BACKGROUND
It is recommended that patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding undergo endoscopy within 24 hours after gastroenterologic consultation. The role of endoscopy performed within time frames shorter than 24 hours has not been adequately defined.

METHODS
To evaluate whether urgent endoscopy improves outcomes in patients predicted to be at high risk for further bleeding or death, we randomly assigned patients with overt signs of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding and a Glasgow-Blatchford score of 12 or higher (scores range from 0 to 23, with higher scores indicating a higher risk of further bleeding or death) to undergo endoscopy within 6 hours (urgent-endoscopy group) or between 6 and 24 hours (early-endoscopy group) after gastroenterologic consultation. The primary end point was death from any cause within 30 days after randomization.

RESULTS
A total of 516 patients were enrolled. The 30-day mortality was 8.9% (23 of 258 patients) in the urgent-endoscopy group and 6.6% (17 of 258) in the early-endoscopy group (difference, 2.3 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.3 to 6.9). Further bleeding within 30 days occurred in 28 patients (10.9%) in the urgent-endoscopy group and in 20 (7.8%) in the early-endoscopy group (difference, 3.1 percentage points; 95% CI, -1.9 to 8.1). Ulcers with active bleeding or visible vessels were found on initial endoscopy in 105 of the 158 patients (66.4%) with peptic ulcers in the urgent-endoscopy group and in 76 of 159 (47.8%) in the early-endoscopy group. Endoscopic hemostatic treatment was administered at initial endoscopy for 155 patients (60.1%) in the urgent-endoscopy group and for 125 (48.4%) in the early-endoscopy group.

CONCLUSIONS
In patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding who were at high risk for further bleeding or death, endoscopy performed within 6 hours after gastroenterologic consultation was not associated with lower 30-day mortality than endoscopy performed between 6 and 24 hours after consultation. (Funded by the Health and Medical Fund of the Food and Health Bureau, Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01675856.).


Study level/applicability
This case is appropriate for early-stage postgraduate courses in entrepreneurship or business modeling.

Subject area
Entrepreneurship.

Case overview
Cosmobio case study presents the journey of Antonella Bognanni, founder and CEO of Cosmobio, along seven years of operations, from the initial assessment of the business opportunity to the launch, relaunch and closure of the business.

Expected learning outcomes
1. To establish whether or not a business idea is a business opportunity. 2. To articulate aspects related to management prowess and liability of newness. 3. To differentiate between a lean versus a more traditional approach to business planning. 4. To discuss the potential bias of preliminary research. 5. To apply definitions of first-mover advantage. 6. To discuss how to conduct an environmental analysis; identify industry and target markets; and perform a competitor analysis. 7. To compare low-cost strategies to differentiation strategies. 8. To discuss marketing mix and marketing strategy. 9. To illustrate challenges related to being a solopreneur and related leadership styles or gender issues implications. 10. To illustrate implications related to business failure, past mistakes and lessons learned.

Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code
CSS 3 Entrepreneurship.


Combined OXPHOS-system enzyme deficiencies are observed in approximately 25% of all OXPHOS-system disturbances. Of these, combined complex I and III deficiency is relatively scarce. So far, only mtDNA and thymidine phosphorylase (TP) mutations have been associated with combined OXPHOS-system disturbances. In this report we show, for the first time, that a nuclear gene mutation in a structural, nuclear encoded complex I gene is associated with combined complex I and III deficiency. After our initial report we describe mutations in the NDUFS4 gene of complex I in two additional patients. The first mutation is a deletion of G at position 289 or 290. Amino acid 96 changes from a tryptophan to a stop codon. The mutation was found homozygous in the patient; both parents are heterozygous for the mutation. The second mutation is a transition from C to T at cDNA position 316. Codon is changed from CGA (arginine) to TGA (stop). The patient is homozygous for the mutation; both parents are heterozygous. Both mutations in the NDUFS4 gene led to a premature stop in Leigh-like patients with an early lethal phenotype. We hypothesise that the structural integrity of the OXPHOS system, in mammal supermolecular structures, may be responsible for the observed biochemical features.


This paper describes the ongoing development of a robotic control architecture that was inspired by computational cognitive architectures from the discipline of cognitive psychology. The robotic control architecture combines symbolic and subsymbolic representations of knowledge into a unified control structure. The architecture is organized as a goal driven, serially executing, production system at the highest symbolic level; and a multiple algorithm, parallel executing, simple collection of algorithms at the lowest subsymbolic level. The goal is to create a system that will progress through the same cognitive developmental milestones as do human infants. Common robotics problems of localization, object recognition, and object permanence are addressed within the specified framework.


The quest for democracy has become a compelling issue in many developing countries in recent years, and Iran is no exception to this. However, many argue that democracy is unlikely to emerge in Iran in the near future, and base this assumption on the strong presence of Islam in Iranian society, and a supposed intrinsic incompatibility between Islam and democracy.

This book attempts to challenge this assumption by examining both the current state of democracy in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the democratization process currently underway within the country. The author studies the role of Shi'a Islam in shaping and determining socio-political realities in Iran, analyses the Constitution and the institutional equilibrium of the Islamic Republic, and discusses how factional politics have evolved and become a conduit for internal reform.

He argues that although the reality of the modern nation-state has incorporated functions and expectations that make democracy not merely one option any more, but actually the most feasible way of governing a nation-state efficiently, the Western-liberal model of democracy is not the sole criterion for perceiving good governance. Non-Western attempts to reform, such as those in Iran, must not be seen as pre-determined to fail simply because reform or democracy is not indigenous.


The rejuvenation technique of malar imbrication, which avoids dissection in the plane of the seventh cranial nerve, is presented to address the author's altered priorities in midfacial rejuvenation. These priorities target volumetric over tension-based goals in a manner that is simpler, safer, and more sculpturally effective than existing techniques. Volumetric manipulations in the subperiosteal and subcutaneous planes also bring substantial rejuvenation to the periorbital and perioral regions, without lip or lower lid incisions. Fourteen of the 172 patients (8 percent) who underwent consecutive procedures for primary facial rejuvenation suffered temporary upper lip paresis. Other complications were infrequent and limited. One patient underwent reoperation for asymmetry. Increased postoperative swelling and recovery are a necessary consequence of the subperiosteal component, just as increased operative time attends the wide undermining of the subcutaneous component. Despite these liabilities, the author recommends adding volumetric resculpture to the existing conventional tools of soft-tissue displacement under tension and topical resurfacing in pursuit of safer, more effective, and more natural rejuvenation of the aging face.


All human melanoma cell lines (assessed by annexin V and TUNEL assays) were resistant to apoptosis induction by TRAIL/Apo2L protein. TRAIL/Apo2L activated caspase-8 and caspase-3, but subsequent apoptotic events such as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage and DNA fragmentation were not observed. To probe the molecular mechanisms of cellular resistance to apoptosis, melanoma cell lines were analyzed for expression of apoptosis regulators (apoptotic protease-associated factor-1, FLIP, caspase-8, caspase-9, caspase-3, cellular inhibitor of apoptosis, Bcl-2, or Bax); no correlation was observed. TRAIL/Apo2L was induced in melanoma cell lines by IFN-β and had been correlated with apoptosis induction. Because IFN-β induced other gene products that have been associated with apoptosis, it was postulated that one or more IFN-stimulated genes might sensitize cells to TRAIL/Apo2L. Melanoma cell lines were treated with IFN-β for 16–24 h before treatment with TRAIL/Apo2L. Regardless of their sensitivity to either cytokine alone, >30% of cells underwent apoptosis in response to the combined treatment. Induction of apoptosis by IFN-β and TRAIL/Apo2L in combination correlated with synergistic activation of caspase-9, a decrease in mitochondrial potential, and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Cleavage of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis following IFN-β and TRAIL/Apo2L treatment was observed in sensitive WM9, A375, or WM3211 cells but not in resistant WM35 or WM164 cells. Thus, in vitro IFN-β and TRAIL/Apo2L combination treatment had more potent apoptotic and anti-growth effects when compared with either cytokine alone in melanoma cells lines.


Renal angiography is indispensable in the study of children with suspected renal hypertension. Main or segmental renal artery stenoses are usually well-demonstrated by midstream abdominal aortography, but small intrarenal vascular abnormalities can be easily overlooked when such a nonselective method is used. Such tiny abnormalities, however, can be the cause for, or indication of focally increased renin production and consequent hypertension. The most common primary intrarenal lesions (stenoses, focal occlusions) may be readily apparent on good arteriograms. Quite often, however, they are angiographically occult, and their presence is indicated indirectly by tortuous or "corkscrew" intrarenal collaterals. The need for selective renal arteriograms and segmental renal vein renin assays in the work-up of such patients is stressed, and the effectiveness of treatment by segmental renal resection rather than nephrectomy in patients with such lesions is illustrated.


Interstitial antennas are useful for producing localized power as in the hyperthermia treatment of tumors. Simple analytical forms for the generated electric field, the radiated power, and the input impedance are used in this paper to study the characteristics of a short dipole in a dissipative medium similar to the white matter of the brain tissues for a frequency range from 0.2 to 2 GHz. These analytical forms are found to be a fast efficient technique for designing a small dipole antenna that can be used to produce a concentrated power around the antenna that can be used to produce localized regional heating for hyperthermia treatment of brain tumors. It is found that a dipole whose length and radius are nearly 7 mm and 0.3 mm respectively operating at nearly 400 MHz is quite suitable to produce the required localized power. Also FDTD method is used to verify the validity of these analytical forms


The electrical conduction of CaTi1−xScxO3−δ ceramics is investigated by ac impedance spectra. A complete solid solution is formed, in which Sc (x ≤ 0.17) substitutes for a Ti-site with the creation of oxygen vacancies. The samples of x ≤ 0.1 contain two main resistances, the bulk resistance R1 and the grain boundary resistance R2. However, only R1 and a low-frequency 'spike' representing charge build-up at the blocking metal electrodes are obtained for x ≥ 0.15. CaTiO3 ceramics doped with Sc exhibits a relativly high electrical conductivity. With increasing x, both σ1 and σ2 of CaTi1−xScxO3−δ increase first, reach a maximum value at x = 0.05, and then decrease to x ≥ 0.1.


