Measurements of axial and inverse Wiedemann effect hysteresis loops have been performed on a stress-annealed Co-rich amorphous wire. The influence of both tensile and torsional stress at room temperature on the reduced remanence and coercive field of the treated wires is analyzed. The magnetic behavior of the stressed or twisted wire can be explained by taking into account the fact that this treatment gives rise to structural relaxation and induction of magnetic anisotropy, and depending on the annealing parameters, one of these effects may predominate. >


This research is devoted to the investigation of the toxic CO gas adsorption mechanism on the tin dioxide (SnO2) semiconductor. We used density functional theory (DFT) to describe adsorption processes, and we found out that the Mars-van Krevelen (MvK) adsorption mechanism is not responsible for adsorption on (101) and (001) surface orientations of SnO2, unlike (110) and (100), where CO2 molecule forms and desorbs from the surfaces. After adsorption on (101) and (001) surface orientations, CO molecule bound to the surfaces and transfer electrons to it. The charge transfer was calculated using Bader charge analysis, which showed the amount of charge transferred to the (101) and (001) surfaces is larger than to the (110) and (100) surfaces. In the case of (001) surface orientation, we considered half and full surface coverage. It was shown that during full surface coverage only one molecule can be adsorbed and transfer 2e charge. Electronic density of states (eDoS) calculation was done to explain the increase of surface conductance.


Reliable estimates of animal density and abundance are essential for effective wildlife conservation and management. Camera trapping has proven efficient for sampling multiple species, but statistical estimators of density from camera trapping data for species that cannot be individually identified are still in development. We extend point‐transect methods for estimating animal density to accommodate data from camera traps, allowing researchers to exploit existing distance sampling theory and software for designing studies and analysing data. We tested it by simulation, and used it to estimate densities of Maxwell's duikers (Philantomba maxwellii) in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. Densities estimated from simulated data were unbiased when we assumed animals were not available for detection during long periods of rest. Estimated duiker densities were higher than recent estimates from line transect surveys, which are believed to underestimate densities of forest ungulates. We expect these methods to provide an effective means to estimate animal density from camera trapping data and to be applicable in a variety of settings.


In this study, the properties of strength and drying shrinkage of alkali-activated slag cement (AASC) with magnesium oxide (MgO) contents between 0 and 16 wt% were investigated. The ground granulated furnace blast slag (GGBFS) was activated by potassium hydroxide (KOH) and dosage of activator was 2M and 4M. The MgO was replaced with 2% to 16% of GGBFS by weight. The water-binder ratio (w/b) was 0.5. In the result, the higher MgO content leads to a slightly higher degree of reaction and thus to a higher compressive strength at all ages. The compressive strength and ultra sonic velocity (UPV) increased with increases MgO contents. The drying shrinkage of AASC was decreased as the contents of MgO increases. The results from SEM confirmed that there were densified reaction product of higher MgO content specimens.


The research is focused on real-time digitalization of board games. The information about the game progress in real time is frequently demanded by media in broadcasted tournaments. Recent solutions usually consist of an electronically modified playing board and modified playing objects. This system tends to be expensive and fits to top level tournaments more than casual regional tournaments with limited resources. The goal was to create a system, which is easy to assemble and use while keeping the transmission and processing in real-time. The chosen solution utilizes a digital camera to obtain input data as a video stream. The data are then processed by Image processing methods. The proposed algorithm includes Radon transformation for board and playing field localization, then methods of Color segmentation for detecting the objects on the playing board. The system was modified and tested in a Chess game. Keywords: Image processing, Radon transformation, Color segmentation


