Premature infants are susceptible to intestinal ischemia during the newborn period when their intestinal tracts are functionally and structurally immature. Studies have shown that exogenous glucocorticoids hasten intestinal maturation. We investigated the effects of hydrocortisone on platelet activating factor (PAF)-induced intestinal ischemia in the neonatal rat. On Postnatal Days 7-11, Sprague-Dawley rats were given intraperitoneal (ip) injections of either saline (SAL) or hydrocortisone (HC; 50 mg/kg total). On Day 12, rats were injected with either PAF (2 micrograms/kg) or an equal volume of saline. After 2 hr the rats were sacrificed and sections were taken for histology. The remaining intestine was analyzed for maltase, lactase, myeloperoxidase (MPO), and xanthine oxidase (XO). Experimental groups were as follows: SAL (N = 8), received saline only; SAL+PAF (N = 8), received saline plus PAF; HC (N = 3), received hydrocortisone+saline; and HC+PAF (N = 5), received hydrocortisone plus PAF. XO was significantly decreased (P < 0.001) in the hydrocortisone-treated groups (HC + SAL = 16.36 +/- 18.42 units/g protein, HC + PAF = 17.33 +/- 9.06 units/g protein) vs the controls (SAL only = 108.90 +/- 20.24 units g/protein, SAL + PAF = 145.77 21.28 units/g protein). MPO was not significantly elevated in SAL + PAF (4.60 +/- 0.95 units/g protein) vs HC + PAF (2.18 +/- 0.80 units/g protein) in this study. Maltase was significantly elevated (P < 0.001) in the HC + PAF (241.46 +/- 40.6 mole/min/g protein) and HC + SAL (152.78 +/- 16.35 mole/min/g protein) vs saline only (28.35 +/- 5.77 mole/min/g protein and SAL + PAF (37.29 +/- 8.70 mole/min/g protein. Animals (7/8) in the SAL + PAF group developed ischemia by inspection and histologic exam.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


New cockroach species from South India (Aptera brindlei sp.nov., Rhabdoblattella alexeevi sp.nov., R. euptera sp.nov., Morphna indica sp.nov.) and Sri Lanka (Placoblatta beybienkoi sp.nov., Morphna srilankensis sp.nov.) are described. The genus Rhabdoblattella Anisyutkin, 2000 is re-diagnosed. A revised key to the genera of Epilamprinae from South India and Sri Lanka and detailed morphological descriptions of new species are provided. The structure of the female genital complex of Aptera fusca (Thunberg, 1784) is described for the first time. Possible biogeographical connections of the cockroach fauna of Indian subcontinent and the phylogenetic significance of the right phallomere are briefly discussed.


Background A close relation between asthma and allergic rhinitis has been reported by several epidemiological and clinical studies. However, the nature of this relation remains unclear. We used the follow-up data from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey to investigate the onset of asthma in patients with allergic and non-allergic rhinitis during an 8·8-year period. Methods We did a longitudinal population-based study, which included 29 centres (14 countries) mostly in western Europe. Frequency of asthma was studied in 6461 participants, aged 20-44 years, without asthma at baseline. Incident asthma was defined as reporting ever having had asthma confirmed by a physician between the two surveys. Atopy was defined as a positive skin-prick test to mites, cat, Alternaria, Cladosporium, grass, birch, Parietaria, olive, or ragweed. Participants were classified into four groups at baseline: controls (no atopy, no rhinitis; n=3163), atopy only (atopy, no rhinitis; n=704), non-allergic rhinitis (rhinitis, no atopy; n=1377), and allergic rhinitis (atopy+rhinitis; n=1217). Cox proportional hazards models were used to study asthma onset in the four groups. Findings The 8.8-year cumulative incidence of asthma was 2·2% (140 events), and was different in the four groups (1·1% (36), 1·9% (13), 3·1% (42), and 4·0% (49), respectively; p<0·0001). After controlling for country, sex, baseline age, body-mass index, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ), log total IgE, family history of asthma, and smoking, the adjusted relative risk for asthma was 1·63 (95% CI 0-82-3-24) for atopy only, 2.71 (1·64-4·46) for non-allergic rhinitis, and 3·53 (2·11-5·91) for allergic rhinitis. Only allergic rhinitis with sensitisation to mite was associated with increased risk of asthma independently of other allergens (2·79 [1 ·57-4·96]). Interpretation Rhinitis, even in the absence of atopy, is a powerful predictor of adult-onset asthma. Funding UCB Institute of Allergy and Agence Nationale de la Recherche.


Abstract:Henry Ford's idiosyncratic practice of ex-situ preservation resulted in the hybrid landscape of Greenfield Village, a collection of disparate buildings with perceived heritage value assembled on a single site in Dearborn, Michigan. This essay argues that the site is best understood as a dynamic system intended to produce a certain type of citizenship fitting Ford's own self-image: active, physical engagement with material culture in order to articulate and diffuse virtue. Greenfield Village's current identification as a tourist destination obscures both Ford's original intent for the site as a school based on hands-on pedagogy, and the way that the site still affords its various user groups the ability to construct historical narrative. The essay reads the site's eccentric historiography of the United States both as an analogue of literary projects of national portraiture and as a procedural rhetoric encouraging a way of living through performance in space. While Greenfield Village's original method is deeply tied to the racism and populism of its creator, its very flexibility affords today's users and proprietors the means to actively contest these biases and put forth new visions of history.


Single-crystal x-ray results are given for specimens of Ti-207 at.%Nb. These enable their known current-carrying capacity in the superconducting state to be interpreted in terms of the response of phase structure to metallurgical treatment, and especially in terms of the transformation products obtained by quenching from the β phase (body-centred cubic) and subsequent ageing. Strain from heavy cold-work is shown to favour the precipitation of particles of the equilibrium hexagonal phase, α-Ti, on subsequent ageing. The α-Ti precipitate is believed to contribute to flux pinning. Quenching from the β phase causes transformation to αdouble prime, an orthorhombic metastable phase, which can maintain high currents. Ageing at low temperatures for short times causes reversion of αdouble prime to β with a fall in current-carrying capacity. Further ageing brings about the β->ω transformation, where ω is a hexagonal metastable phase, and the appearance of ω can be correlated with a recovery of current-carrying capacity. A new metastable phase, with a tetragonal structure, is reported for Ti-25 at.% Nb in the as-worked condition.


In this thesis, we will investigate and develop asymptotic methods for numerically solving high frequency Helmholtz equations with point-source conditions. Due to the oscillatory nature of the wave, such equations are highly challenging to solve by conventional methods, such as the finite difference and finite element methods, since they often suffer from a large number of degrees of freedom to avoid the 'pollution effect' (large dispersion errors). We shall first apply the geometrical optics (GO) approximation to compute the wave locally near the primary source, where instead of computing the oscillatory wave directly, its phase and amplitudes are computed through the eikonal equation and a recurrent system of transport equations, respectively, and are used to reconstruct the wave for any high frequencies. The GO approximation is efficient for providing locally valid approximations of the wave. We propose to further propagate the wave to the whole domain of interest through an appropriate time-dependent Schrödinger equation whose steady-state solution in the domain of interest will provide globally valid approximations of the wave. The wavefunction of the Schrödinger equation can be propagated by a Strang operator splitting based pseudo-spectral method that is unconditionally stable, which allows large time step sizes to reach the steady state efficiently. In the pseudo-spectral method, wherever the matrix exponential is involved, the Krylov subspace method can be used to compute the relevant matrix-vector products. The proposed asymptotic method will be effective since: (1) it is able to obtain globally valid approximations of the wave, (2) it has complexity O(N logN) where N is the total number of simulation points for a prescribed accuracy requirement, and (3) the number of simulation points per wavelength can be fixed as the frequency increases. Numerical experiments in both twoand three-dimensional spaces will be performed to demonstrate the method.


Arabian show horses are well known for their exceptional beauty and elegance. The breed type, body conformation and movement are assessed during horse shows by licensed judges. The five judging categories are type, head and neck, body and topline, legs and movement, which are scored on a 20 point scale. It can be hypothesized that the scores in different categories are related to each other, and that the score for the most subjective type category depends on the scores for conformation categories. We analyzed 762 sets of average scores obtained by 583 unique horses at the World Championships. Correlation analysis and general linear models were used to explore the relationships between the scores in each of the five categories. Despite the 20 point scale, only scores from 14.5 to 20 were observed. The correlations between the total score, and the scores for each category within the whole sample varied from r = 0.413 for legs to r = 0.907 for type. Regression analysis of the scores for type showed a strong, significant (p<0.001) effect of the scores for the head and neck. The effect of scores for body and topline as well as for movement was negligible, while significant; the score for legs did not affect the score for type. The correlation values between score categories varied between sex and age classes. The estimated levels of correlations were different than expected, based on the known relationships between the phenotypic traits.


The state of host cells is reflected in the cargo carried by their extracellular vesicles (EVs). This makes EV a potential source of biomarkers for human diseases. Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) regulates gene expression through epigenetic regulation and post-transcriptional gene silencing. Thus, piRNA profiles in EVs derived from human clinical samples could identify markers that characterize disease stages, and unveil their roles in disease pathology. This review aimed to report the expression profiles of EV-derived piRNA (EV-piRNA) in various human samples, as well as their role in each pathology. A systematic review was conducted to collate the findings of human EV-piRNA from original research articles published in indexed scientific journals up to 16th Feb 2022. Article searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, using a combination of keywords including 'EV' and 'piRNA'. A total of 775 non-redundant original articles were identified. After subjecting articles to inclusion and exclusion criteria, 34 articles were accepted for this review. The piRNA expression levels among the small RNA profiles of human-derived EVs range from 0.09% to 43.84%, with the lowest expression level reported in urine-derived EVs and the highest percentage in plasma-derived EVs. Differentially expressed EV-piRNAs have been identified in patients with specific disease conditions compared to their counterparts (healthy control), suggesting an association between piRNA and progression in various diseases. Seven articles identified piRNA putative target genes and/or the pathway enrichment of piRNA target genes, and one study demonstrated a direct tole of piRNA candidates in disease pathology. In conclusion, EV-piRNA has been isolated successfully from various human body fluids. EV-piRNA is a new research niche in human disease pathology. The expression profiles of EV-piRNA in various tissue types and disease conditions remain largely unexplored. Furthermore, there is currently a lack of guidelines on piRNA bioinformatics analysis, which could lead to inconsistent results and thus hinder the progression of piRNA discoveries. Lastly, the lack of published scientific evidence on the role of EV-piRNA supports the need for future research to focus on the functional analysis of EV-piRNA as part of the route in piRNA discoveries.


