Acute HIV infection is characterized by rapid viral seeding of immunologic inductive sites in the gut followed by the severe depletion of gut CD4+ T cells. Trafficking of α4β7-expressing lymphocytes to the gut is mediated by MAdCAM, the natural ligand of α4β7 that is expressed on gut endothelial cells. MAdCAM signaling through α4β7 costimulates CD4+ T cells and promotes HIV replication. Similar to MAdCAM, the V2 domain of the gp120 HIV envelope protein binds to α4β7 In this study, we report that gp120 V2 shares with MAdCAM the capacity to signal through α4β7 resulting in CD4+ T cell activation and proliferation. As with MAdCAM-mediated costimulation, cellular activation induced by gp120 V2 is inhibited by anti-α4β7 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). It is also inhibited by anti-V2 domain antibodies including nonneutralizing mAbs that recognize an epitope in V2 that has been linked to reduced risk of acquisition in the RV144 vaccine trial. The capacity of the V2 domain of gp120 to mediate signaling through α4β7 likely impacts early events in HIV infection. The capacity of nonneutralizing V2 antibodies to block this activity reveals a previously unrecognized mechanism whereby such antibodies might impact HIV transmission and pathogenesis.


Over the past ten years, significant industry, policy, and scientific attention has been given to the 'circular economy', which aims to create a more sustainable society by decoupling economic growth from resource consumption. Firms are expected to play a significant role in the shift to a circular economy model by implementing circular business models that encourage prolonged use of products, components, and materials. Yet, despite interest in the circular economy, there is a lack of empirical research about the effects of these business models and how to support theiradoption. This thesis aims to advance understanding of business models for a circular economy, with a focus on firms that slow resource loops and reverse product obsolescence. Using an interdisciplinary research approach, the thesis draws on business model theory and product life extension. The thesis presents theoretical and empirical examinations of circular business models using a variety of qualitative research methods. This includes a case study approach with Nordic firms in the ICT and maritime sectors to identify specific constraining and enabling factors for firms to adopt circular business models. A document study of participants' reflections was also performed to evaluate one circular economy tool – the 'In the Loop' game.It was found that firms contribute to a circular economy through two main overarching circular business model strategies: 'Extending Product Value' or 'Extending Resource Value'. While lack of market demand and high costs were identified as main constraints to adopting 'Extending Product Value' business models, the findings suggest that firms themselves can make adopting these models more competitive and cost-effective by refining their business offering. The findings confirm a number of factors could support the adoption of these business models, including policy interventions and game-based learning tools. Contextual differences between sectors and firms were also identified, including firm type (i.e., original equipment manufacturers or gap-exploiter), customer base (i.e., business-to-business or business-to-consumer), and geographic scope (i.e., national vs. international).The thesis underlines several environmental implications of circular business models. It suggests firms focus on maximising efficiency and that the adoption of circular business models does not guarantee reduced resource consumption or primary production. Solutions beyond firm-level interventions are a key part to a circular economy that achieves its intended environmental goals. (Less)


North West Frontier Province is 3rd largest province of Pakistan with projected population 21.664 million for the year 2006 and administratively divided in to 24 districts with wide rural disperse. There are expected 36,726 new all TB Cases and 16,599 new sputum smear positive cases in the Province each year. The general community receives health care services mainly from public and Private sectors. Private sector mainly delivers curative health care services and is very huge and diverse. There is 100% DOTS in the province in public sector. Program ensures free of cost diagnostic and treatment services to all TB patients in the Province. The programme involved not for profit private sector to partial level in TB care services delivery. Provincial TB control Program provides technical support, TB drugs and lab reagents to the private sector. 147 diagnostic centers are working in public and 29 in private sector. During the first two quarters 2006, in the province all case detection rate was 75 % and new sputum smear positive cases was 59 %. During the same period private sector contribution in case detection was 13 % in all and 10.50 % in new sputum smear positive cases respectively.


The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in California was drained for agriculture and human settlement over a century ago, resulting in extreme rates of soil subsidence and release of CO2 to the atmosphere from peat oxidation. Because of this century-long ecosystem carbon imbalance where heterotrophic respiration exceeded net primary productivity, most of the land surface in the Delta is now up to 8 meters below sea level. To potentially reverse this trend of chronic carbon loss from Delta ecosystems, land managers have begun converting drained lands back to flooded ecosystems, but at the cost of increased production of CH4, a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. To evaluate the impacts of inundation on the biosphere-atmophere exchange of CO2 and CH4 in the Delta, I first measured and analyzed net fluxes of CO2 and CH4 for two continuous years with the eddy covariance technique in a drained peatland pasture and a recently re-flooded rice paddy. This analysis demonstrated that the drained pasture was a consistent large source of CO2 and small source of CH4, whereas the rice paddy was a mild sink for CO2 and a mild source of CH4. However more importantly, this first analysis revealed nuanced complexities for measuring and interpreting patterns in CO2 and CH4 fluxes through time and space. CO2 and CH4 fluxes are inextricably linked in flooded ecosystems, as plant carbon serves as the primary substrate for the production of CH4 and wetland plants also provide the primary transport pathway of CH4 flux to the atmosphere. At the spatially homogeneous rice paddy during the summer growing season, I investigated rapid temporal coupling between CO2 and CH4 fluxes. Through wavelet Granger-causality analysis, I demonstrated that daily fluctuations in growing season gross ecosystem productivity (photosynthesis) exert a stronger control than temperature on the diurnal pattern in CH4 flux from rice. At a spatially heterogeneous restored wetland site, I analyzed the spatial coupling between net CO2 and CH4 fluxes by characterizing two-dimensional patterns of emergent vegetation within eddy covariance flux footprints. I combined net CO2 and CH4 fluxes from three eddy flux towers with high-resolution remote sensing imagery classified for emergent vegetation and an analytical 2-D flux footprint model to assess the impact of vegetation fractal pattern and abundance on the measured flux. Both emergent vegetation abundance and fractal complexity are important metrics for constraining variability within CO2 and CH4 flux in this complex landscape.Scaling between carbon flux measurements at individual sites and regional scales depends on the connection to remote sensing metrics that can be broadly applied. In the final chapter of this dissertation, I analyzed a long term dataset of hyperspectral ground reflectance measurements collected within the flux tower footprints of three structurally similar yet functionally diverse ecosystems: an annual grassland, a degraded pepperweed pasture, and a rice paddy. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was highly correlated with landscape-scale photosynthesis across all sites, however this work also revealed new potential spectral indices with high correlation to both net and partitioned CO2 fluxes. This analysis within this dissertation serves as a framework for considering the impacts of temporal and spatial heterogeneity on measured landscape-scale fluxes of CO2 and CH4. Scaling measurements through time and space is especially critical for interpreting fluxes of trace gases with a high degree of temporal heterogeneity, like CH4 and N2O, from landscapes that have a high degree of spatial heterogeneity, like wetlands. This work articulates a strong mechanistic connection between CO2 and CH4 fluxes in wetland ecosystems, and provides important management considerations for implementing and monitoring inundated land-use conversion as an effective carbon management strategy in the California Delta.


Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful method for in vivo characterization of tumor biochemistry and clinically has been used for diagnosing and grading of malignancy. A key element in oncology is proliferation potential, a feature that is assumed to be an important indicator of tumor growth. In order to develop methods for the assessment of proliferation potential, attempts have been made using radiolabeled nucleosides and their analogues as proliferation markers.In the present studies several nucleoside tracers, 5-[76Br]bromo-2′-deoxyuridine ([76Br]BrdU), 1-(2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-[76Br]bromouracil ([76Br]BFU), 1-(2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)-[methyl-11C]thymine ([11C]FMAU) and 3′-deoxy-3′- [18F]fluorothymidine ([18F]FLT), were investigated with respect to tissue uptake, DNA incorporation, and excretion modulation in rats, pigs and in a tumor model in mice. Experiments of DNA incorporation were also performed in multicellular tumor aggregates. Hydroxyurea, a DNA synthesis inhibitor, was used in the experiments of DNA incorporation. Cimetidine was used to modulate the excretion of the tracers. Several combinations of diuretics were used to eliminate the metabolite of [76Br]BrdU. The radioactivity content in the animal urine samples was analysed using high-pressure liquid chromatography and thin-layer chromatography.The results of this thesis suggest that [76Br]BrdU can be incorporated into DNA and allow the determination of proliferation potential in vivo using PET, but only with due consideration of a high non-specific organ radioactivity constituted by [76Br]bromide, the metabolite of [76Br]BrdU. With forced diuresis, the non-specific organ radioactivity uptake is diminished. [76Br]BFU predominantly incorporates into DNA, and has a great potential for assessment of proliferation. [76Br]BFU was eliminated quickly as intact compound by kidneys. Cimetidine can block the rapid elimination of [76Br]BFU and make a high concentration of the tracer in proliferation tissues. [11C]FMAU is a stable compound and also has potential as a proliferation marker, but the short half-life gives a limited time for observation. Although cimetidine can effectively block the elimination of [11C]FMAU, it does not increase the uptake of [11C]FMAU in organs. [18F]FLT cannot incorporate into DNA, even though the radioactivity uptake is higher in the organs with active DNA synthesis. Cimetidine does not significantly affect the uptake of [18F]FLT in organs.


