Isolated sandstone and siltstone outcrops of the Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) Fox Hills Formation occur at the Poison Springs Locality in northeastern Colorado. These nearshore deposits document the western margin of the Fox Hills Sea and have yielded elasmobranch and osteichthyan remains. Seventeen elasmobranch species from eleven families including Squatina hassei, Plicatoscyllium derameei, Cretorectolobus olsoni, Carcharias samhammeri, Odontaspis aculeatus, Cretalamna cf. C. feldmanni, Palaeogaleus navarroensis, Galeorhinus girardoti, Archaeotriakis rochelleae, Pseudomyledaphus sp., Pseudohypolophus mcnultyi, Ischyrhiza avonicola, Ptychotrygon winni, Ptychotrygon greybullensis, Ptychotrygon sp., Dasyatis sp., and Rhombodus levis and five osteichthlyan species from four families including Melvius sp., Paralbula casei, Enchodus dirus, Enchodus sp., and Hadrodus sp. were identified. This paleofauna is essentially the same as the Fox Hills Formation paleofauna recovered from North Dakota and extends the geographic range of the Late Cretaceous Fox Hills fish paleocommunity to far western shores of the Fox Hills Sea. The Poison Springs fish paleofauna consists of a mix of freshwater, brackish water/estuarine and shallow marine, and open marine taxa reflecting the dynamic Fox Hills Sea coastal margin. This fish paleocommunity included predaceous, durophagous bottom feeders, shallow marine piscivores, and open water ambush predators. Some taxa are restricted to the northern Western Interior Seaway, but most are more cosmopolitan and range to the Texas-Gulf Coast, Mississippi Embayment, and Atlantic Coastal Plain. A few have also been found in Europe and North Africa. This Late Cretaceous Fox Hills Formation fish paleofauna provides additional evidence for extinctions of marine fish at the end of the Cretaceous.


Application of the diffuse approximation to the posttreatment of electromagnetic field computations is investigated. This numerical method is very attractive since it does not require a mesh and leads to continuous estimates of the unknown function and its derivatives. The use of the diffuse element method to solve electromagnetic formulations is also considered. The implementation of the method into the finite element software FLUX3D is discussed. Numerical experiments are very encouraging. >


Cytopatholory is based on the analysis of mucosa scaled cells. It is able to reveal atypias before there is a perceivable clinical manifestation, contributing for the early detection of cytological alterations suspected of malignancy. Among the malignant neoplasias, the Epidermoid Carcinoma is the most prevalent in the mouth, reaching a percentage of 95 % of cases. By the early stage, most part of Epidermoid Carcinomas are not recognized at the clinical examination. The present study aimed to experience students for the work of collecting, preparing of material and analysis of results obtained by the scaling of the buccal mucosa. 82 patients Who were seeking for dental assistance were undertaken to examination at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Dental School Triage Division. The selected anatomical areas for the collecting of material were the lower lip redness, tongue lateral edge and mouth ground. Malignancy cytological criteria were used for the qualitative evaluation of samples. For each smear a cytological degree was applicd, according to the criteria of Papanicolaou and Traut. Class I was the predominant cytological diagnosis (57.8 0/0) against Class II cytological diagnosis (38.2 0/0) and Class III (4.0 0/0). Most of lip smears (80.5 0/0) and ground (52.5 0/0) were classified as Class I, while on the tongue Class II diagnosis were predominant (57.3 0/0). The quantitative analysis of epithelial maturation enabled the acknowledgement of a specific cell pattern for each anatomical site examined. The presence of suspected smears, clinically unconfirmed, suggests the need of further studies on greater population samples.


In the following paper, we present Noracle, a tool for creating representational artefacts of metacognitive thinking in a collaborative, social environment. The tool uses only question asking, rather than the typical question/answer paradigm found in threaded discussions, as a mechanism for supporting awareness and reflection on metacognitive activity, and for supporting self- regulated learning. The weblike artefact produced by learner contributions is intended to support learners in mapping a given domain, identifying points of convergence and recognizing gaps in the knowledge representation. In this paper, the authors present the model of the tool, a use case scenario and a discussion of the opportunities and limitations related to this approach.


A full scale slice of a 7 story reinforced concrete building was tested on the shake table at the UCSD Engelkirk Structural Research Centre in 2006. As part of the research project, a blind prediction contest was sponsored to assess the capability of currently available analysis procedures to predict the seismic response of cantilever reinforced concrete shear wall structures. This paper describes an entry based on a nonlinear finite element model, using macro elements to represent both the shear and the flexural modes of behaviour. A comparison of the predicted response with the test results showed that the analysis procedure produced reasonable predictions of deformations for the lowest and highest of the four earthquakes but under-estimated response for the two moderate earthquakes by approximately 30%. For all earthquakes, the analysis base moment was much lower than the test value. Modifications to the procedure to improve the correlation were identified and implemented but did not remedy the deficit in base moments. Detailed results of the test program revealed that the causes for this discrepancy were the contribution to overturning results of gravity columns and the flange wall, neither of which had been included in the model. When these were incorporated the average error between test and analysis results was less than 10% for all earthquakes, well within acceptable limits for a design office type of model. The correlation of tests and analysis also provided useful information on design aspects for shear walls, such as the influence of secondary components and dynamic magnification factors.


Recently, the authors reported the improved corrosion resistance of the electro-galvanized steel coated with epoxy resin organic layers by the simultaneous additions of flaky Al and particulate Ni powders for the use in fuel tanks. In order to understand the roles of Ni and Al powders in the coatings on the corrosion behavior of the coated electro-galvanized steel, the electro-galvanized steel was coated with epoxy resin layers containing either Ni or Al powders, and their corrosion behavior was examined by the corrosion immersion tests in aqueous solution containing formic acid, acetic acid and NaCl, potentiodynamic polarization measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy ( EIS ) , and oxygen gas and water vapor permeation measurements. Both Ni and Al powders in the organic coatings accelerated the corrosion. The potentiodynamic polarization curves disclosed the increased anodic and cathodic currents and the EIS study showed the reduced coating resistance by the addition of Ni or Al powders. Findings in this study suggested that the improved corrosion resistance of the coatings containing both Al and Ni powders were not simply explained by the corrosion behavior of the coated steel containing only Ni or Al powders and a possible synergistic effect of Ni and Al powders in improving the corrosion resistance is discussed.


Studies of very-low-frequency earthquakes and low-frequency tremors (slow earthquakes) in the shallow region of plate boundaries need seafloor broadband seismic observations. Because it is expected that seafloor spatially high-density monitoring requires numerous broadband sensors for slow earthquakes near trenches, we have developed a long-term compact broadband ocean-bottom seismometer (CBBOBS) by upgrading the long-term short-period ocean-bottom seismometer that has seismic sensors with a natural frequency of 1 Hz and is being mainly used for observation of microearthquakes. Because many long-term ocean-bottom seismometers with short-period sensors are available, we can increase the number of broadband seafloor sensors at a low cost. A short-period seismometer is exchanged for a compact broadband seismometer with a period of 20 or 120 s. Because the ocean-bottom seismometers are installed by free fall, we have no attitude control during an installation. Therefore, we have developed a new leveling system for compact broadband seismic sensors. This new leveling system keeps the same dimensions as the conventional leveling system for 1 Hz seismometers so that the broadband seismic sensor can be installed conveniently. Tolerance for leveling is less than 1°. A tilt of up to 20° is allowed for the leveling operation. A microprocessor controls the leveling procedure. Some of the newly developed ocean-bottom seismometers were deployed in the western Nankai trough, where slow earthquakes frequently occur. The data from the ocean-bottom seismometers on the seafloor were evaluated, and we confirmed that the long-term CBBOBS is suitable for observation of slow earthquakes. The developed ocean-bottom seismometer is also available for submarine volcanic observation and broadband seafloor observation to estimate deep seismic structures.


Organizations implement new technologies frequently to achieve competitive advantage. Constant change, however, requires employees to adapt to new business requirements. This could become a source of environmental pressure, creating stress among employees and, subsequently, leading to negative outcomes for organizations. Technostress refers to an individuals' incapability to cope with IT in a healthy manner. Extant research has uncovered factors that create technostress and studied mechanisms to alleviate the negative outcomes of this phenomenon. The current study reviews literature on technostress creators and inhibitors since 2008, and critically analyzes the current state of knowledge about their effects. Our review of findings from 23 relevant studies highlights opportunities for researchers to examine the separate and differential effects of individual technostress creators and inhibitors. More research in this area may help practitioners develop context-specific programs to tackle that specific dimensions of technostress creators and the specific benefits of technostress inhibitors.


A fast and sensitive high performance liquid chromatography with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-APCI-MS/MS) method to identify and quantify oxysterols, phytosterols and non-cholesterol sterols at the pico-molar concentration level in human serum in only one run was developed in this study. This method allows the simultaneous separation and quantitation of individual phytosterols, cholesterol precursors and oxidized derivatives of cholesterol without a derivatization step in a single run, thus providing a more confident quantitation of sterols in serum. After saponification, solid-phase extraction (SPE) used as a clean-up step and HPLC separation, detection by MS was developed using APCI and multiple ion monitoring modes. This method employs reversed-phase C18 SPE cartridges and serum calibrators, as well as isotopically labelled cholesterol as an internal standard added before sample processing. The time consumed for a single sample is reduced from the 4 hours of conventional sterol analysis to 1 hour including the chromatographic run time. The method has been evaluated by analyzing a certified cholesterol sample as well as by comparison to other two methods used as reference, based on GC and enzymatic reaction, respectively. Serum from 14 individuals was successfully analyzed. Detection limits for oxysterols, phytosterols and non-cholesterol sterols, all determined in a single run in small serum volumes, were between 0.47 and 1.69 pM. Intra-day precision was <7% for all sterols in in-house-made lipoprotein-deficient serum. The limits of detection showed high sensitivity with very good intraday- and interday-precision for all sterols. The recoveries of the phytosterols, cholesterol precursors and cholestanol ranged from 77% to 92%. These analytical parameters provide a reliable and reproducible method for the identification and quantitation of human sterols.


