Introduction:
 Amyloidosis is a disorder where misfolded proteins get deposited in different tissues. The most common of them is immunoglobulin light chain (AL) deposition, otherwise known as AL amyloidosis. Cardiac involvement generally correlates with poor prognosis, and treatment options are limited if presented late. Novel disease-modifying agents are being studied in on-going trials to optimize treatment strategy. This review aims to summarize the updates on upcoming treatment options for AL amyloidosis, particularly involving the heart.
 Methodology:
 We performed a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, clinicaltrials.gov, and Cochrane databases (last updated on May 20, 2020). We used MeSH terms along with their keywords and combined their results. The literature search generated a total of 652 references. Two independent reviewers screened the articles and shortlisted 21 clinical trials that were included in our final review.
 Results:
 Monoclonal antibodies (daratumumab, isatuximab, elotuzumab and birtamimab) are being studied as monotherapy and combinations in relapsed/refractory (RR) AL amyloidosis. Despite good data on efficacy and safety, Daratumumab has not been approved yet in this category for advanced cardiac amyloidosis patients. Isatuximab showed the overall hematological response (HR) of 56% in phase I trial in a combination regimen and is now being evaluated as monotherapy in phase II. In a recent phase III trial of RR AL amyloidosis patients, the median progression-free survival was assessed over 24.5 months. It was increased from 14.9 months (lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone) to 19.4 months (elotuzumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone).
 Immunomodulators (lenalidomide, pomalidomide, thalidomide) are well studied for safety in other malignancies. Lenalidomide in various combinations has shown hematological response of greater than 60% in AL amyloidosis. Similarly, pomalidomide has shown an overall hematological response of 48-50% in two different early phase trials. Moreover, thalidomide was associated with significant toxicity in phase I/II trials and was discontinued.
 Second-generation proteasome inhibitors (ixazomib and carfilzomib) were assessed in RR cases of AL amyloidosis. Ixazomib achieved a hematological response of 52%. However, carfilzomib has been associated with cardiovascular toxicity and a higher risk of hospitalization in phase I trials, making it unsuitable.
 Venetoclax has shown encouraging results in multiple myeloma, particularly in t(11:14). 50% of AL amyloidosis cases have t(11:14) in whom venetoclax can be beneficial. A trial [NCT03000660] was suspended halfway citing clinical hold from regulatory authorities.
 Alkylating agents, mainly bendamustine, are currently under study after it showed a survival advantage in heavily pretreated cases [NCT01222260].
 Underexplored venues: Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have a favorable response and excellent toxicity profile in AL amyloidosis. Issues regarding half-life and delivery systems have limited their use. CAEL-101, a novel chimeric fibril-reactive monoclonal antibody (gG1κ 11-1F4), tolerated well with improved organ function in AL amyloidosis in an early phase trial where it improved global longitudinal strain from baseline -9.58 to -13.39. SB203580 + rapamycin combination works in synergy with the former inhibiting the p38 MAPK pathway markedly reducing the toxicity of light chain immunoglobulins on cardiac myocytes and the latter restoring the SB203580-induced autophagic dysregulation. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) was well tolerated and found non-inferior to standard chemotherapy in a small phase II trial [NCT01511263]. Serum amyloid P (SAP) is a chaperone protein in amyloid fibril formation. Anti-SAP antibodies have shown promising results with safe toxicity profile in phase I trial [NCT01777243] in non-cardiac involved patients. However, another trial in cardiac involved cases was terminated due to significant toxicity. Table 1
 Conclusion:
 Numerous drugs with novel mechanisms of actions are being studied, and results so far offer hope for improving the therapy & outcomes, especially in patients with cardiac involvement. The drug combination regimens lead to slow down the disease progression by interfering at multiple steps in the cascade of light chain synthesis, secretion, deposition, and organ clearance.

 Anwer: Incyte, Seattle Genetics, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie Pharma, Astellas Pharma, Celegene, Millennium Pharmaceuticals.: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.


Homomorphic encryption has progressed rapidly in both efficiency and versatility since its emergence in 2009. Meanwhile, a multitude of pressing privacy needs — ranging from cloud computing to healthcare management to the handling of shared databases such as those containing genomics data — call for immediate solutions that apply fully homomorpic encryption (FHE) and somewhat homomorphic encryption (SHE) technologies. Further progress towards these ends requires new ideas for the efficient implementation of algebraic operations on word-based (as opposed to bit-wise) encrypted data. Whereas handling data encrypted at the bit level leads to prohibitively slow algorithms for the arithmetic operations that are essential for cloud computing, the word-based approach hits its bottleneck when operations such as integer comparison are needed. In this work, we tackle this challenging problem, proposing solutions to problems — including comparison and division — in word-based encryption via a leveled FHE scheme. We present concrete performance figures for all proposed primitives.


The bone health is an important part of healthy-life and longevity in general. The present study was investigated to see the effect of the Biofield Energy Healing (The Trivedi Effect®) on the human bone osteosarcoma cells - MG-63 (ATCC® CRL-1427™) for the assessment of bone cell proliferation and differentiation in vitro. The study parameters were assessed using cell viability by MTT, collagen synthesis, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) on bone health using ELISA-based assay. The cell viability assay data showed significant response in all the tested groups; while in the Biofield Energy Treated group supplemented with 10% charcoal-dextran treated fetal bovine serum (CD-FBS) (G3) showed better response (increased 63%) in terms of cells proliferation compared to the untreated cell group (G1). The level of ALP was increased by 32% in the G3 group compared to the untreated cells group (G1). Additionally, the level of collagen synthesis was increased by 27% in the G3 group compared to the G1 group. The overall results demonstrated that the Biofield Energy Treatment has the potential for bone mineralization and bone growth as evident via increased levels of collagen and ALP. Therefore, the Biofield Energy Healing (The Trivedi Effect®) Treatment might be useful as a bone health promoter for various bone-related disorders like low bone density, osteogenesis imperfecta, and osteoporosis.


This paper reports on the RF design of multi-band bandpass filters (BPFs) along with a simple tuning method to obtain multiple levels of transfer-function reconfigurability. The proposed multi-band BPF concept is based on multi-resonant cells that are incorporated within the two transversal paths of a doublet. It is shown that by solely reconfiguring the resonant frequencies of its constituent resonators, multiple quasi-elliptic-type passbands can be created and controlled in terms of: i) center frequency, ii) bandwidth, and iii) number through their intrinsic RF switching and/or merging. In addition, the proposed filter concept allows for the realization of i) an all-reject state and ii) a single-band BPF state with >5.1:1 BW tuning. The theoretical design principles of the multi-band BPF approach are presented by means of coupling routing diagrams and synthesized examples. For proof-of-concept demonstration purposes, a tri-band BPF microstrip prototype was designed, manufactured, and measured.


Optical lithography systems are being pushed closer to their perceived diffraction limits as minimum feature sizes of integrated circuits (IC) continue to decrease. Phaseshifting masks have been used to improve the resolution of photolithography without modification to exposure systems. A laser direct write system is a lithographic tool which performs direct patterning on microelectronic devices. With this system, any circuit design on CAD basis will be transferred onto a wafer or substrate where the photoresist layer is exposed with the high precision laser beam. However, the direct writing resolution is limited by the laser beam diameter. This thesis presents research which attempts to combine phase shift techniques and laser direct write technology to achieve very high resolution photolithography useful for the semiconductor industry. The goal of this thesis is to develop a model of phaseshifting effects on a gaussian laser beam, which is different from traditional uniform beams in existing phase shifting techniques of photolithography. The ability to write smaller features can be achieved by using this approach to decrease the laser beam diameter. In this thesis, a simulation model has been proposed and simulated using Matlab with Fourier diffraction theory. Simulation results were verified experimentally through the direct measurement of focused laser spots and indirect measurement of photoresist exposures with a laser direct write system. The experiment also covers Phase-shifting Mask design and fabrication. Both simulation and experimental results are presented.


In this feature guest writers Michael Raynor and Jenny Craven from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) present an overview of their evaluative research study on the value and impact of the information skills training courses they provide at NICE. In particular, this small study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative data to look beyond satisfaction and confidence levels and identify whether learning had actually taken place as a result of attending the sessions, and how new skills were used by the attendees in their day-to-day work. H.S.


Biofilms play an essential role in chronic and healthcare-associated infections and are more resistant to antimicrobials compared to their planktonic counterparts due to their (1) physiological state, (2) cell density, (3) quorum sensing abilities, (4) presence of extracellular matrix, (5) upregulation of drug efflux pumps, (6) point mutation and overexpression of resistance genes, and (7) presence of persister cells. The genes involved and their implications in antimicrobial resistance are well defined for bacterial biofilms but are understudied in fungal biofilms. Potential therapeutics for biofilm mitigation that have been reported include (1) antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, (2) antimicrobial lock therapy, (3) antimicrobial peptides, (4) electrical methods, and (5) antimicrobial coatings. These approaches exhibit promising characteristics for addressing the impending crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Recently, advances in the micro- and nanotechnology field have propelled the development of novel biomaterials and approaches to combat biofilms either independently, in combination or as antimicrobial delivery systems. In this review, we will summarize the general principles of clinically important microbial biofilm formation with a focus on fungal biofilms. We will delve into the details of some novel micro- and nanotechnology approaches that have been developed to combat biofilms and the possibility of utilizing them in a clinical setting.