A compliant human-machine interaction architecture is presented. It is based on the machine intention recognition of the human. This work is motivated by the desire to minimize the need for classical direct human-machine interface and communication. Here, the intention-action-state scenario is modified and modelled by dynamic Bayesian networks to facilitate for probabilistic intention inference. The recognized intention, then, drives the interactive behaviour of the machine such that it complies with the human intention in light of the real state of the world. An illustrative example of a human commanding a mobile robot remotely is given and discussed in details


An exopolyphosphatase [exopoly(P)ase; EC 18.104.22.168] activity has recently been purified to homogeneity from a mutant strain of Escherichia coli which lacks the principal exopoly(P)ase. The second exopoly(P)ase has now been identified as guanosine pentaphosphate phosphohydrolase (GPP; EC 184.108.40.206) by three lines of evidence: (i) the sequences of five tryptic digestion fragments of the purified protein are found in the translated gppA gene, (ii) the size of the protein (100 kDa) agrees with published values for GPP, and (iii) the ratio of exopoly(P)ase activity to GPP activity remains constant throughout a 300-fold purification in the last steps of the procedure. The enzyme liberates orthophosphate by processive hydrolysis of the phosphoanyhydride bonds of polyphosphate [poly(P)] chains (1000 residues) or by hydrolysis of the 5'-gamma-phosphate of guanosine 5'-triphosphate 3'-diphosphate (pppGpp) to guanosine 5'-diphosphate 3'-diphosphate (ppGpp or "magic spot"). The Km for long-chain poly(P) as a substrate (approximately 0.5 nM) is far lower than that for pppGpp (0.13 mM); the kcat for the poly(P)ase activity is 1.1 s-1 and that for pppGpp hydrolase is 0.023 s-1. These and other findings direct attention to possible functions of poly(P) in the response of E. coli to stresses and deprivations.


Electron storage rings are nearly ideal radiation sources for radiometry over a broad spectral range from the infrared to the x-ray region. Many national metrology institutes make extensive use of synchrotron radiation for radiometry. The Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility SURF III, which has recently been upgraded, is used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) operates a European radiometry laboratory at the third-generation storage ring BESSY II. The storage rings are used as calculable broadband radiation sources (primary source standards) and in combination with primary detector standards as sources of continuously tunable monochromatic radiation for detector calibration. The use of cryogenic electrical-substitution radiometers as primary detector standards has made it possible to considerably extend high-accuracy calibrations from the ultraviolet (UV) to the x-ray regime. Radiometry in the extreme UV (EUV) range, and in particular reflectometry, has become increasingly important for the development of EUV lithography. An overview of synchrotron radiation based radiometry will be given.


LoRaWAN stands out among wireless networking technologies related to the Internet of Things because it operates in an open frequency range and covers long distances with low power consumption and low equipment costs. However, electromagnetic wave obstacles such as tall buildings or valleys affect the signal quality and cause loss of messages exchanged between end devices and the gateway. In addition, message loss may occur on a mobile device due to insufficient network coverage in certain locations along the route. Since the LoRaWAN protocol does not guarantee the delivery of messages, an algorithm is required to manage the retransmission of all undelivered messages. In this paper, we propose the ALR-LoRaWAN algorithm. ALR-LoRaWAN operates at the application layer and uses bidirectional communication between the end device and the IoT application. The algorithm is empirically evaluated and compared with the CR-LoRaWAN algorithm. In CR-LoRaWAN, the management of retransmissions is the responsibility of the network server. Results show that ALR-LoRaWAN successfully processed all lost messages, while CR-LoRaWAN could process at most 36% of the lost messages.


The invention discloses a free radical polymerization hydrophilic coating material and an application of the free radical polymerization hydrophilic coating material in preparation of a printing plate material. The hydrophilic coating material is composed of 15-45% of double bond monomer, 1-5% of radical initiator, 50-80% of nano level or sub-micron hydrophilic particles. An organic solvent with odour, toxicity and high boiling point is not required by the hydrophilic coating material, volatilization and discharge of the organic solvent into atmosphere can be avoided, so that pollution on atmosphere environment can be prevented. Furtherly, great damage on body health and nerve system of staff for producing the plate material due to long-term contact of the organic solvent can be avoided. According to the printing plate material, graining treatment is not required for the plate substrate, printing quality decrease of the printed matters due to easy diffusion of ink can be effectively avoided, simultaneously, the pollution on the environment by waste acid and spent lye generated by electrolysis and oxidation on the aluminum plates can be avoided, water consumption can be saved by 70%, and the power consumption can be saved by 70%.


For a fine ferromagnetic particle of a non-ellipsoidal external shape, an effective single-domain diameter is defined as a characteristic length at which the energy of a stable quasi-uniform state (usually a flower state) of the particle coincides with that of the lowest non-uniform (`multi-domain') state. The effective single-domain diameters for soft magnetic parallelepipeds and cylinders having aspect ratios 0.5⩽m⩽3 are obtained by means of numerical simulation. In particular, it is shown that the effective single-domain diameters for a cylinder and cube with aspect ratio m = 1 are approximately only 3% and 9% lower, respectively, than the single-domain diameter of an ideal sphere with the same magnetic parameters.


Among the various routes of administration, oral route is the most suitable, convenient and widely accepted. Drug actions can be improved by developing new oral drug delivery systems such as the mucoadhesive buccal drug delivery system. Here the oral cavity is an attractive site for drug delivery due to ease of administration and avoids possible drug degradation in the gastrointestinal tract as well as first pass hepatic metabolism. Mucoadhesion is currently explained by six theories: electronic, adsorption, wettability, diffusion, fracture and mechanical. Several in vitro and in vivo methodologies are proposed for studying its mechanisms. The aim of present study was to review the mechanisms and theories involved in mucoadhesion, as well as to describe the most-used methodologies and polymers in mucoadhesive drug delivery systems.


High temperatures and the seasonality in tropical ecosystems favours plant pathogens, which result in many fungal diseases. Among these, diseases caused by Botryosphaeriaceae species are prominent as dieback, canker and leaf spots. In this research, we isolated one leaf-spot-causing Botryosphaeriaceae species from Ficus altissima leaves, which were collected in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. Isolation and identification of the pathogen were based on morphological and molecular aspects. Based on multigene phylogenetic analysis of combined internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1-α gene (tef1) and beta-tubulin gene (tub2), the fungus associated with leaf spots on F. altissima is described as Lasiodiplodia fici, a novel species. Pathogenicity assays were conducted by inoculating the fungus onto detached shoots and plants under controlled environmental conditions. The results revealed that the L. fici isolates can infect the plant tissues under stress conditions by developing disease symptoms on detached shoots within three days. However, when it was inoculated onto the leaves of the host and grown in natural conditions, the progression of the disease was slow. The putative pathogen was re-isolated, and Koch's assumptions were satisfied. This is the first report of Lasiodiplodia species causing disease on Ficus altissima. Results from the present study will provide additional knowledge on fungal pathogens associated with forest and ornamental plant species.


Abstract The importance of health literacy has increased as the public awareness of health has increased. Health Literacy Survey European Questionnaire-47 (HLS-EU-Q47) is a representative assessment tool for evaluating health literacy, and its psychometric properties have been examined in various countries. This study analyzed the item-level psychometric properties of a short version of the HLS-EU-Q47 using a Rasch measurement model. We collected 254 Korean adults who completed the 12 items of the HLS-EU-Q47 in hospital settings. We used confirmation factor analysis (CFA) to examine the unidimensionality assumption of the HLS-EU-Q12. We analyzed item fit, precision, and differential item functioning (DIF) across sex, age and education groups. The CFA model confirmed that HLS-EU-Q12 satisfies the unidimensionality assumption (CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.09) and no local independence in the 12 test items (residual correlations ranged from -0.16 to 0.19). The HLS-EU-Q12 demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.90) and no DIF across sex, age and education groups (p > 0.05). The person strata by the instrument were 3.80, which is equivalent to a traditional reliability value of 0.87. In short, the study findings indicate that the HLS-EU-Q12 has good psychometric properties with the 254 Korean adults. Since the HLS-EU-Q12 can accurately and precisely evaluate the health literacy of Korean adults, this instrument could be used in clinical settings.


We consider the problem of selecting a subset of p out of n sensors for the purpose of event detection, in a wireless sensor network (WSN). Occurrence of the event of interest is modeled as a binary Gaussian hypothesis test. In this case sensor selection consists of finding, among all (p n) combinations, the one maximizing the Kullback-Leibler (KL) distance between the induced p-dimensional distributions under the two hypotheses. An exhaustive search is impractical if n and p are large, as the resulting optimization problem is combinatorial. We propose a suboptimal approach with computational complexity of order O(n3p). This consists of relaxing the 0/1 constraint on the entries of the selection matrices to let the optimization problem search over the set of Stiefel matrices. Although finding the Stiefel matrix is a nonconvex problem, we provide an algorithm that is guaranteed to produce a global optimum for p = 1, through a series of judicious problem reformulations. The case p > 1 is tackled by an incremental, greedy approach. The obtained Stiefel matrix is then used to determine the sensor selection matrix which best approximates its range space. Extensive simulations are used to assess near optimality of the proposed approach. They also show how the proposed approach performs better than exhaustive searches once an upper bound on the computation time is set.


Background: Triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRL) are considered to be independent predictors of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The molecular basis of its atherogenicity is uncertain. Here, we aim to identify molecular species of phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxides (PCOOH) in TRL. For comparison, copper-oxidized TRL were investigated as well. Methods: A fasting EDTA blood sample was collected from 6 healthy human volunteers to isolate two major TRL fractions - very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDL) using sequential ultracentrifugation. TRL and plasma samples were studied for PCOOH by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with Orbitrap mass spectrometry. Results: Twelve molecular species of PCOOH species in TRL and/or plasma were identified using the criterion consisting of 1) high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) with mass accuracy within 5 ppm, 2) retention time in LC, and 3) fragmentation pattern in MS2 and MS3. PC36:4-OOH was most often detected in VLDL, IDL, and plasma. The ratio of total PCOOH to phosphatidylcholine progressively increased with the duration of oxidation in both VLDL and IDL. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the presence of 12 molecular species of PCOOH in native TRL. The frequent detection of PCOOH in TRL provides a molecular basis of the atherogenicity of TRL. PCOOH in TRL might serve as a molecular basis of the atherogenicity of TRL. Keywords: Lipid hydroperoxide, oxidation, mass spectrometry, phospholipids, very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDL).


