When compared with collagens isolated from animal sources, collagens and collagen-like (CL) proteins from non-animal sources are non-immunogenic and thus promising as biomedical materials. Recently, a CL protein, V-CL, was identified from a bacterial source, Streptococcus pyogenes. In this study, an acid-precipitation method was used to isolate V-CL in one purification step. Circular dichroism spectroscopy was used to examine the triple-helix structure of V-CL. The trypsin proteolysis events of V-CL were characterized using gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. The proteolysis order of the proteolysis sites of V-CL was investigated and compared with the predicted stability profile. The experimentally determined proteolysis order agreed with the predicted stability profile, suggesting that the proteolysis order of these proteolysis sites was determined by their structural stability. This work is among the pioneer studies on establishing a correlation between the order of proteolysis and the predicted protein stability profile of collagens and CL proteins. Since the digestion of collagen is frequently linked to disease states, this study can potentially shed light on the biodegradation pathway of collagens and related disease models. Moreover, as collagens have been used in drug delivery, this work can provide the molecular basis for rational design of CL proteins with varied biostability.


Vision and long term planning, together with effective managers and continuity, have enabled some poor countries to achieve better health outcomes than others with similar incomes, says a new report.

The report follows up an influential report from the Rockefeller Foundation published in 1985. The earlier report found that Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, China, and the Indian state of Kerala achieved levels of health similar to those seen in richer countries but at much lower cost.

The new report, put together by a team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, revisits these four places and also assesses five other states or countries—Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Tamil Nadu in India, and Thailand—all of which have made substantial improvements in …


The two-phase closed thermosyphon (TPCT) or wickless heat pipe has been widely considered as an extremely effective and low-cost heat removal device for various applications. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) investigation of the TPCT can provide detailed information regarding its design and development. In this study, the effect of non-uniform heat-input profiles on a vertical TPCT has been investigated. A CFD model has been built to simulate the evaporation and condensation processes within the TPCT investigated, using a solver based on OpenFOAM which has been modified and validated against experimental data reported in the open literature. Four non-uniform heating profiles of the TPCT have been investigated, and the effects these have on the internal flow field within the pipe are discussed. Simulation results show that the non-uniform heat flux profiles can impact thermal performance depending on the overall heat loading and the heat flux profile.


Crop plants carry an enormous diversity of microbiota that provide massive benefits to hosts. Protists, as the main microbial consumers and a pivotal driver of biogeochemical cycling processes, remain largely understudied in the plant microbiome. Here, we characterized the diversity and composition of protists in sorghum leaf phyllosphere, and rhizosphere and bulk soils, collected from an eight-year field experiment with multiple fertilization regimes. Phyllosphere was an important habitat for protists, dominated by Rhizaria, Alveolata, and Amoebozoa. Rhizosphere and bulk soils had a significantly higher diversity of protists than the phyllosphere, and the protistan community structure significantly differed among the three plant-soil compartments. Fertilization significantly altered specific functional groups of protistan consumers and parasites. Variation partitioning models revealed that soil properties, bacteria and fungi predicted a significant proportion of the variation in the protistan communities. Changes in protists may in turn significantly alter the compositions of bacterial and fungal communities from the top-down control in food webs. Altogether, we provide novel evidence that fertilization significantly affects the functional groups of protistan consumers and parasites in crop-associated microbiomes, which have implications for the potential changes in their ecological functions under intensive agricultural managements. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The criteria established for proceeding with the Brent Charlie platform New Drilling Equipment Set (NDES) are safe operation, fitness for purpose, improved work environment, reduced rig crew and cost effective design. The project is being implemented with an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) Contract by a Joint Venture (JV) between a German drilling and oilfield systems engineering and construction company and a British fabrication company. Following the successful demonstration of a semi-automated rig for the Continental Deep Drilling Project (KTB) in Germany, the operating company was satisfied that incorporation of similar state-of-the-art drilling systems technology in the NDES would underpin the economic case for this project. The transfer of land based technology to offshore applications will be appropriately profiled. The drilling rig is tailored to meet the present and future needs on the Brent Charlie platform. This rig is the response to the specific requirements of the drilling industry, namely - advanced technology, cost within reasonable limits, and the highest possible safety standards. The principle design features are remote operations from an enclosed operator's cabin where the driller's and assistant driller's controls, including pipe racking, are all powered functions, together with advanced and proven drilling technology and equipment such as handling drill pipes in triples, and making up or breaking out of triples simultanesouly whilst drilling. Proven state-of-the-art automation systems will greatly improve the cost effectiveness of the platform. Ultimately this will provide faster drilling times, provide a safer drill floor working environment, reduce down times, and reduce the number of drill crew required to operate the rig. Many of these systems can be easily incorporated into existing rigs. The relative benefits and cost savings of the various systems will be presented. Conceptual engineering design has recently been completed. Detailed drilling systems engineering, procurement and manufacture is now being carried out by the JV team. The partners' commitment to the industry CRINE initiative has achieved further economies. Fabrication and installation of systems and equipment will be carried out in Scotland where the rig will be on display during the commissioning activities. The final completion stage will be during the SPE conference in September, ready for sailaway in December 1995. The Brent NDES is designed for a working life of approximately 25 years with an anticipated rig shutdown time for maintenance of no more than two weeks per year and is equipped to handle all present and future drilling operations. The result is a unique drilling rig that not only surpasses all the technical requirements, but is also economical to operate.


KOptimization and control of wet-end process provide a key solution to improve paper quality and production efficiency at the same time. Wet-end of paper machine is to determine three important influencing factors of papermaking i.e., retention, drainage and formation. Good formation of paper could be made at the cost of deteriorated retention or drainage. In the same manner increase of retention aid could cause the bad formation of paper. It is very important to find a proper retention chemical which may satisfy one of three factors without the sacrifice of other two. Laboratory scale analyzing or screening chemical additives of wet-end was reported in this study based on RDA sheet molding. Different from the conventional test method, simultaneous consideration of three important wet-end properties could be made by RDA and consequently more reliable prediction of actual paper machine wet-end could be expected.


I consider the dynamics of a stiff filament, in particular the coupling of twist and bend via writhe. The time dependence of the writhe of a filament of length L is ([Wr(t) - Wr(0)]2) > approximately Lt(1/4). Simulations, on a simple model of a stiff polymer, are used to confirm scaling arguments. Fuller's theorem, and its relation with geometric phases, is reconsidered for open filaments.


Glomus tumors are benign localized tumors of the skin accounting for 1% to 2% of all soft tissue tumors. They may present as a solitary tumor or multiple tumors, termed glomangioma. We describe a 69-year-old man with a medical history of psoriasis and hypertension who presented with an incidental finding of multiple asymptomatic, noncompressible, blue lesions over his arms, chest, and back. The lesions, present since childhood, had never been subject to a workup. The patient had no history of gastrointestinal bleeding and no known family history of similar lesions. Physical examination revealed multiple nontender, blue, subcutaneous nodules that were 1 to 2 cm in diameter and located on the bilateral arms, chest, and back. The diagnosis of glomangioma was made and no further treatment was indicated.


That computers should be easy to learn and use is a rarely-questioned tenet of user interface design. But what do we gain from prioritising usability and learnability, and what do we lose? I explore how simplicity is not an inevitable truth of user interface design, but rather contingent on a series of events in the evolution of software. Not only does a rigid adherence to this doctrine place an artificial ceiling on the power and flexibility of software, but it is also culturally relative, privileging certain information cultures over others. I propose that for feature-rich software, negotiated complexity is a better target than simplicity, and we must revisit the ill-regarded relationship between learning, documentation, and software.


Polyurethane consumption has been increasing in recent years, raising concerns about how to deal with the polymer waste. Post-consumer rigid polyurethane foams or polyurethane foam scraps (PPU) ground into particles were utilized to strengthen mechanical properties of rigid polyurethane foam (PUF) and phenolic foam (PF). Viscosity of prepolymer with PUF was measured and PPU was well dispersed in prepolymer, as observed by optical microscope. Microstructures and morphologies of the reinforced foam were examined with scanning electron microscope (SEM) while cell diameter and density were measured by Scion Image software. Universal testing machine was employed to optimize compressive properties at various weight ratios of PPU. Both PUF and PF with 5 wt % PPU, respectively, exhibited considerable improvement in mechanical properties especially compressive property. The compressive modulus of PUF with 5 wt % PPU was 12.07 MPa, almost 20% higher than pure PUF while compressive strength of PF with 5 wt % PPU reached 0.48 MPa. The thermal stability of the reinforced foam was tested by thermal gravity analysis (TGA) and the result shows no obvious impact with PPU. The decomposition temperatures of PUF with PPU and PF with PPU were 280°C, because PPU has relatively weak thermal stability. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 39734.


This article describes both the benefits and
disadvantages of collecting textiles in an archival repository
based on an analysis of three different collections housed at
the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and
University Archives at The University of North Carolina at
Greensboro. The article details how the curators weighed
concerns regarding preservation and storage against the
value of using textiles for research, instruction, and exhibits
for each of their collecting areas. Their conclusions, and the
rationales behind them, highlight important issues regarding
textile collections within the archival field.