The authors describe a newly developed advanced 8-bit single-chip microcomputer applicable for system and servo controls for various VCRs that consist of multifunctional hardware by means of 1.2- mu m CMOS technology. They describe the architecture of the microcomputer, the fundamental algorithm, and the advanced technology for servo control software. The application of the system is also discussed. >


This paper is devoted to a review of recent progresses concerning the computation of the Casimir force between two parallel plates delimitating a polymer blend or a ternary polymer solution (with a good solvent). We assume that, close to the consolute point, one or the two polymers of the mixture are strongly attracted by the plates (critical adsorption). For both systems, the induced force originates from the fluctuations of composition near the consolute point. In polymer blends case, it was found that the force decreases with separation L between the two plates as L-4, with a known universal amplitude. For ternary polymer solutions, however, it has been shown that the interaction force decays rather as L-3. This drastic change of the force expression is due to the presence of the good solvent, which gives rise to additional fluctuations of polymer concentration. To do calculations, for the two systems, use is made of the standard j4-theory, where the field j is the order parameter or composition fluctuation.


The purpose of this article is to analyze how the degree of independence of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) influences the level of budget deficit for the countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Africa Centrale (CEMAC) over the period 1994-2016. To do this, we rely on the statutory and rotational indicators of central bank governors developed by the literature, as well as on the econometrics of panel data. The results of the estimates indicate a mixed relationship between degree of independence and level of budget deficit. This result can be interpreted as an absence of constraint on fiscal policy, or as the partial assumption of cyclical stabilization by the central bank even when it is independent. It can also be interpreted as an absence of obligation for the budgetary policy to take charge of the cyclical adjustment. These results nevertheless confirm that the average orientation of fiscal policy is determined more by the budget procedure itself than by the statutes and the government of BEAC.


The roasting process is one of the critical points to obtain a product of the highest quality with certain sensorial properties including the aroma of coffee. Samples of coffee beans were roasted at different thermal treatment intensities with the aim of obtaining aromatic compounds detected with an electronic device. Sensory analysis, volatile compound profiling, and electronic nose analysis were carried out. Through principal component analysis (95.8% of the total variance of the data was explained by PC1 and PC2) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (the sum of the diagonal elements gave a hit rate of 94%), it could be demonstrated that the E-nose is able to discriminate roasted coffee beans subjected to different thermal treatments. Aromatic profiling was carried out by a testing panel and volatile compounds (VOCs) for the discrimination of roasted coffee samples. Alcohols, aromatics, esters, ketones and furanone were found in higher proportions in samples at the lowest thermal treatment. The VOCs with positive attributes were 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-3-phenylamino-propenone, carboxylic acids, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, and 2-phenylethyl alcohol, while the compounds with negative ones were 2-methyl-furan, 2,5-dimethyl-pyridine, 2-methyl-butanal, and 2-furfurylthiol. The PLS model allows for the quantification of the positive and negative aromas (RCV2 = 0.92) of roasted coffee by using the E-nose. Therefore, the E-nose, that is, an inexpensive and nondestructive instrument, could be a chemometric tool able to discriminate between different qualities of coffee during processing.


Climate change is today a major threat to sustainable development, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, that is anticipated to be most vulnerable because of low adaptive capacity and high dependency on climate sensitive resources such as water resources and ecological systems. This paper highlights the local dimension of adaptation to climate change and the importance of local knowledge in adaptation planning. Generally, adaptation and mitigation are the main known approaches to address climate threats. Indeed, climate change is an international concern, while the benefits of adaptation are local, as opposed to mitigation. Also like climate, climate change adaptation is a dynamic and evolving process which the main determinant is the degree of vulnerability. A case study of farmers' strategies for adapting to climate vulnerability in the low valley of Ouémé showed that local people have developed a remarkable ability to adapt to climate threats, or in some cases have turned threats into opportunities. From fishing practices to agricultural techniques through agro-fishing practices, people of low valley of Ouémé managed to take advantage of their natural vulnerability through adaptation strategies mainly based on local knowledge. In fact, the trend of these local strategies confirms the dynamic nature of adaptation to climate change mainly determined by the extent of vulnerability caused by continued depletion of the environment. But given that this dynamic can sometimes lead to maladaptation, it is necessary that local people are assisted in their coping strategies, even if a synergy is needed between local institutions and national and international framework for the successful adaptation to climate change.


Strombolian eruptions, common at basaltic volcanoes, are mildly explosive events that are driven by a large bubble of magmatic gas (a slug) rising up the conduit and bursting at the surface. Gas overpressure within the bursting slug governs explosion dynamics and vigor and is the main factor controlling associated acoustic and seismic signals. We present a theoretical investigation of slug overpressure based on magma-static and geometric considerations and develop a set of equations that can be used to calculate the overpressure in a slug when it bursts, slug length at burst, and the depth at which the burst process begins. We find that burst overpressure is controlled by two dimensionless parameters: V', which represents the amount of gas in the slug, and A', which represents the thickness of the film of magma that falls around the rising slug. Burst overpressure increases nonlinearly as V' and A' increase. We consider two eruptive scenarios: (1) the "standard model," in which magma remains confined to the vent during slug expansion, and (2) the " overflow model," in which slug expansion is associated with lava effusion, as occasionally observed in the field. We find that slug overpressure is higher for the overflow model by a factor of 1.2-2.4. Applying our model to typical Strombolian eruptions at Stromboli, we find that the transition from passive degassing to explosive bursting occurs for slugs with volume >24-230 m(3), depending on magma viscosity and conduit diameter, and that at burst, a typical Strombolian slug (with a volume of 100-1000 m(3)) has an internal gas pressure of 1-5 bars and a length of 13-120 m. We compare model predictions with field data from Stromboli for low-energy " puffers," mildly explosive Strombolian eruptions, and the violently explosive 5 April 2003 paroxysm. We find that model predictions are consistent with field observations across this broad spectrum of eruptive styles, suggesting a common slug-driven mechanism; we propose that paroxysms are driven by unusually large slugs (large V').


Abstract: Many mammalian species are facing extinction due to problems created by human encroachment, agriculture, pollution, and willful slaughter. Among those at risk are the Asian and African elephant, Sumatran rhinoceros, and giant panda. Conservation groups try to save species in the wild by preserving habitat and limiting animal‐human conflicts, often with limited success. Another alternative is to preserve the extant gene pool through captive breeding as a hedge against extinction. Measurement of circulating reproductive hormones is impractical for most wildlife species; determination of urinary or fecal hormone metabolites provides a more viable approach. To aid breeding management, one important tool is the ability to diagnose and monitor pregnancy, especially in species with long gestations (e.g., rhinos over 15 mo and elephants over 20 mo). Unfortunately, measuring progestins often is not useful diagnostically, because concentrations are similar during at least part of the pregnancy and the nonpregnant luteal phase in some species (e.g., elephants, rhinoceroses, and giant pandas). As serum relaxin reliably distinguishes between pregnancy and pseudopregnancy in bitches, relaxin measurement might also provide a method for detecting a successful pregnancy in endangered species. Appropriate immunoassay reagents have enabled the estimation of relaxin concentrations in the serum of elephants and rhinos and the determination of pregnancy establishment and the outcome. Relaxin was also detected in panda serum and urine. However, the extreme variability of the time between observed mating and parturition and the confounding factors of delayed implantation, pseudopregnancy, and frequent fetal resorptions made it impossible to use the panda relaxin data as a specific marker of pregnancy.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006

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Efficiency and specificity of gene delivery to tumors are still major concerns in cancer gene therapy. We have previously used regional ionizing radiation to improve adenovirus uptake and to enhance gene expression in intrahepatic tumors (Zhang, M, et al . Mol Ther. 2003, 8:21-28; Qian, J, et al . Cancer Res. 2005, 65:5493-5497). However, non-specific gene expression and cytotoxicity in normal liver through systemic viral injection is still inevitable. Here, we explore the potentials of radiation in improving gene delivery by a virus-mimicking nanostructure complex, transferrin (Tf)-cationic liposome-DNA complex (Tf-lipoplex) (Liang, Xu, et al . Human Gene Ther. 2002, 13:469-481). Tf-lipoplex cocondensated with plasmid encoding CMV-GFP (Tf-lipoplex-GFP) was highly efficient in transducing various cancer cell lines of lung (LLC1, H1299), colon (CT26, LoVo), prostate (PC3), liver (HepG2) as well as normal cells including hepatocyte (WB), colon epithelium (NCM460), and macrophage (MH-S). Pre-treatment of cells with radiation significantly increased GFP expression (folds) in WB (4.09), LLC1 (3.46), H1299 (2.19), HepG2 (2.15), and CT26 (2.10) in a radiation dose-dependent manner. These inductions were most effective when Tf-lipoplex-GFP was applied immediately after radiation and were diminished mostly by a 24-h delayed transfection. In contrast, radiation failed to induce GFP expression in all cells transduced by a Tf-deficient complex (Liposome-GFP) regardless of radiation doses and time, suggesting that Tf receptor-mediated internalization of the complex may be activated during radiation. Consistently, radiation on cells pre-incubated with Tf-lipoplex-GFP had no effects on gene expression. Radiation-induced transgene expression in tumor was further investigated in mice bearing subcutaneous LLC1 tumors by using complex containing plasmid encoding CMV-LacZ gene (Tf-lipoplex-LacZ). Regional radiation followed by intravenous injection of complex markedly induced LacZ expression in tumor xenografts in a radiation dose-dependent fashion while no or minimal LacZ expression was observed in normal liver, or lung and spleen. Furthermore, LacZ-containing DNA contents in irradiated tumors were increased in correlation with increased LacZ expression, suggesting that radiation may induce complex uptake in tumors. We conclude that radiation improves Tf-lipoplex gene delivery in tumors both in vitro and in vivo . These findings should provide us insight in developing ligand-specific liposome complex for targeted gene delivery for human cancer gene therapy.


