In this study we identify new transport technology options that could result in a 30 or 40% reduction in the road transport sectors' carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Finland by 2030 compared to the reference year 2005. In addition, we analyse the economic costs associated with each of these options with VATTAGE AGE model in order to find the most cost-efficient way to reduce the emissions in road transport. The analyses focus only on possible technology and propulsion options. The analyses are joint work with a group of engineers, other technical experts and economists.

First, a baseline scenario was created to facilitate the comparison of the economic results and to see how much road transport CO2 emissions might decrease without any intervention policies. Based on it additional measures are required to achieve a 30% or even 40% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030. Second, in total nine "technology specific scenarios" and a combination scenario including different technologies were developed in order to assess the technological possibilities to reduce road transport emissions and the economic impacts of reducing emissions with different technological options. The following propulsion technology options were assessed: drop-in biofuels, ethanol, (bio)gas, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles and hydrogen (fuel cell electric vehicles).

According to the AGE results, the economic impacts of the different technology scenarios vary greatly and based on them the most cost-optimal solution seems to be investing in domestic production of drop-in fuels and biogas to reduce road transport emissions in Finland. With these technologies a 40% drop in CO2 emissions can be reached. While these results are Finland specific, the methodologies for assessing the technological potentials and economic impacts of reducing road transport emissions are recommended for use also in other countries.


Intraosseous lipoma is a rare benign tumor, mostly occurring in lower limb especially in os calcis and the metaphyses of long bones. Intraosseous lipoma of the skull is even rarer, with 12 cases having been reported to involve the sphenoid bone in the literature. We present the third reported case of sphenoclival intraosseous lipoma in a 43-year-old man with headache, hyperprolactinemia and visual disturbance. Performed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) revealed pituitary macroadenoma as well as a mildly expansile lesion with high signal intensity on both T1- and T2-weighted sequences within the left greater wing of the sphenoid and the clivus. The patient refused to undergo surgical removal of pituitary macroadenoma and medical treatment was initiated instead; thereafter, follow up Computed Tomography (CT) and MRI scans revealed regression of the pituitary macroadenoma whereas the sphenoclival lesion was depicted as a welldefined fat-containing intraosseous lesion which showed no perceptible growth, 17 months later.


We are confronted with the most dramatic pandemic world-wide for the past 100 years. We are armed "to-the-teeth" compared to 1918, we know the agent, the genomic sequence, the bodily entry, the proliferation rate, the damage pathogenesis, and the very nature of our enemy. We can identify its bodily presence and our resistance to it in terms of neutralizing antibody production. Nonetheless, the disease has laid lame the great nations of the current world and crippled the less fortunate countries. The primary disease features are not the kidney. However, the entry point has much to do with renal and cardiovascular disease. The kidney is a common target of corona-virus (SARS-CoV2) disease; the longer-term consequences could be as well.


Abstract: Schiff bases and their metal complexes are versatile compounds which were synthesized from the condensation of an amino compound with carbonyl compounds. Schiff base ligand 1,1'-(1Z, 1'Z)-(propane-1,3-diylbis(azan-1-yl-1 ylidene))bis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)dinaphthalen-2-ol have been derived by condensation of 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde with propane-1,3-diamine. Metal complexes of Co , Ni , Cu, Zn and Pb have been synthesized using the synthesized Schiff base ligands. The ligands and metal complexes were characterized by melting point & spectral analysis such as IR, HNMR, C, GC-MS, UV-Vis. 3D molecular modeling and energies of ligands and all complexes are furnished and the analysis for bond length has been carried out for four of the complexes. IR data indicate coordination of –CH=N bond with the metal ion. UVVis spectra of ligand showed co-ordination through azomethine nitrogen. HNMR data taken reveals the presence of –CH=N.


It is a salient experimental fact that a large fraction of candidate spin liquid materials freeze as the temperature is lowered. The question naturally arises whether such freezing is intrinsic to the spin liquid ("disorder-free glassiness") or extrinsic, in the sense that a topological phase simply coexists with standard freezing of impurities. Here, we demonstrate a surprising third alternative, namely, that freezing and topological liquidity are inseparably linked. The topological phase reacts to the introduction of disorder by generating degrees of freedom of a new type (along with interactions between them), which in turn undergo a freezing transition while the topological phase supporting them remains intact.


Background: LncRNA H19 was believed to act as an oncogene in various types of tumors and was considered to be a therapeutic target and diagnosis marker. However, the role of lncRNA H19 in regulating the radiosensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells was unknown. However, the effects of lncRNA H19 on radiosensitivity of NSCLC were not clear. Methods: The expression profiles of lncRNAs were explored via transcriptome sequencing in NSCLC. The CCK-8, EDU, and clonogenicity survival assay were conducted to explore the proliferation and radiosensitivity in NSCLC cells. Results: Expression patterns of lncRNAs revealed that compared with A549 cells, lncRNA H19 was upregulated in radioresistant NSCLC(A549-R11) cells. Knockdown experiments revealed that lncRNA H19 enhanced the radiation sensitivity of both A549 and H460 cancer cell lines to X-rays and carbon ion irradiation. Mechanistically, lncRNA H19 upregulated With-No-Lysine Kinase 3 (WNK3) expression via serving as a sponge of miR-130a-3p and promoted the resistance of NSCLC cells to both X-rays and carbon ion irradiation. Conclusion: Knockdown of lncRNA H19 promoted the radiation sensitivity of NSCLC cells to X-rays and carbon ion irradiation. Hence, lncRNA H19 might function as a potential therapeutic target which enhance the anti-tumor effects of radiotherapy in NSCLC.


Youths are a formidable force in the agricultural production process, constituting a sizeable proportion of future progressive farmers and better citizens, especially in the rural areas. While their contribution towards attaining food security cannot be underestimated, their apparent lukewarm attitude towards agriculture is a source of concern and challenge to the development of agricultural extension. This study investigates rural youths' involvement in agricultural production activities in Delta Central Agricultural Zone of Delta State. Data were collected with the aid of questionnaire from 88 youths in the study area. Data analyses were through the use of percentages, means and correlation coefficient. Findings from the study showed that more than half (64.8%) of the youths were resident in rural areas and are mainly farmers (52.3%) involved mostly in arable crop production (69.3%). A greater percentage of the respondents (69.3%) expressed unfavourable attitude towards agriculture. Attitude correlates positively and significantly with participation in agricultural production activities (r=0.435) and influenced youths interest in agricultural activities. The need to provide social amenities and infrastructures that will make the youths live and work in the rural areas is emphasized. Also there is need to stimulate youths' interest in agriculture through effective rural youth agricultural extension programmes.


Prior studies have shown that genetic factors play important roles in ovarian endometriosis. Herein, we first analyzed the WES data from 158 patients with ovarian endometriosis and 385 local control women without endometriosis. Among which, a rare missense variant in the MMP7 (p.I79T, rs150338402) gene exhibited significant frequency difference. This rare variant was screened in an additional 1176 patients and 600 control women via direct DNA sequencing. Meanwhile, a total of 38 available clinical characteristics were collected. Our results showed 45 out of 1334 (3.37%) patients, while 15 out of 985 control women (1.52%) (P = 0.0076) harbored this rare variant, respectively. This rare variant was associated with clinical features such as follicle stimulating hormone (FSH, Padj = 0.0342), luteinizing hormone (LH, Padj = 0.0038), progesterone (PROG, Padj = 1.4e-7), testosterone (TESTO, Padj = 0.0923), total bilirubin (TBIL, Padj = 0.0699), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA, Padj = 0.0665), and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC, Padj = 0.0817), respectively. Functional assays showed this rare variant could promote cell migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and increase the proteolytic protein activity of MMP7, implicating that the increased capacities of cell invasion, migration, and EMT might be mediated by enhanced proteolytic activity of MMP7 mutant. These results showed the MMP7 rare missense variant (p.I79T) played important roles in the pathogenesis of ovarian endometriosis. In conclusion, we identified for the first time, a significantly enriched MMP7 rare variant in ovarian endometriosis; this rare variant was closely associated with certain clinical features in ovarian endometriosis, thus, it could be a promising early diagnostic biomarker for this disease.


This study was conducted to evaluate genetic components, heritability and correlation coefficient effects of the parents and their F1 for some agronomic as well as yield and yield traits. A line x tester cross was conducted among the ten parents (four lines and six testers) in 2010 to produce (24) F1 crosses evaluated during 2011. The results indicated that both GCA showed highly significant for all studied traits. The mean squares of lines x testers interaction (SCA) exhibited highly significant differences for all studied traits. Higher estimates for non-additive or dominance genetic variance was computed for number of panicles / plant, number of filled grains / panicle and grain yield / plant in comparison with its corresponding evaluates of additive genetic variance. Original Research Article Hefena et al.; JEAI, 14(5): xxx-xxx, 2016; Article no.JEAI.29743 2 Concerning to heritability estimates, high values were observed in broad sense heritability. Meanwhile, evaluate of narrow-sense heritability were low to moderate for number of panicles / plant, number of filled grains / panicle, 1000-grain weight and grain yield / plant. Heritability estimates in narrow sense were relatively low for panicle weight and spikelet fertility percentage. As for correlation for grain yield / plant the results recorded highly positive correlation coefficient with each number of days to heading, plant height, number of panicles / plant, panicle length, panicle weight, fertility percentage and 1000-grain weight.


