Purpose: The Notch signaling regulates cell-fate decisions during development and postnatal life. Recent studies have demonstrated that the signaling through Notch and its ligand Dll4 in tumor endothelial cells plays an important role in cancer angiogenesis. Little is known, however, about the role of Dll4-Notch signaling between cancer cells, and how it affects on cancer metastasis. We therefore assessed the importance of cancer cell Dll4-Notch signaling in cancer metastasis produced by human small lung cancer cells. Experimental Design: On the basis of previous studies, we generated retroviral vectors encoding a soluble dimerized form of Dll4 fused to the human IgG1 Fc constant region (Dll4-Fc) that acts as a blocker of Dll4-Notch interactions. Dll4-Fc was introduced into human small cell lung cancer cell lines that express high level of Dll4 and Notch (SBC-3 and H1048 cells), and low level of Dll4 (SBC-5 cells). The cells were intravenously inoculated to natural killer cell-depleted SCID mice, and the multiple-organ metastases were evaluated. Result: The number of liver metastasis in the mice inoculated with SBC-3 and H1048 cells expressing Dll4-Fc were significantly lower than that of liver metastasis formed by control transfectant cells. However, the number of liver metastasis formed by SBC-5 cells was not significantly different between Dll4-Fc expressing and control cells, suggesting that Dll4-Notch signaling in cancer cells plays important role in liver metastasis of small cell lung cancer. Metastatic colonies in other organ such as lung, kidney and bone were not affected by Dll4-Fc overexpression in each cell lines. In order to study the molecular mechanism of the effect of Dll4-Fc on liver metastasis, genes associated with metastasis were screened by PCR array system. Seven genes (MMP7, IL1B, MMP1, S100A4, MMP10, CXCR4, SERPINE1) were down-regulated in Dll4-Fc-overexpressing SBC-3 and H1048, but not SBC-5 cells, compared with control transfectant cells. Since most of the selected genes were NF-kappa-B target genes, we explored whether NF-kappa-B is involved in cancer cell Dll4-Notch signaling. By using luciferase assay, we observed that NF-kappa-B activity was down-regulated in Dll4-Fc-overexpressing SBC-3 and H1048 cells, but not SBC-5 cells, compared with control transfectant cells, indicating that Dll4-Fc inhibits NF-kappa-B activity in small cell lung cancer cells by suppressing Dll4-Notch signaling. Conclusion: These results suggest that Dll4-Notch signaling in cancer cells plays a critical role in liver metastasis of small cell lung cancer, by regulating the NF-kappa-B signaling. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1418. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1418


High-energy gamma-rays have been detected from Cyg X−3, a system composed of a Wolf–Rayet star and a black hole or neutron star. The gamma-ray emission is linked to the radio emission from the jet launched in the system. The flux is modulated with the 4.8-h orbital period, as expected if high-energy electrons are upscattering photons emitted by the Wolf–Rayet star to gamma-ray energies. This modulation is computed assuming that high-energy electrons are located at some distance along a relativistic jet of arbitrary orientation. Modelling shows that the jet must be inclined and that the gamma-ray emitting electrons cannot be located within the system. This is consistent with the idea that the electrons gain energy, where the jet is recollimated by the stellar wind pressure and forms a shock. Jet precession should strongly affect the gamma-ray modulation shape at different epochs. The power in non-thermal electrons represents a small fraction of the Eddington luminosity only if the inclination is low, i.e. if the compact object is a black hole.


Risers in offshore operations are subjected to corrosion during their service life cycle. The use of relatively inexpensive, high strength to weight ratio fibre reinforced polymer composite (FRPC) as a load bearing pipe repair sleeve is an emerging technology that is becoming common for offshore applications. Risers experience complex loading profiles and experimental investigations often incur substantial time, complicated instrumentation and setup costs.

The main aim of this research is to develop a design tool for the repair of offshore riser that suffers from external corrosion damage on its surface using FRPC material. The simplest configuration of a fixed platform riser in the form of a vertical single-wall pipe is being considered. Characterization of the stress-strain behaviour of the FRPC laminate in the composite repair system subjected to various load profiles of a common riser is performed. The means of composite repair takes into account the ease of automated installation. The final repair method considers the use of unidirectional pre-impregnated (prepreg) FRPC that is assumed to be helically wounded around the riser.

Finite element models of the composite repair system were developed via ABAQUS. Global analysis of the entire length of the riser was omitted as external corrosions usually occurs in a localised manner on the surface of the riser. Instead, local analyses were conducted where boundary conditions were applied to mimic an infinitely long cylindrical structure such as the riser. The local analyses FEA models were made to capture the stress-strain behaviour of the FRPC laminate subjected to different load profiles including static loadings such as internal pressure, tensile load and bending load. The design loads were calculated based on a limit analysis known as Double-Elastic Curve method developed by Alexander (2008). Proper element selection and mesh convergence were carried out to determine the FE model that can minimize the time and CPU memory needed for the simulation without compromising the accuracy of the results.

The second part of this research integrated experimental tests to validate the FE model developed using the ABAQUS general purpose code. Due to constraints on cost and supply of materials and equipment, small-scale tests were conducted. Similitude relations were used to determine the scale properties between the model and the prototype. The final results showed that the FE model can represent the real-life tests of corroded riser repaired with off-axis FRPC laminate with great accuracy of more than 85%. Hence can be a useful tool for design and parametric study of the composite repair system.

Using the validated FE model, an extensive parametric study of the composite repair system with respect to varying corrosion defects was conducted. The thickness and length of the repair laminate were compared to the ASME PCC-2 standard. Optimum thickness and length of the composite laminate were determined based on the maximum allowable strains computed using the Double-Elastic Curve method. In addition, varying fibre angle orientation of the unidirectional prepreg was considered as it is one of the main factors in helical winding.

Based on the results from the parametric study, a simple relation was developed to predict the required thickness of the composite repair system subjected to combined loading. This relation combined with the developed FE model can be used to provide a quick design and performance validation of a composite repair system for offshore riser, which is the main novelty aspect of this research.


Gene duplication is ubiquitous and a major driver of phenotypic diversity across the tree of life, but its immediate consequences are not fully understood. Deleterious effects would decrease the probability of retention of duplicates and prevent their contribution to long term evolution. One possible detrimental effect of duplication is the perturbation of the stoichiometry of protein complexes. Here, we measured the fitness effects of the duplication of 899 essential genes in the budding yeast using high-resolution competition assays. At least ten percent of genes caused a fitness disadvantage when duplicated. Intriguingly, the duplication of most protein complex subunits had small to non-detectable effects on fitness, with few exceptions. We selected four complexes with subunits that had an impact on fitness when duplicated and measured the impact of individual gene duplications on their protein-protein interactions. We found that very few duplications affect both fitness and interactions. Furthermore, large complexes such as the 26S proteasome are protected from gene duplication by attenuation of protein abundance. Regulatory mechanisms that maintain the stoichiometric balance of protein complexes may protect from the immediate effects of gene duplication. Our results show that a better understanding of protein regulation and assembly in complexes is required for the refinement of current models of gene duplication.


Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), as a new class of transcripts, have been recently shown to be pervasively transcribed in the genomes of human and mouse. In particular, accumulating evidence link the expression of lncRNAs to diverse human diseases, highlighting their potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. However, there are still many missing dots in our current understanding of lncRNA function. Thus, investigation of the expression patterns of lncRNAs is a crucial step to understanding of their roles in many model systems. To this end, we developed a qPCR based disease-related human lncRNA profiler, which allows for the quantification of differential expression of 83 individual lncRNAs among various experimental RNA samples. All 83 lncRNAs chosen for the array are based on publications and they are implicated in diseases ranging from neurodegeneration to cancer. The array plate also includes the house keeping genes and small RNA transcripts for normalization purposes. To determine the utility of this lncRNA profiler, we profiled their expression in breast cancer specimens compared to matched normal tissue and identified several lncRNAs are dysregulated, suggesting that lncRNAs may function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Gene expression profiling with this lncRNA profiler in a series of breast cell lines such as MCF10A, MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells identified differential expression patterns unique to each cell line, which may provide a basis for future analysis of these differentially expressed lncRNAs. Furthermore, we determined the effect of p53 on lncRNA expression in HCT-116 and MCF-7 cells. Initial testing indicated that at least three lncRNAs are induced by p53 in both cell lines. Experiments are underway to further characterize these p53 inducible lncRNAs. Together, these results suggest that disease-related human lncRNA profiler is a valuable research tool that can be tailored for specific needs in different research laboratories. The features of this profiler are easy, convenient, sensitive and specific. Accordingly it serves the first step toward the understanding of the role of lncRNAs in human diseases.

Citation Format: Fangting Wu, Yin-Yuan Mo. Profiling long noncoding RNA expression in cancer cells by real-time PCR arrays [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Noncoding RNAs and Cancer; 2012 Jan 8-11; Miami Beach, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A19.


In this article, we first take a critical look at the definitions of evidence-based medicine (EBM) and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). We then explore the question of whether there can be evidence-based forms of CAM. With the help of three examples, we show that EBM and CAM are not opposites, but rather concepts pointing at different dimensions. Each of the three examples is an evidence-based treatment according to three to five randomised, double-blind placebo controlled trials with consistent findings and narrow pooled confidence intervals. The most reasonable interpretation for the existence of evidence-based CAM treatments seems to be that the opposite of CAM is 'mainstream medicine', and the demarcation line between CAM and mainstream medicine is not simply defined by the question of whether a treatment works or not. Some effective treatments may belong to the CAM domain for historical reasons and because of preconceptions within mainstream medicine. Therefore, some treatments that currently lie outside mainstream medicine can be evidence-based.


