Indications Are Missing Despite its title, this article does not answer the question of what are the indications for laparoscopic pancreatic surgery (1). A meaningful statistical evaluation about the indication for laparoscopic (rather than conventional open) pancreatic surgery is neither described in the publication nor can be deduced based on the available data. What then is the purpose of the comparison with other registries? The "advantages of clinical registry studies" include "heterogeneous patient group" and "heterogeneous conditions and centers." These factors exclude obtaining comparable results a priori. Table 5 lists only two multicenter studies but six unicenter studies for comparable publications, yet the latter cannot be regarded as registries. Thus, neither of the above-mentioned criteria—heterogeneous conditions and centers, and the comparability with multicenter studies—is present. In the discussion, the authors state: "clinical registry studies... [are] better at reflecting the overall current care situation in the geographical region of interest." What is the question being addressed here? Is it whether there are indications for laparoscopic pancreatic surgery? Or is it the care situation in the geographical regions of interest? In any case, registry studies are highly unlikely to replace prospective randomized controlled studies as the gold standard in the foreseeable future. Ultimately, the data only support the statement that laparoscopic pancreatic surgery is performed with certain results in certain (highly selected) patients in Germany; however, the given data do not address the question of whether the method is indeed justified. The explanatory value of the data is low in any case due to patient selection by the participating centers. DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0615a


Ziziphus mucronata Willd, also known as "buffalo thorn," belongs to the family Rhamnaceae. Its bark and leaves are used in folk medicine for the treatment of various deficiencies related to nociception, inflammation, mood, and depression. Still, there is a lack of scientific data regarding its potential effect on learning and memory process. The present study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective potential of Ziziphus mucronata (ZM) on learning and memory impairment in a scopolamine-induced model of dementia in mice. The phytochemical analysis revealed five cyclopeptide alkaloids (sanjoinines) in the extract from Ziziphus Mucronata leaves using LC-HRMS, and the structural characterization of these compounds was determined via MS/MS. Alzheimer-type amnesia was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of scopolamine (1 mg/kg) to mice for 7 consecutive days. ZM (150 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg, and 600 mg/kg) and piracetam (150 mg/kg) were orally administrated to mice daily for a period of 14 days. Memory-related behavioural parameters were evaluated using the radial arm maze task for 7 days, Y-maze, and novel object recognition task. At the end of protocol schedule, animals were sacrificed, and the levels of acetylcholinesterase, malondialdehyde, catalase, and superoxide dismutase were determined in brain homogenates. Histological studies of the hippocampus were subsequently performed. The long-term scopolamine-injected group decreased the spontaneous alternation (Y-maze), the discrimination index, and the time taken to explore the new object (novel object recognition task). These effects were significantly reversed by ZM at all the doses tested. In the radial arm maze task, ZM (300 and 600 mg/kg) significantly decreased the working and reference memory errors when compared with the demented group. Scopolamine-mediated changes in AChE activity were also attenuated by ZM in mice. In addition, extract-treated groups showed a significant increase in the level of CAT and SOD activity and decreased levels of MDA in the mice brains, as compared with the control group. The present study suggests that ZM could have an important role in neuroprotection on this scopolamine-induced model of Alzheimer-type dementia.


PURPOSE
Disease progression in BRAF V600E/K positive melanomas to approved BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapies is associated with the development of resistance mediated by RAF dimer inducing mechanisms. Moreover, progressing disease after BRAFi/MEKi frequently involves brain metastasis. Here we present the development of a novel BRAF inhibitor (Compound Ia) designed to address the limitations of available BRAFi/MEKi.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
The novel, brain penetrant, paradox breaker BRAFi is comprehensively characterized in vitro, ex vivo and in several preclinical in vivo models of melanoma mimicking peripheral disease, brain metastatic disease and acquired resistance to first generation BRAFi.

RESULTS
Compound Ia manifested elevated potency and selectivity, which triggered cytotoxic activity restricted to BRAF-mutated models and did not induce RAF paradoxical activation. In comparison to approved BRAFi at clinical relevant doses, this novel agent showed a substantially improved activity in a number of diverse BRAF V600E models. In addition, as a single agent, it outperformed a currently approved BRAFi/MEKi combination in a model of acquired resistance to clinically available BRAFi. Compound Ia presents high Central Nervous System (CNS) penetration and triggered evident superiority over approved BRAFi in a macro-metastatic and in a disseminated micro-metastatic brain model. Potent inhibition of MAPK by Compound Ia was also demonstrated in patient-derived tumor samples.

CONCLUSIONS
The novel BRAFi demonstrates preclinically the potential to outperform available targeted therapies for the treatment of BRAF-mutant tumors, thus supporting its clinical investigation.


Mixed gas sensing based on a broad-band super-luminescent diode (1535 nm) coupled with an external Fabry-Perot etalon for C2H2 and CO2 is proposed and demonstrated. The wavelength tuning by tilting the etalon will provide selective gas sensing by absorption spectroscopy technique.


The doubly linked dicyclopentadienyl complex {(η5-C5H3)2(SiMe2)2}Ru2(CO)4 (1) reacts with H2 in benzene under broad-spectrum UV−visible photolysis (254 < λirr < 600 nm) to give the dinuclear {(η5-C5H3)2(SiMe2)2}Ru2(CO)4H2 (2) and the tetranuclear clusters {(η5-C5H3)2(SiMe2)2}2Ru4(CO)3H4 (3) with a butterfly structure and {(η5-C5H3)2(SiMe2)2}2Ru4(CO)4H4 (4) with a square-planar structure. The linked {(η5-C5H3)2(SiMe2)2} ligand is essential for the formation of the tetranuclear clusters (3 and 4), as unlinked analogues, Cp'2Ru2(CO)4, give only di- and trinuclear products. Wavelength-dependent photolysis studies suggest that the first step in the reaction of 1 with H2 involves metal−metal bond cleavage, which is supported by the all-terminal CO ligand geometry of 1, the independent synthesis of 2, and its photochemical reaction in the presence of H2 to give 3 and 4.


Objective: To describe the sociodemographic data, clinical manifestations and treatment in patients diagnosed with non-puerperal mastitis. Methods: Descriptive, retrospective study of medical records in the institutional database between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019. Demographic, clinical and treatment data was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The prevalence of nonpuerperal mastitis was 3.8%, in mestizo women about 40.4 years-old at time of diagnosis. The most frequent reason for consultation was inflammatory changes in breast in 84.8% (n = 28), and presence of mass in 12.1% (n = 4). There was association with smoking in 33.3% (n = 11). 97% of the patients received initial treatment with antibiotics (n = 32), and ultrasound-guided drainage was performed in 7 cases (21.2%). No case had drainage by mastotomy, and one patient (9%) was treated with quadrantectomy-type resection. Resolution was obtained in 97% of cases (n = 32) in 4.4 months average, and 7 patients (21.2%) had recurrence. Conclusion: In this study, non-puerperal mastitis affected women in the fourth decade of life with inflammatory changes and pain. Evolution was chronic with episodes of recurrence. Usually the disorder resolved with antibiotics and some needed ultrasound-guided drainage. Up to one third of cases was associated with smoking.


Upregulation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling is a common alteration in human cancer, and numerous drugs that target this pathway have been developed for cancer treatment. However, recent studies have implicated inhibition of the PI3K signaling pathway as the cause of a drug-induced long-QT syndrome in which alterations in several ion currents contribute to arrhythmogenic drug activity. Surprisingly, some drugs that were thought to induce long-QT syndrome by direct block of the rapid delayed rectifier (IKr) also seem to inhibit PI3K signaling, an effect that may contribute to their arrhythmogenicity. The importance of PI3K in regulating cardiac repolarization is underscored by evidence that QT interval prolongation in diabetes mellitus also may result from changes in multiple currents because of decreased insulin activation of PI3K in the heart. How PI3K signaling regulates ion channels to control the cardiac action potential is poorly understood. Hence, this review summarizes what is known about the effect of PI3K and its downstream effectors, including Akt, on sodium, potassium, and calcium currents in cardiac myocytes. We also refer to some studies in noncardiac cells that provide insight into potential mechanisms of ion channel regulation by this signaling pathway in the heart. Drug development and safety could be improved with a better understanding of the mechanisms by which PI3K regulates cardiac ion channels and the extent to which PI3K inhibition contributes to arrhythmogenic susceptibility.


The analysis of the environment is one of the most outstanding issues in Tourism Marketing, due mainly to the fact that the definition of any kind of strategy to be implemented has to be guided by an accurate scanning of the relevant factors that may, in a way, condition the decision-making. With this said, the chief purpose of this paper is to apply a model that allows us to scan the tourism marketing environment on a daily basis, whose main advantage is its ability to directly measure the effects of marketing environmental factors on firm performance, the main novelty being the way the projections are measured: they are not just mere perceptions but expectation based money reactions. The results arrived at are outstanding since the model seems to catch remarkably well the different happenings detected, what implicates that this tool can notably aid in tourism scanning-related activities.


We present a partially-oxidised bimetallic Mo-Pt subnanoparticle (Mo4Pt8Ox) enabling thermally-driven CO2 hydrogenation to CO at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. A mechanistic study explained the full catalytic cycle of the reaction from CO2 activation to catalyst reactivation. DFT calculations revealed that alloying with Mo lowers the activation barrier by weakening the CO adsorption. This finding could be a first step for low-energy CO2 conversion.


Secure monitoring services supported by flexible, manageable, and cheap systems in areas where ordinary networks are unsuitable: this is one of to-day challenges in health monitoring engineering. Wireless Sensor Networks represent a promising technological solution but resource constraints and exposure to external attacks could limit their employment. The design and the implementation of an effective security to provide the monitoring service with the reasonable level of reliability is the scope of this paper. Following the platform-based design methodology, we have designed and implemented a "Secure Platform" to support Monitoring Applications which is compliant to requirements such as modularity, optimized usage of resource, solution scalability. To this aim, the Secure Platform exploits mobile agents and we have enhanced middleware solutions already available in literature. Security functions implemented in the Secure Platform have been a distributed intrusion detection system, based on a simplified approach to Hidden Markov Models, supported by an hybrid cryptographic scheme, based on network topology authentication. These security functions have been proposed by the same authors in [12] and [13]. Detailed design and the description of the software enhancements to the middleware platform are presented in this paper.