The aims of this study were to analyze the within-group weekly metabolic power average (wMPA), weekly acceleration zones (wAcZ), and weekly deceleration zones (wDcZ), in starter and non-starter professional soccer players, based on different periods of the full season (pre-, early-, mid-, and end-season). Twenty-one professional soccer players (age, 28.3 ± 3.8 years; height, 181.2 ± 7.1 cm; body mass, 74.5 ± 7.7 kg; BMI, 22.6 ± 1.0 kg·m2) were monitored during the full season in the highest level of the Iranian Premier League. WMPA, wAcZ, and wDcZ at three different zones (wAcZ1, wAcZ2, wAcZ3, wDcZ1, wDcZ2, wDcZ3) were collected using Global Positioning System. ANOVA was applied to analyze within-group changes across the different periods of the full season. In general, starters presented higher values in the beginning of the season (pre- and early-season) and lower values at mid- and end-season. Specifically, starters showed significant differences in early- vs. mid-season for wMPA, wAcZ1, and wDcZ1 (p < 0.05), plus early- vs. end-season for wMPA and wAcZ1 (p < 0.01). In addition, non-starters showed higher values in the pre-season that decreased until the end-season for wMPA, wAcZ1, and wDcZ1. Regarding wAcZ2, wDcZ2, wAcZ3, and wDcZ3, non-starters presented higher values in early-season that decreased until the end-season. Specifically, non-starters showed significant differences in pre- vs. mid-season for wMPA, wAcZ1, and wDcZ1; pre- vs. end-season for wMPA, wDcZ1, wDccZ2, and wDcZ3; early- vs. mid-season for wMPA, wAcZ1, wDcZ1, wAcZ2, and wDccZ2; early- vs. end-season for wMPA, wAcZ1, wDcZ1, wAcZ2 wDccZ2, wAcZ3, and wDcZ3; and mid- vs. end-season for wMPA, wAcZ1, and wAcZ3 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, starters were revealed to have higher values in pre- and early-season, and lower values in mid- to end-season, while non-starters were revealed to have lower load values in pre- and end-season and higher load values in early- and mid-season. This study provides extra insights over the season for starters and non-starters, respectively. Data can be used by coaches to better training periodization across soccer season.


Green microalgae containing various bioactive compounds and macronutrients such as lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, have attracted much attention from the global community. Microalgae has the potential to be applied in food industries due to its high protein content, rapid growth rate, and ability to survive in harsh conditions. This study presents a simple yet efficient technique of sonication-assisted triphasic partitioning process, also known as ultrasonic-assisted three phase partitioning (UATPP), for the extraction of proteins from Chlorella vulgaris FSP-E. Comparison studies between three phase partitioning (TPP) and UATPP was conducted to investigate the feasibility of the enhanced technique on proteins extraction. Types of salt, ratio of slurry to t-butanol, salt saturation, sonication frequency, power, irradiation time, and duty cycle as well as biomass loading were studied. UATPP was found to be an improved technique compared to TPP. An optimum separation efficiency and yield of 74.59 ± 0.45 and 56.57 ± 3.70% was obtained, respectively, with the optimized conditions: salt saturation (50%), slurry to t-butanol ratio (1:2), sonication power (100%), irradiation time (10 min), frequency (35 kHz), duty cycle (80%) and biomass loading (0.75 wt%). A scaled-up study was performed to validate the reliability of UATPP for protein extraction. The outcome of the study revealed that UATPP is an attractive approach for downstream processing of microalgae.


Over the past decade, the media landscape has seen a radical shift. As more of the public stay informed of current events via online sources, competition has grown as outlets vie for attention. This competition has prompted some online outlets to publish sensationalist and alarmist content to grab readers' attention. Such practices may threaten democracy by distorting the truth and misleading readers about the nature of events. This paper proposes a novel system for detecting, processing, and warning users about misleading content online to combat the threats posed by misinformation. By training a machine learning model on an existing dataset of 32,000 clickbait news article headlines, the model predicts how sensationalist a headline is and then interfaces with a web browser extension which constructs a unique content warning notification based on existing design principles and incorporates the models' prediction. This research makes a novel contribution to machine learning and human-centred security with promising findings for future research. By warning users when they may be viewing misinformation, it is possible to prevent spontaneous reactions, helping users to take a deep breath and approach online media with a clear mind.


