We present an automated method of identifying communities of functionally related genes from the biomedical literature. These communities encapsulate human gene and protein interactions and identify groups of genes that are complementary in their function. We use graphs to represent the network of gene cooccurrences in articles mentioning particular keywords, and find that these graphs consist of one giant connected component and many small ones. In addition, the vertex degree distribution of the graphs follows a power law, whose exponent we determine. We then use an algorithm based on betweenness centrality to identify community structures within the giant component. The different structures are then aggregated into a final list of communities, whose members are weighted according to how strongly they belong to them. Our method is efficient enough to be applicable to the entire Medline database, and yet the information it extracts is significantly detailed, applicable to a particular problem, and interesting in and of itself. We illustrate the method in the case of colon cancer and demonstrate important features of the resulting communities.


Real-world systems are often modelled by sets of equations with exogenous random variables. What can we say about the probabilistic and causal aspects of variables that appear in these equations without explicitly solving for them? We prove that, under a solvability assumption, we can construct a Markov ordering graph that implies conditional independences and a causal ordering graph that encodes the effects of soft and perfect interventions by making use of Simon's causal ordering algorithm. Our results shed new light on discussions in causal discovery about the justification of using graphs to simultaneously represent conditional independences and causal relations in models with feedback.


In this era of digital optimization, Information and Communication Technology is growing very rapidly. This is in line with the demands and human needs that have been actualized in various fields, such as knowledge and education. To support a learning process based on SCIENCE (Science and Technology) required several supporting aspects such as online dictionary that includes vocabulary and functions of words / terms in the FIELD of IT. One of the supporting aspects is an alternative tool in the form of media that facilitates every community in learning the terms in the field of informatics. According to pie chart data from questionnaires that the authors made, as much as 50 percent of the knowledge of the term informatics of the general public (lay people) can be said to be still very low. In contrast to the academic community such as IT Lecturers and IT Students who do master the field, although it does not close the possibility there are some IT Students who do not fully understand in their fields. The expected result of the authors in this study is the increasing knowledge, especially the general public (lay people) in studying science in the field of IT especially language and informatics terms through online disses. This Online Dictionary application will be designed website-based using sequential search method where sequential search (also called linear search) is the most simple search model performed on a data set. The Online Dictionary application will run by searching for vocabulary or terms in informatics according to the keywords they are looking for, making it easier for users to learn the language of informatics.
Keywords: Website, Vocabulary, Dictionary Online, Informatics, IT, Sequential Search, Science and Technology


Alibaba, the e-commerce giant that completed a record-breaking IPO in the United States in 2014 and in mid-2020 was valued at over $500 billion, is one of hundreds of China-based U.S.-listed firms whose controlling insiders are largely "law-proof": the corporate and securities laws governing these firms are effectively unenforceable because the firms' insiders, records, and assets are in China. Legal remedies thus cannot reliably prevent diversion of most of these firms' value.

Our analysis casts doubt on the claim that foreign firms list in the United States to bond insiders to tough securities regulation. In fact, for China-based firms not also listed in China, a U.S. listing has the opposite effect: it effectively insulates insiders from any securities law. Yet U.S. securities regulation not only allows these firms to list, but also requires less disclosure from them than from domestic firms. The system, we show, is biased against American entrepreneurs and likely harms American investors. We suggest ways to reduce this bias and better protect U.S. investors. More generally, our analysis makes clear that one cannot understand corporate governance arrangements without taking into account enforceability.


Human research conducted at institutions receiving funding from any of the three federal Canadian funding agencies must be reviewed and approved in advance by a human research ethics board (REB). The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (1) (TCPS) requires that each institution be fully responsible for the ethics review of human research conducted under its auspices (Article 1.2). (2) This provision has been interpreted to mean that one institution cannot pro forma accept the REB decision of another institution when the same research is proposed for conduct at both institutions. This interpretation is most clearly at issue in cases of multi-centre clinical trials, wherein researchers from two or more institutions are invited to participate in trials using standardized research protocols. Many researchers, research ethics boards, clinical trial sponsors, and institutional administrators have complained informally about several inter-related consequences of TCPS Article 1.2. They argue that this Article has resulted in institutions and their REBs being concerned that reliance on another institution's REB decision would either constitute non-compliance with the TCPS, or would expose them to unknown, and therefore unacceptable, liability risks. Other critics argue that the multiple reviews resulting from this state of uncertainty about institutional responsibility are unnecessarily redundant in view of the common standards for protection of human subjects established by the TCPS. They claim that this redundancy creates wasted human resources, wasted material resources, and wasted time. Another concern centres on decision consistency, because it is possible for one REB to reject the same proposal judged acceptable in whole or part by another REB. Thus, the same protocol can be found acceptable for implementation at one site, but not at another. Pharmaceutical companies and investigators (3) also complain that they receive many demands for protocol revisions from different REBs, some of which are diametrically opposed to one another. Such demands pose difficult challenges for the designers and sponsors of multi-centre trials, as homogeneity of methods across sites is a critical element of scientific control. The critics of multiple REB reviews for multi-centre trials also cite a negative public health consequence: Research with important health implications may be delayed unnecessarily, or even discouraged, thereby indirectly depriving the populace of the best possible healthcare. There have been three main reactions to these criticisms and warnings. One response is that redundancy and the attendant costs of multiple REB reviews is justified and desirable, as the effect is to enhance the protection of human research subjects. A second is that a national, centralized, system of review for multi-centre clinical trials should be established. The third reaction, a fait accompli, is an amendment to the TCPS Article 1.2 that permits institutions to form affiliations in which mutual acceptance of each other's REB findings can occur. (4) 1. Benefits of Redundancy Despite the apparent validity of the inefficiency and inconsistency arguments about multiple REB reviews, we have suggested elsewhere that multiple reviews may promote human research protections. (5) Critics of decentralized multiple reviewing implicitly claim that inconsistency among REB decisions amounts to poor reliability among REBs. They argue that a common, easily understood set of standards exist in the TCPS, and that inconsistency therefore represents a misapplication of the standards by REBs. This approach assumes, moreover, that minority opinion is wrong and reflects a lack of expertise or negligent application of ethics standards. We do not think that this is necessarily the case. Our reasoning stems from a common phenomenon at REB meetings--that in which a single REB member identifies a significant ethical issue, and persuades all remaining members of the REB that the protocol requires substantial changes or should be rejected. …


Background: The present study characterizes the socio-demographic variables of injection drug users (IDUs) attending Oral substitution therapy (OST) center. Aims & Objectives: To provide a comprehensive knowledge and better insight regarding the socio-demographic profile and pattern IDUs. Material & Methods : A total of 158 IDUs aged 18 to 60 years who attended the OST centre during one-year period at a government medical college are included in the study. Results: All the IDUs are male with median age of 33.13 years. More than half of the participants are homeless and earn their livelihood by rag picking and rickshaw driving. 35.4% of participants are married. Their mean monthly income is Rs 2823.4 ± 1811.8 and they spend a major amount of it on drug use. Conclusion: All the participants are using Pharmaceutical Opioid injections (POI), mostly as cocktail with benzodiazepines and antihistamines. Sharing of needle and paraphernalia is present in most of the participants especially among the illiterate and low income group IDUs.


An accurate and real-time implementable location technique for wireless sensor radio is in demand for many applications. Most of the works on wireless sensor location estimation uses received signal strength indicator (RSSI), direction of arrival (DOA) estimation, or time of arrival (TOA) estimation techniques. A precise DOA and TOA measurement results in more accurate location estimation. In this paper, we present Modified Matrix Pencil (MP) method for joint DOA-TOA estimation without using channel estimates. We also compare performance (of the Modified MP) under varying number of antenna elements, SNR and spread.


From the consideration of stages and their origins assigned to the five elements by connecting O-Shin(五神) with the five organs, centered on former documents, following were achieved. 1. From the age of civil wars, the mind has been connected to the part icular organ among the five organs : the has been considered as the main body of mind activity and the central organ which controls eve ry organ. 2. KWAN-JA(管子) and JANG-JA(莊子) wrote firstly written in connection between the mind and the whole five organs. 3. O-SHIN(五神) were materialized through the middle part and last year of Former China and after the five organs assignment of the natur e and the emotions. 4. O-SHIN(五神) orignated from HWANG-JE NAE-KYUNNG(黃帝內經) assigned as the liver soul, the heart spirit, the spleen ideas, the lung inferior spirit, and the kidney will.


During the five-year period of implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, Heilongjiang Province, which is one of the nine Chinese border provinc-es, has actively responded to the national development policy and achieved some impressive results in its strategic cooperation with the Russian Far East. The article characterizes the current state of Heilongjiang Province's relationship with Russia and describes its strategic plans for findings new paths of cooperation as a result of the province's integration into the Belt and Road Initiative and participation in China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor construction. The key projects crucial for the province's development are the Eastern Land-Sea Silk Road Economic Belt (hereinafter referred to as the Eastern Silk Road Belt) and the Heilongjiang Land-Sea Silk Road Economic Belt (hereinafter referred to as Longjiang Silk Road Belt). Both projects are aimed at increasing the interconnectedness between regions and countries, promoting international trade and fostering understanding and tolerance. The article describes the background, objectives, results and problems as-sociated with these projects in Heilongjiang Province and their role in en-suring further socio-economic development of the territory. Finally, recom-mendations are given concerning the main areas of cooperation between the province and Russia: these include modernization of trade (e-commerce), fostering cooperation in the industrial sphere and agriculture, and opening a free cross-border trade zone.


