Background: The outcome of patients with blast phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) remains extremely poor despite the advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), and the majority of blast phase patients have already failed the currently licensed TKIs during the chronic phase. Currently there is no standard therapy for patients with blast phase CML, but most will receive 2 or 3 courses of chemotherapy or a TKI, followed by stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). In the PACE clinical trial of ponatinib, 23% of patients with blast phase CML achieved major cytogenetic response, with overall survival of 20% at 12 months. To date, there has been no prospective evaluation of salvage chemotherapy in combination with ponatinib.
 Methods: MATCHPOINT is a seamless Phase I/II trial to determine the optimal dose of ponatinib in combination with conventional chemotherapy (fludarabine, cytarabine, idarubicin and G-CSF; FLAG-IDA) for the treatment of CML in blast phase. An efficient Bayesian design, EffTox, which utilises both efficacy and toxicity to select desirable doses for subsequent patient cohorts, was used. Given the observed patient outcomes and the investigators' prior beliefs, the next cohort's dose is chosen adaptively to optimize the risk-benefit trade-off between efficacy and toxicity. The initial ponatinib dose was 30mg daily, commenced on day 1 of FLAG-IDA chemotherapy. Where possible, ponatinib was given continuously during the remission-induction phase, but ponatinib therapy was interrupted from day 28 of each cycle if haematologic recovery had not occurred. Patients received one or two cycles of FLAG-IDA chemotherapy plus ponatinib at the allocated dose level, and then proceeded to alloSCT followed by ponatinib maintenance. The co-primary outcome measured toxicity (dose-limiting toxicity; DLT) during the first therapy cycle and efficacy (clinical response; haematologic or cytogenetic) after the first cycle.
 Results: A total of 17 patients were recruited between March 2015 and May 2018. Eight presented with de-novo blast phase CML and 9 had progressed on TKI. Eight patients had additional cytogenetic abnormalities and 3 had BCR-ABL kinase domain mutations (E255K x2 and T315I x1) at study entry. Nine and 8 patients commenced 1 or 2 cycles of FLAG-IDA + ponatinib, respectively. Of these, 16 patients were evaluable for the primary analysis. Treatment-related mortality (TRM) occurred in 3 patients during remission-induction (cardiomyopathy x1, pulmonary haemorrhage x1 and marrow aplasia x1). During cycle 1, 4/16 patients experienced a DLT (raised ALT x1, fulminant cardiomyopathy x1, cerebral sinus vein thrombosis x1, elevated amylase x1). Eleven of 16 (69%) patients achieved a clinical response, defined as either complete haematologic (3 patients) or cytogenetic response (1 minor and 9 major [2 partial and 7 complete]). Five patients achieved major molecular remission after cycle 1. All patients were recommended to be dosed at the 30mg dose, which was defined as the optimal dose for ponatinib with FLAG-IDA. Nine patients proceeded to alloSCT (7 myeloablative and 2 reduced intensity). Four patients developed acute GvHD (grades 2-4) and 3 had CMV reactivation. Four patients re-started ponatinib maintenance post alloSCT, and de-escalated to 15mg if major molecular remission was maintained. Overall 1-year survival was 45.8% (95% CI 26.9-77.7%), estimated using Kaplan Meier.
 Summary/Conclusion: We report the first prospective trial of ponatinib and conventional chemotherapy for blast phase CML. The EffTox model combined Phase I and II, and delivered efficiency in determining the trial's optimal dose. This innovative statistical model has the potential to be applied in other rare malignancies. We confirm that FLAG-IDA + ponatinib 30mg, is a tolerable combination in blast phase CML, with promising response and survival. Post-transplant ponatinib was well tolerated and no excess toxicity was observed when ponatinib was used both pre- and post alloSCT. The combination of ponatinib and FLAG-IDA represents a potentially important advance in the treatment of blast phase CML, a rare complication which currently has a very poor outcome.

 Copland: Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Astellas: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Cyclacel: Research Funding. Byrne:Ariad/Incyte: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Brock:Astrazeneca: Equity Ownership, Honoraria. De Lavallade:Incyte biosciences: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Clark:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; Ariad/Incyte: Honoraria; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria. Milojkovic:Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Yap:Celgene: Honoraria; Faron Pharmaceuticals: Other: Consultancy.

 Ponatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). It is licensed to treat: - chronic myeloid leukaemia where the leukaemic cells have gene change (mutation) called T315I - acute lymphoblastic leukaemia that has an abnormal chromosome called the Philadelphia chromosome, or has the T315I mutation


Background Several studies have already focused on anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Results of these studies showed that anti-CCP were associated with polyarticular sub-type (pJIA) and more severe disease, especially for structural damages. However, these studies analysed global JIA without focusing on the polyarticular form and especially on rheumatoid factors (RF) positive pJIA. Objectives Determine the prevalence of anti-CCP and evaluate their clinical and radiographic significance in polyarticular JIA at adulthood. Methods Anti-CCP antibodies were determined in a large cohort of polyarticular form of JIA at adulthood. Following demographic and clinical data were collected: sex, age at diagnostic, medical treatments (corticosteroids, DMARDs and biotherapies), history of surgery, number of synovitis and C-reactive protein at the last medical visit. Rheumatoid factors (RF) and antinuclear antibodies (AAN) have been collected. Radiographic damages were evaluated by the Sharp Van Der Heijde score. Results 56 patients with polyarticular form of JIA, fulfilling the ILAR criteria, persisting at adulthood were included with mean age of 25±8.1 years and mean disease duration of 14.3±8.7 years. Antibodies status (anti-CCP, RF and AAN) was performed after a mean of 11.6±9 years after the diagnosis. 29/56 (52%) patients were anti-CCP positive. Anti-CCP positive pJIA had a significant association with presence of RF (97% vs 26%, p<0.0001), a higher use of biotherapies (86% vs 70%, p=0.02, OR=4.3 [1.2-15.8]) and were older at diagnosis (13±3.4 vs 7.6±4.9, p=0.00001) than anti-CCP negative patients. No differences have detected for sex, presence of antinuclear antibodies, synovitis, CRP, Corticosteroids, DMARDs and surgery. Radiographic damages were similar between the two sub-groups for erosion (16.2±21.3 vs 14.8±28.3), joint space narrowing (24.3±29.3 vs 23.8±34.9) and total scores (40.4±46.8 vs 38.7±61.8). In the sub-group of RF positive pJIA (n=35), 28 were anti-CCP positive and 7 negative. No differences for sex, clinical data, medical treatments, surgery and radiographic damages have been detected. Conclusions In this large cohort of polyarticular JIA patients at adulthood, anti-CCP antibodies are associated with a higher need of biotherapies but not with a more structural radiographic severe disease. A small sub-group of patients were RF+ and anti-CCP-. Comparison of RF+ and anti-CCP+ and RF+ and anti-CCP- patients showed that anti-CCP did not seem to bring more information as RF but a larger cohort will be necessary to confirm these results. Finally, our results suggest that polyarticular JIA patients evolving at adulthood are independent of anti-CCP antibodies status at the difference of the pJIA in childhood in which anti-CCP status remains a poor prognostic factor. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.5319


Nowadays artificial light is used in many areas of human life. Dedicated lighting allows to emphasize selected features of technical and biological objects, stimulates the growth of plants or enhances the attractiveness of products or artistic works. In this paper a developed low-cost lamp with an adjustable spectrum was presented. As light sources, several LEDs of both narrow-band and wide-band spectrum were selected. A multi-channel Raspberry PI was applied for LEDs driving and ensuring the user's interface. To properly mix light from several different LEDs, a dedicated integration sphere was used, covered with paint based on barium sulfate. Full Text: PDF ReferencesD.L. DiLaura, K.W. Houser, R.G. Mistrick, G.R. Steffy, The lighting handbook (Illuminating Engineering Society 2011). DirectLink CREE Inc, Cree® 2835 LEDs Product family datasheet, (accessed 19 February 2022). DirectLink F. Szabó, R. Kéri, J. Schanda, P. Csuti, E/ Mihálykó-Orbán, A study of preferred colour rendering of light sources: home lighting, Lighting Research and Technology (Epub ahead of print 2014). CrossRef M. Feldzensztajn, P. Wierzba, A. Mazikowski, "Examination of Spectral Properties of Medicinal Plant Leaves Grown in Different Lighting Conditions Based on Mint Cultivation", Sensors 21, 4122 (2021), CrossRef S. Barbut, "Effect of illumination source on the appearance of fresh meat cuts", Meat Science 59(2), 187 (2001), CrossRef A.J. Knulst, R. Mooijweer, F.W. Jansen, L.P. Stassen, J. Dankelman, "Indicating shortcomings in surgical lighting systems", Minim. Invasive Theor. Apllied Technol. 20(5), 267 (2011). CrossRef C.M. Browning, M. Parker, T.C. Rich, S.J. Leavesley, "Illuminating the optical properties of an LED-based spectral light source for hyperspectral endoscopy", Proc. SPIE 11636, 1163608 (2021) CrossRef H.C. Wang, Y.T. Chen, J.T. Lin, C.P. Chiang, F.H. Cheng, "Enhanced visualization of oral cavity for early inflamed tissue detection", Opt. Expr. 18 (11), 11800 (2010). CrossRef D.H. Larsen, E.J. Woltering, C.C.S. Nicole, L.M.F. Marcelis, "Response of Basil Growth and Morphology to Light Intensity and Spectrum in a Vertical Farm", Frontiers in Plant Science 11, 597906 (2020) CrossRef T. Cegielski, D. Bujalski, K. Kowalczyk, J. Gajc-Wolska, L. Hemka, Proc. Electrotechn. Inst. 63 (273), 79 (2016), CrossRef A. Mazikowski, M. Feldzensztajn, Proc. SPIE 10445, 10445OK (2017). CrossRef A. Llenas, J. Carreras, "Arbitrary spectral matching using multi-LED lighting systems", Opt. Eng. 58(3), 035105 (2019). CrossRef F.J. Burgos et al., "Image and Signal Processing", Lect. Notes Comput. Sci. 8509, 115 (2014), CrossRef M. Feldzensztajn, A. Mazikowski, "Comparison of modelling and measurement results of spectra emitted by a programmable lamp", Photon. Lett. Poland 10(2), 42 (2018), CrossRef CIE, Publication No. 127, Measurement of LEDs (Central Bureau of the CIE, Vienna, Austria, 2007). DirectLink N. Kington, B. Bugbee, A Mixture of Barilium Sulfateand White Paint is a Low-Cost Substitute Reflectance Standard for Spectralon (Utah State University, 2005), DirectLink


