This study presents a new and innovative suggestion to design a solar water desalination system by the direct passive method, with the aim of raising productivity by recycling the energy lost during the desalination process and raising the efficiency of condensation. In this study, the innovative design was evaluated to demonstrate its ability to increase the productivity of direct passive solar desalination while maintaining simplicity of installation and ease of operation.  A prototype of the design was built to make a detailed study on the efficiency of the design and its ability to raise productivity under several different operational and climatic conditions in the city of Aden - Yemen, where several experiments were made to desalinate seawater taken from the city's coasts and the water of semi-salty wells in the city of Aden to compare the readings different. The results prove that the innovative design can raise productivity up to 80% higher than normal. The effect of pond water depth and salinity on productivity was studied. The results show that the higher the water depth in the evaporation basin, the higher the production capacity, and the higher the water salinity, the lower the production capacity of inactive direct solar desalination systems. This study also provides an assessment of the quality of the water produced by the innovative design by carrying out several chemical tests and making a comparison with the water quality before desalination to ensure that the design is capable of desalinating seawater or semi-salty well water to produce potable water. The results were confirmed for the quality of the produced water, which confirms the ability of the design to produce potable water in accordance with local and international standards, as the amount of total dissolved salts in sea water before desalination was 41340 mg/L and in well water 1300 mg/L, while after desalination by innovative design The total dissolved salts in treated sea water was 210 mg/L and in treated well water was 34 mg/L.


Enabling all-solid-state Li-ion batteries requires solid electrolytes with high Li ionic conductivity and good electrochemical stability. Following recent experimental reports of Li3 YCl6 and Li3 YBr6 as promising new solid electrolytes, we used first principles computation to investigate the Li-ion diffusion, electrochemical stability, and interface stability of chloride and bromide materials and elucidated the origin of their high ionic conductivities and good electrochemical stabilities. Chloride and bromide chemistries intrinsically exhibit low migration energy barriers, wide electrochemical windows, and are not constrained to previous design principles for sulfide and oxide Li-ion conductors, allowing for much greater freedom in structure, chemistry, composition, and Li sublattice for developing fast Li-ion conductors. Our study highlights chloride and bromide chemistries as a promising new research direction for solid electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and good stability.


An asymmetrical FIA merging-zones manifold based on the dual injection of two sample microvolumes was developed for the simultaneous determination of salicylic acid and acetylsalicylic acid in pharmaceutical preparations at a sampling frequency of 30/h. The complex formed between the Fe(III) reagent continuously introduced in the system and salicylic acid was monitored photometrically at 520 nm. One of the sample plugs was prehydrolysed on injection into an NaOH stream and was circulated through a longer channel than the other plug. This yielded two FIA peaks corresponding to salicylic acid and the overall content, respectively. The proposed manifold was successfully used to control the dissolution test of a pharmaceutical preparation.


Government and Politics Abroad. By Henry Russell Spencer. (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1936. pp. viii, 558. Index. $3.50.) Professor Spencer earned a very considerable reputation as the author of Government and Politics of Italy (1932), which reputation we fear will not be enhanced by the present volume which, as the author acknowledges, presents "much controverted matter in somewhat dogmatic tone," simply because it tries to cover too much—Britain (Kingdom, Empire and Commonwealth), France, Soviet Russia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, North European States, Succession States, Latin America, Japan, and International. An example of oversimplification is the brief space—twelve lines—devoted to Bulgaria (p. 453), wherein the author claims that that country "has today the most nearly normal condition of all the states in this region [the Balkans], the least revolutionary disturbance to react from or assimilate." This simply does not correspond to the violences connected with the Stambuliski Government or the present Fascist regime. Several other parts of the book show similar misjudgment of facts. On the other hand, the book will be found interesting despite inept handling. All in all, the book will interest most the readers who like to have their opinions confirmed without much sustained demand upon their critical and factual knowledge. JOSEPH S. ROTJCEK


Before the Revolution, colonial American consumers reconstituted the English apple orchard. Unremarkable random seedling apples and "high" flavored English cider fruits were devalued. Late colonial consumers selected a range of sweeter, more versatile apples for fresh use and culinary preparations, others for drying, and many "winter keepers" for long-term storage. These trees were supplied by distinctive, horticulturally trained farmers who produced grafted trees as part of their mixed crop output. Demand for this first catalog of American apple trees exploded in the Ohio Valley, where surging farm establishment fueled commercial agricultural enterprises. By 1800 pioneer artisan horticulturists were selling America's favorite cultivated apple tree varieties to frontier farmers while mythologized peddlers of unimproved, random seedlings contributed only marginally. By 1820 craft nurserymen marketed tens of thousands of grafted apple trees annually and were among the most commercially oriented farmers in the Old Northwest.


Abstract Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD) is an autoimmune disease first described by Sharp et al in 1972, characterized by the presence of anti-Ribonucleoprotein antibodies directed against the U1 complex (anti-U1RNP). The condition shares clinical characteristics with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Systemic Sclerosis. Diagnosis is quite difficult due to its rarity, the lack of validated classification criteria, and its heterogeneous clinical presentation. While in the early stages its nuanced clinical features might lead to it being incorrectly classified as other Connective Tissue Diseases (CTDs) or even not recognized, in cases of longstanding disease its classification as a CTD is clear but challenging to discriminate from overlap syndromes. MCTD should be considered a distinct entity due to the presence of a specific genetic substrate and the presence of the high titer of a specific autoantibody, anti-U1RNP, present in all the commercial kits for Extractable Nuclear Antigens, and almost always associated with Antinuclear Antibody positivity with a coarse speckled pattern. Except for anti-U1RNP, no specific biomarkers are available to guide clinicians to a correct classification of MCTD, which is arrived at by the association of clinical, serological and instrumental evaluation. In the first stages, the disease is mainly characterized by Raynaud's phenomenon, inflammatory arthritis, puffy fingers, myalgia and/or myositis, and rarely, trigeminal neuropathy. Longstanding disease is generally associated with the development of Pulmonary Hypertension and Interstitial Lung Disease, which are the two main causes of mortality in MCTD. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge on the early recognition of MCTD.


Information extraction from computer-generated holograms using learning-based methods is a topic that has not received much research attention. In this article, we propose and study two learning-based methods to extract the depth information from a hologram and compare their performance with that of classical depth from focus (DFF) methods. We discuss the main characteristics of a hologram and how these characteristics can affect model training. The obtained results show that it is possible to extract depth information from a hologram if the problem formulation is well-posed. The proposed methods are faster and more accurate than state-of-the-art DFF methods.


Purpose: To evaluate the ocular biometric parameters in patients with constant and intermittent exotropia by the measurement of swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) optical biometer OA-2000 and comparing it with the normal control subjects. Design: Cross-sectional case-control study. Participants: Fifty-five constant and 24 intermittent patients with exotropia with central fixation and 77 orthotropic normal control participants aged 4–18 years old. Methods: Non-contact and high-resolution optical biometric OA-2000 measurements were conducted under uniform ambient light conditions. The statistical analysis included intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Bland-Altman plot, and independent t-tests. Main Outcome Measures: Spherical equivalent (SE), ocular biological parameters such as pupil diameter (PD), anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness (LT), and axial lengths (AL). The absolute values of inter-eye differences for SE, PD, ACD, LT, and AL were recorded as AnisoSE, AnisoPD, AnisoACD, AnisoLT, and AnisoAL, respectively. Results: AnisoSE (0.878 vs. 0.577, P = 0.019), AnisoAL (0.395 vs. 0.208, P = 0.001), AnisoACD (0.060 vs. 0.032, P < 0.001), AnisoLT (0.060 vs. 0.031, P = 0.002), and AnisoPD (0.557 vs. 0.340, P = 0.002) were significantly larger in concomitant patients with exotropia. The SE, AL, ACD, LT, and PD showed excellent binocular correlation with ICC values that ranged from 0.943 to 0.987 in control participants and from 0.767 to 0.955 in concomitant exotropia patients. Bland-Altman plots showed the wider range of agreement in patients with concomitant exotropia than the control participants (SE: 5.0288 vs. 3.3258; AL: 2.2146 vs. 1.3172; ACD:0.3243 vs. 0.1682; PD: 2.4691 vs. 1.9241; and LT:0.3723 vs 0.1858). Conclusion: Patients with concomitant exotropia showed larger inter-eye differences in SE, ACD, LT, PD, and AL. Advice should be given to suspicious children to avoid or delay the development of concomitant exotropia.


INTRODUCTION
Cerebral malaria (CM) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among children living in the tropics. The present study was conducted to update the knowledge on cerebral malaria in children.

METHODOLOGY
This was a prospective study conducted between June 2009 and February 2010. Consecutive children who met the clinical and parasitological diagnostic criteria for CM were admitted and studied. Demographic, essential history, clinical examination findings and laboratory results were recorded and analyzed. Outcome in survivors (presence or absence of neurological deficits) were determined at discharge.

RESULTS
Out of 1,202 children admitted during the study period, 66 (5.5%) had CM: 40 boys and 26 girls. Ages ranged from 2 to 128 months (mean: 41.6 ± 27.1 months). Fever (100%), coma (100%) and convulsion (89%) were the commonest presenting symptoms, while unsteady gait, speech, auditory and visual impairment were the commonest neurological deficits at discharge. Fifty-seven (86.4%) patients survived while nine (13.6%) died. Of the 57 survivors, 35 (61.4%) recovered completely, while 22 (38.6%) had neurological deficits at discharge. Identified clinical and laboratory predictors of mortality in CM included: age less than 3 years (p = 0.031), abnormal breathing pattern (p = 0.023), absent corneal reflex (p = 0.005), absent pupillary reflex (p = 0.047), retinal haemorrhage (p = 0.029), hypoglycaemia (p = 0.002) and leucocytosis (p = 0.040).