Based on case studies from a consolidated work in dance research, this article presents examples, description, context, propositions and discussion on dance interviews and dance writings, suggesting methodologies for questioning artists and specific procedures for writing about dance, such as the use of master-questions or stick-questions and alternate-writings or writings in between, in order to expand the debate on contemporary performing arts and their methods, in a contribution to the specificity of this field.


The objective of this book and its accompanying CD is to provide a practical manual for teaching students the crystal structures of clay minerals and to train them to identify clay minerals using X-ray diffraction methods. Written in French with the foreword translated into English, the book is aimed primarily at filling a gap for this type of text in Francophone countries. The CD is in both French and English and will be useful to a broader audience. The publication costs were underwritten by Elf Exploration Production (Elf EP) and Agence Nationale pour la gestion des Dechets Radioactifs (ANDRA), which has allowed for high-quality color printing throughout the book.

The book has four chapters. Chapter 1, 'Crystal structures of phyllosilicates', consists primarily of a systematic development of the concepts necessary to understand the crystal structures of the phyllosilicates, beginning with concepts of ionic radii and packing of spheres and ending with an introduction to mica polytypes, interstratification, charge development, and aggregate formation. This chapter is well illustrated with many attractive structural diagrams, all in color. It is unfortunate, however, that the structural diagrams are rendered without shading, which would make it much easier for students to visualize the three-dimensional nature of the representations.

Chapter 2, 'Chemical composition and properties of clays', begins with calculation of structural formulae from chemical data, then introduces triangular diagrams showing the compositional relationships between the different clay minerals, and ends …


Abstract. The large, shallow earthquakes at Northridge, California (1994), Chi-Chi, Taiwan (1999) and Wenchuan, China (2008) each triggered thousands of landslides. We have determined the position of these landslides along hillslopes, normalizing for statistical bias. The landslide patterns have a co-seismic signature, with clustering at ridge crests and slope toes. A cross check against rainfall-induced landslide inventories confirms that crest-clustering is specific to seismic-triggering. In our three study areas, seismic ground motion parameters, and lithologic and topographic features have limited bearing on the observed patterns of landslide clustering. However, we show that at the scale of the epicentral area, crest- and toe-clustering occur in areas with specific geological features. Toe-clustering of seismically-induced landslides tends to occur along major faults. Crest-clustering is concentrated at sites where the lithology along hillslopes is approximately uniform, or made of alternating soft and hard strata, and without strong overprint of geological structures. Although earthquake-induced landslides locate higher on hillslopes in a statistically significant way, geological features strongly modulate the landslide position along the hillslopes. As a result the observation of landslide clustering on topographic ridges cannot be used directly as an indicator of seismic parameters such as ground shaking.


Using an exemplar case study of an intervention completed in the sport of motocross, the authors attempt to demonstrate the advantages inherent in using integrated multidisciplinary approaches in the application of sport sciences to performance enhancement. The need for comprehensive, detailed, and well-planned interventions, which of necessity take time to both set up and implement, is also highlighted. In addition, the authors furnish examples of practical techniques that can be used to facilitate cognitive behavioral strategies in this type of sport. Implications for the preparation and training of applied sport psychology consultants are briefly discussed.


A speed profile, which is defined as the speed spatial distribution along a roadway facility, is a very important factor for assessing the geometric design, operations, and safety of a roadway facility. Because of the complicated lane change and deceleration maneuvers within freeway exit sections, the speed profile along a freeway exit ramp is a typical nonlinear function of ramp configuration, geometric design, traffic volume, and other factors. This study developed speed profile models for freeway exit ramps using Support Vector Regression (SVR), a novel statistical learning algorithm based on the structural risk minimization theory. Two SVR models, e-SVR and ν-SVR, were developed and tested in this study. Compared to traditional regression models, the SVR models can improve the prediction accuracy in terms of Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and Mean Square Error (MSE) for predicting the speed profile along a freeway exit ramp.


