Background: Breast cancer is one of the malignant tumors that threaten women's health, with HER2+ breast cancer being more aggressive. In this study, bioinformatics methods were used to find potential key genes in HER2 + for diagnosis and treatment.Methods: Datasets of HER2+ breast cancer and normal tissue samples retrieved from TCGA databases were subjected to DEGs analysis using R software. Then WGCNA is constructed for DEGs. The key gene co-expression modules were then subjected to GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses, as well as construction of PPI networks using the STRING database for identifying key genes. Finally, key genes were further validated by survival analysis, protein expression, and COX regression models.Results: We identified 2063 DEGs and 4 gene co-expression modules. Functional enrichment analysis showed that these key co-expression modules were mainly associated with extracellular matrix organization, extracellular matrix structural constituent and neuroactive ligand−receptor interaction. PPI network visualization identified 100 key genes, 3 of which were not present in the other subtypes of breast cancer. UTS2 DRD4 and GLP1R are key genes specific to the HER2+ subtype. Survival analysis showed that UTS2 are prognosis-related key genes in HER2+ breast cancer. Finally, UTS2 combined with clinical data to construct Cox regression model.Conclusions: Combined with the two screening methods, 3 key genes closely related to HER2 + breast cancer were identified. UTS2 is a new potential key gene and may become a new therapeutic target for HER2 + breast cancer.


Very little research exists on total house seismic performance. This testing programme provides stiffness
and response data for five houses of varying ages including contributions of non-structural elements. These light timber
framed houses in Christchurch, New Zealand had minor earthquake damage from the 2011 earthquakes and were lateral
load tested on site to determine their strength and stiffness, and preliminary damage thresholds. Dynamic characteristics
were also investigated. Various loading schemes were utilised including quasi-static loading above the foundation,
unidirectional loading through the floor diaphragm, cyclic quasi-static loading and snapback tests. Dynamic analysis on
two houses provided the seismic safety levels of post-quake houses with respect to local hazard levels. Compared with
New Zealand Building Standards all the tested houses had an excess of strength, damage is a significant consideration in
earthquake resilience and was observed in all of the houses. A full size house laboratory test is proposed.


In experiments on isolated olfactory epithelium, cAMP was shown to have an intracellular signal system which participates in pentanol olfaction transduction. Increase in the intracellular cAMP level is associated with adenylate cyclase activation due to G-protein stimulation by odorant coupled with it.


Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a brain disease that is diagnosed and monitored extensively through MRI scans. One of the criteria is the appearance of so-called brain lesions. The lesions show up on MRI scans as regions with elevated or reduced contrast compared to the surrounding healthy tissue. Understanding the complex interplay of contrast, location and shape in images from multiple modalities from 2D MRI slices is challenging. Advanced visualization of appearanceand location-related features of lesions would help researchers in defining better disease characterization through MS research. Since a permanent cure is not possible in MS and medication-based disease modification is a common treatment path, providing better visualizations would strengthen research which investigates the effect of white matter lesions. Here we present an advanced visualization solution that supports analysis from multiple imaging modalities acquired in a clinical routine examination. The solution holds potential for enabling researchers to have a more intuitive perception of lesion features. As an example for enhancing the analytic possibilities, we demonstrate the benefits of lesion projection using both Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and gradient-based techniques. This approach enables users to assess brain structures across individuals as the atlas-based analysis provides 3D anchoring and labeling of regions across a series of brain scans from the same participant and across different participants. The projections on the brain surface also enable researchers to conduct detailed studies on the relationship between cognitive disabilities and location of lesions. This allows researchers to correlate lesions to Brodmann areas and related brain functions. We realize the solutions in a prototype application that supports both DTI and structural data. A qualitative evaluation demonstrates that our approach supports MS researchers by providing new opportunities for MS research. CCS Concepts • Human-centered computing → Visualization application domains;


This work presents an economic and potential study of water steam production by incinerating biomass and domestic waste, for the purpose of producing hydrogen. Biomass presents non-negligible Heating Values (HV) for heat exchange in incineration units and emits green CO2. Besides, domestic waste incineration reduces municipal waste discharges and contributes with high energy recovery. For both sources, water steam production would be coupled with High Temperature Electrolysis (HTE) process for hydrogen production. This economic study of steam generation is based on investment and operation costs of waste incineration units. For biomass incineration, the estimated steam production costs are between 1.9 and 4.0 c€/kg and for domestic waste incineration between 3 and 5.3 c€/kg. Considering the total conversion of steam into hydrogen, all water steam produced using both energy sources, could supply the needs of almost 72 millions hydrogen vehicles per year.


In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-based experiments have shown to be powerful and reliable ways to study nanomaterials. By combining high-resolution TEM characterization and property measurements on a unique platform, scientists can get deep insights of structure-property relationship at the nanoscale. Modern dedicated TEM holders with precise manipulating capability have opened a new realm of possibilities of what can be done under the microscope. This paper aims to highlights the past, present and future of these exciting methods based on in situ TEM in the last decade. The topics of interest include tensile testing of carbon nanotubes, compression testing of nanostructures, and phase transformations in metallic nanoparticles. The key points of all experiments discussed are that the measurement data are acquired on an individual nanostructure level under ultimately high spatial resolution achievable in TEM, and thus can directly be linked to the dynamic structural and physical states of a given nanomaterial. The success of these in situ TEM based analysis should clear up discrepancies in experimental data obtained from indirect measurements of nanomaterials' properties in literature, and allow engineers to design new devices/products corresponding to the real nanomaterials' potentials.


The Graduate Program in Engineering and Knowledge Management, at Federal University of Santa Catarina, with the support from CAPES PROESP, developed a project which focus is the development of an adaptable and accessible web environment for teaching the discipline of Descriptive Geometry - WebGD. This article presents the parameters needed for social and educational inclusion of students with vision impairment and it is based on a strategy to encourage participation and interaction on communities of practice. A review of literature on distance education, situated cognition and Communities of Practice was held, concepts that support the project WebGD, and a literature review of low vision â?? vision impairment. At the end requirements needed to develop the next steps for the WebGD project are presented.


Abstract: Background: Skull base chordoma is a rare tumor with slow and progressive growth. Significance of this tumor is it's difficult to access location in skull base. This is the reason for various proposed techniques for resection of the tumor. Endoscopic endonasal technique is a minimally invasive approach that gives surgeons opportunity of total resection of tumor and low morbidity. Total resection of the tumor is the main determining factor of prognosis. Methods: In this article we retrospectively studied 18 patients with pathological diagnosis of skull base chordoma treated in Amiralam hospital, Loghman-Hakim hospital and Day general hospital, Tehran, Iran, between 2005 and 2012. All patients underwent endoscopic endonasal surgery. Thirteen patients were primary cases but 3 and 2 cases were referred respectively after radiation failure and recurrence after craniotomy. Mean follow-up time was 23 months. Difficulty in swallowing and speech, diplopia and nasal obstruction was common presenting symptoms. Results: Gross tumor resection was feasible in 13 cases. Subtotal resection was done in 5 cases. During follow-up, 1 case died from disease and tumor recurred in other 8 cases. Nine patients are disease free. Eight recurrences and 1 mortality were in cases that underwent subtotal resection or referred to us after radiation failure. The major operative complication was a case of pneumocephalus. Conclusions: Endoscopic endonasal resection of skull base chordoma is a low morbidity approach, advisable in most cases. We think that total resection is the best surgical strategy. We recommend postoperative radiation in all patients. Keywords: Endoscopic, Endonasal, Skull base, Chordoma


Direct-developing lineages of the genus Lasaea are common constituents of both oceanic island and continental rocky shore crevice faunas in the eastern North Atlantic. We utilized mitochondrial gene sequence variation to flesh out the phylogenetic relationships of individuals sam- pled from 2 Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira) and from downstream continental (Iber- ian) sites. There was no evidence for colonization of the islands by upstream western North Atlantic congeners. Of 5 Lasaea clades detected in Iberia, 1 was also present on Madeira, whereas 4 of the 5 had representatives on the Azores. Madeira did not share haplotypes with the other sampling loca- tions. In contrast, the Azorean and Iberian samples shared multiple haplotypes and our phylogenetic tree topologies were consistent with a minimum of 6 inferred migration events across the >1400 km oceanic expanse separating these 2 regional populations. Three of the putative migration events involved a predominantly island clade whose topology was consistent with colonization by ancestral continental lineages, extensive island cladogenesis, and secondary downstream migrations back to the mainland. The remaining 3 inferred migration events were distributed across the tips of the phy- logenetic trees, a topology consistent with evolutionarily recent migrations against the prevailing current fields. Our results indicate that the pattern of easterly surface flow in the study area may gen- erate differentially effective dispersal filters downstream of the Azorean and Madeiran archipelagos. Evidence for countercurrent migration in marine populations should be assessed in light of the total- ity of surface-flow patterns in the study system, not merely the prevailing one.


A study was conducted in a 6 × 6 full diallel cross set of tomato including reciprocals to estimate the general combining ability, specific combining ability and heterosis for yield per plant (g) and yield components, namely number of fruits per plant, individual fruit weight (g) fruit length (cm), fruit diameter (cm), locule number, and fruit thickness (cm). The experiment was conducted from March to August 2013 at Bogor Agricultural University Experiment Field, BogorIndonesia. Randomized Complete Block Design was used with three replications. Data from Fl generation and parents were analyzed using the Griffing Method. Significant differences among genotypes were obtained for all the traits. The variances for general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) were highly significant indicating the presence of additive as well as non-additive gene effects except the fruit thickness. The tomato genotype IPB 78 is parental with the best general combining ability for yield per plant, individual fruit weight, fruit length, and fruit thickness. The tomato genotype IPB T73 x IPB T3 proved to be the best general combiner for yield and number of fruits per plant. The tomato genotype IPB T3 x IPB T1 proved to exhibit best heterosis for yield per plant and fruit thickness.