In anesthetized cats pentagastrin-stimulated gastric acid secretion and blood flow were determined 2 hours and one week after partial gastric devascularization. The blood flow to different regions and layers of the stomach wall and the cardiac output were determined by means of the microsphere distribution technique. The H+ output from the 30th to the 60th min of pentagastrin stimulation was used as the acid response value. Devascularization resulted in marked decrease in acid secretion after 2 hours and after one week, but the acidity of the gastric juice was not changed. The corpus/fundus mucosal blood flow was markedly reduced 2 hours after devascularization. After one week the blood flow was still low, but not significantly different from sham values. The ratio of acid secretion to mucosal blood flow was not significantly changed one week after devascularization as compared with the acute experiments. All cats examined one week after devascularization had developed ulcers at the midportion of the greater curvature, which was the area of the corpus/fundus that had the most markedly reduced mucosal blood flow. The data indicate that reduced gastric secretion and development of ulcers were due to reduced gastric mucosal blood flow caused by the devascularization. Our results are also discussed in relation to results and complications after highly selective vagotomy in man, as this operation includes partial devascularization of the stomach.


Oxidation of pyrite and crystallization of sulphate minerals in rock fractures have locally produced ground heaving in excess of 10 cm in the foundations of a college at Sainte-Foy, near Quebec (Quebec). Black shales of the Sainte-Foy Formation are involved; they contain about 2% disseminated framboidal pyrite and 3% calcite. Reaction products identified with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray chemical analyser (EDXA) are iron hydroxides and numerous sulphate minerals containing calcium, iron, potassium, aluminum, magnesium, manganese, barium, and strontium. In Ontario, heaving of black shales has been observed in the Ottawa area in particular; rock expansion there was mainly attributed to crystallization of gypsum along the bedding plane cleavages of the shales. At Sainte-Foy, fibroferrite, a fibrous iron–aluminum sulphate mineral, probably also contributed significantly to heaving.


Purpose: To report the demographics of assault-related orbital fractures over a 7-year period treated at a level I urban trauma center, as well as describe and analyze the variation in assault rates across different racial/ethnic neighborhoods for patients residing in Milwaukee County. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for patients who sustained assault-related orbital fractures from January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2019, at the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A series of negative binomial regression models evaluating the association of neighborhood (i.e., US census tract) racial/ethnic composition, poverty, unemployment, percentage female head-of-household, and education level with neighborhood rate of orbital trauma was conducted. Results: A total of 410 adult patients with orbital fractures attributed to assault were identified during the seven-year period, of whom 326 (80%) resided in Milwaukee County. Among these patients, 242 (74%) were male, 260 (81%) were single, and 206 (63%) were non-Hispanic Black. Majority non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and Other-type minority neighborhoods have 5.30, 3.35, and 3.94 times higher incidence rates of orbital assault, respectively, compared with the majority of non-Hispanic White neighborhoods. The elevated incidence rates were significantly attenuated across all minority neighborhoods after accounting for neighborhood factors of poverty, unemployment, and low education level. Low education had the strongest association with the incidence of assault-related orbital fractures, followed by unemployment. Conclusions: Results indicate that minority neighborhoods suffer from compounded burdens of both social and economic disadvantage as well as violent assaults. Additional resources allocated to poor minority communities are needed. Assault-related orbital trauma is associated with residential racial segregation in a medium-sized metropolitan region. Neighborhood poverty, unemployment, and low education are positively associated with elevated rates of assault-related orbital trauma, with education having the strongest connection.


The purpose of this study is to use Marxist theory of alienation to explain voting patterns among impoverished Southerners. This research is important in explaining the relationship among alienation, religiosity, politics of opposition, and their impact on voting trends in the southern portion of the United States. I will construct a Marxian model based on the literature available and test it by using data in the General Social Survey of 1998. I will construct a concept of class based on the interaction of alienation and income. I will then test it by running multiple linear regressions to see if the hypothesized relationships of positive correlations exist among class and politics of opposition, apathy, and religion. I will also examine the relationship between religion and politics of opposition. And lastly I will see how all of these factors influence political ideology.


The triple-transgenic Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse model, 3xTg-AD, played an important role in supporting the intraneuronal amyloid-β (Aβ) hypothesis in AD. However, recent evidence claims that the 3xTg-AD mice accumulate amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) instead of Aβ within neurons. In the present report, we re-investigated the 3xTg-AD mouse model and confirmed recent findings of age-dependent AβPP accumulations. In addition, intraneuronal Aβ was detected mainly in the neocortex using conformation-specific as well as antibodies directed against Aβ neo-epitopes. In contrast to previous work, however, only minor levels of intraneuronal Aβ were detected in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in aged 3xTg-AD mice.


Background: The potential for opioid prescription medication addiction and abuse has been a growing concern in healthcare. It is not uncommon for hand surgery patients to be overprescribed opioid medication for postoperative pain management. The objective of this study was to characterize changes in opioid prescription practices of hand surgeons treating Medicare Part D patients from 2013 to 2019. Methods: A retrospective analysis of Medicare Part D prescriber data from 2013 to 2019 was conducted. This database provides information on drugs paid for under the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program. For each prescriber and medication, the dataset includes the total number of prescriptions dispensed (original prescriptions and number of refills), and total medication cost. Results: In 2013, the 10 most common medications prescribed totaled 114,409 prescriptions, with 89,701 (78.4%) opioid prescriptions. In 2019, the 10 most common medications prescribed totaled 164,955 prescriptions, with 109,665 (66.5%) opioid prescriptions. Although total opioid prescriptions dropped, there was a 22% increase in the total number of prescriptions written. The two most common medications prescribed, hydrocodone-acetaminophen and oxycodone-acetaminophen, totaled 75,796 in 2013, compared with 76,518 in 2019. The overall number of prescriptions for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increased by 157%, and the percentage of total opioids prescribed declined by 7.9%. Conclusions: The increase in total opioid prescriptions from 2013 to 2019 by hand surgeons in the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program lags behind the recommended shift to nonopioid pain management. The reasons for the overall rise in prescriptions deserve further exploration.


Energy saving, operational reliability of buildings and structures for various purposes is determined by the durability of building materials and products used in their construction. To date, frame building composites have been developed on the basis of polystructural theory. The frame technology for the manufacture of building products consists in the preliminary manufacture of frames from coarse-pored mixtures, followed by filling voids in the hardened frame with a matrix-plasticized binder, fine-dispersed or fine-grained composition, while the frames and matrix can be formed on various binders. This technology makes it possible to obtain building materials and products with a combination of the most diverse and even incompatible binders with a predetermined set of properties, i.e. opens the way to directional materials science. The paper presents the results of theoretical research and calculation of the technological physical and mechanical properties of frame composite building materials. The regularities of the structure formation of frame composites at the level of the formation of frames and matrices, as well as when they are combined, are revealed. It is established that the process of impregnating the frame with a matrix obeys the laws of motion of freely dispersed or connected dispersed systems. Formulas for calculating structural stresses in hardening frame composites are derived. Analytical dependences for calculating the thermal conductivity coefficient of products are obtained from phenomenological positions. Expressions for the calculation of the modulus of elasticity are obtained for models of ordered aggregates and the kinetics of the processes of destruction of frame composites under their loading is shown. Theoretical dependences for calculating the diffusion coefficient in frame composites on the main structure-forming factors are established.


Prof. Roman Golov Dr. Valery V. Shilov, Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) Valery V. SHILOV Born: August 18, 1954 in Moscow Education: Secondary school 13, Moscow Region, Gold medal, 1971 Moscow State University, Diploma in applied mathematics, 1976 Higher Institute of management (Moscow), Diploma with distinction in law, 2001 Candidate of technical sciences degree, 1989 Affiliations: 1976-1989: Researcher, Central Scientific Research Institute 45 of Ministry of Defense 1989-1997: Senior Researcher, Scientific Computer Centre Russian Academy of Sciences 1997-2004: Full professor, Computer Systems Design Department, MATI – Russian State Technological University 2004-2015: Head of Computer Systems Design Department, MATI – Russian State Technological University 2015-: Head of Computer Systems Design Department, Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University) (part time) 2015-: Full professor, Academic supervisor of BS program in Software Engineering, National Research University Higher School of Economics (full time) Member of the Editorial board, "Informacionnye Technologii" magazine Member of the Editorial board, "Kibertonia" magazine (Kiev, Ukraine) Scientific Advisor, Great Russian Cyclopaedia Member of Advisory board, Russian Virtual Computer Museum Member IT History Society Invited lector, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technics ("Fiz-Tech"), 1999-2011 Invited lector, Hanoi University of Technology (Hanoi, Vietnam), 2005-2008 Invited lector, Hanoi Open University (Hanoi, Vietnam), 2009-2012 Awards: IEEE Computer History Competition CHC'60 Award, 2006 IEEE 2010 Student Competition Best Architecture Prize, 2010 Yuri Gagarin medal from Federation of Cosmonautics of Russian, 2010 Books (in Russian): Informatics (Moscow, 2003) (with coauthors) The Career in IT (Moscow, 2003) (with coauthors) The Chronicle of computational and information technologies. People. Events. Ideas. Parts 1-4 (Moscow, 2004-2007) Charles Stanhope. Scientific biography (Saint-Petersburg, 2011) (with Yu. Polunov) This wonderful history of informatics (Moscow, 2011) The History of Logical machines (Moscow, 2014) Scientific papers: More than 300 scientific papers in parallel architectures, compilers, history of computing etc. in Soviet, Russian and International editions. Conferences: Member of Organizing Committee, "SoRuCom 2011" IFIP Conference (Novgorod, Russia) Member of Organizing Committee, International Gagarin Conference (Moscow, Russia, 2005-2015) Member of Organizing Committee, IV International Anatoly Kitov Conference (Moscow, Russia, 2014) Member of Program Committee, "SoRuCom 2014" IFIP Conference (Kazan, Russia) Member of Program Committee, V International Anatoly Kitov Conference (Moscow, Russia, 2015) Dr. Sergey A. Silantiev


A new set of tools for teamwork, organization units, workspace and build management of VHDL-based reusable components, organized in libraries, accessible through an heterogeneous and distributed environment is presented. These tools support the collaborative and distributed development of systems-on-a-chip reusing VHDL components available through the intranets and the Internet. They must be used as a complementary support to the design tools (simulation, synthesis, etc.) already available in the market to enhance productivity, facilitating maintenance, improving efficiency and interoperability, and finally, capitalizing on the IP library components investment.