This article evaluates the role of social capital as a risk-coping device in India's Andhra Pradesh state. Focusing on children's nutritional outcomes, we test whether social capital serves as an informal insurance mechanism and helps households minimize the negative effect of shocks. We examine the impact of two kinds of income shocks, idiosyncratic and covariant, and the potentially risk-mitigating role of two types of social capital, structural and cognitive, measured first at the individual and second at the community level. The econometric methods we employ include fixed effects, random effects, and a Hausman-Taylor specification. We find that individual-level structural and community-level cognitive social capital significantly mitigate the negative effect of idiosyncratic shocks, suggesting that persons with stronger social networks and/or living in more closely-knit communities are better informally insured against individual income shocks. On the other hand, community-level structural social capital appears to fulfil a similar role in the aftermath of covariant shocks. The underlying rationale might be that communities with more social organization are better able to negotiate with public authorities to receive help after community-wide disasters. We conclude by considering the findings within the local context of Andhra Pradesh and drawing relevant policy recommendations.


As the very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits move deeper into the range of sub-100 µm processes due to the continued scaling efforts, designers increasingly face the variations of design parameters as major roadblocks. These variations include the deviation of process, voltage, and temperature values from the nominal specifications and are of paramount concern as they result in a deviation of the performance of ICs from the originally intended design. Thus, variations reduce the yield of the chip production and increase design cost and the design timing schedule. In this paper, we are presenting location-based within-die variation trends in 65 nm technology across the die, which are derived from measured delays of adjustable ring oscillators. The measured data of the test chips in a 65 nm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology indicate that the magnitude of the position based relative variation is 3–7 times larger than for 180 nm technology. At low voltage (0.7 V), this relative variation is significantly increased (>3 times) in comparison to the variation at nominal supply voltage.


Menkes disease (MNK) is an X-linked recessive disorder characterised by a copper-transporting ATPase defect. In the affected cells, copper transport from the cytosol to the Golgi apparatus is disturbed, resulting in a reduction of copper efflux. Orally-administered copper, which accumulates in the intestine, cannot be absorbed and thus a copper deficiency arises. The characteristic features of MNK are progressive neurological degeneration, connective tissue disorders and hair abnormalities, which are caused by a reduction in the activity of several copper-dependent enzymes, due to concomitant copper deficiency. Subcutaneous injections of copper-histidine complex, which currently forms the accepted mode of treatment, prevent the neurological degeneration in some patients when the treatment is initiated soon after birth. However, when the treatment is started later, the neurological degenerative processes are not prevented. Moreover, the treatment does not improve the connective tissue disorders that are caused by the low activity of lysyl oxidase. In order to solve these problems, a form of the treatment aimed at delivering copper into the Golgi apparatus should be studied. An attempt is made in this review to present what is currently known about MNK and its variants, the efficacy and problems of currently accepted treatments and finally therapeutic targets in MNK.


A 35-year-old female developed a subarachnoid hemorrhage from an aneurysm located at the fenestration of the vertebrobasilar (VB) junction. The patient was treated with Guglielmi detachable coils (GDCs). The aneurysm was successfully occluded using 8 coils despite the fact that 2 major complications occurred during the procedure: perforation of the aneurysm with a coil and thrombosis of the parent artery. The GDC that had perforated the aneurysm was left and remained partially in the subarachnoid space, and embolization was continued. The thrombus was mechanically crushed and dissolved. Forty days postoperatively, the patient was discharged home with minimal sequelae. VB junction fenestration is present in 35.5%-70% of VB junction aneurysms, but fenestration of the VB junction is sometimes overlooked on selective angiography. Careful pre-operative assessment is needed for aneurysms at the VB junction. The international subarachnoid aneurysm trial (ISAT) found that endovascular treatment was superior to surgery in the management of ruptured aneurysms. Nevertheless, thromboembolic complications and perforation are associated with coil embolization. Thus, care should be taken to avoid these complications, and it is indispensable to have appropriate treatment options immediately available to deal with them should they occur.


During the period January to April 1977, 34 dogs were autopsied and examined for hookworms in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, A. caninum was found in all 34 dogs (100%), A. ceylanicum in 33 dogs (97.1%) and A. braziliense in 7 dogs (20.6%). The dogs yielded 2,213 ancylostomes, of which 1,188 were A. caninum, 989 A. ceylanicum and only 36 were A. braziliense. All species of hookworms appeared to be more concentrated in the jejunum than in the duodenum or ileum. The lesion produced, proved to be a traumatic injury and was mostly superficial and never reached the submucosa.


Ethnic diversity made New Jersey an early testing ground for the melting pot, as Yankees, Irish, Italians, and blacks strove for a chance at the good life. To many, that meant a job in the factories that made the state an industrial pioneer; to others, it meant life on the farms that made New Jersey truly the "Garden State."Mr. Fleming concludes that today New Jersey may be in the vanguard of a new American way of life, "the first metropolitan state with equally convenient access to cities and to countryside." He foresees an "equally-oriented New Jersey, honestly and efficiently governed," reminding the nation that divisiveness and acrimony can have more than one outcome. After all, New Jerseyites may have voted repeatedly for the "Boss of Bosses," Frank Hague, but they also once chose as their governor a Princeton professor named Woodrow Wilson.


In the presence of clinical features of secondary drug failure--even after reeducation on diet and intensive control of patients--is difficult to make a decision to switch on insulin. Therefore the serum C-peptide concentrations were assessed in order to get supporting data. From 35 patients with suspected secondary drug failure the therapy of 11 patients was continued with insulin, 24 patients remained on glibenclamide therapy. The decision based on clinical criteria. All of the patients were studied in i.v. glucagon test and with a test meal to evaluate their basal and stimulated serum C-peptide concentrations. There were only three patients with subnormal basal C-peptide (< or = 0.30 nmol/l), on the other hand nine patients had lower post-glucagon serum C-peptide level than 0.60 nmol/l. The basal and stimulated C-peptide concentrations from i.v. glucagon test and test-meal indicated the need of insulin therapy with a sensitivity of 81.8 percent and with specificity of 70.8 percent. The further glibenclamide treatment on the basis of C-peptide concentrations in 89.5 percent of cases could be accurately established. The statistical analysis showed that the glucagon-stimulated C-peptide concentration was the most characteristic feature to discriminate the patients in order to make a decision on the further diabetes therapy.


This study systematically investigates the statistics of the centreline small-scale turbulence of a circular jet issuing from a smooth contraction nozzle. Detailed velocity measurements were performed for the exit Reynolds number of Re =20100, where Re ≡ U j d / ν with U j being the exit mean velocity, d the nozzle diameter and ν the kinematic viscosity. After effectively filtering out high frequency noises, statistical properties of the small-scale turbulence were obtained appropriately; those properties include turbulence energy dissipation rate, Kolmogorov length scale, Taylor scale, turbulence Reynolds number, skewness and flatness of the velocity derivative. It is observed that these properties satisfy their self-preserving relations in the far field. It is also revealed that the small-scale turbulence reaches the self-preserving state earlier than does the large-scale motion. Besides, the smallest-scale turbulence depends least on the initial and boundary conditions and therefore behaves most universally across different flows.


Transcatheter patent foramen ovale closure became one of the routinely performed procedure in clinical practice. Despite this, in some patients, due to unfavorable anatomy and tunnel-like foramen passing through the interatrial septum with diagnostic catheter cannot be possible. In this report we present the case of successful implantation of Amplatzer PFO Occluder with the use of transseptal puncture technique.


Antibody engineering is increasingly being used to influence the properties of monoclonal antibodies to improve their biotherapeutic potential. One important aspect of this is the modulation of glycosylation as a strategy to improve efficacy. Here, we describe mutations of Y407 in the CH3 domain of IgG1 and IgG4 that significantly increase sialylation, galactosylation, and branching of the N-linked glycans in the CH2 domain. These mutations also promote the formation of monomeric assemblies (one heavy-light chain pair). Hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry was used to probe conformational changes in IgG1-Y407E, revealing, as expected, a more exposed CH3–CH3 dimerization interface. Additionally, allosteric structural effects in the CH2 domain and in the CH2–CH3 interface were identified, providing a possible explanation for the dramatic change in glycosylation. Thus, the mutation of Y407 in the CH3 domain remarkably affects both antibody conformation and glycosylation, which not only alters our understanding of antibody structure, but also reveals possibilities for obtaining recombinant IgG with glycosylation tailored for clinical applications.


Image interpretation is crucial during ultrasound image acquisition. A skilled operator is typically needed to verify if the correct anatomical structures are all visualized and with sufficient quality. The need for this operator is one of the major reasons why presently ultrasound is not widely used in radiotherapy workflows. To solve this issue, we introduce an algorithm that uses anatomical information derived from a CT scan to automatically provide the operator with a patient-specific ultrasound probe setup. The first application we investigated, for its relevance to radiotherapy, is 4D transperineal ultrasound image acquisition for prostate cancer patients. As initial test, the algorithm was applied on a CIRS multi-modality pelvic phantom. Probe setups were calculated in order to allow visualization of the prostate and adjacent edges of bladder and rectum, as clinically required. Five of the proposed setups were reproduced using a precision robotic arm and ultrasound volumes were acquired. A gel-filled probe cover was used to ensure proper acoustic coupling, while taking into account possible tilted positions of the probe with respect to the flat phantom surface. Visual inspection of the acquired volumes revealed that clinical requirements were fulfilled. Preliminary quantitative evaluation was also performed. The mean absolute distance (MAD) was calculated between actual anatomical structure positions and positions predicted by the CT-based algorithm. This resulted in a MAD of (2.8±0.4) mm for prostate, (2.5±0.6) mm for bladder and (2.8±0.6) mm for rectum. These results show that no significant systematic errors due to e.g. probe misplacement were introduced.