CONCLUSION
CM is associated with high mortality and serious sequelae. Affected children should be given proactive management and monitored closely to reduce the frequency of adverse outcomes.


The pretensioner is used to retract the belt webbing and tighten up any slack in the event of a crash. The retracting force of the pretensioner helps move the passenger into the optimum crash position in his or her seat. In this paper, the new concept of an operating mechanism of the pretensioning system is presented. The internal gear design program is developed using MATLAB. Two kinds of numerical analysis model are created. The first one, the rigid body dynamic model, is used to estimate the performance of several gear pairs. The initial performance of the new operating mechanism is analyzed and the best combination of the gear pairs is selected. The second one, the structural dynamic model, is used to calculate the deformation of the gear teeth. To decrease the deformation and interference of the teeth, the shape of the gear pairs is changed.


The in vivo erythropoiesis, which is the generation of mature red blood cells in the bone marrow of whole organisms, has been described by a variety of mathematical models in the past decades. However, the in vitro erythropoiesis, which produces red blood cells in cultures, has received much less attention from the modelling community. In this paper, we propose the first mathematical model of in vitro erythropoiesis. We start by formulating different models and select the best one at fitting experimental data of in vitro erythropoietic differentiation. It is based on a set of linear ODE, describing 3 hypothetical populations of cells at different stages of differentiation. We then compute confidence intervals for all of its parameters estimates, and conclude that our model is fully identifiable. Finally, we use this model to compute the effect of a chemical drug called Rapamycin, which affects all states of differentiation in the culture, and relate these effects to specific parameter variations. We provide the first model for the kinetics of in vitro cellular differentiation which is proven to be identifiable. It will serve as a basis for a model which will better account for the variability which is inherent to experimental protocol used for the model calibration.


Uniform flow of mean velocity U takes place in a highly heterogeneous, isotropic, aquifer of lognormal conductivity distribution (variance σY2, integral scale I). A conservative solute is injected instantaneously over an area A0 at x = 0, normal to the mean flow, in a flux‐proportional mode. Longitudinal spreading is caused by advection by the fluid velocity and is quantified with the aid of the mass flux μ(t, x) through fixed control planes at x. An equivalent macrodispersivity is defined in terms of the traveltime variance. The flow and transport are solved numerically in three realizations of the conductivity field with σY2 = 2, 4, 8, respectively. The medium is modeled by a collection of a large number N = 100,000 of spherical inclusions whose conductivities are drawn at random. Transport is simulated by tracking 40,000 particles originating at a large injection area (A0 ≃ 2000 I2) and for travel distance x ≤ 121 I. It is found that the mass flux has a highly skewed time distribution because of the late arrival of solute particles that are moving through low‐conductivity blocks. The tail leads to large values of the equivalent macrodispersivity, which is highly dependent on cutoffs corresponding to the arrival of even 0.999 or 0.995 of the total mass. Furthermore, the tail is nonergodic, as it depends on the plume size. Transport appears to be anomalous in the considered interval, although by the central limit theorem it has to tend asymptotically to Fickianity and Gaussianity.


Team leadership by Extension personnel in coordinating regulatory efforts, research, and farmer education culminated in rapid suppression of the cereal leaf beetle pest in the West. The Western Cereal Leaf Beetle Team, consisting of 37 federal, state, and university personnel from seven states and two Canadian Provinces, tracked the pest, assessed its economic impact, and implemented a biological control program. They were successful largely due to the simultaneous education of growers on biological control and pesticide use. Program success followed Extension's commitment to an integrated approach, communication, and rapid dissemination of results between team members and the grower community.


In an integral imaging (II) display system, the self-adjustment ability of the human eye can result in blurry observations when viewing 3D targets outside the focal plane within a specific range. This can impact the overall imaging quality of the II system. This research examines the visual characteristics of the human eye and analyzes the path of light from a point source to the eye in the process of capturing and reconstructing the light field. Then, an overall depth of field (DOF) model of II is derived based on the human visual system (HVS). On this basis, an II system based on the human visual distance (HVD) perception model is proposed, and an interactive II display system is constructed. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method. The display system improves the viewing distance range, enhances spatial resolution and provides better stereoscopic display effects. When comparing our method with three other methods, it is clear that our approach produces better results in optical experiments and objective evaluations: the cumulative probability of blur detection (CPBD) value is 38.73%, the structural similarity index (SSIM) value is 86.56%, and the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) value is 31.12. These values align with subjective evaluations based on the characteristics of the human visual system.


The aim of study is to investigate the initial functional changes of muscle in rats induced to have myasthenia gravis, experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG). The authors investigated the functional changes of muscle evaluated by mechanomyography (MMG) and the expression of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). Methods: After the institutional approval, 39 male Lewis rats were randomly allocated into study. 26 animals were immunized to induce EAMG by Torpedo AChR (T-AChR) emulsified with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) and phosphate buffer saline (PBS)/bovine serum albumin (BSA) 0.01% at the base of tail, and received booster immunizations twice by T-AChR with incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) and PBS/BSA 0.01% at all different site on the upper back. 13 animals were sham immunized as control group by the same method of EAMG except T-AChR. Clinical EAMG scores were examined. Anti T-AChR and anti rat-AChR (R-AChR) antibodies (Ab) were compared by using 125I-α-bungarotoxin (125I-α-BuTx) radioimmunoassay. Under the anesthesia, neuromuscular functions were monitored by MMG using single twitch (ST) and TOF. AChRs were quantitated using 125I-α-BuTx. Results: Overall weight gain and final body mass, muscle force (ST), specific muscle force of ST, TOF fade ratio and AChRs were reduced in EAMG score 3 compared to control (P < 0.0001). Anti T-AChR Ab and anti R-AChR Ab were increased in score 3 EAMG (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: EAMG score 3 rats showed characteristic neuromuscular functions as depressed initial ST and its specific force, initial TOF fade and increased anti AChR Abs. Those above characteristics had significant correlations with the clinical EAMG scores. AChRs were significantly down-regulated according to their functional characteristics and clinical EAMG scores.


We investigate the performance of an inertial frictional ratchet in a sinusoidal potential driven by a sinusoidal external field. The dependence of the performance on the parameters of the sinusoidally varying friction, such as the mean friction coefficient and its phase difference with the potential, is studied in detail. Interestingly, under certain circumstances, the thermodynamic efficiency of the ratchet against an applied load shows a non-monotonic behaviour as a function of the mean friction coefficient. Also, in the large friction ranges, the efficiency is shown to increase with increasing applied load even though the corresponding ratchet current decreases as the applied load increases. These counterintuitive numerical results are explained in the text.


To evaluate the response and safety of 'quick course' neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 30 patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of cervix were given cisplatin, bleomycin, and vincristine weekly for 3 courses. The response was evaluated by subjective parameters and by standard response criteria. In addition to the marked improvement in symptoms, the overall objective response was 60% with a complete pathological response of 6.6%. Tumor volume decreased significantly (p = 0.002) after chemotherapy. Patients with stage IB and 27% (3 of 11) of patients with stage II disease who became technically stage IB (stage reduction) after chemotherapy underwent surgery. Radiotherapy was given to the remaining patients. All patients tolerated the chemotherapy.


Using the resource-based theoretical view of the firm, this paper aims to explore how firms' efforts to integrate blockchain technology (BCT) into their supply chain systems and activities enable certain supply chain capabilities and, consequently, improve their supply chain performance.,Using an abductive research approach, a qualitative content analysis was conducted on 126 cases of firms attempting to implement a blockchain technology-enabled supply chain system (BCTeSCS). These firms spanning across multiple industries were identified using the Nexis Uni database.,Findings reveal that present BCTeSCS efforts are more-oriented toward improving operational-level capabilities (information sharing and coordination capabilities) than strategic-level capabilities (integration and collaboration capabilities). These operational and strategic-level capabilities alongside BCTeSCS deliver several supply chains performance outcomes such as quality compliance and improvement, process improvement, flexibility, reduced cost and reduced process time. However, outcomes may vary by industry type based on their uncertainties.,Given the nascent state of BCT, accessibility to primary data about ongoing BCTeSCS efforts is limited. The presented framework is based on 126 cases of secondary information. Within this constraint, the paper finds scope to future empirical research by proposing a resource-based framework of BCTeSCS and related propositions.,The results and discussion of this study serve as useful guidance for practitioners involved in BCTeSCS integrations.,The paper creates a BCTeSCS scenario for stakeholders to assume its potential socio-economic and socio-environmental pressures.,This paper is one of the initial attempts to examine BCTeSCS efforts across multiple industries, and thus, promises a broad future research scope.


Abstract : The field of Prognostic Health Management (PHM) has been undergoing rapid growth in recent years, with development of increasingly sophisticated techniques for diagnosing faults in system components and estimating fault progression trajectories. Research efforts on how to utilize prognostic health information (e.g. for extending the remaining useful life of the system, increasing safety, or maximizing operational effectiveness) are mostly in their early stages, however. The process of using prognostic information to determine a system s actions or its configuration is beginning to be referred to as Prognostic Decision Making (PDM). In this paper we propose a formulation of the PDM problem with the attributes of the aerospace domain in mind, outline some of the key requirements for PDM methods, and explore techniques that can be used as a foundation of PDM development. The problem of satisfying the performance goals set for specific objective functions is discussed next, followed by ideas for possible solutions. The ideas, termed Dynamic Constraint Redesign (DCR), have roots in the fields of Multidisciplinary Design Optimization and Game Theory. Prototype PDM and DCR algorithms are also described and results of their testing are presented.