This study reviews a series of 811 malignant pleural mesothelioma cases, diagnosed at hospitals in Trieste and Monfalcone districts of north eastern Italy, a narrow coastal strip with a population of about three lakh, in the period 1968-2008. The diagnosis was based on histological examination in 801 cases, and cytological findings in 10. Necropsy was performed in 610 cases. Occupational histories were obtained directly from the patients or their relatives through personal or telephone interviews. Routine lung sections were examined for asbestos bodies in 500 cases. In 143 cases asbestos bodies were isolated and counted by chemical digestion of the lung tissue using the Smith-Naylor method. The series included 717 men and 94 women aged between 32 and 93 years (mean 69.2 years). Detailed occupational data was obtained for 732 cases. The majority of patients had marine jobs - shipbuilding (449 cases), maritime trades (56 cases), and port activities (39 cases). The nature of work of other patients included a variety of occupations, with non-shipbuilding industries being the most common. Thirty-four women cleaned the work clothes of family members occupationally exposed and hence had a history of asbestos exposure at home. Most of the patients had their first exposure to asbestos before 1960. The latency period ranged between 13 and 73 years (mean 48.2). Latency period among insulators and dock workers were shorter than other categories. Asbestos bodies were detected on routine lung sections in 343 cases (68.6%). Lung asbestos body burdens after isolation ranged between two to 10 millions bodies per gram of dried tissue. Despite some limitations in the use of asbestos in this area since the 1970s, the incidence of tumor remained high during the last years.


Introduction Little is known of practice patterns on advanced prostate cancer (PC) in Spain. The study objectives were to investigate practice patterns in the management of PC and to determine the adherence to the 2007 Spanish guidelines for the management of PC. Materials and methods An epidemiological, cross-sectional study was undertaken. Study-specific questionnaires were distributed to all centers with radiation oncology (RO) facilities delivering megavoltage radiation therapy (RT) in Spain (n = 108). A questionnaire evaluated diagnostic and treatment approaches to PC in low-risk and high-risk cases. And a 12-item questionnaire was used to assess guidelines adherence. Results Responses were obtained from 102 centers (94.0 % response rate). In the high-risk scenario, the majority of clinicians (99.0 %) chose combined modality treatment with RT and androgen deprivation (AD) and 93.0 % recommended long-term AD. External-beam RT (EBRT) doses ranging 72–76 Gy were used in 59.5 % of centers and[76 Gy was employed in 40.5 %. In the low-risk scenario, EBRT was chosen by 59.6 %, brachytherapy by 39.4 %, and active surveillance by 1 %. The consensus was high (score 5 ? 4 C 90 %) on 8/12 questions assessing adherence to guidelines, being high specifically on items related to RT technique, RT dose, combination of HT and RT in intermediate/high-risk patients, and prognostic factors. Conclusions This is the largest survey to date of Spanish RO departments dealing with PC. The study results therefore likely provide a highly reliable picture of clinical practice in Spain in this century and show how this practice is influenced by clinical evidence from randomized trials and consensus conferences.


The focus of this paper is the development of a capstone management course and the application of educational action research through continual learning. In this article, we use the continual learning frame of plan, do, study, and act to underpin an educational action research design on the development of a capstone management course. As part of an Active Learning Trial, the development of the capstone experience has been captured in the embodiment of that experience. Our aim is to guide other academics in developing their own capstone course, particularly, within management with extension into other disciplines. Through continual improvement, we stress the importance of integrating the primary voice of the students, to emphasize the active learning and to optimize a meaningful experience in connecting theory to practice – the key to the capstone experience. Examples of how to gain feedback and integrate classroom improvements are given. To do this we present two cycles where we applied and practiced continual learning and educational action research to understand and evoke improvements within the course. These changes are evidenced through aggregated student feedback.


Several kinds of disks, such as DVD, MO and/or CD-R, for the next generation require high quality of plastic surface. Especially their flatness is very important. Here a disk inspection system is proposed using 2D birefringence distribution measurement. Small birefringence is a serious problem that is caused by internal strain, and/or residual stress. Moreover it is possible to observe its molecular orientation. The birefringence measurement is necessary to determine the relative retardation and the azimuthal angle of the fast axis in an optical disk. Several images captured by a CCD camera are enough for one birefringence distribution analysis. Experimental procedure and their results of some famous optical disks are discussed.


This research aims to analyzedthe execution of counseling and analyzedthe performance of agricultural extension officer, in the district of Gunung Toar Regency Kuantan Singingi.Research using survey method was carriate out from November fill April 2015 in sub Gunung Toar district Kuantan Singingiwith the largest amounted of rubber farmers and a rubber plant large a mount in Riau Province. Sampling is caried out againts census 5 extension officers in the UPTD plantation sub Gunung Toar. Execution of counseling in analistis are descriptive and extension officers motivation with scale likert. The motivational variable refers to the theory of extension officers in Kadarisman Saydam (2012), with respect to internal and external factors. Research results show that the extention of counseling in the sub Gunung Toar was alreadygood, where the extension officers LAKU system using the methods with the extension in the form of print, extension officers amountedto 5 people with education level of 60 percent SMA/SMK/equal and 40 percent of the graduates, number of villages built average 2-4 village per extension officers. The perfoemance extension officers in the district of Gunung Toar Regency Kuantan Singingi was "Good enough" score average (3,79). Keyword:Agricultural extension officer , execution of counseling, performance extention officers


32 patients (2 females and 32 males) with bilateral pulmonary bullose emphysema have been treated in Acad.. Z. Tskhakaia Thoracoabodminal clinic from 1998 through 2004. Age varied from 17 to 64 years. In 4 cases diffused emphysema observed, 17 patients were presented with gigantic bullas varied in size from 120 to 150 mm with most of them located in the upper lobes. All patients underwent preoperative full range radiology study including CT scan, in 17 cases an additional gamascintygraphy was utilized. 19 patients underwent lung preserving bilateral resection through transsternal approach. In 6 cases surgery was performed by bilateral video assisted mini thoracotomy route. In 7 cases bilateral operation was performed by thoracotomy on one side and thoracoscopy on another. In this series neither morbidity nor mortality was observed.


Gas-wo rks sewage, for the sake of its complex composition, contains organic xenobiotics, mainly phenols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's). It is well known that these substances are very dangerous to live organisms. Therefore, the commercial scale purification process of the sewage was elaborated and carried out by way of biological treatment. For this purpose the bacteria strains of Pseudomonas and Bacillus type already existing in a surface layer of the sewage were applied as biopreparat and whey as a bacteria medium. Purification was carried out for two similar kinds of sewage: typical gas water (in Inowroclaw) and sewage generated by dilution of a gas pitch ( in Torun). This avoided the serious possibility of soil and water pollution.


Myosin 1c (Myo1c) is a member of the unconventional class I myosins of vertebrates, which directly link the plasma membrane with the microfilament cortical web. Although this molecular motor has been implicated in cell functions such as cytoskeleton organization, cell motility, nuclear transcription, and endocytosis, its role in hematopoietic cells is largely unknown. In this study, we show that Myo1c is abundantly expressed in murine B lymphocytes and is preferentially located at the plasma membrane, especially in peripheral processes such as microvilli. We observed that this motor concentrates at the growing membrane protrusions generated during B cell spreading and that it is actively recruited to the immune synapse. Interestingly, Myo1c was detected in lipid rafts of B cells and showed strong colocalization with MHC-II, particularly after cross-linking of these molecules. By transfection of a dominant negative form of Myo1c or specific siRNA, we also detected alterations in the spreading and Ag-presenting ability of these cells. The data suggest that Myo1c is involved in the cytoskeleton dynamics and membrane protein anchoring or sorting in B lymphocytes.


This thesis explores the multiple factors that may be influencing the education provided by teachers of basic education. Factors inherent in the teacher include the following: age, sex, physical condition, talent, intelligence, personality, and academic education, among others and external factors associated with the organization of the educational system and conditions under which development is carried out. The research is supported by a case study: teachers of basic music education for kindergartens in the State of Queretaro. It was carried out by means of a thorough documental and historical review and a complex empirical investigation using participant observation and key informants. Support was taken from such authors as: Bourdieu (1990), Durkheim (2004), Willems (1989), Gramsci (1975) and Weber (2004), among others. From relevant results, we locate, identify and demonstrate specific forms in which particular characteristics of the teachers


Cyanoferrimyoglobins of harbor seal and sperm whale were carboxymethylated with enriched [Z-13C] bromoacetate. The enriched adducts were readily observed by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance. Resonances were identified by comparison with enriched adducts to appropriate small molecules, and Tr values were determined under various conditions. In addition to the expected adducts to the NHzterminal residues and to histidine and lysine, an alkali-labile glycolate ester product was observed. Denatured forms were obtained by carboxymethylation in 8 M urea which led to complete conversion of all histidine residues to the dicarboxymethyl form. By carrying out carboxymethylation in stages it was possible to limit the labeling to either the normally external or the normally internal set of histidine residues. Treatment under denaturing conditions led to carboxymethylation of both methionine residues. The TI values place some limits on the interpretation of the degrees of mobility of the adduct carbon nuclei.