Critical illness affects body composition profoundly, especially body cell mass (BCM). BCM loss reflects lean tissue wasting and could be a nutritional marker in critically ill patients. However, BCM assessment with usual isotopic or tracer methods is impractical in intensive care units (ICUs). We aimed to modelize the BCM of critically ill patients using variables available at bedside. Fat-free mass (FFM), bone mineral (Mo), and extracellular water (ECW) of 49 critically ill patients were measured prospectively by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and multifrequency bioimpedance. BCM was estimated according to the four-compartment cellular level: BCM = FFM - (ECW/0.98) - (0.73 × Mo). Variables that might influence the BCM were assessed, and multivariable analysis using fractional polynomials was conducted to determine the relations between BCM and these data. Bootstrap resampling was then used to estimate the most stable model predicting BCM. BCM was 22.7 ± 5.4 kg. The most frequent model included height (cm), leg circumference (cm), weight shift (Δ) between ICU admission and body composition assessment (kg), and trunk length (cm) as a linear function: BCM (kg) = 0.266 × height + 0.287 × leg circumference + 0.305 × Δweight - 0.406 × trunk length - 13.52. The fraction of variance explained by this model (adjusted r(2)) was 46%. Including bioelectrical impedance analysis variables in the model did not improve BCM prediction. In summary, our results suggest that BCM can be estimated at bedside, with an error lower than ±20% in 90% subjects, on the basis of static (height, trunk length), less stable (leg circumference), and dynamic biometric variables (Δweight) for critically ill patients.


Aircraft reciprocating engines have been in operation over the past 100 years, which is a testament to their high levels of reliability and stability. Compared to turbine engines, reciprocating engines are at a disadvantage when it comes to high-speed flight. Nevertheless, they are widely used mainly for small aircraft thanks to their high specific power or power-to-weight ratio. Considering that propulsion systems account for approximately 40% of the aircraft price, lightness and high performance are key attributes of aircraft to achieve longer endurance. With the advantages offered by diesel engines, such as fuel economy, less maintenance, and a long lifespan, many attempts have been made to mount automotive diesel engines on urban air mobility and light aircraft. Recognizing advanced automotive diesel technology, where the power-to-weight ratio of the diesel engine is approximately 1 PS/kg, we analyzed a case where an automobile engine was converted for use in an aircraft. We focused on the Mercedes-Benz OM640 and the Austro AE300 and disassembled the two engines for comparative analysis. We then classified the engine components modified for aircraft use by (1) defining the major engine parts as fixed and alteration ones; (2) identifying the airworthiness-related alteration parts; and (3) categorizing the conversion purposes into classes A, B, and C. Components under class A were further categorized into subgroups in accordance with the airworthiness certification specifications outlined by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. This helped determine the corresponding airworthiness standards for each subgroup. An inspection of the oil supply system revealed the need to apply safety wiring for some components to prevent possible oil leakages, which can be caused by the pressure difference with increasing altitude. Moreover, given that sensor manufacturers are required to present guidelines for sensor redundancy through numerous designs and tests and secure single-fault tolerance, we established criteria for selecting and applying sensors and separating sensors that must be made redundant from ones that are not subject to sensor redundancy.


This research aims to analyse the relationship between website, price, corporate brand in purchasing decision on customer satisfaction online purchases in Business to Business. This research is conducted at PT. Iniled Indonesia Industry which has an online purchase website named www.tokotakumi.com a company that provides goods for supporting the industrial production process needs. The data used in this research are primary data and secondary data. Secondary data are obtained from various sources such as books, journals and other published data. The primary data are obtained through the distribution of questionnaires to customers who have made purchase. The number of samples used in this research is 92 companies. The sampling technique is done by purposive sampling, the data are processed with multiple linear regression equation with SPSS 25 to know the percentage of contribution of independent variable on the dependent variable. The results show that the product and price variables partially have a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction while the variable place, promotion, person, process and physical evidence partially have a positive but not significant one on customer satisfaction. This results also show all dependent variable simultaneously influence to customer satisfaction. At the managerial level, this research can be used as a recommendation for PT. Iniled Indonesia Industry in order to increase customer satisfaction for industrial or Business to Business.


This study investigated differences in lower extremity muscle activations and vertical stiffness during a 2.2 Hz jump rope exercise with different midsole hardnesses (45, 50, 55, and 60 Shores C). Twelve healthy male participants wore customized shoes with different hardness midsoles and performed jump rope exercises in a random order. A nine-camera motion analysis system (150 Hz), a force platform (1500 Hz), and a wireless electromyography (EMG) system (Noraxon, 1500 Hz) were used to measure the biomechanical parameters during the jump rope exercise. The biceps femoris %MVC of barefoot participants was significantly greater than that of those wearing the 45 Shores C (p = 0.048) and 55 Shores C (p = 0.009) midsole 100 ms before landing. The vastus medialis %MVC of barefoot participants was significantly greater than that of those wearing the 55 C midsole (p = 0.005). Nonsignificant differences in vertical stiffness were found between midsole hardnesses and barefoot. Lower extremity muscle activation differed between conditions. The results of this study indicate that for repetitive activities that entail multiple impacts, sports shoes with a low midsole hardness (e.g., 50 Shores C or 45 Shores C) may be appropriate. It is important to provide customers with information regarding midsole hardness in shoe product labeling so that they properly consider the function of the shoes.


Photocurrent mapping can provide useful spatial information about the electrical and optical properties of a photovoltaic (PV) device under actual operating conditions. Although it is a well-established technique
for PV cells, direct current mapping measurements of PV modules is impractical and time-consuming to be applied. One has to mechanically shade specific cells of the PV module or destructively access the cell to be measured. In this work, non-destructive, automated current mapping of encapsulated PV modules is demonstrated. A commercial Digital Light Processing (DLP) projector is utilised in order to apply compressive sampling for current mapping of PV modules. This method is non-destructive, cost effective and significantly fewer measurements are needed for acquiring a current map compared to raster scanning methods. When applying compressive sampling, a series of patterns is projected on the sample, the current response is measured for each pattern and the current map is acquired using an optimisation algorithm. Specific shading strategies, voltage bias settings and I-V curve details are investigated for
optimised compressive sampling.


The poor in urban areas of developing countries suffer from inadequate tertiary
(neighbourhood level) urban infrastructure; water and sanitation, solid waste, drainage,
access pavements, street lighting and community buildings. Procurement of tertiary level
infrastructure is the responsibility of the public sector. Rapid urbanisation is outstripping
the already lacking resources of public sector. The involvement of private commercial
sector in the procurement is through the micro-contracts. The term, 'micro-contracts', is
proposed for the small and medium size contracts. In some cases a third sector like
NGOs, CBOs and community groups have also played roles in the procurement of
infrastructure. The processes, roles, relationships and performance of micro-contracts
procured under routine and community participated strategies were explored with a view
to promote the role of the community in the procurement process. The constraints to
contract, relationship between public sector and community groups and ways to
overcome those constraints were explored. The contract contexts were taken from India,
Pakistan and Sri-Lanka. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used. A
multiple case study approach was adopted for the research. During the research three
hundred and ninety contracts, more than a hundred interviews and filed notes and more
than two hundred documents related to the micro-contracts were reviewed and
analysed. The concept of benchmarking was adopted in performance analysis.
'Community partnering' is proposed as a procurement strategy to facilitate the
community to play different roles parallel to the roles of Client, Engineer and Contractor.
The cost and benefits of community partnering were discussed. It was concluded that,
for the similar conditions studied, the community partnering between the urban public
sector and suitable urban communities is an appropriate procurement strategy. The
recommendations include a number of actions which could be taken to promote the
community role in urban infrastructure procurement. Areas of future research are
proposed.


The purpose of this paper is to show that multi-threading techniques can be applied to a vector processor to greatly increase processor throughput and maximize resource utilization. Using a trace driven approach, we simulate a selection of the Perfect Club and Specfp92 programs and compare their execution time on a conventional vector architecture with a single memory port and on a multithreaded vector architecture. We devote an important part of this paper to study the interaction between multi-threading and main memory latency. This paper focuses on maximizing the usage of the memory port, the most expensive resource is typical vector computers. A study of the cost associated with the duplication of the vector register file is also carried out. Overall, multithreading provides for this architecture a performance advantage of more than a factor of 1.4 for realistic memory latencies, and can drive the utilization of the single memory port as high as 95%.


Withaferin A (WA), a promising anticancer constituent of traditional Indian (Ayurvedic) medicinal plant Withania somnifera, inhibits growth of MDA-MB-231 (estrogen-independent) and MCF-7 (estrogen-responsive) human breast cancer cells in culture and MDA-MB-231 xenografts in vivo in association with apoptosis induction. We have shown recently that WA-induced apoptosis in human breast cancer cells is initiated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) resulting from inhibition of mitochondrial respiration. Because ROS are frequently implicated in induction of autophagy, which is an evolutionary conserved process for bulk-degradation of macromolecules including organelles, we raised the question of whether WA treatment causes autophagy. In the present study, we have addressed this question using MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, a spontaneously immortalized and non-tumorigenic normal human mammary epithelial cell line (MCF-10A), and MDA-MB-231 xenografts from control and WA-treated mice. WA treatment resulted in autophagy induction in cancerous (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) as well as normal mammary epithelial cells (MCF-10A) as judged by transmission electron microscopy, cleavage of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3), formation of acidic vesicular organelles, and punctate pattern of LC3 localization. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed markedly higher expression of LC3 in MDA-MB-231 xenografts from female athymic mice administered i.p. with 4 mg/kg WA compared with control. Autophagy is a protective mechanism against apoptosis by several agents. Interestingly, inhibition of WA-induced autophagy either by a pharmacological agent (3-methyladenine) or siRNA knockdown of critical autophagy regulating proteins ATG5 or Beclin1 did not have any meaningful impact on growth inhibition or apoptotic cell death resulting from WA exposure in MDA-MB-231 or MCF-7 cells. Collectively, these results indicate that WA induces autophagy in breast cancer cells regardless of estrogen receptor expression and this response is not unique to cancerous breast cells. In addition, unlike many other agents, autophagy induction by WA has no influence on its ability to inhibit cell growth or cause apoptosis at least in breast cancer cells. This investigation was supported by US PHS grant CA142604 awarded by the National Cancer Institute. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 566. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-566


Background Pre-procurement pancreas suitability score (P-PASS) and pancreas donor risk (PDRI) index are scoring systems believed to predict suitability of pancreatic grafts. Most European countries and the United States apply PDRI, while Poltransplant keeps using P-PASS: more than 16 points raises a red flag for graft use. Recent data discourage use of PDRI to predict pancreas graft survival. The aim of the present study was to assess PDRI and P-PASS as predictors of transplanted pancreas survival in a Polish population. Material/Methods From February 1998 to September 2015, 407 pancreas transplantations were performed in Poland: 370 (90.9%) simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation and 37 (9.1%) pancreas transplantation alone or pancreas after kidney. The endpoint was death-uncensored 12-month graft survival with satisfactory glycemic control without insulin. Results Average P-PASS was 15.9±2.66 and PDRI was 0.96±0.37. Recipients who survived 12 months with good graft function had an average P-PASS score of 15.7 and PDRI of 0.95. Recipients with death-uncensored graft loss had a mean P-PASS of 16.4 and PDRI of 0.99. Univariate analysis revealed donor age, body mass index (BMI), and P-PASS to be significant risk factors for 1-year pancreas graft survival. Conclusions P-PASS, but not PDRI, is a reliable tool to predict pancreas graft survival in the Polish population.


