This paper presents a multinomial multi-state micro-level reserving model, denoted mCube. We propose a unified framework for modelling the time and the payment process for IBNR and RBNS claims and for modeling IBNR claim counts. We use multinomial distributions for the time process and spliced mixture models for the payment process. We illustrate the excellent performance of the proposed model on a real data set of a major insurance company consisting of bodily injury claims. It is shown that the proposed model produces a best estimate distribution that is centered around the true reserve.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005

3030

A number of anti-angiogenic therapies that are currently in clinical development target the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family of ligands and receptors. The VEGF family has a demonstrated role in a wide range of malignancies, particularly highly vascularized tumors such as glioblastoma (GBM), although recent research has indicated that additional growth factor pathways may also be involved. Of these factors, members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) family have been implicated. Inhibition of these additional pathways, either alone or in addition to VEGF, may result in potent anti-cancer responses that may lead to tumor dormancy or regression in cancer types that are unresponsive to VEGF treatment alone. We wished to examine the relative contribution of the VEGF, PDGF and FGF growth factors in glioblastoma angiogenesis and growth using soluble decoy receptors to specifically inhibit these individual growth factor pathways for therapeutic development. Soluble decoy receptors were constructed from VEGF receptor 1 and 2 (VEGFR1 and R2), PDGF receptor α and β (PDGFRα and β) and FGF receptor 1 and 2 (FGFR1 and R2) by fusion of the extracellular Ig-like domains of the receptor to an Fc segment of human IgG1. Ligand binding affinity and in vivo bioavailability was examined on multiple variants of each growth factor receptor to determine an optimal soluble inhibitor for the VEGF, PDGF and FGF pathways. Recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) gene delivery was then employed to express the optimized receptors systemically in mice. Following a single intravenous or intramusclar injection of rAAV, the soluble receptors were expressed long-term (>3 months) and at a high-level (200-2000 μg/ml depending on receptor), providing sustained inhibition of their respective growth factor signaling pathways. Preclinical efficacy was examined for each soluble receptor in the subcutaneous C6 rat glioma, 4C8 murine glioma and the human U-87 and U-251 MG glioblastoma models, allowing the relative impact of VEGF, PDGF and FGF inhibition to be assessed side-by-side. Inhibition of VEGF provided therapeutic efficacy irrespective of the glioma model examined, however, the anti-tumor efficacy of PDGF and FGF inhibition was model-dependent. Following examination of anti-tumor efficacy as a monotherapy, growth factor inhibitors were combined to examine potential synergy by targeting multiple pathways in GBM models. The development of these optimized soluble decoy receptors allows the effect of specific inhibition of growth factor pathways to be individually investigated in tumor progression and may aid in the identification of signaling pathways to inhibit in combination for the next generation of angiogenic inhibitors.


Humans' predictions of another person's behaviour are regularly influenced by what they themselves might know or want. In a previous study, we found that male Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) could cater for their female partner's current desire when sharing food with her. Here, we tested the extent to which the males' decisions are influenced by their own current desire. When the males' and female's desires matched, males correctly shared the food that was desired by both. When the female's desire differed from their own, the males' decisions were not entirely driven by their own desires, suggesting that males also took the female's desire into account. Thus, the male jays' decisions about their mates' desires are partially biased by their own desire and might be based upon similar processes as those found in humans.


This paper presents a systematic numerical investigation of different implicit large-eddy simulations (LESs) for massively separated flows. Three numerical schemes, a third-order accurate monotonic upwind scheme for scalar conservation laws (MUSCL) scheme, a fifth-order accurate MUSCL scheme, and a ninth-order accurate weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) method, are tested in the context of separation from a gently curved surface. The case considered here is a simple wall-bounded flow that consists of a channel with a hill-type curvature on the lower wall. The separation and reattachment locations, velocity, and Reynolds stress profiles are presented and compared against solutions from classical LES simulations.


We introduce random matrix theory to study the tomographic efficiency of a wide class of measurements constructed out of weighted 2-designs, including symmetric informationally complete (SIC) probability operator measurements (POMs). In particular, we derive analytic formulae for the mean Hilbert-Schmidt distance and the mean trace distance between the estimator and the true state, which clearly show the difference between the scaling behaviors of the two error measures with the dimension of the Hilbert space. We then prove that the product SIC POMs---the multipartite analogue of the SIC POMs---are optimal among all product measurements in the same sense as the SIC POMs are optimal among all joint measurements. We further show that, for bipartite systems, there is only a marginal efficiency advantage of the joint SIC POMs over the product SIC POMs. In marked contrast, for multipartite systems, the efficiency advantage of the joint SIC POMs increases exponentially with the number of parties.


The British hoodie horror cycle is an often overlooked component of the so-called 'British Horror Revival' of the 21st-century. This thesis considers the cycle in detail, focusing on the representation and exploration of three key concepts: men, masculinity and class. It asks and offers answers to three key questions: where can the hoodie horror be located within the wider frameworks of horror and British cinema? How are working-class men and working-class masculinity, specifically, represented within this cycle? And finally, what can these representations reveal to the viewer about the surrounding social, political and historical contexts that have facilitated the cycle's existence?
Chapter One will develop a chronology of cinematic context and history, in order to effectively locate the cycle amongst its predecessors and contemporaries. Chapter Two explores the utilisation of landscape and the representation of the male body within the cycle, suggesting a potential symbiotic relationship between the two and investigating the implication of 'classed' landscapes and bodies. Chapter Three deals with the representation, specifically, of black working-class masculinity, and posits suggestions as to how and why these narratives differ from those dedicated to a white working-classness. Finally, Chapter Four will interrogate the use of the supernatural in several hoodie horrors, questioning how far the inclusion of a supernatural element makes explicit contemporary understandings of class and masculinity.
Offering an in-depth study of the hoodie horror film in relation to its specific socio-historical context, this thesis utilises a self-aware 'reflectionist' approach in conjunction with a mixed methodological approach which incorporates sociological, historical and philosophical scholarship. In doing so, the thesis offers an understanding of hoodie horror as reflective and representative of contemporary perceptions of and attitudes towards class and masculinity in Britain.


This paper presents a system for capturing and rendering a dynamic image-based representation called the plenoptic videos. It is a simplified version of light fields for dynamic environment, where user viewpoints are constrained along the camera plane of a linear array of video cameras. The system consists of a camera array of 8 Sony CCX-Z11 CCD cameras and eight Pentium 4 1.8 GHz computers connected together through a 100 BaseT LAN. Important issues such as multiple camera calibration, real-time compression, decompression and rendering are addressed. Experimental results demonstrated the usefulness of the proposed parallel processing based system in capturing and rendering high quality dynamic image-based representation using off-the-shelf equipment, and its potential applications in visualization and immersive television systems.


The present paper reports the results of two experiments designed to demonstrate the utility of the concept of stimulus-response compatibility in the development of a theory of perceptual-motor behavior. A task involves compatible S-R relations to the extent that the ensemble of stimulus and response combinations comprising the task results in a high rate of information transfer. Admittedly, degree of compatibility can be defined in terms of operations other than those used to secure a measure of information, for example, it could be specified in terms of measures of speed or accuracy. However, the present writers prefer the preceding definition because of the theoretican interpretation that they wish to give to compatibility effects. This interpretation makes use of the idea of a hypothetical process of information transformation or recoding in the course of a perceptual-motor activity, and assumes that the degree of compatibility is at a maximum when recoding processes are at a minimum. The concept of compatibility can be


. Ecosystem services (ES) from urban green and blue infrastructure (GBI) provide cities and their citizens with benefits necessary to cope with present and future sustainability challenges. Long-term comprehensive urban greening strategies, policies, and plans are thus central to the development of sustainable, liveable, and resilient cities. However, urban greening strategies are increasingly tailored to provide short-term benefits, overlooking the dynamic character of cities, which face both changes in the capacity of GBI to provide benefits (e.g., in the face of climate change) as well dynamic needs and preferences for benefits over time as a result of changing demographic compositions. Starting with a literature review on GBI-relevant policies for the city of Barcelona, we: (1) investigated the presence of resilience thinking in the city's GBI-relevant policies through the application of the urban ecosystem services resilience assessment matrix; (2) investigated resilience thinking in the city's policies through the co-development of scenario narratives of possible futures and their implications for ES; and (3) applied the narratives through a participatory approach to enhance stakeholder thinking on adaptive policies based on possible shifts in ES provision and needs. Application of the matrix identified two main gaps to current GBI-relevant policies related to two main aspects of resilience: recognition and assessment of possible future disturbances and changes, and low understanding of social and structural diversity. Through the co-development of four future scenario narratives (aging and shrinking population, enhanced tourism, gender inequalities, and global warming), stakeholders identified the most susceptible ES in the city of Barcelona. Workshop participants indicated mental well-being, regulation of microclimate, social cohesion, air purification, physical recreation, runoff control, and soil permeability as ES with the widest capacity–demand mismatch. The results elicited discussion around GBI and ES resilience, addressing the need for intersectoral policy integration (including housing, education, and mobility) and for fostering a wider understanding of the role of institutions in providing for a resilient urban future. Through the use of scenario narratives, and highlighting the potential of co-creation, the proposed approach enhances critical thought around ES resilience among key players in the city. The study thereby supports the development of a comprehensive resilience strategy for Barcelona and indicates pathways for how other cities can change their current urban trajectory towards sustained ES flows.


This paper addresses the question of whether spiritual, religious or cultural values held by humans for some wild mountain areas can protect these special places from developments that impair both these values and wild nature. The answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no, and sometimes a minimization of damage. Examples of each of these scenarios are briefly given, along with a more detailed current battle between the sacred and the profane in the case of the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona, USA. Some recommendations are given that help to strengthen the case when intangible values of reverence, cultural tradition, worship and iconic significance come up against destruction or impairment of nature in mountains.