At the beginning of the 16th century Florence had about 35 institutions which were described by contemporaries as hospitals. In common with many other large Italian cities in the period,these spedali included smal hostels which provided temporary lodging for travellers and pilgrims,houses for widows and large institutions for the sick poor and orphans.  Each institution of whatever size shared a common role, that to care for the body and save the soul of the sick poor. This dual mission led to the construction of some of the largest architectural complexes in the Renaissance city. Hospitals such as Santa Maria Nuova and the Innocenti in Florence were well known in Italy and abroad, in the same way as Santo Spirito in Rome, the Ospedale Maggiore in Milano and Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. Like many other public buildings, such as churches and government palaces, the function of the hospital was also reflected in the organisation and design of its space. The design of hospitals and their dec-orative programmes reflected their function and the complex relationship between the medical and the spiritual care of patients.  Key Words: Hospitals - Florence - Italian Renaissance


Background: Although surgical resection is the main treatment for rectal cancer, the optimal surgical protocol for elderly patients with rectal cancer remains controversial. This study evaluated the feasibility of robot-assisted surgery in elderly patients with rectal cancer. Patients and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 156 patients aged 28–93 years diagnosed with Stage I–III rectal cancer, who underwent robot-assisted surgery between May 2013 and December 2018 at a single institution. Results: In total, 156 patients with rectal cancer, including 126 non-elderly (aged < 70 years) and 30 elderly (aged ≥70 years) patients, who underwent robot-assisted surgery were recruited. Between the patient groups, the post-operative length of hospital stay did not differ statistically significantly (P = 0.084). The incidence of overall post-operative complications was statistically significantly lower in the elderly group (P = 0.002). The disease-free and overall survival did not differ statistically significantly between the two groups (P = 0.719 and 0.390, respectively). Conclusions: Robot-assisted surgery for rectal cancer was well tolerated by elderly patients, with similar results to the non-elderly patients. Oncological outcomes and survival did not depend on patient age, suggesting that robot-assisted surgery is a feasible surgical modality for treating operable rectal cancer and leads to age-independent post-operative outcomes in elderly patients.


The paper analyzes the performance of a dual-wavelength technique devised to compensate power fluctuations in intensity-modulated plastic optical fiber sensors, which were specifically conceived for the measurement of displacements in industrial and civil applications. These sensors retrieve the displacement from the variation of the attenuation along the light path and use two signals at different wavelengths to compensate for the effects of parasitic quantities, such as temperature and strains along the fiber. The theoretical behavior of the compensation technique is presented, and the results of experiments carried out with different combinations of signal wavelengths and plastic fibers are reported. The experimental setup has proved that, by proper choice of the compensation signal wavelength, it is possible to monitor displacements in the range (0 to 10) mm, even for low received power and under severe perturbation conditions, thus significantly improving the long-term stability of the sensors.


Biological agents can be destructed using some of the general techniques, like treating with formaldehyde, or moist heat, and radioactive materials will decay with the passage of sufficient time. But these conventional methods are not readily adoptable to large surfaces, especially in the open air, for rapid clean up. The availability of destruction technique for hazardous biological agents, which is presented here, would be particularly helpful in the destruction of battlefield chemical and biological warfare agents. This thesis provides one of the many destruction procedures for a particular type of bacteria present in the biological agents. The purpose of decontamination is achieved by evaluating thermal plasmas for use in the destrucdon of deadly chemical and biological warfare agents. The procedure consists of employing an electric arc to establish plasma forming gas plume, to which the spilled biological agents are exposed and this kills the harmful agents. The two different approaches used here are nitrogen plasma, and a nitrogen and argon plasma arcjet. The proposed concept is to install a row of similar nozzles across the front of a truck, which will cover a specified amount of area on the ground. The truck runs over the area and destroys the biological agents. Additionally, the methods developed have application in the destruction of medical wastes; hazardous industrial wastes and in the destruction of hazardous materials associated with worldwide demilitarization activities.


Given a raw video sequence taken from a freely-moving camera, we study the problem of decomposing the observed 3D scene into a static background and a dynamic foreground containing the objects that move within the scene. This task is reminiscent of the classic background subtraction problem, but is significantly harder because all parts of the scene, static and dynamic, generate a large apparent motion due to the camera large viewpoint change and parallax. In particular, we consider egocentric videos and further separate the dynamic component into objects and the actor that observes and moves them. We achieve this factorization by reconstructing the video via a triple-stream neural rendering network that explains the different motions based on corresponding inductive biases. We demonstrate that our method can successfully separate the different types of motion, outperforming recent neural rendering baselines at this task, and can accurately segment the moving objects. We do so by assessing the method empirically on challenging videos from the EPIC-KITCHENS dataset which we augment with appropriate annotations to create a new benchmark for the task of dynamic object segmentation on unconstrained video sequences, for complex 3D environments.


Sleep is a behavior characterized by a typical body posture, both eyes' closure, raised sensory threshold, distinctive electrographic signs, and a marked decrease of motor activity. In addition, sleep is a periodically necessary behavior and therefore, in the majority of animals, it involves the whole brain and body. However, certain marine mammals and species of birds show a different sleep behavior, in which one cerebral hemisphere sleeps while the other is awake. In dolphins, eared seals, and manatees, unihemispheric sleep allows them to have the benefits of sleep, breathing, thermoregulation, and vigilance. In birds, antipredation vigilance is the main function of unihemispheric sleep, but in domestic chicks, it is also associated with brain lateralization or dominance in the control of behavior. Compared to bihemispheric sleep, unihemispheric sleep would mean a reduction of the time spent sleeping and of the associated recovery processes. However, the behavior and health of aquatic mammals and birds does not seem at all impaired by the reduction of sleep. The neural mechanisms of unihemispheric sleep are unknown, but assuming that the neural structures involved in sleep in cetaceans, seals, and birds are similar to those of terrestrial mammals, it is suggested that they involve the interaction of structures of the hypothalamus, basal forebrain, and brain stem. The neural mechanisms promoting wakefulness dominate one side of the brain, while those promoting sleep predominates the other side. For cetaceans, unihemispheric sleep is the only way to sleep, while in seals and birds, unihemispheric sleep events are intermingled with bihemispheric and rapid eye movement sleep events. Electroencephalogram hemispheric asymmetries are also reported during bihemispheric sleep, at awakening, and at sleep onset, as well as being associated with a use-dependent process (local sleep).


This paper examines how designers can invigorate designs with a sense of liveliness and indeterminacy through manipulation of pliable materials. Two approaches to material manipulation are defined and juxtaposed in the paper: The control associated with Frei Otto's elegantly tensioned membranes and the noise associated with Sigurd Lewerentz's intensely material brick walls. These historical approaches become pertinent in relation to current opportunities offered by material simulation software in architecture. Simulation may be used to increase control over the materialization of design, but is at the same time a way to introduce the noise of real-time, real-world experiments into digital design. The paper presents this discussion in parallel with documentation of the research project 'Erratic', a recent installation carried out by the authors' practice Norell/Rodhe. Constructed from polyurethane cold foam, the project combines analogue experiments with digital simulations to target architectural qualities like mass, figuration and relief.


In the law of the child act number 23 of 2002 concerning to the child's protection explains that a child is any person under the age of 18 including any unborn child. Meanwhile, the child right is all the basic needs of the child that must be respected, protected, and fulfilled so that the welfare and life of the child is protected by the law. In the Convention of on the Rights of the Child (CRC), child's right is grouped into: the right to live, the right to grow and develop, the right to get protection, and to participate. On the other hand, education is the manifestation and implementation of the child's right, supervision of the learning process, scheduling the learning time, providing the child's learning need and solving the child's learning difficulties are part of the obligations that parents must fulfill for the basic rights of child's education. In fulfilling the parents' obligations to the child's learning process is not only measured by how much financial given, but is also measured by the attention and assistance on the child's learning difficulties. In accordance with the topic, this research aims to: (1) providing knowledge of the basic rights of child, (2) providing an understanding about what so- called violence against child, (3) providing skills on how to prevent child abuse, and (4) the fulfillment of parents' obligations towards child's right as a form of prevention of violence against children. This study employs the theory of change with a quantitative-exploratory approach, the terms of exploratory has positioned the previous findings as a basis ideas and problem solving in this research, thus giving ideas and solutions dealing with the problem that "the fulfillment of child's right is an integral part of preventing violence against children." It will be very beneficial for parents and teachers as the partners of children in enhancing their education, thus creating an atmosphere conducive academic to child's learning.

Keywords; violence, basic rights, education


Numerous studies have reported an association between anemia and increased mortality in older patients with chronic conditions such as coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. Findings from recent studies also suggest that the presence of anemia may influence physical function and disability in older adults. In this article, Dr Fried examines current evidence related to such consequences, particularly those observed in studies of older adults living in the community.


Berries of blackcurrant are known to produce a strong flavor. Some previous studies have reported that a given cultivar of blackcurrant can produce berries with a specific profile of volatile compounds. For the Burgundy region in France, the Noir de Bourgogne cultivar is especially important because it is the main ingredient of a liquor with a designation of origin. The aim of the present study was to characterize the volatile fractions of berries from 15 cultivars in order to explore the possibility of using different cultivars for liquor production. The plants were cultivated under the same conditions and harvested in the same year. The volatile fractions of the harvested berries were analyzed using HS-SPME-GC-MS. Thorough univariate statistical analysis and multivariate analysis were applied to the dataset, which made it possible to identify groups within cultivars. The Rosenthal cultivar exhibited a quite flat profile; the Lositkia, Ben Tiran, and Barchatnaia cultivars shared common features; the Noir de Bourgogne cultivar showed the highest amounts of molecules such as 3-carene, limonene, β-phellandrene, ocimene, α-terpinolene, and bicyclogermacrene. None of the studied varieties were close to the Noir de Bourgogne on the basis of VOC analysis.