Single-component multicolor luminescence, particularly phosphorescence materials are highly attractive both in numerous applications and in-depth understanding the light-emission processes, but formidable challenges still exist for preparing such materials. Herein, a very facile approach is reported to synthesize carbon dots (CDs) (named MP-CDs) that exhibit multicolor fluorescence (FL), and more remarkably, multicolor long-lived room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) under ambient conditions. The FL and RTP colors of the CDs powder are observed to change from blue to green and cyan to yellow, respectively, with the excitation wavelength shifting from 254 to 420 nm. Further studies demonstrate that the multicolor emissions can be attributed to the existence of multiple emitting centers in the CDs and the relatively higher reaction temperature plays a critical role for achieving RTP. Given the unique optical properties, a preliminary application of MP-CDs in advanced anti-counterfeiting is presented. This study not only proposes a strategy to prepare photo-stimulated multicolor RTP materials, but also reveals great potentials of CDs in exploiting novel optical materials with unique properties.


Thought Action Fusion (TAF) is defined as tought and action percieved as equivalent to each other or as an exaggerated power given to idea. With the usage of "Thought Action Fusion Scale" which is created by Shafran (1996), is began to investigate its role in psychopathologies. Researches about the three-component structure which has TAF-Likelihood-Self, TAF-Likelihood-Others, TAF-Moral, are concentrated especially around the obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). TAF alleged including a certain level also in the normal population, was seen in the relationship with the inflated responsability in OCD, thought suppression and neutralising, was tried to explain the direction of this relationship in the mediationel model framework.


A simple formula based on transmission line modeling (TLM) is proposed to determine the impedance bandwidth upper frequency limit for a staircase-profile planar monopole antenna. After a brief description of TLM analogy for planar monopoles, the formula is derived from a theoretical exposition. Accordingly, four prototypes are designed, implemented and measured in such a way that they are required to cover direct sequence ultrawideband (DS-UWB) first band (up to 4.85 GHz), UWB (up to 10.6 GHz) and possible future broadband systems (e.g., up to 15 and 21.4 GHz). The formula predicts this limit with a maximum error of 7.4% in the prototypes studied. The height of the antennas is chosen so that they help to filter WLAN 5 GHz band on the H-plane. This condition determines the lower impedance bandwidth limit (1.3 GHz for all of them). The resulting improvement on antenna system transfer functions (ASTF) is also discussed.


In 33 patients, a significant fall in the fibrinogen level occurred during an operation to replace the abdominal aorta by a bifurcated prosthesis. There was a similar, but less marked, fall in the fibrinogen level of ten patients having a femoropopliteal vein bypass. A concomitant drop in the plasma plasminogen value was also found. Results of specific laboratory tests for intravascular clotting and activation of fibrinolysis were negative. This suggests that fibrinogen may be removed by physical means. The fall in fibrinogen was so low in some patients that the routine administration of a conventional dosage of heparin could be dangerous.


In this work a novel method for production of silicon carbide (SiC) pieces, which involves the heating of silicon (Si) preforms immersed in graphite powder is presented. Such preforms were obtained via low-pressure injection molding (LPIM), although any other conformation route can be used. The process can be carried out at modest temperatures and gradients in standard furnaces used for processing other ceramics. These features make this process a simpler and cheaper alternative, when compared with other methods of SiC fabrication. The variables affecting the process have been identified, and an optimum-heating ramp has been established. Under these conditions, the obtained SiC products show no remnant-free Si, and their mechanical behavior allows their use in several less-demanding SiC applications, for which expensive high-performance SiC products are unaffordable. In the proposed chain of reactions, CO(g) is responsible for the carburization of the pieces. All phases present are identified, and their distribution is explained by means of competitive reactions. In our opinion, this novel method can be extended to an industrial scale because it is simple and involves cheap raw materials.


A novel partnership between surgeons and machines, made possible by advances in computing and engineering technology, could overcome many of the limitations of traditional surgery. By extending surgeons' ability to plan and carry out surgical interventions more accurately and with less trauma, Computer-Integrated Surgery (CIS) systems could help to improve clinical outcomes and the efficiency of health care delivery. CIS systems could have a similar impact on surgery to that long since realized in Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). Mathematical modeling and computer simulation have proved tremendously successful in engineering. Computational mechanics has enabled technological developments in virtually every area of our lives. One of the greatest challenges for mechanists is to extend the success of computational mechanics to fields outside traditional engineering, in particular to biology, the biomedical sciences, and medicine.Computational Biomechanics for Medicine Workshop series was established in 2006 with the first meeting held in Copenhagen. The third workshop was held in conjunction with the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention Conference (MICCAI 2008) in New York on 10 September 2008. It provided an opportunity for specialists in computational sciences to present and exchange opinions on the possibilities of applying their techniques to computer-integrated medicine.Computational Biomechanics for Medicine III was organized into two streams: Computational Biomechanics of Soft Tissues, and Computational Biomechanics of Tissues of Musculoskeletal System. The application of advanced computational methods to the following areas was discussed: - Medical image analysis; - Image-guided surgery; - Surgical simulation; - Surgical intervention planning; - Disease prognosis and diagnosis; - Injury mechanism analysis; - Implant and prostheses design; - Medical robotics.After rigorous review of full (eight-to-twelve page) manuscripts we accepted 15 papers, collected in this volume. They were split equally between podium and poster presentations. The proceedings also include abstracts of two invited lectures by world-leading researchers Professor Chwee Teck Lim from national University of Singapore and Dr. David Lloyd from The University of Western Australia.Information about Computational Biomechanics for Medicine Workshops, including Proceedings of previous meetings is available at http://cbm.mech.uwa.edu.au/ .We would like to thank the MICCAI 2008 organizers for help with administering the Workshop, invited lecturers for deep insights into their research fields, the authors for submitting high quality work, and the reviewers for helping with paper selection.


Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Clinical examination has limited ability to assess injury severity or predict outcome. The identification of pathology- specific biomarkers can assist in the diagnosis and estimation of prognosis, and can serve as surrogate markers for monitoring the effectiveness of a treatment. Most of these biomarkers are mediators of responses to injury and subsequent cell damage or cell death. For patients with severe TBI, a biomarker may be helpful to predict which patients are likely to experience secondary insults and help prognosticate. The aims of this study were the correlations amongs biomarkers of brain injury in children with severity of brain injury, mortality and prediction of the final outcome.


This chapter looks at how the ideas discussed in the literature on online communities and communities of practice have been applied to the development of two European "blended" communities: communities with both online and face-to-face components. The chapter discusses the development and support of two communities of science teachers located in Ireland and Bulgaria as a way to support the development of an online portal. We discuss the communities in relation to recognized criteria and features that may be conducive to the success of small communities, and specifically online communities and how these relate to the different stages of resource development. Sociotechnical findings indicate the need to blend the face-to-face meetings with electronic communications. The role of a key respected teacher/educator was also a pivotal feature in gaining the trust and respect of other participants at an initial stage.


This work on Hiratsuka Raicho at last fully assesses her key role in the history of the Japanese women's movement. It provides a full and contextual analysis of the life (1886-1971) and work of this leading Japanese feminist, all in the light of the changes affecting women in Japan. At the same time the author compares her working with similar historical shifts and movements in western countries, notably Great Britain and the United States. International comparisons at the level of personal biography and associated ideas are made, to see the influence of Western feminists on Hiratsuka's feminism. Hiratsuka is compared with other Japanese feminists, whereby her pivotal role in the history of the Japanese women's movement becomes clear. With extensive footnotes for further reference - and research -, a number of appendices, a detailed bilingual glossary and bibliography; a true reference on an important subject.


This article is based on an observation of the present and on some questions about the possibilities and limits of the transmission of a set of ideas - principles, values, methodologies, knowledge etc. - over time. Feminism, as a political and collective movement, which demands recognition and legitimacy, presumes strategies of permanent formation, and is confronted from time to time, with struggles that are related to its existence in the present and to its continuity in the future. The article aims at questioning concepts about the aging of the generations who gave support to feminist politics during the Brazilian re-democratization process in the late 1970s, which constituted itself the heritage of the so called "second wave". Our perspective aims to interrogate processes of social change, understood as contingent and also necessary, to a politics of intergenerational transmission.


Uridine transport and phosphorylation were studied in cultured Swiss 3T3 CHO-K1 cells, differing in their growth characteristics. Uridine was shown to be transported to the cell with a high rate. With the 2 micronM uridine concentration in the medium, the stationary level of free uridine in cells is reached 10 seconds following incubation at 25 degrees, and the further uridine uptake is limited by phosphorylation.. The uridine transport to the cell does not depend on the DNA synthesis level and the growth phase of 3T3 and CHO-K1 cells. With the increase in culture density, the rate of uridine phosphorylation decreases in 3T3 cells being actually unchanged in CHO-K1 cells. With the equal cell density in both the cases, the phosphorylation rate in CHO-K1 cells is by several times higher than that in 3T3 cells. A positive correlation between uridine phosphorylation rate and DNA synthesis has been observed under various cultivation condition of CHO-K1 cells.


Background: The purpose was to determine if follow-up of infants with Graf Type I hip at screening is required. Methods: Overall, 526 hips in 263 infants (61 males and 202 females) born between April 2015 and March 2018 who underwent primary screening for hip dislocation and presented to our department for secondary hip dislocation examination were included. Among these, 250 (59 males and 191 females) infants had bilateral Graf Type I hips for a total of 500 hips. Ultrasound results and physical examination at the initial visit and after 3 months were compared. X-rays were taken at the age of 1 year, and the proportion of infants with an acetabular index of 30° or greater was evaluated. Results: There were 0 hips that deteriorated from Graf Type I to II or higher among the infants. There were also 25 infants with abduction limitations in flexion at the initial visit, which was still present in 3 out of 23 infants 3 months later. There were 49 infants with asymmetry of the femoral or inguinal skin creases at the initial visit, which was still present in 9 out of 48 infants 3 months later. At the age of 1 year, an acetabular index of 30° or greater was observed in 35 out of 402 hips (8.7%).Conclusion: Ultrasounds at 3 months later were not required in any of the infants with Graf Type I hip at initial diagnosis. Some infants were diagnosed with acetabular dysplasia at the age of 1 year.