Objectives: To reduce short-term complications of radical cystectomy (RC) and intestinal urinary diversion with vescica ileale Padovana (VIP) neobladder, we described and assessed an enhanced recovery protocol (ERP) in a series of consecutive patients. Methods: An ERP was introduced focusing on reduced bowel preparation, standardized feeding and analgesic regimens. We analyzed the outcomes with all patients consecutively undergoing RC and VIP neobladder who met the following inclusion criteria: American Society of Anesthesiologists score <3; absence of malnutrition according to the Mini Nutritional Assessment - Short Form criteria; absence of inflammatory bowel diseases. Results: Thirty-one consecutive patients were recruited to undergo our ERP. Mean age of patients was 62.16 years. No patients died due to surgical complications. Nine of 31 patients experienced complications (29.03%), none requiring surgical intervention. According to Clavien grading, all complications were grade <2. Conclusion: The application of our ERP to our patients undergoing RC and VIP neobladder contributed to reduce postoperative morbidity.


J. L. Gao, Y. Zhi, X. F. Ren, Y. H. Liu, College of Material Science and Engineering, Shenyang Ligong University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China. Barium titanate (B aTiO3) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by using a surfactant-assisted method. The various processing parameters, namely, th e species of surfactant, reaction temperature and micro-emusion concentration had been varied, and the effects on the micrographs and crystal structure of BaTiO3 particles had been analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD analyses confirming the tetragonal structure of the BaTiO3 nanoparticles using hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium Bromide (CTAB) or nonylphenol polyoxyethylene ether (NP-10) as surfactant. The SEM analysis showed that by changing the species of surfactant, grains with different dimensions could be synthesized. TEM analyses indicate that BaTiO3 nanoparticles with 15–20 nm in diameter were successfully synthesized.


ABSTRACT. The primary performance standard of the nerve conduction study technologist is to perform nerve conduction studies (NCS) on patients with trauma or diseases of the peripheral nervous system. However, to be in compliance with various healthcare/medical accreditation agencies, such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or The Joint Commission [formerly known as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)], there are many other important performance objectives that must be met as well. It is the responsibility of the NCS technologist to meet these standards on a daily basis. Once these standards become an expected responsibility of the NCS technologist's position, the patient undergoing a nerve conduction study should be assured of a high quality test performed in an optimal safety environment.


Periodontal inflammation is associated with dying cells that potentially release metabolites helping to promote inflammatory resolution. We had shown earlier that the secretome of irradiated, dying peripheral blood mononuclear cells support in vitro angiogenesis. However, the ability of the secretome to promote inflammatory resolution remains unknown. Here, we determined the expression changes of inflammatory cytokines in murine bone marrow macrophages, RAW264.7 cells, and gingival fibroblasts exposed to the secretome obtained from γ-irradiated peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro by RT-PCR and immunoassays. Nuclear translocation of p65 was detected by immunofluorescence staining. Phosphorylation of p65 and degradation of IκB was determined by Western blot. The secretome of irradiated peripheral blood mononuclear cells significantly decreased the expression of IL1 and IL6 in primary macrophages and RAW264.7 cells when exposed to LPS or saliva, and of IL1, IL6, and IL8 in gingival fibroblasts when exposed to IL-1β and TNFα. These changes were associated with decreased phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of p65 but not degradation of IκB in macrophages. We also show that the lipid fraction of the secretome lowered the inflammatory response of macrophages exposed to the inflammatory cues. These results demonstrate that the secretome of irradiated peripheral blood mononuclear cells can lower an in vitro simulated inflammatory response, supporting the overall concept that the secretome of dying cells promotes inflammatory resolution.


We studied the effect of tumor necrosis factor a (TNFa), one of the major inflammatory cytokines, on the adhesive reaction of pancreatic cancer cells to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and on the hepatic metastasis of cancer cells in vivo. After TNFa stimulation, the expression of E-selectin, an adhesion molecule to neutrophils on HUVECs, increased. In addition, the adhesion of pancreatic cancer cells to HUVECs increased after TNFa stimulation, as was observed with neutrophils. The TNFa-induced adhesive response depended on the extent of sialyl Lewis a expression on cancer cells. The hepatic metastasis in vivo was often observed when cancer cells expressing a high amount of sialyl Lewis a were inoculated intrasplenically after increase in plasma TNFa concentration by lipopolysaccharide administration. Because sialyl Lewis a on cancer cells is a ligand for E-selectin on HUVECs, as sialyl Lewis x on neutrophils, TNFa upregulated the adhesive interaction between sialyl Lewis a on cancer cells and E-selectin on HUVECs. These results suggest that production of TNFa after surgical trauma may stimulate the hematogenic metastasis of cancer cells with a high sialyl Lewis a expression.


Stereospecific deuteration of the C2' methylenes of 2'-deoxynucleosides together with 13C label has been found to open up various applications for structural studies of DNA oligomers in solution. Major problems in analyzing the structure and dynamics of larger DNA oligomers by NMR are associated with geminal proton pairs attached to the C2' and C5' of sugar moieties. We have employed, with a minor modification, existing synthetic routes to prepare stereospecific deuteration of the C2' methylene to prepare 13C/2H-doubly labeled nucleosides. For example, [ul-13C/15N] adenosine, which was prepared by microbial fermentation using [13C6]-glucose and [15N]-ammonium salt as precursors, was derived into (2'R)- and (2'S)-[ul-13C/15N;2'-2H1]-2'-deoxy-adenosines. Each of these multiply labeled nucleosides was then incorporated into a DNA dodecamer, 5'-d(CGCG AATTCGCG)-3', which was examined by various NMR techniques in order to evaluate the precision and accuracy of the NMR parameters obtained for the labeled moieties.


Firefighting rescues are high-hazard activities accompanied by uncertainty, urgency, and complexity. Knowledge of the metabolic characteristics during firefighting rescues is of great value. The purpose of this study was to explore the firefighting-induced physiological responses in greater depth. The urine samples of ten firefighters were collected before and after the simulated firefighting, and the proteins in urine samples were identified by the liquid chromatography–mass spectroscopy. Blood lactate and heart rate were measured. There were 360 proteins up-regulated and 265 proteins downregulated after this simulated firefighting. Changes in protein expression were significantly related to acute inflammatory responses, immune responses, complement activation, and oxidative stress. Beta-2-microglobulin (r = 0.76, p < 0.05) and von Willebrand factors (r = 0.81, p < 0.01) were positively correlated with heart rate during simulated firefighting, and carbonic anhydrase 1 (r = 0.67, p < 0.05) were positively correlated with blood lactate after simulated firefighting. These results illustrated that Beta-2-microglobulin, von Willebrand, and carbonic anhydrase 1 could be regarded as important indicators to evaluate exercise intensity for firefighters.


Two different types of mire which had been subject to drainage for about 40 years before restoration of the water table have been studied. The abundance and distribution of testaceans were assessed in both mires before and after restoration. Human activities have changed the moisture conditions and surface chemistry of the mires. The occurrence of testate amoebae was related to the peat stratigraphy, plant remains and peat chemistry, and signs of the effects of these human activities were sought. Testacean shells were abundant throughout the full depth of peat studied in the ombrotrophic bog, but were numerous only in the surface peat of minerotrophic fen. Deeper layers of the fen had only small numbers of testate amoebae. Decomposition of organic material is generally greater at the fen site and has been accelerated during the drainage phase in the bog site, presumably with effects on the occurrence of testacean shells. Moisture conditions and peat composition were the main factors determining the occurrence of testaceans. In this study the pH of both mires was low and thus all the species were adapted to acidic conditions. Further, certain species showed correlation with mineral elements of the peat. The species that indicated dry conditions in the bog disappeared or their numbers decreased after the restoration. The effect of the moisture gradient was not as clear as before the restoration, and the testacean species seemed to be more dispersed according to the variation in mineral elements.


The project of the informational system creation on the problem of evolution of radio galaxies is described. This system, being developed at present, will allow a user to operate with simulated curves of spectral energy distributions (SED) and to estimate ages and redshifts by photometrical data. Authors use SEDs of several models (GISSEL96 (Bruzual, Charlot, 1996), PEGASE (Fioc, Rocca-Volmerange, 1996) and Poggianti(1996)) for different types of galaxies. Planned modes of access, formats of output result and additional functions are described.


The government's reimbursement policy, whereby local councils face fines if a patient cannot be discharged from hospital because they are waiting for an assessment etc, introduced new pressures into a system that was already fraught. One of the policy's aims is to allow people to exercise 'genuine choice' as regards their ongoing and longer‐term care. Based on their research into the policy however, Michelle Cornes et al investigate whether choice really can be exercised when lying in a hospital bed.


The Polar Coordination and Information Section, Division of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation (DPP/NSF) sponsored a meeting of 28 representatives from organizations that collect, process, transmit, archive, or use meteorological data collected at U.S. Antarctic stations. This workshop, convened by the World Data Center (WDC) A for Glaciology/ National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado at Boulder on September 10–11, 1987, considered the present flow of data from Antarctic stations to the end users. A set of recommendations was drafted and delivered to DPP/ NSF to address problem areas in collecting, archiving, and accessing the data. Charles Steams, University of Wisconsin, Madison, chaired the session, which was organized by Roger Barry, Director of WDC/NSIDC, and Claire Hanson, User Services, WDC/NSIDC.


