± SD) half‐life, clearance at steady state, and volume of distribution in all patients were 10.9 ± 1.8 hours, 161.3 ± 41.1 ml/minute, and 1.4 ± 0.4 L/kg. In patients receiving 300 mg, maximum concentration, minimum concentration, and area under the curve from 0–24 hours were 3.6 ± 0.5 mg/L, 0.6 ± 0.3 mg/L, and 34.2 ± 10.6 mg•hr/L, respectively. These results are consistent with published values in other patient populations, indicating that trovafloxacin pharmacokinetics are not substantially altered in critically ill patients with normal or mildly impaired hepatic function.


Over the last 30 years, several epidemiological and prospective studies have identified a number of risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease. Lipid abnormalities are central among these risk factors, and their correction has been a major target for the medical community. The 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) inhibitors (statins) are the most widely prescribed and best tolerated of the currently available lipid-modifying therapies. Newer agents in this class (e.g. rosuvastatin) have been developed that have proven to be more effective at lowering levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). New formulations of drugs such as nicotinic acid can improve treatment regimens and reduce unpleasant side-effects, thereby improving patient compliance with this therapy. In terms of developing novel drugs, the introduction of cholesterol absorption inhibitors (e.g. ezetimibe) and ACAT inhibitors (e.g. avasimibe) will provide clinicians with therapies that exploit different therapeutic pathways to those currently being utilised. Combining these agents with statins could produce greater improvements in lipid profile than those seen to date. In addition, advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of dyslipidaemia have led to the identification of other novel therapeutic targets, including cholesteryl ester transfer protein. Studies with experimental drugs have already demonstrated the potential of these approaches.


Composite materials are used in various industries such as marine, aircraft, automotive, etc. In marine applications, composites are exposed to seawater, which can affect their mechanical properties due to moisture absorption. This work focuses on the durability of composite materials under the short-term effect of seawater ageing. The specimens were prepared from glass fiber/epoxy using a hand lap-up method and stitched in the z-direction with Kevlar fiber. The specimens were submerged in seawater for 24 and 35 days. A significant decrease in maximum load was found as specimen immersion time in seawater increased. The seawater ageing also affected fracture toughness with a reduction of 30% for 24 days immersion and 55% for 35 days. The ageing also caused the swelling of composites due to moisture absorption, which increased the weight of the specimens. Compared to the dry specimens, the weight of the specimen for 24 days increases to 5.2% and 7.89% for 35 days' seawater ageing. The analysis also showed that due to seawater ageing, the de-bonding rate increased as the number of days increased.


We report here the remarkable properties of PAd3, a crystalline air-stable solid accessible through a scalable SN1 reaction. Spectroscopic data reveal that PAd3, benefiting from the polarizability inherent to large hydrocarbyl groups, exhibits unexpected electron releasing character that exceeds other alkylphosphines and falls within a range dominated by N-heterocyclic carbenes. Dramatic effects in catalysis are also enabled by PAd3 during Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of chloro(hetero)arenes (40 examples) at low Pd loading, including the late-stage functionalization of commercial drugs. Exceptional space-time yields are demonstrated for the syntheses of industrial precursors to valsartan and boscalid from chloroarenes with ∼2 × 10(4) turnovers in 10 min.


Critical Perspective's on Nigeria's International Economic Relations Author: Chibuzo .N. Nwoke Publisher: College Press and Publishers Ltd, Ibadan, 2010 Pages: 229 pages


Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is among the most aggressive and therapy resistant type of breast cancer. New therapeutic strategies and new treatments are intensively sought for TNBC. Here, we report the potential of 2'(3')-O-(4-Benzoylbenzoyl)adenosine 5'-triphosphate (BzATP), which is ATP analog, as a potential drug for TNBC. Role of extracellular nucleotides as an extracellular signaling molecule and the antitumor effects of ATP have been reported for a few decades, however, the signaling pathways that link from the purinergic receptors to the reported effects including reduced tumor xenografts volume in mice and tumor growth inhibition in vitro is not yet well established. We chose two pairs of TNBC cell lines with matching molecular subtype; one is basal A subtype and another one is basal B subtype. In each pair, one was derived from Caucasian patient and another one was derived from African American patient. This strategy allows us to cover a wide range of cell lines and also to see whether there is any disparity of BzATP treatment between ethnicity. Expression of P2Y receptors, which are one of three families of extracellular receptors for purine and pyrimidine nucleotides, in not only two pairs of TNBC in this study, but also other six breast cancer cell lines, showed five common P2Y receptors including P2Y1, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y6, and P2Y11. Growth inhibition assay was performed by treating TNBC with agonists including ATP, BzATP, UTP, and NAD from 1 μM to the highest dose at 1000 μM, which is still lower than reported dose in in vivo studies in mice. ATP, BzATP, and NAD, but not UTP, at 100 μM and higher doses inhibited growth of TNBC regardless of ethnicity. Notably, BzATP inhibited growth of all four TNBC cell lines in a greater degree than ATP did. Among five common receptors, P2Y2, P2Y4, and P2Y6, which has UTP or UDP as an agonist, are improbable to be a candidate receptor since UTP failed to inhibit TNBC growth. P2Y11, which has ATP, BzATP, and NAD as an agonist is a first candidate receptor since P2Y1 prefers ADP to ATP. Interestingly, growth inhibition on TNBC was observed along with a morphology change including reduced cell volume and an increase in process number after 24 hours of BzATP treatment at concentration that causes 50% growth reduction (GI50), which is 320 μM, 200 μM, 250 μM, and 200 μM for HCC1143, HCC70, HCC38, and HCC1500 cell lines respectively. Although BzATP also reduced a growth rate of non-malignant human epithelium cell line (MCF10A), no aforementioned morphology change was observed on MCF10A. In addition, BzATP at GI50 induced autophagy through expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and elevated a number of autophagic vesicles. Surprisingly, autophagy-related (Atg) proteins including Atg5, Atg7, and Atg3 did not show an upregulated level. In conjunction with autophagy, BzATP at GI50 also arrested cell cycle of TNBC at G2/M phase. Further, BzATP at GI50 elevated apoptotic marker, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP, and ER stress marker, CHOP, in TNBC but not in MCF10A. BzATP specifically induced apoptosis without causing necrosis as no elevated released lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level was detected. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P2-09-20.


While researching integration aspects of cloud Business Process Management Systems (BPMS) with on-premises applications, authors have identified various scenarios that cannot be effectively addressed using existing integration solutions and patterns. Mobile Agents (MAs) were proposed as the technology addressing these integration challenges [30]. During the research, existing MA platforms were analyzed what led to conclusion that none of them is fully addressing specific requirements of end-users in BPM scenarios. The main concern was related to agent development experience - in existing platforms it is required that user creating an agent has at least some understanding of programming concepts. In addition, authors have identified that there is no standard approach for packaging agents that is used across platforms. To address these issues new approach for designing and executing mobile agents is proposed. This approach is based on workflows and enables end-users having no programming skills to design MAs what is critical in BPM scenarios. In addition, a new approach for packaging mobile agents is proposed. It is based on industry used standards and open specifications. Proposed approach is extendable and may be reused for designing and/or packaging MAs in other domains as well.


Published online: 08 August 2017 ABSTRACT The problem of recovery of parameters of an elastic uniform layer is considered. The solution method of this problem is proposed by means of neural networks. For the input network parameters, amplitudes of transmitted or reflected waves are chosen. We consider the output parameter of network density and longitudinal speed of the environment filling a layer. Three types of neurons activation function are chosen: piecewise-linear, sigmoid and radial function (Gauss's function). The following algorithms of perseptron training are considered: the backpropagation algorithm and the genetic algorithm. In the genetic algorithm, the crossover method, in which the next gene is selected equiprobable and incidental from genes of the ancestors located in the same position is chosen. Then genes of a new chromosome with small probability are exposed to mutations at a small value. Training of neural network takes place according to the calculated data of the direct problem solved multiply times with various elastic parameters varying in the defined intervals. Dependences graphs of an error of parameter recovery on such parameters of neural network as selection dimension and neurons' number are provided. Deterioration in accuracy of recovery of required data, when training network, is shown. Results of comparison of neural networks with various activation functions are described. For density and speed of a layer recovery at the same time, the method of calculation of unknown elastic parameters using the neural network trained for recovery of acoustic rigidity and wave number is proposed. The conclusion is drawn that radial function of neurons activation yields steadier results.