This paper elaborates on alleviating the energy conservation problem in wireless devices operating under the Internet of Things (IoT) environments, by using machine-to-machine (M2M) communication mechanisms. Such IoT wireless terminals, such as wearables, smart glasses, and smart objects, are able to distress energy consumption levels of the IoT environments, playing a crucial role to the quality of service (QoS) or quality of experience (QoE) provision for end users under several high demand scenarios, while they are on the move. In this context, this paper proposes a new offload-aware recommendation scheme, towards allowing the effective monitoring of high energy consumption applications that run in the mobile devices of such IoT ecosystems. The proposed model enables mobile users having a nonstop provision of on-demand services, while such devices are able to provide the available required resources that are to be exploited in IoT environments. The proposed system model and the M2M offloading mechanisms and mathematical foundations, this paper exploits an edge-based communication mechanism, towards enabling resource-aware recommendation. The performance evaluation results validate the proposed approach, by assessing the provided model in the framework of the reliability provision for the IoT terminals under the use of the recommendation scheme, as well as the energy conservation provision for several mobile devices that are included in the IoT environment during the offloading procedure.


: Studies of mixed folder processing labour conditions revealed a set of unfavourable occupational factors, including poor microclimate, high level dust discharge and bacterial contamination in the air. The major health disorders among the workers engaged therein include upper respiratory and bronchopulmonary, locomotor system and perypheral NS and skin diseases.


This paper studies the performance of pairs trading strategy under a specific spread model. Based on the empirical evidence of mean reversion and jumps in the spread between pairs of stocks, we assume that the spread follows a Levy-driven Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process with twosided jumps. To evaluate the performance of a pairs trading strategy, we propose the expected return per unit time as the value function of the strategy. Significantly different from the current related works, we incorporate an excess jump component into the calculation of return and time cost. Further, we obtain the analytic expression of strategy value function, where we solve out the probabilities of crossing thresholds via the Laplace transform of first passage time of the Levy driven Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process in one-sided and two-sided exit problems. Through numerical illustrations, we calculate the value function and optimal thresholds for a spread model with symmetric jumps, reveal the non-negligible contribution of incorporating the excess jumps into the value function, and analyze the impact of model parameters on the strategy performance.


Objective While previous studies have begun to explore newly graduated junior doctors' preparedness for practice, findings are largely based on simplistic survey data or perceptions of newly graduated junior doctors and their clinical supervisors alone. This study explores, in a deeper manner, multiple stakeholders' conceptualisations of what it means to be prepared for practice and their perceptions about newly graduated junior doctors' preparedness (or unpreparedness) using innovative qualitative methods. Design A multistakeholder, multicentre qualitative study including narrative interviews and longitudinal audio diaries. Setting Four UK settings: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Participants Eight stakeholder groups comprising n=185 participants engaged in 101 narrative interviews (27 group and 84 individual). Twenty-six junior doctors in their first year postgraduation also provided audio diaries over a 3-month period. Results We identified 2186 narratives across all participants (506 classified as 'prepared', 663 as 'unprepared', 951 as 'general'). Seven themes were identified; this paper focuses on two themes pertinent to our research questions: (1) explicit conceptualisations of preparedness for practice; and (2) newly graduated junior doctors' preparedness for the General Medical Council's (GMC) outcomes for graduates. Stakeholders' conceptualisations of preparedness for practice included short-term (hitting the ground running) and long-term preparedness, alongside being prepared for practical and emotional aspects. Stakeholders' perceptions of medical graduates' preparedness for practice varied across different GMC outcomes for graduates (eg, Doctor as Scholar and Scientist, as Practitioner, as Professional) and across stakeholders (eg, newly graduated doctors sometimes perceived themselves as prepared but others did not). Conclusion Our narrative findings highlight the complexities and nuances surrounding new medical graduates' preparedness for practice. We encourage stakeholders to develop a shared understanding (and realistic expectations) of new medical graduates' preparedness. We invite medical school leaders to increase the proportion of time that medical students spend participating meaningfully in multiprofessional teams during workplace learning.


Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have become one of the most important classes of biopharmaceutical products, and they continue to dominate the universe of biopharmaceutical markets in terms of approval and sales. They are the most profitable single product class, where they represent six of the top ten selling drugs. At the beginning of the 1990s, an in vitro antibody selection technology known as antibody phage display was developed by John McCafferty and Sir. Gregory Winter that enabled the discovery of human antibodies for diverse applications, particularly antibody-based drugs. They created combinatorial antibody libraries on filamentous phage to be utilized for generating antigen specific antibodies in a matter of weeks. Since then, more than 70 phage–derived antibodies entered clinical studies and 14 of them have been approved. These antibodies are indicated for cancer, and non-cancer medical conditions, such as inflammatory, optical, infectious, or immunological diseases. This review will illustrate the utility of phage display as a powerful platform for therapeutic antibodies discovery and describe in detail all the approved mAbs derived from phage display.


The purpose of the study was aimed at evaluating: (1) the process of the oral communication skills instruction, including teacher's behaviors, teacher's personal characteristics, class interaction, and teaching materials; and (2) the output of student learning, involving listening and speaking skills.
There were 80 participants who involved in the study, namely 3 teachers of English in Grade-12, 3 English teacher's colleagues, and 74 Grade-12 students. The data were collected through questionnaire, observation, interview, and testing. Mixed method was applied to the study. The quantitative data were analyzed descriptively with the support of SPSS 16.0 for Windows. Triangulation was employed to data analysis and finding discussion. The validity of content, construct, criterion, and expert was incorporated into the study. Items of the research instrument were selected based on the minimal value of discrimination index of 0.3 in terms of the Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient. The reliability of the instrument was examined by means of coefficient Cronbach's alpha. The four-scale evaluation criteria, including very low, low, high, and very high was applied.
The findings of the study indicate that the teacher's behaviors are assessed as low; the teacher's personal characteristics are evaluated as high; the class interaction is evaluated as low; and the teaching materials are assessed as very low. Thus, the result of the process of learning and teaching the oral communication skills is evaluated as low. Besides, the testing result displays that students' listening ability was low since there were 12 students who got very high scores; 23 students who achieved high scores; 31 students who obtained low scores; and 8 persons who reached very low scores out of 74 persons. Similarly, students' speaking ability is assessed as very low, as out of 74 persons there were 13 students who reached very high scores; 13 persons who got high scores; 21 persons who achieved low scores; and 27 students who obtained very low scores. Therefore, students' oral communication competence is evaluated as very low. Briefly, the process is evaluated as low, and the output is evaluated as very low.


The aim of this paper is to present simulation methods for the pricing of American financial instruments. Three methods are presented. Each differs from the others in it's approach to the problem and the method of finding a solution. We illustrate the variety of possible approaches that can be adopted when dealing with this complicated problem. The results of using these algorithms are compared with examples found in literature on the subject. We try to identify the factors that influence price estimators and provide some new results about the properties and distributions of those estimators. We show that even a simple variance reduction technique has a positive effect for these algorithms. The purpose of this paper is to present the effectiveness of a simulation method in pricing American options. This is contrary to the opinion often stated in articles and monographs that the simulation approach is not adequate for the task. We provide an overview and comparison of earlier methods proposed and follow this with an extended discussion. This paper sets the foundations for further research into use of these algorithms for multidimensional problems, where they may offer a substantial advantage over deterministic methods.


The Pearson correlation, correlation ratio, and maximal correlation have been well-studied in the literature. In this paper, we study the conditional versions of these quantities. We extend the most important properties of the unconditional versions to the conditional versions, and also derive some new properties. Based on the conditional maximal correlation, we define an information-correlation function of two arbitrary random variables, and use it to derive an impossibility result for the problem of the non-interactive simulation of random variables.


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
Histone deacetylation is associated with transcriptional activation controlled by DNA methylation. It is important to investigate changes of tumor cells treated with agent through two kinds of mechanisms. This study was designed to investigate the synergic effect of histone deacetylase inhibitor, sodium phenylbutyrate(SPB), and demethylating agent, 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine(5-Aza-CdR), on cell growth and explore the possibility of re-expression of the hypermethylated and silenced p16 gene in the myeloma cell line U266.

METHODS
The cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. Apoptosis was observed by transmission electron microscopy, DNA ladder, fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS). The expression level of p16 was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis.

RESULTS
The apoptotic rates of U266 cells induced by 5-Aza-CdR(1 mumol/L), SPB(1 mmol/L) alone and combination of 5-Aza-CdR and SPB were 15.09%, 89.19%, and 85.18%, respectively. The G1 phase was arrested and sub-G1 phase(50%) was induced by combination of 5-Aza-CdR and SPB. There was no G1 phase arrested when SPB or 5-Aza-CdR was used alone. The proportion of cells in G2 phase was increased with SPB alone. SPB was not able to induce the expression of p16. The expression level of p16 was induced with 5-Aza-CdR. The expression level of both mRNA and protein of p16 was increased significantly by synergy of SPB and 5-Aza-CdR.

CONCLUSIONS
p16 gene in U266 cell line could be reactivated markedly with synergy of 5-Aza-CdR and SPB with cell cycle arresting in G1 phase. Meanwhile, the cell cycle phase occurring apoptosis that induced by combination of 5-Aza-CdR with SPB is different from that induced by each alone.


The preceding chapter discussed the manner in which the modern scientific epistemology originating with Galileo reached a deep understanding in the first half of the Twentieth Century; however, the book on epistemology is far from closed. The epistemological challenges confronting the Twenty-first Century are the most severe since the dawning of the Seventeenth Century. They arise from a desire to model complex systems that exceed human conceptualization ability. As a consequence, people attempt to use highly flexible mathematical structures with large numbers of parameters that can be adjusted to fit the data, the result often being models that fit the data well but lack structural representation of the phenomena and thus are not predictive outside the range of the data. The situation is exacerbated by uncertainty regarding model parameters on account of insufficient data relative to model complexity, which in fact means uncertainty regarding the models themselves. More importantly from the standpoint of epistemology, the amount of available data is often miniscule in comparison to the amount needed for validation. The desire for knowledge has far outstripped experimental/observational capability. We are starved for data. With all the talk these days of "Big Data," one must remember that bigness is relative to need. While the current amount of data may be big relative to small systems, it is paltry compared to the data required for large complex systems, especially if it is not collected with a sharp eye to the intended use, which often it is not. We need only recall the warnings of Bacon and Kant about groping in the dark. With complex systems, experimental design is even more imperative. Still, with or without experimental design, in many cases it is virtually impossible to obtain the data required for model validation.