Participating in social activism implies responsibility for its exchange and creation. We focus on Intellectual Disability (ID) as an advocacy site for individuals who are dependent on assistance with activities of daily life, and attend to the process of taking care during social justice projects. Our paper responds to current South African social justice controversies perpetrated against people who may be unable to independently mobilize against increasingly othering – even deadly – socio-political conditions. Underpinned by relational Ethics of Care, voluntary-assisted-advocacy can be a psychologically relational, intersubjective, and societal project that strives for ID citizenship-making and social justice. This paper draws on numerous interviews and a number of ethnographic observations in exploration of ID care. Empirical material was subjected to thematic content analysis, and participant quotes bring our argument to life. Relationships among people with Intellectual Disability (PWID) and non-ID assistant-advocates are asymmetrical. We can either uphold dominant non-ID voices, or transform socio-political ruling relations that maintain dependence on conditions of power and inequality. Our contributions to the advocacy we co-create today will shape the activism we will depend on in the future. We consider relational voluntary-assisted-advocacy as a psychological and ethical resource for sustainable, mutually satisfying social change.


Major changes in personal mobility and in country town service provision have taken place in rural South Australia in the period 1968–69 to 1992–93. The later part of this period was one of major rural recession across Australia as a whole. The impact of this recession is considered by investigating changes in three different geographies of rural South Australians. These are their affective identification with place, their local social interaction and their commercial service consumption. There has been a shift of both commercial and social activity up through the hierarchy of settlement, but this is much more pronounced in the case of commercial activity. These differential rates of change are weakening the once mutually reinforcing links between community self-identification, social interaction and trading patterns. The full impact of the rural crisis commencing in 1982–83 on social and commercial spatial patterns is unlikely to have been achieved by 1992–93, and adjustment is likely to continue.


With the outbreak of the highly-contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus and its accompanying coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many government agencies adopted contact tracing to measure and mitigate the spread of the virus. Contact tracing aims to keep track of the individual's movements and activities and identify all those who they come in contact with. This study is focused on designing a cost-effective, efficient, and accurate system for information logging and temperature screening with a complementary contact tracing feature. The system provides an automated, safe, and physical-distance-aware alternative to manual temperature measurement and data logging practiced by most commercial establishments. The system uses an Arduino and a Raspberry Pi, along with infrared temperature sensors utilizing proper calibration methods to yield temperature reading difference of 0.1 - 0.3 degree-Celsius taken at 10 cm distance. User identification is done by reading either specifically-registered RFID tags or system-generated identity-QR code. Temperature is subsequently read, date and time stamped, and logged into the system. This allows for automated and exact association of the user logged information with their corresponding temperature.


The paper argues that policies for controlling transnational crime are a crucial dimension for understanding neoliberal hegemony in global governance. It takes on the relation established by Foucault between biopolitics and neoliberalism, in order to reconstruct the discursive formation framing law enforcement and security strategies beyond the spatiality of the nation-state. The paper then turns to outlining the practical expressions of this discourse in the governance techniques deployed to control transnational crime. Overall, this study aims to show how neoliberal criticism of state power is not coupled with a reduction in governance but, on the contrary, implies many regulations and strategies for controlling the population.


Turkey has sufficient solar radiation and radiation period for solar thermal applications since it lies in a sunny belt between 36° and 42° N latitudes. The yearly average solar radiation is 3.6 kWh/m2day, and the total yearly radiation period is ∼2610 h. This study investigates the estimation of solar resources in Turkey using artificial neural networks (ANNs). Scaled conjugate gradient (SCG), Pola-Ribiere conjugate gradient (CGP), and Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) learning algorithms and logistic sigmoid transfer function were used in the network. In order to train the neural network, meteorological data for last three years (2000–2002) from 17 stations (namely cities) spread over Turkey were used as training (11 stations) and testing (6 stations) data. These cities selected can give a general idea about Turkey. Meteorological and geographical data (latitude, longitude, altitude, month, mean sunshine duration, and mean temperature) is used in input layer of network. Solar radiation is in output layer. The maximum mean absolute percentage error was found to be less than 6.7% and R2 values to be about 99.8937% for the testing stations. However, these values were found to be 2.41% and 99.99658% for the training stations. The results indicate that the ANN model seems promising for evaluating solar resource posibilities at the places where there are no monitoring stations in Turkey. The results on the testing stations indicate a relatively good agreement between the observed and the predicted values.


We present a new mechanism which induces a thermally activated hopping-conductivity law exp[−(T0/T)α], with α close to 1/2 without Coulomb interactions. In fact α = 3/7 independently of the dimension. We argue that this mechanism solves some old puzzles for systems not too far from percolation threshold such as granular materials and should apply to various systems as long as intercluster tunnelling is negligible. The result relies on the superlocalization property of wave functions on incipient percolation clusters.


In this paper, we consider the problem of designing distributed adaptive consensus tracking controllers for multiple nonlinear systems with unknown parameters and external disturbances. The desired trajectory is time varying given by the state of a reference system, which is only available to a portion of the group of the systems. Besides, the dynamics of the reference state is bounded but unknown to all of the systems. The communication graph characterizing the interactions among the systems is assumed to have undirected, fixed and connected topology. By introducing distributed estimators for the bound of the reference dynamics, two control schemes are proposed to address the problem. In the first scheme, a sign function is employed and perfect consensus tracking can be achieved. In the second scheme, an alternative control law is developed and the chattering phenomenon caused by the sign function can be reduced. However, new challenge will be triggered which is to compensate for possible destabilizing effects of the coupling elements relating to local parameter estimation errors and the synchronization errors of the neighbors. The overall communication graph is firstly reduced to an undirected spanning tree with single system notified of the reference state. Based on this, new synchronization error for each subsystem is then defined as the weighted distance relative to only one of its neighbors. It is shown that all the synchronization errors will converge to a prescribed bound which can be made as small as desired in this case.


Bacterial cellulose and chitosan have been widely developed for biomaterial applications, one of which is used as a dura mater artificial. In designing dura mater artificial, there are several criteria that must be met, one of which is mechanical that can be seen through tensile strength and elongation value. In previous study, the mechanical properties of biocomposite bacterial cellulose-chitosan still too rigid and did not meet the standard. This research was conducted to determine the effect of the addition of glycerol concentration to the physical and biological of bacterial cellulose-chitosan membrane. Bacterial cellulose membranes with the addition of glycerol concentration of 0%; 0,25%; 0,5% and 0,75% were dried with oven and immersed for 6 hours in 0.5% chitosan solution. Characterization was performed by functional group, morphology, tensile strength, swelling, degradation and cytotoxicity test. Based on the results, it can conclude that biocomposite bacterial cellulose-chitosan-glycerol showed suitable characteristics as a dura mater artificial.


At the beginning of 2009, the 38th principle of the Administrative Measures for Clinical Application of Medical Technology, issued by the former Ministry of Health, clearly pointed out that medical institutions should establish a hierarchical management system for surgery. Then the Trial of Administrative Measures for Surgical Classification of Medical Institutions was published and implemented in 2012, but the official introduction of surgical classification catalogue in the national level has not been seen. Therefore, the writing group of this expert consensus has organized numerous well-known experts and scholars in China, taking the three elements of the 38th principle of the Administrative Measures for Clinical Application of Medical Technology issued by the Ministry of Health--risk coefficient, complexity, and technical difficulty as the basic norm to grade scientifically through the four indicators of burn index, surgical area, surgical repair method, and anesthesia risk (each indicator with 4 grades and scores). The total score is then accumulated to divide four grades of operations. The Expert Consensus on Classification Evaluation Methods of Burn Surgery in China (2019 Version) is strategized together expecting to provide academic reference for the government departments to issue or further improve and perfect surgical classification catalogue in the national level as soon as possible, and lay a foundation for the stable development of burn discipline with the significance of national strategic reserve.


Depending on the local conditions and structural design of the pavement, multiple asphalt concrete layers including base, intermediate, and wearing courses are used. Typically, the base and intermediate layers have larger aggregate sizes and lower total asphalt binder contents as compared with the wearing course. Recently, cold recycled (CR) asphalt mixtures have gained attention as an alternative to the typical base, and to some extent intermediate courses, because of economic and environmental advantages. Challenges with CR include the potential high variability of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and lack of knowledge in relation to structural contribution and long-term performance of such layers. This study investigates four different types of CR and four hot mixed plant-produced asphalt mixtures (three intermediate courses and one base course) that are typical mixtures used in New Hampshire. The laboratory performance evaluation is conducted through the resilient modulus (Mr), complex modulus (E*), semi-circular bend and direct tension cyclic fatigue (S-VECD) tests. Pavement performance prediction is carried out using the results from S-VECD approach in the FlexPAVETM software. The test results indicate that the performance of CR is highly affected by the amount of oil distillate percentage in the emulsion as well as the amount of recovered binder in the RAP. While having a relatively lower rutting resistance capability, the CR mixtures maintained an acceptable fatigue performance. As compared with CR mixtures, hot mixed intermediate and base course mixtures indicated better rutting performance while having lower resistance to cracking.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the language use of 40 children with imaginary companions (IC) and 40 children without imaginary companions (NIC) across two age levels: a younger group aged 4;0–5;11 and an older group aged 6;0–7;11. The study investigated the language of these children by examining their use of adverbial and relative clauses, complement clauses, co-ordinating conjunctions and modal types. The findings indicated that, compared with NICs, ICs used a significantly greater number of adverbial clauses, relative clauses, and and, with their use of but approaching significance. Overall, the results were interpreted as indicating that ICs use more mature language, and this demonstrates enhanced social-cognitive skills. It was concluded that the presence of imaginary companions is positively associated with language use and discourse competency of children.