The idea of decision-aware model learning, that models should be accurate where it matters for decision-making, has gained prominence in model-based reinforcement learning. While promising theoretical results have been established, the empirical performance of algorithms leveraging a decision-aware loss has been lacking, especially in continuous control problems. In this paper, we present a study on the necessary components for decision-aware reinforcement learning models and we showcase design choices that enable well-performing algorithms. To this end, we provide a theoretical and empirical investigation into prominent algorithmic ideas in the field. We highlight that empirical design decisions established in the MuZero line of works are vital to achieving good performance for related algorithms, and we showcase differences in behavior between different instantiations of value-aware algorithms in stochastic environments. Using these insights, we propose the Latent Model-Based Decision-Aware Actor-Critic framework ($\lambda$-AC) for decision-aware model-based reinforcement learning in continuous state-spaces and highlight important design choices in different environments.


Surveillance was extensively analyzed in the literature from multiple standpoints. Some studies looked to the temporal development of surveillance, while others analyzed the traditional theories that infl uenced many of the contemporary surveillance studies. All these studies defi ne surveillance as an activity that is ubiquitous and performed globally, by multiple private and public institutions, through the involvement of specifi c technologies. However, little attention was paid to the perceptions of citizens about surveillance. This article addresses this gap in the literature and analyses how state surveillance is perceived by the Romanian citizens according to the socio-demographic factors (i.e., age, education, income, gender and medium of residence). The aim of the study is to explain how socio-demographic factors infl uence the acceptance of state surveillance. It also controls for the left-right self-placement, and the use of Facebook as source of information. The statistical analysis uses individual level data from an original survey conducted between October-November 2020. The survey was completed by 1,140 respondents, and the article uses correlation and linear regression to analyze the data. The fi ndings illustrate that the acceptance of state surveillance is infl uenced by the gender, level of education and medium of residence of the individuals. The age and income of the citizens have no eff ect on the acceptance of state surveillance.


Changes in diversity of type I and type II methanotrophs during a biostimulation field experiment were inves-tigated for 73 days after the start of treatment by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of PCR-amplified 16S rDNA fragments. DGGE profiles of the type I and type II methanotrophs yielded simple banding patterns. The type I methanotrophs' profile showed a single intense band at day 10 of biostimulation, and sequence analysis showed 99% similarity with Methylobacter psychrophilus . The type II methanotrophs' profile showed a single band appeared at day 31, becoming an intense band after day 40. Sequence analysis of this band pattern showed 99% similarity with Methylocystis parvus . These results suggest a possible shift of nu-merically dominant methanotrophs from type I to type II during the field experiment.


BACKGROUND
Transperineal ultrasound (TPUS) is a valuable imaging tool for evaluating patients with pelvic floor disorders, including pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Currently, measurements of anatomical structures in the mid-sagittal plane of 2D and 3D US volumes are obtained manually, which is time-consuming, has high intra-rater variability, and requires an expert in pelvic floor US interpretation. Manual segmentation and biometric measurement can take 15 minutes per 2D mid-sagittal image by an expert operator. An automated segmentation method would provide quantitative data relevant to pelvic floor disorders and improve the efficiency and reproducibility of segmentation-based biometric methods.

PURPOSE
Develop a fast, reproducible, and automated method of acquiring biometric measurements and organ segmentations from the mid-sagittal plane of female 3D TPUS volumes.

METHODS
Our method used a nnU-Net segmentation model to segment the pubis symphysis, urethra, bladder, rectum, rectal ampulla, and anorectal angle in the mid-sagittal plane of female 3D TPUS volumes. We developed an algorithm to extract relevant biometrics from the segmentations. Our dataset included 248 3D TPUS volumes, 126/122 rest/Valsalva split, from 135 patients. System performance was assessed by comparing the automated results with manual ground truth data using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and average absolute difference (AD). Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and time difference were used to compare reproducibility and efficiency between manual and automated methods respectively. High ICC, low AD and reduction in time indicated an accurate and reliable automated system, making TPUS an efficient alternative for POP assessment. Paired t-test and non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test were conducted, with p < 0.05 determining significance.

RESULTS
The nnU-Net segmentation model reported average DSC and p values (in brackets), compared to the next best tested model, of 87.4% (<0.0001), 68.5% (<0.0001), 61.0% (0.1), 54.6% (0.04), 49.2% (<0.0001) and 33.7% (0.02) for bladder, rectum, urethra, pubic symphysis, anorectal angle, and rectal ampulla respectively. The average ADs for the bladder neck position, bladder descent, rectal ampulla descent and retrovesical angle were 3.2mm, 4.5mm, 5.3mm and 27.3°, respectively. The biometric algorithm had an ICC >0.80 for the bladder neck position, bladder descent and rectal ampulla descent when compared to manual measurements, indicating high reproducibility. The proposed algorithms required approximately 1.27 seconds to analyze one image. The manual ground truths were performed by a single expert operator. In addition, due to high operator dependency for TPUS image collection, we would need to pursue further studies with images collected from multiple operators.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on our search in scientific databases (i.e., Web of Science, IEEE Xplore Digital Library, Elsevier ScienceDirect and PubMed), this is the first reported work of an automated segmentation and biometric measurement system for the mid-sagittal plane of 3D TPUS volumes. The proposed algorithm pipeline can improve the efficiency (1.27 seconds compared to 15 minutes manually) and has high reproducibility (high ICC values) compared to manual TPUS analysis for pelvic floor disorder diagnosis. Further studies are needed to verify this system's viability using multiple TPUS operators and multiple experts for performing manual segmentation and extracting biometrics from the images. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The increasing ubiquity of network traffic and the new online applications' deployment has increased traffic analysis complexity. Traditionally, network administrators rely on recognizing well-known static ports for classifying the traffic flowing their networks. However, modern network traffic uses dynamic ports and is transported over secure application-layer protocols (e.g., HTTPS, SSL, and SSH). This makes it a challenging task for network administrators to identify online applications using traditional port-based approaches. One way for classifying the modern network traffic is to use machine learning (ML) to distinguish between the different traffic attributes such as packet count and size, packet inter-arrival time, packet send–receive ratio, etc. This paper presents the design and implementation of NetScrapper, a flow-based network traffic classifier for online applications. NetScrapper uses three ML models, namely K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest (RF), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), for classifying the most popular 53 online applications, including Amazon, Youtube, Google, Twitter, and many others. We collected a network traffic dataset containing 3,577,296 packet flows with different 87 features for training, validating, and testing the ML models. A web-based user-friendly interface is developed to enable users to either upload a snapshot of their network traffic to NetScrapper or sniff the network traffic directly from the network interface card in real time. Additionally, we created a middleware pipeline for interfacing the three models with the Flask GUI. Finally, we evaluated NetScrapper using various performance metrics such as classification accuracy and prediction time. Most notably, we found that our ANN model achieves an overall classification accuracy of 99.86% in recognizing the online applications in our dataset.


¤Para citar este artículo: Arias MP. Strangles: the most prevalent infectious respiratory disease in horses worldwide . Rev CES Med Zootec. 2013; Vol 8 (1): 143-159. Strangles: the most prevalent infectious respiratory disease in horses worldwide¤ Adenitis: la enfermedad respiratoria infecciosa de mayor prevalencia en caballos en el mundo Adenite: a doença respiratória infeciosa de maior prevalência em cavalos ao redor do mundo. Streptococcus equi subsp. equi is the causative agent of Strangles in horses, the most common respiratory infectious disease worldwide. Typical signs of the disease are fever, nasal, discharge, abscessation of retropharyngeal lymph nodes and inappetence; complications as Bastard Strangles and Purpura haemorrhagica may occur. Outbreaks may last for months or even years in farms and stables causing a great economical impact due to the large periods of convalescence, quarantine and treatments. Some horses suffer guttural pouch empyema, harbouring the bacteria in pus or chondroids, becoming carriers, which are a major problem for the prevention. Currently, many research groups all over the world are focus on the production of a safe and effective vaccine against this highly contagious disease. The control of the disease is difficult without a highly effectiveness vaccine. In Colombia, there is not well known the prevalence of Adenitis neither the microorganisms involved in this disease; moreover, in some countries of Latin America the carrier prevalence is markedly underestimated or unknown and it is necessary to focus more resources and effort to epidemiology studies in this disease.


Cascade is a widely used approach that rejects obvious negative samples at early stages for learning better classifier and faster inference. This paper presents chained cascade network (CC-Net). In this CC-Net, the cascaded classifier at a stage is aided by the classification scores in previous stages. Feature chaining is further proposed so that the feature learning for the current cascade stage uses the features in previous stages as the prior information. The chained ConvNet features and classifiers of multiple stages are jointly learned in an end-to-end network. In this way, features and classifiers at latter stages handle more difficult samples with the help of features and classifiers in previous stages. It yields consistent boost in detection performance on benchmarks like PASCAL VOC 2007 and ImageNet. Combined with better region proposal, CC-Net leads to state-of-the-art result of 81.1% mAP on PASCAL VOC 2007.


The virus-inhibitory activity of a molecular complex (MC) of tilorone and yeast RNA was studied in vitro on three virus-cell systems: vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) - murine fibroblast L929 cells, Venezuelan equine encephalittis virus (VEEV) - swine embryo kidney (SEK) cells and encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) - established piglet testicular (EPT) cells. In all these systems the MC exerted an antiviral effect similar to that of polynucleotide interferon (IFN) inducers such as poly(I)-poly(C), larifan and ridostin. The antiviral effect of the MC was similar when the compound was applied before or after virus adsorption to cells. The MC may be regarded as a perspective antiviral agent of common use.