Performance evaluation is an important part of simulated training, and also a challenging project in the development of simulators for aerial mechanist training. In this paper, the evaluation method is explained in detail, and then the evaluation model is put forward, and finally the application of comprehensive fuzzy evaluation is discussed in this paper.


As a contribution to deterministic investigations into extreme fluid surface waves, in this paper wave profiles of prescribed period that have maximal crest height will be investigated. As constraints the values of the momentum and energy integrals are used in a simplified description with the KdV model. The result is that at the boundary of the feasible region in the momentum-energy plane, the only possible profiles are the well known cnoidal wave profiles. Inside the feasible region the extremal profiles of maximal crest height are ?cornered? cnoidal profiles: cnoidal profiles of larger period, cut-off and periodically continued with the prescribed period so that at the maximal crest height a corner results.


Abstract Chlorantraniliprole susceptibility was determined in diet-incorporation bioassays for six fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), populations feeding on sweet corn, Zea mays L., in southern Florida between 2017 and 2019. The LC50 and LC90 values of these populations estimated using probit analyses ranged from 0.022 to 0.084 ppm and 0.112 to 0.471 ppm, respectively. Thus, susceptibility levels among the six field populations varied, but to a relatively small extent, with approximately fourfold differences in LC50 and LC90 values between the most and least susceptible populations. These field populations were all less susceptible than a reference population maintained in the laboratory without prior exposure to chlorantraniliprole, with RR50 values between 5.3 and 20.1 and RR90 values between 14.3 and 60.3. These results suggest reduced chlorantraniliprole susceptibility in S. frugiperda populations collected in Florida sweet corn relative to a reference laboratory population. However, field experiments in 2017 and 2019 showed that foliar applications of chlorantraniliprole reduced S. frugiperda injury and infestations to levels comparable to or lower than applications of indoxacarb, novaluron, or spinetoram. This study does not provide evidence of practical resistance to chlorantraniliprole in S. frugiperda infesting Florida sweet corn fields.


This paper presents the EUROCONTROL Surveillance Strategy, comprising 3 pillars of surveillance: Primary Surveillance Radar together with Co-operative Independent systems; i.e. Mode S, Multilateration and Co operative Dependent system; i.e. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast. The current Surveillance Standard requires, for en-route and Terminal Manoeuvring Areas, two independent layers of surveillance to satisfy the necessary safety arguments. However, which surveillance options are chosen is left to individual States or Service Provider choice, based on economic or geographic considerations. The paper also presents the European Commission Implementing Rule for Surveillance Performance and Interoperability.


Research reveals a biased preference for natural v. synthetic drugs; however, this research is based on self-report and has not examined ways to reduce the bias. We examined these issues in 5 studies involving 1125 participants. In a pilot study (N = 110), participants rated the term natural to be more positive than the term synthetic, which reveals a default natural-is-better belief. In studies 1 (N = 109) and 2 (N = 100), after a supposed personality study, participants were offered a thank you "gift" of a natural or synthetic pain reliever. Approximately 86% (study 1) and 93% (study 2) of participants chose the natural v. synthetic pain reliever, which provides a behavioral choice confirmation of the natural drug bias. In studies 3 (N = 350) and 4 (N = 356), participants were randomly assigned to a control or experimental condition and were asked to consider a scenario in which they had a medical issue requiring a natural v. synthetic drug. The experimental condition included a stronger (study 3) or weaker (study 4) rational appeal about the natural drug bias and a statement suggesting that natural and synthetic drugs can be good or bad depending on the context. In both studies, the natural bias was reduced in the experimental condition, and perceived safety and effectiveness mediated this effect. Overall, these data indicate a bias for natural over synthetic drugs in preferences and behavioral choices, which might be reduced with a rational appeal.


A study on comparative assessment of the microbial load of beef and chicken meat collected at different hours of the day in Ekpoma town market was carried out. Samples were purchased at 8am, 1pm and 5pm and taken to the laboratory for microbial load counts. The design of the experiment was a completely randomized design (CRD). Result from the study revealed that microbial load of beef for Diluent 1 (Dil.-1) was less at 8am, having 30.0 log10 CFU/g as compared with 43.5 and 47.0 observed at 1pm and 5pm respectively. Diluent 2 (Dil.-2) showed similar results of less counts at 8am (22.0 log10 CFU/g) compared with 31.5 and 45.0 recorded at 1pm and 5pm respectively, as well as Diluent 3 (Dil.-3), which recorded similar results of less microbial load at the early hours of the day. The result from the microbial load count of chicken was not affected by the time (hours) of collection, as values were not significantly (P>0.05) different. Diluent 1 (Dil.-1) had the least count of 22.0 log10 CFU/g at 8am compared with a high count of 32.5 at 1pm and a less count of 24.5 at 5pm. Similarly, Diluent 2 (Dil.-2) recorded a microbial count of 20.5 log10 CFU/g at 8am compared with 24.5 and 22.5 recorded at 1pm and 5pm respectively. While Diluent 3 (Dil.-3) had 14.5 log 10 CFU/g at 8am compared with 18.5 and 17.5 recorded at 1pm and 5pm respectively. Microbial load of chicken meat was lowest in the morning (8am), high in the afternoon (1pm) and lower in the evening (5pm). Here, the rate of exposure of chickens in the refrigerator to the atmosphere affected its microbial load.  The result did not follow the trend of higher microbial load as time of the day progressed, observed in beef. Results on a comparative assessment of the microbial load of beef and chicken meat further revealed that microbial load in beef was higher than chicken, as beef was completely exposed on a table platform in the market, while chicken was stored in the refrigerator when sold in the market. It also revealed that microbial load concentration of beef and chicken decreased as dilution rate of concentration increased, as observed in Dil.1 – 3. Hence, home consumers should buy beef meat in the early hours of the day, and chicken meat in the morning and evening from the market, in order to check the risk of microbial contamination.


Received: June 4, 2020 Revised: June 29, 2020 Accepted: June 29, 2020 © 2021 The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Interleukin-13으로 유도된 폐 병태생리에 대한 atorvastatin의 치료 효과


Outcomes in hepatic resectional surgery (HRS) have improved as a result of advances in the understanding of hepatic anatomy, improved surgical techniques, and enhanced peri-operative management. Patients are generally cared for in specialist higher-level ward settings with multidisciplinary input during the initial post-operative period, however, greater acceptance and understanding of HRS has meant that care is transferred, usually after 24-48 h, to a standard ward environment. Surgical trainees will be presented with such patients either electively as part of a hepatobiliary firm or whilst covering the service on-call, and it is therefore important to acknowledge the key points in managing HRS patients. Understanding the applied anatomy of the liver is the key to determining the extent of resection to be undertaken. Increasingly, enhanced patient pathways exist in the post-operative setting requiring focus on the delivery of high quality analgesia, careful fluid balance, nutrition and thromboprophlaxis. Complications can occur including liver, renal and respiratory failure, hemorrhage, and sepsis, all of which require prompt recognition and management. We provide an overview of the relevant terminology applied to hepatic surgery, an approach to the post-operative management, and an aid to developing an awareness of complications so as to facilitate better confidence in this complex subgroup of general surgical patients.


This paper presents the design of a relational query processor. The query processor consists of only four processing PIPEs and a number of random-access memory modules. Each PIPE processes tuples of relations in a bit-serial, tuple-parallel manner for each of the primitive database operations which comprise a complex relational query. The design of the query processor meets three major objectives: the query processor must be manufacturable using existing and near-term LSI (VLSI) technology; it must support in a uniform manner both the numeric and nonnumeric processing requirements a high-level user interface like SQL presents; and it must support the query-processing strategy derived in the query optimizer to satisfy certain system-wide performance optimality criteria.


The law of April 9, 1930 concluded to the non responsibility of the insane. It applyed a measure of social defence and treatment of some length. The evolution of ideas, the psychological and biological discoveries had bring a change in July 1964. The measure was finalized, not for the "insanes", but demented people, severe mental disturbed patients and severe mental retarded patients. The measure became non determined in time. The role of the lawyer is important, not only for the decision, but following the decision. The role of the physician is also important and the creation of a center of guidance becomes urgent. Therapy can be extended by ambulatory care with the necessary security measures.


To develop a novel polymer-based asymmetric organocatalyst, a series of helical poly(phenyl isocyanide)s with functional pendant groups were prepared by modifying the side groups of the optically active helical poly(4-carboxyphenyl isocyanide) with a macromolecular helicity memory. Helical polyisocyanides partially modified with achiral amines, such as piperazine, maintained their chiral memory and enantioselectively catalyzed a direct aldol reaction. Although the enantioselectivity was low, the original helical poly(4-carboxyphenyl isocyanide) showed no catalytic activity. These results indicated that the macromolecular helicity of the modified polyisocyanides together with bifunctional amino and carboxy acid pendant residues arranged in a helical array along the polymer backbones plays an important role in the enantioselectivity.