Background: Primary care serves as an integral part of the health systems of nations especially the African continent. It is the portal of entry for nearly all patients into the health care system. Paucity of accurate data for health statistics remains a challenge in the most parts of Africa because of inadequate technical manpower and infrastructure. Inadequate quality of data systems contributes to inaccurate data. A simple-to-use classification system such as the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) may be a solution to this problem at the primary care level. Objectives: To apply ICPC-2 for secondary coding of reasons for encounter (RfE), problems managed and processes of care in a Nigerian primary care setting. Furthermore, to analyze the value of selected presented symptoms as predictors of the most common diagnoses encountered in the study setting. Materials and Methods: Content analysis of randomly selected patients' paper records for data collection at the end of clinic sessions conducted by family physicians at the general out-patients' clinics. Contents of clinical consultations were secondarily coded with the ICPC-2 and recorded into excel spreadsheets with fields for sociodemographic data such as age, sex, occupation, religion, and ICPC elements of an encounter: RfE/complaints, diagnoses/problems, and interventions/processes of care. Results: Four hundred and one encounters considered in this study yielded 915 RfEs, 546 diagnoses, and 1221 processes. This implies an average of 2.3 RfE, 1.4 diagnoses, and 3.0 processes per encounter. The top 10 RfE, diagnoses/common illnesses, and processes were determined. Through the determination of the probability of the occurrence of certain diseases beginning with a RfE/complaint, the top five diagnoses that resulted from each of the top five RfE were also obtained. The top five RfE were: headache, fever, pain general/multiple sites, visual disturbance other and abdominal pain/cramps general. The top five diagnoses were: Malaria, hypertension uncomplicated, visual disturbance other, peptic ulcer, and upper respiratory infection. From the determination of the posterior probability given the top five RfE, malaria, hypertension, upper respiratory infection, refractive error, and conjuctivitis were the five most frequent diagnoses that resulted from a complaint of a headache. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that ICPC-2 can be applied to primary care data in the Nigerian context to generate information about morbidity and services provided. It also provided an empirical basis to support diagnosis and prognostication in a primary care setting. In developing countries where the transition to electronic health records is still evolving and fraught with limitations, more reliable data collection can be achieved from paper records through the application of the ICPC-2.


Mycobacterium tuberculosis being a causative agent of tuberculosis is a powerful pathogen that has evolved to survive within the host. There are certain metabolic pathways that play a vital role in host-pathogen interaction, pathogenicity and virulence which is indicated by the pathophysiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The pathways involve many proteins that are vital for MTB survival in the host. One such pathway is DNA replication, repair, recombination, and restriction/modification pathway. The study of DNA repair mechanisms in Mycobacterium tuberculosis has progressed more slowly than in other bacteria due to the technological challenges in dealing with a slow-growing pathogen. In this study, by utilizing immunoinformatic analysis & homology modelling approach, the evaluation of the proteins involved in this pathway was carried out which can lead to the discovery of potential drug targets, vaccine candidates as well as various diagnostic markers


BACKGROUND
Ischaemic stroke interrupts the flow of blood to part of the brain. Haemodilution is thought to improve the flow of blood to the affected areas of the brain and thus reduce infarct size.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this review was to assess the effects of haemodilution in acute ischaemic stroke.

SEARCH STRATEGY
We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (last searched January 2002), Medline (1966-June 2002) and conference abstracts. We contacted manufacturers and investigators in the field to identify any additional published and unpublished studies.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised trials of haemodilution treatment in people with acute ischaemic stroke. Only trials in which treatment was started within 72 hours of stroke onset were included.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two reviewers assessed trial quality and independently extracted the data.

MAIN RESULTS
Eighteen trials were included. A combination of venesection and plasma volume expander was used in eight trials. Ten trials used plasma volume expander alone. The plasma volume expander was dextran 40 in 12 trials, hydroxyethyl starch (HES) in five trials and albumin in one trial. Two trials tested haemodilution in combination with another therapy. Evaluation was blinded in 11 trials. Five trials probably included some patients with intracerebral haemorrhage. Haemodilution did not significantly reduce deaths within the first four weeks (odds ratio 1.09, 95% confidence interval 0.86 to 1.38). Similarly, haemodilution did not influence deaths within three to six months (odds ratio 1.01, 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 1.22), or death and dependency or institutionalisation (odds ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 1.15). The results were similar in confounded and unconfounded trials, and in trials of isovolaemic and hypervolaemic haemodilution. No statistically significant benefits were documented for any particular type of haemodiluting agents, but the statistical power to detect effects of HES and albumin was weak. Six trials reported venous thromboembolic events. There was a tendency towards reduction in deep venous thrombosis and/or pulmonary embolism at three to six months follow-up (odds ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.33 to 1.06). There was no increased risk of serious cardiac events among haemodiluted patients.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS
The overall results of this review are compatible both with modest benefit and moderate harm of haemodilution therapy for acute ischaemic stroke. This therapy has not been proven to improve survival or functional outcome.


ABSTRACT Markers of inflammation (MOI) have been reported to influence bone health in adults, with reports of inverse associations. Adipose has also been linked to bone. In children, the interrelationships are unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between MOI (i.e. CRP, TNFR2, IL-6) and bone mineral content (BMC) and determine the contribution of fat deposition/distribution in children. Forty-nine children (59% male) 7-12 y participated. Body composition was evaluated by DXA, and MOI and insulin sensitivity (SI) were obtained during an IVGTT. Multiple linear regression was used for analyses. TNFR2 was inversely associated with BMC. In boys, TNFR2 was inversely associated with BMC, and in girls IL-6 was inversely associated with BMC, and total and percent fat influenced the relationships. Our results suggest a potential inhibitory role of inflammation on bone as well as a negative impact of adiposity. Future investigations are warranted to further investigate these relationships.


This paper proposes a functional model to support initiatives of digital mediation for direct public participation in electoral periods. In this context, a conceptual model is proposed and its proof of concept - a Web platform - is presented. The main issue being addressed is the communication gap between the key stakeholders in an election campaign, and the conversion of the citizen from a traditionally passive role into an agent with the possibility to intervene and produce electoral information. Based on five different initiatives using the Web platform during electoral campaigns in Portugal between 2009 and 2011, results supporting the proposed functional model are presented.


We apply the techniques introduced by Kraus et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 080501 (2005)] to prove security of quantum-key-distribution (QKD) schemes using two-way classical post-processing as well as QKD schemes based on weak coherent pulses instead of single-photon pulses. As a result, we obtain improved bounds on the secret-key rate of these schemes. For instance, for the six-state protocol using two-way classical post-processing we recover the known threshold for the maximum tolerated bit error rate of the channel, 0.276, but demonstrate that the secret-key rate can be substantially higher than previously shown. Moreover, we provide a detailed analysis of the Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84) and the SARG protocol using weak coherent pulses (with and without decoy states) in the so-called untrusted-device scenario, where the adversary might influence the detector efficiencies. We evaluate lower bounds on the secret-key rate for realistic channel parameters and show that, for channels with low noise level, the bounds for the SARG protocol are superior to those for the BB84 protocol, whereas this advantage disappears with increasing noise level.


The poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-methoxy polyethyleneglycol monomethacrylate, NIPAM-co-MPEG) with different length of ethylene oxide (EO) were synthesized from their monomers, NIPAM and MPEGs. The numbers of repeating units of EO were 6, 10, 24, and 46. The chemical structure and mole ratio of the monomers was determined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The d-spacing increased with the number of EO and the values of the copolymers were in the range of 0.437–0.452 nm. The lower critical solution temperature of the poly(NIPAM-co-MPEG) shifted to higher temperature as the number of EO and the amount of MPEG increased. The change of chemical shift for methoxy proton in MPEG exhibited a larger than those of the other protons of the poly(NIPAM-co10−2MPEG). Activation energy (Ea) for methoxy proton in MPEG showed a larger value than that of the methyl proton in NIPAM. These NMR results indicate the fact that more significant conformational transformations occur in the methoxy group through the phase separation than in the methyl group in NIPAM. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1833–1841, 2006


1. The blood-system in sabellids of the following genera is described: Sabella, Potamilla, Branchiomma, Dasychone, Amphiglena, Fabricia, Jasmineira, Dialychone, and Myxicola. 2. The central blood-system of Sabella is typical of the family, but the peripheral blood-system is variable. 3. The dorsal vessel lacks the valve and muscular sphincter found in some serpulids. 4. Lateral vessels are present only in Sabella and Dasychone . 5. The differences and similarities between sabellid and serpulid blood-systems are discussed. Special attention is given to the functions of sub-epidermal and coelomic capillaries and the blood-supply of the body-wall musculature.


The Polysorbates are a series of polyoxyethylenated sorbitan esters that are used as hydrophilic, nonionic surfactants in a variety of cosmetic products. Polysorbates are hydrolyzed by pancreatic and blood lipases; the fatty acid moiety is released to be absorbed and metabolized, whereas the polyoxyethylene sorbitan moiety is very poorly absorbed and is excreted unchanged. Acute and long-term oral toxicity in animals indicates a low order of toxicity with oral ingestion of the Polysorbates. Polysorbate 80 was shown to be nonmutagenic in the Ames and micronucleus tests. The Polysorbates were noncarcinogenic in laboratory animals. Multiple studies have shown that the Polysorbates enhance the activity of known chemical carcinogens while not actually being carcinogenic themselves. Extensive clinical skin testing showed Polysorbates to have little potential for human skin irritation or evidence of skin sensitization or phototoxicity. The available data indicate that these ingredients are used in numerous preparations without clinical reports of significant adverse effects. It is concluded that they are safe for use in cosmetics at present concentrations of use.