In this letter, a novel approach to the cooperative path following (CPF) control problem is proposed that aims to reduce the frequency of communication between the robotic vehicles while achieving cooperation. Specifically, a decentralized, event-based cooperative controller is designed to achieve coordination between the robotic vehicles, tasked to follow a priori specified reference geometric path while maintaining a desired formation. The event-based cooperative controller transmits the necessary information at discrete event times, that are computed based on an event triggering condition designed such that the convergence and stability properties of the consensus controller is preserved. The Input-to-State Stability framework is utilized to prove the stability and convergence of the CPF control with event-based control and communication scheme. The proposed method is experimentally validated using Autonomous Surface Vehicles communicating over Wi-Fi. It is shown that the event-based approach results in significant reduction of information exchange between the vehicles when compared to the conventional periodic transmission.


6 , 201 May  25 Accepted  Abstract "This study was designed to investigate the serum level of thyroid-stimulating hormone,thyroxine, triiodothyronine, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α" in hypothyroidism patients, and to reveal their relationship with serum zinc level in 27 patients with hypothyroidism, and 27 control group. The results disclosed that serum zinc, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α levelsin hypothyroidism patients are significantly lower (p˂0.05) than the control group. While serum thyroid stimulating hormone level, was significantly higher in hypothyroidism patients than the control (p˂0.05). After zinc administration, the patients group showeda significant increase in "interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α" level (p˂0.05) in comparison with control group."


All-solid-state lithium-metal batteries (ASSLMBs) have received great interest due to their high potential to display both high energy density and safety performance. However, the poor compatibility at the Li/solid electrolyte (SE) interface and penetration of lithium dendrites during cycling strongly impede their successful commercialization. Herein, a thin Ag layer was introduced between Li and Li10GeP2S12 for the in situ formation of a Li-Ag alloy interface, thus tuning the interfacial chemistry and lithium deposition/dissolution behavior. Superior electrochemical properties and improved interfacial stability were achieved by optimizing the Ag thicknesses. The assembled symmetric cell with Li@Ag 1 μm showed a steady voltage evolution up to 1000 h with an areal capacity of 1 mAh cm-2. Moreover, a high reversible capacity of 106.5 mAh g-1 was achieved in an all-solid-state cell after 100 cycles, demonstrating the validity of the Ag layer. This work highlights the importance of the Li/SE interface re-engineering and provides a new strategy for improving the cycle life of ASSLMBs.


An experimental investigation was conducted to study the strength, behaviour and deflection characteristics of two way slabs made with both self-consolidating concrete (SCC) and conventional concrete (CC). Six concrete slabs were tested to failure under simply supported uniform by distributed loading conditions. The variables were concrete type and macro synthetic fibres ratio (0%, 0.07% and 0.14%). The performance was evaluated based on crack pattern, ultimate load, load-deflection response and failure mode. The results showed that the ultimate strength of SCC slabs was larger than that of their CC counterparts. The results also showed an improvement of the behaviour and strength of slabs by adding the synthetic fibres.


In scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based integrated circuit (IC) failure analysis, there is often a need for manual location of a prespecified failure site in several ICs. Such a procedure is both tedious and time consuming. This paper presents a new vision-based die positioning system that can automatically locate a specified failure site without the need for a high-accuracy specimen stage. Depending on the appearance of the desired failure site, the system applies either image registration or feature tracking to locate the site. Experiments performed on a variety of IC samples show that the system is able to locate the failure site accurately, even in the presence of unfavorable conditions such as IC sample rotation and repetitive IC patterns.


Accurate assessment of the type, duration, and intensity of physical activity (PA) in daily life is considered very important because of the close relationship between PA level, health, and well-being. Therefore, the assessment of PA using lightweight wearable sensors has gained interest in recent years. In particular, the use of activity monitors could help to measure the health-related effects of specific PA interventions. Our study, named as Run4Vit, focuses on evaluating the acute and longterm effects of an eight-week running intervention on PA behaviour and vitality. To achieve this goal, we developed an algorithm to detect running and estimate instantaneous cadence using a single trunk-fixed accelerometer. Cadence was computed using time and frequency domain approaches. Validation was performed over a wide range of locomotion speeds using an open-source gait database. Across all subjects, the cadence estimation algorithms achieved a mean bias and precision of - 0.01 ± 0.69 steps/min for the temporal method and 0.02 ± 1.33 steps/min for the frequency method. The running detection algorithm demonstrated very good performance, with an accuracy of 98% and a precision superior to 99%. These algorithms could be used to extract metrics related to the multiple dimensions of PA, and provide reliable outcome measures for the Run4Vit longitudinal running intervention program. Clinical Relevance— This work aims at validating a multi-dimensional physical activity (PA) classification algorithm for assessing the acute and long-term effects of eight weeks running intervention on PA behaviours and vitality


In modelling of underwater sound propagation, knowledge about the seabed's acoustic properties is essential, especially sound speed and density. These two properties are highly correlated, and standard empirical regressions are often used to predict one property from the other. The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) has a large database of sediment sound speed and density measurements from laboratory analysis of seabed gravity cores. This paper presents the results from 47 cores collected from FFI's research vessel M/S H.U. Sverdrup II on the Norwegian continental shelf and in the Barents Sea. The densities measured in the cores range from 1.35 to 2.4 g/cm 3 and sound speeds from 1410 to 1750 m/s (corrected to 23°C, and 1 atm. pressure). An empirical regression between density and sound speed derived from FFI's data set deviates significantly from standard empirical regressions found in the literature, as bulk densities are higher and sound speeds lower than expected. Another study from the Barents Sea also reported high bulk densities in seabed sediments and suggested that clay mineralogy might be the cause.The importance of applying an appropriate sound speed-density relationship will be demonstrated using the acoustic ray tracer Lybin developed by the Royal Norwegian Navy and FFI.


Background: The Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged in a variety of forms since its first appearance in early December 2019. The Omicron variation (B.1.1.529) was recently confirmed as a relatively new Variant of Concern (VOC). There are several mutations in this S-protein, making it an exclusively lethal version of the protein. Omicron variants feature multiple mutations clustered in a region of S protein that is the principal target of antibodies, and these mutations may have an impact on the binding affinities of antibodies to the S protein, as demonstrated by structural analysis. Materials and Methods: Google, Sciencedirect, Web of science, and ResearchGate databases have been explored for potentially existing research to obtain the most emerging trends and up-to-date metadata on various perspectives of Omicron variants. Conclusion: There is evidence that the Omicron variant's mutations may interfere with antibody binding in people who have been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the past. At the moment, there is very little information on the Omicron version. Therefore, mutation dispersion evaluations, evolutionary links to previous variants, and putative structural effects on antibody binding effects are all explored in this work. Results: In the current state of pandemic crises, the comprehension of Omicron will pave a path for healthcare professionals to treat infectious conditions very well.


Abstract The music and movie industries have recently added individual consumers as the target of the file sharing lawsuits. It is often questioned why the industries use substantial resources to fight in the courtrooms instead of making better and more affordable products. In this article, we first analyze the reasons of the industry behavior suggesting that the court strategy may be in fact more effective, at least in the short term, than it should be based on pure economic calculations. However, the empirical evidence seems to imply that lawsuits fail to send a strong signal to individuals about the society's supposedly negative attitude towards file sharing. General deterrence from the threat of being sued does not help in the end either because people are risk seeking in the face of making a decision between a certain and probable loss. In conclusion, we argue that the court strategy cannot be used to establish any social norm with a long lasting effect on individual behavior as long as the peer pressure works towards the opposite direction.


Argonaute proteins (Agos) form a diverse group of enzymes found in every domain of life. The Journey of prokaryotic Argonaute proteins (pAgos) described in this thesis begins with the characterization of a newly discovered pAgo from the bacteria Clostridium butyricum (CbAgo). This Ago is the first example of a pAgo that efficiently cleaves single stranded DNA at 37°C, thereby paving the road towards the development of pAgo-based applications at moderate temperature, such as genome editing. The Journey ends with the successful utilization of previously characterized thermophilic pAgos from Thermus thermophilus (TtAgo) and Pyrococcus furiosus (PfAgo) in two novel pAgo-based molecular applications.


Abstract It has been reported that the galvanic body sway test does not correlate with the caloric test. We evaluated the galvanic body sway test in patients with vestibular schwannomas using three parameters: the angle of deviation response onset, the maximum value of the deviation response, and the area of deviation. These parameters reflect velocity, position, and locus of the centre of pressure respectively. Among these parameters, only the angle of deviation response onset showed unilateral weakness of the response correlating with the canal paresis value, which indicates that velocity is responsible for conduction in the vestibular nerve. However, the galvanic body sway test is apt to be preferred to the caloric test. This might be attributed to the decreased sensitivity of this test.


A method of generating phase shift pulse codes of arbitrarily long length with zero periodic correlation except for the peak for zero shift is presented. The codes are of length p^2 where p is any prime number, and p different phase shifts corresponding to the p th roots of unity are necessary to generate them. Since p different phase shifts are required, these codes are not as easy to generate and process as the binary codes, but this does not seem to be a serious limitation to their usefulness. Application of these codes can be made as interpulse phase modulation for range resolution in pulse Doppler radars or for a method of synchronizing a pulse code communication system.