Wideband coplanar-waveguide (CPW) bandpass filters based on the cascade of CPW lowpass and highpass periodic structures are proposed. The upper and lower stopband characteristics of proposed bandpass filter can be easily designed by separately adjusting the lowpass and highpass sections, respectively. Specifically, two wideband CPW bandpass filters with sharp roll-off at passband edges and good stopband rejection are demonstrated.


This study was carried out to investigate the distribution and characteristics of plants resources in Mt. Jo-bong (Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do) from April, 2011 to October, 2012. The vascular plants were summarized as 500 taxa; 92 families, 296 genera, 434 species, 6 subspecies, 49 varieties, and 11 forma. Among the investigated 500 taxa, 13 Korean endemic, 14 rare plants, 1 endangered and 75 specially designated plants by Ministry of Environment were included. The naturalized plants were 32 taxa and percent of naturalized plant species and urbanization index were estimated 6.4% and 10%, respectively. Usefulness of plants of 500 taxa listed consists of 193 taxa (38.6%) of edible plants, 155 taxa (31.0%) of medicinal plants, 86 taxa (17.2%) of pasture plants, 58 taxa (11.6%) of ornamental plants, 16 taxa (3.2%) of timber plants, 14 taxa (2.8%) of fiber plants, 4 taxa (0.8%) of industrial plants and 2 taxa (0.4%) of miscellaneous plants.


The interest of the scientific community and, consequently, the scientific production of topics on happiness and well-being at work, or the management of happiness in organizations, has been increasing over the years. The main objective of this bibliometric analysis is to determine the evolution of the concepts referred to in published scientific works. Bibliometric methods and techniques are used to analyze the themes and the most relevant trends, the number of papers and their citations, and the main institutions, and to highlight areas where the most research has been done on these issues. In addition to the review of the scientific literature, 312 studies are analyzed and net-mapped. The most outstanding results are the increase in the number of papers and citations during the health pandemic caused by COVID-19; the importance given to the transversality of well-being programs in corporations; and the greater frequency of research on the benefits of promoting the improvement of quality of life for work performance and its social impact.


With the wild application of e-business and the rapid development of modern service industries, a significant impact on the traditional tourism in many ways has happened. With value chain theory, this paper made an analysis of the distinctive features and forms of the tourism value chain. By profit model analysis, it discussed four elements of profit model. At last, a case study of Ctrip included value chain and profit model analysis was given.


Abstract 2190 Adenosine 59-triphosphate (ATP) plays a pivotal role in several cellular processes, through specific cell membrane purinergic P2 receptors (P2Rs). During inflammation and tumor cell growth, cell necrosis causes the release of intracellular ATP into the extracellular space, thus increasing from low (1–10 nM) to high (5–10 mM) the concentration of extracellular ATP. For this reason, variations in the extracellular ATP concentration might activate/inhibit the immune system. Here we investigated the role of ATP on CD4 + T-cell functions. We first demonstrated the expression of P2Rs for extracellular nucleotides in human activated CD4 + T cells and regulatory T cells (T regs ) We then show that physiological concentrations of extracellular ATP (i.e. 1–50 nM) do not affect both activated CD4 + T cells and T regs . Conversely, supraphysiological concentrations of ATP show a bimodal effect on activated CD4 + T cells. Whereas 250 nM of ATP stimulates proliferation, cytokine release, expression of adhesion molecules and adhesion, high ATP concentration (i.e. 1 mM) induces apoptosis and inhibits activated CD4 + T-cell functions. On the contrary, at the same high concentration, ATP enhances the proliferation, adhesion, migration and immunosuppressive ability of T regs . Similar results are obtained when activated CD4 + T cells and T regs are exposed to ATP released by necrotized leukemic blasts. The present results provide evidence that different concentrations of extracellular ATP modulate T cells according to their activation status. Therefore, high concentrations of ATP, compatible with fast-growing tumors or hyper-inflamed tissues, may have a key role in killing activated CD4 + T cells and in expanding T regs . Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


In this paper we describe the causes, patterns of presentation, and management of obstructive uropathy in Sudanese patients in a retrospective multi-center audit. All patients who presented with obstructive uropathy during 2005 were included in this study. All of the patients were subjected to serial investigations including imaging and tests of renal function. Diversion, stenting, and/or definitive surgery were performed in order to relieve the obstruction. Five hundred twenty patients were diagnosed with obstructive uropathy during this period; 345 (66%) patients presented with chronic obstruction and 175 (34%) with acute obstruction. Of the study patients, 210 (40%) presented with significant renal impairment; 50 (23%) of them required emergent dialysis. The patterns of clinical presentation of the obstructed patients included pain at the site of obstruction in 48%, lower urinary tract symptoms in 42%, urine retention in 36.5%, mass effect in 22%, and anuria in 4%. Patients in the pediatric age group constituted 4% of the total. The common causative factors of obstruction included congenital urethral valves, pelvi-ureteral junction obstruction, urolithiasis, and iatrogenic trauma, especially in the obstetric practice. Renal function was completely recovered with early management in 100% of patients with acute obstruction and was stabilized in 90% of patients with chronic obstruction. Four patients were diagnosed with end-stage renal failure; two of them were transplanted. The mortality rate in this study was less than 0.3%.


In Fall 1993 the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, Davis introduced a new electrical engineering and a new computer engineering curriculum, each characterized by a well-coordinated junior core leading to a carefully chosen set of senior design elective courses. Through integration of a select but powerful set of computer tools into the junior core, students will be able to concentrate on understanding basic engineering principals while simultaneously obtaining important analytic and computer skills for senior elective courses. The number of required courses has been decreased but the number of units has remained roughly the same while maintaining the lower-division (freshman and sophomore) program essentially unchanged as required by the California higher education plan. The result is a curriculum that focuses on fundamentals through modern design techniques in such a way that both on-campus students and community college transfer students will be able to complete the engineering curriculum in four years. >


This paper summarizes the findings of the World Economic Forum's Industry Agenda Council on the Future of the Health Sector's two-year inquiry into underperformance of health systems. The Council found that misalignments (i.e., situations involving conflicting incentives, behaviour, structures, or policies) among key stakeholders are likely to lead to significant waste, whether measured in terms of health for money or money for health. This paper defines three types of misalignments (those due to divergent objectives, power asymmetries, and cooperation failures), offers concrete examples of each type, and includes several cross-cutting examples from three particularly burdensome disease areas: cancer, diabetes, and mental health. The Council also examined situations in which stakeholders acted to correct misalignments and reduce waste. This paper details several case studies of achieving greater alignment and enumerates a set of lessons for stakeholders. It concludes by making recommendations for future research in this domain. JEL Codes: D47, D49, I11


The Vitamins in Health and Disease A Modern Reappraisal by John Marks MA MD MRCP FCPath pp 183 illustrated 60s London: J& A Churchill 1968 This is an up-to-date account of the vitamins attractively presented as an introduction to the subject for medical students and doctors. The biochemistry and physiological role of individual vitamins are clearly explained with excellent diagrams, and wherever possible the physiological functions are related to the clinical manifestations of deficiency. Under each vitamin the effect of deficiency in animals is described, then deficiency in man and finally therapy, which is divided into the correction of deficiency states and the use of vitamins in the treatment of other disorders. Particularly in the latter, the author's critical approach based on experimental evidence is a valuable corrective to the prevailing fashion of indiscriminate prescribing, though there is an occasional shot in the air, such as the use of ascorbic acid for colds. The first section of the book deals with the measurement of vitamin activity, vitamin antagonists, hypervitaminosis, optimum intake and vitamin problems in underprivileged countries. Of more immediate concern to those practising in economically developed countries is the recognition of certain groups of patients in whom vitamin deficiencies are particularly apt to occur. Such factors as inadequate intake due to old age, anorexia and food fads and also malabsorption are well known, but less familiar perhaps are the influence of exercise, infections and excessive loss in secretions. The final section of this book explains vitamin assays, investigation of the patient for evidence of vitamin deficiency and vitamin losses in storage and preparation of food.


This study compares the life histories of five hymenopteran species (genus Leptopilina), and aims to identify reasons why developmental time and life span are not correlated in parasitic Hymenoptera, a relationship that is present in many other taxa. Developmental time, life span, body size, and related traits were measured in female parasitoids that eclosed either from hosts of a standard species or from the host species that are naturally used. Phylogenetic controlled tests revealed that body size was positively correlated with fat reserves, starvation time, and egg load. Developmental time was neither correlated with life span nor correlated to host developmental time. We suggest two mechanisms that affect a potential relationship between developmental time and life span in Leptopilina: (i) delayed emergence in species that live in a stochastic environment (fungi), and (ii) host species related plasticity for growth rates. Additionally, variable adult feeding conditions have large effects on life span measures.