CASE REPORT
A 21-week-old Maine Coon cat presented with an acute-onset coagulopathy. Severe concurrent thrombocytopenia and neutropenia were identified on peripheral blood smears and bone marrow cytology supported a peripheral consumptive process. Other than mild superficial haemorrhage, the cat was clinically well and screening for retroviral diseases, abdominal ultrasound examination, thoracic radiography, haematology and biochemistry panels did not identify an underlying disease. There was no historical pharmaceutical or toxicological trigger noted and the cat was from an area without endemic Ehrlichia spp. There was a rapid resolution of both cytopenias following treatment with immunosuppressive doses of prednisolone, though a mild relapse occurred during gradual prednisolone withdrawal and was responsive to a dose increase.

CONCLUSIONS
This report describes this combination of diseases for the first time in a cat and presents a younger patient than previously described with feline primary immune-mediated haematological disease.


Sickle cell disease can damage blood vessels in the eye and cause scarring and detachment of the retina, which can lead to blindness. The purpose of the study is to determine the eye manifestations in Nigerian children with sickle cell anemia. Child ren (aged 6months to 16years) with sickle cell anaemia were examined for ocular abnormalities from 1 st January to 31st June 2010 at the Ophthalmology Clinic of the University of Port Harc ourt Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Routine ophthalmic examination included measurement of visu al acuity, inspection of the adnexa and cornea, refraction, slit-lamp examination and dilated fundo scopy. 94 children examined, 64(68.1%) were males and 30 (31.9%) were females. Ocular abnormalities w ere found in 32 (34.0%) children. Conjunctival signs were present in 8(8.5%) of the children, reti nal vascular tortuosity in 13(13.8 %), arteriovenou s crossing in 1(1.1%), optic nerve pallor in 10(10.6% ) and glaucoma 1(1.1%). Ocular abnormalities are common. However, no evidence of proliferative retin opathy was found in this study which is in tandem with those previously published in Africa.


This is a case report of a 44-year-old male living in Teresopolis, RJ, Brazil, probably poisoned by contact with a Lonomia caterpillar, who presented hemolytic anemia, decreased platelet count and acute renal insufficiency. Lonomia erucism diagnosis was established by anamnesis and clinical and laboratory manifestations. Therapeutic measures consisting of hemotransfusion and hemodialysis were successful. Physiopathologic and clinical features of erucism by Lonomia are discussed.


A previously published measurement of the ground state resonance of 10 He, populated by a reaction of a 59 MeV/u 14 Be beam on a deuterated polyethylene target, was further analyzed to search for 4 n emission resulting from 2p removal. No evidence for 4n events was found. A lower limit of about 1 MeV was determined for a possible resonance in 12 He.


Production of the antibiotic actinorhodin was activated in Streptomyces lividans under conditions in which it is not normally produced when transformed with an activator gene from S. lividans. The gene encodes a 86-nucleotide transcript, responsible for the actinorhodin production phenotype, which is homologous to the 132 nucleotide transcript from S. fradiae, thought to act as a putative antisense RNA.


This guide provides readers with the text of, and a commentary on, the key European treaties. These include: the treaty establishing the European Community (Treaty of Rome), the treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty), and the Treaty of Amsterdam. It seeks to make the text easily available and provides an accessible introduction to the treaties and their significance, not just for the European Union, but also for the public at large.


The national unemployment rate is a closely watched monthly economic statistic. It provides a measure of the health of the labor market and is one of many statistical gauges of economic conditions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the national unemployment rate as well as unemployment rates for the 50 states and many sub-state areas. This Research Rap Special Report looks at unemployment rates at one of these sub-state levels — the metropolitan area — in the three states in the Third Federal Reserve District: Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Metropolitan area unemployment rates provide information not only about current local labor market conditions but also about the long-term features of the economies of individual metropolitan areas.


Except in MD Anderson Center, seric β2-m is not recognized as a strong prognostic factor in CLL and seric LDH too, despite this factor is more and more important among lymphoma with a continuous prognostic value. So we studied 248 CLL aged less than 75 yrs, without elevated creatininemia or evident hemolysis. There were 201 pts with stage A, 29 B and 18 C and sex-ratio M/F was 1.48. Median survival time is 10 yrs and median "corrected" (i.e., without not CLL-related deaths including those due to a solid tumor because this complication is independent of initial prognostic factors of CLL) survival time is 10.9 yrs. LDH values range from 0.55 to 3.54 N, and mean and median values are 1.05±0.40 and 0.96 N. LDH level is only correlated with blood lymphocytosis and hemoglobin levels studied as continuous values (p=0.015 and 0.002). When looking at "corrected" survival, all cut-off values from 0.75 N, N, 1.25 N… to 2.5 N are statistically significant but the best one is 1.25 N (p=6 10 −6 ). β2-m values range from 0.81 to 16.5 mg per l, and mean and median values are 2.67±1.75 and 2.15 mg. When studied as continuous values, β2-m is linked to age, number of lymphoid areas according to Binet's system, and hemoglobin and platelets levels (p=0.0009, −4 , −4 and 0.003) but age was ruled out among patients less than 70 yrs. For "corrected" survival, all cut-off values except 1.25 mg were significant and for example p value at 4 mg level as usually used by MD Anderson Center, is 5 10 −5 . However we find that the best cut-off value is 3 mg (p −6 ) and this value is statistically independent from LDH one in Cox model. We tried to combine these 2 cut-off values. Product of observed LDH/1.25 N × observed β2-m/3 mg were pertinent to isolate pts with a very poor prognosis (median "corrected" survival time about 6 yrs) but size of pejorative subgroups were small ( ≈ 25% of all pts) and other subgroups were not statistically significant. When adding ratios, results were similar. So we find that the best system is to count the number of pejoratives factors, i.e., LDH > 1.25 N and β2-m > 3 mg. Global median survival times of the 3 defined groups were respectively > 10.8 yrs (160 pts), 6.5 yrs (68 pts) and 4.2 yrs (20 pts) with a p value −6 . This system is also efficient among stage A pts (p=10 −5 ). When we compare this prognostic system with Binet's and Rai's prognostic systems, Cox model rules out Binet's one and keeps Rai's system and ours (p=0.01 and 0.0005). Among patients with stage A, Cox model keeps only this LDH and β2-m system. We conclude on the strong prognostic values of seric LDH and β2-m initial levels in CLL and we claim that these 2 simple biological parameters have to been compared with "modern" biological prognostic factors of CLL.


This paper presents a study of sensor data from a person who developed Alzheimer's disease during a 4-year monitoring period and who is monitored with simple ambient sensors in her home. Our aim is to find data analysis methods that reveal relevant changes in the sensor pattern that occur before the diagnosis. We focus on the quantification of regularity, which is identified as a relevant indicator for the assessment of a disease such as Alzheimer's. Two unsupervised methods are studied. Restricted Boltzmann Machines are trained and the resulting weights are visualized to see whether there are changes in regularity in the behavioral pattern. Fast Fourier Transformation is applied to the sensor data and the spectral characteristics are determined and compared with the same purpose. Both methods reveal changes in the pattern between different periods. Both methods therefore are useful in quantifying and understanding changes in the regularity of the daily pattern.


Pakisaurus  remains has been found from the latest Cretaceous Vitakri Formation (previous upper member of Pab Formation) in Kinwa, Bor, Top Kinwa, Shalghara, Sangiali, Alam Kali Kakor (north), Zubra, Darwaza, Grut, Dolvahi east, and some other localities of Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan. These fossils provide head to tail and back to foot morphology. Multipurpose tail special with trispinous distalmost caudal centrum of Pakisaurus of Pakisauridae and some or all  genera  of Pakisauridae  and  Balochisauridae  found  from Pakistan provide a new  look  of  titanosaurs. The  skull discoveries of Pakisaurus (Marisaurus and Balochisaurus) add the skull diversity of titanosaurs from Pakistan. The Pakisaurus skull represents widely spaced teeth, and fibrous laminations on external surface of jaw and large open internal cells in the interior jaw rami.  Due  to dearth  of cranial data and lack of common associated elements in titanosaurs has left even the most basic skeletal morphology of the clade controversial and has precluded detailed study of its higher and lower level phylogeny, but now Pakistan has this advantage which produced associated cranial, axial and appendicular elements of Pakisaurus (Marisaurus and Balochisaurus).  The  Pakisaurus, Marisaurus, Balochisaurus, Rapetosaurus, some Argentinean and Mongolian forms have great potential to resolve paleobiogeography, lower and higher level phylogeny of titanosaurs. Cretaceous Tertiary (K-T) boundary is well exposed on the western continental margin of Indo-Pakistan plate like Kirthar and Sulaiman basins, and on the northwestern margin like Kohat and Potwar basins. The K-T boundary sharing formations which are well exposed in the Kirthar and Sulaiman basins are the Late Cretaceous Pab/Vitakri Formation, and Paleocene Sangiali/Khadro Formation, however near to Axial belt the Cretaceous Parh and Mughal Kot formations  and  Paleocene  Dungan Formation. Geological formations below and above the K-T boundary, in  the western Salt Range are Chichali and Hangu; in the Surghar Range are  Lumshiwal and Hangu;  and  in the  Kohat and Kala  Chitta-Hazara areas are Kawagarh and Hangu formations. Cretaceous Chichali/Lumshiwal Formation and Tertiary Siwalik Group represent the Infra Tertiary boundary in the Sheikh Buddin hills and Marawat Range. In Central and Eastern Salt Range, Hazara and Kashmir the boundary is represented between the varying Tertiary rocks with also varying older rocks such as Precambrian, Paleozoic and Mesozoic units. K-T boundary in Pakistan represents wide exposures of marine as well as continental condition. Indus Basin of Pakistan holds a large number of section sites for lateral and vertical rapid environmental/climate change in the retaceous greenhouse world. Pakistan has much potential for the study of marine as well as terrestrial Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata, its boundaries, floras and faunas, paleoclimates, extinctions, phylogeny and paleobiogeography.