Petroleum migration is an important issue in petroleum geology, and petroleum downward migration is a controversary figure. Taking the Weiyuan Gasfield in Sichun Basin, Xifeng Oilfield and Jinybian Gasfield in Ordos Basin and Fuyang reservoir in Songliao Basin as examples, the probability of deep source oil and gas which could migrate upward and accumulate in some traps is analyzed. The concept of petroleum downward migration violates the fundamental law of physics by which the oil and gas always migrate upward from below due to the buoyancy action. If the viewpoint of petroleum deep source is recognized, the petroleum exploration targets could be expanded, which provides theoretical foundation for the exploration ofbasement reservoirs.


This time, we would like to report our recent study on Pb(ZrTi)O3(PZT)-based ferroelectrics, currently one of interesting topics in condensed matter science. In this study, a new method, called synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction (XRMD) in situ, was introduced to examine the electric field-induced structural modulation of the epitaxially grown tetragonal PZT thin film. To evaluate the d-spacing (d001) from the measured intensity contour in the two theta-chi space, the peak position in each diffraction profile was determined by applying the two-dimensional Lorentzian fitting. By tracing the change of d-spacing as a function of the applied electric field and by examining the Landau free energy function for P4mm symmetry, we were able to estimate the two important parameters that characterize the field-induced structural modulation. Further theoretical analysis shows that the compressive epitaxial in-plane stress dominantly contributes to the elongation of the c-axis lattice constant in the c-axis oriented epitaxial PZT film.


In this article, I investigate the reception of Richard Schacht's Nietzsche in Germany. Despite the fact that his later work was widely acknowledged in Germany, his 1983 monograph did not receive much attention. I suggest that this is due in part to the significantly differing landscapes in the United States and in Germany during the 1980s and in part to different methodological approaches. Schacht's incentive to introduce Nietzsche to an analytically minded and generally quite hostile American audience by means of extracting his arguments, not the least through extensive use of The Will to Power, did not contribute much to the contemporary focus of the founders of Nietzsche-Studien, who aimed to establish a professionalized reconstructive Nietzsche-research based on the critical edition of Colli and Montinari. However, in my concluding remarks I argue that Schacht's balancing approach and his notion of discourse-relative truth might serve intercontinental dispute about Nietzsche better than some currently more striking alternatives.


Abstract : In current war trauma, 20-30% of all extremity injuries and 80% of penetrating injuries being associated with peripheral nerve damage, typically involve large segmental nerve deficits. Standard repair uses autologous nerve graft, secured by suture. Outcomes are unsatisfactory, affecting quality of life and return to active duty. We are investigating a sutureless, light-activated technology for sealing nerve grafts to produce an immediate water-tight seal that protects and optimizes the regenerating nerve environment. Our studies have shown that biocompatible chemical crosslinking of thin amnion and SIS sections considerably strengthens the materials and protects them from rapid biodegradation in vivo that would compromise their function as nerve wrap sealants during the regeneration process. Outcomes of rodent studies of segmental nerve deficit repair using isograft show the best performing wrap/ fixation method to be sutureless photochemical tissue bonding with the crosslinked amnion wrap. Often, autograft is unavailable due to extensive tissue damage and amputation. Importantly, We have shown nerve regeneration using our approach with an acellular nerve allograft to be equivalent to standard autograft repair in rodent models. An ongoing large animal validation study will pave the way for human studies of this technology.


The geotextile industry research and development is growing at a fast rate and new products of variable specifications are now available for earthworks and design engineers. The polypropylene fiber material is non-biodegradable which can stand aggressive chemical exposure when placed along with soil media. This research is conducted on a polypropylene fiber reinforced soil treated with chemical admixture in order to study the interlocking mechanism and to study the extent of improvement on their tensile behaviour. Locally available plastic clay was selected for this investigation. The extent of improvement by the polypropylene fibres inclusion on the tensile behaviour was evaluated by carrying out a series of Brazilian tensile strength tests. The dominant mechanism responsible for the increase in tensile strength properties has been proposed. The effect of various geotechnical parameters like grain size distribution, density and moisture content on the tensile strength improvement has been discussed. The study shows that the addition of polypropylene fibers alone to highly plastic clay will not suffice the tensile strength requirements. The polypropylene fibers when added with lime of 6% can improve the tensile strength by further 13 to 28% depending on the dose or fiber content.


With significant attention focused on nanoscience and nanotechnology in recent years, nanomaterials have been used in a wide variety of applications such as automotive, environmental, energy, catalysis, biomedical, drug delivery, and polymeric industries. Among those fields, the application of nanomaterials with pharmaceutical science is an emerging and rapidly growing field and has drawn increasing attention recently. Research and development in this field is mainly focused on several aspects such as the discoveries of novel functional nanomaterials, exploration on nanoparticles with controlled and targeted drug delivery characteristics, and investigation of biofunctionalized and diagnostic nanomaterials. In this special issue, we have invited a few papers related to recent advances in pharmaceutical application of polymeric nanomaterials. The first article of this special issue provides a comprehensive literature review on the application of polymeric nanoparticles in cancer drug delivery especially on temperature and pH-responsive drug delivery systems. The second paper examines properties of the PLGA-chitosan nanoparticle/plasmid DNA complex after formation, determines the optimal ratio of plasmid DNA: nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery purposes, and elucidates the location of the pDNA within the complexes. The third paper demonstrates an alternative way to monitor the viability of cells adhered on a nanoporous polymer film prepared by laser interference pattering in real time. The fourth paper uses mechanically embossed polyester films to analyze the dynamics of cell alignment and cell-specific factors modulating the response of chinese hamster ovary cells and of a rat myogenic cell line to the surface topography. The fifth article develops methotrexate-human serum albumin conjugates by a simple carbodiimide reaction and evaluates its cytotoxicity. The sixth paper proposes to produce a self-microemulsifying docetaxel using PLGA, tetraglycol, labrasol, and cremophor ELP. The prepared Dtx-loaded self-microemulsifying system shows an inhibitory effect for proliferation of B16F10 melanoma cells. The seventh paper describes a straightforward production methodology of paramagnetic microparticles with homogeneous and selectable sizes using flow focusing technology and reports the development of an initial formulation of a stable iron oxide suspension compatible with the flow focusing requirements. The eighth paper proposes the use of nanostructured materials (TiO2 and Fe2O3) for simultaneously coloring and/or improving the antimicrobial properties of PMMA resins. The ninth paper clarifies the effects of water-soluble chitosan and water-soluble chitosan nanoparticles on hypercholesterolemia induced by feeding a high-fat diet in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The tenth article presents the microspheres based on the protein Zein (ZN) and ZN associated to the natural polymer chitosan. The last paper of this special issue describes a novel methodology comprised of microdialysis and optical imaging to assess the liposome stability in vivo.


The wavelet analysis is widely used in different field. The essence of image fusion based on wavelet transform is low-pass filtering and high-pass filtering. The wavelet transform has be employed to merge multi-spectral images and panchromatic images of ETM+ and QB respectively, and that is compared with smoothing filter-based intensity modulation (SFIM) based on low-pass filtering and high-pass filtering transform (HPT). The results show both WT and SFIM have the best low (spectral) frequency preservation with low spatial resolution imageries, while HPT gets most high (spatial) frequency information from high spatial resolution image and will loss much useful spectral information form multi-spectral data.


Our global food supply becomes more vulnerable as we continue to lose diverse genetic resources. The Ossabaw hog is a feral breed that is unique to North America, a distant relative to the renowned Iberian hog and is considered an endangered swine breed. The objective of our farmer participatory project was to examine the meat and fat characteristics of Ossabaw hogs raised in alternative management systems for niche-market application. At one farm, eight Ossabaw pigs were randomly assigned to a grass pasture and fed a free choice corn–soy (CS) ration or placed in a mixed hardwood forest plot and provided free choice peanuts in the shells (P), alfalfa pellets (A) and mast from the mixed hardwoods (diet collectively referred to as PAM). The two diets had no effect on Ossabaw production data or pork quality characteristics; however, fat profiles were altered. Ossabaws weighed approximately 70 kg when harvested at 400 days and produced chops with small loin eyes (21–23 cm2) and minimal evidence of intramuscular fat deposits (1%). The unsaturated fatty acid (USFA) to saturated fatty acid (SFA) ratio improved from 1.6 to 2.6 (P<0.01) as a result of feeding the PAM diet. Forest-finished Ossabaw pork was considered more flavorful by food critics and renowned chefs than that of conventionally fed animals. Mast from hardwoods offers the possibility of enhancing pork flavor for niche markets and using a renewable forest resource as a food source. For farm two, eight Ossabaw gilts and eight crossbred progeny (from European breeds) were randomly assigned to one of the two dirt-lots and fed free choice a CS ration or PA diet (same ration as mentioned above with no mast). Ossabaw hogs grew nearly one-third as fast as the crosses and weighed approximately 80% of the crosses' harvest weight at twice their age. Loin eye areas of the crosses were nearly twice as large as the Ossabaws while the subcutaneous back fat deposition was nearly half. Compared to the CS diet, the PA ration decreased SFA by 23% while polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) increased by 60%. The USFA to SFA ratios improved from 1.5 to 2.2 (P<0.01) when PA diets were fed. Differences (P<0.05) in USFA profiles were observed for breed effects; Ossabaws had 8% higher levels of monounsaturated fatty acids and 18% lower PUFA levels than the crosses. When adjusted for breed effects, no differences in sensory characteristics for the CS versus PA diets were detected by a trained panel. Ossabaws were more flavorful than the crosses (2.3 versus 1.6); (P<0.05).