The solid, secondary explosive nitramine-octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7 or HMX has four different stable polymorphs which have different molecular conformations, crystalline structures, and densities, making structural phase transitions between these nontrivial. Previous studies of the kinetics of the β-δ HMX structural transition found this to happen by a nucleation and growth mechanism, where growth was governed by the heat of fusion, or melting, even though the phase transition temperature is more than 100 K below the melting point. A theory known as virtual melting could easily justify this since the large volume difference in the two phases creates a strain at their interface that can lower the melting point to the phase transition temperature through a relaxation of the elastic energy. To learn more about structural phase transitions in organic crystalline solids and virtual melting, here we use time-resolved X-ray diffraction to study another structural phase transition in HMX, γ-δ. Again, second order kinetics are observed which fit to the same nucleation and growth model associated with growth by melting even though the volume change in this transition is too small to lower the melting point by interfacial strain. To account for this, we present a more general model illustrating that melting over a very thin layer at the interface between the two phases reduces the total interfacial energy and is therefore thermodynamically favorable and can drive the structural phase transition in the absence of large volume changes. Our work supports the idea that virtual melting may be a more generally applicable mechanism for structural phase transitions in organic crystalline solids.


ABSTRACT In the present paper we evaluate a generalized multiple integrals transformation involving the product of rhe generalized incomplete hypergeometric function, the multivariable Aleph-functions, and general class of polynomials of several variables. The importance of the result established in this paper lies in the fact they involve the Aleph-function of several variables which is sufficiently general in nature and capable to yielding a large of results merely by specializating the parameters their in.. We shall the case concerning the multivariable I-function defined by Sharma and Sharma [2].


N-aryl maleimides can undergo a 1,4-Michael-type addition reaction with reduced glutathione (GSH), leading to a decreased concentration of GSH and an increased concentration of free radicals (FRs) in cells. GSH is a critical scavenging molecule responsible for protecting cells from oxidation and for maintaining redox homeostasis. N-aryl maleimides disturb redox homeostasis in cells because they scavenge thiol-containing molecules, especially GSH. This study aimed at measuring the concentrations of GSH and FRs by electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR), in the brain and liver tissue of male Wistar rats (ex vivo) at different ages and after treatment with 3,5-dimaleimylbenzoic acid (3,5-DMB). Our results showed a relationship between age and the concentrations of GSH and FRs in cells. In young rats, the concentration of GSH was higher than in old rats, while the concentration of FRs was higher in adult rats than in young rats, suggesting an inverse relationship between GSH and FRs. On the other hand, the reaction of 3,5-DMB (an electrophilic maleimide) with cellular GSH increased the FR content. The results of this study contribute to the awareness that the process of aging implies not only a loss of tissue function but also essential changes in the molecular contents of cells, especially the concentrations of FRs and GSH.


Eutrophication of the planet's aquatic systems is increasing at an unprecedented rate. In freshwater systems, nitrate—one of the nutrients responsible for eutrophication—is linked to biodiversity losses and ecosystem degradation. One of the main sources of freshwater nitrate pollution in New Zealand is agriculture. New Zealand's pastoral farming system relies heavily on the application of chemical fertilisers. These fertilisers in combination with animal urine, also high in nitrogen, result in high rates of nitrogen leaching into adjacent aquatic systems. In addition to nitrogen, livestock waste commonly carries human and animal enteropathogenic bacteria, many of which can survive in freshwater environments. Two strains of enteropathogenic bacteria found in New Zealand cattle, are K99 and Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC). To better understand the effects of ambient nitrate concentrations in the water column on environmental enteropathogenic bacteria survival, a microcosm experiment with three nitrate-nitrogen concentrations (0, 1, and 3 mg NO3-N /L), two enteropathogenic bacterial strains (STEC O26—human, and K99—animal), and two water types (sterile and containing natural microbiota) was run. Both STEC O26 and K99 reached 500 CFU/10 ml in both water types at all three nitrate concentrations within 24 hours and remained at those levels for the full 91 days of the experiment. Although enteropathogenic strains showed no response to water column nitrate concentrations, the survival of background Escherichia coli, imported as part of the in-stream microbiota did, surviving longer in 1 and 3 mg NO3-N/Lconcentrations (P < 0.001). While further work is needed to fully understand how nitrate enrichment and in-stream microbiota may affect the viability of human and animal pathogens in freshwater systems, it is clear that these two New Zealand strains of STEC O26 and K99 can persist in river water for extended periods alongside some natural microbiota.


row's Doctors: recommendations on undergraduate medical education. Report of the Education Committee. London: General Medical Council; 1993. 4 Zieky MJ. So much has changed: How the setting of cutscores has evolved since the 1980s. In: Setting Performance Standards: Concepts, Methods, and Perspectives. (ed GJ Cizek). Mahwah, NJ: 1 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2001: pp. 19–52. 5 Wilkinson TJ, Newble DI, Frampton CM. Standard setting in an objective structured clinical examination: use of global ratings of borderline performance to determine the passing score. Med Educ 2001;35: 1043–9.


Fullerene derivatives superfamily attracts a serious attention as antiviral and anticancer agents and drug delivery carriers as well. A large number of such fullerene С60 derivatives obtained to date. However, there is an obvious deficit of information about causes and mechanisms of immediately and long-term consequences of their effects in vivo which is a true obstacle on the way leading to practical medical use of them. First, this concerns their impact on the proliferation, apoptosis and necrosis regulation. Fullerene nanoparticle functionalization type, their sizes and surface nanopathology are of great importance to further promoting of either cytoprotective or cytotoxic effects. This lecture provides modern concept analysis regarding fullerenes effects on apoptosis pathway in normal and tumor cells.


Two naturally occurring isothiocyanates, Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) and phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC) were investigated for their antioxidant and anti-tumour peroperties. Both AITC and PITC showed antioxidant and tumour reducing activities when administered intraperitoneally at a dosage of 25 microg/dose/animal for 5 consecutive days. The inhibition of PMA induced superoxide generation by the peritoneal macrophages in AITC and PITC treated animals were 34% and 30.3% respectively. Nitrite production by the peritoneal macrophages was also inhibited by the administration of both AITC (51.6%) and PITC (34.53%). Administration of these naturally occurring isothiocyanates also inhibited the lipid peroxidation (AITC - 47.4%; PITC-25.9%) in mice liver homogenate. Both isothiocyanates also scavenged hydroxyl radicals (OH-) in vitro. Percentage inhibition of OH-production in AITC treated animals were 61.9% and that of PITC treated animals were 69.7%. Treatment with these isothiocyanates reduced the solid tumour development induced by Dalton's lymphoma ascites (DLA) tumour cells. The life span of Ehrlich ascites tumour bearing animals was also significantly enhanced to 152.4% and 95.2% by the treatment with PITC and AITC, respectively, implicating the anti-tumour activity of these compounds.


