Data from the low altitude plasma instrument (LAPI) on Dynamics Explorer 2 document a population of high-energy (up to 800 eV) atmospheric photoelectrons that has not been reported in the published literature. The source of these photoelectrons is postulated to be the soft X ray portion of the whole Sun spectrum. This conclusion is supported by (1) sunrise-sunset characteristics that track those of the classical ({lt}60 eV) EUV-produced photoelectrons and (2) theoretical results from two models that incorporate the soft X ray portion of the solar spectrum. The models include {ital K} shell ionization effects and predict peaks in the photoelectron spectrum due to Auger electrons emitted from oxygen and nitrogen. The peak for nitrogen is observed as predicted, but the peak for oxygen is barely observable. Excellent quantitative agreement is achieved between theory and experiment by using reasonable adjustments to the few published soft X ray spectra based on solar activity. The upflowing energetic photoelectrons provide a heretofore unknown source of electrons to the magnetosphere. They occur whenever and wherever the Sun is up, that is, at all invariant latitudes. Their density is low, but they are steady and ubiquitous. If scattering and trapping occur on closed field lines,more » then these photoelectrons could contribute as a significant particle source and thus represent a new facet of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling.« less


Two new coronene charge transfer complexes with F4-TCNQ of 2:1 and 1:1:1 (solvate with acetonitrile, MeCN) stoichiometry were obtained using crystal growth procedures from the solution and vapor phase. It was shown that mobility of coronene molecules in crystals is more affected by the asymmetry of its surrounding than by the composition and degree of charge transfer and interstack interactions. The combination of X-ray diffraction and electrochemistry in the solid state and a time-resolved one in solution allowed us to clarify the nucleation in solution showing that the formation of 2:1 coronene/F4-TCNQ complexes is thermodynamically preferable. The X-ray single crystal data for pristine coronene showed the crystal structure to be the same as at ambient temperature, raising doubt about the previously reported phase transitions at 140–180 K.


MOTIVATION
Sequence alignments obtained using affine gap penalties are not always biologically correct, because the insertion of long gaps is over-penalised. There is a need for an efficient algorithm which can find local alignments using non-linear gap penalties.

RESULTS
A dynamic programming algorithm is described which computes optimal local sequence alignments for arbitrary, monotonically increasing gap penalties, i.e. where the cost g(k) of inserting a gap of k symbols is such that g(k) >/= g(k-1). The running time of the algorithm is dependent on the scoring scheme; if the expected score of an alignment between random, unrelated sequences of lengths m, n is proportional to log mn, then with one exception, the algorithm has expected running time O(mn). Elsewhere, the running time is no greater than O(mn(m+n)). Optimisations are described which appear to reduce the worst-case run-time to O(mn) in many cases. We show how using a non-affine gap penalty can dramatically increase the probability of detecting a similarity containing a long gap.

AVAILABILITY
The source code is available to academic collaborators under licence.


ObjectivesRestriction to the analysis of births that survive past a specified gestational age (typically 20 weeks gestation) can lead to biased exposure-outcome associations. The objective is to estimate the influence of bias resulting from using a left truncated dataset to ascertain exposure-outcome associations in perinatal studies.
ApproachWe simulated the magnitude of bias under a collider-stratification mechanism for the association between the exposure of advancing maternal age (≥ 35 years) and the outcome of stillbirth. This bias occurs when the cause of restriction (early pregnancy loss) is influenced by both the exposure and unmeasured factors that also affect the outcome. Simulation parameters were based on an original birth cohort from Western Australia and a range of plausible values for the prevalence of early pregnancy loss (< 20 gestational weeks), an unmeasured factor U and the odds ratios for the selection effects. Selection effects included the effects of maternal age on early pregnancy loss, U on early pregnancy loss, and U on stillbirth. We then compared the simulated scenarios with the results from the original cohort in which bias was unadjusted.
ResultsWe found the overall magnitude of bias to be minimal in the association between advancing maternal age and stillbirth. The findings indicate that the stronger the effect of the unmeasured U on early pregnancy loss and stillbirth, the greater the departure from the null. When we compared the simulated model with the results of the original cohort, we found evidence of marginal downward bias which was most prominent for women aged 40+ years.
DiscussionOur simulations demonstrated a marginal downward bias in the association between advancing maternal age and stillbirth. We recommend that future studies should quantify the extent of such bias when using left truncated birth datasets to determine exposure-outcome associations.


Background Associations between serum cadmium and diabetes had been reported in previous studies, however there was still considerable controversy regarding associations. Studies in general population that investigated the effects of serum cadmium on diabetes were currently lacking. We designed this cross-sectional study among U.S. adults under high and low cadmium exposure to assess associations between serum cadmium and diabetes. Methods This cross-sectional study analyzed 52,593 adults who aged more than 20 years and participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999–2020. The missing values and extreme values in the covariables were filled by multiple interpolation. Univariate logistics regression, multivariate logistics regression and smooth fitting curves were used to analyze the association between serum cadmium and diabetes. Simultaneously, sensitivity analysis was carried out by converting the serum cadmium from continuous variable to categorical variable. The stratification logistics regression model was used to analyze whether there were special groups in each subgroup to test the stability of the results. Results In this cross-sectional study, serum cadmium levels were negatively correlated with the occurrence of diabetes in the low serum cadmium exposure group (OR = 0.811, 95% CI 0.698, 0.943; P = 0.007). There was no association between serum cadmium level and the occurrence of diabetes in the high serum cadmium exposure group (OR = 1.01, 95% CI 0.982, 1.037; P = 0.511). These results were consistent across all the subgroups (P for interaction >0.05). Conclusion Serum cadmium was negatively associated diabetes among the representative samples of the whole population in the United States under the normal level of serum cadmium exposure. However, there was no association between serum cadmium level and the occurrence of diabetes in the high serum cadmium exposure group. This study promoted an update of new preventative strategy targeting environment for the prevention and control of diabetes in the future.


When multiple people talk simultaneously, the healthy human auditory system is able to attend to one particular speaker of interest. Recently, it has been demonstrated that it is possible to infer to which speaker someone is attending by relating the neural activity, recorded by electroencephalography (EEG), with the speech signals. This is relevant for an effective noise suppression in hearing devices, in order to detect the target speaker in a multi-speaker scenario. Most auditory attention detection algorithms use a linear EEG decoder to reconstruct the attended stimulus envelope, which is then compared to the original stimuli envelopes to determine the attended speaker. Classifying attention within a short time interval remains the main challenge. We present two different convolutional neural network (CNN)-based approaches to solve this problem. One aims to select the attended speaker from a given set of individual speaker envelopes, and the other extracts the locus of auditory attention (left or right), without knowledge of the speech envelopes. Our results show that it is possible to decode attention within 1-2 seconds, with a median accuracy around 80%, without access to the speech envelopes. This is promising for neuro-steered noise suppression in hearing aids, which requires fast and accurate attention detection. Furthermore, the possibility of detecting the locus of auditory attention without access to the speech envelopes is promising for the scenarios in which per-speaker envelopes are unavailable. It will also enable establishing a fast and objective attention measure in future studies.


The earlier damage to the surface of backup rolls for 1580mm PC hot strip mill is usually caused by the uneven contact pressure between rolls. In this connection, a lot of studies and experiments have been made on the optimization of the edge curve of backup roll body.The results we obtained prove that the power function curve can not only improve the service life of the backup roll but also benefit the profile and shape control of hot rolled strip.


Notwithstanding the little importance given in the commentaries to the statute of boundary elements worked by Peirce, this theme remains present during more than a decade in Peirce's writings. Always returning to the same examples such as the colors to be attributed to the boundary elements of two adjacent surfaces, one red and the other blue, or the present moment in the flow of time, Peirce progressively advances the best theoretical explanation he can find to this so intriguing question. After a long inquiry involving the statute of the continuum, Peirce finally takes a very personal position defending the infinitesimal nature of the boundary element due to its affirmative potential mode of being. Assuming this thesis, Peirce can reread Aristotle, redistributing the roles to be conferred to matter, form and entelechy, as well as the true concept of continuity.


3, 3-diindolylmethane (DIM) has been reported that it has anti-proliferative effects in many cancer cells. However, the biological functions of DIM in human gastric cancer cells are unknown. Genetic and biological studies have confirmed the importance of the novel hippo tumor suppressor pathway in regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, organ size, and tumorigenesis in mammals. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic effects of DIM in human gastric cancer cells and to elucidate whether DIM induces cell death by activating the hippo signaling pathway. Four human gastric cancer cell lines (SNU1, SNU16, SNU484, and SNU638) were used to test the response of DIM. MTT, cell cycle and western blot analyses were conducted. DIM significantly inhibited the proliferation of human gastric cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. The percentage of G1 phase cells increased 24h after being treated by DIM. DIM reduced CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, CyclinD1 protein levels and increased p53 protein levels. DIM also induced cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, cleaved-caspase-9 levels, and diminished pro-caspase-3 protein expression levels. Additionally, DIM increased P-LATS1, Mob1, P-Mob1, P-Yap protein levels and reduced Yap protein levels. Moreover, DIM inhibited the growth of human esophageal tumors in an orthotopic mouse model. These results suggest that DIM can sensitize gastric cancers by modulating the hippo signaling pathway linked to tumorigenesis. Citation Format: Xiu Juan Li, Hwan Hee Lee, Soo Mi Kim. DIM inhibits growth of human gastric cancer through modulation of the hippo signaling pathway. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3243. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3243 Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 because the presenter was unable to attend.