Summary With the adoption of Computerized Patient Order Entry (CPOE), many physicians – particularly consultants and those who are affiliated with multiple hospital systems – are faced with the challenge of learning to navigate and commit to memory the details of multiple EHRs and CPOE software modules. These physicians may resist CPOE adoption, and their refusal to use CPOE presents a risk to patient safety when paper and electronic orders co-exist, as paper orders generated in an electronic ordering environment can be missed or acted upon after delay, are frequently illegible, and bypass the Clinical Decision Support (CDS) that is part of the evidence-based value of CPOE. We defined a category of CPOE Low Frequency Users (LFUs) – physicians issuing a total of less than 10 orders per month – and found that 50.4% of all physicians issuing orders in 3 urban/suburban hospitals were LFUs and actively issuing orders across all shifts and days of the week. Data are presented for 2013 on the number of LFUs by month, day of week, shift and facility, over 2.3 million orders issued. A menu of 6 options to assist LFUs in the use of CPOE, from which hospital leaders could select, was instituted so that paper orders could be increasingly eliminated. The options, along with their cost implications, are described, as is the initial option selected by hospital leaders. In practice, however, a mixed pattern involving several LFU support options emerged. We review data on how the option mix selected may have impacted CPOE adoption and physician use rates at the facilities. The challenge of engaging LFU physicians in CPOE adoption may be common in moderately sized hospitals, and these options can be deployed by other systems in advancing CPOE pervasiveness of use and the eventual elimination of paper orders.


Importance Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury can be a devastating injury that without surgery may lead to chronic instability. Although surgical reconstruction recreates the stabilising constraint of the native ACL, postoperative pain and subsequent arthrosis may follow. Objectives The primary objective of this systematic review is to determine whether the presence of a bone bruise following ACL rupture adversely affects the clinical outcomes following surgical reconstruction. Evidence review A standardised research protocol was used as outlined by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Studies included were those with level of evidence (I, II, III, IV) and had MRI data on the presence of bone bruise and clinical outcome measures in patients who underwent surgical reconstruction of the ACL after traumatic rupture. Articles were searched using PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and EMBASE databases using a keyword search. Article references and conference proceedings were subsequently reviewed on identification of articles found via the keyword search. Non-English literature, animal and basic science studies, studies focused on the skeletally immature and level of evidence (V) were excluded. A quantitative analysis of the data retrieved was summarised. Findings Five studies met the inclusion criteria. Follow-up ranged from the time of surgical reconstruction to 165 months. Although a variety of clinical outcome measures were used across studies, bone bruise cohorts did not demonstrate clinically inferior outcome scores. Conclusions and relevance Although osteochondral injury is frequently identified following ACL injury, the presence of a bone bruise alone does not appear to significantly adversely affect the clinical outcome of surgically reconstructed ACLs. However, factors such as articular cartilage injury and alteration in joint loading may be important variables for further research. Level of evidence IV.


A novel approach was developed for the construction of biofilms with defined internal architecture using AC electrokinetics and flocculation. Artificial structured microbial consortia (ASMC) consisting of localized layered microcolonies of different cell types were formed by sequentially attracting different cell types to high field regions near microelectrodes using dielectrophoresis. Stabilization of the microbial consortia on the electrode surface was achieved by crosslinking the cells using the flocculant polyethyleneimine (PEI). Consortia of Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were made as model systems. Also, more natural consortia were made of the bacteria Pseudomonas putida, Clavibacter michiganense, and Methylobacterium mesophilum, which are found together in consortia during biodegradation of metal-cutting waste fluids.


Foreign direct investment (FDI) is expected to generate external effects—usually termed FDI spillovers—for a host country, and these spillovers are thought to have consequences on the productivity of domestic firms. Despite this strong expectation, the empirical findings on FDI spillover are still indecisive. This study examines firm-level panel data to determine the effects of FDI spillover on firms' productivity in Bangladesh in comparison to Vietnam. We consider both the horizontal and vertical (backward and forward) spillover effects of FDI. We find evidence that Bangladeshi firms gain productivity improvement through intra-industry or horizontal linkages, whereas Vietnamese firms gain through backward linkages. Our findings suggest that increases in foreign presence in the same industry for Bangladesh and in downstream industries for Vietnam are related with increase in output of domestic firms.


BACKGROUND In cancer patients, the accumulation of Tregs is associated with tumor progression and the suppression of anti-tumor immune response. Metronomic cyclophosphamide (mCTX) induces a profound and selective reduction of circulating Tregs, whereas no data are available regarding a possible effect on immune system. In the present analysis, we report preliminary data of Treg frequencies and function during a period of treatment of 2 months and correlations with anti-tumour T-cell response, in a group of HR+/HER2ve ABC pts. PATIENTS AND METHODS Following approval by the Ethical Committee, a sample of 3 ml of peripheral blood was drawn from 12 ABC pts for which mVRL 40- 50 mg thrice a week (N=10), ± mCAPE 1500 mg/day (N=2), was indicated. Median age was 66,5 years (45-86); 2/ 12 received the mCHT as 1st-line therapy, 10/12 as 2nd-line or further. Blood samples were collected at baseline (T0) and after 14 (T1), 28 (T2), 42 (T3) and 56 days (T4) of treatment. Total lymphocytes (TL) and lymphocyte subgroups were determined according to NaacK et Al guide lines. The Treg subpopulations have been identified by monoclonal antibodies CD45 V500, CD3 V450, CD4 PerCP-Cy5.5, CD25 PE, CCR4 PE-Cy7, CD 27 Alexa 647, CD45RO APC-H7, CD28 FITC, (BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA) and analyzed with BD FACS CantoTM II (Becton Dickinson, San Jose, CA), technic Lyse/Wash and software FACSDivaTM. RESULTS Data for the purpose of this analysis are available for 10 out of 12 enrolled pts. mVRL ± mCAPE induced a significant reduction of circulating Treg in 6/10 pts (60%) – Group A - at day 14. Median percentages of Treg among CD4+ cells were 9.4% ±1.5% SE at baseline vs 6.8% ± 4.5% SE and 7.6% ± 1.2% SE after 14 and 28 days of treatment in Group A. In patients without Treg depletion – Group B – median percentages of Treg were 8.4% ± 0.9% SE, 9.6% ± 1.3%SE and 8.2% ± 1.5%SE as measured at the same time points. The depletion of Treg is associated with a slight expansion of CD8+ cells in Group A at all times of evaluation. No increase in CD8+ population has been observed in Group B. Median percentages of Treg and CD8+ cells in the two Groups are reported in Tables 1 & 2. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that mVRL induces different immunomodulation effects in an unselected population of ABC pts. Treg depletion seems to increase the adaptive immune response. Data obtained from a longer follow up will be presented. These findings are hypothesis-generating for future evaluation of mVRL as a priming agent to increase response to anti PDL-1 agents. Citation Format: Cazzaniga ME, Baroni S, Riva F, Vigore L, Malandrin S, Cicchiello F, Pelizzoni D, Lissoni P, Manfrida I, Brando B, Bidoli P. Immunomodulation effects of metronomic oral Vinorelbine (mVRL), with or without capecitabine (CAPE), on Treg levels in advanced breast cancer (ABC) patients (pts). Preliminary results of the VICTOR-5 study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-04-05.


Idiopathic hypertrophic pachymeningitis (IHP) is a
very infrequent disorder that causes a localized or diffuse thickening of the
dura mater. The main clinical features of IHP at presentation include headache,
cranial nerve involvement, ataxia, transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and
seizures. Intracranial hypotension (ICH) and distension of anterior internal
vertebral venous plexus (IVVP) have not previously been reported as the main
clinical manifestations. We report a unique case with these characteristics as
the main clinical findings, and investigate the internal relationship between these characteristics. This study highlights the heterogeneity of IHP, in terms of clinical, imaging, and
pathological features. We recommend that dural biopsies should be considered in
patients with clinically typical orthostatic headache and (or) diffuse
pachymeningeal enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the
diagnosis of IHP.


Oil refining is essential for ensuring quality and safety of oils and fats. However, during the deodorization step of the refining process, the oil is exposed to high temperatures and changes in the lipid matrix may occur leading to the formation of 3-chloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) esters and possibly other processing by-products. This study was initiated to address the limited understanding on the formation of 3-MCPD ester in oil refining. The impact of refining conditions, both at pilot-plant and industrial scale, were investigated by subjecting palm and rapeseed oils to different refining treatments. The experiments showed that 3-MCPD esters and glycidyl esters were formed during the deodorization of palm oil, but not rapeseed oil. The level of 3-MCPD esters in the refined palm oils (3.5-4.9 mg/kg) was independent of the deodorization conditions. No correlation was found between the level of 3-MCPD esters formed and the content of the potential precursors, partial acylglycerols and chlorides. In contrast, the formation of glycidyl esters was affected by the deodorization conditions (both temperature and residence time). Higher levels of glycidyl esters (up to 3.8 mg/kg) were found in palm oil deodorized at temperatures above 230°C.