The U.S. Supreme Court recently found the Kansas "sexual predator" statute constitutional. This statute permits the confinement, in mental hospitals, of sex offenders after the completion of their criminal sentences if they have a mental abnormality that might lead to future dangerous behavior. The broad definition of mental abnormality, includes both serious disorders and personality disorders that may reflect only antisocial traits, coupled with the fact that past behavior which occurred years before, is an adequate predicate for confinement. This represents a significant expansion of traditional civil commitment and a blurring of the boundaries of mental illness and deviance. The costs for this confinement are three to four times the cost of customary civil commitment and compete with costs for treatment of the seriously mentally ill.


Backgroud: Ultrasound (US) is the imaging method most frequently used for the detection and diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The ability to resolve hepatic arterial and portal venous components of blood flow on a global and regional constitutes the primary goal of liver perfusion imaging.  Aim: The purpose of our study was to estimate alterations in the hepatic blood flow in large hepatocellular carcinomas occurring in liver cirrhosis, in comparison with liver cirrhosis. Methodology. By using the color Doppler velocity profile tehnique, portal vein and hepatic artery hemodynamic status was assessed in 42 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. 20 patients with liver cirrhosis were taken as control. Results. Portal vein average velocity was 8.33 cm/sec ± 2.31 in patients with HCC vs 15.80 cm/sec ± 2.31 in cirrhotic patients without HCC (p=0.72). Portal vein flux was significantly lower in patients with HCC (209 mL/ mm ± 83.08 vs. 649 mL/ min ±83.08 in cirrhotic patients;p=0.02). The hepatic arterial blood flow was increased in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma as compared to the cirrhotic patients (P<0.001). The ratio of hepatic arterial flow to portal vein flow was 1.239 +/- 0.246 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, which is twice the basic control value (0.66 +/- 0.259 l/min). Conclusions. These results suggest that in hepatocellular carcinomas there is a decreased portal vein blood flow, accompanied by an increased hepatic arterial blood flow. In the case of hypo-echoic or hyperechoic, mass in the cirrhotic liver, increased blood flow in the hepatic artery, and decreased portal venous flow, a malignant liver tumor is virtually certain.


Objective: Knee osteoarthritis is currently one of the top causes of disability in older population, a rate that will only increase in the future due to an aging population and the prevalence of obesity. However, objective assessment of treatment outcomes and remote evaluation are still in need of further development. Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring in knee diagnostics has been successfully adopted in the past; however, a wide discrepancy among the adopted AE techniques and analyses exists. This pilot study determined the most suitable metrics to differentiate progressive cartilage damage and the optimal frequency range and placement of AE sensors. Methods: Knee AEs were recorded in the 100–450 kHz and 15–200kH frequency ranges from a cadaver specimen in knee flexion/extension. Four stages of artificially inflicted cartilage damage and two sensor positions were investigated. Results: AE events in the lower frequency range and the following parameters provided better distinction between intact and damaged knee: hit amplitude, signal strength, and absolute energy. The medial condyle area of the knee was less prone to artefacts and unsystematic noise. Multiple reopenings of the knee compartment in the process of introducing the damage negatively affected the quality of the measurements. Conclusion: Results may improve AE recording techniques in future cadaveric and clinical studies. Significance: This was the first study to evaluate progressive cartilage damage using AEs in a cadaver specimen. The findings of this study encourage further investigation of joint AE monitoring techniques.


This article describes research on changes of glass transition temperature of electron encapsulated polymer-epoxy molding compound (EMC) after thermal oxidation under high-temperature air storage conditions. The evolutions of glass transition temperature of two EMCs with different compositions (different filling contents) under different temperatures (175, 200, and 225 °C) and different aging times (100, 500, and 1500 h) were analyzed by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) technology. Research results demonstrated that two glass transition temperatures occurred during thermal aging. These two temperatures were the glass transition temperature of the unaged core material (Tg1) and the glass transition temperature of completely oxidized surface material (Tg2). Tg2 increased continuously with the increase of temperature and the prolonging of the aging time. The filling content could have significantly influenced the aging degree of materials.


The parallax method is a method by which the depth of fluorescent molecules within a membrane is calculated from the ratio of quenching induced by two spin-labeled phospholipids at different depths. In this report, the method is extended to measurements of depth in the polar headgroup region of the membrane through use of a lipid with a spin-label attached to the polar choline moiety. Quenching data indicate that the choline-attached nitroxide is close to 19.5 A from the bilayer center, in good agreement with the choline location previously determined by diffraction measurements. By using quenching results obtained with this polar headgroup-labeled phospholipid, depths more accurate than those measured previously can be obtained for fluorophores in the polar region of the membrane. It appears that the most reliable results are obtained when depth is calculated from the quenching of the two spin-labels that quench a specific fluorophore most strongly. Applying this approach to a series of anthroyloxy-labeled fatty acids indicates that the depth of the anthroyloxy group is almost linearly related to the number of carbon atoms between it and the carboxyl group. The fatty acid carboxyl group itself is close to 18.6 A from the bilayer center in the ionized form and 16 A from bilayer center in the protonated form. This is close to the depth of the carboxyl groups on phospholipid fatty acyl chains. More accurate depths have also been obtained for 7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl (NBD) labeled phospholipids using the quenching of the choline-attached spin-label.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


When the trend of economic integration of science and technology is becoming more and more obvious, science and technology activities are increasingly becoming the decisive force of economic and social development. Use of information technology to tap the potential of technology hot spots for the industry to provide a favorable basis for decision making has become a topic of concern to the industry. This paper will take the Jiangxi tungsten industry as the research object, the use of the Web data mining methods to collect, sort out related data, as the industry's technology foreseen to develop more effective alternative technical list, make a decision for the relevant enterprises and institutions to provide effective basis.


The invention generally relates to the field of biometric authentication methods. The invention specifically relates to a method for authenticating first communication equipment by means of second communication equipment. Compared with the known biometric authentication methods of the prior art, the invention enables an increase to be achieved in the number of exchanges in authenticating (2) the first equipment by means of the second equipment and in opening (3) a secure communication channel between said two pieces of equipment, therefore saving time, said authentication and channel-opening operations taking place in the biometric authentication methods between, on the one hand, a detection (1) of the first equipment by the second equipment, and a biometric authentication (5) of the user and a selection of an application and an application-related transaction between the two pieces of equipment on the other hand.


Objective: The use of amodiaquine (AQ) and its associated toxic effect has been a major public health concern since cases of life-threatening agranulocytosis and hepatic toxicity were reported during its prophylactic use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hematological safety profile of AQ therapy. Materials and Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly distributed into four groups (n=5). Group 1 was the control, while groups 2, 3, and 4 received AQ treatment for 14 days at varying doses of 5 mg/kgBW, 10 mg/kgBW, and 15 mg/kgBW daily, respectively. Results: Following treatment, hematological variables were comparable in all groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: This study provides evidence to support the use of AQ in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria. However, to prevent emergence of local drug resistance, it should be used as part of a combination therapy. Monitoring for adverse effects is suggested.


The purpose of this case study research is to study the strategic role that information technology ( IT) plays in two subsidiaries - located in Egypt and Sweden - of a multinational company with a federal organizational structure. Using a well-established evaluation framework and a widely accepted model, we examine two important aspects of the strategic role of IT: i) how IT supports business and organizational strategy; and ii) the maturity of business and IT strategy alignment. The case study discusses the importance of having a balanced relationship among business strategy, information strategy, organizational strategy, and the way in which business and IT managers should act to improve business-IT alignment, also referred to as strategic alignment. Based on the results of the comparative analysis of the two companies, the research presents concrete recommendations that IT decision-makers from the two subsidiaries of the multinational company should consider to improve IT performance.


This study was conducted to evaluate changes in hematological biomarkers of Nellore cows at different reproductive stages. Fifteen multiparous cows with 4 ± 1 years of age and live weight of 400 ± 50 kg were used at different stages (non-pregnant, in the initial, middle and late pregnancy, at birth, one day postpartum, 30 and 60 days postpartum). Blood collections were performed every 30 days and assayed for the following hematological biomarkers: hemogram (red blood cells, globular volume, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC)) and leukogram (total and differential counts). The erythrogram was influenced (p < 0.001) by the reproductive stages, with variation in the results obtained for the total red cell count, hemoglobin content, globular volume, MCV, MCHC and total plasma proteins. The reproductive stages influenced the leukocyte profile with variation in the total leukocyte count and in the absolute values of neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes and monocytes. Hematological biomarkers of Nellore cows showed significant changes due to the physiological adjustments required in response to the metabolic requirements imposed in the final stage of pregnancy and in the beginning of lactation, ensuring the nutritional contribution in energy and oxygen transported through the blood.