Recognizing personal tendencies and developing literary talents enabled Mary Flannery O'Connor to don multiple masks, concealing or revealing segments of herself as she desired. O'Connor's masks serve as metaphorical embodiments of her veiled autobiography, illuminating key components of her sense of self and of her literary power. Sharp's exploration of these masks identifies O'Connor's goals, struggles, and successes.


Introduction: Anxiety is a co-morbid diseases in COPD. Anxiety prevalance in COPD patients is higher than general population. Although the relationship between anxiety and COPD can not be revealed yet, increased anxiety prevalance was associated with increased dyspnea level. Aim: To determine the rate of anxiety and relationship of anxiety and dyspnea in early stage COPD patients who do not have advanced functional restriction. Method: COPD patients that volunteered to participate the study who admitted to hospital with a reason other than COPD exacerbation was included to this cross-sectional/descriptive study consecutively. Beck anxiety inventory, medical research council (MRC) dyspnea scale applied. Results: 134 patients with GOLD1-2 COPD included. Mean age was 58,11±10,53. 92,5% of them were male. Active smokers and former smokers were 61,9%; and 38,1%; respectively. 64,9% did not have co-morbid diseases. According to MRC dyspnea scale 33,6% of the patients were in grade 1 and 55,2% were in grade 2. 34,1% of the patients that answered the question "Do you have shortness of breath?" answered as "No" were having MRC grade 2 and 3 dyspnea. 11,2% of 134 participants had mild and 9% had moderate anxiety. In patients with anxiety 89% were having MRC grade≥2.Although there was no statistically significant relationship between shortness of breath and level of anxiety, there was a significant relationship between MRC grade and level of anxiety (p=0,529 and p=0,004, respectively). Conclusion: MRC scale can be more effective in detection of dyspnea in early stage COPD. All COPD patients with MRC score ≥2 should investigate for anxiety.


Glycoprotein I (gI) of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) contains a tandem repeat (TR) region including the amino acids serine and threonine, residues that can be utilized for O-glycosylation. The length of this TR region was determined for 82 clinical HSV-1 isolates and the results revealed a polymorphic distribution of two to six or eight repeated blocks with a majority harbouring between two and four repeats. Assessment of the O-glycosylation capacity of an acceptor peptide (STPSTTTSTPSTTT), representing two of the gI blocks, showed that the peptide was a universal substrate for O-glycosylation not only for the two most commonly expressed N-acetyl-d-galactosamine (GalNAc)-T1 and -T2 transferases, but also for the GalNAc-T3, -T4 and -T11 transferases. Immunoblotting of virus-infected cells showed that gI was exclusively O-glycosylated with GalNAc monosaccharides (Tn antigen). A polymorphic mucin region has not been described previously for HSV-1 and is a unique finding, as repeated blocks within gI homologues are lacking in other alphaherpesviruses.


Otolith study on fifty two-spot red snappers ( Lutjanus bohar ) in the Davao Gulf, Philippines, was conducted to describe their growth pattern, determine the age structure, and estimate their age at sexual maturity. Samples were obtained from Toril and Bankerohan Public Markets in Davao from Februay to June 2015. Fish morphometrics, otolith extraction, and age determination followed. Length-weight relationship showed that L.  bohar  follows isometric growth pattern (b = 3.0015). Somatic and otolith morphometrics gave significant correlations where otolith length and total length relationship had the highest R 2  value ( R 2 = 0.9382). Out of the samples, twenty-one of the sagittal otoliths ranges from three to seven years old. The parameters obtained from the age-at-length data fitted to von Bertalanffy growth function were K = 0.81 and L∞ = 28.9 cm, with estimated age at maturity of six years old. The growth performance index (φ = 2.83) revealed that L.  bohar  in Davao Gulf has a faster growth rate. Faster growth rate leading to earlier maturity and smaller size-at-maturity may indicate the effects of environmental factors and fishing pressure to slow-growing fishes. We recommend studying the population ecology of L.  bohar  in Davao Gulf and considering a larger sample size in future researches.


SUMMARY
Oogenesis in the moss Physcomitrium cyathicarpum is characterized by a copious secretion of mucilage into the venter of the archegonium due to the extrusion of numerous vesicles from the egg. Maturation of the egg is not attended by any special event in the nucleus. The cell organelles become redistributed into zones as the egg matures before fertilization.