Suicide is an urgent public health problem. The purpose of this study was to determine if adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increased the risk for suicide ideations and attempts approximately 22 years later, and if sexual victimization (SV) in adulthood mediated these associations. Prospective data from a nationally representative sample of 10,914 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health were used to test direct associations of ACEs (physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, family history of suicide attempts, and parental death, alcoholism, and incarceration) with suicide ideation and attempts and their indirect effects through sexual victimization in adulthood. All but one ACE significantly predicted increased odds of making a suicide attempt. Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse as well as family history of suicide attempts and parental incarceration predicted seriously considering suicide. All forms of childhood abuse and family history of suicide attempts predicted increased odds of sexual victimization. In multivariate longitudinal models controlling for age, race, and gender, the odds of seriously considering suicide and making a suicide attempt increased as the number of ACEs increased. Experiencing two or more ACEs also was associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing sexual victimization in adulthood, which in turn mediated the effects of ACEs on suicide ideation but not suicide attempts. Findings indicate that reducing ACEs is an important strategy for suicide prevention not only due to ACEs' direct association with suicide ideation and attempts, but also due to their indirect association via subsequent sexual victimization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


Many authors have highlighted the need to look at the political economy of surveillance in order to provide a comprehensive picture of our increasingly surveilled societies. However, an analysis that stressed only the material interaction between public and private actors, or the formal relationships between markets, technologies, policy and politics would leave out a broader understanding of the motives and expectations that are taking shape alongside the increase of surveillance mechanisms. The fact that Barcelona (Spain) has so far only installed CCTV systems in the city center, in areas used intensively by tourists, reveals a picture that takes the political economy of surveillance beyond the corporation-meets-public-official discourse, which highlights private profit and the role of lobbies and lobbyists as a key reason behind the ascendance of surveillance technologies in public spaces, and addresses a more complex setting where the electoral expectations of local politicians meet the economic interest of the private shop owner meet the political aspirations of local media moguls meet the pressure to sell safe cities in the context of a global drive to see security technology and surveillance as the solution to all urban evils (and fast track to winning elections). By looking at the actual articulation of the actors and interests involved in promoting security policies based on surveillance and monitoring of behavior in Barcelona's public spaces, this piece presents less-explored understandings of the political economy of surveillance, making a case that highlights how global pressures, processes and imaginaries are received and negotiated at the local level.


Although it is known that the level of health literacy is effective in determining the direction of individu-als' attitudes towards their own health, its effect on the attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccine is not yet known exact-ly. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between health literacy and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccine in adult individuals. This study is a cross-sectional design. The study was conducted with literate individu-als aged 18 or over (N=210), in Turkey. The data were collected online using personal information form, Attitudes Towards COVID-19 Vaccine (ATV-COVID-19) Scale, and Health Literacy Scale (HLS). HLS score of the women and unemployed ones were high (p<0.05). ATV-COVID-19 scores of those with chronic diseases in their families were higher. (p<0.05). Moreover, scores of some subscales of HLS and ATV-COVID-19 were also correlated (p<0.05). It was determined that the adult individuals' health literacy and attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccine were positively correlated. It will be possible to reach higher community vaccination levels by planning activities that will increase health literacy throughout the society.


The small-scale statistics of homogeneous isotropic turbulence of dilute polymer solutions is investigated by means of direct numerical simulations of a simplified viscoelastic fluid model. It is found that polymers only partially suppress the turbulent cascade below the Lumley scale, leaving a remnant energy flux even for large elasticity. As a consequence, fluid acceleration in viscoelastic flows is reduced with respect to Newtonian turbulence, whereas its rescaled probability density is left unchanged. At large scales the velocity field is found to be unaffected by the presence of polymers.


A requirement for new multicomputers is the decoupling of computation and communication functionalities in order to improve the performance of both. The choice of an interconnection network and the routing strategy adopted define the internal architecture of the communication node. The paper presents a new routing strategy for WK-networks, based on two separate networks for the input and output phases, which enables a cost effective communication node to be designed.<<ETX>>


Averting climate change may have substantial water-resource-related benefits to agricultural, industrial, recreational, and residential household users. Economic benefits are usually estimated assuming that individuals face no uncertainty in decision making, but the benefits from averting climate change will accrue primarily to individuals in the future. Predicting future benefits is usually done using ex ante economic methods, and propogating uncertainty or specifiying the appropriate distributions in estimating the magnitude of the benefits is a problem. After describing the key issues relating climate change and water resources, the paper explains why economic theory fails to demonstrate which method appears more reasonable than the other. Alternatively, we might attempt to estimate the benefits from averting climate change using a benefits analysis of similar events that have already occurred. Many suggestions for conducting a benefits transfer, including one in the area of water-based recreation, are offered as ways to glean something about possible water-resource-related benefits from averting climate change.


Parental deviance, parental monitoring, and deviant peers were examined as predictors of overt and covert antisocial behaviors. Homeless (N=231) and housed (N=143) adolescents were assessed in adolescence and again in early adulthood. Homelessness predicted both types of antisocial behaviors, and effects persisted in young adulthood. Parental deviance predicted only overt antisocial behaviors in adolescence, and was fully mediated by parental monitoring. Parental monitoring predicted both types of antisocial behaviors in adolescence, and was partially mediated by peer deviance. Parenting and peer influences did not consistently predict antisocial behaviors in adulthood.


Health maintenance organizations have employed physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and other nonphysician providers for decades, yet there is little information on how satisfied these providers are with this form of practice. This paper examines how physician assistants evaluate their experience practicing in a large group model health maintenance organization and compares their attitudes and satisfaction levels with those of other nonphysician providers-nurse practitioners, optometrists, mental health therapists, and chemical dependency counselors. The data source is a 1992 survey of 5,000 nonphysician employees of a health maintenance organization. The survey instrument was a self-administrated questionnaire that included both structured and open-ended questions. The response rate averaged 88 percent for physician assistants and the other non-physician providers. Physician assistants expressed the most satisfaction with the amount of responsibility, support from coworkers, job security, working hours, supervision, and task variety. They were less satisfied with workload, control over the pace of work, and opportunities for advancement. Most physician assistants were also satisfied with pay and fringe benefits. Compared with other nonphysician providers, chemical dependency counselors expressed the highest levels of satisfaction across the various dimensions of work and optometrists the lowest. Nurse practitioners, chemical dependency counselors, and mental health professionals also tended to be satisfied with most aspects of practice in this setting. In a number of instances, they were more satisfied than the physician assistants. The findings are consistent with other studies that found health maintenance organizations to be favorable practice settings for physician assistants. The limits of physician assistant involvement and their role satisfaction and efficient use in HMOs are more likely to relate to physician attitudes and acceptance than to lack of support by coworkers and other attributes of the work environment.


Foreword, by W. David HarrisonPreface1. Autoethnography: The Opening Act, by Stanley L Witkin2. Where's Beebee? The Orphan Crisis in Global Child Welfare, by Katherine Tyson McCrea3. A Finn in India: From Cultural Encounters to Global Imagining, by Satu Ranta-Tyrkk 4. Being of Two Minds: Creating My Racialized Selves, by Noriko Ishibashi Martinez5. Learning From and Researching (My Own) Experience: A Critical Reflection on the Experience of Social Difference, by Jan Fook6. What Remains? Heroic Stories in Trace Materials, by Karen M. Staller7. What Matters Most in Living and Dying: Pressing Through Detection, Trying to Connect, by Brenda Solomon8. Will You Be with Me to the End? Personal Experiences of Cancer and Death, by Johanna Hefel9. Holding on While Letting Go: An Autoethnographic Study of Divorce in Ireland, by Orlagh Farrell Delaney and Patricia Kennedy10. The Pretty Girl in the Mirror: A Gender Transient's Tale, by Allan Irving11. Reality Isn't What It Used to Be: An Inquiry of Transformative Change, by Stanley L Witkin12. From Advising to Mentoring to Becoming Colleagues: An Autoethnography of a Growing Professional Relationship in Social Work Education, by Zvi Eisikovits and Chaya KorenList of ContributorsIndex


Two nucleon t-matrices, on- and half off-shell, of experiment and theory are used to put expectations into new Bremsstrahlung experiments on a realistic basis. A report is given about comprehensive studies of pp Bremsstrahlung which includes a reanalysis of TRIUMF data and other data of non coplanar geometry experiments. The Bremsstrahlung amplitudes associated with external, rescattering and exchange currents, by exact treatment of the Coulomb potential in on- and half-off-shell t-matrices, and the relativistic spin corrections were all computed and for both coplanar and non coplanar geometries.


This study aimed to evaluate the impact of selected pregnancy pathologies statistically depending on overweight/obesity and excessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy on women who gave birth in the years 2013–2015 at the Second Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University Hospital in Bratislava, Slovakia. In a retrospective study, we analyzed data gathered from the sample, which consisted of 7122 women. Our results suggest a statistically significant, higher risk for the groups of women with overweight and obesity and gestational hypertension (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 15.3; 95% CI 9.0−25.8 for obesity), preeclampsia (AOR = 3.4; 95% CI 1.9−6.0 for overweight and AOR = 13.2; 95% CI 7.7−22.5 for obesity), and gestational diabetes mellitus (AOR = 1.9; 95% CI 1.2−2.9 for overweight and AOR = 2.4; 95% CI 1.4−4.0 for obesity). A higher incidence of pregnancies terminated by cesarean section was observed in the group of obese women. Gestational weight gain above IOM (Institute of Medicine) recommendations was associated with a higher risk of pregnancy terminated by C-section (AOR = 1.2; 95% CI 1.0−1.3), gestational hypertension (AOR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.0−2.7), and infant macrosomia (AOR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.3−2.1). Overweight and obesity during pregnancy significantly contribute to the development of pregnancy pathologies and increased incidence of cesarean section. Systematic efforts to reduce weight before pregnancy through prepregnancy dietary counseling, regular physical activity, and healthy lifestyle should be the primary goal.