Bacıyan-ı Rum (Anatolian Sisters Organization) is known as the world's first women's organization in history, but very few pieces of literature exist about this medieval organization. Thus, the aim was to reach up to all available historical documents about the topic and systematically analyze the nature and function of such an organization in the medieval era. Preliminary findings show that no written documents existed in English nor other languages except the Turkish language. It was also observed that this topic has emerged as an exciting area for many disciplines in recent times, leading to a sudden development of recent write-ups on such a topic. Therefore, this paper aims to introduce and explore the historical antecedent and functions of Bacıyan-ı Rum Organization to readers and other professionals interested in history, ethics, women, and gender studies. Kinds of literature were reviewed across history, economics, politics, travelogues, art, sociology, and anthropology to provide an extensive and detailed understanding of such a remarkable phenomenal women organization that existed in the Islamic world of the Medieval Era in Anatolia, Turkey.


This study investigated the effects of formal singing lessons on subcortical auditory responses in children with central auditory processing disorders (CAPD). Eleven school aged children (7-11 years old) participated in the study. Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were recorded using click and speech stimuli (/da/) before and after 6 months of singing lessons. The lessons included curriculum specifically designed to address deficits in pitch and timing perception as seen in children with CAPD. Results revealed delayed latencies in CAPD children before and after singing lessons compared to the normative data developed for children with normal auditory function. However, no significant latency differences were observed after the six to eight months of singing lessons. Significantly larger amplitudes were observed for Wave A and the VA slope after musical training. A trend for larger amplitude was also observed for Wave O. Enriched auditory experiences have a profound influence on how sound is processed in the brain. The data of the present study suggest that efficacy of formal singing lessons can be demonstrated by speech-ABR in children with CAPD. The magnitude of the onset and off-set of the speech-ABR response improved after the six to eight months of formal auditory (music) training. Subcortical response amplitude could be more sensitive than latencies to demonstrate the positive effect of singing lessons. However, this duration would be insufficient to reveal an improvement for the neural timing (latency).


The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to periodically review registrants' filings. This study examines whether the SEC review process reveals information that is useful to stakeholders' risk assessment decisions, beyond information available in other public filings. We use private debt contracting because there are delays in the public disclosure of SEC review correspondence, and because banks have access to private information about borrowers' ongoing regulatory reviews or investigations. Using within sample and difference-in-differences analyses, and controlling for firm characteristics and other publicly available information at the time of the SEC review, we find that banks charge higher loan spreads to clients during and after an SEC review, and that the increase in loan spreads is higher when the review identifies material errors, issues subject to managerial discretion, and issues related to collateral valuation. These findings suggest that lenders find the information revealed during the SEC review process to be useful in debt contracting, beyond information available in 10-K and other public filings.


Discussions of economic growth usually focus on differences in growth performance. The rapid growth of the 1960s is typically contrasted with the slowdown of the 1970s and 1980s. We contrast the super growth of Asia with the sluggish growth of the European and North-American economies and the economic regression of Africa. In Australian policy discussions, it is particularly common to contrast our comparatively modest rate of economic growth over the past 20 years with the dynamic performance of the leading East-Asian economies. From this perspective, it is natural to examine the institutional and policy differences between countries in order to isolate those features that mark the successful growth economies. From there it is typically a short, albeit courageous step, to advocating adoption of those policies and institutions that appear to be stamped with the hallmark of success. I want to suggest that it is also possible to view the post-war evidence in a rather different light, one that emphasises similarities rather than differences. It is possible to view a substantial part of the development record over the past 40 years, in particular the growth experience of the Asian, European and OECD economies, as following a common development path of take-off, acceleration and subsequent maturation and slowdown. Of course, at any one time, countries and regions are at different stages of development, but there are strong similarities in the rate of progress along the path of industrialisation and technical progress.


Exposure of early third instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster to a nonlethal dose of ethanol was detrimental to larvae lacking alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) but beneficial to wild-type larvae in terms of surviving a later ethanol tolerance test, indicating that one of the important functions of the ADH system is to supply derivatives of ethanol to larvae that in turn promote ethanol tolerance. High intracellular concentrations of ethanol in ADH-deficient (Adhn2) larvae fed ethanol were accompanied by a decrease in the cell membrane infoldings of fat body cells, suggesting that the capacities to absorb and release molecules were reduced. Marked effects of ethanol on the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria of ADH-deficient larvae were also evident. The absence of similar changes in wild-type larvae that were fed moderate levels of ethanol showed that the ADH system kept the intracellular level of ethanol at a concentration low enough to avoid cell damage. A cytometric analysis of electron micrographs showed that there were ethanol-induced reductions in glycogen, lipid, and protein stores in the fat body cells of ADH-deficient larvae fed 1.25% ethanol (v/v) compared with null larvae fed an ethanol-free diet. This finding implied that the capacities to synthesize or store these compounds may be limited by high intracellular concentrations of ethanol. The cytometric analysis also revealed that the consumption of diets containing 2.5% and 4.5% ethanol by Canton-S wild-type larvae for 3 days after 4 days of feeding on an ethanol-free diet resulted in decreases in glycogen and protein deposits in fat body cells, but increased the amount of lipid deposits compared to larvae fed an ethanol-free diet. This observation, coupled with the greater weight of wild-type adults that were fed a growth-limiting concentration of ethanol compared with control adults, suggested that a metabolic defense mechanism in larvae is to convert toxic ethanol to nontoxic storage products. Dietary ethanol alone and in combination with isopropanol stimulated an increase in the size of the NAD-pool in larvae, a condition that may favor the activity of ADH. A low dietary level of isopropanol (1%) completely blocked glycogen deposition in wild-type larvae, whereas ethanol did not. Thus ethanol and isopropanol exert some different toxic effects on larval fat bodies.


A dramatic reduction in soil frost depth has been reported for Hokkaido Island of northern Japan over the last 20 years. Since soil frost strongly affects snowmelt infiltration and runoff, the reduction in frost depth may have altered the water and nutrient cycles in this region. A paired‐plot experiment was conducted in an agricultural field in Tokachi, Hokkaido, to compare the movement of soil water at different frost depths, controlled by manipulating the depth of snow cover. Snow was removed to enhance soil freezing in the treatment plot and was undisturbed in the control plot. The soil froze to a maximum depth of 0.43 m under the treatment plot and 0.11 m under the control plot. During the freezing period, the amount of upward soil water flux toward the freezing front in the treatment plot was more than double that in the control plot. During the snowmelt period, infiltration of meltwater was unimpeded by the thin frozen layer in the control plot, whereas the relatively thick frozen layer in the treatment plot impeded infiltration and generated 63 mm of runoff. These results clearly show that the changes in the timing and thickness of snow cover deposition can cause a dramatic reduction of frost depth and change in the soil water dynamics.


The Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) is a multidisciplinary international scientific project that seeks to understand the functioning of Amazonia as a unique ecosystem. The AGU monograph Amazonia and Global Change, edited by Michael Keller, Mercedes Bustamante, John Gash, and Pedro Silva Dias, synthesizes the results of the study. In this interview, Eos talks with micrometeorologist John Gash, who specializes in measuring and modeling evaporation from forests. He is a senior researcher in the Department of Hydrology and Geo-environmental Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and an honorary research fellow at the U.K. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.


Climate change poses fundamental and varied challenges to all communities across the globe. The adaptation and mitigation strategies proposed by governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are likely to require radical and fundamental shifts in socio-political structures, technological and economic systems, organisational forms, and modes of regulation. The sheer volume of law and policy emanating from the international level makes it uncertain which type of regulatory or policy framework is likely to have a positive impact. The success or failure of proposed measures will depend on their acceptability within the local constituencies within which they are sought to be applied. Therefore there is an urgent need to better comprehend and theorise the role of cultural legitimacy in the choice and effectiveness of international legal and policy interventions aimed at tackling the impact of climate change.

The book brings together papers from experts on the subject who participated at an international interdisciplinary conference at the University Surrey and presents perspectives from different disciplines on the issue of international climate change law and policy. Beginning from the premise that legitimacy critiques of international climate change regulation have the capacity to positively influence policy trends and legal choices, the book showcases innovative ideas from across the disciplines and investigate the link between the efficacy of international legal and policy mechanisms on climate change and cultural legitimacy.


In wireless communication systems the most important issue to be considered is the ability of the receiver to detect the errors and correct them from the received information, so as to provide correct information data to the processor. A number of different methods are available to implement the hardware and software with such preference. But, when the length of the communication link becomes very long, i.e., the distance between the wireless transmitter and receiver is very large, the effect of noise on the transmitted signal may cause a change in multiple bits of the transmitted information. This can cause drastic loss in many cases. In this brief a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based design and simulation of Golay Code (G23) and Extended Golay Code (G24) Encoding scheme are presented. This work is based on the optimization of the time delay of the operational circuit to encode a data packet using the Golay Encoder. General Terms Golay code, extended golay code, encoderAlgorithm, Decoder algorithm, Xilinx ISE


Purpose – This paper aims to study individuals in international relations especially private individuals in global politics. Therefore the paper focuses on analyzing the case of Mark Zuckerberg the founder and chief executive of Facebook who affects the international arena. The paper illustrates Zuckerberg's strategies to assert wide influence and power within Facebook's network and through multiple networks. Design/methodology/approach – The paper follows new theories of studying the human agent in international relations, concentrating on private individuals as new actors in international relations (IR). Thus, depending on "network making power theory" and the "three-dimensional power perspectives; (discursive, structural and instrumental)", the paper illustrates the case of Mark Zuckerberg as a private entrepreneur and his authority in the era of social media dominance with a focus on: Zuckerberg's discursive/ ideational power strategy. Zuckerberg's strategy to work as a switcher through multiple networks. The most obvious one is the Facebook network, through which he can assert global influence. Findings – Formal state officials are not the only type of individuals who can affect international relations. Technological evolution has empowered private individuals as influential actors in international relations (IR). Interdisciplinary approaches became essential tools in studying new actors affecting IR. There are new patterns of power linked to individuals without formal positions. Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and global philanthropist, is considered an influential actor in IR depending on programming and switching strategies to assert his power in a networked world. Originality/value – This paper is able to prove that there are new forms of power which belong to private individuals in a networkedworld.