Regionalism involves an increasing tendency for regions to identify and pursue interests divergent from those expressed in international and European organizations by the central institutions of their state. The divergence reflects the diminishing capacity of the state, in the face of growing global interdependence, to act as a coherent entity whose collective interests can be represented as expressed by central institutions. The constitutional implications of this divergence for the role of Member States within the European Union are considered in the present article. The essential question considered is whether, at least as regards matters of particular interest to certain regions, the need is implied for the Union to develop a more pluralist decision-making system than the present one. The question will be considered having regard to the relationship between the legal concept of state sovereignty and the political science literature on the `coupling' of decision-making arenas.


Four different experimental designs were selected to study, whether glycosylation of hemoglobin alters susceptibility against proteolytic degradation. We compared the resistance of different hemoglobin fractions against degradation by pure proteolytic enzymes, by liver cell culture, by live organ culture and the resistance of in vitro glycosylated vs. "non-glycosylated" hemoglobin solutions. The hemolysates were characterized by high performance liquid chromatography. The degree of glycosylation of hemoglobin was further estimated by the thiobarbituric-acid assay. From the data presented it is concluded, that the glucose moiety linked to the N-terminal valine and lysine residues of the alpha- and beta chain of the hemoglobin exerts a protective effect against proteolytic cleavage. This could explain the extended lag phase in response of glycosylated hemoglobin to an improved metabolic control in diabetic patients and the discrepancy between the rate of synthesis and the rate of catabolism.


Amazonia has a very high, although still incompletely known, species diversity distributed over a mosaic of heterogeneous habitats that are also poorly characterized. As a result of this multi‐faceted complexity, Amazonia poses a great challenge to geogenomic approaches that strive to find causal links between Earth's geological history and biotic diversification, including the use of genomic data to solve geologic problems. This challenge is even greater because of the need for interdisciplinary approaches despite the difficulties of working across disciplines, where misinterpretations of the literature in disparate research fields can produce unrealistic scenarios of biotic‐geologic linkages. The exchange of information and the joint work of geologists and biologists are essential for building stronger and more realistic hypotheses about how past climate may have affected the distribution and connectivity among populations, how the evolution of drainage networks influenced biotic diversification, and how ecological traits and species interactions currently define the spatial organization of biodiversity, and thus how this organization has changed in the past and may change in the future. The heterogeneity of Amazonia and the different effects of historical processes over its distinct regions and ecosystems have to be more completely recognized in biogeography, conservation; and policymaking. In this perspective, we provide examples of geological, climatological; and ecological information relevant to studies of biotic diversification in Amazonia, where recent advances (and their limitations) may not be apparent to researchers in other fields. The three examples, which include the limitations of climate model outputs, the complicated evolution of river drainages; and the complex link between species and their habitats modulated by ecological specialization, are a small subsample intended to illustrate the urgency for more integrated interdisciplinary approaches.


Background: The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the available literature on the introduction of allergenic foods and gluten among preterm infants. Methods: A systematic review of published studies concerning the introduction of gluten and allergenic foods in preterm infants was performed on PubMed and on the Cochrane Library. Results: Of the 174 PubMed results, 15 papers were considered suitable for the review. A total of 83 records were identified through the Cochrane Library search; eight papers were included in the review. Additional papers were identified from the reference lists of included studies. A secondary search was conducted on the same databases to find recommendations and advice regarding healthy full-term infants that could be translated to preterm infants. Therefore, 59 additional papers were included in the review. Conclusions: Current guidelines for the introduction of solid food cannot be directly transposed to preterm infants. Further research is needed to provide evidence-based guidelines regarding weaning in preterm infants. To date, we can suggest that in preterm infants allergenic foods and gluten may be introduced when complementary feeding is started, any time after 4 months of corrected age, avoiding delayed introduction and irrespective of infants' relative risk of developing allergy. Avoiding large amounts of gluten during the first few weeks after gluten introduction and during infancy is advised, despite limited evidence to support this recommendation.


Modern proteomic analysis and reliable surgical access to gain liquid inner ear biopsies have enabled in depth molecular characterization of the cochlea microenvironment. In order to clarify whether the protein composition of the perilymph can provide new insights into individual hearing performance after cochlear implantation (CI), computational analysis in correlation to clinical performance after CI were performed based on the proteome profile derived from perilymph samples (liquid biopsies). Perilymph samples from cochlear implant recipients have been analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS). The proteins were identified using the shot-gun proteomics method and quantified and analyzed using Max Quant, Perseus and IPA software. A total of 75 perilymph samples from 68 (adults and children) patients were included in the analysis. Speech perception data one year after implantation were available for 45 patients and these were used for subsequent analysis. According to their hearing performance, patients with excellent (n = 22) and poor (n = 14) performance one year after CI were identified and used for further analysis. The protein composition and statistically significant differences in the two groups were detected by relative quantification of the perilymph proteins. With this procedure, a selection of 287 proteins were identified in at least eight samples in both groups. In the perilymph of the patients with excellent and poor performance, five and six significantly elevated proteins were identified respectively. These proteins seem to be involved in different immunological processes in excellent and poor performer. Further analysis on the role of specific proteins as predictors for poor or excellent performance among CI recipients are mandatory. Combinatory analysis of molecular inner ear profiles and clinical performance data using bioinformatics analysis may open up new possibilities for patient stratification. The impact of such prediction algorithms on diagnosis and treatment needs to be established in further studies.


The subsystem of IoMT (Internet of Military of Things) called IoBT (Internet of Battle of Things) is the major resource of the military where the various stack holders of the battlefield and different categories of equipment are tightly integrated through the internet. The proposed architecture mentioned in this paper will be helpful to design IoBT effectively for warfare using irresistible technologies like information technology, embedded technology, and network technology. The role of Machine intelligence is essential in IoBT to create smart things and provide accurate solutions without human intervention. Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) is used in Industries to examine and analyze the invisible defects of equipment. Generally, the ultrasonic waves are used to examine and analyze the internal defects of materials. Hence the proposed architecture of IoBT is enhanced by ultrasonic based NDT to study the properties of the things of the battlefield without causing any damage.


The performance analysis of asymmetrical slot-based hybrid Dielectric Resonator Antenna (DRA) is presented in this paper. The volume of proposed DRA is 60mm x 60mm x 1mm and the DR material used is Alumina ceramic with dielectric constant of 9.8 various parameters studied. The proposed DRA possesses two resonances at 2.65GHz with a bandwidth of 900 MHz and 3.47 GHz with a bandwidth of 800 MHz. The Axial ratio is observed as 2.5dB at the bandwidth of 200MHz. The maximum gain obtained is 4.99 dBi. The suggested DRA meets the Wi-Max and basic 5G applications.


ABSTRACT Objective: To improve the CAGE (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye opener) questionnaire's predictive accuracy in screening college students. Participants: The sample consisted of 219 midwestern university students who self-administered a confidential survey. Methods: Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, receiver operating characteristics (ROC), and Cronbach's alpha were used to analyze factor structure, validity, and reliability. Results: The modified CAGE correctly classified students with alcohol abuse ("AA students"; area under the curve [AUC] = 0.7765) and students with alcohol dependency ("AD students"; AUC = 0.8392) more often than CAGE (AA students: AUC = 0.6977; AD students: AUC = 0.7437), and these differences are statistically significant (AA students: χ2(1) = 14.72, p < .001; AD students: χ2(1) = 7.71, p < .01). Using 2-point cut scores, CAGE correctly identified 59.38% of AD students as AD, whereas the modified CAGE correctly identified 87% of AD students as AD. Using 1-point cut scores, CAGE correctly identified 65% AA students, whereas the modified CAGE identified 85.29%. Conclusions: The modified CAGE has better accuracy than CAGE in predicting AA and AD among college populations.


Here, we show that 1JNH values are on average 0.4 Hz less negative for double-stranded RNA A:U than for DNA A:T base pairs, which, according to existing theory, suggests that RNA N1...N3 hydrogen bond distances are about 0.02 A shorter than those of DNA. Also, there is a statistically relevant trend between 1JNH and 2hDelta13C2 values, which supports the original hypothesis that 2hDelta13C2 values are also sensitive to hydrogen bond distances. Finally, a context dependence is observed for these values, which suggests that hydrogen-bonding and base-stacking interactions are coupled.


RP-17

High throughput DNA sequencing is a powerful tool for profiling miRNA expression but presents many computational challenges. We have used xenograft osteosarcoma tumor lines with SOLiD sequencing technology to identify expression of miRNAs that is altered by anti-IGF1R antibody treatment. The quality of the sequencing runs was assessed with quality values for color space calls, total reads, correlation between biological replicates of mapped reads and percent mapped reads. To take advantage of the low error rate for base calling of SOLiD sequencing technology, sequence alignments must be performed in color space. In addition, the size range of miRNAs (18-28 bp) must be considered when aligning reads. The Small RNA Analysis Tool (RNA2MAP v 0.5), an Applied Biosystems free open source software tool that takes these points into account, was used to filter out reads resulting from adapters, transfer RNA (tRNA), ribosomal RNA, repetitive elements (including Alu, LINE and LTR), centromeric and telomeric satellites, small cytoplasmic RNA (scRNA) and small nuclear RNA (snRNA). Remaining reads were sequentially aligned to miRNAs present in miRBase v14 and then to the human genome reference sequence (assembly GRCh37) using RNA2MAP. Differentially expressed miRNAs, determined with a rank product non-parametric method using RankProd (a Bioconductor package), include hsa-mir-654 and hsa-mir-370. Interestingly, IRS1 mRNA is a TargetScan predicted target of hsa-mir-370 and IRS1 protein interacts with IGF1R. Throughout this analysis, several tools including custom scripts were needed to parse and format data. Differentially expressed miRNAs and their target genes may provide insight into the susceptibility of some osteosarcoma tumors and the resistance of others to anti-IGF1R antibody treatment. These studies may also lead to the identification of biomarkers for drug resistance.