This paper considers the relevance of a set of generational accounts in informing policy debate in the UK. With regard to transparency, Generational Accounts can, under sensible assumptions, provide a useful summary statistic to supplement our analysis of government policy. Interpreting differences in the accounts across groups as measures of the incidence or redistributiveness of existing or proposed policies is more problematic. With respect to UK pension reform, within-cohort differences raise important issues. Finally we argue that past pension reforms have been characterised by inaccurate forecasts as opposed to a lack of understanding of the generational incidence of proposed policy.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to describe the perceptions of Jordanian midlife women about making the menopausal transition.

METHODS
Audio taped interviews were conducted with 25 peri-menopausal Jordanian women. Interviews were analysed as appropriate for descriptive qualitative inquiry.

RESULTS
The major theme generated was 'A Life Transition', which included: a time of no more reproductive obligations, changing from the burdens and obligations of reproductive roles and responsibilities to freedom, relief and rest; a time for managing peri-menopausal symptoms; and a time for growing into a wise woman and accepting aging as a part of life.

NURSING IMPLICATIONS
These data can assist healthcare providers to provide culturally competent health care to midlife Jordanian women. Support groups may be helpful to facilitate connections between midlife women, increase self-awareness, assist women to come to value their menopausal experiences, to manage their symptoms appropriately through self-care measures and healthcare interventions and to more fully embrace being 'wise women'.


Hypernatraemia is defined as an increase in extracellular sodium concentration, associated with plasma hyperosmolality and cellular dehydration. It can result from excessive water loss, from an increase in the total sodium content or from both mechanisms. As far as neurosurgical pathology is concerned, hypernatraemia due to excessive water loss may be observed in patients who do not sense thirst or are unable to ingest water. Urinary water loss is seen in diabetes insipidus and osmotic diuresis. Extrarenal water losses from pulmonary origin may be observed in intubated or tracheotomized patients. Hypernatraemia with sodium and water retention may be encountered in patients suffering from Cushing diseases or syndromes, or more frequently in those who are given excessive amounts of sodium (hypertonic saline, sodium salts). Clinical manifestations of hypernatraemia consist of neurologic symptoms related to cellular dehydration; their severity is correlated with the rapidity of the onset of the electrolytic disorder. Depending on the pathophysiological mechanism, treatment of hypernatraemia involves stopping sodium intake, restoring normovolaemia and administering hypotonic fluids. Treatment of diabetes insipidus relies on the administration of the antidiuretic hormone and of drugs that increase its secretion rate or its responsiveness in the kidneys.


On January 14th 1993, a team of scientists descended into the crater of Mt. Galeras, a restless volcano in southern Colombia. Several hours later, Galeras erupted, killing nine people instantly. Two geologists, Marta Calvache and Patty Mothes, raced into the rumbling inferno to save, among others, expedition leader Stanley Williams. For Calvache and her fellow scientists, this was the second Colombian volcanic disaster in less than a decade. No Apparent Danger links the events surrounding those two eruptions - beginning at Nevado del Ruiz, where 23,000 people were killed in 1985 - to tell a story of adventure and survival in which clashing cultures and scientific arrogance contributed to unnecessary loss of life. Dramatic and powerfully written, it is an unforgettable narrative about the deadly results of human folly.


Abstract Cavitation is a phenomenon with both positive and negative effects and with dynamic manifestations in hydraulic, food, chemical and other machinery. This article deals with the detection and dynamic behavior of cavitation clouds in water flows through a rectangular cross-section convergent-divergent nozzle. Cavitation was measured by methods applicable in engineering practice. Pressure, flow rate, noise, vibration, and amount of air dissolved in the liquid were measured and cavitation region was recorded with a high-speed camera. Evaluation of acquired images in connection with measured pressure pulsations and mechanical vibrations was performed with the use of the FFT method. In certain cases, dimensionless parameters were used to generalize the measurements. The results will be used to specify multiphase mathematical cavitation model parameters.


The concept of collective memory receives increasing attention in international relations. This burgeoning scholarship, however, mainly centres on its role as a strategic tool in foreign policy, binding it to national context. This research uses collective memory as an analytical framework to gauge identification processes at the international level. Specifically, we examine how states self-present themselves with various collective We's and against multiple others. Contingent upon exclusive biographical narratives, we show how states transform and present collective memories in ways that resonate with their particular identity combination. Using inductive comparative analysis of speeches delivered by heads of state of Germany, the United States, and Israel during United Nations General Assembly sessions (1991–2017), analysis demonstrates how states evoke the past to narrate who they are, as states. Expanding understanding regarding how historical events are utilised in foreign policy, findings illustrate the dynamic juggling process states perform with various elements of self.


Rationale In models of acute lung injury, high levels of endothelin 1 (ET-1) are linked with a rapid increase in edema formation. It has been shown that decreased alveolar fluid clearance is associated with increase hospital mortality in patients with acute lung injury. We hypothesized that ET-1 via ET-B receptor activation and nitric oxide (NO) generation impairs the ability of the lung to reabsorb fluid from the alveolar space by inhibiting the alveolar epithelial Na,K-ATPase. Methods (A) Isolated-perfused rat lung model: Alveolar fluid clearance was measured using an isolated-perfused rat lung model by determining the changes in concentration of Evans blue-tagged albumin in the instillate as a function of time. (B) Alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) were isolated from pathogen-free male Sprague-Dawley rats, treated with ET-1 to assess Na,K-ATPase activity by an ouabain-sensitive 86Rb+ uptake and protein analysis by Western blotting. (C) Human microvascular endothelial cells cocultured in six-well plates with AECs in the presence and absence of endothelin. (D) Immunocytochemistry performed in AECs and rat lung tissue. Results Isolated rat lungs perfused for 60 minutes with different concentrations of ET-1 (10-10 M to 10-6 M) had a decrease in alveolar fluid reabsorption in a dose-dependent fashion. A nonselective ET-A/B receptor antagonist blocked the endothelin decrease in lung edema clearance. An ET-B receptor agonist decreased alveolar fluid clearance to a similar degree compared with ET-1 (≈50%). When ET-1 was perfused in vascular endothelin B receptor-deficient rats, the decrease in alveolar fluid clearance was prevented. ET-1 decrease in alveolar fluid clearance was also blocked by a nitric oxide antagonist (L-NAME) and cGMP antagonist (ODQ). Neither the Na,K-ATPase activity nor its plasma membrane expression was affected in vitro when AECs were directly incubated with endothelin. However, coculture with endothelial cells in the presence of endothelin caused a decrease in Na,K-ATPase activity in AECs. Summary We provide for the first time evidence that the endothelium regulates alveolar fluid clearance; specifically, ET-1 impairs the ability of the lung to clear edema via the endothelial ET-B receptor activation, nitric oxide generation, and cGMP signaling in AECs. Funding: HL-48129 and HL080966.


We have fabricated and characterized the performance of a monolithic Ge Bragg–Laue phase retarder capable of simultaneously producing both right- and left-handed circularly polarized x rays. The energy range of operation of the phase retarder is between 50 and 100 keV making it well suited to the measurement of spin-dependent Compton profiles within the impulse approximation, primarily because of the increased momentum resolution and larger Compton scattering cross section available at these higher incident energies. Although the phase retarder was optimized for operation at 86 keV, it can produce highly circularly polarized x rays over a substantial energy range. The performance of the phase retarder was tested via magnetic Compton scattering measurements on an Fe sample at the undulator A of the Advanced Photon Source. It was found to perform well in terms of flux and degree of circular polarization thereby greatly reducing the data collection times required for this inherently weak scattering process.


Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are a heterogeneous collection of clonal disorders of bone marrow disorders that lead to clonal expansion and ineffective hematopoiesis. Patients with higher-risk MDS subtypes often experience rapid disease progression towards AML, facing a life expectancy of less than 1 year. AML remains incurable in the majority of adult patients. The physiopathology of these diseases involves impaired epigenetic regulation in the progression of MDS to AML and resistance to conventional treatment. Such epigenetic marks can be reversed by nucleoside analogs (NA) DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) such as azacitidine (AZA) and decitabine, currently the standard treatment for MDS, and histone tails modifiers histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis). These agents synergistically induce re-expression of silenced genes resulting in cell growth arrest, differentiation and apoptosis. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that synergistic effects of combining nucleosides analogs (e.g. fludarabine, AZA, cytarabine) with HDACIs both in vitro and in vivo relied also on mechanisms modulating activation of pro-survival NA-mediated NF-κB signaling. Based on this mechanism centered on NF-κB signaling, we analyzed several original transcriptional expression datasets related to the treatment of AZA or HDACis in AML cell lines, xenografts and MDS/AML patients. A list of possible repositioned drugs was predicted. Upon a detailed comparison among the drugs, Dexamethasone (DEX), an inexpensive medication sporadically used during MDS and AML therapy to treat fever, nausea and allergic reactions, stood out as supported by the following emanating results: 1) DEX could suppress the VEGFA gene set, STAT5 gene set and inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and their cognate receptors gene set in primary human bone marrow progenitor cells, which is significantly activated in MDS/AML patients resistant to AZA+HDACi treatment; 2) DEX could inhibit the alternative activated signaling molecules responsible for the resistance to AZA; 3) two clusters of aberrantly methylated (hypo and hyper) genes were examined significantly enriched in blasts from MDS patients comparing with healthy people, and DEX is able to "normalize" these genes9 expression; 4) DEX could suppress the elevated target genes of P210 BCR-ABL gene fusion in MDS patients; and, importantly 5) DEX has a wide inhibitory effects on the NF-κB pathway-targeted cytokines, chemokines, and their modulators on human bone marrow CD34+ cells compared to untreated cells. To validate the repositioning performance of DEX, preliminary assays were performed where human leukemia cells were exposed to HDACi/NA, a situation where exists a marked reduction in the synergism because of strong NF-kB activation. In the presence of DEX, either the drugs alone or in combination displayed a significant increase in lethality, notably in the case of HDACi/NA. Importantly, co-administering HDACi/NA with DEX had a major impact on the outcome of the drug combination, notably since AML cells that remain alive after HDACi/NA treatment may constitute one of the main sources of chemo-resistance. This new concept is critically relevant for therapies involving NA and HDACIs. In this context, by adding DEX to the therapeutic intervention which results in almost 100% cell death, we may be directly affecting this small percentage of cells that display increased survival capacity, thereby reducing/delaying the probability of relapse. Citation Format: Hong Zhao, Rui Zhu, Jaime Mejia, Adriana E. Rosato, Swaminathan Iyer, Roberto R. Rosato. Drug repositioning improves synergistic interactions between HDAC inhibitors and nucleoside analogs in AML and MDS models. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Hematologic Malignancies: Translating Discoveries to Novel Therapies; Sep 20-23, 2014; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2015;21(17 Suppl):Abstract nr B11.