This article summarizes a master course thesis in Health and Safety at Work. A study was made about the implementation of Measures of Fire SelfProtection (MAP) in a school of basic and secondary education, whose building is isolated, with three floors and accommodates 952 persons. The study aimed to improve results in emergency situations, safety culture and 1 Mestrado em Segurança e Higiene do Trabalho – Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa – Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Portugal email@example.com 2 UNIDEMI, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia – Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal 3 Universidade Europeia – Laureate International Universities – Lisboa, Portugal email@example.com resilience. Such objectives required meetings with the School Safety Officer (DS), reconnaissance visits to facilities, analysis of existing documentation, preparation of auxiliary documentation and awareness-raising actions programming and simulation, as well as the allocation of their resources. The methodology was based on participant observation, with the use of video recordings of activities for later analysis. At the end of the study it was found that the Safety Agents (AS), at the beginning, would not be able to carry out their functions in the MAP. Still, it was found to be possible to develop in them some skills, through information, education and training, which initiated the agents in matters of fire fighting, evacuation and first aid, as well as raised their awareness of the consequences to which they may be exposed, to the need for emotional control and effective communication, in an emergency situation.


The article emphasizes the priority of financial strategy to achieve sustainable development of the company by ensuring the balance of functions and objectives. The author's view of the definition of "financial strategy" defines the specific functions, key features and components that allow the implementation of the financial action plan associated with risk and uncertainty.
The financial strategy of a public company focused on sustainable development is a system of formation and implementation of priority financial goals that ensure balanced development by effectively attracting and using financial resources, coordinating their flows, ensuring the necessary level of financial security based on continuous accounting of external and internal factors.
The methodological bases of the process of financial support of socially responsible activity of public companies, which serve as the basis of financial strategy: system of principles and goals, mechanisms of interaction of subject and object of management, nature of relations between elements of economic and organizational structure, forms of adaptation to constantly changing conditions environment.
The content of priority aspects of financial strategy based on business planning in connection with certain provisions of theories of financial equilibrium, financial and economic stability and economic growth is outlined.
On the basis of the system approach the conceptual model of financial strategy of sustainable development of public companies is presented, presented in the form of stages which is realized by means of own methods and financial indicators of the specified components. Of particular importance for the company is the value as an indicator of status. Due to the company's potential, financial and non-financial capital, the influence of external factors of the business environment and time, the model of value formation is characterized in the context of socially oriented activities. The proposed components of the model indicate the factors shaping the value of financial flows of income and expenses, the cost of capital, as well as the influence of risk factors and uncertainty.


Parallel to the great use of ultrasound in diagnostical purposes the interest for biological effects of ultrasound is growing every day. The present studies of the biological action of ultrasound concerned the cytogenetic investigations as well as those of animals and men. Taking into account that the extrapolation of results from animals to men is uncertain all data obtained in human population are of utmost importance. We tried to define the possible biological action of routine diagnostical ultrasound on foetoplacental unit. Women with physiological pregnancy were exposed to ultrasound during regular antenatal control-examinations in the 20th, 30th and 38th week of gestation. The follow-up concerned HPL levels in the serum 1 hour before and 1 hour after exposure to ultrasound. There was no significant difference in concentrations of the examined hormone in both blood samples.


Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a unique subtype of chronic pancreatitis, which shares many clinical presentations with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). The misdiagnosis of AIP often leads to unnecessary pancreatic resection. 18F-FDG positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (PET/CT) could provide comprehensive information on the morphology, density, and functional metabolism of the pancreas at the same time. It has been proved to be a promising modality for noninvasive differentiation between AIP and PDA. However, there is a lack of clinical analysis of PET/CT image texture features. Difficulty still remains in differentiating AIP and PDA based on commonly used diagnostic methods. Therefore, this paper studied the differentiation of AIP and PDA based on multi-modality texture features. We utilized multiple feature extraction algorithms to extract the texture features from CT and PET images at first. Then, the Fisher criterion and sequence forward floating selection algorithm (SFFS) combined with support vector machine (SVM) was employed to select the optimal multi-modality feature subset. Finally, the SVM classifier was used to differentiate AIP from PDA. The results prove that texture analysis of lesions helps to achieve accurate differentiation of AIP and PDA.


Digital ventures must navigate a key tension as they design new digital market offerings—that is, products or services that are embodied in digital technologies or enabled by them. On the one hand, digital ventures pursue a vision that builds on what might be possible through the generative potential that digital technology offers; on the other hand, they face an environment in the here and now, with existing customer preferences, extant regulations, and legacy technology. Taking a designing view, we trace how six independent digital ventures in the German financial services industry dealt with this tension as they created their digital market offerings. Our findings suggest that digital ventures enact three designing mechanisms to resolve the tension: bounding the technology scope, transposing through digital objects, and probing the solution space. Through these mechanisms, digital ventures construct a buffer—one that has functional, material, and temporal dimensions—between the vision they gradually realize through their market offering and the here-and-now conditions of the environment that digital ventures enter.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution and use of the school desk in unified Italy as a multifunctional and highly efficient tool, which was required not only to efficiently support in-class activities, to facilitate the classroom management and finally to maintain a correct body posture in order to preserve pupils' health, but also to accomplish the additional task of working as real "gymnastic equipment", i.e. suitable for performing various gymnastic exercises inside the classroom.

Design/methodology/approach

The assumption upon which this paper rests is that school desks have always been signifiers charged with multiple meanings related to the evolution of curriculum, pedagogic ideas and daily school practices, which have often been forgotten, abandoned or, for some reasons, underrepresented in the official history of education as well as in the collective memory of school. In order to rebuild this forgotten history, and retrace the possible theoretical-pedagogical basis underlying such practice, the authors have systematically reviewed the Italian manuals on gymnastics between desks from the 1870s to the 1970s, retraced sources documenting this practice in the daily school life (government rules, school programmes, school hygiene prescriptions, iconographic sources, teachers and school managers' testimonies) and finally, compared with other foreign practices (such as "calisthenics").

Findings

The convergence between many differentiated sources has demonstrated the longevity of this school practice, which was not only the fruit of educational theories of gymnastic teachers but was also determined by the backwardness and logistic inadequacies of many Italian schools. The paper reveals how this gymnastic practice, after establishing itself in the post-Unification Italian schools, continued almost uninterrupted until the Second World War and even until the 1970s, evidencing how gymnastic teachers, hygienists, educationalists and lawmakers continued, over almost a century, to scientifically legitimise (from the top downwards) an educational practice that was actually driven from the bottom upwards, i.e. determined by an endemic lack of adequate spaces and tools for physical education in Italian schools.

Originality/value

For the very first time, the special source of Italian manuals and booklets on gymnastics between desks has been located, analysed and systematically reviewed for the period 1870s-1970s, and then cross-checked against differentiated sources. This study actually represents the first step of a research which must be still further developed. Undoubtedly, the "new" source represented by the manuals of "gymnastics between school desks" offered a first original perspective from which to explore the use of this furniture in the school of the past, thereby enabling historians of education to shed the first light on a school practice that has been overlooked or forgotten, and still hidden within the "black box of schooling".


The authors suggest two interpolative block truncation coding (BTC) image coding schemes with vector quantization and median filters as the interpolator. The first scheme is based on quincunx subsampling and the second one on every-other-row-and-every-other-column subsampling. It is shown that the schemes yield a significant reduction in bit rate at only a small performance degradation and, in general, better channel error resisting capabilities, as compared to the absolute moment BTC. The methods are further demonstrated to outperform the corresponding BTC schemes with pure vector quantization at the same bit rate and require minimal computations for the interpolation. >


For pedagogic reasons, the department of dento-facial orthopedics of the university of Paris V thinks that: the diagnosis would be based on the evaluation of some characteristics; the prognosis would appreciate possible dento-alveolar compensations; the orthopedic, orthodontic and surgical treatment would coincide perfectly with these diagnosis and prognosis data. The authors' opinion is based on records of dysmorphic and normal persons.


Another host factor for SARS-CoV-2 Virus-host interactions determine cellular entry and spreading in tissues. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the earlier SARS-CoV use angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a receptor; however, their tissue tropism differs, raising the possibility that additional host factors are involved. The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 contains a cleavage site for the protease furin that is absent from SARS-CoV (see the Perspective by Kielian). Cantuti-Castelvetri et al. now show that neuropilin-1 (NRP1), which is known to bind furin-cleaved substrates, potentiates SARS-CoV-2 infectivity. NRP1 is abundantly expressed in the respiratory and olfactory epithelium, with highest expression in endothelial and epithelial cells. Daly et al. found that the furin-cleaved S1 fragment of the spike protein binds directly to cell surface NRP1 and blocking this interaction with a small-molecule inhibitor or monoclonal antibodies reduced viral infection in cell culture. Understanding the role of NRP1 in SARS-CoV-2 infection may suggest potential targets for future antiviral therapeutics. Science, this issue p. 856, p. 861; see also p. 765 NRP1 serves as a host factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection and may potentially provide a therapeutic target for COVID-19. The causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). For many viruses, tissue tropism is determined by the availability of virus receptors and entry cofactors on the surface of host cells. In this study, we found that neuropilin-1 (NRP1), known to bind furin-cleaved substrates, significantly potentiates SARS-CoV-2 infectivity, an effect blocked by a monoclonal blocking antibody against NRP1. A SARS-CoV-2 mutant with an altered furin cleavage site did not depend on NRP1 for infectivity. Pathological analysis of olfactory epithelium obtained from human COVID-19 autopsies revealed that SARS-CoV-2 infected NRP1-positive cells facing the nasal cavity. Our data provide insight into SARS-CoV-2 cell infectivity and define a potential target for antiviral intervention.


The NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft successfully crashed on Dimorphos, the secondary component of the binary (65803) Didymos system. Following the impact, a large dust cloud was released, and a long-lasting dust tail developed. We have extensively monitored the dust tail from the ground and the Hubble Space Telescope. We provide a characterization of the ejecta dust properties, i.e., particle size distribution and ejection speeds, ejection geometric parameters, and mass, by combining both observational data sets and using Monte Carlo models of the observed dust tail. The size distribution function that best fits the imaging data is a broken power law having a power index of –2.5 for particles of r ≤ 3 mm and –3.7 for larger particles. The particles range in size from 1 μm up to 5 cm. The ejecta is characterized by two components, depending on velocity and ejection direction. The northern component of the double tail, observed since 2022 October 8, might be associated with a secondary ejection event from impacting debris on Didymos, although is also possible that this feature results from the binary system dynamics alone. The lower limit to the total dust mass ejected is estimated at ∼6 × 106 kg, half of this mass being ejected to interplanetary space.


A quantitative competitive nested PCR assay was developed for quantifying HIV-1 proviral DNA in clinical samples. A competitor DNA was constructed from a conserved region of the HIV-1 gag gene by deleting a sequence of 18 base pairs. We quantitated HIV-1 proviral DNA copy number in clinical samples. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 35 HIV-infected patients with a CD4 count range of 4-728 cell/mm3 were analyzed by this method. The copy numbers of HIV-1 DNA detected ranged between 518 to 67,340 copies per 10(6) CD4+ T-cells. The copy numbers correlated inversely with the CD4 counts.


Leishmaniasis is a collection of diseases caused by more than 20 Leishmania parasite species that manifest as either visceral, cutaneous, or mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Despite the significant mortality and morbidity associated with leishmaniasis, it remains a neglected tropical disease. Existing treatments have variable efficacy, significant toxicity, rising resistance, and limited oral bioavailability, which necessitates the development of novel and affordable therapeutics. Here, we report on the continued optimization of a series of imidazopyridines for visceral leishmaniasis and a scaffold hop to a series of substituted 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-6,7-dihydro-5H-pyrrolo[1,2-a]imidazoles with improved absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination properties.


We present a study on the optimization of etch transfer processes for circuit relevant patterning in the sub 30 nm pitch regime using directed self assembly (DSA) line-space patterning. This work is focused on issues that impact the patterning of thin silicon fins and gate stack materials. Plasma power, chuck temperature and end point strategy is discussed in terms of their effect on critical dimension (CD) control and pattern fidelity. A systematic study of post-plasma etch annealing processes shows that both CD and line edge roughness (LER) in crystalline Si features can be further reduced while maintaining a suitable geometry for scaled FinFET devices. Results from DSA patterning of gate structures featuring a high-k dielectric, a metal nitride and poly Si gate electrode and a SiN capping layer are also presented. We conclude with the presentation of a strategy for realizing circuit patterns from groups of DSA patterned fins. These combined results further establish the viability of DSA pattern generation as a potential method for CMOS integrated circuit patterning beyond the 10 nm node.


The article deals with the treatment of 831 patients with echinococcosis of the lungs. It gives a clinico-morphological substantiation of surgical interventions in various conditions of the hydatid and in bilateral and multiple affection. Combined involvement of the heart, diaphragm, pleura is a casuistry.


: Results of the experimental study of material on the bases of bone undemineralized collagen saturated by sulphated glycosaminoglycans are described in the article. It was done in the experiment evaluation of its biocompatibility with surrounding tissues of the experimental animals. On the grounds of the received data it can be concluded that such material implantation into the bone defects would favour quick cell migration into the defect and implant's vascularization, that in its turn would create preconditions for new bone tissue development.


INTRODUCTION The tobacco control community has raised some concerns about whether studies on electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) published in scientific journals hide conflicts of interest (COI) and whether such reports are biased. This study assessed potential COI in the e-cigarette scientific literature. METHODS Cross-sectional study was conducted on e-cigarette publications indexed in PubMed up to August 2014. We extracted information about the authors (affiliations, location, etc.), publication characteristics (type, topic, subject, etc.), results and conclusions, presence of a COI statement, and funding by and/or financial ties to pharmaceutical, tobacco, and/or e-cigarette companies. An algorithm to determine the COI disclosure status was created based on the information in the publication. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to identify associations with COI disclosure, controlling for several independent variables. RESULTS Of the 404 publications included in the analysis, 37.1% (n=150) had no COI disclosure statement, 38.6% declared no COI, 13.4% declared potential COI with pharmaceutical companies, 3.0% with tobacco companies, and 10.6% with e-cigarette companies. The conclusions in publications with COI, which were mainly tied to pharmaceutical companies, were more likely to be favourable to e-cigarette use (PR=2.23; 95% CI: 1.43–3.46). Publications that supported the use of e-cigarettes for both harm reduction (PR=1.81; 95%CI: 1.14–2.89) and smoking cessation (PR=2.02; 95% CI: 1.26–3.23) were more likely to have conclusions that were favourable to e-cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS One-third of the publications reporting studies on e-cigarettes did not have a COI disclosure statement, and this proportion was even higher in news articles, editorials and other types of publications. Papers with conclusions that were favourable to e-cigarette use were more likely to have COI. Journal editors and reviewers should consider evaluating publications, including funding sources, to determine whether the results and conclusions may be biased.

https://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/pdf-90668-26171?filename=Conflicts of interest in.pdf


1. When reading a recent paper before the Royal Society, and also in the Press, Dr. Edridge Green has stated that he can find no connection between the luminosity and the colour sense of persons having either normal or abnormal colour sensations. Since I feel that to allow such a statement to go unchallenged might be interpreted as meaning that no such connection could be shown to exist, I propose in the following paper to place before the Society some of the evidence which indicated that there is in reality a very intimate relation between luminosity and colour sense. The results given include a small part of those which have been obtained in a series of experiments which have occupied the last two years and form part of investigation which is still in progress. The term "luminosity" as used in this paper has the following meaning: Suppose that light from some source, such as the electric arc, is admitted to a spectroscope by means of which a real pure spectrum is produced, and that a slide in the plane in which the spectrum is formed carries a slit of fixed width. Light of sensibly one wave-length, i. e. monochromatic light, will pass through this slit, and by means of a lens placed in the beam of this light an image of the first face of the prism which is used to from the spectrum can be formed on a screen. In this way a monochromatic patch of light is obtained, the brightness of which depends on the nature of the source of light, the width of the collimator slit, the width of the slit placed in the spectrum, which for short will be called the movable slit, and the dimensions of the lenses employed. Further, if alongside this coloured patch is formed a white patch of light produced by light which proceeds from the same source but has not undergone dispersion, and that by some means or other the intensity of this white light is altered till the coloured and white light, measured in any arbitrary units, measure the luminosity of the light of that colour which is passing through the movable slit. Since the unit in which the white light is measured is arbitrary, we are not concerned with the absolute intensity of illumination of the white patch, and may use any device we like to alter the quantity of white light which falls on the screen so long as we are able to measure the ratio of the quantity of light employed in different experiments. It will further be observed that for any given person the measurement of the luminosity of a given coloured light in the spectrum involves the comparsion of the brightness of the coloured patch as it appears to him with the brightness of the white patch as it appears to him.


We systematically construct derivative self-interactions for massless and massive 2-forms. There exists a no-go theorem in the literature for constructing Galileon-like Lagrangians in four dimensions for the 2-form with gauge invariance, the Kalb-Rammond field. The presence of non-minimal couplings strongly relies on the contraction with divergenceless tensors. In four dimensions these are the Einstein tensor and the double dual Riemann tensor. Even though they are divergenceless on their own, their combination ceases to be. In the case of massless 2-forms we are not able to establish non-minimal couplings of the 2-form to the gravity sector with second order equations of motion due to the impossibility of building consistent combinations of divergenceless tensors. Using the systematical construction in terms of the Levi-Civita tensor, we aim at constructing Galileon-like derivative self-interactions for the massive 2-form. Apart from L2 and L4 we are not able to construct further Galileon-like Lagrangians. For the massive case, an important non-minimal coupling between the 2-form and the double dual Riemann tensor arises, which receives additional support from the decoupling limit. Promoting the interactions in L4 requires the presence of appropriate non-minimal couplings and we give concrete examples for this.


There are significant practical challenges when combining additive and subtractive manufacturing systems. The integration of AM and machining processes can be done sequentially or in-envelope . A sequential example would be where an AM part is removed from the build plate and then fixtured into a milling machine; essentially post-processing a near-net shape part. Alternately, an AM system can be added to a milling machine or a milling process can be added to an AM system, which we would refer to as in-envelope . This paper presents some of the practical challenges of in-envelope hybrid manufacturing; both metal and plastic AM within a CNC milling machine. In this work, a method to accomplish iterative machining in the presence of extra material allowance and limited cutting tool lengths will be described. In addition, preliminary work on accommodating multi-materials within a hybrid system will be presented.