Penrose and Hameroff have proposed that consciousness in the human brain may be based on gravitational interactions and quantum superposition states of electrons in tubulin cages in microtubules. Chiao has proposed experimental construction of a gravity antenna that might be analogous to tubulin caged electrons. Tegmark has criticized Penrose-Hameroff quantum consciousness, based on thermal decoherence of any such quantum superposition states. This paper briefly describes some experimental results and theoretical ideas that indicate to me that Tegmark's criticism may be invalid. Such theoretical ideas include Mead's quantum physics of resonance. This paper closes with brief summaries of ● relevant experiments of Grinberg-Zylberbaum, ● the quantum cosmology of Paula Zizzi, and ● 26-dimensional closed unoriented bosonic string theory interpreted as a manyworlds quantum theory in which strings correspond to world lines, with massless spin-2 gravitons in 26-dimensions corresponding to gravitational interaction among tubulin electrons in states with Penrose-Hameroff superposition separation. Penrose-Hameroff Quantum Consciousness Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff propose that Consciousness involves a Planck scale Decoherence of Quantum Superpositions that they call Orch OR in their paper entitled Orchestrated Objective Reduction file:///iCube/Desktop%20Folder/QuantumMind%202004/QuantumMind2004.html (1 of 27) [12/2/2004 1:46:00 PM] Quantum Consciousness of Quantum Coherence in Brain Microtubules: The "Orch OR" Model for Consciousness. Figure 1 is a "Schematic of central region of neuron (distal axon and dendrites not shown) showing parallel arrayed microtubules interconnected by MAPs [Microtubule Associated Proteins]. Microtubules in axons are lengthy and continuous, whereas in dendrites they are interrupted and of mixed polarity. Linking proteins connect microtubules to membrane proteins including receptors on dendritic spines.". The Centrosome, in most animal cells, acts as a Microtubule Organizing Center. Most Centrosomes contain a pair of Centrioles arrranged at right angles to each other in an L-shaped configuration. A Centriole is about 200 nm wide and 400 nm long. Its wall is made up of 9 groups of 3 microtubles. You can regard file:///iCube/Desktop%20Folder/QuantumMind%202004/QuantumMind2004.html (2 of 27) [12/2/2004 1:46:00 PM] Quantum Consciousness the A microtubule of a triplet as being a complete microtubule, with the B and C microtubules being incomplete microtubules fused to A and B respectively. Each triplet is tilted in toward the central axis at an angle of about 45 degrees. Each microtubule is a hollow cylindrical tube with about 25 nm outside diameter and 14 nm inside diameter, made up of 13 columns of Tubulin Dimers. ( The two preceding illustrations are from Molecular Biology of the Cell, 2nd ed, by Alberts, Bray, Lewis, Raff, Roberts, and Watson (Garland 1989) ) Each Tubulin Dimer is about 8 nm x 4 nm x 4 nm, consists of two parts, alpha-tubulin and beta-tubulin (each made up of about 450 Amino Acids, each of which contains roughly 20 Atoms), and can exist in (at least) 2 different geometrical configurations, or conformations, involving the position of a single Electron. Call this Electron the Conformation Electron, because in a single Tubulin Dimer its the position at the junction of the alpha-tubulin and the beta-tubulin determines the 2 different conformations of the Tubulin, which correspond to 2 different states of the dimer's electric polarization. There are 10^7 Tubulin Dimers per neuron, with 10% of them, or 10^6, estimated to be involved in the consciousness process, and the remainder doing other things needed to keep the cell alive. The human brain contains about 10^11 neurons. Therefore, the human brain contains about 10^18 tubulins, about 10^17 of which are involved in the consciousness process. The Tubulins in a Microtubule can represent Information, and act as Cellular Automata to process it. file:///iCube/Desktop%20Folder/QuantumMind%202004/QuantumMind2004.html (3 of 27) [12/2/2004 1:46:00 PM] Quantum Consciousness Roger Penrose says, in Shadows of the Mind (Oxford 1994), page 344, "... We can now consider the gravitational self-energy of that mass distribution which is the difference between the mass distributions of the two states that are to be considered in quantum linear superposition. The reciprocal of this selfenergy gives ... the reduction timescale ...". This is the decoherence time T = h / E. For a given Particle, Stuart Hameroff describes this as a particle being separated from itself, saying that the Superposition Separation a is "... the separation/displacement of a mass separated from its superposed self. ... The picture is spacetime geometry separating from itself, and re-anealing after time T. ...". If the Superposition consists of States involving one Particle of Mass m, but with Superposition Separation a, then the Superposition Separation Energy Difference is the gravitational energy


Although the field of nonlinear optics is considered to be reasonably mature, our understanding of the microscopic origin of the nonlinear optical response of solids is quite poor. Simple bonding molecular orbital techniques typically only come within an order of magnitude, at best, in predicting the magnitude of χ(2) or χ(3) and are unable to predict any dispersion or anisotropy in the nonlinear coefficients. This is true even for simple semiconductors such as Ge, Si, and GaAs, for which local field effects are often invoked to account for discrepancies between theory and experiment, Of course the difficulty in obtaining detailed knowledge is the complexity of the nonlinear response combined with the requirement of knowing both the electronic energy bands and wave functions throughout the Brillouin zone.


Covariant-contravariant simulation and conformance simulation generalize plain simulation and try to capture the fact that it is not always the case that "the larger the number of behaviors, the better". We have previously studied their logical characterizations and in this paper we present the axiomatizations of the preorders defined by the new simulation relations and their induced equivalences. The interest of our results lies in the fact that the axiomatizations help us to know the new simulations better, understanding in particular the role of the contravariant characteristics and their interplay with the covariant ones; moreover, the axiomatizations provide us with a powerful tool to (algebraically) prove results of the corresponding semantics. But we also consider our results interesting from a metatheoretical point of view: the fact that the covariant-contravariant simulation equivalence is indeed ground axiomatizable when there is no action that exhibits both a covariant and a contravariant behaviour, but becomes non-axiomatizable whenever we have together actions of that kind and either covariant or contravariant actions, offers us a new subtle example of the narrow border separating axiomatizable and non-axiomatizable semantics. We expect that by studying these examples we will be able to develop a general theory separating axiomatizable and non-axiomatizable semantics.


Dyes are the most carcinogenic organic compounds that are discarded by most of the textile industries without any prior treatment, which is harmful for the environment. This study aims to develop a bentonite-clay/carbon-nanotube (CNT)-based adsorbent to treat textile wastewater for water sustainability. The preliminary and post-characterization of adsorbent involves scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis to determine the changes in surface morphology, functional group, and surface area of the adsorbent. Linear and nonlinear isotherms and kinetic studies were performed to explore the sorption mechanism. The results show that the nonlinear form of the Langmuir isotherm best fits adsorption with a qmax of 550 mg/g. The adsorption followed the nonlinear pseudo-first-order kinetics, favoring chemisorption with R2 ≈ 1 and X2 = 0.22. Maximum dye removal (89.9%) was achieved under the optimum conditions of pH 3, an adsorbent dose of 100 mg, and a contact time of 120 min, with an initial COD concentration of 1140 mgL−1. This study has demonstrated the successful application of a bentonite-clay/CNT-based adsorbent on textile wastewater treatment.


Background: Aldosterone induces hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, vascular inflammation and oxidative stress. Recent in vitro studies suggest that there may be cross-talk between angiotensin II and aldosterone pathways. We hypothesized that in vivo vascular effects of aldosterone require a functional angiotensin II type 1a receptor (Agtr1a). Design and methods: Eight to ten-week old male agtr1a knockout (agtr1a-/-) and wild-type mice were implanted with a dummy pump or infused with aldosterone (600 &mgr;g/kg/d, s.c.) for 14 days while receiving 1% saline in the drinking water (n = 8-10). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured by telemetry. Endothelial function, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were assessed in mesenteric arteries using pressurized myography and dihydroethidium staining, respectively. Levels of collagen by Sirius red staining and fibronectin, VCAM-1, and MCP-1 by immunofluorescence were determined in aortic sections. Results: Aldosterone-induced higher levels of SBP in agtr1a-/- compared to wild-type mice (about 15 mmHg, P<0.01). Maximal vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine in mesenteric small arteries were similar in agtr1a-/- and wild-type mice. Aldosterone reduced maximal vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine in wild-type mice by 48% (P<0.05) whereas there was no effect in agtr1a-/- mice. Aldosterone increased ROS production 2-fold in mesenteric arteries of wild-type mice (P<0.05) whereas it had no effect in agtr1a-/- mice. Aldosterone increased VCAM-1 (1.8-fold, P<0.05), MCP-1 (2.7-fold, P<0.05), fibronectin (3-fold, P<0.01) and collagen (3.9-fold, P<0.05) in aorta of wild-type but not in agtr1a-/- mice. Conclusion: Aldosterone requires functional Agtr1a to induce small artery endothelial dysfunction and vascular oxidative stress, inflammation and fibrosis.


The reproduction in human is a very complex process which includes appropriate working of both male as well female reproductive system and the various hormones of the system. Free radicals are involved in many metabolic disorders such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders, kidney the disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, asthma. Increased free radicals in the body cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress also impacts the reproduction. This study is designed to study the effect of oxidative stress on the female reproductive hormones. To achieve this aim 500 married female of reproductive age 25-35 yrs having no history of any metabolic disorder were included in the study. Thus the level of the oxidative stress marker MDA and the reproductive hormone i.e. estrodiol, progesterone and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) (during different phases of ovulation by) were measured ELISA method. The level of the three hormones was measured during follicular phase, mid leutal phase and leutal phase. In the study, the level of the three hormones in different phases of ovulation was found to be significantly (p>0.0001) increased in fertile group in comparison to the infertile group. On the other hand the MDA was found to be decreased (p>0.0001) in the infertile group in comparison to the fertile group. Thus with this study it may be concluded that the oxidative stress impacts the female reproductive system and may be the reason of pathophysiology of infertility in the females.


Jewellery from Bronze Age graves is normally interpreted as a symbol of status. Howevr, materials like jet, amber, faience and tin were also worn as talismans, writes Alison Sheridan

When archaeologists found the 4,300-year-old burial of an archer and metalworker at Amesbury in Wiltshire last year, they knew at once that they were looking at the remains of a great Bronze Age chieftain. The astonishing wealth of the possessions found in his grave declared him a man of power.

This was, quite simply, the richest early Bronze Age grave ever found in Britain, with some of the country's earliest known items of gold. Included among the man's 100-odd possessions were a pair of gold hair ornaments, three copper knives, a shale belt-ring, archery equipment and arrowheads. No wonder he was described in the media as the 'King of Stonehenge'


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the efficacy of L-carnitine (LC) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplements on haemoglobin levels and inflammatory markers in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with different haptoglobin (HP) genotypes.

METHODS
This clinical trial study was conducted at Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ardabil, and Labbafinejad Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from March 2014 to March 2015, and comprised male patients with CKD and anaemia. Anthropometric factors were recorded and demographic data was collected using general questionnaires. LC (1 g/day) and CLA (2.4 g/day) supplements were given to the patients for a month. Blood samples were taken to measure haematological and inflammatory markers at the beginning and end of the study. Haptoglobin genotypes were determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). SPSS 21 was used for data analysis.

RESULTS
Among the 40 patients in the study, HP2-2 genotype was the most prevalent genotype (62.5%). The level of haemoglobin was significantly increased in the patients at the end of the study (p< 0.05). No significant changes were found in the weight, body mass index and serum levels of Interleukin-6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, ferritin, total iron-binding capacity and iron (p>0.05 each).