Enterovirulent Escherichia coli remain as an important etiological agent of goat diarrhoea in Bangladesh. The present study was designed with a view to isolate and identifies E. coli from field cases. For this purpose, a total of 135 faecal samples (85 from diarrhoeic and 50 from apparently healthy goat) were collected during the period from January 2012 to July 2012 from different areas in Rangpur District. It was found that the prevalence of E. coli was higher (18.82 %) in diarrhoeic goats while it was lower (14.00 %) in non diarrhoeic goats. Age wise distribution of E. coli isolates were 26.42% in day old to 1 year, 10.53% in 1-2 years and 11.36% in above 2 years age of goat respectively. All the isolates of E. coli revealed greenish black colony with metallic sheen in Eosine methylene blue agar, bright pink color smooth transparent colony in MacConkey agar and slight pinkish smooth colony in Salmonella-Shigella agar. Gram stain and hanging drop techniques were performed with the cultured bacteria. Biochemical properties of the isolates were studied, and antibiotic sensitivity test was done by agar disk diffusion method. In Gram stain, the organisms revealed Gram negative, small rod shaped, occurs singly or paired. Biochemically, all of the isolates showed fermentation of dextrose, sucrose and maltose with the production of acid and gas, negative result to Voges-Proskauer test, positive result to Methylred test and differential result to Indol test. All the isolates of E. coli were highly sensitive to ciprofloxacin and gentamicin while moderately sensitive to colistin, livofloxacin and azithromycin and less sensitive to ceftraexon and tetracyclin and resistant to amoxycillin, ampicillin, erythromycin, and neomycin. Therefore, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin may be the antibiotics of first choice, and colistin, livofloxacin and azithromycin may be the second choice among the test antibiotics for the treatment of illness caused by these bacteria.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. March 2018, 4(1): 36-43


Background Patients with autoimmune diseases (AID) have a high burden of cardiovascular disease leading to premature morbidity and mortality1. But it is unclear if it is due to a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease, to a worse case fatality or to a different management after an index event. Objectives The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of AID in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), the management and prognostic implications. Methods The study included consecutive patients admitted after ACS from January 2011 to May 2014. For AID patients, in-hospital management and ACS presentation was compared to non-AID patients. We also compared in-hospital and 1-year major adverse events (MACE): death, recurrent myocardial infarction, stroke and major bleeding, between groups. The percentage lost to follow-up was <1%. Results Of 964 patients, 53 had AID (5.5%): 11 rheumatoid arthritis, 9 inflammatory bowel disease, 7 ankylosing spondylitis, 7 psoriatic arthritis, 5 polymyalgia rheumatica, 4 systemic lupuserythematosus and 10 miscellanea. Mean evolution of the disease was 14±3 years. No significant differences were found in clinical and demographics characteristics between groups except for a higher percentage of previous stable coronary heart disease in non-AID patients. Compared to non-AID patients, AID patients had similar clinical ACS presentation and no differences were found with respect to revascularization strategies or medical treatment at discharge. Overall there were 207 MACE (69% during hospitalization): 108 deaths, 52 recurrent myocardial infarctions, 19 ischemic strokes and 28 major bleedings. The two groups had comparable rates of MACE both during hospitalization (9.6% vs 12.2%, p=0.58) and at 1 year (26.4% vs 19.1%, p=0.19), AID vs non-AID respectively. The presence of AID was not associated with increased in-hospital mortality (OR 1.1, 95% CI 0.4 to 3.3) but it was a risk factor for higher 1-year crude mortality (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 4.4), with a trend to higher 1-year mortality after multivariable adjusting (OR 1.7, 95%CI 0.8 to 3.9). Conclusions The presence of AID did not change ACS presentation and clinical management. Moreover it is not independently associated with worse outcomes during hospitalization although there is a trend to higher 1-year mortality. References Symmons DP, Gabriel SE. Epidemiology of CVD in rheumatic disease, with a focus on RA and SLE. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2011 May 31;7(7):399–408 Disclosure of Interest None declared


To assess whether the cAMP-dependent protein kinase-A and/or the diacylglycerol-dependent protein kinase C (PKC) pathways play important roles in the activation of CRF neurons in vivo under physiological conditions, we tested the effect of microinjection of 8-bromo-cAMP (8-Br-cAMP) or 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate (TPA) into both paraventricular nuclei (PVN) of the hypothalamus in conscious rats. Both 8-Br-cAMP and TPA increased plasma ACTH concentrations and the POMC messenger RNA (mRNA) concentrations in the anterior pituitary. While injection of 8-Br-cAMP also increased CRF mRNA concentrations in hypothalamic tissue containing the PVN, TPA injection had no effect on CRF mRNA concentrations there. During insulin-induced hypoglycemia, which stimulates CRF gene expression and release, c-fos and c-jun mRNA increases in the hypothalamic tissue preceded the increase in the CRF mRNA level after insulin-induced hypoglycemia. Antisense oligodeoxyribonucleotides (oligos) directed against c-fos, c-jun, or the cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) mRNA were injected into both PVN before insulin-induced hypoglycemia to assess whether activator protein-1 or CREB mediates transcriptional activation of CRF during hypoglycemia. Only antisense oligo against CREB mRNA reduced the CRF mRNA level after insulin-induced hypoglycemia. These results suggest that protein kinase A may transduce intracellular signals in CRF neurons under physiological conditions and raises the possibility that CREB may be involved in stress-induced CRF gene expression.


The transformation from central planning to market economies in East-Central Europe is making good progress, but achievements in privatization have so far been less convincing. Macro-economic stabilization and structural adjustment have led to deep cuts in production. Future integration of Eastern Europe into the world economy will depend on the goods with which these countries will conquer international markets. In this respect, the scope of direct foreign investment from the West and the degree of openness of Western markets will be of crucial importance.


A central problem in modeling, namely that of learning an algebraic model from data obtained from simulations or experiments is addressed. A methodology that uses a small number of simulations or experiments to learn models that are as accurate and as simple as possible is proposed. The approach begins by building a low-complexity surrogate model. The model is built using a best subset technique that leverages an integer programming formulation to allow for the efficient consideration of a large number of possible functional components in the model. The model is then improved systematically through the use of derivative-free optimization solvers to adaptively sample new simulation or experimental points. Automated learning of algebraic models for optimization (ALAMO), the computational implementation of the proposed methodology, along with examples and extensive computational comparisons between ALAMO and a variety of machine learning techniques, including Latin hypercube sampling, simple least-squares regression, and the lasso is described. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 2211–2227, 2014


The state of Minnesota undertook a trial of the 2005 recommendations for blood lead testing in refugees developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New refugee children younger than 16 years of age receiving health screening at an urban clinic were tested for elevated blood lead levels (EBLLs) and nutritional status. Follow-up lead tests were obtained three to six months after the first test. During the course of the project, 150 refugee children received an initial blood lead test and nutritional blood tests, and 140 (93%) received a second blood lead test. Five children (3.3%) had EBLLs at the initial blood lead test and one child (0.7%) had an EBLL at the second test after a nonelevated first test result. In contrast to findings from New Hampshire, this project did not observe a high number of refugees who developed EBLLs after moving to the U.S.


new Books for ChILdren And Young PeoPLe or to reprove herself for her own insufficiencies). Plainspoken Genesis, who has already lost a mother to abandonment, is articulate about the true extent of her devastation: "I had not just lost someone I loved. I had lost someone who loved me more than anyone might ever love me again." Yet Genesis is a character of tremendous strength, a girl of whom her father is understandably proud, and even if she doesn't find the answers she thought she wanted, she finds enough in her father's legacy to bring her peace, thawing out of her frozen grief into life just as the spring brings thaw, and answers, to the lake. It's a tender story of a tough, smart, loving girl who finds that she can rise to the challenge of what she's lost because of what she's gained. Readers will understand her and admire her, and find her difficult indeed to forget. (See p. 253 for publication information.) Deborah Stevenson, Editor


PURPOSE
To study the value of functional multislice computed tomography (MSCT) of the orbits in examination of patients with complex incomitant strabismus.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The study included 34 patients. In 8 (23.5%) out of 34 patients, strabismus occurred as the result of an orbital injury. In some patients, incomitant strabismus was a complication of: retrobulbar injection of drugs (4 cases (11.7%)); endoscopic sinus surgery (6 cases (17.6%)); reconstructive surgery of orbits (7 cases (20.6%)). In 9 cases (26.5%), incomitant strabismus was detected in patients with thyroid eye disease (TED), of them 5 (14.7%) had previously undergone balanced orbital decompression (BOD). All patients underwent functional MSCT of the orbits.

RESULTS
Complete absence of the contractile function of the studied muscles was noted in 6 cases with loss of ocular motility in one or several directions of gaze. Contraction of the injured muscle and its fixation in the area of iatrogenic defect in the orbital wall was observed in 6 patients with severe limitation of ocular motility. limitation of the excursion of the inferior and/or medial rectus muscles due to their fixation in the fracture of the orbital wall was observed in 5 patients after orbital trauma. Signs of contracture of the inferior rectus muscle were revealed in 4 cases of strabismus that occurred after retrobulbar anesthesia. Pronounced increase in the lateral dimensions of the extraocular muscles was determined in 4 patients with TED, as well as in patients who had underwent BOD. Displacement of the lateral and medial rectus muscles into the formed bony windows with a change in the vector of their action was observed in patients who had underwent BOD.

CONCLUSION
The data obtained with functional MSCT of the orbits in 34 patients allowed more accurate characterization of the oculomotor disorders and evaluation of the functional state of the extraocular muscles.