Metal-ceramic composite or cermet coatings have become popular due to their enhanced wear and corrosion resistance properties. Cermet consists of ceramic particulate embedded in a metallic binder. WC-Co coatings are often used in applications that require wear resistance, but there are many applications in which thermally sprayed coatings have been deposited on components that operate under both abrasive and corrosive condition. Thus, in this study, the corrosion behavior of WC-12wt%Co in different electrolyte has been evaluated. Electrochemical test has been done in three electrolytes namely 0.5 M hydrochloric acid, HCl, 0.5 M sulfuric acid, H2SO4 and 0.5 M sodium hydroxide, NaOH. It is found that corrosion potential of this coating in acidic environment is more positive compares to in alkaline environment. Both in acid and alkaline electrolyte, binder dissolution were preferential. It may be concluded that this coating have higher corrosion resistance in alkaline electrolyte than in acid electrolyte.


In this article we discuss how the adolescents understand and experience the School prejudice. The main objective is to investigate the significance and meanings attributed to situations of prejudice among adolescents. For data collection we used semi-structured interviews with 12 students between 14 and 17 years from a public school and a private in Joinville – Southern Brazil. Heller (1989), Silva (2005), Ozella (2002) and Aguiar (2006) are our theoretical supports. Through the analysis of the reports we created four different meanings: a) prejudices: types and meanings, b) manifestations of prejudice and feelings, c) movements of inclusion / exclusion from school: the perceptions of adolescents and d) Prejudice: misconceptions and silences during school discussions. The discussions reveal ambiguities and difficulties to identify and address the situations of prejudice experienced in school. These results point to the need to work the issue of diversity and prejudice more frequently at school.


Purpose: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive cutaneous malignancy whose pathogenesis and prognosis are related to the integrity of the host immune system. Despite promising clinical responses to immune-checkpoint blockade, response and resistance remain unpredictable, underscoring a critical need to delineate novel prognostic biomarkers and/or therapeutic targets for this disease. Experimental Design: Expression of immune-regulatory markers (PD-L2, B7-H3, B7-H4, IDO-1, ICOS, TIM3, LAG3, VISTA, and OX-40) was assessed using singlet chromogenic IHC in 10 primary MCCs. Multiplex immunofluorescence quantified CD31 and B7-H3 expression in 52 primary and 25 metastatic MCCs. B7-H3 and CD31 expressions were tabulated as a series of independent (X,Y) cell centroids. A spatial G-function, calculated based on the distribution of distances of B7-H3+ (X,Y) cell centroids around the CD31+ (X,Y) cell centroids, was used to estimate a colocalization index equivalent to the percentage of CD31-positive cell centroids that overlap with a B7-H3–positive cell centroid. Results: Primary and metastatic MCCs exhibit a dynamic range of colocalized CD31 and B7-H3 expression. Increasing colocalized expression of B7-H3 with CD31 significantly associated with increased tumor size (P = 0.0060), greater depth of invasion (P = 0.0110), presence of lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.0453), and invasion beyond skin (P = 0.0428) in primary MCC. Consistent with these findings, increasing colocalized expression of B7-H3 and CD31 correlated with increasing vascular density in primary MCC, but not metastatic MCC. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that colocalized expression of B7-H3/CD31 is a poor prognostic indicator and suggest therapies targeting B7-H3 may represent an effective approach to augmenting immune-activating therapies for MCC.


Identifying informative tweets is an important step when building information extraction systems based on social media. WNUT-2020 Task 2 was organised to recognise informative tweets from noise tweets. In this paper, we present our approach to tackle the task objective using transformers. Overall, our approach achieves 10th place in the final rankings scoring 0.9004 F1 score for the test set.


The research focuses on the Lithuanian pavilion, which represented Lithuania as a country of amber in the "World Expo 2012" held in South Korea. Scientific problem of this paper belongs to the type of applied arts and is of practical approach. The paper explores local and global tendencies of architecture, taking into account the history of World Expo architecture and analysing the Lithuanian pavilion design process. These tendencies resulted in main ideas and objectives (including a narrative of space, national identity, etc.) which had an important role in architecture and could be more or less adopted in the future exhibition design.


Teratoma of thymus gland is a rare variety of anterior mediastinaltumour. It may cause compression over airway resulting respiratory depression. This is a case of a 17 yearyoung adult, farmer, presented with swelling over front of root of neck for 1 month with history of surgery over the same region 4 months back. Clinically two oval, pedunculated masses were found. CT scan of chest revealed enlargement of thymus. FNAC of the mass could not exclude possibility of mesenchymal or thymic neoplasm. Peroperativelythymus was found enlarged and was variegated in appearance (dermoid and gelatinous material was found). Thymus was resected in toto. Excision of sinus tract was also done. His operation was uneventful, postoperative recovery was excellent. He was discharged to home on 14 th postoperative day with good physical condition. Although rare, mediastinalteratoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis of anterior mediastinaltumours. Early diagnosis and complete excision is necessary. Possibility of malignant change should also be considered. University Heart Journal Vol. 10, No. 1, January 2014; 47-50


The Real-Time Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows (RTPDPTW), typically found in logistic company, is a problem of finding a set of optimal routes for a fleet of vehicles with fixed capacity in order to serve all the static and dynamic customers. Each customer is defined by a pickup point and a delivery point and a load. In this paper, the dynamic model of RTPDPTW is given firstly, and then the framework of scheduling system is proposed to deal with the dynamism of RTPDPTW. A quick heuristic algorithm based on Λ-opt algorithm, which is fast, simple and robust, is proposed to solve RTPDPTW with large scale. Finally, the simulation result shows that our scheduling system can generate satisfying solution and is capable of dealing with the RTPDPTW in real life conditions.


Cytotoxicity/long term viability of synchronized x-ray treated control cells One frozen aliquot of A549 cells per treatment condition (0, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 Gy) was thawed and 500 cells were seeded per well of a 96-well plate and cultured up to 14 days. 10 replicates per treatment condition and time point were seeded and medium was replaced every 2-3 days. For each time point, an individual 96-well plate was stained with crystal violet as described before (Hirsch et al., 2007). In brief, cells were washed twice with PBS, stained with 0.5% crystal violet in 20% methanol for 10 min, washed with tap water, air dried for 30 min at room temperature, incubated for 10 min in 100 μL methanol, and absorption was measured at 550 nm using a microplate reader (Mithras, LB943, Berthold Technologies). After subtraction of background levels from blank wells, values were normalized to results from day 1.


Caries incidence was analyzed in preschool children attending kindergartens living in two industrial towns differing by the level and specific features of air pollution and by fluorine levels in potable water. Caries incidence was found to be higher in a ferrous metallurgy center with very low (0.1 to 0.3 ml/l) fluorine levels in potable water. Passive smoking factor was found to contribute to development of caries in children, particularly so in girls. Motor car transport effects on caries development in children were not confirmed. Recommendations on reduction of caries development intensity are suggested.


The combination extracts of tempuyung (Sonchus arvensis) and black cumin (Nigella sativa) can decrease uric acid levels on the previous result research. However, the mechanism of decreasing uric acid levels was unknown certainly. This study aimed to determine the inhibitory effect of xanthine oxidase by the combination extracts of black cumin and tempuyung on hyperuricemic mice. Hyperuricemic mice were induced by 250 mg/kgBW potassium oxonate was given one hour before treatment. The mice were divided into 3 groups, group I was given 10 mg/kgBW allopurinol (positive control), group II was given 0.5 mL/20gBW aquadest (negative control) and group III was given the combination extracts of black cumin-tempuyung with dose 200 mg/kgBW during 4 days administration. The supernatant of liver was taken and measured of xanthine oxidase levels by spectrophotometer UV at lamda 290 nm. The data of xanthine oxidase activity were analyzed by KruskalWallis and Mann-Whitney method. Xanthine oxidase activity of the combination extracts of blackcumintempuyung was 4.54±0.9 U/mg, very significantly than control negative was 8.00±0.22 U/mg (p<0.05). Inhibition xanthine oxidase by the combination extracts of black cumin-tempuyung was 43.26±11.29%, lower than allopurinol was 90.19±0.36%. Keywords—Hyperuricemic; xanthine oxidase inhibition; Sonchus arvensis; Nigella sativa


The major sporting success of one's countrymen and women is often supposed to promote the growth of general participation in that sport. This study is the first to analyse the impact of sports heroes on the membership figures of the corresponding sports association by means of an econometric analysis. We do so by evaluating the so-called "Boris Becker effect" by simultaneously testing for the effects of the rise and retirement of the three stars Boris Becker, Stefanie Graf, and Michael Stich. As a first paradox, our results indicate a negative tennis growth effect associated with the time period of the ascendency of the sport stars. With the first paradox, their retirement should then have a positive effect. In this sense, our second result of a statistically negative tennis growth since the declining success of the German tennis stars must be regarded as a second paradox.


. We study the linear stability of flock and mill ring solutions of two individual based models for biological swarming. The individuals interact via a nonlocal interaction potential that is repulsive in the short range and attractive in the long range. We relate the instability of the flock rings with the instability of the ring solution of the first order model. We observe that repulsive-attractive interactions lead to clustering and fattening instabilities for flock rings that prove analogous to similar instabilities that occur for ring solutions of the first order model. Finally, we numerically explore mill patterns arising from these interactions by varying the asymptotic speed of the system.


Objective. Develop clinically applicable charts of lipid values illustrating fluctuations throughout childhood and by sex among healthy weight children. Methods. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2008) was used to estimate total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides by age and sex in healthy weight children age 3 to 17 years. Using LMS procedures, the authors created smoothed curves demonstrating population-based 50th percentile for age and the 75th and 95th percentiles. Results. The curves were based on 7681 children meeting inclusion criteria. Total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL demonstrated peaks at approximately 8 to 12 years for boys. Similar peaks were evident for girls at slightly younger ages, approximately 7 to 11 years. Triglycerides showed peaks for girls, but values were similar across ages for boys. Conclusions. The use of fixed lipid value cutoffs in established guidelines regardless of age or sex likely mislabels many children as abnormal. The authors' charts may allow for a more nuanced interpretation based on population norms.