ABSTRACT Dysregulated NLRP3 inflammasome activity results in uncontrolled inflammation, which is the basis of many chronic diseases. Although the regulatory mechanism has been gradually clarified after a long period of research, the metabolic regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome is still a mystery. Here, we find that ALDOA, as a monitor of glycolysis, regulates NLRP3 inflammasome by sensing changes in glycolytic flux to participate in the formation of AXIN-based AMPK-activation complex on the lysosomal surface. In this process, ALDOA restricts PRKN/parkin-dependent mitophagy through controlling AMPK activation to maintain mitochondrial damage caused by NLRP3 agonists. Furthermore, ALDOA also regulates the transcription of SQSTM1/p62, a receptor for mitophagy, through AMPK-FOXO3 signaling. In addition to studying the mechanism by which ALDOA regulated NLRP3 inflammasome, we also screened ALDOA inhibitors and found that LYG-202, a synthetic flavonoid compound, inhibited ALDOA enzyme activity by occupying the position involved in Schiff base intermediate formation, thus preventing FBP from combining with ALDOA. In vitro, LYG-202 suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome via activating the AMPK-mitophagy signaling pathway. In vivo, LYG-202 attenuated sterile inflammation and fulminant hepatitis, and suppressed the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Therefore, our study demonstrated that the glycolytic enzyme ALDOA maintained NLRP3 inflammasome activation by monitoring the glycolytic flux to control AMPK activation during the classical activation of NLRP3. Abbreviations ALDOA: aldolase A; AMPK: AMP-activated protein kinase; ATG: autophagy related; ATG5: autophagy related 5; ATP: adenosine triphosphate; BMDMs: bone marrow-derived macrophages; CALCOCO2: calcium binding and coiled-coil domain 2; CASP1: caspase 1; CQ: chloroquine; FOXO3: forkhead box O3; IL1B: interleukin 1 beta; LPS: lipopolysaccharide; MAP1LC3B/LC3B: microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; MT: mutant; mtDNA: mitochondrial DNA; MTORC1: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase complex 1; mtROS: mitochondrial reactive oxygen species; NLRP3: NLR family, pyrin domain containing 3; OPTN: optineurin; PBS: phosphate-buffered saline; PRKN/Parkin: parkin RBR E3 ubiquitin protein ligase; SN: supernatant; SQSTM1/p62: sequestosome 1; STK11/LKB1: serine/threonine kinase 11; TOMM20: translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20; ULK1: unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1; v-ATPase: vacuolar type H+-ATPase; WT: wild-type.


Zayed University's Center for Professional Development (CPD) assists UAE K-12 teachers, and educational administrators to develop their practice so that they may, by example, participate in the reform of the UAE educational system, the Center operates outreach programs and research agendas focused on educational improvement to accomplish this goal. The Center is currently working with a number of partnerships and this paper will discuss the development of four very different communities of practice and their approaches to curriculum leadership, partnership relationships, and the maximization of social and human capital. This paper compares outcomes, successes and challenges that impacted each partnership. Some of the issues that arose include the role of the project manager, the value of distributed leadership, levels of decision making, work relations and processes, and training versus education. The initial findings indicate that the individual and collective learning as a result of these developing learning communities contributes to a new, evolving and organic model of professional learning which encourages a focus on long-term solutions for educational leadership in the UAE.


Web applications using the XML technologies are increasingly popular. Besides caching, another query performance improvement approach is prefetching. Similar to other database queries, XML queries often have their own query patterns. We present a preprocessing algorithm that extracts abstract queries from similar query constructs but with different constraints values. These abstract queries help to produce useful access patterns by applying association mining on them. Through our preliminary experiments, we found that our prefetching approach improved both the cache hit ratio and precision of the XML cache system.


In Software-Defined Networks, the Intrusion Detection System is receiving growing attention, due to the expansion of the internet and cloud storage. This system is vital for institutions that use cloud services and have many users. Although the Intrusion Detection System offers several security features, its performance is lagging behind in large enterprise networks. Existing approaches are based on centralised processing and use many features to implement a protection system. Therefore, system overload and poor performance occur on the controller and OpenFlow switches. As a result, the current solutions create issues that must be considered, especially when they are implemented on large networks. Furthermore, enhancements in security applications improve the reliability of networks. Following a literature review of the existing Intrusion Detection Systems, this paper presents a new model that offers decentralised processing and exchanges data over an independent channel, in order to solve issues relating to system overload and poor performance. Our model utilises an appropriate feature selection method to reduce the number of extracted features and minimise the data transmitted over the channels. Additionally, the Naive Bayes algorithm has been employed for flow classification purposes, since it is a fast classifier. We successfully implemented our framework, using the Mininet emulator, which provides a suitable networking environment. Evaluations indicate that our proposed system can detect various attacks with an accuracy of 98.46% and nominal decreasing rates of 1.5% in throughput and 0.7% in latency analyses, when the model is implemented in wide range networks.


This paper is an evaluation of the Chesapeake Bay Program's (CBP) effect on farmers' willingness to participate in USDA agricultural conservation programs. Willingness to participate is demonstrated by submission of an application for enrollment in a conservation program. The estimation method is propensity score matching. Matching is one method which can be used to estimate treatment effects using observational studies when a control group is not available for purposes of comparing outcomes with treatment and without treatment.


Abstract: Several studies addressed ant communities in the dense Atlantic Forest that runs along the Brazilian coast. However, comparatively little is known about the mixed forests and grasslands that occur in the southern range of the Atlantic Forest domain. In this study we performed the first standardized assessment of ants in the forest-grassland mosaic found in the highlands of the state of Santa Catarina. We aimed to investigate and compare ant richness and composition between mixed forests and grasslands in the main mountain range of south Brazil. Ants were collected in two years with ground pitfalls, tree pitfalls and litter samples. Sixty ant species were recorded, resulting in 22 new records for "Planalto Serrano" region and three for the state of Santa Catarina: Eurhopalothrix depressa, Pheidole radoszkowskii and Wasmannia williamsoni. There was significant dissimilarity in ant species composition between grasslands and forests, but no difference in ant species richness, even considering the higher number of strata in mixed forests. Similar richness and low number of arboreal species suggest that this ant community is structured similarly to temperate ones. Both habitats presented a large proportion of exclusive species. The fact that species composition between grassland and forest areas differed, coupled with the similarity in species richness between habitats and the record of new ant species for the region, calls for strong conservation efforts in grasslands of southern Brazil, which still are little protected by conservation areas.


During a systematic survey of monogeneans parasitizing freshwater fishes from the Nile River in Sudan, 44 monogenean species were recorded on/in 26 species of host fishes. Eleven of them probably represent species new for science. Thirty three species represent previously described taxa and all of them are reported from Sudan for the first time. The monogenean species found were represented by the following 18 genera: Annulotrema (2 species), Bagrobdella (4 species), Bouxiella (1 species), Cichlidogyrus (7 species), Dactylogyrus (8 species), Diplectanum (2 species), Dogielius (2 species), Enterogyrus (2 species), Gyrodactylus (2 species), Heteronchocleidus (1 species), Heterobothrium (1 species), Characidotrema (1 species), Onchobdella (3 species), Protoancylodiscoides (2 species), Scutogyrus (1 species), Schilbetrema (1 species), Synodontella (2 species), Quadriacanthus (2 species). Oreochromis niloticus was the host species with the highest parasite species richness (3 species of Cichlidogyrus, 1 species of Scutogyrus, and 1 species of Gyrodactylus on the gills, and 2 species of Enterogyrus in the stomach. The majority of the monogenean species found were situatd on gills, the only monogeneans recorded from the stomach were 2 species of Enterogyrus from Oreochromis niloticus.


Mata Pelajaran Vokasional Kimpalan Arka dan Gas (MPV-KAG) is an initiative of the Ministry of Education (Malaysia) to provide opportunities for students in academic secondary schools who have not succeeded in getting a place in Sekolah Menengah Teknik (SMT) or Sekolah Menengah Vokasional (SMV). Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the readiness for the implementation of vocational subjects (gas and arc welding) in daily secondary schools in Malaysia. A total of 106 students who took the MPV-KAG course at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Malim, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ledang, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ungku Husin, and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ungku Aziz were involved in this study. The questionnaires for this study were distributed to students who took the MPV-KAG course at the four daily secondary schools. This study uses a descriptive analysis method (mean and standard deviation). The reliability value for the study instrument is α = 0.86. Overall, the results of the study showed that the level of willingness of students to follow MPV-KAG courses, the level of opportunities given by the teacher to the students in doing activities according to their own abilities during the teaching and learning process, and the availability of sufficient, functional, and appropriate workshop equipment facilities throughout the MPV practical class were at a high level, with a mean value of (M = 4.11, M = 4.06, M = 4.29). In conclusion, this study found that the implementation of MPV-KAG in daily secondary schools in Malaysia is in good condition.


ABSTRACT The correlation between sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations measured at the European and Asian sides of Istanbul and meteorological parameters is investigated using principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple regression analysis techniques. Several meteorological parameters are selected to represent the atmospheric conditions during two winter periods: 1993–1994 and 1994–1995. Six principal components are found to explain the majority of the observed meteorological variability. Surface pressure, 850-mb temperature, and surface zonal (east-west) and meridional (north-south) winds show high loadings on separate factors identified by PCA. We seek dominant meteorological parameters that control the SO2 levels at each monitoring station. Several multiple regression analysis models are fitted to the data from each monitoring station using six principal components and previous day SO2 concentrations as independent variables. Results suggest that the most important parameters, highly correlated with SO2 concentrations in the Istanbul metropolitan area, are atmospheric pressure and surface zonal and meridional winds. These components have more influence on the determination of the air pollution levels at the Asian side than at the European side.


PURPOSE
In this multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, we studied whether warfarin 1 mg daily reduces the incidence of symptomatic central venous catheter (CVC) -associated thrombosis in patients with cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Two hundred fifty-five patients with cancer who required a CVC for at least 7 days were randomly assigned to receive warfarin 1 mg or placebo.

RESULTS
There were 11 (4.3%) symptomatic CVC-associated thromboses among 255 patients, with no difference in the incidence of symptomatic CVC-associated thrombosis between patients taking warfarin 1 mg daily (six of 130 patients; 4.6%) and patients taking placebo (five of 125 patients; 4.0%; hazard ratio, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.37 to 3.94). Warfarin had no effect on CVC life span (84 days v 63 days in control and warfarin groups, respectively; 95% confidence limit, -16 to 55 days; P = .09), and it did not affect the number of premature CVC removals (23.2% v 25.4% in control and warfarin groups, respectively; 95% confidence limit of difference -8.34 to 12.71; P = .68) or the frequency of major bleeding episodes (2% v 0% in control and warfarin groups, respectively; P = .5, Fisher's exact test).