Eatingdisorders are prevalent in dietetics students, which may be due to theirdetermination to meet the "healthy standards" of their profession.1Peergroups or relational ties that support thin ideals may also encouragedisordered eating behavior.2 Dietetics majors have been found toadopt restrained eating habits despite, having an adequate understanding ofproper nutrition.3 In addition, college breeds a very peer centeredenvironment, which can create both a positive and negative pressures.4 Amethod of investigating the influence of social environments or relational tieson a behavior is social network analysis.5  This study aims to determine if nutritionstudents adopt restrictive eating behaviors based on their social circle. Thedata will be gathered using social network analysis, which will provide avisual of the relational connections between nutrition students. This analysiswill help to determine if clusters of students display certain eating behaviorsand if there is one person that appears to initiate certain eating behaviors.The research will also strive to determine if eating disorder tendenciesincrease as nutrition students grow in comprehension of nutrition and dietetics.


The article argues that Paul's use of dikaio- terminology, the language of "justification," has been too narrowly construed by N. T. Wright in his latest monograph on the subject. Wright's position, that Paul employs the language of justification to signify a divinely bestowed change in status, tells only part of the story. This language also connotes real transformation. A unique feature of the article is that it starts with an analysis of the phrase "righteousness of God" in 2 Corinthians 5:21.


Studies were carried out to assess the comparative effects of aqueous solution of colchicine (0.5%), 0.004M 8-hydroxyquinoline and saturated solution of paradichlorobenzene on the arm ratios of mitotic chromosomes using Allium cepa L. as the test organism. Samples were collected separately and fixed in acetic alcohol (1:3 v/v) for 24 h at room temperature. Chromosome characteristics in A. cepa were determined. Karyotypic analysis of the onion root tips showed a preponderance of median chromosomes. Analysis of variance for chromosome arm ratios showed that there are no significant differences (p<0.05) among the treatments in arm ratio. This research work therefore suggests that though the three pre-treatment chemicals are all effective in inhibiting the mitotic spindle and arresting the chromosomes at metaphase, each chemical elicits a differential contraction of the chromosomes.


Forty-two strains of Thermomyces lanuginosus isolated from various sources in Thailand were divide into 4 groups based on the soluble xylan hydrolyzing (SXH) and insoluble xylan hydrolyzing (IXH) enzyme activities in the supernatant obtained from 5-day culture at 50°C in the liquid medium using corncob as substrate. The strains which exhibited high IXH enzyme activity, showed high binding ability to insoluble xylan. Ten strains of T. lanuginosus produced high activity towards insoluble xylan. Among these, T. lanuginosus THKU-56 could produce considerable activity of insoluble xylan hydrolyzing enzyme with the highest stability that remained 28.2 and 58.9% of the original activity after treating at pH 3.5 and 37°C and at pH 6.0 and 70°C for 1 h, respectively. The optimized concentration of corncob, yeast extract, KH2PO4 and Tween80 were determined in shaking condition for the production of insoluble xylan hydrolyzing enzyme by T. lanuginosus THKU56 using a central composite design. Unlike other components, only corncob and yeast extract were found to affect the xylanase production. The optimal concentration of the active nutrients for xylanase production were 41 gl -1 of corncobs and 24 gl -1 of yeast extract, which gave a predicted and experimental yield of 526.7 and 541 Uml -1 at 5th day of culture, respectively.


Abstract Aerobiological sampling through volumetric pollen traps requires the use of an appropriate adhesive, whose selection is a critical factor in these studies. This study compares the differences between two adhesives that have been widely used in aerobiological studies with the aim of providing a persuasive argument for using petroleum jelly as a viable alternative to silicone diluted with the banned substance carbon tetrachloride. The study was performed using Hirst-type pollen traps in an indoor controlled environment to avoid interference attributed to outdoor meteorological parameters. Furthermore, a gravimetric study was conducted simultaneously as a control. Four different pollen types with different pollen sizes and similar flowering seasons were studied (Acer, Platanus, Quercus and Rumex). Differences between pollen traps were minimised by interchanging the drums in each pollen trap every 24 hours. Gravimetric results showed homogeneous airborne pollen distribution in the study. No statistically significant differences were found between the results for the sample adhesives for Quercus and Platanus, whereas significant differences were observed for Rumex and Acer. In the case of Acer, more pollen grains were recorded using the petroleum jelly, while for Rumex, more pollen grains were recorded with silicone. After this experiment we consider that petroleum jelly can be used as a viable alternative adhesive to the banned silicone diluted with carbon tetrachloride.


Nowadays it exist a sort of tools that allow a greater management of developing projects and although it allows by using this tools increase the efficiency and the effectiveness of the developing process and the developer knowledge. Therefore in this project it will be presented, implemented and tested a set of tool for this purpose. This Project will mainly analyze the code quality and de workers cooperation, in order to do that different software will be used. Sonar will be used as the tool of code analysis which provides a powerful feedback that will be explained in this project. Artifactory will be used to speed up the building time and to save as much bandwidth as possible. Jira will be used as a tracking and cooperation tool and will be fed using sonar feedback. Nagios will monitorize that everything is working as it has and will warn whether a fail happens. Everything will be simulated in scenario trying to get close to reality and giving maximum importance to the cooperation and code quality. Furthermore, the implemented software will be analyzed as well


Intended to assist those working in the field of occupational competency testing, this report summarizes major milestones in the history of competency measurement in vocational ,eduCttionand overviews the current state of the art. To provide an ,;orisntation to the environment that stimulated the current interest 'W.p0:0ipational competency testing, chapters 2 and 3 review -';#81peten4y-based vocational education and discuss evaluation concerns "'in "vocational education. Next, chapter 4 presents some background .information along with definitions of a few key terms used in competency testing. The current efforts of a number of organizations in the field of competency testing are reviewed in chapter 5. They are organized into three categories: Department of Education-funded organizations, state agencies and consortia, and. job performance assessment in the military. Chapter 6 describes recent developments that merit attention from test developers in vocational education--siaulations, adaptive paper-and-pencil tests, confidence testing, and Pasch modeling. The technical and legal problems in setting standards of performance on competency tests are discussed in chapter 7. A 10-page list of references is provided. (YLB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** COMPETENCY MEASUREMENT IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: A REVIEW OF THE STATE OF THE ART Albert B. Chalupsky Linda Phillips-Jones Malcolm N. Danoff


Low birth weight has been associated with cardiovascular diseases. The waist-to-height ratio is a good indicator of risks for these diseases. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between birth weight and adult waist-to-height ratio in a Japanese population. A cross-sectional study, comprised of 851 subjects (401 men and 450 women) aged 35-62 years who were born at full term, was conducted at a medical checkup. The subjects responded to a questionnaire about weight at birth, and data on physical characteristics were collected from the results of the medical checkup. The subjects were stratified with sex and a Body Mass Index of 25 kg/m(2) to elucidate the effects of birth weight on adult waist-to-height ratio. Analysis of covariance was used to compare the physical condition among the 4 birth weight categories. After adjusting for age, alcohol consumption, smoking status and exercise, the height was significantly lower in the birth weight < 2,500 g category among men (P < 0.001) and women (P < 0.001), while the waist-to-height ratio was significantly higher in the birth weight < 2,500 g category, compared with the > 3,500 g category in the non-obese women (P = 0.004), but not in the obese women. In conclusion, low birth weight was independently associated with a low adult height among men and women and with a high adult waist-to-height ratio among non-obese women. Our results suggest that intrauterine environmental insults might lead to accumulation of visceral fat among non-obese women.


Ultrahigh-speed digital integrated circuits (ICs) implemented with GaAs/int JFETs are confirmed to be reliable in a wide variety of temperatures. Divide-by-256/258 dual-modulus prescaler ICs using source-coupled FET logic (SCFL) circuits that can operate up to 9 GHz have temperature coefficients of operating frequency stability and input power sensitivity of -17.2 MHz/degree and +0.12 dBm/degree between -20 and +100 degrees C, respectively. Direct-coupled FET logic (DCFL) circuits were also confirmed to have very small temperature coefficients. The variations of the maximum operating frequency and the input power sensitivity of the DCFL divide-by-4 divider IC are -1.93 MHz/degree and +0.47 dBm/degree, respectively, between -60 and +100 degrees C. The variation in the threshold voltage of the JFET is -0.88 mV/degree which is very small for the temperature stability of GaAs digital ICs. >


The article critically examines how Egyptian legislators made use of the degree of freedom left in the TRIPs Agreement for WTO Members to incorporate appropriate measures in their national laws aiming at meeting the public health needs and concerns, particularly access to quality health care and affordable pharmaceutical drugs. The article also explores and warns against the recent attempts made by a number of developed countries to impose TRIPs-plus obligations on several developing countries, including Egypt, for their detrimental effects on public health.


Abstract : This technical note summarizes the principles and major issues for the economic valuation of wetlands. The valuation information presented here is intended to support the biological assessment of wetland functions and values as set out in the Wetland Evaluation Technique (WET) (Adamus et al. 1987). Subsequent technical notes will present economic valuation methods for specific wetland services, e.g., commercial fisheries.