Coarse-grained strategies for membrane simulations are designed to increase efficiency for larger and more complex molecular dynamics simulations. For membrane active antibiotics, the concentration dependence of their action presents a tremendous challenge in simulation scale. In this study, we examine the effects of concentration for the popular membrane active antibacterial drug chlorhexidine. It presents an interesting biophysical modeling test, where from experimental experience we know that model membranes of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) can absorb very high quantities of the drug without disruption. We construct a coarse-grained model of chlorhexidine in three different charged states and compare to previous all-atom simulations and new experiments. Using large, long-time, and unbiased simulations of chlorhexidine inserting into the lipid bilayer, we find little changes to the functional structure of a DMPC membrane up through concentrations of 15:100 drug:lipid, where the slowing rate of continued insertion tests the capabilities of even this coarse-grained approach. We validate our simulations with computational calorimetry measurements, and show that they agree with new experimental data from differential scanning calorimetry.


Au nanoparticles protected with a polymerisable ligand were incorporated into bulk macroporous polymers; etching the metal core resulted in disulfide-lined, nanometre-scale cavities capable of recognising similarly-sized Au particles.


An extension to bosons of a constrained Hartree variational method is developed in which an angular momentum constraint is imposed. The method is applied to a soluble bosonic model, the Q-consistent Hamiltonian of Warner and Casten (1982). The results are compared not only with the exact ones but also with those obtained from the cranked Hartree variational approximation.


The drug tamoxifen, used to treat breast cancer, causes liver cancer in rats and endometrial cancer in women. Tamoxifen forms liver DNA adducts in both short- and long-term dosing of rodents, and DNA adducts have also been reported in tissues of women undergoing tamoxifen therapy. It is not known if the induction of endometrial cancer in women is through these DNA adducts or through the estrogenic nature of the drug. In this study, we have investigated the mutagenicity of two model reactive intermediates of tamoxifen, alpha-acetoxytamoxifen and 4-hydroxytamoxifen quinone methide (4-OHtamQM). These form the same DNA adducts as those found in tamoxifen-treated rats. The two compounds were used to treat the pSP189 plasmid containing the supF gene, which was replicated in Ad293 cells before being screened in indicator bacteria. Plasmid reacted with 4-OHtamQM was more likely to be mutated (2-7-fold increase) than that reacted with alpha-acetoxytamoxifen, despite having a lower level of DNA damage (12-20-fold less), as assayed by (32)P-postlabeling. The two compounds induced statistically different mutation spectra in the supF gene. The majority of mutations in alpha-acetoxytamoxifen-treated plasmid were GC -->TA transversions while GC-->AT transitions were formed in 4-OHtamQM-treated plasmid. 4-OHTamQM-treated DNA induced a larger proportion of multiple mutations and large deletions compared to alpha-acetoxytamoxifen. Sites of mutational hotspots were observed for both compounds. In conclusion, the quantitatively minor DNA adduct of tamoxifen (dG-N(2)-4-hydroxytamoxifen) is more mutagenic than the major tamoxifen DNA adduct (dG-N(2)-tamoxifen).


HBV infection is characterised by a prolonged 'immunotolerant hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive phase' where patients are persistently infected with high viral loads, yet they demonstrate no overt inflammation or liver damage. This represents a highly evolved host-parasite relationship. Viruses are known to target the host innate immune system as a means of establishing infection and maintaining chronicity. In humans, the innate immune system recognises pathogens via pattern recognition receptors such as the Toll-like receptors (TLRs), initiating a pro-inflammatory responses. TLRs and associated signalling proteins are characterised by their transmembrane and cytoplasmic Toll-IL1 receptor (TIR) domain. The TIR domain is critical for homotypic TIR:TIR interactions with downstream adaptor proteins leading to activation of downstream transcription factors Nuclear Factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-3. Previous studies have demonstrated that both TLR expression and pro-inflammatory cytokine production is reduced in HBeAg-positive patients compared to HBeAg-negative patients following TLR stimulation. HBeAg is a secreted, non-particulate version of the HBV nucleocapsid protein, the hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg). It is transcribed, translated and secreted very early in the HBV replication cycle, although importantly, 20-30% of HBeAg is retained in the cytoplasm. No known role is ascribed to this cytosolic HBeAg. The aim of this study was to investigate interactions between TLR signal transduction pathways and the mature HBeAg protein localised in the cytosol. In this thesis I have provided a novel molecular mechanism illustrating how HBeAg inhibits TIR-mediated inflammatory response through direct interaction with a sub-set of TIR-containing proteins. Bio-informatics analysis of HBeAg identified a novel N-terminal 10 amino acid sequence referred to as the Precore Specific Sequence (PSS) distinct from HBcAg, as homologous to the TIR motif found in TLR and associated signal transduction proteins. I have demonstrated by co-localisation and immunoprecipitation that HBeAg, but not HBcAg, is able to interact with a sub-set of membrane proximal TIR-proteins including MyD88 adaptor-like (Mal) and Toll-like receptor adaptor molecule-2 (TRAM). This specificity of this interaction between HBeAg and TIR-containing proteins is demonstrated by the requirement of three critical amino acids "LCL" within the PSS, as mutation of these amino acids ablates all interaction and exerts no inhibitory properties. Critically interactions between HBeAg and TIR-containing proteins were specific as no interaction was observed with MyD88 as illustrated by co-immunoprecipitation or co-localisation studies. Luciferase reporter assays were employed to demonstrate the biological consequences of HBeAg interaction with TIR-containing receptor and adaptor proteins. Co-expression of HBeAg with TLR-2, Mal, TRAM and TIR domain containing adaptor inducing interferon (TRIF) resulted in the significant suppression of both NF-κB and Interferon-β (IFN-β) activation. Consistent with previous findings, NF-κB activation was unaffected by co-expression of HBeAg with MyD88. Importantly, HBcAg which lacks the PSS and the HBeAg mutant had no effect on downstream activation of NF-κB or IFN-β. HBeAg appears to function by sequestering TIR-containing proteins from homotypic TIR:TIR signalling complexes as co-expression. This was illustrated by co-expression of HBeAg inhibiting homotypic TIR:TIR interactions between Mal and MyD88, therefore disrupting downstream signalling. There are several genotypes of HBV found globally and previous studies have reported variation in responsiveness to IFN-β treatment between genotypes. I wished to determine if there were differences in modulation of innate responses amongst genotypes. Interestingly it appears that genotypes A and B suppress predominantly NF-κB mediated responses, whereas genotypes C and D are were found to significantly inhibit both NF-κB and IFN-β mediated responses. Furthermore, TLR-2-induced Interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression is reduced in HBV genotypes C and D compared to genotypes A and B following treatment with IFN-β and TLR-2 agonist Pam3Cys. Critically my findings demonstrate that HBV genotype significantly influences the degree of immuno-modulation on TIR-mediated responses. These findings correlate with previous clinical studies which show individuals with genotypes A and B have higher response rates to IFN treatment facilitating seroconversion compared to genotypes C and D. Critically I have provided a mechanism describing how administration of IFN enhances host immunity in CHB individuals which may explain differences in responsiveness to IFN treatment between HBV genotypes. Overall HBV genotype is an important predictor of response to IFN-based therapy in CHB infection. For best clinical practice and treatment outcome it is strongly recommend that determination of HBV genotype is established before commencing treatment. In conclusion findings presented in this thesis provide a novel molecular mechanism as to how HBeAg interacts with TLR signal transduction pathways to immuno-modulate TIR-mediated innate responses. Importantly the discovery of the PSS, which acts to negatively regulate TLR signalling, may be used in future designs for a novel therapeutic against not only HBV but other TLR-inflammatory diseases circumventing chronicity and poor clinical outcome.


Abstract Switzerland is usually not looked upon as a substantial economic actor in Africa. Taking Zambian copper as a case study, we show how important Swiss companies have become in the global commodities trade and the services it depends on. While big Swiss trading firms such as Glencore and Trafigura have generated increasing scholarly and public interest, a multitude of Swiss companies is involved in logistics and transport of Zambian copper. Swiss extractivism, we argue, is a model case for trends in today's global capitalism. We highlight that servicification, a crucial element of African mining regimes today, creates new and more flexible opportunities for international companies to capture value in global production networks. These opportunities partly rely on business-friendly regulation and tax regimes in Northern countries, a fact which makes companies potentially vulnerable to reputation risks and offers opportunities to civil society actors criticising their role. New and different Swiss–Zambian connections emerge from civil society networks organising around companies' economic activities.


Recently, Horava formulated a renormalizable theory of quantum gravity that reduces to general relativity at large distances but violates Lorentz invariance at small distances. The absolute time involved in this theory allows to define an objective notion of particles associated with quantization of fields in classical gravitational backgrounds. The Unruh effect and other observer-dependent notions of particles in curved space are interpreted as effects caused by interaction between the objective vacuum and the measuring apparatus made up of objective particles.


This paper reports research on the role of communication in knowledge management, examined through the lens of communication climate. The research is being undertaken in a major public sector organisation. The organisation wishes to shift its culture to one characterised by internal information sharing and, to this end, it has undertaken a 3-year knowledge management initiative that comprises an integrated suite of formal and informal knowledge sharing activities. The research is being conducted on a longitudinal basis between 2003 and 2005, and results of the first survey of the organisation's communication climate are reported in this paper. It is proposed that communication audits can be used to gauge whether knowledge and information sharing are likely to occur by providing data on two antecedents to such sharing: perceptions of other organisational members' openness to the receiving as well as the sending aspects of sharing.