Background Immune response plays a crucial role in virus clearance during COVID-19 infection and underpins vaccine efficacy. Herein, we aimed to assess the immune response during COVID-19 infection and following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Methods In this retrospective study, 94 confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit were categorized into unvaccinated patients (n = 50), including 33 deceased and 17 discharged patients, and vaccinated group (n = 44) with 26 deceased and 18 discharged patients. Records of patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to the ICU between March, 2021 and March, 2022 were gathered and analyzed. Result The assessment of immune cell counts revealed a large rise of neutrophils associated to decrease number of lymphocytes in patients with COVID-19 infection. In dead patients, we detected a significant correlation between neutrophils and inflammatory parameters such as IL-6 and CRP. Moreover, analysis of immune cell count following vaccination did not reveal any significant difference. However, the most substantial result, herein, detected is the decrease level of IL-6 in vaccinated patients as compared to unvaccinated. The reduce level of IL-6 following vaccination is observed in discharged patients as compared to deceased. Regarding the level of mortality after vaccination, we showed that all patients who received the first dose were died (46.1%, n = 12) as compared to those who have received two doses (34.6%, n = 9) and the third dose of vaccine (19.23%, n = 3) (p=0.0018). Strikingly, studying the inflammatory parameters after each vaccine dose, we revealed a significant decrease of IL-6 level after the booster dose (third dose), especially in vaccinated discharged patients. Conclusions Neutrophils combined with IL-6 and CRP can be very useful markers to predict disease severity in patients admitted to ICU. The decrease level of IL-6 in vaccinated group pointed out the impact of vaccination to prevent inflammatory cytokine release.


Recent work attributes progress in NLP to large language models (LMs) with increased model size and large quantities of pretraining data. Despite this, current state-of-the-art LMs for Hebrew are both under-parameterized and under-trained compared to LMs in other languages. Additionally, previous work on pretrained Hebrew LMs focused on encoder-only models. While the encoder-only architecture is beneficial for classification tasks, it does not cater well for sub-word prediction tasks, such as Named Entity Recognition, when considering the morphologically rich nature of Hebrew. In this paper we argue that sequence-to-sequence generative architectures are more suitable for LLMs in the case of morphologically rich languages (MRLs) such as Hebrew. We demonstrate that by casting tasks in the Hebrew NLP pipeline as text-to-text tasks, we can leverage powerful multilingual, pretrained sequence-to-sequence models as mT5, eliminating the need for a specialized, morpheme-based, separately fine-tuned decoder. Using this approach, our experiments show substantial improvements over previously published results on existing Hebrew NLP benchmarks. These results suggest that multilingual sequence-to-sequence models present a promising building block for NLP for MRLs.


By linearizing the density of both the pumpand probe-excited states and neglecting the overlap between femtosecond laser pulses, the Kubo response theory is extended to describe pump-probe experiments. The main advantages of this response scheme is that although second order responses are included, it formally remains a linear theory and therefore all obtained expressions can be implemented straightforwardly within any standard band structure method, e.g., based on a Green's function approach. In particular, even the time-dependent zeroth order dynamic conductivity as obtained by means of the spin-polarized relativistic screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method for fcc Nis100d predicts a relatively slow demagnetization process over 100 fs after the impact of the probe pulse, which is in reasonably good agreement with available experimental data.


Background Molluscs are the most diverse marine phylum and this high diversity has resulted in considerable taxonomic problems. Because the number of species in Canadian oceans remains uncertain, there is a need to incorporate molecular methods into species identifications. A 648 base pair segment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene has proven useful for the identification and discovery of species in many animal lineages. While the utility of DNA barcoding in molluscs has been demonstrated in other studies, this is the first effort to construct a DNA barcode registry for marine molluscs across such a large geographic area. Methodology/Principal Findings This study examines patterns of DNA barcode variation in 227 species of Canadian marine molluscs. Intraspecific sequence divergences ranged from 0–26.4% and a barcode gap existed for most taxa. Eleven cases of relatively deep (>2%) intraspecific divergence were detected, suggesting the possible presence of overlooked species. Structural variation was detected in COI with indels found in 37 species, mostly bivalves. Some indels were present in divergent lineages, primarily in the region of the first external loop, suggesting certain areas are hotspots for change. Lastly, mean GC content varied substantially among orders (24.5%–46.5%), and showed a significant positive correlation with nearest neighbour distances. Conclusions/Significance DNA barcoding is an effective tool for the identification of Canadian marine molluscs and for revealing possible cases of overlooked species. Some species with deep intraspecific divergence showed a biogeographic partition between lineages on the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific coasts, suggesting the role of Pleistocene glaciations in the subdivision of their populations. Indels were prevalent in the barcode region of the COI gene in bivalves and gastropods. This study highlights the efficacy of DNA barcoding for providing insights into sequence variation across a broad taxonomic group on a large geographic scale.


wide. In 1931 Conti Rossini explained hbl and hmr as two classes of deities while in this book both are given the meaning of treaty, alliance. The chief gods were the moon, Venus, and the sun ; the moon had different names in the several kingdoms, but not so the other two. In addition there were many minor gods. The survey of the field is well nigh exhaustive ; the phrase dt/t'nt/'ttr is not mentioned, it seems to refer to a female partner of 'Athtar. There are several misprints; it is only surprising that there are not more. A foundation has been well and truly laid for future scholars to build on.


Software reliability is heavily impacted by software changes. ow do these changes relate to each other? By analyzing the impacted method definitions and usages, we determine dependencies between changes, resulting in a change genealogy that captures how earlier changes enable and cause later ones. Model checking this genealogy reveals temporal process patterns that encode key features of the software process such as pending development activities: "Whenever class A is changed, its test case is later updated as well." Such patterns can be validated automatically: In an evaluation of four open source histories, our prototype would recommend pending activities with a precision of 60â€"72%.


The purpose of this paper is to examine the long-term economic outcomes (education, labor force participation, occupation, and income) associated with female adolescent marriage and childbearing. The 1981 Canadian census is the data source for all women in Canada at age 30, controlling for age at marriage and at first birth. The data suggest that women at age 30 in Canada are in the best economic circumstances when they remain single or when they marry at age 20 or older and either remain childless or begin their childbearing at age 25 or older. The implications of these findings are discussed.


Background: The parent's awareness about chronic disabling disease in their children definitely distresses the parents. Children of such parents show behavior & cognitive disturbances with long term negative impact on the family. Objective: The present study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of depression in parents of disabled children. Methods: Following a cross-sectional study, 50 parents of children with chronic disease as target group & 50 parents of children with an acute disease as control group were selected randomly, they were asked to take part in a structured interview & their depression's score was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Data analysis was performed by Student's t test and ANOVA using SPSS software. Results: Depression scores were higher in those who had a child with chronic disease than in the control group (P<0.001).  Depression scores were also higher in those who had a leukemic child than other non-leukemic chronic disease (P<0.002).  Lower socioeconomic (SES) & parents with lower education level also showed a higher level of depression. Conclusion: When comparing psychopathology in parents of children with chronic disease with that of children with an acute disease, significant differences were observed in depression level.  This study emphasizes the necessity of active psychosocial intervention in those parents who have disabled children.


Hot forging process is a conventional method used for metal forming to meet the demands for lower production costs and shorter times. Forging die is an important part for the hot forging industry. Hot forging dies are exposed to wear and fatigue owing to being continuously under thermal effects and cyclic mechanical loads. Failures of these components leads to serious problems in terms of expected service life of the die and therefore manufacturing cost of the product. Most of the hot forging dies failures are caused due to inadequacy of die materials, die design, die manufacturing or forging operations. Insufficient forging ratio, insufficient cleanliness and heat treatment of the dies, small corner radius, shortage of the die width and thickness, inadequate surface treatment, weld reparation of the die surface, insufficient pre-heating, inadequate die face and lubrication are the major factors that lead to failure of the hot forging dies that are used in the metal forming process. In this study, main types of damages on industrial upper and lower hot forging dies for the hot forging operations and reasons of these mentioned above failures were investigated and evaluated by visually inspecting several different samples. Solutions were also suggested for the each hot forging die failure case.


Objective To explore the effects of 8-week aerobic interval training on cardiac function and physical fitness in obese teenagers and to provide evidence for formulating special exercise prescription for obse teenagers.Methods Forty male obese teenagers(BMI ≥ 25) were randomly divided into control group(n=20) and exercise group(n=20).People in exercise group conducted a 8-week(twice per week,50-60 min per session) aerobic interval training and people in control group maintained their routine lifestyle.The heart rate(RHR),systolic blood pressure(SBP),diastolic blood pressure(DBP),maximal oxygen uptake(VO2max),percentage of body fat and cardiac function parameters including left ventricular end-systolic volume(LVESV),left ventricular end-diastolic volume(LVEDV),stroke volume(SV),cardiac output(CO),fractional shortening(FS) and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) were determined by echocardiography before and after the intervention in two groups.Results There were no significantly differences of indicators between two groups before test.After test,the percentage of body fat,RHR and SBP in exercise group were decreased(P0.05 or P0.01);VO2max was increased(P0.01);the LVEDV,SV,LVEF and FS were elevated(P0.05 or P0.01) and CO had no significant difference compared with before test;but the indexes in control group showed no significant changes.The percentage of body fat,RHR and SBP in exercise group after test were lower than those in control group(P0.05 or P0.01);VO2max,LVEDV,SV,LVEF and FS were higher than those in control group(P0.05 or P0.01).Conclusion Aerobic interval training may improve cardiac function and physical fitness in obese teenagers.


