Cynodon Dactylon (L.) Pers. is a common perennial grass which are abundantly found in most subtropical areas. It has been used as traditional remedies to cure wounds, constipation and diarrhoea. Previous researches, especially in India has proved the existence medicinal compounds in some parts of the grass. Therefore, methanolic and ethanolic extraction of the whole body of C. Dactylon (L.) Pers. is conducted to produce similar result, hence proving the same occurrence in UTP. In addition to that, ionic liquid extraction from the same parts of the sample by using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium lactate (EMIL) and methanol mixture as the solvent, is performed to study its effectiveness for the process. The extracts are analysed qualitatively Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). It is found that a higher extraction yield and extracted component variety is resulted from the addition of EMIL to methanol as solvents, and as far as this research is concerned, higher concentration of EMIL further increases the yield as well.


Introduction : the National Institute for Communicable Diseases was notified of the death of a 27-year old female residing in a psychiatric long-term care facility. The cause of death was fulminant liver failure from acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Our investigation aimed to determine HBV prevalence in the facility and to establish possible sources of infection. Methods : we conducted on a total of 194 residents, day-patients. (non-resident patients working in the income-generating electrical assembly workshop) and staff, and classified persons as acutely or chronically infected, susceptible, or immune. We used a chart abstraction form to collect case patient clinical data. We reviewed clinical records to look for other patients presenting with acute illness and jaundice. We conducted an environmental assessment, assessed infection control practices and interviewed staff members. Results : no additional cases of acute HBV were identified from the clinical review, 4/194 (2%) had chronic HBV infection (1 resident and 3 day-patients) and 2 day-patients had concurrent HIV infection. Three known sexual contacts of the deceased tested negative for HBV. The median age 34 (range 23-43 years) and all residents were female. 63/194 (33%) patients had immunity to HBV. We HBV vaccination for the 127/194 (65%) susceptible patients. An environmental assessment revealed opportunities for cross-contamination with blood and/or saliva. We identified possible transmission modes such as sport and workshop related injuries and behavioural practices of residents, such as toothbrush sharing, and risky sexual practices. Conclusion : we identified multiple potential transmission modes but did not confirm in-facility, person-to-person transmission. To prevent nosocomial transmission of HBV, long-term care facilities should test residents and workers upon entry, offer vaccination to susceptible persons, provide sexual education to residents and ensure compliance with infection control standards. The facility acted on the r post-investigation recommendations.


Chondroitin sulfate (ChS) was used to form polyelectrolyte complexes with chitosan (ChI), and its potential as a colon-targeted drug carrier was investigated. In order to determine the optimal conditions for the formation of a stable polyelectrolyte complex, the formation of ChS/ChI complexes was examined at two different pH values with various weight ratios, or at a fixed molar ratio of ChS/ChI of 1/2 under various pH conditions. The molar compositions of the various ChS/ChI complexes were quantitated with the use of solid-state 13C CP MAS NMR. The equivalent molar ratios of the complexes ranged from 0.47 to 0.54, in agreement with the data determined by elemental analysis. The fact that these values were close to 0.5 suggests that most of the --OSO3- and the --COO- groups on ChS formed strong electrostatic interactions with the --NH3+ groups on ChI, obeying a simple stoichiometric reaction between two oppositely charged moieties. Similar compositions of the complexes were obtained under most conditions tested; however, different strengths of the interactions between the two polysaccharides were noted from measurements of the water-associated transition and thermal degradation temperatures and the degree of ChS dissolution. FTIR and 13C NMR clearly showed H-bond formation at low pH, indicating that in addition to the varying degrees of electrostatic interaction, H bonding may be involved in complex formation. The highest degradation temperature, as determined by thermal gravimetric analysis, and the lowest ChS sol fraction, as measured by gel permeation chromatography, were observed with the complex prepared at pH 5, with a 1:1 mole ratio of the two opposite charges in feed. This complex also exhibited the highest water-associated transition temperature, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Furthermore, the swelling behavior of these complexes was pH dependent; this is a property that can potentially be exploited to control drug release from these complexes under specific pH conditions.


The purposes of this study were to develop the instructional model for enhancing self-directed learning skills of Bangkok University students, study the impacts of the model on their English reading comprehension and self-directed learning ability as well as explore their opinion towards self-directed learning. The model development process consisted of a review of literature, the design of the learning model, and evaluation of its effectiveness by experts' validation and implementation of the model in the classroom. The research instruments included 1) the Honey and Mumford's Learning Style Questionnaire used to divide the students into four groups: activist, reflector, theorist, and pragmatist, 2) self-directed learning readiness scale created by Guglielmino, 3) a reading comprehension test, and 4) an opinion questionnaire towards self-directed learning. Over 12 weeks, the designed Self-directed Learning Instructional Model was employed with 120 students enrolled in Fundamental English I course in the first semester of 2010 academic year. Then the data were analyzed by mean, standard deviation, t-test, and One-way Analysis of Variance. Regarding the effectiveness of instructional model, the experts accepted that the model was appropriate. From implementing the model in class, it was found that the English reading proficiency mean scores of the post-test of students in four learning styles were significantly higher than those of the pre-test (p<.05). Moreover, the post-test mean scores of self-directed learning ability of students in four learning styles were significantly higher than the pretest mean scores (p<.05). The students had a high level of opinion towards self-directed learning. The findings suggest that self-directed learning environment be provided for students to enhance their reading skill and self-directed learning ability.


Electronic health records (EHR) are the digital version of a patient's medical paper chart. EHRs are patient-centered records that make information available instantly and these are secure and can be accessed only by authorized users. A patient stricken by a heavy medical condition needs to maintain the long history of the treatment method and post-treatment rehabilitation. Storing and sharing knowledge between multiple entities and maintaining access solely complicate the method of a patient's treatment. This paper introduces a record storage system by implementing blockchain technology to store the data that helps to realize integrity and security. By incorporating medical records in a blockchain, genuineness and rigidity of records will be typically maintained; that put together helps to remain the data safe from third parties. Our system presents ways in which the authority can maintain the medical records with efficiency. Authorities like hospital management and patients can be authorized to add and access the information within the medical records.


Implementation services health insurance for workers conducted by BPJS-Health still has many obstacles encountered in the service of optimal health. It is ranging from the constraints of participation, health facilities, and the limited health workforce. The result is not optimal its services provided to the participants. The details of the Presidential Regulation Number 111 of 2013, section 25 of the service are not guaranteed BPJS-Health is that the treatment carried out outside the country was not given guarantees of BPJS-Health. This is very difficult for citizens and workforce Indonesia who work abroad to get the service, while the differences in contributions paid by the government and paid by community groups of workers not wage earners who choose a class III is not in accordance with the theory of equality before the law. Healthcare model that is used by the Social Security Agency to protect the right to health workers is Health System Model. Because it is formed and managed by the state, and the state in collaboration with health organizations that exist for the provision of health facilities, participants BPJS divided into two groups namely PBI and non-PBI jointly managed in health BPJS different with the organizers before taking service model structure social which focuses only on labor.


In the spring of 1991, a second field trial was initiated. This involved increasing the width of the tactile warnings to 400 mm, moving them to a fixed distance from the platform edge (approximately 900 mm), and introducing additional information surfaces. Guidance material was put down to guide people from the entrance of the station to the booking office and waiting areas. A corduroy pattern warning was introduced to warn of steps and the access ramp. Finally two different types of amenity surfaces were introduced. These indicate the position of the ticket office and of the waiting room. The material for one of these amenity surfaces has been kindly donated by Maxwell Hart Limited. The tiles and the physical work for this phase are being paid for by Centro. The Department of Transport, through the Transport and Road Research Laboratory, is paying for continued research by The Cranfield Institute. Field trials on the new arrangement started in September and should give further evidence of the usefulness of the surfaces. Before installing further surfaces Centro and other funding bodies will have to be sure of the benefits of the tiles, which are not cheap to buy or to install. Assuming a positive outcome from the trials, the rate of installation will be dependent on the available funding. Centro is already committed to providing appropriate tactile surfacing at the new Midland Metro stations (the planned new light rail rapid transit system), but even with a positive outcome of current research it will take some considerable


Two experiments were conducted in 1994 in Martinique to compare the efficacy of short-term rotations on the population decline of Meloidogyne incognita and Rotylenchulus reniformis associated with vegetables and various plants. Tomato, weeds, Tagetes erecta, Mucuna pruriens cv. utilis or Brachiaria decumbens were grown, or soil was left in clean fallow, for a three-month period just before planting a crop of lettuce. For M. incognita, the greatest population decline was observed after M. pruriens and T erecta (87% for both crops), while R. reniformis declined most after M. pruriens (86%). The leguminous forage plant, M. pruriens exhibited the best vegetative growth, soil coverage and weed competivity. The use of M. pruriens cv. utilis as a rotation crop may provide a practical and environmentally safe means for growers to suppress population densities of both M. incognita and R. reniformis prior to the cultivation of susceptible short-term vegetable crops.


A new method for x-ray determination of the volume fraction of phases in a sample has been developed. This method is characterized by the accurate and rapid determination of these phases by analysing a single reflection from each phase, regardless of the condition of the sample. This new method was applied to the determination of the quantity of retained austenite in some quenched carbon steels; it was found that the quantity of retained austenite increased with quenching temperature, becoming almost constant, and depended on the carbon content of the matrix and the quenching procedure.


