Clinical Scenario: Noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are prevalent among athletes in multiplanar sports, especially females. Hip strength may contribute to the incidence of these injuries due to dynamic movement patterns at the knee. Clinical Question: Does hip strength impact the incidence of noncontact ACL injuries in female athletes? Summary of Key Findings: A literature search was conducted on the relationship between hip strength and noncontact ACLs. Three prospective studies measuring isometric hip strength and recording the number of noncontact ACL injuries that occurred within a time period were included. One study demonstrated lower isometric hip adductor-to-abductor ratio was associated with noncontact ACL injuries. Two studies demonstrated those with noncontact ACL injuries had greater isometric hip abduction strength. Clinical Bottom Line: Evidence suggests that greater isometric hip strength and low hip adductor-to-abductor strength ratio may be a risk factor that is associated with noncontact ACL injuries in females. Future research should investigate the impact of hip strength on the incidence of noncontact ACL injuries, across all genders. Strength of Recommendation: Based on the Center of Evidence-Based Medicine, these studies provide Level 3 evidence that hip strength is associated with the risk of noncontact ACL injuries in females.


The ability to store vast quantities of data and the emergence of high speed networking have led to intense interest in distributed data mining. However, privacy concerns, as well as regulations, often prevent the sharing of data between multiple parties. Privacy-preserving distributed data mining allows the cooperative computation of data mining algorithms without requiring the participating organizations to reveal their individual data items to each other.

This paper makes several contributions. First, we present a simple, deterministic, I/O-efficient kclustering algorithm that was designed with the goal of enabling an efficient privacy-preserving version of the algorithm. Our algorithm examines each item in the database only once and uses only sequential access to the data. Our experiments show that this algorithm produces cluster centers that are, on average, more accurate than the ones produced by the well known iterative k-means algorithm, and compares well against BIRCH.

Second, we present a distributed privacy-preserving protocol for k-clustering based on our new clustering algorithm. The protocol applies to databases that are horizontally partitioned between two parties. The participants of the protocol learn only the final cluster centers on completion of the protocol. Unlike most of the earlier results in privacy-preserving clustering, our protocol does not reveal intermediate candidate cluster centers. The protocol is also efficient in terms of communication and does not depend on the size of the database. Although there have been other clustering algorithms that improve on the k-means algorithm, ours is the first for which a communication efficient cryptographic privacy-preserving protocol has been demonstrated.


Objective – Islamic finance has been established as an alternative to the conventional banking system which is made up component not permitted under Shariah. Tawarruq is one of the Islamic finance products which commonly used in Islamic banks. This research assesses two important areas which include the principle of Tawarruq in Fiqh perspective and the practical aspect of such principle in Islamic banks in Malaysia. Method – The method used for this research is comparative analysis. Result – This research begins to explore the different views of the proponent and opponents toward the legality of Tawarruq in Fiqh . Instead of considering the basic condition of the valid sale, the other aspect has to be pondered by the contemporary scholars to render Tawarruq is valid sale according to Shariah. The legality of Tawarruq has been debate by some scholars. Due to that, there are different resolution and rulings from Islamic countries on legality of of Tawarruq . In the practical aspect, Tawarruq has been used in Malaysia by Bursa Malaysia Suq Al Sila' as a trading platform and it uses Crude Palm Oil (CPO) as the commodity in Tawarruq transaction. While, in the Middle East, it uses London Metal Exchange (LME) in dealing with commodity transaction through Tawarruq principle. Conclusion – Based on the legal argument on the permissibility of Tawarruq , it can be summarized that Tawarruq is permissible but subject to certain condition. Provided that genuine Tawarruq is permissible than organized Tawarruq in Tawarruq transaction. Keywords: Tawarruq, Murabahah


Introduction: Despite their poor specificity, small molecule drugs are considered more powerful and effective than other current chemotherapies. A promising method for targeting these anticancer drugs to tumors, elastin-like polypeptides (ELP), has recently emerged. When an anticancer drug that has been conjugated to an ELP is administered, and focal hyperthermia applied, the thermoresponsive properties and enhanced permeability and retention effects of the ELP facilitate drug aggregation within tumor tissues. By incorporating a cell penetrating peptide onto this ELP-chemotherapeutic construct, even greater drug uptake into tumor cells can be achieved. Areas covered: The review explores the preclinical study progress of ELP-based drug delivery technology and discusses its potential in cancer therapy. Recent experimental work has shown that a delivery construct consisting of an ELP-therapeutic peptide (e.g., the c-Myc-inhibitory peptide, or the p21WAF1/CIP1-derived peptide), as well as ELP-small molecule drugs (e.g., doxorubicin, paclitaxel), can be thermally targeted to accumulate in tumors and diminish their growth. Expert opinion: ELP drug delivery technology is complementary and synergistic to current drug delivery modalities and based on existing hyperthermia technology. By using this technology to achieve chemotherapeutic targeting, efficacy can be improved and side effects reduced in comparison with current regimens, providing treatment alternatives and/or augmenting current therapies for cancer treatment.


A total of 48 vascular plant taxa belonging to 27 families, 46 genera, 41 species, and 7 varieties are recognized in Island Dokdo. Five species of Plantago asiatica, Schizophragma hydrangeoides, Rubus phoenicolasius, Viola kusanoana, and Ampelopsis brevipedunculata are regarded as already extinct and previously reported 21 species cannot be reconfirmed in the island. Most plants are dry and salt tolerant species and no taxon confined to this island is found. In terms of species composition, Dokdo is most closely related to Ulleungdo. Only limited number of plant taxa can inhabit by the lack of diverse environments and dry and salty conditions, however, more recently, frequent visit of people and transplantation of alien species cause to introduction of weeds to the island. The results of examining chromosomes of 16 taxa indicate that no alteration of chromosome numbers in the island has been occurred. The triploid level of Cyrtomium falcatum is the first report for the species.


In this paper we present an improved model of the multilayered T-type electromagnetic interference chip LC filter for printed circuit board applications, and an improved measurement technique for characterization of such devices. Electrical parameters measurements of the same LC filter can vary for different measurement types. Because of that, we have developed new adaptation microstrip test fixture on printed circuit board for vector network analyzers' measurements of surface mount devices with three terminals. Two commercially available components, multilayer T-type LC filters, are measured and characterized using a vector network analyzer. The comparison of measurement data and simulation values of electrical equivalent circuit and electromagnetic model for two LC filters is further presented. The new improved model of T-type LC filters has provided better agreement between measurement and simulation.


One of the major problems found when developing a 3D recognition system involves the choice of keypoint detector and descriptor. To help solve this problem, we present a new method for the detection of 3D keypoints on point clouds and we perform benchmarking between each pair of 3D keypoint detector and 3D descriptor to evaluate their performance on object and category recognition. These evaluations are done in a public database of real 3D objects. Our keypoint detector is inspired by the behavior and neural architecture of the primate visual system. The 3D keypoints are extracted based on a bottom-up 3D saliency map, that is, a map that encodes the saliency of objects in the visual environment. The saliency map is determined by computing conspicuity maps (a combination across different modalities) of the orientation, intensity, and color information in a bottom-up and in a purely stimulus-driven manner. These three conspicuity maps are fused into a 3D saliency map and, finally, the focus of attention (or keypoint location) is sequentially directed to the most salient points in this map. Inhibiting this location automatically allows the system to attend to the next most salient location. The main conclusions are: with a similar average number of keypoints, our 3D keypoint detector outperforms the other eight 3D keypoint detectors evaluated by achieving the best result in 32 of the evaluated metrics in the category and object recognition experiments, when the second best detector only obtained the best result in eight of these metrics. The unique drawback is the computational time, since biologically inspired 3D keypoint based on bottom-up saliency is slower than the other detectors. Given that there are big differences in terms of recognition performance, size and time requirements, the selection of the keypoint detector and descriptor has to be matched to the desired task and we give some directions to facilitate this choice.


Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen causing nosocomial infection in human. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the presence of genes involved in biofilm formation in K. pneumoniae isolated from patients and the presence of antibiotic resistance genes. Methods: Biochemical tests were used for the identification of K. pneumonia isolated from urine samples referred to hospitals in Tehran, Iran, from Sep 2018 to Jan 2020. The antibiotic resistance pattern was performed and biofilm formation was assessed phenotypically. Finally, β-lactamase genes and adhesion genes were detected by the PCR method. Results: We collected 457 K. pneumoniae isolates from hospitals in Tehran, Iran. 110 isolates were resistant to imipenem. Fifty isolates were positive for metallo-β-lactamases that thirty-nine isolates (35.45%) has blaKPC gene, 18 isolates (16.36%) had blaVIM-1 gene and 9 isolates (8.18%) had blaIMP-1 gene detected by PCR. Sixty isolates (54.54%) had strong biofilm, 35 isolates (31.81%) had moderate biofilm and 15 isolates (13.63%) had weak biofilm. The presence of adhesion genes in K. pneumoniae isolates significantly correlated with resistance genes (P<0.001). Conclusion: It is clear antibacterial resistance has been significant association with biofilm formation in K. pneumoniae isolates. Therefore, understanding resistance pattern and mechanisms leading to biofilm formation can facilitate efficient treatment of infections caused by K. pneumoniae.