We propose a wearable supporting system with a CMOS image sensor for the visually impaired people in operating capacitive touchscreen. This system attaches the CMOS image sensor without a lens to the tip of the middle finger. The icons and buttons displayed on the touchscreen are replaced to the color barcodes. Touching the surface of the touchscreen with the CMOS image sensor directly, the color barcode is detected and decoded. The decoded results are returned to the user by some interaction like audio. Then, the user touches the button area around the color barcode by the forefinger to operate the target device. This system can provide very easy and natural way for operating the touchscreen to the visually impaired people who usually recognize the materials by the finger. Any mechanical modification of the target device is not needed. The modification can be made by changing its software program. Since the color barcode is sensed by the image sensor without any lens touching the surface of the touchscreen, each bar in the color barcode should be blurred. So, we develop an easy and simple image processing to handle such problem. We design it as the hardware module to achieve the high performance and low-power wearable device. A prototype hardware using an FPGA shows the hardware size, the performance and the actual demonstration.


Single-channel current–voltage (IV) curves of human large-conductance, voltage- and Ca2+-activated K+ (BK) channels are quite linear in 150 mM KCl. In the presence of Ca2+ and/or Mg2+, they show a negative slope conductance at high positive potentials. This is generally explained by a Ca2+/Mg2+ block as by Geng et al. (2013. J. Gen. Physiol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1085/jgp.201210955) in this issue. Here, we basically support this finding but add a refinement: the analysis of the open-channel noise by means of β distributions reveals what would be found if measurements were done with an amplifier of sufficient temporal resolution (10 MHz), namely that the block by 2.5 mM Ca2+ and 2.5 mM Mg2+ per se would only cause a saturating curve up to +160 mV. Further bending down requires the involvement of a second process related to flickering in the microsecond range. This flickering is hardly affected by the presence or absence of Ca2+/Mg2+. In contrast to the experiments reported here, previous experiments in BK channels (Schroeder and Hansen. 2007. J. Gen. Physiol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1085/jgp.200709802) showed saturating IV curves already in the absence of Ca2+/Mg2+. The reason for this discrepancy could not be identified so far. However, the flickering component was very similar in the old and new experiments, regardless of the occurrence of noncanonical IV curves.


Three different samples with an albite concentration of 2.5% and one with an albite concentration of 4.5% were used to investigate the behaviour of c and d reflections in a temperature range of 143 to 570 K by X-rays and neutrons. As for An~00 the phase transition PI-I1 is complete and reversible, but in contrast to An l00 a definite transition point cannot be determined. Furthermore, the temperature range of the phase transition is shifted to lower temperatures. With increasing albite concentration the characteristics of a well-defined phase transition disappear. The temperature dependence of the c and d intensities and the anisotropy of the diffuse scattering contributions are similar to those of An~00; therefore, they are traced back to the same dynamical origin. The additional influence of antiphase domain boundaries on the line profiles of the c and d reflections is discussed.


Neurofibromatosis-1 is a common autosomal-dominant genetic disorder associated with numerous physical anomalies and an increased incidence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Studies of children with idiopathic ADHD have suggested a link between corpus callosum size and symptom severity. This study examines the contribution of corpus callosum morphology to symptoms of ADHD in children with neurofibromatosis. Eighteen control subjects and 36 children with neurofibromatosis underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Twelve subjects with neurofibromatosis had evidence of ADHD and 24 did not. Subjects with neurofibromatosis had significantly larger total corpus callosum area and significantly larger regional measurements in three of seven areas. However, there were no differences between the neurofibromatosis alone and neurofibromatosis plus ADHD groups. Increased severity of attention problems was associated with smaller total callosal areas. These results suggest that some features of ADHD in children with neurofibromatosis could be linked to quantifiable differences in brain morphology, but the nature of the genetic mutation in neurofibromatosis suggests that neurochemical effects also could be important. (J Child Neurol 2000;15:90-96).


We discuss, in terms of a simple model, the spin wave excitations, spontaneous magnetization and response to alternating fields of magnetic superlattices.


This paper presents the code which corrects single bit errors in any location of the word as well as 1-bit burst errors occurred in an important part of the word. The proposed code is designed by product of the parity check matrix of the 1-bit burst error correcting codes and the matrix which converts input unequal errors into equal errors. This paper also demonstrates the evaluation of the code, and presents the extended codes with two-level burst error correcting capabilities by interleaving.


Cancer has become a significant health problem in American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) communities. Despite the precipitous rise in cancer rates, limited data are available concerning cancer control services operative in these communities. To address this issue, a cross-sectional survey of all federally recognized tribes was undertaken to ascertain the breadth of cancer control activities offered and Tribal Health Directors perceptions of and priorities ascribed to cancer. This article presents responses given by AN Health Directors juxtaposed to those proffered by AI Health Directors. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of respondents perceived cancer rates to be increasing. Cancer was found to rank third, fifth among AI Health Directors, among seven health conditions when Directors were asked to rank their Tribe's commitment to confronting each one. Awareness of cancer as a public health concern coupled with competing health problems relegates cancer control activities to a lower priority. Findings underscore the need to elevate the issue of cancer in Indian Country as well as to educate investigators to become more sensitive and responsive to other Tribal health issues.


The influence of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase and seryl-tRNA synthetase on the conformation and structural kinetics of yeast tRNA Phe was investigated. Ethidium substituted for dihydrouracil at position 16 or 17 was used as a structural probe, showing the existence of three conformational states in tRNA. The distribution of states (T1, T2, T3) is changed only by the cognate synthetase towards T3 which probably is related to the X-ray structure. The binding of phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase leads to an about 10-fold increase in the fast transition T1 in equilibrium or formed from T2 which has been assigned to changes in the anticodon loop conformation and to a 2-3 fold increase in the slow transition which probably extends to other parts of the tRNA molecule. The observed rates for the transition T2 in equilibrium or formed from T3 are close to that observed for the transfer of the activated phenylalanine to tRNA Phe. This raises the possibility that the conformational transition in tRNA is the rate limiting step in the charging reaction.


1. A series of different sugars and sugar alcohols has been fed to adult flies and their nutritional value determined by their effect on longevity. 2. All the di- and trisaccharides and glycosides which are of great nutritional value for the flies are split in the gut of the flies by enzymes the presence of which could be demonstrated in vitro. No enzymes couls be found by the same method which would split any of the substances which had been shown to have no nutritive value. 3. Weidenhagen9s theory of the specificity of carbohydrases offers a convincing explanation of the results of the feeding and digestion experiments. The presence of only two enzymes, α-glucosidase and α-galactosidase in the gut of the fly would account for the different action of various di- and trisaccharides and glycosides.


The usefulness of the mindsponge notion has been aided by the philosophical reasoning nature inherent in the Bayesian belief updating process.


The coronavirus disease-19 pandemic has forced universities worldwide to develop stronger crisis responses in order to support the surrounding communities more effectively. These solutions are based on collaborations between higher education institutions and industries that facilitate knowledge co-creation. Historically, universities have been knowledge-intensive institutions capable of producing additional findings through research. Currently, these organisations' most important contributions to national economies are related to universities' development of fresh knowledge and technical expertise. In parallel, all industries' business environments have become extremely dynamic, which requires companies to focus on new solutions, rapid development and cost efficiency. To cope with these pressures, industries have been forced to search for new partners, so university-industry collaboration (UIC) has become a key resource for managers seeking to promote innovation and technological development. This study explored the relationship between research and innovation based on smart specialisation strategies and UIC, including the roles of university-industry (U-I) joint research and academics' motivations for interacting with industries. Based on data collected from 841 Portuguese and Spanish researchers, the results reveal that smart specialisation policies' effects on UIC are driven by U-I joint research development and university faculty members' motivations for co-operating with industry professionals. The findings indicate that U-I research activities and universities' incentives to collaborate with industries fully convert smart specialisation strategies' effects into higher levels of U-I knowledge transfer.


The term "ciliopathy" refers to a group of over 35 rare disorders characterized by defective cilia and many overlapping clinical features, such as hydrocephalus, cerebellar vermis hypoplasia, polydactyly, and retinopathy. Even though many genes have been implicated in ciliopathies, the genetic pathogenesis in certain cases remains still undisclosed. Here, we identified a homozygous truncating variant in WDR31 in a patient with a typical ciliopathy phenotype encompassing congenital hydrocephalus, polydactyly, and renal agenesis. WDR31 is an evolutionarily conserved protein that localizes to the cilium and cilia-related compartment. Analysis from zebrafish supports the role of WDR31 in regulating the cilia morphology. The CRISPR/Cas9 knock-in (p.Arg261del) C. elegans model of the patient variant (p.Arg268*) reproduced several cilia-related defects observed in wdr-31 null mutants. Mechanistic analysis from C. elegans revealed that WDR-31 functions redundantly with ELDM-1 (ELMOD protein) and RPI-2 (RP2) to regulate the IFT trafficking through controlling the cilia entry of the BBSome. This work revealed WDR31 as a new ciliopathy protein that regulates IFT and BBSome trafficking.


This study examines the predictors of preferences of pen devices used with originator insulin glargine and MK-1293, a recently approved biosimilar insulin glargine (referred to as "Pen X"), among patients with diabetes. Adult patients with type 1/type 2 diabetes were recruited from commercial panels in the U.S., Canada, and the UK for one hour study visits. Respondents rated several attributes of each pen along with overall preferences for each of the two insulin pens. Non-inferiority analyses were conducted to compare ratings of the originator insulin glargine pen with Pen X. Logistic regression modeling was conducted to identify predictors of overall preference. A total of N=177 patients completed the study: mean age of 53.2 years, 56% males, with 73% type 2 diabetes. Overall, 63.2% preferred Pen X, 22.3% preferred originator insulin glargine pen and 14.5% had no preference. Except for employment, demographics were not significantly associated with overall preference, however the ease of pushing the injection button, instruction booklet and overall quality of the pen were predictive of an overall preference of Pen X (Table 1).The current study suggests that >60% of patients preferred Pen X and that overall, functional use and individual pen characteristics were the strongest predictors of preference, after adjusting for other pen characteristics. Disclosure B. Alemayehu: Employee; Self; Merck & Co., Inc. A.M. Nguyen: Employee; Self; Merck & Co., Inc. M. DiBonaventura: Employee; Self; Pfizer Inc.. Consultant; Self; Merck & Co., Inc.. B. Shah-Manek: None. C. Karki: None. M. Crutchlow: Employee; Self; Merck & Co., Inc.. Consultant; Spouse/Partner; Novo Nordisk Inc., Zealand Pharma A/S, XOMA Corporation.