Metallic foreign bodies ingested by eight patients (seven children) were removed from the upper gastrointestinal tract by means of a magnet inserted into the end of an orogastric tube. No patient required hospitalization, anesthesia, surgery, or subsequent radiography, and all patients remained asymptomatic. In no case did the foreign body uncouple from the orogastric tube-magnet arrangement during retrieval. The procedure is an alternative to endoscopic or surgical removal in some cases of metallic foreign body ingestion.


The relationship between status categories and extracurricular activities is examined by considering an incident that produces a situation of status incon-gruity. In a suburban middle-class junior high school there is an important assumed congruence between the prestige of an individual's status category and the extracurricular activities in which she or he participates. When this tacit cultural assumption is violated in the selection of cheerleaders, students cast aspersions on their cheerleaders and thereby threaten the latter's social and personal identities. This article seeks to delineate the cultural meanings that provide the symbolic glue between status category and activity and make their incongruity so threatening. Put another way, the article examines the role that the assumed congruence between categories and activities plays in reproducing the basis for prestige and privilege in mainstream American society.


This article aims to provide a design method of warning thresholds for active safety systems based on the performance-based approach considering driver behaviors. Both positive and negative consequences of warnings are considered, and the main idea is to choose a warning threshold where the positive consequence is maximized, whereas the negative consequence is minimized. The process of the performance-based approach involves: Defining the operating scenarios; setting the trajectory models, including human characteristics; estimating the alert and nominal trajectories; estimating the performance metrics; generating a performance-metric plot; and determining the alert thresholds. This paper chose a lane-departure warning system as an example to show the usefulness of the performance-based approach. Both human and sensor characteristics were considered in the system design, and this paper provided a quantitative method to include human factors in designing active safety systems.


It has been suggested that the narrow cores of the Fe K$\alpha$ emission lines in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are likely produced in the torus, the inner radius of which can be measured by observing the lag time between the $V$ and $K$ band flux variations. In this paper we compare the virial products of the infrared time lags and the narrow Fe K$\alpha$ widths for 10 type 1 AGNs with the black hole masses from other techniques. We find the narrow Fe K$\alpha$ line width is in average 2.6$^{+0.9}_{-0.4}$ times broader than expected assuming an isotropic velocity distribution of the torus at the distance measured by the infrared lags. We propose the thick disk model of the torus could explain the observed larger line width. Another possibility is the contamination by emission from the broad line region or the outer accretion disk. Alternatively, the narrow iron line might originate from the inner most part of the obscuring torus within the sublimation radius, while the infrared emission from outer cooler part. We note the correlation between the black hole masses based on this new technique and those based on other known techniques is statistically insignificant. We argue that this could be attributed to the small sample size and the very large uncertainties in the measurements of iron K line widths. The next generation of X-ray observatories could help verify the origin of the narrow iron K$\alpha$ line and the reliability of this new technique.


One of us (ML) has carried on a love affair with Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL) for the past 30 years, returning every two to three years to do research, or to teach a course, or sometimes to do both. The other (MK) first encountered the San Juan Islands only a couple years ago, but admits to being likewise smitten (so much that he's co-teaching a course there again this year, this time on predation.) For those of us who continuously regret having been born a few hundred million years too late to play in the Paleozoic or Mesozoic and get to really understand those marvelous faunas, Friday Harbor is the next best thing. As this issue of Palaios makes clear, it's a place where opportunities abound for paleobiologists and taphonomists to hone their insights and test their hypotheses, a place where a dozen eager graduate students can go from a standing start to interesting (and in over half the cases, publishable) results in five weeks.

What's so great about FHL? First, there's the fauna. Where else could you find calcified, stick-like bryozoans, articulate brachiopods, and a holothurian ( Psolus chinoides ) with an imbricated skeleton like a resurrected edrioasteroid? Interested in tiering of suspension feeders? Check out Shady Cove, where anemones filter the waters 30 cm from the wall, brachiopods and solitary corals filter within …


This paper investigates the electronic structure and thermodynamic proper-ties of LiBC in the hexagonal structure by using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and local density approximation correction scheme in the frame of density functional theory. The geometric structure of LiBC under zero pressure, and the dependences of the normalized lattice parameters a/a(0) and c/c(0), the ratio c/a, the normalized primitive volume V/V(0) on pressure are given. The thermodynamic quantity (including the heat capacity C(V), Debye temperature Theta(D), thermal expansion alpha and Gruneisen parameter gamma) dependences on temperature and pressure are obtained through the GGA method and the quasi-harmonic Debye model. The band structures and density of state of UBC under different pressures have also been analysed.


The performance effect of construction on energy conservation substantially depends upon application of correct materials and energy saving methodologies. A sizable financial impact is accomplished through insulated walls. The criteria explaining the present wall insulating material options may have different values. Furthermore, they may alter in different aspects, i.e. higher values of certain criteria show a preferable status, while for others they denote an inferior status. In this framework, a variant of compromise is needed, which can be situated through multi-criteria assessment methodologies. To diminish the effect of different methodologies on computational results, few diverse techniques can be considered, with descriptions of the mean predicted values. Thus, drawbacks of certain multi-criteria assessment techniques could be compensated through others. A hybrid methodology through the combination of individual techniques will be accurate if there is a relationship between the values determined through diverse methodologies. In this study, the most efficient insulation material used at external walls is selected by using PSI-CRITIC based CoCoSo Method. The analytical results are important both from financial and engineering point of views as the applied methodology is commercially viable and practically implementable. Precise and up-to-date material properties are derived from the leading companies in the sector.


Fresh and old oleoresin samples from bark and cones of Abies nordmanniana and Picea onentalis were analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The fresh Oleoresins from both bark and cones of Caucasian fir were mainly composed of monoterpenes (40.0% and 21.3%, respectively) and resin acids (27,4% and 36.8%). α-Pinene was the dominant constituent of monoterpenes in the bark and cone (21.9% and 17.2%) and abietic acid of the resin acids (11.4% and 19.8%). Pimaric acid, a common resin in softwood resins and oleoresins, was not found in the samples. Sesquiterpenes, resin aldehydes and resin alcohols were minor constituents of the fresh samples. Analysis of the old samples from bark of Caucasian fir presented a completely different composition. The major part of the resin was composed of resin hydrocarbons (34.1%) They were not detected in the fresh samples. The dominant constituent of the old oleoresin was abietadiene (23.0%).


It is pointed out that sequential tunneling has, until now, been defined in two ways in the literature, and this has led to some confusion. It is shown that sequential tunneling defined as a two-step process is an alternative description of resonant tunneling, but not an alternative mechanism for it.


The Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) is a prominent list of software weakness types. This list is used by vulnerability databases to describe the underlying security flaws within analyzed vulnerabilities. This linkage opens the possibility of using the analysis of software vulnerabilities to identify the most significant weaknesses that enable those vulnerabilities. We accomplish this through creating mashup views combining CWE weakness taxonomies with vulnerability analysis data. The resulting graphs have CWEs as nodes, edges derived from multiple CWE taxonomies, and nodes adorned with vulnerability analysis information (propagated from children to parents). Using these graphs, we develop a suite of metrics to identify the most significant weakness types (using the perspectives of frequency, impact, exploitability, and overall severity).


N ligands are potent morphogens, belonging to the TGF-β superfamily. In humans, nodal is rarely expressed during late development and adulthood. Nodal physiological expression is typically observed only in embryonic tissues and embryonic stem (ES) cells. Aberrant re-activation of nodal expression in adults is associated with a number of tumours such as metastatic melanoma as well as breast, colon, prostate and ovarian carcinomas. Typically, nodal can trigger the Smad2/3 intracellular pathways by binding the type I (ALK 4/7) and type II (ActRIIB) activin-like serine-threonine kinase receptors, also in the presence of the co-receptor Cripto-1. In addition, like other ligands of the TGF-β superfamily, nodal can also activate MAPK cascade which, in a BRAF mutationdependent manner, converges on ERK and PI3K-AKT pathway. Nodal signaling plays a relevant role in the aggressive progression of metastatic melanoma; indeed its inhibition blocks the tumorigenic capacity and the plasticity of aggressive human melanoma cells. In this context, targeting and inhibition of nodal signaling represents an attractive and alternative strategy to block melanoma progression and other cancers. With the aim to produce antibodies able to recognize Nodal and to block it's signaling by preventing also its association with Cripto-1, we have generated a set of monoclonal antibodies targeting one of the CBR (Cripto-BindingRegion) sites which encompass residues around Glu49 and Glu50 of Nodal. Using a subtractive ELISA screening we have selected a potential neutralizing monoclonal antibody, named 3D1, which recognizes the nodal E49 and E50 hot-spot residues. 3D1 mAb strongly associates with full-length rh Nodal (KD 1.4 nM) and recognizes the endogenous protein in a panel of human melanoma cell lines by western blot and FACS analyses. Melanoma cells treated in vitro with 3D1 show a significant reduction of nodal protein expression level and of its downstream signaling molecules P-Smad2 and P-ERK. 3D1 treatment blocks cell proliferation reducing P-H3 and Cyclin-B1 with a concomitant increase of p27 and prevents the anchorage-independent growth and vasculogenic network formation, too. Nude mice xenografts models, both subcutaneous orthotropic and lung colonization models, treated with 3D1 show anti-tumor effects in terms of reduced tumor volume and lung tumor burden, respectively. Collectively these data, suggest that 3D1 is a promising diagnostic reagent for detection of nodal and a novel bio-therapeutic agent for targeting nodal expressing cancers.