A guided horizontal conveyor rice harvester that uses slider-crank mechanism to drive the cutter bar was designed and constructed. Most Nigerian farms are segregated and this makes it difficult to make use of combine harvester as mechanical means of harvesting. Essential parts of the harvester are cutter bar, conveyor, transmission system and crop reel. The machine constructed was operated and tested on the rice field of National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Moor plantation, Ibadan, to evaluate the performance of the machine. A 2 2 x 3 factorial experimental design with two replicates was used to analysis the effect of engine speed (1200, 1400 and 1800rpm), ecology (irrigated and rainfed-lowland) and moisture content (18.3% and 21.2%) on field capacity, field efficiency, cutting efficiency and operation loss. The test result revealed that moisture content had a significant effect on both the cutting efficiency and operation loss of the machine while the ecology had a significant effect only on the field capacity and field efficiency. At moisture content of 21.2%, the average cutting efficiency was higher with the highest value of 97.2% at 1200rpm. At moisture content of 18.3%, lower operation losses were recorded. The lowest average operation loss of 23.9% was recorded against the 1800rpm. The rainfed-lowland ecology gave a higher field capacity and efficiency. The highest field capacity of 0.0525ha/hr and field efficiency of 49.1% was recorded at 1400rpm. Maximum cutting efficiency of 97.2% was recorded at 1200rpm and 21.2% moisture content, and, lowest operation loss at 1800rpm and 18.3% moisture content. Keywords: Guided rice harvester, horizontal conveyor, slider-crank, cutter bar


Currently, frequent-guest programs have been widespread among most of the major hotel groups around the world. However, despite the fact that hotels annually spend millions of dollars to deliver free membership benefits as a means to acquire and retain hotel guests, a number of criticisms persist on too much sameness within these programs. Since it is expensive to maintain frequent-guest programs, the benefits should be carefully designed in order to control their relative costs. Thus, this study draws on in-depth interviews of 18 hotel professionals to investigate the benefit and cost structures of six mainstream frequent-guest programs worldwide. The key elements of membership benefits were structurally compared and developed into a benefit taxonomy with three levels: core benefits, partially common benefits, and individual benefits. The dichotomous analysis on program costs has found that major tangible and intangible costs exist at the property level. Findings have likewise revealed the current performance monitoring mechanisms and administrative logistics of frequent-guest programs, as well as their operational implications to hotel management.


LIBERTARIANISM AS A MORAL AND POLITICAL DOCTRINE is often the target of fierce criticism. Such criticism commonly takes as its starting point features that seem to come into conflict with widely and firmly entrenched moral intuitions. In this article, I will be concerned with a specific problem of that very sort, a problem that recently has been given a potent form by David Sobel: the conflation problem (Sobel 2012; 2013). The problem, in short, is the following: the basic libertarian tenet is full and stringent self-ownership. Transgressing self-ownership is strictly forbidden (or at least "a very big deal"). This implies that one infringement of self-ownership (say, being stabbed) is precisely as forbidden as any other such infringement (say,


Purpose: The objective of the study was to describe and compare the acute response of muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) and hemoglobin concentration (Hgb) in the vastus lateralis (VL) during resistance exercise protocols until failure. Methods: Sixteen males were considered (mean ± SD, age = 36.12 ± 6.40 years). Two familiarization sessions and one evaluation session were carried out where three force protocols were executed in the VL, one of them was isometric load (P1) and two of dynamic load (P2 and P3). SmO2 [%] and Hgb [g/dL] were measured before and after each of these protocols. For P1, three series of 8 s of maximum isometric strength with the rest of 60 s between each set, the average isometric strength (AIS), and the isometric peak strength (IPS) were also recorded. After five minutes, P2 was performed, with an initial load of 40% of AIS. Then, at 30 minutes, P3 was performed considering an initial load of 40% of IPS. Results: The results suggest (I) minimum levels of SmO2 (66.31 ± 9.38%) and Hgb (12.22 ± 0.55 g/dL) during P2, (II) no significant differences were observed between the average loads of the respective protocols for SmO2 and (III) muscle Hgb differed significantly between rest with P1 and P3. Conclusions: Exercises of increasing intensity and of short duration do not significantly modify SmO2. However, Hgb increases substantially compared baseline values.


This paper aims to provide legal protection to the brand in the trade of goods and services. It is based on legislation specifically relating to brands, namely Law No. 15 of 2001, and legislation related to the brand. With the growing importance of this brand, the brand needs to be placed on the legal protection as an object against him over the rights of individuals or legal entities. Law No. 15 of 2001 aims to give more legal protection for rights holders of trademarks. To ensure the legal protection of brand in the process of trade in goods and services, then the owner of the brand is expected to register a trademark in order to obtain legal certainty.


In this paper, we describe an open source Python toolkit named Uncertainty Quantification 360 (UQ360) for the uncertainty quantification of AI models. The goal of this toolkit is twofold: first, to provide a broad range of capabilities to streamline as well as foster the common practices of quantifying, evaluating, improving, and communicating uncertainty in the AI application development lifecycle; second, to encourage further exploration of UQ's connections to other pillars of trustworthy AI such as fairness and transparency through the dissemination of latest research and education materials. Beyond the Python package (\url{https://github.com/IBM/UQ360}), we have developed an interactive experience (\url{http://uq360.mybluemix.net}) and guidance materials as educational tools to aid researchers and developers in producing and communicating high-quality uncertainties in an effective manner.


Phosphatidylinositol (PI)-3 kinase is an enzyme that phosphorylates D3 position of PI and its derivatives. It is activated immediately after growth factor or differentiation factor stimulation, suggesting that PI-3 kinase is involved in signal transduction of the stimulations. PI-3 kinase appears to play important roles in various points including signaling to the nucleus, vesicle transport, and rearrangement of cytoskeleton since many cell responses which requires these events were affected by inhibition or activation of PI-3 kinase. There are many mechanisms of activation of PI-3 kinase including binding to phosphotyrosine containing proteins or binding to Ras. Each mechanism can target PI-3 kinase to the right place to induce the right cell responses.


Effective conservation and habitat restoration strategies in human-dominated landscapes must be based on an understanding of the ways that habitat loss and fragmen- tation affect native species. We studied avian foraging behavior and patterns of occurrence in the highly fragmented agricultural landscape of the Kellerberrin district of Western Australia to better understand the factors underlying species declines and losses. We con- ducted three surveys of 30 wandoo woodland patches that ranged in size from 1.3 to 101.3 ha. Some patches were part of larger remnants of native vegetation, ranging in size from 3.5 to 1204.8 ha and including other habitat types. We examined the extent to which patterns of species richness, the occurrence and composition of foraging guilds, and the occurrence of individual species varied with features of woodland patches, remnants, and the sur- rounding landscape. Using multiple regression analyses, the best model for species richness included terms for the log of remnant area, the patch diversity of each remnant, and woodland patch condition. We delineated eight foraging guilds based on similarities in the substrate/method dimension and also using multidimensional scaling analyses. The best model for the number of foraging guilds present in a patch included a single variable representing shrub density. Analyses of nestedness based on guilds and on individual species were both significant; and for the latter, 11 of 13 species made a significant contribution to the overall pattern. We derived separate models for the occurrence of each of eight species and one guild using multiple logistic regression. Significant models included, either separately or in combi- nation, the following variables: the log of remnant area, patch area, the total area of wood- land in a remnant, and the distance to other woodland patches. For four species that had sufficient records to examine shifts in foraging behavior, we observed significant differences in both foraging methods and substrates with changes in remnant size and/or the presence of other species or guilds. Our analyses indicated that remnant area was the best single variable for measures of community structure, in part because it was strongly correlated with other variables, such as total woodland area, patch area, remnant patch diversity, number of corridor connections, and measures of isolation. For foraging guilds and for individual species, variables other than remnant area assumed greater importance. The strong patterns of nestedness for for- aging guilds by remnant area may reflect the diminished availability of certain prey items in small, degraded remnants. This notion is reinforced by the relatively high species and guild richness recorded in small patches that were either fenced from grazing or embedded in large remnants. The nested pattern of species within some foraging guilds, however, indicates the importance of additional aspects of their ecology. A focus on richness alone may mask the unique responses of bird species to fragmentation and may divert attention from important considerations in the development of land-use policy and reserve acquisition.


The study deals with the types of presupposition and its asserted meaning in advertisement of Jaco Tv Home Shopping. The objectives of study are to find out the types of presupposition and the most dominant types which is used and to find out the causes of the dominant types in Jaco Tv Home Shopping advertisement. The research conducted by using descriptive qualitative design. The data collected by choosing fifteen selected videos from four products. The results showed that the types of presupposition that used in the four products are in beauty product: existential presupposition (26.92%), lexical presupposition (32.69%), factive presupposition (19.24%), structural presupposition (15.38%), non-factive presupposition (1.92%) and counterfactual presupposition (3.85%); in health product: existential presupposition (38.46%), lexical presupposition (26.92%), factive presupposition (19.23%), structural presupposition (11.54%), non-factive presupposition (15.79%) and counterfactual presupposition (0%); in fitness equipment: existential presupposition (63.16%), lexical presupposition (0%), factive presupposition (5.26%), structural presupposition (15.79%), non-factive presupposition (15.79%) and counterfactual presupposition (0%); in home appliances: existential presupposition (42.43%), lexical presupposition (24.24%), factive presupposition (24.24%), structural presupposition (3.03%), non-factive presupposition (6.06%) and counterfactual presupposition (0%). The dominant type of presupposition that used by the advertisement was existential presupposition in health product, fitness equipment and home appliances while lexical was the dominant in beauty product. The cause of existential presupposition became the most dominant presupposition in the advertisement of Jaco Tv Home Shopping is Jaco Tv Home Shoppping advertisements used the utterances formed by proper names, noun phrase, definite article and possessive to show the existences of things in its advertisements and by lexical presupposition, the advertisers tried to make the information can be directly understood by the consumers.