Purpose: In the digital age, web applications work as machines that swallow time rapidly. A new generation tendency to use these tools for entertaining and information gathering has changed their habits in type of selected materials and reading practices. In other words, although users currently receive information from the Internet, they have increasingly become superficial readers who have a little interest to read deeply in digital format. This unwillingness not only changes reading habits of young adults, but also transforms their web browsing and information processing. The present study aims to investigate the effect of digital environment on users' reading habits.
Methodology: We used a case study approach and survey method was used. In this research, a questionnaire was used as a data collecting method. The research population included all undergraduate students in all disciplines (=1000) who study in "Toos Institute of Higher Education". 100 students were selected as a sample study based on the accessibility principle.
Findings: The results indicated that participants commonly believed that the Internet increases interactive reading (56%), expanded reading (44%), and superficial reading (49%). In contrast, it reduces concentrated reading (34%) and in-depth reading (28%). In addition, the Internet increases reading in the formats such as news (63 %), general knowledge (85%), special literature (63%), and pornography (42%). In contrast, it has no any significant impact on religious literature (35%) and literary literature (40%).
Originality/Value: Value of this research lies in its effort to show altered reading habits, methods and formats in the digital environment. It can be a useful source for accommodation with new interests and find new methods for deepen reading in these new behaviors.


Retinoids, all-trans-retinoic acid (AT-RA) and its bioisters, exert diverse and profound effects on the growth and differentiation of normal and malignant cells, vertebrate development, and homeostasis. Since their nuclear receptors (RARs: alpha, beta and gamma) were cloned, extensive studies on retinoid signalling at molecular level have elucidated its elaborate mechanisms, by which the expression of a variety of retinoid responsive genes are regulated. Furthermore, discoveries of the second receptor system of retinoid (RXRs: alpha, beta and gamma) and their substantial ligand, 9-cis-retinoic acid (9C-RA), were recently reported. The heterodimer formation between RXR and RAR or other members of the steroid/thyroid hormone receptor superfamily gave us a new aspect of hormonal gene control including retinoids, thyroid hormone, vitamin D3 and others. These heterodimers were showed to bind specific response elements consisted of the direct repeat of consensus sequence (AGATTC) or its related sequences. Differential regulation of retinoid responsive gene by RARs or/and RXRs in vivo is an ongoing subject and the combinatory outcome of subtypes or isotypes of receptors, natural response elements, natural ligands (AT-RA, 9C-RA, or their metabolites) owing to pleiotropic effects of retinoids is being revealed. The anti-malignant effect of retinoids is another important theme. The report of prominent therapeutic effect of AT-RA against APL patients was sensational. In many APL patients, translocation between RAR alpha gene and an oncogenic gene, PML, can be detected, although the roles of their fusion products (RAR alpha-PML and PML-RAR alpha) in APL induction have not been understood. Furthermore, the cross-talk between RAR and AP-1 is thought to give an explanation for the suppressive effects of retinoids against tumor promoters (TPA and others). In those contexts, synthetic retinoids specific for each subtype of RAR or RXR, which will be useful reagents for biological studies and/or excellent therapeutic agents, are being developed. Some RAR subtype-selective compounds including antagonists have been already reported.


We present findings from an anthropological field study on the role of language and language policy in migration from Poland to Norway, and the larger implications for emerging language and immigration policy in Europe. Initial fieldwork in Norway found that Polish workers without knowledge of the Norwegian language struggled to secure employment in the formal economy. The 2008 financial crisis intensified competition in the labour market and underscored fluency in Norwegian as a means of discriminating among workers. Comparative case studies of language schools revealed that these organizations are active participants in channeling Polish migrants' movements into a segmented labour market, often in ways that involve cooperation between private companies and the State. We frame the Norwegian case within the larger context of Europe and the trend there toward favoring integration over multiculturalism. The emergence of restrictive language policies in Europe may be interpreted as a legally and culturally acceptable means for discouraging access to rights associated with permanent residency or citizenship by work migrants from CEE countries, while at the same time permitting them access to the labour market for temporary work. The long-term consequences of such policies for European society are uncertain.


The present paper presents a framework for managing quality of service in future WDM core optical networks. These networks solve the bandwidth problem but transmit complexity to the control and management layers. Part of this complexity is handled by the generalized multiprotocol label switching (GMPLS) control plane. The latter, however, cannot tackle the new challenges posed by emerging applications requiring more than bandwidth guaranteed connections. In this paper, we first study the requirements of applications and the proposed quality of service in GMPLS, and then, we try to fill up the gap between both, with a focus on the transmission delay. The resulting framework will enable the optical network to meet the exigencies of new services


The objective of this study was to verify whether SCB(Slurry Composting & Bio-filtration) system can be applied for the treatment of anaerobic digestion(AD) wastewater and also, to identify the most effective set among three filtration compost beds tested. Results can be summarized as these; (a) When AD wastewater was sprayed on the top of beds which were mainly composed of sawdust and/or other media and, subsequently, filtrates collected and analyzed, there were large drop in the values of Electric Conductivity(EC), Total Suspended Solid(TSS), Biochemical Oxygen Demand(BOD), and Chemical Oxygen Demand(COD). In contrast, Total Nitrgen(T-N) and Total Phosphorus(T-P) were progressively elevated. We consider these changes as positive if the filtrate are to be utilized as liquid fertilizer. (b) When three sets of filtration beds (T1, T2, T3) were compared for their effectiveness, no significant difference was found among them. These indicate that expensive sawdust can be replaced in part with cheaper media such as woodchip, rice husks, or others. (c) At early stage of operation (within 20 days), BOD in filtrates were maintained at high level probably due to the lack of microbial activity. During the same stage, T-N, T-P was at low level but, were elevated to higher levels thereafter. These data, when combined, indicate that the filtration system needs at least a couple of weeks for the optimized microbial functioning. (d) The temperatures of the experimental beds were progressively dropped as the experiment continued through the fall season, although filtration effectiveness was not noticeably influenced.


The article analyses the possible limits of negative integration on the basis of the competition law of the European Community. In contrast to the fundamental freedoms of the Community, its competition law is not subject to any explicit exceptions or limitations (apart from the possibility of an exemption under Art. 81 (3) EC). That is problematic, because in competition law just as with the fundamental freedoms issues of competence must be taken into account. An appropriate relationship between supranationality (internal market, market opening) and conflicting national requirements and competences must be taken into account in the determination of the scope and limits of the Community law prohibition of anti-competitive agreements. While the Member States, because of the increased sensitivity of the European Court of Justice in relation to the fundamental freedoms, have won back some national room for manoeuvre, such a tendency towards flexibility is less apparent in the case law of the European Court of Justice on competition law. Such indications as exist are apt to be characterised and developed as a European rule of reason. Considerably more thorough-going are comments in the legal literature that directly challenge the principle of the priority of Community law and in the case of so called indirect or diagonal conflicts argue that supremacy should be treated as an "optimisation principle" according to the principle of "practical concordance". In contrast, it is suggested here that the principle of "practical concordance" should only be applied to the (growing) number of horizontal conflicts between European competition law and the other policies of the Community. For diagonal conflicts between Community competition law and other policies of national law it seems appropriate to read across the limitations inherent in the Cassis- jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice to Arts. 81 I and 82. This contribution does not include any consideration of the procedural aspects of competition law or of the ideas for reform discussed by the Commission in its White Paper of May 1999 on modernising the application of the provisions of competition law.


This paper presents a new simplified adaptive channel prediction scheme for MIMO-OFDM system. It is based on the conjugate gradient (CG) algorithm. This simplification also uses Alamouti's STBC code which leads to a simple decoding process. Compared with the traditional RLS algorithm, CG performances better in the decision-directed demodulation mode. And this scheme is also designed to have the capability to restrain the noise and it causes a better prediction result.


Angioimmunoblastic lymphoma (AILT) is the second most common subtype of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) and is characterized by dismal prognosis. Thus far, only a few studies have dealt with its molecular pathogenesis. We performed gene expression profile (GEP) analysis of six AILT, six anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCL), 28 PTCL-unspecified (PTCL/U), and 20 samples of normal T lymphocytes (including CD4(+), CD8(+), and activated and resting subpopulations), aiming to (a) assess the relationship of AILT with other PTCLs, (b) establish the relationship between AILT and normal T-cell subsets, and (c) recognize the cellular programs deregulated in AILT possibly looking for novel potential therapeutic targets. First, we found that AILT and other PTCLs have rather similar GEP, possibly sharing common oncogenic pathways. Second, we found that AILTs are closer to activated CD4(+), rather than to resting or CD8(+) lymphocytes. Furthermore, we found that the molecular signature of follicular T helper cells was significantly overexpressed in AILT, reinforcing the idea that AILT may arise from such cellular counterpart. Finally, we identified several genes deregulated in AILT, including PDGFRA, REL, and VEGF. The expression of several molecules was then studied by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays containing 45 independent AILT cases. Notably, we found that the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was expressed not only by reactive cells, but also by neoplastic cells, and that nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation is uncommon in AILT, as suggested by frequent exclusively cytoplasmic c-REL localization. Our study provides new relevant information on AILT biology and new candidates for possible therapeutic targets such as PDGFRA (platelet-derived growth factor alpha) and VEGF.