Background: Reovirus Serotype 3 - Dearing Strain is an oncolytic virus under clinical evaluation for treatment of solid tumor malignancies. We initiated a phase 1/2 study with reovirus in patients with ovarian, primary peritoneal and fallopian tube carcinoma. The objectives of the correlative studies in this trial include the verification of reovirus penetration and replication in ovarian and peritoneal tumors after IV and IP reovirus administration and to evaluate tumor RAS pathway activation status as a marker for reovirus activity in this patient population. Methods: Percutaneous tumor biopsies and ascites fluid were collected at various times during therapy from patients receiving reovirus via both IV and IP routes. Biopsied tissue and cell preparations from ascites were evaluated for reovirus capsid particles via electron microscopy (EM) and viral protein via immunohistochemistry (IHC). The presence of viral RNA and transcribed DNA are evaluated via reverse-transcriptase in situ PCR (RTISPCR). IHC for phosphorylated ERK (pERK) is applied to determine RAS pathway activation status. Results: To date, 5 patients have been accrued and treated on trial. Preliminary evaluation with IHC indicates the presence of viral protein in the biopsied ovarian and peritoneal tissue samples from a subset of these patients after IV administration of reovirus. Completion of EM, RTISPCR, and pERK IHC on biopsied tissues and ascites samples is in progress. Conclusions: Results to date display evidence of viral replication in peritoneal and ovarian cancer cells after IV administration of reovirus. This data represents the first observation of reovirus penetration into the peritoneal space after systemic drug administration. Completion of correlative analyses will further characterize the ability of reovirus to penetrate and replicate within the IP space and ascites after IV and IP administration. Furthermore, the selective viral infection and replication within RAS-pathway-activated tumor cells will be assessed. Results of all correlatives will be presented at the meeting. This work is supported by the NCI, grant U01CA076576 and contract NO1CM62207. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2594.


This paper determines the characteristics of class-F power amplifiers (PAs) with "class-C" conduction angles (current flow for less than half of the RF cycle). Analyses are conducted for both clipped-sinusoidal (classical class-C) and rectangular current waveforms. It is not possible to define the voltage and current waveforms arbitrarily if the production or sinking of power at the harmonic frequencies is to be avoided. As a result, only a few cases are of practical interest. In these cases, the conduction angle is set to null a specific harmonic in the current. The nulled harmonic is then used to flatten the bottom of the voltage waveform, resulting in increased efficiency and increased power output.


Neural prostheses have generally relied on signals from cortical motor regions to control reaching movements of a robotic arm. However, little work has been done in exploring the involvement of nonmotor cortical and associative regions during motor tasks. In this study, we identify regions which may encode direction during planning and movement of a center-out motor task. Local field potentials were collected using stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) from nine epilepsy patients implanted with multiple depth electrodes for clinical purposes. Spectral analysis of the recorded data was performed using nonparametric statistical techniques to identify regions that may encode direction of movements during the motor task. The analysis revealed several nonmotor regions; including the right insular cortex, right temporal pole, right superior parietal lobule, and the right lingual gyrus, that encode directionality before and after movement onset. We observed that each of these regions encode direction in different frequency bands. This preliminary study suggests that nonmotor regions may be useful in assisting in neural prosthetic control.


Understanding the mechanisms behind high-$T_{c}$ Type-II superconductors (SC) is still an open task in condensed matter physics. One way to gain further insight into the microscopic mechanisms leading to superconductivity is to study the magnetic properties of the SC in detail, for example by studying the properties of vortices and their dynamics. In this work we describe a new method of wide-field imaging magnetometry using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond to image vortices in an yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) thin film. We demonstrate quantitative determination of the magnetic field strength of the vortex stray field, the observation of vortex patterns for different cooling fields and direct observation of vortex pinning in our disordered YBCO film. This method opens prospects for imaging of the magnetic-stray fields of vortices at frequencies from DC to several megahertz within a wide range of temperatures which allows for the study of both high-$T_{C}$ and low-$T_{C}$ SCs. The wide temperature range allowed by NV center magnetometry also makes our approach applicable for the study of phenomena like island superconductivity at elevated temperatures (e.g. in metal nano-clusters).


Research was undertaken to investigate the demographics of the pet population in a local community. A sample of the general dog population and owners was then compared with a sample of relinquished dogs and their surrendering owners, to identify dog and household characteristics associated with canine relinquishment to an animal welfare centre (AWC). The investigation was carried out in Strathclyde Region, Scotland. A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted to establish the pet owning status of a randomly selected sample of households. The dog and cat populations were then estimated by extrapolation of results to local census data. Using an area based approach, the association between deprivation, community setting and pet ownership were assessed using available census data. A Geographical Information System approach was applied to the data to display the spatial distribution of pet ownership in Strathclyde Region. Dog owning households identified by the telephone survey were invited to participate in a second study. This case-control study compared information regarding dog and household characteristics of these successful owners (controls), with a sample of unsuccessful dog owners and their pets (cases). The control sample, was assessed by mailed questionnaire. Case households were selected by AWC staff at the time of relinquishment and data collected using self-administered questionnaires. Results revealed that 36.1% of households were pet owners, with dogs and cats being the most prevalent species owned. The canine population of Strathclyde Region was estimated to be 248,649 and the feline population estimated to be 170,044. These dogs and cats were owned by an estimated 185,589 and 121,235 households, respectively. Deprivation and urban communities were negatively associated with pet ownership. A sample of 360 of the dog owning households agreed to participate in the second study. Based on a response rate of 89.2%, 321 of these households returned usable questionnaires. Comparison of data from these questionnaires with data obtained from 49 case households revealed that several factors were associated with relinquishment. Although certain dog characteristics were identified as important, most of the predisposing characteristics were owner-related. Uneducated, inexperienced dog owners who impulsively acquired their dog for little cost, were more likely to relinquish their pet after a short duration of ownership because of inappropriate care expectations, lack of planning and the dog failing to meet their expectations. Surprisingly, dog behavioural. problems were no more prevalent in relinquished animals. These data were entered into a multivariable logistic regression model. Variables retained in the final model associated with relinquishment included ownership of a small mammal pet, no history of previous pet ownership, young dogs, mixed breed dogs, lack of veterinary care, short duration of residence in the preserjLhomq... and absence of a garden. The study identified several risk fd&fs^. assOýiated with canine relinquishment, many of which could potentially be modifl6d tio'deýiease the numbers of animals abandoned at AWCs. Use of the multivariable logistic regression model could enable the assessment of the likelihood of future relinquishment. In particular, application of the model in AWCs could decrease the number of adopted dogs that are subsequently relinquished.


Immunotherapy has emerged as a breakthrough strategy in cancer treatment. mRNA vaccines are an attractive and powerful immunotherapeutic platform against cancer because of their high potency, specificity, versatility, rapid and large-scale development capability, low-cost manufacturing potential, and safety. Recent technological advances in mRNA vaccine design and delivery have accelerated mRNA cancer vaccines' development and clinical application. In this review, we present various cancer vaccine platforms with a focus on nucleic acid vaccines. We discuss rational design and optimization strategies for mRNA cancer vaccine development. We highlight the platforms available for delivery of the mRNA vaccines with a focus on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) based delivery systems. Finally, we discuss the limitations of mRNA cancer vaccines and future challenges.


Abstract We compared epifaunal and epiphytic assemblages on the invasive alga, Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides, with those on native kelps, Laminaria longicruris and L. digitata, at a moderately exposed site on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia. Thalli of each algal host (Laminaria and/or Codium) were sampled in two stands with monospecific canopy cover and one mixed canopy stand (Laminaria and Codium) in June and November 2004 and February 2005. Epifaunal assemblages on both fronds and holdfasts differed between algal species and among months, but no differences were detected between mixed and monospecific stands for each host type. Fronds of Laminaria supported greater densities of gastropods and asteroids, while amphipods, harpacticoid copepods, and a specialist herbivore (Placida dendritica) were more abundant on fronds of Codium. Holdfasts of Codium supported greater densities of nematodes and bivalves. Diversity of epifauna was greater on fronds of Codium than Laminaria and similar on holdfasts of both species. Codium supported a greater density of epiphytes than Laminaria. Total frond area of Laminaria and/or Codium and density of epifauna per m2 of substratum did not differ between stands. Our results suggest that habitat selection by epibionts is likely determined by specific chemical, structural and morphological characteristics of the algal species, rather than the amount of habitable area available for colonization.


Low power RF measurements, S11, of electro-discharge machined (EDM) diffusion bonded mm-wave traveling wave RF cavities were not in satisfactory agreement with electromagnetic simulations. During subsequent mechanical inspection, the cell-to-cell iris were found to be distorted. This led to a series of systematic experiments to study the mechanical properties of oxygen free high conductivity copper and Glidcop AL-15. Results of these studies which include cell-to-cell iris distortion, EDM machining accuracies, surface quality, and the results of different bonding techniques are presented. The results of our mechanical studies are used to develop a set of mechanical design constraints for a second series of constant impedance W-band structures that also used wire EDM and high temperature bonding for their manufacture.