163Ho to 163Dy is probably due to the small Q value of about 2.5 keV the best case to determine the neutrino mass by electron capture. The energy of the Q value is distributed between the excitation of Dysprosium (and the neglected small recoil of Holmium) and the relativistic energy of the emitted neutrino including the rest mass. The reduction of the upper end of the deexcitation spectrum of Dysprosium below the Q value allows to determine the neutrino mass. The excitation of Dysprosium can be calculated in the sudden approximation of the overlap of the electron wave functions of Holmium minus the captured electron and one, two-, threeand multiple holeexcitations in Dysprosium. Robertson [R. G. H. Robertson, Phys. Rev. C91, 035504 (2015) and arViv: 1411.2906] and Faessler and Simkovic [Amand Faessler, Fedor Simkovic, accepted for Phys. Rev. C, March 2015 and arXiv: 1501.04338] have calculated the influence of the two-hole states on the Dysprosium spectrum. Here for the first time the influence of the three-hole states on the deexcitation bolometer spectrum of 163 Dysprosium is presented. The electron wave functions and the overlaps are calculated selfconsistently in a fully relativistic and antisymmetrized DiracHartree-Fock approach in Holmium and in Dysprosium. The electron orbitals in Dy are determined including the one-hole states in the selfconsistent iteration. The influence of the three-hole states on the Dy deexcitation (by X-rays and Auger electrons) can hardly be seen. The three-hole states seem not to be relevant for the determination of the electron neutrino mass.


Background The risk of death from sepsis is reduced if it is identified early and treated promptly. Treatment can be delayed through a failure to recognise its signs and symptoms.


PURPOSE
A 20-d 6 degrees head-down tilt bed rest project was conducted to evaluate the effect of dynamic leg press and plantar flexion resistance training on muscle size and function in human plantar flexors (PF) throughout the prolonged bed rest.

METHODS
Twelve healthy men participated in this study and were divided two groups: resistance training (BR-Tr group: N = 6, age: 23 +/- 2 yr, height: 170 +/- 3 cm, weight: 66 +/- 7 kg) and nontraining (BR-Cont group: N = 6, age: 23 +/- 1 yr, height: 170 +/- 3 cm, weight: 67 +/- 6 kg) during the bed rest. Physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) and peak torque of the PF muscle group was determined. Spin-spin relaxation times (T2) of the medial (MG) and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) and soleus (Sol) muscle was measured at rest and immediately after unilateral calf-raising exercise (5 sets of 10 reps).

RESULTS
PCSA of the PF muscle group did not show any significant change in BR-Tr group; however, for the BR-Cont group, PCSA decreased by 13% after bed rest (P < 0.05). There was no significant change in exercise-induced T2 change of the MG, LG, or Sol muscles between before and after the bed rest in BR-Tr group; however, in the BR-Cont group, significant increases in T2 were found in these three muscles after the bed rest (P < 0.05 to 0.01).

CONCLUSION
We conclude that dynamic leg press and plantar flexion resistance training during bed rest maintains muscle size and function (torque and T2), and that this training could be useful for prevention of progressive muscle deconditioning during spaceflight.


We consider a Markov decision process with deterministic state transition dynamics, adversarially generated rewards that change arbitrarily from round to round, and a bandit feedback model in which the decision maker only observes the rewards it receives. In this setting, we present a novel and efficient online decision making algorithm named MarcoPolo. Under mild assumptions on the structure of the transition dynamics, we prove that MarcoPolo enjoys a regret of O(T3/4 √log T) against the best deterministic policy in hindsight. Specifically, our analysis does not rely on the stringent unichain assumption, which dominates much of the previous work on this topic.


The characteristic form of human action is an extemporaneous performance or improvisational exertion. An ordinary conversation (what C. S. Peirce calls "a wonderfully perfect kind of sign-functioning" [EP 2: 391]) provides us with an extremely useful model for understanding other forms of "unrehearsed intellectual adventure" (Oakeshott 1991: 490), not least of all jazz improvisation. But since our inquiry into this range of considerations turns on appealing to our experience as improvisational actors in the overlapping situations of everyday life, this appeal itself needs to be considered. Accordingly, the appeal to experience is here interrogated with the aid of what pragmatists but also perfectionists such as Stanley Cavell say about it. What Cavell asserts regarding checking one's experience, as a way of rendering it trustworthy, is of the utmost critical importance for the present inquiry. After exploring what is entailed by an appeal to experience, when conjoined to what Cavell identifies as the task of checking one's experience, the author turns to our quotidian experience as improvisational actors and, ultimately, to the rather singular achievements of jazz improvisers. In doing so, he hopes to illuminate the inherently creative dimension of human action, wherever it unfolds.


Seminal vesicle cysts are rare and usually associated with ipsilateral renal agenesis. The diagnosis of seminal vesicle cysts may be delayed or missed because of the non-specific symptoms of this condition. In this study, we aimed to discuss the diagnosis and treatment of a left seminal vesicle cyst that was associated ipsilateral agenesis in a 24-year-old patient who presented to our outpatient department with urinary incontinence. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a seminal vesicle cyst measuring 40×45 mm in diameter. Although the patient's symptoms were relieved with cyst aspiration via transrectal ultrasonography, the symptoms recurred 6 months later.


To the Editor.— The article by Eng et al in the June 1981Archives(117:332-337) illustrates the need for improved criteria for evaluating the skin biopsy specimens from patients suspected of having mycosis fungoides (MF). The conclusion of Eng et al that there are "no significant differences between the size or shape of cells of benign cases and the cases of mycosis fungoides" is contrary to the common experience that the recognition of a pleomorphic lymphoid infiltrate in a characteristic distribution in the skin allows the diagnosis to be made by light microscopy in most cases of plaque and tumor stage MF. A greater diagnostic problem is in the early lesions of MF. Nine (75%) of 12 biopsy specimens shown in Table 1 of the article by Eng et al were from plaque and tumor stage MF, so one would expect greater differences than those found by Eng et al.


Plants are constantly confronted to both abiotic and biotic stresses that seriously reduce their productivity. Plant responses to these stresses are complex and involve numerous physiological, molecular, and cellular adaptations. Recent evidence shows that a combination of abiotic and biotic stress can have a positive effect on plant performance by reducing the susceptibility to biotic stress. Such an interaction between both types of stress points to a crosstalk between their respective signaling pathways. This crosstalk may be synergistic and/or antagonistic and include among others the involvement of phytohormones, transcription factors, kinase cascades, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). In certain cases, such crosstalk can lead to a cross-tolerance and enhancement of a plant's resistance against pathogens. This review aims at giving an insight into cross-tolerance between abiotic and biotic stress, focusing on the molecular level and regulatory pathways.


Fabry disease (FD) is a lysosomal disorder caused by α-galactosidase A deficiency, resulting in the accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb-3) and its metabolite globotriaosylsphingosine (Lyso-Gb-3). Cardiovascular complications and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are the most frequent manifestations of FD. While an echocardiogram and cardiac MRI are clinical tools to assess cardiac involvement, hypertrophic pattern variations and fibrosis make it crucial to identify biomarkers to predict early cardiac outcomes. This study aims to investigate potential biomarkers associated with HCM in FD: transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), TGF-β active form (a-TGF-β), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A), and fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) in 45 patients with FD, categorized into cohorts based on the HCM severity. TGF-β1, a-TGF-β, FGF2, and VEGF-A were elevated in FD. While the association of TGF-β1 with HCM was not gender-related, VEGF was elevated in males with FD and HCM. Female patients with abnormal electrocardiograms but without overt HCM also have elevated TGF-β1. Lyso-Gb3 is correlated with TGF-β1, VEGF-A, and a-TGF-β1. Elevation of TGF-β1 provides evidence of the chronic inflammatory state as a cause of myocardial fibrosis in FD patients; thus, it is a potential marker of early cardiac fibrosis detected even prior to hypertrophy. TGF-β1 and VEGF biomarkers may be prognostic indicators of adverse cardiovascular events in FD.


The proton is a composite object with spin one-half, understood to contain highly relativistic spin one-half quarks exchanging spin-one gluons, each possibly with significant orbital angular momenta. While their fundamental interactions are well described by quantum chromodynamics (QCD), our standard theory of the strong interaction, non-perturbative calculations of the internal structure of the proton based directly on QCD are beginning to provide reliable results. Most of our present knowledge of the structure of the proton is based on experimental measurements interpreted within the rich framework of QCD. An area presently attracting intense interest, both experimental and theoretical, is the relationship between the spin of the proton and the spins and orbital angular momenta of its constituents. While remarkable progress has been made, especially in the last decade, the discovery and investigation of new concepts have revealed that much more remains to be learned. This progress is reviewed and an outlook for the future is offered.


Iproniazid was found to reduce food consumption in fasting rats. Combined treatment of iproniazid with tryptophan resulted in a significantly greater anorexic action whilst tryptophan alone had no effect on food consumption. Iproniazid treatment was associated with a significant increase in brain 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) concentration but in association with tryptophan higher brain 5‐HT concentrations were recorded. The anorexic action of the iproniazid‐tryptophan combination was antagonized in a dose‐dependent fashion by methysergide. Equivalent levels of anorexia induced by fenfluramine and mazindol were similarly antagonized by methysergide in a dose‐related manner. The results suggest a common role of 5‐HT in the inhibition of eating behaviour in fasting rats when anorexia is induced by iproniazid, fenfluramine or mazindol, sensitive to a specific 5‐HT antagonist.