We demonstrate up-conversion single-photon detection for the 1550-nm telecommunications band using a PPLN waveguide, long-wavelength pump, and narrowband filtering using a volume Bragg grating. We achieve total-system detection efficiency of around 30% with noise at the dark-count level of a Silicon APD. Based on the new detector, a single-pixel up-conversion infrared spectrometer with a noise equivalent power of -142 dBm Hz(-1/2) was demonstrated, which was as good as a liquid nitrogen cooled CCD camera.


This paper presents the results of studies in two phase gasliquid flow around tube bundle in the model of shell tube heat exchanger. Experimental investigations of heat transfer coefficient on the tubes surface were performed with the aid of electrochemical technique. Chilton-Colburn analogy between heat and mass transfer was used. Twelve nickel cathodes were mounted on the outside surface of one of the tubes. Measurement of limiting currents in the cathodic reduction of ferricyanide ions on nickel electrodes in aqueous solution of equimolar quantities of K3Fe(CN)6 and K4Fe(CN)6 in the presence of NaOH basic solution were applied to determine the mass transfer coefficient. Controlled diffusion from ions at the electrode was observed and limiting current plateau was measured. Measurements were performed with data acquisition equipment controlled by software created for this experiment. Mass transfer coefficient was calculated on the basis of the limiting current measurements. Results of mass transfer experiments (mass transfer coefficient) were recalculated to heat transfer coefficient. During the experiments, simultaneously conducted was the the investigation of two-phase flow structures around tubes with the use of digital particle image velocimetry. Average velocity fields around tubes were created with the use of a number of flow images and compared with the results of heat transfer coefficient calculations.


We investigate whether special tax deductions for goodwill impairments influence financial reporting decisions. Unlike most countries, Luxembourg allows tax deductions for goodwill impairments without the need to dispose of any assets. We predict and find that multinational firms with subsidiaries in Luxembourg are more likely to write-down goodwill, and write down larger amounts of goodwill on average, than multinational firms without subsidiaries in Luxembourg. However, we find that conditional on recording a goodwill impairment, the amount of each goodwill write-down does not differ between multinational firms with and without Luxembourg subsidiaries. This is consistent with tax deductibility of goodwill impairments inducing more timely, rather than larger, impairments. We contribute to the literature on the interaction between book and tax reporting, the determinants of goodwill impairments, and the effects of book-tax conformity. This is one of the few studies that looks at the mechanisms through which firms avoid tax, in particular, examining a previously unexplored aspect of tax haven usage.


This paper analyzes the many constructs of the total quality movement from an analytical, systems, and actors paradigmatic perspective and synthesizes the various total quality movement constructs into an effective change management planning framework. The change management planning framework developed by the author is called the Dynamic Continuous Improvement Model which synthesizes the total quality movement's elements into two specific open systems processes called morphostasis and morphogenesis. The first process called morphostasis is defined as a process that allows the organization to maintain its given form, structure, and state in an open systems environment (Bertalanffy & Rapoport, 1962a, 1962b; Peery Jr, 1972; Reed, 2006; Scott, 2003; Swenson, Malley, & Balsmeier, 1991; Tan Sen, 1994). The second process called morphogensis is defined as a process that changes the system so that it is more adaptive to environmental factors (Bertalanffy & Rapoport, 1962a, 1962b; Peery Jr, 1972; Reed, 2006; Scott, 2003; Swenson et al., 1991; Tan Sen, 1994). The Dynamic Continuous Improvement Model applies the total quality movement concepts developed during the three-way paradigmatic analysis into the two open systems constructs called morphostasis and morphogensis. The goal of the Dynamic Continuous Improvement Model is to develop process driven strategies based on both the total quality movement and open systems theory that aligns sub-systems in a manner that minimizes entropy, attains maximum throughput, and enhances quality throughout the organization's value chain.