When Adriaan C. Van Oss died suddenly in 1984 at age 37, he left behind an impressive body of work. This volume, sponsored by the Center for Latin American Research and Documentation in Amsterdam (CEDLA), brings together what the editorial board considered to be the more "timeless" of his articles. Three of them appeared in journals; six others are published here for the first time. Topics include quantitative comparisons of bishoprics in colonial South America; the relationship between ecclesiastical building activity, demographic patterns, and economic diversification in New Spain; the demography and economy of colonial Venezuela; regional patterns of change in colonial Central America; and the effects of the Cristero war of the late 1920s in Hidalgo. Obviously this was a wide-ranging scholar with voracious curiosity and great energy.


Voltage control is considered one of the basic operational requirements of electrical power systems both at distribution and transmission levels. In recent years, a growing number of distributed generators (DGs) are connected to distribution networks. However, the integration of DGs including wind farms into distribution systems causes voltage regulation problems due to the interference with the performance of automatic voltage control (AVC) relay. Therefore, development of a new voltage control scheme of supply system with DGs is required. This paper presents an attempt to design an AVC relay based on fuzzy logic (FL). The structure of the proposed FL controller based-AVC relay is presented. This paper also compares between the performance of conventional and FL controller based-AVC relays to control voltage magnitude of distribution network with and without DGs connected.


Lanthanide luminescence could be quenched by water or high frequency vibrations, which seriously limit the application of luminescent composites, especially hydrogels based on lanthanides. Here, luminescent hydrogels were fabricated by introducing 5-sulfosalicylic acid molecules into a hybrid system which stemmed from the self-assembly of sodium alginate with terbium ions (Tb3+). The shape of the enhanced luminescent hydrogels was not limited, as both layered and spherical hydrogels can be prepared. The morphology and luminescence properties of the hydrogels were thereafter studied. The results showed that the as-prepared alginate hydrogels exhibited clearly identified green emissions under ultraviolet radiation through the metal coordination interactions with the assembled alginate, while the luminescence intensity of the alginate hydrogels increased with increasing reaction time between the alginate and Tb3+ ions. Even, when dried, the hydrogels still exhibited enhanced luminescence, which might be used twice. The results demonstrated that 5-sulfosalicylic acid synergistic terbium–polymer self-assembly is an effective approach to fabricate luminescent composites containing terbium complexes.


Research Summary In recent years, strategy scholarship expanded its scope beyond the realm of private firms. Despite notable advances, the field still lacks theoretical and empirical frameworks for fully understanding how public and nonprofit organizations interact with private firms to create and appropriate value. By recognizing the inherent complexity of interactions between organizations with different purposes and the existing challenges for designing effective governance arrangements, we assess how recent scholarship addresses some dilemmas related to both private and public value creation. Based on the extant literature and on some novel aspects raised by the articles in this issue, we also propose a framework to advance strategy research in the field. We emphasize the importance of stakeholder management capabilities among public, private, and nonprofit organizations in pursuit of enhanced public value and continuous support from appreciative stakeholders. Managerial Summary Despite abundant examples of governance arrangements involving public, private, and nonprofit organizations (e.g., public‐private partnerships and alliances involving NGOs, firms, multilateral organizations, public contracting, and so on), the strategic management field has only recently given attention to value creation and value appropriation beyond the scope of private organizations. Here we connect strategic management and public management to identify relevant dimensions that shape value‐creating strategies and underpinning outcomes in public‐private‐nonprofit interactions. We highlight that public value arises from private interests and that the dynamic of value creation and value appropriation in activities involving the public interest can be influenced by not only resource endowments and organizational capabilities but also by the way organizations address and manage stakeholder expectations.


Objective: Main objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction in type-2 diabetes patients with microalbuminuria. Study Design: Descriptive/ observational study Place and Duration: Department of Cardiology, DHQ Hospital Alpurai, Shangla, from December, 2021 to May, 2022. Methods: Total 70 patients of both genders diagnosed diabetes 2 mellitus were presented in this study. Patients were aged between 20-80 years. Patients details demographics were recorded after taking written consent. Prevalence of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction with microalbuminuria was assessed by statistical analysis. Microalbuminuria was diagnosed among patients if urinary albumin excretion was >30-300mg/g and graded into mild, moderate and severe according to value of urinary albumin excretion was (20–50 mg/24 hr, 50–100 mg/24 hr, 100–300 mg/24 hr). Complete data was analyzed by SPSS 20.0 version. Results: Out of 70, 38 (54.3%) were males and 32 (45.7%) were females. Mean age of the patients were 49.71±17.8 years with mean BMI 28.41±9.42 kg/m2. Mean ACR of microalbuminuria was 166.7±47.8 mg/gm. Among 70 cases, mild microalbuminuria was found in 28 (40%) cases, moderate microalbuminuria was among 31 (44.3%) and 11 (15.7%) was severe microalbuminuria. Lethargy was the most common symptom found in 25 (35.7%) followed by anorexia 20 (28.6%). Frequency of Cardiac autonomic neuropathy was 58 (82.86%), Parasympathetic dysfunction found in 59 (84.3%) and sympathetic dysfunction was among 62 (88.6%). Conclusion: We concluded in this study that the cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction in type-2 diabetes patients highly associated with microalbuminuria with increased systolic diastolic pressure and heart rate. Keywords: Microalbuminuria, Type 2 Diabetes, Cardio autonomic dysfunction


Microcapsules consisting of acrylamide, methyl methacrylate and styrene were prepared via in-situ polymerization on the surface/inside pores of modified calcium carbonate particles as templates, followed by the dissolution of the carbonate cores in hydrochloric acid solution. The capsules were further modified via copolymerization with diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) using similar templates in an attempt to improve their properties. The microcapsules were characterized using confocal laser fluorescence microscopy (CLSM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The adsorption and release properties of these capsules were studied. Results showed that the adsorption of dye on capsules did not occur as both Langmuir and Freundlich models were unfitting despite the high linear regression values. The addition of DADMAC improved the absorbtion of methylene blue while slightly decreasing the cumulative amount released. On the contrary, although NIPAM did not make a significant difference to the adsorption of the cationic dye it did however accelerate the release at 37 ◦C, implying the thermal responsive behaviour induced by


Describing the organization of substrates and substrate analogues in the active site of cysteine dioxygenase identifies potential intermediates in this critical yet poorly understood reaction, the oxidation of cysteine to cysteine sulfinic acid. The fortuitous formation of persulfides under crystallization conditions has allowed their binding in the active site of cysteine dioxygenase to be studied. The crystal structures of cysteine persulfide and 3-mercaptopropionic acid persulfide bound to iron(II) in the active site show that binding of the persulfide occurs via the distal sulfide and, in the case of the cysteine persulfide, the amine also binds. Persulfide was detected by mass spectrometry in both the crystal and the drop, suggesting its origin is chemical rather than enzymatic. A mechanism involving the formation of the relevant disulfide from sulfide produced by hydrolysis of dithionite is proposed. In comparison, persulfenate {observed bound to cysteine dioxygenase [Simmons, C. R., et al. (2008) Biochemistry 47, 11390]} is shown through mass spectrometry to occur only in the crystal and not in the surrounding drop, suggesting that in the crystalline state the persulfenate does not lie on the reaction pathway. Stabilization of both the persulfenate and the persulfides does, however, suggest the position in which dioxygen binds during catalysis.


Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are pattern recognition molecules expressed by cells of the innate immune system that mediate inflammatory responses by recognizing microbial patterns, including lipopolysaccharide and bacterial flagellin. TLRs are thought to influence adaptive immunity indirectly by enhancing antigen presentation; however, pattern recognition molecules are also expressed on cells of the adaptive immune system. Therefore, to investigate the ability of TLR ligands to directly induce adaptive immune responses, we evaluated the expression and function of TLRs on human T cells. We found that human peripheral blood T cells and T cell clones express TLRs and exposure of T cells to TLR ligands enhanced their response to T cell receptor activation. Bacterial flagellin, a microbial pattern commonly used for motility by enteric pathogens and a TLR5 ligand, was a potent inducer of primary human T cells and T cell clones. To investigate the mechanism whereby T cells respond to TLR ligation, we used an immortalized human T cell line, Jurkat. We found that flagellin activates a signaling pathway in T cells involving p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, and that in combination with TCR activation, p38 MAP kinase is activated to a greater extent. The potentiating effect of bacterial flagellin for TCR-activation also resulted in the production of IL-2 from Jurkat cells, indicating that TLR ligands act as a costimulatory signal for T cells. Our data suggest that microbial pattern molecules may directly activate the adaptive immune response by acting as an adjuvant for antigen-specific T cells. The presence of bacterial flagellin on bacteria in the intestine may potentiate inflammation by directly activating T cells.


Earnings quality is earnings that correctly and accurately describes the company's operational profitability. Earnings quality in a company is very important to be analyzed. Companies that have high earnings quality will provide complete and transparent information and will not mislead users of financial statements. This study aims to determine and analyze the effect of leverage, liquidity, profitability, conservatism and firm size on earnings quality. at companies registered in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in 2017 to 2020. The population in this study are all manufacturing companies that have been listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the period 2017 to 2020, obtaining a population of 704 companies. This research method uses purposive sampling, the sample was obtained in accordance with predetermined criteria and obtained data as many as 326 companies. The type of data used in this research is secondary data. The analytical technique used in this research is multiple linear regression analysis. This study obtained the results that leverage as measured by (DAR), firm size as measured by (Size), and liquidity as measured by (QR) have no significant effect on earnings quality. Meanwhile, profitability as measured by (ROA) and conservatism as measured by (CON_ACC) have a significant effect in a positive direction on earnings quality.