Introduction: PCa is the most commonly diagnosed disease in American men and the second leading cause of death among them. Most of PCa deaths are a result of distant metastasis and due to emergence of castrate resistant PCa. Protocadherin-7 (PCDH7), a Cadherin superfamily transmembrane protein that is known to function in cell-cell recognition and adhesion, is reported to be overexpressed in breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PCDH7 has been shown to mediate brain metastasis of breast cancer. Overexpression of PCDH7 was reported to be associated with poor clinical outcome of NSCLC. However, there is no report on involvement of PCDH7 in PCa tumorigenesis and metastasis. In the present study we evaluated expression of PCDH7 in androgen dependent and androgen independent PCa cells and in TCGA and Trento/Cornell/Broad 2016 clinical data sets. Materials and Methods: PCa cells- LNCaP, C4-2b, DU145, PC3, 22Rv1 and RWPE1 were used in this study. Protein expression was checked by Western Blotting. mRNA levels were checked by quantitative real time PCR. Results: Our data reveal high PCDH7 protein expression in PC3 cells and low levels of PCDH7 in LNCaP and RWPE1 cells. qRT-PCR confirmed an increased transcript level of PCDH7 in PC3 and low levels in LNCaP cells. We also observed elevated transcript levels for PCDH7 in castrate resistant and Enzalutamide refractory PCa (22Rv1) cells. These data suggest a direct relationship between castrate resistance and PCDH7 expression. Our results also show an inverse relationship between PCDH7 and E-Cadherin and a direct relationship between PCDH7 and EMT markers, indicating expression of PCDH7 is associated with tumor progression. Interestingly, there was no correlation between PCDH7 with tumor grade or metastasis from TCGA data, but analysis of NEPC (Trento/Cornell/Broad 2016) data set revealed amplification of PCDH7 in 9% of NEPC tumors. Collectively, these data suggest PCDH7 expression may be associated with advanced PCa in general and NEPC phenotype PCa in particular. Conclusion: Our results suggest direct association of PCDH7 expression and castrate resistance in PCa cell lines. Role of PCDH7 in castrate resistant PCa needs further evaluation. Citation Format: Gauri Shishodia, Sweaty Koul, Qin Dong, Hari K. Koul. Differential expression of Protocadherin-7 (PCDH7) in prostate cancer (PCa) cells: a direct association between PCDH7 and castrate resistant PCa [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2837. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2837


BACKGROUND
Prostate transmembrane protein androgen-induced 1 (PMEPA1), a critical checkpoint of multiple signaling pathways, has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in various types of cancers. However, little is known about its function in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

OBJECTIVE
Our objective is to explore the function of PMEPA1 and its potential mechanisms in NSCLC progression.

METHODS
PMEPA1 expression and prognostic significance in adenocarcinoma of lung cancer (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma of lung cancer (LUSC) were determined using Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA). Next, a series of cell assays were performed to examine whether overexpression or depletion of PMEPA1 affected the malignant behaviors of NSCLC H1299 cells, such as proliferation and migration. Luciferase reporter gene assays and SP600125 (a JNK inhibitor) were employed to ascertain the regulatory relationship between PMEPA1 and JNK.

RESULTS
PMEPA1 is overexpressed in LUAD and LUSC tissues and portends a worse prognosis for cancer patients. Gain and loss of function experiments demonstrated that PMEPA1 executes oncogenetic function in H1299 cells. Mechanism studies elucidated that PMEPA1 stimulated the transcriptional activity of the JNK pathway.

CONCLUSION
PMEPA1 increased the H1299 cell viability, proliferation, and migration which works, at least partially, by triggering the JNK activity. Hence, our findings support that the PMEPA1/JNK axis might be a promising therapeutic target for this challenging disease.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, and the pathological changes of senile plaques (SPs) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in AD brains are well described. Clinically, a diagnosis remains a postmortem one, hampering both accurate and early diagnosis as well as research into potential new treatments. Visual deficits have long been noted in AD patients, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that histopathological changes already noted in the brain also occur in an extension of the brain; the retina. Due to the optically transparent nature of the eye, it is possible to image the retina at a cellular level noninvasively and thus potentially allow an earlier diagnosis as well as a way of monitoring progression and treatment effects. Transgenic animal models expressing amyloid precursor protein (APP) presenilin (PS) and tau mutations have been used successfully to recapitulate the pathological findings of AD in the brain. This paper will cover the ocular abnormalities that have been detected in these transgenic AD animal models.


Complexity of heterogeneous catchments poses challenges in predicting biogeochemical responses to human alterations and stochastic hydro‐climatic drivers. Human interferences and climate change may have contributed to the demise of hydrologic stationarity, but our synthesis of a large body of observational data suggests that anthropogenic impacts have also resulted in the emergence of effective biogeochemical stationarity in managed catchments. Long‐term monitoring data from the Mississippi‐Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) and the Baltic Sea Drainage Basin (BSDB) reveal that inter‐annual variations in loads (LT) for total‐N (TN) and total‐P (TP), exported from a catchment are dominantly controlled by discharge (QT) leading inevitably to temporal invariance of the annual, flow‐weighted concentration, = (LT/QT). Emergence of this consistent pattern across diverse managed catchments is attributed to the anthropogenic legacy of accumulated nutrient sources generating memory, similar to ubiquitously present sources for geogenic constituents that also exhibit a linear LT‐QT relationship. These responses are characteristic of transport‐limited systems. In contrast, in the absence of legacy sources in less‐managed catchments, values were highly variable and supply limited. We offer a theoretical explanation for the observed patterns at the event scale, and extend it to consider the stochastic nature of rainfall/flow patterns at annual scales. Our analysis suggests that: (1) expected inter‐annual variations in LT can be robustly predicted given discharge variations arising from hydro‐climatic or anthropogenic forcing, and (2) water‐quality problems in receiving inland and coastal waters would persist until the accumulated storages of nutrients have been substantially depleted. The finding has notable implications on catchment management to mitigate adverse water‐quality impacts, and on acceleration of global biogeochemical cycles.


Soft matter that undergoes programmed macroscopic responses to molecular analytes has potential utility in a range of health and safety-related contexts. In this study, we report the design of a nematic liquid crystal (LC) composition that forms through dimerization of carboxylic acids and responds to the presence of vapors of organoamines by undergoing a visually distinct phase transition to an isotropic phase. Specifically, we screened mixtures of two carboxylic acids, 4-butylbenzoic acid and trans-4-pentylcyclohexanecarboxylic acid, and found select compositions that exhibited a nematic phase from 30.6 to 111.7 °C during heating and 110.6 to 3.1 °C during cooling. The metastable nematic phase formed at ambient temperatures was found to be long-lived (>5 days), thus enabling the use of the LC as a chemoresponsive optical material. By comparing experimental infrared (IR) spectra of the LC phase with vibrational frequencies calculated using density functional theory (DFT), we show that it is possible to distinguish between the presence of monomers, homodimers and heterodimers in the mixture, leading us to conclude that a one-to-one heterodimer is the dominant species within this LC composition. Further support for this conclusion is obtained by using differential scanning calorimetry. Exposure of the LC to 12 ppm triethylamine (TEA) triggers a phase transition to an isotropic phase, which we show by IR spectroscopy to be driven by an acid-base reaction, leading to the formation of ammonium carboxylate salts. We characterized the dynamics of the phase transition and found that it proceeds via a characteristic spatiotemporal pathway involving the nucleation, growth, and coalescence of isotropic domains, thus amplifying the atomic-scale acid-base reaction into an information-rich optical output. In contrast to TEA, we determined via both experiment and computation that neither hydrogen bonding donor or acceptor molecules, such as water, dimethyl methylphosphonate, ethylene oxide or formaldehyde, disrupt the heterodimers formed in the LC, hinting that the phase transition (including spatial-temporal characteristics of the pathway) induced in this class of hydrogen bonded LC may offer the basis of a facile and chemically selective way of reporting the presence of volatile amines. This proposal is supported by exploratory experiments in which we show that it is possible to trigger a phase transition in the LC by exposure to volatile amines emitted from rotting fish. Overall, these results provide new principles for the design of chemoresponsive soft matter based on hydrogen bonded LCs that may find use as the basis of low-cost visual indicators of chemical environments.


Syntax-Guided Synthesis (SyGuS) is the computational problem of finding an implementation f that meets both a semantic constraint given by a logical formula phi in a background theory T, and a syntactic constraint given by a grammar G, which specifies the allowed set of candidate implementations. Such a synthesis problem can be formally defined in SyGuS-IF, a language that is built on top of SMT-LIB.
The Syntax-Guided Synthesis Competition (SyGuS-Comp) is an effort to facilitate, bring together and accelerate research and development of efficient solvers for SyGuS by providing a platform for evaluating different synthesis techniques on a comprehensive set of benchmarks. In this year's competition six new solvers competed on over 1500 benchmarks. This paper presents and analyses the results of SyGuS-Comp'17.


The distortion of printed pattern is frequently observed in gravure offset printing process, which can be a serious problem in printing process for printed electronics. The mechanism of pattern distortion is studied and the factors which affect the amount and shape of distortion are found using FEM. The amount and shape of distortion is influenced by material properties of the roller, thickness of roller, applied load, and so on. As the printing pressure increases and Possion ratio increases, the degree of the image distortion increases. And the increase of the thickness of rubber roller brings a large distortion of image, too. In some cases, the distortion of printed pattern can reach a few hundred micromillimeters. The comparison of the experiment result and the simulation result shows good agreement in their quantitative tendency.


In this study, polyphenylene sulphide was used as a matrix material due to its superior engineering properties. Expanded perlite is formed substantially from silica oxides, and it is a volcanic based and porous structure material. Its low price and low density make it very usable as a filler material. For this reason, expanded perlite reinforced polyphenylene sulphide matrix composites were prepared at various weight ratios (0, 1, 3, 5, and 10 wt%). Mechanical and tribological characterizations were done with tensile tests, hardness measurements, solid particle erosion, ball on disc, and scratch tests. According to the tensile test results, a synergistic effect was observed in mechanical properties by using perlite as a reinforcing agent. As expected, perlite reinforcement resulted in an increase in the modulus of 54% in composites. As well as tensile strength of the composite increased by approximately 13%. Furthermore, the perlite particle reinforcement improved the adhesion resistance by 73% and the scratch resistance by 30%. On the other hand, especially at low impact angles, perlite particle reinforcement decreased the erosive wear resistance of the pure polyphenylene sulphide polymer by 50%. Furthermore, expanded perlite reinforcement decreased the plastic deformation ability of polyphenylene sulphide. In consequence of this study, it has been found that expanded perlite particles can be used as an alternative filler instead of conventional reinforcing particles.