Supporting independent VCR-like interactivity in true-video-on-demand requires the allocation of channel to each interactive user. In the worst case, the system must be provisioned with a unique channel for each user. A variety of techniques have been proposed to ease this requirement by aggregating users into groups. Bridging of the temporal skew between users viewing the same content is one such technique that achieves this result. In this paper we describe a prototype video-on-demand system that delivers continuous media content to multiple clients using a bridging technique called dynamic service aggregation. Rate adaptation and content insertion are used to achieve resource reclamation on-the-fly, thus improving performance and provisioning requirements in interactive scenarios. In this novel demonstration of aggregation via rate-adaptive merging, MPEG-1 system streams are used as the content format and IP multicast is used for video delivery. We present our experiences with building the system and address issues of server-directed channel switching at the client and stream merging through content acceleration. In addition to the proof-of-concept prototype, we show simulation results of aggregation applied to a large user population as anticipated for video-on-demand. Results indicate that our clustering and merging algorithms can achieve an average piggybacking of more than 2.5 users per physical channel.


The incorporation of 2.5 micrograms/ml of cloxacillin into 5% bovine blood agar provided an inexpensive, easily prepared culture medium for the primary isolation of Moraxella bovis from bovine lacrimal and nasal secretions. With this medium, the time required to identify and isolate M. bovis from large numbers of field specimens was substantially reduced, whereas the sensitivity of isolation was increased by 60%.


This paper deals with observability conditions and state observer design for a class of hybrid systems combining continuous and discrete dynamics. The main contribution of the work lies in the performed observability conditions for this class of systems and a design of hybrid observer to reconstruct both continuous and discrete states starting only from the knowledge of a continuous output. An illustrative example is presented showing the efficiency of the proposed observer.


Cancer patients' complaints of impaired cognition following chemotherapy are fairly common but poorly documented among adult patients. Neuropsychological testing was used to evaluate current cognitive functioning of 28 stage I and II breast cancer patients (ages 28–54) who had completed 3 to 18 months of adjuvant chemotherapy, from 0.5 to 12 months prior to testing. Effects of drug regimen, length of treatment and level of depression on cognitive functioning were examined. Despite estimated high‐normal pre‐morbid intelligence (mean FSIQ 113) patients scored significantly below age‐, education‐, and gender‐corrected test norms in areas of verbal and visual memory, mental flexibility and speed of processing, attention and concentration, visuospatial ability and motor function. Of patients, 75% scored ‐2SDs (moderate impairment) on one or more test measures. Level of cognitive impairment was unrelated to depression, type of chemotherapy and time since treatment, but was positively related to length of chemotherapy treatment. These preliminary findings suggest that cognitive impairment may follow conventional adjuvant chemotherapy treatment and warrant replication with a controlled and more rigorous longitudinal design.


Summary Numerous forced and spontaneous imbibition experiments in carbonate cores have demonstrated that the injection of modified-salinity water with an ionic composition different from the formation water (also called Smart Water) accelerates oil recovery and reduces the remaining oil saturation. Different physical mechanisms are suggested based on the carbonate-oil-brine physicochemical interactions, e.g., wettability alteration due to the ion exchange and surface complexation, carbonate dissolution, and water-weakening (only in chalk). Each of these can be described by relatively accurate thermodynamic models (e.g., ion exchange and dissolution) or a combination of thermodynamics and semi-empirical models. Although there is still an ongoing discussion on the importance and/or relevance of these physical mechanisms, it is widely accepted that due to the change in ionic composition the mobilities of the oleic phase and to a lesser extent the aqueous phase are altered toward a more water-wet state, exhibiting increased capillary forces and improved sweep efficiency. This is reflected in the mathematical models as two sets of relative permeability curves, one for the formation water-oil and modified-salinity water-oil systems. The multiphase flow model switches between these relative permeabilities based on a chosen indicator in the carbonate-oil-brine system, e.g., the total salinity of the brine for simple transport models to the surface density of a complex on the carbonate surface for more complicated reactive transport models. A quick review of the literature shows that apart from the complexity of the reactive transport models and the chosen indicator for the mobility alteration, almost all the proposed models can reasonably fit the measured recovery factors in a selected set of smart water core floodings. This is due to the large number of adjustable parameters in the two sets of relative permeability curves, which makes the choice of physical mechanism for the development of a mechanistic model irrelevant. Here, we address this problem by performing a constrained history matching of the Smart Water core flooding in carbonate cores (limestone and chalk). Moreover, we give a higher priority to fitting the oil breakthrough time during the smart-water injection in tertiary mode. We use an optimized surface complexation model to accurately simulate the adsorption of ions on the carbonate surface at high temperature. We then couple it with an in-house finite volume solver and a state of the art optimization package to obtain the relative permeability parameters. Our results show that the oil breakthrough times can only be correctly obtained by accurately modeling the carbonate-brine interactions and choosing the adsorbed potential determining ions' concentrations as a mobility-modifier indicator.


Load forecasting is a vital element in the energy management of function and execution purpose throughout the energy power system. Power systems problems are complicated to solve because power systems are huge complex graphically widely distributed and are influenced by many unexpected events. This paper presents the analysis of load forecasting using fuzzy logic (FL), artificial neural network (ANN) and ANFIS. These techniques are utilized for both short term and long-term load forecasting. ANN and ANFIS are used to improve the results obtained through the FL. It also studied the effects of humidity, temperature and previous load on Load Forecasting. The simulation is done by the Simulink environment of MATLAB software.


ABSTRACT This research paper deals in three main sections. The first one is a brief overview of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), its annexes, and regulations, followed by section two with a brief overview of the Port State Control (PSC), and lastly, the third section deals with the interpretation of data extracted from the annual reports of the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) to assess the effectiveness of MARPOL. An analysis of MARPOL related deficiencies from all nine MoU has been designed. The annual reports for the past 11 years have been extracted and data relating to total inspections, total deficiencies, and deficiencies with regard to the MARPOL convention, distinguished as per annexes has been extracted and analysed using statistical tools to find out the level of implementation of the code. The extracted data has been categorized to find out the trend of the MARPOL-related deficiencies through the years and to find the annexes of MARPOL with most common and least common non-conformity.


A novel HPLC-MS/MS method was developed for the quantitative determination of 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), a potent glucosidase inhibitor present in mulberry leaves (Morus alba L.). DNJ was isolated from the mulberry leave extract on a TSKgel Amide-80 column using a mixture of 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as a mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.6 ml/min. A triple quadrupole mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization source in a positive ion mode under multiple reaction monitoring with the [M+H]+ ions, m/z 164.4/109.9 was used. The detection limit (S/N=3) was 75 pg and quantitation limit (S/N=10) was 100 pg. The comparison of mulberry leaves of different ages showed that the DNJ level was higher in mulberry shoots than young and mature leaves.


Volume holograms as optical imaging elements provide maximum flexibility in the design of the optical response. For example, when a polychromatic incoherent object illuminates a spherical-reference volume hologram, the shift selectivity effect extracts only a color-dependent slice of the object, which is reconstructed on a planar detector. In this presentation we characterize the performance (resolution and dynamic range) of a tomographic imaging system based on this effect.


By use of the proposed method for digitilizing operation procedures and activities, the rig action plan can become the dynamic information exchange platform between planning and execution phase. Digitilizing the workflow and structuring the information in a rig action plan enables engineers to plan operations and transmit procedures and related parameters in a consistent form applicable to the driller and the drilling control system's automation platform.
 The paper reviews existing rig action plans and activities to demonstrate how structuring of information using the new methodology allows planned procedures to be readable by a drilling automation platform. A new data structure with multiple activity levels is proposed for the rig action plan. The requirements and concept of a new application program interface (API) is discussed. The result of applying the proposed methodology to an actual rig action plan is presented along with an overview of a pilot project. The benefits of digitalizing the workflow and implementing an open, structured, machine readable rig action plan demonstrate how the new approach will contribute to the oil and gas technologies ambition to automate operation.


Abstract The cao vit gibbon Nomascus nasutus, also known as eastern black crested gibbon, is categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and was considered one of the world's 25 most threatened primates. The only known population occurs along the border between China and Viet Nam. Accurate information on population size and dynamics is critical for the species' conservation, but population surveys conducted in only one country may over- or underestimate total population size because the home ranges of cao vit gibbon groups often cross the international border. In 2007 and 2016 we conducted two collaborative transboundary censuses of the cao vit gibbon populations in the Trung Khanh Cao Vit Gibbon Species and Habitat Conservation Area in Viet Nam and the Bangliang Gibbon National Nature Reserve in China. The results showed a population size of 102–110 in 2007, which increased to 107–136 in 2016. Our results indicate that previous surveys conducted separately in Viet Nam and China underestimated the global population size of this species. According to our more comprehensive surveys, the gibbon population is increasing slowly. The gibbons and their habitat are legally protected in both countries. Hunting and charcoal making have not been reported in this area since 2007. As habitat carrying capacity is a limiting factor, habitat restoration is required. However, lack of funding to protect the cao vit gibbon remains a challenge.