Abstract Increased enrolments of Bachelor of Nursing (BN) students who speak English as a second language (ESL) can help create a multilingual and culturally diverse workforce that is better prepared to meet the needs of increasingly diverse health populations. However, although ESL enrolments are increasing, attrition rates for ESL students tend to be higher than those of native speakers of English, partly due to academic failure. At the same time, concerns have been expressed in some quarters about the low levels of English language of entering students. As it is unlikely that language entry levels to university will be raised, sustainable programmes that help ESL students better meet the academic challenges they may face need to be developed. So far, models of ESL support have been mostly an adjunct to their degree, voluntary and not well attended. This paper discusses a model using tutorials integrated into the first year nursing curriculum that were specifically designed for ESL students with low levels of English language proficiency. The paper also examines students' perceptions of such tutorials, which they found beneficial to their learning.


Home care work in metropolitan areas is a source of employment for immigrant women of color. Service work of this type intertwines domestic and caring labor in ways that reinforce the historically gendered and racialized nature of the work. Such macro level economic and political issues are played out at the micro level of daily service provided within elderly clients' homes. A study of these processes in home care work was carried out in urban southern Ontario in two nonprofit home care agencies. In-depth interviews and focus groups held with visible minority home care workers suggested that workers deal daily with racist attitudes and behaviors from clients and their families; agencies recognize these oppressive processes but usually handle them on a case-by-case basis through supervisors; and home care workers handle racism on the job as they do in their off-work hours—by avoidance, situating incidents within an analysis of the circumstances of elderly clients, setting boundaries on discussions, and occasionally, confrontation.


Background The ability of finding complex associations in large omics datasets, assessing their significance, and prioritizing them according to their strength can be of great help in the data exploration phase. Mutual Information based measures of association are particularly promising, in particular after the recent introduction of the TICe and MICe estimators, which combine computational efficiency with good bias/variance properties. Despite that, a complete software implementation of these two measures and of a statistical procedure to test the significance of each association is still missing. Findings In this paper we present MICtools, a comprehensive and effective pipeline which combines TICe and MICe into a multi-step procedure that allows the identification of relationships of various degrees of complexity. MICtools calculates their strength assessing statistical significance using a permutation-based strategy. The performances of the proposed approach are assessed by an extensive investigation in synthetic datasets and an example of a potential application on a metagenomic dataset is also illustrated. Conclusions We show that MICtools, combining TICe and MICe, is able to highlight associations that would not be captured by conventional strategies. MICtools is implemented in Python, and is available for download at https://github.com/minepy/mictools.


The gold (Au) nanorods with various aspect ratios are obtained by a seed-media method in low pH growth solution. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-visible spectrophotometry are utilized to characterize the Au nanorods, and the longitudinal absorption peak positions of Au nanorods show different shifting trends of the growth evolutions in various low pH (1~3) solutions. Other influential factors on the shape of Au nanorod are also systematically studied under low pH reaction condition. The positions of longitudinal peak shift between 600 nm and 900 nm, with the aspect ratios of Au nanorods varying from 2 to 5 both in the simulation and experimental results. The simulation results are in agreement with experimental ones.


CADTH recommends that Saxenda should not be reimbursed by public drug plans for chronic weight management in adult patients.
Evidence from 3 studies demonstrated that Saxenda was associated with statistically significant reductions in body weight compared with placebo after 56 weeks of treatment.
No conclusions could be drawn about long-term benefits, particularly for clinically meaningful improvements in comorbidities identified as priorities by patients, such as diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, and cardiovascular complications.
Patients identified a need for treatments that can improve potential obesity-related comorbidities, such as diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, and cardiovascular complications. It is not clear whether Saxenda meets these needs.


As the context for this article, the GMFuturos study analyses how the GM crop controversy symbolised a struggle against unwanted forms of neoliberal globalisation in three countries (India, Brazil and Mexico). This article likewise situates the European GM controversy within a long-standing European political agenda of neoliberal policymaking. A biotechnological vision of further industrialising European agriculture was promoted as an overall solution to the problem of European competitiveness. Through various policy and legislative frameworks, these institutional commitments foreclosed European futures, thus provoking conflicts over democratic accountability. As a main lesson to be drawn, political-economic contexts always define the nature of a technology, in turn as the basis for contextualising public responses.


The peak to Average Ratio (PAR) or peak to average power ratio (PAPR) is a major drawback of most the multicarrier communications systems. In Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), the PAPR is around 12–13 dB. Also in the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), the PAPR is appeared. By combining these two systems (CDMA and OFDM), a good system can be produced which it supports high capacity (multi user multiplexing) with high bit rate. Still the PAPR appeared in the new system because it is a multicarrier system as well. In this work we proposed a novel algorithm to enhance the PAPR which is called 'Half Length Phase Updating ' (HLPU), it is called half because the phase updating will be applied to only half of the IFFT length (N / 2). The HLPU will be predefined both in the transmitter and the receiver, so that, no need to send even one bit of side information from the transmitter to the receiver. This additional block in the system will be inserted before the Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) of the Multicarrier Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA) system. The simulation results proved that there is 94.2% reduction in the system complexity and a reduction in the PAPR of around 2 dB has been obtained.


Media is evolving from traditional linear narratives to personalised experiences, where control over information (or how it is presented) is given to individual audience members. Measuring and understanding audience engagement with this media is important in at least two ways: (1) a post-hoc understanding of how engaged audiences are with the content will help production teams learn from experience and improve future productions; (2), this type of media has potential for real-time measures of engagement to be used to enhance the user experience by adapting content on-the-fly. Engagement is typically measured by asking samples of users to self-report, which is time consuming and expensive. In some domains, however, interaction data have been used to infer engagement. Fortuitously, the nature of interactive media facilitates a much richer set of interaction data than traditional media; our research aims to understand if these data can be used to infer audience engagement. In this paper, we report a study using data captured from audience interactions with an interactive TV show to model and predict engagement. We find that temporal metrics, including overall time spent on the experience and the interval between events, are predictive of engagement. The results demonstrate that interaction data can be used to infer users' engagement during and after an experience, and the proposed techniques are relevant to better understand audience preference and responses.


The OpenModelica (MDT) Eclipse Plugin integrates the OpenModelica compiler and debugger with the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment Framework.. MDT, together with the OpenModelica compiler and debugger, provides an environment for Modelica development projects. This includes browsing, code completion through menus or popups, automatic indentation even of syntactically incorrect models, and model debugging. Simulation and plotting is also possible from a special command window. To our knowledge, this is the first Eclipse plugin for an equationbased language.


Modern deep sub-micron MOS devices suffer from a significant amount of DC leakage power dissipation due to the tunneling current across the ultra-thin gate oxide and off-state drain to source leakage, etc. In this paper, a dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) technique is demonstrated experimentally to provide an automated real-time control of the supply voltage according to the required VLSI core clock frequency. The DVS scheme is made practical with the use of a high efficiency sort-switching DC-DC converter and an on-chip frequency-to-voltage control loop. Using a 0.1 /spl mu/m CMOS CPLD chip to serve as a typical VLSI load, a power saving of greater than 50% at 0.6 times the maximum clock frequency was observed. This DVS architecture is suitable for managing the power consumption of modern VLSI chips where the demand on processing rate varies constantly.


Pumpkin or squash is an economically important crop that is moderately sensitive to salinity but how its growth is affected by soil salinity is poorly understood. Salinity stress on physiological and anatomical traits of Cucurbita moschata 'Butternut' was investigated under hydroponic culture using Hoagland's solution with various NaCl concentrations (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, and 150 mM) for four weeks. The results showed that pumpkin growth characters decreased after cultured in various NaCl concentrations. Leaf number, leaf width, leaf length, root number, stem height, stem diameter, green intensity in terms of SPAD units, chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv'/Fm', Fv/Fm), total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b contents significantly (p < 0.05) decreased after culture in various NaCl concentrations. Salinity stress impacted fiber layer thickness, vascular bundle size and vessel diameter of treated plants but did not affect cuticle thickness. Physiological and anatomical traits significantly correlated with salinity gradients, except for chlorophyll b and chlorophyll fluorescence, in both light and dark condition. Results provide significant data to improve the understanding of adaptation mechanisms of tolerant pumpkin cultivars under salinity stress condition.


This paper presents the findings from a proof-of-concept study that was conducted to examine whether engines and vehicles equipped with onboard diagnostic systems could provide data for optimizing fleet preventive maintenance practices. The study investigated the development of a statistical approach for recommending oil changes in the Texas Department of Transportation's fleet, based on engine data collection and oil sampling analysis for a sample of heavy-duty dump trucks. The study also investigated whether predictive intervals could improve preventive maintenance practices and save money. The engine parameters that were logged included engine speed, oil temperature, engine load, coolant temperature, and engine oil pressure; and the oil parameters tested included viscosity, oxidation, nitration, total acid number, total base number, wear metals, soot, and fuel dilution. The findings indicated that there were very low levels of oil degradation, attributable to the engine operations, which were observed to be predominantly low-load operations with a lot of idling. The findings support potential changes to fleet maintenance and management practices from an economic and environmental perspective.


Diseases or lesions of the central or peripheral nervous system involving the innervation of the lower urinary tract lead to neurogenic bladder dysfunction. Results are typical changes in storage and voiding function of the bladder according to pathophysiological and urodynamical criteria. In case of neurological disorders the neurological symptoms are not always the leading ones. The differential diagnosis of correlating bladder dysfunction is often difficult and special pathophysiological knowledge is necessary. Etiological factors are congenital, degenerative, vascular, inflammatory and immunological processes or tumour-specific changes of the nervous system. In many cases urodynamic evaluation and early interdisciplinary cooperation is necessary for special differentiation and diagnosis, especially of those diseases which rarely lead to initial bladder symptoms. The "nonneurogenic neurogenic bladder" or "Hinman-Syndrom" is well known in the literature but shouldn't be diagnosed until possible neurological reasons are excluded by modern diagnostic tools with newest imaging techniques.