Wireless links form a critical component of communication systems that aim to provide ubiquitous access to information. However, the time-varying characteristics (or "state") of wireless channels caused by the mobility of transmitters, receivers, and objects in the environment make it difficult to achieve reliable communication. Adaptive signaling exploits any channel state information (CSI) available at the transmitter to provide the potential to significantly increase the throughput of wireless links and/or greatly reduce the receiver complexity. As such, adaptive signaling has attracted significant research interest in the last decade and has found application in numerous commercial wireless systems, ranging from cellular data systems to wireless local area networks (WLANs). However, one of the great challenges of wireless communications is that it is difficult to obtain perfect CSI due to the inherently noisy and outdated nature of CSI available at the transmitter. Over the last decade, we have championed the idea of choosing the appropriate transmitted signal based on statistical models for the current channel state conditioned on the channel measurements. In this semi-tutorial paper, we first review how this class of methods has been developed for single-antenna systems, and then present novel recent designs for multiple-antenna systems. Key to the development in each case is the development of the error characterization given the outdated estimates and the use of such to allocate data rate and power over time and possibly space. In general, the focus is on rate allocation, while power allocation is done through a pruning method. Numerical results will demonstrate in both the single-antenna and multiple-antenna cases that such an approach provides a robust method for improving system data rate versus the standard practice of employing link margin to compensate for such uncertainties.


OBJECTIVES
microRNAs (miRNAs) play a part in various cellular activities. However, the role of miRNA in SSc is not fully understood. This study investigated the expression and role of miR-92a in SSc patients and evaluated the possibility that miR-92a is involved in the pathogenesis of this disease.

METHODS
Serum samples were obtained from 61 SSc patients. mRNAs were purified from serum and levels of miR-92a and miR-135 were measured with quantitative real-time PCR. miR-92a expression in dermal fibroblasts was also determined by quantitative real-time PCR. Immunoblotting was performed to detect MMP-1 protein.

RESULTS
The median serum levels of miR-92a, not miR-135, were significantly higher in SSc patients than normal subjects. The constitutive up-regulated miR-92a expression was also found in cultured dermal fibroblasts from SSc skin, which was decreased by the transfection with siRNA of TGF-β. Furthermore, the forced overexpression of miR-92a in normal dermal fibroblasts using miR-92a mimic resulted in the down-regulation of MMP-1 expression.

CONCLUSION
The increase of miR-92a in SSc may be due to the stimulation of intrinsic TGF-β activation seen in this disease. There is also a possibility that MMP-1 is the target of miR-92a and that increased miR-92a expression therefore plays a role in excessive collagen accumulation in SSc via the down-regulation of MMP-1. Clarifying the role of miRNAs in SSc may result in a better understanding of this disease and the development of new therapeutic approaches.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease of unknown etiology. The early in diagnosis of RA is crucial. To facilitate diagnosis during the early stages of RA, when often not all clinical symptoms are manifest, a good serological marker is needed. Among serological markers are rheumatoid factor (RF), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) C-reactive protein (CRP), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptites (anti-CCP) and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). A comparison between those markers in respect to the accuracy was the aim of this study.
Patient and methods: Sixty patients with RA and auto-immune non-RA were selected for this study compared with 20 normal healthy persons. The results showed both COMP and anti-CCP can be help for diagnostic value than other selected parameter.


Radar signature produced by micro-motion structures contains movement and structure information which is useful for radar target recognition. For stepped frequency (SF) radar, the Doppler modulation is coupled with the stepped carrier frequency. It shifts and smears the high-resolution range profile and makes it difficult to analyse and extract the micro-motion information from the range profile directly. The authors propose to comprehend the SF radar as a special pulse Doppler radar, and the range profile as a Doppler profile for the convenience of motion analysis. The signature of moving targets for SF radar is analysed from this point of view and the equivalent instantaneous Doppler frequency (EIDF) is introduced. Then, a typical micro-motion, rotation, is taken as an example. The sinusoidal vibration of the peaks in the range profile sequence is explained in detail, especially the relationship between the sinusoid parameters and the rotation parameters. An approach to extract the rotation parameters from the range profile or EIDF spectrum sequence is proposed based on the Hough transform. Simulated and experimental results validate the theoretical analysis and the feature extraction method.


BackgroundPatients with schizophrenia are at least twice as likely to develop diabetes mellitus compared to the general population. This is of significance in Qatar given the high prevalence of obesity and diabetes. Furthermore, the lifespan of people with schizophrenia and diabetes is shortened by approximately15 years due to long-term microvascular and macrovascular complications. High quality diabetes care can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality. We assessed the level of diabetes care delivered to patients with schizophrenia and diabetes compared to those with diabetes alone.MethodsWe performed a retrospective chart review of patients with diabetes mellitus with (n=73) and without (n=73) schizophrenia. Demographic information and electronic medical records were reviewed for 6-month and 1-year American Diabetic Association standards of diabetes care. Optimal diabetes care was defined as having completed glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile and retinal examination within 12 months. ResultsOptimal diabetes care was significantly lower in patients with schizophrenia and diabetes compared to diabetes alone [26.0% (n=19/73) vs 52.1% (n=38/73), p=0.002]. Patients with diabetes and schizophrenia were also significantly less likely to have had body mass index recorded within six months (p=0.008) and HbA1c (p=0.006), lipid profile (p=0.015), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (p=0.001) and order for retinal screening (p=0.004) over 12 months. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, only assessment of eGFR (p=0.01) and order for retinal screening (p=0.04) remained significant. ConclusionPatients with schizophrenia and diabetes in Qatar receive sub-optimal diabetes care compared to those with diabetes alone.


Objective: To assess coexisting hypertension as a risk factor for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Design and Method: A total of 977 type-2 diabetic patients recruited retrospectively in 2008 from Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorder (BIRDEM) based on hospital records for determining the incidence of diabetic retinopathy (DR), who were naive type-2 diabetes during 1993. At the end of 15 year follow-up 495 patients were diagnosed as DR by retinal colour photography. Data on diabetes and lipid profile with serum creatinine, blood pressure and biophysical measures were obtained at baseline, 5, 10 and 15 years follow-up. Binary logistic regression model was used to assess the associations of co-existing hypertension with retinopathy risk adjusting for clinical, biochemical and anthropometric variables. Results: In all three follow-up points, including at baseline, mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure were found to significantly higher among patients who developed DR (P < .001). Binary logistic regression model confirmed coexisting hypertension (OR 3.2; 95% CI 2.2 -4.7) as a significant risk factor of DR adjusting for possible confounders; serum creatinine (OR 21.9; 95% CI 14.0 -35.4) and glycemic control status (OR 17.2; 95% CI 9.4 -31.4). Interaction between hypertension, glycemic control and raised serum creatinine did not appear to be statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Co-existing hypertension is a significant risk factor of DR irrespective of nephropathy or glycolic control status among Type 2 diabetes mellitus.


This article reports a qualitative study about informational and emotional needs of women who had surgery for breast cancer on an outpatient basis. Nineteen women volunteered for the study. The interviews, lasting approximately 60 minutes, were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using content analysis outlined by Hsieh and Shannon (2005). Findings are organized according to: 1) emotional and informational needs prior to and immediately after surgery; 2) emotional and informational supports while recovering at home; and 3) emotional responses to the outpatient surgery experience. Overall, women were satisfied with the experience of surgery for breast cancer on an outpatient basis, but there were several aspects that warrant closer attention, such as the amount and timing of information delivery, discharge care, and the need for consistent community nursing support and follow-up.


Eight receptors 1–8 comprising an l-lysine scaffold modified at N- and C-termini with aliphatic alkyl chains and N,N′-alkyl amides, respectively, and bearing squaramide moieties on the amino acid side chain were synthesised by a combination of solid- and solution-phase chemistries and shown to complex various anions in 0.5% H2O in dimethyl sulfoxide-d6 solution. All of the receptors were found to bind Cl− , AcO− and BzO− via hydrogen-bond or acid–base interactions with the squaramide protons; however, 1 was found to bind to via hydrogen bonds formed between the anion and both the squaramide and amide NH moieties. Moreover, modification of both the N- and C-termini of the amino acids with different alkyl substituents had a negligible effect on their anion-binding properties while simultaneously conferring lipophilicities in a range that is optimal for molecules to behave as 'drug-like' systems as defined by Lipinski's rule of five. The results of this study demonstrate the versatility of such amino acid receptors as building blocks in the field of anion recognition.