Abstract News media have transformed over the last decades, there being increasing numbers of online news suppliers and an increase in online news consumption. We examine how reporting on immigration differs between popular German online and print media over three crucial years of the so-called immigration crisis from 2015 to 2017. This study extends knowledge on the framing of the crisis by examining a period covering the start, peak, and time after the intake of refugees. Moreover, we establish whether online and print reporting differs in terms of both frame occurrence and variability. The period of the crisis provided an ideal test to see whether the focus of media reporting differed between online and print sources. Employing a most- similar- cases design based on (autonomous) online and print versions of three major German news outlets, we extract the dominant frames in almost 18,500 articles using algorithm-based topic modelling. While results indicate that many frames are more visible in either online or print media, these differences often do not follow theoretical expectations. Furthermore, online media are dominated by particular frames and, hence, show less diversity than print media. However, important key events happening during our period of investigation do not affect overall diversity of frames.


Generative models of text typically associate a multinomial with every class label or topic. Even in simple models this requires the estimation of thousands of parameters; in multi-faceted latent variable models, standard approaches require additional latent "switching" variables for every token, complicating inference. In this paper, we propose an alternative generative model for text. The central idea is that each class label or latent topic is endowed with a model of the deviation in log-frequency from a constant background distribution. This approach has two key advantages: we can enforce sparsity to prevent overfitting, and we can combine generative facets through simple addition in log space, avoiding the need for latent switching variables. We demonstrate the applicability of this idea to a range of scenarios: classification, topic modeling, and more complex multifaceted generative models.


Background Exclusive breastfeeding has an irrepressible benefit to a child. However, the practice is still low with salient factors in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess exclusive breastfeeding practice and normative beliefs among mothers who have children less than two years of age in Ethiopia, 2019. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample size of 423 in Ethiopia from March 12 to December 18, 2019. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Gender-matched six Focus Group Discussions were conducted. Semistructured guiding questions were used to carry out the discussion. The binary logistic regression model was used to determine the association between dependent and independent variables of the quantitative part. Results The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding practice was 77.5% (95% CI: 73.5, 81.5%). Married mothers (AOR = 2.57; 95% CI: 1.68, 5.65), mothers with antenatal care follow-up (AOR = 4.11; 95% CI: 2.66, 11.17), mothers who delivered at a health institution (AOR = 4.07; 95% CI: 2.99, 10.72), and mothers counseled during antenatal care (AOR = 1.96; 95% CI: 1.12, 4.73) had a positive association, whereas mothers who were unable to read and write (AOR = 0.11; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.99) and employed mothers (AOR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.56) were the variables that had a negative association with exclusive breastfeeding practice. Conclusions Although the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was good when compared with other studies, rigorous interventions are needed to achieve the WHO recommendation of all infants should exclusively be breastfed. Marital status, educational status, occupation, antenatal care service, place of birth, and counseling of mothers during ANC were factors associated with the exclusive breastfeeding practice.


ABSTRACT. Morphology of the cardiac chambers and great vessels of fetal and neonatal rats was studied using the whole body freezing technique and by sectioning through the short axis of the heart with a freezing microtome. Compared to the fetal heart, the neonatal heart showed rapid change 2 to 8 days after birth. The ventricular sinus septum was straight in the fetus and became concave to the left ventricle after birth. The right ventricular wall was as thick as the left in the fetus and became thinner rapidly after birth. At the same time, the right ventricular cavity dilated. The right and left pulmonary arteries and pulmonary veins were small in the fetus and enlarged soon after birth. At the same time, the foramen ovale was closed and the diameters of the inferior vena cava and descending aorta were diminished. One-half-mm thick sections were cut serially and then photographed. Ventricular volumes and masses were calculated from summation of the areas of each chambers. Left ventricular mass per body weight increased rapidly after birth, whereas right ventricular mass per body weight remained constant from 0 to 8 days after birth.


PURPOSE
Although several human adenoviral serotypes demonstrated the genetic capability of replicating in New Zealand rabbit corneas in organ culture, only a single adenovirus (Ad) serotype, Ad5, has been reported to replicate in vivo in New Zealand rabbit eyes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether additional adenoviral serotypes could extend their host range to the New Zealand rabbit ocular model.

METHODS
Six rabbits per viral isolate were inoculated in each eye after corneal scarification with 1.5 x 10(6) plaque-forming units per eye with one of the following reference or clinical adenovirus isolates: Ad1 ATCC, Ad1 Kmetz, Ad2 ATCC, Ad2 Wolf, Ad5 ATCC, Ad5 McEwen, Ad6 ATCC, Ad 19 ATCC, and Ad8 Cray (five rabbits). Eyes were cultured on days 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, and 21 after inoculation, and their tear film viral titers were determined on A549 cells.

RESULTS
Ad19 ATCC and Ad8 Cray demonstrated no apparent viral replication. The mean duration of shedding was 1.5 and 0.3 days, respectively, and the total percentage of Ad-positive eyes was 13% and 3%, respectively. In contrast to Ad19 ATCC and Ad8 Cray, all other isolates demonstrated productive infection. The mean duration of shedding was 8 to 16 days (P < 0.0001), and the total percentage of Ad-positive eyes was 33% to 79% (P < 0.0002). The durations of shedding for Ad1 ATCC, Ad1 Kmetz, Ad2 ATCC, Ad2 Wolf, and Ad6 ATCC did not differ statistically from Ad5 McEwen, whereas Ad5 ATCC demonstrated a duration of shedding longer than all isolates (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS
This was the first demonstration of host range extension by additional clinical and reference isolates of adenovirus types 1, 2, 5, and 6 in the New Zealand rabbit ocular model. These results suggested that host specificity was less stringent than previously thought.


A brief description is presented of the process and impact of the transfer of the infrastructure, management, and operation of irrigation districts in Mexico from the state to farmers. It begins with an overview of the present and future conditions of the hydro‐agricultural sector in the country, and goes on to discuss the social background and the legal framework under which the transfer process was planned and carried out, highlighting the participation and the organizational framework adopted by the users, which not only remains in force, but has been consolidated, giving rise to a social organization that constitutes an example nationwide. In addition, a series of major challenges, problems, and opportunities that need to be addressed in order to meet the current and growing food demand prevailing in the country are discussed. In closing, a reflection is given on the importance of the legal framework on water and its impact on the agricultural sector, highlighting the need to have a General Water Law that is applicable both to the three tiers of government that exist in Mexico and to society at large, an action currently in progress. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Monitoring of the quality of water and applying corrective measures to polluted water before drinking are some of the very important aspects in controlling and managing the water quality. The microbiological quality of drinking water may deteriorate during transportation in mains and in distribution network. The deterioration may be due either to regrowth of bacteria in the water supply systems or during storage in reservoirs, where water is often handled hygienically. To examine the sanitary indicator bacteria for the different sites of water sources and water storage reservoirs, forty eight water samples were collected from different sources (dug wells, cement reservoirs, surface water and household containers) during the period April to September 2009 in a sequence of two samples per month for each source. Samples were delivered to the microbiology laboratory within a maximum of six hours of their collection. Membrane filtration technique was used for counting total coliform, faecal coliform and faecal streptococci. The results showed that extremely high levels of total coliform were detected at each sample location compared to other faecal pollution indicators and total bacterial counts for all samples showed positive results in the four examined sources, concerning the seasonality high counts were observed in April, May and June except for household containers, which registered low count for the six months of examinations. These results suggest faecal pollution of the water sources, and imply that these water sources pose a serious health risk to consumers.


k-core percolation is an extension of the concept of classical percolation and is particularly relevant to understanding the resilience of complex networks under random damage. A new analytical formalism has been recently proposed to deal with heterogeneous k-cores, where each vertex is assigned a local threshold k(i). In this Letter we identify a binary mixture of heterogeneous k-cores which exhibits a tricritical point. We investigate the new scaling scenario and calculate the relevant critical exponents, by analytical and computational methods, for Erdős-Rényi networks and 2D square lattices.


Here we present the first successful growth and spectroscopic investigation of In(Ga)As/GaAs (111) quantum dots (QD). These QD were recently predicted as promising emitters of entangled photon pairs due to their intrinsic threefold degenerate symmetry resulting in zero fine structure splitting (FSS). Low spatial densities of the QDs were grown by droplet epitaxy in an MBE system. Emission of truly single photons is proved by correlation measurements. Using spatially-resolved power- and polarization- dependent experiments we discovered the characteristic excitonic luminescence fingerprints from a number of QDs. Excitonic FSS below 10 μeV, our resolution limit, is observed in agreement with our predictions.


Detailed map of part of Pennsylvania between Sharp Mountain and the Susquehanna River showing roads, drainage, and relief by hachures along the survey route. Shows the east and west branches of the Mount Carbon Railroad and the Mill Creek Railroad, which began operation in 1829. Chartered on April 8, 1826. Name changed in 1851 to the Philadelphia and Sunbury Rail Road.