Muscle function is often severely impaired in peripheral arterial disease (PAD), but the effects of repeated ischemic events upon nerve and muscle are incompletely characterized. We performed comprehensive electrophysiologic studies and skeletal muscle histologic analysis in six patients with unilateral PAD and five control subjects matched for age and activity level. In the PAD patients, all ischemic legs showed both electrophysiologic and histologic evidence of chronic partial denervation-reinnervation restricted to distal muscles. Two of the PAD patients had evidence of milder distal denervation in the nonischemic legs. Two of the controls had denervation in at least one leg, but in each case electrophysiologic findings were pathognomonic of L-5 and S-1 radiculopathies. All other control legs and nonischemic legs were normal. These results suggest that recurrent ischemia associated with PAD may cause muscle denervation, which may be one of the mechanisms responsible for decreased exercise performance in these patients.


Available literature implicates hereditary disposition and environmental conditions in the development of social anxiety in children. Based on their early experiences children can perceive and interpret normal social situations and interactions negatively and as threatening. This perceptions can generate anxieties in them including social and performance anxieties. Based on this premise an attempt was made in this study to assess social and performance anxieties in some children and adolescents, determine the influence of parenting on the development of these anxieties and manage those with high levels of these anxieties using psychodrama as the therapeutic technique. 567children and adolescents aged 7 -16 years, (275 males and 292 females) were assessed on social anxiety, performance anxiety, and parenting style scales. Participants who reported high levels of anxiety and who scored higher than the mean scores on the anxieties scales were managed using psychodrama. Results obtained indicated that permissive parenting style and its hybrids tend to promote the development of social and performance anxieties in the participants more than other parenting styles. In addition psychodrama as an intervention therapy was found to be effective in reducing the levels of social and performance anxieties in the participants managed.


Embryonic quail ovaries were examined with a scanning electron microscope. The same as in many bird species, the quail ovary degenerated on the right side, and normal development occurred only on the left side. The surface of the developing left ovary had a rough appearance. The epithelial cell surface was extremely swollen with many globular protrusions, and the cell borders were lined by ridge-like protrusions. On the other hand, the degenerating right ovarian surface was rather smooth in appearance. Each cell surface had a few short microvilli. Several stomata were found near the border between the ovary and mesonephros in the posterior region of the right ovary. The size and number of stomata were variable, but tended to increase in the later stages. These findings were compared with those in the chick ovary, and a discussion is included.


Curriculum development for distance education (DE) practitioners is more and more focusing on practical requirements and competence development. Delphi and DACUM methods have been used at some universities. However, in the competency-based development area, these methods have been taken over by professional-task-based development in the last decade, which has not been applied in the open and distance education area so far. Is the professional-task-based curriculum development approach suitable for open and distance education? This study aims to develop a Master Degree curriculum for DE practitioners in China based on professional tasks. Design-based research (DBR) was used and two cycles of DBR were conducted. Interviews and observations were used to collect data. In the first round of DBR, the authors find that professional-task-based development is feasible and could direct more closely to practical requirements of competencies, and that meanwhile, this approach has some disadvantages and limitations. In the second round of DBR, the approach was revised and results showed that the revised approach was much more suitable and reasonable for DE practitioners. Results of this study include: 1) professional-task based curricula for DE practitioners in China; 2) a curriculum development approach for open and distance education revised from professional-task-based development.


The Permo-Triassic boundary in Wulong area, Sichuan Province, South China lies in a continuous marine carbonate succession with abundant fossil records. Two well-exposed sections were sampled for magnetostratigraphic studies. The experimental results of rock magnetism reveal that the samples from the Triassic limestones contain only magnetites among which 70% are multi-domain. The ChRM direction is carried by remaining 30% of single-domain magnetite. The Permian limestone samples are dominated by single-domain to superparamagnetic magnetites with little ChRM direction due to their fine-grained texture. Nevertheless, the polarity determination is still possible based on the NRM vector changes during thermal demagnetization. A Permo-Triassic polarity profile in Wulong area is established in the paper, and a tentative correlation with other known profiles is pursued. The authors suggest that the Illawarra reversal starts at the upper part of Wujiapingian, while some normal polarity events may exist in the Kiaman Epoch.


Abstract Extract Limited preliminary observations (Cooper, 1972) suggested that cell-mediated immunity (CMI) might be involved in the response of sheep to Fusiformis nodosus infection. To explore this possibility, lymphocytes from experimentally infected animals showing severe foot-rot lesions were tested for their ability to undergo transformation in vitro in response to F. nodosus antigens.


Here a direct calculation of the dipolar interaction in a single crystal Mn12, with all of Mn ions summed, shows that a transition between a ferromagnetic ground state and an antiferromagnetic ground state takes place where the dimension along the a(b) axis versus the dimension along the c axis reaches a certain critical value. It is shown that the ground state is dependent upon the shape of the specimen. The reason of the shape dependence of ordering is that dipolar interaction is of long-range nature and the sign of dipolar interaction is dependent on the direction.


We fabricate 2D photonic crystals (2DPC) by spreading a dispersion of charged colloidal particles (diameters = 409, 570, and 915 nm) onto the surface of electrolyte solutions using a needle tip flow method. When the interparticle electrostatic interaction potential is large, particles self-assemble into highly ordered hexagonal close packed (hcp) monolayers. Ordered 2DPC efficiently forward diffract monochromatic light to produce a Debye ring on a screen parallel to the 2DPC. The diameter of the Debye ring is inversely proportional to the 2DPC particle spacing, while the Debye ring brightness and thickness depends on the 2DPC ordering. The Debye ring thickness increases as the 2DPC order decreases. The Debye ring ordering measurements of 2DPC attached to glass slides track measurements of the 2D pair correlation function order parameter calculated from SEM micrographs. The Debye ring method was used to investigate the 2DPC particle spacing, and ordering at the air-solution interface of NaCl solutions, and for 2DPC arrays attached to glass slides. Surprisingly, the 2DPC ordering does not monotonically decrease as the salt concentration increases. This is because of chloride ion adsorption onto the anionic particle surfaces. This adsorption increases the particle surface charge and compensates for the decreased Debye length of the electric double layer when the NaCl concentration is below a critical value.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


INTRODUCTION
Retro-odontoid pseudotumor (ROP) is a rare disease that affects the atlantoaxial joint and, in general, is associated with local biomechanical alterations that may or may not cause instability.

METHODS
Descriptive study of the literature available in databases MEDLINE/PubMed, LILACS, and Scopus. The research was conducted in April 2019.

DISCUSSION
ROP is, possibly, a syndromic designation that encompasses a significant variety of diseases of the atlantoaxial joint. There are different pathophysiological mechanisms implicated in its genesis. The patients, almost in their entirety, present with severe myelopathy, and most of them are treated surgically, with the posterior decompression being the most commonly used method, with or without arthrodesis. Evolution is usually favorable.

CONCLUSION
The ROP is still poorly recognized as a differential diagnosis between the diseases of the cranial-cervical junction. The information available in the literature analyzed was based mainly on the study of reports or case series; therefore, it is insufficient to define conducts with a high level of scientific evidence.


Land‐use changes (LUCs) can be defined as the result of the direct action of the stakeholders in a particular area and natural or human driving forces. LUCs can influence various processes within the landscape and can have an impact on landscape functions. An analysis of the impact of LUCs on landscape processes can help to focus future rural policies. LUCs in Mediterranean areas particularly affect landscape functions because of their agro‐pedoclimatical characteristics. The aims of this work are as follows: (i) to characterise LUCs in the last 11 years in a typical Mediterranean area, the Trasubbie river basin (southern Tuscany, Italy); (ii) to extrapolate these changes and create spatially explicit LUC scenarios for the near future; and (iii) to simulate how and where the predicted LUCs may affect soil redistribution. We carried out an analysis of LUCs within the study area and used the trends to propose alternative scenarios for 2013. For these years, we spatially allocated land use (using the Conversions of Land Use and its Effects model) and used a landscape process model (landscape process modelling at multi‐dimensions and scales) to assess soil redistribution patterns. Land use in the study area changed almost linearly between 1996 and 2007, with cereals and annual fodder crops decreasing, and vineyards, perennial pastures and land abandonment increasing. Our LUC scenario extrapolates these dynamics to make predictions for 2013. A comparison of LAPSUS results between LUC and baseline scenarios for 2013 showed an increase in terms of net soil loss and total erosion, and a decrease in terms of sediment delivery ratio. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Urinary excretion of the vasoconstrictor metabolite thromboxane B2 is increased in some patients with the hepatorenal syndrome. To define the role of thromboxanes in this syndrome and to evaluate a potential treatment for the renal impairment, we administered the thromboxane synthetase inhibitor dazoxiben to 5 patients with alcoholic hepatitis and rapidly progressive renal failure. Dazoxiben 200 mg/day followed by 400 mg/day reduced urinary thromboxane B2 by approximately 50% without altering prostaglandin E2 or 6-keto prostaglandin F1 alpha and without improving creatinine clearance (6 +/- 2 to 6 +/- 3 ml/min). In 3 additional patients, a higher dose of dazoxiben of 600 mg/day reduced thromboxane B2 by approximately 75% without consistent improvement in renal function. Thus, as judged by selective thromboxane inhibition with dazoxiben, thromboxanes are unlikely to be the key renal vasoconstrictor factor in the hepatorenal syndrome.


this committee it was found that personal property in the state of New York was pretty generally escaping taxation or was unjustly taxed to a few taxpayers who were unskilled in the art of escaping such tax. Therefore the proposed income-tax law is in lieu of any tax upon personal property, and those taxpayers liable for the income tax proposed will be exonerated from paying any tax upon personal property. More than this, corporations liable to the income tax will also be exempt from paying the present unscientific and unjust taxes upon the corporate franchise. T e bill u doubtedly will have to be subjected to certain amendments before it will be generally satisfactory, buit neverthele s it is undoubtedly the first step taken toward any real tax reform in the state. For this reason it would seem to follow


In double blind controllable study on 126 volunteers - students of medical academy - influence on рН the mixed saliva of 5 kinds of chewing gums with the different contents of substitute of sugar as xylitol and sorbitol, and also the chewing sweets R.O.C.S., two kinds of chewing gums containing a basis with substitute of sugar stevioside (1.25 and 2.5%) and placebo (a basis without additives) were investigated. Products chewed within 10 minutes. In one of groups surveyed such chewing was preceded with rinsing a mouth by a test solution of saccharose. рН determined within 30 minutes. At chewing gums with substitute of sugar displacement рН the mixed saliva in the alkaline side was revealed a different degree. Thus gums with stevioside did not concede and even surpassed in this action of chewing gums with other substitutes of sugar. In comparison with placebo chewing gums and sweets restored acid-alkaline balance of oral cavities faster. Hence, use of stevioside in structure of chewing gum allows at preservation of its positive actions in oral cavity essentially to reduce concentration substitute of sugar and, hence, its collateral action by an organism.