This study aimed to evaluate the effects of adding Yucca schidigera and zeolite (Clinoptilolite) to feed (super premium and standard) for adult dogs on the apparent indigestibility coefficient of minerals. In the first assessment, 21 dogs were used, with average weight of 12.5kg±1.46 in seven treatments in two periods (super premium diet referred to as control and control with the addition of 125, 250, 375ppm Yucca schidigera and 0.5%, 0.75% and 1.0% zeolite). The second assessment was conducted with standard feed, using 21 experimental plots distributed in three treatments (standard diet referred to as control and control with the addition of 375ppm of Yucca schidigera and 1.0% zeolite). The additives did not affect the acceptability of feed and fecal characteristics in both assessments (P>0.05). With the exception of calcium, no minerals were affected by the inclusion of additives (P>0.05) in the experiment with super premium feed. In the assessment with standard feed, calcium as phosphorus and magnesium presented decreased excretion (P<0.05) with the inclusion of additives. It is possible to conclude that the inclusion of additives in the tested concentrations may interfere with the excretion of some minerals in the


Background: Four cycles of doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide (4-AC) followed by four cycles of a taxane is widely used for postoperative chemotherapy in breast cancer (BC). Concern about relatively rare, but life-threatening toxicity of anthracyclines such as heart failure and secondary leukemia has promoted research to seek anthracycline-free regimens. Since 19909s when taxanes were introduced, docetaxel (DTX) is used interchangeably with paclitaxel (PTX) for the treatment of BC, but they may differ more than initially anticipated. We conducted this trial to test two hypotheses: (1) Eight cycles of a taxane is not inferior to 4-AC followed by four cycles of a taxane; (2) one taxane is superior to the other. Methods: Eligibility included a diagnosis of clinical stage I-IIIA and axillary node-positive BC, an age younger than 71 years and with performance status of 0 to 1. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either one of the following regimens; ACP: 4-AC (doxorubicin 60 mg/m 2 and cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m 2 q3w x 4) followed by 4-PTX (175 mg/m 2 q3w x 4) ACD: 4-AC followed by 4-DTX (75 mg/m 2 q3w x 4) 8-PTX: PTX (175 mg/m 2 q3w x 8) 8-DTX: DTX (75 mg/m 2 q3w x 8) Comparisons included PTX vs. DTX (ACP + 8-PTX vs. ACD + 8-DTX) and +AC vs. -AC (ACP + ACD vs. 8-PTX + 8-DTX). The primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS), and the secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS). The trial was powered to prove the non-inferiority of +AC to -AC (threshold hazard ratio 1.32) in terms of DFS. DFS was also compared between PTX and DTX to determine any superiority. Results: A total of 1,060 eligible patients were accrued at 84 centers between December 2001 and April 2006. There were 348 DFS events and 166 deaths after a median followup of 72.2 months. DTX was superior to PTX in terms of both DFS (Hazard ratio(HR) 0.76; 95% Confidence Interval(CI) 0.62−0.95, p=0.012 ) and OS (HR 0.72;95%CI 0.53−0.97, p=0.033 ). -AC was not inferior to +AC with respect to DFS (HR: 1.21, 90% CI 1.01−1.44). Among the four arms, 8-PTX alone resulted in poorer DFS (compared with ACP, HR 1.42 95%CI 1.07−1.89). Nausea and vomiting were more frequent with +AC than -AC. Edema and febrile neutropenia were more frequent with DTX than PTX. The incidence of sensory neuropathy was higher with PTX than DTX and it lasted for more than one year of the end of PTX treatment. Conclusions: When AC, PTX and DTX were given every three weeks, both DFS and OS were better in the arms including DTX than in those including PTX. AC followed by a taxane can be replaced by 8-DTX. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr PD07-02.


Following the wide and successful use of continuous shoulder rumble strips, many state departments of transportation (DOTs) installed centerline rumble strips (CLRS) on rural two-lane and undivided multilane highways in an effort to reduce cross-over-the-centerline (COCL) crashes. COCL crashes include head-on, sideswipe opposite direction, fixed object run-off-the-road left, and non-collision. The purpose of this research was to develop guidelines for using CLRS in Virginia based on a review of best practices and the analysis of Virginia COCL crash data from 2001 through 2003. The analysis procedures included data query and analyses of crash frequency, density, and rate. Areas and route locations with the highest COCL crashes and densities were identified as potential candidate sites for CLRS. As of 2003, 24 state DOTs and two Canadian provinces were using CLRS. They are generally installed on a case-by-case basis. CLRS design patterns vary greatly among states, but the most commonly used types are continuous grooves 12 to 16 in. in length, 6 to 7 in. in width, and 0.5 in. in depth spaced 12 or 24 in. apart. The optimal CLRS patterns remain unknown. Data analyses revealed that the distribution of COCL crashes in Virginia varied significantly with roadway system, road type, jurisdictional area, and road location. The statewide COCL crash densities were 0.13 and 0.71 crash per mile for secondary and primary roads, respectively. Fixed object run-off-the-road left was the predominant type of COCL crash followed by sideswipe opposite direction and head-on for undivided roads. The crash density of the primary system was 4.5 times higher than that of the secondary system. Guidelines were developed that outline the application of CLRS, design dimensions, installation and maintenance, and other issues. The authors recommend that the Virginia Department of Transportation's Traffic Engineering Division implement the guidelines as a division memorandum. Although a benefit-cost ratio for this recommendation will vary with each site, a sample estimated benefit-cost ratio was at least 7.6 per mile.


INTRODUCTION: Gossypiboma, also referred to as a textiloma, gauzoma or muslinoma describe a mass in the body composed of a central cotton core surrounded by a foreign body reaction. It has an estimated incidence of 1/1000–1/10000 surgeries, occurring in the abdomen (56%), pelvis (18%) and least commonly the thorax (11%) and represents an unfortunate event for both the patient and the operating surgeon with severe liability implications. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We report a case of a 49-year-old male with Marfan Syndrome who was admitted to the cardiology department with a four day history of shortness of breath and associated dull, nonradiating chest pain. Past history included a previous Bentall procedure for a type-A aortic dissection and coronary artery bypass grafting involving a saphenous vein graft to the right coronary artery. A computed tomography (CT) scan showed a round, heterogeneous mass measuring 14 × 9 cm with lobulated contours, situated adjacent to the left ventricle along the left posterior region of the aorta. The mass was resected and further dissection revealed a plastic band harboured from the core of the mass. DISCUSSION: The majority of cases of intrathoracic gossypiboma present as intractable cough or an incidental finding on radiological evaluation. Dyspnoea alone is relatively underreported as a presenting symptom of this condition CONCLUSION: This case highlights the important clinical history features for diagnosing this surgical error, including persistent respiratory symptoms and a history of cardio-thoracic surgery. It also emphasizes on the need for implementing definite strategies to prevent the occurrence of gossypiboma in surgical practice. © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of IJS Publishing Group Ltd. This is an open he CC access article under t


Genital and labial herpes simplex virus infections are frequently encountered by primary care physicians in the United States. Whereas the diagnosis of this condition is often straightforward, choosing an appropriate drug (eg, acyclovir, valacyclovir hydrochloride, or famciclovir) and dosing regimen can be confusing in view of (1) competing clinical approaches to therapy; (2) evolving dosing schedules based on new research; (3) approved regimens of the Food and Drug Administration that may not match recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or of other experts; and (4) dissimilar regimens for oral and genital infections. The physician must first choose an approach to treatment (ie, intermittent episodic therapy, intermittent suppressive therapy, or chronic suppressive therapy) based on defined clinical characteristics and patient preference. Then, an evidence-based dosing regimen must be selected. In this review, data from all sources are tabulated to provide a handy clinical reference.


Acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (AChR) regulate neural circuit activity in multiple contexts. In humans, mutations in ionotropic acetylcholine receptor (iAChR) genes can cause neurological disorders, including myasthenia gravis and epilepsy. In Caenorhabditis elegans, iAChRs play multiple roles in the locomotor circuit. The cholinergic motor neurons express an ACR-2-containing pentameric AChR (ACR-2R) comprised of ACR-2, ACR-3, ACR-12, UNC-38, and UNC-63 subunits. A gain-of-function mutation in the non-α subunit gene acr-2 [acr-2(gf)] causes defective locomotion as well as spontaneous convulsions. Previous studies of genetic suppressors of acr-2(gf) have provided insights into ACR-2R composition and assembly. Here, to further understand how the ACR-2R regulates neuronal activity, we expanded the suppressor screen for acr-2(gf)-induced convulsions. The majority of these suppressor mutations affect genes that play critical roles in synaptic transmission, including two novel mutations in the vesicular ACh transporter unc-17. In addition, we identified a role for a conserved major facilitator superfamily domain (MFSD) protein, mfsd-6, in regulating neural circuit activity. We further defined a role for the sphingosine (SPH) kinase (Sphk) sphk-1 in cholinergic neuron activity, independent of previously known signaling pathways. Overall, the genes identified in our study suggest that optimal modulation of synaptic activity is balanced by the differential activities of multiple pathways, and the novel alleles provide valuable reagents to further dissect neuronal mechanisms regulating the locomotor circuit.


The present report describes a four-week trial at the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, to determine the effect of access to a computer system on nutrient intake analyses, the problems in implementation of the system, and the response of the staff dietitians. An on-line system was obtained from the Ohio State University Hospitals and modified to reflect Canadian food and nutrient content, and to include some additional program features. Twelve hundred and eighty-six foods were characterized according to 15 food components, the system was responsive to nine interactive commands, and there were nine possible print-out formats of calculations. The results of the trial reinforced the expectation of greatly increased work efficiency, however, the system was not utilized to its potential. Some technical problems were largely overcome within the first week of operation. However, needs relating to the extensiveness of the food and nutrient data base, and the methodologies and time for obtaining and evaluating individual dietary intake information prevented maximum efficiency. The dietitians liked the comprehensiveness and detail of the system, however, routine dietary intake collections were too time-consuming for their present work schedules.