Atomic context is an execution state of the Linux kernel in which kernel code monopolizes a CPU core. In this state, the Linux kernel may only perform operations that cannot sleep, as otherwise a system hang or crash may occur. We refer to this kind of concurrency bug as a sleep-in-atomic-context (SAC) bug. In practice, SAC bugs are hard to find, as they do not cause problems in all executions. In this article, we propose a practical static approach named DSAC to effectively detect SAC bugs in the Linux kernel. DSAC uses three key techniques: (1) a summary-based analysis to identify the code that may be executed in atomic context, (2) a connection-based alias analysis to identify the set of functions referenced by a function pointer, and (3) a path-check method to filter out repeated reports and false bugs. We evaluate DSAC on Linux 4.17 and find 1,159 SAC bugs. We manually check all the bugs and find that 1,068 bugs are real. We have randomly selected 300 of the real bugs and sent them to kernel developers. 220 of these bugs have been confirmed, and 51 of our patches fixing 115 bugs have been applied.


Spikelets, small spikelike membrane potential deflections, are prominent in the activity of hippocampal pyramidal neurons in vivo. The origin of spikelets is still a source of much controversy. Somatically recorded spikelets have been postulated to originate from dendritic spikes, ectopic spikes, or spikes in an electrically coupled neuron. To differentiate between the different proposed mechanisms we used a dual recording approach in which we simultaneously recorded the intracellular activity of one CA1 pyramidal neuron and the extracellular activity in its vicinity, thus monitoring extracellularly the activity of both the intracellularly recorded cell as well as other units in its surroundings. Spikelets were observed in a quarter of our recordings (n = 36). In eight of these nine recordings a second extracellular unit fired in correlation with spikelet occurrences. This observation is consistent with the idea that the spikelets reflect action potentials of electrically coupled nearby neurons. The extracellular spikes of these secondary units preceded the onset of spikelets. While the intracellular spikelet amplitude was voltage dependent, the simultaneously recorded extracellular unit remained unchanged. Spikelets often triggered action potentials in neurons, resulting in a characteristic 1- to 2-ms delay between spikelet onset and firing. Here we show that this relationship is bidirectional, with spikes being triggered by and also triggering spikelets. Secondary units, coupled to pyramidal neurons, showed discharge patterns similar to the recorded pyramidal neuron. These findings suggest that spikelets reflect spikes in an electrically coupled neighboring neuron, most likely of pyramidal cell type. Such coupling might contribute to the synchronization of pyramidal neurons with millisecond precision.


THE malignancies of the anal canal, which comprise less than 5% of the malignancies involving the colon and rectum, are almost always keratinizing squamous cell epidermoid cancers. The squamous cell lesions are distinguished by epithelial pearl keratin formations. However, occasionally a nonkeratinizing cancer appears in the anal canal or perianal region and, because of its rarity, it is often overlooked in differential diagnosis. The various tumors arise from specific zones of origin in the anal canal. Five types of nonkeratininizing cancers have been seen in the anal region. These nonkeratinizing anal malignancies show wide variations in cellular pattern and in dynamics of growth. Two of them, the basal cell carcinoma and perianal Bowen's disease, have a low invasive potential and, if recognized early, can easily be eradicated by local excision. The malignant melanoma of the anal canal, however, offers an almost hopeless prognosis even after the most radical surgery. The


This paper has two goals. The first is to present a formalization in Nuprl type theory of a very general methodology for system description, specification and verification. The method is especially suitable for describing distributed systems, and is based on a modification of the I/O automata of Lynch & Tuttle. By using infinite extendible records as the state spaces of automata we gain a key inheritance property that make modular verification tractible.

The second goal is to show how we can state and prove meta-theorems about the method in Nuprl by a reflection procedure whereby we define syntax and semantics for both system descriptions and specifications within Nuprl type theory. We can then define a syntactic predicate transformation algorithm that generates syntactic verification conditions, and then prove the meta-theorem that shows that the truth of (the meanings of) the verification conditions implies that (the meaning of) the description satisfies (the meaning of) the specification.


The display of the colonoscope shape inside human body is a new technique under development which helps the doctor to judge visually if the patient colon is in normal situation or tends to twist the colonoscope into an unusual and unsafe shape. This paper presents a real-time shape reconstruction method based on biber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor array and a positioning technique of colonoscope's handle part by means of binocular vision, while the colonoscope inserted into human colon. Detailed analysis include the detecting principles, spatial curve reconstruction algorithm from the information of FBG sensors, and estimation of pose of the handle part of the colonoscope relative to the world frame. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques. With an accuracy of shape reconstruction to be improved to 4.5 mm compared with earlier research. By adding the pose detecting subsystem for the colonoscope's handle part, the 3D shape display subsystem will work more effectively and become more practical.


Summary
Cross-linking lysyl residues of brome mosaic and cowpea chlorotic mottle viruses with dimethyladipimidate at pH 8.5 in the presence of MgCl2 resulted in particles that were stable under conditions in which the viruses normally came apart. Virus substituted in the absence of MgCl2 was not stabilized nor would it reassociate into normal particles. Substitution of isolated coat protein subunits did not, however, interfere with the assembly of capsids.


In this work, we propose buffer-aided distributed space-time coding (DSTC) schemes and relay selection algorithms for cooperative direct-sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems. We first devise a relay pair selection algorithm that can form relay pairs and then select the optimum set of relays among both the source-relay phase and the relay-destination phase according to the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) criterion. Multiple relays equipped with dynamic buffers are then introduced in the network, which allows the relays to store data received from the sources and wait until the most appropriate time for transmission. { A greedy relay pair selection algorithm is then developed to reduce the high cost of the exhaustive search required when a large number of relays are involved.} The proposed techniques effectively improve the quality of the transmission with an acceptable delay as the buffer size is adjustable. An analysis of the computational complexity of the proposed algorithms, the delay and a study of the greedy algorithm are then carried out. Simulation results show that the proposed dynamic buffer-aided DSTC schemes and algorithms outperform prior art.


We have done a total of 292 breast reconstructions using a free flap over a period of 10 years (1994–2003). During the last five years the number of deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flaps has increased. However, to secure an optimal blood supply we still use a muscle-sparing transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap sometimes. Our results with the two flaps were identical as far as operating time and length of hospital stay were concerned, but the DIEP flap has less donor site morbidity. Our results are influenced by our selection of patients and our technique but we think that muscle-sparing TRAM flaps may be used as an alternative to DIEP flaps.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between immunogobulin G (IgG) in urine and serum, and disease severity in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN).

METHODS
A total of 280 patients with IMN were enrolled in this study. Serum and urine IgG levels were measured, and the relationship between IgG levels and parameters suggestive of disease severity in these patients were explored. Patients were placed into one of three groups based on urine protein levels.

RESULTS
Urine IgG levels in most patients (99%) increased, while serum IgG in 74% patients decreased. Higher urine and lower serum IgG levels were associated with a more advanced-stage disease, based on the pathology assessment. Urine IgG positively correlated with 24-h urinary albumin, urinary α1- and β2-microglobulin, serum anti-phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) antibody, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). However, urine IgG negatively correlated with serum albumin and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Serum IgG positively correlated with serum albumin, but negatively correlated with 24-h urine protein, albumin, urinary α1- and β2-microglobulin, and anti-PLA2R antibody levels. Multivariate regression analyses showed that the 24-h urine protein, urinary α1-microglobulin, eGFR, and ESR were associated with urine IgG levels, independent of age, sex, urinary albumin, urinary β2-microglobulin, or serum anti-PLA2R antibody levels. In addition, serum albumin and age were significant determinants of serum IgG levels.

CONCLUSIONS
Serum and urine IgG levels are significantly associated with disease severity in patients with IMN and can be useful indicators of IMN incidence.


Purpose: Various studies on a light shelf are in progress, but it has the problem of glare occurrence. The present study suggested a diffusion film as the method for resolving the glare problem, and aimed to establish light shelf-related basic data by conducting the performance evaluation of a light shelf depending on the installation position of the diffusion film. Method: To carry out the light shelf performance evaluation depending on the diffusion film installation position, three cases were established: no diffusion film installation (Case 1), diffusion film installation on the reflector (Case 2), and diffusion film installation on the upper glass surface of the window for light shelf installation (Case 3); and the energy reduction performance, luminance, and luminance contrast were analyzed based on a testbed. Result: The conclusions of this study are as follows. 1) When the diffusion film was applied, the amount of light introduced through the light shelf decreased, and the average indoor illumination decreased accordingly. 2) For Case 3, the lighting energy reduction performance was identical to the lighting energy reduction efficiency of the existing light shelf; and for Case 2, it was found to be inappropriate as the lighting energy consumption increased compared to that of the existing light shelf. 3) The analysis of the glare for the cases established in this study showed that the luminance contrast was low for Case 3, and thus the glare problem could be minimized. 4) The specific angle of the light shelf could induce the glare problem by increasing the luminance depending on the external condition. 5) Based on the aforementioned contents, the installation position of the diffusion film for improving the lighting performance and glare problem of the light shelf was found to be the upper glass surface of the window for light shelf installation.


I've had a Galaxy Note 2 for about 6 months. I bought it because I got the itch to upgrade, and it was the best


In 1989 NSIDC was invited to become one of eight Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) in the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a long-term interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary research effort to study global-scale processes that shape and influence the Earth as a system. Recent deliberations within the EOS community is fostering change in the originally planned EOSDIS structure towards a federated system. This paper reports on the current status of the federated approach to EOSDIS, and offer an assessment as to the impact this will have on provision of remote sensing data from EOS sensor systems to the polar research community.