Osgood-Sclatter's disease is the apophysitis of the tibial tuberosity and is a common disease of the adolescents. It causes knee pain and may result in enlargement of the tuber tibialis. Here we present a 39 years old male patient with knee pain and no recent trauma who ended up with diagnosis of Osgood-Sclatter's disease


The availability, distribution and control of freshwater resources have been at the centre of the human story since the start of the Neolithic revolution roughly 12,000 years ago. With the advent of the modern nation state and its attendant emphasis on sovereignty, self-sufficiency and rivalry, it comes as no surprise that interactions between states over shared watercourses have at times been tense and conflictual. This fact was elaborated by the Ex- UN Secretary General; Kofi Annan, Message during the World Water Day on 22nd March, 2002. He warned that… "Fierce national competition over water resources has prompted fears that water issues contain the seeds of violent conflict. By the year 2025 two thirds of the world's population is likely to live in countries with moderate or severe water shortages as demand for water approaches the limit of the available supply". Water as a fugitive resource, respects neither political boundaries nor commonly accepted notions of fairness or equity, hence posed the most complex management challenges to water managers of today. In the SADC region, shared waters cannot be viewed in a purely national context due to its fluidity and the mobility of its nature. It is factual that, over 70% of the water bodies in the region are transboundary in nature. In terms of state practice, the concept of community of interest is commonly traced back to a French decree of 1792 dealing with the opening of the Scheldt River to Navigation. The position expressed in this decree was quickly adopted in a number of instruments concerned primarily with rights of navigation in international rivers, but also in some early agreements not restricted to navigational uses. Therefore, the lakes, and watercourses which form the frontier between the two states or which are situated at the territory of both or which flow into the said lakes and watercourses shall continue to be considered as "common'.  In this regard one may wish to refer to the recent global instruments namely; the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational uses of International Water (1997) which came into force on 17th August 2014 and the Convention on the Protection and Uses of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (1992) which came into force on 6th October, 1996 and further in 2016 became an official global legal framework for transboundary water cooperation. These instruments are regarded as a vital step in building a strong foundation for global principles on water management and governance. Legal agreements between states during the colonial era as well as post-independence in the Southern Africa region, have formed the bedrock of cooperative water resources management regionally. The Anglo Germany Treaty of July, 1890 (The Helgoland Treaty), had established an agreement between the colonial powers of Great Britain, France, Portugal, Belgium and Germany and their respective spheres of influence over the African nations aimed to establish borders between the nations.  Interesting to note in the presence of scarcity of geo-information over the areas in question; the water bodies (Rivers and Lakes) were used to mark the lines of influence hence boundaries of the sovereign states of today. This chapter therefore, will provide an account of the influence of the 1890 Anglo – Germany Treaty (Helgoland Treaty) and international customary law in regard to conflict resolution and transboundary water cooperation in the Southern Africa Region (SADC). It will also examine some of available information as well as the historical background of boundary treaties; legal frameworks for cooperation; importance of Africa Union(AU) resolutions on the same, such as Resolution AHG/Res16(1) of July 1964 as well as resolution CM/Res.1069(XLIV) of 1986 and finally a conclusion.


Triostin A is a symmetric bicyclic depsipeptide with very potent antitumoral activity because of its bisintercalation into DNA. In this study, we report a new synthetic strategy that exploits a structural symmetry of triostin A. First, we prepared a novel symmetric linker molecule that is labile under mildly acidic conditions and suitable for a solid-phase synthesis procedure. Two Cys units were attached to a linker-resin conjugate via their free thiol groups, and double deprotection and double coupling reactions were then applied to synthesize linear tetradepsipeptides. Subsequently, the key biscyclization of the tetradepsipeptides was performed on the resin, and the resulting cyclic octapeptide was detached from the linker-resin conjugate to give a peptide with two free thiols. Finally, triostin A was obtained by oxidizing the free thiols in solution to produce a disulfide. The yield was improved through exploration of two different solid-phase synthetic approaches under similar strategy. Mainly, this strategy was developed to enable the ease and rapid preparation of libraries of symmetric bicyclic depsipeptides. It also addresses several synthetic problems with our synthesis, including diketopiperazine (DKP) formation, poor cyclization yields and preparation of noncommercial N-methyl amino acids in good yields.


Thesis submitted as partial requirement for the conferral of PhD in Global Management, Strategy and Entrepreneurship / JEL Classification System: M10 and M19


How do kindergarteners solve different single-digit addition problem formats? We administered problems that differed solely on the basis of two dimensions: response type (approximate or exact), and stimulus type (nonsymbolic, i.e., dots, or symbolic, i.e., Arabic numbers). We examined how performance differs across these dimensions, and which cognitive mechanism (mental model, transcoding, or phonological storage) underlies performance in each problem format with respect to working memory (WM) resources and mental number line representations. As expected, nonsymbolic problem formats were easier than symbolic ones. The visuospatial sketchpad was the primary predictor of nonsymbolic addition. Symbolic problem formats were harder because they either required the storage and manipulation of quantitative symbols phonologically or taxed more WM resources than their nonsymbolic counterparts. In symbolic addition, WM and mental number line results showed that when an approximate response was needed, children transcoded the information to the nonsymbolic code. When an exact response was needed, however, they phonologically stored numerical information in the symbolic code. Lastly, we found that more accurate symbolic mental number line representations were related to better performance in exact addition problem formats, not the approximate ones. This study extends our understanding of the cognitive processes underlying children's simple addition skills.


An algebra is effective if its operations are computable under some numbering. When are two numberings of an effective partial algebra equivalent? For example, the computable real numbers form an effective field and two effective numberings of the field of computable reals are equivalent if the limit operator is assumed to be computable in the numberings (theorems of Moschovakis and Hertling). To answer the question for effective algebras in general, we give a general method based on an algebraic analysis of approximations by elements of a finitely generated subalgebra. Commonly, the computable elements of a topological partial algebra are derived from such a finitely generated algebra and form a countable effective partial algebra. We apply the general results about partial algebras to the recursive reals, ultrametric algebras constructed by inverse limits, and to metric algebras in general. © 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim


We show that capital flows to emerging market economies create externalities that differ by an order of magnitude depending on the state-contingent payoff profile of the flows. Those with pro-cyclical payoffs, such as foreign currency debt, generate substantial negative pecuniary externalities because they lead to large repayments and contractionary exchange rate depreciations during financial crises. Conversely, capital flows with an insurance component, such as FDI or equity, are largely benign. We construct an externality pricing kernel and use sufficient statistics and DSGE model simulations to quantify the externalities that materialized during past financial crises. We find stark differences depending on the payoff profile, justifying taxes of up to 3% for dollar debt but close to zero for FDI. These findings contrast with the existing literature, which has suggested that policymakers should focus on reducing over-borrowing rather than changing the composition of external liabilities.


Proliferative retinopathies, such as neovascular age–related macular degeneration and proliferative diabetic retinopathy, are a special health issue due to their contribution to irreversible blindness. Although the promoting conditions and physiopathology of proliferative retinopathies are different, these feature a highly detrimental angiogenesis driven by the overproduction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This article describes the mechanism of action of ocular antiangiogenic therapies currently found in clinical development. Systems classify accordingly as (a) novel anti-VEGF systems, (b) molecules targeting non-VEGF pathways, and (c) gene therapies. Whereas most therapies are designed to neutralize VEGF, there is a significant set of products with diverse complexity and mechanism of action. Anti-VEGF therapies are still the most studied approach to tackle angiogenesis. Therapies targeting non-VEGF pathways, however, are highlighted because they could be an option for patients nonresponsive to anti-VEGF therapies. Finally, gene therapy is a promissory technology platform but still is subject to demonstrate safety and efficacy.


Human beings are fascinatingly gifted with freedom and will power. Responsible freedom is a fundamental faculty, necessary for the emancipation of humanity in its holistic character. Man is endowed with multidimensional personality, rationality and bundle of paradoxes. Down through the history, there has been a steady growth of freedom and responsibility and psychological enhancement. By and by, the abuse of freedom and mistaken-values has brought-in degradation in humanistic aspects and discord in interpersonal-relationships thereby psychological dissipation. In this perspective confronting the conflict through reconciliation is a dire need for psychological wellbeing. In the olden days the concept of "reconciliation" was primarily used in religious context, but in the present time it is extensively used also in psychological and sociological and political contexts as well. e.g., Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa 1994).


When it came time to reduce the 1991 federal budget, it was not surprising that the budget cutters set their sights on Medicare to reduce the deficit. But why does Medicare appear to be such a major target at budget time, and when are "cuts" really cuts?