The CMS experiment will be upgraded for operation at the HighLuminosity LHC to maintain and extend its physics performance under extreme pileup conditions. Upgrades will include an entirely new tracking system, supplemented by a track finder processor providing tracks at Level-1, as well as a high-granularity calorimeter in the endcap region. New front-end and back-end electronics will also provide the Level-1 trigger with high-resolution information from the barrel calorimeter and the muon systems. The upgraded Level-1 processors, based on powerful FPGAs, will be able to carry out sophisticated feature searches with resolutions often similar to the offline ones, while keeping pileup effects under control. In this paper, we discuss the feasibility of a system capturing Level-1 intermediate data at the beam-crossing rate of 40 MHz and carrying out online analyzes based on these limited-resolution data. This 40 MHz scouting system would provide fast and virtually unlimited statistics for detector diagnostics, alternative luminosity measurements and, in some cases, calibrations. It has the potential to enable the study of otherwise inaccessible signatures, either too common to fit in the Level-1 accept budget, or with requirements which are orthogonal to "mainstream" physics, such as long-lived particles. We discuss the requirements and possible architecture of a 40 MHz scouting system, as well as some of the physics potential, and results from a demonstrator operated at the end of Run-2 using the Global Muon Trigger data from CMS. Plans for further demonstrators envisaged for Run-3 are also discussed.


On behalf of my conominators, David Forslund and Dan Winske of the Los Alamos National Laboratory [LANL], I wish to congratulate Kevin Quest on his receipt of the Macelwane Medal. Kevin did his undergraduate work at Drexel University and received his Ph.D. from the Earth and Space Sciences Department at the University of California, Los Angeles [UCLA]. Somewhat prior to finishing his degree, Kevin joined the Theoretical Physics Division at Los Alamos. This coming July, Kevin will assume the duties of an Associate Professor at the University of California, San Diego in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

At UCLA, Kevin learned several lessons which are invaluable for a young theorist. Working amidst the experimental groups of Professors Coleman, Kivelson, McPherron, and Russell, Kevin came to appreciate the extreme difficulty of analyzing and interpreting satellite measurements of the complex space plasma phenomena. From Professor Ashour-Abdalla, Kevin was trained to give clear scientific presentations that concentrated on the fundamental physics and to leave complicated mathematics to the dust bin otherwise known as the refereed literature. Finally, Kevin learned to ignore the well-meaning, but too often errant, opinions of his thesis advisor. In fact, Kevin ignored his advisor to such an extent that 7 years later I am still waiting for a copy of his Ph.D. dissertation.


This study examines the return characteristics of a large, well-diversified commercial mortgage portfolio. Mortgage-specific cash-flow histories are constructed for 2,480 loans originated over the period 1974 through 1990, and a contingent-claims approach to pricing risky debt is used to estimate inter-temporal market values. Quarterly holding-period returns are compared across selected mortgage groups and to alternate asset classes. Our findings suggest that both mortgage returns and volatility of return are comparable to those of other forms of fixed-income assets over the study period. Implied property price volatility is found to average 17%, a result significantly higher than reported in earlier studies. While mortgage returns are found to vary by property type and region of origin, cross correlation of returns is found to be high, illustrating the systematic effect of interest rates on the performance of commercial mortgages over the period 1974 through 1990. However, an increase in credit risk in the latter years of the study suggests that diversification may be a worthwhile objective for holders of these assets. We do not find evidence to suggest that abnormal returns were earned on commercial mortgage portfolios over the study period. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.


In this paper quality orientation process of Tehran University was evaluated. For effective change human resource of organization must have five qualities: Awareness about need to change; Desire to make the change happen; Knowledge about how to change; Ability to change; Reinforcement to retain the changes. With these human resource qualities, work dimension (for example: structures and process of doing work) need to well set with planned changes. Work dimension had five main elements too: 1- business needs and opportunities 2- setting goals and boundaries 3-desining process and systems 4-devalope way to solve problems and 5-post- implementation. These research conclusions show that UT human resource, sense high need and desire to change in quality. So, to success in quality change sense high ability in self and their colleagues, and access to needed knowledge for change in quality of UT. But university's systems don't support these efforts so that proper low support for qualitative changes. In work dimension, quality improvement opportunities, goals, and needs weren't well defined. Furthermore systems and process of accepting quality weren't developed suitably. Solution sections had some problem too. Some solutions remain in design level only and others after implementation don't evaluate for distinguish weaknesses and strength.


A grid class consists of permutations whose pictorial depiction can be partitioned into increasing and decreasing parts as determined by a given matrix. In this paper, we introduce a method for enumerating cyclic permutations in vector grid classes by establishing a bijective relationship with certain necklaces. We use this method to complete the enumeration of cyclic permutations in the length 3 vector grid classes. In addition, we define an analog of Wilf-equivalence between these sets. We conclude by discussing cyclic permutations in alternating grid classes.


Vegetable soybean ( Glycine max L. Merr.) is a specialty soybean, harvested as a vegetable when seeds are immature (R6 stage) and have expanded to fill 80 to 90% of the pod. The objective of the study was to assess the adaptation and stability of vegetable soybean genotypes in different agro-ecological zones of Uganda to enable selection of genotypes. A total of 21 genotypes were planted in Uganda for two consecutive seasons. Genotypes PI615437-B had the highest number of pods, while AGS 329 matured earliest in 64 days. Only AGS 292, AGS 329 and AGS 338 had 100 seeds weight above 30 g. G10427 was the ideal genotype in terms of adaptation and stability for fresh seed yield, with mean yield of 4281kg ha-1; followed by G2843 with 4039 kg ha-1. PI615437-B came third with fresh seed yield of 4024 kg ha-1. The least stable and adapted genotype was AGS 329 with only 1609 kg ha-1. Nakabango 1 and MUARIK 1 were the ideal environments, which were the most discriminative and representative. We recommend that G10427 be used as a test genotype and for improvement to produce a variety with good attributes, especially large seed, high yield and adaptable to Uganda. Key words: Discriminative, Glycine max , specialty bean


BackgroundCysteine protease (CP) plays an important role in plant senescence. In this study, the whole genome evolution information of CPs was analyzed by using safflower, and the function of CtCP1 under l abiotic stress was analyzed.Results25 CPs members were identified in the safflower genome and divided into 9 subfamilies. Gene structure analysis showed that the possible evolutionary conservatism and functional similarity of the same family members. qRT-PCR at different florescence showed that the expression of CPs gene was the highest in the decline period, and CtCP1 gene changed significantly under abiotic stress. We cloned the qRT-PCR of CtCP1, at different florescence and stress, which showed that the expression of CtCP1 was the highest in the decline stage and low temperature. In order to study the function of CtCP1 gene, we obtained the overexpression CtCP1 line (OE) and the inhibition CtCP1 expression line (Anti) in Arabidopsis thaliana. The results of transgenic lines under low temperature stress showed that inhibition of CtCP1 expression enhanced the resistance of Carthamus tinctorius to low temperature, and overexpression of CtCP1 weakened the resistance of Carthamus tinctorius to low temperature.ConclusionWe have identified the cysteine protease genome of safflower and CtCP1 gene expression under abiotic stress


The discovery of endogenous gasotransmitters puts forwards a new concept, "waste gas is not waste". Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) is considered as a new member of gasotransmitter family, following nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO). Recently, the understanding of H(2)S biological effect and its mechanisms has been deepened, especially the pathophysiological significance of H(2)S in the various diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, respiratory diseases, endocrine diseases, etc. This article reviews recent progress of basic, clinical and pharmacological researches related to endogenous H(2)S, including the regulatory effects of H(2)S on the cell proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation, angiogenesis and ion channels, the role of endogenous H(2)S pathway in the pathogenesis of various diseases, as well as the study of the H(2)S donor and H(2)S-related drugs.


Using the prospect theory as a research framework, this paper makes contributions by demonstrating that managerial risk preference and stock return may influence a firm's earnings manipulation behavior. Specifically, this study argues that corporate executives may develop risk-averting (risk-seeking) attitudes because of high and positive (low and negative) stock returns. Under this scenario, managers may decide to actively manage the reported earnings in order to preserve gain (gamble on loss) on stock returns. On the other hand, firm executives may not actively manipulate their reported incomes when experiencing average and close-to-zero stock returns. Using quantile regression method to examine the relation between earnings manipulation and stock returns, this study finds that there is a significantly positive (negative) relation between earnings manipulation and stock returns at the high (low) stock returns quantiles. As predicated, such relation is not significant at the middle range of stock returns. To ensure the findings reported in this study are robust, we conduct several tests. In conclusion, we offer policy implications to regulators.


This study was designed to investigate the pharmacokinetics of meloxicam, an oxicam class, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), in ferrets. We determined the pharmacokinetic properties of a single subcutaneous dose of meloxicam (0.2 mg/kg) in nine male and nine female ferrets. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture of the cranial vena cava into heparinized syringes. Plasma meloxicam concentrations were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Pharmacokinetic variables were calculated using nonlinear mixed-effects modeling to take advantage of the population-based sampling scheme and to minimize sample volume collected per animal. Maximum plasma concentration, volume of distribution per absorption, and elimination half-life were 0.663 μg/mL, 0.21 L, and 11.4 h, respectively, for females and 0.920 μg/mL, 0.35 L, and 17.8 h, respectively, for males. Significant differences were found in each of the above parameters between male and female ferrets. Systemic clearance per absorption was not affected by gender and was 13.4 mL/h. Analgesic efficacy was not evaluated, but plasma meloxicam concentrations achieved in these animals are considered effective in other species. Sex differences in the pharmacokinetic behavior of meloxicam should be taken into consideration when treating ferrets.