' The first account of any artificial method of bringing on premature labour was given to me by Dr. C. Kelly. He informed me that'about the year I756 there was a consultation of the most eminent men in London at that time, to consider of the moral rectitude of, and advantages which may be expected from, this practice, which met with their general approbation. The first case in which it was deemed necessary and proper fell under the care of the late Dr. Macaulay, and it terminated successfully. (The patient was the wife of a linen-draper in the Strand.) . . . The thing has often been the subject of conversation, and proposed by writers, but some have doubted the morality of the practice; and the circumstances which may render the operation needful and proper have not been stated with any degree of precision' (T. Denman, I8oi).


EDTA and HCl extracts of chicken bone were fractionated by a variety of techniques, including molecular sieving, ion exchange chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography. Six different molecular weight phosphoproteins, 13K, 14K, 15K, 28K, 33K, and 70K dalton, were obtained. Further purified fractions were isolated by extraction of single bands from SDS electrophoresis gels. The amino acid composition of these phosphoproteins suggested the origin of the lower molecular weight phosphoproteins from higher molecular weight phosphoprotein during the purification process or maturation of the animal. In those instances, however, the amino acid composition and the degree of phosphorylation varied. This suggested the existence of genetically different phosphoproteins. Molecular weight 70K fraction included collagen component, indicating some of the phosphoproteins strongly bound to the collagen of the bone matrix.


After a barrage of bad press over his position on Trident and his flip-flop over the so-called "shoot-to-kill" policy for armed terrorists, you'd expect Jeremy Corbyn's stock to be sinking fast, even among the most starry eyed of the "Jez-we-can" supporters who voted him in as leader of the Labour party in September. But a new YouGov poll reported in The Times has found that Corbyn enjoys the support of 66% of party members, a remarkable rise of seven points over the 59% who supported him at the leadership vote.


Population-level data on obesity are difficult to obtain. Claims-based data sets are useful for studying public health at a population level but lack physical measurements. The objective of this study was to determine the validity of a claims-based measure of obesity compared to obesity diagnosed with clinical data as well as the validity among older adults who suffer from chronic disease. This study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2004 for adults aged ≥65 successfully linked to 1999–2007 Medicare claims (N = 3,554). Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, κ statistics as well as logistic regression analyses were computed for the claims-based diagnosis of obesity versus obesity diagnosed with body mass index. The claims-based diagnosis of obesity underestimates the true prevalence in the older Medicare population with a low sensitivity (18.4%). However, this method has a high specificity (97.3%) and is accurate when it is present. Sensitivity was improved when comparing the claim-based diagnosis to Class II obesity (34.2%) and when used in combination with chronic conditions such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or depression. Understanding the validity of a claims-based obesity diagnosis could aid researchers in understanding the feasibility of conducting research on obesity using claims data.


A 10-month-old girl presented with an extensive orbital and cranial metastatic lesion from an adrenal ganglioneuroblastoma. Treatment with chemotherapy alone resulted in complete regression of the tumors with over 7 years of follow-up. Good prognostic indicators included her young age at diagnosis, DNA index of tumor cells of 1.4, and the histologic subtype of neuroblastic tumor. This is the first reported case of ganglioneuroblastoma metastatic to the orbit.


Background:  Progestin is commonly used for young patients suffering from endometrial cancer, but more than 30% of patients with progestin treatment have presented progestin resistance. The previous study showed that lncRNA NNT-AS1 could play an important role in cervical cancer. This study aimed to investigate the expression of NNT-AS1 in progesterone resistance endometrial cancer and assess its possible molecular mechanism. Methods: Establishment of progesterone resistant Ishikawa (Ishikawa-PR) cell line that are resistant to the growth-inhibitory effects of progestin in vitro. Protein and mRNA expression were determined by western blot and qRT-PCR, respectively. MTT assay tested cell proliferation. Silence and overexpression of NNT-AS1 and survivin were performed by si-NNT-AS1/survivin and pcDNA-NNT-AS1/survivin, respectively. The effect of NNT-AS1 on Ishikawa-PR cell transplant tumor growth was measured by mice xenograft model. In addition, we evaluated the relationship between NNT-AS1 and miR-542-3p by RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and RNA pull down. Results: The NNT-AS1 and survivin expression were both significantly increased, while miR-542-3p was decreased in Ishikawa-PR cell. Overexpression of NNT-AS1 was found to increase sensitive Ishikawa cells resistance, while inhibition of NNT-AS1 could reduce Ishikawa-PR cell resistance. NNT-AS1 functioned as a miR-542-3p decoy, and miR-542-3p could regulated Ishikawa cell resistance by survivin. In addition, NNT-AS1 was confirmed to regulate survivin expression and Ishikawa cell resistance by miR-542-3p. In vivo mice xenograft model revealed that silencing NNT-AS1 could improve endometrial cancer resistance. Conclusion:  LncRNA NNT-AS1 affect progesterone resistance by regulating miR-542-3p/survivin axis in endometrial cancer. Keywords: LncRNA NNT-AS1; progesterone resistance; endometrial cancer; miR-524-3p; survivin;


Stars near the Sun oscillate both horizontally and vertically. In a previous paper by Binney it was assumed that the coupling between these motions can be modelled by determining the horizontal motion without reference to the vertical motion, and recovering the coupling between the motions by assuming that the vertical action is adiabatically conserved as the star oscillates horizontally. Here, we show that, although the assumption of adiabatic invariance works well, more accurate results can be obtained by taking the vertical action into account when calculating the horizontal motion. We use orbital tori to present a simple but fairly realistic model of the Galaxy's discs in which the motion of stars is handled rigorously, without decomposing it into horizontal and vertical components. We examine the ability of the adiabatic approximation to calculate the model's observables, and find that it performs perfectly in the plane, but errs slightly away from the plane. When the new correction to the adiabatic approximation is used, the density, mean-streaming velocity and velocity dispersions are in error by less than 10per cent for distances up to 2.5kpc from the Sun. The torus-based model reveals that at locations above the plane, the long axis of the velocity ellipsoid points almost to the Galactic centre, even though the model potential is significantly flattened. This result contradicts the widespread belief that the shape of the Galaxy's potential can be strongly constrained by the orientation of velocity ellipsoid near the Sun. An analysis of individual orbits reveals that in a general potential the orientation of the velocity ellipsoid depends on the structure of the model's distribution function as much as on its gravitational potential, contrary to what is the case for Stackel potentials. We argue that the adiabatic approximation will provide a valuable complement to torus-based models in the interpretation of current surveys of the Galaxy. (Less)


In this study, the internal and residual stress states in quenched C60 steel cylinders are analyzed both numerically and experimentally in order to investigate the effects of boundary conditions (such as quench severity and temperature of quench bath) and specimen geometry. Specimen geometry has been analyzed by introducing a hole in a cylinder and varying hole diameter and its eccentricity. In the numerical analysis, the finite element method is applied and both temperature gradients and phase transformations are considered. Experiments include microstructural examination and X-ray measurements of residual stresses of the first kind. It has been found that the value of the convective heat transfer coefficient is very critical to obtain simulation results close to real ones. For instance, when a constant value obtained as the mean of a temperature dependent distribution is used for this parameter, residual stresses are seriously underestimated (up to 40%). The temperature of the quench bath affects directly the convective heat transfer coefficient. The lower the bath temperature, the higher are the resulting residual stresses. Under the same quenching conditions, if the diameter of the hole is greater than a critical value, a transition occurs from the shallow hardening case to the through hardening case, i.e., the residual stress distribution is reversed. On the other hand, for a constant hole diameter, if the eccentricity ratio reaches a critial value, a complex residual stress state results, i.e., compressive/tensile stress transition regions along the circumference are observed.


Abstract An early Viséan, anhydrite-rich, carbonate-clastic succession, of vertical thickness 3784 feet (no base) was found in 1990 at the Easton-1 well in the Solway Basin, onshore Cumbria. The succession is stratigraphically located in the Lower Border Group where only traces of evaporites had been found at outcrop. It is proposed to name the succession the 'Easton Anhydrite Facies of the Lower Border Group', abbreviated to 'EA Beds'. The EA Beds are divided into three units. Unit 1 at the top, about 400 feet thick, contains two sequences of upwardly thickening anhydrite beds within mixed lithologies. Unit 2, about 2100 feet thick, consists of nine cyclic sequences of limestones, shales and sandstones with numerous interbeds of anhydrite. Overall similarity of several of the sequences suggests similar origins. Unit 2 sequences are grouped into three megacycles, two of approximately 750 feet and one 590 feet thick. Deposition is interpreted to have taken place in arid or partly arid climatic conditions, within a shallow and rapidly, but uniformly subsiding basin with glacio-eustatically controlled rise and fall of sea level. Many of the Unit 2 anhydrite beds are interpreted to be of subaqueous origin. Unit 3, about 1500 feet thick, displays complex patterns of cyclicity with sedimentation apparently responding directly to solar insolation under orbitally induced control within Milankovitch periodicities of 100 000 and 400 000 years. Seismic interpretation indicates that the regional extent of the EA Beds is greater than 1000 km2.


A gravity survey carried out in coastal regions of West Finnmark is described. The survey reveals a positive Bouguer anomaly with an amplitude of approximately 100 mgal centred over the island of Söröya and forming a culmination on a persistent positive anomaly axis extending along the entire coastal zone. The Söröya anomaly is similar in amplitude and width to a large anomaly overlying Lofoten-Vesterålen 300 km to the south-west. These anomalies are interpreted as being caused by an underlying upper crustal zone of high density, formed either by a massive enrichment of the upper crust in basic and ultrabasic material or by a culmination of granulitic facies metamorphic rocks, perhaps containing abundant basic intrusions. The proposed crustal structure is similar in important respects to that of the Western Alps as indicated by recent geophysical surveys, and is consistent with modern Russian views on the role of asthenoliths in geosynclinal development.