This study aimed to investigate the level of IT utilization and the factors that influence the IT utilization among the audit practitioners in Yemen. The proposed model investigates the impact of IT knowledge, IT training and firm category on the IT utilization. The researchers use a survey questionnaire, the data were collected from 197 external auditors representing Big-4 and non-Big-4 firms operating in Yemen. The Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equations Modeling Approach was employed to analyze the data and test the proposed model. The results showed that IT knowledge and IT training significantly contributed to IT utilization among the external auditors. The originality of this paper comes from the way it contributes towards understanding the joint effect of IT knowledge and training in understanding the IT utilization. In addition, it enhances the current understanding of the moderating effect of the firm category, Big 4 and Non-Big 4, on the relationship between the IT Training and the IT utilization among external auditors.


Differences in phenotype among genetically identical individuals exposed to the same environmental condition are often noted in genetic studies. Despite this commonplace observation, little is known about the causes of this variability, which has been termed microenvironmental plasticity. One possibility is that stochastic or technical sources of variance produce these differences. A second possibility is that this variation has a genetic component. We have explored gene expression robustness in the transcriptomes of 730 individual Drosophila melanogaster of 16 fixed genotypes, nine of which are infected with Wolbachia. Three replicates of flies were grown, controlling for food, day/night cycles, humidity, temperature, sex, mating status, social exposure, and circadian timing of RNA extraction. Despite the use of inbred genotypes, and carefully controlled experimental conditions, thousands of genes were differentially expressed, revealing a unique and dynamic transcriptional signature for each individual fly. We found that 23% of the transcriptome was differentially expressed among individuals, and that the variability in gene expression among individuals is influenced by genotype. This transcriptional variation originated from specific gene pathways, suggesting a plastic response to the microenvironment; but there was also evidence of gene expression differences due to stochastic fluctuations. These observations reveal previously unappreciated genetic sources of variability in gene expression among individuals, which has implications for complex trait genetics and precision medicine.


Today, modern people are suffering from metabolic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and various psychologic disorders, such as anxiety, depression. As a result, they experience decrease of body functions due to lack of physical activity. In addition, entry into the aging society has brought a sharp rise in medical costs.

Therefore, the importance of exercise for health is recognized as a social responsibility, which is in need of expansion of the government's health-related support programs. In addition to the efforts of national policy for the health-related projects, the importance of the academic researches on the mechanisms and effects of exercise have also been suggested.

In addition to the researches for the effects of exercise on the diseases, a need for the researches on the different types of exercise that can be applied to the diverse diseases has been raised. Improving social health through exercise is the answer to solve the problems of modern society. For this, we have to try to get convergence of the related studies as well as the studies for the effect on the individual.

Korean Society of Exercise Rehabilitation is trying to use the Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation (JER) as the international mean to meet these needs. JER has already acquired the status of international journal in the area of rehabilitation exercise, and JER is also trying to achieve convergence with the specialization and internationalization.

Korean Society of Exercise Rehabilitation is also trying to develop application of exercise rehabilitation to the field through the Conference. The title of the 2016 Spring Conference is "Horse riding and academic study of exercise rehabilitation," and it will be held at Jeju National University (Jeju, Korea), May 21 (Saturday), 2016. The title of the 2016 Autumn Conference is "Academic study on the application and effectiveness of the rehabilitation exercise programs for incurable diseases," and it will be held in the Gachon University (Incheon, Korea), October 22 (Saturday), 2016. Through these conferences, we can develop various tools for the exercise rehabilitation with the scientific validation of the effectiveness.

Maintaining the health through exercise should be able not only personal happiness practice but also the value that can make an integrated health of society. Thus, the concept of rehabilitation exercises would be pursued as a holistic health services for the prevention and recovery programs made for the purpose of physical, mental, and social health.


Properdin is a positive regulator of alternative pathway (AP) complement. The current understanding of properdin function is that it facilitates AP complement activation by stabilizing the C3 convertase C3bBb. Properdin-deficient patients are susceptible to lethal meningococcal infection, but the mechanism of this selective predisposition is not fully understood. By gene targeting in the mouse, we show here that properdin is essential for AP complement activation induced by bacterial lipopolysacharride (LPS) and lipooligosacharride (LOS) and other, but not all, AP complement activators. LPS- and LOS-induced AP complement activation was abolished in properdin-/- mouse serum, and properdin-/- mice were unable to clear Crry-deficient erythrocytes, which are known to be susceptible to AP complement-mediated extravascular hemolysis. In contrast, zymosan- and cobra venom factor-induced AP complement activation, and classical pathway-triggered AP complement amplification were only partially or minimally affected in properdin-/- mice. We further show that the ability of human properdin to restore LPS-dependent AP complement activity in properdin-/- mouse serum correlated with the human properdin-binding affinity of the LPS. These results reveal a novel role of properdin in AP complement initiation and have implications for understanding the selective predisposition of properdin-deficient patients to meningococcal infection.


We develop a bulk silver tip for tip-enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) and obtain TERS spectra of epitaxial graphene on the carbon face of 4H-SiC(000-1) with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Thanks to the high quality of TERS spectra we firstly find that the G band in the TERS spectra exhibits position-by-position variations in both lower wavenumber shifts and spectral broadening. The analysis of the variations reveals that the shifts and broadenings have a linear correlation between each other, indicating that the variations are induced by the position dependent local stress on graphene based on a uniaxial strain model.


The triangle covering number of a graph is the minimum number of vertices that hit all triangles. Given positive integers s , t and an n ‐vertex graph G with ⌊ n 2 ∕ 4 ⌋ + t edges and triangle covering number s , we determine (for large n ) sharp bounds on the minimum number of triangles in G and also describe the extremal constructions. Similar results are proved for cliques of larger size and color critical graphs. This extends classical work of Rademacher, Erdős, and Lovász–Simonovits whose results apply only to s ≤ t . Our results also address two conjectures of Xiao and Katona. We prove one of them and give a counterexample and prove a modified version of the other conjecture.


Central to the debate over the implementation of empirically supported treatments is whether therapist skill has a measurable, positive relationship with client outcome. The fidelity and skill with which therapists deliver treatments have been studied under the constructs of adherence and competence. Evidence for a relationship between adherence and competence and client outcomes has been mixed, possibly due to small sample sizes, potentially inadequate measures for rating therapists' skill, and limited statistical methods. The current study used a data set in which 91 therapists provided services to 384 clients from the Assertive Adolescent and Family Treatment project. Therapists trained to deliver the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) submitted audiorecorded sessions to independent raters during their training process. Measures of adherence and competence derived from session ratings were examined in a multilevel model for associations with client substance use outcomes at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups. Therapist competence was significantly predictive of decreases in clients' days of substance use. Therapist adherence was not predictive of client substance use outcomes in the full sample; however, when only those clients who completed the 12-month follow-up were included, between-therapists adherence was found to be predictive of a decrease in client substance use. This study adds to the evidence that competence in the delivery of treatment is associated with better client treatment outcomes. Adherence may be associated with better treatment outcomes as it was in follow-up completers. Future research should investigate the nature of the relationship between protocol-specific adherence and competence and client outcomes.


Improving asset management of infrastructure systems has been an ongoing issue in the United States. Oliveira et al. (2010, 2011) developed several approaches to better understand the nature and location of pipe breaks in a drinking water distribution system. In this paper, we applied these two approaches to another infrastructure system–‒the pipe network of a sewage collection system. We first applied several classification approaches to analyze factors associated with higher density regions of deteriorating pipes in the sewage collection system. Relevant attributes that cause poorly conditioned sewer pipes could be found using this approach. We then applied the network version of a density-based clustering algorithm created by Oliveira et al. (2010), used to detect clustered regions of pipe breaks in water distribution systems, to detect hierarchically clustered regions in one of the high density regions of pipe deterioration in the same pipe network. This latter approach was found to provide useful information and additional insight about the local attributes that might be related to the high-density of pipe deterioration.


Chromium is a trace element which has been considered essential for humans and animals since 1959. However, the effect of chromium on activity of rumen microorganisms has not been yet investigated. This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of chromium supplementation to agroindustrial waste based diets on rumen microorganisms which was measured in vitro. Chromium supplement was in the form of anorganic and organic incoroporated to Rhizopus sp. fungus. Two experimental designs were used in this experiment. A completely randomized design with 10 treatments and 3 replications was used to measure dry matter and organic matter digestibilities (DMD and OMD). A factorial randomized block design 10 x 3 was used to measure total VFA and NH 3 productions. Factor A was diet treatments and Factor B was fermentation period. Rumen fluid was used as block (replication). Treatments consisted of K1 (control diet), K2 (K1 + non mineral Rhizopus sp. fungus), A (K2 + anorganic Cr) with 4 levels of anorganic Cr (1, 2, 3, and 4 ppm), and O (K1 + organic Cr) with 4 levels of organic Cr (1, 2, 3, and 4 ppm). Incubation period was carried out for 1, 3, and 5 hours. The addition of non mineral Rhizopus sp. fungus (K2) decreased total VFA production from 110 to 59 mM (P<0.05) and increased NH 3 production from 9.97 to 13.28 mM (P<0.05). Supplementation of anorganic Cr decreased DMD and OMD compared to K2 (P<0.05), but organic Cr supplementation increased DMD and OMD. Optimum level of organic Cr supplementation was 1 ppm and 4 ppm for anorganic Cr. This means that supplementation of organic Cr is four times more efficient than that of anorganic Cr.