Three experiments were conducted to evaluate methods to decrease or eliminate the detection of estrus inherent to a melengestrol acetate (MGA)-PGF2alpha (PGF) protocol for synchronization of estrus in heifers. In each experiment, all heifers received 0.5 mg of MGA x animal(-1) x d(-1) for 14 d (d -32 to -19) and PGF (25 mg, i.m.; d 0, 0 h) 19 d after the last feeding of MGA (MGA-PGF protocol). In Exp. 1, heifers (n = 709) were assigned to each of the following protocols: 1) the MGA-PGF protocol with AI 6 to 12 h after detection of estrus (estrus AI; MGA-PGF); 2) MGA-PGF plus 100 microg, i.m. of GnRH on d -7 (1x GnRH) and estrus AI; or 3) MGA-PGF, GnRH on d -7, and GnRH (100 microg, i.m.) at 48 h after PGF, coincident with insemination (2x GnRH-TB48). In Exp. 2, heifers (n = 559) received the MGA-PGF protocol and were inseminated by either estrus AI or fixed-time AI (TAI) at 60 h, coincident with an injection of GnRH (GnRH-TB60). In Exp. 3, all heifers (n = 460) received the MGA-PGF protocol and were inseminated by estrus AI when detected up to 73 h. Heifers not observed in estrus by 73 h received TAI between 76 and 80 h. Half the heifers inseminated by TAI received no further treatment (TB80), and the remaining half was injected with GnRH at insemination (GnRH-TB80). Variance associated with the interval to estrus and the proportion in estrus from d 0 to 5 was similar for 1x GnRH and MGA-PGF treatments in Exp. 1. Pregnancy rate (d 0 to 5) did not differ for the MGA-PGF and 1x GnRH treatments (62.5 and 60.4%, respectively), and both were greater (P < 0.05) than TAI pregnancy rate in the 2x GnRH-TB48 treatment (42.3%). In Exp. 2, the peak estrous response occurred 60 h after PGF. Pregnancy rate during the synchrony period was greater (P < 0.05) for the MGA-PGF (255/401; 63.6%) than the GnRH-TB60 (74/158; 46.6%) treatment. In Exp. 3, 75.7% of heifers (348/460) were detected in estrus by 73 h and were inseminated, with a conception rate of 74.4%. Pregnancy rates after TAI did not differ between TB80 and GnRH-TB80 (14/56 = 25% and 19/ 56 = 33.9%, respectively). Total pregnancy rate was 63.5% for heifers inseminated after detected estrus and by TAI. Collectively, these data indicate that the exclusive use of TAI for heifers treated with the MGA-PGF protocol resulted in lower pregnancy rates than when AI was performed after detection of estrus. However, estrus AI for 3 d and TAI at the end of d 3 could result in pregnancy rates similar to those achieved after a 5-d period of detecting estrus.


Research about biosphere reserves' management effectiveness can contribute to better understanding of the existing gap between the biosphere reserve concept and its implementation. However, there is a limited understanding about where and how research about biosphere reserves' management effectiveness has been conducted, what topics are investigated, and which are the main findings. This study addresses these gaps in the field, building on a systematic literature review of scientific papers. To this end, we investigated characteristics of publications, scope, status and location of biosphere reserves, research methods and management effectiveness. The results indicate that research is conceptually and methodologically diverse, but unevenly distributed. Three groups of papers associated with different goals of biosphere reserves were identified: capacity building, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. In general, each group is associated with different methodological approaches and different regions of the world. The results indicate the importance of scale dynamics and trade-offs between goals, which are advanced as important leverage points for the success of biosphere reserves. Building on the gaps identified in the literature, a research agenda is proposed, focusing on the need to investigate mechanisms for holistic research, outcomes and trade-offs, transformations for social-ecological fit and institutions for integrated management across scales.


The cloning and sequencing of a gene from Rickettsia rickettsii which confers haemolytic activity on Escherichia coli strain TB1 is described. The open reading frame of the haemolysis-promoting gene, cjsT, is 1041 bp and encodes a putative protein with a molecular mass of 33 825 Da. CjsT has high sequence similarity to several bacterial proteases, particularly type IV signal peptidases. Cell lysates from an E. coli clone containing cjsT in pUC19 (pJON1) exhibited greater protease activity in functional assays than found in E. coli containing pUC19 alone. Disruption of the cjsT gene by insertional inactivation with a kanamycin cassette reduced both the protease and haemolytic activities conferred by cjsT. The protease inhibitors antipain and diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) both reduced the proteolytic activity of pJON1. The mechanism by which the R. rickettsii cjsT promotes haemolysis in E. coli remains unclear.


[1] We investigate the impact of the Eurasian snow cover extent on the Northern Hemisphere winter circulation by performing a suite of ensemble simulations with the Meteo-France "Arpege Climat" atmospheric general circulation model, spanning 2 decades (1979–2000). Observed snow cover derived from satellite infrared and visible imagery has been forced weekly into the model. Variability in autumn-early winter snow cover extent over eastern Eurasia is linked to circulation anomalies over the North Pacific that are influencing the North Atlantic sector in late winter through the development of the Aleutian-Icelandic Low Seesaw teleconnection. The forcing of realistic snow cover in the model augments potential predictability over eastern Eurasia and the North Pacific and improves the hindcast skill score of the Aleutian-Icelandic Low Seesaw teleconnection. Enhanced eastern Eurasia snow cover is associated with an anomalous upper-tropospheric wave train across Eurasia, anomalously high upward wave activity flux, and a displaced stratospheric polar vortex.


Recombination between homologous chromosomes during meiosis is an essential process, which mechanistical function is to ensure the reductional segregation of chromosomes at the first meiotic division. SPO11, one of the key genes directly involved in this process, has been at the origin of considerable interest for the past five years, for several reasons. First, Spo11 is responsible for the initiation of meiotic recombination through the formation of DNA double-strand breaks by a type II DNA topoisomerase-like activity. Moreover, Spo11, and its function, have been conserved through evolution, from yeasts to human, as demonstrated by the identification of members of the Spo11 protein family and the analyses of corresponding mutants. Indeed, for every eukaryote that has been tested, spo11 mutants are deficient for meiotic recombination and are partially or completely sterile. Depending on the species, this reduced fertility reflects either a defect in chromosome segregation, or an arrest response in germ cell differentiation. Similarities and differences from species to species uncover a complex set of regulations that coordinate recombination with other events of meiotic prophase, such as chromosome pairing and meiotic cell cycle.


Introduction: The role of peritoneal membrane in human has been known in transport of fluids and electrolytes, host defense and reduce friction between bowels and other organs for a long time. This serosal layer consists of a single layer of mesothelial cells resting on basement membrane and submesothelial connective tissue with cell populations and structural proteins. In last decades, human pelvic peritoneum has been studied by using scanning electron microscopy in many conditions to diagnose the diseases especially in endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain and etc. In this study, microstructural changes caused by the surgeon due to unintentionally technical problems in tissue dissections is reported. This article presents unintentionally ultrastructural changes on the pelvic peritoneum during laparoscopic surgery by instruments that can lead to errors in diagnosis and understanding of the disease process for pathologist Case presentation: Two pieces of involved peritoneal tissues with size of 7A�7 mm and two pieces of apparently normal peritoneum were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy in a patient with chronic pelvic pain and suspected to endometriosis. Conclusion: According to inadvertent damage of laparoscopic instruments to evaluate fine tissues such as peritoneum, this very simple but important tip should be noted during laparoscopic peritoneal tissue dissections for diagnostic and ultrastructural investigations. © 2016, Canadian Medical Association. All rights reserved.


Automatic sketch colorization is a challenging task that aims to generate a color image from a sketch, primarily due to its inherently ill-posed nature. While many approaches have shown promising results, two significant challenges remain: limited color patterns and a wide range of artifacts such as color bleeding and semantic inconsistencies among relevant regions. These issues stem from the operation of traditional convolutional structures, which capture structural features in a pixel-wise manner, resulting in inadequate utilization of regional information within the sketch. Therefore, we propose the Region-Assisted Sketch Coloring (RASC) method, which introduces an intermediate representation called the 'Region Map' to explicitly characterize the regional information of the sketch. This Region Map is derived from the input sketch and is effectively formulated by our RASC architecture, enhancing the perception of region-wise features beyond the original pixel-wise features. Specifically, we start by employing the sketch encoder to extract hierarchical feature maps from the input sketches. Subsequently, we introduce a coarse-to-fine decoder comprising a series of Region-based Modulation (RM) blocks. This decoder modulates features that combine the modulation results of its previous block and the sketch features of the corresponding encoder block with our Region Formulation module. Each module explicitly formulates the sketch features in a region-wise manner. This accurately captures both the inner-region local style and inter-region global context dependency, resulting in various color patterns and fewer synthesis artifacts. Our experimental results show that our proposed method surpasses state-of-the-art methods in both synthetic and real sketch datasets.


In this study, the Cutaneotrichosporon dermatis strain M503 was isolated and could efficiently degrade tetracycline, doxycycline, and chlorotetracyline. The characteristics of tetracycline degradation were investigated under a broad range of cultural conditions. Response surface methodology (RSM) predicted that the highest degradation rate of tetracycline could be obtained under the following conditions: 39.69 °C, pH of 8.79, and inoculum dose of 4.0% (v/v, ~3.5 × 106 cells/mL in the medium). In accordance with the five identified degradation products of tetracycline, two putative degradation pathways, which included the shedding of methyl and amino groups, were proposed. Moreover, the well diffusion method showed that the strain of M503 decreases the antibacterial potency of tetracycline, doxycycline, and chlorotetracycline. These findings proposed a putative mechanism of tetracycline degradation by a fungus strain and contributed to the estimation of the fate of tetracycline in the aquatic environment.