CONCLUSIONS
Regular diet supplementation with LC plus CLA can improve haemoglobin levels in CKD patients with anaemia.


Fusarium verticillioides (teleomorph Gibberella moniliformis ) is a pathogen of maize worldwide and produces fumonisins, a family of mycotoxins that have been associated with several animal diseases as well as cancer in humans. In this study, we sought to identify fungal genes that a V ect fumonisin production and/or the plant–fungal interaction. We generated over 87,000 expressed sequence tags from nine di V erent cDNA libraries that correspond to 11,119 unique sequences and are estimated to represent 80% of the genomic complement of genes. A comparative analysis of the libraries showed that all 15 genes in the fumonisin gene cluster were di V erentially expressed. In addition, nine candidate fumonisin regulatory genes and a number of genes that may play a role in plant–fungal interaction were identi W ed. Analysis of over 700 FUM gene transcripts from W ve di V erent libraries provided evidence for transcripts with unspliced introns and spliced introns with alternative 3 (cid:1) splice sites. The abundance of the alternative splice forms and the frequency with which they were found for genes involved in the biosynthesis of a single family of metabolites as well as their di V erential expression suggest they may have a biological function. Finally, analysis of an EST that aligns to genomic sequence between FUM12 and FUM13 provided evidence for a previously unidenti W ed gene ( FUM20 ) in the FUM gene cluster.


The Pareto differential evolution (PDE) algorithm was introduced and showed competitive results. The behavior of PDE, as in many other evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO) methods, varies according to the crossover and mutation rates. In this paper, we present a new version of PDE with self-adaptive crossover and mutation. We call the new version self-adaptive Pareto differential evolution (SPDE). The emphasis of this paper is to analyze the dynamics and behavior of SPDE. The experiments also show that the algorithm is very competitive with other EMO algorithms.


At the background of the inquiry into the creation of rights to animal genetic resources lie different strands of thinking and various lines of arguments. These are fueled by three major developments in the AnGR sector:  the increasing volume in trade in animal products; the scientific progress in animal breeding with the advances in genetic engineering; and the so-called erosion of animal genetic resources. This paper discusses the interface of AnGRFA, international trade and property rights and gives an overview of the ongoing processes, the present debates and involved institutions. It concludes that in order to balance the increasing enclosure of innovation in AnGRFA, an appropriate set of measures is needed to conserve, maintain and sustainably use diversity in AnGRFA and to promote equitable and fair market access for smallhoers from the South. It is therefore proposed to set out from a  "toolbox approach", the task being to find an ideal combination of tools to serve the defined end.


The carbon concentrations in GaAs and AIGaAs grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) have been studied when a graphite generated dimeric arsenic species and a standard tetramer arsenic species are used as the group-V source. Photoluminescence and Van der Pauw-Hall measurements have been made to examine the material quality in reference to which arsenic species is used for film growth. Results indicate that a graphite crucible arrangement for the thermal cracking of As 4 produces significant carbon contamination and is unacceptable for the MBE growth of GaAs and AlGaAs.


Electric logs from wells in southwestern Clarke County, Mississippi, illustrate the structural and stratigraphic relations which affect hydrocarbon production. The fields studied (West Nancy, Nancy, East Nancy, Prairie Branch, and Lake Utopia) are coincident with salt-cored structures and are aligned from northwest to southeast, parallel with the updip limit of the salt. Production depths increase basinward and southwesterly. The fields produce from primary porosity in oolitic grainstones of the upper Smackover Formation. Prairie Branch and East Nancy also produce from siliciclastic sands of the underlying Norphlet Formation, whereas West Nancy has additional production from oolitic grainstones of the overlying Buckner Member of the Haynesville Formation. The general depositional sequence that controlled hydrocarbon accumulations is: deposition of siliciclastic sands of the Norphlet; accumulation of carbonate muds of the lower Smackover and initiation of salt movement; and formation of offlapping shingles of oolite sands of the upper Smackover on faulted salt-cored structures. Structural movement was complete by the end of Haynesville deposition. Hydrocarbon migration most likely occurred during Haynesville deposition, because most Smackover and Norphlet pay zones coincide with Smackover highs and not with Haynesville structures. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1432------------


Purpose: There is evidence that genetic variation in the prostaglandin pathway affects cancer susceptibility and progression. Conflicting data from several studies exist for the association of PTGS2 (cyclooxygenase 2) polymorphisms with breast cancer risk. We investigated associations between common germ-line variations in seven genes in the prostaglandin pathway and breast cancer susceptibility and survival among women with invasive breast cancer in the SEARCH study. Experimental Design: DNA samples from 9,030 cases and controls were genotyped for 64 single nucleotide polymorphisms tagging known common variants (minor allele frequency > 0.05) in PTGS1, PTGS2, TBXAS1, PTGIS, PTGES, PTGDS, and PGDS with a two-stage case-control study design. Results: Four tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms showed modest association with breast cancer susceptibility. All four fit a recessive genetic model. Minor allele homozygotes for PTGISrs5602 [odds ratio (OR), 1.15; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.04-1.27; P = 0.005], PTGISrs8183919 (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.06-1.41; P = 0.006), and TBXASrs41727 (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.22-2.73; P = 0.003) are associated with an increased risk compared with common allele carriers. For PTGISrs44627 minor allele homozygotes (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.5-0.86; P = 0.002), a protective effect was observed. Conclusion: Specific PTGIS and TBXAS1 variants may affect breast cancer susceptibility, but common variants in PTGS1, PTGS2, PTGES, PTGDS, and PGDS have no major role in breast cancer susceptibility. None of the variants in the seven genes studied appear to affect survival. Further larger studies correlating clinical and genotypic data are required to establish if the clinical utility of prostaglandin-targeted therapies, as chemoprevention agents, is influenced by an individual's profile of genetic variants in key prostaglandin pathway genes.


The importance of the role of the ion-lattice coupling in determining the energy levels of Cr3+ ions in congruent LiNbO3 crystals doped with 2.9% of ZnO is demonstrated in this paper. The Racah parameters: B = 533 cm-1, C = 3244 cm-1 and the crystal-field intensity Dq = 1527 cm-1 were determined and the Tanabe-Sugano diagram was constructed. The characteristics of the absorption and the emission spectra of Cr3+ ions in these crystals can be explained in terms of the configurational-coordinate diagram in the harmonic approximation, with good agreement obtained. The Huang-Rhys parameter S = 6.86 and the lattice phonon energy ω = 343 cm-1 are also reported in this work.


Earlier experiments have shown that when limb-bone rudiments from 8½-day embryonic chicks are cultivated in medium containing an indigestible sugar, the perichondrial cells become intensely vacuolated, but this vacuolation does not appear in the chondrocytes, except in the articular region. Appleton9s radioautographic method for demonstrating water-soluble materials was used to study the uptake, distribution and loss of 14 C-labelled sucrose in 8½ limb-bone rudiments cultivated in a chemically defined medium (BGJ 5 ). After 48 h exposure to [ 14 C] sucrose, both perichondrium and cartilage were heavily labelled. When such explants were either washed for 1 h in BGJ 5 or cultivated for a further 24 h in non-radioactive medium, labelling was almost unaffected in the perichondrial cells but was greatly reduced in the cartilage, the cells of which were almost devoid of radioactivity. The presence in the medium of 0.08 M 'cold' sucrose did not alter the perichondrial grain counts in the washed explants. This finding supports the view that in the perichondrial cells sucrose is taken up non-specifically by endocytosis, arid that the intense vacuolation of the cytoplasm is due to abnormal persistence of the pinocytotic vesicles in the presence of the sugar. It is concluded that failure of the chondrocytes to take up sucrose is due, not to lack of penetration of the sugar into the cartilage, but to a weak endocytotic activity of the cells.


Ribosomal crystallization of 6-day chick embryo thigh skin in vitro in two different nutrient media was studied. The embryo thigh skin has been incubated for 3 or 6 days in media containing either chick embryo extract or chick serum, than submitted to hypothermia for 36 hours to induce the formation of ribosome crystals. The crystals are present in almost all type of cells in E medium, while in the cells in CS medium only after 3 days; therefore it is possible to relate the crystallization with the different degree of differentiation attained in mesenchymal cells.


Metalloproteinases (MTP) are enzymes that degrade the extracellular matrix, mainly collagen tissue. Normally these enzymes are expressed in vascular walls as proenzyme together with inhibitors of the active enzymes. By effect of different cytokines, produced by an inflammatory process in the vascular wall, these proenzymes are activated to an extent that surpasses the action of the inhibitors and degrade collagen. This action may partly explain the rupture of atherosclerotic plaques ("vulnerability") and also the remodelling of the vessel wall with "compensatory enlargement" of the vessel (increase in the outer size of the vessel) that allows the plaques to develop inside the arterial wall without protruding into the vessel lumen for many years. The occlusion of saphenous vein in aortocoronary bypass grafts is due to fibromuscular proliferation and atheroma development and therefore the participation of MTP in the occlusion of these vessels is a reasonable hypothesis. However, the structural features of saphenous vein bypass grafts are different from those of atheroma in native coronary arteries. Mainly the compensatory enlargement of the vessels does not occur because of intense fibrous tissue development including the adventitia and therefore the new tissue in the wall is forced to protrude into the vessel lumen. The reason for this difference in the vessel wall remodeling is not clear and the article by Grez et al in this issue of this Journal is an starting and promising study in this regard.


Vascular and valvular calcifications are highly prevalent in kidney transplant recipients and are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, which represent the leading cause of long-term mortality in these patients. However, cardiovascular calcification has been traditionally considered as a condition mostly associated with advanced chronic kidney disease stages and dialysis, and comparatively fewer studies have assessed its impact after kidney transplantation. Despite partial or complete resolution of uremia-associated metabolic derangements, kidney transplant recipients are still exposed to several pro-calcifying stimuli that favour the progression of pre-existing vascular calcifications or their de novo development. Traditional risk factors, bone mineral disorders, inflammation, immunosuppressive drugs and deficiency of calcification inhibitors may all play a role, and strategies to correct or minimize their effects are urgently needed. The aim of this work is to provide an overview of established and putative mediators involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular calcification in kidney transplantation, and to describe the clinical and radiological features of these forms. We also discuss current evidence on preventive strategies to delay the progression of cardiovascular calcifications in kidney transplant recipients, as well as novel therapeutic candidates to potentially prevent their long-term deleterious effects.