©The author presents the brief analysis of the conceptual foundations of regional studies education, its philosophical-cultural substantiation and authorial approaches to the implementation of the new scientific-educational direction "Regional studies education in a specialist's culturological training" stated in the analyzed monograph of Doctor in Culturology, Professor G. P. Pirozhkov. The review allows to conclude that developed by the scientist regional studies theoretical conception as a social-cultural phenomenon is embodied in the applied models, programs and technologies of regional studies activity, regional studies training. The conceptual foundations of regional studies education model are professionally written into culturology research field and in a specialist's training system of higher educational institutions of different profiles. G. P. Pirozhkov suggests the forms and ways of regional studies influence on regional studies education optimization improving its quality and ensuring continuity and mass character, and presents the results of new authorial pedagogical technologies approbation, teaching and adapting techniques.


This paper presents a new algorithm for colour digital image watermarking. The 24 bits/pixel RGB images are used and the watermark is placed on the green channel of the RGB image. The green channel is chosen after an analytical investigation process was carried out using some popular measurement metrics. The analysis and embedding processes have been carried out using the discrete cosine transform DCT. The new watermarking method has shown to be resistant to JPEG compression, cropping, scaling, low-pass, median and removal attack. This algorithm produces more than 65 dB of average PSNR.


Istanbul: The Imperial City, by John Freely. New York and London: Viking/Penguin, 1996. xviii + 316 pages. Notes to p. 379. Gloss. to p. 386. Rulers to p. 389. Bibl. to p. 395. Index to p. 414. S32.95. Reviewed by Robert A. Berry The reader who selects this work in the hope of learning something of significance concerning the history, society, and dynamism of Istanbul will be very disappointed. The author, in his preface, acknowledges that the book is not meant to be a formal history, "but rather a biography of the city itself and an account of the social life of its people from the earliest settlements up to the present day" (p. xv). In this objective, he does not succeed. However, as John Freely also indicates, he views his work as a guide to the city's monuments created over the centuries. Given that frame of reference, and the author's evident love for and deep familiarity with Istanbul, as evidenced by his numerous previous books on the subject, Istanbul: The Imperial City succeeds admirably. The book is divided into four parts. Each of the first three is devoted to a major historical period of the city: Byzantium, Constantinople, and Istanbul. The fourth part provides a series of notes and historical sketches on the various monuments, shrines, and holy places referred to in the text. In tracing his historical account of the city's development, Freely relies heavily on standard secondary sources: occasional contemporary historical accounts, e.g., Herodotus; memoirs; travelers' accounts; and architectural studies. While utilizing such resources could have produced a fascinating study of the social, cultural, and economic development of the city, the actual product most closely resembles a political chronology in the style of the medieval chroniclers who noted facts and little else. Most of the accounts are accepted uncritically with no attempt to analyze them or to place them into context. The result, especially in the earliest sections, is a semilegendary tale of the founding and early development of a world city which, in the end, tells us little of significance. As the author progresses further in describing the history of Constantinople as the capital of the Byzantine Empire, his writing style is essentially one which intersperses chroniclers' accounts of rulers, battles, and intrigues with stories of religious faith and miracles. A random example of this style, describing the reign of John II, is indicative: John fought a war against Venice in the years 1122-5, and then in 1129 he defeated King Stephen II of Hungary. During 1137-43 he led a series of campaigns to recapture Antioch from the Latins. On the last of these campaigns he accidentally wounded himself with a poisoned arrow while hunting, dying on 8 April 1143. …


Purpose
By testing a moderated mediation model, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of credit card self-efficacy in the relationship between credit card literacy and financial well-being. The authors further examine if credit card number moderates this effect.

Design/methodology/approach
Data for the study were collected from 427 college students. The PROCESS macros in IBM SPSS Statistics 23 was used to assess the hypothesized relationships.

Findings
Credit card literacy positively influences financial well-being through self-efficacy. However, this effect is stronger when college students own fewer credit cards.

Practical implications
Banks and credit card issuers, policymakers and colleges and universities should place a greater emphasis on credit card literacy programs that enhance students' general understanding of credit card terms and conditions and confidence in their ability to effectively use and manage their credit cards.

Originality/value
To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between credit card literacy, self-efficacy and financial well-being.


Graphene, a monolayer of a honeycomb lattice of carbon atoms has been attracted a great amount of attention from both experimental and theoretical points of view Novoselov et al. (2006). Flat structure of graphene makes its fabrication more straightforward than carbon nanotubes. Moreover, dreams of carbon nanoelectronic approach to the reality based on planar graphene structures. This structure overcomes some difficulties of nanoelectronics based on carbon nanotubes, by using lithography, one-dimensional ribbon patterns on graphene sheets Liu et al. (2009). Experiments in graphene-based devices Ozyilmaz et al. (2007) have shown the possibility of controlling their electrical properties by the application of an external gate voltage. For achieving realistic nanoelectronic applications based on graphene nanoribbons (GNR), width of ribbon have to be narrow enough that a transport gap is opened Han el al. (2007); Li et al. (2008); Wang et al. (2008). Using a chemical process, sub-10 nm GNR field-effect-transistors with very smooth edges have been obtained in Ref.[ Li et al. (2008); Wang et al. (2008)] and demonstrated to be semiconductors with band-gap inversely proportional to the width and on/off ratio of current up to 106 at room temperature. By connecting GNRs with different types of edges and widths, it is applicable to fabricate electronic devices based on graphene nanoribbons. The origin of transport gap which is opened in a gate voltage region of suppressed nonlinear conductance is still not well understood Molitor et al. (2009); Son et al. (2006); Sols et al. (2007). Two factors are responsible for transport gap: the edge disorder leading to localization Mucciolo et al. (2009) and the confinement Nakada et al. (1996); Brey & Fertig-a (2006); Bery&Fertig-b (2006); Zheng et al. (2007); Malysheva& Onipko (2008). However, in nonlinear regime, transport gap is also opened by transition selection rules which originates from the reflection symmetry Duan et al. (2008). Based on the tight-binding approach, GNRs with armchair shaped edges are either metal or Semiconductor Son et al. (2006); Nakada et al. (1996); Brey & Fertig-a (2006); Bery&Fertig-b (2006); Zheng et al. (2007). Moreover, in this approach, zigzag edge ribbons are metal regardless of their widths Malysheva& Onipko (2008). While ab initio calculations Son et al. (2006) predict that regardless of the shape of the edges, GNRs are semiconductor. In zigzag GNRs, the bands are partially flat around the Fermi energy, which means that the group velocity of conduction electrons is close to zero. Their transport properties are dominated by edge states. Similar to carbon nanotubes, electronic transition through a ZGNRs follows from some selection rules. The rotational symmetry of the incoming electron wave function with respect 7


ABSTRACT Rhodotorula species are emerging pathogens in immunocompromised patients. We report the in vitro activities of eight antifungals against 64 Rhodotorula isolates collected in surveillance programs between 1987 and 2003. Rhodotorula strains are resistant in vitro to fluconazole (MIC at which 50% of the isolates tested are inhibited [MIC50], >128 μg/ml) and caspofungin (MIC50, >8 μg/ml). Amphotericin B (MIC50,1 μg/ml) and flucytosine (MIC50, 0.12 μg/ml) are both active in vitro, and the new and investigational triazoles all have some in vitro activity, with ravuconazole being the most active (MIC50, 0.25 μg/ml).


The paper deals with the theory of harmonic generation and gives a brief summary of the possible filtering methods. Furthermore a low cost solution is given to solve an actual harmonic filtering and reactive power control in a low voltage system.


This study developed a research model that was empirically tested to re-explain the variables that could affect turnover intention by using data obtained from interviews using a questionnaire to PT Apparel One Indonesia's employees. The test is carried out using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The test results show that work stress and family conflict are proven to have a significant negative effect on organizational commitment. The results of this study also show that work stress and work family conflict have a significant positive effect on turnover intention, while organizational commitment has a significant negative effect on turnover intention.


BACKGROUND
The ability of apolipoprotein (apo)A-I to induce regression of preexisting atherosclerotic lesions has not been determined, and a mouse model of atherosclerosis regression has not yet been reported.

METHODS AND RESULTS
LDL receptor-deficient mice were fed a western-type diet for 5 weeks to induce atherosclerotic lesions. A second-generation recombinant adenovirus encoding human apoA-I or a control adenovirus were injected intravenously in order to express apoA-I in the liver. Three days after injection, total apoA-I levels in mice injected with the apoA-I-expressing adenovirus were 216+/-16.0 mg/dL, compared with 68.0+/-3.0 mg/dL in control virus-injected mice (P<0.001). HDL cholesterol levels in mice injected with the AdhapoA-I vector 7 days after injection were 189+/-21.0 mg/dL, compared with 123+/-8.0 mg/dL in control virus-injected mice (P<0.02). Total and non-HDL cholesterol levels did not differ between the 2 groups. Atherosclerotic lesion area was quantified by en face analysis of the aorta and cross-sectional analysis of the aortic root. Compared with baseline mice, atherosclerosis progressed in mice injected with the control adenovirus. In contrast, in mice expressing apoA-I compared with baseline mice, total en face aortic lesion area was reduced by 70% and aortic root lesion was reduced by 46%. Expression of apoA-I was associated with a significant reduction in the fraction of lesions occupied by macrophages and macrophage-derived foam cells.

CONCLUSIONS
Liver-directed gene transfer of human apoA-I resulted in significant regression of preexisting atherosclerotic lesions in LDL receptor-deficient mice as assessed by 2 independent methods.


The objective of this study was to identify determinants of fertility desires in HIV positive women living in the Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, a male-dominated, patrimonial society. A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data in February, 2010. Two hundred and ninety one HIV-infected women participated in personal interviews using a structured questionnaire. Sixty-six percent of the respondents were in polygamous relationships. Thirty-four percent of the participants desired a child in the future. Chi-square tests revealed that variables associated with desire for a child were age, marital status, number of children, current co-habitation with a partner, duration of time with a partner, receipt of the bride price, domestic physical violence, sexual activity in the previous three months, partner's desire for a child, and current contraceptive use. Using multiple logistic regression, a partner's positive desire for a child was the strongest predictor, with an odds ratio of 13.04 (95% CI = 5.6 -29.91). Fertility desires were largely influenced by dominant culturally sensitive issues and the family-oriented culture. The integration of effective counseling and reproductive healthcare service into HIV clinics is recommended. Holistic, culturally-relevant and family-oriented reproductive health counseling should provide more positive outcomes for both HIV-infected women and their children.