Prescription charts are not designed with the task of programing medical devices in mind [cf. 1]. This is surprising because we know that charts need to be consulted for programing values. This paper summarizes what we know about chart design, and then reflects on what we do not know. In order to design charts that facilitate programming, we need a better understanding of how they are used in hospitals. We cannot only ask nurses about how they use them since they may omit information about context and clinical practice. We discuss approaches that we plan to use to obtain the required understanding.


I/sub DDQ/ test is a valuable test method for semiconductor manufacturers. However, its effectiveness is reduced for deep sub-micron technology chips due to rising background leakage. Current two test methods that promise to extend the life of I/sub DDQ/ test are Current Ratio and Delta-I/sub DDQ/. Although several studies have been reported on these methods, their effectiveness in detecting defects has not been contrasted. In this work, we compare these two methods using industrial test data.


This paper addresses the problem of direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation for constant modulus (CM) source signals using a uniform or sparse linear array. Existing methods typically exploit either the Vandermonde structure of the steering matrix or the CM structure of source signals only. In this paper, we propose a structured matrix recovery technique (SMART) for CM DOA estimation via fully exploiting the two structures. In particular, we reformulate the highly nonconvex CM DOA estimation problems in the noiseless and noisy cases as equivalent rank-constrained Hankel-Toeplitz matrix recovery problems, in which the Vandermonde structure is captured by a series of Hankel-Toeplitz block matrices, of which the number equals the number of snapshots, and the CM structure is guaranteed by letting the block matrices share a same Toeplitz submatrix. The alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is applied to solve the resulting rank-constrained problems and the DOAs are uniquely retrieved from the numerical solution. Extensive simulations are carried out to corroborate our analysis and confirm that the proposed SMART outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of the maximum number of locatable sources and statistical efficiency.


To investigate the dimensions and determinants of posttraumatic growth among Chinese cancer survivors, 188 participants were asked to complete a Chinese posttraumatic growth inventory, translated from the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI; J Trauma Stress 1996; 9: 455–471), together with the Chinese versions of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, the Mini‐Mental Adjustment to Cancer scale, and the General Health Questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a different factor structure than the original English‐language version of the PTGI. The dimensions of growth could also be broadly dichotomized into an Interpersonal and an Intrapersonal dimension in our Chinese sample. Multiple regression analysis showed that positive coping was the most important determinant of posttraumatic growth when compared with negative coping and psychological symptoms. A Chinese Posttraumatic Growth Inventory was developed to facilitate future research. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Next-nearest-neighbor Heisenberg chain plays important roles in solid state physics, such as predicting exotic electric properties of two-dimensional materials or magnetic properties of organic compounds. Direct experimental studies of the many-body electron systems or spin systems associating to these materials are challenging tasks, while optical simulation provides an effective and economical way for immediate observation. Comparing with bulk optics, integrated optics are more of fascinating for steady, large scale and long-time evolution simulations. Photonic crystal is an artificial microstructure material with multiple methods to tune the propagation properties, which are essential for various simulation tasks. Here we report for the first time an experimental simulation of next-nearest-neighbor Heisenberg chain with an integrated optical chip of photonic crystal waveguide array. The use of photonic crystal enhances evanescent field thus allows coupling between next-nearest-neighbor waveguides in such a planar waveguide array, without breaking the weak coupling condition of the coupled mode equation. Particularly, similarities between the model and coherent light propagation could reach 0.99 in numerical simulations and 0.89 in experiment. Localization effect induced by second-order coupling and coupling strengthening with increasing wavelengths were also revealed in both numerical simulations and experiments. The platform proposed here is compatible with mature complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology thus possesses the potential for larger-scale problems and photonic crystals further allows simulations of specific target Hamiltonians.


The exceptional warmth of spring and early summer of 2018 caused the earliest beginning of fruit ripening dates in Austria since 1946 of black elder and red currant, the second earliest of apricot, as well as the shortest period between the beginning of flowering and fruit ripening for all three species (same as 1956 for red currant). These phenological extremities of the 2018 spring correspond with the highest Austrian preseason (temperatures before the phenological event) April/May/June average since 1768.

In order to put the spring of 2018 into a long term perspective, the above mentioned phenological time series were extended back to 1768 by the much longer homogenised HISTALP temperature time series. This was achieved by multiple regression driven by preseason mean monthly temperatures. In order to accommodate for the uncertainty of the regression model, the lower (5%) and upper (95%) bounds of the confidence intervals were added to the reconstructed time series. Even when considering the lower bounds, the 2018 entry date of black elder beginning of fruit ripening remains the earliest since 1768. The 2018 entry date of apricot comes fourth (after 1811, 1794, 1797 and same as 1822) and that of red currant third (after 1811 and 1794). In order to evaluate the phenological variability since 1970 a 11 year moving average and a 41 year moving trend were calculated for the combined time series consisting of the modelled (from 1768 to 1945) and observed (from 1946 – 2018) sections. Neither the level of the 11 year averages nor the level of the 41 year trend values since 1970 have occurred during any other period since 1768.

These results contribute to the discussion of the temperature sensitivity of phenological phases. In spite of the unprecedented spring and early summer temperature level our phenological data do not indicate that lower bounds of the time period between flowering and fruit ripening have yet been reached. The fruit ripening phenology of the mid latitudes is still sensitive enough to faithfully record temperature trends and extreme events supplementing the instrumental record.


Introduction Bisphosphonates (BPPs) directly affect osteoclasts in undergoing apoptosis and impeding bone loss, and therefore, they are some of the most commonly prescribed drugs for osteoporosis. It is well known that osteoclasts and dendritic cells (DCs) share a common precursor, which can be interpreted as BPPs similarly having a potential influence on DCs. DCs play critical roles in innate immune responses as antigen presenting cells, and thus, they are the main players that cause rejection after organ transplantation. In this study, we focused on the effects of BPPs on DCs and determined the immune-modulating function of BPPs by examining the molecular changes of DCs after BPP treatments. Materials and Methods A mice immature DC cell line, DC2.4 cells were plated at 1*106 cells/a 100mm culture dish and cultured for 24 or 48 hours with 20 or 40&mgr;M of either pamidronate, risedronate, or zoledronate, which were three different kinds of BPPs. An immortalized human proximal tubule epithelial cell line, HK2, and an immortalized human endothelial cell line, EA.hy926, were also treated and cultured with BPPs as control groups to examine the cytotoxic effect of BPPs on other cell types. Cytotoxicity on each cell type was measured using both MTT and LDH assays. The mRNA expression levels of various molecules of BPPs-treated DC2.4 were also qualified using real-time PCR. Results The viability of DC2.4 cells was significantly decreased by 60 percent of the control level when treated with 40&mgr;M of pamidronate for 48 hours. When treated with the same dose of risedronate and zoledronate for the same period of time, the viability decreased by 50 and 60 percent when compared to the control, respectively. The cell viabilities of both HK2 and EA.hy926, however, were maintained at over 80 percent to those of the control under all conditions. The mRNA expression of DC-derived cytokines IL-6 and IL-1&bgr; of DC2.4 significantly increased more than 20- and 80- folds, respectively, when treated with 40&mgr;M of zoledronate for 48 hours. However, the gene expression of apoptosis related molecules, such as Bcl-2, BclxL, or BAX, had no significant changes. Discussion Based on the results of the cytotoxicity assay, BPPs might influence DCs, or DC-like cells, more effectively and specifically than it does to other cell types. The gene expression data indicate that the BPP-mediated cytotoxic events of DC2.4 might result from changes in cytokine production, not from apoptosis mechanism. Conclusion Considering the selective cytotoxic effects of BPPs on DCs, we suggest that BPPs might be used as an immune modulatory agent by regulating the population of DCs. Further study will be conducted in co-culture systems focusing on functional and numerical changes in DC surface markers to identify the molecular links between BPPs and DCs. Korean Society for Transplantation.


The photoluminescence of orthorhombic and cubic crystals has been studied with the use of a deuterium lamp or synchrotron radiation as the light source. The spectra of orthorhombic samples exhibit a single band at 2.07 eV, while the spectra of cubic samples show an intense band at 4.10 eV, accompanied by some other bands depending on the sample. These two main bands are stimulated only under exciton-band excitation. No luminescence is detected when both crystals are excited with photons in the band-to-band region. The present results are compared with earlier data for and which have the orthorhombic structure. The relaxation processes of excitons and electron-hole pairs in lead halides are discussed.


Purpose
To apply previously published benefit-to-risk ratio methods for mammography and molecular breast imaging (MBI) risk estimates to an expanded range of mammographic screening techniques, compressed breast thicknesses, and screening views.

Materials and Methods
Only previously published estimates were used; therefore, this study was exempt from the requirement to obtain institutional review board approval. Benefit-to-risk ratios were calculated as the ratio of breast cancer deaths averted and lives lost to screening over 10-year intervals starting at age 40 years for MBI, two-dimensional (2D) full-field digital mammography (FFDM) alone, 2D FFDM with synthetic mammography, and 2D FFDM with tomosynthesis for two-, four-, and five-view screening mammography and compressed breast thicknesses of 20-29 mm, 50-59 mm, and 80-89 mm.