Norplant subdermal implants containing levonorgestrel were used for contraception and compared with the Copper T, Model T Cu 200, during 42 months of use in an open study in Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Finland. Among 324 women enrolled for the implant regimen, there were no pregnancies in the 1st 2.5 years, and 2 by the end of 42 months. 1st segment net and gross cumulative pregnancy rates were 0.7 and 1.2/100 respectively, at 3.5 years. Cumulative pregnancy rates for the T Cu 200 group were 2.9, net and 3.5/100, gross at 42 months. More than 1/2 of the implant acceptors, 51.6/100 were continuing use at 3.5 years, somewhat above the continuation rate of the T Cu acceptors, 43.5/100, but not significantly so.


A system manages communications between a provider and a requestor in a distributed network. A requestor is implemented on a computing device and provides a stay online binding. The stay online binding identifies a binding that is desired by the requestor. A provider is implemented on a computing device and provides a binding. The provider receives the stay online binding from the requestor and continues providing the binding because the provider became aware of the stay online binding.


An optimization model is used to evaluate the implications of single-desk selling of Canadian barley for trade flows and producer welfare. Effects on U.S. imports and barley prices are also considered.


Magnetic hysteresis properties of antiferromagnetically exchange-coupled bilayer structures, in which the two magnetic layers have different magnetic parameters and thicknesses, are studied within the framework of the Stoner–Wohlfarth model. Analytical expressions for the switching fields corresponding to the linear magnetic states are obtained. By adjusting the magnetic parameters or thicknesses of layers, nine different types of easy-axis hysteresis loops may exist. The phase diagram of easy-axis hysteresis loops is mapped in the k1 and k2 plane, where k1 and k2 are the ratios of magnetic anisotropy to the interlayer exchange coupling of the two magnetic layers, respectively.


Introduction Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by the proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow and a secretion of monoclonal immunoglobulins. Survival in MM is very variable and multiple factors are known to influence prognosis such as age, ISS stage, and genetic abnormalities. Fibrosis can be found in the bone marrow of MM patients but the literature reporting the incidence of fibrosis and its effect on prognosis is very limited.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence of bone marrow fibrosis in MM patients and its effect on survival.

Materials and methods Data was collected at the Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Sweden and information obtained from the hospital's records. We gathered information on all patients diagnosed with MM between 2003 and 2011. All bone marrow reports were reviewed and the presence of bone marrow fibrosis (evaluated using reticulin staining) at diagnosis was recorded. Fibrosis was graded as 1 (mild), 2 (significant) and 3 (advanced), in accordance with WHO 2008 criteria. Patients with fibrosis were paired with patients without fibrosis (matched by sex, birth year, and year of diagnosis). Survival comparing MM patients with and without fibrosis was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier estimate and Cox regression model.

Results A total of 586 individuals, 327 males and 259 females, were diagnosed with MM at the Karolinska University Hospital, Solna during 2003 – 2011. Evidence of bone marrow fibrosis was noted in 223 (38%) patients at diagnosis, and 175 had fibrosis grade 1, 33 grade 2, and 15 grade 3. No significant difference was observed between males (N = 135) and females (N = 88) (p = 0.085). Mean age at diagnosis was significantly lower for patients with fibrosis (67.1 years) than in patients without fibrosis (69.7 years) (p = 0.013).

Compared with paired patients without fibrosis (N = 217), patients with fibrosis had significantly worse survival ([Figure][1]), being 5.0 years vs. 4.4 years, respectively (relative risk (RR)=1.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00-1.70; p= 0.049). The difference was greatest in male patients and patients younger than 65 years at diagnosis. Survival was worse in patients with advanced fibrosis, 4.5 (95% CI 3.6-6.4) years for grade 1 fibrosis, and 3.0 (95% CI 1.6-NA) years for higher degree of fibrosis.

![Figure][2]

Figure

Conclusion In this study, based on almost 600 patients with MM we show that bone marrow fibrosis is common at diagnosis (38%). Importantly, our findings show that the presence of fibrosis was associated with inferior survival. More studies are needed regarding the underlying causes for these findings, including treatment response, treatment-related complications and relation to other known prognostic factors.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Summary. Significant among-donor differences in mean values for semen-specimen volume and sperm concentration, motility, forward progression, and morphology were demonstrated, but no correlation among these characteristics on a specimens-within-donor basis was demonstrable. When emission frequency was increased from 3\m=.\5 to 8\m=.\6 times per week, there was a decrease in specimen volume (\p=m-\33%), in sperm concentration ( \p=m-\55%) and motility ( \p=m-\15%), but no effect on progression or morphology. At the high frequency, there was a decrease in total sperm number (\p=m-\31%) and in motile sperm number (\p=m-\41%) produced per week, but an increase in volume of semen per week (+39%). Specimens were rated at hourly intervals for 9 hr after collection; motility and progression declined at a linear rate with time, but no change in morphology was observed. No effect of seminal plasma on sperm motility or forward progression was noted in a complete factorial seminal-plasma-reversal study. No significant differences were observed in mean values for semen characteristics between masturbated and condom specimens.


Rural youth in Pakistan play very significant character in the political, economic, rural development and social change. The research work is the socio-psychological effects on rural development in the aspect of unemployment on the personality of jobless youth in Tehsil Jaranwala, District Faisalabad-Pakistan. A multistage sampling technique was applied for data collection. At the 2nd stage, two union councils were randomly selected from selected tehsil and at the 3rd stage; two villages were randomly selected from selected union councils. Total numbers of 120 respondents were interviewed from different villages. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data for drawing conclusion(s). Majority of the respondents agreed that unemployment leads to poor mental health, drug addiction, corruption, rural development, crime, dishonesty, depression and anxiety. A highly significant association was found between family income of the respondents and psychological impact of unemployment.


After 20 years of research and application, landscape ecology in China has gained many achievements and established a concrete foundation for further development. The major progress of landscape ecology in China was in the fields of land-use structure and ecological processes, landscape pattern and dynamics analysis, theoretical and methodological development, and landscape ecological applications. Past researches emphasized particularly the theories and applications, while the methodological study accounted for a comparatively small part; urban and suburban landscapes, regional and catchment scale landscapes, cold and arid zone landscapes, forest landscapes, agricultural landscapes and wetland landscapes were the main research subjects. Major problems with past researches include the following. 1) There was unbalanced attention on conceptual/theoretical analysis, monitoring, methodological development and applications. 2) Landscape metrics were widely used, whereas the ecological implications were not fully addressed. 3) The researches on the relationship between landscape pattern and ecological processes and scaling were largely preliminary. 4) The risk, uncertainty and accuracy of the data processing were seldom mentioned. 5) The original methodological innovation was scant. To solve these problems effectively and promote landscape ecology in China to full development at a whole new stage of the twenty-first century, the following four closely interrelated and complementary tasks should be addressed: 1) establishing appropriate strategies for the development of landscape ecology; 2) enhancing experiment-based and long-term research; 3) improving landscape planning, design, conservation and management; 4) initiating and advancing the development of unified landscape ecology with Chinese characteristics.


1,3-Diarylsubstituted imidazolinium salts, (NHC-H)Cl, 3, containing hydrogen or alkyl groups at the 4,5-positions of the imidazolidine ring, served as precursors to rhodium(I) complexes [RhCl(NHC)COD], 4, which were converted into cis-[RhCl(NHC)(CO)2] complexes, 5. All compounds prepared were characterized by elemental analyses, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. The relative σ-donor/π-acceptor strength of the NHC ligands was determined by means of IR spectroscopy of 5. The ability of NHCs in 4 to enchance activity was explored in the 1,2-addition of phenylboronic acid to aldehydes. A good correlation was observed between catalytic activity and the electron-donating power of the NHC ligands. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Early-onset renal cell carcinoma (eoRCC) is typically associated with pathogenic germline variants (PGVs) in RCC familial syndrome genes. However, most eoRCC patients lack PGVs in familial RCC genes and their genetic risk remains undefined. Here, we analyzed biospecimens from 22 eoRCC patients that were seen at our institution for genetic counseling and tested negative for PGVs in RCC familial syndrome genes. We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) and found enrichment of candidate pathogenic germline variants in DNA repair and replication genes, including multiple DNA polymerases. Induction of DNA damage in peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) significantly elevated numbers of gammaH2AX foci, a marker of double-stranded breaks, in PBMCs from eoRCC patients versus PBMCs from matched cancer-free controls. Knockdown of candidate PGVs in Caki RCC cells increased gammaH2AX foci. Immortalized patient-derived B cells bearing candidate PGVs in DNA polymerase genes (POLD1, POLH, POLE, POLK) had DNA replication defects compared to control cells. Renal tumors carrying these DNA polymerase variants were microsatellite stable but had a high mutational burden. Direct biochemical analysis of the variant Pol delta and Pol eta polymerases revealed defective enzymatic activities. Together, these results suggest that constitutional defects in DNA repair such as DNA replication repair underlie a subset of eoRCC cases. These findings may provide opportunities for use of the DNA repair targeting agents for eoRCC treatment. Screening patient lymphocytes to identify these defects may provide insight into mechanisms of carcinogenesis in a subset of genetically undefined eoRCCs.


We give a formal concept of (right) wide Morita context between two 0-cells in an arbitrary bicategory. We then construct a new bicategory with the same 0-cells as the previous one, and with 1-cells all these (right) wide Morita contexts. An application to the (right) Eilenberg-Moore bicategory of comonads associated to the bicategory of bimodules is also given.


Although information and communication technology (ICT) has recently revolutionized human settlements, its allocation and availability have not been evenly distributed globally. Consequently, the urban poor have often been excluded from government-driven smart city projects due to their inability to access and utilize ICT. Instead, the urban poor have attempted to forge an alternative smart city-making pathway outside institutions, in collaboration with radical social groups. Thus, this article examines the nature of the development of poor urban communities in their alternative smart city-related practices by exploring changing power dynamics and social infrastructure across the boundaries of smart city institutions. The case study of Seoul demonstrates that the urban poor can build a unique social infrastructure through radical intermediary intervention, which can improve their communal autonomy and construct a self-governing system, albeit within constraints. This article also argues that radical organizational transition can deprive these populations of opportunities to engage in various smart city-related practices, particularly those driven by the public and private sectors with speculative motives, while little or no qualitative growth of their communal autonomy has occurred within the institutional framework. Therefore, this article criticizes the double-edged ambivalence of the alternative smart city-making pathway for the urban poor, where their right to the smart city remains unachieved, despite their radical approach contributing to genuinely humanizing smart urbanism.