Abstract The paper introduces a series of analysis models of the flows of materials and products existent inside a logistic system, elaborated according to the entropic and informational indices introduced in the first part of the paper, which are: informational entropy, the quantity of information, the organization degree, the mutual information, the informational energy and the coefficient of informational correlation. The theoretical elements are used in case studies in the second part of the paper, case studies that treat aspects from the domain of logistic management, oriented especially towards the functions of organization, coordination and evaluation of the logistic operations. The models introduced in the paper allow analyzing the structural and functional coherence of the logistic system and its dynamics, from the perspective of the organizational entities' synergy. By presenting these models in great detail, the presentation of the adapting, organizing and knowledge mechanisms of the logistic contemporaneous systems, characterized by a higher complexity degree, a consequence of their entering in the vast globalization process can be facilitated.


S U M M A R Y We estimate the crust and upper-mantle seismic velocity structure in North Africa, southern Europe, and the Middle East using our surface-wave dispersion tomography results from a previous study. The surface wave tomography study provided high-resolution coverage across the region from more than 6800 Rayleigh and 3800 Love wave paths over the period range from 10–60 s. We have also included additional tomography results from 65 to 120 s. The tomography model provides average Rayleigh and Love wave dispersion curves for each 2◦ × 2◦ block in the region. We use these results to determine velocity structure by fitting the synthetic curves from simplified crust and upper-mantle models to the tomographic data for each block via a grid search. The grid search technique was chosen in order to map out the complete error space and to easily incorporate other data sets or a priori information. The initial grid search is conducted over sediment thickness, crustal velocity, crustal thickness, and upper-mantle velocity. To keep the grid search computationally reasonable, other parameters are held fixed (sediment velocity, Poisson's ratios, and density). Despite the well-known trade-off between crustal thickness and crustal velocity that occurs when fitting surface wave data, the initial grid search is quite successful in retrieving first order features, such as ocean-continent crustal thickness differences and crustal thickening in all but the oldest orogenic zones. We can resolve major sedimentary basins, active ridges, and see differences based on crustal age (e.g. Archean cratons vs Phanarozoic crust). To better control the trade-off inherent in fitting group velocity curves, we also explore using other information to better constrain the grid searches. In particular, we use a global sediment depth and velocity model to fix those parameters and a regional Pn tomography to constrain the upper-mantle velocities. In this constrained grid search, we vary crustal thickness, upper and lower crustal velocities, and upper-mantle Poisson's ratio. This produces a somewhat better fit to the dispersion curves while simultaneously satisfying several datasets. While there are many similarities in the unconstrained and constrained model results, overall we believe the constrained grid search model is a better representation of reality. Finally, we compare and contrast our preferred velocity model with a number of other published models for this region. Within the resolution of the various models, they appear to be similar.


To simplify the calculation of the maximum load at which instability occurs for reinforced-concrete pipe columns under eccentric compression, a method based on the transformed cross-sectional area of the column and the concrete secant modulus of elasticity is proposed, consisting of an iterative process in which a sequence of lateral deflections is at column mid-height. The method assumes the deflected shape of the column as a half cosine wave. Analytical results were compared with experimental values obtained from 16 reinforced-concrete pipe columns. Using deflection at column mid-height recorded during the loading process, a typical load-deflection curve can be plotted and used to describe column behavior. The experimental results demonstrate that the failure of concrete columns is a process. The starting point is the cracking load point, when cracks are initiated in the concrete of the tensile zone of the critical cross-section of specimens. The maximum load point is the top of the failure process, and then the maximum bending moment occurs. The first point represents instability while the second one corresponds to the strength failure of the columns. The experimental results are close to the analytical values. The method is simple and can be used for stability analysis of reinforced-concrete pipe columns.


Due to the susceptibility of eating disorders (ED) to stressful life events, we wanted to examine longitudinally whether two childhood adversities: (1) surgery and (2) parental separation, will affect abnormal eating attitudes in adolescents. Consecutively for 4 years, the eating attitude test (EAT-26) and the eating disorder inventory-2 (EDI-2) questionnaires were administered to students from grades 7th through 10th and 8th through 11th. Multilevel analysis revealed that parental separation and oral or cosmetic dermatologic surgeries were significantly correlated with EAT-26 and EDI-2 scores throughout the 4 years of the study. Post-hoc interpretation suggests a connection between (A) chirurgic intervention in the oral cavity and problematic eating attitudes, and (B) cosmetic dermatologic surgery and greater awareness to body appearance-a feature which might characterize adolescents who are prone to develop ED.


The functional programming model favors recursive definitions of functions by structural induction over user-defined concrete data types. Most functional languages (e.g., Lisp, ML, Miranda, Haskell) offer powerful programming constructs that ease the writing of programs based on this idea; destructuring let, multiple-value-bind,... We propose an extension to the usual notion of pattern-matching, called Recursive Pattern Matching. Our motivation is based on the observation that most real-life data types are recursive, e.g. abstract syntax trees, control graphs, ... Consequently, many functions that manipulate these data types are recursive. The RPM technique combines pattern-based dispatching and recursive function calls on subcomponents of complex values. This technique has been successfully used on a large scale inside the Velour project. This vectorizing and parallelizing compiler is 11,000 LeLisp lines long and most of its modules use recursive pattern matching on abstract syntax trees. Compared to a first version of Velour that didn't use recursive pattern matching, we observed a 20 to 30 per cent decrease1 in the size of the code, without significant performance penalty. Like any structuring concept, we also noticed that its usage entailed a substantial reduction in the number of design and coding errors. In the remainder of this paper, we survey the related work (section 2), define precisely the notion of recursive pattern matching (section 3), give a set of simple examples (section 4), investigate further improvements (section 5) and conclude (section 6). An appendix provides a complete CommonLISP implementation of RPM.


In the Air Conditioning apparatus for Air Conditioning device according to the invention having at least two compressors, and at least two compression capacities different at least two compressors, and the common-connected to the evaporator and condenser of each compressor, individually connected to the accumulator and to the compressors , connection pipe for connecting each accumulator and, to prevent the reverse flow of the refrigerant of the first pressure provided with the discharge side of each compressor control means, first of each compressor so as to bridge the pressure difference one bottom discharge of the pressure control means and including a second pressure control means provided between each of the accumulator on the suction side, to prevent reverse flow of refrigerant to each compressor and the discharge line and to equalize pressure between the suction pipe and the compressor are stopped during the operation switch of the compressor to relieve the pressure differential is characterized in that to enable the operation. A compressor, an evaporator, a condenser, an accumulator, connecting piping, valves Sol


A new approach for combining logic programming, rewriting, and lazy evaluation is described. It rests upon subsuming within logic programming, instead of upon extending it with, rewriting, and lazy evaluation.
A non-terminating, non-deterministic rewrite rule system, F* and a reduction strategy for it, select, are defined. F* is shown to be reduction-complete in that select simplifies terms whenever possible. A class of F* programs called Deterministic F* is defined and shown to satisfy confluence, directedness, and minimality. Confluence ensures that every term can be simplified in at most one way. Directedness eliminates searching in simplification of terms. Minimality ensures that select simplifies terms in a minimum number of steps. Completeness and minimality enable select to exhibit, respectively, weak and strong forms of laziness.
F* can be compiled into Horn clauses in such a way that when SLD-resolution interprets these, it directly simulates the behavior of select. Thus, SLD-resolution is made to exhibit laziness. LOG(F) is defined to be a logic programming system augmented with an F* compiler, and the equality axiom X = X. LOG(F) can be used to do lazy functional programming in logic, implement useful cases of the rule of substitution of equals for equals, and obtain a new proof of confluence for combinatory logic.


A background model describes a scene without any foreground objects and has a number of applications, ranging from video surveillance to computational photography. Recent studies have introduced the method of Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) for robustly separating video frames into a background model and foreground components. While the method introduced operates by converting color images to grayscale, we in this study propose a technique to obtain the background model in the color domain. The effectiveness of our technique is demonstrated using a publicly available Scene Background Initialisation (SBI) dataset. Our results both qualitatively and quantitatively show that DMD can successfully obtain a colored background model.


This article examines whether the career needs of legislators – to be re-elected or to move on to another political post – allow us to explain the rules governing committee structures and the committee assignments individual legislators obtain. It uses the institutional variations provided by Argentina, Costa Rica, and Venezuela to test hypotheses about committee assignments and committee assignment mechanisms. It finds that incentives created by candidate selection procedures and electoral rules show some relationship to committee assignments, but with a good deal of variation across national cases and individual careers.


OBJECTIVE
To clarify and evaluate the possible role of interleukin-10G (IL-10G) and interleukin-10R (IL-10R) microsatellite polymorphisms of IL-10 gene in knee osteoarthritis (OA).

METHODS
This was a case-control study. Our population consisted of 132 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis who had undergone total knee replacement (TKR) and 165 unaffected controls. Peripheral blood was used to extract genomic DNA and the IL-10G and IL-10R polymorphisms were examined by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method and were analyzed using an automated DNA analysis method.

RESULTS
A significant difference in the genotype distribution between OA individuals and controls was observed for IL-10G gene. Individuals with LL genotype were found to have almost 4 times greater possibility for knee OA than the ones with SS genotype (p = 0.001). OA patients had a significantly higher mean number of CA repeats for IL-10G gene than controls (p = 0.007). No significant differences in allelic frequencies between OA patients and controls were found for IL-10R gene.

CONCLUSION
An association between IL-10G microsatellite polymorphisms and idiopathic knee OA was found in subjects of Greek descent.


