The evaluation of resistance test perception by clinicians over the years 1999--2003 was assessed in an Italian cohort. The results on 2233 samples from 1416 HIV-1 infected patients show an increase in HIV-1 drug resistance test requests over time, with a plateau reached in the last three years. CD4-cell count at the time of genotype request progressively increased. In particular, the median CD4 cell count of drug-treated patients increased from 221x10(6) cells/l [interquartile range (IQR): 109-368] in 1999 to 296x10(6) cells/l (IQR: 166-478) in 2003 (p<0.0001). At the same time, plasma HIV-RNA level progressively decreased from a median of 103,500 copies/ml (IQR: 37,250-260,000) in 1999 to 9,444 copies/ml (IQR: 2,086-41,281) in 2003 (p<0.0001). Overall, data suggest that the genotype test is increasingly considered, and requested also for patients at earlier stages of drug history and/or at less severe disease stage.


Valle del Cauca's horticultural production: an export alternative and post-conflict strategy for region The Valle del Cauca department is a production potential territory in, consumption and agroindustrial transformation of fruit trees, with good soils, varied climates and different varieties of fruits. Likewise is located in a technological corridor integrated by universities, research centers and scientific-technological research groups allows to close the gaps between producers, traders and transformation-export companies. The production of the fruit and vegetable sector in the valle del Cauca is around 600,000 tons per year for citrus, pineapple, papaya, grape, guava, plantain and mango. According to the Departmental Secretariat the vegetables sector participates with 76,000 tons, making it the second national producer for the chain. The vegetable per capita consumption recommended by the World Health Organization - WHO is 400 g against 200 g for Colombia becoming an important opportunity to producers and traders in the region. With end of 50 years of armed conflict and signing of peace process in the country; where victims were recognized, weapons were left, and reintegration into civilian life of ex-combatants was carried out, resulting in generation of constitutional, economic, and social reform projects where agroindustrial sector stands out as an excellent option in the framework of the production and transformation of fruit trees in Valle del Cauca. Currently, several productive-sector regional companies export mango and citrus to European destinations and pineapple to nort America. For this reason, it is necessary strengthen the cluster or productive chain that allows the sector's momentum. Likewise, it should invest in processing companies specialized in the post-harvest management handling of fruits and vegetables, integrated to research centers in bio package and agroindustrial transformation that allow to diminish the losses after department horticultural production. This territory has a high potential in citrus fruits, Hass avocado, strawberry, melon, papaya, pineapple, lulo and coconut among others, which can be increased by a high quality chain integration as Chile and Costa Rica have done. One of the fruits offers a high potential of work and research that is in the horticultural bet is blackberry ( Rubus glaucus ), where institutions such as, Asofrunidos, El Sena-Centro agropecuario de Buga (CAB) and El Sena-Centro Nacional de Asistencia Tecnica a la Industria (ASTIN), have made advances in production and research of the country's blackberrie exports in upper region of municipality of Ginebra, through organic fruits and greater resistance to mechanical impact. Also, the design of an intelligent bio-package that allows exporting blackberries per individual consumption is carrying out. The other way, CAB and Universidad Nacional de Colombia Palmira venue are investigating in pollination processes assisted by bees of the genus  Apis mellifera , which improves the production, quality and size of the fruit.


We read with interest the recent article by Eisenach et al. (1) that describes their effort to determine whether ST segment depression during cesarean section is due to diminished cardiac sympathetic tone during high spinal anesthesia. They used the novel method of heart rate power spectral analysis in which cardiac sympathetic activity was estimated by the area under the power-versus-frequency curve over the interval of 0.02-0.15 Hz. We have concerns about the interpretation of the heart rate variability data. As demonstrated by other investigators, respiratory rate and tidal volume can significantly alter the frequency and total power of the respiratory peak (2,3). The low frequency interval (0.02-0.15 Hz), which was of particular interest in this study, could be significantly influenced by respiratory rates less than 10 breaths/min. Therefore, the authors should account for respiratory effects prior to making conclusions concerning RR interval power. In addition, Pagani et al. (4) persuasively argue that some form of normalization is necessary to account for changes in total power. One example of normalization is the comparison of a particular frequency region (0.02-0.15 Hz in this study) to the total power. Another appealing method for representing sympathovagal balance is the ratio of low-frequency (0.04-0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (0.15-0.5 Hz) components, which appear primarily to represent sympathetic and vagal tone, respectively. These normalization techniques have been used to provide an index of the relative contribution of sympathovagal outflows in modulating cardiovascular function (5,6). We suggest that the application of these techniques allows for physiologic interpretation of heart rate variability in the frequency domain. Heart rate variability is an interesting approach to the understanding of ST depression in patients undergoing cesarean section, and we look forward to further analysis of the data.


Lithium‐sulfur batteries (LSBs) are among the most promising next generation electrochemical energy storage systems due to their ultrahigh energy density, which has attracted enormous attentions. Nevertheless, the development and application of LSBs are still subject to some major technical obstacles such as the insulating nature of sulfur, the shuttle effect of intermediate polysulfides, and the drastic volume expansion. To overcome these challenges, various strategies have been employed to promote the performance of LSBs. This review focuses on summarizing the major development of novel nanostructured carbon hosts for advanced LSBs. The carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbon spheres are introduced to improve our understanding of the morphology effects on LSBs. The heterogeneous atom‐doping, unique hollow structures are summarized to investigate the chemical bonding effects during the charge/discharge process. The organic framework derived carbon structures are discussed to inspire us to find novel routes to enhance the performance of LSBs. Finally, the conclusions and prospects of nanostructured carbon in LSBs are proposed, while the challenges in the further development of LSBs are also discussed.


Renal cancer ranks one of the most frequent causes of cancer death in the world. S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (SKP 2) is overexpressed in human tumors and has prognostic value in many cancers including renal cancer, indicating its potential as a therapeutic target. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of Skp-2 in renal cancer using the technique of RNA silencing via short hairpin RNA (shRNA). Synthetic shRNA duplexes against Skp-2 were introduced to down-regulate the expression of Skp-2 in a highly malignant renal carcinoma cell line, ACHN. The results indicated that siRNA targeting of Skp-2 could lead to an efficient and specific inhibition of endogenous Skp-2 activity. Furthermore, we found that depletion of Skp-2 caused a dramatic cell cycle arrest, followed by massive apoptotic cell death, and eventually resulted in a significant decrease in growth, viability and tumor formation in renal cancer cell lines studied.


Isolated Ga2 dimers were characterized in an argon matrix with the aid of resonance Raman and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The resonance Raman spectra gave evidence of not only the nu(Ga-Ga) fundamental, but also four overtones. Each of the signals exhibits 69Ga/71Ga isotopic splitting leading to the triplet pattern characteristic of two equivalent Ga atoms. On the basis of the experimental data, a harmonic frequency and anharmonicity constant have been determined for Ga2. An estimate of the dissociation energy on the assumption of a Morse-type potential energy curve results in a De value (upper limit) of about 145 kJ mol(-1). The force constant (64.8+/-0.3 N m(-1)) and dissociation energy of Ga2 are compared with those of other diatomics and those of molecules featuring Ga-Ga bonds.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS:The extent of use of liver transplantation on a population scale to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States is unknown. We assessed recent predictors of use of liver transplantation and its effect on survival for those with nonmetastatic HCC.METHODS:The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program is a collection of population-based cancer registries. We identified adults registered in SEER with HCC between 1998 and 2002. We examined determinants for receipt of a liver transplant in univariate and multivariable analyses. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were constructed for those who received and did not receive a transplant for HCC.RESULTS:We identified 1,156 adults with small (5 cm or less) nonmetastatic HCC. Approximately 45% were white, 29% Asian, 17% Hispanic, and 9% African American. Only 21% received a transplant. More recent year of diagnosis, younger age, being married, white race, and smaller tumor size each predicted receipt of transplant. African Americans and Asians were about half as likely to receive a transplant as compared with white patients (odds ratio [OR] 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.21–0.90 for African Americans, and 0.57, 95% CI 0.36–0.89 for Asians). Hispanics trended in the same direction, but this was not statistically significant (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.39–1.12). Those who underwent liver transplantation for localized HCC had 3- and 5-yr survivals of 81% and 75%, respectively.CONCLUSIONS:Only one-fifth of those with small, nonmetastatic HCC received liver transplantation. Transplanted patients have long-term survival similar to that of the best single-institution studies. However, marked racial variations were seen, with African Americans and Asians significantly less likely to receive a transplant after controlling for other variables.


The central peak of quartz near the incommensurate (INC) phase was investigated by means of the high-resolution light-scattering technique. It was found that the observed central peak includes a broad dynamical component in addition to the previously reported narrow static component. The line-width (approximate range 1.5-5 GHz) of the broader component decreases in proportion to Delta T=T-Ti in the beta phase (Ti is the beta -INC phase transition temperature), and its intensity shows a maximum at Ti. It becomes very weak when the temperature is close to Tc (INC to alpha phase transition temperature), while the linewidth is within the instrumental linewidth of 0.6 GHz throughout the INC phase. Possible origins of the peaks are briefly discussed.


In the absence of experimentally determined three dimensional (3D) structures of proteins, the prediction of protein structures using computational methods is a standard alternative approach in bioinformatics. When using the predicted protein models to compute the native structure of an unknown target protein, estimating the actual quality of the protein models is important for selecting the best or near-best model. Moreover, estimates of the differences between the protein models and the native protein structure are obviously useful to end users who can then decide on the utility of the models for their specific problems. This article describes two new single-model quality assessment (QA) programs, pure single-model QA method (psQA) and a template based QA method (tbQA), that we developed. psQA is a pure single-model QA program that uses a neural network method to predict residue-residue distance matrices of the native protein structures. tbQA is a quasi-single-model QA program that mainly uses target-template sequence alignments and template structures. The performance of these two model QA programs was analyzed in a data set of 24022 models for 94 targets from the 10th critical assessment of protein structure prediction (CASP10) experiment.