This study was aimed at documenting medicinal plants used in the treatment of infant diseases in South Western Nigeria. Common infant diseases treated with herbs by people of South Western Nigeria include convulsion, measles, malaria, cough and jaundice among others. The method employed was semi-structured format of interview which involved one-on-one interview using the local language (Yoruba). Forty-five plants belonging to thirty-three families were documented alongside with their
medicinal use in the treatment of infant diseases. Information on various recipes was also documented which include their preparation, parts used, administration and dosage. There is still the need for researchers to explore this vital information through scientific validation to the claim of the indigenous people. Also screening, isolation and characterization of active constituents of the plants would give leads in the production of novel drug.


Introduction: Scalping is characterized by trauma in the scalp region, which can be classified as partial or total. Scalping trauma is extremely mutilating and stigmatizing, especially when exposing the bone without periosteum, leading to chronic osteomyelitis and external table erosion. When there are extensive scalp lesions above 200cm2, and with periosteum, the lesion is required a large amount of tissue with microsurgical flap, which is not available in all centers. This work aims to report a case of a 69-year-old female patient who suffered trauma due to total avulsion of a big scalp of 550cm2 with exposure of a skull cap without periosteum and total unviability of the scalp after a dog bite. Due to the total unviability of the avulsed scalp, we opted to transplant a large dorsal muscle free flap with microvascular anastomosis of the thoracodorsal pedicle with the superficial temporal vessels. The flap evolved with good perfusion, and partial grafting was performed in the bloody area. Methods: Retrospective analysis of the medical records of the patient in question. This paper follows the Declaration of Helsinki's standards and the approval of the Ethics and Research Committee. Conclusion: The free flap of the large dorsal muscle proved effective in this case of reconstruction of the scalp's extensive lesion (550cm2) with partial periosteum lesion due to scalping. The flap recovered the shape of the skull and the protective function of the skull cap. ■ ABSTRACT


Phosphorylation of the NMDA receptor by Src‐family tyrosine kinases has been implicated in the regulation of receptor function. We have investigated the tyrosine phosphorylation of NMDA receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B by exogenous Src and Fyn and compared this to phosphorylation by tyrosine kinases associated with the postsynaptic density (PSD). Phosphorylation of the receptor by exogenous Src and Fyn was dependent upon initial binding of the kinases to PSDs via their SH2‐domains. Src and Fyn phosphorylated similar sites in NR2A and NR2B, tryptic peptide mapping identifying seven and five major tyrosine‐phosphorylated peptides derived from NR2A and NR2B, respectively. All five tyrosine phosphorylation sites on NR2B were localized to the C‐terminal, cytoplasmic domain. Phosphorylation of NR2B by endogenous PSD tyrosine kinases yielded only three tyrosine‐phosphorylated tryptic peptides, two of which corresponded to Src phosphorylation sites, and one of which was novel. Phosphorylation‐site specific antibodies identified NR2B Tyr1472 as a phosphorylation site for intrinsic PSD tyrosine kinases. Phosphorylation of this site was inhibited by the Src‐family‐specific inhibitor PP2. The results identify several potential phosphorylation sites for Src in the NMDA receptor, and indicate that not all of these sites are available for phosphorylation by kinases located within the structural framework of the PSD.


Tilly loves her ballet class. What could be more fun? She gets to wear special clothes, try out fancy new positions, and do her best cat impression. But, when it's time for the big recital, Tilly learns another aspect of ballet: the preperformance jitters! Perfect for the beginning ballerina, this gentle text combined with exuberant and warm illustrations captures the joy and excitement brought on by everything from wearing your first tutu to practicing your first plié.


The aim of this study was to replicate our earlier finding of elevated angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in schizophrenia and to elucidate the role of neuroleptic treatment in this phenomenon. Drug-free and medicated patients with acute schizophrenic psychoses, as well as healthy controls were recruited. Levels of ACE were measured in CSF and serum from 7 drug-free patients, 36 neuroleptic-treated patients, and 19 healthy control subjects. Although ACE levels in CSF did not differ between patients and controls, the drug-free patients showed significantly lower levels than the neuroleptic-treated patients. Serum ACE did not differ between groups. The elevation of CSF ACE may be more prominent in patients with deficit symptoms than in those with mainly psychotic symptoms. The possible enhancement of CSF ACE production or solubility by neuroleptic treatment is discussed. Elevated ACE levels in CSF may, together with other possible factors, cause polydipsia, stimulate secretion of arginine vasopressin, and even affect neuron growth and differentiation in schizophrenic psychoses.


In order to reduce background noise in noisy speech, we have investigated a noise reduction method based on a noise reconstruction system (NRS) with an adaptive line enhancer (ALE). The NRS uses a noise reconstruction filter (NRF) estimating the background noise. In case a fixed step size for updating tap coefficients of the NRF is used, it is difficult to estimate the background noise accurately while maintaining the high quality of enhanced speech. In order to improve the estimation accuracy of noise, a variable step size is introduced to the NRF. In a speech section, the variable step size decreases so as to become no sensitivity for speech, on the other hand, increases to track the background noise in a non-speech section. From simulation results, we have verified that the proposed system can reduce the actual noise while maintaining the high quality of enhanced speech.


Computing becomes increasingly mobile and pervasive today; these changes imply that applications and services must be aware and adapt to highly dynamic environments. Today, building context-aware mobile services is a complex and timeconsuming task. In this paper, we present a Service-oriented Context-Aware Middleware (SOCAM) architecture fur the building and rapid prototyping of context-aware mobile services. We propose an ontology-based approach to model various contexts. Our context model supports semantic representation, context reasoning and context knowledge sharing. We take a service-oriented approach to build our middleware which supports tasks including acquiring, discovering, interpreting, accessing various contexts and interoperability between different context-aware systems.


The lipopolysaccharide produced by Salmonella livingstone (O:6,7) was composed of an antigenic O-polysaccharide which was shown by composition, methylation analysis, and high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance studies to be a high molecular weight polymer containing D-glucose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose, and D-mannose residues (1:1:4) composed in a repeating hexasaccharide unit having the structure: (formula; see text)


High speed comparator for high-speed flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and ultra wideband applications that can work at a sampling rate of 7 GS/s is presented in this paper. This fully differential comparator consists of three stages using a new structure to improve its performance. The offset voltage of the designed comparator has been reduced by means of an active positive feedback. The analyses and simulation results were obtained by using 130 nm CMOS parameters. The comparator can operate with a 1 V peak-to-peak input range consuming 371 µW. The predicted performance is verified by analyses and simulations using HSPICE tool.


Recently, we adapted the well-known dependency pair (DP) framework to a dependency tuple (DT) framework in order to prove almost-sure innermost termination (iAST) of probabilistic term rewriting systems. In this paper, we improve this approach into a complete criterion for iAST by considering positions of subterms. Based on this, we extend the probabilistic DT framework by new transformations. Our implementation in the tool AProVE shows that they increase its power substantially.


Koyama's inequality for normal surface singularities gives the upper bound on the self-intersection number of the canonical cycle in terms of the arithmetic genus. For those singularities of fundamental genus two attaining the bound, a formula for computing the geometric genus is shown and the resolution dual graphs are roughly classified. In Gorenstein case, the multiplicity and the embedding dimension are also computed.


Many potential real-world planning applications are on the border of planning and scheduling. To handle the complex choices of actions and temporal and resource constraints of these problems we need to integrate planning and scheduling techniques. Here we propose a transition-based formulation of temporal planning problems, that enables us to represent features like deadlines, time windows, release times etc. in a simple way. We describe a CSP encoding of the transition-based formulation and its potential advantages in integrating planning and scheduling techniques.


Empowerment is a central focus for much work in community psychology. Yet what constitutes empowerment is commonly problematic, especially in relation to programs for young people. We report outcomes from a case study of a UK program designed to empower young people through participation in organized outdoor activities. Grounded theory analysis of data from program leaders (n=10) identified four themes as relevant to success, namely 1) acquiring skills, 2) increasing selfefficacy, 3) prior community links, and 4) challenges in in social participation. Attempts to elicit young people's (n=30) understandings were unsuccessful as they withdrew prior to completing the program. Such outcomes might be taken to indicate lack of engagement and lack of empowerment. On an alternative interpretation, however, lack of engagement might demonstrate participants' power to make meaningful decisions. This interpretation points to the difficulties of attempting to define empowerment in practice and of seeking to assess the success of such programs.


Industrialization in developing countries has resulted in an increase in agricultural output and consequent accumulation of unmanageable agro wastes. Pollution arising from such wastes is a matter of concern for many developing nations. The aim of this study is to investigate the behavior of lightweight concrete and the utilization of sawdust as waste material in concrete. This paper focuses on the manufacturing of concrete which possess long duration heat transfer by using sawdust waste. In this research, cement to sawdust ratio of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 by volume was prepared for sawdust concrete, and the ratio of sand was kept constant that is 1. At these ratios, the mechanical and thermal properties like density, workability, strength and heat transfer were measured after, 7, 28 and 56 days of air curing. The tests results show that with the increase in the amount of sawdust, the workability, compressive strength, tensile strength and flexural strength decreased. It also resulted in reduction of heat transfer of sawdust concrete. Taking into account the overall physical and mechanical properties, sawdust concrete can be used in construction technology.