As a bridge to connect medium-sized fullerenes, fused-pentagon C74 is still missing heretofore. Of 14 246 possible isomers, the first fused-pentagon C74 with the Fowler-Manolopoulos code of 14 049 was stabilized as C74Cl10 in the chlorine-involving carbon arc. The structure of C74Cl10 was identified by X-ray crystallography. The stabilization of pristine fused-pentagon C74 by stepwise chlorination was clarified in both theoretical simulation with density functional theory calculations and experimental fragmentation with multistage mass spectrometry.


The value of aesthetic dentistry has precipitated several developments in the investigation of dental materials related to this field. The free marketing of these products is a problem and it is subject to various interpretations regarding its legality. There are several techniques for tooth whitening, the most used one being the external bleaching. It is the later version of such technique that poses the greatest danger of ingesting the product. The present study analysed the systemic effect of these products when they are swallowed. Objective This experimental study aimed to observe the effects of a tooth whitening product, whose active agent is 6% hydrogen peroxide, on the gastric mucosa of healthy and non-tumour gastric pathology animals. Material and Methods Fifty Wistar-Han rats were used and then distributed into 5 groups, one for control and four test groups in which the bleaching product was administered in animals with and without non-tumour gastric pathology (induced by the administration of 1 sample of 50% ethanol and 5% of drinking water during 6 days) at different times of study by gavage. There was a decrease in body weight in animals of groups handled during the study period, which was most pronounced in IV and VA groups. Changes in spleen weight relative to body weight revealed no statistically significant changes. An analysis of the frequency was performed on the results of macroscopic observation of the gastric mucosa. Results The gastric mucosa revealed lesions in all manipulated groups, being more frequent in groups III and IV. It appears that there is a synergism when using hydrogen peroxide and 50% ethanol in the same group. Conclusion Therefore, it seems that there are some signs of toxicity 3 to 4 days after administration of 6% hydrogen peroxide. The prescription of these therapies must be controlled by the clinician and the risks must be minimized.


Abstract The aim of this study is to simulate the Mitral Regurgitation (MR) disease progression from mild to severe intensity. A Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) model was developed to extract the hemodynamic parameters of blood flow in mitral regurgitation (MR) during systole. A two-dimensional (2D) geometry of the mitral valve was built based on the data resulting from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) dimensional measurements. The leaflets were assumed to be elastic. Using COMSOL software, the hemodynamic parameters of blood flow including velocity, pressure, and Von Mises stress contours were obtained by moving arbitrary Lagrange-Euler mesh. The results were obtained for normal and MR cases. They showed the effects of the abnormal distance between the leaflets on the amount of returned flow. Furthermore, the deformation of the leaflets was measured during systole. The results were found to be consistent with the relevant literature.


ABSTRACT The PhoP/PhoQ two-component system controls the extracellular magnesium depletion response in Salmonella enterica. Previous studies have shown that PhoP is unable to up-regulate its target genes in the absence of PhoQ function. In this work, we demonstrate that PhoP overexpression can substitute for PhoQ- and phosphorylation-dependent activation. Either a high concentration of PhoP or activation via phosphorylation stimulates PhoP self-association.


Abstract Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a family of technologies for the transmission of voice over Internet. Voice is converted into digital signals and transmitted as data packets. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an IETF protocol for VoIP and other multimedia. SIP is an application layer protocol for creating, modifying and terminating sessions in VoIP communications. Since SIP is a more flexible and simple protocol, it is quite easy to add features to it. Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDoS) floods the server with numerous requests from various hosts. Hence, the legitimate clients will not be able to get their intended services. A major concern in VoIP and almost in all network domains is availability rather than data consistency. Most of the surviving techniques could prevent VoIP network only after collision. This paper proposes a Recurrence Quantification based approach to detect and prevent VoIP from a DDoS attack. This model detects the attack at an earlier stage and also helps to prevent from further attacks. In addition, this techniques enables the efficient utilization of resources. QUALNET has been used to simulate the operation of the proposed technology.


To investigate the effect of dietary sodium chloride (NaCl) on meat quality of white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) reared in low-salinity (2 g L−1) water, shrimp were distributed into four groups (treatments T-1, T-2, T-3 and control) with three replicates. All shrimps were completely randomised stocked into 12 tanks at an initial density of 40 shrimps per tank. Diets for the control, T-1, T-2 and T-3 groups consisted of the basal diet supplemented with 0 g kg−1, 10 g kg−1, 20 g kg−1 and 40 g kg−1 of NaCl respectively. After 50 days, shrimps in T-3 showed significantly better (P < 0.05) moisture, crude protein and ash than those of the control and T-1. Higher muscle Na content was observed (P < 0.05) in T-3 than that of the control. Significant increases (P < 0.05) in contents of inosinic acid, total free amino acid (TFAA) and essential free amino acid (EFAA) were also found in T-3. Texture assays showed significant differences (P < 0.05) in hardness, adhesiveness and springiness between group T-3 as compared with those of T-1 and control. It indicated that dietary supplementation of NaCl appeared to be a promising practice to improve meat quality of white shrimp reared in low-salinity waters.


ABSTRACT Zero restrictions implied by Gardner's ( ) model are exploited to develop a simple test for perfect price transmission. Applying the test to the domestic marketing channels for U.S. beef and pork, we reject the hypothesis of competitive market clearing for pork, but not for beef. A retest using the four‐firm concentration ratio in U.S. meat packing as a proxy for market power affirms results from the simple test. [JEL Classification: Q11, Q13].


For EEG-based emotion recognition tasks, there are many irrelevant channel signals contained in multichannel EEG data, which may cause noise and degrade the performance of emotion recognition systems. In order to tackle this problem, we propose a novel deep belief network (DBN) based method for examining critical channels and frequency bands in this paper. First, we design an emotion experiment and collect EEG data while subjects are watching emotional film clips. Then we train DBN for recognizing three emotions (positive, neutral, and negative) with extracted differential entropy features as input and compare DBN with other shallow models such as KNN, LR, and SVM. The experiment results show that DBN achieves the best average accuracy of 86.08%. We further explore critical channels and frequency bands by examining the weight distribution learned by DBN, which is different from the existing work. We present four profiles with 4, 6, 9 and 12 channels, which achieve recognition accuracies of 82.88%, 85.03%, 84.02%, 86.65%, respectively, using SVM.


We study the advantages, trade-offs, and challenges of employing a centralized rule to determine the allocation of teachers to schools. Data come from the centralized teacher assignment program in Ecuador, "Quiero ser Maestro," conducted by the Ministry of Education. Notably, in 2019 the program transitioned from a priority based algorithm to a strategy proof mechanism, similar to the change introduced in Boston in 2005 to assign students to schools. Using the reported preferences, we conduct a counterfactual analysis and nd substantive evidence that the adjustment in algorithm resulted in greater efficiency for the school system. However, in contrast to the Boston case, we nd the benefits stem from increasing the competition for positions among teachers, rather than by the introduction of a strategy-proof mechanism.


Two anaerobic rumen bacteria, Eubacterium ruminantium and a closely related isolate, were studied to determine the effect of the valine antimetabolite alpha-aminobutyric acid on growth and production of extracellular isoleucine and valine in an amino acid free medium. In the absence of alpha-aminobutyrate, these organisms actively excreted valine during growth (90-195 microgram/mL) but only accumulated limited concentrations of isoleucine (3-7 microgram/mL) in the culture broth. Growth of both organisms was reduced in the presence of 0.5-1.5% alpha-aminobutyrate but this inhibition was largely overcome by the use of preadapted inoculum. Metabolism of alpha-aminobutyrate was also increased using preadapted inoculum. During growth in the presence of 0.5-1.5% alpha-aminobutyrate, both organisms accumulated high concentrations of isoleucine (100-225 microgram/mL) while the normal accumulation of valine was unaffected. alpha-Ketobutyrate, a product of alpha-aminobutyrate metabolism, also stimulated isoleucine excretion by these organisms. The results are discussed in relation to the regulation of the biosynthetic pathways of isoleucine and valine in these rumen anaerobes and the potential significance of this amino acid excretion in ruminant nutrition.


While accessing the drying behaviour of sixteen (water borne) paint coatings applied on air lime mortar substrate, we found a surprisingly good (linear) correlation between the drying index (DI) and vapour permeability (expressed by the equivalent air layer thickness Sd). We did not expect to find such a good correlation because drying involves not only vapour but also liquid transport. This result indicates that the liquid transport properties of coatings may have little or no effect on drying. Indeed, the capillary suction of the sixteen coatings is not equal and the results concern also uncoated mortar specimens. One major hypothesis is that the material boundary layer can remain dry even when the evaporation front is located at the surface. We carried out similar experiments where the same coatings were applied and cured on a permanently damp substrate. In this case, the DI-Sd correlation is much weaker. This indicates that data obtained for coatings applied on a dry substrate may well not represent the behaviour of coatings applied on a wet substrate, which often happens in reality in the case of damp salt loaded walls. These conclusions have implications in the study of moisture transport and decay mechanisms of porous building materials, namely salt decay (to which the depth of the evaporation front is a key-issue). We will address the framework of the research, describe the methods and materials used, as well as present in detail and discuss the experimental results.


This paper analyzes the determinants of China's striking performance in textile exports in the time period 2001-2016. We integrate the analysis by Lall and Albaladejo (World Development, 2004), based only on China and its main Asian competitors' market share dynamics, by estimating an extended version of a traditional export function, derived from the imperfect substitute model, including a proxy of non-price competitiveness. The key long-run elasticities for each Asian exporter are thus computed and discussed in a panel-data framework, and the different export performances are examined taking into account the interaction between the estimated parameters and the growth rates of relative prices, world income and product quality. Lastly, we decompose the textile export growth differences between China and its rivals into the three main channels of trade competition, i.e. price, quantity and quality. Our findings show that China is crowding out most of its rivals with a competitive strategy based on a mix of low and decreasing relative prices and non-price policies aiming at stimulating export volumes. However, certain weaknesses in the Chinese trade prospects emerge when quality improvement is considered.