PURPOSE
This study was aimed to the evaluation of the features of diagnosis and treatment of various urination disorders by physicians of the Republic of Dagestan.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A anonymous questionnaire survey of 32 urologists of the Republic of Dagestan was performed. In addition to urologists, survey was performed among 104 doctors of other specialties, who also treat patients with various urination disorders in their practice: neurologists (9), obstetricians (22), therapists (38), and surgeons (35). Together with the doctors of the Republic of Dagestan, 323 specialists working in different areas of the Southern Federal District, and 144 specialists of the North Caucasus region participated in the survey.

RESULTS
The findings suggest the confusion in determining the manifestations of overactive bladder, as well as various forms of urinary incontinence, incomplete knowledge on the issues of differential diagnosis of various forms of urinary incontinence and treatment policy in respect of each of these forms. Unfortunately, there is still unjustified use of M-anticholinergics in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in terms of the its pathogenesis. In addition, there is misunderstanding of the importance of the correct and rational use of antimicrobial drugs according to Russian clinical guidelines in the light of the worldwide problem of antibiotic resistance, as well as lack of knowledge of both Russian and European recommendations for the treatment of LUTS in men with BPH, and the indications and the need for combination therapy. Interestingly, a small number of urologists use M-anticholinergics in the treatment of men with symptomatic BPH.

CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the present study revealed inadequate degree of training of medical specialists of the Republic of Dagestan and the North Caucasus and Southern federal districts in this interdisciplinary field of medicine, which dictates the need for educational programs for urologists, as well as for specialists in related specialties.


In mature buds of the dwarf dogwood lineage (DW) of Cornus, petals and filaments form an "x"‐like box containing mechanical energy from the filaments to allow explosive pollen dispersal. As a start to understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for the origin of this unique structure in Cornus, we cloned and characterized the sequences of APETALA3 (AP3) homologs from Cornus canadensis of the DW lineage and five other Cornus species, given the function of AP3 on petal and stamen development in Arabidopsis, and tested the function of CorcanAP3 using a stable Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation system. The cloned CorAP3s (AP3‐like genes in Cornus) were confirmed to belong to the euAP3 lineage. qRT‐PCR analysis indicated strong increase of CorcanAP3 expression in floral buds of wildtype C. canadensis. A hairpin construct of CorcanAP3 was successfully introduced into wild type plants of C. canadensis, resulting in significant reduction of CorcanAP3 expression and abnormal floral development. The abnormal floral buds lost the "x" form and opened immaturely due to delay or retard of petal and stamen elongation and the push of style elongation. The results suggested CorcanAP3 may function to regulate the coordinated rate of development of petals and stamens in C. canadensis, necessary for the x‐structure formation, although the exact molecular mechanism remains unclear. Comparison among six Cornus species indicated a greater ratio of stamen to petal and style growth in C. canadensis, suggesting an evolutionary change of CorAP3 expression pattern in the DW lineage, leading to the greater growth of filaments to form the "x"‐box.


The automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (AICD) is an electronic device that can be implanted in patients identified as being at high risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation (VT/VF). This device continuously monitors heart rhythm, senses malignant arrhythmias, and aborts them by means of an electronic shock. A previous assessment of the AICD concluded that the device is safe and clinically effective in patients selected on the basis of the demonstration of inducibile Vt/VF during baseline electrophysiological study (EPS). Recent clinical experience and data have indicated that the risk of recurrent VT/VF or SCD in survivors of prior episodes is significant and unpredictable, and that inducibility at baseline EPS cannot reliably discriminate all patients who might be at either high or low risk, or responders to any therapy. Although optimal treatment for noninducible patients remains controversial, the AICD is no longer regarded as a treatment of last resort and is frequently applied as the treatment of choice in patients who are resuscitated from SCD, unassociated with a concurrent myocardial infarction, and in whom a sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia cannot be induced in the electrophysiological laboratory.


This paper focuses on the cognitive foundation of the semantics of English adjectives that denote mental and moral characteristics of human beings. Research into these adjectives seems a challenging task because they denote abstract qualities that cannot be perceived through vision, hearing, or touch; and here a question arises: How are abstract qualities interpreted in English encoded through adjectives? To answer it, this study follows the idea of two-level semantics, i.e. word semantics is treated as a two-level phenomenon that comprises the semantic (external) level and the conceptual (deep) one. This study is the first to address adjectival semantics from this perspective. Here a novel approach to revealing the cognitive foundation of adjectives is introduced: given that adjectives originated from old syncretic items and a word cognitive model forms at the moment of word creation, cognitive models underlying adjectives' semantics are unearthed via analysis of their etymological data. Our contribution is two-fold. First, the approach has revealed that the image schema CONTAINER guides semantics of an array of various adjectives independent of their morphemic structure or date of origin. The examples demonstrate that abstract human qualities are interpreted via the following container features: boundary, container substance, size, hardness/softness of a container shell, etc. The semantics of affixed or compound adjectives appear to stem from the integration of concepts represented by an affix and a root or two roots, respectively. Second, the findings show that the value given to every container feature appears to predetermine the evaluation conveyed by an adjective. Container features tend to possess ambivalent value, realizing the positive or negative one due to the interaction with a frame in which the CONTAINER is incorporated, therefore the same polysemantic adjective may develop both positive and negative meanings. To reveal the whole inventory of cognitive models that govern adjectival semantics in English, further research needs to be conducted.


This study aimed to characterize risk groups for COVID-19 in Brazil and to estimate the number of individuals living in the same household with persons in the risk group. Data were used from the Brazilian National Health Survey (PNS) of 2013. To characterize the risk groups, a binary multiple logistic regression model was adjusted in which the response variable was the presence or absence of at least one condition associated with COVID-19 and the explanatory variables were age, sex, major geographic region, color or race, schooling, and workforce status of the residents interviewed by the study. The results show that age is the principal risk factor for comorbidities associated with COVID-19, but the risk is also greater for persons in more vulnerable categories, such as those with less schooling and blacks and browns. An estimated 68.7% of Brazilians were living with at least one person in the risk group: 30.3% lived with at least one elderly individual and another 38.4% had no elderly individuals in their households, but there was at least one adult resident with preexisting medical conditions. The proportion of persons living in households with at least one resident in the risk group was 50% or greater for all ages and increased from 35 years of age, but there were also high numbers of persons 10 to 25 years of age living with persons in the risk group. The results suggest that due to the difficulties in avoiding close household contact, the exclusive isolation of specific population groups is not a feasible strategy in the Brazilian context, but should be combined with social distancing of the population as a whole.


High‐flow nasal oxygen is increasingly used in complex head and neck surgical procedures and difficult airway management. We describe a case where an operating room fire occurred while using high‐flow nasal oxygen during an awake tracheostomy for an obese patient in airway extremis due to supraglottitis. Shortly after the operation began, and before incision of the trachea, electrical diathermy applied to bleeding sub‐cutaneous vessels ignited a small flame. This was extinguished without harm to the patient and the procedure was completed without further complication. Fire requires three components: fuel; heat; and an oxidiser. We speculate that high‐flow oxygen channelled under the drapes and acted as the oxidiser; either tissue eschar or vapourised fat were the fuel; and the diathermy supplied a source of ignition to complete the fire triad. When using high flows of concentrated oxygen, practitioners should aim to minimise all of these factors and be alert for the risk of fire at every stage of the operation.


Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is a DNA virus whose pathogenic mechanisms in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) are still being unraveled. Emerging reports of an association between MCPyV and chronic lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL) have begun to broaden our understanding of the oncogenic mechanisms of this virus and the known association between these 2 malignancies. Herein, we report a case of MCC demonstrating a B-cell immunophenotype arising in a patient with CLL being treated with rituximab. In this context, we discuss the differential diagnostic considerations, especially with cutaneous Richter transformation (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma). We also assessed for the presence of MCPyV in both the patient's MCC and the CLL. Finally, we provide a large meta-analysis of patients with CLL and MCC. Patients with both MCC and CLL have a dismal prognosis, with greater than 50% overall mortality within the first year and a half after MCC diagnosis.


This paper is a pilot study for a combination of school knowledge and board game learning. We designed a digital board game based on textbook materials. And presented them with a set of educational equipment- Digital Learning Playground (DLP). We created a situational interaction learning in classrooms. In this research, the resulted data indicates the students' motivation, confidence and satisfaction were enhanced through the designed learning environment.


Ultrastructural and enzyme histochemical muscle abnormalities are described in a case with a new variant (type Homburg) of glucosephosphate isomerase (GPI) deficiency, associated with congenital nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia and muscle weakness. The enzyme is thermostable in contrast to other described variants. The muscle fibers showed decreased GPI activity, ultrastructural abnormalities, including giant mitochondria, and a diffuse increase of glycogen. The functional alteration of muscle tissue is due to a stable enzyme protein with decreased specific activity.


Two samples of Australian couples (340 and 1 iO) filled in the couple version of Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES) III, the most recent questionnaire devised by Olson (1985) to measure two dimensions of family functioning (viz. cohesion and adaptability). While the items of FACES III were all useful in discriminating between families high and low on the two factors, the construct validity of the instrument was not supported by the results of the authors factor analyses. In addition, the correlation between the factors cohesion and adaptability was found to be higher than that reported by Olson and his colleagues. Based on the present study, however, the authors are able to provide some norm and reliability data for a 17-item version of the scale consisting of a ten-item cohesion factor and a seven-item change factor. The implications of these results for the conceptualization of dimensions of family functioning are discussed. Finally, the authors examined the effects of sex, social class, and number of years married on both the original factors, cohesion and adaptability, and the factor change, found in both samples from the present study.