Background: Serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) are widely used in medical practice. Their discontinuation has been associated with a wide range of symptoms. The aim of this paper is to identify the occurrence, frequency, and features of withdrawal symptoms after SNRI discontinuation. Methods: PRISMA guidelines were followed to conduct a systematic review. Electronic databases included PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and MEDLINE from the inception of each database to June 2017. Titles, abstracts, and topics were searched using a combination of the following terms: "duloxetine" OR "venlafaxine" OR "desvenlafaxine" OR "milnacipran" OR "levomilnacipran" OR "SNRI" OR "second generation antidepressant" OR "serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor" AND "discontinuation" OR "withdrawal" OR "rebound." Only published trials in the English language were included. Results: Sixty-one reports met the criteria for inclusion. There were 22 double-blind randomized controlled trials, 6 studies where patients were treated in an open fashion and then randomized to a double-blind controlled phase, 8 open trials, 1 prospective naturalistic study, 1 retrospective study, and 23 case reports. Withdrawal symptoms occurred after discontinuation of any type of SNRI. The prevalence of withdrawal symptoms varied across reports and appeared to be higher with venlafaxine. Symptoms typically ensued within a few days from discontinuation and lasted a few weeks, also with gradual tapering. Late onset and/or a longer persistence of disturbances occurred as well. Conclusions: Clinicians need to add SNRI to the list of drugs potentially inducing withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation, together with other types of psychotropic drugs. The results of this study challenge the use of SNRI as first-line treatment for mood and anxiety disorders.


Urinary bladder epithelium was studied with electron microscope in 50 patients with interstitial cystitis (IC) and 9 controls. In addition, biopsies of 14 patients with IC were studied with special stains for the presence of bacteria or viral inclusions in the epithelium. No bacteria or viral inclusions could be demonstrated. On the basis of these and earlier negative findings it appears that simple infection of the epithelium is ruled out as the aetiology in IC. Electron microscopy demonstrated an increase in large swollen epithelial cells with decreased amount of lateral processes in half of the IC samples and inflammatory changes in the mucosa. The similarity of the ultrastructure of epithelial cells in controls and IC patients makes it improbable that the disease process originates in the epithelium. In this study special attention was paid to large cytosomes (diameter 0.4--6.0 mum) in the epithelial cells. These contained small vesicular bodies (diameter 0.04--0.2 mum) and lipid droplets, and were found in controls as well as in IC patients.


Delivering Wireless Internet over MMDS, LMDS and MMDS offers revenue-enhancing and competitive opportunities for operators. This paper discusses some of the requirements for providing Wireless Internet services. We discuss the architectural view as well as the interfaces and required equipment to provide wireless Internet. Implementation, security, and capacity issues are discussed briefly to provide the service provider with an understanding of their options when implementing Wireless Internet system.


Monogenic forms of obesity have been identified in ≤10% of severely obese European patients. However, the overall spectrum of deleterious variants (point mutations and structural variants) responsible for childhood severe obesity remains elusive. In this study, we genetically screened 225 severely obese children from consanguineous Pakistani families through a combination of techniques, including an in-house–developed augmented whole-exome sequencing method (CoDE-seq) that enables simultaneous detection of whole-exome copy number variations (CNVs) and point mutations in coding regions. We identified 110 (49%) probands carrying 55 different pathogenic point mutations and CNVs in 13 genes/loci responsible for nonsyndromic and syndromic monofactorial obesity. CoDE-seq also identified 28 rare or novel CNVs associated with intellectual disability in 22 additional obese subjects (10%). Additionally, we highlight variants in candidate genes for obesity warranting further investigation. Altogether, 59% of cases in the studied cohort are likely to have a discrete genetic cause, with 13% of these as a result of CNVs, demonstrating a remarkably higher prevalence of monofactorial obesity than hitherto reported and a plausible overlapping of obesity and intellectual disabilities in several cases. Finally, inbred populations with a high prevalence of obesity provide unique, genetically enriched material in the quest of new genes/variants influencing energy balance.


Background Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been declared an urgent threat by the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Ceftriaxone is the mainstay of treatment, however many specific NG strains throughout the world exhibit decreased susceptibility (DS) and, occasionally, high-level resistance. In particular, this emerging resistance has been associated with an NG strain of multi-locus sequence type (MLST) 1901 and harbouring a 'mosaic' Penicillin Binding Protein sequence (mPBP2–1901). Here, we sought to measure the prevalence of this strain in Australia. Methods In the context of the Gonorrhoea Resistance Assessment by Nucleic Acid Detection (GRAND) study, we developed molecular NG-AMR detection methods to test 2225 NG isolates collected in the first half of 2012 from around Australia. These isolates comprised approximately 90% of all NG isolates collected for culture-based AMR testing, and about 30% of all NG diagnoses nationally. The isolates were characterised using the Sequenom iPLEX platform to provide both an MLST type and AMR mutation data. We compared the findings to minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results from culture-based AMR surveillance. Results We identified 186 distinct NG genotypes among the 2225 isolates; the 8 most common comprised 51% of all isolates. The mPBP2–1901 strain was the second most prevalent genotype, accounting for 8.4% (188/2228) of isolates. The prevalence of mPBP2–1901 was highest in Victoria and New South Wales (12% and 10.2%, respectively) compared to the other states (all Conclusion These findings highlight that a small number of genotypes account for the majority of NG infections in Australia, with the mPBP2–1901 strain accounting for 8% of isolates. The findings also demonstrate the benefits of using molecular testing to complement phenotypic NG AMR surveillance. Disclosure of interest statement Nothing to Declare.


scs32 was isolated as an extragenic suppressor of a temperature-sensitive (ts) mutation (rpo26-31) in the gene encoding Rpo26p, a subunit common to yeast nuclear RNA polymerases (RNAPs). rpo26-31 also confers inositol auxotrophy, inhibits the assembly of RNAPI and RNAPII and reduces the steady-state level of Rpo26p and the largest subunit of RNAPI (Rpo11p or A190p) and RNAPII (Rpo21p). rpo26-31p accumulated to wild-type levels in the scs32 strain; nevertheless, the amount of assembled RNAPII remained at a reduced level at high temperature. Hence, scs32 only partially suppressed the ts phenotype and was unable to suppress the Ino-phenotype of rpo26-31. SCS32 is identical to PUP3, which encodes a subunit of the yeast proteasome. scs32 was able to suppress the phenotype of other ts alleles of RPO26, all of which reduce the steady-state level of this subunit. However, scs32 was unable to suppress the ts phenotype of mutant alleles of RPO21, or result in accumulation of the unstable rpo21-4p. These observations suggest that the stability of non-functional or unassembled forms of Rpo26p and Rpo21p are regulated independently.


The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, around 21.000 years before present) was a period with significantly colder global mean temperature, large Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, and lower CO2 concentrations. Siberia was affected by a lower sea level which led to a closed Bering strait and a northward shift of the Arctic Ocean coastline. However, unlike other high-latitude areas, Siberia was not covered by a terrestrial ice sheet at that time. Climate simulations with LGM boundary conditions show large inter-model differences especially in Northern Siberia, which impede a direct analysis of Siberian LGM climate from simulations. Preserved pollen samples provide information on the LGM vegetation and climate state.
We reconstruct mean temperature of the warmest month and mean annual precipitation from a network of pollen samples using weighted averaging partial least squares transfer functions. Combining these local reconstructions with a multi-model ensemble of PMIP3 climate simulations in a Bayesian framework, we obtain the first probabilistic spatial reconstruction of Siberian LGM climate. Our reconstruction shows less cold summer temperature anomalies along the coastlines than in Western Siberia, and a weaker precipitation reduction in Eastern Siberia compared to Western Siberia. Finally, we quantify the mismatch between each ensemble member and the proxy data. By examining common features among similarly performing simulations, we find that most simulations with a comparatively warm and wet Siberian climate score better.
Our data constrained state estimate is well-suited for future analyses of Siberian LGM climate. Potential applications include the investigation of reasons for the absence of a Siberian ice sheet during the LGM, the quantification of land-atmosphere carbon fluxes, and the estimation of past afforestation rates.


The influence of medium formulation, methods of ovule support, and ovule perforation on in vitro growth of immature peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) embryos (4.0 to 8.7 mm long) was investigated. Maximum embryo dry weights were attained with vermiculite support, ovule perforation, and 10% sucrose in the medium. At high sucrose levels, all three tested media (Monnier, modified Murashige and Skoog, or modified Stewart and Hsu medium) performed similarly. Adding IAA and kinetin to culture media did not enhance embryo growth. Using the vermiculite support system, small embryos of early maturing peach cultivars, obtained at fruit maturity, were cultured successfully and used as maternal parents in breeding programs. Chemical name used: indole acetic acid (IAA).


This study evaluates the valuation process for property taxation under the County government in Nairobi. The valuation process is an important element of the property tax administration process because it links the market value of the property with the tax paid. Where the valuation process is unable to capture the full market value of the property, the County government does not get adequate revenue from property taxation and there is unfairness in taxation. Data was gathered through interview of officials in the Land Valuation Directorate of Nairobi City County to evaluate the property valuation process. Documentary search of the laws that govern property valuation process for taxation purpose at the county level was also done. Literature review of best practices in property valuation process in the world was done with focus on South Africa and USA. Data analysis was done through thematic analysis and ratios. The study established that Nairobi city has not yet adopted mass valuations, it uses outdated valuation registers that are over thirty years old and does not carry out regular revaluations. There is no independent body that monitors the valuation process in the County. The existing legislation has not promoted best practices in the valuation process. All these issues have resulted in the city not fully exploiting the revenue potential in property taxation in Nairobi City. The study recommends that the laws governing property taxation at the county level should be amended to reduce the period between revaluations to a maximum of five years; allow for use of mass valuation techniques and establish a body that monitors and regulates the property taxation process including valuation. The county should also use capital value as the basis of valuation and not unimproved site value. Nairobi County government should regularly carry out revaluation of the property tax base to boost its revenue.