A major difficulty in applying deep learning in novel domains is the expense associated with acquiring sufficient training data. In this work, we extend literature in deep transfer learning by studying the role of initializing the embedding matrix with word vectors from GLoVe on a target dataset before training models with data from another domain. We study transfer learning on variants of four models (2 RNNs, a CNN, and an LSTM) and three datasets. We conclude that 1) the simple idea of initializing word vectors significantly and robustly improves transfer learning performance, 2) cross-domain learning occurs in fewer iterations than in-domain learning, considerably reduces train time, and 3) blending various out-of-domain datasets before training improves transfer learning. We then apply our models to a dataset of over 400k tweets by politicians, classifying sentiment and subjectivity vs. objectivity. This dataset was provided unlabelled, motivating an unsupervised and transfer learning approach. With transfer learning, we achieve reasonable performance on sentiment classification, but fail in classifying subjectivity vs. objectivity.


To obtain information regarding the antiethylene properties and binding site of Ag(+), studies were initiated to define conditions under which Ag(+) does or does not inhibit ethylene action. AgNO(3), applied as a leaf spray, inhibited 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid (Ethrel)-induced leaf abscission from green cuttings of Vigna radiata in white light but lost considerable activity in the dark. In the absence of Ethrel, AgNO(3) stimulated abscission in the dark. When cuttings were dark-aged for 24 hours prior to treatment with AgNO(3) and aged for an additional 24 hours in the dark after treatment, good inhibition of subsequent Ethrel-induced abscission was restored by returning the cuttings to light. However, when dark aging was preceded by far-red irradiation, considerably less inhibition of Ethrel-induced abscission was restored in the light. AgNO(3) was completely inactive on cuttings aged in the dark and treated with Ethrel in the dark. Light is required for the antiethylene activity of AgNO(3) with regard to leaf abscission of Vigna.


This paper investigates the cutting power requirement for the Profile Independent WoodMoulding Machine (PIMM). Chip severing phenomena is described and the factors affecting the cutting forces in rotary wood machining are surveyed. The nature of material removal and the influences of PIMM's machining parameters on cutting forces are theoretically investigated. Purpose designed cutting power measurement setup is explained and experiment results are discussed. The findings provide a foundation in the design process of a dedicated cutter for the PIMM in order to achieve optimum production rate.


Objectives: To assess symptoms of anxiety and depression among Portuguese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and associated predictive factors.
 Study design: A multicentre, cross-sectional study.
 Setting: Three primary care centres and one district hospital in the central region of Portugal.
 Participants: 302 Portuguese outpatients with COPD.
 Methods: Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Scores ≥8 were considered clinically significant.
 Results: This sample of patients had a mean age of 67±12 years and 41% were female. COPD was graded as mild in 106 (35.1%), moderate in 106 (35.1%) and severe-to-very-severe 90 patients (29.8%). Clinically significant anxiety was found in 53.3% of patients and symptoms of depression in 45.4%. Symptoms of anxiety were associated with limitation of activities (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.04-1.84), age (0.97, 95% CI 0.94-0.99) and female gender (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.20-0.66). Symptoms of depression were associated with functional mobility (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.38-2.66) and limitation of activities (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.04-1.21).
 Conclusions: A high proportion of Portuguese patients with COPD experience symptoms of anxiety and depression. National pulmonary rehabilitation programmes might need to include collaborative self-management interventions to address patients' emotional needs.


In the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic, all universities in the province of Bengkulu have paid special attention to the implementation of E-teaching activities. The purpose of this study is to assess the importance of E-activities on the speaking skills of second-year English majors at three private universities in Bengkulu. A survey was done on a group of 15 teachers and 100 students in terms of determining the facts. The findings suggested that the school's information technology infrastructure met the requirements for online education. Most teachers have mastered E-teaching equipment, particularly supporting software, and have adapted their teaching approaches to the online teaching model in order to polarize learners' learning activities. In addition, the majority of students actively participate in the learning process through E-teaching, activities, and answering questions presented by teachers. However, some teachers are still conscious of carrying out this responsibility and drafting courses. This study provides feasible and appropriate strategies to enhance E-teaching at private universities in Bengkulu.


High redshift DLA systems suggest that the relative abundances of elements might be roughly solar, although with absolute abundances of more than two orders of magnitude below solar. The result comes from observations of the [SII/ZnII] ratio, which is a reliable diagnostic of the true abundance, and from DLA absorbers with small dust depletion and negligible HII contamination. In particular, in two DLA systems nitrogen is detected and at remarkably high levels (Vladilo et al. 1995, Molaro et al. 1995, Green et al. 1995, Kulkarni et al. 1996). Here we compare the predictions from chemical evolution models of galaxies of different morphological type with the abundances and abundance ratios derived for such systems. We conclude that solar ratios and relatively high nitrogen abundances can be obtained in the framework of a chemical evolution model assuming short but intense bursts of star formation, which in turn trigger enriched galactic winds, and a primary origin for nitrogen in massive stars. Such a model is the most successful in describing the chemical abundances of dwarf irregular galaxies and in particular of the peculiar galaxy IZw18. Thus, solar ratios at very low absolute abundances, if confirmed, seem to favour dwarf galaxies rather than spirals as the progenitors of at least some of the DLA systems.


Normative data for neuropsychological tests are often presented in the form of percentiles. One problem when using percentile norms stems from uncertainty over the definitional formula for a percentile. (There are three co-existing definitions and these can produce substantially different results.) A second uncertainty stems from the use of a normative sample to estimate the standing of a raw score in the normative population. This uncertainty is unavoidable but its extent can be captured using methods developed in the present paper. A set of reporting standards for the presentation of percentile norms in neuropsychology is proposed. An accompanying computer program (available to download) implements these standards and generates tables of point and interval estimates of percentile ranks for new or existing normative data.


PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Congenital cytomegalovirus infection (cCMV) is a major cause of childhood hearing loss and neurodevelopmental delay. Early identification of cCMV allows for interventions that improve outcomes, particularly for cCMV-related hearing loss that develops in early childhood. Most cCMV is asymptomatic at birth and is rarely diagnosed without newborn screening. Therefore, various approaches to cCMV screening are increasingly being adopted.

RECENT FINDINGS
Both universal screening (testing all newborns) and targeted screening (testing triggered by failed hearing screening) for cCMV appear valuable, feasible and cost-effective, though universal screening is predicted to have greatest potential overall benefits. CMV PCR testing of newborn oral swabs is sensitive and practical and is therefore widely used in targeted screening programs. In contrast, PCR using dried-blood spots (DBS) is less sensitive but was adopted by current universal cCMV screening initiatives because DBS are already collected from all newborns in high-income countries, which circumvents large-scale oral swab collection.

SUMMARY
Targeted screening is widely recommended as standard of care, while universal screening is less common but is progressively considered as the optimal strategy for identification of children with cCMV. As with all screening programs, cCMV screening requires commitments to equitable and reliable testing, follow-up and services.


Hemangiomas of the maxilla and mandible are extremely rare, although they probably occur more frequently than the number of reported cases would indicate. There are both capillary and cavernous types, the cavernous variety having been reported more frequently. This condition is extremely serious in the jaw bones, not only because of the frequent exposure of these bones to trauma but also because their close relation to teeth may necessitate extraction. The simple procedure of tooth extraction or biopsy may have a fatal ending. In several instances the condition was not suspected, and the profuse exsanguinating hemorrhage which followed tooth extraction made the diagnosis obvious. Deaths have been reported from lesions in the maxilla as well as in the mandible and from lesions of both the capillary and the cavernous types. In the majority of reported cases, the lesions have been relatively small, very cellular, and not attended by profuse hemorrhage.


Objective:Although ferritin has been considered as a possible link between accelerated bone loss and atherosclerosis, the long-term impact of therapeutic agents widely used to treat osteoporosis, such as bisphosphonates, on ferritin levels has not been investigated. The present study investigated the effects of risedronate on serum ferritin levels in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Methods: In an open-label, prospective, uncontrolled study, 68 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis were evaluated. Study participants received risedronate orally at a dose of 35 mg/week during a 6-month treatment period. Blood sampling for lipid profile, hemoglobin A1c, insulin, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, osteoprotegerin, and ferritin was performed at baseline and after 6 months of treatment. Pulse-wave velocity and augmentation index at baseline were determined using SphygmoCor version 7.1 (AtCor Medical, Sydney, Australia). Results:Mean (SD) serum ferritin decreased significantly from 62.1 (44.8) to 46.7 (29.4) &mgr;g/dL (P < 0.0001) during the treatment period. On multiple linear regression analysis, the significant predictors of &Dgr;ferritin were pulse-wave velocity (P = 0.04; effect size, 0.188), C-reactive protein (P = 0.021; effect size, 0.043), insulin (P = 0.011; effect size, 0.100), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.046; effect size, 0.132) at baseline. Conclusions:Risedronate treatment is associated with significantly decreased serum ferritin levels in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and cardiovascular risk factors.


This paper evolves from the South African Broadcasting Corporation's decision to selectively broadcast images of protesters expressing decent over poor service delivery, particularly the destruction of public property towards the 2016 Local Government Municipal elections. It examines the editorial policy implications for such action against the public broadcaster's role to report news truthfully, accurately and objectively. As the sole provider of public broadcasting services in the country, the SABC is charged with the mandate to serve as a vehicle that carries the country's transformation agenda through contextualising national challenges, achievements and possibilities. This places high demands on the professional judgement of the editorial team to avoid being influenced by external pressure including that from political, commercial or other sectional interests in order to promote independent, transparent and non-partisan news coverage. However, following the new policy shift, the SABC was inundated with complaints as part of the national outcry that this action was tantamount to self-censorship and has the potential to trample on people's rights to freedom of expression, access to information and above all, their right to express unfettered dissent. Premised within the normative media theoretical framework, the paper argues that the editorial shift in news coverage has the potential to impede on the citizens' rights to exercise their "freedoms" in a democratic country. Furthermore, since the SABC is funded from the national fiscus, its editorial policy review initiatives must adhere to the standard code of practice, including holding consultative meetings with stakeholders. This will, among others, help the organisation to efficiently serve the populace to whom it is accountable as regulated in the broadcasting charter.