Objectives: Ethanol extract of the stem of Bauhinia purpurea Linn. was subjected to analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities in animal models. Materials and Methods: Albino Wistar rats and mice were the experimental animals respectively. Different CNS depressant paradigms like analgesic activity (determined by Eddy's hot plate method and acetic acid writhing method) and anti-inflammatory activity determined by carrageenan induced paw edema using plethysmometer in albino rats) were carried out, following the intra-peritoneal administration of ethanol extract of Bauhinia purpurea Linn. (BP) at the dose level of 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg. Results: The analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanol extracts of BP were significant (P < 0.001). The maximum analgesic effect was observed at 120 min at the dose of 100 mg/kg (i.p.) and was comparable to that of standard analgin (150 mg/kg) and the percentage of edema inhibition effect was 46.4% and 77% for 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg (i.p) respectively. Anti-inflammatory activity was compared with standard Diclofenac sodium (5 mg/kg). Conclusion: Ethanol extract of Bauhinia purpurea has shown significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities at the dose of 100 mg/kg and was comparable with corresponding standard drugs. The activity was attributed to the presence of phytoconstituents in the tested extract.


The objective of this essay is to restate several fundamental theoretical ideas and their diverse treatment among classic authors that in one form or another have been influenced by the work of Rudolf Hilferding. One of them is the determination of monopoly prices, whose approximation anticipated important contributions such as those of Joe Bain and Paolo Sylos Lavini. In terms of monetary and financial analysis, Hilferding's work anticipates Fisher, Keynes, and of course Eichner and Minsky, who owe much to Hilferding's perspcatiousness in their understanding of the relationships between bank capital and credit and the cycle of industrial credit, the mechanisms of investment financing and their recurring fragility. Hilferding also poses a theoretical framework for the economic cycle, which is realized not only on the national stage, but also involves the exportation of capital and imperialism. All heterodox economics, all twentieth century Marxism and current Post Keynesian and Neomarxist thinking, share a reference point in this book.


The numerous brilliant orange tentacles with their characteristically ruffed appearance borne by the middle folds of the mantle margins of Lima hians possess at least three types of ciliated sensory receptor. The most commonly occurring type consists of a dense tuft of 35-40 stiff, non-motile cilia borne by a cluster of 4-6 primary sensory neurons; it is thought to function as a multidirectional mechanoreceptor. Each cluster of sensory neurons is invariably associated with a pair of gland cells which release a sticky acrid substance when the tentacles are autotomized. Associated with these sensory cell/gland cell complexes in some, but not all, cases is a monociliary receptor and an additional unpaired gland cell; the function of the gland cell is unknown. The monociliary receptor consists of a single, long, stiff kinocilium the base of which is surrounded by a corolla of nine short, club shaped stereocilia. A complex basal apparatus connects the basal body underlying the kinocilium with the stereocilia. It is suggested that this second type of receptor functions as a vibration receptor. The third type of receptor consists of 17-20 non-motile cilia arranged in a circle and borne by a single sensory neuron which, in its distal region, envelopes a gland cell; the latter probably secretes mucus. The receptor is thought to serve as a chemo- and/or mechanoreceptor. Each of the epithelial cells covering the tentacles encloses a large, fluid filled vacuole with the cytoplasm and cell organelles restricted to a narrow zone underlying the plasma membrane. Each cell functions as a readily deformable constant volume unit capable of adjusting to the marked changes in form and volume which the tentacles may undergo. The distal regions of the outer faces of the enlarged inner folds (the pallial curtains) of the mantle margins bear dense patches of short (2 μm), stiff, non-motile cilia. The matrix of the apical regions of these cilia is electron dense and this matrix is interpreted as serving to reinforce and strengthen the apical region. The cilia are thought to function as an anti-slip device when the outer faces of the pallial curtains are opposed. It is also suggested that the electron dense material at the tips of the cilia may so bind the peripheral and central tubules in these regions that intrinsic movement of the cilia by the sliding of the peripheral tubules relative to one another is prevented, although limited passive bending of the cilia could still occur. A similar, but less extensive, electron dense matrix was observed at the tips of the stiff, non-motile, sensory cilia.


Proposed in this paper is a new method for preserving the ice in the Arctic regions under the conditions of global warming. The main technique involves artificial polymer films, which are used as an additional cover for the overcooled northern regions. The polymer films are constructed in such a way that they cannot only reflect the incoming solar radiation but also provide additional sites for the nucleation of ice crystals. This feature of polymer films to produce ice crystal aggregation in the larger ice structures in the adjoining area can be achieved by decreasing sea wave amplitudes in the vicinity of the considered area.


Pakistan, a seventy six years old state, established in the name of basic ideological essence of equality, democracy and justice for all as preached by Islam, still is not an Islamic democratic state in reality as visualized by its Founder Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Therefore it is imperative to compare today's Pakistan with the state as anticipated by its founder. Did Jinnah envisage Pakistan an Islamic democratic state or a theocratic state? We perceive that Quaid-i-Azam visualized an Islamic democratic and welfare state for the Muslim community of India. In this research article an attempt has been made to properly evaluate this question and to find out a right answer. The present study is a kind of qualitative research in its nature so the technique of content analysis is used to elicit the facts from the speeches and statements of the Quaid. This study is primarily depending upon the written material, so, all the relevant literature was surveyed and all the available secondary sources were consulted. Keywords: Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam, Democracy, Islam Theocracy, Welfare State.


Objective. Imipramine is the only evidence-based treatment available for enuretic children resistant to standard therapy. The drug's antienuretic effect is probably due to noradrenergic facilitation. The drug is, however, potentially cardiotoxic. In this study, the non-cardiotoxic noradrenergic antidepressant reboxetine was tested as an alternative to imipramine. Patients and methods. 61 patients, aged 7–19 years, with enuresis-resistant to desmopressin, the alarm, urotherapy and anticholinergics, were given 4–8 mg reboxetine at bedtime, if necessary combined with desmopressin. Results. 32 patients became dry on reboxetine treatment, although 21 of them required combination treatment with desmopressin to achieve this. Eighteen children did not respond and eight children discontinued because of side-effects before treatment could be evaluated. No serious adverse events occurred. Conclusions. These results need to be confirmed with randomized controlled studies, but indicate that reboxetine will become a safe and efficient treatment alternative for enuretic children resistant to standard therapy.


Type 2 diabetes is one of the most important growing health problems worldwide causing several complications in different parts of the organism, including the oral cavity. Aim: The purpose of this study is to assess the periodontal disease of type 2 diabetes patients which came randomly and voluntarily for evaluation of their oral health. Materials and methods: 112 patients with marginal inflammatory pathology were selected and evaluated. The followed parameters were: age, gender, environment, status of diabetes, oral non-odontogenic lesions, local aspects of marginal tissue inflammation. Data were centralized in electronic format using Microsoft Excel software. Results: The average age of patients was 57.3, 56.25% of all patients had uncompensated diabetes with HbA1c levels over 7.5%. Most of them were males (52%) and lived in an urban community (83.93%). 52.27% had severe forms of periodontitis, requiring radical treatment, while the most common oral non-odontogenic pathology was candidosis (40.98%). Conclusion: By modifying local metabolism, diabetes increases the risk of inflammatory lesions, especially periodontitis.


Unsteady flood routing using HEC-RAS was performed to investigate the effects of topographic, hydraulic, and hydrologic environmental changes on the flood stage in the downstream of the Young-san River, Korea. Flood events in the year of 1998 and 2004 were simulated for the model calibration and verification. Additionally, the following were investigated: the storage effects of the riverine lowland on the river stage, the peak water level in the downstream of the Young-san River at the project flood, and the expansion effects of the lock gate on the change of the river stage. When the storage effects of the riverine lowland were not considered, a 1.23 m rise of water level occurred in the downstream of the Young-san River. This rise affected the rising water level upstream of the river to about 40 km. For the project flood, the peak water level rose by 59 cm from the previously reported project high water level, EL(+)1.64 m to EL(+)2.23 m. This study also showed that the expansion of the lock gate gave rise to an 18 cm decrease of the peak water level in the downstream of the Young-san River. Therefore additional measures for the decrease of the water level are necessary.


This paper presents a fully integrated highly linear and low phase noise voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with a novel compact tuning voltage converter for millimeter-wave applications. The tuning voltage converter consists of only a few diodes and resistors and has nonlinear characteristics to correct varactor tuning curves. The authors fabricated the millimeter-wave VCO MMIC employing InGaP/GaAs HBT process. The MMIC chip size is 2.55 mm times 1.4 mm, in contrast the voltage converter has the size of 0.35 mm times 0.70 mm. The measured tuning sensitivity of 97 plusmn12 MHz/V is achieved for voltages between 0 V and 5 V, and the temperature dependency is very small. Also the phase noise performance is -110.7 dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset from the carrier when the oscillation frequency is 38.2 GHz. This linearization technique can greatly reduce the configuration of the conventional software linearization system


This case report describes a 49 year old woman with an intra-parenchymal bronchogenic cyst masked on chest x-ray examination by a pleural effusion. The cyst was intact. It is likely that the cyst provoked the pleural effusion by repetitive mechanical irritation of the pleura. At surgery, the cyst was removed and the pleural effusion drained without recurrence. The cyst was unilocular and measured 8.5 x 7.0 x 0.8 cm with a smooth and glistening lining. It was filled with approximately 300 ml of clear fluid. Microscopic examination confirmed the bronchogenic cyst. This is the first case of an intact intra-parenchymal bronchogenic cyst associated with a pleural effusion that was not due to rupture of the cyst, infection or malignancy.


IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN that syphilis is capable of mimicking many other diseases. That tuberculosis can also imitate various other conditions is less emphasized. However, an awareness of the atypical clinical manifestations of tuberculosis is increasingly important since the index of suspicion of a disease tends to subside with its decreasing prevalence. The Indian population of southwestern United States affords an unusual opportunity for studying tuberculosis because the incidence of infection still remains much higher than for the general population. The present report concerns cases selected from experience at the Phoenix Public Health Service Indian Hospital during a 2-year period. In each individual, diagnostic confusion occurred because a nontuberculous condition was simulated in various regards. Report of Cases Case 1.— A 38-year-old Hualapai woman with severe pelvic "bone-pain" and fever was found to have multiple lytic lesions (Fig. 1) and hypergammaglobulinemia. The diagnosis of multiple myeloma or metastatic malignancy


This paper begins with a brief survey of the literature dealing with the adsorption and desorption of alkalis on oxide surfaces. Emphasis is on desorption phenomena: thermal desorption, electron- and photon-stimulated desorption, and ion-induced desorption (sputtering). Then the relevance of these data to the desorption of alkalis from mineral surfaces and to the origins of alkali vapors in tenuous planetary atmospheres is discussed. The data presented for Na and K indicate that desorption processes initiated by thermal or electronic excitations do not depend strongly on whether the Na returns to the surface or diffuses up through the regolith, and that neutral yields dominate ion yields in all cases. Although the desorbed neutral energy distributions are not well approximated by Maxwell-Boltzmann distributions, the mean energies of the desorbed neutral Na and K are seen to be consistent with the temperatures extracted for the "hot" component of the lunar atmosphere. This suggests that the "hot" component may be produced by electronically stimulated desorption (e.g., electron-stimulated desorption and/or photon-stimulated desorption). If this is the case, a possible "size effect" may be operative, in which desorbed neutral K atoms are somewhat more energetic than desorbed Na. In such desorption processes a low-energy component may be generated by scattering of desorbing atoms in the porous regolith; thermal desorption can also generate low-energy atoms. The data further indicate that thermal desorption should be rapid in the equatorial regions of Mercury, possibly depleting this region of alkalis, whereas thermal desorption should be less efficient on the Moon. Surface charging may be important at the surface of the Moon, by accelerating the solar electrons to energies above the threshold for initiating alkali desorption. Suggestions are made for future laboratory work.


(ProQuest: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.)Scholarly courses at the art school: a blind spot of researchThe elaboration of a theoretical discourse on art has been a main concern of art academies since their creation in the sixteenth century. This concern was nurtured by the need to regulate artistic production through the establishment of specific norms and values, and, at the same time, it was intricately linked to the promotion of the artist's status and the legitimization of the artistic profession. The articulation of theoretical discourse in the academies took place mainly in the framework of conferences among peers - by and for an elite of peers - where multiple alternating voices could engage in fruitful debate. However, towards the end of the eighteenth and during the early nineteenth century the plurivocal structure of the conferences was, in many cases, gradually replaced by actual courses offered by a unique professor. Along with practical training, courses of history, archaeology, art history, art theory and aesthetics were systematically incorporated into the academic curricula in the context of larger pedagogical and institutional reforms. This is the period in which Ancient Regime artistic structures were reformed, while new art schools were created, and the academic system of art education expanded in the recently founded nation-states of Europe and the Americas.A series of questions arise from this development. Whereas courses in art theory and aesthetics could be seen as a further pursuing of old concerns, courses in art history were less expected. Why did artists need to study the history of art? Engagement with the art of the past was certainly a salient aspect of academic training, through the copying of art works of antiquity or of the Old Masters. But what did this new kind of knowledge on past art - scholarly, systematized, often with a claim to exhaustivity, codified in a course - have to contribute to artistic practice? What were the artistic, political or economic grounds for the utterly novel claim that art has a history, and this history has to be taught to artists? Another major issue related to the introduction of scholarly courses in the art school has to do with the fact that artists seem to gradually abandon the control over the discourse produced on art to non-practitioners, to scholars who form gradually a community of professional specialists. In this regard, how was the introduction of art history courses in this particular moment related to the arising discipline of art history?I will focus here on the case of nineteenth-century Greece and the scholarly teaching offered in the Athenian School of Arts, the first art institution of the country, founded in 1837. The development of art institutions in Greece followed very different trajectories from those observed in most western European countries. The inception of the Greek art world coincides with the creation of an independent Greek State, in 1830, in a small territory sliced from the Ottoman Empire. The very notions of 'fine arts' and the 'artist' actually had no equivalent in the Greek-speaking world of the Ottoman Empire. These categories, and the cultural practices to which they are linked, were shaped mainly through the foundation of a state institution, the School of Arts, a development that had a lasting impact on the conception both of artistic activity and the role of the artist. The interest of the Greek case lies precisely in the fact that it represents a new art world formation, where all the fundamental questions around the social production of art had to be thought anew. Constructed almost ex nihilo, the Greek art world may be envisaged as a kind of historical laboratory, permitting one to observe the very institution of practices and concepts that one often tends to naturalise (or let their historical specificity be blended away by anachronisms).The founding of the School of Arts, and more generally the creation of an artistic culture in Greece, was the outcome of a complex set of cultural transfers: the School introduced art education based on Western European models that were mediated by foreign professors and Greeks who had studied abroad, particularly in Italy, France and Germany. …


We show that linear codes can achieve the rate- distortion bound of a discrete memoryless source with arbitrary distortion measure if the size of finite field is sufficiently large. An alternative approach based on multilevel quantization is proposed. The optimality of this approach and the sufficiency of binary linear codes are established. Linear codes are also shown to be able to achieve a simplified version of the El Gamal-Cover (EGC) region for multiple description coding.


Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was analyzed in order to determine which component, lipid A or polysaccharide (PS), is able to stimulate B lymphocytes from ICR lymph nodes and spleen cells from nude (nu/nu) mice into forming colonies in soft agar culture. Lipid A, obtained by acid hydrolysis of LPS and solubilized by complex‐formation with bovine serum albumin, was found to be the active moiety of LPS capable of stimulating colony growth of lymphoid cells in soft agar culture. The PS portion exhibited no significant activity at the concentrations used. Glycolipids from mutant strains of S. minnesota which contain the intact lipid moiety but are deficient in PS content, were as potent as S. abortus equi LPS in stimulating B cells into colony growth. Alkaline hydrolysis of LPS which cleaves ester‐linked fatty acids, substantially decreased the number of lymphocyte colonies formed. This indicates that the intact lipid moiety is required for stimulating lymphocytes into colony formation. The synthetic glycolipid, N‐palmitoyl‐D‐glucosamine (NPG), whose structure is similar to some components of lipid A, was also able to induce B lymphocyte colony development. In summary, our data point to lipid A as the active moiety of the endotoxin which induces B lymphocytes to grow and develop into colonies in the 2‐layer soft agar culture system.


'Social Europe' has various meanings. It may refer to the current intervention of European authorities in the fields of social protection and employment legislation, as a complement or sometimes as a substitute to national institutions interventions. The role of European authorities is clearly stated in European Treaties that assert that MS remain responsible for their social protection. At the same time, the logic of European construction, the rising interdependence of economies, the interconnection of economic and monetary issues lead European authorities to tend to increase their role in social issues and to pilot 'the modernisation' of national social protection systems. But social Europe may also refer to a political project, aiming at increasing the power of European authorities in social areas: there would be a social Europe like there is today an economic or monetary Europe. This social Europe would lead to unify gradually European social systems. This would imply a transfer of sovereignty which would be questionable since the role of social partners would be reduced and there would be no guarantee on the content of this social Europe, possibly moving towards a liberal or social-democrat system. Social Europe may imply a step back in social democracy in Europe. At the same time the explicit recognition that Social Europe exists and that it should be managed in an open and democratic way, could be a progress as compared to a situation of constrained convergence. Last, Social Europe may refer to a political project aiming at deepening the European Social Model, by unifying social protection, redistribution and employment legislation towards the top. This could take place through the gradual introduction of social norms in each country at high and progressively similar levels. But there is no consensus in Europe on the content of this social Europe (...).


3D terahertz computed tomography has been performed using a monochromatic millimeter wave imaging system coupled with an infrared temperature sensor. Three different reconstruction methods (standard back-projection algorithm and two iterative analysis) have been compared in order to reconstruct large size 3D objects. The quality (intensity, contrast and geometric preservation) of reconstructed cross-sectional images has been discussed together with the optimization of the number of projections. Final demonstration to real-life 3D objects has been processed to illustrate the potential of the reconstruction methods for applied terahertz tomography.


In this paper, a Lagrangian perturbation theory for the second order treatment of small disturbances of the event horizon in Schwarzchild black holes is introduced. The issue of gauge invariance in the context of general relativistic theory is also discussed. The developments of this paper is a logical continuation of the calculations presented in [1], in which the first order coordinate dependance of the intrinsic and exterinsic geometry of the horizon is examined and the first order gauge invariance of the intrinsic geometry of the horizon is shown. In context of second order perturbation theory, It is shown that the rate of the expansion of the congruence of the horizon generators is invariant under a second order reparametrization; so it can be considered as a measure of tidal perturbation. A generally non-vanishing expression for this observable, which accomodates tidal perturbations and implies nonlinear response of the horizon, is also presented.