Statins are 3-hydroxyl-3-methyglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors that are commonly used to inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis. Emerging data have suggested that they also have "pleotropic effects," including modulating actin cytoskeleton reorganization. Here, we report an effect of simvastatin on the trafficking of aquaporin-2 (AQP2). Specifically, simvastatin induced the membrane accumulation of AQP2 in cell cultures and kidneys in situ. The effect of simvastatin was independent of protein kinase A activation and phosphorylation at AQP2-Ser(256), a critical event involved in vasopressin (VP)-regulated AQP2 trafficking. Further investigation showed that simvastatin inhibited endocytosis in parallel with downregulation of RhoA activity. Overexpression of active RhoA attenuated simvastatin's effect, suggesting the involvement of this small GTPase in simvastatin-mediated AQP2 trafficking. Finally, the effect of simvastatin on urinary concentration was investigated in VP-deficient Brattleboro rats. Simvastatin acutely (3-6 h) increased urinary concentration and decreased urine output in these animals. In summary, simvastatin regulates AQP2 trafficking in vitro and urinary concentration in vivo via events involving downregulation of Rho GTPase activity and inhibition of endocytosis. Our study provides an alternative mechanism to regulate AQP2 trafficking, bypassing the VP-vasopressin receptor signaling pathway.


[Author's Note: The following information is based on my personal experience and should not be interpreted as the only way to care for or to breed caiques. Any reference made to "caique" is referring to both the Blackheaded and White-bellied Caiques, as they are virtually identical in behavior.) Introduction '"T1his article was brought about 1 because of the many questions I have received over the years regarding the care and breeding of caiques. Hopefully, this information will answer most of the frequently-asked questions and will also enlighten those who are not familiar with the caique. I observed my first caiques while helping a friend unload a shipment of parrots into his Los Angeles facility during the early 1970's. The 10 wildcaught White-bellied Caiques were among a large shipment of macaws imported from Bolivia. Their striking color and comical antics immediately endeared them me to and they became the nucleus of my breeding stock. Throughout the years, they have proven to be one of the most intelligent species of birds that J have worked with; which includes macaws, Amazons. cockatoos, African Greys, conures, and most of the Australian parakeets. The handfed caique makes an exceptionally loving pet that immediately becomes a member of the family and frequently the center of family life. Handfed caiques pave the characteristics of being friendly to friend and stranger alike, an important asset when choosing a family pet. Description The most common of the caiques is the Black-headed Caique Pionites melanocepbala. They are found in South America predominately north of the Amazon River. The Black-headeds have a black forehead, crown and nape. They have a green streak under the eyes and lores, cheeks and throat are orangeyellow. Across the back of the neck they have a wide dark orange band, bordered above and below by a few blue tinged feathers. Their backs, wings, rump and upper tail-coverts are green. Their breasts and abdomen area are creamy-white. Their thighs, sides of abdomen and flanks are orange. Their under wing-coverts are green; axillaries reddish-orange; under tail-coverts yellowish-orange; their primary coverts and primaries are violetblue edged with green; carpal edge greenish-yellow. Their tails are tipped with yellow. They have gray-black beaks and legs. Adult birds have a dark orange iris. Adults are approximately nine inches in length and weigh approximately 180 grams. Immature birds are a dull version of the adults with the addition of a yellow wash through area of the abdomen. Immature birds have a dark iris. Black-headed Caiques were generally imported from Guyana. Imports numbered 300 to 500 per year, through 1992. The Black-headed has one subspecies, the Pallid, which is very rare in captivity. The White-bellied Caique Pionites leucogaster is found in South America, generally south of the Amazon River. The White-bellied has a bright orange crown, nape, hindneck and upper earcoverts. The lores, throat and sides of the head are yellow. The back, wings, rump and tail-coverts are green. The breast and abdomen are creamy-white; flanks and thighs are green; under tailcoverts are green; primary-coverts and primaries violet-blue edged with green. The beak is horn-colored, legs are pink, and the iris is red in adult birds. Adults are approximately nine inches in length and weigh approximately 190 grams. Immature birds again are dull versions of the adults with a heavy yellow wash on the abdomen, black blotching on their feet and have a varied amount of black feathering on the headto which there is no uniformity. In the same clutch, a baby may have half of its head covered with black feathers and its nest mates may have no black feathers at all. The black feathering usually occurs intermingled with orange feathers, but on occasion can be solid. This gives the appearance of a black cap. Usually by three years of age all of the black feathers have been replaced by bright orange feathers. Birds that have had heavy black feathering as babies, have had darker orange feathering as adults. Very few Green-thigh White-bellied Caiques were exported out of South America and consequently they are very rare in captivity. The White-bellied has two subspecies, one of which, the Yellowthigh, is the most common White-bellied in captivity. The Yellow-thigh's coloring differs only by the thighs being yellow instead of green.


Student advocacy and involvement in the political process is built into the structure of the American Student Dental Association (ASDA), especially in its Legislative Grassroots Network and an internal communication network among students to ensure political awareness. Students are concerned with such issues as a universally accepted, non-patient-based licensure process, mid-level providers, loan availability and tax deductibility, financial support for schools, and service early in one's professional career (giving forward rather than giving back). Through collaboration with the American Dental Education Association and with many state associations, students participate in lobbying, awareness campaigns, and behind the scenes as legislative aids. Although students share the same love for the profession that animates established practitioners, they are perceived by legislators as being different. Students are involved in the legislative process because it represents their future.


I examine the implications of the recently found extrasolar planets on the planet-induced axisymmetric mass-loss model for the formation of elliptical planetary nebulae (PNe). This model attributes the low departure from spherical mass-loss of upper asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars to envelope rotation which results from deposition of orbital angular momentum of the planets. Since about half of all PNe are elliptical, i.e., have low equatorial to polar density contrast, it was predicted that about 50 per cent of all Sun-like stars have Jupiter-like planets around them, i.e., a mass about equal to that of Jupiter, MJ, or more massive. In the light of the new findings that only 5 per cent of Sun-like stars have such planets, and a newly proposed mechanism for axisymmetric mass-loss, the cool magnetic spots model, I revise this prediction. I predict that indeed ∼50 per cent of PN progenitors do have close planets around them, but the planets can have much lower masses, as low as ∼0.01MJ, in order to spin-up the envelopes of AGB stars efficiently. To support this claim, I follow the angular momentum evolution of single stars with main-sequence mass in the range of 1.3–2.4 M⊙, as they evolve to the post-AGB phase. I find that single stars rotate much too slowly to possess any significant non-spherical mass-loss as they reach the upper AGB. It seems, therefore, that planets, in some cases even Earth-like planets, are sufficient to spin-up the envelope of these AGB stars for them to form elliptical PNe. The prediction that on average several such planets orbit each star, as in the Solar system, still holds.


The solution of Markovian models is usually non-trivial to be performed using iterative methods, so it is well-fitted to simulation approaches and high performance implementations. The Bootstrap simulation method is a novel simulation technique of Markovian models that brings a considerable improvement in the results accuracy, notwithstanding its higher computation cost when compared to other simulation alternatives. In this paper, we present three parallel implementations of the Bootstrap simulation algorithm, exploiting a multi-core SMP cluster. We discuss some practical implementation issues about processing and communication demands, as well as present an analysis of speedup and efficiency considering different models' sizes and simulation trajectory lengths. Finally, future works point out some improvements to achieve even better results in terms of accuracy.


This multi-site, mixed methods project charted the experiences of British, Chinese and Australian patients travelling abroad for cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery tourism is a fast developing industry that incorporates novel forms of labour and organisational structures that cross national boundaries, as well as drawing together pre-existing medical and tourism infrastructure. While medical tourism has often been characterised as wealthy patients from the global south travelling to the global north for high quality medical treatment unavailable at home, cosmetic surgery patients often travel from global north to global south, but these patients are on modest incomes. Despite this they can sometimes access upmarket private hospitals beyond their reach back home, made possible by favourable currency rates, cheap flights and lower labour costs outside the richest countries in the world. UK and Australian patients travelled for surgeries that were popular back home – such as breast augmentation and uplift, 'tummy tuck', rhinoplasty and liposuction. Others travel regionally, for example within Europe, often also motivated by cost savings. There are important exceptions to this pattern: Chinese patients travelling to South Korea access more expensive but high quality cosmetic surgery unavailable back home. Here patients from abroad often seek particular types of surgery prevalent amongst South Koreans, for example eye or jawbone surgery, or high tech surgery, such as breast augmentation using the patient's own fat and stem cells. Patients therefore travel from global north to global south, across regional borders, and many are also ex-patriates. UK patients in Spain were most usually already living in Southern Spain or Gibraltar. Monitoring the movements of cosmetic surgery tourists is important in predicting health tourism in the future. As public healthcare systems are increasingly squeezed, patients become consumers in search of cut price procedures, taking on the risks of the choices they make. This research aimed to broaden understandings of surgical tourist experiences, the organisations involved, and the implications for globalized


The emerging concern on intangible heritage in the international arena reflects the fear of cultural homogeneity, diminishing cultural diversity and human creativity. Cultural heritage is a symbol spiritual and intellectual wealth of a civilization, while intangible cultural heritage is associated to tradition and living expressions. There is a need to preserve these fragile assets so they would someday be oblivious in the modern world. Ironically, the potential strategy in preserving the intangible cultural heritage lies in the current advanced digital technology. This paper highlights major issues and challenges in the intangible cultural heritage preservation through technology, with regards to the content and the purpose associated to it.