Abstract If methotrexate (MTX) fails to resolve cervical ectopic pregnancies (CEP), the remaining surgical options result in the potential loss of the patient's fertility. Therefore, we examined if the embryo reduction technique can resolve the CEP without any complications while conserving the patient's fertility. We report three cases in which CEP didn't respond to MTX but was successfully solved by embryo reduction. Each patient underwent a standard in vitro fertilization (IVF) protocol. Once CEP was confirmed, the pregnancy's location, the fetus's size and gestational sac and heartbeat were determined. Afterward, embryo reduction was performed under general anesthesia (operative time: ~30 min). All patients had successful procedures without any postoperative complications. Since the procedure, one woman was pregnant and delivered, the second has registered a positive β-human chorionic gonadotropin test and the last is waiting for IVF preparation. In summary, embryo reduction is a feasible approach in the management of CEP with favorable fertility outcomes.


When plastids experience dysfunction they emit signals that help coordinate nuclear gene expression with their functional state. One of these signals can remodel a light-signaling network that regulates the expression of nuclear genes that encode particular antenna proteins of photosystem II. These findings led us to test whether plastid signals might impact other light-regulated processes. Photomorphogenesis was monitored in genomes uncoupled 1 (gun1), cryptochrome 1 (cry1), and long hypocotyl 5 (hy5), which have defects in light and plastid signaling, by growing Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings under various light conditions and either treating or not treating them with antibiotics that induce chloroplast dysfunction and trigger plastid signaling. It was found that plastid signals that depend on GUN1 can affect cotyledon opening and expansion, anthocyanin biosynthesis, and hypocotyl elongation. We also found that plastid signals that depend on CRY1 can regulate cotyledon expansion and development. Our findings suggest that plastid signals triggered by plastid dysfunction can broadly affect photomorphogenesis and that plastid and light signaling can promote or antagonize each other, depending on the responses studied. These data suggest that GUN1 and cry 1 help to integrate chloroplast function with photomorphogenesis.


The effect of hydrothermal conditions on enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) degradation in water-isopropyl alcohol co-solvent and optimal conditions were investigated. The yields and reactivity toward formaldehyde of degraded enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (DEL) were determined. The optimal conditions of temperature, time, and ratio of solids to liquids were 250 °C, 60 min, and 1:10 (w/v), respectively. The EHL and DEL were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), thermal gravity (TG), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses. The results revealed that the molecular weight and polydispersity of DEL were lower than that of EHL. Although the fundamental structure of lignin before and after hydrothermal degradation was retained, the ether (β-O-4, α-O-4, etc.) content decreased, while that of hydroxyl (phenolic and aliphatic) increased. The DTGmax and Tg values shifted from 334 and 117 °C to 304 and 105 °C, respectively.


Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β plays a central role in vascular homeostasis and in the pathology of vascular disease. There is a growing appreciation for the role of nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) as highly diffusible, bioactive signaling molecules in the vasculature. We hypothesized that both NO and CO increase endocytosis of TGF-β receptor type 1 (TβR1) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) through activation of dynamin-2, shielding cells from the effects of circulating TGF-β. In this study, primary cultures of VSMCs from Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with NO-releasing molecule 3 (a NO chemical donor), CO-releasing molecule 2 (a CO chemical donor), or control. NO and CO stimulated dynamin-2 activation in VSMCs. NO and CO promoted time- and dose-dependent endocytosis of TβR1. By decreasing TβR1 surface expression through this dynamin-2-dependent process, NO and CO diminished the effects of TGF-β on VSMCs. These findings help explain an important mechanism by which NO and CO signal in the vasculature by decreasing surface expression of TβR1 and the cellular response to TGF-β.


Abstarct
Development of greenhouse gases in future periods not only causes change in average amounts of climate variables but also makes variables of this variability affected. Then for sure concerning alternations followed with climate variables' fluctuations and its average amounts in effecting on runoff would make more reliable results. In this inquiry initially fluctuations and average amounts of climate variables of Gharesuo basin were simulated by HadCM3-A2 model and Statistical Downscaling method in 2040-2069 periods. Although to mention climate fluctuation's uncertainty in calculations, they acted to simulate 100 time series of temperature and precipitation variables for future period. Results showed that uncertainty confine of region's climate fluctuations has increased 0.5 to 2C° in temperature and 10 to 20mm changing in precipitation in different months of year. After that and to mention Hydrology model's uncertainty, two rainfall-runoff models of SIMHYD and IHACRES are used. These two models calibration for base period and introducing 100 time series of climate variables produced in last level into both models specified the basin runoff's changing confine for 2040-2069 period. Results declare the coordination of two models in region's runoff changes. As both models estimate runoff abatement for fall season and enlargement for other seasons. Finally the results of this inquiry estate the effect of hydrology model's uncertainty and less effect of climate variability in estimating a basin's runoff under impact of climate change. Keywords: Climate Change, Climate Variability, Rainfall-Runoff, HadCM3


Infective isolated posterior scleritis is rare. We report a case of isolated posterior scleritis associated with histopathologically documented systemic tuberculosis, a hitherto unreported association. The patient responded well to a combination of oral corticosteroids with antituberculosis therapy.


Empirical models for grain growth predictions are briefly reviewed. It is demonstrated that such models are inadequate for quantitative prediction of austenite grain growth during reheating of as-cast micro-structures in microalloyed steels. This inadequacy is mainly attributable to the inability of empirical models to account for abnormal grain growth. Basic principles of grain growth are therefore revisited in an attempt to develop a mathematical model which can account for abnormal grain growth. Such a model has been developed for Ti : N balanced microalloyed steels and is presented here. It is shown that quantitative pre- dictions of austenite grain growth generated from this model fit well with experimental grain growth data obtained during reheating of as-cast slabs of Ti. Ti + Nb as well as Ti + Nb + Mo containing microalloyed steels.


Summary In this work we combine principles of vector (multi-component) processing with those of conventional dip filters in a way that handles irregular spatially sampled data as well as non-stationarity in time and frequency. The result is a method to estimate the dominant local (in time, frequency and spatial coordinates) polarization and dip properties in multi-component seismic data. We then adapt this method to create a multi-component dip filter that removes unwanted ground roll noise from the data. Local dip is estimated using data from all 3 components simultaneously. If noise dips are detected, a 3C estimate of the noise is calculated and subtracted from the data. Our filter is tested on a realistic 3C synthetic with dispersive elliptically polarized surface wave noise in the presence of PP and PS reflections and random background noise.


Abstract Background Recurrent Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (Re-SAB) occurs in 2–17% of patients with SAB within 3–12 months after resolution of the first episode. The risk factors for Re-SAB are incompletely understood. Methods Re-SAB was defined as a second episode of SAB after the resolution of the first episode occurring at least 14 days from the date of the last positive blood culture of the first episode. Using the SAB Group Prospective Cohort Study (SABG-PCS) data between January 2008 and May 2015, patients with Re-SAB were selected and compared with those without it. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was done for the clinical isolates from the Re-SAB group, and spa typing was for those from both groups. Baseline sera from patients with Re-SAB and age/race/gender matched (1:1) control subjects with SAB but without Recurrence underwent Luminex multiplex cytokine array. Results Seventy patients experienced Re-SAB (9.3%) and 686 SAB patients did not. In the Re-SAB group, 156 episodes of SAB were observed. Median time to Re-SAB was 147.5d (IQR, 76–358). Among 65 PFGE-analyzed pairs of isolates from the first and the subsequent episodes, the time to Re-SAB of <300 days was more commonly found in the PFGE-identical pairs than in the PFGE-different pairs (75.6% vs. 33.8%, P = 0.001). In the comparison of clinical factors between 56 Re-SAB patients with available data and 686 without Re-SAB, African American race, dialysis dependence, the presence of foreign body, persistent bacteremia, metastatic abscess formation, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) were more frequently observed in patients with Re-SAB. In a multivariate analysis to identify risk factors for Re-SAB, African American race, dialysis dependence, metastatic abscess formation, and MRSA were independent risk factors. The distribution of spa types between the two group was presented in Figure 1. Conclusion Re-SAB involves a combination of multiple factors of host, microbe, and treatment. Further laboratory investigation for any determinants in host and microbe is required. Disclosures V. G. Fowler Jr., Merck, Cerexa/Actavis, Pfizer, Advanced Liquid Logis, NIH, MedImmune, Basilea, Karius, Contrafect, Regneron, Genentech, Affinergy, Locus, Medical Surface, Inc., Achaogen, Astellas, Arsanis, Bayer, Cubist, Debiopharm, Durata, Grifols, Medicines Co, Novartis: Collaborator, Consultant and Scientific Advisor, Consulting fee, Research grant and Research support.