In heroic history of science, Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) is ever the foil, a lesser light reflecting a greater glory. One biographer dubs him "Darwin's Moon." No lunatic, Wallace independently worked out a theory of evolution, which Darwin called "natural selection" and for which he scooped the kudos by rushing into print with On the Origin of Species. Wallace remained the perfect gent but stubbornly went his own way. Within a decade he and Darwin had parted company on a range of issues. Most remarkably, Wallace came out believing in a world of purposive spirits and a Spiritual Power directing evolution. He saw seances as "a new branch of Anthropology." Darwin and his defenders were unconvinced. How they dealt with Wallace illustrates the making of Science (with a capital "S") and reminds us that sciences once made can be made again.


Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) isolates are responsible for many bloodstream infections. The aim of this study was to characterize E. coli isolated from the bloodstreams of patients (n = 48) at the University Hospital in Brazil. Epidemiological data were obtained through the analysis of medical records and laboratory tests. By PCR analysis, we investigated the presence of virulence factors (VFs), pathogenicity islands (PAIs), extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), phylogenetic classifications (A, B1, B2, C, D, E, and F) and molecular genotype by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR). The mortality analysis showed that 33.3% of the deaths were associated with bacteraemia due to E. coli infections; in addition, an age between 60 and 75 years (p < 0.001; OR = 6.3[2.1–18.9]) and bacteraemia with an abdominal origin (p = 0.02; OR = 5[1.2–20.5]) were risk factors for the severity of the infection. Additionally, the presence of the afa gene was associated with mortality due to E. coli bacteraemia (p = 0.027; OR = 11.4[1.5–85.7]). Immunosuppression (27.1%), intestinal diseases (25.0%) and diabetes (18.8%), were prevalent among patients, and most of the bacteraemia cases were secondary to urinary tract infections (50.0%). The serum resistance gene traT was present in 77.1% of isolates, group capsular 2 (kpsMT II) was present in 45.8% and the K5 capsule was present in 20.8% of isolates. The isolates also showed a high prevalence for the siderophore yersiniabactina (fyuA) (70.8%) and PAI IV536 (77.1%). Phylogenetic analysis showed that group B2 (45.8%) was the most prevalent, and was the phylogroup that had a higher prevalence of VFs and PAIs. However, in this study, a considerable number of isolated bacteria were classified as group B1 (18.8%) and as group E (14.6%). Eight (16.7%) isolates were resistant to third and fourth generation cephalosporin and group CTX-M-1 (CTX-M-15) was the most prevalent ESBL type. The molecular genotyping showed two clonal lineages and several isolates that were not related to each other. This study provides additional information on the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of E. coli bloodstream infections in Brazil.


This paper deals with some of the methodologies used to construct polynomial surrogate models based on generalized polynomial chaos (gPC) expansions for applications to uncertainty quantification (UQ) in aerodynamic computations. A core ingredient in gPC expansions is the choice of a dedicated sampling strategy, so as to define the most significant scenarios to be considered for the construction of such metamodels. A desirable feature of the proposed rules shall be their ability to handle several random inputs simultaneously. Methods to identify the relative "importance" of those variables or uncertain data shall be ideally considered as well. The present work is more particularly dedicated to the development of sampling strategies based on sparsity principles. Sparse multi-dimensional cubature rules based on general one-dimensional Gauss-Jacobi-type quadratures are first addressed. These sets are non nested, but they are well adapted to the probability density functions with compact support for the random inputs considered in this study. On the other hand, observing that the aerodynamic quantities of interest (outputs) depend only weakly on the cross-interactions between the variable inputs, it is argued that only low-order polynomials shall significantly contribute to their surrogates. This "sparsity-of-effects" trend prompts the use of reconstruction techniques benefiting from the sparsity of the outputs, such as compressed sensing (CS). CS relies on the observation that one only needs a number of samples proportional to the compressed size of the outputs, rather than their uncompressed size, to construct reliable surrogate models. The results obtained with the test case considered in this work corroborate this expected feature.


Abstract The Japanese sea lion, Zalophus japonicus, is an extinct pinniped species, which had inhabited along the coast of the Japanese archipelago and Korean peninsula. Its mitochondrial genome was determined by the assembly of PCR amplicons from the skeletal remains excavated from the Ulleungdo, South Korea. The whole mitogenome was 16,698 bp in length, which encoded 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNA), 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNA), an origin of light-strand replication (OL), and a control region (D-loop). Unusual start codons were identified in ND2 (ATA), ND3 (ATA), and ND5 (ATC), while COIII, ND3, and ND4 were terminated with an incomplete stop codon (T–/TA-). Phylogenetic analysis showed that Z. japonicus was a sister species to Z. californianus with 98.61% nucleotide sequence identity among 11 pinniped species in the infraorder Pinnipedia, which supported the previous results. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Z. japonicus would be valuable information for its restoration and the evolutional understandings of pinniped species in the Pacific Ocean.


An element a of the Banach algebra A is said to be regular provided there is an element b belonging to A such that a = aba. In this note we study the set of regular elements in the Calkin algebra C(X) over an infinite-dimensional complex Banach space X.


The human histamine H4-receptor (hH4R) possesses high constitutive activity and, like the human H1-receptor (hH1R), is involved in the pathogenesis of type-I allergic reactions. The study aims were to explore the value of dual H1/H4R antagonists as antiallergy drugs and to address the question of whether H1R ligands bind to hH4R. In an acute murine asthma model, the H1R antagonist mepyramine and the H4R antagonist 1-[(5-chloro-1H-indol-2-yl)carbonyl]-4-methyl-piperazine (JNJ 7777120) exhibited synergistic inhibitory effects on eosinophil accumulation in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. At the hH4R expressed in Sf9 insect cells, 18 H1R antagonists and 22 H1R agonists showed lower affinity to hH4R than to hH1R as assessed in competition binding experiments. For a small number of H1R antagonists, hH4R partial agonism was observed in the steady-state GTPase assay. Most compounds were neutral antagonists or inverse agonists. Twelve phenylhistamine-type hH1R partial agonists were also hH4R partial agonists. Four histaprodifen-type hH1R partial agonists were hH4R inverse agonists. Dimeric histaprodifen was a more efficacious hH4R inverse agonist than the reference compound thioperamide. Suprahistaprodifen was the only histaprodifen acting as hH4R partial agonist. Suprahistaprodifen was docked into the binding pocket of inactive and active hH4R models in two different orientations, predominantly stabilizing the active state of hH4R. Collectively, the synergistic effects of H1R and H4R antagonists in an acute asthma model and the overlapping interaction of structurally diverse H1R ligands with hH1R and hH4R indicate that the development of dual H1R/H4R antagonists is a worthwhile and technically feasible goal for the treatment of type-I allergic reactions.


INTRODUCTION
Early and precise diagnosis is necessary in successful treatment of the patients with Cushing's disease. Transsphenoidal surgery is the first line treatment option in Cushing's disease. In patients in whom magnetic resonance imaging does not visualise pituitary adenoma patient selection for surgical treatment should be based on convincing results of functional tests.

OBJECTIVES
The diagnostic accuracy of the desmopressin test was compared with that of the CRH test and the overnight high-dose dexamethasone suppression test in the diagnosis of Cushing's disease.

DESIGN AND METHOD
We studied 15 patients with pituitary-dependent Cushing's disease (10 with detected microadenoma and 5 with undetected microadenoma using magnetic resonance imaging). The diagnosis was confirmed during pituitary surgery. The control group included 15 subjects without Cushing's syndrome. Patients underwent tests with desmopressin, CRH and 8 mg overnight dexamethasone.

RESULTS
A false negative response to CRH was present in 1 of 15 patients, a false negative response t dexamethasone was present in 1 of 15 patients and a false negative response to desmopressin in 2 of 15 patients. In other patients positive responses to CRH, desmopressin and dexamethasone were found. A positive response to desmopressin was present in 4 of 5 patients with undetected pituitary adenoma. In the control group a positive response to CRH and dexamethazone and a negative response to desmopressin was found in all patients.

CONCLUSIONS
1. The highest diagnostic accuracy in the diagnosis of some patients with Cushing's disease is achieved by using a desmopressin test with high-dose dexamethasone test and CRH-test. 2. The desmopressin test can be used to precisely identify healthy individuals.


Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations occur in about 50% of lung adenocarcinomas in Asia and about 15% in the US. EGFR mutation-specific inhibitors have been developed and made significant contributions to controlling EGFR mutated non-small cell lung cancer. However, resistance frequently develops within 1 to 2 years due to acquired mutations. No effective approaches that target mutant EGFR have been developed to treat relapse following tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment. Vaccination against mutant EGFR is one area of active exploration. In this study, we identified immunogenic epitopes for the common EGFR mutations in humans and formulated a multi-peptide vaccine (Emut Vax) targeting the EGFR L858R, T790M, and Del19 mutations. The efficacy of the Emut Vax was evaluated in both syngeneic and genetic engineered EGFR mutation-driven murine lung tumor models with prophylactic settings, where the vaccinations were given before the onset of the tumor induction. The multi-peptide Emut Vax effectively prevented the onset of EGFR mutation-driven lung tumorigenesis in both syngeneic and genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs). Flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing were conducted to investigate the impact of Emut Vax on immune modulation. Emut Vax significantly enhanced Th1 responses in the tumor microenvironment and decreased suppressive Tregs to enhance anti-tumor efficacy. Our results show that multi-peptide Emut Vax is effective in preventing common EGFR mutation-driven lung tumorigenesis, and the vaccine elicits broad immune responses that are not limited to anti-tumor Th1 response.