ABSTRACT The ability of temperature to influence the mobility of diagenetically generated dissolved silica in sediment-pore water systems is discussed. The theory suggests that probable mean distances of diffusive transport for dissolved components are of the proper order of magnitude to allow silica and other dissolved components derived from illitization reactions to migrate out of shale beds and into sand formations. The effect of increasing temperature is to reduce the distance of solution transport, perhaps to the extent that the temperature at which illitization proceeds may control the spatial distribution of zones of silica cementation.


This paper recommends standardized names and equations for the two most common uses of Mechanical Specific Energy (MSE) concepts: "Total MSE" and "Downhole MSE". These names and their equations should be used uniformly in all applications, including electronic drilling recorder (EDR) pick lists, rig site surveillance, engineering surveillance, data analytics, research, and technical publications.
 Mechanical Specific Energy, used as a metric for drilling efficiency, is a mathematical calculation of the energy used per volume of rock drilled. The Downhole MSE equation calculates the efficiency of the bit alone, while the Total MSE equation includes both the bit and drill string. Those who use MSE in surveillance or analytics know the negative effects created by the lack of standardization over the years; it is certainly not a new problem.
 The lack of standardized nomenclature has resulted in the use of the same name for different equations, or different names are given two equations that are identical. This affects the ability of drill teams to engage vendors in redesign of performance limitations or to communicate new operational practices between teams or rigs. In addition, this standard corrects a mathematical error that is common in calculating the Total MSE.
 The concen with the inconsistencies has increased as MSE has become a key element in many automated optimization schemes. Inconsistencies or uncertainties in the basis of MSE values calculated in real time or shared in large data sets will affect the industry's ablity to develop useful analytics or to automate rig control platforms and data-driven decisions.
 This paper also includes a discussion of the MSE measurement errors and their effect on calculated values, which is of particular interest to controls engineers and those involved in data analytics. Examples are provided to illustrate how the two different MSE values are used in field operations. Also, a substantial reference list of current and potential future uses of MSE is included to encourage better MSE-based practices to potentially lead to the development of new uses in the future, including automation.
 This ad hoc MSE Standardization Committee is a volunteer group with representation from operators, rig contractors, service companies, and data acquisition vendors. The guidance given reflects there shared experienec in utilizing MSE in surveillance and analytics, and the recommended equations are technically correct.


The interleaver is widely used in communication and signal processing. Recently it becomes an integral part of the coding and decoding strategy as in turbo code and bit-interleaved coded modulation. The interleaver design is critical to the high performance of bit-interleaved coded modulation with iterative decoding (BICM-ID). We use the extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) chart to analyze the effect of the interleaver design on the performance of BICM-ED. The EXIT chart analysis indicates that the interleaver which gathers more extrinsic information and is closer to the decoder's extrinsic transfer characteristic with the assumption of the Gaussian distributed a priori input has a better performance. This provides a new method for the analysis of the interleaver design. The accuracy of the EXIT chart analysis is verified by the simulation.


We design algorithms to efficiently evaluate modular equations of Siegel and Hilbert type for abelian surfaces over number fields using complex approximations. Their output can be made provably correct if an explicit description of the associated graded ring of modular forms over Z is known; this includes the Siegel case, and the Hilbert case for the quadratic fields of discriminant 5 and 8. Our algorithms also apply to finite fields via lifting.


This study explores a Robust, Risk-aware, Resilient, and Sustainable Closed-Loop Supply Chain Network Design (3RSCLSCND) to tackle demand fluctuation like COVID-19 pandemic. A two-stage robust stochastic multiobjective programming model serves to express the proposed problems in formulae. The objective functions include minimising costs, CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and maximising employment by applying Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) to achieve reliability through risk reduction. The Entropic Value at Risk (EVaR) and Minimax method are used to compare with the proposed model. We utilise the Lp-Metric method to solve the multiobjective problem. Since this model is complex, the Lagrange relaxation and Fix-and-Optimise algorithm are applied to find lower and upper bounds in large-scale, respectively. The results confirm the superior power of the model offered in estimating costs, energy consumption, environmental pollution, and employment level. This model and algorithms are applicable for other CLSC problems.


Let R be a ring and V be a matrix valuation on R. It is shown that, there exists a correspondence between matrix valuations on R and some special subsets ∑(MVPR) of the set of all square matrices over R, analogous to the correspondence between invariant valuation rings and abelian valuation functions on a division ring. Furthermore, based on Malcolmson's localization, an alternative proof for the following result is presented. "There exists a natural bijection between the matrix valuations on R and valuated epic R-fields."


Activation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) by chemotactic peptides initiates a series of functional responses that serve to eliminate pathogens. The intermediate steps that link engagement of the chemoattractant receptor to the microbicidal responses involve protein kinases that have yet to be identified. In this study we detected in human PMN the presence of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), which became rapidly tyrosine phosphorylated and activated in response to the chemotactic peptide N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). Pretreatment of PMN with wortmannin, a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor, or bis-indolylmaleimide, a protein kinase C antagonist, resulted in partial inhibition of p38 phosphorylation upon fMLP stimulation. Similarly, phosphorylation of p38 was only partially inhibited when the fMLP-induced cytosolic calcium transient was prevented. Stimulation of PMN by the chemoattractant also resulted in the rapid phosphorylation and activation of MAPK-activated protein kinase-2 (MAPKAPK-2), which was completely inhibited by the specific p38 inhibitor, SB203580. The physical interaction of p38 with MAPKAPK-2 was studied by coimmunoprecipitation. These two kinases were found to be associated in unstimulated PMN but dissociated upon activation of the cells by fMLP. Together these findings demonstrate the activation of p38 by chemotactic peptides in human PMN by a process involving phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein kinase C, and calcium. p38, in turn, is an upstream activator of MAPKAPK-2.


British Protestants had long held to the notion of a legitimate Protestant interest in the Christian 'Holy Land', a concept that helped bolster Britain's political claim to Palestine in the aftermath of the First World War. Evangelical Protestant visions of the return of the Jews to their biblical homeland encouraged imperial support for Zionism and helped define the unique conditions of British mandate rule. But once the British actually assumed power over Palestine, British Protestants began to find themselves seriously at odds over their moral and political obligations in the new possession their interests had helped to shape. This article explores three broad Protestant attitudes towards the question of Britain's policy towards Palestine during the mandate period, demonstrating the ways in which Lambeth Palace, Protestant metropolitan mission institutions, and Protestant church workers in Palestine itself developed radically different conceptions of their religious and political responsibilities in what they regarded as their 'Holy Land'.


According to Dalton, the particles of one gas possess no repulsive or attractive power with regard to the particles of another gas; and accordingly, if m measures of a gas A be mixed with n measures of another gas B, each will occupy m + n measures of space. The density of A in such a mixture will be m / m + n' and of B, n / m + n' , the pressure upon any one particle of such a gaseous mixture arising solely from particles of its own kind. "It is scarcely necessary," Dalton remarks, "to insist upon the application of this hypothesis to the solution of all our difficulties respecting the constitution of mixed gases where no chemical union ensues. The moment we admit it every difficulty vanishes. The atmosphere, or, to speak more properly, the compound of atmospheres, may exist together in the most intimate mixture without any regard to their specific gravities, and without any pressure upon one another. Oxygen gas, azotic gas, hydrogenous gas, carbonic acid gas, aqueous vapour, and probably several other elastic fluids, may exist in company under any pressure, and at any temperature, without any regard to their specific gravities, and without any pressure upon one another, while each of them, however paradoxical it may appear, occupies the whole space allotted to them all." In conformity with this law, Gay Lussac found that the vapours of alcohol and water mix like two gases which have no action upon one another. The density of the mixed vapours agreed closely with the density calculated according to Dalton's law. In 1836 Magnus published an important memoir on the same subject. He found that, if two liquids which do not mix with one another are introduced into a barometer tube, the tension of the mixed vapours at any temperature is equal to the sum of the tensions of the vapours of the two liquids. But when the liquids have the property of mixing with one another the behaviour of their vapours he found to be altogether different. The tension of the mixed vapours was no longer equal to the sum of the tensions of each vapour separately. This statement appears at first view to contradict the experiments of Gay Lussac, but, as Magnus himself has pointed out, the conditions under which the observations of the two eminent physicists were made were essentially different. In the experiments of Gay Lussac the mixed liquids were wholly converted into vapour, and therefore the mixed vapours formed were not in contact with any liquid, while in those of Magnus an excess of the mixed liquids was always present, and in contact with the vapour,


This paper presents the first results of a project aimed at evaluation of a number of short tests that can be alternatively used for Inspection and Maintenance of in-use cars emissions performance. For this purpose, a large number of in-use cars from four European countries was tested according to a test protocol that included a wide selection of short tests (idle and fast idle tests, a steady-state loaded test and short transient loaded tests), in addition to the legislated New European Driving Cycle and a number of real-world cycles. The test results were statistically analysed in a number of different combinations, with the objective to define a set of reasonable cutpoints, taking into account various criteria such as errors of commission, errors of omission, excess emitter identification rate and excess emission identification rate.