Sub-band speech recognition approaches have been proposed for robust speech recognition, where full-band power spectra are divided into several sub-bands and then likelihoods or cepstral vectors of the sub-bands are merged depending on their reliability. In conventional sub-band approaches, correlations across the sub-bands are not modeled and the merging weights can only be set experientially or estimated during training procedures, which may not match observed data. The methods further degrade performance for clean speech. We proposed a novel sub-band approach, where frequency sub-bands are multiplied with weighting factors and merged, which considers sub-band dependence and proves to be more robust than both full-band and conventional sub-band approaches. And further the weighting factors can be obtained by using the maximum-likelihood estimation approaches in order to minimize the mismatch between the trained models and the observed features. Finally we evaluated our methods on both the Aurora2 task and the Resource Management task and showed improvement of performance on the two tasks consistently.


Background: Paclitaxel (PXL) is a widely-used drug for breast cancer therapy. Resistance, however, occurs frequently and the evasion mechanisms remain unclear. PXL is known to activate Toll-like Receptor-4 (TLR4), a major signaling receptor expressed on immune cells responding to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS activation of TLR4 in the immune cells substantially enhances their migratory, invasive, proliferative, and pro-survival functions as necessary for the body defense. Since PXL is a functional LPS mimetic, we hypothesized that acquisition of such phenotype by TLR4-expressing cancer cells promotes tumor growth, metastasis, and resistance to therapy. Methods: We tested this hypothesis in two breast cancer luciferase-tagged models genetically modified to either suppress TLR4 expression in a positive line, MDA-MB-231, or overexpress it in a negative line, HCC1806. Modified cell lines and their controls were orthotopically implanted in mice followed by measuring tumor growth prior and post-PXL treatment. Incidence and burden of lymph node (LN) and lung metastases were quantified by measuring luciferase activity in respective organs. TLR4-induced inflammation was assessed by measuring cytokines in blood, tumor lysates, and metastatic organs using RT-qPCR and ELISA. Cell composition of spleens and bone marrow from control and treated mice were analyzed by FACS. TLR4-induced changes in tumor vasculature were determined by immunostaining for blood and lymphatic vessel markers. Results: TLR4 expressed in tumor cells significantly increased rate of recurrence and metastasis, an event augmented by PXL treatment. Local inflammation was also enhanced by the PXL•TLR4 axis as illustrated by a 276-fold increase in IL-6 in lysates of TLR4+ tumors from treated mice as compared with samples of isogenic tumors with depleted TLR4. Activation of this pathway also increased cytokine levels in the blood and distant organs as indicted by 3-6 fold increase in IL-4 and IL-10 in LNs and lungs. These pro-inflammatory systemic changes promoted generation of myeloid progenitors in bone marrow and spleen evident by 4-5 fold increase in Ly6C+ cell population in TLR4-overexpressing tumors compared with those lacking TLR4. Importantly, activation of the PXL•TLR4 axis induced intratumoral formation of lymphatic vessels in HCC1806 tumors absent in all other experimental groups. Conclusion: These data imply that PXL therapy activates TLR4 often overexpressed in breast cancer. Activation of this pathway substantially increases local tumor and systemic inflammation leading to generation of myeloid progenitors that can promote metastasis by inducing angiogenesis and lymphatic vessel formation, particularly inside the tumor. These findings suggest that tumor expression of TLR4 may indicate poor prognosis and response to therapy, and that blocking the TLR4 pathway may improve current anti-cancer treatments. Citation Format: Sandeep Rajput, Lisa Volk-Draper, Kelly Hall, Sophia Ran. TLR4 activation by paclitaxel promotes breast cancer recurrence and metastasis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 771. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-771


Evaluation of the effectiveness of aminophthalhydroside in the complex treatment of patients with recurrent genital herpes was carried out. The efficacy of the drug was assessed by clinical, biochemical, and immunological criteria. The inclusion of aminophthalhydrazide in the complex therapy of patients with recurrent herpesvirus infection led to an earlier relief of clinical manifestations of the disease, an increase in the relapse period, a decrease in lipid peroxidation products in the blood plasma, an increase in the content of antioxidant defense components, and correction of immunological disorders.


Background: Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a zoonotic arbovirus of public health impact infecting livestock, wildlife, and humans mainly in Africa and other parts of the world. Despite its public health importance, mechanisms of RVFV maintenance during inter-epidemic (IEPS) periods and potentially spread to new areas remain unclear.We aimed to comparatively examine exposure to RVFV and RVFV infection among humans, goats and mosquitoes in an agro-pastoral community in Lower Moshi area of Moshi rural district.Results:Results show that the male gender was related to RVFV seropositivity (χ2 = 5.351; p=0.030). Being 50 years and above was related to seropositivity (χ2=14.430; p=0.006) whereas bed net use, larger numbers of persons living in the same house (>7 persons) and RVFV seropositivity in goats were related to higher seropositivity to RVFV among humans (χ2=6.003; p=0.021, χ2=23.213; p=0.000 and 27.053; p=0.000), respectively.RVFV antibody concentrations were only marginally higher in humans without statistically significant difference [t (112) =0.526; p=0.60)]. By the use of RT-qPCR, goats exhibited the highest RVFV infection rate of 4.1%, followed by humans (2.6%), Aedes spp(2.3%), and Culex spp(1.5%). Conclusions: In the absence of RVFV infection data in areas nearby the study site, our findings suggest Lower Moshi area as a potential hotspot for RVF, posing the danger of being a source of RVFV spread to other areas. Goats had the highest infection rate, suggesting goats as important hosts in the virus maintenance during IEPs. We recommend the design and implementation of strategies that will warrant effective active surveillance of RVF through the identification of RVF hotspots for targeted control of RVF.


Purpose of review The objective of this review was to summarize the recent developments regarding the use of low-molecular-weight heparins in the management of acute coronary syndromes. Recent findings In the setting of unstable angina and non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction, enoxaparin is superior to unfractionated heparin in reducing death, myocardial infarction, and recurrent ischemia both in the short-term and to 1 year. However, this does not necessarily imply a class effect of low-molecular-weight heparins in general. When combined with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, enoxaparin appears to be effective and safe even for patients treated according to an early invasive strategy. In patients receiving fibrinolytics for ST-elevation myocardial infarction, low-molecular-weight heparins are as effective as unfractionated heparin in maintaining patency of the infarct-related artery and in reducing the composite endpoint of death and reinfarction. However, serious bleeding is more common, especially among the elderly, and the optimal dosing regimen in ST-elevation myocardial infarction remains to be defined. Summary Low-molecular-weight heparins are safe and effective in the management of unstable angina and non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction, with or without concurrent administration of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors. Ongoing studies will clarify the role of low-molecular-weight heparins as adjunctive therapy for fibrinolysis.


Twenty-three couples and three women who had amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis of birth defects were interviewed for their responses to the process. While very positive toward the test and the information it provided, the subjects indicated significant stress while awaiting the results of the test and in facing the possibility that they might have to consider abortion if the test was positive for the defect. There was also potential for future marital conflict because of differing or erroneous interpretations of risk of abnormality in future pregnancies. Implications for genetic counselors and social work are suggested.


Abstract Low and high cloud motions derived from ATS-III satellite pictures, wind data from surface ships, vertical temperature profiles through the upper layer of the ocean, and sea-surface temperatures were used to examine intensity variations of Hurricane Celia. Fields of radial and tangential wind components, absolute angular momentum flux, and absolute vorticity were computed from analyzed streamlines and isotachs. Radial and tangential velocities and absolute angular momentum flux were averaged around circles of several radii from the storm center. Average values of relative vorticity and divergence within these circular areas were also computed. High-cloud motion computations were successful in identifying the intensification process in the outflow layer. The low-cloud motions, unfortunately, were not representative of the storm inflow layer. An investigation of dynamic instability at the outflow level was made. The results did not indicate strongly that dynamic instability contributed to the inten...


The purpose of this paper is to introduce and study BiHom-alternative algebras and BiHom-Malcev algebras. It is shown that BiHom-alternative algebras are BiHom-Malcev admissible and BiHom-Jordan admissible. Moreover, BiHom-type generalizations of some well known identities in alternative algebras, including the Moufang identities, are obtained.


We characterize the frequency response of channel-interleaved photonic analog-to-digital converters (CI-PADCs) theoretically and experimentally. The CI-PADC is composed of a photonic frontend for photonic sampling and an electronic backend for quantization. The photonic frontend includes a photonic sampling pulse generator for directly high-speed sampling and an optical time-division demultiplexer (OTDM) for channel demultiplexing. It is found that the frequency response of the CI-PADC is influenced by both the photonic sampling pulses and the OTDM, of which the combined impact can be characterized through demultiplexed pulse trains. First, the frequency response can be divided into multiple frequency intervals and the range of the frequency interval equals the repetition rate of demultiplexed pulse trains. Second, the analog bandwidth of the CI-PADC is determined by the optical spectral bandwidth of demultiplexed pulse trains which is broadened in the OTDM. Further, the effect of the OTDM is essential for enlarging the analog bandwidth of the CI-PADC employing the photonic sampling pulses with limited optical spectral bandwidth.


The aim of this article is to emphasize the major role the departments of communication and public relations detains in the synergy process between mass-media and public institutions, starting from a series of short-circuits which have occurred in Romanian public sector and led to the misunderstanding of messages, due to an unprofessional communication. Synergy, on its basic meaning, represents a simultaneous action oriented in the same direction, which involves several agents who have the same purposes (DEI, 1999). In the present context, I define synergy as intensifying two activities with a determinant role in the proper functioning of public management which contributes, to a large extent, on informing and educating the general public. The premises I start with are that crisis situations occur because of a faulty communication department and these could be avoided if there would be a permanent and efficient relationship between mass-media and public institutions. In other words, an efficiently organized department of communication could enhance company's activity starting from the partnership between media and public institutions. Through collaboration, both units could present advantages to be felt at the organizational, social, economic and cultural levels.