The demand for jellyfish is growing worldwide, especially due to their high nutraceutical value. In this study, the extraction and characterization of crude gelatin from the brown cannonball jellyfish (Stomolophus meleagris), which is periodically found in large volumes on the American Pacific coasts, were carried out. The crude gelatin obtained by alkaline treatment, with subsequent heat and dialysis treatment, showed an ability to quench free radicals (via ABTS and ORAC methods), and protect human cells against oxidative damage (through inhibition of hemolysis by AAPH), and they protected against mutations caused by aflatoxin B1 in the Salmonella enterica Typhimurium TA100 strain. Furthermore, it was established that these extracts were innocuous for eukaryotic cells (genotoxicity assay). The amino acid profiles indicate a high concentration of glycine and proline, as well as charged amino acids. Electrophoretic, FT-IR, and 1H-NMR studies indicated that one of the main proteins present in this crude gelatin is collagen. The presence of collagen and other proteins was identified by proteomic studies. Alkaline crude gelatin from brown jellyfish could be considered as potential candidates to be evaluated as antioxidant agents in foods in future research.


One fashion to report a country's economic state is by compiling economic phenomena from several sources. The collected data may be explored based on their sentiments and economic categories. This research attempted to perform and analyze multiple approaches to multi-label text classification in addition to providing sentiment analysis on the economic phenomena. The sentiment and single-label category classification was performed utilizing the logistic regression model. Meanwhile, the multi-label category classification was fulfilled using a combination of logistic regression, support vector machines, k-nearest neighbor, naïve Bayes, and decision trees as base classifiers, with binary relevance, classifier chain, and label power set as the implementation approaches. The results showed that logistic regression works well in sentiment and single-label classification, with a classification accuracy of 80.08% and 92.71%, respectively. However, it was also discovered that it works poorly as a base classifier in multi-label classification, indicated by the classification accuracy dropping to 13.35%, 15.40%, and 30.65% for binary relevance, classifier chain, and label power set, respectively. Alternatively, naïve Bayes works best as a base classifier in the label power set approach for multi-label classification, with a classification accuracy of 63.22%, followed by decision trees and support vector machines.


In limited feedback-based Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) systems, the inter-cluster and intra-cluster interference together with the quantification error can seriously deteriorates the system spectral efficiency. We, in this paper, propose an efficient three-phase framework and corresponding algorithms for dealing with this problem. Firstly, a greedy scheduling algorithm based on the lower bound of the ergodic rate is performed for generating an elementary cluster in the first phase. And then the elementary cluster is divided into many small clusters according to the following proposed algorithms based on the short term instantaneous information in the second phase. In the end, based on the limited feedback two zero-forcing (ZF) precoding strategies are adopted for reducing the intra-cluster interference in the third phase. The provided Monte Carlo simulations show the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms in the respect of system spectral efficiency and average user rate.


Objective To observe the effects of the external tissue extender (ETE) for secondary wound closure following fasciotomy after acute compartment syndrome. Methods Twenty- one cases (age, 7- 36 years old) following fasciotomy were treated with the ETE for secondary wound closure. The wounds occurred in the leg in 17 cases, the forearm in 3 and the foot in 1. The largest wound measured 11 cm× 28 cm, the smallest 5 cm× 15 cm. One case was accompanied with exposure of the tibia, and the other with tendon. Placement of the ETE was carried out at 4- 7 days following fasciotomy. The secondary wound closure was done when the distance between the wound edges was smaller than 1 cm, usually at 3- 7 days after the ETE procedure. Results The wounds healed in 20 cases without skin grafting, forming a line- like scar. In one case, part of the ETE had to be removed because of wound infection, and small skin grafting was done later. The wounds also healed well in those two cases with the exposure of the tibia and tendon after using the ETE. With 3- 15 months follow- up, distant joints adjacent to the wounds showed good range of motion, without muscular contracture. Conclusion It is safe to use the ETE for secondary wound closure following fasciotomy after acute compartment syndrome. Wound closure with the ETE shows following advantages: 1) It is a simple, convenient and fast speed procedure, with a short stay of hospital and relatively low cost. 2) Skin graft is not needed, forming a line- like scar after healing. It shows good skin quality and cosmetic appearance. 3) The procedure is also suitable for those cases with exposure of bone or tendon.


The spatial ecology of animals is influenced by a combination of factors. Spatial ecology parameters are commonly calculated for rattlesnakes of the genus Crotalus, but they are highly variable within and among populations and species. Rattlesnake movements can be influenced by sex, body size, season, and abiotic factors, but the relative importance of each still remains unknown. We quantified aspects of the spatial ecology of a population of Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) in the southern part of its range in order to determine the factors that influence its spatial ecology. We found that males had larger home range sizes than females for the entire 14-month study. However, sex differences in movements were present during the spring mating season but not the summer post-mating season, suggesting that male mate searching causes males to have larger overall home ranges than females. We also found that body size was not related to home range size, but this effect was sensitive to the inclusion of two outlier males. Our seasonal analyses revealed that outside the mating season, male body size was negatively related to mean daily movement, while female body size was positively related to mean daily movement. In the spring, larger males made their first long distance movement earlier than smaller males, suggesting that body size may influence the timing of mate searching activity. Our study shows that sex and season, which are influenced by the mating system, are important factors that determine the spatial ecology of C. o. oreganus.


Religious education is an effective tool for organizing primary school children's spiritual and moral development. Primary religious education aims to teach interaction and achieve constructive dialogues with others. Teachers have a responsibility to make classes appealing and learning accessible by taking the age range and cognitive skills of primary school children into account in the planning. Introducing a mixture of alternative forms and systems for teaching may be the best way to achieve this. Approaches from several alternative education systems could be used to expand religious education teaching practices in primary schools. The systems that are to be discussed further here are homeschooling, unschooling, world schooling, outdoor education, online learning, Montessori, Frobel, Amonashvili, and Waldorf.


Spatial transcriptomics has revolutionized molecular profiling of tissues in a spatial context, especially in the study of cancer heterogeneity. 10X Genomics facilitates spatial gene expression profiling platforms to help work with fresh-frozen (FF) and formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues. FF analysis is based on polyA capture of RNAs while FFPE analysis uses a pre-designed set of probes to capture transcripts of coding genes. Previously, we used FFPE spatial data as a 'negative control' in a study to identify novel non-coding RNAs in FF data. Interestingly, we find and report that certain target probes used in FFPE show off-target signals from lncRNAs. The Space Ranger pipeline of 10X Visium counts the expression of these potential off-targets to be that of the corresponding target gene, some of which have known implications in cancer and its diagnosis. Therefore, relying on this technology is not ideal to investigate expression of the genes reported in this study. We hereby recommend excluding those genes in any downstream analysis of FFPE datasets and to design probes with better specificity, considering the sequence similarity between genes and non-coding RNAs.


According to the author, radiology managers can improve staff morale, increase commitment to patient care and decrease their workloads by "reversing the hierarchy" and empowering their staff. Despite what some managers may think, she says, employees can make good decisions and stay committed if they are given authority, encouragement and trust. She also describes some of the steps managers can take to reverse the hierarchy at their organizations.


Objectives To evaluate the postoperative outcome of patients managed according to the ERAS guidelines. Methods Retrospective study, 92 patients were included, they underwent radical surgery at our Unit. Period: June 2016 to December 2018. Since we work in a low resource setting, only some of the ERAS criteria could be applied (pre-surgical counseling, general preparation, peri and operative measures). Results 92 patientes included: 46 had an ovarian cancer, 33 a cervical cancer and 13 an endometrial cancer. The median age was 49.6 years. A Radical Laparoscopic Surgery was performed in 15 of the cases and the other 77 patients were submitted to a Laparotomic (Abdominal) Surgery. Median surgical time was 199 minutes (60- 370). The average hospital stay was 3.33 days (1–13). Combined anesthesia was performed in 34 of the laparotomic surgeries. NGT was left in 6 patients. NGT and BC were withdrawn in 89 cases within 24 hours. Only 10 out of the 92 patients required rescue medication for postoperative pain management. Only 3 patients required bowel resection without any complications. Five patients required blood transfusions. In 23 patients intraabdominal drainage was placed and in 20 of them it was removed within 24 hours. Nobody presented emesis in the postoperative period. One patient developed bilateral DVT. The average value of postoperative glycemia was 150 (91 - 289). There were no readmissions. Conclusions It was very difficult to implement the ERAS guidelines.Our patients had a good postoperative outcome. This allowed early institutional discharge. The ERAS protocol did not increase the costs of hospitalization.


A pilot test was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of bioaugmentation. Dechlorinating consortium in which the dominant microorganisms were Dehalococcoides species (DHC) possessing the vinyl chloride reductase gene ( vcrA ). The pilot test consisted of a direct injection system, including 2 injection wells. One injection well was for bioaugmentation, and the other, located approximately 20 m away, was for biostimulation. TCE was rapidly dechlorinated to cis -DCE in both wells. The first indication of reduction beyond cis -DCE and VC was the occurrence of ethene 63 days after bioaugmentation in the augmented injection well (AIW). In conjunction with the ethene production, the concentrations of the DHC-16S rRNA gene and the vcrA increased to approximately 10 6 copies/mL. By day 119, the number of copies of those genes remained high in the AIW, and all chloroethenes declined to levels below the Environmental Quality Standards for Groundwater Pollution in Japan. Though the concentration of indigenous DHC also increased to approximately 10 6 copies/mL 182 days after injection of nutrients in stimulated injection well, the concentration of cis -DCE and VC remained high until 371 days. These results confirmed that bioaugmentation contributed to shortening the clean-up time better than biostimulation by increasing the initial DHC population in the groundwater.


In this paper, I attemp to clarify the controversial use of pathemata tis psuches , made by Aristotle in De Anima and De Interpretatione , specially when he signifies the act of thinking ( noein ), thoughts ( noemata ) and knowledge in general. I defend the thesis that the term pathos is essential for Aristotle's theory of knowledge. My argument is based upon the distinction, made by Aristotle in De Anima and Metaphysics , betwen two meanings of this term: (i) as movement to the other ( alloiosis ), and (ii) as growth to the same ( homoiosis ). I interpret the latter in connection with the act ( energeia ), and I state the senses in which it would be proper to predicate the passibility and the impassibility of the faculties of cognition, the things which are known, and knowledge itself as act.