THE EFFECT OF ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI AND SOIL PHOSPHORUS LEVEL ON SELECTION FOR SHOOT PHOSPHORUS CONTENT AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC RATE IN LOBELIA SIPHILITICA. Emma Bothwell Advisor: University of Guelph, 2015 Hafiz Maherali Adaptation occurs by natural selection favoring traits that maximize fitness in a given environment. Interactions between species may influence selection, and the influence may depend on environmental conditions. The interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and plants is likely to influence selection on resource-related traits as it involves fungi providing nutrients for the plant in exchange for sugars from photosynthesis. AM fungi are most beneficial to plants in low nutrient soils and so their influence on selection may be strongest in this context. I tested for the effect of inoculation with AM fungi and soil phosphorus level on selection for shoot phosphorus and photosynthesis by growing Lobelia siphilitica with and without AM fungi in low and high phosphorus soils. The results indicate that AM fungi increase plant fitness most in poor nutrient conditions, and that despite important trait responses the effect of the symbiosis on trait selection is minimal.


The parental experience of caring for a child following the unexpected admission and surgery for a significant hip injury has largely been unexplored in the New Zealand (NZ) context. Slipped Upper Femoral Epiphysis (SUFE) is one of the most common orthopaedic hip disorders prevalent amongst children between the ages of nine to fifteen years. In New Zealand, Māori and Pacific children are the most vulnerable population at risk of this hip condition. Existing literature focuses on the demographic and epidemiological studies, including surgical treatment and management of SUFE; however, there is a dearth of research concerning SUFE that focuses on parents' experiences in the postoperative, discharge and rehabilitative phases of care and the nurses' experience of caring for these children and their families.
This qualitative study was undertaken at a large public hospital in New Zealand and interpretive descriptive methodology was utilised to examine the experiences of parents and nurses in caring for a child following invasive SUFE repair. As Māori and Pacific Island populations are highly represented in the SUFE statistics, most of the parents used in this study are from these socio-cultural backgrounds. Through transcribed semi-structured interviews with parents of five children who underwent SUFE repair, and five paediatric nurses caring for children and their families in the hospital ward, this study offers two perspectives of the journey for these parents following such an injury, from the child's hospitalisation to caring for these children once they are home. Following thematic analysis, these perspectives are presented and contrasted revealing, insights of the parents' ongoing need for support, information and planning for care and nurses' efforts to meet these needs. Implications of nursing practice and parental education include the need for improved information sharing and delivery to aid parents understanding of the SUFE condition and effective management of care during hospitalisation and at home following discharge. Recommendations are made to improve the parental experience to support their child's recovery following SUFE surgery.
Key Words:SUFE, Parents and caregivers, Māori and Pacific populations, Nurses


The cutting and packing problem is the process of cutting small pieces of certain sizes and proportions from materials used for different purposes in industries. Because this problem cannot be expressed by mathematical models, combinational optimization in multidimensional space is utilized for the solution. The aim of this problem is to increase the usability of the material used for the placement process and to minimize the trim loss. In this study, a solution is presented to two-dimensional regular cutting and packing problem by a combined method consisting of improved bottom-left, bottom-left fill placement algorithms, no-fit polygon and first fit decreasing heuristic algorithms. The improved bottom-left placement algorithm for the placement of parts starting from the bottom-left part according to a certain permutation order, bottom-left fill algorithm for the placement of suitable pieces to the available free spaces in placement model, no-fit polygon method for preventing the geometric overlap between the parts and the first fit decreasing heuristic algorithm is used as the selection algorithm after ordering from large to small according to the parts areas. Placement process and performance evaluation was performed for 11 different test data. As a result of the studies carried out with combined heuristic methods, it is seen that there is a placement without any waste in P2 and P10 placement models. This shows that the optimal solution is obtained. In other placement models, a trim loss was obtained between 4.54% and 16.7%. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed heuristic methods for the solution of the cutting and packing problem.


Amager unit 1 is a 350 MW th multifuel suspension-fired plant commissioned in 2009 which fires biomass. Increasing corrosion problems in the flue gas cleaning system have been observed since 2011 in both the gas-gas preheater and the booster fan and booster fan duct. A root cause analysis concluded that corrosion occurs due to corrosion products/deposit formed during operation; however it was unclear whether the majority of corrosion occurred during operation or downtime. In both cases the chlorine content in the flue gas results in the presence of chlorine species such as HCl, KCl or chlorine containing corrosion products. Without knowing when corrosion occurs, it is difficult to take reasonable measures to reduce corrosion. In order to gain an improved understanding of the corrosion problem, an on-line corrosion measurement system was established before the booster fan. The corrosion rates measured with respect to time were correlated to plant data such as load, temperature, gas composition, water content as well as change in the fuel used. From these results it is clear that many shutdowns/start-ups influence corrosion and therefore cause decreased lifetime of components and increased maintenance. A fuel change from a mix of straw and wood pellets to only wood pellets has also decreased corrosion.


Is there any difference in embryo euploidy rates following luteal phase phase (LS) and follicular phase (FS) start ovarian stimulation.

 The number of euploid blastocysts and embryo euploidy rate are comparable when comparing FS and LS.

 Random start ovarian stimulation (starting at any time of the cycle) has been traditionally used in women undergoing urgent fertility preservation for medical reason. Although there is accumulating evidence that in infertile women, LS can result in equivalent number of oocytes and embryos as compared with FS, no study has evaluated the effect of luteal phase start ovarian stimulation on embryo euploidy rates. The current study is the first prospective study designed to evaluate embryo euploidy rates in donors undergoing two identical consecutive ovarian stimulation protocols within a period of 6 months starting either in the (FS), or (LS).

 In a prospective study, conducted between May 2018 and January 2020, 40 oocyte donors underwent two consecutive ovarian stimulation protocols within a period of 6 months with an identical fixed GnRH antagonist protocol starting either in the early follicular (FS), or and luteal menstrual cycle phase (LS).

 All participants underwent two identical consecutive ovarian stimulation cycles with 150μg corifollitropin alfa followed by 200 IU rFSH in a fixed GnRH antagonist protocol either in the FS or LS. Six MII oocytes from the same oocyte donor, from each stimulation cycle, were allocated to the recipients and were inseminated with the same sperm sample (recipients partner sperm or donor sperm). Embryos were cultivated to blastocyst stage followed by preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (PGT-A).

 When comparing FP with LP, the duration of ovarian stimulation was significantly shorter (9.68± 2.09 vs 10.93± 1.55 days), 95% CI [-1.95; -0.55] and a higher total additional dose of daily recFSH was significantly lower (526.14± 338.94 IU vs 726.14± 366.27), 95% CI [-315,12; -84,88] when CPT was administered in the luteal phase. . There were no differences in the hormone values on the triggering day (Estradiol 2137.61±1198.25 pg/ml vs 2362.96±1472.89); 95% CI [-1160.45;709.76]. Overall no differences were observed in the number of oocytes (24.84± 11.200 vs 24.27± 9.08); 95% CI[-2,61; 3.75] and MII oocytes (21.41±10.19 vs 21.59± 8.81), 95%CI [-2.72; 2.35] retrieved between FP and LP cycles in the oocytes donors. Following oocyte allocation and fertilization to the recipients, a total of 245 blastocysts were biopsied (blastocyst formation rate 245/408, 60.05%), 117 in FP group and 128 in LP group. The overall blastocyst euploidy rate was 59.18% . There were no differences in the number of euploid embryos between FS (1.59±1.32) and LS (1.70±1.29), mean difference 0.11, 95%CI [-0.65; 0.46]. Finally, there were no differences in the percentage of euploid embryos per oocytes inseminated between FS [70/287 (24.4%)] and LP [75/278 (24.7%), mean difference -0.027, 95%CI [-0.11; 0.06].

 The study was performed in oocyte derived from potentially fertile young oocyte donors thus caution is needed when extrapolating the results in oocytes derived from infertile women of older age.

 Luteal phase stimulation does not alter embryo euploidy status as compared with follicular phase stimulation and thus it appears that it can be safely used not only in cases of urgent medical fertility preservation but also in patients undergoing ovarian stimulation for IVF/ICSI.

 Clinical Trials Gov (NCT03555942).


Introduction. Quality of life could be quantified with the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), which evaluates the severity of somatic, psychological, and urogenital symptoms in menopause. However, differential item functioning (DIF) analysis has not been applied previously. Objective. To establish the DIF of the psychological domain of the MRS in Colombian women. Methods. 4,009 women aged between 40 and 59 years, who participated in the CAVIMEC (Calidad de Vida en la Menopausia y Etnias Colombianas) project, were included. Average age was 49.0 ± 5.9 years. Women were classified in mestizo, Afro-Colombian, and indigenous. The results were presented as averages and standard deviation (X ± SD). A p value <0.001 was considered statistically significant. Results. In mestizo women, the highest X ± SD were obtained in physical and mental exhaustion (PME) (0.86 ± 0.93) and the lowest ones in anxiety (0.44 ± 0.79). In Afro-Colombian women, an average score of 0.99 ± 1.07 for PME and 0.63 ± 0.88 for anxiety was gotten. Indigenous women obtained an increased average score for PME (1.33 ± 0.93). The lowest score was evidenced in depressive mood (0.50 ± 0.81), which is different from other Colombian women (p < 0.001). Conclusions. The psychological items of the MRS show differential functioning according to the ethnic group, which may induce systematic error in the measurement of the construct.