It is becoming increasingly important to be able to verify the skill of precipitation forecasts, especially with the advent of high-resolution numerical weather prediction models. This study focused on assessing the skill of climate forecast system (CFS) model in predicting rainfall on seasonal time scales over East Africa region for the period January 1981 to December 2009. The rainfall seasons considered were March to May (MAM) and October to December (OND). The data used in the study included the observed seasonal rainfall totals from January 1981 to December 2009 and CFS model forecast data for the same period. The model had 15 Runs. The measure of skill employed was the categorical skill scores and included Heidke skill scores, bias, probability of detection and false alarm ratio. The results from the categorical skill scores confirmed relatively higher skills during OND season as compared to MAM. When compared with individual Runs, the mean of all the 15 Runs depicted relatively higher accuracy during OND season. Some individual Runs – 1, 7, 9 and 10 – also performed better during OND season. During MAM season, the mean of all the 15 Runs showed relatively lower accuracy in predicting rainfall. Some individual Runs – 5, 10, 12 and 14 – performed better than the mean of all the 15 Runs. The prediction of seasonal rainfall over East Africa region using CFS model depends on the season considered. During MAM, the prediction of seasonal rainfall is better as Runs are fewer, which showed relatively higher averaged skills; on the other hand, during OND the prediction of seasonal rainfall is better when using the mean of all the 15 Runs.


For more than two decades, stand-alone evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO) methods have been adequately demonstrated to find a set of trade-off solutions near Pareto-front for various multi-objective optimization problems. Despite a long-standing existence of classical generative single-objective based methods, a very few EMO studies have combined the two approaches for a better gain. In this paper, we investigate the effect of seeding the initial population of an EMO algorithm with extreme solutions obtained using a single-objective method. Our proposed approach is further aided with an opposition based offspring creation mechanism which strategically places new solutions on the current Pareto frontier by a simple, yet a novel arbitration policy that utilizes the relative distances from the extreme solutions in the current population members. We conduct an extensive simulation of our proposed approach on a wide variety of two and three-objective benchmark MOP test problems. Results are shown to be remarkably better than the original EMO approach in terms of hyper-volume metric. The results are interesting and should motivate EMO researchers to integrate single-objective focused optimization and an opposition-based concept with diversity-preserving EMO procedures for an overall better performance.


Testosterone levels are lower in men with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and also predict the onset of these adverse metabolic states. Body composition (body mass index, waist circumference) is an important mediator of this relationship. Sex hormone binding globulin is also inversely associated with insulin resistance and T2DM but the data regarding estrogen are inconsistent. Clinical models of androgen deficiency including Klinefelter's syndrome and androgen deprivation therapy in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer confirm the association between androgens and glucose status. Experimental manipulation of the insulin/glucose milieu and suppression of endogenous testicular function suggests the relationship between androgens and insulin sensitivity is bidirectional. Androgen therapy in men without diabetes is not able to differentiate the effect on insulin resistance from that on fat mass, in particular visceral adiposity. Similarly, several small clinical studies have examined the efficacy of exogenous testosterone in men with T2DM, however, the role of androgens, independent of body composition, in modifying insulin resistance is uncertain.


Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification plays an essential role in diverse key biological processes and may take part in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we systematically analyzed expression profiles and prognostic values of 13 widely reported m6A modification related genes in HCC.Methods: mRNA expression of 13 m6A modification related genes and clinical parameters of HCC patients were downloaded from TCGA, ICGC, GSE109211 and GSE78220. Univariate and LASSO analysis was used to develop risk signature. Time-dependent ROC was performed to assess the predictive accuracy and sensitivity of risk signature.Results: FTO, YTHDC1, YTHDC2, ALKBH5, KIAA1429, HNRNPC, METTL3, RBM15, YTHDF2, YTHDF1 and WTAP were significantly overexpressed in HCC patients. YTHDF1, HNRNPC, RBM15, METTL3, YTHDF2 were independent prognostic factors for OS and DFS in HCC patients. Next, a risk signature was also developed and validated with five m6A modification related genes in TCGA and ICGC HCC cohort. It could effectively stratify HCC patients into high risk patients with shorter OS and DFS and low risk patients with longer OS and DFS and showed good predictive efficiency in predicting OS and DFS. Moreover, significantly higher proportions of macrophages M0 cells, neutrophils and Tregs were found to be enriched in HCC patients with high risk score, while significantly higher proportions of memory CD4 T cells, gamma delta T cells and naive B cells were found to be enriched in HCC patients with high low score. Finally, significantly lower risk scores were found at sorafenib treatment responders and anti-PD-1 immunotherapy responders compared to that in non-responders, and anti-PD-1 immunotherapy treated patients with lower risk score had better OS than patients with higher risk score. Conclusion: A risk signature developed with the expression of 5 m6A related genes could improve the prediction of prognosis of HCC and correlate with sorafenib treatment and anti-PD-1 immunotherapy response.


Climate changes and increasing cost of non-renewable resources cause the growing interest in technical materials prepared from natural resources. To meet this interest, prototype paints from rosin and bio-diols derivatives, and also halloysite, were formulated to check their thermal, mechanical, visual and functional properties, as protective coatings of steel. Prepared materials contained ca. 75 wt.% of natural resources and exhibited considerably better corrosion protection, thermal stability, and also higher glass transition temperatures and hardness, than a commercial petroleum-based reference sample. The other parameters: cross-linking behavior, color, gloss, cupping resistance, adhesion and chemical resistance were within the range that is acceptable for potential users.


The idea of anonymous digital money existing outside of traditional banking system lasts at least 40 years. It appeared as soon as technological solutions, which such a system requires, became available. The article analyses the genesis of the crypto-currencies and technological solutions implemented into the Bitcoin digital currency. The article shows current state of the Bitcoin market and changes in its price, market capitalisation and number of transactions during last decade of operations of the crypto-currency market. Although there are difficulties in using Bitcoins, which include technical background and resulting from the high volatility of prices of this currency, the continuing upward trend of the Bitcoin price and the average daily number of transactions shows that interest in this currency is growing. Bitcoin features that attract new users are a large dose of anonymity, security of funds guaranteed by the extremely high computing power of the Bitcoin network, the speed of transactions and their low cost associated with the exclusion of a financial intermediary. The features of this money and data from the market allow to expect that Bitcoin will gain more individual and institutional users.


Purpose This study explored job satisfaction and associated factors among community healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 319 HCWs in charge of infectious disease prevention and control activities at all commune healthcare centers in Ho Chi Minh City. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire which included the 36-item Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS). Results Most participants were male (56.7%), and the mean age was 34.7 (SD=7.1) years. The overall job satisfaction was relatively low. Among 9 aspects measured, coworker was found to have the highest level of satisfaction (19.6±3.9), followed by supervision (19.3±4.1). In contrast, the lowest level of satisfaction was observed in operating condition (11.4±3.4) and contingent rewards (14.3±3.8). The total score of the JSS indicated that only half of HCWs were satisfied with their job in general. Older male HCWs who were married and those who had higher income reported a higher level of job satisfaction in several aspects measured. However, there was no association between job satisfaction and other HCW's characteristics, including specialty, occupation type, and working experience. Conclusion Since this is the crucial workforce in the battle against infectious diseases, urgent interventions are needed to increase job satisfaction in this population.


Abstract We investigated the efficacy of concurrent radiotherapy plus S-1 (CRS) for treating unresectable stage III advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (ANSCLC). Seventy five ANSCLC patients were included in this retrospective study. Of those, 40 patients were assigned to an intervention group, and received S-1 (orally at 40 mg/m2) twice daily for 14 consecutive days. Then, concurrent radiotherapy was administered in 2 Gy fractions, 5 times weekly for a total dose of 60 Gy. The other 35 patients were assigned to a control group, and underwent concurrent radiotherapy (the same as the intervention group) and cisplatin (60 mg/m2 on day 1 (CRC). The outcome measurements included overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and toxicity. The 3-year ORR was 60.7% and 43.9% for intervention group and control group, respectively (P = .031). The median OS was 34.1 months and 25.3 months in the intervention and control groups, respectively (P = .041). The median PFS was 31.5 months for intervention group, while it was 22.4 months for control group (P = .048). No significant difference in toxicity was found between the 2 groups. The results demonstrated that the efficacy of CRS was superior to the CRC in ANSCLC patients with similar toxicity.


An 18-year-old male smoker inhaled butane gas out of a pocket lighter with his friend for the purpose of changing his voice. He suddenly collapsed and lost his consciousness. Upon arrival to the Emergency Department, he was found pulseless with a rhythm of ventricular fibrillation. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated according to the advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) protocol for three cycles until return of spontaneous circulation archived. After extubation, the patient was ataxic and had significant memory loss and severe confusion. Days later he improved and was discharged with walking aid for his ataxia and a plan to followup with the neurology team for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and electroencephalogram (EEG) as an outpatient.