The sedative activity of Rauvolfia densiflora Benth ex Hook. f. (Apocynaceae) roots and leaves was evaluated using the rat hole board technique. The results indicate that crude extracts of R. densiflora has sedative properties as the leaf extract significantly reduced dips and rearing, and the root extracts reduced dips, motor and rearing activities related to exploratory behaviour of rats.


Hazan and Shaver have identified three adult attachment styles corresponding to the infant-mother attachment patterns observed by Ainsworth and associates in the first year of life: secure, avoidant, and anxious-ambivalent. These three styles are related to a wide variety of close relationship processes and outcomes. To date, however; little research has focused on relations between attachment styles and major personality constructs. Such re-search can clarify, the nature of attachment styles and ensure that they are not simply redundant with existing constructs. The present research examined associations between attachment measures, relationship quality and outcome measures, and the 'Big Five"personality traits assessed by the NEO Personality Inventory. Attachment styles were related in theoretically predictable ways to the Big Five dimensions and especially to some of their 'facet' subscales but were not simply redundant with them. The NEO scales were generally not as powerful as the attachment style measures in predicting romantic relationship outcomes, probably because of the greater specificity of the attachment measures.


Colorfully beaded handbags, superbly tanned and decorated deerskin shirts, finely woven baskets, exquisitely beaded and fringed horse trappings -- these distinctive Native arts of the Columbia River Plateau have been overshadowed in the public eye by the arts of the Northwest Coast, Great Plains, and American Southwest. But Indians in the region where present-day Washington, Oregon, and Idaho share boundaries have for centuries combined function and beauty in the items they made for even the most mundane of uses, and their traditional arts are still vital today. This book brings overdue recognition to the artistry and craftsmanship of the Plateau Indians by focusing on the remarkable collection amassed by the late Doris Swayze Bounds, a banker in Hermiston, Oregon, who grew up with and deeply loved Native people and their culture. She was loved in return, and many of the nearly 1,000 Plateau items in her collection came to her as gifts from her Indian friends, who expressed their respect and affection through the time-honored tradition of gift-giving. Exposed to Euro-Americans relatively late, the Plateau Indians managed to retain many of their traditional lifeways of fishing, hunting, and gathering, as well as a vigorous ethic of generosity and respect for others. The pieces in the Bounds collection, which date mainly from the 1870s to the 1960s, reflect all these aspects of Plateau culture. They range from sturdy baskets made to hold roots or berries to elaborately beaded elkhide "tail dresses" worn on festive occasions. In five essays, both Native and non-Native experts describe the art styles and the uses and cultural meanings of the items; two other recount Doris Bound's life, collecting practices, and relationships with Native Americans. The essays are handsomely illustrated with items from the Bounds collection. This book offers and introduction to this visually stunning art tradition.


As known, real estate investment has many distinguish features: heavy invest, long recovery and high yield etc. So when facing the temptation of high yield, real estate enterprise has to assess risks scientifically. Especially since American subprime crisis broke out, trading volumes of real estate keep shrinking and house prices keep dropping. In this situation, risk management is particularly important. The risk assessment model based on BP neural network is more suitable for risk assessment of real estate project. It can also improve its accuracy and exclude subjective factors. Thus it can offer scientific basis for real estate investment decision, and help real estate enterprises avoid risks effectively. The paper uses the theory of BP neutral network to analyze the investment risk of real estate and its changing discipline, which have important practical meaning for the development of real estate enterprise.


Laboratory data are presented on the thermal resistance of composite panels that incorporate superinsulation embedded in urethane foam. Composite panels were fabricated using four types of advanced insulations (three types of evacuated panel superinsulation and one type of gas-filled panel), and three foam blowing agents (CFC-11, HCFC-141b, and HCFC-142b/22 blend). Panels were also fabricated with only the urethane foam to serve as a baseline. Thermal measurements were performed using an ASTM C 518 Heat Flow Meter Apparatus. The thermal resistances of the panels were measured over a two-year period to detect whether any significant changes occurred. A computer model was used to analyze the data, adjusting for differences in size of the advanced insulations, and extrapolating to different sizes of composite panels.


With increased global competition in business and ever higher demands of flexibility, job insecurity is something that most employees will experience sooner or later. Anticipating job loss is an agonizing state of mind. In fact, experiencing insecurity related to the continuity of one's job is regarded as more stressful than actually losing it. However, job insecurity perceptions do not arise out of nothing. They are of course embedded in a social context. Consider the 'second great contraction', the financial crisis that started in 2007 and the recession that followed it (e.g. Reihart & Rogoff, 2009): Watching the news and hearing about negative trends in employment rates, hearing about friends or family worrying about their future income, worrying about the future of your own job – it does something to you. Add to this picture that job insecurity can be shared within an organization, for instance amongst your coworkers. It thus becomes a shared perception, a climate of job insecurity. The aim of this article is to give a brief description of existing research on job insecurity, and to introduce the job insecurity climate construct to a broader audience.


The author presents an evolution of her research on Polish linguistic politeness, which in the beginning were held as part of grants related to cultural linguistics. The result were important books: Polish Linguistic Politeness (1977), Dictionary of Linguistic Savoir-Vivre (2014), How the Europeans Address Themselves (2019). The evolution of research developed towards intercultural comparison, the results of which were published in Our and Foreign Politeness (2005) and Politeness at the Ends of the World (2007). An expert on politeness writes that the young generation — in contrary to popular belief — is interested in language etiquette, which is verified by the academic and popular lectures held by the author.


The effect of dietary protein (40%, 45%, 50%, 55% and 60%) on growth, survival, feed conversion ratio(FCR), feed conversion efficiency(FCE), specific growth rate(SGR) and body weight gain (BWG) were investigated for juveniles of Fenneropenaeus merguiensis. The best growth was obtained with the diet containing 60% dietary protein. Feed conversion ratio decreased with increasing weight of prawn and is negatively correlated with dietary protein level. The FCR was found to be minimum (0.31) in 60% dietary protein and maximum (1.274) in 40% dietary protein. FCR and FCE were found to differ significantly between prawn fed 40-45% and 50-60% dietary protein. BWG differs significantly among each treatment but SGR differs between prawns fed 40-45% and 50-60% dietary protein. Percentage body protein of prawn fed 50-60% was higher than that of prawn fed 40-45% dietary protein, whereas lipid content decreased with increasing dietary protein level. Overall growth performance of Fenneropenaeus merguiensis was significantly higher (P>0.5) in the diet containing 60% dietary protein when compared with 40%, 45%, 50% and 55% dietary protein.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a highly heterogeneous group of myeloid neoplasms characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis and a predisposition to acute myeloid leukemia, where a model of multistep oncogenesis has been implicated in their pathogenesis. On the other hand, recent advances in cancer genome analysis disclosed a number of gene mutations, including mutations of RAS, RUNX1, TET2, CBL, and TP53, where multiple gene mutations frequently harbor in a single case. However, the entire profiles of these multiple gene mutations with their relationship with WHO classification, chromosomal alterations, and clinical pictures have not been fully explored in a large series of MDS cases. Screening possible gene mutations in dozens of candidate genes in a large number of samples using Sanger sequencing were a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. So in order to overcome this issue and to obtain comprehensive registries of gene mutations in known candidate genes in a total of 171 cases with MDS and related disorders, we performed high throughput mutation analyses of more than 76 candidate genes using Solexa-based next-generation resequencing technology combined with target gene capture and barcode labeling of multiple DNA samples. Briefly, each fragmented genomic DNA was first amplified by single-primer polymerase-chain reactions (PCR), from which target sequences were concentrated using the SureSelect system (Agilent). Captured targets were primed with 6-base barcode sequences to discriminate the sample, which were subjected to high-thoughput resequencing using Genome Analyzer IIx (Illumina). All 171 cases were already analyzed by Affymetrix SNP arrays, and their mutation status regarding RUNX1, p53, NRAS, KRAS, c-CBL, EZH2, and TET2 had been determined by Sanger sequencing, and thus were considered to an ideal sample set for this study, in which genome-wide copy numbers were characterized in detail and the known mutations works as a control to measure the performance of the barcode resequencing. The targeted sequences consisted of 1314 exons from 76 genes that comprised a total length of ∼0.5Mb, and included genes which were known to be mutated in MDS or related disorders, and also other candidate targets. We were able to analyze up to 96 samples per 1 run and efficiently detected mutations in targeted genes with high average coverage obtained from these sequences. On average, 52% of the total reads successfully captured the targets and 90% of targeted regions were covered with >20 depths of reading with 72.8× of mean coverage per sample from a single run. We identified more than 20 previously unpublished mutations in MDS, including those of NOTCH2 and ATM. In this meeting, we will present the result of our large-scale mutation study in MDS and related disorders and discuss the genetic basis of MDS in terms of multiple gene mutations as well as copy number alterations.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4849. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4849


Home financing in Malaysia is mainly focus on the debt-based Bai Bithaman Ajil (BBA) mode implemented for the first time in 1983. This concept is viewed by many scholars as similar to debt-based conventional home financing. As an alternative, the equity-based Musharakah Mutanaqisah or Diminishing Partnership (DP) financing was introduced in 2005. This study gauges customers' perception on the salient features of DP home financing through a survey of 504 respondents comprise officers, managers and academician. Further analysis using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted to find out factors that influence customers' intention for DP using the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) framework. The main findings indicated that customers perceived the equity sharing features in DP home financing mode differ from the conventional and BBA home financing modes. The analysis using SEM further indicates that customers' intention for DP is influenced by their attitude and subjective norms.