: Aim: The deterrence of small glue entrails is a typical crisis of caution, causing great gloom and even some mortality. The fasteners that cause such internal obstacles are often impressions of past stomach operations. This paper presents a reconsidered adaptation of the Bologna rules to evidence-based SBOA research and treatment. The working meeting included sections on combating SBOA and unique silent gatherings. Methods: The rule was composed under the sponsorship of the World Society of Emergency Surgery by the working meeting of the ASBO. An accurate written search was carried out before the rules were updated in order to identify relevant new articles on the study of disease transmission, determination and treatment of ASBO. Our current research was conducted at Mayo Hospital, Lahore from May 2019 to April 2020. The writing was primarily evaluated by an evidence-based rule improvement strategy. The latest proposals were approved by the working group, taking into account the degree of evidence for the conclusion. Results: Membership agreement can be reduced by careful, non-intrusive strategies and the use of membership limits. Unnecessary treatment is effective in many ASBO patients. Contraindications to unusable therapy include peritonitis, strangulation, and ischemia. When the cementitious etiology of the barrier is uncertain, or when contraindications to the administration of unusable treatment may be available, CT scanning is the analytical decision procedure. The standards of non-employable treatment are bone-to-bone, naso-gastric or long tube decompression, and intravenous supplementation with fluids and electrolytes. When usable treatment is required, a laparoscopic approach may be useful for some cases of basic ASBO. Younger patients are at higher risk for intermittent ASBO over the course of their lives and may subsequently benefit from the use of attachment limitations as an essential and supportive means of avoidance. Conclusion: This rule presents suggestions that can be utilized by specialists who treat patients with ASBO. Logical proof for certain parts of ASBO the board is scant, specifically perspectives identifying with uncommon patient gatherings. Aftereffects of a randomized preliminary of laparoscopic versus open a medical procedure for ASBO are anticipated.


Background. Assess the value of colposcopic evaluation preceding loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) conisation of cytological high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), and study risk factors for recurrence. Methods. Consecutive follow‐up among women undergoing LEEP conisation from January 2001 to December 2004. Results. Some 528 LEEP conisations were performed because of suspected or verified cervical dysplasia. On classified samples, cytology, punch biopsy and histopathology of the cone specimen showed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)2 or a higher degree in 48.5, 36.2 and 58.6%, respectively. Sensitivity for HSIL out of cytology and colposcopically directed punch biopsy was 74.4 and 73.3%, respectively. Likewise, among 286 women with all 3 samples, positive and negative predictive value for HSIL in Papanicolaou (Pap) smear and punch biopsy was 78.5, 73.2% and 60.3, 63.6%, respectively. Positive cone margins were found in 16.8%. Residual/recurrent disease, defined as any grade of dysplasia at cytological follow‐up, was found among 9.4%. Significant risk for recurrent/residual disease was found among those with positive marginal status. Median time from colposcopy to conisation was 2 months. Conclusions. An immediate colposcopically‐guided LEEP conisation after HSIL Pap smear may be a safe and time saving strategy. Positive cone margins are a risk factor for residual/recurrent disease.


Luis de Góngora y Argote, (1561-1627), Spanish poet, is one of the most influential Spanish poets of his era. His Baroque, convoluted style, known as Gongorism  was so exaggerated by less gifted imitators that his reputation suffered after his death until it underwent a revaluation in the 20th century.. In his literary works has expressed very well his feelings and emotions perfectly, especially the thought of his time and the themes of criticism and disappointment of the Baroque. His poetic work breaks molds and inaugurates a new language whose virtuality, still unsurpassed, continues to mark the course of contemporary poetry.  This investigation is divided in two chapters, the first presnte the biography and style of Gongora besides its works that comprise the satire. The second chapter is concerned Cultism and gonorismo, besides the Architecture of the sonnets of Góngora


&NA; This research study addressed BSN student competency in administering intramuscular injections with and without simulation training, and ability to transfer the skill from learning laboratory to patient care. There is a dearth of empirical evidence supporting simulation in psychomotor skill learning and transfer of these skills to patient care. A two‐group repeated measures pretest/posttest design with three measurement times was used. Scenario‐based simulation served as the intervention. All subjects were posttested in the learning laboratory and clinical settings. The experimental group had higher adjusted means at both posttesting times, though these results were not statistically significant.


We consider an underlay cognitive network with secondary users that support full-duplex communication. In this context, we propose the application of antenna selection at the secondary destination node to improve the secondary user secrecy performance. Antenna selection rules for cases where exact and average knowledge of the eavesdropping channels are investigated. The secrecy outage probabilities for the secondary eavesdropping network are analyzed, and it is shown that the secrecy performance improvement due to antenna selection is due to coding gain rather than diversity gain. This is very different from classical antenna selection for data transmission, which usually leads to a higher diversity gain. Numerical simulations are included to verify the performance of the proposed scheme.


Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an aggregated index that measures the extent to which each nation produces long and happy lives per unit of environmental input. The HPI uses global data on life expectancy, experienced well-being, and ecological footprint to rank countries. The last HPI report was published in 2012 and it contains data for 151 countries from all continents. The aim of the paper is to re-calculate the HPI using DEA models and other multiple criteria decision making techniques and compare the results obtained results. MCDM methods evaluate alternatives (countries) according to the set of criteria with respect to given preferences. Most of them allow ranking of alternatives according to aggregated indices defined by various methods. DEA models compare the countries with the best performers in the data set and measure the efficiency of transformation of multiple inputs into multiple outputs. Even though they are based on different principles than MCDM methods they allow ranking of evaluated units according to their efficiency or super-efficiency scores. The paper analyzes both methodological approaches and compares their results.


This is a proposal to amend Part 1306 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations to permit hospital emergency room personnel to dispense controlled substances to nonpatients when alternative pharmacy services are not available. Only persons authorized to dispense under state law would be permitted to dispense under the proposed regulation. Under current DEA regulations only physicians, medical or other persons acting as agents or employees under their direct supervision, or pharmacists filling their prescriptions, may dispense controlled substances. A physician may not call a local hospital emergency room and ask that personnel there dispense controlled substances to a patient whom the physician is sending over for that purpose alone. DEA has received numerous comments from members of the medical community and from state regulatory agencies concerning this matter. This proposal seeks to remedy the situation.


In order to realize sustainable development, it is anticipated that industrial structure, social and technical systems based on large-scale production at concentrated sites must be changed in the near future. Establishment of highly controllable compact processes with high-speed reaction is desired to realize distributed production with multi-purpose low-volume production. Integration of high-pressure microengineering and supercritical fluid has received considerable attention as a core technology for compact processes. To realize the technology, basic developments for high-pressure microengineering such as rapid heat exchange and precise temperature control were firstly needed, and then process developments on basic engineering followed. As applications of compact processes, organic synthesis under supercritical water is discussed, and inorganic synthesis and an innovative coating process using supercritical carbon dioxide are also described.


Born in colonial New Zealand, Ernest Rutherford grew up on the frontier-a different world from Cambridge, to which he won a scholarship at the age of twenty-four. His work revolutionized modern physics. Among his discoveries were the orbital structure of the atom and the concept of the "half-life" of radioactive materials. Rutherford and the young men working under him were the first to split the atom, unlocking tremendous forces-forces, as Rutherford himself predicted, that would bring us the atomic bomb. In Richard Reeves's hands, Rutherford comes alive, a ruddy, genial man and a pivotal figure in scientific history.


This thesis develops structural integrations of building components and solar cells for load-bearing scenarios. Mechanical responses of such integrations and electrical responses of the integrated PV cells to mechanical loading are evaluated. Approaches to mitigate the negative effects of mechanical loads on the solar cells are proposed and investigated. Thermal responses of the integrations to light irradiations in laboratorial and outdoor conditions are also investigated. The innovative integrations provide a clean, renewable and practical solution for energy acquisition in buildings.


The interaction of three Eu(III) macrocyclic complexes Eu(THED)3+, Eu(ATHC)3+, and Eu(ATHC)3+, and Eu(S-THP)3+ with two 5'-cap model compounds, GpppG and m7GpppG is studied (THED = 1,4,7,10-tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,4,7,-10-tetraazacyclododecane, ATHC = 1-(carbamoylmethyl)-4,7,10-tris(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,4,7,10- tetraazacyclododecane, S-THP = 1S,4S,7S,10S-tetrakis(2-hydroxypropyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane). Laser-induced excitation luminescence spectroscopy is used to study the binding of Eu(S-THP)3+ to GpppG (K = 5.9 x 10(4) M-1) and to characterize the Eu(S-THP)-GpppG complex. Both Eu(THED)3+ and Eu(S-THP)3+ bind to m7GpppG as monitored by use of fluorescence spectroscopy with binding constants of 5.9 x 10(3) and 4.4 x 10(4) M-1, respectively. The kinetics of cleavage of GpppG by two macrocyclic complexes is studied. Cleavage of GpppG by Eu(THED)3+ is accelerated by 15-fold in the presence of an equivalent of Zn(NO3)2 at pH 7.3, 37 degrees C, suggesting that two metal ions accelerate the cap cleavage reaction. Eu(ATHC)3+ promotes cleavage of GpppG with a pseudo-first-order rate constant of 2.6 x 10(-5) s-1 at pH 7.3, 37 degrees C, and 0.30 mM complex.


the plasma transferrins (Giblett), and the group-specific component of serum (Cleve and Bearn). Though much is now known of their inheritance and of their distribution in different populations, yet so far we are in complete ignorance of the factors stabilizing the 'frequency of the forms, and the techniques are too time-consuming for large-scale surveys to test for associations with disease. There follow over 100 pages, with more than 500 references, on hereditary aminoaciduria (Scriver), and the reviewer hopes to be forgiven for finding the section on the non-inherited causes of the condition the most interesting and comprehensible. In the theories of antibody synthesis (Tokuda and Owen) we learn much of the nature of antibodies and their actions, but it becomes evident how little is known of the genetic constitution of the cells which produce them. There is a welcome clarity about Holman's chapter on the immunological abnormalities in patients with rheumatic disease, and the "overlap " findings in their sibs are particularly interesting. Those interested in human chromosomes will find in chapter 7 (Russell) a long and detailed review of chromosomal aberrations in mammals. Many of these have been known for years and this helps to put the recent human work in its proper perspective. There is a useful section on mammalian genetics (Gluecksohn-Waelsch), which gives precise information on many animal disorders that have a parallel in man. Lastly, writing on ophthalmology, Frangois makes many interesting observations-on the manifestations of heterozygotes in eye disorders, and on the still unsolved riddle of the inheritance of Leber's disease (affected men never transmit the gene, while carrier women not only do so but are present in excess in affected families). To read the book is a trial of strength rather than a pleasure, but under one cover are some good groupings of ideas and it is these rather than the overburdened text which will remain in the mind of the clinician.