In a book called Free Speech for Radicals, Herber Newton, a heretical priest active in New York in the late nineteenth century, claimed that 'Anarchism is in reality the ideal of political and social science, and also the idea of religion' (in Schroeder 1916: 14). Newton's assertion, that anarchism is fundamentally religious, is deeply contested but from a twenty-first century perspective his coupling of anarchism and political science is also striking. Even accepting that the link he makes between these two terms is mediated by the reference to an ideal, hinting at a utopian aspiration that many anarchists would embrace, the conjunction jars. This chapter considers some reasons why, looking within both at conceptions of political science adopted in American and British academia in the course of the twentieth century and at anarchist literatures. The discussion considers how debates about the relationship between the analysis of politics and the legitimation of established power relations contextualize anarchist engagements with political science, how differences about the scope, application and character of scientific method have complicated this engagement and how overlaps between these two currents of argument help explain some very different anarchist approaches to the field. My argument is that Newton's view is a productive one, from which anarchists have much to gain. And the final section of the chapter examines some examples of anarchist political science, drawing on the work of C. Wright Mills and Peter Kropotkin.


The murine fourth component of complement (C4) and sex-limited protein (Slp) are two closely related serum proteins that exhibit very disparate patterns of gene expression: all mice constitutively express C4, whereas only adult male mice from a limited number of standard inbred strains express Slp. Several exceptional strains exhibit constitutive (C4-like) Slp expression, a phenotype that correlates with multiple copies of the Slp gene. To determine the molecular basis for constitutive Slp expression we have isolated genomic clones and compared the sequences of 1.5 kb of 5' flanking DNA from 1 C4 gene and three different Slp genes from the Slp-constitutive strain B10.WR. These sequence comparisons demonstrate C4-like regulatory sequences adjacent to two of the Slp genes. By analysis of cDNA clones isolated from a B10.WR liver library we demonstrate that the constitutive Slp phenotype is due primarily to expression of one of these C4/Slp hybrid genes. It appears likely that Slp gene duplication in strain B10.WR came about via homologous unequal crossover events between C4 and Slp genes; this would accommodate both the gene sequence data and the pattern of C4-like Slp expression in mouse strain B10.WR.


Response to statin therapy for cardiovascular disease is variable among different individuals. The authors aimed to investigate the effect of the CYP3AP1*3 polymorphism on the lipid‐lowering efficacy of statins. They recruited 379 unrelated hyperlipidemic patients: 202 (103 men) treated with simvastatin and 177 (87 men) with atorvastatin as single‐agent therapy (20 mg day−1 orally) for 4 weeks. CYP3AP1*3(−44G>A) was genotyped using the PCR restriction fragment‐length polymorphism method. Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), and triglycerides (TGs) were determined before and after treatment. The frequency of the CYP3AP1*3 variant allele in Chinese hyperlipidemic patients was 70.6%. In the simvastatin treatment group, the percentage reduction of LDL‐C level was greater in the CYP3AP1*3/*3 carriers than in the CYP3AP1*1 carriers. This difference was statistically significant for women but not for men. In contrast, the authors found no significant association between the lipid‐lowering efficacy of atorvastatin and the CYP3AP1*3 polymorphism in all participants. However, in women, the percentage change of the TC level was significantly lower in the CYP3AP1*3/*3 carriers than in the CYP3AP1*1 carriers. These findings suggest that the CYP3AP1*3 allele may be a biomarker for the lipid‐lowering efficacy of simvastatin and atorvastatin in Chinese women with hyperlipidemia.


In this issue of Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, Hancu and colleagues present an observational 6–8-week Pan-European and Canadian prospective survey on patient satisfaction with a prefilled insulin injection device, the SoloSTAR pen device, in patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes (n = 6542). The SoloSTAR pen is one of several up-to-date insulin pens of high quality and characteristics that fit many of our patients with diabetes. The mainly excellent–good votes of the participants for the SoloSTAR are not surprising, as we have seen continuous improvements with prefilled pens, such as the SoloSTAR device. Several years ago, patients as well as health care providers found considerable differences between the available pen options. Nowadays, as almost all pen providers have clearly improved their products, the differences are much smaller; we are closer to a "perfect" prefilled pen device. Nevertheless, there is a need for more randomized controlled trials, ideally sponsored not by just one manufacturer, to be able to make clear statements toward different pen device aspects (e.g., accuracy of dosing, adherence to therapy, ease of use, and patient satisfaction). An additional handicap is the difficulty to get blinded study designs.


AIM To study pleiotropic effects of atorvastatin during 8-week therapy of metabolic syndrome and estimate their relationship with dynamics of quality of life characteristics (QLC). MATERIAL AND METHODS This 8-week study included 36 patients with stage II hypertensive disease associated with metabolic syndrome (MS). Comprehensive clinical, laboratory and instrumental examination was supplemented by QLC assessment using the MOS SF-36 questionnaire. RESULTS 8-week therapy of stage II hypertensive disease associated with metabolic syndrome using individually selected doses of atorvastatin (20 to 40 mg/d) significantly reduced atherogenic cholesterol fraction and serum leptin levels; it had positive effect on carbohydrate and purine metabolism and safely maintained positive dynamics of subjective assessment of most points of the MOS SF-36 questionnaire.


A radially sheared azimuthal flow is observed in a cylindrical helicon plasma device. The shear flow is roughly azimuthally symmetric and contains both time-stationary and slowly varying components. The turbulent radial particle flux is found to peak near the density gradient maximum and vanishes at the shear layer location. The shape of the radial plasma potential profile associated with the azimuthal E × B flow is predicted accurately by theory. The existence of the mean shear flow in a plasma with finite flow damping from ion–neutral collisions and no external momentum input implies the existence of radial angular momentum transport from the turbulent Reynolds-stress.


Abnormalities of shape, color or body deformities such as lack of swim bladders or any parts of the body are an unexplained issue for many fish species. There is a gap of knowledge regarding their causes. Generally, it is an important problem in the rearing technique in aquaculture management due to the high economic consequences. The morphological abnormalities occur in marine fishes as well. Missing dorsal spines or rays, scale disorientation, jaw deformities, eye deformations and the lack of some parts of the body are within the context of abnormality. In the present study, the body abnormality observed in a specimen of European hake (Merluccius merluccius Linnaeus, 1758) missing its right eye which was caught by a fisherman in the Marmara Sea on 13 October 2020, and its causes are reported and discussed. Further studies are needed to correlate the wild fish anomalies caused by pollution.


Dynamical cell shape changes require a highly sensitive cellular system that can respond to chemical and mechanical inputs. Myosin IIs are key players in the cell's ability to react to mechanical inputs, demonstrating an ability to accumulate in response to applied stress. Here, we show that inputs that influence the ability of myosin II to assemble into filaments impact the ability of myosin to respond to stress in a predictable manner. Using mathematical modeling for Dictyostelium myosin II, we predict that myosin II mechanoresponsiveness will be biphasic with an optimum established by the percentage of myosin II assembled into bipolar filaments. In HeLa and NIH 3T3 cells, heavy chain phosphorylation of NMIIB by PKC&zgr;, as well as expression of NMIIA, can control the ability of NMIIB to mechanorespond by influencing its assembly state. These data demonstrate that multiple inputs to the myosin II assembly state integrate at the level of myosin II to govern the cellular response to mechanical inputs.


The paper examines the factors affecting the intentions of Can Tho residents to travel to Dalat as the COVID-19 pandemic is gradually brought under control. The data were collected from a survey of 213 Can Tho residents and analyzed with Cronbach's alpha, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. The results show that the intentions of Can Tho residents to travel to Dalat depend on four factors: (1) attitude toward Dalat tourism, (2) subjective norms, (3) perceived behavioral controls, and (4) perceived health risk. In particular, the attitudinal factor significantly influences Dalat travel intentions. Based on the research results, the article proposes four recommendations for managers, corresponding to the four influencing factors, to increase the intentions of Can Tho residents to travel to Dalat in the COVID-19 era.


In order to properly handle a dangerous Artificially Intelligent (AI) system it is important to understand how the system came to be in such a state. In popular culture (science fiction movies/books) AIs/Robots became self-aware and as a result rebel against humanity and decide to destroy it. While it is one possible scenario, it is probably the least likely path to appearance of dangerous AI. In this work, we survey, classify and analyze a number of circumstances, which might lead to arrival of malicious AI. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to systematically classify types of pathways leading to malevolent AI. Previous relevant work either surveyed specific goals/meta-rules which might lead to malevolent behavior in AIs (Ozkural 2014) or reviewed specific undesirable behaviors AGIs can exhibit at different stages of its development (Turchin July 10 2015a, Turchin July 10, 2015b).


How CEOs think and feel about time may have a big influence on their firms' strategies. We examine how two distinct CEO temporal dispositions—time urgency (the feeling of being chronically hurried) and pacing style (one's pattern of effort over time in working toward deadlines)—each influence corporate entrepreneurship, a key strategic behavior. We propose that CEOs' temporal leadership—how they manage the temporal aspects of top management teams' activities—mediates the relationships between their temporal dispositions and corporate entrepreneurship—firms' innovation, corporate venturing, and strategic renewal activities. Using a sample of 129 small and medium-sized Chinese firms, we find that CEOs' time urgency is positively related to their temporal leadership, which in turn is positively related to corporate entrepreneurship. We also examine the effects of three distinct pacing styles: early-action, meaning the CEO exerts the most effort early in the task process and relaxes as the deadline nears; steady-action, meaning the CEO spreads out effort evenly across the time allotted; and deadline-action, meaning the CEO is most active as the deadline nears. We find that the deadline-action style inhibits CEOs' temporal leadership, but the steady-action and early-action styles have similar effects on their temporal leadership. This study explicates the dispositional basis of executives' subjective views of time, demonstrating how CEOs' temporal dispositions shape firms' behaviors.