B reastfeeding is the optimal form of infant feeding for the first months of an infant's life, and the majority of healthy women initiate breastfeeding after the birth of their infant. Although the majority of medications are considered to be compatible with breastfeeding, cases of significant infant toxicity exist, suggesting a case by case risk assessment to be made before the mother initiates breastfeeding or drug therapy. Unfortunately, current clinical risk assessment is often compromised by the paucity of data, as studies in breastfeeding women and their infants are ethically difficult to conduct. However, as our understanding on drug transfer mechanisms increases, it has become abundantly clear that carrier-mediated processes are involved with excretion of a number of drugs into milk. A common reason for the cessation of breastfeeding is the use of medication by the nursing mother and advice by her physician to stop nursing. Such advice may not be warranted. This information is important not only to protect nursing infants from untoward effects of maternal medication but also to allow effective pharmacologic treatment of breastfeeding mothers. The distribution of these drugs between the slightly more acidic breast milk and the relatively neutral plasma is consistent with their weakly basic, acidic, or relatively neutral properties. In general, the study shows that codeine and morphine milk concentrations are higher than, salicylic acid milk levels are much lower than, and phenacetin, caffeine, and acetaminophen milk concentrations are relatively similar to their respective plasma levels. It is projected, from estimated steady-state milk concentrations of the drugs and their metabolites studied, that very low percentages of the therapeutic dosages (less than 0.7%) would be excreted in mother's milk, too low an amount to be clinically significant to the infant. This article provides an overview of the benefits of breastfeeding, the effect of medication use during breastfeeding on maternal decisions and infant health, and factors determining infant exposure to medication through the breast milk.


The multi-phase power to minimize the losses during the low power mode is disclosed. In a particular embodiment, the multi-phase power source can comprise a plurality of switching regulators connected in parallel to each other. The multi-phase power source further includes a phase control circuit connected to each of the switching regulator. The phase control circuit is configured to generate a plurality of control signals for controlling the switching of the switching regulator so that the phase is different with respect to each other. During low-power operation mode of the microprocessor, the phase control circuit by removing at least one of a plurality of control signals for each of a switching regulator of a subset or disabling selectively pause the operation of the switching regulator of the subset It is configured to.


Measurement of antioxidant properties in plant-derived compounds requires appropriate methods that address the mechanism of antioxidant activity and focus on the kinetics of the reactions involving the antioxidants. Methods based on inhibited autoxidations are the most suited for chain-breaking antioxidants and for termination-enhancing antioxidants, while different specific studies are needed for preventive antioxidants. A selection of chemical testing methods is critically reviewed, highlighting their advantages and limitations and discussing their usefulness to investigate both pure molecules and raw extracts. The influence of the reaction medium on antioxidants' performance is also addressed.


Much of the work in autonomous agent design has been heavily inspired and in uenced by biological systems. Researchers strive to build arti cial systems that emulate the robust, exible, and adaptive behavior of animals. In particular, the behavior-based approach (Brooks 1991) has adopted many of its key models, metaphors, and concepts from the elds of ethology, neuroscience, and evolutionary theory to name a few. Looking to animals to glean insight into how to build intelligent autonomous systems, the eld has brought the issues of embodiment, situatedness, emergence, task-based decomposition, and environmental complexity to the foreground (Brooks & Steels 1995). Indeed, the treatment of these issues characterizes various biologically-inspired approaches, several of which have been successfully applied to the control of autonomous robots|behavior based systems (Brooks 1986), evolution-based systems (Cli et al. 1993), and connectionist systems (Beer 1990), for instance. To date, the behavior of these systems mirrors that of simpler organisms, such as insects, situated in relatively complex environments. Wishing to move beyond the behavior of insects and other simple animals, researchers question the scalability of these approaches and heavily debate how far systems using these approaches can be pushed. Often the question of scaling is posed in the context of increasing either environmental complexity or task complexity. Implicit in this question is that of cognitive scaling, i.e., can the intelligence of these physically embodied systems approach that of higher-level animals such as dogs, dolphins, primates, and humans? If this is the case, what roles could embodiment, situatedness, emergence, environmental complexity, or having a task-based view play in scaling cognitive and behavioral capabilities of arti cial and natural systems? In contrast to many autonomous agent programs that are shaped by an evolutionary or ethological perspective, we propose a research program that pursues an ontogenetic path. We argue that the eld of developmental psychology gives fresh insight into the issues of cognitive and behavioral scaling. It o ers a viable alternate viewpoint from which to study embodiment, situatedness, emergence, environmental complexity, and goal-oriented action in the world, illuminating the critical roles they may play in bootstrapping a child to more sophisticated levels of mental competence. Our contention is that a developmental perspective to autonomous agent design profoundly a ects the implemented control architecture, mechanisms, subsystems, and internal structures in ways which distinguish an ontogenetic system from other learning-based systems.


Ida Yuliani TK Lima Jari Pengandonan OKU Timur firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract This study focuses on the investigation of the influence of teacher's teaching technique on student's reading comprehension achievement using comic strips media. In th is study, the writer used a quasi-experimental design. The population of this study is tenth-grade students of SMAN 1 Buay Madang Timurwith 122 students, meanwhile, the writer used purposive sampling as a method for taking a sample. Therefore, class X.MIA 2 was chosen as an experimental group that is taught reading comprehension using comic strips and class X.IIS 2 as a control group who were taught reading comprehension using conventional media. Moreover, the writer used multiple -choice descriptive text. Based on the finding, the mean score of the pre-test experimental group was 50.97 and the mean score of the post-test experimental group was 78.84. While the mean score of the pre-test control group was 38.40 and the posttest score was 43.07 and the result of analyzing the data using SPSS 16, P o utput was 0.000, It is less than the critical value significance level (0.05). It means that alternative hypotheses (Ha) is accepted and null hypotheses (Ho) is rejected. It can be concluded that there is any influence significance between the students who are taught by using comic strips media and the students who are taught by using conventional media.


We optimize groundwater management in the presence of marine consequences of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Concern for marine biota increases the optimal steady‐state head level of the aquifer. The model is discussed in general terms for any coastal groundwater resource where SGD has a positive impact on valuable nearshore resources. Our application focuses on the Kona Coast of Hawai'i, where SGD is being actively studied and where both nearshore ecology and groundwater resources are serious sociopolitical issues. To incorporate the consequences of water extraction on nearshore resources, we impose a safe minimum standard for the quantity of SGD. Efficient pumping rates fluctuate according to various growth requirements on the keystone marine algae and different assumptions regarding recharge rates. Desalination is required under average recharge conditions and a strict minimum standard and under low recharge conditions regardless of minimum standards of growth.


Objective To investigate whether primary writing tremor (PWT) and dystonia share a common pathophysiology. Background PWT is probably the most common form of task-specific tremor. Its pathophysiology is still debated and there is controversy about it being a type of focal dystonia, a variant of essential tremor or a separate entity. Methods We recruited 7 patients with PWT, who underwent the following neurophysiological tests: blink recovery cycle (BRC), eye-blink classical conditioning (EBCC), short and long-intracortical inhibition (SICI-LICI). Moreover, motor-evoked potentials (MEP), SICI and LICI were measured pre and post paired associative stimulation (PAS) plasticity paradigm. Data were compared with those obtained in 7 dystonic patients (DYT). Results Data analysis for BRC showed a similar inhibition between DYT and PWT. There was no differ- ence between DYT and PWT in the number of conditioned response (CR) during. Baseline SICI and LICI were similar in the two patients' group, but whereas they were unchanged in PWT after PAS, they were reduced in DYT. Conclusions The present results suggest that PWT and DYT have similar brainstem excitability and associa- tive learning. Cortical plasticity induced by PAS had a different effect on SICI and LICI in the two groups. Overall this data suggests that PWT and DYT share some pathophysiological mechanisms. email@example.com


Canine parvovirus is an acute and fatal viral disease in dogs. A total of 209 local, cross breed and breed dogs sera from Kodya Bogor, Kabupaten Bogor, Sukabumi, and Jakarta, had been tested using Haemagglutination Inhibition Test (HI) with pig red blood cells. A total of 64 breed and cross breed dogs from Sukabumi and Kodya Bogor, were used as a sentinel dogs to study the epidemiology of Canine parvovirus (CPV) infection and its immunological responses caused by vaccination. The results indicated that 78% (95) breed and cross bred dogs and 59% (51) local dogs had antibody to CPV. Sentinel dogs results indicated that dogs had been vaccinated showed antibody response with the varied titre dependant upon prevaccination titre. Low prevaccinated titre gave better response than protective level titre. From 19 puppies observed, Maternal antibodi were still detected until 5 weeks old puppies. First vaccination given at less than 3 months old, should be boosted after 3 months old puppied. Antibodi titre produced by natural infection will keep untill 2 years. These data concluded that the dog condition and time of vaccination will affect the optimum antibody response. Key words: Canine parvovirus , haemagglutination inhibition, isolation


HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells are prone to undergo apoptosis, and this may affect their ability to control HIV infection. Because CD8-mediated immune responses play a key role in controlling HIV infection, enhancing the survival and effector function of HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells may augment their ability to control HIV virus. We show here that interleukin 15 (IL-15) potently inhibits spontaneous and CD95/Fas-induced apoptosis of HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells. IL-15 inhibits apoptosis in both CD45RA(-)CD62L(-) and CD45RA(+)CD62L(-) effector memory subpopulations of these cells. Furthermore, IL-15 greatly enhances the survival of HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells in long-term cultures. Finally, IL-15 directly enhances activation, interferon gamma (IFNgamma) production, and direct ex vivo cytotoxicity of HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells. Thus, IL-15 potently enhances the survival and effector function of HIV-specific CD8(+) T cells and, therefore, may prove useful in augmenting the antiviral function of these cells.


High plus lenses may cause defects in the peripheral visual field. Simple full vision lenses or lenticular lenses without a masked transition zone caused an absolute ring scotoma in the mid-periphery. Patients who were glasses of this type cannot see well enough to drive safely. Although modern edge finishes with masking of the transition zone reduce this problem, visual disturbances in the periphery of the lenses cannot be completely eliminated. A recommendation recently issued by the German Ophthalmological Society concerning maximum lens powers for motorists is aimed at preventing visual field defects of this type.