Background Bare-metal stent (BMS) scaffolding of superficial femoral artery occlusive lesions has been associated with high rates of late clinical failure. Maintaining the patency of recanalized arterial segments was the main issue behind the concept of leaving nothing behind to be evolved and percutaneous balloon angioplasty becomes the preferred option for endovascular therapy. Drug-eluting balloons (DEBs) have shown to be an effective alternative to BMS for patients with de novo complex superficial femoral occlusive disease. Aims The aim was to compare the outcome of DEB versus BMS in treating complex chronic total occlusion of superficial femoral and proximal popliteal artery in patients with disabling claudication and critical limb ischemia regarding technical success, primary patency, clinically driven target lesion revascularization (cd-TLR), and limb salvage rate. Materials and methods The current study is a multicenter, prospective, randomized study. Ninety patients (110 limbs) complaining of disabling and critical limb ischemia due to complex femoropopliteal occlusive lesions were randomly allocated into two groups according to the intervention method performed. Group A included 48 patients (57 limbs) who were submitted for treatment with paclitaxel DEBs and group B included 42 patients (53 limbs) submitted for treatment with BMS. The follow-up period was for 1, 6, and 12 months. Statistical analysis was performed by using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 for Windows Program Package (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results BMSs seem to have lower patency and higher cd-TLR rates compared with patients who received paclitaxel drug-coated balloons but was not statistically significant. The primary patency rates were 100, 96, and 86.2% at 1, 6, and 12 months' respectively' in the DEB group versus 100, 89.8, and 77.6% at 1, 6, and 12 months, respectively, in the BMS group. Clinically driven TLR rates were 2 and 7.8% at 6 and 12 months, respectively, in the DEB group versus 6.1 and 14.2% at 6 and 12 months, respectively, in the BMS group. Conclusion Percutaneous therapy for Trans atlantic inter-societies consensus (TASC) C and D femoropopliteal lesion using DEB or BMS is safe and effective with a high patency rate of 1 year. Paclitaxel drug-eluting balloons seem to have a promising role in the prevention of restenosis and recurrence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease. However, stents are still playing important bailout role in the treatment of residual stenosis and dissection. Further follow-up is essential to obtain and document long-term outcome of different percutaneous therapy for complex and long superficial femoral artery (SFA) lesions.


The current study aimed to develop a mobile application based on video modeling to improve and enhance self-protection skills for children with autism. Semi-experimental design of the two groups was adopted: the control, which received the self-protection skills in the traditional way, while these skills was provided to the experimental group through the application based on video modeling. The research sample was consisted of 16 students who met the criteria. The researcher was applied the self-protection skills scale on the sample. After the experiment was applied for five weeks, the data were analyzed statistically. The results showed the effectiveness of the application in the development of self-protection skills for autistic children. The researcher recommended the use of the preferences of children with autism and the use of applications that based on video modeling in their education.


Current efforts to reconstruct organ doses in children undergoing diagnostic imaging or therapeutic interventions using ionizing radiation typically rely upon the use of reference anthropomorphic computational phantoms coupled to Monte Carlo radiation transport codes. These phantoms are generally matched to individual patients based upon nearest age or sometimes total body mass. In this study, we explore alternative methods of phantom-to-patient matching with the goal of identifying those methods which yield the lowest residual errors in internal organ volumes. Various thoracic and abdominal organs were segmented and organ volumes obtained from chest-abdominal-pelvic (CAP) computed tomography (CT) image sets from 38 pediatric patients ranging in age from 2 months to 15 years. The organs segmented included the skeleton, heart, kidneys, liver, lungs and spleen. For each organ, least-squared regression lines, 95th percentile confidence intervals and 95th percentile prediction intervals were established as a function of patient age, trunk volume, estimated trunk mass, trunk height, and three estimates of the ventral body cavity volume based on trunk height alone, or in combination with circumferential, width and/or breadth measurements in the mid-chest of the patient. When matching phantom to patient based upon age, residual uncertainties in organ volumes ranged from 53% (lungs) to 33% (kidneys), and when trunk mass was used (surrogate for total body mass as we did not have images of patient head, arms or legs), these uncertainties ranged from 56% (spleen) to 32% (liver). When trunk height is used as the matching parameter, residual uncertainties in organ volumes were reduced to between 21 and 29% for all organs except the spleen (40%). In the case of the lungs and skeleton, the two-fold reduction in organ volume uncertainties was seen in moving from patient age to trunk height—a parameter easily measured in the clinic. When ventral body cavity volumes were used, residual uncertainties were lowered even further to a range of between 14 and 20% for all organs except the spleen, which continued to remain at around 40%. The results of this study suggest that a more anthropometric pairing of computational phantom to individual patient based on simple measurements of trunk height and possibly mid-chest circumference or thickness (where influences of subcutaneous fat are minimized) can lead to significant reductions in organ volume uncertainties: ranges of 40–50% (based on patient age) to between 15 and 20% (based on body cavity volumes tied to trunk height). An expanded series of non-uniform rational B-spine (NURBS) pediatric phantoms are being created at the University of Florida to allow the full application of this new approach in pediatric medical imaging studies.


From an analysis of the Guinness brand's reflection of Irish identity to an exploration of murals and film portrayals of political prisoners, this pioneering collection of essays seeks to present Ireland's relationship to visual culture as a whole. While other works have explored the imagistic history of Ireland, most have restricted their lens to a single form of visual representation. "Ireland in Focus" is the first book to address the diverse range of visual representations of national and communal identity in Ireland. The contributors examine the politics of visual representation from both historical and contemporary perspectives. Drawing from the areas of cultural theory, postcolonial studies, art criticism, documentary and archival history, and gender studies, the essays provide novel insights on a variety of visual-cultural forms, including film, theater, photography, landscape art, political murals, and the visual iconography of commercial marketing. Bringing together established scholars and emerging young critics in the field, "Ireland in Focus" breaks new ground in showcasing the essential dynamism of visual culture and its relationship to Irish studies.


Until 2004, tinnitus was vieved as a psychic reaction according to the provisions of private accident insurance and therefore excluded from compensation. In two recent judgements of the Federal Supreme Court in Germany the assessment of tinnitus in private accident insurance has been newly defined. According to this jurisdiction, the compensation of tinnitus is possible, when a proven physical defect in the inner ear or the auditory pathway (hearing loss) can be established and has a causal connection to the accident. This leads to the question of how a quantitative assessment of tinnitus can be carried out. The compensation should be in accordance to the general terms and conditions of private accident insurance. A compensation table is proposed, which recognises the physical defect of tinnitus and is based on medical and scientific findings of the relation between hearing loss and tinnitus.


A natural language processor is described for control of a machine in task-oriented situations. Particular emphasis is given to issues related to flow-of-control statements in dialogue. These include branching constructs, as in `if row 1 contains a positive entry, then . . .' and looping constructs, as in `repeat for all other rows'. Special problems are discussed concerning the processing of deeply nested control structures, pronoun resolution, and the handling of conjunctions. An experiment is described in which the robustness of the conditional feature was tested with a group of computer naive subjects. It was found that subjects could discover and use the feature effectively in solving problems even though the fact of its existence was systematically withheld during the training session.


Objectives To identify the major tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in the normal artery and their changes after balloon injury. Methods The normal and balloon-injured carotid arteries, the aorta, and other tissues from Sprague-Dawley rats were perfused with sodium vanadate, excised, and then homogenised in detergent-containing lysis buffer. The clarified tissue lysate was subjected to immunoprecipitation with anti-phosphotyrosine antibody, and then analysed by Western blot with antibodies against focal adhesion kinase (FAK), paxillin, and phosphotyrosine. Results Western blot analyses with three different antibodies against phosphotyrosine revealed that pp68 and pp125 were the two major tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins present in the normal carotid artery and the aorta. Reprobing with various antibodies identified these proteins was paxi1lin and FAK. Immunodepletion with antiphosphotyrosine removed FAK and paxillin, which suggested that most of these proteins were tyrosinephosphorylated in the artery. The artery contained greater amount of tyrosine-phosphorylated FAK than that in the other tissues examined, including the inferior vena cava and the heart. The content of FAK and paxillin was decreased following the balloon injury of the carotid artery, but not after endothelial denudation ex vivo. Conclusions The findings suggest that FAK and paxillin may play an important role in the maintenance of the normal structure and function, and in the response to balloon injury of the artery.


Balancer chromosomes contain multiple inversions that work to suppress crossing over and prevent recovery of most recombinant chromosomes, allowing for alleles to be kept long-term without selection. These balancers are incredible tools, but some alleles within larger inverted segments are still lost to rare double crossover events between the balanced and balancer chromosomes. This study details a new methodology of producing balancer chromosomes using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology to create new inversions within the largest segment of the common X chromosome balancer, FM7c. We were able to create a new X chromosome balancer, FM8, and anticipate that this process can be used to not only create other balancers in Drosophila melanogaster, but other model organisms as well.


The rates of the nitric oxide-inhibited decompositions of hydrocarbons in the series propane to n-decane (which according to the results of Part I represent the chain-free molecular reactions) have been measured over a range of pressures. As inferred from the 'apparent chain length' the molecular rearrangement process increases in importance relatively to the chain reaction with the ascent of the series, and, for a given hydrocarbon, with increasing pressure. For each hydrocarbon, the order of reaction varies between the first and the second. The results are not consistent with a constant order of 1.5 as has been suggested. Nor is the pressure dependence consistent with the uniform transition from second order to first predicted for unimolecular reactions dependent upon a single mode of activation by collision. There appears to be a contribution to the overall reaction from processes which remain of second order up to high pressures. The decomposition rate for a given hydrocarbon pressure tends to a limit as the series is ascended, for reasons which are discussed.


OBJECTIVE
To study the effects of anthocyanins from Xinjiang black mulberry fruit on the lifespan and antioxidant system of Drosophila melanogaster.

METHODS
Drosophila were divided into five groups based on the content of anthocyanins in culture medium. The lifespan of drosophila was tested by survival experiments, including median lethal time, average life-span and average maximum life-span. The activity of antioxidant enzymes of drosophila, including glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and the content of maleic diadehyde (MDA), were tested after being fed for 30 days.