CONCLUSION
Symptomatic CVC-associated thrombosis in patients with cancer, although significant, is less common than previously reported. In this study, the administration of warfarin 1 mg daily did not reduce the incidence of symptomatic CVC-associated thrombosis in patients with cancer. However, the low rate of symptomatic CVC-associated thrombosis means that a much larger trial is required to address this issue definitively.


Mirror neurons were recently discovered in frontal brain areas of the monkey. They are activated when the animal makes a specific movement, but also when the animal observes the same movement in another animal. Some of them also respond to the emotional expression of other animals of the same species. These mirror neurons have also been found in humans. They respond to or "reflect" actions of other individuals in the brain and are thought to represent the basis for imitation and empathy and hence the neurobiological substrate for "theory of mind", the potential origin of language and the so-called moral instinct.


0123456789 41] Abstract In this paper, we propose a heuristic algorithm for a container loading problem for logistic platforms, which is the problem for the Challenge Renault/ESICUP 2015. The three-dimensional container loading problem involves packing a set of cuboid items into bins so as to minimize the total volume used. In this paper, we propose an effective approach to solve this problem based on a greedy strategy. We first generate high-quality stacks that consist of some items and then pack these stacks on the floor of bins, considering the resulting problem as a two-dimensional bin packing problem. The proposed algorithm is tested on a series of instances provided for the challenge. The computational results show that the proposed algorithm performs well on these instances.


Background Medication contributes to 5–20% of hospital admissions, of which half are considered preventable. An integrated medicines management service (IMMS) was developed at a large general hospital in London to identify and manage patients at risk of a preventable medicines-related readmission (PMRR) to reduce the risk of PMRR. Objective To investigate the effect of the pharmacy IMMS on the rate of PMRR within 30 days of the first discharge. Method 744 patients were identified between October 2008 and October 2014, using the PREVENT tool. Patients at risk were managed by the IMMS with medication reconciliation, review, consultation and follow-up, as required. Results Of 744 patients, 119 were readmitted within 30 days of discharge, with a PMRR for 2 patients (1.7%). The main reason for referral to the service was to assess the need to start a compliance aid. Most interventions involved communication: 84% included patient consultations with 50% involving discussion with the patient's community pharmacist and 32% with their general practitioner surgery. Conclusions An IMMS may be an effective method of reducing the rate of PMRR. Further work is needed to establish the cost-effectiveness of the service.


This work focuses on the relation between human and animals and especially on the relation between horses and human. I have brought up the human och horse relationsship, today, and in history and wrote about the behaviour of the horse. Some older studies with human and animal interaction, including animals like dog and cattle are discussed. I have also discussed physiological parameters that might influence the bond and the interaction between human and horse and some critical aspects concerning the methodology when studying this kind of physiology.

The purpose of the experimental study was to analyze if common management routines and grooming of horses increases horses interest in making contact with humans. Many horse owners feel that they have a good connection with their horse and factors that can influence the relationsship could be physical contact, feeding or some challange that make the horse trust the human. To study this we made an experiment with eight horses from the same herd. Four people performed four management routines (A-D) with the horses during seven days in a ten days period. The management routines were, A) challange by leading the horse over a black carpet, B) feeding the horse, C) brushing and D) grooming the horse. At day 11, one horse at the time was subjected to a test in an open area (paddock) for 10 min where they could choose which of the four persons, or a control person, they liked to interact with. The horses' behaviour were noted during the whole study.

Almost all horses seemed to show some adaptation to the treatments A, C and D during day 1-10. By day 10 all horses except for one, accepted to cross the black carpet with no or only minor reactions. Some individuals seemed to like (n=4 horses) and some to dislike (n=4 horses) being brushed and groomed and in the latter cases the negative reactions increased over time. When the horses were able to choose between the persons involved in the experiment they did not show any behaviour that indicated that they preferred a particular person. The reason for this can be many. It could be due to experimental reasons or simly that the horses did not have any interest in interacting with humans. Analysis of the time spent in four different areas (A-D) in the paddock showed that the horses spent significantly more time in area D than in area C. The reason for this could be that area D was closest to the exit.

The results show that neither grooming nor the management routines performed in the present study positively affected the horses´ interest in humans in the test situation.


SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is having devastating consequences worldwide. Although vaccination advances at good pace, effectiveness against emerging variants is unpredictable. The virus has displayed a remarkable resistance to treatments and no drugs have been proved fully effective against Covid-19. Thus, despite the international efforts, there is still an urgent need for new potent and safe antivirals against SARS-CoV-2. Here we exploited the enormous potential of plant metabolism using the bryophyte Marchantia polymorpha and identified a potent SARS-CoV-2 antiviral, following a bioactivity-guided fractionation and mass-spectrometry approach. We found that the chlorophyll derivative Pheophorbide a (PheoA), a porphyrin compound similar to animal Protoporphyrin IX, has an extraordinary antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 preventing infection of cultured monkey and human cells, without noticeable cytotoxicity. We also show that PheoA prevents coronavirus entry into the cells by directly targeting the viral particle. Besides SARS-CoV-2, PheoA also displayed a broad-spectrum antiviral activity against (+) strand RNA viral pathogens such as HCV, West Nile, and other coronaviruses, but not against (−) strand RNA viruses, such as VSV. Our results indicate that PheoA displays a remarkable potency and a satisfactory therapeutic index, which together with its previous use in photoactivable cancer therapy in humans, suggest that it may be considered as a potential candidate for antiviral therapy against SARS-CoV-2.


In the past years it could be shown that evidence-based guideline-oriented treatment of depressive patients leads to better diagnosis, to more adequate therapy and to better networking of the different levels of care. And yet, guidelines have been rarely used. On the other hand, better short-dated support of depressive patients is achievable by medical education. But to ensure the application of guidelines in the long term, it is necessary to consider individual practice and local/regional conditions. There is a need for interactive and experience-oriented educational concepts. The present educational concept of "Out-patient Depression Management" has been developed as part of the "Comprehensive Quality Management in Out-patient Care" project and implemented in two study regions of Southern Baden and North Rhine. The depression management concept was designed as a combination of interactive, guideline-oriented continuous medical education with interdisciplinary quality circles. The evaluation of the depression management concept shows very positive ratings from both primary care physicians and psychiatrists: 70% of the primary care physicians and 83% of the psychiatrists were satisfied or much satisfied with the program. 70% of the primary care physicians and 50% of the psychiatrists evaluated the usefulness for practice as good or very good.


We compared the performance of cardiaohemodynamics and indicators of oxidative and nitrosative stress in the heart and aorta in normotensive Wistar rats (WKR) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). On the basis of experimentally determined parameters to calculate cNOS uncoupling index and biochemical index of function (BIF) in these organs of the cardiovascular system. In the heart, and especially in the aorta of SHR develop a combined oxidative and nitrosative stress that leads to cNOS uncoupling, BIF lowering that correlate with lowering of systolic and diastolic functions, inhibition of the efficiency Frank-Starling mechanism, oxygen consumption of the heart and increasing arterial stiffness. We made the assumption of the existence of the vicious circle of enhancing oxidative stress in organs of the cardiovascular system due to additional superoxide generation by uncoupling cNOS.


Original scientific paper DOI: 10.2298/TSCI131114022S In this experimental study heat transfer and pressure drop behavior of ZnO/water nanofluid flow inside a circular tube with constant wall temperature condition is investigated where the volume fractions of nanoparticles in the base fluid are 1% and 2%. The experiments' Reynolds numbers ranged roughly from 5000 to 30000. The experimental measurements have been carried out in the fully-developed turbulent regime. The results indicated that heat transfer coefficient increases by 11% and 18% with increasing volume fractions of nanoparticles, respectively, to 1 vol.% and 2 vol.% . The measurements also showed that the pressure drop of nanofluids were, respectively, 45% and145% higher than that of the base fluid for volume fractions of 1% and 2% of nanoparticles. However experimental results revealed that overall thermal performance of nanofluid is higher than that of pure water by up to 16% for 2 vol.% nanofluid. Also experimental results proved that existing correlations can accurately estimate nanofluids convective heat transfer coefficient and friction factor in turbulent regime, provided that thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and viscosity of the nanofluids are used in calculating the Reynolds, Prandtl, and Nusselt numbers.


There is increasing interest in developing prediction models capable of identifying rare disease patients in population-scale databases such as electronic health records (EHRs). Deriving these models is challenging for many reasons, perhaps the most important being the limited number of patients with 'gold standard' confirmed diagnoses from which to learn. This paper presents a novel cascade learning methodology which induces accurate prediction models from noisy 'silver standard' labeled data - patients provisionally labeled as positive for the target disease based upon unconfirmed evidence. The algorithm combines unsupervised feature selection, supervised ensemble learning, and unsupervised clustering to enable robust learning from noisy labels. The efficacy of the approach is illustrated through a case study involving the detection of lipodystrophy patients in a country-scale database of EHRs. The case study demonstrates our algorithm outperforms state-of-the-art prediction techniques and permits discovery of previously undiagnosed patients in large EHR databases.


In our study, it was aimed to determine antifungal activity of Peganum harmala on medically important yeasts and molds in vitro. Fungal suspensions of Candida spp and aspergillus spp isolated from the clinical specimens were treated with serial dilutions of P. harmala alcoholic extract in Sabouraud Broth. The titers included: 1/20, 1/40, 1/80, 1/160, 1/320, 1/640, and incubated for 24 h at 30°C. Anti fungal activity of the extract was determined as MIC and MFC. For the determination of MFC, a small volume of above serial dilutions was cultured on SGA 4% medium. After 24 to 72 h of incubation at 30°C, the cultures were looked for fungal growth. The highest and lowest inhibitory effects of P. harmala extract were determined on C. glabrata (MIC: 0.312 mg/ml) and C. albicans (MIC: 1.25 mg/ml), respectively. The MFC for Candida species was differed from 0.62 to 2.5 mg/ml. The highest fungicidal effect was seen on C. glabrata and C. tropicalis (MFC: 0.62 and 0.125 mg/ml, respectively) and the lowest was for C. albicans (MFC: 2.5 mg/ml). The treatment of Aspergillus suspensions with Perganum extract showed a decreasing of growth and sporolation without definite inhibition. The alcoholic extract of P. harmala showed a fungicidal activity on opportunistic yeasts, Candida spp, and a decreasing sporolation for aspergillus most importamt species. © 2011 Academic Journals.