BACKGROUND
frail patients in any age group are more likely to die than those that are not frail. We aimed to evaluate the impact of frailty on clinical mortality, readmission rate and length of stay for emergency surgical patients of all ages.

METHODS
a multi-centre prospective cohort study was conducted on adult admissions to acute surgical units. Every patient presenting as a surgical emergency to secondary care, regardless of whether they ultimately underwent a surgical procedure was included. The study was carried out during 2015 and 2016.Frailty was defined using the 7-point Clinical Frailty Scale. The primary outcome was mortality at Day 90. Secondary outcomes included: mortality at Day 30, length of stay and readmission within a Day 30 period.

RESULTS
the cohort included 2,279 patients (median age 54 years [IQR 36-72]; 56% female). Frailty was documented in patients of all ages: 1% in the under 40's to 45% of those aged 80+. We found that each incremental step of worsening frailty was associated with an 80% increase in mortality at Day 90 (OR 1.80, 95% CI: 1.61-2.01) supporting a linear dose-response relationship. In addition, the most frail patients were increasingly likely to stay in hospital longer, be readmitted within 30 days, and die within 30 days.

CONCLUSIONS
worsening frailty at any age is associated with significantly poorer patient outcomes, including mortality in unselected acute surgical admissions. Assessment of frailty should be integrated into emergency surgical practice to allow prognostication and implementation of strategies to improve outcomes.


We study the preperiodic dynatomic curves $\mathcal{X}\_{n,p}$, the closure of set of $(c,z)\in \C^2$ such that $z$ is a preperiodic point of $f\_c$ with preperiod $n$ and period $p$ ($n,p\geq1$). We prove that each $\mathcal{X}\_{n,p}$ has exactly $d-1$ irreducible components, these components are all smooth and intersect pairwisely at the singular points of $\mathcal{X}\_{n,p}$. For each component, we calculate the genus of its compactification and then give a complete topological description of $\mathcal{X}\_{n,p}$. We also calculate the Galois group of the defining polynomial of $\mathcal{X}\_{n,p}$.


An investigation was carried out on the diffusion of stray dog populations in Emilia-Romagna by submitting a questionnaire/interview. 30 gamekeeper officers and 21 public veterinarians of Bologna and Forlì provinces were interviewed. The data collected were compared with the official data of the Health Council of the Emilia-Romagna Region. Statistical analysis confirmed a correlation between number of biting dogs and inhabitants of the province; number of captured dogs and registered dogs; number of biting dogs and owned dogs, and the existence of factors favouring dog straying in mountain areas.


We discuss the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) phenomenon for a model in which a structured continuum is described by a so-called double Fano structure; instead of one autoionizing (AI) state, two such states are embedded in a flat continuum. Such a Fano structure is the upper level of a Λ-like three-level system and is coupled to two lower ones by an external laser field involving δ-correlated, Gaussian, Markov process (white noise), simulating realistic conditions of the experiment. For such a system we derived and solved a set of coupled stochastic integrodifferential equations in the stationary regime, obtaining exact formulas determining the electric susceptibility of the system. Dispersion and absorption spectra of the medium susceptibility were calculated and compared with those already discussed in the literature. We have shown that the presence of an additional AI level considerably changes the structure of transparency windows and how noisy excitation influences the EIT processes.


The International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) Program of Action comprehensively covers a wide range of demographic and social issues by setting goals to be achieved over a period of 20 years. Since its initial implementation, population issues have been fundamentally linked with the countries' prospects for sustainable development. In the ICPD+5 review it was concluded that countries are committed to the Cairo agenda and to the idea that population and development go hand in hand. This commitment involves spending on population and related programs, which totals $17 billion by the year 2000 and $22 billion by 2015. Funding would come from countries (0.7% of gross domestic product to overall development assistance and 4% to population activities). However, the trend shows that countries have not achieved these targets and are decreasing rather than increasing spending on population issues, particularly from the developed countries. Findings of a survey indicated that the lack of resources is the greatest obstacle in attaining desired goals of developing countries. In addition, serious economic stagnation and an unfavorable international economic environment makes it difficult for many developing countries to resolve the problem of lack of resources, and technical capabilities are badly needed to achieve the goals of the ICPD.


Industrialized countries are increasingly committed to move towards a low carbon generating mix by increasing the penetration of renewable generation. Additionally, the development in communication technologies will allow small end-consumers and small-scale distributed energy resources (DER) to participate in electricity markets. Current electricity markets need to be tailored to incorporate these changes regarding how electricity will be generated and consumed in the future. The EcoGrid EU is a large-scale EU-funded project, which establishes the first prototype of the future European intelligent grids. In this project, small-scale DERs and small end-consumers can actively participate in a new real-time electricity market by responding to 5-min real time electricity prices. In this way, the market operator will also obtain additional balancing power to cancel out the production variation introduced by renewable electricity generation. The real-time market concept architecture for EcoGrid EU is introduced in this paper, which provides a market-based platform and information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure that extends the current electricity market to a shorter time horizon and to smaller assets.


Many power systems are being operated close to their security limits, which makes the reliable operation more challenging than ever. Voltage instability has been a major problem faced by many utilities. Many blackouts involved with voltage instability have been reported around the world. There is an increasing demand of accurate and up-to-date assessment for power system voltage stability and recommendations of preventive control actions. On-line voltage stability monitoring tools have been largely matured recently. They are typically integrated with the energy management system (EMS) and assess the voltage stability of the present operation condition based on the load-flow solution generated by state estimator. Preventive control actions to enhance voltage stability against potential contingencies still need to be developed off-line through extensive studies. They are usually presented to the operators in the form of bounds set of key parameters for voltage security monitoring and control action execution. However, these methods are limited by computation cost, extensive simulations, or conservative operation. This thesis proposes an artificial neural network (ANN) based framework to achieve on-line loading limit assessment and preventive control action recommendations for a practical power system. Firstly, an operation knowledge database consisting of interested operation conditions and loading limits is developed offline. Then an ANN model is trained to map the operation conditions with the corresponding loading limits. Finally, the proposed framework is applied in BC Hydro Vancouver Island system operation for on-line loading limit assessment and preventive control action recommendations.


Essential thrombocythemia (ET), a member of the family of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), is characterized by an overproduction of platelets and usually accompanied by thrombotic or hemorrhagic symptoms. JAK2V617F mutation is present in about one-half of patients with ET. Mutations in MPL exon 10 are present in a further 4% of patients, with MPL W515L being the most common mutation. The diagnosis is made by exclusion of reactive thrombocytosis and other myeloid malignancies. Bone marrow examination reveals an increase in megakaryocyte frequency with megakaryocyte clustering and nuclear hyperlobulation in the absence of significant reticulin fibrosis and significant increase in granulopoiesis and erythropoiesis. Survival of patients with ET had been similar to population controls during the first decade of the disease. Yet, survival became significantly worse thereafter due to disease complications such as thrombosis and transformation to myelofibrosis or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Management paradigms have changed significantly over the last 20 years. This review aims to highlight the pathogenesis, diagnosis and current management in ET.


ABSTRACT We consider steady, two-dimensional flow of a thin film of a nematic liquid crystal between a fixed blade of prescribed shape and a planar substrate moving parallel to itself with a constant velocity. We use a combination of analytical and numerical techniques to analyse the Ericksen–Leslie equations governing the fluid velocity and pressure and the director orientation when both the aspect ratio of the slowly varying channel formed between the blade and the substrate and the distortion of the director field are small. We demonstrate that, in the limit of small orientational elasticity, orientational boundary layers occur close to the substrate and close to the blade, and that, in addition, an orientational internal layer may also occur within which the director orientation changes from + Θ0 to − Θ0, where Θ0 is the flow--alignment angle.


Fifty-nine Hereford cattle susceptible to tick-borne diseases were used as tracer animals to assess the tick challenge and pathogenicity of Theileria parva under field conditions in Zimbabwe. They were moved periodically in groups of five to three commercial farms (one group consisted of four) during seasons of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus nymphal and adult activity. All tracer cattle were herded together with the farm cattle but were not dipped. The nymphal tick counts were high on two of the farms (up to 2000 per animal) but were very low on the third farm (less than ten per animal). On the three farms, 19 out of 24 (76%) tracers had patent Theileria schizonts. There was a range of clinical manifestations of theileriosis with acute and fatal infections occurring on one farm. The adult R. appendiculatus infestations during the wet season numbered 120-800 per animal on the three farms. The disease transmitted by the adults was very pathogenic on the three farms; 30 out of 35 (86%) had severe theileriosis infections. Cattle, which survived the nymphal diseases challenge, showed various degrees of immunity to subsequent T. parva challenge transmitted by adult ticks. Therefore, 13 out of 18 (72%) of these cattle had a second disease episode and the case fatality rate on the three farms was 46%. The factors which determined the epidemiological status of Theileria challenge on the farms, such as the farming systems and presence of wild animals, are discussed.