Abstract. Evapotranspiration (ET) is a fundamental variable to assess water balance and urban heat island effect. ET is deeply dependent on the land cover as it derives mainly from the processes of soil evaporation and plant transpiration. The majority of well-known process-based models based on the Penman-Monteith equation focus on the atmospheric interfaces (e.g. radiation, temperature and humidity), lacking explicit input parameters to describe the land surface. The model Soil-Canopy-Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy fluxes (SCOPE) accounts for a broad range of surface-atmosphere interactions to predict ET. However, like most modelling approaches, SCOPE assumes a homogeneous vegetated landscape to estimate ET. Urban environments are highly fragmented, exhibiting a blend of pervious and impervious anthropogenic surfaces. Whereas, high-resolution remote sensing (RS) and detailed GIS information to characterise land surfaces is usually available for major cities. Data describing land surface properties were used in this study to develop a method to correct bias in ET predictions caused by the assumption of homogeneous vegetation by process-based models. Two urban sites equipped with eddy flux towers presenting different levels of vegetation fraction and imperviousness located in Berlin, Germany, were used as study cases. The correction factor for urban environments has increased model accuracy significantly, reducing the relative bias in ET predictions from 0.74 to −0.001 and 2.20 to −0.13 for the two sites, respectively, considering the SCOPE model using RS data. Model errors (i.e. RMSE) were also considerably reduced in both sites, from 0.061 to 0.026 and 0.100 to 0.021, while the coefficient of determination (R2) remained similar after the correction, 0.82 and 0.47, respectively. This study presents a novel method to predict hourly urban ET using freely available RS and meteorological data, independently from the flux tower measurements. The presented method can support actions to mitigate climate change in urban areas, where most the world population lives.


In Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., the Supreme Court held that FDA approval of a medical device preempted state common law tort duties. But the Court did not clearly resolve the substantial question, of administrative and constitutional law, of whether courts owed deference to agency interpretations of the preemptive scope of the statutes they administer.This article argues that Riegel can be read as not simply deferring this deference question but as part of a trend in recent decisions favoring a rule directing courts to avoid deciding it. The Article canvasses the various rationales for constitutional avoidance rules and argues that the rule the Court appears to have implicitly adopted is justified because it allows courts to resolving a difficult constitutional question - the question of how constitutional norms allocate, among Congress, the Executive, and federal courts, the responsibility for police the borders between federal and state power and between legislative and executive authority. The Article then explains how the proposed deference-avoidance rule would work in practice, with respect to both Chevron deference and Skidmore deference.


The Gallinas Mountains district located in Lincoln and Torrance Counties, New Mexico, is host to hydrothermal REE-bearing fluorite veins and breccias. Rare earth elements (REE) are found in bastnäsite-(Ce) ([Ce,La]CO 3 F), which is also the primary ore mineral mined in several important carbonatite deposits (e.g. Mountain Pass in California; Bayan Obo in China). Minor production of REE, fluorite, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, and Fe has been recorded in the Gallinas Mountains district between the early 1900s and the 1950s. The REE-bearing fluorite veins and breccias are hosted in Permian sedimentary rocks as well as genetically related trachyte/syenite sills and dikes emplaced between 28-30 Ma. Previous studies have described the REE occurrences in the Gallinas Mountains, but the controls of hydrothermal processes on the transport and deposition of REE in the district remain unclear. In this study, we combine microtextural observations with mineral and whole rock chemistry of hydrothermal REE-bearing fluorite veins and breccias to determine the vein types, alteration styles, and establish a detailed mineral paragenesis. The goal of this study is to determine lithogeochemical vectors towards REE enriched zones in the district by linking thin section and deposit scale observations with mineral and whole rock geochemistry. This district is an exceptional natural laboratory for studying the role of hydrothermal processes for transport/deposition of REE in an alkaline F-rich magmatic-hydrothermal system because very few deposits worldwide have such well-preserved and exposed geology. Hand samples of hydrothermal veins and breccias containing ± barite ± bastnäsite-(Ce) were collected from outcrops, prospect pits, and mine dumps. Optical microscopy was used to identify minerals and determine the textural features and crosscutting relationships of the different fluorite veins. Multiple vein generations have been observed: i) early K-feldspar veins; ii) barite-fluorite ± hematite ± quartz veins; iii) bastnäsite-fluorite veins; iv) late quartz and calcite veins. Bastnäsite-(Ce) is commonly found in veins overprinting earlier barite-fluorite veins and contain barite that display dissolution textures (skeletonized crystals). Cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy reveals at least three distinct fluorite generations with complex overprinting, including a generation intergrown with bastnäsite-(Ce). These textural observations suggest a key control of REE mineralization in the Gallinas Mountains district is by coupled dissolution of barite-fluorite veins and precipitation of later bastnäsite-fluorite veins. LA-ICP-MS analysis was performed on multiple fluorite generations to link fluorite chemistry with textural relationships. At least three distinct chondrite-normalized REE patterns are revealed, including: i) enriched LREE; ii) flat LREE with depleted HREE; iii) depleted LREE with enriched HREE. One fluorite generation seen replacing euhedra contains over 1% total REE. Geochemical whole rock data within the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources database were analyzed using the IMDEX ioGAS TM program to define geochemical signatures of rock types, alteration styles, and vein types. Preliminary data analysis indicates a positive correlation between Ba, F, and total rare earth oxides (TREO). These trends corroborate with the observed vein microtextures, suggesting that the interaction of a hydrothermal fluid with the barite-fluorite veins represents a key process for defining geochemical vectors in the district.


Background: Periorbital laceration can result in complex, permanent scars, and even lead to serious complications such as cicatricial ectropion. Early intervention with laser devices has been suggested as a novel modality to reduce scar formation. However, no consensus exists regarding the optimal treatment parameters for scar management. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of ultrapulse fractional CO2 laser (UFCL) with different fluences and densities in preventing periorbital surgical scars. Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of UFCL with different fluences and densities in the prevention of periorbital laceration scars. Methods: A prospective, randomized, blinded study was conducted on 90 patients with periorbital laceration scars of 2 weeks old. Four treatment sessions of UFCL were administered to each half of the scar at 4-week intervals, with halves treated with high fluences with low density versus low fluences with low-density treatment. Vancouver Scar Scale was used to assess the 2 portions of each individual scar at baseline, final treatment, and 6 months. The patient's 4-point satisfaction scale was used to evaluate the patient's satisfaction at baseline and 6 months. Safety was evaluated by registration of adverse events. Results: Eighty-two of 90 patients completed the clinical trial and follow-up. There was no significant difference in Vancouver Scar Scale and satisfaction score between different laser settings between the two groups (P > 0.05). Adverse events were minor and no long-term side effects were noted. Conclusions: Early application of UFCL is a safe, strategy to significantly improve the final traumatic periorbital scar appearance. Objective evaluation of scars did not identify differences in scar appearance between high fluences with low density versus low fluences with low density of UFCL treatment. Level of Evidence: Level III.


This paper deals with bathymetry-oriented optimization in the case of long waves with small amplitude. Under these two assumptions, the free-surface incompressible Navier-Stokes system can be written as a wave equation where the bathymetry appears as a parameter in the spatial operator. Looking then for time-harmonic fields and writing the bottom topography as a perturbation of a flat bottom, we end up with a heterogeneous Helmholtz equation with impedance boundary condition. In this way, we study some PDE-constrained optimization problem for a Helmholtz equation in heterogeneous media whose coefficients are only bounded with bounded variation. We provide necessary condition for a general cost function to have at least one optimal solution. We also prove the convergence of a finite element approximation of the solution to the considered Helmholtz equation as well as the convergence of discrete optimum toward the continuous ones. We end this paper with some numerical experiments to illustrate the theoretical results and show that some of their assumptions could actually be removed.


RATIONALE
Evidence has shown that inhaled lung carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, silica, or asbestos, induce a T-helper cell type 17 inflammatory environment. Interleukin-17A (commonly and hereafter called IL-17) is the signature cytokine of T-helper cell type 17 inflammation. We have shown previously that IL-17 overexpression promotes growth of lung adenocarcinoma in transgenic mouse models. Our additional findings suggest that IL-17 suppresses the function of the p53 tumor suppressor protein in a mutant K-Ras-expressing lung tumor cell line.

OBJECTIVES
To compare our studies in mice to clinical samples.

METHODS
We have used informatics and RNA sequencing-based approaches to analyze primary human lung adenocarcinoma samples.

RESULTS
Comprehensive transcriptome analyses have shown that IL-17 expression positively correlates with expression of serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (SRSF1), a key cellular splicing factor. This observation correlates with our previous finding that IL-17 regulates the activity of serine/argininerich splicing factor 1. In accord, there are significant differences in the global splicing activity between the IL-17+ and IL-17- lung adenocarcinomas, indicating that IL-17 may affect the selectivity of RNA splicing events by targeting serine/argininerich splicing factor 1. Further, Ingenuity pathway analyses (Qiagen) have identified activation of key pathways in IL-17+ relative to IL17- lung adenocarcinomas. In these analyses, IL-18 signaling appears central to IL-17+ lung adenocarcinomas, which display prominent signatures related to inflammation and evasion of antitumor immunity.

CONCLUSIONS
Our RNA sequencing-based transcriptome analyses of lung adenocarcinomas have identified a cohort of patients that may be good candidates for immune therapy.


The 1908 Tunguska Event is one of the best studied cases of a cosmic body impacting the Earth with global effects. However, still today, significant doubts are casted on the different proposed event reconstructions. In the present work, we would like to revisit the atmospheric fragmentation of the Tunguska Cosmic Body (TCB) by taking into account the possibility that a metre-sized fragment caused the formation of the Lake Cheko, located at about 9km NW the epicentre. Our work favours the hypothesis that the TCB was a rubble-pile asteroid composed by boulders with very different materials with different mechanical strengths, density, and porosity. The TCB was divided at least into two pieces by a close encounter with the Earth, short before the impact with our Planet: the main body (60m) produced the well-known airburst that devastated more than 2000km^2 of Siberian taig\`a, while the secondary one (6-10m) fell without fragmentation in the Kimchu river region and excavated a 50m depression, which presently hosts the Lake Cheko. This hypothesis requires that the secondary body was an extremely compact stone with high mechanical strength (300MPa). It is a high, but not unrealistic, value, as shown by a similar case that occurred in 2007 near the village of Carancas (Peru). An extreme compactness is not necessary, if one considers that the crater excavation could be enhanced by the explosion of permafrost-trapped methane released and ignited during the impact process. In this case, a smaller fragment (2m) with an average mechanical strength could reach the ground without fragmentation and is sufficient to excavate the Lake Cheko. We exclude the hypothesis of a single cosmic body ejecting a metre-sized fragment during or shortly before the airburst, because the resulting lateral velocity of such a large boulder was not enough to deviate to reach the alleged impact site.