5138 Neuroblastoma (NB) is a common and frequently lethal childhood tumor. While many NBs are initially chemosensitive, the majority progress after acquiring chemoresistance. Bcl2-homology (BH) proteins govern mitochondrial death signaling and alterations in these pathways contribute to chemoresistance. Mcl1 is a Bcl2 homologue capable of both sequestering specific BH3 death proteins and directly repressing Bak to exert dual pro-survival effects. We previously identified gain of Mcl1 as a co-operative lesion supporting MYCN deregulation in neural cell transformation, analogous to Bcl2 supporting MYC in lymphomagenesis, and explored Mcl1 as a candidate oncogene in NB. Mcl1 maps to a region of frequent gain in NB (1q21) and was the most highly expressed pro-survival Bcl2 homologue (RNA and protein) in NB cell lines. Both Mcl1-L and Mcl1-S were present in NBs. Co-IP studies found pro-apoptotic PUMA and BIM-L bound to Mcl1 (and Bcl-Xl), but not Bcl2, in NB cell lines during steady state growth. Thus, Mcl1 tonically represses death signals constitutively present in NBs. Expression profiling of 101 primary NBs (Affymetrix) similarly demonstrated Mcl1 as the most abundant Bcl2 homologue across all NB risk groups. To validate these findings we used TaqMan to determine Mcl1 expression in 33 independent NBs (from COG): 15 (45%) were MYCN amplified and 20 (61%) high-risk by COG criteria. There was a trend toward higher Mcl1 expression in MYCN-amplified (p=0.06) and diploid NBs (p=0.09) but not with higher stage, age, or histopathology (Wilcoxon exact two-sample test). EFS nor OS was significantly correlated with Mcl1 expression by log-rank test for this cohort. In vitro knockdown of Mcl1 via siRNA resulted in increased cell death in the NB cell lines studied. Both KAN and SK-N-AS cells treated with Mcl1 siRNA demonstrated >30% reduction in viability at 72 hrs compared with GAPDH siRNA. Knockdown of Mcl1 variably potentiated chemoresponse when combined with topotecan, doxorubicin, etoposide or mafosfamide with resultant IC50 shifted ~1 log. Mcl1 protein, unlike Bcl2, has a short t1/2 and is highly regulated. In vitro data suggests that knockdown of Mcl1 can increase cell death and chemosensitivity. For these reasons, Mcl1 makes an attractive therapeutic target. We are investigating the therapeutic utility of Mcl1-Antisense to augment chemoresponsiveness in NB.


In article we present particular qualities of disease pattern and methods of treatment in patients with ulcer colitis associated with primary sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis. Course of disease was complicated by bacterial cholangitis, sepsis, multiple organ failure. There are described pathogenetic features of autoimmune livers and bowel illness. It was shown the role of bacterial translocation of microbes. There are described about differential diagnostic of primary and secondary cholangitis. Features of curing the patients are reminded in critical conditions are reviewed in article. There sketched role of glucocorticosteroids in critical care. Modern guidelines for the management the patients with overlap syndrome are highlighted. Patient D. was admitted to hospital in intensive care unit. There disease patterns of collapse, systemic inflammation response syndrome. The examination was established exacerbation of ulcer colitis complicated inflectional morbidity with sclerosing cholangitis and autoimmune hepatitis. This condition led to sepsis and multiple organ failure. Instead of intensive care there was a progressive deterioration until near death experience. Resuscitation procedure within 6 minutes were successful. Multiple areas of necrosis have developed on the limbs because of multiple organ failure and intensive vasopressors therapy. Glucocorticosteroids were prescribed in combination with antibacterial drugs were assigned because of ulcerative colitis's exacerbation and cytolysis, regardless sepsis. On the thirtieth day of stay in hospital, the patient D. was transferred from the intensive care unit to the gastroenterology department, where the treatment was continued. Because of the cure signs of multiple organ failure, infectious complications, exacerbation of ulcerative colitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis were regressed. We supervise of patient.


Background Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific syndrome that may be life-threatening, especially to the fetus. Several causes have been reported that may have a possible role in the development of the disorder. Interleukin-10 affect maternal intravascular inflammation, as well as endothelial dysfunction. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between IL-10 G-1082A polymorphism and preeclampsia. Methods A total of eighty−eight pregnant women with preeclampsia and 100 women with normal pregnancy attending the Gynecological unit of Government Maternity Hospital, Petlaburz, Hyderabad, India, were considered for the study. A standard amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) PCR was carried out for genotyping IL-10 G-1082A promoter polymorphism in all the participants. Genotypic distribution of the control and patient groups were compared with values predicted by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium using χ2 test. Odd ratios (OR) and their respective 95% confidence intervals were used to measure the strength of association between IL-10 gene polymorphism and preeclampsia. Results The frequencies of IL-10 G-1082A genotypes, GG, GA and AA, were 17.8%, 41.09% and 41.09% in women with preeclampsia and 25%, 28% and 47% in the controls respectively. There was no significant difference in the distribution of genotypes and alleles of IL-10 G-1082A between the two groups (Test power=0.66). Conclusion The present study suggests that the IL-10 G-1082A gene promoter polymorphism is not a major genetic regulator in the etiology of preeclampsia.


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate temporal changes in epidemiology and management of atrial fibrillation (AF) in population of Polish outpatients with heart failure (HF). Design and method: The present study was performed within the framework of two editions of the Polish nationwide heart failure surveys (2005 and 2013), and included patients with HF treated in respectively 400 and 390 primary care centers. Data was collected using questionnaires and included demographic characteristics as well as information about coexisting diseases and treatment, provided by physicians on the basis of the available medical records. Results: The study included 2000 patients in 2005 and 2006 patients in 2013. We observed a significant increase in the incidence of AF in patients with HF between the two surveys (38.4% in 2005 vs 50.4% in 2013, p < 0.001). We also observed some changes in comorbid profile in this group of patients - a decrease in the prevalence of coronary heart disease (78.6% vs 67.8%; p < 0.001), increased incidence of diabetes (30.0% vs 37.8%; p < 0.001), chronic kidney disease (10.3% vs 22.6%; p < 0.001) and anemia (9.4% vs 13.5%; p = 0.008). There has been a change in the pharmacotherapy - a rise in use of beta-blockers (66.5% vs 89.1%; p < 0.001) and angiotensin receptor blockers (1.6% vs 16.8%; p < 0.001) at the expense of digoxin (50.4% vs 26.5%; p < 0.01) and ACE-inhibitors (80.5% vs 67.2%; p < 0.01). We documented a significant increase in the proportion of patients receiving thromboprophylaxis (37.6% vs 67.5%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The incidence of AF in patients with HF considerably increases. This trend is accompanied by a change of comorbidity towards non-coronary problems. Observed improvement in treatment gives some hope to reverse this disturbing trend, but this requires further observations.


In this article, we set out some considerations around war, peace and environment, with a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first century phenomenon of "security anxiety", with particular reference to Australia and our regional context. Second, we give two examples of Christian theological response to these considerations: the first biblical (focusing on the Book of Revelation); the second christological (focusing on the concept of "deep incarnation"). Then, we suggest some factors that might contribute to a Christian approach to a cultural transformation adequate to respond to the complex interweaving of war, security anxiety, colonial violence and climate change in our region.


In 1964, J. Kondo explained the 'resistivity minimum' problem in metals and in so doing created what became known as the Kondo problem. His solution was simple. He simply calculated the scattering amplitude between a lone magnetic impurity and conduction electrons and showed that, although everything is well behaved at first order in perturbation theory, a ln T divergence lurks at second order. The temperature at which the second order term becomes on the order of the first order term defines the breakdown of perturbative theory. This temperature is known as the Kondo temperature. The problem Kondo created is simple to state: What ultimately is the fate of a lone magnetic impurity in a host metal and what is the correct theoretical tool to describe the nonperturbative physics that ensues below the Kondo temperature? In the 1960s and the 1970s, this was the key problem in solid state physics. In fact, since Kondo's work, the singlemagnetic impurity problem in a non-interacting metal has been one of the programmatic problems in solid state physics acting to tether such relatively modern fields, such as heavy fermion, supercondutivity to the genesis of this field. In fact, Kondo realised that fixing the problem involved physics identical in kind to the confinement of colour degrees of freedom in quantum chromodynamics. It is not surprising then given the immense impact of Kondo's work, that he has now written a monograph, 'The Physics of Dilute Magnetic Alloys', dedicated entirely to this topic. For experts in the field, this book is a brisk read as it begins with four elementary chapters on the basics of solid state physics, taking the reader from atoms and molecules to the band theory and then on to the quantum impurity problem. Chapter 5 presents the complete mean-field solution to the Anderson impurity model. The treatment is intuitive but sufficiently detailed to act as a teaching tool. To my mind, the most enjoyable chapter in the book is Chapter 6, which discusses the orthogonality catastrophe originally proposed by Anderson, a problem I continue to pursue though in a slightly different form. This chapter is invaluable for its historical treatment of the Mahan and Nozieres/DeDominicis solution presented alongside that of Anderson's. The next two chapters in the book contain two classic works: Wilson's renormalization solution to the Kondo problem and the exact Bethe ansatz solution due to Andrei and Weigmann. All the equations are present and hence it is an excellent source to learn these methods. A small survey of heavy Fermion physics rounds out the book in the closing chapter. In reading this book, I kept asking myself 'for whom is this book written?' I am not sure there is a single answer to this question. The book serves as a record of history for this central development in solid state physics. Similar books such as Hewson's are much more tied to perturbative methods than is this book by Kondo. It seems that the real purpose of this book is to make the reader abundantly aware of how the founder of this field views non-perturbative physics. In this regard, the book is a success.