Several lines of evidence support the concept that Bordetella pertussis-induced histamine hypersensitivity in mice represents a malfunction in beta-adrenergic receptors of the autonomic nervous system. In this study mouse platelets were used as an in vitro test for such receptor dysfunction. It was found, to our knowledge for the first time, that platelets of normal mice were subject to the aggregative action of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) with the response pattern resembling that reported for cells of certain other species. These "normal" platelets were not aggregated by epinephrine, norepinephrine, or isoproterenol (isuprel). However, pretreatment with these catecholamines potentiated the platelet response to ADP. Potentiation by norepinephrine was suppressed in the presence of dibenzyline (an alpha-receptor antagonist); blockade of beta-type receptors with propranolol reduced isuprel enhancement. An extract of B. pertussis influenced aggregation initiated by a combination of ADP and isuprel in a way quite similar to propranolol pretreatment. These observations suggested the possible role of adrenergic receptors in at least the enchancement phenomena and, moreover, pointed to those types of experiments which might distinguish a receptor disturbance. Platelets derived from pertussis-vaccinated mice were more responsive to ADP than were those from normal animals. This alteration appeared to be a property of the cells and not of the suspending medium. ADP-initiated aggregation was also enhanced in the presence of epinephrine and norepinephrine. However, pretreatment with isuprel did not have the same effect as noted for normal donor platelets. These results point to a disturbance at the beta-adrenergic receptor level and lend support to the concept of beta-blockade in pertussis-treated mice.


| The present study was investigated the anatomical features of the gastrointestinal tract in the Nile crocodile with detailed information about its arterial blood supply. Four adult Nile crocodiles were used for studying the morphology, histology of digestive tract and its arterial supply. The crocodile was euthanized then fixed in situ with 10% formalin to be dissected. Other fresh specimen was sectioned into small pieces for histological investigation. Two specimens were injected by colored latex neoprene through the heart for arterial study. The gastrointestinal tract composed of long straight esophagus, two sacs stomach, and double looped duodenum occupying pancreas, coiled small intestine and colorectum. The arterial blood supply originated from the celiacomesentric artery which gave up three branches; right gastric, intestinal and gastro duodenal arteries. The mucosal lining of the all digestive tract was simple columnar epithelium varied from secretory to absorptive, lamina propria was mostly fibroelastic connective tissue contains either glands or lymphocytes. Tunica musculosa frequently formed of inner circular and outer longitudinal smooth muscles excluding the fundic part of stomach had middle layer.


Background: Ticks are important parasites that cause more diseases than most other animal parasites. Haemaphysalis longicornis is used as an experimental animal model for the study of three-host ticks due to its special life cycle and easy maintenance in the laboratory and in its reproduction. The life cycle of H. longicornis goes through a tightly regulated life cycle to adapt to the changing host and environment, and these stages of transition are also accompanied by proteome changes in the body. Methods: In this study, the aim was to use the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) technique to systematically describe and analyze the dynamic expression of protein and the molecular basis of the proteome of H. longicornis in seven differential developmental stages (eggs, unfed larvae, fed larvae, unfed nymphs, fed nymphs unfed adults, and fed adults). Results: A total of 2,059 proteins were identified, and their expression profiles were classified at different developmental stages. In addition, it was found that tissue and organ development-related proteins and metabolism-related proteins showed that they were involved in different physiological processes throughout the life cycle through the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis of the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). More importantly, we found that the upregulated proteins of fed adult ticks were mainly related to yolk absorption, degradation, and ovarian development-related proteins. The abundance of the cuticle proteins in the unfed stages were significantly higher compared with those of the fed ticks in the previous stages. Conclusions: In short, the protein spectrum changes identified in this study provide a reference proteome for future studies of tick functional proteins and provide candidate targets for elucidating tick development and developing new tick control strategies.


Mutations that affect the STING1 (TMEM173) gene cause a rare autoinflammatory syndrome, which is known as STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI) and which was initially described in 2014 (1). Thus far, only four reports have been conducted regarding families affected with SAVI in the literature. In this article, the clinical, laboratory, and genetic characteristics of two generations (three cases) of SAVI are described. Unlike previously reported cases that were caused by STING1 mutation, the initial and major clinical manifestations of the mentioned cases are largely identified in the lungs with interstitial lung disease (ILD), and the evidence of typical extrapulmonary symptoms of early-onset systemic inflammation (e.g., cutaneous vasculopathy) were minimal except for the proband, who was diagnosed with arthritis 8 years after onset. In addition, a younger sibling showed no symptoms. Such reports are rarely related to mutations in STING1. The proband was examined with bronchoscopy and alveolar lavage to determine the cause. This study emphasizes that, in the clinical assessment of interstitial pneumonia in children, the possibility of STING1 mutation should be considered, especially in patients with arthritis in addition.


Agar-Paraffin double embedding technique is a simple technique that combines the advantages of both the embedding material. It preserves the minute tissue biopsies in orientation and holds them together from getting lost. Oral biopsies, being most commonly small incisional tissues, have to be preserved all through the processing and embedding to ensure optimal visualization of all the mucosal layers without compromise. In the present study, samples were divided into two groups: Group A: Agar-paraffin double embedding (APE) and Group B: conventional paraffin embedding (PE). Tissue samples collected were sectioned into two approximately equal sized bits. Both the bits were simultaneously processed, embedded in two different techniques (APE and PE method). Sections obtained were scored by an observer and analyzed using independent sample t-test (SPSS software version 21) to evaluate the efficacy of agar-paraffin double embedding technique in comparison to the conventional paraffin embedding technique. Agar paraffin embedded tissue was found to be well processed, firm and well preserved. Orientation was comparatively easier and the blocks yielded sections of good quality. They showed no interference with staining and cell morphology was of good clarity. Thus Agar-paraffin embedding technique represents a simple, reliable method that can greatly improve the quality of diagnostic information.


Abstracts

Background

Depth of invasion (DOI) could be calculated by MRI preoperatively, whether MRI-determined DOI could predict the prognosis and whether it could be used as an indicator for neck dissection for cT1N0 tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) remain unknown, the main goal of the current study aimed to answer the questions.

Methods

Patients with surgically treated cT1N0 tongue SCC were retrospectively enrolled, MRI-determined DOI was measured based on T1-weigthed layers by a 1.5T scan. A multivariate logistic regression analysis model was used to determine the independent predictors for occult neck lymph node metastasis. The main study endpoints were locoregional control survival (LRC) and disease specific survival (DSS), the Cox model was used to determine the independent prognostic factors for the LRC and DSS.

Results

Occult neck lymph node metastasis was noted in 26 (17.2%) patients, ROC curve indicated the optimal cutoff value of MRI-determined DOI was 7.5mm for predicting neck lymph node metastasis with sensitivity of 86.9%. The factors of lymphovascular invasion, MRI-determined DOI, pathologic DOI, and pathologic tumor grade were significantly associated with the presence of neck lymph node metastasis in univariate analysis, further logistic regression analysis confirmed the independence of lymphovascular invasion, MRI-determined DOI, and pathologic DOI in predicting the neck lymph node metastasis. The 5-year LRC and DSS rates were 84% and 90%, respectively. Cox model analysis suggested the MRI-determined DOI was an independent prognostic factor for both the LRC and DSS.

Conclusions

Elective neck dissection is suggested if MRI-determined DOI is greater than 7.5mm in cT1N0 tongue SCC, and MRI-determined DOI ≥7.5mm indicates more risk for disease recurrence and cancer caused death.


In this paper, we present a brief overview of atom interferometry. This field of research has developed very rapidly since 1991. Atom and light wave interferometers present some similarities but there are very important differences in the tools used to manipulate these two types of waves. Moreover, the sensitivity of atomic waves and light waves to their environment is very different. Atom interferometry has already been used for a large variety of studies: measurements of atomic properties and of inertial effects (accelerations and rotations), new access to some fundamental constants, observation of quantum decoherence, etc. We review the techniques used for coherent manipulation of atomic waves and the main applications of atom interferometers.


Various studies have examined the acoustic features in infant directed speech (IDS) and adult directed speech (ADS). However, there are few speech corpora with prominence annotation from multiple listeners or analysis of the acoustic properties of the stressed versus unstressed words, most studies and corpora focusing on syllabic stress. In order to fill this gap, the current study analyzes the acoustic properties of sentence stress in a corpus of English IDS. More specifically, the work is one of the first analyzing IDS as perceived by adult listeners, providing inter-annotator agreement ratings and an analysis of the acoustic correlates of sentence stress with regard to the most important prosodic features encountered in the literature: fundamental frequency, intensity, word duration, and spectral tilt. The analysis shows that all of the analyzed features correlate with the perception of stress, indicating that the sentential prominence in IDS is conveyed by similar acoustic characteristics that are known to be relevant for stress perception in ADS.


The domains are the structural and functional units of proteins. With the avalanche of protein sequences generated in the postgenomic age, it is highly desired to develop effective methods for predicting the protein domains according to the sequences information alone, so as to facilitate the structure prediction of proteins and speed up their functional annotation. However, although many efforts have been made in this regard, prediction of protein domains from the sequence information still remains a challenging and elusive problem. Here, a new method was developed by combing the techniques of RF (random forest), mRMR (maximum relevance minimum redundancy), and IFS (incremental feature selection), as well as by incorporating the features of physicochemical and biochemical properties, sequence conservation, residual disorder, secondary structure, and solvent accessibility. The overall success rate achieved by the new method on an independent dataset was around 73%, which was about 28–40% higher than those by the existing method on the same benchmark dataset. Furthermore, it was revealed by an in-depth analysis that the features of evolution, codon diversity, electrostatic charge, and disorder played more important roles than the others in predicting protein domains, quite consistent with experimental observations. It is anticipated that the new method may become a high-throughput tool in annotating protein domains, or may, at the very least, play a complementary role to the existing domain prediction methods, and that the findings about the key features with high impacts to the domain prediction might provide useful insights or clues for further experimental investigations in this area. Finally, it has not escaped our notice that the current approach can also be utilized to study protein signal peptides, B-cell epitopes, HIV protease cleavage sites, among many other important topics in protein science and biomedicine.