TO THE EDITOR: Different studies have demonstrated that amphotericin B administered in a lipid emulsion causes less nephrotoxicity than the conventional preparation.l,l Nevertheless, it has been suggested that the concentration of amphotericin B in lipid emulsion changes during infusion and that as a consequence, the dose administered is lower than intended.) In this work, the authors observed that within 2 hours after preparing a mixture of 45 mg of amphotericin Band 500 mL of fat emulsion, a yellow precipitate started to form, and that at the end of a 6hour infusion only about 56% of the expected dose would have been administered to the patient. To avoid confusion, we have checked whether the concentration of amphotericin B in lipid emulsion changes during infusion in the true clinical conditions of preparation and administration, as we described (amphotericin B 50 mgllipid emulsion 50 mL, administered in I h).2 Methods. Three mixlUres of amphotericin B in lipid emulsion 20% were prepared. The mixlUres were delivered at a rate of 0.83 mUmin. Samples of the initial solution and samples of the effluent were collected at 0, 15, 30,45, and 60 minutes. Samples were diluted 1/1000 with methanol. The amphotericin B concentration was determined by HPLC as described previously.4 Three solutions of amphotericin B in glucose 5% (50 mg/500 mL) delivered at a rate of 83 mlJh served as conlrols. Discussion. The concentration of amphotericin B in the lipid emulsion was equal to the expected value in the samples taken during the administration period (Figure I). Similarly, the concentration of amphotericin B in glucose 5% did not change during the 6-hour infusion period. We conclude that amphotericin B 50 mg/50 mL is compatible with lipid emulsion when administered over a period of I hour. Therefore, the reduced toxicity that has been reported when using amphotericin B in a lipid emulsion is not because the dose administered is lower than intended, at least in our case.


Objectives
Obesity is a major health concern in mid and later life; ≥40% of those ≥60 years are obese. However, the optimal approach for obesity reduction during the latter half of life has not been identified. Consuming balanced, liberal amounts of high quality protein at each meal is recommended for older adults and could help preserve lean mass and physical function. This study examined the feasibility and efficacy of this approach in the context of a weight reduction intervention for obese middle-aged and older adults.

Methods
This analysis combines findings on calorie and protein intakes of obese participants (mean BMI = 37.4 kg/m2; 88.7% female) aged ≥ 45 yrs (mean = 64.8 yrs) from two RCTs with similar protocols. Participants were randomized to hypo-caloric diets with either RDA level protein (0.8 g/kg bw; C-WL) or higher protein (1.2 g/kg bw; HP-WL) for 6 months. The HP-WL group was counseled to consume 30 g high quality protein/meal and provided lean beef or pork for 2 of 3 meals daily. Both groups had weekly group counseling and weigh-ins. Diet records (3-day) collected at 0, 3 and 6 months were analyzed (Food Processor; ESHA Research) for daily intakes of kcals and macronutrients.

Results
Both C-WL (n = 30) and HP-WL (n = 59) reduced their kcal intake and successfully reduced their body mass. At 6 months, weight loss was 5.8% and 7.0% for C-WL and HP-WL, respectively. Diet record analysis confirmed HP-WL participants achieved intakes of 30 g protein/meal. At 3 and 6 months respectively, mean ± SD protein intakes were 30.1 ± 9.9 g and 29.7 ± 12 g for breakfast; 37.5 ± 8.2 g and 35.6 ± 9.3 g for lunch; and 40.7 ± 13.7 g and 39.2 ± 8.1 g for dinner; daily protein intake was 1.2 ± 0.3 g/kg bw. In contrast, the C-WL protein intakes remained unchanged (0.8 g/kg bw).

Conclusions
These findings confirm the feasibility of a balanced, higher protein weight loss diet for obese middle-aged and older adults. HP-WL participants achieved notable weight reduction while also meeting meal protein goals. This practical dietary approach may offer superior long-term outcomes for physical function in this high-risk population; thus, further study of these potential benefits is warranted.

Funding Sources
Beef Checkoff and Pork Checkoff, North Carolina Pork Council, Smithfield Foods, NIH (T32 AG000029), and US Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service Program (CDA-2/IK2 RX002348).


Cotton leafhopper Amrasca devastans (Distant) a sucking pest of cotton of the family Cicadellidae and Cotton scale or mealy bug Phenacoccus sp. of the family Pseudococcidae infest a wide range of crops including Solanum melangena and Habiscus esculentus. All the stages of both the species are injurious to crops and the infestation may be very prominent and characterized by leaf curl, stunted growth and white scales, which cover the nodes, twigs and bolls. They exhibit three types of damage in all i.e. 1st direct damage by sucking the plant sap, secondly both pests are capable of transmitting viral and other infectious disease pathogens in the fields, thirdly the secretion of honey dew by Phenacoccus sp. which assists in fungal growth in the fields.

Presently horizontal and vertical life budgets and survivorship curves of A. devastans and Phenacoccus sp. is drawn monthly starting from May 05 to August 06 in lab and compared with that of field data following Southwood (1978). The life table is used to determine the most vulnerable stage and key limiting factors, affecting the mortality both in laboratory and in the field. The survivorship curves constructed both from laboratory and field data were found to be apparently resembling with the type III and IV of Slobodkin (1962) with some deviations. The most vulnerable stage in the life table of A. devastans was found to be the initial 1st , 2nd and 3rd instars and for Phenacoccus sp. it was 1st and 2nd and to some extent the 3rd instars, Study of population dynamics recorded high density of all the stages of both the pests during May 05 through Aug 05 and Apr 06 to Jul 06 whereas low density of all the stages for both the species were found during Nov 05 through February 06. The main limiting factors affecting the mortality in laboratory were found to be very low temperature and dry weather condition associated with fungal infestation, which were also true for the field data along with the very high temperature and heavy rain fall and poor food supply. Correlation of population density with minimum mean temperature and mean percent humidity showed that both the factors in certain limits have strong positive and significant correlation with all the stages of cotton leafhopper while very weak, positive and non significant correlation was found with these factors and different stages of Phenacoccus sp. Maximum mean temperature showed positive non significant correlation with the population density of both the pests.

Toxicity of a synthetic pyrethroid lambda cyhalothrin, a biocide abametin and a neem extract biosal were determined by topical and filter paper impregnation method. The LC50values were calculated by log-probit graph paper. The range of mean % mortality and P-values were determined statistically at 95% confidence limit

LC50 of lambda cyhalothrin was found to be 0.05 µg / cm2, 0.125 µg / cm2 and 0.65 µg / cm2.against the 2nd and 3rd , 4th and 5th and adults of A. devastans. The LC50 of lambda cyhalothrin was found to be 0.65 µg /cm2 and 1.2 µg /cm2 against 2nd and 3rd and newly moulted adults of Phenacoccous sp respectively.

LC50 of abamectin was found to be 0.018 µg /cm2, 0.03 µg /cm2and 0.04 µg /cm2, against the 2nd and 3rd, 4th and 5th and adults of A.devastans. The LC50 of abamectin was found to be 0.68 µg /cm2 and 1.17 µg /cm2, against 2nd and 3rd and newly moulted adults of Phenacoccous sp respectively.

LC50 of biosal was found to be 45.0 µg /cm2, 90.0 µg /cm2and 120.0 µg /cm2, against the 2nd and 3rd, 4th and 5th and adults of A. devastans. The LC50 of biosal was found to be 36.0 µg /cm2 and 157.0 µg /cm2, against 2nd and 3rd and newly moulted adults of Phenacoccous sp respectively.

In all the toxicity experiments with A. devastans the potency of pesticides was found to be as abamectin > lambda cyhalothrin > biosal. The potency of pesticides against the 2nd and 3rd instars of Phenacoccus sp was lambda cyhalothrin > abamectin > biosal and against the newly moulted adults was abamectin > lambda cyhalothrin > biosal.

Determination of activity of cholinesterase in adults of A. devastans and newly moulted adults of Phenacoccus sp. Showed inhibition with all three pesticides. Inhibition in activity of cholinesterase was found to be 11.26%, 10.54% and 8.3% in A. devastans treated with lambda cyhalothrin, abamectin and biosal respectively. In case of newly moulted adults of Phenacoccus sp. the inhibition in activity of cholinesterase was found to be 20.32%, 11.59% and 5.89% in insects treated with abamectin, biosal and lambda cyhalothrin respectively.

The total protein contents in adults of A. devastans were decreased to 8.03% and 46.1% after the treatment with lambda cyhalothrin and biosal, whereas it became increased to 125.8% after the treatment with abamectin as compared to the control. The potency of insectides to inhibit the total protein contents in adults of A. devastans was biosal > lambda cyhalothrin. The total protein contents in newly moulted adults of Phenacoccus sp. were decreased to 13.04%, 23.19% and 28.89% after the treatment with biosal, abamectin and lambda cyhalothrin. The potency of pesticides to inhibit the total protein contents in newly moulted adults of Phenacoccus sp. was lambda cyhalothrin.> abamectin > biosal.