A virtual view rendering oriented fast algorithm is proposed to reduce computational complexity of multiview depth video coding. Firstly, the depth image is divided into depth-continuity and depth-discontinuity regions by a macroblock deviation factor. Then, imbalance macroblock mode distribution of depth-continuity regions and effect of image quality degradation in depth-discontinuity regions on virtual view rendering are discussed and analyzed in detail. Finally, the fast algorithm is presented. Two methods are utilized in different regions of depth video. The first method, directly searching SKIP and Intra modes is adopted in smooth regions. The second method which is the same as the JMVM reference software is utilized in depth discontinuous regions. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm significantly promotes the encoding speed of depth video by 3.91∼11.33 times, while maintains high virtual rendering performance in comparison with full search algorithm.


Computer-based (CB) instruction offers an alternative method for healthcare facilities to provide in service training to the staff. The authors investigated CB instruction as a way to provide information on preventing suicide and depression, adverse medication events, foodborne illness, and burns and scalds to people who care for older adults. The study compared the effects of CB instruction with those of equivalent instructor-led (IL) workshops. Each group of learners significantly improved knowledge related to the topic presented. The CB and IL versions of the modules produced similar results. The participants enjoyed using the computers and found the program easy to use. The authors concluded that CB instruction can be an effective alternative method of providing educational opportunities and is a convenient and cost-effective way to provide those opportunities to nursing staff.


Author(s): Amenta, Nina; Sanguinetti, Angela | Abstract: This policy brief summarizes findings and policy implications from a study in which researchers at the University of California, Davis, surveyed over 450 UC Davis faculty, researchers, and staff, and asked them to choose among hypothetical flight options for domestic and international university-related business trips. The hypothetical flight options were developed using actual data on UC Davis employee air travel and available flights. The survey prominently presented emissions estimates for different flight alternatives alongside price, with the lowest-emissions option labeled "greenest flight". Researchers then estimated the effect that changing the current UC Davis flight-search interface to prominently display emissions, label the greenest flight choice, and present an alternative departure airport could have on the emissions and costs of business-related air travel.View the NCST Project Webpage


The time dependent deactivation of RTA-activated arsenic-doped samples was studied for chemical concentrations from 2/spl middot/10/sup 20/ cm/sup -3/ to 1/spl middot/10/sup 21/ cm/sup -3/ in the temperature range from 700/spl deg/C to 900/spl deg/C using a newly developed experimental set-up. It is based on the use of homogeneously doped SOI material which helped to avoid experimental problems, allowed a repeated usage of the same samples, and simplified the interpretation of the electrical measurements. The dependence of the active concentrations after long-time anneals on the total concentration indicated that the deactivation behavior can be described by a simple cluster law. But even at low concentrations it was reported in the literature that the electron concentration is significantly below the total arsenic concentration. This was attributed to pair formation between arsenic atoms and intrinsic point defects. Intended as an engineering model, the model proposed here combines both approaches and gives a consistent dynamical description of the electrically active arsenic concentration from low to high concentrations. >


Demands for health care cost containment have prompted the assessment of recycling medical devices, including catheters. The investigation of catheter reuse for effectiveness and safety began at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in early 1994. This report provides the preliminary results from this ongoing assessment on the feasibility of catheter reuse. Burst tests were conducted to detect changes in catheter mechanical integrity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to assess surface changes and protein deposition after use and the subsequent cleaning process. Results of burst testing showed no significant difference in burst patterns or burst pressures between single use and unused catheters. Surface differences were observed between used and unused catheters. SEM studies detected physical changes such as scratches, gouges, cuts, and deposits on the used catheters. Unused balloon surfaces appeared to be clean and uniform compared to used ones. Residue and cracking were identified on other used devices. In conclusion, the methods used can assess various effects of recycling. A blind study of large samples of used catheters is planned to establish statistically the level and variance of structural damage to catheters during typical use.


The work is dedicated to the analysis of the infrared and terahertz range diffraction radiation of a beam of charged particles passing above two graphene-covered dielectric nanowires. As usual within DR studies, we assume fixed electron beam velocity, apply the separation of variables in the local coordinates and the addition theorem for the cylindrical functions to satisfy wave-scattering boundary-value problem. For the graphene cover, we use the quantum-theory Kubo formalism and the resistive-type boundary conditions. As a result, we transform the diffraction radiation problem into a Fredholm second-kind matrix equation for the expansion coefficients of the scattered field. Due to such treatment the scattering and absorption characteristics and the field patterns can be found with controlled accuracy. In the focus of the study, there are the resonance effects associated with plasmon supermodes of four different classes of symmetry. Our work can be useful in dielectric laser accelerator design.


Introduction

The emergence of kinase inhibitors like Ibrutinib has drastically altered treatment strategies and improved outcomes in CLL patients, but lack of cure and resistance to therapy still remain serious problems. The three PIM kinases are involved in various important disease mechanisms in CLL, with PIM1 regulating CXCR4 surface expression impacting its interaction with the microenvironment, and PIM2/3 affecting the apoptotic machinery by regulating BAD. The Pan-PIM kinase inhibitor LGB321 (Novartis) targets all three PIM kinases and therefore affects both, CLL apoposis and its interaction with the microenvironment.

Results

In the study presented here, we investigated the effect of the Pan-PIM kinase inhibitor LGB321 on CLL in vitro and in vivo . LGB321 was highly effective in inducing apoptosis in primary human CLL cells, independent of risk factors or the mutation status. Apoptosis induction correlated with reduced pBAD and BAD levels. LGB321 was also effective in the presence of protective stromal cells and could completely overcome the stroma protective effects. Furthermore, we found that Pan-PIM inhibitor treatment blocked the CXCR4/CXCL12 axis by dephosphorylating the CXCR4 receptor on Ser339, by reducing total CXCR4 protein levels, and by blocking the externalization of the CXCR4 receptor. Concordantly, LGB321 blocked CXCR4 functions like migration towards a CXCL12 gradient (P<.0001), and reduced homing of LGB321-pretreated primary CLL cells towards the bone marrow (P=.0001) of NOG mice. In vivo experiments comfirmed the efficacy of LGB321 in 4 different CLL xenograft studies. Transplantation of primary human CLL cells into NOG mice and treatment with LGB321 for 2 weeks strongly reduced WBC counts, spleen size and spleen infiltration with human CLL cells (P=.0295) in all four CLL cases, and blocked BAD as well as CXCR4 phosphorylation also in vivo.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate, that the Pan-PIM kinase inhibitor LGB321 might be an effective treatment option for CLL patients by impairing PIM2/3 mediated CLL-cell survival, and by blocking the PIM1/CXCR4-mediated interaction of CLL cells with their protective microenvironment in vitro and in vivo . Future clinical trials should be performed to validate its efficacy in human CLL.

Disclosures Claus: Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Funding.


The study was aimed to investigate the role and significance of CD123 with other immunological markers in detecting minimal residual disease (MRD) of APL patients. The immunophenotypes of 186 newly diagnosed APL patients and the percentages of cells identical with APL cell immunophenotypes in 20 normal bone marrow samples were analyzed using four-color flow cytometry. MRD in 172 specimens were monitored by mainly using CD34/CD117/CD123/HLA-DR four-color antibody panels, meanwhile 18 specimens were analyzed with the second antibody combination: CD9/CD117/CD34/CD33, simultaneously and the results were compared with real-time PCR. One hundred and sixteen of 172 bone marrow (BM) or peripheral blood (PB) specimens were from follow-up 19 newly diagnosed APL patients and the rest 56 samples were from 47 patients treated 3 to 24 months later. Among them, 117 samples and 55 samples were collected after achieving morphologic complete remission (mCR) and before achieving mCR respectively. The results of immunophenotyping demonstrated that except CD9, CD33 and CD117 were high-expressed and CD34 and HLA-DR were rarely expressed, the CD123 was expressed in 30/30 (100%) APL patients. The percentages of CD117(+)CD34(-)CD123(+)HLA-DR(-) and CD117(+)CD34(-)CD9(+)CD33(+) cells in nucleated cells were 0.066% +/- 0.012% and 0.089% +/- 0.066% in 20 normal bone marrow samples. The median time of achieving morphology complete remission in 19 APL patients was 4 weeks (3 - 6 weeks). The median time of FCM and PCR results turned to be negative in 13 APL patients was 7.5 weeks (5 - 11) and the median time of PCR results turned to be negative in 11 APL patients was 8 weeks (5 - 12). 41/117 (35.04%) samples were MRD positive by FCM after achieving mCR. The ratio of CD117(+)CD34(-)CD123(+)HLA-DR(-) cells was < 5% in 33 specimens, but > 5% in another 8 specimens, their median percentages of CD117(+)CD34(-)CD123(+)HLA-DR(-) cells were 0.48% (range 0.02% - 4.70%) and 9.02% (range 5.26% - 18.14%) respectively. The median relative percentages of CD123(+)HLA-DR(-) cells in CD117(+)CD34(-) population were 63.59% (range 15.11% - 98.36%) and 86.77% (range 63.29% - 92.62%) respectively. In FCM MRD positive samples, 95.9% (93/97) were PCR positive, the false positive rate of FCM and the false negative rate of PCR were 4.1% (4/97) and 8.75% (7/93) respectively. In FCM negative samples, 92% (69/75) were PCR negative and 8% (6/75) were PCR positive. The percentages of CD117(+)CD34(-)CD123(+)HLA-DR(-) cells in 116 consecutive specimens and 117 specimens of mCR were related to PML/RARalpha quantified by real-time PCR (r = 0.824, P < 0.001 and r = 0.754, P < 0.001 respectively). It is concluded that the detection of APL patients by means of two sets of antibody panels is simple and suitable, which is complementary to PCR in monitoring MRD of APL patients.