Corneal endothelial cells often adopt a fibroblastic-like morphology in culture, a process that has been attributed to epithelial- or endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT or EndMT). Although being extensively studied in other cell types, this transition is less well characterized in the corneal endothelium. Because of their neuroectodermal origin and their in vivo mitotic arrest, corneal endothelial cells represent a particular tissue that deserves more attention. This review article presents the basic principles underlying EMT/EndMT, with emphasis on the current knowledge regarding the corneal endothelium. Furthermore, this review discusses cell culture conditions and major cell signaling pathways that have been identified as EndMT-triggering factors. Finally, it summarizes strategies that have been developed to inhibit EndMT in corneal endothelial cell culture. The review of current studies on corneal and classical EndMT highlights some research avenues to pursue in the future and underscores the need to extend our knowledge of this process in order to optimize usage of these cells in regenerative medicine.


Experimental Study of Fine Frequency Selection Techniques for Piezoelectric Aluminum Nitride Lamb Wave Resonators by Ting-Ta Yen Master of Science, Plan II in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences University of California, Berkeley Professor Albert P. Pisano, Chair Strong demand for high-Q resonators and filters in mobile wireless communication systems has initiated various research on radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS). Several CMOS-compatible RF MEMS resonator technologies, either electrostatic or piezoelectric, can provide multi-frequency operation on a single substrate and have the potential to realize a channel-select RF front-end architecture. However, utilizing a narrowband filter bank in such an architecture as the key component for frequency selection leads to a major challenge: fine frequency control. Depending upon the standard, it may entail the simultaneous fabrication of tens to hundreds of filters with 0.05 to 0.1% bandwidth, and spacing. Aluminum nitride (AlN) Lamb wave resonators (LWRs) utilize piezoelectric transduction to ensure low motional resistance. The resonance frequency of a LWR is defined by interdigital transducer (IDT) pitch and is thus decoupled from the overall device dimensions. This fine frequency selection technique is enabled by adjusting the so-called AlN "overhang" dimension allowing control of relative frequency of Lamb wave resonators in an array to 0.1%. Experimental results suggest the center frequency of LWRs can be linearly adjusted by up to 5% with no significant effect on other resonator parameters including Q, Rm, C0, and kt . Closely and evenly spaced AlN Lamb wave resonators, without post-process trimming, demonstrate the potential to realize a pure mechanical, high performance, yet low power RF front-end system. Albert P. Pisano Date


This paper focuses on the indeterminate protection challenge of the sensitivity deterioration (SD) (also known as protection blindness) of the overcurrent protection (OCP) devices due to the large-scale integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) in the unbalanced distribution networks (DNs). The protection blindness of the OCP has been demonstrated through novel mathematical formulation to quantify the percentage of the protection blindness for different type of distributed generation (DGs) units and for their varying penetration levels. In addition, this issue has been realistically analyzed for the different fault impedances to examine its impact on the traditional OCP system. A mitigation strategy has been proposed to overcome the SD issue of the OCP protective devices (PDs) for a robust detection and clearance of electrical faults by the OCP devices without the need for a costly upgradations of the protection system. This protection blindness issue has been explored and the mitigation strategies have been tested for both synchronous and inverter based DGs using the IEEE standardized test feeder. The results prove the effectiveness of the proposed mitigation strategy for their practical applications and suitability to improve the grid resilience.


Background. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related smooth muscle neoplasms (SMNs) have been associated with immune dysregulation, most notably in patients who have undergone solid organ transplantation or in patients with HIV/AIDS. Objective. to report our experience with EBV-related neoplasms as well as describing the first EBV-related SMN in the setting of administration of glucocorticoids and the tumor necrosis factor inhibitor etanercept. Design. We have case reports, of minimum 3-year follow-up, 2002–2005. Setting. It was held in an academic and tertiary referral cancer center. Patients. Patients are with dysregulated immunity after solid organ transplantation, HIV/AIDS, or with psoriasis after treatment with etanercept. Interventions. There were discontinuation of etanercept, right hepatic trisegmentectomy, and chemotherapy. Measurements. We use survival as a measurement here. Results. Patients who were able to withstand reduction in immunosuppression survived. Surgical resection or chemotherapy was successful in delaying progression of disease. Limitations. There was a relatively short follow-up for these slow-growing neoplasms. Conclusion. EBV-related SMNs have variable aggressiveness. While chemotherapy may slow disease progression, resection and improving the host immune status provide the best opportunity for primary tumor control.


The minimum time interception problem with a tangent impulse whose direction is the same as the satellite's velocity direction is studied based on the relative motion equations of elliptical orbits by the combination of analytical, numerical, and optimization methods. Firstly, the feasible domain of the true anomaly of the target under the fixed impulse point is given, and the interception solution is transformed into a univariate function only with respect to the target true anomaly by using the relative motion equation. On the basis of the above, the numerical solution of the function is obtained by the combination of incremental search and the false position method. Secondly, considering the initial drift when the impulse point is freely selected, the genetic algorithm-sequential quadratic programming (GA-SQP) combination optimization method is used to obtain the minimum time interception solution under the tangent impulse in a target motion cycle. Thirdly, under the high-precision orbit prediction (HPOP) model, the Nelder-Mead simplex method is used to optimize the impulse velocity and transfer time to obtain the accurate interception solution. Lastly, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulation examples.


Solvation properties of the hydrated excess proton are studied in a hydrophilic pocket of Nafion 117 through a series of molecular dynamics simulations. The multistate empirical valence bond (MS-EVB) methodology, which enables the delocalization of the excess proton through the Grotthuss hopping mechanism, was employed for one of the excess protons in the simulation cell. Simulations were performed such that "classical" nondissociable hydronium cations and a single excess proton treated with the MS-EVB methodology were at a concentration ratio of 39:1. Two degrees of hydration of the Nafion polymer electrolyte membrane were simulated, each displaying the same marked difference between the solvation structures of the classical versus MS-EVB treated (Grotthuss shuttling) excess proton species. These differences are attributed to the solvent dynamics needed to transfer the cation between the solvent separated and contact pair positions about the sulfonic acid counterion. The results demonstrate that it is generally impossible to describe the low pH conditions in the hydrophilic domains of Nafion without the explicit treatment of Grotthuss delocalization in the underlying molecular dynamics model for the excess protons.


The main goal of this paper is to present the spoken language corpora collected for training and testing speech recognition and synthesis systems in European Portuguese, by the Speech Processing and Neural Networks groups of INESC, in the framework of international projects and / or joint projects with the Center of Linguistics of the University of Lisbon.


Maize (Zea mays L.) is a very important cultivation for Brazilian agriculture and throughout the years it has been enlarged in the country. It is cultivated in two seasons, the summer plantation and the wintermaize which happens after the soy harvesting. Brazil is one of the biggest maize producers and in order to increase this production it is necessary to use certain practices such as nitrogen manuring, which can be realized with low release fertilizer, namely Sulfammo®. This work was realized in the vegetation house located in the State University of Maringá – Umuarama Campus, through which the objective was to evaluate the maize plants' development with different doses of the product. The treatment obtained the following amounts: 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg dm 3. The statistical variability includes the plant's high, the culm's diameter, the chlorophyll content, the plant's color and the dry matter. It was observed that the increasing doses of nitrogen did not influence the maize plants.


In the present paper the effects of substance P (SP1-11, Arg-Pro-Lys-Pro-Gln-Gln-Phe-Phe-Gly-Leu-MetNH2) and delta sleep inducing peptide (DSIP, Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ser-Gly-Glu) to normalize the deprivation of sleep in chronically stressed rats with hyposomnia were investigated. The results indicated that SP1-11 is more potent than DSIP in rats with stress-induced hyposomnia. Different effects were found in the duration of sleep, the percentage of sleep phases compared to wake phases, the rhythm of sleep phases and the time periods of sleep-cycles. Based on the present results both the common and differences in the mode of action were discussed.


Abstract : This report contains hindcast wave information that is applicable to many planning and design purposes on Lake Ontario. Historical wind data from three stations along Lake Ontario served as input to the numerical hindcast model, and significant wave heights were calculated for 5-, 10-, 20-, 50-, and 100-yr return periods. These results are provided in tabular form for 17 points along the Lake Ontario shoreline. The mean significant period for each of these wave heights is also given. Information is provided for four seasons of the year (January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December) and is separated into three approach directions relative to shroe. (Author)


When an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) is used to generate ultrasound in an electrically conducting sample, eddy currents are generated in the sample's skin depth as the first stage in transduction. The resultant acoustic wave amplitude is proportional to the amplitude of this eddy current, and so anything that we can do to increase the eddy current will lead to the generation of larger amplitude ultrasonic waves. In eddy current testing, wire coils are often wound onto a ferrite core to increase the generated eddy current, with the effect that inductance of the coil increases greatly. When we are dealing with an EMAT, any increase in the coil inductance is usually unacceptable as it leads to a reduction in the amplitude of a given frequency of eddy current from a limited voltage source. This is particularly relevant where current arises from capacitor discharge, as is typically used in EMAT driver current circuitry. We present a method for electromagnetic acoustic transduction where ferrite is used to increase eddy current amplitude, without significantly increasing coil inductance or changing the frequency content of the eddy current or the generated acoustic wave.