The refutation and disregard of the influence of religion in politics has implications for national integration. The last few decades have witnessed the emergence of contemporary Islamic movements and trends in the Muslim world. One of the most effective and influential political thinkers of Islamism is Sayyid Qutb, a leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950's and 1960's and theorist of violent Jihad. As the father of modern Islamic fundamentalism, his ideas provide a framework and ideological foundation for many Islamic groups, like al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and the ISIS, around the world. While there are cases where political elites manipulate religion to mobilize support and further narrow political interests, it is erroneous and dangerous for policy to continue to perceive religion as incapable on its own to generate divisions in a society. This paper examines the features of Political Islam in three main areas: cultural-ideological, political and socio-economic, from the perspective of Sayyid Qutb political thought, and reflects on how these beliefs could impact on the dimensions of national integration in Nigeria. The paper argues that Political Islam is incompatible with national integration and as such the future of national integration is threatened in Nigeria.


We study "classical" bouncing and Genesis models in beyond Horndeski theory. We give an example of spatially flat bouncing solution that is non-singular and stable throughout the whole evolution. We also provide an example of stable geodesically complete Genesis with similar features. The model is arranged in such a way that the scalar field driving the cosmological evolution initially behaves like full-fledged beyond Horndeski, whereas at late times it becomes a massless scalar field minimally coupled to gravity.


Neuroimmune interactions are important in the pathophysiology of many chronic inflammatory diseases, particularly those associated with alterations in sensory processing and pain (Grace et al., 2014). Much of our understanding of these interactions comes from studies on mast cellsensory neuron interactions in diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (Barbara et al., 2004) . Mast cells and neurons are connected to each other both functionally and structurally. Cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1) has been identified as an adhesion molecule between mast cells and sensory neurons (Ito et al., 2008). However, it remains to be unclear if CADM1 is essential in mast cell-neuron functional cross-talk. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of CADM1mediated adhesion between mast cell and neuron on IgEmediated mast cell signalling and pro-inflammatory mediator secretion. Using the in vitro co-culture system of mouse bone marrow mast cells (BMMC) with sensory neurons isolated from dorsal root ganglions (DRG), expression and cellular distribution of CADM1 was determined. The adhesion between BMMC and sensory neurons was quantified using a fluorescent assay. Application of a CADM1 blocking peptide or knockdown CADM1 in BMMCs were found to significantly decrease both the BMMC attachment to sensory neurites, as well as, the enhancement of IgE-mediated BMMC degranulation in the presence of neurons. Furthermore, CADM1 Knockdown attenuates the enhancement of IL-6 release from BMMC in co-culture. Importantly, this study also showed that the CADM1-dependent enhancement of IgEmediated mast cell response is specific for neurons. It is suggested that neurons may mediate mast cell enhancement through action potential (AP)-independent neuropeptide release. In conclusion, my data have been revealed for first time the direct role of CADM1 in functional mast cell-sensory neuron cross-talk. Elucidating the precise mechanisms of CADM1 in IgE signaling is imperative for understanding many disease processes. The results of this study would contribute to the available knowledge about role of CADM1 in neuroimmune interactions and hold promise as a therapeutic target in various diseases such as IBS.


Abstract Aim: To analyse the epidemiological and clinical features of children with Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in north-eastern Turkey. Methods: A retrospective study of demographic features and physical and laboratory findings in 21 children with CCHF is described. Clinical course, treatment modalities and outcome were analysed. Results: Most patients were admitted in June and July 2008; most were from the Gumushane and Kelkit valleys and half of them lived in rural areas. Mean (SD) age was 10.3 (3.9) years and the disease was more common in males (71.4%). Approximately 70% had a history of tick bite. The main symptoms were fever (17, 80.9%), nausea (11, 52.3%), malaise (10, 47.6%) and headache (7, 33.3%). At initial examination, approximately 70% of patients had leukopenia and 65% had thrombocytopenia. Anaemia developed during follow-up in six patients. Liver involvement was seen in 12 patients and one patient had acute tubular necrosis. Six patients had haemophagocytosis. Patients were hospitalised for a median 8 days (range 3–22) and nine patients had bleeding from various sites approximately 3–5 days after hospitalisation. Subcutaneous haematoma (6), especially epistaxis and at venepuncture sites (6) were the most common sites of bleeding. Pulmonary haemorrhage developed in two patients and they required ventilatory support. Overall mortality related to CCHF was 4.7% (one patient). Conclusion: Early diagnosis of CCHF and early referral to specialised centres are important for outcome. Exceptional epidemics may be seen in future owing to ecological and environmental changes.


HISTORY AND ADMISSION FINDINGS
A 62-year-old woman developed paresis in her right arm within several weeks. She was being treated with methylprednisolone (4 mg daily) and chlorambucil (2 mg every other day) for systemic lupus erythematodes (SLE), which was now in remission. Neurological examination on admission revealed a right flaccid hemiparesis, predominantly of the right arm. The physical examination was otherwise unremarkable.

INVESTIGATIONS
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (T2 weighted) showed hyperintense changes in the subcortical medullary layer of the left precentral gyrus without perifocal oedema or abnormal contrast medium uptake, which argued against progressive cerebral ischaemia or tumour. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed no abnormalities except leukopenia and a raised antinuclear antibody titre. Progressive paralysis of the right side of the body after 2 years of immunosuppressive treatment, the MRI findings and an essentially normal CSE suggested progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PML), confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) demonstrating JC-virus DNA in serum and CSF.

TREATMENT AND COURSE
As a result of the CNS infection with papovavirus JC, an opportunistic infection of the central nervous system, which is usually fatal, occurred. The cerebral changes spread within a few weeks, despite of the immunosuppressive drugs having been discontinued. The pareses progressed further and a marked personality disorder of organic origin ensued.

CONCLUSION
While efficacious immunosuppressive drugs against autoimmune disease are available, their use risks the occurrence of life-threatening opportunistic infections.


This study was aimed at investigating the changes in corneal epithelium caused by dacryocystography. Such changes can be either chemical--from iodate contrast media (iodized oil and water-soluble non-ionic cm)--or physical--from needle or catheter. Twenty-five patients (50 eyes) were studied using BUT, Schirmer tests, biomicroscopy, and pachymetry. Follow-ups immediately after dacryocystography demonstrated superficial keratitis, which was less severe with water-soluble non-ionic cm. Such lesions were hardly ever observed in patients who had been treated with dacriosol ointment on the cornea just before the X-ray exam. Follow-ups at 24 hours showed the superficial keratitis to have disappeared in all patients, independent of the kind of cm employed and of the ophthalmic ointment applied to the cornea.


The relationships among rare 'leafless' species of Tetratheca Sm. occurring on banded ironstone ranges near Koolyanobbing, Western Australia, and allied, unclassified, populations from Eneabba, Newdegate and the Die Hardy Range have been assessed by molecular characters. These findings, in conjunction with morphological investigations, have identified a new species and two new subspecies from within the 'T. aphylla group' and these are formally described here. Tetratheca nephelioides R.Butcher, is geographically restricted to the Eneabba area and has close morphological affinity to T. aphylla F.Muell. Tetratheca aphylla subsp. megacarpa R.Butcher, is restricted to the Newdegate area, some 300 km south of the only known populations of T. aphylla subsp. aphylla in the Helena and Aurora Range. Tetratheca paynterae Alford subsp. cremnobata R.Butcher is restricted to the Die Hardy Range, c. 10 km north-east of the only known population of T. paynterae subsp. paynterae at 'Windarling'. All of these taxa are recognised as Declared Rare Flora. In the process of updating the existing key to 'leafless' species of Tetratheca to include these new taxa, two additional new species were identified from within collections of T. nuda Lindl. These are described here as T. angulata R.Butcher and T. applanata R.Butcher. Images and distribution maps for all taxa are provided.


The dicynodont fossils from the Naobaogou Formation of Nei Mongol, China are abundant and diverse but poorly studied. In this article, one nearly complete skeleton and four cranial specimens from the Naobaogou Formation are referred to the dicynodontoid genus Turfanodon as a new species, T. jiufengensis. Previously, Turfanodon was known only from upper Permian sites in Xinjiang and Gansu. The new specimens are referred to Turfanodon based on the following characters: snout tall with steeply sloping profile, anterior tip of the snout squared off, facial region heavily pitted, nasal bosses present as paired swellings near the posterodorsal margin of the external nares, preparietal depressed, intertemporal bar long and narrow, premaxilla contacting frontal, palatal surface of premaxilla exposed in lateral view, and anterior pterygoid keel restricted to the anterior tip of the anterior ramus of the pterygoid. Turfanodon jiufengensis is differentiated from the type species, T. bogdaensis, by a contact of the lacrimal with the septomaxilla, discrete, raised nasal bosses, the dorsal edge of the erupted portion of the canine tusk slightly posterior to the anterior orbital margin, an anterior extension of the lacrimal distinctly shorter than that of the prefrontal, and a premaxillary dorsal surface with a median ridge. The holotype skeleton of T. jiufengensis includes a complete axial column with 50 vertebrae (six cervical, 23 dorsal, six sacral, and 15 caudal). Turfanodon represents the first confirmed tetrapod genus shared by the late Permian faunas of the Junggar and Ordos basins, and appears to be the first dicynodont genus distributed across both tropical and temperate zones (based on paleoclimate reconstructions). Based on tetrapod fossil content, the Naobaogou Formation can be roughly correlated to the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone of South Africa (255–252 Ma in age).


The increase in companies and the incessant productive growth of the different economic sectors have increased programs that contribute to the sustainable consumption of electrical energy, all in order to foster a culture of savings.
The use of standardized and calibrated tools is essential, with a constant monitoring of the various electrical parameters of the industry can be done.
The prototype has a STM32F7 as a microcontroller system for digital signal processing in real time, as well as the choice of voltage and current sensors for its correct functionality.
The prototype can rival with commercials meters since its range error in tests is minimal, being thus an error of 4.73, 8.82 and 3.08 % in active power of 2.05, 0.97 and 1.79% in apparent power and 7.69, 5.85 and 14.29% in reactive power.
With the results obtained, we conclude that the prototype is applicable, this being a viable and economical option for an energy audit, limited only by the number of prototypes that can be created for a possible solution for its application.