Twenty-six elders responded to an open-ended question as part of a study that examined the relationships among depression, health, memory self-efficacy, and metamemory. Participants rated their overall memory function as fair to average (M = 4.26, standard deviation [SD] = 1.29). The average memory efficacy scores were high (M = 51.35, SD = 23.56). The final question invited participants to share any additional information they thought might be important to this item. This article represents a content analysis of these comments. The mean age of responders was 68.78; all had high perceived health and no depression. No differences on memory self-efficacy arose among age groups. Themes included memory management, rationalization, reflection, information seeking, and correlation establishment. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to ask elders about memory function during routine health care encounters, as individuals are interested in memory assessment and management.


The pace of negotiations in the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations has quickened as the mid-December Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) approaches. At Hong Kong, WTO member countries are expected to reach agreements on specific measures (known as modalities) to expand global trade in agricultural and industrial products and services and set the stage for intensive negotiations that would take place during 2006. Despite intense negotiations, agreements on modalities, especially for agriculture, have eluded negotiators. This report provides background information on the WTO, the Doha Round, the key negotiating groups, and a schedule of historical and upcoming events relevant to the agricultural negotiations; reviews the agreements reached in the July 2004 framework and identifies issues that remain to be resolved by the Hong Kong Ministerial in December; discusses and compares the major agricultural negotiating proposals; and discusses the potential effects of an agricultural agreement on U.S. farm policy.


ABSTRACT Background The program "Santé Nutritionnelle à Assise Communautaire à Kayes" (SNACK) in Mali aimed to improve child linear growth through a set of interventions targeted to mothers and children during pregnancy and up to the child's second birthday. Distributions of cash to mothers and/or lipid-based nutrient supplement to children 6–23 mo of age were added to SNACK to increase attendance at community health centers (CHCs). Objectives The aim of this study, which was embedded in a cluster-randomized impact evaluation of the program, was to assess the incentive value of the cash in relation to CHC attendance. Methods We used a mixed-methods approach. We collected quantitative data on cash receipt and CHC attendance in a midline survey of mother–child pairs (n = 3443). A program impact pathway analysis guided qualitative data collection and analysis. Twelve CHCs were purposively selected in study groups that received cash. We conducted semistructured continuous observations of cash distributions in 11 CHCs (n = 22) and semistructured qualitative interviews with frontline workers (FLWs) (n = 71) and mothers (n = 22) who were purposively selected from the midline survey. Results FLWs' knowledge of the objective and implementation plan of the cash program component was limited. A challenging physical environment and insufficient cash available for each distribution were identified as causes of irregularities in cash distributions. Most mothers mentioned having to return several times to receive their cash. Child health was identified as the main motivation to attend CHCs and cash was described as an additional benefit. Conclusion Implementation constraints related to remoteness and inaccessibility may have undermined the incentive value of the cash transfers in the SNACK program. Additional research is needed to identify interventions that not only incentivize mothers to participate but that can be implemented effectively and with high quality in challenging contexts such as rural areas of Mali.


Betawi language as the language of the people who occupied Jakarta and its surroundings is used to define ethnicity and provided cultural identity of Betawi people. This study reports on the relationship between language and architecture in terms of Betawi vernacular. To support the understanding and explanation about the topic, data gathered through observation and semi-structured interview at Betawi cultural village. The understanding about Betawi vernacular can best be replaced by the concepts of architecture in Betawi traditional houses. The study shows that the relationship between language and architecture can be seen in terms of its continuous dependability and relationship. The parts and sections of Betawi houses represent the openness towards outside and new influences, which accommodate creative and innovative forms added to Betawi houses. This openness can be traced in terms of language, which is represented in the form of having various borrowing words from other languages. The simplicity of Betawi house is the representation of the simplicity of Betawi language as can be seen in the form of grammatical features of the language. In sum, there is a clear relationship between Betawi language and architecture in terms of its simplicity, its openness, and its adaptability towards foreign influences.


The development of a navigation system is one of the major challenges in building a fully autonomous platform. Full autonomy requires a dependable navigation capability not only in a perfect situation with clear GPS signals but also in situations, where the GPS is unreliable. Therefore, self-contained odometry systems have attracted much attention recently. This paper provides a general and comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the field of self-contained, i.e., GPS denied odometry systems, and identifies the out-coming challenges that demand further research in future. Self-contained odometry methods are categorized into five main types, i.e., wheel, inertial, laser, radar, and visual, where such categorization is based on the type of the sensor data being used for the odometry. Most of the research in the field is focused on analyzing the sensor data exhaustively or partially to extract the vehicle pose. Different combinations and fusions of sensor data in a tightly/loosely coupled manner and with filtering or optimizing fusion method have been investigated. We analyze the advantages and weaknesses of each approach in terms of different evaluation metrics, such as performance, response time, energy efficiency, and accuracy, which can be a useful guideline for researchers and engineers in the field. In the end, some future research challenges in the field are discussed.


Objectives Some early studies indicated lower survival with longer time from diagnosis to cancer treatment, but others showed the reverse. We investigated time to treatment of colorectal cancer and associations with survival. Setting and participants Clinical registry data for colorectal cancer cases diagnosed in 2000–2010 at four major public hospitals in South Australia and treated by surgery (n=1675), radiotherapy (n=616) and/or systemic therapy (n=1556). Design A historic cohort design, with rank-order tests for ordinal clinical and sociodemographic predictors and multiple logistic regression for comparing time from diagnosis to treatment. Unadjusted Kaplan-Meier estimates and adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression were used to investigate disease-specific survival by time to treatment. Outcome measures Time to treatment and survival from diagnosis to death from colorectal cancer. Results Treatment (any type) commenced for 87% of surgical cases <60 days of diagnosis, with 80% having surgery within this period. Of those receiving radiotherapy, 59% began this treatment <60 days, and of those receiving systemic therapy, the corresponding proportion was 56%. Adjusted analyses showed treatment delay >60 days was more likely for rectal cancers, 2006–2010 diagnoses, residents of northern than other metropolitan regions and for surgery, younger ages <50 years and unexpectedly, those residing closer to metropolitan services. Adjusting for clinical and sociodemographic factors, and diagnostic year, better survival occurred in <2 years from diagnosis for time to treatment >30 days. Survival in the 3–10 years postdiagnosis generally did not differ by time to treatment, except for lower survival for any treatment >90 days for surgical cases. Conclusions The lower survival <2 years from diagnosis for treatment <30 days of diagnosis is consistent with other studies attributed to preferencing more complicated cases for earlier care. Lower 3–10 years survival for surgical cases first treated >90 days from diagnosis is consistent with previously reported U-shaped relationships.


Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3, a member of a family of DNA-binding molecules mediating numerous physiological and oncogenic signaling pathways, is a novel target in cancer cells which show high phosphorylation of STAT3. Recently, we identified a novel small-molecule inhibitor of STAT3 dimerization, STX-0119, as a cancer therapeutic. We investigated the mechanisms responsible for the antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo through numerous biochemical and biological assays. Specifically, the effects of STX-0119 on target genes (c-myc, cyclin D1, survivin) and apoptosis induction were analyzed in tumors treated with STX-0119 in vivo. STX-0119 showed strong growth-inhibitory activity against a broad range of hematological cancer cell lines, particularly lymphomas. STX-0119 suppressed the growth of SCC3 cells, a human lymphoma cell line with highly activated STAT3, through apoptosis and down-regulation of STAT3 targets such as c-myc, cyclin D1, survivin and Bcl-xL. Notably, Tyr-705-phosphorylated STAT3 up-regulation was not significantly suppressed by STX-0119, as opposed to other STAT3 inhibitors. STX-0119 demonstrated potent antitumor effects in vivo in SCC3-bearing nude mice by way of the down-regulation of STAT3 target genes and induction of apoptosis in the tumors. Thus, STX-0119 may be a new type of STAT3 inhibitor exhibiting strong antitumor activity.


In the field of pattern recognition, multiple classifier systems based on the combination of outputs of a set of different classifiers have been proposed as a method for the development of high performance classification systems. Previous work clearly showed that multiple classifier. Systems are effective only if the classifiers forming them make independent errors. Therefore, the fundamental need for methods aimed to design "error-independent" classifiers is currently acknowledged. In the paper, an approach to the automatic design of multiple classifier systems is proposed. Given an initial large set of classifiers, our approach is aimed at selecting the subset formed by the most error-independent classifiers. Reported results on the classification of multisensor remote-sensing images show that this approach allows to design effective multiple classifier systems.


Objective: The aim of this article is to assess the use of the anterior cervical angle (ACA) as a predictor of spontaneous preterm delivery (sPTD) at 20+0-24+6 weeks of gestation in an unselected population. Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study that included 93 women who later delivered spontaneously <34 weeks of gestation and 225 controls. The ACA was assessed retrospectively on all selected images using ImageJ® software. The concordance correlation coefficient was determined for the assessment of interobserver variability. Continuous variables were adjusted by maternal characteristics and expressed as the z-score or multiples of the expected normal median (MoM) of the unaffected group. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate whether any maternal characteristics and ultrasound variables were significantly associated with sPTD <34 weeks. Results: ACA z-score values were significantly greater in women who later delivered <34 weeks compared to controls (ACA z-score = 1.32 ± 0.57 vs. -0.09 ± 0.35; p = 0.035). The best prediction of sPTD <34 weeks was provided by a model that combined cervical length (CL) MoM, ACA z-score and maternal characteristics. For a fixed false-positive rate of 10%, the detection rate for this model was 37.6%. Conclusion: A model combining maternal history, CL and ACA at 20+0-24+6 weeks of gestation can predict approximately 40% of the severe preterm births.


de Groot, Richter, and Throckmorton (2018) argue that the model in Basu and Bundick (2017) can match the empirical evidence only because the model assumes an asymptote in the economy?s response to an uncertainty shock. In this Reply, we provide new results showing that our model?s ability to match the data does not rely either on assuming preferences that imply an asymptote nor on a particular value of the intertemporal elasticity of substitution. We demonstrate that shifting to preferences that are not vulnerable to the Comment?s critique does not change our previous conclusions about the propagation of uncertainty shocks to macroeconomic outcomes.