To the Editor. —In their article in the June 1989 issue of theArchives, Rosenbaum et al 1 advocated vertical rectus muscle transposition surgery in conjunction with botulinum toxin (Oculinum) injection of the medial rectus muscle for esotropia as a result of abducens palsy. They suggested moving the superior and inferior recti muscles temporally to lie adjacent to the lateral rectus muscle. They gave a very detailed description of the placement of these muscles. They were using botulinum toxin either before, during, or after surgery in this group of patients. In light of their results, I attempted this procedure but found that I induced vertical deviations at the time of the botulinum toxin injection. I am aware of the fact that injection of the medial rectus muscle with botulinum toxin may induce a vertical deviation as well; however, I detected these vertical deviations at the time of the transposition and


Clinically evident cardiac metastases from malignant neoplasms are uncommon, occurring most commonly in association with lung and breast carcinoma, lymphoma, leukemia and melanoma. The vast majority, over 90%, present with pericardial involvement. Squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix rarely produce cardiac metastases, with endomyocardia metastases being particularly rare. Three patients are reported who presented with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix and developed this pattern of metastasis, one of whom was diagnosed at endomyocardial biopsy and the other two at autopsy. The paucity of such cases in the literature emphasizes the uniqueness of this phenomenon.


This paper presents wearable health monitors that are based on continuous-wave Doppler radar technology. To achieve low complexity, low power consumption, and simultaneous wireless transmission of Doppler information, the radar architecture is bistatic with a self-injection-locked oscillator (SILO) tag and an injection-locked oscillator (ILO)-based frequency demodulator. In experiments with a prototype that was operated in the medical body area network and the industrial scientific and medical bands from 2.36 to 2.484 GHz, the SILO tag is attached to the chest of a subject to transform the movement of the chest due to cardiopulmonary activity and body exercise into a transmitted frequency-modulated wave. The tag consumes a very low power of 4.4 mW. The ILO-based frequency demodulator, located 30 cm from the subject, receives and processes this wave to yield the waveform that is associated with the movement of the chest. Following further digital signal processing, the cardiopulmonary activity and body exercise are displayed as time-frequency spectrograms. Promisingly, the experimental results that are presented in this paper reveal that the proposed health monitor has high potential to integrate a cardiopulmonary sensor, a pedometer, and a wireless transmission device on a single radar platform.


Inertance Pulse Tube Cryocoolers make use of a long tube for phase shifting and optimization of performance. This long tube presents a challenge for packaging in most applications, and is also a concern for environments where vibration is present (e.g., launch). In the present invention, a gap configuration is used in place of the tube, resulting in a more compact inertance device. Using the SAGE software, the performance of this new device is found to be comparable to that of an inertance tube. Significantly, this new invention offers the flexibility to change the inertance value during testing and operation, which cannot be done with the tube configuration.


Model weaving is a new research topic in MDA (Model Driven Architecture), and it is also the one of the research hotspots in aspect-oriented software architecture. At present, there are two key issues, evolution and complexity, need to be resolved in software engineering, and some researchers have proposed a model weaving framework which based on MDA. However, they didn't propose a complete model weaver. In this paper, we focus on designing a complete model weaver to support Aspect-Oriented dynamic software evolution in architecture level. Hence, combining MDA with AOP, we propose a MDMW weaver. Thus, a new method to resolve maintenance of software complexity and management of the software evolution in the abstraction layer of software architecture was provided. By separating concerns, modeling the crosscutting concern and the function need to be extended as aspectual model, the abstract level can be improved, then we weaving it into base model by MDMW weaver. It is well regulated, executable, and can achieve the software evolution and maintenance easily.


Meandros Med Dent J 2017;18:61-4 Chest pain is one of the common reasons for admission to the emergency department and an important symptom that can be a precursor of a fatal condition. A simple muscle pain can be a sign of illnesses until myocardial infarction or even aortic dissection, which is more lethal. In this respect, electrocardiogram (ECG) which is of critical importance in the evaluation of patients is a guide for us. However, starting treatments such as thrombolytic therapy that is solely considered according to ECG may be a wrong decision. Therefore, detailed investigations should be made for establishing a diagnosis and treatment plans should be made accordingly. In this paper, we present a 19-year-old male patient who was admitted to our emergency department with chest pain, having ST segment elevation of D2, D3 and aVF in ECG along with troponin elevation and was diagnosed with acute pericarditis.


The precision of an estimator is usually evaluated by its variance. The bias on the other hand measures the accuracy of an estimator. A combined measure of precision and accuracy (variance and bias) is the mean squared error (MSE). A smaller MSE indicates that an estimate is Every produced small area estimate should be accompanied with more precise and/or accurate than a comparable estimate with a larger MSE. its MSE estimate. The MSE is defined by the expectation of the squared difference of the point estimate (mathjax-inline(\hat{\theta}_{i})mathjaxat domain level as follows inline) and the true value (mathjax-inline(\theta_{i})mathjax-inline), (mathjax-inline(i)mathjax-inline)


Abstract This is the first detailed analysis of a CO2 diffuse degassing time series from Deception volcano, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, performed during an episode of anomalously high long-period (LP) seismicity. Diffuse CO2 emissions measured by an automatic geochemical station between 7 December 2009 and 13 February 2010 showed an excellent temporal agreement with the LP seismicity in December 2009. The absence of such a temporal correlation with the second burst of seismicity that occurred in late January 2010 suggests a different source for this LP activity. This was confirmed by analysis of seismic array data. The LP seismicity observed during December 2009 was caused by fluid-driven cracks that originated from pressure fluctuations in the volcano-hydrothermal systems beneath Deception volcano that were probably caused by a deep injection of undegassed magma before December 2009. The diffuse CO2 degassing data have provided evidence of the activation of at least two different sources of seismicity during the study period at Deception volcano.


We provide a coordinate-free version of the local classification, due to Walker Q. J. Math. 1, 69 1950 , of null parallel distributions on pseudo-Riemannian manifolds. The underlying manifold is realized, locally, as the total space of a fiber bundle, each fiber of which is an affine principal bundle over a pseudo-Riemannian manifold. All structures just named are naturally determined by the distribution and the metric, in contrast with the noncanonical choice of coordinates in the usual formulation of Walker's theorem. © 2006 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2209167


ABSTRACT Introduction: Ganglioneuromas are rare benign neoplasms of the sympathetic nervous system. We describe the case of an incidentally found ganglioneuroma in a woman. To our knowledge this is the first described case of robotic excision of a retroperitoneal ganglioneuroma. Case: A 41-year-old female had an incidental retroperitoneal mass found during a routine US. CT scan and MRI showed an 8.3cm homogeneous mass, adjacent to left kidney upper pole, with peripheral contrast enhancement. Metabolic tests were normal. Patient was positioned in a left flank position and five ports were introduced transperitoneally. A 4-arm Da Vinci SI was docked at a 45° angle to the table. Lesion was dissected along with left adrenal gland, beginning at the left renal hilum and proceeding cephalad. Results: Operating time was 325min and blood loss was 50ml. Patient was discharged after 72hours. There were no postoperative complications. Pathology showed ganglionic cells with neural tissue, and normal adrenal. Discussion: Ganglioneuromas rare benign tumors originating from neural crest and typically affect young adults. Most frequent locations are posterior mediastinum, retroperitoneum and adrenal gland. As in this case, ganglioneuromas are usually silent, slow growing tumors discovered incidentally or by mass effect. US and CT imaging may suggest the diagnosis while MRI findings can be specific for ganglioneuroma. Percutaneous biopsy is an option. Although benign, usually requires surgical excision for treatment. Conclusions: Our case shows that a robotic approach is feasible and allows for meticulous and safe dissection of vascular structures, facilitating adequate hemostasis while maintaining oncological principles.


Current information support on the market for professional photographers is incomplete. We
try to fill this void: the communication between a photographer and a client.
The final result, the application, allows the photographer to publish his photographs on the
web, where the client can look at them and make a selection of the best photos, which she will
use in her marketing campaign, book, brochure or something similar. She can add comments
to photos, e.g. instructions for the photographer for retouching. When the client finishes
choosing the photos, the photographer can import the selection into an application, where he
can retouch photos and finish the project.
We made a web application almost from scratch with the following technologies: PHP,
MySQL, Javascript, CSS, etc. We used our own PHP framework, which allows as fast
development and changes in the application.
The application was created for one photographer and has been in use for a few months. A
similar solution is nonexistent on the market so we wish to expand the use of this application
through various presentations to interested photographers.


According to development of Web, an amount of XML documents has been increasing. So, many researches are proceeding to verify XML data coming from clients and to store or query efficiently database. In order to verify, store and query, DTD or XML Schema of XML documents is necessary. However, Schemaless XML documents couldn't be operated since they do not have either DTD or in Schema. In this paper, we extract XML schema in order to verify XML data and store or query efficiently database from either well-formed XML or XML Schemaless documents. XML Schema extracting technique which is proposed in this paper extract Schema graph using simulation and dataguide that is a extracting technique for semistructured characteristics of XML data. Also, we propose extracting technique for XML Schema using pattern tables that are considerated with Schema graph and reusability.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
The effect of pregnancy on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains poorly understood. We aimed to monitor intestinal inflammation using fecal calprotectin (FC) in pregnant women and their babies during early life.