This review article examines Zora Neale Hurston's views on the joyful existence of Afro-Southerners. She did not believe the South was backward or inferior to middle-class northerners. The article explores philosopher Lindsey Stewart's book The Politics of Black Joy: Zora Neale Hurston and Neo-Abolitionism and Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s and Genevieve West's Zora Neale Hurston, You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays to think through issues of Black blame and self-loathing.


The market survey covers the emissions and air pollution control equipment market in Mexico. The analysis contains statistical and narrative information on projected market demand, end-users; receptivity of Mexican consumers to US products; the competitive situation, and market access (tariffs, non-tariff barriers, standards, taxes, distribution channels). It also contains key contact information and information on upcoming trade events related to the industry.


Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a useful integral part of mission and
safety-critical systems, whose failure may result in injury, loss of life, serious environmental damage
and/or may result in the failure of some goal-directed activities. Its major challenges are reliability,
and security related issues during data delivery. To mitigate these, the development of secure
routing protocols, which are capable of optimum utilization of WSNs' nodes resources for
effective data delivery, has been one of the major research interests. However, most of the existing
single path routing protocols for WSNs are not able to meet with up with the performance requirements
of the mission and safety-critical systems. Meanwhile, a few that are multipath require
high computational power, energy and their multiple paths are not ranked, this makes them unsuitable
as routing protocol for WSNs in mission and safety-critical systems.

In this work, we propose a secure multipath routing protocol based on sectorisation and
best neighbouring nodes selection models to meet up with the performance requirements of WSNs
in the mission and safety-critical systems. The protocol is capable of providing optimal multiple
ranked route paths for reliable data delivery.

A route management technique, using direct approach, is developed for selecting different
optimal data paths for reliable data routing. Also, simple but efficient lightweight privacy preserving
authentication scheme is proposed for the protocol to ensure security and privacy during
data routing. Computational and security analysis were performed to ascertain its efficiency in
terms of computational cost, energy consumption and security.

The results showed that SMRP achieved better performance compared to the two stateof-
the-art solutions in terms of end-to-end delay, energy consumption and data routing reliability.

The proposed protocol is suitable for wireless sensor network due to its low delay,
low energy consumption and routing reliability metrics.


BACKGROUND
Bilateral adrenal hematoma is an uncommon cause of acute adrenal insufficiency. An association with thrombopenia induced by low-molecular-weight heparin even more so. Diagnosis is difficult as the clinical manifestations mimic septic shock.

CASE REPORT
A 63-year-old woman developed acute adrenal insufficiency due to bilateral adrenal hematoma following severe thrombopenia induced by low-molecular-weight heparin prescribed after an orthopedic operation. Outcome was favorable.

CONCLUSION
Acute adrenal insufficiency must be entertained as a possible diagnosis in patients with heparin-induced thrombopenia.


Abstract:Bencao gangmu shiyi (Supplement to Systematic Materia Medica) has been recognized as the most outstanding sequel to the sixteenth-century encyclopedia Bencao gangmu, adding over nine hundred drugs to Li Shizhen's magnum opus. In this article, I investigate the key conditions that rendered it possible for its author, Zhao Xuemin (fl. 1753–1803), to access the textual, empirical, and material resources necessary to accomplish such a feat. I argue that despite Zhao's efforts to frame his work in a classical light, his humble status as a sojourning private secretary in fact enabled him to derive new knowledge from both elite and lowbrow circles. Zhao and his interlocutors represent an expanding, if oft-neglected community of knowledge, who embraced literary documentation of contemporary experience as a way of transcending the accomplishments of previous authorities. Their existence signifies the beginning of a transition from a literati-dominated culture toward mass society.摘要::本文探讨清代赵学敏著《本草纲目拾遗》成书的历史条件。作为流寓幕客的赵学敏在交游中接触到多样的文献与实物资料,不断修订自己的手稿。这部本草书凭记载当下经验而超越前人经典,亦预示着由士人主导的中国传统文化在十八世纪向近代大众社会的转型。


"The Commitment of Research. A Theological Perspective on Science, Interest and Usefulness" There is an ongoing debate on the usefulness and social relevance of academic research. This debate is dominated by economic arguments. The academy harbors several self-interpretations of its own relation to society. This article delineates two important models of self-interpretation, which I call 'the indirect model' and 'the distanced model'. These models are roughly related to an idea of enlightenment and truth (the indirect model) and to ideas about an economic raison d'etre of science (the distanced model). I argue that these two models stand in conflict, but in this conflict there is also a cunning division of labor between them, leading to an unsatisfactory situation. In opposition to this, I suggest a third model, 'the direct model', molded on insights from the situation of theology and religious studies. In order to suggest a different way of being academically responsible in society, I draw on Friedrich Schleiermacher's understanding of theology as a so called positive, or practical, academic discipline.


We report the synthesizing and characterization of the hole-doped Ni-based superconductor La(1-x)Sr(x)NiAsO. By substituting La with Sr, the superconducting transition temperature T(c) is increased from 2.4 K of the parent phase LaNiAsO to 3.7 K at the doping levels x=0.1-0.2. The curve Tc versus hole concentration shows a symmetric behavior as the electron-doped samples LaNiAs(O(1-x)F(x)). The normal-state resistivity in Ni-based samples shows a good metallic behavior and reveals the absence of a spin-density wave induced anomaly, which appears in the Fe-based system at about 150 K. Hall-effect measurements indicate that the electron conduction in the parent phase LaNiAsO is dominated by electronlike charge carriers, while with more Sr doping, a holelike band will emerge and finally prevail over the conduction. Such a phenomenon reflects that the Fermi surface of LaNiAsO comprises of electron and hole pockets; thus the sign of charge carriers could be changed once the contribution of hole pockets overwhelms that of electron pockets. Magnetoresistance measurements and the violation of the Kohler rule provide further proof that multiband effect dominates the normal-state transport of La(1-x)Sr(x)NiAsO.


Chromosome 2 open reading frame 40 (C2ORF40) plays a significant role in numerous processes, including cell differentiation, senescence, apoptosis, inflammation and neuroendocrine hormone regulation. Moreover, C2ORF40 is a candidate tumor suppressor gene in a variety of tumors, and is closely associated with prognosis. Bioinformatics analysis has indicated that pro-C2ORF40 is a secreted protein with a signal peptide. Secreted C2ORF40 protein (sC2ORF40) exists in cancer cell medium. However, thus far, the exact biological function of sC2ORF40 in carcinogenesis has not been thoroughly researched. In the present study, the signal peptide sequence of the C2ORF40 complementary DNA was initially cut off to produce secreted recombinant human C2ORF40 protein (rhC2ORF40). The soluble rhC2ORF40 was expressed, purified and examined for tumor-suppressing function for the first time. The results revealed that the soluble purified rhC2ORF40 protein was concentrated with a purity of >95%. Furthermore, the rhC2ORF40 inhibited esophageal cancer cell proliferation in vitro (P<0.05) and caused cell cycle G1 phase block, as determined by flow cytometric analysis (P<0.05). Overall, the soluble rhC2ORF40 protein with high purity and biological activity was obtained, which suppressed esophageal cancer cells proliferation by inducing cell cycle G1 phase block in vitro. Therefore, the soluble rhC2ORF40 protein could be potential biological therapy drug for esophageal carcinoma.


Systemic amyloid light chain amyloidosis (AL amyloidosis) is usually seen in association with a plasma cell disorder. Amyloid deposition associated with extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) is a rare phenomenon that is not typically associated with systemic AL amyloidosis. We describe the unusual case of a patient with an adnexal mass secondary to MALT lymphoma with associated amyloid deposition.


The Synthetic Aperture Real-time Ultrasound System (SARUS) for acquiring and processing synthetic aperture (SA) data for research purposes is described. The specifications and design of the system are detailed, along with its performance for SA, nonlinear, and 3-D flow estimation imaging. SARUS acquires individual channel data simultaneously for up to 1024 transducer elements for a couple of heart beats, and is capable of transmitting any kind of excitation. The 64 boards in the system house 16 transmit and 16 receive channels each, where sampled channel data can be stored in 2 GB of RAM and processed using five field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The fully parametric focusing unit calculates delays and apodization values in real time in 3-D space and can produce 350 million complex samples per channel per second for full non-recursive synthetic aperture B-mode imaging at roughly 30 high-resolution images/s. Both RF element data and beamformed data can be stored in the system for later storage and processing. The stored data can be transferred in parallel using the system's sixty-four 1-Gbit Ethernet interfaces at a theoretical rate of 3.2 GB/s to a 144-core Linux cluster.


The author explores how the gender gap in aspirations for scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) work changes with societal affluence. Over-time data on cohorts of eighth graders in 32 countries reveal that aspirations for mathematically related work become more gender differentiated as societal affluence grows. This relationship holds controlling for students' social class backgrounds, mathematical achievement, and affinity for school, and it is not explained by cross-national differences in the economic integration of women, gender stereotyping of science, or Internet access. Observed patterns of gender segregation reflect more than just women's greater freedom to indulge tastes for non-STEM work in affluent societies; tastes are themselves more gendered in these contexts.