Due to the constantly increasing intensity of the air traffic flow, the capacity of a particular sector of airspace reaches its predetermined value. More than 60% of all air traffic of the Russian Federation falls on the Moscow airspace and its intensity is constantly growing. The effective organization of air traffic in an aviation hub control area depends on the ability of air traffic controllers to correctly align the order of arrival and departure of aircraft with the existing traffic intensity, prohibitions and restrictions, meteorological conditions and other factors. This article considers the problematic aspects of the coordination between ATC units, leading to delays in departing and approaching aircraft, affecting the safety, efficiency and regularity of air traffic. The rules of coordination between adjacent ATC sectors, providing aerodrome dispatching service in the Russian Federation are described. The description of the coordination process between the Ostafievo Airport ATCs and the controllers of adjacent dispatch centers is given. These adjacent ATCs are the following: the Vnukovo-Radar, the Domodedovo-Radar, the FIS Vnukovo-1 and the FIS Vnukovo-2, also the ATC Tower of the state aviation. The analysis of the existing technology of ATC coordination in one aviation hub is carried out. Recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the coordination system between ATC units are presented.


Neutron diffraction is used to probe the (H,T) phase diagram of magnetoelectric (ME) LiNiPO4 for magnetic fields along the c axis. At zero field the Ni spins order in two antiferromagnetic phases. One has commensurate (C) structures and general ordering vectors k(C)=(0,0,0); the other one is incommensurate (IC) with k(IC)=(0,q,0). At low temperatures the C order collapses above mu H-0=12 T and adopts an IC structure with modulation vector parallel to k(IC). We show that C order is required for the ME effect and establish how electric polarization results from a field-induced reduction in the total magnetoelastic energy.


The islet of Langerhans is a unique micro-organ within the exocrine pancreas, which is composed of insulin-secreting beta-cells, glucagon-secreting alpha-cells, somatostatin-secreting delta-cells, pancreatic polypeptide-secreting PP cells and ghrelin-secreting epsilon-cells. Islets also contain non-endocrine cell types such as endothelial cells. However, the mechanism(s) of islet formation is poorly understood due to technical difficulties in capturing this dynamic event in situ. We have developed a method to monitor beta-cell proliferation and islet formation in the intact pancreas using transgenic mice in which the beta-cells are specifically tagged with a fluorescent protein. Endocrine cells proliferate contiguously, forming branched cord-like structures in both embryos and neonates. Our study has revealed long stretches of interconnected islets located along large blood vessels in the neonatal pancreas. Alpha-cells span the elongated islet-like structures, which we hypothesize represent sites of fission and facilitate the eventual formation of discrete islets. We propose that islet formation occurs by a process of fission following contiguous endocrine cell proliferation, rather than by local aggregation or fusion of isolated beta-cells and islets. Mathematical modeling of the fission process in the neonatal islet formation is also presented.


Extended Partial Response Maximum Likelihood (EPRML) detection outperforms PRML detection on very high-density magnetic recording channels but is much more complex than PRML and is difficult to implement for high data rates. PERD is an alternative to the EPRML detector which gives even better performance. It consists of a conventional PRML detector and a pattern discrimination circuit operating on the error waveform between the waveform estimated from the PRML outputs and the actual playback waveform. A bit-by-bit simulation confirms the expected performance gains over PRML detection.


This paper investigates the extent to which the East African Community (EAC) countries have developed economically over time and whether income inequality decreases with economic growth. The relationship between trade and GDP per capita amongst EAC member countries is evaluated using the World Bank's meta-data of development indicators and the EAC Secretariat's data spanning from 2000–2019. Convergence in GDP per capita and inequality are tested using Coefficient of variation (CV) and weighted beta . The results show that agriculture, manufacturing, trade and repair, construction, and transport and storage constituted the top five GDP value adding activities, contributing about 38 percent to total annual GDP. The EAC GDP per capita were diverging in the long run but converging in short to medium terms, implying increase and decrease in the regional income inequality respectively. Agriculture, electricity and gas, transport and storage, real estate activities, public administration, and education were income inequality-increasing sectors. Together with finance and insurance, these sectors were also positively associated with GDP per capita. The exports of EAC member countries were found to be highly concentrated in few sectors and destination markets, implying limited diversification of products and markets. In their quest to diversify, these countries should choose the right mixes of export goods and services keeping in view of the prevailing market factors in importing countries, such as, changing taste and demands.


Campaign finance law is often framed as a tension between liberty and equality. On one side is the freedom of speech, which the Supreme Court has interpreted to include the freedom to give and spend money in connection with elections. On the other is democratic equality and the idea that we are each entitled to an equal voice in choosing our representatives. If this is the tension that underlies the current jurisprudence, it would appear that liberty has won out and equality has been vanquished.
But appearances can be deceiving. This facile contrast between liberty and equality overstates both what the relevant cases have held, and it ignores the ways in which different understandings of these values are present in other aspects of our constitutional jurisprudence. This chapter argues that the constitutional doctrine relevant to assessing campaign finance cases includes the equality-based doctrines governing political participation and the liberty-based commitment to self-government.


Based on the designed As2Se3 and As2S3 chalcogenide glass photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and the scalar nonlinear Schrödinger equation, the effects of pump power and wavelength on modulation instability (MI) gain are comprehensively studied in the abnormal dispersion regime of chalcogenide glass PCF. Owing to high Raman effect and high nonlinearity, ultra-broadband MI gain is obtained in chalcogenide glass PCF. By choosing the appropriate pump parameter, the MI gain bandwidth reaches 2738 nm for the As2Se3 glass PCF in the abnormal-dispersion region, while it is 1961 nm for the As2S3 glass PCF.


The relation between the content of cyclic nucleotides and the rate of formation of carotenoid pigments in the Neurospora crassa mycelium cells was investigated. Light derepression of the carotenoid synthesis during the photoinduction lag-period induced a transient decrease of the cAMP content. The intracellular cAMP content was in negative correlation with the constitutive level of carotenoid pigments. The cGMP content remained unchanged during the photoinduction lag-period and showed no correlation with the constitutive level of carotenoids in N. crassa cells.


Most believe and understands that diversity brings more talent to an organization, increases creativity and perhaps leads to higher retention rates. But, in a global economy are organizations buying into the diversity and inclusion concept? And have organizations made progress in recruitment and retention of diverse ethnic groups in their organizations?


The article is devoted to the study of the organizational and legal boundaries of the provision of scientific and expert activities in administrative proceedings, as defined in the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine. The possibility of involving an expert in the field of law in the administrative process through the conduct of scientific and legal expertise, one of the functional purposes of which is the doctrinal interpretation of legislation, is considered. The problem of determining the competence of an expert in the field of law is consecrated and the criteria for its evaluation are presented. The necessity of improving the norms of the specified code of Ukraine in terms of determining the procedural rights and obligations of an expert in the field of law in a trial, as well as the legal nature of his conclusion, is proved. In particular, we consider it necessary, along with the requirement fixed by the legislator to have a scientific degree and be a recognized specialist in law, to add such a requirement as a mandatory practical experience as a lawyer for at least 10 years. Proposals are provided on amending the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, which will help resolve conflicts in the current legislation regarding the legal status of an expert in the field of law and the opinion provided by him, his rights and obligations.


Conditions in American education since Merwin and Gardner prepared their chapter concerned with tests of educational achievement in the February 1962 issue of the REVIEW have been favorable to the development of systematic research in the field of achievement testing. In its provision of funds and materials available for research, the National Defense Education Act focused attention on the need for controlled studies that could be replicated. In addition, grants made available by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and by other governmental and private agencies served to encourage the initiation and completion of systematic and intensive research. The availability of accurate, economical central-scoring and data-processing facilities opened up to test publishers as well as to other test developers opportunities to enlarge samples and to execute studies involving detailed experimental designs. During the past year, two new journals appeared. Under the editorship of Schutz (1964), the Journal of Educational Measurement, official publication of the National Council on Measurement in Education, publishes original research and reports of applications of measurement. Published by the American Educational Research Association and edited by Davis (1964), the American Educational Research Journal furnishes reports of experimental and theoretical studies in education. The inclusion of the "Validity Studies Section" (Michael, 1953) in Educational and Psychological Measurement served to encourage publication of reports of the performance of achievement tests at local levels in practical testing situations. It is hoped that more persons carrying on research at the local level will design their studies with the view of publishing the findings in one of the several available media.


To help people enhance their personal productivity by providing effective feedback, we designed and developed TimeAware, a self-monitoring system for capturing and reflecting on personal computer usage behaviors. TimeAware employs an ambient widget to promote self-awareness and to lower the feedback access burden, and web-based information dashboard to visualize people's detailed computer usage. To examine the effect of framing on individual's productivity, we designed two versions of TimeAware, each with a different framing setting-one emphasizing productive activities (positive framing) and the other emphasizing distracting activities (negative framing), and conducted an eight-week deployment study (N = 24). We found a significant effect of framing on participants' productivity: only participants in the negative framing condition improved their productivity. The ambient widget seemed to help sustain engagement with data and enhance self-awareness. We discuss how to leverage framing effects to help people enhance their productivity, and how to design successful productivity monitoring tool.


This paper studies the cause of servo lag error in cam noncircular grinding process and conducts the quantitative calculation of these servo lag errors. Due to the characteristics of cam noncircular grinding, the influence of servo lag errors on the cam contour error can only be reduced rather than eliminated by adjusting the numerical control system parameters. RBF neural network is adopted to predict the processing errors for cam non-circular grinding and the predicted values of super finish grinding are utilized to compensate for machining errors. The test results show that the prediction model based on RBF network is of great benefit to improve the precision of cam non-circular grinding.