The study developed performance indices by the widely used procurement options in Nigeria on selection criteria. The traditional mean and standardized ratio were used to form the utility coefficients. Results revealed that performance by the procurement options depended on the respondents' categorization and cost categorization of projects. Public clients ranked the lump sum contracts more able to achieve speed for projects up to N100 million (Naira) while the private clients believe it is the design-build. As regards quality, public clients rated the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) system as most able to achieve the quality criterion whereas private clients rated design-build for projects up to N100 million (Naira). The study then concluded that, in the Nigerian construction industry participants do not agree on the performance of the procurement options on selection criteria.


.Examination of feeding tracks of several species of jassids in plant petioles shows that each species produces characteristic stylet sheaths. Most species feed in both parenchyma and vascular bundles and they exhibit varying degrees of preference for phloem tissue. An attempt to confirm published observations on a pH gradient towards the phloem failed to reveal such a gradient in many of the plants examined; in fact, it has been demonstrated that no such gradient is required to explain the feeding behaviour of the jassids studied. It is concluded that they find .the tissues upon which they feed by random probing with the stylets.


Purpose. Contact lens hygiene is a crucial factor for a success- ful contact lens fitting and, above all, for long-term healthy contact lens wear. A review of the literature is intended to summarize the most important points especially in relation to recent publications. Material and Methods. A narrative literature review was performed to identify relevant publications. PubMed (www. pubmed.gov) was used as the platform for the search. The search term used was "contact lens hygiene". Results. Successful contact lens hygiene depends on the effectiveness of the care solution, the instruction of the pa- tient by the contact lens practitioner and the correct imple- mentation of the recommended care steps. Basically, either multipurpose solutions (combination solutions) or peroxide systems are available for care. The advantage of peroxide systems is the higher disinfection performance compared to multipurpose solutions. For rigid gas permeable contact lenses, manual surface cleaning in combination with a surface cleaner is essential. The likelihood of occurrence of microbial keratitis is lower in wearers of rigid gas permeable contact lenses than in wearers of soft contact lenses. Conclusion. In addition, to hand hygiene, the selection of the care product and regular instruction of the user by the eye care practitioner play a vital role. From a hygienic perspective, daily disposable contact lenses are the safest option. Keywords Contact lens hygiene, contact lens compliance, contact lens storage case, microbial keratitis, RGP contact lenses, soft contact lenses


Edited by the Laboratory of the Swiss Pharmaceutical Society in Zurich (Director: Dr. H. P. Jaspersen), 8th edition 1975/76, entirely revised, XXVI + 1495 pages, ca. 3'6Q0 substances, ca. 21'000 references, introductions in French, German and English, publishers the Swiss Pharmaceutical Society, Berne 1975, bound in Balacron. Index Nominum is distributed in the United States by Drug Intelligence Publications, Inc., Hamilton, IL 62341. Price $65.75.


Based on the nonequilibrium Green function technique, a unified theory of quantum transport and quantum diffusion is developed from quantum-kinetic equations of the full carrier distribution function f<(k, κ|T,t). The rigorous two-time approach is equally applicable to quantum transport as well as quantum diffusion that proceeds either via extended states or by hopping between localized carriers. The approach focuses on the entanglement between the microscopic and macroscopic time regimes and on the related non-Markovian evolution in both time channels. For a one-dimensional superlattice model subject to quantizing dc and ac electric fields, both phononless transport and diffusion mechanisms are identified that have a strict double-time origin. The experimental verification of this intricate quantum effect seems to be feasible by studying quantum-box superlattices at low temperatures.