RESULTS
The lifespan of drosophila were prolonged with the increase of anthocyanins. Median lethal time, average lifespan and average maximum lifespan of drosophila in the groups fed with anthocyanins at the content of 27.27 mg/kg and 112.5 mg/kg were longer than those in controls, and in a dose-response relationship. The activities of GSH-Px, SOD and CAT increased and MDA content decreased significantly with the increase of anthocyanins in a dose-response relationship. The activity of three antioxidant enzymes was the highest and MDA concentration was the lowest in the group fed with anthocyanins at the content of 11.25 mg/100g when compared with the controls.

CONCLUSION
The activities of three antioxidant enzymes could be enhanced and the process of lipid peroxidation could be inhibited by anthocyanins, which might be one of the reasons for prolonging the lifetime of Drosophila melanogaster.


In this study of 118 children (median age 5.1 years; range 6 months to 17 years) with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA), 22 children (19%) were homozygous for the thermolabile variant of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase allele (t‐MTHFR), compared with nine of 78 (12%) of a reference population (p=0.18, OR 1.76, 95% CI 0.76 to 4.04). Of those with cerebrovascular disease (CVD), 17 of 84 were homozygous for the t‐MTHFR allele (p=0.13 compared with the reference population (OR 1.95, 95% CI 0.81 to 4.65). There was a significant (p<0.025) increment of plasma total homocysteine concentration in homozygotes for the t‐MTHFR allele compared with heterozygotes, negatives for the t‐MTHFR allele, and control children with no history of stroke. In four of 12 homozygotes for the t‐MTHFR allele, plasma homocysteine levels were raised, compared with three of 38 of those who were negative or heterozygous (p=0.047; OR 5.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 31.2). Homozygotes for the t‐MTHFR allele were significantly more likely to have a recurrent event than those who were negative or heterozygous (Cox regression p=0.031, hazard ratio 2.18, 95% CI 1.08 to 4.42). These data suggest that homozygosity for the t‐MTHFR allele is associated with raised homocysteine levels in children and is a risk factor for primary and secondary stroke and TIA.


Vitamin D (1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1alpha,25-(OH)(2)D(3)]) has been studied in the past for its immunosuppressive properties, and, in that context, it may also have potential utility as an immunomodulatory agent for transplantation. A number of studies have demonstrated that 1alpha,25-(OH)(2)D(3) or its analogs regulate immune cell proliferation, differentiation, and responsiveness. A burgeoning number of studies have also explored using 1alpha,25-(OH)(2)D(3) and its analogs directly as therapy in animal models of kidney transplantation with success in prolonging allograft function and preventing acute rejection. Some of these in vivo effects may well be caused by alterations in immune cell function, but it is also possible that exogenous 1alpha,25-(OH)(2)D(3) and its analogs are altering the intragraft milieu as well, specifically through changes in the TGF-beta signaling cascade. Such provocative data and the availability of newer 1alpha,25-(OH)(2)D(3) analogs that may limit side effects (e.g. hypercalcemia) have created interest in examining this secosteroid clinically in kidney transplantation.


The study of skin color and its relationship to body (dis)satisfaction and self-esteem is critical to expanding upon the research that explores the intersection between body image and the sociocultural experience of women of the African diaspora. To this end, the relationships between skin color satisfaction, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem were examined in a sample of 328 women of African descent. Results revealed a significant effect for ethnicity and employment status on body dissatisfaction, skin color satisfaction, and self-esteem. Follow-up analyses revealed that Afro-Caribbean women were the most satisfied with their body shape, biracial women were most satisfied with their skin color, and women who self-identified as professionals had the highest self-esteem. Implications for the findings are discussed.


This systematic review examines the economic and human costs of depression and the potential savings associated with improvement in patient adherence to treatment with antidepressants through the use of enhanced-care programs. A MEDLINE search was conducted for papers published on the health economics and costs of depression and compliance, adherence, and persistence. Compliance data collected through the online antidepressant compliance support website iCAN (www.ican.co.uk) were compared with data for patients with depression from the IMS Disease Analyzer UK database. Depression frequently causes unemployment, absenteeism, and presenteeism, which results in significantly reduced productivity. Indirect costs of depression accounted for more than $50 billion, whereas direct costs resulted in expenditure of $26 billion, in the US in 2000. Improving patients' compliance with their antidepressant medication results in improved outcomes and prolongs remission from depression, increasing work productivity, and thus reducing overall costs. The implementation of remote enhanced-care programs may improve compliance and reduce overall costs. Novel methods for delivering enhanced-care programs to assist in maintaining compliance have the potential to further reduce costs and should be a focus of future research. In conclusion, depression is a common disorder with a high economic impact. Enhanced-care programs may lower costs associated with depression and improve patients' lives.


VERA RUBIN (editor), Cannabis and culture, The Hague and Paris, Mouton, 1975, 8vo, pp. xiv, 598, illus., $24.95. TIMOTHY H. H. THORESEN (editor), Toward a science of man. Essays in the history of anthropology, The Hague and Paris, Mouton, 1975, 8vo, pp. xiv, 232, $14.95. The Ninth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences was held in Chicago in 1973 and these books contain papers presented there; several others are planned. The first provides probably the most comprehensive survey ever published of a single drug. There are thirty-six papers, including an introduction, and they are in five groups: 'Ethnobotany and diffusion'; 'Sociocultural aspects of the traditional complex'; 'Medical, pharmacological and ethnometabolic studies'; 'Traditional usage of other psychoactive plants' such as tobacco; 'The modem complex in North America'. Throughout, there is a great deal on the history of cannabis and the book will prove to be a remarkable source of information on account of its wide range of topics, excellent index, ample documentation, and relatively modest price. It can be strongly recommended. There are only twelve papers in Thoresen's accumulation, and they deal with different approaches to the history of anthropology. Again, although of uneven quality they are mostly useful contributions, especially as some of them deal with cultures less frequently discussed: Croatia, Hungary, and India. They are, on the whole, based on historical and literary criticism so that there is a considerable amount of material that will be of interest to the historian of medicine and which contributes to medical anthropology, a subject in need of much more attention. Topics covered include historical periods, historical processes, and the work of individuals.


Abstract Objective: The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-specific among asthma patients; and to assess the association between patients' belief and adherence to inhaled corticosteroid therapy. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the asthma clinic of Zhongshan Hospital, to Fudan University (Shanghai, China) between April 2016 and March 2018. The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-specific was translated into Chinese according to international guidelines. Internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and confirmatory factor analysis were calculated to validate the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-specific. The relationship between the adherence and the belief subscale were assessed using Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: Two hundred and seventeen patients were recruited in this study. The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-specific was deemed reliable based on the results of Cronbach's alpha coefficient and test–retest intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC, ICC= 0.759). Confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable model fit for the two-factor model. Patients' compliance was closely related to their belief about inhaled corticosteroid. The adherence rates were highest for the accepting groups, and lowest for the skeptical groups. Higher adherence was significantly associated with higher necessity-concerns differential (p = .001) and lower concern (p = .004). Conclusions: The Chinese version of the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-specific can be used as a reliable tool by the clinicians to identify beliefs and behaviors of individual to improve adherence in Chinese patients.


This study examined skin conductance responses, the late positive complex of the event-related potential, and pupillary dilation responses as autonomic and central correlates of the orienting reflex (OR) in the context of indifferent and significant stimuli. In particular, we aimed to clarify the inconsistencies surrounding the pupillary dilation response as an OR index. An auditory dishabituation paradigm was employed, and physiological measures were recorded from 24 participants. Response decrement to a repeated stimulus, response recovery to a change stimulus, and subsequent dishabituation were assessed. Findings confirmed expectations that the skin conductance response and the late positive complex are indices of the OR. The pupillary dilation response, however, demonstrated an unexpected sensitivity to stimulus novelty only, while the prestimulus measure of tonic pupil diameter showed the significance effect that was expected of the phasic measure. Together, these findings argue against the suggestion that the pupillary dilation response is an OR index. The diverse results obtained from this experiment contribute to our understanding of the OR, and provide impetus for further research with a variety of paradigm manipulations.


We describe a human blood mononuclear cell (MNC)-derived leukotriene release enhancing factor (LREF) which significantly increased IgG-dependent leukotriene B4 (LTB4) generation by neutrophils. MNCs incubated with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) or anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody and PHA-stimulated ER+ lymphocytes produced a 150-350% increase in LTB4 generation from IgG-stimulated neutrophils. With PHA, maximal activity was observed 48 hr after culture in serum-free medium. LREF was relatively stable when exposed to low pH (pH 2) or heat (56 degrees, 60 min). Following progressive purification by gel filtration (FPLC, Superose 12) and chromatofocusing (FPLC, Mono P) LREF was associated with proteins of molecular weight of 35-40 kD and a pI of 5.1-5.5. Partially purified LREF did not contain detectable amounts of interleukin 2 (IL-2) or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). Although high concentrations of recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (rGM-CSF) (greater than 2 ng/ml) and recombinant tumour necrosis factor (rTNF) (greater than 100 U/ml) gave a slight (60%) enhancement of LTB4 generation, this was considerably less than that of partially purified LREF (350%). Our results suggest that human lymphocyte-derived LREF may play a role in the amplification of inflammatory reactions involving sensitized lymphocytes, neutrophils and lipid mediators.