Background Fatigue is a common and distressing post stroke symptom. One important hypothesis is that fatigue after stroke may be triggered by physical deconditioning, which sets up a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle of fatigue, avoidance of physical activity, further deconditioning, and more fatigue. If an association between physical activity and fatigue after stroke could be established, this would provide a rationale for developing a physical activity-based treatment. Aims Systematically review all observational studies, which have measured both fatigue poststroke and one or more measures of physical fitness and/or physical activity at the same time-point and reported the association between fatigue and fitness variables. Method Publications were identified by systematically searching databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and Sportdiscus using keywords 'fatigue', 'stroke', 'fitness', or 'activity' and their associated terms or synonyms. Publications that provided data on associations between fatigue in stroke patients and levels of physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and/or muscle strength and mass were included. Results Twenty-nine potential studies were retrieved after scrutinizing the titles and abstracts, of which only three fulfilled our inclusion criteria. No association between fatigue and any measures of physical activity or fitness were found. One study did find, through structural equation modeling techniques that fatigue indirectly influences exercise through self-efficacy expectations. Conclusions There is very limited evidence regarding associations between exercise, fitness, and fatigue after stroke. It still remains highly plausible that exercise can have a positive influence on fatigue. Future research should be longitudinal in design.


Introduction Eosinophilic oesophagitis (EOE) is an immune/antigen mediated chronic inflammatory disease of the oesophagus. Its incidence and prevalence appears to be increasing and in some studies incidence has been reported to be similar to inflammatory bowel disease. Despite this EOE is largely underdiagnosed. International Guidelines recommend at least2–4 biopsies from each of the proximal and mid/distal oesophageal segments in patients suspected to have EOE.1We retrospectively assessed our practice in investigating patients presenting with dysphagia and food bolus obstruction (FBO) to two district general hospitals (DGH) over a year. Method Patients with history of dysphagia and FBO over 2014 were identified through electronic endoscopy database. 751 patients underwent gastroscopies for above complaints. Patient symptoms, demographics, endoscopic and histological findings were recorded. EOE was defined as the presence of >15 eosinophils per high power field (HPF). Results Patients with oesophageal malignancy (n = 67), Barrett's oesophagus (n = 68), reflux oesophagitis (n = 154), post-oesophageal surgery complications (n = 6) and PEG insertions (n = 14) were excluded from the final analysis. Of the 442 remaining patients, (255 female, mean age 66; range 17–94, 187 male, mean age 64; range 17–93), oesophageal biopsies were taken from 98 patients giving a biopsy rate of 22% (98/442). 33 patients were suspected of having EOE at timing of endoscopy of which 8 (24%) confirmed cases of EOE (7 male: mean age 37; range 20–50). Endoscopy showed mucosal features in 5/8 (furrowing and corrugated rings seen), 2/8 had mild stricturing or schatzki ring. The remaining patients had Grade A-B reflux oesophagitis. Average number of biopsies taken was 7. Mean number of eosinophils HPF were 27 (range 15–40). Physicians collected more biopsies with 67% (66/98) of cases and suspected EOE in 82% (27/33). Conclusion Only 22% of patients with symptoms conducive with EOE were biopsied, with 24% (8/33) confirmed cases if suspected. Despite recent increasing awareness of EOE, 78% (344/442) of patients did not have biopsies and only a third (31/98) of patients having the recommended number of biopsies. In summary, our DGH experience has shown that EOE detection is likely to improve further if all patients with symptoms conducive with EOE (e.g. solid food dysphagia) routinely trigger an EOE biopsy protocol of ≥4 from the mid/proximal oesophagus regardless of endoscopic findings.2Continuous education and improving awareness amongst clinicians who perform upper GI endoscopy will improve identification of EOE patients. Disclosure of interest None Declared. References Dellon ES, Gonsalves N, Hirano I, et al. ACG clinical guideline: evidenced based approach to the diagnosis and management of esophageal eosinophilia and eosinophilic esophagitis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2013;108:679–692; doi:10.1038/ajg.2013.71 Kanakala V, Lamb CA, Haigh C, et al. The diagnosis of primary eosinophilic oesophagitis in adults: missed or misinterpreted?. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2010;22(7):848–5


Background: Silymarin, a flavonoid, has been reported to have hepatoprotective, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. Picrorrhiza kurroa, Tephrosia purpurea , Asparagus racemosus and Phyllanthus amarus plants are well reported to possess anti-hepatotoxic ability. Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the effect of silymarin alone and in combination with the above mentioned hepatoprotective plants against experimentally induced liver injury. Materials and Methods: Wistar albino rats (180-220 g) of either sex (n=6) were employed in present study. Experimental hepatotoxicity was induced by the administration of paracetamol (3 g/kg, p.o. ) or CCl 4 (1 ml/kg, s.c. ). Silymarin in the dose of 12.5, 25, 50 mg/kg, and silymarin 25 mg/kg in combination with plant extract: Picrorrhizakurroa, Tephrosiapurpurea, Phyllanthus amarus and Asparagus racemosus were administered orally for 7 days. Results: Administration of PCM or CCl 4 caused significant increase in serum alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin; tissue lipid peroxidation, nitrite/nitrate, and decrease in tissue GSH and Na + K + ATPase levels, characterizing experimental hepatotoxicity.  Pretreatment with silymarin alone and its combination with each plant extract significantly attenuated the toxic effects of hepatotoxicants in liver. Histological study of liver was also carried out to estimate the extent of tissue injury.  Conclusion: The present study provides pharmacological basis for the efficacy of silymarin in lower dosage, and its rational use in combination with hepatoprotective plants to ameliorate hepatic insufficiency.


Abstract Objective Few data exist looking at vitamin D status and bone health in school-aged boys and girls from Saudi Arabia. The present study aimed to determine the extent of poor vitamin D status in school boys and girls aged 6–18 years and to examine if there was any difference in status with age, physical activity and veiling and concomitant effects on bone. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Subjects A total of 150 boys (7–16 years) and 150 girls (6–18 years) from local schools were divided into age categories: 6–9 years (elementary school); 10–12 years (secondary school); 13–14 years (middle years); 15–18 years (high school). Results Vitamin D status was significantly lower in girls than boys in all age groups (P < 0·01), with the 15–18-year-old girls having the lowest level (22·0 (sd 9·4) nmol/l) in comparison to the 15–18-year-old boys (39·3 (sd 14·0) nmol/l) and the 6–9-year-old girls (41·2 (sd 9·3) nmol/l). Parathyroid hormone status was highest in the 15–18-year-old girls in comparison to boys of the same age. A total of 64 % of 15–18-year-old girls had 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) status <25 nmol/l in comparison to 31 % in the 13–14 years age category, 26 % in the 10–12 years category and 2·5 % in the 6–9 years category. No boys had 25OHD status <25 nmol/l. Fully veiled girls had lower 25OHD status than partly veiled or unveiled girls (P < 0·05). Low 25OHD and high parathyroid hormone was associated with lower bone mass in the 6–9 years and 13–14 years age groups (P < 0·05). Conclusions These data suggest significant hypovitaminosis D in older adolescent females, which is a cause for concern given that there is currently no public health policy for vitamin D in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.


We propose microfluidics as a useful platform for reconfigurable electromagnetic metamaterials. Microfluidic split-ring resonators (MF-SRRs) are fabricated inside a flexible elastomeric material by employing rapid prototyping. The transmission measurements performed for mercury-injected MF-SRR exhibits sharp magnetic resonances at microwave wavelengths. We further calculate transmission properties of the MF-SRR array and the effect of electrical conductivity of the liquid inside the channel on the magnetic resonance. The measured results agree well with numerical calculations. Our proposal may open up directions toward switchable metamaterials and reconfigurable devices such as filters, switches, and resonators.


17 alpha-Propylmesterolon, a new topically active antiandrogen, was administered to 25 patients with papulopustular or comedo acne and severe seborrhoea. The patients were supplied with a 3% solution of 17 alpha-propylmesterolone in 70% alcohol and were advised to apply it to the face twice daily for a mean duration of 14 weeks. Clinical follow-ups and thin-layer-chromatography determination of the sebum secretion rate (SER) and the lipid fractions were performed monthly. At the end of the treatment period 72% of the patients had improved. Comedo acne was reduced by 2 grades, papulopustular acne by 1.8 grade. The mean reduction of seborrhoea was 2 grades. SER was reduced in 62.5% of the patients to 76.4 +/- 8.8% of pretreatment values. In addition to sebaceous gland lipids, epidermal lipids were also inhibited effectively. This finding is in accordance with the marked reduction of comedones. Thus, in addition to sebaceous gland inhibition, epidermal structures may also be the target of the antiandrogen.


With multiple observatories and missions being planned for detecting orphaned afterglows associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) we emphasize the importance of developing data analysis strategies for searching their possible counterpart signals in the data of gravitational wave detectors in the advanced detector era. This is especially attractive since short hard gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) may have compact binary coalescences involving neutron stars (CBCNS) as their progenitors, which emit gravitational waves. Joint electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations of these objects will enrich our understanding of their beaming, energetics, galactic environment, and shed light on a host of other outstanding questions related to them. We recognize some of the astrophysical factors that determine what fraction of these sources can generate orphaned afterglows. We developed a search pipeline by modifying the existing blind hierarchical coherent search pipeline, targeting their sky-position and time of occurrence known from EM observations to enable it to search for counterparts of SGRB and SGRB afterglows in gravitational wave detector data. The modifications allow it to analyze extended periods of time in the gravitational wave data in the past of the afterglow detection epoch, while targeting its known sky-position, to search for gravitational waves from the common progenitor. We assess the improvement in gravitational wave detectability to be had from utilizing the sky-position information. We also propose a method for mitigating the effects on the detection efficiency of targeted searches of gravitational wave signals from the putative CBCNS sources of afterglows and short gamma-ray bursts arising from the presence of errors in detector calibration or CBCNS waveform models used in the search.