Acute myocardial ischemia leads to a rapid increase of cardiac beta-adrenergic receptors in plasma membranes despite the release of large and desensitizing amounts of endogenous catecholamines. Part of this increase has been shown to occur at the expense of intracellular receptors. To investigate whether an additional expressional regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors due to an increase of mRNA levels is involved, the mRNA levels specific for beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors were determined after various periods of global ischemia in isolated perfused rat hearts. The subtype-specific quantification of mRNA for beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors was determined using reverse-transcription followed by PCR (RT-PCR) and RNA protection assays. RT-PCR resulted in single amplification products of the expected sizes (159 bp for beta 1-adrenergic receptors and 240 bp for beta 2-adrenergic receptors). The specificity of these amplification products was confirmed by specific restriction digests. Southern blot hybridizations with internal oligonucleotides and sequencing using the dideoxy chain termination method. For quantification purposes, the mRNAs of housekeeping gene GAPDH and of cardiac alpha-actin were determined as internal standards. Additionally, cRNAs specific for beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors were used as external standards. Brief periods of global ischemia induced a rapid increase in the steady state level of mRNA for beta 1-adrenergic receptors. There was a statistically significant rise already after 15 min by 57% compared to controls. After 30 min of ischemia the mRNA levels had almost doubled. After 60 min of ischemia, the mRNA levels specific for beta 1-adrenergic receptors tended to decrease, but remained significantly above normoxic controls. In contrast, the mRNA levels specific for beta 2-adrenergic receptors remained constant up to 60 min of global myocardial ischemia. To investigate, whether agonist occupancy of the receptors may contribute to this regulation, the effect of preperfusion with the beta-blocker alprenolol was determined. Contrary to expectation, beta-blockade did not influence the ischemia-induced increase of mRNA levels specific for beta 1-adrenergic receptors. These data demonstrate for the first time, that acute myocardial ischemia induces a rapid, and subtype-selective regulation of mRNA levels for beta 1-adrenergic receptors. However, occupation or activation of beta-adrenergic receptors by an agonist is not involved in this newly characterized regulation of mRNA for beta 1-adrenergic receptors in acute myocardial ischemia.


IntroductionMountbatten Hampshire Education Team wanted to seek an alternative way of delivering education when all face-to-face training was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the virtual education programme was to enable health and social care providers to access end-of-life education and for staff to be feel supported as well as continuing to enhance their knowledge and skills.MethodWe had to decide on a method of delivery that would be achievable for staff to attend. We took into consideration the effects of the pandemic and the impact it was having on staff/organisations. It was decided that staff could potentially engage for two-hour bite size sessions on a range of end-of-life topics including, for example, care of the dying and symptom control. The core themes were developed from our existing programmes plus new adapted training. We wanted the sessions to be live for chat engagement and collaboration with others and Microsoft Teams was decided to be the platform for delivery to support live facilitation, chat, breakout rooms and presentation/video communication options.ResultsData are presented [in the conference poster] in relation to attendee numbers, the range of access, i.e., groups and individuals accessing training, along with quality survey information.Discussion/ConclusionThe results indicate that despite the pandemic our education sessions have reached many and interest in training has remained high. The virtual method of delivery has also enabled new interest in Mountbatten's training offer. Staff from various health and social care providers both trained and untrained signed up as well as internal staff. The value placed on learning together has been maintained through an online facilitator and is demonstrated through quality ratings. Challenges are discussed in relation to managing technological issues and learning new methods of engagement. Virtual training is now an integral part of the education service which is continuing to develop.


ABO hemolytic disease is the most common blood group incompatible hemolytic processes of the newborn period and is the major cause of neonatal jaundice attributed to maternal infant blood incompatibility. This was a prospective cohort study which included 50 consecutive term appropriate for gestational age babies with blood group either A, B or AB, born to O +ve mothers as the study group and another 25 consecutive term appropriate for gestational age babies with O+ve blood group born to mothers with O +ve blood group served as controls. Cord blood was used for estimation of bilirubun levels. Mean cord bilirubin was increased in infants with group A and group B born to group O mothers. Significant jaundice was more often seen when motherinfant pair had O and A combinations respectively. When significant jaundice was going to develop serum bilirubin at 12 hours only was quite high and it kept on increasing and all the cases in the study group had developed significant jaundice by 24 hours, though we estimated serum bilirubin level upto 48 hours.