Adversity and continuous change challenge leaders, and even the most resolute and determined feel discouragement along their path in the corporate or entrepreneurial worlds. How do oil and gas organizations and the industry leaders build, foster and grow their resilience to cope with difficult periods and maintain the necessary focus on the ultimate goals in comparison with what does the theoretical approaches describe, is the matter of this paper.
 Leadership has to be grounded on resilience, as one skill cannot shine without the other. Resilience has been characterized as the ability of a person or an organization to recuperate, recover, bounce-back, adjust or even thrive following adversity, and is widely acknowledged as a complex, dynamic and multi-dimensional phenomenon (Waugh and Koster, 2014). Our paper highlights how resilience takes form in individuals and organizations, comparing theory and practical stands. The BP Deep-Water Horizon Oil Spill is one of the examples selected to illustrate how resilience in the organizations takes shape before, during and after a catastrophic event. The three factors of resilient organizations will be exposed as the realization of vulnerability, the willingness to cooperate, and the power to act courageously (Oudhuis & Tengblad, 2018). The individual resilience will be exemplified by examples of how this quality and skill is strengthened throughout the careers of experienced individuals in private, public and not-for-profit organizations related to the oil industry, establishing a comparison between theoretical viewpoints about resilience, and practical developments.
 A summary of findings will support the understanding of the theoretical basis related to the resilient profiles, and how they cope with the four elements that affect resilience: neuroticism, mindfulness, self-efficacy and coping, for adjustments in the workforce. Then, the analysis will propose a series of conclusions derived from the analysis of how resilient leaders in oil and gas from different organizations built their resiliency, taken from a series of published resources and direct interviews. A comparative analysis about these practical approaches in relation to theoretical research on leadership and resilience, is offered, in relation to the oil sector workforce, specifically for the managerial and executive contexts.
 The conclusions about how, why and when the shaping of resilient profiles and organizations occurs, on theoretical and practical grounds provides a useful understanding about the positive impact that boosting resilience in the workforce has the potential to offer to enable more positive outcomes, less turn-over, less burn-out individuals and better performance.


The hierarchical Detailed Value Chain Model and the Elementary Management Cycle model of educational domain knowledge content updating are formally described in this paper, wherein computerized process measures are also proposed. The paper provides a method for updating the knowledge of the analyzed domain, referred to as the "enterprise domain," based on enterprise modelling in terms of management information interactions. A method was designed, the formal DVCM and EMC descriptions of which are provided in the BPMN notation, allowing to develop a two-level (granular) model for describing the knowledge of educational domain management information interactions. In implementing this model and its algorithms in technological terms, a subsystem of enterprise knowledge has been created in a knowledge-based CASE system (computerized knowledge-based IS engineering), which performs the function of a domain knowledge database.


The current Special Issue entitled "Metal and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles: Design, Characterization, and Biomedical Applications" aims to present contributions from all scientists producing and/or applying metal and metal oxide nanoparticles in a diagnostic, therapeutic or theranostics context [...].


How do teachers view the New Education Experiment in China? How do their views impact their efficacy belief? What makes the change of their comprehensive efficacy belief? what are the possible factors that may influence education reform effects? This book tries to answer the questions by investigating over 2000 participating teachers across China and studying one experimental school in particular from the ethnographic perspective.The study concluded that successful implementation of the New Education reform depends on 1) a willing heart, positive attitude, and high comprehensive efficacy belief; 2) a more decentralized policy making mechanism, and more equitable school environment; 3) a balanced consideration of reform model specificity and teacher autonomy, and 4) an emphasis of both belief change and behavior change.


Recent advances in high speed rails (HSRs), coupled with user demands for communication on the move, are propelling the need for acceptable quality of communication services in high speed mobility scenarios. This calls for an evaluation of how well popular voice/video call applications, such as Skype, can perform in such scenarios. This paper presents the first comprehensive measurement study on Skype voice/video calls in LTE networks on HSRs with a peak speed of 310 km/h in China. We collected 50 GB of performance data, covering a total HSR distance of 39,900 km. We study various objective performance metrics (such as RTT, sending rate, call drop rate, etc.), as well as subjective metrics such as quality of experience of the calls. We also evaluate the efficiency of Skype's algorithms regarding the level of utilization of network resources. We observed that the quality of Skype calls degrades significantly on HSRs. Moreover, it was discovered that Skype significantly under-utilizes the network resources, such as available bandwidth. We discovered that the root of these inefficiencies is the poor adaptability of Skype in many aspects, including overlay routing, rate control, state update and call termination. These findings highlight the need to develop more adaptive voice/video call services for high speed mobility scenarios.


A relatively new technology for fabricating multilayer optics that operate in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) at near normal incidence is finding broad application in both solar and galactic astronomy. These optics provide a number of advantages for use in astronomical instruments that make them highly complementary to traditional grazing incidence VUV optics. Five separate multilayer telescopes have already been used for VUV observations of the solar corona and five more astronomical instruments involving multilayer optics are presently in process of design and development. Multilayer fabrication technology is still rapidly developing and further improvements promise to provide even greater capabilities for future instrumentation in astronomy. This paper summarizes the present VUV observations obtained with multilayer telescopes, decribes instrumentation now under development and discusses further improvements in multilayer performance that can benefit future astronomical observations.


We prove upper and lower bounds on the size of an unknown cavity, or of a perfectly conducting inclusion, in an electrical conductor in terms of boundary measurements of voltage and current. Such bounds, which might be used as a decision tool in quality testing of materials, are obtained by a nontrivial extension of previous results (Alessandrini G, Rosset E and Seo J K 2000 Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 128 53–64) regarding inclusions of finite, nonzero conductivity.


Expert systems in nursing have developed primarily through deductive, theoretical approaches and have, for the most part, failed to articulate the need for expert clinical nurse knowledge and heuristics as a basis for developing expert systems. Research using knowledge engineering and nurse experts, as well as multi-method approaches to researching nurse experts, should provide content for development of computer systems, in general, and expert systems, in particular, in nursing.


The 3D segmentation of the left ventricle (LV) in cardiac MRI is a challenging problem, due to the presence of other anatomical structures and artifacts (outliers) around the LV. In this paper, a new formulation of a Robust Active Shape Model (RASM) is presented that is able to deal with those outliers. Instead of using the traditional one-to-one mapping of edge points and model points to compute the shape model parameters, the proposed approach uses a one-to-many mapping strategy and groups these edge points into edge segments (strokes). Then, a probabilistic framework provides a robust estimation of the model parameters, in which the influence in the segmentation of the unreliable outliers is reduced. The proposed method was tested on a public dataset comprising 660 volumes. The results indicate that this methodology provides accurate segmentations that are competitive with other state-of-the art methods.


Lactoferrin (LF) is a protein present in secretions and is a component of neutrophil specific granules released   when these cells are activated by  periodontal pathogenic agents during the course of inflammatory processes like gingivitis or periodontitis. LF levels are related to the number of neutrophils present in lesions so that this molecule has been proposed as a biochemical marker of periodontal activity. Due to LF biological activities  such as cytotoxic ability  and its interference in biofilm development, its use can be considered useful  in the prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases.


This study tested the hypothesis that endogenous glucocorticoids regulate a putative neurotransmitter function of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the locus coeruleus (LC). LC spontaneous discharge and activation by intracerebroventricularly administered CRF, hypotensive challenge, sciatic nerve stimulation, and carbachol were compared in adrenalectomized and sham-operated halothane-anesthetized rats. LC spontaneous discharge was higher in adrenalectomized versus sham-operated rats. Intracoerulear microinfusion of a CRF antagonist decreased LC discharge rates of adrenalectomized rats to rates comparable with those observed in sham-operated rats but had no effect in sham-operated rats. The CRF dose–response curve was shifted in a complex manner in adrenalectomized rats, suggesting that a proportion of CRF receptors were occupied before CRF administration, and low doses of CRF were additive. Higher doses of CRF produced effects that were greater than predicted by simple additivity. Hypotensive challenge increased LC discharge rates of adrenalectomized rats by a magnitude greater than that predicted on the basis of additivity. In contrast, LC responses to carbachol and sciatic nerve stimulation were similar in both groups. The results suggest that adrenalectomy enhances tonic and stress-induced CRF release within the LC and also alters postsynaptic sensitivity of LC neurons to CRF. Because adrenalectomy also alters release of neurohormone CRF, the present study suggests that CRF actions as a neurohormone and as a neurotransmitter in the LC may be co-regulated. Such parallel regulation may underlie the coexistence of neuroendocrine and noradrenergic dysfunctions in stress-related psychiatric disorders.


In order to obtain information about the mechanism of dyskeratosis in Darier's disease, we have examined skin sections at different steps of differentiation at light and electron microscopic level in three patients. Corps ronds occurred at the basal aspect of spinous layer, while grains were abundant in the bulla and in the granular layer of the peripheral epidermis. Corps ronds contained cytoplasmic vacuoles and great number of keratinosomes. Their cytoplasm was divided by a circular ring of tonofilaments into a juxtanuclear and a peripheral compartment. More superficially corps ronds became dyskeratotic keratohyalin-containing cells by acquiring increasing amounts of keratohyalin granules; the cytoplasm turned more vacuolated and poor in keratinosomes. Grains exhibited nuclear pyknosis, shrinkage and densification of mitochondria, numerous tonofilament bundles and confluent vacuoles after disruption of their membrane. In these cells, keratohyalin granules appeared less electrondense and keratinosomes were rare or absent. Horny cells contained empty areas resulting from the persistence of vacuolar spaces. These observations suggest that corps ronds and grains represent stages in the same successive differentiation line and that grains give rise to the changed horny cells occurring in this condition.