Results
Central estimates of the benefit-to-risk ratios ranged from 3 to 179 for screening mammography and from 5 to 9 for MBI. Benefit-to-risk ratios for MBI were inferior to those for mammography for most scenarios, but MBI may be performed at an equal or superior benefit-to-risk ratio for women aged 40-59 years with a compressed breast thickness of at least 80 mm and for those undergoing mammographic screening examinations with four or five views per breast. The benefit-to-risk ratios across all ages with use of tomosynthesis plus 2D FFDM as a screening examination were 45% lower than those for tomosynthesis plus synthetic mammography.

Conclusion
Benefit-to-risk ratios for MBI are within the lower range of those for mammography when accounting for variation in mammography technique, compressed breast thickness, and age. Benefit-to-risk ratios of synthetic mammography plus tomosynthesis are superior to those of tomosynthesis plus 2D FFDM.Keywords: Breast, Mammography, Molecular Imaging, Molecular Imaging-Cancer, Radiation Safety, Radionuclide Studies, Screening, Tomosynthesis© RSNA, 2019See also the commentary by Hruska in this issue.


Blood transfusion is associated with an increased risk of organ damage, infection, and alloimmunity. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are extracellular chromatin fibers decorated with neutrophil granular proteins that have been linked to cytotoxicity, thrombosis, and autoimmunity. We questioned whether neutrophils in blood products release NETs during storage and thus could contribute to adverse reactions from blood transfusions.


Background: Pediatric resuscitations are rare events. Simulation-based training improves clinical and non-clinical skills, as well as survival rate. We assessed the effectiveness of using blindfolds to further improve leadership skills in pediatric simulation-based training. Methods: Twelve teams, each composed of 1 pediatric emergency fellow, 1 pediatric resident, and 2 pediatric emergency nurses, were randomly assigned to the blindfold group (BG) or to the control group (CG). All groups participated in one session of five simulation-based resuscitation scenarios. The intervention was using a blindfold for the BG leader for the scenarios B, C, and D. Three evaluators, who were blinded to the allocation, assessed leadership skills on the first and last video-recorded scenarios (A and E). Questionnaires assessed self-reported changes in stress and satisfaction about skills after the first and the last scenarios. Results: Improvement in leadership skills doubled in the BG compared with the CG (11.4 vs. 5.4%, p = 0.04), whereas there was no increase in stress or decrease in satisfaction. Conclusion: Blindfold could be an efficient method for leadership training during pediatric resuscitation simulated scenarios. Future studies should further assess its effect at a follow-up and on clinical outcomes after pediatric resuscitation.


Neutrophils are critical effector cells of the innate immune response and are recruited to sites of tissue injury in response to locally generated chemoattractants. Neutrophil recruitment is a highly regulated process involving complex interactions with the vascular endothelium and underlying tissue stroma. In addition to adhering to the endothelium, neutrophils can also self-associate, (a process known as homotypic aggregation - HA), which has been proposed to play a key role in disease states such as sepsis. Aminopepetidase N or CD13 is a widely expressed membrane-bound metallopeptidase involved in the migration and invasion of cancer and endothelial cells. Neutrophils express CD13 on their cell surface, which is upregulated by TNF-α, IL-8 and fMLP We have shown that inhibition of aminopeptidase activity enhances the efficacy of TNF-α-induced neutrophil apoptosis (Cowburn et al. J Biol Chem 2006; 281:12458). Cross-linking anti-CD13 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have been shown to induce HA of monocytic cells through PI3K activation (Mina-Osorio et al. J Leuk Biol 2006; 79:719). We hypothesised that CD13 may be involved in neutrophil migration and HA. Using plasma-Percoll purified human neutrophils and a modified Boyden filtre assay we showed that IL-8 mediated neutrophil chemotaxis was not affected by either the CD13 mAb WM-15 or the aminopeptidase enzymatic inhibitor bestatin. In contrast, IL-8-mediated neutrophil migration through type 1 collagen gels was significantly impaired by WM-15 and MY7 mAbs, which both inhibit enzymatic activity and induce clustering of CD13. The non-clustering CD13 antibody WM-47 and bestatin had no effect. WM-15 and MY7 also promoted neutrophil aggregation as assessed by light microscopy. Phase-contrast video-microscopy demonstrated that in WM-15 treated neutrophils, where HA was evident, the percentage of cells entering collagen 1 gels in response to IL-8 was significantly reduced (26.9% vs 71.8% in non-HA cells). WM-15 does not prime neutrophils, as assessed by superoxide production and shape change, and the cell surface expression of CD11b, CD18 and CD66b were not altered. These data suggest a novel role for CD13 in the homotypic aggregation of neutrophils, which reduces chemoattractant-induced migration through collagen 1 matrix and may predispose to neutrophil micro-aggregation within the circulation.


The need for continuous home ventilatory care can arise when patients who are otherwise stable cannot be weaned from mechanical ventilatory support. Two cases are presented that show these patients can be cared for at home at a cost less than their care in the hospital. Before deciding on home ventilatory care for a patient, one should carefully consider all supportive measures, including drug therapy and psychosocial factors. The choice of home care equipment depends on many individualized considerations. The successful management of a patient on a home ventilator requires careful preparation, extensive home instruction, and continued follow-up by a home health care team.


OBJECTIVE
The incidence of stroke and the demand for rehabilitation services continues to increase. Risk factors may act as stroke outcome predictors and hence determine the type and intensity of rehabilitation. Our aim is to investigate stroke outcome predictors that will define groups with maximal or minimal benefit from rehabilitation after stroke.

METHODS
Our longitudinal prospective study included 111 ischemic stroke patients, admitted consecutively to the Rehabilitation Department, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar, during 2000-2001. We analyzed the influence of modifiable risk factors: diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), ischemic heart disease (IHD) and non-modifiable factors: age, gender, race and side of lesion on stroke outcome. All patients received regular rehabilitation and underwent an evaluation on admission and discharge, using the Modified Barthel Index.

RESULTS
Statistical analysis demonstrated that the group of patients with IHD showed greatest improvement after 3 months of rehabilitation. The group without co-morbidities followed this, and then the HTN, DM, combined DM and HTN and combined HTN and IHD groups. The group that suffered from combined DM, HTN, and IHD did not show improvement. Non-modifiable risk factors showed no significant differences. However, younger patients showed a tendency for better improvement.

CONCLUSION
Those patients with modifiable risk factors had significant impact on rehabilitation outcome (p-value = 0.009). Those with one or 2 co-morbidities had the highest score of improvement after rehabilitation while the group of patients with more than 2 co-morbidities did not show improvement. However, non-modifiable risk factors did not play a significant role in stroke outcome.


The records of 300 patients with a diagnosis of small bowel obstruction were evaluated to determine which factors, if any, were prognostic of clinical outcome. Ninety per cent of patients had at least one prior abdominal procedure; those of a gynecologic or obstetric nature were most common. Abdominal pain (92%), vomiting (82%), abdominal tenderness (64%), and distention (59%) were the most frequent symptoms and signs, and plain abdominal x-rays were abnormal in 273 (91%) patients. Two hundred and nine patients (70%) underwent surgical repair, of which 48 (23%) required resection of intestine for densely adherent or strangulated bowel. Contrast studies were generally not helpful and associated with barium peritonitis in two patients. The mortality rate for the entire series was 9 per cent, which doubled for those who underwent resection. Septic complications occurred in 31 per cent of the survivors in this group. Fourteen of the 16 patients who died from abdominal sepsis had a delay in presentation and/or treatment, which was the most important prognosis factor for patient outcome.


Optically active propargylic alcohols are important chiral-building blocks in asymmetric synthesis, while the asymmetric addition of a terminal alkyne to an aldehyde is one of the most important procedures to prepare these chiral-building blocks. In this work, a family of chiral 4,4 0 -biquinazoline alcohols has been conveniently prepared from the easily accessible (S)-2-acetoxycarboxylic acid chlorides by reaction sequences beginning with condensation and followed by key synthetic steps including chlorination, nickel(0)-mediated homocoupling, and deprotection in addition to being examined as potential ligands in the enantioselective addition of phenylacetylene to aldehydes. These chiral ligands can be combined with Ti(OiPr)4 and then used to catalyze the asymmetric addition of zinc acetylide, produced in situ by the reaction of phenylacetylene with diethylzinc, to aldehydes. The best enantiomeric excess obtained in this study was 75%.


Pantoea agglomerans is an opportunistic pathogen causing infection in the immunocompromised patients. It is a plant pathogen and a rare human pathogen causing neonatal sepsis, joint infection, urinary tract infection and bloodstream infections. Neonatal Gram negative septicaemia may have an unusual presentation of subtle generalised neonatal seizures without any other cardinal features of sepsis. An appropriate diagnosis is therefore the key to proper management. P. agglomerans being an unusual cause of neonatal sepsis should be diagnosed early with proper antibiogram for clinical cure. Here, we report a case of neonatal sepsis caused by P. agglomerans in a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India.


Thirteen (3.2%) of 410 patients seen in British Columbia's Children's Hospital in Vancouver from January 1984 to September 1992 with supracondylar fractures did so with an absence of a radial pulse in an otherwise well perfused hand. A combination of segmental pressure monitoring, color-flow duplex scanning, and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) appears to be a valid, noninvasive, and safe technique in evaluating patency of the brachial artery and collateral circulation across the elbow. Based on this study, early revascularization of a pulseless otherwise well-perfused hand in children with type 3 supracondylar fractures, although technically feasible and safe, has a high rate of asymptomatic reocclusion and residual stenoses of the brachial artery. Therefore a period of close observation with frequent neurovascular checks should be completed before more invasive correction of this problem is contemplated.