Reductions in everyday problem solving (EPS) are often reported in older age, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The authors examined the role of 2 variables predicted to mediate (neuropsychological abilities and health status) or moderate (health status) the relationship between age and EPS performance. Toward these ends, they compared EPS and neuropsychological performance in 50 functionally independent adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and 64 control participants matched on age and education. Both older age and CKD were associated with worse performance on measures of EPS and memory/executive abilities. Neuropsychological abilities were positively associated with EPS performance. In both the full sample and control participants only, memory/executive functioning mediated the association between presence of chronic illness and EPS. Furthermore, memory/executive functioning partially mediated the link between age and EPS. Findings indicate that relations among age, health status, and EPS are not straightforward. Although performance on neuropsychological measures appeared to underlie EPS declines in chronic illness, increasing age remained independently associated with reduced EPS. The authors discuss implications for models of adult developmental changes in everyday cognition.


41 women under 30 years of age took part in a prospective double-blind study to determine whether indomethacin is effective in treating dysmenorrhea. Indomethacin capsules (35 mg x 3/day) or suppositories (100 mg) or placebos were administered for 2 consecutive days in 2 consecutive menstrual cycles after which the other type of preparation (indomethacin or placebo) was used. 13 said that indomethacin and placebo use were equally effective in relieving dysmenorrhea. 28 preferred indomethicin (P < .00025). Days of sick leave and days of bed rest (P < .0005) use of thermotherapy (P < .0025) and duration of uterine cramping and use of supplemental medicine (P < .00025) were all significantly reduced among indomethicin users. Gastrointestinal symptoms were significantly more frequent among indomethicin users (P < .05). (Summary in ENG)


Magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine water states in paradormant apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) buds and during early events when buds resumed growth. Proton density and states of water were determined by creating image maps of proton density and relaxation times (T2). Summer-dormant (paradormant) buds had T2 relaxation times up to 30 ms. This water in bud tissues is considered relatively free compared to water that had T2 relaxation times of <1 ms in other parts of the stem and bark. Buds were forced to grow either by pruning off the terminal bud or by starting the bud with thidiazuron (TDZ). Both treatments gave essentially the same results. After treatment, buds started to grow immediately and water moved into the stem and into the bud. As there was more free water in the bud, T2 values ranged up to 50 ms. There appeared to be an inhibitory gradient down on the shoot, which was removed temporarily by excising the top bud. However, between the 2nd and 10th day after removal of the top bud this dominance was reinstated by the highest bud on the stem, which eventually formed a shoot. TDZ treatment overcame this inhibitory gradient effect. There was also a growth potential gradient coinciding with the inhibitory gradient. The growth of lower buds was much slower than that of the upper buds. The growth potential gradient was not overcome by TDZ treatments.


Cloud computing servers provides platform for users to remotely store data and share the data items to everyone. Personal health record(PHR)has emerged as a patient –centric model of health information exchange. Confidentiality of the shared data is the major problem when patients uses the commercial cloud servers because it can be view by everyone., to assure the patient's control over access to their own medical records; it is a promising method to encrypt the files before outsourcing and give access control to that data. Privacy exposure, scalability in key management, flexible access and efficient user revocation, have remained the most important challenges toward achieving fine-grained, cryptographically enforced data access control In this paper a high degree of patient privacy is guaranteed by exploiting multi-authority ABE. Divide the users in the PHR system into multiple security domains that greatly reduces the key management complexity for owners and users. Keywords-Secure sharing, Multi-Authority Attribute Based Encryption, Key-Policy Attribute Based Encryption, Personal Health Record, Cloud Computing


In spring 2020, COVID-19 and the ensuing social distancing and stay-at-home orders instigated abrupt changes to employment and educational infrastructure, leading to uncertainty, concern, and stress among United States college students. The media consumption patterns of this and other social groups across the globe were affected, with early evidence suggesting viewers were seeking both pandemic-themed media and reassuring, familiar content. A general increase in media consumption, and increased consumption of specific types of content, may have been due to media use for coping strategies. This paper examines the relationship between the stress and anxiety of university students and their strategic use of media for coping during initial social distancing periods in March-April 2020 using data from a cross-sectional survey. We examine links between specific types of media use with psychological well-being concepts, and examine the moderating roles of traits (hope, optimism, and resilience) as buffers against negative relationships between stress and anxiety and psychological well-being. Our findings indicate that stress was linked to more hedonic and less eudaimonic media use, as well as more avoidant and escapist media-based coping. Anxiety, on the other hand, was linked to more media use in general, specifically more eudaimonic media use and a full range of media-based coping strategies. In turn, escapist media was linked to negative affect, while reframing media and eudaimonic media were linked to positive affect. Avoidant coping was tied to poorer mental health, and humor coping was tied to better mental health. Hedonic and need-satisfying media use were linked to more flourishing. Hope, optimism, and resilience were all predictive of media use, with the latter two traits moderating responses to stress and anxiety. The findings give a nuanced portrait of college students' media use during a pandemic-induced shutdown, showing that media use is closely intertwined with well-being in both adaptive and maladaptive patterns.


Background: Granisetron is a popular antiemetic medication used in the emergency department to control nausea and vomiting with an excellent side effect profile among adults and pediatric, in both healthy and oncology patients.
Case Presentation: Our patient received granisetron for nausea and vomiting then developed torsional nystagmus, asymmetrical abnormal muscle contractions, and electrocardiography showed QTc prolongation 487 ms. The patient did improve after IV lorazepam and magnesium sulphate administration.
Conclusion: QTc prolongation increases the risk of developing Torsades de Pointes and sudden death. Extrapyramidal syndrome caused by granisetron is rare and should not be confused with seizure. Both are significant effects associated with 5-HT3 antagonists administration to be aware of and if they occurred, should be managed in a timely fashion.


Abstract The current study aims to examine consumer behavior in Turkey during the COVID‐19 pandemic and how consumers adapt to this new normal. In this regard, 78 Turkish consumers were interviewed online. Data were analyzed through grounded theory with a stimulus‐organism‐response framework and constant comparative methods. This study showed that environmental stimuli affecting consumer behavior during the pandemic are economic downturn, partial lockdown regulations, restrictions on some services, and social media messages. Organism consists of fear, boredom, and perceived risk. Consumers' behavioral responses to the pandemic are changes in purchasing of consumer goods, avoidance from physical stores, a decline in leisure activities, a decline in shopping frequency, planned vs. impulse buying, stockpiling, and prosumption. Overall, this study provides a more general framework regarding multiple aspects of the pandemic on consumer behavior.


Background/Aim: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A systematic review to evaluate the association between Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in DLBCL biopsy was conducted. Materials and Methods: Only studies comparing EBV+ and EBV− groups were eligible following database search. Prevalence ratios were calculated for results comparison. The EBV impact on PD-L1 positivity in tumour cells and its microenvironment was analysed. Results: With 270 records screened, eleven cross-sectional studies were identified for final review. Eight studies investigated PD-L1 expression in tumour cells and found an EBV trend unlikely, while four studies found an increase in its expression in the tumour microenvironment. Nine studies showed that EBV+ cases were more commonly of non-germinal centre B-cell origin. Four studies examined genetic aberrations, but no definite consensus was reached. Conclusion: A non-EBV related mechanism is likely related to increased PD-L1 expression, with relevance to the cell of origin.


Over the last few years, we were working to find an alternative deployment solution of the Electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) that help to get rid of the drawbacks associated with the conventional ESP systems:
 – Rig availability to install / retrieve ESP systems – Prohibitive intervention costs – Unreliable in-well electrical connections
 Finally Saudi ARAMCO and Baker Hughes developed the TransCoil rigless-deployed ESP system to address the issues, help operators bring wells on production faster, and lower overall lifting costs to extend the economic life of producing assets. During the project both system design and deployment method were considered to ensure compliance with ARAMCO standards of engineering, operation, and well controls.
 The first TransCoil system was installed in December 2016 as a trial well with a pilot plan to operate the system for six months and pull the system to close the trial. This installation was the first to be done globally to prove that the system developed met the statement of requirements. The system installed and operated for 18 months before it was pulled out in operable condition to close the trial in December 2019. This closed the final step in the trial proving that the system can be deployed and retrieved without a rig and met all the success criteria of the TTR.
 To complete the pull-out process, it was necessary to find a way to splice the Coiled Tube cable while continued accessing to the power system for testing throughout the pull-out job. This was achieved by inventing a coupling that not only spool-able and testable during pull-out and re-run, but also immune to Hydrogen embrittlement, non-magnetic, can be nitrided for galling, is cheap to work with and has decent strength.
 TransCoil ends are hand drilled and coupled together with the splice coupling by a simple procedure which can be safely done on site. The coupling insulation system can withstand 10KV-AC which is sufficient to conduct a 2500VDC megger test on TransCoil after the down-hole coil and remainder of coil on the spool have been coupled together. in addition, resistance and continuity tests can be done at one phase only as the three conductors are connected as one at both ends of the coupling.
 Pulling-out process starting from the TransCoil splice preparation then coupling to completely retrieve the whole BHA took approximately 7~8 hours which is a significant operation time saving in comparison with the conventional ESP pull out which takes at least 18 hours.
 This paper shares the background of the system development and trial. Details on the deployment background, de-completion events along with the system benefits.


The world's legal professions have undergone dramatic changes in the 30 years since publication of the landmark three-volume Lawyers in Society, which launched comparative sociological studies of lawyers. This is the first of two volumes in which scholars from a wide range of disciplines, countries and cultures document and analyse those changes.