METHODS
Pregnant women with or without IBD and their infants were prospectively enrolled. FC levels were measured at each trimester of pregnancy and in babies throughout the first 3 years of life. Repeated measures analysis was applied to investigate changes in FC levels while adjusting for confounders. The FC levels were correlated with the bacterial abundance in both mothers and babies.

RESULTS
614 fecal samples from 358 mothers (98 with IBD) and 1,005 fecal samples from 289 infants (76 born to IBD mothers) were analysed. Pregnant IBD patients maintained higher FC levels through pregnancy as compared to controls (p=7.5x10-54). FC gradually increased in controls and declined in IBD patients throughout pregnancy (p for interaction=5.8x10-7). Babies born to IBD mothers presented with significantly higher FC levels than those born to controls up to 3 years of age, after adjusting for sex, delivery mode, feeding behaviour and antibiotics exposure (2 weeks to 3 months of age p=0.015, 12 months to 36 months of age p=0.00003). Subdoligranulum, Roseburia, Fusicatenibacter and Alistipes negatively correlated, while Streptococcus, Prevotella, Escherichia-Shigella, and Bifidobacterium positively correlated with maternal FC levels at T3. Faecalibacterium, Bifidobacterium and Alistipes showed negative correlations, while Streptococcus were positively correlated with FC levels within 3 months of birth.

CONCLUSION
Pregnancy is associated with decreased inflammatory activity in mothers with IBD. Higher FC levels in babies born to IBD mothers suggest subclinical inflammation in early life whose long-term consequences are uncertain.


Variables associated with recurrent Dupuytren's disease, or a 'diathesis', have been investigated, but those associated with functional outcome and complications are less well studied. Outcomes 1 or 5 years after an aponeurotomy, fasciectomy or dermofasciectomy were assessed by patient interview and examination at five UK centres. A total of 432 procedures were studied. The reoperation rate did not differ at 1 year (p = 0.396, Chi-square test with Monte Carlo simulation), but was higher after aponeurotomy in the 5-year group (30%, versus 6% after fasciectomy and 0% after dermofasciectomy, p = 0.003, Chi square test with Monte Carlo simulation). Loss of function (DASH>15) did not differ between procedures at 5 years, even when reoperation and other variables were controlled. Diabetes, female gender and previous ipsilateral surgery were associated with poorer function in logistic regression analysis. The variables associated with poor function after treatments differ from diathesis variables. Aponeurotomy had lower complication rates than fasciectomy and dermofasciectomy. This may counterbalance the former's higher recurrence rate and explain why aponeurotomy demonstrated similar long-term functional outcome compared with excisional surgery in this study. Level of evidence: III


Background: The University Health Network (UHN) is a multisite, academic health sciences center in Toronto, Canada, with 1,300 inpatient beds and ∼126,000 emergency department visits annually. Clinical services include a transplant program, cancer center, dialysis units, and rehabilitation sites. Currently, ∼0.83 km2 (>9 million ft2) of UHN real estate, ∼200 construction, renovation and maintenance projects are underway. The UHN Construction Infection Control Program (CICP) was created in 2012 and has expanded to include 3.5 FTEs to meet the needs of infection prevention oversight during these activities. We describe the performance indicators for the UHN CICP between May 2016 and December 2018 that have informed productivity and resource needs. Methods: Since 2016, construction infection preventionists (CIPs) have prospectively collected data on the frequency of activities reflecting CIP productivity and core job functions: number of meetings (attended and missed), site inspections, responses to breaches in control measures, education hours delivered, urgent requests, and after-hours work. Annual activity rates (frequency of activity divided by CIP months) were analyzed for trends, accounting for additions in CICP personnel over time. Results: Human resources and activities performed in the CICP from 2016 to 2018 are outlined in Table 1. As CICP human resources increased, the number of initiatives supported by the CICP team rose. Activity rates for attended meetings, inspections and hours of education provided increased with higher CIP resources, suggesting an improvement in individual productivity of each CIP (Fig. 1). Concurrently, the rate of missed meetings declined and after-hour requests and breach responses remained stable. Conclusions: An appropriately staffed CICP for the volume and risk level of organization-wide construction, renovation, and maintenance activities is crucial to infection prevention. We developed performance indicators based upon key functions of CIPs to evaluate the productivity of our team and ensure we had adequate human resources to maintain patient safety through our evolving needs. Funding: None Disclosures: Susy Hota reports contract research for Finch Therapeutics.


Herein, interconnected hierarchical NiCo2O4 microspheres (IH-NiCo2O4) were prepared via a solvothermal method followed by an annealing treatment. IH-NiCo2O4 possesses large tunnels and abundant mesopores, which are in favor of their applications in energy storage field. When employed as an electrode material for supercapacitors, IH-NiCo2O4 exhibits a high specific capacitance of 1822.3 F g-1 at a current density of 2 A g-1, an excellent rate property of 68.6% capacity retention at 20 A g-1, and an 87.6% specific capacitance retention of its initial value after 7000 cycles at a high current density of 10 A g-1, superior to those of IH-Co3O4. Furthermore, an optimal asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was also constructed with IH-NiCo2O4 as the positive electrode and graphene as the negative electrode. The ASC delivers a high energy density of 39.4 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 800 W kg-1. Even at a high power density of 8000 W kg-1, the energy density still reaches 27.2 Wh kg-1. Moreover, the ASC shows a good cycling stability with 80.1% specific capacitance retention after 5000 cycles at 6 A g-1. The excellent electrochemical performance of IH-NiCo2O4 makes it a promising electrode material in energy storage field.


Knowledge about the influence of salt water baths on UV irradiation, especially balneophototherapy, is incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of various concentrated salt solutions on the minimal erythema dose (MED). We determined the MEDdry (UVB) in 24 healthy, previously UV unexposed subjects on the inner forearm. Subjects were divided randomly into two groups of 12. Subsequently, the MEDwet was assessed on each forearm after 30 min tap water or 5% salt water bath (group A), respectively, or after 30 min 10% or 20% salt water bath (group B), respectively. Compared with the MEDdry, a significantly decreased MEDwet, was observed after all exposures (group A?F= 18.94; P<0.001; group B?F=11.73; P<0.006). A maximal relative decrease in MEDdry of about 51.4% was observed after the 10% salt water bath. The 5% salt solution caused a modest relative decrease in MEDwet of 23.4%. We observed a markedly increased photosensitivity to UVB after all exposures, without a linear correlation between the MED and the salt water concentration. A determination of MED during balneophototherapy should be carried out after bathing in order to reduce the cumulative UV dose and to prevent acute photodamage.


The so-called generalized Pascal matrix is used for transforming a continuous-time (CT) linear system (filter) into a discrete-time (DT) one. This paper derives an explicit expression for a new generalized Pascal matrix called unified Pascal matrix from a unified first-order S-to-Z transformation model and rigorously proves the inverses for various first-order s-to-z transformations. After deriving a recurrence formula for recursively generating the inner elements of the unified Pascal matrix from its boundary elements, we also show that the recurrence formula leads to computationally unstable solutions for high-order systems due to the so-called catastrophic cancellation in numerical computation, but the unstable problem can be solved through partitioning the whole unified Pascal matrix into several small matrices (submatrices) and then using the recurrence formula to compute the submatrices individually from their boundary elements. This operation almost retains the same computational complexity while guarantees numerically stable solutions. Moreover, an interesting property of the unified Pascal matrix is proved.


The partial discharge (PD) measurements are considered as the most important tool for condition monitoring of Gas Insulated Switchgears (GISs). However, if spacer surface is involved in PD activity, charge accumulation process greatly affects the time transition of PD characteristics. This paper investigates this effect considering the defect types of delamination at the electrode/spacer interface and metallic particles adhered to the spacer surface as the most serious defects that can lead to major failure. Two different electrode configurations were built to simulate the two defect types. The PD characteristics were measured and analyzed from immediately after voltage application up to several minutes where steady state characteristics have been obtained. As a result, it was found that the generation rate of PD pulses changed considerably with time for both defect types. This tendency of PD characteristics has been discussed considering the effect of charge accumulation. Comparing these effects for negative and positive PD enabled to clarify the similarities and differences in the charge accumulation effect for both defect types which can contribute to the defect type identification in GIS. It was found that the effects of charge accumulation on the electric field strength for the delamination defect case as well as on the ionization volume for the metallic particle case were the responsible parameters for the different PD tendencies.


AMPA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity has been implicated in the selective degeneration of motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Motor neurons in vitro are particularly vulnerable to excessive AMPA receptor stimulation and one of the factors underlying this selective vulnerability is the presence of a large proportion of Ca2+-permeable (i.e. GluR2-lacking) AMPA receptors. However, the precise role of GluR2-lacking AMPA receptors in motor neuron degeneration remains to be defined. We therefore studied the impact of GluR2 deficiency on motor neuron death in vitro and in vivo. Cultured motor neurons from GluR2-deficient embryos displayed an increased Ca2+ influx through AMPA receptors and an increased vulnerability to AMPA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity. We deleted the GluR2 gene in mutant SOD1G93A mice by crossbreeding them with GluR2 knockout mice. GluR2 deficiency clearly accelerated the motor neuron degeneration and shortened the life span of mutant SOD1G93A mice. These findings indicate that GluR2 plays a pivotal role in the vulnerability of motor neurons in vitro and in vivo, and that therapies that limit Ca2+ entry through AMPA receptors might be beneficial in ALS patients.


Comparisons are presented of integrated precipitable water vapour (IPWV) measurements obtained from GPS observations and radiosonde profiles. Mapping of zenith wet delay to IPWV has been improved by the calculation of new linear fit correlation coefficients relating surface temperature to the mean atmospheric medium temperature of water vapour for sites in the UK. The comparison verifies the suitability of the GPS technique for use in the measurement of IPWV in a variety of weather conditions.