Purpose Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of vision loss. Previous studies have shown signaling pathways mediated by Stat3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) play a primary role in diabetic retinopathy progression. This study tested CLT-005, a small molecule inhibitor of Stat3, for its dose-dependent therapeutic effects on vision loss in a rat model of diabetic retinopathy. Methods Brown Norway rats were administered streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes. CLT-005 was administered daily by oral gavage for 16 weeks at concentrations of 125, 250, or 500 mg/kg, respectively, beginning 4 days post streptozotocin administration. Systemic and ocular drug concentration was quantified with mass spectrometry. Visual function was monitored at 2-week intervals from 6 to 16 weeks using optokinetic tracking to measure visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. The presence and severity of cataracts was visually monitored and correlated to visual acuity. The transcription and translation of multiple angiogenic factors and inflammatory cytokines were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Multiplex immunoassay. Results Streptozotocin-diabetic rats sustain progressive vision loss over 16 weeks, and this loss in visual function is rescued in a dose-dependent manner by CLT-005. This positive therapeutic effect correlates to the positive effects of CLT-005 on vascular leakage and the presence of inflammatory cytokines in the retina. Conclusions The present study indicates that Stat3 inhibition has strong therapeutic potential for the treatment of vision loss in diabetic retinopathy.


The Yesso scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis is an important aquaculture species that was introduced to Western Canada from Japan to establish an economically viable scallop farming industry. This highly fecund species has been propagated in Canadian aquaculture hatcheries for the past 40 years, raising questions about genetic diversity and genetic differences among hatchery stocks. In this study, we compare cultured Canadian and wild Japanese populations of Yesso scallop using double-digest restriction site-associated DNA (ddRAD)-sequencing to genotype 21,048 variants in 71 wild-caught scallops from Japan, 65 scallops from the Vancouver Island University breeding population, and 37 scallops obtained from a commercial farm off Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The wild scallops are largely comprised of equally unrelated individuals, whereas cultured scallops are comprised of multiple families of related individuals. The polymorphism rate estimated in wild scallops was 1.7%, whereas in the cultured strains it ranged between 1.35% and 1.07%. Interestingly, heterozygosity rates were highest in the cultured populations, which is likely due to shellfish hatchery practices of crossing divergent strains to gain benefits of heterosis and to avoid inbreeding. Evidence of founder effects and drift were observed in the cultured strains, including high genetic differentiation between cultured populations and between cultured populations and the wild population. Cultured populations had effective population sizes ranging from 9-26 individuals whereas the wild population was estimated at 25-50K individuals. Further, a depletion of low frequency variants was observed in the cultured populations. These results indicate significant genetic diversity losses in cultured scallops in Canadian breeding programs. Article Summary Yesso scallop was introduced to breeding programs in Canada around 40 years ago and has become a valuable aquaculture species in the country with little information regarding its genetic diversity. This work genotypes over 20K genetic variants in wild Yesso scallops from Japan and compares to a major broodstock collection in British Columbia, Canada, as well as a commercial farm in the same region. Reduced polymorphism but elevated heterozygosity indicates value of using genetic information to guide breeding programs.


Face hallucination has been well studied in the last decade because of its useful applications in law enforcement and entertainment. Promising results on the problem of sketch-photo face hallucination have been achieved with classic, and increasingly deep learning-based methods. However, synthesized photos still lack the crisp fidelity of real photos. More importantly, good results have primarily been demonstrated on very constrained datasets where the style variability is very low, and crucially the sketches are perfectly align-able traces of the ground-truth photos. However, realistic applications in entertainment or law enforcement require working with more unconstrained sketches drawn from memory or description, which are not rigidly align-able. In this paper, we develop a new deep learning approach to address these settings. Our image-image regression network is trained with a combination of content and adversarial losses to generate crisp photorealistic images, and it contains an integrated spatial transformer network to deal with non-rigid alignment between the domains. We evaluate face synthesis on classic constrained, as well as unviewed, benchmarks namely CUHK, MGDB, and FSMD. The results qualitatively and quantitatively outperform existing approaches.


Belief systems impact poverty reduction efforts, as they can enhance, or diminish, support for redistributive economic policies. We examined the predictive utility of mindsets about the changeability (growth mindsets) or the stability (fixed mindsets) of the nature of poverty in society. We conducted six studies, two pre‐registered, using both cross‐sectional (N = 763) and experimental methods (N = 1361). Growth mindsets of poverty in society predicted greater support for redistributive policies, in part through decreased blame, although there was also a small but unreliable negative indirect effect through social class essentialism. The three experimental studies, each using a different approach, were successful in manipulating mindsets of poverty. However, only the approach leveraging system justifying beliefs had implications for blame, essentialist beliefs, and indirect consequences for policy support. We discuss potential implications of this work for leveraging multiple belief systems to optimally promote support for policies designed to abolish poverty.


In this paper the relationship between maternal behaviour and breeding success (or failure) in great apes is described. Data were gathered from a questionnaire survey returned by 48 zoos and from available studbook data, giving a total sample size of 687 individuals [Gorillas Gorilla gorilla (n= 277), Bonobos Pan paniscus (n= 37), Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes (n= 216) and Orangutans Pongo pygmaeus (n= 157)] born between 1990 and 2000 at 86 institutions. The factors influencing maternal behaviour are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the importance of learning and experience for the development of good maternal skills. The rearing background and social-group circumstances of the breeding ♀ were analysed, including her rearing situation (own mother, conspecific surrogate or hand-reared), opportunity (or not) to observe maternal behaviour in conspecifics during development and previous breeding experience. The effects of maternal training are also analysed. The results show that for a ♀ great ape to demonstrate good maternal skills, the most effective experience is to have been reared by her own mother and to have observed maternal behaviour in a social group comprising mature individuals and infants. This gives ♀♀ the opportunity to observe and learn how to care adequately for their own offspring.


The MS2 RNA fragments bound to ribosomal protein S1 within the complex of MS2 RNA with 30S ribosomal subunit have been isolated using a specially developed procedure and sequenced by the base-specific enzymatic method. The S1-binding site on MS2 RNA was identified as UUUCUUACAUGACAAAUCCUUGUCAUG and mapped within the replicase gene at positions 2030-2056. This finding suggests that ribosome-MS2 RNA interaction involves at least two different regions of the phage RNA--the internal region of the replicase gene (S1-binding site) and ribosome-binding site of the coat protein gene. The possible spatial proximity between these two regions is discussed.


If the gendarme is central to understanding the nature and exercise of authority in the nineteenth century, it is not because he is a primary, emblematic figure but because his position is so difficult to define. Does he represent authority? Does he possess authority? Is he simply an agent of authority? Is his authority invested in him individually or does it derive from his status as a member of an institutional whole? Because the gendarmerie failed to be acknowledged by civil and judicial authorities, its officers created a phrase –"the moral force" – to describe the specific kind of influence they were claiming. The phrase is judicious because it allows the gendarmerie to overcome two contradictions: first, that they are a public force which struggles to impose its will on legitimate forms of violence, and second, that they are an armed force which cannot make use of their arms. The gendarmerie benefits from their exploitation of a "moral force" which transcends mere authority. At the same time, however, it demonstrates its submission to the law, in order to better enforce it.


—Recent years have witnessed unprecedented growth in adoption and offerings of cloud computing services. Security and availability risks have risen to become one of the biggest challenges and concerns for not only businesses that are transitioning into the cloud but also companies offering the cloud services. The focus of this paper is to investigate how announcements in media about security of cloud computing affects the market valuation of firms involved in the announcement. The paper uses event study methodology to analyze impact of the media announcements about cloud security. The paper also examines the impact of these announcements on the market valuation of the competitors of the companies involved in the announcements.


It is widely used to control the total active power under restriction for one set of tie lines in real operation electric power system. So it is very important for operators to grip the transmission capacity of one set of tie-lines. In order to facilitate the real-time monitoring of the operation of power system, a principle and method is proposed to define the cross-section of transmission line. Operation mode is divided into two parts: generation mode and load mode. A mode identification method is proposed to range the regions according to the oscillation angle of typical unit. The analysis and stability control method of maximum transfer power at cross-section based on operation mode is proposed considering transient stability constraints. Examples show that the method proposed is simple, reliable and can fulfil the need of the operation of power systems.


A study was made over time of the relationships between the viscosity of red cell suspensions and temperature [eta (T)] in normal subjects and patients with acute myocardial infarction. In normal subjects, the curves eta (T) have a bend within the temperature range 37-40 degrees C, which apparently reflects the phasic transition. In patients with myocardial infarction, the bend on the curve eta (T) either disappears or is undemonstrable during the acute period within the temperature range indicated. During transition to the subacute period (after 7-10 days), the bend on the curves reappears and then only variation of its pattern follows. The changes seen in the viscosities of red cell suspensions or red cell "shades" in the phasic transition area might be used for defining the stages, the time course, and prognosis of myocardial infarction.


It is not difficult to observe and record patient occlusal characteristics before starting simple or complex occlusal rehabilitations. If this is done, and if the subsequently placed crowns and fixed prostheses are constructed in observation of similar characteristics, clinical success usually is the result. Deviations from the suggestion to duplicate the "normal" occlusion should be made when the original natural occlusion had caused overt pathosis, or when all teeth or one arch of the teeth is being restored at one time. If this is the case, centric relation occlusion is more reproducible and easier to develop than occlusion with a shift from centric relation to centric occlusion. Peculiar requests of patients relative to occlusal positioning, or routine dependence on various devices to predetermine occlusal characteristics for rehabilitation (as is currently popular in some groups), should be considered, but they should be tempered with careful observation of preoperative occlusal characteristics.