The aim of this paper was to verify the sand fly species collected with Malaise trap in the cities of Divinopolis and Pedra do Indaia, both located in Minas Gerais state. Collections were carried out between November 2003 and October 2004. Thirty two specimens were captured belonging to seven species: Pintomyia monticola (Costa Lima), Nyssomyia whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho), Pintomyia christenseni (Young & Duncan), Evandromyia cortelezzii (Brethes), Sciopemyia sordellii (Shannon & Del Ponte), Pintomyia pessoai (Coutinho & Barretto) and Psathyromyia aragaoi (Costa Lima).


Digital compact proton magnetometer was created for measure the geomagnetic fields, including the fields of high heterogeneity. We described design of the instrument and its principles of operation. This device is using implemented digital filtering techniques and Prony method to determine the frequency of the desired signal. The experiments were made in the fields of high heterogeneity and demonstrated the possibility of precise measurements in the fields with a gradient of up to 8 mT / m. The device can be used as a metal detector, as well as for magnetic prospecting, geological studies, etc.


This thesis concerns the partial purification and properties of an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RNA replicase) produced upon infection of Vigna unguiculata plants with Cowpea Mosaic Virus (CPMV). The enzyme is believed to be coded, at least in part, by the virus genome and to be responsible for the replication of the virus RNA.In chapter 1 we describe the scope of the investigations and the motives underlying this thesis.In chapter 2 a literature review is presented of the RNA replicases of viruses containing a single-stranded RNA genome of the plus type. With respect to the prokaryote virus RNA replicases, studies are described on the structure and properties of QB replicase, with special emphasis on the role the individual subunits of the enzyme are playing in the different stages of RNA synthesis. Reviewing the research on animal and plant virus RNA replicases had to be limited necessarily to a description of the isolation and properties of several crude enzyme preparations, since no purified replicases have been obtained and little progress is made with their purification.In chapter 3 we describe the detection of an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity which is present in Vigna unguiculata leaves infected with CPMV but not in uninfected leaves. It is shown, that this RNA polymerase activity, which is designated as CPMV replicase and is associated with a membrane fraction, becomes detectable one day after infection and then continues to increase until the fourth day. This membrane-bound replicase activity was found to require Mg 2+ -ions and all four ribonucleoside triphosphates and to be resistant to DNase and actinomycin D. Analysis of the in vitro synthesized RNA products by sucrose gradient centrifugation and treatment with RNases revealed, that the majority consisted of double-stranded RNA species sedimenting at 17S and 20S, probably representing the replicative forms of both virus RNAs. A minor part consists of two single-stranded RNA species, similar in sedimentation rate (26S and 34S) to the virion RNAs. From these results we concluded, that we were dealing with a bound replicase complex most likely representing the replicase involved in virus replication in vivo. Having the final purification of CPMV replicase in view, we were then faced with the solubilization of the enzyme required to continue the purification.In chapter 4 we describe a very gentle and easy method to release the replicase from the membranes without employing detergent. The method consists of a washing procedure involving a Mg 2+ -deficient buffer, and provides several advantages in comparison with other solubilization procedures. Firstly, the solubilized replicase is highly stable, thus facilitating the further purification. Secondly, the release of the replicase from the membranes is rather selective. The majority of proteins is retained in the membrane pellet and the specific activity of the solubilized replicase is increased about 2-3 fold with respect to the membrane-bound replicase. Thirdly, more than 80% of the replicase activity is detached from the membranes. The solubilized replicase can be further purified and freed of endogenous template RNA by DEAE-BioGel. column chromatography to provide a highly stable enzyme dependent on template.In chapter 5 we describe several properties of the DEAE-purified replicase preparation. Replicase activity is not inhibited by a- amanitin, rifampicin, cordycepin, actinomycin D, DNase and orthophosphate but is completely suppressed by pyrophosphate and RNase A plus RNase T 1 . The in vitro RNA synthesis is shown to proceed for at least 15 hours under the following optimal conditions: 8 mM Mg(OAc) 2 or 12 mM MgCl 2 ; 60 mM (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , up to 100 mM K(OAc), but KCl as low as possible; pH 8.2; 30 to 34°C; all four ribonucleoside triphosphates present and 5-10 μg of CPMV RNA as template per 15 μg of protein.Having established the optimal conditions for RNA synthesis, we have studied the template specificity using a variety of viral, nonviral and synthetic template RNAs. It is shown that the replicase readily accepts natural RNAs as templates but is unable to efficiently synthesize RNA complementary to the synthetic ribopolymers poly(C), poly(G) and poly(U); poly(A) is able to direct the incorporation of 3 H-UMP, but only at a high concentration (400 μg/ml) and inefficiently with respect to CPMV RNA. Several possibilities to account for the lack of template specificity displayed by CPMV replicase and many other eukaryote replicases, are discussed. It is argued that template specificity does not have to be an intrinsic property of, and a prerequisite for, eukaryote virus RNA replicases to function properly in vivo, taking into account the specific location of the replication process in the cell and the occurrence of host RNA molecules as ribonucleoprotein particles. Moreover, the loss of essential protein factor(s), the possible requirement for primer(s) and the use of non-specific reaction conditions are considered.Initial studies have been carried out on the binding of CM replicase to 32 P-CPMV RNA and, in addition on the size and nature of the in vitro synthesized RNA products. The binding experiments using a nitrocellulose filter technique to detect RNA-protein complexes, demonstrate that the DEAE-purified replicase, but not a corresponding protein preparation isolated from healthy leaves, binds to CM RNA. This binding can be abolished by synthetic poly(A) and poly(U) but not by poly(C), suggesting that the poly(A) on the CM RNA genome comprises a potential part of the replicase binding site. However, further experiments are needed to substantiate this hypothesis.The bulk of the in vitro synthesized RNA was found to consist of 16S RNA and a rather small amount of faster sedimenting RNA (20S-38S), the latter representing single-stranded RNA molecules still attached to their parental template strand. Although about 60% of the RNA products appears to be sensitive to treatment with RNase A plus RNase T 1 , no free, full-length size virus RNA molecules were formed, due to the presence of RNase(s) contaminating the replicase preparation.In chapter 6 we show that the DEAE-purified replicase can be purified further by glycerol gradient centrifugation. This step affords the removal of some proteins predominating in all earlier stages. A final purification of about 150-200 fold relative to the crude extract is achieved. From analysis by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the replicase purified by glycerol gradient centrifugation and of a corresponding protein preparation from mock-infected leaves, we conclude that the replicase still needs additional purification steps to allow its identification. However, the stability of the enzyme seems to offer good prospects to achieve this aim.