According to current social theory, global economic , political, social-cultural driving forces are res haping the way we organize our production and consumption. This would result in the dawn of the era of the New Geography. This might explain that in Western Europe the countryside is changing rapidly into an arena in which many different stakeholders compete for the land and the countryside becomes multifunctional in time and space. In this contribu tion, we will focus on one challenging aspect of th ese dynamics: the combination of an attractive develope d (pseudo) countryside, housing development and water-retention in the urbanized Netherlands. The c hallenge is to design an attractive and multifuncti onal area that is affordable for the state, for develope rs and the final consumer. Each of these stakeholde rs makes costs-benefit analyses as a part of a general risk-assessment procedure. This assessment has become important in the Netherlands due to deregulation politics. So, the question becomes: who pays f or public amenities with positive and negative spill-o ver effects? The National Institute of Public Health and the Env ironment (RIVM) is a state agency that develops and uses GIS-based evaluation models to assess risks. I t noticed that the valuation of housing nearby wate r was lacking in its models. It commissioned the Rese arch Institute for Housing, Urban and Mobility studies to review literature on the methodological aspects of the assumed relationships and to estimat e the part-utility/part-valuation of water nearby housing location. This estimation of the monetarized evalu ation (valuation in UK-English and appraisal in USA-English, price) by the final users, the housing consumer s, is a necessary step in this risk-assessment since t he value must at least be equal to the public and p rivate expenditures. We discuss a variety of methodological problems. We also suggest a switch from a market price equilibrium to a choice and preference equilibrium perspective. Using expert interviews and trade-offs of preferences in a multi-criteria/dimensional setting may overcome problems with conventional tools such as contingent valuation and revealed preferences me thods (hedonic, travel cost and input output approaches). Accepting that the reality is complex and fuzzy may in fact turn into strength, as the an alysis becomes more valid. We also question the vitality o f present spatial analytical models. The basic weakness of the GIS-models is that they assume spat ial objects to act, instead of regarding these obje cts as elements of an opportunity-set for stakeholders (agents). Multi-agent-models may seem promising means to combine the best of individual choice modeling and system-analytical GIS-models that link the micro-macro perspective. Key-words: Dynamics of the countryside, water retention, housi ng, spatial planning, GIS-models, valuation models.


Initial reports suggest that 99mTc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) scanning may be of clinical value in staging patients with malignant melanoma. We carried out a study to evaluate the potential of this technique in the detection of recurrent disease. Whole-body 99mTc-MIBI scans were performed in 81 patients with a history of a surgically excised MM: 28 with known recurrent lesions and 53 during followup without evidence of disease. Images started 10 min post-injection, using a dose of 740 MBq. Diagnoses were confirmed by cytological/histological examination or at least one conventional imaging modality. Blinded interpretations of the MIBI scans were performed. Whole-body MIBI scanning correctly detected 68 (92%) of 74 metastatic lesions in the following sites: regional lymph nodes (n=23), non-regional lymph nodes (n=10), skin (n=16), brain/cerebellum (n=6), lung (n=8), bone (n=4) and breast (n=1). The technique failed to detect three subcutaneous regressive lesions (< 1 cm), one liver metastasis, one spleen metastasis and a case of multiple small lesions of the duodenal mucous membrane. In 14 patients the procedure detected previously unknown metastatic lesions. These results suggest that 99mTc-MIBI scanning is an effective imaging modality for whole-body screening of metastatic disease in malignant melanoma patients with the potential to influence treatment planning.


Prediction of gene functions is a major challenge to biologists in the post-genomic era. Interactions between genes and their products compose networks and can be used to infer gene functions. Most previous studies used heuristic approaches based on either local or global information of gene interaction networks to assign unknown gene functions. In this study, we propose a graph kernel-based method that can capture the structure of gene interaction networks to predict gene functions. We conducted an experimental study on a test-bed of P53-related genes. The experimental results demonstrated better performance for our proposed method as compared with baseline methods.


Bacterial persister cells are quiescent, slow-growing or growth-arrested phenotypic variants of normal bacterial cells that are transiently tolerant to antibiotics. It seems that persister cells are the main cause of the recurrence of various chronic infections. Stress response (RpoS-mediated), toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems, inhibition of ATP production, reactive oxygen species (ROS), efflux pumps, bacterial SOS response, cell-to-cell communication and stringent response (ppGpp- mediated) are the primary potential mechanisms for persistence cell formation. However, eradicating persistent cells is challenging as the specific molecular mechanisms that initiate their formation remain fuzzy and unknown. Here we reviewed and summarized the current understanding of how bacterial persister cells are formed, controlled, and destroyed.


Consideration is given to convolution from an algebraic standpoint and several examples are presented that may be of interest to engineers. In particular, the authors show that convolution need not be associative. This result should cause some concern in the analysis of cascaded systems. Further, it is shown that convolution of nowhere-zero-bounded integrable functions could be everywhere zero. This result should be of interest to those attempting to identify the input to a linear time-invariant system via some operations on the output, such as in deconvolution problems. It shows a problem that may arise in the analysis of cascaded systems in that two linear time-invariant systems each characterized by convolution with a nowhere-zero function can, when cascaded, result in a no-pass filter. >


It is important to understand the physical processes contributed by the plasma injector in the development of an electrothermal-chemical (ETC) gun. To investigate basic properties of a capillary discharge, an injector was discharged in open air. Comparing the measured and the calculated plasma resistivities, the state of power balance was investigated. The capillary plasma discharged in open air showed large ejection of plasma without power-balancing, while the capillary plasma produced in the ETC gun experiment reaches near balanced steady-state as the pressure of the combustion chamber becomes appreciable. The ejected flames were monitored with a high-speed camera. Typically the observed flames were about 50 cm /spl sim/1 m long and 25 cm wide. To estimate temperature and density, a preliminary measurement of time-resolved spectra in the visible wavelength region was done.


The banks act as an intermediary to mobilize the excess fund of surplus sectors to provide necessary finance, to those sectors, which are needed to promote for the sound development of the economy. Credit management is a dynamic field where a certain standard of long-range planning is needed to allocate the fund in diverse field and to minimize the risk and maximizing the return on the invested fund. Credit risk grading technique is an important tool for credit management as it helps a bank to understand various dimensions of risk involved in different credit transactions. The main purpose of this study is to make possible suggestions to improve present credit situation prevailing in the banking sector in Bangladesh by analyzing a reputed commercial bank's credit activity. The study was undertaken to get an in depth idea of the credit appraisal system of a commercial bank and understand its importance. Beside this a case study of a well known commercial bank's credit appraisal and risk grading technique were also revealed to identify some problems as well as propose some suggestions in this regard. From the study it was evident that the bank, maintained standard credit management policy in the changing market situation to establish a set of credit management policy.


Use of iodinated contrast media (ICM) for angiography can result in contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). Gadolinium-based contrast media (GCM) have been used in angiography with a goal to reduce the incidence of CIN. We performed a retrospective analysis involving 85 patients with renal insufficiency who underwent 97 carotid artery angiography and stenting (CAAS) procedures with a combination of GCM and ICM. The incidence of peri-procedural death, Q wave myocardial infarction (QWMI), stroke and CIN were recorded. Patients in GCM group had worse preprocedure renal function compared to ICM group. There were no peri-procedural deaths or QWMI in both groups. The incidence of stroke was 2.2% in GCM group and 0% in ICM group. The incidence of CIN were similar in GCM and ICM groups (8.5% vs. 10%, respectively, p NS). However, the predicted risk of CIN was 18.5% for GCM group and 10.4% for ICM group. Use of GCM and ICM combination for CAAS resulted in a 50% reduction in the incidence of predicted CIN risk compared to ICM.


Load distribution factor at concrete girder bridges and steel girder bridges are analyzed with finite element method to see effect of span length and cross beam to load distribution factor. Span lengths of analyzed bridge models are 30m, 40m, 50m and 60m. The number of intermediate cross beam is increased from one to until distance between cross beams becomes 5m. The finite element analysis results show that concrete girder and steel girder can use same load distribution factor and span length doesn't affect to load distribution factor. Even though load distribution factor in interior girders is not influenced by cross beam, in exterior girders it is influenced by cross beam. Effect of cross beam in exterior girder is influenced by the number of lanes and distance from exterior girder to curb. Since design code introduces conservative load distribution factor, economically improved load distribution factor is proposed. The proposed load distribution factor includes cross beam effect with the number of lanes and distance from exterior girder to curb. The proposed equation is compared with AASHTO code and grillage method which is well-known method to calculate load distribution. The comparison results showed that the proposed equation is more efficient and useful than AASHTO and safer than the grillage method.


Tamoxifen is the most widely prescribed anticancer drug in the world. It not only improves overall survival and decreases recurrence from breast cancer, but has beneficial effects on bone density and lipid profiles. Unfortunately, tamoxifen carries disadvantages such as unpleasant side effects and a questionable connection to endometrial carcinoma. However, after intense debate, the general consensus among the medical community is that the benefits of tamoxifen far outweigh the risks. Nonetheless, resistance to tamoxifen has been seen both in the clinic and in the laboratory prompting investigators to look for new antiestrogens in the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. We report on three agents: toremifene (Fareston®), ICI 182, 780 (Faslodex®), and raloxifene (Evista®). Unfortunately, clinical studies comparing tamoxifen and toremifene in the treatment of breast cancer have not shown a clear advantage of toremifene over tamoxifen. ICI 182, 780 is a "pure antiestrogen" that carries a low incidence of side effects and may hold promise as an effective agent for patients who have failed tamoxifen therapy or even as primary adjuvant therapy. Raloxifene displays beneficial bone and cardiovascular effects without uterine stimulation. It is being used as an agent to prevent osteoporosis and holds promise as an agent for advanced breast cancer. We hope that these new antiestrogens will revolutionize the way we treat breast cancer.


Current systems used by the Tunisian national archives for the automatic transcription of archival documents are hindered by many issues related to the performance of the optical character recognition (OCR) tools. Indeed, using a classical OCR system to transcribe and index ancient Arabic documents is not a straightforward task due to the idiosyncrasies of this category of documents, such as noise and degradation. Thus, applying an enhancement method or a denoising technique remains an essential prerequisite step to ease the archival document image analysis task. The state-of-the-art methods addressing the use of degraded document image enhancement and denoising are mainly based on applying filters. The most common filtering techniques applied to color images in the literature may be categorized into four approaches: scalar, marginal, vector and hybrid. To provide a set of comprehensive guidelines on the strengths and weaknesses of these filtering approaches, a thorough comparative study is proposed in this article. Numerical experiments are carried out in this study on color archival document images to show and quantify the performance of each assessed filtering approach.