The present volume presents reports on 46 countries, with broad coverage of North America, Western Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia, North Africa and the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and former communist countries. These national reports address: the impact of globalisation and neoliberalism on national legal professions (the relationship of lawyers and their professional associations to the state and tensions between state and citizenship); changes in lawyer demography (rapidly growing numbers and the profession's efforts to retain control, the entry of women and obstacles to full gender equality, ethnic diversity); legal education (the proliferation of institutions and pedagogic innovation); the regulation of lawyers; structures of production (especially the growth of large firms and the impact of technology and paraprofessionals); the distribution of lawyers across roles; and access to justice (state-funded legal aid and pro-bono services). The juxtaposition of the reports reveals the dramatic transformations of professional rationales, labour markets, and working practices and the multiple contingencies of the role of lawyers in societies experiencing increasing juridification within a new geopolitical order.


This paper empirically investigates the social exclusion of non regular workers in Japan by conducting an internet survey of non regular workers on a national scale. Based on survey data, indexes were created to measure 7 types of social exclusion. We then categorized respondents by employment status and ran regressions to find the determinants of social exclusion. The results show that day laborers are socially excluded and temporary workers in the manufacturing industry have a conspicuous lack of social relationships. After controlling for individual characteristics, we find that differences of social exclusion are caused not by employment status but by the shortness of contract term and the fact that these workers work in the manufacturing industry. Employment history and experiences at school have a significant effect on the degree of current social exclusion. We also find that social exclusion indexes are positively correlated which implies that multiple social exclusions occur.


This paper is a brief overview and evaluation of current mathematical/statistical causal models, including the structural equation model (SEM), TETRAD, and the graphical model. The efficacy of these approaches will be discussed in the philosophical context of the Duhem-Quine thesis, realism, simplicity, identifiability (testability), empirical adequacy, and probabilistic causality. The emphasis of this paper is on the philosophical aspect, not the mathematical or computational aspect of SEM, nonetheless, readers are not required to have a philosophical background to follow the arguments.


In its more than 100 years of existence, sociology in Russia and in the Soviet Union has confronted a range of political barriers to its development, and has had difficulty in becoming integrated into the international sociological enterprise. In spite of this, the commitment of a large number of courageous researchers has enabled it to achieve remarkable results.


Many terrestrial ectotherms are capable of rapid colour change, yet it is unclear how these animals accommodate the multiple functions of colour, particularly camouflage, communication and thermoregulation, especially when functions require very different colours. Thermal benefits of colour change depend on an animal's absorptance of solar energy in both UV–visible (300–700 nm) and near-infrared (NIR; 700–2600 nm) wavelengths, yet colour research has focused almost exclusively on the former. Here, we show that wild-caught bearded dragon lizards (Pogona vitticeps) exhibit substantial UV–visible and NIR skin reflectance change in response to temperature for dorsal but not ventral (throat and upper chest) body regions. By contrast, lizards showed the greatest temperature-independent colour change on the beard and upper chest during social interactions and as a result of circadian colour change. Biophysical simulations of heat transfer predicted that the maximum temperature-dependent change in dorsal reflectivity could reduce the time taken to reach active body temperature by an average of 22 min per active day, saving 85 h of basking time throughout the activity season. Our results confirm that colour change may serve a thermoregulatory function, and competing thermoregulation and signalling requirements may be met by partitioning colour change to different body regions in different circumstances.


Dr. Joseph Chen first presented Low Endotoxin Recovery (LER) in April 2013.1 A masking effect of endotoxin was observed with a matrix containing a chelating agent and a detergent, and the endotoxin potency was not successfully recovered by dilution or magnesium replacement, the usual way to overcome the inhibition caused by chelation. The LER brought us some concerns relating to the suitability of the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) test for the endotoxin detection:


This electronic book is copyrighted, and protected by the copyright laws of the United States. This (and all associated documents in the system) must contain the above copyright notice. If this electronic book is used anywhere other than the project's original system, CSEP must be notiied in writing (email is acceptable) and the copyright notice must remain intact. The diagram in Figure 1 shows the major components of Fortran 90 1],,2]. The size of each slice of this \pie" is roughly proportional to the number of syntax rules needed to describe the features associated with that slice, and hence is a measure of the structural complexity of those features. (These measures should not, however, be taken as an indication of conceptual or semantic complexity nor of implementation eeort-syntactic complexity may or may not be related to these other forms of complexity.) Fortran 77 Fortran 90 is a super-set of Fortran 77-all standard Fortran 77 programs are standard Fortran 90 programs. Fortran 90 therefore encompasses and is completely compatible with the existing Fortran 77 computational science infrastructure. Source Form To Fortran 77's ``xed' source form Fortran 90 adds another source form, called`free' source form, in which there are no column dependencies. In free source form comments need not start in column 1 and column 6 is not reserved for continuation; continuation in free source form is indicated by a trailing ampersand, on thè`rst' line. In both source forms an exclamation point , `!', may be used to initiate end-of-line comments (e.g., following a statement on that line) and a semicolon may be used to separate two statements on the same line. As in Fortran 77, Fortran 90 names (of variables, procedures, etc.) begin with a letter and contain letters and digits; in addition, names may have up to 31 characters, may contain underscore, ` ', characters, and may contain both upper and lower case letters.


A novel selective separation method for organic compounds, especially thermosensitive substances, has been proposed using unsubstituted β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as a host and some alcohols and aldehydes as model guests in aqueous solution. The separation factors were evaluated from the extraction of an equimolar mixture of alcohol and aldehyde compounds. The inclusion equilibrium constants for several alcohols and aldehydes over β-CD have been calculated through their UV-vis spectra. The Gibbs free energy changes of β-CD/substrates complexes (ΔG) have been calculated combined B3LYP/6-31G(d)//ONIOM2(B3LYP/6-31G(d):PM3) with semicontinuum solvation model. The difference of Gibbs free energy changes (ΔΔG) for the inclusion complexes formed via the intermolecular weak interactions e.g., hydrogen bond and electrostatic interaction was the reason why alcohol and aldehyde compounds could be selectively separated. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011


Various aspects disclosed are directed to improvements to channel estimation through more efficient cancelation of neighboring common reference signals (CRS). Cancelation of CRS from other cells allows the user equipment (UE) a better opportunity for accurately detecting the reference signal of the current cell. Alternative aspects have a recursive element that uses previous estimates as the basis for the current channel estimate. The various aspects of the present disclosure generally have two alternative embodiments: (1) initializing the channel estimation for all cells with a previous channel estimate and cancellation of reference signals of non-target cells to accurately update channel estimate of the target cell; and (2) initializing the channel estimate for all cells with a previous channel estimate and cancelation of reference signals of all cells to accurately estimate residual channel estimate of the target cell and update its channel estimate.


Aiming for ever more compact and efficient Electric Vehicle (EV) battery chargers, in this paper a three-phase phase-modular buck-boost Three-Level Flying Capacitor Y-Rectifier (3L-FC-YR) is introduced. The unique circuit structure of the 3L-FC-YR requires time-varying flying capacitor voltages, making the safe and performant operation of such a converter system challenging. Accordingly, a special clamping modulation strategy is proposed which assures equal blocking voltage distribution among the power semiconductors. Further, control strategies and protection circuitry for system startup or failure-mode handling are discussed, such that all practical aspects of the 3L-FC-YR are covered. The concept is verified by means of closed-loop circuit simulations and the resulting waveforms are presented. Finally, a Pareto comparison considering the efficiency and power density limits of the 3L-FC-YR and the standard 2L-YR is conducted considering an extremely wide DC output voltage range of 200 V to 920 V according to the DC CCS HPC350 EV charging standard. The results indicate a significantly higher performance of the 3L approach and/or the feasibility of a CISPR 11 Class A compliant 3L-FC-YR prototype with a peak efficiency of 98.5 % and power density of 19 kW/dm3 (311 W/in3).


Goal priming typically leads to goal-consistent behavior. This uniform pattern is surprising given other types of priming effects, which have been found to be more variable. On the basis of previous research on judgment priming effects, we predicted that a comparative mindset to focus on similarities versus differences also affects the direction of goal priming. Two studies show that assimilation to a primed goal results if participants focus on similarities, whereas a focus on differences leads to contrast. In Study 1, participants induced to focus on similarities behaved more neatly after being primed with neatness rather than the goal to be carefree. For participants induced to focus on differences, the opposite pattern emerged. In Study 2, a similarity focus led to assimilation to an achievement prime, whereas a difference focus resulted in contrast. These findings highlight the importance of comparative processes in goal striving and demonstrate that assimilative goal-priming effects are less invariable than existing research suggests. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Evanescent-wave imaging is demonstrated using solid-immersion Lloyd's-mirror interference lithography (SILMIL) at λ = 325 nm to produce 44-nm half-pitch structures (numerical aperture, NA = 1.85). At such an ultra-high NA the image depth is severely compromised due to the evanescent nature of the exposure, and the use of reflections from plasmonic under-layers is discussed as a possible solution. Simulations and modelling show that image depths in excess of 100 nm should be possible with such a system, using silver as the plasmonic material. The concept is scalable to 193 nm illumination using aluminium as the plasmonic reflector, and simulation results are shown for 26-nm half-pitch imaging into a 37-nm thick resist layer using this scheme.


A new magnesium alloy, named as Mg-6Zn-6Al(ZA66), using for thixoforming production has been developed. The microstructure of the material during partial remelting holding in the semi-solid state was characterized. The results indicate that non-dendrite microstructure in ZA66 magnesium alloy billets can be obtained, but the proper partial remelting temperature and holding time should be select. After being treated at 575°Cfor 20 min, the ZA66 alloys can obtain a non-dendritic microstructure with finer unmelted primary solid particles (37 μm) and shape factor about 0.6. With the increasing holding temperature from 575°C to 590°C,the average size of unmelted primary solid particles increases and globular tendency becomes more obvious.