Dill et al. (2007) present laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U-Pb data for torbernite, columbite, and limonite of the Hagendorf and Pleystein pegmatites. These pegmatites, which are intruded into a late Carboniferous granite, have been dated by Glodny (1997) to 317±3 Ma (2σ; 3-point Rb-Sr mineral isochron). Dill et al. (2007) report a torbernite age of 4.55±0.02 Ma, which is in line with earlier geochronological work in the region, showing the young redistribution of U and the formation of secondary U minerals (e.g. Carl and Dill, 1983; Wendt and Carl, 1985). Dill et al. (2007) present ages of 299.2±1.9 Ma and 302±3 Ma for ferrocolumbite from Hagendorf and Pleystein, respectively, that broadly agree with the Rb-Sr age of the Hagendorf pegmatite (Glodny, 1997). In addition, they present age data of ~345 to 380 Ma for four spot analyses on ferrocolumbite from the Pleystein pegmatite and a 549 ± 12 Ma discordia intercept age for limonite and torbernite mantling this limonite from the Hagendorf pegmatite. These ages are older than the rock hosting the dated minerals. Referring to older (Lower Ordovician) pegmatites in the Tepla-Barrandian (Glodny et al. , 1998), Dill et al. (2007) argue that the ages ~345 to ~380 Ma reflect the Devonian resetting of the U-Pb systematics of columbite from Lower Ordovician pegmatites and represent inherited domains in columbite. Apparently, Dill et al. (2007) were not aware that the Hagendorf and Pleystein pegmatites had emplaced into rocks of the Moldanubian Zone, which had an entirely different evolution than the Tepla-Barrandian from where Lower Ordovician pegmatites are known (e.g. Franke, 2000; Finger et al. , 2007). Furthermore, none of the numerous U-Pb TIMS studies on columbite from pegmatites (e.g. Romer and Wright, 1992; Romer and Smeds, 1994, 1996, 1997; Mauthner …


It may be that the high leucocytosis and the thrombocytosis in the peripheral blood are only unusual and atypical features in a severe and chronic case of Mediterranean anremia, though I admit the difficulties in this diagnosis. A second interpretation is that this is another type of bone marrow dyscrasia with splenomegaly and hepatomegaly and megakaryocytoals, possibly a myeloid metaplasia, arising coincidently in one of the Greek race with the background of the familial target-oval cell syndrome.


The transfer of imidazole from 1,1'-carbonyldimidazole (CDI) and 1,1'-(thiocarbonyl)diimidazole in modest to excellent yields under mild conditions was observed with activated alcohols, unactivated alcohols generally providing the expected carbonylimidazole esters. Reasonable mechanisms for the transfer are proposed. 1,1'-Carbonyldi-1,2,4-triazole was found to work as well, providing a new heterocycle in good yield. Chemists should be aware of this reaction when treating benzylic, vinylogous benzylic, and benzhydryl alcohols with CDI-type reagents, expecting elimination of heterocycle rather than incorporation of heterocycle and elimination of CO(2).


Modeling complex compositional objects in the field of the life sciences requires to solve intricate ontological problems, especially those related to parts of a whole, space and location. For concrete physical entities, we here stipulate that the distinction between parthood and location can be abstracted away. We outline a logic-based reasoning framework in which taxonomic sub-sumption not only takes care of the propagation of roles across taxonomic hierarchies, but also across nontaxonomic, i.e., partonomic or spatial, ones.


A single-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study was performed on the effects of different doses of the total triterpenic fraction of Centella asiatica (TTFCA) in patients with venous hypertensive microangiopathy. A combined microcirculatory model that considers laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) and transcutaneous oxygen (PO2), transcutaneous carbon dioxide tension (PCO2) measurements was combined with the symptom evaluation. LDF tests included the baseline resting flow, the venoarteriolar reflex, and the variation of flow related to the temperature increase. All tests provided a significant difference between drug-treated groups and the placebo group, thereby allowing a distinction to be made between the higher (120 mg daily) and the lower (60 mg daily) dose of TTFCA. Transcutaneous PO2-PCO2 measurements were significantly modified by drug treatments, while no variation could be detected in the placebo group. Important Symptomatologic effects (evaluated by subjective scores) followed TTFCA administration, especially at the higher dose level, while no effect was obtained with placebo. The trend of symptom evaluation paralleled the results of objective tests of our microcirculatory model, providing evidence that this model can reveal effects of venoactive drugs on venous hypertensive microangiopathy. TTFCA displays a significant activity. Doses as high as 120 mg daily may be safely used in venous hypertension.


The study was completed according to ICH GCP criteria and included 127 patients with varicose disease admitted to Ryazan Regional Clinical Cardiological Dispensary in order to undergo surgical treatment. The patients were divided into three groups: the first (control) group included 14 healthy volunteers with no signs of varicose veins of lower extremities, the second group included 112 patients with varicose disease divided into three subgroups according to the CEAP classification clinical class of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI): 1 st - C2, 2 nd - C3-C4, 3 rd - C5-C6. All patients underwent a comprehensive analysis of functional state of endothelium (FSE) according to the level of its main metabolites: nitric oxide II (NO), endothelin 1-21, adhesion molecules sICAM- 1, sICAM-2, sICAM-3, and their topographic distribution. The level of endothelial dysfunction markers was studied in 15 patients with unilateral varicose disease in both healthy and affected extremity, which allowed for including them into the third group of patients. The results of the study suggest that the manifestation of endothelial dysfunction has the direct relationship with clinical classes of CVI. NO metabolites, endothelin 1-21, sICAM-1 had the highest sensitivity. The higher the CVI class, the higher the hypofunction of endothelium of varicose veins.


Mastitis represents one of the most important problems in modern dairy production from the economic, diagnostic and public-health related point of view. Economic significance of the mastitis is related to the decreased milk production, lower quality of the milk, veterinary expenses and withdrawing of the milk due to the antibiotic treatment. Detection of mastitis is often complicated due to the subclinical nature of the mammary infection in which the increase of the somatic cells is only sign of the infection. Public health importance rises from the possibility of the transmission of zoonoses as well as due to the residue of the antibiotics secreted by milk. Staphylococcus aureus is the most commonly isolated udder pathogen around the world. Since it is contagious, critical time for spreading among the cows in a herd is the milking time. Observed prevalence of S. aureus mammary gland infection varies from 2% to 50% even above and depends on the milking hygiene. Clinical manifestations of the S. aureus mastitis may vary from mild cases with elevated somatic cells only to the gangrenous cases with lethal exit. Methicillin-resistant staphylococci as a mastitis pathogens were first identified in the 1972. During the last decade MRSA was identified as a mastitis pathogen in few occasions in Belgium, Poland, Hungary and Germany. Spreading of the MRSA between animals and humans is documented. Although the prevalence of mammary gland infection cased by MRSA is low, there is thread of spreading of the MRSA among herds by animal trade. Spreading within the herd is enabled with large number of possible contacts between cows by milkers and milking equipment.


The purpose of present study is to evaluate the symptoms exhibiting avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in infected chickens in poultry farms by standard enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) by produced polyclonal antibodies. The optimized polyclonal antibodies serve as potential agents for detection of IBV infection in field level.


In their hermeneutical reading of the Bible, postcolonialism and liberationism have some differences. Liberationism can be seen as a 'canon within canon approach' because it has some certain favoured texts, such as the Exodus event and the Nazareth Manifesto. By contrast, postcolonialism can be seen as a 'canonical approach' since it is broader in its approach to Biblical interpretation. With a critical lens, the latter hermeneutics tries to read the whole Bible, including the imperial texts. 1 Yet, both hermeneutics have common goals of liberation, working toward ending domination. Both endorse the oppressed as the prime site for theology and praxis. 2 The main aim of this publication is to employ both hermeneutics as partners in praxis. Using postcolonial and liberation hermeneutics, this paper will explore a theological concept of sin and suffering and three aspects of liberation — holistic liberation, exclusive liberation and inclusive liberation. It will be affirmed that postcolonial theology of liberation is not just liberation of the oppressed, but it is liberation by the oppressed for the mutual benefits of both the oppressed and oppressors in a postcolonial Asia.


Dog bites cause complex craniomaxillofacial injuries. Considering that the bite injuries are repeatedly situated on the face, dentist requires being well known with the therapy of animal bites. A three-year-old male child was attended as a victim of a Pit Bull terrier biting. The patient had multiple wounds at the level of the upper eyelid of the right eyeball, left hemisphere with the involvement of the auricular pavilion, wounds with multiple detachments on face and scalp, several abrasions and ecchymoses in the bilateral infraorbital and mouth region. The clinical intervention was completed in the first twenty-four hours after injury. The affected zones were cleaned and irrigated with saline solution, and the wounds were sutured in layers. Tetanus and anti-rabies vaccination, and antibiotic and analgesic were administered. On the fifth postoperative day, the stitches were removed, and the patient was discharged from the hospital. One week after the trauma, the child showed adequate wound curing absent of aggravation. Satisfactory aesthetic and functional results were achieved. Besides, in this case, the most relevant aspects of the management of dogs bites are presented.