Background & objectives: Shigellosis is known to be a major cause of acute childhood diarrhoea in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India. Rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance warrants continuous monitoring of sensitivity pattern of bacterial isolates. We report here the salient findings of an ongoing study on shigellosis in Andaman Islands, India, with regards to change in drug resistance pattern during the past one decade. Method: During 2006-2009, stools samples from 412 paediatric diarrhoea patients were collected and processed for isolation and identification of Shigella spp. Susceptibility to 22 antimicrobial drugs was tested and MICs were determined for 3rd generation cephalosporins, quinolones, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid combination and gentamicin. Drug susceptibility pattern of these isolates were compared with that of 33 isolates obtained during 2000-2002. Results: Shigella isolates were recovered from 50 of 412 stool samples processed. Resistance to ampicillin, nalidixic acid, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin was observed in 100, 96, 94 and 82 per cent of the isolates, respectively. The frequency of resistance to these drugs was significantly (P<0.001) higher than that observed during 2000-2002. Resistance to seven drugs was observed in 2000-2002, whereas resistance to 21 drugs was seen during 2006-2009. The number of drug resistance pattern increased from 13 in 2000-2002 to 43 in 2006-2009. Resistance to newer generation fluoroquinolones, 3rd generation cephalosporins and augmentin, which was not observed during 2000-2002, appeared during 2006-2009. Interpretation & conclusions: The frequency of resistance among Shigella isolates has increased substantially between 2000-2002 and 2006-2009 and the spectrum of resistance has widened. At present, the option for antimicrobial therapy in shigellosis in Andaman is limited to a small number of drugs. Continuous local monitoring of resistance patterns is necessary for the appropriate selection of empirical antimicrobial therapy.


The kinetics of low-level repeated infections of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis in the laboratory rat were studied. The administration of five infective larvae each weekday to the rats produced an infection which was cumulative over 16 weeks and which did not produce an acute host immune response. The repeated administration of 50 larvae/weekday produced a primary immune response after 14 days. This caused partial worm expulsion and the suppression of egg output but the resistance of these rats to reinfection was not as pronounced as that seen in classical laboratory infections where heavier but less frequent larval exposures are used. The secondary worms that established in these rats did not elicit an acute host immune response even when the worm burden was as high as 756 worms. It is suggested that the kinetics of this type of infection more closely approximate those found under natural conditions than do those of a 'classical' laboratory infection. We wish to thank Misses G. Merchant, L. Cleaver and J. Cobb for able technical assistance, and Dr B. M. Ogilvie (National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London) for her helpful comments and discussions.


Gestational cholestasis is a common disease and is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, there are still no effective treatments. We investigated the effects of obeticholic acid (OCA) on fetal intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) during 17α-ethynylestradiol- (E2-) induced gestational cholestasis in mice. All pregnant mice except controls were subcutaneously injected with E2 (0.625 mg/kg) daily from gestational day (GD) 13 to GD17. Some pregnant mice were orally administered with OCA (5 mg/kg) daily from GD12 to GD17. As expected, OCA activated placental, maternal, and fetal hepatic FXR signaling. Additionally, exposure with E2 during late pregnancy induced cholestasis, whereas OCA alleviated E2-induced cholestasis. Gestational cholestasis caused reduction of fetal weight and crown-rump length and elevated the incidence of IUGR. OCA decreased the incidence of IUGR during cholestasis. Interestingly, OCA attenuated reduction of blood sinusoid area in placental labyrinth layer and inhibited downregulation of placental sodium-coupled neutral amino acid transporter- (SNAT-) 2 during cholestasis. Additional experiment found that OCA attenuated glutathione depletion and lipid peroxidation in placenta and fetal liver and placental protein nitration during cholestasis. Moreover, OCA inhibited the upregulation of placental NADPH oxidase-4 and antioxidant genes during cholestasis. OCA activated antioxidant Nrf2 signaling during cholestasis. Overall, we demonstrated that OCA treatment protected against gestational cholestasis-induced placental dysfunction and IUGR through suppressing placental oxidative stress and maintaining bile acid homeostasis.


Occurrence of alien plant species in all the major habitats in
the Czech Republicwas analysed using a data set of 20,468
vegetation plots, classified into 32 habitats according to the
EUNIS classification. The plots contain on average 9.0%
archaeophytes and 2.3% neophytes; for neophytes, this
proportion is much smaller than 26.8% reported for the total
flora of the country. Most neophytes are found in a few
habitats: only 5.6% of them were recorded in more than ten
habitats. By contrast, archaeophytes, and especially native
species, tend to occur in a broader range of habitats. Highest
numbers of aliens were found on arable land, in annual
synantropic vegetation, trampled habitats and anthropogenic
tall-forb stands. These habitats contain on average 2256%
archaeophytes and 4.49.6% neophytes. Neophytes are also common
in artificial broadleaved forestry plantations; they also tend
to make up a high percentage of the cover in wet tall-forb
stands, but are represented by fewer species there. Entirely or
nearly free of aliens are plots located in raised bogs, alpine
grasslands, alpine and subalpine scrub and natural
coniferouswoodlands. Correlations between the number of
archaeophytes or neophytes and the number of native species,
calculated with habitat mean values, were non-significant, but
there was a positive correlation between the numbers of
archaeophytes and neophytes. The ratio of archaeophytes to
neophyteswas high in semi-natural dry and mesic grasslands and
low in disturbed habitats with woody vegetation, such as
artificial broadleaved forestry plantations, forest clearings
and riverine willow stands. When individual plots were compared
separately within habitats, the relationships between the
number of archaeophytes, neophytes and native species were
mostly positive. This result does not support the hypothesis
that species- rich communities are less invasible, at least at
the scale of vegetation plots, i.e. 100102 m2.


This paper is an exploration of my journey in assessment theory and practice as a teacher, lecturer, and an educational developer. When I moved to higher education eighteen years ago I promised myself that I would explore assessment and put theory into practice. In October 1998 I went from not being allowed to assess my own students to being required to do so in one day. This is a reflection on the consequences of that step in the form of a narrative of the theoretical and practical learning across that eighteen year period.


This study investigates how child centered methods are used in teaching and learning of psychomotor and creative activities in public pre-primary centers in West Pokot County, Kenya. The competency based curriculum being implemented in Kenya pre-primary school demands that psychomotor and creative arts be taught to foster the development of pre-primary children cognitive abilities. This is because they trigger child's imagination which stimulates and expands their cognitive capacities. Therefore, the study used a mixed methodology research approach. The study used descriptive survey design. The target population comprised of teachers and head teachers drawn from 417 ECDE Centres in West Pokot County. This study used a questionnaire for teachers, interview guide for head teachers and observation checklist (to collect information classroom teaching and learning) to collect data. Quantitative data collected was analysed using descriptive statistical techniques which were frequencies, mean and standard deviation. Inferential analysis of Karl Pearson Correlation coefficient was used to test hypothesis. Quantitative data was analysed with help of SPSS. Qualitative data from open ended questions and interviews was transcribed coded in themes and reported in verbatim. The study found out that pre-primary children were moderately involved in psychomotor and creative activities of singing, plays, dramatization, drawing, painting, sculpturing and singing. These activities are simulated reality in children mental capacities. This is underscored by Dewey who indicated that continuous usage of these activities enable pre-primary children to learn new things beyond what they previously known. Computed correlation statistics showed that there existed a positive degree of association which was significant (p<0.01). The paper concludes that teachers' incessant utilisation of child-centred teaching methods affected the teaching and learning of psychomotor and creative activities in public ECDE centres in West Pokot County. In recommendations, there is need for pre-primary teachers to widen their scope in the teaching of psychomotor and creative activities by incorporating more of child-centred activities. Article visualizations:


We present a simple technique for creating fluid silhouettes described with vector graphics, which we call "Vector Fluid." In our system, a solid region in the fluid is represented as a closed contour and advected by fluid flow to form a curly and clear shape similar to marbling or sumi-nagashi (See Figure 1). The fundamental principle behind our method is that contours of solid regions should not collide. This means that if the initial shape of the region is a concave polygon, that shape should maintain its topology so that it can be rendered as a regular concave polygon, no matter how irregularly the contour is distorted by advection. In contrast to other techniques, our approach explicitly neglects topology changes to track surfaces in a trade off of computational cost and complexity. We also introduce an adaptive contour sampling technique to reduce this extra cost. We explore specific examples in 2D for art oriented usage and show applications and robustness of our method to exhibit organic fluid components. We also demonstrate how to port our entire algorithm onto a GPU to boost interactive performance for complex scenes.


This study aims to determine the effectiveness of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research is a quantitative descriptive study using survey methods conducted online. The sample collection method uses simple random sampling, where the sample of this study is an active student in the management study program, Faculty of Economics, University of West Sulawesi; Primary data collection in this study was carried out by distributing questionnaires online to 115 respondents. Data obtained by filling out questions that were distributed to all respondents in the form of Google on the link https://forms.gle/VbqM7myWhwdfpMfc9. Furthermore, the collected data was analyzed to be described. The results of data analysis obtained from filling student questionnaires can be concluded that the online learning system carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic is effective and inefficient. Effectively implemented because of the conditions that require online study and inefficient because the costs incurred more when compared with offline lectures.


The cyclodehydration of a number of Bohlmann-Rahtz aminodienones exemplifies the use of continuous flow processing to transfer operations from commercial microreactors and microwave batch reactors to mesoscale production using different technology platforms, including a microwave flow reactor.


This paper deals with real algebraic varieties without real points. In particular, the Picard, Brauer, and Witt groups are calculated for these varieties.


There is a trend towards the progressive use of higher operating temperatures and stresses to achieve improved efficiencies in power-generation equipment. It is important to perform the crack assessment under hightemperature and high-pressure conditions. The C(t)-integral is a key parameter in crack assessment for transient creep states. The estimation of the C(t)-integral is complex when considering the mechanical and thermal loads simultaneously. In this paper, we study estimation of C(t)-integral under combined mechanical and thermal load depending on loading conditions.