Immunohistological detection of each of the four Id proteins (Id1-Id4) in sections of mouse testis revealed a unique temporal and spatial expression pattern for each Id protein during spermatogenesis. Furthermore, each Id protein displayed a distinctive, dynamic pattern of subcellular distribution. Id1 was uniquely expressed in MI/MII spermatocytes undergoing meiotic division. Id4 protein was detectable in the cytoplasm of type A1 spermatogonia, as well as in late pachytene and in diplotene spermatocytes. Id2 protein, which was most abundant in Sertoli cell nuclei, was also detectable in pachytene and diplotene spermatocytes, but as with Id4, it was absent from MI/MII cells. In postmeiotic spermatids, Id1, Id2, and Id4 proteins were expressed in a stage- and subcellular-specific manner. Expression of Id3 was restricted to Sertoli cell cytoplasm. In malignant seminoma cells, all four Id proteins were abundantly expressed with accompanying changes in their subcellular distribution. The observed expression of Id proteins in postproliferative Sertoli cells and spermatids and during specific stages of meiosis implies novel functional roles for this class of transcriptional regulator during spermatogenesis.


Abstract The present study is aimed at understanding how trans masculine and nonbinary individuals describe aspects of their sexual dissatisfaction. Previous studies on cisgender sexual dissatisfaction have utilized narrow definitions of dissatisfaction, operationalizing it in opposition to sexual satisfaction. Moreover, the pervasive focus on the outcomes of medical intervention steps in prior sexual dissatisfaction research with trans masculine participants ignored the experiences of individuals who do not desire a medical transition or live outside of the gender binary. Participants in the current study represented a non-clinical sample of 358 trans masculine and nonbinary individuals who responded to the question: "In what ways are you dissatisfied with your sex life?" Thematic analysis revealed six overarching themes for participant dissatisfaction: 1) difficulty with orgasm, 2) partner dynamics, 3) trauma, 4) desire for different body parts, 5) gender dysphoria, and 6) medical transition. Discussion focuses on the ways in which clinicians can utilize the current findings to decrease the sexual dissatisfaction of trans masculine and nonbinary individuals.


Molecules of 1,3-dimethyl-7-(4-methylphenyl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione, C(16)H(15)N(3)O(2), (I), are linked by paired C-H...O hydrogen bonds to form centrosymmetric R(2)(2)(10) dimers, which are linked into chains by a single pi-pi stacking interaction. A single C-H...O hydrogen bond links the molecules of 7-(biphenyl-4-yl)-1,3-dimethylpyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione, C(21)H(17)N(3)O(2), (II), into C(10) chains, which are weakly linked into sheets by a pi-pi stacking interaction. In 7-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-methylpyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione, C(14)H(10)FN(3)O(2), (III), an N-H...O hydrogen bond links the molecules into C(6) chains, which are linked into sheets by a pi-pi stacking interaction. The molecules of 7-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-methylpyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione, C(15)H(13)N(3)O(3), (IV), are also linked into C(6) chains by an N-H...O hydrogen bond, but here the chains are linked into sheets by a combination of two independent C-H...pi(arene) hydrogen bonds.


Al-Quran as the miracle of The Prophet certainly has excellences that cannot be imitated by mere mortal. One of them is its scientific side of the miracle where al-Quran tells the scientific facts that cannot be understood by the sciences of the era of prophecy and just be proven by technology of modern era. This article revealed the scientific miracle of al-Quran about the life of the ants that includes their characteristics, uniqueness, and communication system with the colony and other animals. It is shown in surah an-Naml verse 18. Therefore, the researchers explained it with three key questions: 1) Why does it use collective pronoun (ḍamīr jama' 'uqalā) to refer to the ants? 2) What is the characteristic of the ants? 3) What are the special languages of the ants? The researchers used analytic descriptive method through researching interpretations that are related to the verse, both from classic interpreters or the contemporary ones, especially the scientific interpretations. Arguments were delivered with some explicit explanation from the experts of zoology studies. This research concluded that al-Quran is parallel to recent modern scientific discovery about ants, based on the diction, pronoun usage, and the context. This is the real proof that al-Qur'an is absolute revelation of Allah to the illiterate Prophet.


Microbiological assay plates containing agar stained with fast green and inoculated with test microorganisms could be readily distinguished from unstained seeded agar plates. The boundaries of zones of growth inhibition were more sharply defined in those plates which contained stained agar.


A survey of the literature is given on methodological problems associated with, and results of, the clinical diagnosis of personality in school age with questionnaires for self-evaluation. Further is given an outline of a number of major personality inventories used in (german) practice. Finally are presented the results of validation and standardisation gained with two children's inventories (PF/SF) for the multidimensional registration of psychic and social features of behaviorally disturbed children.


Background:Activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations can be successfully treated by EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), but nearly 50% of all patients' exhibit progression of the disease until treatment because of T790M mutations. It is proposed that this is mostly caused by therapy-resistant tumor clones harboring a T790M mutation. Until now no cost-effective routine-diagnostic method for EGFR-resistance mutation status analysis is available leaving long-time response to TKI treatment to chance. Unambiguous identification of T790M EGFR mutations is mandatory to optimize initial treatment strategies. Materials and Methods:Artificial EGFR T790M mutations and human wild-type gDNA were prepared in several dilution series. Preferential amplification using coamplification at lower denaturation temperature-PCR (COLD-PCR) of the mutant sequence and subsequent HybProbe melting curve detection or pyrosequencing were performed in comparison to normal processing. Results:COLD-PCR–based amplification allowed the detection of 0.125% T790M mutant DNA in a background of wild-type DNA in comparison to 5% while normal processing. These results were reproducible. Conclusions:COLD-PCR is a powerful and cost-effective tool for routine diagnostic to detect underrepresented tumor clones in clinical samples. A diagnostic tool for unambiguous identification of T790M-mutated minor tumor clones is now available enabling optimized therapy.


In the 1920s, a young American - Paul Outerbridge (1896-1958) burst onto the photographic art scene with images that were visually fresh, technically adept, and decidedly Modernist. Not only did he re-invigorate the photographic art of the period, he also applied his talent for composition to the commercial world, introducing an artist's sensibilities to advertisements for everything from men's haberdashery to JELL-O, for magazines such as "Vogue" and "Vanity Fair". An early master of the complex carbo colour process, "Outerbridge" also photographed nudes in poses that skirted the limits of propriety at the time. "Paul Outerbridge: Command Performance" is a visually stunning volume that brings together one hundred photographs from the whole of Outerbridge's career, including his Cubist still-life images, commercial, and nude photography. This is a visually stunning celebration of the pioneering work of photographer Paul Outerbridge.


Clinical manifestations of 16 patients with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma were presented. We examined the point similar to that of stroke. During the initial visit of our hospital, the patients showed the hemiplegia in 10 cases (62.5%), Horner syndrome in 4 cases (25%), the painless onset in 1 case (6.3%). And one case showed the impairment of consciousness due to vagal reflex in severe pain onset, which was similar to those of subarachnoid hemorrhage. MRI images are useful to confirm the diagnosis. The frequent site of hematoma was the lower cervical spinal cord. The oval shaped hematomas shifted to the left or right in spinal canals, compressed spinal cords in axial image, which was a cause of hemiplegia. Many cases developed during active periods, and the hemorrhage might be relevant to oral antithrombotic agent, C hepatitis, and chronic renal failure. Rapidly progressive cases were indications for emergency surgery, but conservative therapy is also possible and was better prognosis.


Abstract Men living at high altitudes in Peru compared to sea level counterparts have erythrocytosis (hemoglobin 16–21 g/dl) or excessive erythrocytosis (hemoglobin>21 g/dl). High testosterone (T) levels in men at high altitude (HA) were associated with excessive erythrocytosis. High androgen levels could be due to a low aromatase activity or to an elevated rate of conversion from precursors to testosterone. The aim of this study was to evaluate aromatase activity and rate of conversion from precursors to testosterone before and after administration of the aromatase enzyme inhibitor letrozole (5 mg/day) for a 5-day period to men at HA and at sea level (SL). The response to short term aromatase inhibition was assessed in 30 adult men living at sea level, 31 native men at HA with erythrocytosis (Hb 16–21 g/dl), and 35 men at HA with excessive erythrocytosis (Hb>21 g/dl). Serum hormone levels, estradiol/testosterone, testosterone/androstenedione, and testosterone/dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) ratios were measured. Men with erythrocytosis had lower basal serum T/androstenedione ratios than men with excessive erythrocytosis at HA and men at sea level. Men at HA with excessive erythrocytosis had higher T/DHEAS ratios than men with erythrocytosis and than those at sea level before and after letrozole administration. After letrozole administration, both groups of men at high altitude (with erythrocytosis or with excessive erythrocytosis) showed lower aromatase activities than those at sea level. In conclusion, higher serum testosterone levels in men with excessive erythrocytosis were associated with an increased rate of conversion from DHEAS to testosterone rather than to a lower aromatase activity.


The ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) originating from Wuhan, China, draws worldwide concerns due to its long incubation period and strong infectivity. Although RT-PCR-based molecular diagnosis techniques are being widely applied for clinical diagnosis currently, timely and accurate diagnosis are still limited due to labour intensive and time-consuming operations of these techniques. To address the issue, herein we report the synthesis of poly (amino ester) with carboxyl groups (PC)-coated magnetic nanoparticles (pcMNPs), and the development of pcMNPs-based viral RNA extraction method for the sensitive detection of COVID-19 causing virus, the SARS-CoV-2. This method combines the lysis and binding steps into one step, and the pcMNPs-RNA complexes can be directly introduced into subsequent RT-PCR reactions. The simplified process can purify viral RNA from multiple samples within 20 min using a simple manual method or an automated high-throughput approach. By identifying two different regions (ORFlab and N gene) of viral RNA, a 10-copy sensitivity and a strong linear correlation between 10 and 105 copies of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus particles are achieved. Benefitting from the simplicity and excellent performances, this new extraction method can dramatically reduce the turn-around time and operational requirements in current molecular diagnosis of COVID-19, in particular for the early clinical diagnosis.