ABSTRACT Negative social experiences may influence psychological and physiological health via altered central oxytocin communication. The prairie vole is valuable for investigating the potential influence of oxytocin on responses to social experiences. Prairie voles are socially monogamous, live in pairs or family groups, and respond negatively to changes in the social environment. This study investigated the hypothesis that disruptions of oxytocin in one prairie vole of a cohabitating male-female pair would alter social behavior in that specific animal; and these behavioral changes in turn would influence the untreated partner's behavior and physiology. Pharmacological antagonism of oxytocin with the receptor antagonist L-368,899 in the male prairie vole disrupted social behaviors between the male and his untreated female partner. This manipulation also negatively influenced the behavior and cardiovascular function in the untreated female partner, including increased: (a) depression-relevant behaviors in two behavioral stressors, (b) basal mean arterial pressure and heart rate, and (c) cardiovascular reactivity to the behavioral stressors. These results suggest that disruptions of oxytocin and social behavior in one animal may produce indicators of social stress in an untreated social partner. This preliminary research provides a foundation for future studies to investigate mechanisms underlying responses to social experiences in humans.


Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a consequence of long‐standing hypertension and is considered to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Several antihypertensive agents are capable of inducing regression of LVH, but it is not known which class of drugs is most effective. The impact of drug‐induced reversal of hypertrophy on ventricular function remains a controversial issue. Furthermore, the long‐term clinical benefits of LVH regression have yet to be documented. Controversies also exist regarding the clinical outcomes associated with drug‐induced LVH regression.


Over the last 30 years there has been a great deal of interest in investigating patterns of species co-occurrence across space and time, which may be shaped by interspecific competition for shared resources. A good model of co-occurrence mechanisms is developed among predatory animals along a pollution gradient, where shared resources become more limited in more contaminated areas and the energy budget for detoxification is much higher. Community disassembly by heavy metal pollution may occur when the presence of toxic elements shifts patterns of species co-occurrence from structured to random. On the other hand, limited resources on a pollution gradient should lead to higher competition between dominant species. Disassembly may entail the loss of existing co-evolved interactions among species, which has ramifications for community dynamics and the quality of the functioning of polluted ecosystems. We expect an assemblage dominated by competitive species interactions to exhibit a significant segregation of taxa, whereas one dominated by mutualistic or syntrophic interactions would exhibit an aggregation of taxa. Responses of Carabidae co-occurrence patterns and changes in body size measures to heavy metal concentrations were investigated in a zinc contamination gradient in a Scots pine forest in the vicinity of Olkusz (southern Poland), at 12 study sites. The zinc concentration in the humus layer varied between 108 mg kg−1 dw to 6150 mg kg−1 dw. We used the C-score index, between all possible species pairs in a matrix. The ground beetle assemblages from the reference sites showed a significant segregation pattern. Community disassembly occurred only among assemblages in heavily polluted sites. The average value of skewness and kurtosis were significantly higher in the highly contaminated sites, indicating the greater proportion of small-bodied species in contaminated areas. The Gini coefficient was highest in the low contaminated sites, indicating the body-size inequality of carabid assemblages was greatest in the uncontaminated areas. Our data suggest that increased pollution contributes to the extinction of sensitive forest specialists with large body size and higher competitive abilities, leading to replacement by less sensitive generalists, with smaller body size and that the co-occurrence of species on heavily polluted sites is a result of unstable interactions between species in communities.


We consider the problem of inferring per node loss rates from passive end-to-end measurements in wireless sensor networks. Specifically, we consider the case of inferring loss rates during the aggregation of data from a collection of sensor nodes to a sink node. Previous work has studied the general problem of network inference, which considers the cases of inferring link-based metrics in wireline networks. We show how to adapt previous work on network inference so that loss rates in wireless sensor networks may be inferred as well. This includes (1) considering the per-node, instead of per-link, loss rates; and (2) taking into account the unique characteristics of wireless sensor networks. We formulate the problem as a maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) problem and show how it can be efficiently solved using the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. The results of the inference procedure may then be utilized in various ways to effectively streamline the data collection process. Finally, we validate our analysis through simulations.


The new high-temperature superconductors are poorly metallic, but close to a Mott metal-insulator transition. This incipient Mott transition shows up as a tendency towards a charge-density-wave instability, with wave vectors appropriate for Fermi-surface nesting. Pure La2CuO4 indeed forms a charge-density wave commensurate with the lattice, and suffers a structural transition to a non-metallic state. In the new superconducting materials, we demonstrate that the incipient instability drastically softens the plasmon modes for wave vectors close to the nesting condition. Such soft plasmons may have been seen in some recent experiments. Although these modes have much lower frequencies than ordinary plasmons, they are still much higher than typical phonon frequencies. They couple strongly to conduction electrons and, like phonons, induce an electron-electron attraction. Moreover, the soft-plasmon wave vectors automatically connect points on the Fermi surface, as required for Cooper pairing. Thus the Debye-energy prefactor in the BCS expression for the transition temperature is replaced by the considerably larger plasmon energy, while the strength of the interaction will ensure that the exponential factor is not too small. Note that this mechanism will yield no isotope effect. We suggest that the Ba or La f-orbitals play an important role in strengthening the electron-plasmon coupling and softening the plasma modes. Hence the presence of Ba or La seems to be favourable for high-temperature superconductivity.


The paper will present an overview of one of the Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) systems developed within the Waternomics project. The FDD system has been developed basing on the hydraulic modeling of the water network, the real time values of flow and pressure obtained from installation of innovative ICT and commercial smart meters and the application of the Anomaly Detection with fast Incremental ClustEring (ADWICE) algorithm adapted for the drinking water network. The FDD system developed is useful when we have to consider more than one parameter at the same time to determine if an anomaly or fault is in place in a complex water network and the system is designed on purpose to cope with a larger features set. The new FDD system will be implemented in an Italian demo site, the Linate Airport Water network in Milan, where a large water distribution network is in place and where, due the many variables coming into play, it could be very difficult to detect anomalies with a low false alarm rate.


We examined the relationship between the percentage of peak heart rate (HR) and the percentage of peak oxygen uptake VO2 during steady-rate incremental wheelchair propulsion in 10 trained female wheelchair athletes (WAs) to determine the appropriateness of using American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) target HRs for training prescription. Oxygen uptake was calculated during each submaximal exercise stage, and HR was monitored continuously. Peak VO2 was determined with the use of a separate protocol. Linear regression equations of percentage of peak HR versus percentage of peak VO2 were measured for each participant. Subsequently, we calculated the percentage of peak HR values corresponding with 40%, 60%, 80%, and 85% peak VO2. The linear regression formula (derived as the group mean of the slope and intercept terms determined from each individual participant) was % peak HR = 0.652 x % peak VO2 + 35.2 (standard error of the estimate [SEE] 3.41). The group mean of the individual correlation coefficients for the VO2-HR relationship was r = 0.973. The percentage peaks of HRs for the WAs were slightly, though not significantly, greater than those suggested by the ACSM across the exercise intensity continuum. These findings suggest that training programs prescribed on the basis of ACSM target HR guidelines need not be altered for trained female WAs with lesions of T6 and below. Notably, the discrepancy between the WA values and the population norm (ACSM) decreased from 6% at 40% peak VO2 (i.e., 61% vs. 55%) to <1% at 85% peak VO2 (i.e., 90.6% vs. 90.0%). This discrepancy indicates a tendency for the use of percentage of HR peak at the lower exercise intensities to slightly underestimate the relative exercise intensity (i.e., percentage of peak VO2) in the WA population.


SUMMARY The author summarizes the beginnings of the AAMR Religion and Spirituality Division from 1960-1983. He then describes in more detail the growth of the organization in the 1980s and 1990s. Three broad areas of the Division's activities are discussed: (1) interfaith dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration; (2) the development of resources to support the practice of religion and the spirituality of persons with intellectual disabilities; and (3) efforts to support professionals in ministry with people with disabilities. Future directions of the Division are summarized.


The events of September 11, 2001 have resulted in a substantial change in the intent of US government policies concerning the Canadian-US border, away from an open border perspective toward the intent to highly control and secure the border. For managers on both sides of the border tasked with overseeing the functioning of the supply chains connecting their cross border operations, this change in border policies has led to a rethinking of supply chain strategies.


The executive functions constitute a range of high-order cognitive abilities which permit an individual to plan, control and monitor their behaviour. There is considerable evidence of executive functioning deficits in children with dyslexia. Given that dyslexia is a lifelong condition, it continues to have a documented impact on executive functioning in adulthood. The current chapter reviews this literature, addressing a range of executive functions studied under controlled laboratory conditions (inhibition, set shifting, fluency, planning and problem solving, and dual-task performance). In addition to understanding optimal performance in a controlled environment, it is important to understand the everyday impact of executive functioning deficits on adults with dyslexia. To this end, the current chapter also considers how the typical, day-to-day use of executive functions is affected by dyslexia. Several means by which executive functioning problems can be ameliorated are then considered. The chapter concludes by highlighting the challenge to theoretical accounts to deal adequately with executive functioning deficits within their explanatory frameworks and makes some suggestions for future research.


This research used structural equation modeling to examine relations among family dynamics, attorney involvement, and the adjustment of young children (0-6 years) at the time of parental separation. The article presents baseline data (N = 102 nonresidential fathers and N = 110 primary caretaking mothers) from a larger longitudinal study. Results showed that the effects of parental conflict on child outcomes were mediated by paternal involvement, the parent-child relationship, and attorney involvement. A scale assessing parental gatekeeping yielded two significant factors: Spouse's Influence on Parenting and Positive View of Spouse. Paternal involvement was related to children's adaptive behavior, whereas negative changes in parent-child relationships predicted behavior problems. Mothers who experienced greater psychological symptomatology were less likely to utilize an attorney, which in turn predicted greater internalizing problems in their children.