In this paper, a new side-by-side mooring bay designed by Keppel Offshore & Marine Technology Centre is investigated, and its global performance and dynamic stability are compared against those of the traditional SPM-mooring system. The multi-body systems include SPM buoy with a turntable and mooring system, a VLCC FPSO, oil tanker, and the hawsers/fenders and yokes between them. A time-domain vessel-mooring-coupled dynamic analysis computer program is used to simulate their respective responses and relative displacements in collinear, relatively mild random wave and current environment assuming that the system is to be operated in a protected bay area. In the analyses of both systems, time-domain results of the responses, the corresponding spectra, and the summary of statistics are presented. It shows that the newly-designed SPM mooring system experiences smaller relative motions between vessels and is more stable in the same environment compared to the traditional SPM mooring system.


In 2008, the korean economy has suffered a great crisis in terms of scale, duration and its effect. In order to overcome this crisis, the representatives from management, labor, government and citizens came together and reached an social agreement in February 23, 2009. The main contents of the social agreement are that the management renders the employment stabilization while the labor endures the wage reducement. Several statistics show that this social agreement brings about the positive effect on the Korean economy. However, the financial industry could not reached a same kind of agreement, because the labor and the management distrusted each other. The labor insisted on that the government should not unlawfully interfered with the collective bargaining between labor and management and that the management should not insist on unilateral sacrifice of labor through wage reducement. The management argues that the financial industry labor has received too much higher wage compared with other industry labor and that this justifies wage reducement. In this context, main issues of thesis are concentrated on two respects. First, from the economic point of view, can the labor wage reducement in the financial industry be justified to overcome the Korean economy? This part will analyze the balance of economic efforts between wage reducement and employment stabilization. Second, from the legal point of view, the legality of wage reducement will be examined whether or not the interference of government on the collective bargaining in the financial industry can be justified under the Korean Constitution. In addition, the wage reducement, whether or not under the Korean labor law can be legalized under the unilateral change on "working rules" by the management, will be examined.


Compares the UDC and CC numbers given as the examples in Sec 8 of Paper B. Shows that CC gives co-extensive class numbers in all the 20 cases but UDC gives co-extensive class numbers only in five cases. As a result of mixed notation, CC secures the same degree of co-extensiveness of UDC with about two fifths the number of digits. It secures fully co-extensive calss numbers in all the cases with only two-thirds of the number of digits of UDC.


An optimal control approach to a simplified reaction diffusion system describing cardiac defibrillation is proposed that allows for joint optimization of shape and duration of defibrillation pulses. Within the framework, optimized multiphasic pulses with low energy, short duration and/or low amplitude can be designed according to specific needs. The approach is based on a novel time optimal control formulation for the monodomain model, which takes into consideration the dynamical system properties of the uncontrolled equation. The highly complex dynamics requires a consistent discretization of first and second order information to guarantee effective optimization schemes leading to successful defibrillation. Numerical examples underline the efficiency of the proposed method.


This paper proposes a novel method for stable grasping and attitude regulation of an object using a multi-fingered hand-arm system. The proposed method is based on a simple sensory-feedback control using the information of an object attitude, and any mathematically complicated computation, such as calculation of inverse dynamics and kinematics, are not required. In addition, the stability of the overall system applied this method is verified. Firstly, nonholonomic rolling constraints between a multi-fingered hand-arm system and an object are formulated. Then, a novel control method for stable grasping and attitude regulation of the grasped object is proposed. It is assumed that information of the attitude of the object is available in real time by external sensors, such as vision, force, tactile sensors, and so on. Next, the stability of the overall system is verified by analyzing the closed-loop dynamics. Finally, it is demonstrated through numerical simulations that our proposed method enables to grasp the object with arbitrary shape, and regulate the attitude of the object stably.


Nonunion at the lumbosacral junction is a classic complication of long construct and deformity corrections. Iliac fixations have been extensively studied in the literature and have demonstrated superior biomechanical proprieties and lower complication rates. S2 alar iliac screws address the drawbacks of classical iliac screws but demonstrate similar biomechanical advantage. The main aim of this paper was to describe the S1 alar iliac (S1AI) screw fixation technique while evaluating our early results. S1AI screw fixation technique has the advantage of being able to achieve pelvic fixation without dissection to the S2 pedicle entry and is therefore a viable option for salvage of a failed S1 promontory screw.


Photolysis of chromium alkoxycarbene complexes with N-(benzyloxycarbonyl)imidazolines produced protected azapenams. Hydrogenolysis gave free azapenams which stable, one of which was characterized by X-ray crystallography. Hydrogenolysis under acidic conditions produced hexahydro-1,4-diazepin-5-ones. treatment of the free azapenams with camphorsulfonic acid produced unsaturated 14-membered tetraazamacrocycles in excellent yield. These were reduced to dioxocyclams


Among consecutive patients with a first episode of venous thromboembolism (VTE) who stop anticoagulants after at least three months of treatment, about 30% have another episode within eight or ten years, which corresponds to an average risk of acute VTE of about 3% or 4% each year [1,2]. Among persons of a similar age (i.e. mean of 60 years) who have not had VTE, the risk of VTE is about 0.1% each year [3]. Therefore, after treatment of a first episode of VTE, patients have, on average, a risk of new episodes of VTE that is about 40 times higher than for those who have never had VTE. However, patients with a first episode of VTE are a heterogeneous group and the risk of having a second episode of VTE after stopping anticoagulant therapy differs markedly among patients [4]. There is strong evidence that the circumstance under which VTE has occurred is the most important predictor of the risk of recurrence after anticoagulant therapy is stopped [4,5]. If VTE was provoked by a reversible (i.e. temporary) risk factor, such as recent major surgery, patients have a much lower risk of recurrence compared to patients who had an unprovoked (also termed idiopathic ) episode of VTE, or patients who had VTE that was associated with a nonreversible risk factor, such as cancer [4,5]. Although the practise has never been evaluated in a controlled trial, because patients with active cancer have a high risk of recurrence if treatment is stopped, it is widely accepted that patients with VTE and cancer should remain on long-term anticoagulant therapy [6–8]. It is also widely accepted that patients who have VTE provoked by a major reversible risk factor, such as recent surgery, have a low risk of recurrent VTE and that they do not need to be treated for longer than three months [6–9]. For patients with a first episode of unprovoked VTE, a group which has a risk of recurrence that is higher than for VTEprovoked by a reversible risk factor and lower than for VTE associated with cancer [4,10], there is controversy about whether anticoagulant therapy should be continued indefinitely. Based on the results of recently completed controlled trials, I argue that most patients with a first episode of unprovoked proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) would benefit from long-term therapy, provided anticoagulant therapy is looked after well.


CONTEXT
Testosterone concentrations decline with age, and lower testosterone concentrations are associated with several morbidities, including sexual dysfunction, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and metabolic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE
Because dietary habits play a critical role in weight regulation and T2DM management, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize and critically evaluate the evidence from randomized controlled trials to determine the effects of calorie restriction (CR) on testosterone concentrations in men.

DATA SOURCES
A literature search was conducted across 4 databases, from their inception until March 2020.

DATA EXTRACTION
The screening and data extraction were completed by 2 authors independently, and in a blinded manner, according to a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria.

DATA ANALYSIS
Of the 4198 studies identified from the initial search, 7 randomized controlled trials were included for data extraction. Significant increases in total testosterone concentrations were reported in 3 of 4 studies in which CR was examined with overweight or obese men, compared with the control groups. Significant decreases in total testosterone concentrations were reported in 2 of 3 studies in which the effects of CR were examined with normal-weight, healthy men, compared with the control groups. In all 4 studies that examined the effect of CR on sex hormone-binding globulin concentrations, the intervention significantly increased sex hormone-binding globulin concentrations compared with that of the control groups irrespective of body composition.

CONCLUSION
This systematic review and meta-analysis provide some evidence that CR affects testosterone concentrations in men and this effect depends on their body mass index. PROSPERO registration no. CRD42020173102.


Many of the world's most important vegetables and medicinal crops, including carrot, celery, coriander, fennel, and cumin, belong to the Apiaceae family. In this review, we summarize the complex origins of Apiaceae and the current state of research on the family, including traditional and molecular breeding practices, bioactive compounds, medicinal applications, nanotechnology and omics research. Numerous molecular markers, regulatory factors and functional genes have been discovered, studied and applied to improve vegetables and medicinal crops in Apiaceae. In addition, current trends in Apiaceae application and research are also briefly described, including mining new functional genes and metabolites using omics research, identifing new genetic variant associated with the important agronomic traits by population genetics analysis and GWAS, applying the genetic transformation, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system and nanotechnology in Apiaceae plants. This review provides a reference for basic and applied research on Apiaceae vegetable and medicinal plants.


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In this essay the author argues that, in a restricted sense, we can decide to believe certain propositions. It is conceded that acquiring a belief is not a basic action and possibly not even an action at all. However, this does not entail the impossibility of decisions to believe since not everything we can decide to do is a basic action. In fact, we can often decide to be in a certain state of affairs. Although beliefs normally aim at truth, there are cases in which we can voluntarily seek or avoid irrational states of affairs and thereby influence our attitudes. Bearing this in mind, situations in which we can talk of decisions to belief can be construed easily.


We consider clustered wireless networks, where transceivers in a cluster use a time-slotted mechanism (TDMA) to access a wireless channel that is shared among several clusters. An approximate expression for the packet-loss probability is derived for networks with one or more mutually interfering clusters in Rayleigh fading environments, and the approximation is shown to be good for relevant scenarios. We then present a scheduling algorithm, based on Lagrangian duality, that exploits the derived packet-loss model in an attempt to minimize the average packet-loss probability in the network. Computer simulations of the proposed scheduling algorithm show that a significant increase in network throughput can be achieved compared to uncoordinated scheduling. Empirical trials also indicate that the proposed optimization algorithm almost always converges to an optimal schedule with a reasonable number of iterations. Thus, the proposed algorithm can also be used for bench-marking suboptimal scheduling algorithms.