Citric fruit represent the main fruit product worldwide due to their advantages and benefits Adequate and homogenous moisture in the soil ensures consistent fruit quality and production, even in subtropical countries having patterns Most citric-growing areas have drip irrigation infrastructure, thereby increasing water-use efficiency However, pressure on water resources means that water use in adverse conditions must continue to be studied to ensure efficient irrigation scheduling This paper deals with the effect of water stress on citric plants, as well as some of their physiological and anatomical responses to such deficit and what effect hydric stress has on vegetable production and growth Some results are compiled regarding deficit irrigation (DI) as a way to save water without affecting production


In this paper, the collisional absorption mechanism of electromagnetic wave in plasma of different types is studied with numerical methods. The collision frequency and electromagnetic wave which is made by RF discharge in the obturator or DC discharge around the opening space. The computation models are founded for calculating the absorption by the plasma. The FDTD method is presented for simulating the collisional absorption of electromagnetic wave power for one-dimensional homogeneous/inhomogeneous plasma. The emulational results illustrate that there are two conclusions: 1) the homogeneous plasma which is produced by RF discharge in the obturator on collisional absorption of electromagnetic wave can absorb the energy of electromagnetic wave effectively in the finite bandwidth; 2) the inhomogeneous plasma which is produced by DC discharge around the opening space can absorb the energy of electromagnetic wave availably both in the wide bandwidth and from low-frequency to high-frequency.


Based on a short overview of the escalating internal political conflict in Bolivia, the article offers a political classification of the present events. In doing so, the central participants, their interests and the main conflict lines between government and opposition are outlined. The article concludes by giving a general indication of the international reactions to the conflict as well as examining the manner in which it has affected US-Bolivian relations.


In May 1967 a 37-year-old man stayed on a farm during an abortion storm and drank raw infected milk every day. On 8 July 1967 he was thought to have "flu" and was in bed for a fortnight with a very severe headache, general aches and pains, and sweating which was so severe that he gave up wearing pyjamas. He was treated for a viral infection and was given tetracycline for three weeks. He felt fit until 29 July, when his symptoms returned. On 1 August brucellosis was diagnosed and he was admitted to hospital on 5 August. Blood culture taken on 8 August grew Brucella abortus biotype 1; this was reported on 27 September and he began treatment with tetracycline and streptomycin for a month with a good response. At the end of October 1967 he had a relapse. He had a further relapse lasting 14 days in May 1968, when his spleen was found to be palpable. On 1 July he was given an intradermal injection of brucellin. The next day he felt a little unwell, and on 3 July the brucellin test when read was completely negative. He had two further relapses, in November 1969 and August 1970, and was treated each time with tetracycline. When seen on 1 March 1973 he had been complaining of severe mental depression and feeling tired. This commenced a week after an influenza vaccine injection in December. He thought he had "flu" and could not understand the symptoms because of his recent vaccination. Since then he has greatly improved, and when last seen was feeling tired but much better. Over a period of years his blood was examined and the serum agglutination, antihuman globulin (Coombs), and complement fixation tests carried out. These were done on seven occasions between 1969 and 1973 with negative results. Three sera were examined using an antigen prepared from the organism isolated from the patient's blood, also with negative results. In blood taken on 21 May 1968 the serum IgM level was 104 mg/l00 ml (normal range 50-170). In the past I have received numerous specimens from patients complaining of symptoms suggestive of brucellosis who were in close contact with infected cattle. The question must arise, when it is impossible to demonstrate antibdies to brucella and no other diagnosis has been made, as to whether these patients are suffering from brucellosis, particularly in the light of the case quoted. Unfortunately blood cultures yielding Br. abortus are rare in brucellosis except in the acute case; hence the difficulty in establishing the diagnosis of brucellosis in a patient who does not produce antibodies. One further point in the leading article that I would like to take up is the statement that the acute disease usually dies out in the patient within a year of infection. I wonder how many people would agree with this statement? Certainly it is no reason to allow a case of acute brucellosis to go untreated, and such an action or lack of action would amount to negligence. The acute case generally readily responds to treatment, while in the chronic case treatment is extremely difficult and very disappointing. No one who has made the diagnosis of brucellosis in the acute stage should neglect to give adequate antiibiotic therapy for at least six weeks. I am, etc., DONALD J. H. PAYNE Public Health Laboratory, St. Mary's General Hospital, Portsmouth


We trace the fundamental developments and events, in their intellectual as well as institutional settings, of the emergence of the quantum-mechanical electron theory of metals from 1928 to 1933. This paper continues an earlier study of the first phase of the development —from 1926 to 1928—devoted to finding the general quantum-mechanical framework. Solid state, by providing a large and ready number of concrete problems, functioned during the period treated here as a target of application for the recently developed quantum mechanics; a rush of interrelated successes by numerous theoretical physicists, including Bethe, Bloch, Heisenberg, Peierls, Landau, Slater, and Wilson, established in these years the network of concepts that structure the modern quantum theory of solids. We focus on three examples: band theory, magnetism, and superconductivity, the former two immediate successes of the quantum theory, the latter a persistent failure in this period. The history revolves in large part around the theoretical physics institutes of the Universities of Munich, under Sommerfeld, Leipzig under Heisenberg, and the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zurich under Pauli. The year 1933 marked both a climax and a transition; as the laying of foundations reached a temporary conclusion, attention began to shift from general formulations to computation of the properties of particular solids.


NOVELTY - Processing a semiconductor material containing primary dopant and impurity material involves thermal processing to activate the dopant material. The impurity material reduces the diffusion of the primary dopant during thermal processing. The semiconductor sample is silicon-germanium, silicon-germanium-carbon, germanium and/or strained silicon. The primary dopant material gives p- and/or n-type doping of the semiconductor material. USE - Used for an ultra-fast silicon-germanium hetero-junction bipolar transistor used in wireless and optical communication, a silicon bipolar junction transistor, a silicon-germanium hetero-junction bipolar transistor, an NPN transistor, silicon-germanium metal oxide semiconductor devices and germanium implanted silicon bipolar junction transistors. ADVANTAGE - The impurities can provide good control of the undesirable diffusion of n-type and p-type dopant materials. Thus, the distribution of dopant material within the semiconductor can be controlled and confined to a desired region, giving a desired structure for the semiconductor sample. The process offers a useful technique for achieving precise dopant positioning, allowing the fabrication of improved semiconductor devices. The process is attractively simple and highly flexible, since conventional semiconductor production and processing techniques can be used. The process is widely applicable to a range of semiconductor structures, so the sample may be formed or selected with any structure as required, depending on the intended application for the semiconductor sample. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is included for a semiconductor material sample.


Abstract:The cost-effectiveness of hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening and treatment was examined in low-income, primarily Hispanic baby boomers born 1945–1965 using a Markov model of the natural history of HCV. The model was parameterized using costs and diagnostic data from 2008–2016 and from literature on disease progression and effectiveness of screening and treatment using direct acting anti-viral (DAA) therapy. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was computed from the perspective of Medicare as payer, calculated over 20 years, and discounted at 3% per year. In the base case, HCV screening cost $3,334 versus $3,797 for no screening, and yielded more quality-adjusted life years (QALYs; 14.08 vs 13.96, respectively). The ICER for screening was still less than $20,000 per additional QALY with drug costs up to $100,000. Among low-income Hispanics, HCV screening was less costly for Medicare and more effective than no screening under most assumptions. This analysis supports investment in screening and treatment in Hispanics.


To the Editor: Yavchitz et al recently found that an overstated or misleading finding in an abstract predicts overstated or misleading press and media coverage. Farajun and colleagues certainly run that risk. Some results presented do not mention any measure of statistical significance: "Seven enoxaparin-treated women compared with three in the placebo group had almost painless intercourse at the end of the study." No mention is made of whether this difference is predictable or possibly attributable to the treatment. Without statistical analysis, this result cannot be used to conclude that enoxaparin reduces dyspareunia. It is not clear from the results that are presented with statistical evidence that enoxaparin improves the ability of women with vulvodynia to have intercourse. Of the patient-centered outcomes presented, none are statistically significant, although many of them are "spun" to suggest that they are: "women in the enoxaparin group reported a great percentage of pain reduction.during intercourse.tampon insertion.and voiding after intercourse." Only then do we get to read that they are not statistically significant. I appreciate seeing results that my patients with vulvodynia would truly care about, even if none of these reach statistical significance: pain during intercourse, riding a bike, and being able to cross their legs. In the Discussion, though, there is no mention of why any of these outcomes may have resulted; there is no mention of (perhaps) under-powering or inadequate tools to assess them. Instead, the authors focus on the rigor of the study and the effect size seen with one result that approaches—but does not achieve— statistical significance. The P value should never become the only area of focus in a research article, but it should be given its due.


Grain storage plays a crucial role in ensuring food security to Thai farmers so sustainable protection methods against deleterious microorganisms, such as fungi, are necessary. Essential oils (EOs) have demonstrated broad-spectrum fumigant antifungal activity against most storage fungi that are problematic in Thailand. Four storage fungi (Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, Curvularia lunata and Fusarium proliferatum) were isolated from dried rice and corn grains (stored for at least six months). EOs were extracted by hydrodistillation from clove buds (Syzygium aromaticum), fruit peel and leaves of makrut lime (Citrus hystrix), eucalyptus leaves (Eucalyptus sp.) and lemongrass stems (Cymbopogon citratus). The fungi inoculated on PDA in plastic cups were exposed to each EO vapour originating from paper disc attached in the lids in an inverted position. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for each EO was determined. Selected MICs were combined in a binary manner and similarly tested against the fungi. Fractional inhibitory concentration indices (FICI) were determined for each combination. Lemongrass and makrut lime leaf EOs were the most effective with MICs of 0.09 μL/mL against Curvularia lunata and 0.19-0.28 μL/mL against A. flavus, A. niger and F. proliferatum. Eucalyptus oil produced the least effective vapour (MIC 0.56-0.74 μL/mL) against all tested pathogens. A combination of lemongrass and makrut lime leaf EOs was partially synergistic against A. niger (FICI=0.75) but was fully synergistic against the other three fungi tested (FICI=0.5). The EOs from lemongrass and makrut lime leaf have potential to suppress the growth of the four grain-storage fungi tested.


Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) is most often maternally inherited and highly conserved leading to previous observation of little to no sequence variation. Comparing cpDNA haplotypes have provided valuable insight into the establishment and migration of polyploid populations. However, to use chloroplast haplotypes to their full potential intrapopulational variation needs to be addressed. In this study, cpDNA haplotype variation was surveyed within 16 natural populations of prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Link) located east of the 100th west meridian and north of the 35th north parallel in the U.S.A. using two non‐coding, polymorphic chloroplast regions. Two main clades were defined with subclades as follows: haplotype 1 and haplotype 2A and 2B. It was discovered that seven populations showed intrapopulational chloroplast genome variation. Of the total amount of variation, 95.5% occurred within the octoploid populations and 4.5% occurred within the tetraploid populations. Both variant haplotypes, 2A and 2B, were found in a larger sampling of one of the natural populations, but no variation was found in a mixed ploidy population. The intrapopulational cpDNA variation we found in this study cannot directly be related to mechanisms of introduction of the non‐native populations into native populations. Therefore, this cpDNA variation could be novel natural variation that has been fixed as the octoploid populations were established and moved northwest. This analysis provides insight into determining the usefulness of indels and single nucleotide polymorphisms for population identification and may provide information in regards to the origin of chloroplast variation and its subsequent fixation and establishment in natural prairie cordgrass populations.


Human factors, such as an individual's competences and attitudes, have a decisive impact on the results of product development processes, especially in companies with small product development teams. Sustainability considerations further amplify this impact as such a multifaceted issue results in an extra layer of product requirements and hard-to-make decisions on tradeoffs. This paper explores the interplay of corporate sustainability and the individual approaches product developers exhibit toward improving product sustainability. For this purpose, a grounded theory study in the German consumer goods industry is conducted. Thirty-two expert interviews with product development managers and extensive secondary data are collected and analyzed. It is found that the corporate sustainability approach heavily influences how developers comprehend sustainability and how they conceptualize it for their product portfolio. Explicitly, the products considered for sustainability improvements, their innovation level, and the use of design stereotypes to signal sustainability improvements emerge as key decision levers. The findings emphasize that the human factors in the context of product development, specifically concerning sustainability, warrant more academic attention. Also, it is demonstrated that companies need to be aware of the organizational environment which they are providing for their developers when pushing for product sustainability.


Haustoria of parasitic plants have evolved sophisticated traits to successfully infect host plants. The degradation and modification of host cell walls enable the haustorium to effectively invade host tissues. This study focused on two APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (ERF) genes and a set of the cell wall enzyme genes principally expressed during the haustorial invasion of Cuscuta campestris Yuncker. The orthogroups of the TF and cell wall enzyme genes have been implicated in the cell wall degradation and modification activities in the abscission of tomatoes, which are currently the phylogenetically closest non-parasitic model species of Cuscuta species. Although haustoria are generally thought to originate from root tissues, our results suggest that haustoria have further optimized invasion potential by recruiting regulatory modules from other biological processes.


Objectives. Leprosy is an infectious disease affecting the skin and nerves caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Closer physical distance was found to increase risk transmission. Thus, targeted provision of prophylactic medications to household contacts of patients with leprosy could possibly aid in decreasing its incidence in a cost-effective manner. This study aimed to determine the attitudes towards disclosure of the diagnosis of leprosy and acceptance of immuno- and chemoprophylaxis for household contacts of patients undergoing treatment in a dermatology outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital in the Philippines.
Methods. We conducted a prospective, single-center, cross-sectional and mixed methods study at a dermatology clinic of a tertiary hospital. All diagnosed leprosy patients, household contacts of leprosy patients, and individuals with no leprosy and no known contact with a leprosy case were invited. Eligible participants who gave consent were included in the cross-sectional survey, followed by in-depth interviews of selected participants. STATA 12 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize information. Chi-square was computed to obtain a measure of association of important variables. The field notes and the verbatim transcriptions of the interviews and narratives were filed using an analytic memo system.
Results. Fifty-five participants (22 Hansen's disease patients, 13 household contacts, and 20 individuals unaffected by and unexposed to leprosy) were enrolled. Mean age of respondents was 38 years, 60% were female, and 85% were living in an urban setting. Majority of the patients with leprosy were borderline lepromatous (45%) to lepromatous type (27%) with mean treatment duration of 13 months. Overall, the respondents were willing to disclose the diagnosis of leprosy to their household members to facilitate provision of prophylaxis. They were also generally willing to receive prophylaxis despite potential side effects, expense, incomplete protection, and the need for yearly assessment for the development of leprosy. All respondents felt hopeful about the availability of medications that can prevent the development of leprosy and its complications, with some feeling anxious and only a few being embarrassed about receiving them.
Conclusions. Prophylactic medications were found to be generally acceptable despite some concerns. There is also a willingness to disclose the diagnosis of leprosy to facilitate the targeted provision of prophylaxis to household contacts.


Abstract: Mutation of the tumor suppressor gene MEN1 causes both human inherited and somatic tumors in multiple endocrine tumors. Dissection of mechanism on MEN1 tumor model will shed light on tumor biology and the targeting therapies on neuroendocrine tumors lacking Men1. Loss of tumor suppressor menin may be tumorigenic because it leads to decreased histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation and therefore decreased expression of specific genes such as CDKN1B. Reversing the tumorigenesis caused by menin deficiency might therefore be achieved by inhibition of histone H3 lysine 4 demethylation. Rbp2 (also known as KDM5A) is an excellent candidate for such a demethylase because loss of the Rbp2 gene leads to increased expression of CDKN1B. Using a tissue-specific knockout approach, I have disrupted Men1 alone or both Men1 and Rbp2 in mouse pancreatic islets through RIP-Cre transgene (RIP = "rat insulin promoter") and have observed that loss of Rbp2 dramatically inhibits tumor growth in Men1-deficient islets. Histological assays have found that 100 percent of Men1 f/f RIP-Cre mice (13 out of 13) at 10 months old or older harbor tumors of the pancreatic islets, whereas only 7 out of 21 Men1 f/f ; Rbp2 f/f RIP-Cre mice contain tumors or large hyperplastic islets. Furthermore, Inactivation of Rbp2 extends the life span of Men1-deficient mice. The median survival age of Men1 f/f RIP-Cre mice in this cohort is 313 days, the median survival age of Men1 f/f ; Rbp2 f/f RIP-Cre (n=72) is 486 days (p Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 62. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-62


For a woman, menopause represents a transitional phase from a fertile to a non-fertile age, in which there is a gradual reduction in ovarian function accompanied by a gradual cessation of oestrogen production. The clinical presentation can involve a series of disorders, including hot flushes with episodes of sweating, particularly at night, palpitations, changes in sleep-wake rhythm, irritability, anxiety and mood changes, vaginal dryness due to a process of progressive atrophy with thinning of the outer and inner labia, reduction of vascularisation and elastic fibres, and decreased sexual desire; subsequently, Many women use alternative therapies to treat hot flushes and other menopausal symptoms. The purpose of this review is to summarize current information on the efficacy and safety of phytoestrogens and the herbal medicine. Given the importance that these symptoms assume for the woman, not only for the perceived quality of life, but also for the increased risk of developing all the diseases, all the treatments adopted for menopausal women are directed primarily to resolving vasomotor disorder.


The study of the bremsstrahlung photon emission accompanying fragments produced in the spontaneous fission of heavy nuclei by a fully quantum approach is presented for the first time. This kind of problem requires the knowledge of wave functions of the fissioning system leading to a wide distribution of couples of fragments that are the products of fission. With the aim of obtaining these wave functions, the interaction potential between the emitted fragment and residual nucleus is calculated by a standard approach. A new procedure was performed that allows an increase in the accuracy of calculations of radial integrals in the far asymptotic region and the achievement of the convenient convergence in calculations of the spectra. The total probability of the emitted photons in the spontaneous fission of {sup 252}Cf was calculated in such a way. We obtained good agreement between theory and experimental data up to 38 MeV for the bremsstrahlung spectrum of photons while the calculation of the total probability of photon emission accompanying fragments was performed up to an energy of 60 MeV. The analysis of contributions in the bremsstrahlung spectrum accompanying the emission of light, medium, and heavy fragments in the fission of {sup 252}Cf is presented.


ObjectivesBaroreceptor reflex sensitivity (BRS) is an important factor in the homeostatic regulation of the cardiovascular system. Arterial stiffening also provides direct evidence of target organ damage in hypertensive patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a possible association between BRS and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in a population of normotensive and hypertensive patients. Patients and methodsA consecutive series of 160 patients underwent office blood pressure (BP) measurements, 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring, a 15-min electrocardiographic and noninvasive BP monitoring, and carotid–femoral PWV measurements. Power spectral analysis was carried out to calculate cardiac BRS, expressed as the alpha-index. The study population was divided into two groups according to the office BP values: patients with systolic and diastolic BP<140/90 mmHg were defined as normotensives, whereas patients with systolic BP≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP≥90 mmHg were defined as hypertensives. ResultsHypertensive patients (79%) had significantly higher PWV values (P=0.004) and a lower alpha-index (P<0.001) than the normotensive patients (21%). Multivariate linear regression analyses showed significant and independent associations of PWV with the following factors: age [0.510, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.260–0.760; P<0.001], 24-h systolic BP (0.320, 95% CI: 0.120–0.520; P=0.002), and log(alpha-index) (−1.465, 95% CI: −2.686 to −0.244; P=0.019). A 1 ms/mmHg decrease in the log(alpha-index) correlated to an increment of 1.465 m/s (95% CI: 0.244–2.686) in the PWV of the study population. ConclusionIncreased arterial stiffness is significantly and independently associated with impaired BRS in normotensive and hypertensive patients.