BackgroundThe aim of our prospective study was to confirm the validity, diagnostic accuracy of the modified Alvarado score developed in the Department of Surgery, University of Szeged.Methods138 patients were enrolled in our study between 01 January 2019 and 01 January 2020. The patient's modified Alvarado score was calculated in the Emergency Department before surgical consultation and decision of further therapy. The score was validated based on the final histology finding of the removed appendix. Additionally, potential correlation was examined between the frequency of drain usage, hospital stay, antibiotic use and the severity of the inflammation. ResultsComparing the scores with the histological findings, specificity of the modified Alvarado score was 84.78%, its sensitivity was 97.83% (with cutoff value of 5.5). Spearman's rank correlation (0.796) and ROC analysis (area under the curve 0.968) confirmed that the modified Alvarado score has an excellent predictive value in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Based on the result of the Fisher's exact test, cross tabulation and Spearman's rank correlation correlation was found between the severity of the inflammation determined by the histology finding, the selected antibiotic and the duration of the antibiotic therapy, the average duration of hospitalization and drain insertion. ConclusionsBased on the results of our study, predictive value of the new, modified score system is excellent, using this score system is safe in the differential diagnosis of acute appendicitis as an aid for non-surgical consultants in emergency care. This new score system may decrease the number of unnecessary surgical consultations, decrease waiting time of the patients and some unnecessary examinations can be avoided. Trial RegistrationValidation of the modified Alvarado score in patients presenting in the Emergency Department with right lower abdominal complaints, ethical license number: 248/2018/SZTE, date of registration: 2018.11.04., name of ethics committee: SZTE SZAKK Regionális és Intézményi Humán Orvosbiológiai Kutatásetikai Bizottság- Clinical Research Coordination Office of the University of Szeged


In this study, the ob/ob mouse model was used to investigate epidemiological evidence linking fish intake to relative reduction in incidence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and glucose. We have investigated, in comparison to low and high fat diets, the effect of a fish oil diet on basal and stimulated plasma glucose and insulin levels in male and female ob/ob mice. Mice were fed for 12 months with a saturated fat diet containing 25% lard, with a low fat diet containing 5% soybean oil, with a polyunsaturated fat diet containing 25% safflower seed oil (n-6) or with polyunsaturated fat diet containing 23% fish oil (n-3). Total body weight increased to approximately 100 g at the end of the experiment, with the highest increase in the order of lard > safflower oil > fish oil > soybean oil diet. Intercurrent deaths were found especially in the fish oil diet group. Compared to the other diet groups, plasma insulin levels of the fish oil diet group were significantly increased 3 months after the start of the diet and remained higher for another 3 months. Thereafter, the level declined to those of the other diet groups. Glucose-tolerance tests at 3, 6, 8 and 10 months showed a tendency of more efficient tissue glucose uptake in the fish oil group compared to the other groups, which was in accordance with a higher plasma insulin levels. At 12 months, microscopy revealed an increased severity of hepatic brown pigment accumulation and extramedullary haematopoiesis in the spleen of mice fed with fish oil. We conclude that fish oil diet in ob/ob mice reduced the body weight gain and increased the glucose-induced insulin secretion. Fish oil diet also increased intercurrent mortality. However, a consistent course of death could not be established using morphological parameters.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is an analytical method used to investigate interaction of proteins with specific genomic DNA regions in vivo to provide a better understanding of mechanisms of gene regulation, DNA replication and DNA repair. However, variations in the efficiency of immunoprecipitation, background signals from carryover in immunoprecipitation, and loss of material during immunoprecipitation and purification of the ChIP DNA are sources of variability that restrict the use of ChIP as a quantitative tool. To address these limitations, we have developed a simple spike-in control that enables labs to generate results that are more consistent and more quantitative. The approach we have developed uses a synthetic peptide-DNA reagent that is spiked into chromatin immunoprecipitation reactions. Because this reagent mimics the behavior of cross-linked chromatin and can be quantitatively recovered by immunoprecipitation, it can be readily incorporated in to virtually any ChIP protocol. To utilize this internal control, a fixed amount of the synthetic peptide-DNA complex is spiked into the chromatin and co-ChIPed simultaneously with the antibody of interest. The recovered synthetic DNA is then used to normalize the results obtained with the antibody of interest. This spike-in control can be designed using a peptide specific to the ChIP antibody of interest and recovered using a single antibody. Alternatively, a universal spike-in control can be designed using a peptide that is recognized by an epitope tag antibody. This universal spike-in control and epitope tagged antibody are used along with the antibody of interest in a standard ChIP reaction. Our data show that the inclusion of our internal control significantly reduces variability between ChIP assays, thus increasing the accuracy of the ChIP data. Because of the universal feature, this method can also be used to compare ChIP data between different antibodies or to normalize data variations that often result between users and multiple experiments.

Citation Format: Zirong Li, Bhaskar Thyagarajan, John Rosenfeld, Alejandra Solache, Michael Sturges. The use of a synthetic peptide-DNA complex as an internal reference for chromatin immunoprecipitation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4234. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4234


The coupling of collective degrees of freedom with the microscopic ones causes dissipation and a modification of the adiabatic potential. The term dissipation usually refers to exchange of energy (either linear or angular momentum) by all kind of damping from collective motion to intrinsic heat. A measure of the dissipated energy can be obtained solving the time dependent pairing equations. In this presentation, a generalization of the time dependent pairing equations is presented by including the Landau-Zener effect in the superfluid model. These new equations allows a mixing of seniority one configurations that allows us to obtain a ground state at the end of the process. An application concerning the 14C emission is offered and its fine structure is explained. These new equations are furthermore used to evidence a dynamical pair breaking effect that could explain the fine odd-even effect in cold fission. Finally, the time dependent pairing equations are used to deduce a model for non-adiabatic cranking inertia.


We successfully grow high-quality wurtzite InAs nanowires on GaAs substrates. The influences of growth temperature and orientations of GaAs substrates on the morphology and microstructure of InAs nanowires are also investigated. We find that a low growth temperature (330°C) is beneficial to the synthesis of uniform defect-free InAs nanowires. Meanwhile, InAs nanowires along 〈111〉B direction are always dominated despite the variation of GaAs substrate orientations.


BACKGROUND
Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) production in osteoblasts has multiple effects on osteoclast formation and function and raises the possibility that LPA may serve as a signaling molecule for the reciprocal conversation of both osteoblasts and osteoclasts within the tumor-bone microenvironment for bone resorption. However, little is known on the effect of LPA in regulating the function of both cancer cells and osteoclasts in the bone microenvironment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
PC-3 tumor growth and bone destruction upon LPA administration were observed in a mouse calvarium xenograft. The osteoclastogenic cytokines produced by LPA-stimulated prostate cancer cells were also defined.

RESULTS
LPA administration was found to increase PC-3 tumor growth and bone destruction in a mouse calvarium xenograft. Using a cytokine antibody array, LPA highly stimulated the expression and release of osteoclastogenic cytokines from PC-3 cells. Conditioned medium from LPA-stimulated PC-3 cells containing enhanced levels of osteoclastogenic cytokines facilitated osteoclast formation. Histopathologically, LPA administration supports the erosive type of bone destruction by PC-3 prostate cancer cells.

CONCLUSION
LPA is a critical regulator in the tumor-bone microenvironment and may be a therapeutic target for patients with prostate cancer. In addition, LPA-enhanced osteoclastogenic cytokines are critical to therapeutic strategies targeting osteolytic prostate cancer.


Ptychography with an unknown mask and object is analyzed for general ptychographic measurement schemes that are strongly connected and possess an anchor. Under a mild constraint on the mask phase, it is proved that the masked object estimate must be the product of a block phase factor and the true masked object. This local uniqueness manifests itself in the phase drift equation that determines the ambiguity at different locations connected by ptychographic shifts. The proposed mixing schemes effectively connects the ambiguity throughout the whole domain such that a distinct ambiguity profile arises and consequently possess the global uniqueness that the block phases have an affine profile and that the object and mask can be simultaneously recovered up to a constant scaling factor and an affine phase factor.


The present analysis treats the problem of wave propagation in circular waveguides taking into account the effects of both large wall conductivity and slowly varying cross section. The problem is formulated in terms of the Hertz vector for the case of TM waves. The method of multiple scales is used to find a first-order uniformly valid expansion for the Hertz vector in both the transmission and attenuation regions of the waveguide. The solutions for the perfectly conducting and the circular waveguides are obtained as special cases from the general solution.


Materiality has a significant role in the course of accounting, especially when it comes to auditing. It helps the auditor by holding the limitations of time and resources of the auditor's capabilities in evaluating the financial misstatements. The amount of audit procedures and evidence is determined depending on the materiality of misstatements. However, some cases have shown that misstatements that happened below the materiality could eventually lead to a financial shenanigan. Our quantitative research tries to analyze the factors that could affect materiality level. We use agency theory as the foundation of this research. Several variables that relate to the auditor's judgment of materiality are used to gain an understanding of its impact on materiality considerations. We use primary data from audit questionnaires and perform a statistical analysis to assess our hypothesis. The results suggest that the auditor's ability to understand audit risk, auditor's competency, and fuzzy logic analysis have a significant effect on the materiality level consideration. More than that, this research also suggests that fuzzy logic analysis could be used to help auditors in determining materiality level and it is able to drive qualitative factors of materiality.


We present the case of a 41-years-old female who presented to the emergency room with diffuse abdominal pain, bloating and vomiting. After the clinical and paraclinical investigations, we concluded to the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction due to an abdominal tumor of inconclusive etiology and decided for emergency surgery. Intraoperatively, we identified multiple peritoneal tumors located both in the supramesocolic and inframesocolic abdominal compartments; the diaphragm was covered with nodules that ranged in diameter from 1 cm to 10 cm (Fig. 1-2). Extemporaneous investigations confirmed the diagnosis of ovarian epithelial adenocarcinoma. The tumors were structured as solid or cystic masses with irregular surfaces that bled easily at manipulation. In the case of peritoneal metastasis in ovarian adenocarcinoma, the peritoneum has the same embryologic origin as the ovary; therefore, tumors at this level can develop as primary tumors. In these cases, optimal cytoreduction must be obtained (residual tumors below 1cm). Macroscopic observations can be used to suspect an ovarian adenocarcinoma but extemporaneous investigations are mandatory to confirm this diagnosis.