The surveillance takes major part in the present world. The collection of data through surveillance is not the thing required by the people but to use it effectively for decision support. Manual processing of huge amount of surveillance data is not feasible; a support to analyse and process all incoming data is needed by the operator of the surveillance system. In this proposal, an approach to intelligent video surveillance is introduced with significance on finding behavioural anomalies. The proposed technique of robust and efficient anomaly detection is capable of dealing with crowded scenes. Initially, the foreground segmentation of input frames is done to analyse the foreground objects and to effectively ignore irrelevant background dynamics. The input frames are split into non overlapping cells, and then the features are extracted based on motion, size and texture from each cell. Each and every feature type is independently analysed to detect the presence of an anomaly. An effective estimate of object motion is obtained by computing the optical flow of only the foreground pixels. To process even large training datasets, the motion and size feature are modelled by an approximated version of kernel density estimation.


Abstract: Attraction White Crater Lake Region South Bandung regency has the potential object of sufficient good views of some aspects of the aspects of accessibility, potential aspects, financial aspects, and aspects of marketing and supporting facilities and infrastructure. This potential is supported by the state of nature that is very unique and fascinating. PT Perhutani (Persero) Unit III West Java and Banten made a strategy in developing the Region Attractions Crater Lake White as covering renovation, Certification, held an international event and promotion In Off Line and On Line, as well as improving the quality of the object by organizing support facilities and creating a safe atmosphere, calm and pleasant for pegunjung coming. Keywords: Strategy Management, Attractions


Cell-mediated adaptive immune responses contribute to defense against all classes of pulmonary pathogens and are essential against viruses, mycobacteria, and fungi, including Pneumocystis carinii. Adaptive responses depend on sequential pairwise interactions between three cell types: T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and dendritic cells (DC). Differential expression of specific adhesion molecules and chemokines regulates the location and timing of these interactions. Primary adaptive responses are triggered by immature myeloid DC, which carry antigen from the lungs to regional lymph nodes. Antigen presentation by these mature DC is required to activate naive CD4 T cells, which are essential to generate polarized type 1 or type 2 effector responses and for robust immunologic memory. Inflammation recruits NK cells and DC that interact in a contact- and tumor necrosis factor-alpha-dependent fashion within injured tissues to initiate immune response polarization. NK cells exposed to IL-12 favor survival of DC that prime for Th1 responses, whereas NK cells exposed to IL-4 do not exert DC selection, leading to tolerogenic or Th2 responses. Naive alphabeta T cells, NK cells, and DC also amplify secondary adaptive responses to previously encountered pathogens. However, secondary responses are accelerated because memory T cells can migrate directly to infected tissues where they can be activated without strenuous costimulatory requirements. Additionally, previous pulmonary infections or immune responses increase numbers of lung DC and populate the lungs with clones of memory B cells and T cells that are immediately available to respond to infections.


The title compound, 2-phenyl-9-hydrazino-1,10-phenanthroline, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c with the following unit-cell parameters: a = 11.7738(3)A, b = 20.9998(6)A, c = 12.4546(4)A, b = 106.750(1)˚ and V = 2948.71(15)A3. The crystal structure was solved with a final R = 0.0612 using 6260 independent reflections; it contains two independent molecules in an asymmetric unit, which are joined into a dimer by hydrogen bonds between a phenanthroline N atom and the NH donor of the hydrazine substituent.


The establishment of reliable materials genome databases involving the thermophysical properties of liquid metals and alloys promotes the progress of materials research and development, whereas acquiring these properties imposes great challenges on experimental investigation. Here, we proposed a deep learning method and achieved a deep neural network (DNN) interatomic potential for the entire Ti–Ni–Cr–Al system from pure metals to quaternary alloys. This DNN potential exhibited sufficient temperature and compositional transformability which extended beyond the training and provided the prediction of the liquid structure and thermophysical properties for metallic materials with both density functional theory accuracy and classic molecular dynamics efficiency. The predicted results agreed well with the reported experimental data. This work opens a feasible way to address the challenges of rapidly and accurately acquiring thermophysical properties data for liquid pure metals and multicomponent alloys, covering a broad temperature range from superheated to undercooled state.


The successful dissemination of the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) model at multiple institutions of higher education, in the United States and other countries, is reflected in the number of publications (see www.pltlis.org). However, many PLTL campus programs are no longer active or exist. This may be due, more recently, to the COVID pandemic and its disruptions. Historically, programs no longer exist because grant funding that supported the initiative ended; other reasons include the promotion, retirement, or even death of the practitioners whose work championing their PLTL program ended. What can sustain a campus PLTL program so that its benefits continue to accrue to students and Peer Leaders, and positively affect institutions' retention, graduation rates, and mission over decades? This paper examines the strategies used to disseminate the PLTL model; presents suggested prescriptions for institutional adoption regarding climate, culture, and organizational learning; provides case studies of possible sustainability methods and compares the PLTL critical components to suggestions for creating sustainable educational innovations.


Objectives The GO-VIBRANT study was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravenous (IV) golimumab (GLM) in adult patients (pts) with active PsA (biologic-naïve). Methods GO-VIBRANT is a Phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo (PBO)-controlled trial. Biologic-naïve active PsA pts were randomized (1:1) to IV GLM 2mg/kg at weeks (wk) 0, 4, and every 8 wks thereafter or PBO at wks 0, 4, 12, and 20 with crossover to GLM at wk24. The primary endpoint was ACR20 response at wk14. Multiplicity-controlled endpoints were ACR50, ACR70, PASI 75, change from baseline in HAQ-DI, enthesitis, dactylitis, SF-36 PCS/MCS scores at wk14; and ACR50 and change from baseline in total modified vdH-S (structural damage) score at wk24. Efficacy analyses were based on randomized treatment. Adverse events (AE) through wk24 are reported here. Investigators remain blinded through wk60. Results 480 pts were randomized (PBO: 239; GLM: 241). The study met its primary and all controlled secondary endpoints. At wk14, significantly greater proportions of GLM pts vs PBO achieved ACR20 (75.1% vs. 21.8%). Also, GLM treatment resulted in significant change from baseline HAQ-DI score (-0.60 vs. -0.12), ACR50 (43.6% vs. 6.3%), PASI 75 (59.2% vs. 13.6%), ACR70 (24.5% vs. 2.1%), change from baseline in enthesitis and dactylitis scores (-1.8 vs. -0.8 and -7.8 vs. -2.8, respectively), and change from baseline in SF-36 PCS and SF-36 MCS scores (8.65 vs. 2.69 and 5.33 vs. 0.97, respectively) (all p<0.001) at wk14. At wk24, significantly greater proportions of GLM pts vs. PBO pts achieved ACR 50 (53.5% vs. 6.3%, p<0.001). At wk24, there was significantly less progression of structural damage for GLM pts vs PBO as measured by change from baseline in total modified vdH-S score (-0.36 vs. 1.95; p<0.001). ACR20 was significantly higher with GLM than PBO as early as wk2 (45.6% vs. 7.5%; p<0.001). 27.0% of GLM pts (vs. 4.2% PBO) achieved Minimal Disease Activity by wk14. Due to the difference in response rates in GLM vs. PBO treated pts, the number needed to treat for ACR20 at wk14 was 1.9 in a post-hoc analysis (Table). Through wk24, 46.3% of GLM pts and 40.6% of PBO pts had ≥1 AE; 2.9% vs. 3.3% of pts, respectively, had ≥1 serious AE. Two deaths, 2 malignancies, and 1 demyelinating event were reported. The most common treatment-emergent type of AE was infection (20.0% of GLM pts vs. 13.8% of PBO pts). No opportunistic infection or tuberculosis was reported through wk24. The rate of infusion reactions was low at <2%; none was serious or severe. Conclusions In pts with active PsA, IV GLM demonstrated significant and clinically meaningful improvements of disease activity and physical function, skin psoriasis clearance, HRQoL, reduction in dactylitis and enthesitis, and inhibition of structural damage progression. GLM was well-tolerated through wk24; the safety profile was consistent with other anti-TNF therapies, including SC GLM. Disclosure of Interest A. Kavanaugh Consultant for: Janssen, M. E. Husni Consultant for: Janssen, UCB, Amgen, Novartis, Lilly, Regeneron, D. Harrison Employee of: Janssen Research & Development, LLC, L. Kim Employee of: Janssen Research & Development, LLC, K. H. Lo Employee of: Janssen Research & Development, LLC, E. Hsia Employee of: Janssen Research & Development, LLC


Background: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) refers to the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia or other forms of injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons . Aim: the present study aims to assess the prevalence, frequency, and complications associated with FGM/C, as well as the level of awareness among women and healthcare providers. Methods: The survey was carried out at Fayoum General Hospital, involving 235 female volunteers and 100 health office providers. To gather data, the authors designed a questionnaire that included personal information about the subjects, such as age, place of residence, religion, education level, marital status, and specific details regarding circumcision . Results: The study findings revealed that approximately 140 (59.6%) of the female participants in Group I had undergone circumcision. 72.8% of the female participants were married. Among the participants, 199 (84.7%) were Muslims, while 36 (15.3%) were Christians. Rural areas were the predominant locations where circumcision took place. A negative correlation was observed between education level and female circumcision. The majority of female circumcision cases occurred after the age of 10, with an average age of 12.5 ± 1.3 years. Midwives were predominantly responsible for performing the procedure. The most common complications of circumcision were psychological and sexual problems. Out study's females examined, 107 (76.4%) had type II circumcision, while 33 (23.6%) had type I. Among the participants in Group I, 112 (80%) stated that circumcision was performed for social and cultural reasons, while 28 (20%) mentioned religious reasons. Among healthcare providers, 9 (18%) reported practicing circumcision for medical reasons, while 41 (82%) stated social and cultural reasons as the primary motivations. All 100 (100%) healthcare providers surveyed did not receive formal training or have any references for performing circumcision operations. Most healthcare providers practiced Type I circumcision. Conclusion : Female genital mutilation /cutting (circumcision) is a continued problem. To achieve the best results for the abolition of FGM/C in Egypt, rules and legislation that forbid it must be supplemented with culturally relevant education and public awareness-raising initiatives.