Neonatally denervated muscle fibers of rat atrophy, degenerate, and eventually vanish unless they are reinnervated. Immunohistochemistry of hindlimb muscles denervated for 4 to 8 weeks showed OX8+ and also 3.2.3+ natural killer (NK) cells and ED1+ macrophages, which were much more frequent between atrophic non-reinnervated fibers than between reinnervated fibers. OX19+ T cells and OX33+ B cells were rare. Electron micrographs 4 to 15 weeks after denervation showed typical medium-sized lymphocytes and large lymphocytes with dense granules in close contact with muscle fibers of 1 to 3 μm diameter. Blunt projections of lymphocytes penetrated the basal lamina of the muscle fibers and established membrane contacts. The basal lamina of atrophic fibers had been invaded by slender projections of cytoplasm-rich stellate or fusiform cells, which seemed to strip them of their basal lamina. Thin fibers without basal lamina were engulfed by the stellate cells that in several aspects resembled fibrocytes but that presumably corresponded to the ED1+ macrophages seen by light microscopy. Electron microscopy and in situ nick translation demonstrated the rare appearance of apoplotic myonuclei. It is suggested that lymphocytes and macrophages are involved in the breakdown of neonatally denervated muscle fibers, and that apoptosis following contact with NK cells may represent the mode of cell death


Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine patterns evident in the ways middle school teachers, who value technology integration, design instruction that leverages educational applications (app) affordances. Using the pedagogy of multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2015) and app affordances of multimodality, collaboration, and interactivity as guides, 17 instructional chains designed by nine teachers were analyzed for patterns. Findings revealed teachers launched iPad-integrated instruction by using content apps to engage students in experiencing information at the beginning of each lesson or by using a flipped classroom model. Additionally, all instruction incorporated multiple apps and multiple knowledge processes, although some sequences were all-digital and others combined digital and nondigital activities.


Humidification dehumidification desalination (HDH) is a promising technology for small-scale water production applications. There are several embodiments of this technology which have been investigated by researchers around the world. However, from a previous literature [1], we have found that no study carried out a detailed thermodynamic analysis in order to improve and/or optimize the system performance. In this paper, we analyze the thermodynamic performance of various HDH cycles by way of a theoretical cycle analysis. In addition, we propose novel high-performance variations on those cycles. These high-performance cycles include multi-extraction, multi-pressure and thermal vapor compression cycles. It is predicted that the systems based on these novel cycles will have gained-output ratio in excess of 5 and will outperform existing HDH systems.


The incoherent specific intensities for the waves scattered by a random distribution of particles with rough surfaces are derived. Since large roughness scales are considered, the diffuse scattering contributions to the like and cross polarized scattering cross sections are given by the full wave solutions. The scattering matrix in the expression for the equation of transfer is given by a weighted sum of the scattering matrix for the smooth particle and the diffuse contribution due to the rough surface of the particle. Illustrative examples are presented for the propagation of a circularly polarized wave normally incident upon a parallel layer of particles. Particles with different surface height spectral density functions, roughness scales, complex permittivities and sizes are considered. Both first order (single scatter) and multiple scatter solutions are provided and the results for particles with smooth and rough surfaces are compared.


The advancement of battery operated designs has abundantly increases the memory elements and registers to be operated in ultra-low power. That is the this paper we have proposed a design of CT_C DET flip-flop with power gating technique which is the most efficient power consuming reduction technique.  The design of the power gating technique involves the pull-up transistor in the Vdd of the circuit and pull-down transistor in the ground terminal. This power gating technique reduces the power consumption by more than 40% than that of the existing design.


The objective of the study was the evaluation of natriuretic peptides in ischemic heart disease. Atrial and brain peptides (ANP, BNP) were elevated in patients with ischemic heart failure, as compared with patients with angina without over failure, and controls (p < 0.01). BNP/ANP ratio was higher in NYHA class IV than in class III patients (2.67 +/- 0.87 vs. 1.52 +/- 0.59, respectively). Patients in the angina group, in whom elevated BNP or ANP was found, had subclinical systolic or diastolic dysfunction. There was inverse correlation between BNP, ANP and the left-ventricular ejection fraction (each r = 0.78, p < 0.001). We conclude that BNP is elevated as a result of myocardial dysfunction, but not of ischemia and seems to be a better index of disease stage and prognosis than ANP.


This issue brief examines issues related to private health insurance exchanges, possible structures of an exchange, funding, as well as the pros, cons, and uncertainties to employers of adopting them. A summary of recent surveys on employer attitudes are examined, as are some changes that employers have made to other benefits that might serve as historical precedents for a move to some type of defined contribution health benefits approach.


Working memory enables us to bridge past sensory information to upcoming future behaviour. Accordingly, by its very nature, working memory is concerned with two components: the past and the future. Yet, in conventional laboratory tasks, these two components are often conflated, such as when sensory information in working memory is encoded and tested at the same location. We developed a task in which we dissociated the past (encoded location) and future (to-be-tested location) attributes of visual contents in working memory. This enabled us to independently track the utilisation of past and future memory attributes through gaze, as observed during mnemonic selection. Our results reveal the joint consideration of past and future locations. This was prevalent even at the single-trial level of individual saccades that were jointly biased to the past and future. This uncovers the rich nature of working memory representations, whereby both past and future memory attributes are retained and can be accessed together when memory contents become relevant for behaviour.


A 56-year-old woman, with a 1-day history of bilateral nose haemorrhagia, predominantly on the right side, sometimes manifested rhinocnesmus, sneeze and water rhinorrhea, no nose obstruction, and no fever. Endoscopy revealed a smooth and pinkish mass that completely obstructed the right nasal cavity and extended to the base of nose. Computed tomography showed a large mass that occupied the entire right nasal cavity and part of the right maxillary sinus, ethmoidal sinus and frontal sinusitis.


Our aim was to evaluate surgical training in gynaecological oncology by assessing the time required by a trainee to complete a single laparoscopic gynaecologic-oncological operation. A total of 135 patients with a BMI < 40 kg/m2, diagnosed with endometrial cancer, underwent a total laparoscopic hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (TLH and BSO). Patients in Group I (n = 78) were operated on by a consultant gynaecological oncology surgeon and in Group II (n = 57) by sub-specialist trainees (SSTs). The mean patient age and BMI was 63.5 years and 29.6 kg/m2, respectively, in Group I and 64.5 years and 29.9 kg/m2, respectively, in Group II. Median operating times for Groups I and II were 58 and 90 min, respectively (p < 0.05). Furthermore, significant improvement was noted when comparing the average operating time between the first and second half of SST training. Even experienced gynaecological trainees take significantly longer to perform a reproducible laparoscopic operation. At the completion of training, an SST demonstrates improvement with respect to operation duration but is still not as fast as the trainer.


The area of biologically inspired computing, or biological computation, involves the development of new, biologically based techniques for solving difficult computational problems. A unified overview of computer science ideas inspired by biology, Biological Computation presents the most fundamental and significant concepts in this area. In the book, students discover that bacteria communicate, that DNA can be used for performing computations, how evolution solves optimization problems, that the way ants organize their nests can be applied to solve clustering problems, and what the human immune system can teach us about protecting computer networks. The authors discuss more biological examples such as these, along with the computational techniques developed from these scenarios. The text focuses on cellular automata, evolutionary computation, neural networks, and molecular computation. Each chapter explores the biological background, describes the computational techniques, gives examples of applications, discusses possible variants of the techniques, and includes exercises and solutions. The authors use the examples and exercises to illustrate key ideas and techniques. Clearly conveying the essence of the major computational approaches in the field, this book brings students to the point where they can either produce a working implementation of the techniques or effectively use one of the many available implementations. Moreover, the techniques discussed reflect fundamental principles that can be applied beyond bio-inspired computing.


Nigerian educational system has gone through various developments and change. The main aim of this paper, which is knowledge and awareness of teachers to universal basic education in Nigeria is to investigate the perceived knowledge and awareness of teachers to universal basic education to aid proper implementation of the education policy through the proper involvement of the stake holders. The training and production of the manpower required for the attainment of Education policy objectives should be framed not only on the quality and quantity of teachers but also their involvement in policy formation. Analysis of the Nigerian education sector reveals the challenges of incoherence in policy formulation and implementation. One positive note is that both the government and the people are seeking better ways of doing things and achieving results that would benefit the majority of the people. Based on the findings, government is strictly advised to be proactive in the implementation of Universal Basic Education (UBE) for better monitoring strategy. It is also recommended that government needs to provide more in terms of library facilities, laboratory facilities and play materials for schools.


This guide provides information and links to online resources and print resources in the library collection including compilations of laws, regulations, and court decisions.


Life can change in an instant, leaving you wondering what lesson is to be learned. My recent accident curtailed a frenetic schedule and forced an uninvited reprioritization of activities. However, I am finding some special moments that otherwise might have gone unseen or not happened at all. This article is a personal exploration of the frustrations and rewards of time necessarily spent recuperating.