During the descend to sea, silver eel face different hazards causing migration delay or mortality (e.g. dams, hydropower stations (HPS), weirs, ship locks, fisheries, predation). In 2010 fisheries was closed from September – November 30th and from April 1th 2011 the commercial eel fisheries in the river Meuse was closed for a undetermined period, due to dioxin pollution. To compare general mortality percentages with earlier studies (2002 and 2004), additional telemetry studies were carried out in 2010 and 2011. Compared to earlier studies more detection stations were used to estimate the mortality of the migration silver eel. This report attempts to answer two research questions: 1) Did the closure of the fisheries starting in 2010 result in a lower mortality rate for downstream migrating silver eel in the Meuse compared to previous studies in 2002-2006? 2)What is the delayed and direct Hydro power station (HPS) mortality for migrating silver eel in the Meuse during 2010-2012? In 2010 a batch of 150 female silver eel with surgically implanted transponders was released in the river Meuse and they could be followed with an array of detection stations of the Nedap TrailTM System. From the detection data mortality estimations were obtained. The present report is restricted to analysing migration routes and mortality estimations for the batch released in 2010. In accordance with the methodology used in 2002 (16 – 26% mortality) and 2004 (25 – 34% mortality) there was no big difference found in mortality estimations in 2010 (13 – 26% mortality). A comparison between the methodology used in previous studies (13 – 26% mortality) and new mortality estimations using more detection stations (22-25%) suggests that a more precise mortality estimation must be found in the upper limits of the mortality ranges derived from previous studies. Based on telemetry we found a minimum percentage of delayed and direct mortality of at least 20% of the migrating batch (121 eel). This percentage was corrected for other factors causing mortality (e.g. natural mortality, disease, predation etc.).


Dilatation of the ascending aorta (AAD) is a prevalent aortopathy that occurs frequently associated with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), the most common human congenital cardiac malformation. The molecular mechanisms leading to AAD associated with BAV are still poorly understood. The search for differentially expressed genes in diseased tissue by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) is an invaluable tool to fill this gap. However, studies dedicated to identify reference genes necessary for normalization of mRNA expression in aortic tissue are scarce. In this report, we evaluate the qPCR expression of six candidate reference genes in tissue from the ascending aorta of 52 patients with a variety of clinical and demographic characteristics, normal and dilated aortas, and different morphologies of the aortic valve (normal aorta and normal valve n = 30; dilated aorta and normal valve n = 10; normal aorta and BAV n = 4; dilated aorta and BAV n = 8). The expression stability of the candidate reference genes was determined with three statistical algorithms, GeNorm, NormFinder and Bestkeeper. The expression analyses showed that the most stable genes for the three algorithms employed were CDKN1β, POLR2A and CASC3, independently of the structure of the aorta and the valve morphology. In conclusion, we propose the use of these three genes as reference genes for mRNA expression analysis in human ascending aorta. However, we suggest searching for specific reference genes when conducting qPCR experiments with new cohort of samples.


Co-branding is commonly used to refer to a branding strategy where two or more brands are marketed together as a single perceived brand. However, despite co-branding being widely recognized and practiced in attaining business growth in today's marketplace, the effectiveness of co-branding in improving customers' brand knowledge, brand attitude and purchase intention remained unclear. The main aim of this study was to explore and examine the effect and factors affecting co-branding and then to offer explanations as to how co-branding
enhances the value of a product. The theory of reasoned action was used to illuminate and guide
this research. The research design was ba'sed on quantitative approach. Data was collected (1600 targeted respondents) in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Researcher-administered survey was used as a data collection. Data was collected and analyzed with the following intentions: 1) to examine the changes in customers' brand knowledge, brand attitude and purchase intention when a standalone brand (Host Brand X) was co-branded (Co-brand XY); 2) to determine the factors affecting customers' evaluation towards a co-branded products or services; and 3) to assess the effect of consumers' brand knowledge and attitude towards purchase intention pertaining to co-brand. In findings, this study confirmed that co-branding does help to improve consumers' perceived value and purchase intention however improvement on perceived quality, perceived risk and brand knowledge were found to be unstable. Other than that, findings confirmed that the main factor in predicting consumers' evaluation of a co-brand was perceived complementary. In conclusion, this study suggested that co-branding evaluation was believed to be highly related to the degree of purchase involvement. Furthermore, co-branding is also unlikely to succeed in situations where products are perceived as high risk.


In this paper, we present parallel algorithms for Web log mining and the performance prediction model. The algorithm, based on WAP-tree, scans dataset only twice and avoids candidate generation process. We parallelized mining part of WAP tree. To balance the workload among processors, we developed a task scheduling strategy. A performance model of parallel Web mining algorithm is also developed to predict the performance of parallel implementation. This model shows that we can get linear speedup for a small number of processors, and a slow down of speedup as the number of processors increases. Using the performance model, we can also estimate the maximum speed up. We implemented the algorithm on a Pittsburg Super Computer Center Lemieux using up to 48 processors. Our benchmark results showed that the performance model correctly predicts the performance of the parallel implementation. We have achieved a good speedup as the size of the dataset is increased.


Professional identity formation of law students ideally encompasses both development of the necessary attributes of lawyers as well as a robust philosophy to inform the character of their engagement with the justice system throughout their career. Susan Brooks' Wholehearted Lawyering teaching principles and practices provide a sound basis for developing the complex core personal, interpersonal, and relational skills necessary for law students and lawyers to maximise constructive interactions within the legal system. Vulnerability Theory and Therapeutic Jurisprudence too, provide sound principles to guide students' and lawyers' purposeful engagement with the legal system, particularly to facilitate greater access to justice through resilience-building and therapeutic contributions and impacts. This article proposes an Inside/Out pedagogy that develops students' awareness of these necessary personal and interpersonal attributes (the Inside) and that provides a framework for purposive engagement grounded in improving access to justice (the Out). This pedagogy systematically embeds both Brooks' Wholehearted Lawyering scholarship to develop students' core professional attributes, and principles drawn from Vulnerability Theory and Therapeutic Jurisprudence to stimulate students to crystallise their own purpose as lawyers. The article then examines the development and application of this pedagogy in an Australian legal clinic established in 2020 at Western Sydney University in New South Wales, Australia.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Background: ARQ 092 is an oral allosteric, ATP-independent, potent and selective inhibitor of AKT. Preclinical data from human cell lines and xenograft models support the exploration of anti-tumor activity of ARQ 092 across a broad range of human solid and hematological malignancies. The safety and preliminary activity of ARQ 092 in patients with advanced/metastatic solid tumors are presented.

Methods: Adults patients (pts) were enrolled into this multi-cohort phase 1 trial at the starting dose of 10 mg/QOD. Cohorts of 3 or 6 patients were based on a 3+3 dose escalation schedule. Dose was to be doubled for the first 5 cohorts, then increased according to a modified Fibonacci scheme. Treatment was continued until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Diabetic patients requiring insulin were excluded. Dose Limiting Toxicity (DLT) definition included grade ≥3 toxicities, grade 2 liver dysfunction, and grade 3 hyperglycemia requiring insulin (uncontrolled by metformin) during the first 28 days of treatment.

Results: As of October 20th, 2012, 22 ECOG PS1 pts (8 male; median age 63.3 yrs), with advanced/metastatic solid tumors were enrolled at doses/schedules ranging from 10 mg/QOD to 80mg/QD. Colorectal (N=4), endometrial (N=4) and neuroendocrine (N=3) were the most frequent tumors. Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were reported in 20 (90.9%) pts. The most frequent (>10%) included nausea, fatigue (both in 10 pts, 45.4%) and anorexia (7 pts, 31.8%). Grade 3 maculo-papular rash with pruritis occurred in 2 pts in the 80mg/QD cohort, triggering one DLT. Eight pts experienced 17 SAEs including diarrhea, tricuspid regurgitation, dyspnea and metabolic encephalopathy. Drug-related SAEs include: Grade 3 hyperglycemia, in 3 pts at 80mg/QD (1 constituted DLT, another was not a DLT because it was not treated with metformin, and the third, managed with insulin, occurred after 28 days). A DLT of congestive heart failure developed in a subject previously exposed to radiation and adriamycin. The MTD has not been reached, but the 80mg QD continuous dose/schedule was deemed not to be well tolerated. A cohort of 60mg QD is under evaluation. Currently, 6 pts remain stable for > 4 months and 3 pts are still on therapy (1 pt on 80mg/QD, 2 pts on 20mg/QD); a 20% reduction in tumor burden was achieved in a pt with concomitant reduction of circulating pAKT expression. The study is ongoing with 7 pts on ARQ 092. PK analysis and PD results based on tumor biomarker expression and on plasma pAKT are pending.

Conclusions: A formal MTD has not yet been reached. Rash preceded by hyperglycemia and preliminary signs of activity as single agent may represent a differential feature of ARQ 092 in this class. Exploratory efficacy in a selected population over-expressing AKT will be pursued at the defined recommended phase 2 dose.

Citation Format: Mansoor Saleh, Kyri Papadopoulos, Alireza Arabnia, Amita Patnaik, Robin M. Stein, Federica Cattaneo, Giovanni Abbadessa, Jonathan Greenberg, Stephen Warren, Anthony Tolcher. First-in-human study with ARQ 092, a novel pan AKT-inhibitor: Results from the advanced solid tumors cohorts. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-197. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-LB-197


The Ralstonia solanacearum species complex (RSSC) causes bacterial wilt diseases, which affect a wide range of plant hosts, including Solanaceae, and is of major economic importance. Point-of-care (POC) techniques like LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) allow the rapid and sensitive detection of plant pathogens and can be deployed directly in the field. For fast and reliable diagnosis on-site, we optimized a RSSC-LAMP assay and developed a real-time LAMP assay targeting the phylotype I. Both LAMPs were highly specific, yielding negative results for a wide collection of non-target strains and positive results for all target strains, except for two particular mulberry strains for the phylotype I assay. These results were supported by an extensive in silico analysis performed on 6,105 genomes of Burkholderiaceae. The two LAMP assays displayed high sensitivity on pure suspensions with a detection limit at 103 CFU/ml and 104 CFU/ml for phylotype I and RSSC, respectively. These thresholds correspond to theoretical quantities of as low as 5 CFU and 50 CFU per reaction. Two simplified extraction methods were successfully used to detect the pathogen from different Solanaceae samples. We demonstrated that LAMP assays were operable on solanaceous crops during field surveys and varietal evaluation trials as rapid POC diagnostics tools, which can improve the disease management and control of RSSC.