Epidermal growth factor (EGF) was first isolated from the mouse submaxillary gland, and later from human urine. The synthesis of mouse EGF is stimulated by thyroid hormone and inhibited by antithyroid therapy. EGF in turn stimulates the growth of thyroid cells. The objective of the present study was to determine whether salivary EGF levels are affected by thyroid hormone level in man. Unstimulated saliva was obtained from 13 (1 male, 12 females) untreated thyrotoxic patients (age 19-64 yr) and from 21 (2 males, 19 females) healthy controls (age 19-68 yr). After centrifugation at 1000 x g, the supernatants were assayed for human (h) EGF in a homologous radioimmunoassay. The mean +/- SEM concentration of hEGF was 0.42 +/- 0.05 nmol/L in controls compared with 0.71 +/- 0.25 nmol/L in thyrotoxic patients (p > 0.05). Thyrotoxic patients with goiter secreted significantly higher concentrations of hEGF (0.92 +/- 0.24 nmol/L) in saliva than did euthyroid controls or nongoitrous thyrotoxic patients (0.31 +/- 0.11 nmol/L, p < 0.01).


This study offers a systematic stability analysis of unsteady shear flows representing large-scale, low-frequency internal waves in the ocean. The analysis is based on the unbounded time-dependent Couette model. This setup makes it possible to isolate the instabilities caused by uniform shear from those that can be attributed to resonant triad interactions or to the presence of inflection points in vertical velocity profiles. Linear analysis suggests that time-dependent spatially uniform shears are unstable regardless of the Richardson number (Ri). However, the growth rate of instability monotonically decreases with increasing Ri and increases with increasing frequency of oscillations. Therefore, models assuming a steady basic state—which are commonly used to conceptualize shear-induced instability and mixing—can be viewed as singular limits of the corresponding time-dependent systems. The present investigation is focused on the supercritical range of Richardson numbers (Ri > 1/4) where steady parallel flows are stable. An explicit relation is proposed for the growth rate of shear instability as a function of background parameters. For moderately supercritical Richardson numbers (Ri ~ 1), we find that the growth rates obtained are less than, but comparable to, those expected for Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities of steady shears at Ri < 1/4. Hence, we conclude that the instability of time-dependent flows could represent a viable mixing mechanism in the ocean, particular in regions characterized by relatively weak wave activity and predominantly supercritical large-scale shears.


Disclaimer This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the CBN.The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of the Central Bank of Nigeria and its Management. This paper investigated factors responsible for high lending rates. It also identifies the floor and threshold for lending rate beyond which it becomes detrimental to growth and investment in the Nigerian economy. The study employed quarterly data set covering the period 2000-2013 using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method to investigate the key determinants of maximum lending rate. The quadratic function and the iterative model were employed for determining the threshold lending rate in Nigeria. The paper followed the works of McKinnon (1973) and Shaw (1973) for the threshold model which suggested the likelihood of positive effect of interest rate on private investment particularly in developing economies. The study found more credible support for these Authors' work. The Results of the "quadratic model" estimated to determine the threshold found the threshold lending rate of 21.46% while the "iterative threshold method" identified 21% as the threshold lending rate. The study therefore, suggests a threshold lending rate band of between 21% 21.5%. It can be deduced from the study that a relatively high interest rate beyond the threshold band can be detrimental to investment. JEL Classification Numbers: C23, E21, G21, G30


The structural phenotype of neural connections in the auditory brainstem is sculpted by spontaneous and stimulus-induced neural activities during development. However, functional and molecular mechanisms of spontaneous action potentials (SAPs) in the developing cochlea are unknown. Additionally, it is unclear how regenerating hair cells establish their neural ranking in the constellation of neurons in the brainstem. We have demonstrated that a transient Ca2+ current produced by the Cav3.1 channel is expressed early in development to initiate spontaneous Ca2+ spikes. Cav1.3 currents, typical of mature hair cells, appeared later in development. Moreover, there is a surprising disappearance of the Cav3.1 current that coincides with the attenuation of the transient Ca2+ current as the electrical properties of hair cells transition to the mature phenotype. Remarkably, this process is recapitulated during hair-cell regeneration, suggesting that the transient expression of Cav3.1 and the ensuing SAPs are signatures of hair cell development and regeneration.


Public transport sustainability is becoming a major driver for public transport development. Public transport ridership represents one of the key performance indicators of sustainability in the sense of balancing the economic, social and environmental aspects of public transport. There are various methods for improving the attractiveness of public transport for passengers by reducing resistances, which discourage potential and existing passengers to use public transport. Transport ticketing is one of the methods. This article presents a methodological framework for evaluating transport ticketing technologies with the use of a transport ticketing convenience model developed by the authors as well as some survey results through the application of the developed framework on traditional smart ticketing and contactless payment card ticketing technologies. First, a methodological framework for modelling ticketing convenience based on end-to-end passenger experience is presented. Second, a ticketing convenience model for barrier-free and double-sided validation baseline ticketing systems is developed. Third, the ticketing system based on contactless bank payment cards is compared with traditional smart ticketing systems in terms of convenience. It is shown that a contactless payment cards ticketing system has greater convenience or a better, more seamless travel experience than traditional smart systems. Finally, some research perspectives on enhancing the ticketing convenience model by using mobile smartphones with NFC, BLE and GPS technology, as well as the inclusion of technologies related to ticketing such as passenger information systems into the model, are contemplated.


The band structure and magnetic properties of cubic (3C) and hexagonal (6H) polytypes of silicon carbide doped with 3d transition metals have been studied by ab initio calculations. We demonstrate that for 3C-SiC Cr and Mn produce half-metallic ferromagnetic solutions at both (Si and C) substitution sites, but with different magnetic moments, while SiC:Fe remains paramagnetic. A similar situation has been observed for 6H-SiC; however, Fe on the Si site at low concentrations leads to a ferromagnetic ordering.


The success of the contemporary 'living wage' movement has been highlighted by the UK government's decision to increase the statutory minimum wage for over-25s sharply, in the name of improving living standards. This breaks with neoliberal reluctance to intervene in labour markets, yet raises difficult issues centring around whether minimum hourly pay rates are suited to promoting adequate household incomes. At worst, 'living wages' could distract from other policies with this objective. This article acknowledges recent critiques of the living wage as an anti-poverty measure, but demonstrates that, in combination with other policies, wage floors can play a crucial role. It shows that low pay and inadequate working incomes overlap substantially. The article argues that governments promising that work will deliver adequate living standards need a clearer narrative in which pay, public transfers/subsidies and sufficient levels of employment combine to deliver minimum acceptable living standards for working families.


Purpose of review Air pollution poses a significant health risk. The article focuses on the adverse effects of air pollution on the cardiovascular system. Recent findings Short-term and long-term studies clearly indicate that relatively modest exposures to particulate matter in the ambient air are associated with increased morbidity and mortality due to coronary heart disease. In humans, inhalational exposure to particulate air pollutants decreases heart rate variability, causes ST-segment depression and endothelial dysfunction, increases blood pressure and blood coagulability, and accelerates the progression of atherosclerosis. Mechanisms of air pollution-induced cardiotoxicity include increased generation of reactive oxygen species followed by activation of proinflammatory and prothrombotic pathways. In experimental settings, ultrafine air pollutants instilled directly into the cardiac vasculature depress cardiac contractility and decrease coronary flow. Both effects are attenuated by the use of a free radical scavenger. Summary Reactive oxygen species-related mechanisms of air pollution cardiotoxicity might become a valid target in developing new pharmacological strategies aimed at decreasing adverse effects of air pollution during extreme episodes (fires, earthquakes, industrial accidents, acts of terrorism). Educating patients and the general population on the negative cardiovascular effects of air pollution might be helpful in decreasing the risk of developing air pollution-related coronary heart disease.


This article reviews recent theoretical studies of off-shell science that have been launched recently based on quantum field theory, category algebra theory, quantum measurement theory, and quantum walk theory. Studies on the Majorana field have revealed a new dynamic channel that explains the enigmatic phenomena of the dressed photon (DP), and concludes that the DP is generated by pair annihilation of unstable timelike Majorana particles. Furthermore, the DP constant is defined as the third component of natural units. To describe the interacting quantum fields (including the DP) by category algebra, general relationships among spacelike events are studied to deal with ordered sets (causality structures) and groups (symmetry structures) as relativity in a generalized sense. Relativity and the quantum nature are integrated as a category theoretical structure and as a noncommutative probabilistic structure, respectively. Measurement theory is reviewed for describing the interacting quantum field by using algebraic quantum field theory based on a local net. Finally, quantum walk models are reviewed for numerically analyzing the unique nature of DP energy transfer. After defining the Grover walk and the boundary operators, the centered generalized eigenspace is characterized by using the concept of flow from graph theory. Studies on counter-intuitive phenomena for the Grover walk on a general connected graph by using spectral analysis are also reviewed.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
To determine the effects of bilevel positive airway pressure with pressure release technology (Bi-Flex) on adherence and efficacy in children and adolescents compared to standard continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. We hypothesized that Bi-Flex would result in improved adherence but similar efficacy to CPAP.

METHODS
This was a randomized, double-blinded clinical trial. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea were randomized to CPAP or Bi-Flex. Repeat polysomnography was performed on pressure at 3 months. Objective adherence data were obtained at 1 and 3 months.