This paper addresses the ergodic capacity of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) amplify and forward (AF) wireless relay networks (WRN) with imperfect channel state information (ICSI) between the source node to relay node links and relay node to destination node links using best linear unbiased estimation (BLUE) algorithm. Ergodic capacity is derived by linear processing at the relay node and by using eigenvalues of the channel coefficients between source node to relay node and relay node to destination node. Unfortunately, in practical scenarios, the estimated channel coefficients are imperfect. The imperfect CSI obtained via traditional estimation methods like least squares (LS) and minimum mean square error (MMSE) does not reduce estimation errors to a significant extent thereby leading to severe degradation in system performance. This paper advocates, best linear unbiased estimation algorithm for estimating the channel coefficients between the relay node and destination nodes of MIMO-AF-WRN to analyze ergodic capacity. Eventhough, it is an existing algorithm BLUE algorithm is still largely unexplored and it produces minimal estimation errors in comparison to other estimators due to its minimum variance attribute inherent within it. Moreover, BLUE algorithm posses the minimal variance among all the unbiased estimators. Simulation results using BLUE algorithm shows that the ergodic capacity decreases as the variance of the channel estimation error increases. Further, it is also inferred that the mutual information grows very slowly or shrinks when the number of source antennas are more than the destination antennas when a large number of relay antennas are used. The simulation results are validated by deriving the analytical expressions for ergodic capacity with ICSI.


To determine the incidence of Clostridium difficile infection during 2007, we examined infection in adult inpatient and outpatient members of a managed-care organization. Incidence was 14.9 C. difficile infections per 10,000 patient-years. Extrapolating this rate to US adults, we estimate that 284,875 C. difficile infections occurred during 2007.


In recent decades there has been increasing interest in green energies, of which wind energy is the most important one. In order to improve the competitiveness of the wind power plants, there are ongoing researches to decrease cost per energy unit and increase the efficiency of wind turbines and wind farms. One way of achieving these goals is to optimize the power generated by a wind farm. One optimization method is to choose appropriate operating points for the individual wind turbines in the farm. We have made three models of a wind farm based on three difference control strategies. Basically, the control strategies determine the steady state operating points of the wind turbines. Except the control strategies of the individual wind turbines, the wind farm models are similar. Each model consists of a row of 5MW reference wind turbines. In the models we are able to optimize the generated power by changing the power reference of the individual wind turbines. We use the optimization setup to compare power production of the wind farm models. This paper shows that for the most frequent wind velocities (below and around the rated values), the generated powers of the wind farms are different. This means that choosing an appropriate control strategy for the individual wind turbines will result in an increased power production of the wind farm.


This paper has reported the design and installation of a highly multiplexed (45 point) methane gas detection system using single mode fibre optics linked to remote miniature open path absorption cells interrogated by a single DFB laser diode configured for frequency modulation spectroscopy. To our knowledge this is the first such system to be site tested. The system operates over a wide area with total link lengths from source to detector extending up to about 6 km and has proved to be rugged and stable through the operating conditions on an active methane gas producing landfill site. Initial results on a small scale trial system give optimism for future reliability and the system behaviour will continue to be closely observed. It also seems very probable that the data obtained from continuous positioning will give new insights into site dynamics. Within its present configuration the system could be readily extended to address 64 points though we believe that, for this application, a 128 point system is totally feasible and a 256 point system may be achievable.


Abstract If the assessment of ASEAN's success in the past is difficult, speculations on whether ASEAN will be a success will be close to impossibility. Yet this is what is intended in this article. However, this is done by first defining robust criteria of success of conflict prevention. Conflict prevention is successful if conflicts and battle deaths can be avoided, either by means of conflict resolution or transformation, or simply by means of conflict avoidance. By starting with this criterion the article will argue that ASEAN peacefulness cannot be explained by durable objective conditions. Instead, it is built on imagined realities. The imagined realities of the ASEAN Way are getting more difficult to sustain due to their interaction with material and normative/institutional developments. Many of the constructed foundations of the ASEAN Way are unsustainable in the new realities where communication has become easy and uncontrollable, and societies have become wealthier and more democratized. However, the article will show that evidence of existing conflict violence suggests that ASEAN has started to reformulate its approach to conflict prevention and that this has largely been successful.


A questionnaire was sent to 193 United Kingdom Hospital Consultant Orthodontists, in order to survey their individual involvement and clinical protocols for neonatal cleft palate impressions. Information regarding any untoward events that might have been experienced with this procedure during the period 1983–1992 was sought. Sixteen episodes where withdrawal of an impression had been extremely difficult and five respiratory obstructions due to an impression fragment were reported. Eighty-nine cyanotic events were reported, of which four resulted in asphyxiation, although none progressed to a fatality. Factors such as the level of consultants' experience or the choice of impression material used did not appear to be contributory.


A robocasting manufacturing process and robotic deposition machine are presented in this paper. The process requires that the machine be able to track 3-D trajectories with high precision. Iterative learning control (ILC) is presented as a viable strategy to meet these demands. Typically, practical implementation of ILC requires some type of Q-filtering that creates an inherent tradeoff between performance and robustness. This tradeoff can be minimized by using a time-varying Q-filter that has been tailored to the system and reference trajectory. A new adaptive time-frequency Q-filtered ILC algorithm is presented to adaptively construct a tailored time-varying Q-filter. Further, because the approach is adaptive, the performance is not limited by overly conservative uncertainty models. A simulation example is presented to demonstrate that, when designed for a nominal plant, the adaptive Q-filtered ILC has performance comparable to that of a standard, fixed-bandwidth Q-filtered ILC. When a perturbation of the plant is introduced, the adaptive Q-filtered ILC adapts to maintain stability, whereas the fixed-bandwidth Q-filtered ILC becomes unstable. The adaptive algorithm is applied to the robotic deposition machine to demonstrate the ability of the algorithm to achieve high precision in this application.


Mental disorders are
a significant cause of disability and loss of workplace productivity. Many
people with mental illness want to work. Occupational health in the world has
to face up to psychosocial risks to protect the health of employees. My study
aims are to improve negative feelings in work place and work functioning and to
stimulate better coping mechanisms. Participants were collected from "Mental
health daycare facility", "Regional living assistance center" and "B-type
employment assistance office" in Japan. I took interviews with 25 members. The
content of the interviews was categorized about negative feelings in work
place. A total of 33 small category negative feelings of mental disorder were
extracted and were classified into 11 subcategories. These subcategories were
then classified into two higher-level categories: inward-directed feelings
and outward-directed feelings. Inward-directed feelings include "reserve or
timidity," "hesitation about being open about the illness," "anxiety about
being dismissed," "regrets about resigning," "sense of isolation," "feelings of
remorse," and "suffering." Outward-directed feelings include "failure in interpersonal relationships," "distrust," "frustrations,"
"negative feelings toward those with mental disorder." Employment
has been linked to having better social networks, to enhanced quality of life
and to overall wellbeing. We will have to defend them legally. The legal and
moral obligations placed on the employer require that it provides a
healthy, harassment-free work environment.


A single air bubble rising in xanthan gum crystal suspension has been studied experimentally. The suspension was made by different concentrations of xanthan gum solutions with 0.23 mm polystyrene crystal particles. Drag co-efficient data and a new correlation of drag coefficient is presented for spherical and nonspherical bubbles in non-Newtonian crystal suspension. The correlation is developed in terms of the Reynolds number, Re and the bubble shape factor, (the ratio between the surface equivalent sphere diameter to the volume equivalent sphere diameter). The experimental drag coefficient was found to be consistent with this new predicted correlation and published data over the ranges, 0.1


Background and Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the anatomy of the circle of Willis in preterm neonates (gestational age 25–31 weeks) at term equivalent age and to evaluate the relation between anatomical variations and blood flow through the internal carotid artery and basilar artery. Methods Flow measurements (ml/min) were obtained with two-dimensional phase-contrast magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Time-of-flight MRA was used to assess the anatomy of the circle of Willis for a dominant A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery or a fetal-type posterior cerebral artery. Differences in flow were assessed with analysis of variance. Results In our cohort, 74% showed a variant type of the anatomy of the circle of Willis. The flow in the internal carotid artery at the side of a dominant A1 segment (43.3 ml/min) was increased compared with both the flow in the contralateral internal carotid artery (33.0 ml/min) and the flow in the internal carotid artery in children with a normal anterior anatomy (38.4 ml/min). The flow in the basilar artery was highest in neonates with a normal configuration of the posterior part of the circle of Willis (32.6 ml/min) compared with children with a unilateral 25.3 (ml/min) or bilateral fetal-type posterior cerebral artery (18.6 ml/min). Conclusion Preterm neonates show a high prevalence of variant types of the circle of Willis at term equivalent. We demonstrated the relation between variations in the circle of Willis and volume flow measurements in the internal carotid artery and basilar artery.


Aim: To estimate management cost of NSCLC ALK+ patients with and without brain metastasis (BM), and to compare annual costs in patients treated with alectinib or crizotinib. Methods: Management cost/year (€ 2018) in patients with and without BM was estimated with disaggregated resource consumption provided by local oncologists, including medical visits, hospitalizations, diagnostic/laboratory tests, imaging techniques and surgical procedures. The comparison of costs/year with alectinib and crizotinib, considered the cumulative 12-month incidence of BM in ALEX trial (9.4 and 41.4%, respectively). Results: Management cost was €6173.42/patient-year without BM and €21,637.50/patient-year with BM. With alectinib, average cost/patient was lower than crizotinib (€4948.51/patient-year). Conclusion: Prevention of BM with alectinib may result in reductions of cost/year in the management of advanced ALK+ NSCLC.