BACKGROUND
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a disorder characterized by an increased intracranial pressure, without deformity and obstruction of the ventricular system. There is a predilection of occurrence in obese women of childbearing age. The pathogenesis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension is likely related to abnormalities in the balance between production and drainage of cerebrospinal fluid. Diagnosis is made by excluding the known causes of elevated intracranial pressure.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the features, possible causes, treatment, and incidence of idiopathic intracranial hypertension as seen in patients attending our Department of Neurology.

METHODS
We retrospectively analysed a group of patients diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension in our Department of Neurology during a twenty-year period (1989 to 2008).

RESULTS
In six patients we confirmed the diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension during this period. Five of them were females and one was male, the average age of the patients was 32.30 years (22 to 52). The calculated incidence of idiopathic intracranial hypertension in our group was 0.15 per 100,000 persons. Out of these six persons there were four cases diagnosed in the last five years, changing the calculated incidence to 0.4 per 100,000 persons in this period. The average body mass index in our patients was 26.33 kg/m2 (20.1 to 31.38).

CONCLUSION
We suppose that the increased incidence of idiopathic intracranial hypertension in our patients in the last five years has been associated with an advance in diagnostics. With literary data, half of our patients were obese or overweighted, but all of them underwent also hormonal treatment, some had iron deficiency and one of them was pregnant (Tab. 3, Fig. 1, Ref. 17). Full Text in free PDF www.bmj.sk.


Prolonged peridural blockade with trimekain used in 1000 cardiosurgical patients is shown to be an effective prophylactic measure against postoperative complications. This method should not be widely used in patients with blood circulation insufficiency.


This article presents four main approaches to research on the dissemination of Marxist ideology in China: those of intellectual history, political or social history, history of religion and discourse analysis. Rather than argue for the theoretical applicability of the term 'political religion' to the case of China under the rule of Mao Zedong (1949–76), it offers a broader consideration of the relevance of religion to politics in modern China. It suggests that a 'religious dimension' was consistently present in the propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party as well as in people's minds.


One of the most important additives in High Speed Steels (HSS) is cobalt, mainly for its effect on the hot properties. Based on statistic data about the increased price of cobalt and its negative effect on human health, an ethical and financial barrier in the steel industry have occurred. In order to solve the problem, it is of great importance to examine the future cobalt price and accessibility, as well as examine the possibility of finding alternative substitutes to cobalt. The purpose of this project was therefore to examine alternatives to cobalt as an alloying element in HSS. A qualitative literature study was performed by analyzing the economy of cobalt, studying the main reasons for cobalts tendency to improve the hot properties of the steel and finding alternative elements to replace, or at least reduce, cobalt in HSS without degrading the hot properties. Cobalt is used both in the chemical and metallurgical business. But the demand of cobalt is largely driven by chemical purposes with the focus on its rechargeable battery applications. The analysis shows that there is nothing pointing at a significant decrease of the price of cobalt. Lithium ion batteries stands for about 50% of current cobalt supply, which is why the price has surged the recent years. The market for electric vehicles and rechargeable batteries has skyrocketed. To decrease the price of cobalt, a substitute for cobalt in rechargeable batteries would need to be found, which is not very likely for the time being. The effect of cobalt in HSS is mainly on the red hardness and tempering resistance. Cobalt increases the bonding strength in the steel matrix and changes the microstructure of the finer secondary carbides. Also the growth rate and coalescence rate of the carbides decreases. This causes the red hardness and the tempering resistance to increase. To replace cobalt, several alternative alloying elements have been researched. Among the most promising are niobium, nitrogen and aluminium, where niobium were found to be of most interest, due to the broad support of relevant articles in the field of powder metallurgical processing. The positive effect of niobium could be regarded as three-fold. The first contribution is the refinement of grain size and homogeneity of the primary carbides, which increases the overall hardness. The second effect is that the addition of niobium shifts the phase equilibria in such a way that the precipitation of primary carbides mainly will be in the form of hard and stable NbC. The majority of the other alloying elements will hence be precipitated as secondary carbides during tempering. The final effect is an increase in secondary hardness, as a consequence of the large amounts of vanadium and smaller amounts of niobium that is being precipitated during tempering to the secondary carbides. This enables a high matrix hardening potential in the optimal state of tempering.


Diabetes mellitus is the third largest cause of death after cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The failure to make insulin or insufficiency of insulin, is termed as diabetes mellitus. Insulin therapy is the only effective treatment of Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Insulin is a polypeptide key hormone which controls the level of the glucose in the blood and regulates the carbohydrate metabolism. In addition it also, metabolise fat and proteins and regulate expression of certain genes. Increased medicine's cost; their pharmacological adverse effects and tremendous increase in diabetic population became a driving force in shifting interest towards development of bioresource based medicines. Insulin was originally discovered in mammals, but later, insulin-related peptides were also recognized in plants. Insulin like antigen from plant with function, structure and sequence identical to vertebrate insulin are called 'glucokinin'. Studies of our lab showing insulin-like antigens in Spirulina platensis S5 paved the path for in vivo study for anti-diabetic activity. Recently we reported ELISA based screening and western blot of Cyanobacterial strains using anti-human insulin antibody and showed that insulin like antigen was present in Spirulina platensis S5.1,2 Keyword: Diabetes mellitus, Insulin like antigen, Herbal medicines, and Sulphonylureas. biguanides. This paved the path for confirmation of its antidiabetic activity in-vivo.


In the last letter that is preserved from Francis Xavier, written from the island of Shangchuan off the shore of China two weeks before his death on 3 December 1552, he expressed his hope of going to China despite the many difficulties involved. It was, however, thirty years before Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) obtained permission for a permanent residence on the mainland (in 1583). The Jesuit presence during the next two hundred years can roughly be divided into five periods, each covering approximately thirty to forty years. The first period, from 1583 to 1616, was the time of the pioneers. It was characterized by Matteo Ricci's activities. Not only did he gradually develop a missionary strategy under the encouragement of the Visitor of Asia, Alessandro Valignano (1539-1606); Ricci was also responsible for an "ascent to Beijing," a movement from the south to the north and from the periphery to the center. In 1610, at the moment of the death of Matteo Ricci, there were merely sixteen Jesuits in China, eight Chinese and eight foreigners, with around 2,500 Christians. A few years later, in 1616-17, an anti-Christian movement forced the Jesuits to withdraw to the center of the country. Around 1620, when the situation calmed down, a new group of missionaries initiated a second period. These included several Jesuits versed in mathematics or Aristotelian philosophy, among them Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1592-1666). Due to their efforts, Jesuits were involved in large-scale translation activities, of both religious and scientific writings.


This study provides basic descriptive data on the frequency of pairwise eruption sequences ascertained in cross-sectional examination of 6,000 black and white American children in the Ten State Nutritional Survey of 1968-1970. All sex and race groups share a distinct pattern of sequence polymorphisms in terms of location, number, and level. Teeth in eruption phase I (M1, I1, I2) rarely reverse in sequence with those in phase II (C, P1, P2, and M2). Five sequences have variants that appear at greater than or equal to 20% in all groups, with M1I1 vs. I1M1 approaching maximum polymorphic values of 50%/50%. The traditional notation for eruption sequences can be modified to reflect these important variants, giving the sequence M1 I1 I2 [P1 C P2] M2 for the maxilla and [M1 I1] I2 [C P1] [P2 M2] for the mandible. The location of major polymorphisms is explicable by close timing of teeth within phase I and, separately, teeth within phase II eruption. However, strong integration of development of physically adjacent teeth apparently acts to reduce substantially the number of sequence reversals. The Ten State Survey data provide a sound descriptive basis for two populations, yet precise comparative data are available for few other human groups or primate species.


Objective: To describe the development and scientific validation of a new patient based measure, the coronary revascularisation outcome questionnaire (CROQ), to evaluate health outcomes and quality of life before and after coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Design and setting: Psychometric validation study conducted with patients from three hospitals in the UK. Patients: Two independent field tests were conducted by postal survey of 714 patients before and 1329 patients after coronary revascularisation to evaluate the measurement properties of the CROQ. Methods: Qualitative methods including patient interviews were used to develop questionnaire content. A full psychometric evaluation was performed on the survey data. Results: Psychometric tests with the application of stringent criteria confirmed the acceptability (low missing data, good response rates), scaling assumptions (good item convergent and discriminant validity), reliability (good internal consistency and reproducibility), validity (good content and construct validity), and responsiveness of the CROQ. Conclusions: The CROQ is a practical and scientifically sound patient based measure of outcome developed using psychometric methods. It captures aspects of recovery not addressed in other cardiac questionnaires and has been shown to be a highly responsive instrument that will be useful in evaluating outcomes in clinical trials.