Bone exhibits hierarchical levels of organization from macroscopic to microscopic, and nano- length scales. Furthermore, multiple bioactive peptides, as part of the collagenous and non-collagenous water soluble glycoproteins and proteoglycans in the bone ECM, interact with progenitor BMS cells to initiate the cascade of chemotaxis, differentiation, and mineralization. In this work, a nanofiber hydrogel/apatite composite matrix is developed to mimic the laminated structure of the osteons in bone and to determine the effect of RGD and BMP peptides, grafted to the composite, on osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of BMS cells. For four-layer laminates, the Young's modulus of the laminated composites was four times that of the nanofibers alone. BMS cells seeded on RGD+BMP peptide modified composites showed synergistic 4.9- and 11.8-fold increase in calcium content from day 7 to 14 and 21. These findings are potentially useful in developing engineered scaffolds for bone regeneration.


On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks released a collection of more than 18,000 e-mails from the formally impartial Democratic National Committee (DNC) that showed bias against the Bernie Sanders campaign and a cozy relationship between the DNC and its top officials with the Hillary Clinton campaign.1 Apparently timed to embarrass and disrupt the DNC and the Clinton campaign on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, the leak led to the resignation of key DNC officials, a formal apology to Senator Sanders and his supporters, and lingering impressions that the DNC was anything but neutral during the campaign and that the Clinton campaign could not be trusted.2 On October 7, WikiLeaks began serial publication of thousands of e-mails to and from John D. Podesta, Mrs. Clinton's campaign manager. Released nearly daily over the last month of the campaign, the Podesta e-mails led to news reports and manipulation on social media that focused on tensions inside the Clinton campaign and campaign insiders' opinions that Clinton was not a strong candidate, among other things.3 A second batch of DNC e-mails was released on November 6, two days before the election.4The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) first contacted the DNC in September 2015 to warn the Democrats that at least one of their computer systems had been compromised by hackers linked to the Russian government.5 Inept responses and inattention from the DNC staff and casual follow-up from the FBI allowed the hackers free reign in DNC networks for more than six months until senior DNC officials learned of the hacks and hired a private security firm to protect their systems.6Meanwhile, reports that Russian intelligence agencies were responsible for hacking the DNC, disseminating the materials to WikiLeaks, and encouraging or reporting "fake news" on social media and in nonmainstream publications swirled around the last months of the presidential election campaign.7 A hacker calling itself Guccifer 2.0 took credit for the leaks,8 and WikiLeaks would not reveal its source.9 Over the remainder of the summer and early fall of 2016, several cyber experts and private security firms publicly claimed that the DNC hack had been carried out by Russian intelligence operatives and was directly controlled by the Russian government.10On October 7, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued a joint statement that the Intelligence Community was confident that the Russian government was responsible for the hack and publication of the materials in its attempt to "interfere with the US election process."11 Although the joint statement constituted an official attribution of the DNC hack to the Russian government, the statement provided no evidence to support its assessment.On December 9, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) briefed members of Congress on an Intelligence Community assessment that concluded the Russian government conducted these cyber operations during the 2016 presidential election in order to assist the candidacy of Donald Trump.12 According to the Intelligence Community assessment, intelligence assets with direct ties to the Kremlin provided the DNC e-mails as well as others from prominent Hillary Clinton supporters, such as campaign chairman John Podesta, to WikiLeaks.13 Their conclusion that Russia was behind the hack was delivered with "high confidence."14 The CIA briefing was not a formal assessment by the Intelligence Community because of minor disagreements among the agencies and because intelligence officials did not yet have specific intelligence demonstrating that Russian government officials directed the hackers to pass along their information to WikiLeaks.15 On December 16, CIA Director John Brennan stated that the FBI and DNI supported the CIA's conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the election to assist the Trump candidacy and to attack U.S. democratic processes. …


A denitrifying consortium capable of transforming carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) was cultured from aquifer sediment from the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. To understand the kinetics of the biological destruction of CCl4 by these microbes, a set of experiments, the conditions of which were chosen according to a fractional factorial experimental design, were completed. This article reports on the experimental design along with the results for CCl4, biomass, acetate, nitrate, and nitrite concentrations. These data indicate that growth is inhibited by high nitrite concentrations, whereas CCl4 degradation is slowed by the presence of nitrate and/or nitrite. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Toxoplasma gondii is an extremely widespread intracellular obligate parasite that infects both animals and birds. This protozoan pathogen usually causes asymptomatic infection in humans but can cause significant disease in congenitally infected infants, immunodeficient patients and occasionally in immunocompetent individuals. In the complex life cycle of T. gondii, sexual development occurs uniquely in felines whereas asexual reproduction may take place in humans and other warm-blooded animals serving as intermediate hosts. The prevalence of infection varies considerably among different geographic areas and also among individuals, depending on a variety of factors, including culinary habits and cleanliness of surroundings. Studies to date show low genetic diversity of T. gondii, with three main lineages, designated types I, II and III, found at least within Europe and North America. T. gondii uses various mechanisms to invade host cells and to alter their signal pathways and gene expression. Kinases within the rhoptry, a unique apical organelle, and T. gondii granule proteins are key virulence factors that promote attachment to, and invasion of, host cells. Human Toxoplasma infection is acquired by ingestion of raw or undercooked meat that contains tissue cysts, or through the ingestion of water or food contaminated with oocysts. It is also transmitted congenitally from mother-to-foetus and less commonly by transfusion of contaminated blood or transplantation of an infected organ. Life-threatening toxoplasmosis can develop in immunocompromised patients. Diagnostic tests are critical to surveillance, control and prevention of toxoplasmosis. However, different technologies presently utilized around the world to detect different parasite stages are not of a uniformly sufficient standard to indicate clearly the epidemiology and severity of infection at global, regional and national levels. While a prophylactic vaccine is licensed for veterinary administration, no similarly efficacious preparation is available to prevent human infections. Here, we review the epidemiology and genotypes of T. gondii, as well as current detection methods and the state of vaccine development. In addition, the mechanisms by which this parasitic pathogen invades and overcomes the human immune system are considered.

 Key words: Toxoplasmosis, Toxoplasma gondii, epidemiology, genotype, virulence, pathophysiology, diagnosis, immunity, vaccine.


Water-soluble poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)s (PDMAAm) with a reactive trithiocarbonate group exhibiting different structures were used as macromolecular RAFT (reversible addition−fragmentation chain transfer) agents in the surfactant-free emulsion polymerization of n-butyl acrylate and styrene, under ab initio, batch conditions. Independently of the structure of the RAFT group, the polymerizations were fast and controlled with molar masses that matched well the theoretical values and rather low polydispersity indexes. Monomer conversions close to 100% were reached and the polymerizations behaved as controlled systems, even when solids contents up to 40% were targeted. The system thus led to poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-b-poly(n-butyl acrylate) and poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-b-polystyrene amphiphilic diblock copolymers formed in situ and self-assembled upon chain extension. The stability of the aqueous dispersions, measured by the amount of coagulum formed, improved with increasing length of the stabilizi...


We monitor the correlated quench induced dynamical dressing of a spinor impurity repulsively interacting with a Bose-Einstein condensate. Inspecting the temporal evolution of the structure factor, three distinct dynamical regions arise upon increasing the interspecies interaction. These regions are found to be related to the segregated nature of the impurity and to the Ohmic character of the bath. It is shown that the impurity dynamics can be described by an effective potential that deforms from a harmonic to a double-well one when crossing the miscibility-immiscibility threshold. In particular, for miscible components the polaron formation is imprinted on the spectral response of the system. We further illustrate that for increasing interaction an orthogonality catastrophe occurs and the polaron picture breaks down. Then a dissipative motion of the impurity takes place leading to a transfer of energy to its environment. This process signals the presence of entanglement in the many-body system.


Recent data are consistent with the presence of two 17 beta-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase (17 beta-HOR) activities in placental homogenates. One is localized to intracellular membrane fractions. The conversion of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) to estrone (E1) by this enzyme can be completely inhibited in vitro by C19 and C21 steroids. The second activity is detected in microsomes, but is recovered principally in the cytosol. It also has 20 alpha-HOR activity, but has a high affinity only for C18 steroids. We used this difference to estimate the relative contributions of the two enzymes to E2, E1, and testosterone (T) metabolism by villous tissue in vitro. Fragments of tissue from vaginally delivered placentas (38-40 weeks) were incubated with [3H]E2, [3H]E1, or [3H]T as substrates and various unlabeled steroids as potential inhibitors. Approximately 40% of the E2 to E1 reaction was not inhibited by C19 steroids at 100-200 microM, whereas the conversion of T to androstenedione was inhibited by 90% or more under similar conditions. In contrast, the metabolizable C19 and C21 steroids, 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone and 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone, which inhibited the conversion of E1 to E2 by microsomes, stimulated E2 formation from E1 by villi. We conclude that nonspecific 17 beta-HOR accounts for approximately 60% of the E2 to E1 conversion and nearly all of the T to androstenedione conversion in villous tissue fragments. The data also suggest that net E2 formation in villi is catalyzed principally by the C18-specific 17 beta-HOR.