The paper examines the historical development and current dynamics of Pakistan's strategic culture. This study explores the key influences, events, and trends that have shaped Pakistan's strategic culture through a combination of historical research, case studies, and content analysis.Partition of British India, early state creation, military involvement, and ties with regional and international powers are all examples. How Pakistan maintains a balance of power in the area, maintains credible deterrent capabilities, pursues diplomacy, and deals with domestic difficulties are all aspects of national security and foreign policy examined in this paper. The end of the Cold War, the War on Terror, and the shifting geopolitical landscape are just a few examples of the global and regional environmental changes that have influenced Pakistan's strategic culture. Understanding the development of Pakistan's strategic culture and the country's regional and global dynamics is essential for foreseeing Pakistan's behaviour and policy choices in the future. Pakistan's strategic decision-making is complex and multifaceted, and this research contributes to our understanding of strategic culture and provides light on those complexities.


T HE TREATMENT OF PAtients with Parkinson disease is an art. If the clinical science were so clear, there would not be the continued "controversy" articles published. Is this debate concerning initial choice of symptomatic therapeutic agents relevant to the care of patients with Parkinson disease? Under most circumstances, if the neurologist had to choose between drug A and B for a given condition and drug A was known to be safe, efficacious, associated with fewer adverse events, few drug interactions, was easier for the patient to use, easier for the clinician to prescribe, and was cheaper, why would the neurologist start with drug B? This is an interesting question, which relates to concern about "neuroprotection," concern about better long-term management of Parkinson disease, and nonmedical influences that relate to prescribing practices.


We investigated 10 similarity (and disimilarity) coefficients in a set of 40 wild genotypes of Croton linearifolius subjected to analyses using hierarchical grouping methods, grouping methods by optimization and data projection in two-dimensional space. Genotypes were characterized by analyzing DNA polymorphism with the use of 15 ISSR and 12 RAPD markers. The distance measurements were compared by the Spearman correlation test, projection in two-dimensional space and grouping efficiency evaluation. The Spearman correlation coefficients between the 10 coefficients evaluated were significant (P < 0.001) and indicated significant changes in genotype ranking due to type of coefficient used (0.76 ≤ rs ≤ 1). Wide variation was also observed in the efficiency of clustering methods, where the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean was the most suitable (0.3 ≤ D ≤ 1.5 ; 0.41 ≤ rc ≤ 0.77; 5.99 ≤ S ≤ 12.61). Projection efficiencies in two-dimensional space showed high-stress values (65 < S < 89%). Similar to the results observed for hierarchical clustering methods and for projection in two-dimensional space, the formation of groups with grouping methods by optimization showed variations when using different coefficients. We believe that the results confirm the influence of coefficients in studies of genetic diversity, showing the need to use criteria and standards for selecting appropriate methods for genetic studies of the genus Croton.


New statistical approaches to hyperparameter estimation by means of the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm and loopy belief propagation (LBP) are given for Bayesian image modeling from the standpoint of statistical-mechanical informatics. In the present paper, we give a new scheme for computing the average of the trajectory in the EM algorithm with LBP with respect to all the possible degraded images generated by the assumed degradation process from a given original image. Moreover, we also give a new scheme for computing the average of the trajectory in the EM algorithm with LBP with respect to all the possible original images generated by the assumed prior probability distribution. Bayesian image models for binary image restorations are constructed as Ising models with random external fields and spatially uniform nearest-neighbor interactions on the square lattice. Our schemes for computing the above random averages for some statistical quantities in LBP are constructed by means of the Bethe approximation for random spin systems. They are reduced to the solution of simultaneous integral equations for distributions of messages in LBP. We show the results of some numerical experiments in LBP as well as the statistical analysis of the trajectory in the EM algorithm for binary image restoration by LBP.


This paper describes a multi-pronged continuous improvement effort to manage the spans of a deep-water pipeline, where even without wave action, the currents are strong enough to move sediments, leading to constantly changing spans. The effort includes: (1) using strakes rather than intermediate supports to suppress VIV, since the latter proved not to be a long-term solution, (2) using partial rather than full strake coverage of spans and developing tools to quantify the level of strake coverage that is required, (3) improving estimates of soil stiffness and damping, and tools to handle amplitude-dependent soil stiffness and damping, (4) performing pluck tests of the operating pipeline by pulling it laterally at midspan with the ROV until a weak link connecting the ROV to the pipe breaks, whereupon the resulting motion of the pipe is recorded with accelerometers, (5) developing tools that allow fatigue damage to be estimated and accumulated for every location along the pipeline (6) sponsoring a joint industry program by DNVGL to quantify the effect of seabed proximity and trench effects on VIV. This paper provides an overview of these activities, with emphasis on recent results and new assessment tools and methods developed and their validation covering items (2–4) above.


The paper is a part of the research on a complex alternative technology of apatite phosphogypsum (PG) obtained during the production of phosphoric acid from Kola apatite, on rare earth concentrate and phosphoanhydrite cement with the recovery of phosphate compounds. The effect of Portland cement on mechanical properties of phosphoanhydrite-pozzolana cement has been determined. The samples of binder were prepared with phosphoanhydrite and a constant amount of fly ash while the content of Portland cement amounted from 5 to 20%. Maximum strength of the discussed cement was reached for Portland cement addition in the amount of 20 wt. %, after 90 days. The presence of ettringite in the tested samples was confirmed by means of chemical and X-ray analysis. The change of mechanical properties of the above cements is connected with the formation of ettringite and its decomposition during the hydration process of binder. It was found that the change of linear expansion is also connected with the content of the ettringite phase in binders.


In randomized trials one-year efficacy of NRT/placebo is lower among women because the placebo arm provide better results in women and NRT better results in male. It was the same with bupropion and varenicline cause near twice more nausea in female. We assessed in France the effect according to gender of non-gender oriented political decisions and campaigns. Methods: The gender ratio variation was observed on the first attend to tobacco cessation service in smoker using internet service to stop and in Parisian high school last 10 years. During this period anti-tobacco activities has been very high in 2003 with the war against tobacco of France, then activity has been very low after 2007 because of governmental decisions. Results: In France there are 7.5 million men who daily smoke (32%) and 6 million women (26%). Without any action, while women account for only 45% of smokers, women are more than 50% to call quitlines, 52% to attend tobacco cessation service and 60% of smoker who ask support to the internet coaching service. In 2003, a strong anti-tobacco activity period, we observed an increase ratio of woman attending smoking clinic (50% to 54%). But 5 years later with the end of tobacco, control gender ratio dropped to 48%. The 2003 campaigns led to an absolute decline among teenagers in smoking absolute rates of 7.6% for girls and 3.2% for boys. Unlike five years later abandoning the prevention of smoking among teenagers has been associated with a rise in smoking rate higher among girls (4.1%) than boys (3.4%). Conclusion: If women are less sensitive to drugs, for smoking cessation they are more sensitive to campaigns and political decision whether adults or teenagers, even if campaigns are not targeted on gender.


In this paper, energy efficient uplink communications are investigated for battery-constrained mobile terminals (MTs) with service quality requirements and multi-homing capabilities. A heterogeneous wireless medium is considered, where MTs communicate with base stations (BSs) and access points (APs) of different networks with overlapped coverage. Different from the existing works, we develop a quality of service (QoS)-based optimization framework for joint uplink bandwidth and power allocation to maximize energy efficiency for a set of MTs with multi-homing capabilities. The proposed framework is implemented in a decentralized architecture, through coordination among BSs/APs of different networks and MTs, which is a desirable feature when different networks are operated by different service providers. A suboptimal framework is presented with a reduced computational complexity as compared with the optimal framework. Simulation results demonstrate the improved performance of both the optimal and suboptimal frameworks over a state-of-the-art benchmark.


PACS – Abstract –Maxwell's equations are modified to incorporate a scalar field to account for the London's superconductivity. Assuming the electromagnetic field is described by the Klein-Gordon equation, London's equations of superconductivity are then derived, that are invariant under new set of transformations. The invariance of the modified Maxwell's equations under these transformation requires the electromagnetic field and the scalar field to be scale invariant. Relying on these transformations, a quantized Josephson-like current is derived. This current gives rise to a residual magnetic field. The spatial and temporal variations of the scalar field are linked to the electric polarization such that the polarization vector is curl-less.


The implementation of image contrast reversal by using a photochromic material of Bacteriorhodopsin (BR) films is demonstrated with two methods based on the optical properties of BR. One is based on the absorption difference between the B and M states. Images recorded by green light can be contrast reversed readout by violet light. The other is based on the photoinduced anisotropy of BR when it is excited by linear polarization light. By placing the BR film between two crossed polarizers (i.e. a polarizer and an analyser), the difference of polarization states of the recorded area and the unrecorded area can be detected, and thus different contrast images can be obtained by rotating the polarization axis of the analyser.


Based on the conserved heme-binding region and the charge pair consensus of insect cytochrome P450s, two novel full-length P450 cDNAs, CYP6BB1 and CYP6P10, were cloned from the salt marsh mosquito Aedes sollicitans (Walker). CYP6BB1 and CYP6P10 had open reading frames of 1,518 and 1,521 nucleotides encoding 506 and 507 amino acid residue proteins, respectively. Several alleles with amino acid substitutions were found both in CYP6BB1 and CYP6P10. The deduced proteins are typical microsomal P450s sharing signature sequences with other insect CYP6 P450s. Sequence analysis showed that both CYP6BB1 and CYP6P10 shared highest sequence identities with P450 CYP6P4, 56% and 65%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed both CYP6BB1 and CYP6P10 were grouped into the clade containing several P450s from subfamily CYP6P. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed CYP6BB1 but not CYP6P10 transcription in females was significantly increased 24 h after a blood meal. Neither CYP6BB1 nor CYP6P10 were life stage or gender specific. Protein expression experiments are needed to determine the functions of these proteins.