Cooling atoms and molecules to ultralow temperatures allows the study of quantum-controlled chemical reactions. Chemists usually study reactions at temperatures of tens or hundreds of kelvin, where reaction rates are averaged over many different energies and initial conditions for collision. But new techniques are now making it possible to produce molecules and trap them at temperatures within one-millionth of a degree of absolute zero. Here, all the thermal averaging is removed; the molecules occupy the lowest possible quantum translational states, and all their motions are completely controllable. On page 853 of this issue, Ospelkaus et al. (1) describe chemical reactions between molecules in this new regime and find that tiny changes, such as flipping the orientation of a single nuclear spin, can have profound consequences for how (and whether) chemical reactions occur.


A new Local Ocean Tide Model, has been produced for the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Malaysia, which incorporates some of the latest TOPEX/POSEIDON data for the years 1992 to 1998. Local tide gauge data are used as a comparison, along with another leading Global Ocean Tide Model, Ori96. The leading diurnal and semidiurnal constituents M2, S2, N2, K1, O1, P1 and Q1 are reproduced using TOPEX/POSEIDON Sea Surface Heights (SSH) in a response analysis type least squares derivation following Munk and Cartwright (1966).


In this paper, a control-based approach to replace the conventional method to achieve accurate indentation quantification is proposed for nanomechanical measurement of live cells using atomic force microscope. Accurate indentation quantification is central to probe-based nanomechanical property measurement. The conventional method for in-liquid nanomechanical measurement of live cells, however, fails to accurately quantify the indentation as effects of the relative probe acceleration and the hydrodynamic force are not addressed. As a result, significant errors and uncertainties are induced in the nanomechanical properties measured. In this paper, a control-based approach is proposed to account for these adverse effects by tracking the same excitation force profile on both a live cell and a hard reference sample through the use of an advanced control technique, and by quantifying the indentation from the difference of the cantilever base displacement in these two measurements. The proposed control-based approach not only eliminates the relative probe acceleration effect with no need to calibrate the parameters involved, but it also reduces the hydrodynamic force effect significantly when the force load rate becomes high. We further hypothesize that, by using the proposed control-based approach, the rate-dependent elastic modulus of live human epithelial cells under different stress conditions can be reliably quantified to predict the elasticity evolution of cell membranes, and hence can be used to predict cellular behaviors. By implementing the proposed approach, the elastic modulus of HeLa cells before and after the stress process were quantified as the force load rate was changed over three orders of magnitude from 0.1 to 100 Hz, where the amplitude of the applied force and the indentation were at 0.4-2 nN and 250-450 nm, respectively. The measured elastic modulus of HeLa cells showed a clear power-law dependence on the load rate, both before and after the stress process. Moreover, the elastic modulus of HeLa cells was substantially reduced by two to five times due to the stress process. Thus, our measurements demonstrate that the control-based protocol is effective in quantifying and characterizing the evolution of nanomechanical properties during the stress process of live cells.


The authors have utilized the scanning transmission x-ray microscope at Brookhaven National Laboratory to acquire high energy resolution spectra of various polymers and to investigate the bulk characteristics of multiphasic polymeric materials with chemical sensitivity at a spatial resolution of about 50 nm. The authors present studies ranging from phase separated liquid crystalline polyesters and polyurethanes to various polymer blends. Improvements in the NEXAFS imaging and spectral acquisition protocol in the recent past provide much improved spectral fidelity and include in situ energy calibration with CO{sub 2}.


Abstract Dramatic changes take place in the neural physiology and emotional behavior of the human infant during the first 2 years of life. Evidence suggests that certain variations in the infant's early social environment, such as disturbances in mother-infant interaction that are associated with maternal depression, influence the development of biological systems related to the expression and regulation of emotion, particularly those systems involved in frontal lobe, autonomic, and adrenocortical functioning. In this essay, we provide an overview of the links between maternal depression and disruptions in early social and emotional development, and we highlight parallels between disturbances in biological systems found in depressed adults and those found in infants of mothers experiencing depression. We then discuss the possibility of sensitive periods for the enduring influences of maternal depression on the emotional development of these children and for increased risk for affective disorder. Finally, we point to directions for further research on the nature of the intergenerational transmission of emotional disturbance.


We review ethnographic methods that allow researchers to assess distress in a culturally sensitive manner. We begin with an overview of standardized biomedical and psychological approaches to assessing distress cross-culturally. We then focus on literature describing the development of reliable and valid culturally sensitive assessment tools that can serve as complements or alternatives to biomedical categories and diagnostic frameworks. The methods we describe are useful in identifying forms of suffering—expressed in culturally salient idioms of distress—that might be misidentified by biomedical classifications. We highlight the utility of a cognitive anthropological theoretical approach for developing measures that attend to local cultural categories of knowledge and experience. Attending to cultural insider perspectives is necessary because expressions of distress, thresholds of tolerance for distress, expectations about stress inherent in life, conceptions of the good life, symptom expression, and modes of help-seeking vary across cultures.


In international politics, bilateral and multilateral relations are conducted based on national and regional interest. This is because development can only thrive in a peaceful environment, different societies or nations enter into treaties or alliance to protect their national or regional territories. This study focuses on the Gibeonites treaties with the Israelites as an exercise to protect their national interest and its binding effect on the Israelites not minding how it came about. It also analyses the green tree agreement and its socio-cultural imperatives in the interest of regional peace. The study examines the genesis of the Bakassi conflict between Nigeria and Cameroon and its socio-cultural implication on the inhabitants. The place of oath taking as a vital ingredient in peace building in Africa is highlighted. The research adopts the inter-disciplinary approach; which implies a combination of more than one approaches namely; historical, philosophical and phenomenological in the discussion. The paper observes that the green tree agreement is a political and not a historiocultural solution to the Bakassi conflict.  It concludes that any individual, group or society seeking to have peace, must be willing to sacrifice a portion of his possession or pride in the overall interest of all.

 Key words: International Politics, Treaties, Cultural, Society.


Serotonin (5-HT), a mono-aminergic neurotransmitter is biochemically derived from tryptophan and is mainly found in gastrointestinal tract, platelets and central nervous system of animals. Serotonin (5-HT) in coordination with hypothalamus plays an important role in the CNS control of appetite, eating behavior, and energy balance and body weight. It has a special role in control of carbohydrate intake. It has been observed that reduction in serotonin level causes hyperphagia. As the result, carbohydrate intake increases and hence results in obesity. Inversely-increased level of serotonin level leads to hypophagia, as a result carbohydrate intake decreases. That is why serotonergic agonists are clinically useful in treatment of obesity. Obesity (body mass index [BMI] > 30) is a risk factor for major causes of death, including cardiovascular disease, numerous cancers, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome and is linked with markedly diminished life expectancy. The energy regulation of 5-HT is mediated in part, by 5-HT receptors located in various medial hypothalamic nuclei. Along with serotonin, other hormones like insulin; leptin and corticosteron are also involved in the energy control and regulation. Though large numbers of serotonergic drug like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), such as sibutramine, or serotonin 5HT 2 c agonists are available to treat this deadly disease, these drugs are associated with large number of side effects. Thus, the increasing global prevalence of obesity has renewed interest in the serotonin-hypothalamic regulation of energy balance to find the drugs having maximum pharmacological and minimum toxicological effects. In this review article, attempts have been made to provide the detailed role of serotonin in the appetite regulation so that new targets and new sites can be created for the therapy of obesity.


The objective of this research is to examine the quality of information disclosed from a sample of Brazilian listed companies, using a multidimensional construct based on economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability. The research design combines both quantitative and qualitative methods. The qualitative approach is used in the content analysis procedure and the quantitative is employed for statistical analysis. The target population consists of top 36 sustainable companies (ISE) and 24 with corporate governance practices (NM) in 2011. We find that 37% of the companies achieved score above 0.5; 30% between 0.26 and 0.5 and 33% scored below 0.25, being score zero the worst and one the best score. The best company scored 0.896 and the worst of the 60 companies scored 0.0167. Overall our statistical results confirm that ISE companies tend to disclose more information and in a more adequate way than NM, and in general, the companies are reporting the content in all the three dimensions with same quality level. Furthermore, companies from Infrastructure sector present better quality content reported when compared to Service companies. We conclude that a good sustainability report is directly related to the good content in all the tree dimensions, regardless the economic sector and these reports still have a big room for improvement, which echoes within the literature analyzed. Companies need to disclose their information in a more integrated way, addressing sustainability issues under the scope of business strategy.


The singular sensitivity of cochlear outer hair cells suggests an extremely efficient exploitation of the energy supplied by the mechanical stimulus. If, however, the transduction channels were located at one end of the hair bundle's tip links, not more than 1/250 of the stimulus energy could be used to change the open probability of the channels. Furthermore, the mechanosensitive nematocytes of Hydra vulgaris possess a sensory hair bundle with horizontal links and have a transduction mechanism with functional properties similar to those of hair cells, even though tip links are absent between stereocilia. Therefore, I propose that the transduction channels of hair cells are connected to the short row-to-row horizontal links at the distal ends of neighboring stereocilia. These links, as well as the tip links, are oriented in accordance with the directionality of hair cell mechanosensitivity. The elastic elements connected with the horizontal links receive a larger part of the stimulus energy than the tip links. Since the short horizontal links resemble rigid rods rather than "spare springs", the points of insertion of these links in the stereocilia (i.e., the transduction channels) must move a distance upsilon parallel to the longitudinal axis of the stereocilium when the hair bundle is deflected by an angle phi. Computation shows that upsilon is proportional to phi. In the stereocilium, elastic elements ("gating springs") connect the cytoskeleton and transduction channel. The force in the gating springs that is counteracting the movement of the transduction channels may be varied in the process of adaptation by an active motor, as has been proposed in other investigations.