Objectives The study is to observe the changes of plasma ischaemia-modified albumin (IMA) in patients with cardiac dysfunction, and to evaluate its performance for predicting prognosis and long—term mortality in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Methods One hundred and twenty-three patients with cardiac dysfunction admitted to Department of Cardiology of the First Affiliated hospital of Henan Chinese cultural medicine university from January 2010 to June 2011 were enrolled. All cases were divided into three groups according to NYHA classification. They are NYHA II, III, IV. We recorded the patient's general condition, measured blood biochemical and the plasma IMA after admission. A median follow-up of mean 1 year, once 2 months was taken, and all case were divide into three groups according to results of median follow-up. They are A (live) B (death). The level of IMA was measured and analysed. Thirty healthy people detected IMA as control group. Results The results showed that the serum level of IMA in patients with CHF were significantly increased (p<0. 01) Compared with healthy control group. IMA level of cardiac function class II (55.23±8.99) U/ml was lower than that of class III (47.88±7.57) U/ml and class IV (40.52±7.98) U/ml (p<0.05). IMA level of group B was higher than that of group A. IMA in group of cardiac dysfunction has negative correlation with LVEF value (r=−0.679, p<0.01), and positively correlation with the heart function levels (r=0.597, p<0.05), showed no correlation with. Conclusions The IMA can be a sensitive indicator for cardiac dysfunction. The IMA has an important valuation in diagnosis of heart failure level and its long-term prognosis.


BACKGROUND–Syncope is caused by a severe but reversible reduction in blood flow to the brain stem neurons responsible for supporting consciousness (reticular activating system). Neurally mediated syncope, also referred to as vasovagal or reflex syncope, is the most frequent cause of loss of consciousness in apparently normal subjects. REVIEW SUMMARY–Neurally mediated syncope is believed to be a reflex response with afferent, central, and efferent pathways. Characteristic autonomic changes in neurally mediated syncope are an increase in parasympathetic efferent activity causing bradycardia and a reduction in sympathetic vasoconstrictor outflow causing vasodilatation. Premonitory symptoms, such as nausea, diaphoresis, abdominal discomfort, and blurred vision, are caused by autonomic activation and are distinguishing features of neurally mediated syncope. Neurally mediated syncope frequently has a characteristic trigger, although this may not be apparent. Testing orthostatic tolerance during passive head-up tilt is the best available diagnostic procedure to evaluate patients with syncope in whom a cardiac cause has been excluded. In many cases, once the diagnosis of neurally mediated syncope is confirmed, it may suffice to reassure the patient and teach him to avoid known triggers and to recognize and act upon early warning symptoms. Because subjects with neurally mediated syncope may potentially be sodium depleted, increasing salt intake can be beneficial in improving their orthostatic intolerance. CONCLUSIONS–Neurally mediated syncope is the most common form of syncope in healthy adults. The best diagnostic tools are the clinical history and passive head-up tilt. The best treatment strategies are the avoidance of triggering factors as well as intravascular volume expansion.


Image classification methods are usually trained to perform predictions taking into account a predefined group of known classes. Real-world problems, however, may not allow for a full knowledge of the input and label spaces, making failures in recognition a hazard to deep visual learning. Open set recognition methods are characterized by the ability to correctly identifying inputs of known and unknown classes. In this context, we propose GeMOS: simple and plug-and-play open set recognition modules that can be attached to pretrained Deep Neural Networks for visual recognition. The GeMOS framework pairs pre-trained Convolutional Neural Networks with generative models for open set recognition to extract open set scores for each sample, allowing for failure recognition in object recognition tasks. We conduct a thorough evaluation of the proposed method in comparison with state-of-the-art open set algorithms, finding that GeMOS either outperforms or is statistically indistinguishable from more complex and costly models.


The present study aims to analyze the lifestyle of the beneficiaries of a Porto Alegre-RS club. The sample consisted of 47 recipients of both sexes, aged between 14 and 70 years. The research instrument used was the Nahas Individual Lifestyle Profile questionnaire (2000). The life habits adopted by this group of beneficiaries were considered satisfactory among the five components of the lifestyle analyzed. Very satisfactory result in the nutrition component since 29.8% of the respondents stated avoiding the intake of fats and sweets at times. Regarding physical activity, 46.8% stated that they always practice moderate activities. In the preventive behavior the result was positive, since 66.0% of the interviewees always affirm to control their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. In the social relationship, 89.4% of the beneficiaries are satisfied with their social relationships and 68.1% say that they include diversified activities with their friends at their leisure. Negative result in stress control, since 44.7% of the interviewees reserve daily time for rest. In this way, it is important to emphasize the importance of good eating habits, to seek to do moderate physical activities to maintain physical abilities, to seek to maintain health in order to prevent illness, to maintain an active social relationship and always to take time to rest. Developing a better quality of life.


Recently, an intermittent hot-pressing process had been developed and applied to produce bamboo bundle laminated veneer lumber (BLVL) joints with lengths of more than 6 m. According to our previous studies, there was a major difference in the physical and mechanical performance of hot-pressing joints and at adjacent positions on the lumber. In this paper, heat transfer and the effects of various aging temperatures on the mechanical performance of the joints of intermittent hot-pressed BLVLs were studied. During the hot-pressing process, there were noticeable different temperature changes on the board. In addition, degradation of the modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) values on the joints was greater than that on the adjacent positions of the BLVLs, and the degradation increased with increasing aging temperature. Because of the low interfacial bonding strength of the joints caused by the pre-curing effect during the hot-pressing process, the MOR was more sensitive to hydrothermal conditions. Therefore, when BLVLs produced by intermittent hot-pressing are used as engineering components, the joints should be well-designed and arranged to avoid being used in the same cross-section.


With constant reduction in fertility rate, China is not only faced with the plight of population growth, but also has a serious imbalance in the social structure of population. Based on educational resource dilution theory, this paper theoretically and empirically analyzes the interaction mechanism between education and fertility rate & the law of population development, and finally demonstrates the imbalance of social structure of population and its forming mechanism. It comes to the conclusions as follows:firstly, on the one hand, the interaction mechanism between education and fertility rate can lead to the gradual rise in fertility rate and thereby make population development enter into a high fertility trap; on the other hand, it may cause fertility rate continue to decline and fall into the trap of low fertility, finally forming the Z pattern of population development, namely at middle education level education is significantly negatively related with fertility rate, but at higher or lower education levels there is no significant correlation between education and fertility; secondly, owing to obvious urban-rural, regional and ethnic differences in education development, affected by the Z law of population development, all residents are bound to gradually be divided into two categories, the fertility rate of residents will differentiate high and low ends, and this development of population will lead to the imbalance of the population of urban and rural structure, regional structure, national structure and quality structure. Furthermore, based on nationwide census county-level data, this paper uses instrumental variables method and Hausman-Taylor estimation method to examine the Z law of population development and resulting imbalance of population social structure. It not only enriches current population structure research, but also has important implications for the reform of population and education in China.


Ensuring software reliability is a challenging task in software development. Software reliability is the probability of software to provide its intended functionality over a specified time. A couple of testing procedures during the phases of software development provides the data to approximate software reliability. This approximation guides the development team to plan necessary corrective actions. A variety of Software Reliability Growth Models (SRGMs) are in use to predict software reliability. A common task for every SRGM is to calculate reliability growth models attributes as a part of reliability estimation. Optimal calculation of such attributes is influenced by the relationships among the parameters of an SRGM. Therefore parametric SRGMs rely on parameter estimation techniques. The present paper has undertaken the study of existing parameter estimation techniques with the main goal of understanding the pros and cons of each technique in order to design a better technique of parameter estimation for SRGM's in use. A critical review of existing techniques of parameter techniques is given in this paper detailing the categories, approaches, problems relating to the techniques. One of the most successful swam intelligence techniques named Gray Wolf Optimization (GWO) along with its variants are applied to estimate the parameters of SRGMs. The results of this application along with the comparative analysis are given. The variants of GWO played a significant role in parameter estimation of the SRGMs considered for the experiments. An attempt is made to propose new ways of parameter estimation to achieve optimization.


Application of new strategies for supramolecular self-assembly can significantly impact the properties and/or functions of supramolecular polymers. In order to realize a facial strategy for the development of solvent-free supramolecular polymers in bulk, "deep eutectic solvents" were employed. Cyclodextrins and natural acids were used to prepare deep eutectic supramolecular polymers (DESPs). Deep eutectic solvents have special characteristics that endow DESPs with unique macroscopic properties and excellent processability. DESPs exhibit supramolecular adhesion and temperature-dependent behavior originated from the combined effects of deep eutectic solvents and supramolecular polymerization. Because DESPs are solvent-free and display interesting macroscopic properties, they have potential as new adaptive materials.


The hypothesis that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a circulating mediator of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion in sheep was tested in conscious adult ewes using 30-min carotid artery infusions of 0, 5, 10, 100, and 500 ng.kg-1. min-1 PGE2 in saline. ACTH, cortisol, and aldosterone were significantly increased during the 500 ng.kg-1.min-1 infusion (166 +/- 61 to 233 +/- 38 pg/ml, 27 +/- 5 to 45 +/- 2 ng/ml, and 52 +/- 11 to 85 +/- 25 pg/ml, respectively). PGE2 infusions of 100 ng.kg-1.min-1 increased ACTH from 104 +/- 31 to 168 +/- 31 pg/ml and cortisol from 18 +/- 5 to 42 +/- 2 ng/ml. PGE2 infusions did not increase arginine vasopressin, plasma renin activity, or hematocrit. Heart rate and mean arterial pressure were minimally but significantly increased during the 500 ng.kg-1.min-1 infusion, from 84.9 +/- 2.8 to 99.3 +/- 5.4 beats/min and 95.5 +/- 1.8 to 101.0 +/- 3.4 mmHg, respectively. In a second study to test whether lower infusion rates of PGE2 increase plasma ACTH in sheep with lower resting hormone concentrations, sheep were infused and sampled through a tether system, preventing any disturbances due to human contact the day of an experiment. For all infusion rates ACTH baselines were less than or equal to 55 +/- 17 pg/ml, and cortisol baselines were less than or equal to 6 +/- 3 ng/ml.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


In day to day life modern vehicle with petrol engines are provided with different compensating devices for fuel and air mixture supply. Even there exists a problem of high fuel consumption owing to many factors, one of which is the manufacturing defect of carburetor. Actual size of the piston bore would be 30,000 microns. Due to the use of multipoint tool, the dimension changes which may probably increase or reduce by 30 microns which is normally observed in all processes. The project is about completely eliminating or reducing the piston bore over size problem which occur while using multipoint cutting tool this can be done by introducing single point cutting tool. By doing this we can eliminate piston bore bulge in boring machine process.