Attenuation correction is necessary for quantification in micro–single-photon emission computed tomography (micro-SPECT). In general, this is done based on micro–computed tomographic (micro-CT) images. Derivation of the attenuation map from magnetic resonance (MR) images is difficult because bone and lung are invisible in conventional MR images and hence indistinguishable from air. An ultrashort echo time (UTE) sequence yields signal in bone and lungs. Micro-SPECT, micro-CT, and MR images of 18 rats were acquired. Different tracers were used: hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (brain), dimercaptosuccinic acid (kidney), colloids (liver and spleen), and macroaggregated albumin (lung). The micro-SPECT images were reconstructed without attenuation correction, with micro-CT-based attenuation maps, and with three MR-based attenuation maps: uniform, non-UTE-MR based (air, soft tissue), and UTE-MR based (air, lung, soft tissue, bone). The average difference with the micro-CT-based reconstruction was calculated. The UTE-MR-based attenuation correction performed best, with average errors ≤ 8% in the brain scans and ≤ 3% in the body scans. It yields nonsignificant differences for the body scans. The uniform map yields errors of ≤ 6% in the body scans. No attenuation correction yields errors ≥ 15% in the brain scans and ≥ 25% in the body scans. Attenuation correction should always be performed for quantification. The feasibility of MR-based attenuation correction was shown. When accurate quantification is necessary, a UTE-MR-based attenuation correction should be used.


BACKGROUND
Paediatric palliative care is a nuanced area of practice with additional complexities in the context of intellectual disability. There is currently minimal research to guide clinicians working in this challenging area of care.

METHOD
This study describes the complex care of children with life-limiting conditions and intellectual disability by means of a literature synthesis and commentary with "best-practice" guide.

RESULTS
As few articles concerning children with intellectual disability and palliative care needs were identified by formal systematic review, our expert consensus group has drawn from the paediatric palliative, oncology and adult intellectual disability literature to highlight common clinical challenges encountered in the day-to-day care of children with intellectual disability and life-limiting conditions.

CONCLUSION
A longitudinal child- and family-centred approach is key to ensuring best-practice care for families of children with life-limiting conditions and intellectual disability. As highlighted by the great absence of literature addressing this important patient population, further research in this area is urgently required.


The attitudes toward the use of nuclear energy of three student samples of roughly equal size (N=150) from FR Germany, Japan and the Philippines were elicited and compared by means of a questionnaire.

Concerning their overall attitudinal positions the Japanese students were predominantly in favour of nuclear energy, the German students were less unanimous while the Philippine students showed the most anti-nuclear resentment. These positions were equally influenced by considerations about benefits and risks; whereas the awareness of risks associated to the use of nuclear energy seems to prevail in all three samples, favourable or unfavourable attitudes are predominantly based on the acceptance or denial of perceived benefits. However, agreement about particular risks or benefits was found to be much stronger within each national level than among proponents and opponents of nuclear energy of the combined sample.

In addition, the relevance of the issues presented in the questionnaire for the debate about nuclear energy was demonstrated.


In this work, the role of swing limb dynamics in the stabilization of legged systems is investigated. To quantify the contribution of arm swing during whole-body balancing, the balancing capability of a bipedal robotic platform is evaluated computationally during single and double foot contact for two configurations: arms fixed and arms free to move. The balancing capability with each arm configuration is evaluated by constructing its corresponding balance stability boundary, a threshold between balanced and falling states that includes all possible center of mass (COM) states that are balanced with respect to the specified arm and foot contact configuration. In this analysis, the bipedal robotic platform is modeled as a kinematic tree structure with floating-base dynamics in the sagittal plane. In addition to floating-base and joint-space dynamics, the complete COM-space dynamics of the system is established, including the formulation of the angular momentum (and its rate) of each rigid link, as well as a model of actuation dynamics based on motor characteristics. The comparison of the two balance stability regions yields both a quantitative measure of the enhancement in total balance capability and qualitative insights into the mechanism by which arm swing leads to enhanced capability. The role of arm swing angular momentum is also analyzed from the robot's experimental gait trajectories as a potential means of benchmarking controller performance.


Total laryngectomy is still the final therapeutic solution in cases of locally advanced laryngeal cancer, as well as in cases of therapeutic failure of organ-sparing surgery or radiation therapy. Following excision of the larynx, the remaining pharynx is reconstructed to obtain continuity of the upper digestive tract. One of the most common complications in these patients, despite constant refinement of the procedure, is the development of a pharyngo-cutaneous fistula. These fistulas prolong hospital stay and often require a second surgical procedure, increasing morbidity and cost for the patient, while diminishing his quality of life. Some risk-factors have been identified, but only some may be corrected before surgery to lower this risk. Managing the fistula once present depends on multiple factors, essential being the size of the fistula as well as the position and concomitant factors, with options ranging from conservative measures to aggressive reconstructive surgery with local miocutaneous flaps. Modern vocal rehabilitation with T.E.P. (tracheo-esophageal puncture) and vocal prosthesis placement presents a new challenge – because of the risk of developing a tracheo-esophageal fistula, with an even higher risk for the patient because of tracheal aspiration. Understanding healing mechanisms of these structures is key to proper management of this complication.


There is a growing recognition internationally of the need to demonstrate comprehensiveness in order to build confidence in performance assessments (PAs) for radioactive waste disposal projects. This has resulted in a number of methodologies being developed to formalize the process of defining and documenting the decision basis that underlies a PA. Such methodologies include process influence diagrams and the rock engineering system (RES) matrix. However, these methodologies focus mainly on the conceptualization of the disposal system and do not provide a ready framework to document the decisions behind the model development and parameterization of the PA system. The Performance Assessment Support System (PASS) is a flexible electronic tool designed to increase the transparency and traceability of decision making in the entire PA process. An application of PASS has been developed for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) where it forms an important component of Desk Top PA, a PC-based PA computational environment under development at Sandia National Laboratories to document, plan, and support management decisions and to assess performance for the WIPP recertification process. This desk-top PA environment is also aimed at providing scientifically-based decision support for assessing the performance of nuclear and hazardous waste management and environmental clean-up systems.


OBJECTIVES
A majority of population-based studies suggest prevalence of drug and alcohol risk behaviour increases during late adolescence to early adulthood. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to clarify if socio-economic status (SES) is a determinant of marijuana and alcohol risk behaviour in adolescents between the ages of 10-15 years.

METHODS
We performed a meta-analysis to identify published or unpublished papers between January 1, 1980 and February 9, 2007 that reviewed marijuana and alcohol risk behaviour by SES in adolescents aged 10-15 years.

SYNTHESIS
We found nine studies that fulfilled our inclusion criteria and passed the methodological quality review. The prevalence of marijuana and alcohol risk behaviour was 22% higher (RR = 1.22; 95% CI 1.14-1.31) in adolescents with low SES in comparison to adolescents with higher SES. Stratification by country of origin revealed that American and New Zealand studies had statistically significant variability in the reported effects as compared to European and UK studies.

DISCUSSION
The evidence suggests that low SES has an inverse association with the prevalence of marijuana and alcohol risk behaviour in adolescents between the ages of 10-15 years. Higher rates of marijuana and alcohol risk behaviour among lower SES adolescents may impact emotional development, limit future educational and occupational achievement, and increase the likelihood for adult marijuana and alcohol addiction.

CONCLUSION
Lower SES adolescents have higher rates of marijuana and alcohol risk behaviour than higher SES adolescents.


The article concerns a famous poem written in 1943 by Czeslaw Milosz, dedicated to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The Campo di Fiori was published in many different versions. The article delivers a list of variants as well as an interpretation of alterations made by the poet. The alterations relate in the first place to the fragments in which there is found a language motive in connection with, fundamental to the whole poem, enstrangement motive. It is the interpretations of particular versions of the work by various critics that the article evokes in order to present consequences, which particular variants have for the total meaning of the poem. The article's author persuades that Milosz hesitated until the end as far as the wording of a fundamental verse from the end of the work: "Jezyk nasz stal sie im obcy"/ "Jezyk nasz stal sie im obcy" [translations by Louise Iribarne and David Brooks do not provide a precise rendering of those versions] is concerned. That hesitation reflects the difficulties the poet had in finding the means of expressing position instability of the Holocaust witness, whose attempts of suppressing the distance between himself and the dying are doomed to fail.


Recently, there has been an increasing focus on the pursuit of targets considered to be less druggable that offer potential for development of promising new therapeutic agents for the treatment of diseases with large unmet medical need, particularly in the areas of oncology and virology. However, conducting drug discovery campaigns in "beyond rule of 5" (bRo5) chemical space presents a significant drug design and development challenge to medicinal chemists to achieve acceptable oral pharmacokinetics. Retrospective analysis of past successes and failures in drug discovery bRo5 may shed light on the key principles that contribute to the oral bioavailability of successful bRo5 compounds and improve the efficiency of drug design for future projects. We present here highlights and case studies of lessons learned from discovery of bRo5 compounds. A simple multiparametric scoring function (AB-MPS) was devised that correlated preclinical PK results with cLogD, number of rotatable bonds, and number of aromatic rings.


Resistin is a novel hormone that is secreted by human adipocytes and mononuclear cells and is associated with obesity, insulin resistance and inflammation. Recently, resistin has been postulated to play a role in angiogenesis. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that resistin regulates ovary carcinoma production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the angiogenic processes. We found that in human ovarian epithelial carcinoma cells (HO-8910), resistin (10–150 ng/mL) enhanced both VEGF protein and mRNA expression in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, as well as promoter activity. Furthermore, resistin enhanced DNA-binding activity of Sp1 with VEGF promoter in a PI3K/Akt-dependent manner. PI3K/Akt activated by resistin led to increasing interaction with Sp1, triggering a progressive phosphorylation of Sp1 on Thr453 and Thr739, resulting in the upregulation of VEGF expression. In an in vitro angiogenesis system for endothelial cells (EA.hy926) co-cultured with HO-8910 cells, we observed that the addition of resistin stimulated endothelial cell tube formation, which could be abolished by VEGF neutralizing antibody. Our findings suggest that the PI3K/Akt-Sp1 pathway is involved in resistin-induced VEGF expression in HO-8910 cells and indicates that antiangiogenesis therapy may be beneficial treatment against ovarian epithelial carcinoma, especially in obese patients.