..............................................................................................................................v List of Tables ......................................................................................................................x List of Figures ....................................................................................................................xi Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................1 1.1 The Problem: Data Dependences Limit Sequential Performance ........................2 1.2 Motivation For The Work .....................................................................................2 1.3 Key Contributions .................................................................................................4 1.4 Organization of the Thesis ....................................................................................5 Chapter 2: Architecture of Modern General-Purpose Microprocessors.....................6 2.1 In-Order Pipelining ...............................................................................................7 2.2 Memory Hierarchy................................................................................................9 2.3 Dependence Handling in Pipelining ...................................................................11 2.3.1 Control Dependences ...........................................................................11 2.3.2 Data Dependences ................................................................................12 2.4 Out-of-Order Execution ......................................................................................13 Chapter 3: Value Prediction ..........................................................................................16 3.1 Value Prediction For Single-Thread Performance..............................................16 3.2 Value Prediction Mechanisms ............................................................................18 3.2.1 Computation-based Predictors .............................................................19 188.8.131.52 Last Value Predictor.................................................................19 viii 22.214.171.124 Stride Predictor ........................................................................21 3.2.2 Context-based Predictors .....................................................................21 188.8.131.52 Finite Context Method (FCM) Predictor .................................22 184.108.40.206 Differential FCM......................................................................23 18.104.22.168 DFCM++ ..................................................................................24 18.104.22.168 VTAGE and EVES ..................................................................24 3.2.3 Store-Load Value Predictors ................................................................25 3.3 Prediction Validation and Recovery ...................................................................26 3.4 Challenges in Value Prediction...........................................................................27 Chapter 4: Managing Predictor Metadata ...................................................................29 4.1 Irregular Stream Buffer (ISB) for Value Prediction ...........................................30 4.1.1 Irregular Stream Buffer ........................................................................31 4.1.2 Enhancements to ISB ...........................................................................32 4.2 Evaluation ...........................................................................................................33 4.3 Results.................................................................................................................34 4.4 Discussion: ..........................................................................................................36 Chapter 5: Handling Divergence ....................................................................................37 5.1 Understanding Control Flow in Programs ..........................................................37 5.1.1 Divergence Handling using Branch Contexts ......................................39 5.1.2 Divergence Handling using Value Contexts ........................................40 5.2 Combining EVES and DFCM++:.......................................................................41 5.3 Employing Relevant Context Information: The Relevant Context-based Predictor (RCP)...................................................................................................44


In this paper some physicochemical and textural characteristics of four puff pastry margarines are defined: MLT1 and MLT2 with low trans fatty acid (TFA) content, MLT3 with relatively low and MLT4 with high TFA content. Analyzing the solid trigliceride content (SFC), the crystallization kinetics in isothermal conditions and the margarine firmness, it is determined whether the technological characteristics of margarines (which are very important for puff pastry quality) are significantly changed due to TFA decrease in margarines. The highest SFC at 10, 20, 25 i 30°C have samples MLT1 and MLT4. Despite of significant differences in fatty acid composition of these margarines, SFC content at temperatures at 20, 25, and 30°C do not differ significantly, at the level of significance of 95% (p>0.05). The SFC of MLT1 and MLT2 samples, which have practically the same fatty acid composition at every investigated temperature, statistically have significant difference (p<0.05). The crystallization kinetics are in the range from 2.6 to 10.1 % per min. The significance of the induction period at every observed samples is negligible. The average firmness of margarine samples MLT1, MLT2, MLT3, and MLT4 at 20, 25, and 30°C is significantly different (p<0.05). The firmness changes of the samples MLT1 and MLT2 in the most important temperature interval for puff pastry production (between 20 and 30°C) are at level of 5 to 25%, and for margarine samples MLT3 and MLT4 these values reach even 70%.


Currently, hip fractures are a common health problem. This type of pathology affects mostly postmenopausal women, but the risk existing in other categories of patients is not negligible. This type of fracture is treated mostly with surgical techniques because the functional results with the non-surgical ones are not satisfactory. Orthopedic method is chosen in patients who have complex disorder that can't be operated. Infections occur rarely in this pathology because open fractures are uncommon. In this case, we present a patient of 74 years old, who suffered a traumatic injury after falling from her feet two years ago. The fracture was treated using a Gamma nail. After the operation, the patient's recovery was favorable. Two months ago, the patient came in the emergency department presenting an active fistula on the hip that was surgically treated. This type of pathology develops after the microorganisms inoculated at various sites disseminated through blood. Following the treatment, the patient's evolution was favorable.


Diabetics face a lot of challenges in the different aspects of their lives (physical, psychological and social). One of the disorders which shows a correlation with the poor quality of life and marital dissatisfaction among the diabetics is the sexual dysfunction. Since sexual matters are important parameter of a delightful, peaceful and consistent life, the present study aims to determine the effectiveness of sex therapy on the sexual self-efficacy and marital satisfaction of diabetic females in Babol, Iran. This study is an experimental research in which after running the questionnaire of sexual self-efficacy scale for females (SSES-F), designed by Bailes et al, (1989), and Enrich's questionnaire of marital satisfaction on married women who were members of society of diabetes of Babol, town, 30 of them were selected as sample group and were randomly put into two groups of test and control. The groups were under education in eight 90 minutes sections. After running the post-test, data was analysed using SPSS. Then Multivariate Covariance Analysis (MANCOVA) was used to evaluate the research hypothesis. The results and findings showed that the interference of sex therapy used in this research improves self-efficacy and marital satisfaction in diabetic females of Babol.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate predictors of change in physical function in individuals diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) following participation in nurse delivered, non-pharmacologic interventions. Participants diagnosed with CFS were randomly assigned to one of four, 6-month interventions including cognitive behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, anaerobic exercise, or a relaxation control group. Baseline measures including immune function, actigraphy, time logs, sleep status, and past psychiatric diagnosis significantly differentiated those participants who demonstrated positive change over time from those who did not. Understanding how patient subgroups differentially respond to non-pharmacologic interventions might provide insights into the pathophysiology of this illness.


A delay differential equation-based model for passive mode locking in semiconductor lasers is shown to offer a powerful and versatile mathematical framework to simulate quantum-dot lasers, thereby offering an invaluable theoretical tool to study and comprehend the experimentally observed trends specific to such systems. To this end, mathematical relations are derived to transform physically measured quantities from the gain and loss spectra of the quantum-dot material into input parameters to seed the model. In the process, a novel approach toward extracting the carrier relaxation ratio for the device from the measured spectra, which enables a viable alternative to conventional pump-probe techniques, is presented. The simulation results not only support previously observed experimental results, but also offer invaluable insight into the device output dynamics and pulse characteristics that might not be readily understood using standard techniques such as autocorrelation and frequency-resolved optical gating.


OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore relationships between organizational factors and moral injury among healthcare workers and the impact of perceptions of their leaders and organizations during COVID-19. BACKGROUND COVID-19 placed healthcare workers at risk for moral injury, which often involves feeling betrayed by people with authority and can impact workplace culture. METHODS Secondary data from a Web-based survey of mid-Atlantic healthcare workers were analyzed using mixed methods. Data were synthesized using the Reina Trust & Betrayal Model. RESULTS Fifty-five percent (n = 328/595) of respondents wrote comments. Forty-one percent (n = 134/328) of commenters had moral injury scores of 36 or higher. Three themes emerged: organizational infrastructure, support from leaders, and palliative care involvement. Respondents outlined organizational remedies, which were organized into 5 domains. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest healthcare workers feel trust was breached by their organizations' leaders during COVID-19. Further study is needed to understand intersections between organizational factors and moral injury to enhance trust within healthcare organizations.


Philosophers of the social sciences are increasingly convinced that macroand micro-explanations are complementary. Whereas macro-explanations are broad, micro-explanations are deep. I distinguish between weak and strong complementarity: Strongly complementary explanations improve one another when integrated, weakly complementary explanations do not. To demonstrate the explanatory autonomy of different levels of explanation, explanatory pluralists mostly presuppose the weak form of complementarity. By scrutinizing the notions of explanatory depth and breadth, I argue that macroand micro-accounts of the same phenomenon are more often strongly complementary. This invites a revision of the pluralist position in which integration promotes explanatory progress.


Large language models (LLMs) excel in many tasks in 2023, but they still face challenges in complex reasoning. Theory-of-mind (ToM) tasks, which require understanding agents' beliefs, goals, and mental states, are essential for common-sense reasoning involving humans, making it crucial to enhance LLM performance in this area. This study measures the ToM performance of GPT-4 and three GPT-3.5 variants (Davinci-2, Davinci-3, GPT-3.5-Turbo), and investigates the effectiveness of in-context learning in improving their ToM comprehension. We evaluated prompts featuring two-shot chain of thought reasoning and step-by-step thinking instructions. We found that LLMs trained with Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) (all models excluding Davinci-2) improved their ToM accuracy via in-context learning. GPT-4 performed best in zero-shot settings, reaching nearly 80% ToM accuracy, but still fell short of the 87% human accuracy on the test set. However, when supplied with prompts for in-context learning, all RLHF-trained LLMs exceeded 80% ToM accuracy, with GPT-4 reaching 100%. These results demonstrate that appropriate prompting enhances LLM ToM reasoning, and they underscore the context-dependent nature of LLM cognitive capacities.