Tirapazamine (TPZ, 1,2,4-benzotriazin-3-amine 1,4-dioxide) is a bioreductive hypoxia-selective cytotoxin, currently in phase II/III clinical trials in combination with radiotherapy and with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. We have prepared a series of 1,2,4-benzotriazine 1,4-dioxide (BTO) analogues of TPZ where a DNA-targeting chromophore is attached at the 3-position via a flexible linker. DNA binding affinity was modified through variation of the chromophore or the pK(a) of the linker chain. The association constants (K(DNA)) for calf thymus DNA ranged from 1 x 10(2) to 5.6 x 10(5) M(-1) (ionic strength of 0.01 M). DNA binding affinity was dependent on the presence of a positive charge, either in the linker chain or in the chromophore, and (for a series of 4-acridine carboxamide chromophore analogues) correlated strongly with linker chain pK(a). The efficacy of these BTOs in killing aerobic and hypoxic mouse SCCVII tumor cells in vitro was determined by clonogenic survival. Cytotoxicity was measured as the concentration required to reduce plating efficiency to 10% of controls (C(10)), and the hypoxic cytotoxicity ratio (HCR) for each BTO was calculated as C(10)(aerobic)/C(10)(hypoxic). BTOs bearing a positive charge showed increased hypoxic cytotoxicity (1.5-56-fold) compared to TPZ and mostly modest HCRs (8-51), but some excellent (>167 and 400) values. There was a strong correlation between K(DNA) and hypoxic cytotoxicity but no correlation between K(DNA) and HCR. Cytotoxicity in HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells, determined using IC(50) assays, showed similar relationships with a correlation between K(DNA) and hypoxic cytotoxicity but no correlation between K(DNA) and HCR. In this cell line, a higher proportion of compounds (7 of 11) had HCRs greater than or equal to that of TPZ. The data confirm that DNA targeting is a useful concept for increasing potency while maintaining hypoxic selectivity and provide a direction for the further development of DNA-targeted analogues of TPZ.


Recent advances in superlattice photodetectors are reviewed. In suitably designed superlattice structures hot carriers in the barrier layers can collide with carriers confined or dynamically stored in the wells and Impact ionize them out across the band-edge discontinuity [Fig. 1(a)].1,2This phenomenon can be the basis for a new class of very low-noise avalanche photodiode and solid-state photomultiplier. Photomultiplication measurements in AlInAs/GaInAs, AlSb/GaSb, and InP/GaInAs superlattices provide strong evidence of this effect. In these structures carrier storage in the wells arises from thermal generation processes [Fig. 1(b)]. A large ionization rate ratio has been observed1 (β/α = 20). By appropriately grading the interface of the wells, the storage of electrons can be eliminated, while holes are still confined. This should maximize the ionization rate ratio by minimizing electron initiated multiplication. This structure was grown by MBE in the AlInAs/ GaInAs system and has led to the observation of near-single-carrier-type multiplication (Fig. 2).


This paper reports on the main results of research carried out in Portuguese history classrooms (Grades 7–9, age 12–14), with the aim of providing further understanding of how historical thinking is being developed and assessed by teachers. Although history education research
 in Portugal appears to have fostered some fruitful experiences in this area, this study is intended to identify practices of teaching and learning. This work also tries to highlight good practices with relevance to the development of historical thinking. In the main study, data were collected
 through direct observation of classroom interaction (followed by interviews with teachers) and paper-andpencil tasks (performed by students) focusing on change in history learning and metacognition. Inductive analysis and triangulation of the data helped to understand possible relationships
 between questioning in the classroom and thinking in history, and to highlight some features of how students' historical thinking is being developed, namely what kind of temporal orientation they construct. Teachers revealed different kinds of teaching practices during a lesson, producing
 different kinds of learning experiences: a model of the development of competencies in history emerged from the data, and also a set of profiles of teaching and learning moments. Although seven profiles emerged, this paper will focus on Profile 7, as it could be the most inspiring for history
 education.


PurposeThe research study intends to gain a better understanding of members' behaviors in the context of crowdsourcing contests. The authors examined the key factors that can motivate or discourage contributing to a team and within the community.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with Kaggle.com members and analyzed the data to capture individual members' contributions and emerging determinants that play a role during this process. The authors adopted a qualitative approach and used standard thematic coding techniques to analyze the data.FindingsThe analysis revealed two processes underlying contribution to the team and community and the decision-making involved in each. Accordingly, a set of key factors affecting each process were identified. Using Holbrook's (2006) typology of value creation, these factors were classified into four types, namely extrinsic and self-oriented (economic value), extrinsic and other-oriented (social value), intrinsic and self-oriented (hedonic value), and intrinsic and other-oriented (altruistic value). Three propositions were developed, which can be tested in future research.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has a few limitations, which point to areas for future research on this topic. First, the authors only assessed the behaviors of individuals who use the Kaggle platform. Second, the findings of this study may not be generalizable to other crowdsourcing platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk, where there is no competition, and participants cannot meaningfully contribute to the community. Third, the authors collected data from a limited (yet knowledgeable) number of interviewees. It would be useful to use bigger sample sizes to assess other possible factors that did not emerge from our analysis. Finally, the authors presented a set of propositions for individuals' contributory behavior in crowdsourcing contest platforms but did not empirically test them. Future research is necessary to validate these hypotheses, for instance, by using quantitative methods (e.g. surveys or experiments).Practical implicationsThe authors offer recommendations for implementing appropriate mechanisms for contribution to crowdsourcing contests and platforms. Practitioners should design architectures to minimize the effect of factors that reduce the likelihood of contributions and maximize the factors that increase contribution in order to manage the tension of simultaneously encouraging contribution and competition.Social implicationsThe research study makes key theoretical contributions to research. First, the results of this study help explain the individuals' contributory behavior in crowdsourcing contests from two aspects: joining and selecting a team and content contribution to the community. Second, the findings of this study suggest a revised and extended model of value co-creation, one that integrates this study's findings with those of Nov et al. (2009), Lakhani and Wolf (2005), Wasko and Faraj (2000), Chen et al. (2018), Hahn et al. (2008), Dholakia et al. (2004) and Teichmann et al. (2015). Third, using direct accounts collected through first-hand interviews with crowdsourcing contest members, this study provides an in-depth understanding of individuals' contributory behavior. Methodologically, this authors' approach was distinct from common approaches used in this research domain that used secondary datasets (e.g. the content of forum discussions, survey data) (e.g. see Lakhani and Wolf, 2005; Nov et al., 2009) and quantitative techniques for analyzing collaboration and contribution behavior.Originality/valueThe authors advance the broad field of crowdsourcing by extending the literature on value creation in the online community, particularly as it relates to the individual participants. The study advances the theoretical understanding of contribution in crowdsourcing contests by focusing on the members' point of view, which reveals both the determinants and the process for joining teams during crowdsourcing contests as well as the determinants of contribution to the content distributed in the community.


Financial considerations are driving physicians to set up shop for themselves, say hospital CEOs. In fact, two-thirds of respondents say that their hospitals have lost services to competition from physicians. Other CEOs contend that physicians end up competing with their hospital because neither side is able to find common ground for joint ventures.


PURPOSEThe positioning of the prostate is improved with the use of the fluoroscopic real-time tumor-tracking radiation therapy system for prostate cancer. The acute radiation reaction and preliminary tumor response of prostate cancer to hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy assisted with real-time tumortracking radiation therapy were investigated in this study. METHODSPatients were classified into prognostic risk groups on the basis of the presence of the pretreatment prostate-specific antigen, clinical stage, and histologic differentiation. Neoadjuvant hormonal therapy was administered to patients in the high-risk group for 6 months before radiation therapy commenced. The intensity-modulated radiation therapy employed a segmental multileaf collimator, which generated a field made up of two or more shaped subfields using forward planning. Real-time tumor-tracking radiation therapy was used for the precise positioning of the prostate to minimize geometric uncertainties, while the dose was escalated in increments of 5 Gy from 65 Gy using a daily dose of 2.5 Gy (65 Gy/2.5 Gy), following the dose-escalation rules. Acute and late gastrointestinal and genitourinary morbidities due to radiation therapy were scored according to the toxicity criteria of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. RESULTSThirty-one patients were enrolled in this study between 1998 and 2001. Eighteen patients were classified as being members of the high-risk group. Total dose was escalated, with 65 Gy/2.5 Gy being administered to 12 patients and 70 Gy/2.5 Gy to 19 patients. The median follow-up period was 37 months (range, 30–43 months), and 19 months (range, 10–27 months), for the 65-Gy and 70-Gy arms, respectively. Patients experienced no acute toxicity and grade 1 late gastrointestinal toxicity (8.3%) in the 65-Gy/2.5-Gy arm. Patients in the 70-Gy/2.5-Gy arm experienced grade 1 acute gastrointestinal toxicity (5.3%) and grade 1 and 2 acute genitourinary toxicities (15.8%). No patients experienced dose-limiting toxicity (defined as a grade 3 or higher acute toxicity) or a grade 2 or higher late complication in this study period. One and two prostate-specific antigen relapses were observed in the 65-Gy and 70-Gy arms, respectively. CONCLUSIONUp to 70 Gy/2.5 Gy, equivalent to 80 Gy with a daily dose of 2.0 Gy, assuming α/β ratio of 1.5, intensity-modulated radiation therapy assisted with real-time tumor-tracking radiation therapy was administered safely with a reasonable biochemical control rate. A further dose-escalation study using this system is justifiable.