RESULTS
56 children and adolescents were evaluated. There were no significant differences in the number of nights the device was turned on, or the mean number of minutes used at pressure per night for CPAP vs Bi-Flex (24 ± 6 vs 22 ± 9 nights, and 201 ± 135 vs 185 ± 165 min, respectively, for Month 1). The apnea hypopnea index decreased significantly from 22 ± 21/h to 2 ± 3/h on CPAP (p = 0.005), and 18 ± 15/h to 2 ± 2/h on Bi-Flex (p < 0.0005), but there was no significant difference between groups (p = 0.82 for CPAP vs Bi-Flex). The Epworth Sleepiness Scale decreased from 8 ± 5 to 6 ± 3 on CPAP (p = 0.14), and 10 ± 6 to 5 ± 5 on Bi-Flex (p < 0.0005; p = 0.12 for CPAP vs Bi-Flex).

CONCLUSIONS
Both CPAP and Bi-Flex are efficacious in treating children and adolescents with OSAS. However, adherence is suboptimal with both methods. Further research is required to determine ways to improve adherence in the pediatric population.


In the past few years, there have been a number of proposals for generalizing the factor analysis (FA) model and its mixture version (known as mixtures of factor analyzers (MFA)) using non-normal and asymmetric distributions. These models adopt various types of skew densities for either the factors or the errors. While the relationships between various choices of skew distributions have been discussed in the literature, the differences between placing the assumption of skewness on the factors or on the errors have not been closely studied. This paper examines these formulations and discusses the connections between these two types of formulations for skew factor models. In doing so, we introduce a further formulation that unifies these two formulations; that is, placing a skew distribution on both the factors and the errors.


In this paper, we consider the problem of finding an optimal reconstruction from two views of a piecewise planar scene. We consider the general case of uncalibrated cameras, hence place us in a projective framework. In this case, there is no meaningful metric information about the object space that could be used to define optimization criteria. Taking into account that the images are then the only spaces where an optimization process makes sense, there is a need at each step of the reconstruction process, from the detection of planar structures to motion estimation and actual 3D reconstruction, of a consistent image level representation of geometric 3D structures. In our case, we need to represent camera motion and 3D points that are subject to coplanarity constraints. It is well known that camera motion between two views can be represented on the image level via the epipolar geometry (fundamental matrix). Coplanarity constraints can be expressed via a collection of 2D homographies. Unfortunately, these algebraic entities are over-parameterized in the sense that the 2D homographie- s must in addition obey constraints imposed by the epipolar geometry. We are thus looking for a minimal and consistent representation of motion (epipolar geometry) and structure (points+homographies) that in addition should be easy to use for minimizing reprojection error in a bundle adjustment manner. In this paper, we propose such a representation and use it to devise fast and accurate estimation methods for each step of the reconstructio- n process, including image point matching, plane detection and optimal triangulation of planes and points on planes. We make extensive use of the quasi-linear optimization principle. A great number of experimental results show that the new methods give superior results compared to approaches that do not estimate motion and multi-planar structure simultaneously and consistently, even in cases when the observed scene is not perfectly coplanar.


AbstractHashemite Iraq was better integrated into the global cinema that other Arab countries. Baghdad audiences loved film noir, and the US succeeded in displacing the UK as a source of newsreels, as well. During the Cold War's first decade, Hollywood continued to pump inexpensive productions and aged celluloid through Iraq, including films made under US government contracts. Local viewers responded thoughtfully to such films, engaging themes such as responsibility and guilt. Against this general background, specific allegations that testing of weapons delivery systems for germ warfare continued after the end of the Korean War, are assessed in the light that public health authorities reported a series of outbreaks of meningitis among audiences in Baghdad cinemas.


Trametes gallica (T. gallica) is a high producer of lignin-degrading enzymes including laccases, lignin peroxidases (LiPs), manganese-dependent peroxidases (MnPs), and hemicellulases (Hcels). The enzyme activities could peak at an early stage of fermentation. The activities of laccases and LiPs were high in high-nitrogen, low–carbon, and high inorganic salt media, while the activities of MnPs, and Hcels were the high in low-nitrogen, high–carbon, and high inorganic salt medium. It was found that T. gallica caused 34.4% mass losses after 20 days, 46.7% after 30 days, and 70.1% after 60 days, and at the same time T. gallica was able to degrade lignin at an early stage of solid fermentation. Based on these results, T. gallica may be a strain candidate for biopulping in the paper industry.


In this paper the analysis of the dynamic behavior of a variable speed wind turbine (VSWT) is presented. Comparison between variable speed and constant speed (CS) mode of operation is also performed. The examined wind turbine is equipped with a dual PWM voltage source converter cascade and connected to an electrical network represented by the Thevenin equivalent. Conventional scalar control is applied to the electrical generator, employing the constant V/f principle. Furthermore, the grid side inverter is assumed capable of regulating its output reactive power in order to maintain the voltage within permissible variations. The objective is to point out some of the advantages of the variable speed (VS) operation, such as the improved output power quality, the decrease of the mechanical stresses and the capability of controlling the voltage of the local grid.


1. Oresajo C, Yatskayer M, Hansenne I. Clinical tolerance and efficacy of capryloyl salicylic acid peel compared to a glycolic acid peel in subjects with fine lines/wrinkles and hyperpigmented skin. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2008;7:259--62. 2. Uhoda E, Piérard-Franchimont C, Piérard GE. Comedolysis by a lipohydroxyacid formulation in acne-prone subjects. Eur J Dermatol. 2003;13:65--8. 3. Bissonnette R, Bolduc C, Seité S, Nigen S, Provost N, Maari C, et al. Randomized study comparing the efficacy and tolerance of a lipophilic hydroxy acid derivative of salicylic acid and 5% benzoyl peroxide in the treatment of facial acne vulgaris. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2009;8:19--23. 4. Saint-Léger D, Lévêque JL, Verschoore M. The use of hydroxy acids on the skin: Characteristics of C8-lipohydroxy acid. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2007;6:59--65. 5. De Groot A, Rustemeyer T, Hissink D, Bakker M. Contact allergy to capryloyl salicylic acid. Contact Dermatitis. 2014;71:185--7. 6. Roberts DW, Aptula AO. Contact allergy to capryloyl salicylic acid: A mechanistic chemistry and structure-activity perspective. Contact Dermatitis. 2015;72:347--51.


This article discusses the development of tourism sector in Banyuwangi regency 2002-2013. The problems in this thesis are (1) the conditions of tourism before the government issues policies; (2) the regional government's efforts to develop tourism sector; (3) the impact of tourism towards economic, social, and cultural life in Banyuwangi regency. To discuss the problems, this study applies theory of modernization by using the sociology of tourism approach and historical method. Tourism is not merely an activity to find pleasure, but also the source of foreign exchange. One of regencies which can develop tourism industry is Banyuwangi. The development of tourism in this regency, in its early development, experienced fluctuation that was caused by the economic crisis and the tragedy of santet (the killings of many people who were issued having black magic in 1998-1999) that decreased Banyuwangi's tourism image. Such condition still run until the issue of the 2102 regional government's regulation as the legal standing of tourism development in Banyuwangi. This regulation has got positive response from the investors that has been showed by the construction of hotel industry, tourism destinations, and transportation which have made Banyuwangi as the centre of emergent economic department in East Java. The growth of tourism has brought new jobs for the society as the managers of tourism services and regrowing local cultures through carnival events conducted by the regional government and society.


In the scheduling with non-uniform communication delay problem, the input is a set of jobs with precedence constraints. Associated with every precedence constraint between a pair of jobs is a communication delay, the time duration the scheduler has to wait between the two jobs if they are scheduled on different machines. The objective is to assign the jobs to machines to minimize the makespan of the schedule. Despite being a fundamental problem in theory and a consequential problem in practice, the approximability of scheduling problems with communication delays is not very well understood. One of the top ten open problems in scheduling theory, in the influential list by Schuurman and Woeginger and its latest update by Bansal, asks if the problem admits a constant factor approximation algorithm. In this paper, we answer the question in negative by proving that there is a logarithmic hardness for the problem under the standard complexity theory assumption that NP-complete problems do not admit quasi-polynomial time algorithms. Our hardness result is obtained using a surprisingly simple reduction from a problem that we call Unique Machine Precedence constraints Scheduling (UMPS). We believe that this problem is of central importance in understanding the hardness of many scheduling problems and conjecture that it is very hard to approximate. Among other things, our conjecture implies a logarithmic hardness of related machine scheduling with precedences, a long-standing open problem in scheduling theory and approximation algorithms.


The advanced silicon semiconductor technology requires doping methods for production of ultra-shallow junctions with sufficiently low sheet resistance. Furthermore, advanced 3-dimensional topologies may require controlled local doping that cannot be achieved by ionimplantation. Here, the application of the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method for pre-deposition of dopant sources is presented. Antimony oxide and boron oxide were investigated for such application. Ozone-based ALD was carried out on silicon wafers by using triethylantimony or tris-(dimethylamido)borane. Very homogeneous Sb2O5 deposition could be achieved on flat silicon wafers and in trench structures. The thermal stability of antimony oxide layers was investigated by rapid thermal annealing experiments. The layers were not stable above 750 °C. Therefore, this material failed to act as dopant source so far.

In contrast, ultra-shallow boron doping of silicon from ALD grown boron oxide films was successful. However, pure B2O3 films were highly unstable after exposure to ambient air. The boron oxide films could be protected by thin Sb2O5 or Al2O3 films that were in-situ grown by ALD. Low temperature ALD of Al2O3 at 50 °C from trimethylaluminium (TMA) and ozone was investigated in detail with respect of its protective effect on boron oxide. Interestingly, it was observed that already one ALD cycle of TMA and O3 resulted in significant increase in stability of the boron oxide in air.

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