This online paper may be cited in line with the usual academic conventions. You may also download it for your own personal use. This paper must not be published elsewhere (e.g. mailing lists, bulletin boards etc.) without the author's explicit permission Please note that : • it is a draft; • this paper should not be used for commercial purposes or gain; • you should observe the conventions of academic citation in a version of the following or similar form: Andrea J. Nightingale (2006)


A prototype electron multiplying charged coupled device (EMCCD) based gamma camera is evaluated for emission-transmission computed tomography. The detector has an 8.2times8.2 mm2 active sensor area with a 512times512 pixel array, and can be operated with a 3:1 fiber optic taper to expand the effective imaging area to approximately 25times25 mm2 for small animal studies. We demonstrate the possibility of operating the camera in either charge integrating or single photon counting mode for pinhole SPECT with 125I and 99mTc sources. In photon counting mode, we show that energy discrimination can be used to distinguish between these two sources for dual isotope imaging. X-ray CT images of phantoms are taken without a collimator to evaluate the quality of the camera for transmission imaging


Causal analysis of change in time-related characteristics such as health or disease is an increasingly important area of epidemiology. Change is often analyzed using data from 2 waves of a longitudinal study, using the difference score—the difference between the scores at the 2 waves—as the outcome in a regression model. In this article, I show how and when causal analysis of change can be performed using simple linear regression models of continuous difference scores. Not only do causal analyses require making adjustments for confounding bias, but also for the shape of individual "growth curves"—the way in which each individual's score changes over time. In practice, the type of growth curve is critical to determining whether age or start score or neither is included in the regression model. For valid analyses, both sets of adjustments require assumptions based on prior theory that cannot be tested using the study data; choosing to make adjustments using variables based solely on observed associations with the difference score can give misleading results. However, analysts can state their assumptions clearly using this framework and put them up for rigorous scientific scrutiny. The approach is illustrated by an application to data from the Whitehall II study of British civil servants.


Malignant cells are characterized by complex and often overlapping signaling pathways that modulate uncontrolled proliferation, leading to tumor growth and cancer progression. Prostate cancer is characterized by a dependence on androgens for growth initiation, and androgen deprivation is the standard treatment for advanced disease. Invariably, progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) occurs. Effective treatment options are currently limited to cytotoxic chemotherapy. In addition to androgen-mediated androgen receptor (AR) signaling in CRPC, multiple growth factor pathways are active, including the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor family of tyrosine kinases. Crosstalk between these two pathways has been studied in prostate cancer cell lines, xenograft tumor models, and in prostate cancer patients. This manuscript will focus on EGFR signaling, AR signaling, EGFR-AR crosstalk, and therapies targeted at these receptor-mediated regulatory pathways in CRPC


The rock art has particular position in anthropological and archaeological studies. Analysis of these motifs plays a significant role in understanding culture, beliefs, social relations and other aspects of daily life. Creation of petroglyphs has a long history in Iran and are widespread in most parts of the country. The area of study in this essay is Beyram plain which is located in Larestan city in the southern part of Fars province. During archaeological systematic survey in this area, some petroglyphs with various animal motifs were detected and recorded, that can be considered as a part of art and memorials of residents in this settlements. The relative chronology of these motifs is based on analogy and comparative studies with obtained samples from adjacent areas. This research has been performed through both field study and library method. It used the descriptive-analytical methods in order to present, describe, design and compare the newly discovered petroglyphs at Beyram plain. In order to have a detailed analysis of the motifs, ethnographic studies and talking with shepherds and natives were done. And based on these studies, a possible function will be suggested for these kinds of motifs.


Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related mortalities worldwide. The type I insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-IR) is frequently expressed at high levels in lung cancer. This receptor is involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and differentiation and is emerging as a potential target for molecular therapies. Furthermore, IGF-IR downregulation has been reported to sensitize cancer cells to agents that promote apoptosis. To investigate the importance of the IGF-IR in lung tumorigenesis, our lab generated doxycycline-inducible transgenic mice in which the IGF-IR was overexpressed in type II alveolar or Clara cells. IGF-IR overexpression was sufficient to induce lung tumor development in these mice indicating that this receptor has an important function in the initiation of lung tumorigenesis. To further investigate the role of IGF-IR in lung tumorigenesis, the levels and function of IGF-IR were evaluated in two human lung tumor cell lines (A549 and NCI-H358) and one murine lung tumor cell line (LA-4) as well as in human and murine normal bronchial epithelial cells. Western blotting revealed increased levels of IGF-IR in the lung cancer cell lines compared to the normal lung epithelial cells lines. The efficacy of the IGF-IR small-molecule inhibitor, BMS-754807, which is a drug currently in clinical trials, was also evaluated in the lung tumor cells. BMS-754807 inhibited A549, NCI-H358 and LA-4 cell survival in a dose-dependent manner with approximate IC50 concentrations of 1.70uM for A549, 1.25uM for NCI-H358 and 0.74uM for LA-4 cells. The effects of BMS-754807 on cell proliferation (Ki67 immunofluorescence), cell survival (JC-1 immunofluorescence) and migration (scratch wound and Boyden chamber assays) are currently being examined to determine which properties are affected by disruption of IGF-IR signaling. Similar studies will be performed following downregulation of IGF-IR expression using RNAi. To evaluate whether BMS-754807 could sensitize lung tumor cells to the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents commonly employed in the treatment of human lung cancer, BMS-754807 was combined with cisplatin and with carboplatin. Neither the BMS-754807/cisplatin nor the BMS-754807/carboplatin combinations appeared to have a synergistic effect on cell survival. Combinations of BMS-754807 and lung cancer chemotherapeutic agents that do not target DNA are currently being evaluated. Additionally, key downstream molecules of the IGF-IR, including Akt and ERK1/2, are being studied as well as the transcription factor, KLF5, which is expressed at high levels in the lung tumors of the IGF-IR transgenic mice. Initial results support the importance of IGF-IR signaling in lung cancer. Further understanding of the function of IGF-IR in lung cancer will enable the development of more effective targeted therapies and improve existing therapeutic strategies. 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 1118. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1118


Recently, Farnik asked whether the hat guessing number $\mathrm{HG}(G)$ of a graph $G$ could be bounded as a function of its degeneracy $d$, and Bosek, Dudek, Farnik, Grytczuk and Mazur showed that $\mathrm{HG}(G)\ge 2^d$ is possible. We show that for all $d\ge 1$ there exists a $d$-degenerate graph $G$ for which $\mathrm{HG}(G) \ge 2^{2^{d-1}}$. We also give a new general method for obtaining upper bounds on $\mathrm{HG}(G)$. The question of whether $\mathrm{HG}(G)$ is bounded as a function of $d$ remains open.


Multilayer laue lenses are diffractive optics with a high potential for producing Xray foci in the order of 10 nm or even below. Particularly for hard X-rays (E > 6 keV) these optics promise better resolution and higher efficiencies than currently available Fresnel zone plates. Magnetron sputter deposition has been used for the fabrication of multilayer laue lenses using the layer materials MoSi2 and Si. The lens design has been defined to get focal length in the order of 10 mm. One of the lenses with an aperture of about 20 μm has been used as focusing optics in the nanoprobe beamline P06 at PETRA III. Ptychography has been applied to characterize the caustic of the focused beam and to determine the size of the X-ray focus. A spot size of about 39 nm could be obtained with a photon energy of 21 keV and a focal length of 9.9 mm.


In this paper an effort is made to find stress intensity factor near the crack tip .Cracks in plates with different configurations often occurs in both modern and classical aerospace, mechanical and civil engineering structure. The understanding of effect of loading mode and crack configuration on load bearing capacity of such plate is very important in designing of structure and in damage tolerance analysis. A number of Analytical, Numerical, and Experimental techniques are available for stress analysis to determine the stress intensity factor near crack tip under different loading modes in an infinite /finite plate made up of different materials. In this paper stress intensity factors are determined for four key geometric configurations. These configurations were developed by using finite element method packages. Two dimensional finite plates under uniaxial loading with either: edge crack, both edge cracks, crack approaching circular hole, crack approaching triangular hole are considered for investigation.


It is currently estimated that approximately 55% of the world population lives in urban centers (World Bank, 2020). This is partly caused by phenomena such as the migration of people from rural areas toward cities. A direct consequence of this situation is the increase in solid waste (SW) generation.


The South African Bioinformatics Student Council (SASBiSC) in bioinformatics has been set up to increase the visibility of bioinformatics as well as to filter information to students within the field regarding job, funding and workshop opportunities as they arise. This is a short description of the process of setting up a national Student Council for Bioinformatics in South Africa, affiliating to the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB). We also report two examples of activities that were carried out over the last two years that are: 1) participation in the SciFest Africa; and 2) the organisation of the first Bioinformatics Student Symposium.  We hope that our experience and methods for the creation of SASBiSC and of collaborative communities can be useful to others who might want to do the same.


The coral holobiont model highlights the integral role bacteria play in the health of reef-building corals. Documenting the natural diversity of bacterial communities within, and closely associated with, coral tissues provides information on the diversity, interaction and roles of bacteria to the function of reef-building corals. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation was used to visualise bacterial communities closely associated with the tissues of experimentally manipulated reef corals to determine how tissue-associated coral–bacterial interactions vary from normal associations in apparently healthy reef corals, to those occurring in controlled and thermally stressed experimental conditions. Branches of 2 coral species of the Great Barrier Reef, Acropora aspera and Stylophora pistillata, were collected from reefs adjacent to Heron Island and were maintained in controlled outdoor flow-through aquaria conditions. Following acclimation, the branches were stressed using elevated temperatures to investigate the in situ (within-tissue) bacterial community changes. In situ bacterial community dynamics were found to vary not only due to maintenance within the aquaria conditions, but also following coral bleaching. An aggregation of rod-shaped γ-proteobacteria was evident within the gastrodermis of corals regardless of health or bleaching status, consistent with aggregations described within other coral species. However, bacterial colonisation of the tissues occurred only following the temperature-induced bleaching of the coral tissues. This study demonstrates that the natural bacterial communities of corals are severely altered during stress associated with experimental and field conditions, which suggests a potential mechanism for the link between disease and stresses arising from global warming.