Dhiba port has a strategic location near the Neom project. Various anthropogenic activities contributed to the discharge of heavy metals and oil spill in the aquatic system and caused environmental pollution. Microalgae are the best microorganisms in aquatic conditions which known to be capable of eliminating contaminants. We investigate the heavy metals and hydrocarbons contaminations exhibited in five sites of port. Our aim is to determine the most contaminated sites then using Immobilized and fresh Chlorella vulgaris in bioremediation. The results indicated that Immobilized and fresh C. vulgaris have the capabilities of growing in contaminated seawater and were capable of removing heavy metals completely. Immobilized C. vulgaris is the most efficient in the degradation of hydrocarbons at site one. Overall, Immobilized C. vulgaris is the most effective in removing both heavy metals and hydrocarbon. It is an economic tool due to simplifying harvesting and then retaining for further processing.


The end of the First World War, with its dramatic changes, opens up the way for a fresh thing as regards Europe. From now on we will be dealing with a thinking balancing between two extremes. On one hand we will have the idea of a Confederation, an union of equals, free and democratic states. On the other side there is the vision of a united Europe under a totalitarian regime, a continent whose frontiers are gone due to the brute force of a totalitarian regime. The start of the Second World War will first favor the Nazis totalitarian ideas on the future of Europe. We will have then an united Europe under the German rule, with a dominant master race. On the opposite side the democratic speech on Europe tends to continue the Inter-war ideals. The Romanian thinkers are also influenced by the European ideas. If in the beginning their speech was influenced by the totalitarian influence, later on, as the tide of war changes they will go toward a more democratic version of the European construction. Europe must be united, the states must be equals and every European coordination mechanism must take into consideration the national sovereignty.


Advanced ceramic materials are increasingly employed in varied and new applications where improved electrical, mechanical and/or thermal properties are sought. For instance, in a manner similar to carbon or glass fiber reinforced plastics, ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are designed to improve the naturally brittle characteristics of monolithic ceramics thanks to the inclusion of fibers. Among the main interests for advanced ceramics are the increase in the operation temperature of components, the elimination of the use of cooling fluids, and weight savings. In this paper, the capabilities of infrared thermography and holographic interferometry are investigated and compared for the nondestructive assessment of advanced ceramic materials using three experimental specimens: (1) a monolithic green ceramic tile with fabricated defects, (2) a CMC specimen (from production reject) with a porous alumina matrix reinforced with glass fibers, and (3) a sandwich structure consisting on a carbon fiber honeycomb core with a ceramic plate bonded in one side.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the core dimensions of user experiences in a physical and technologically embedded learning environment (LE) designed to support active student-led inquiry-based studies and collaborative knowledge creation in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper integrated the USEframe of usability of built environments and the inquiry-based engaging learning environment (ELE) to test and develop the usability and pedagogy of future LEs. A group of ten teacher students was studied and interviewed semi-structurally after a seven-week inquiry-based course unit. The findings were considered in light of the two frameworks.

Findings

The physical and embedded LEs provided the students with socio-digital affordances that promoted experienced study engagement, knowledge co-creation and sharing and a sense of safety and belonging in the scientific community. The application of the ELE model and the agile physical setting complemented and supported each other and promoted learning.

Practical implications

The results shed light on how to integrate understanding the user process, user experience and use of embedded LEs to develop usability of new LEs.

Originality/value

The living lab provides different stakeholders with tangible information about usability and helps the designers in concrete streamlining of pedagogy and physical LEs.


This paper proposes a framework to simultaneously optimize the power quality (PQ) and protection coordination (PC) levels in a distributed energy resource (DER)-enabled microgrid with multiple connection modes. Introduction of DERs in a grid increases the fault currents. Different connection modes for these DERs lead to varying fault levels. Both phenomena jeopardize the PC. A solid-state unidirectional fault current limiter (SSUFCL) is used as an interface between the microgrid as downstream and the utility as upstream networks, which limits the downstream contribution to the upstream fault currents for increasing the PC and PQ margins, while it is disabled in the case of downstream faults to improve the PQ. In this way the complete coordination between upstream and downstream networks will be achieved. To simultaneously optimize the PC and PQ, the time and current settings of the over current relays (OCRs) and the characteristics of the SSUFCL are set. The optimization formulation of the PC problem is extracted. Fuzzy optimization technique is used to make a compromise between PQ and PC after objectives' fuzzification. Genetic algorithm is used to find the proper characteristics of the SSUFCL as well as the best settings of OCRs.


Research on non-native pronoun resolution has predominantly been concerned with (i) 'ordinary' 3rd person pronouns/anaphors like En. "he", "she", "they" or "himself", "herself", "themselves", (ii) language pairs involving English as the native (L1) or the foreign (L2) language, and (iii) the role that binding constraints and syntactic structure in general play in L2 versus L1 processing. The present paper – a follow-up study to Pitz et al. (2017) – deviates from this trend in all three respects: We investigate how L1-Norwegian learners
of L2-German interpret the two German possessive pronouns/determiners "sein" (≈ his) and "ihr" (≈ her or their), arguing that lexical divergence between the possessive systems, and in particular the formal similarity between binding-neutral L2-German "sein" and the L1-Norwegian reflexive possessive "sin", may enhance or interfere with L2 comprehension, depending on the structural conditions.
In Section 2 we briefly present the two possessive systems. Section 3 summarizes relevant research on pronoun resolution, with a special view to possessives. Sections 4–6 present a pilot study on L1-Norwegian learners' grammaticality judgments of "sein" and "ihr" in simple sentences (Sect. 5) and a forced-choice resolution experiment involving a group of L1-Norwegian learners with a background two or three years' teaching of L2-German at high-school level and a control group of native speakers of German (Sect. 6). The final Section 7 provides a summary and concluding discussion of our findings.


The gene MYO15A is involved in the production of a protein included in the group of motor proteins known as myosins. Myosin XVA is located in the inner ear, the pituitary gland and other tissues, and has a substantial influence on the hearing process. Mutations in this gene cause amino acid substitutions in the conserved motor domain of the myosin chain, leading to shortening of the stereocilia in the hair cells, so that the function of myosin XVA is impaired. A research hypothesis was put forth that mutations in the gene responsible for the hearing process in animals of the Canidae family can cause hypoacusis, as well as substantial behavioural changes in dogs (ranging from timidity to aggressive behaviour). The study determined SNP polymorphism in a fragment of the gene MYO15A, which can cause hearing disorders or hypoacusis, in wild and farmed individuals of the Canidae family.


Storied to fit into the sociocultural practices and the materiality of a place, the geography of imaginaries has expanded within the disciplinary lexicon since the beginning of the twenty-first century. This Focus section advances both theoretical and empirical approaches that demonstrate how cultural, technological, and environmental imaginaries emerge, coalesce, and circulate among policy actors and others involved in the governance of the environment. It aims to fill an existing gap between more general studies of imaginaries in science, technology, and innovation and applied approaches that deal with particular outcomes in the governance of the environment. The articles within this Focus section contribute three key insights to our understanding of the complex relationships between imagination and environmental governance. First, the articles demonstrate that there are always multiple imaginaries at play when it comes to the governance of the environment. Second, and relatedly, they also examine how global-spanning imaginaries related to climate change, biodiversity, food security, and urbanization get translated into local cultural contexts. Finally, the articles demonstrate that effective environmental governance requires imagination while also showing that imagination is not a panacea. Imagination, however, opens up possibilities for rethinking human–environment relationships for envisioning radically different futures.


In the description of the extrinsic geometry of the string world sheet regarded as a conformal immersion of a 2-d surface in R 3 , it was previously shown that, restricting to surfaces with h √ g = 1, where h is the mean scalar curvature and g is the determinant of the induced metric on the surface, leads to Virasaro symmetry. An explicit form of the effective action on such surfaces is constructed in this article which is the extrinsic curvature analog of the WZNW action. This action turns out to be the gauge invariant combination of the actions encountered in 2-d intrinsic gravity theory in light-cone gauge and the geometric action appearing in the quantization of the Virasaro group. This action, besides exhibiting Virasaro symmetry in z -sector, has SL (2 , C ) conserved currents in the ¯ z -sector. This allows us to quantize this theory in the ¯ z -sector along the lines of the WZNW model. The quantum theory on h √ g = 1 surfaces in R 3 is shown to be in the same universality class as the intrinsic 2-d gravity theory.


In this study the effect of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) radii on the droplets and on the required non-ionic surfactant volume for preparing water-in-oil microemulsions (MEs) was investigated. Five series of MEs were prepared either with the aid of isopropylpalmitate or medium chain triglycerides (MCTG) as continuous phases. The MEs were stabilized via either Tween80 or Span20 or a mixture of both. A mixture of water:DMSO (W:DMSO) with different ratios formed the colloidal phase of the first four MEs series. Only DMSO was used as colloidal phase of the fifth series. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was used for measuring the radii of the droplets of MEs. The results showed that the consumed volumes of the surfactants were related to the W:DMSO ratio and the surfactant type. Moreover, the consumed surfactant volumes increased with decreasing radii of the droplets of the MEs. The MEs stabilized with Span20 had lower radii of the droplets (4-15 nm) than MEs stabilized by Tween80 (25-65 nm). It was evident that DMSO changed the interfacial tension which is reflected by changing the the volume of the surfactant consumed and by altering the droplets sizes. Consequently, DMSO acted as co-surfactant in stabilizing the MEs by reducing the required volumes of the surfactant which is important for reducing their toxicity.