Some 30 years ago, Australia introduced the Children's Television Standards (CTS) with the twin goals of providing children with high-quality local programs and offering some protection from the perceived harms of television. The most recent review of the CTS occurred in the context of a decade of increasing international concern at rising levels of overweight and obesity, especially in very young children. Overlapping regulatory jurisdictions and co-regulatory frameworks complicate the process of addressing pressing issues of child health, while rapid changes to the media ecology have both extended the amount of programming for children and increased the economic challenges for producers. Our article begins with an overview of the conceptual shifts in priorities articulated in the CTS over time. Using the 2007–09 Review of the CTS as a case study, it then examines the role of research and stakeholder discourses in the CTS review process and critiques the effectiveness of existing regulatory regimes, both in providing access to dedicated children's content and in addressing the problem of escalating obesity levels in the population.


Objective: To explore the potential ways in which stem cell research is
linked to research and clinical aspects of Obstetrics and Gynecology
practice. Moreover, to explore the possible applications most tailored
to the needs and resources of the Middle East. Design: Medical and
biological databases were searched for references to stem cells.
Summary: Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that are capable of
self-renewal and differentiation to more specialized cells. The
discovery of different sources of stem cells enhanced research in this
field substantially. Obstetrics and Gynecology is likely to have many
points of intersection and cross talk with stem cell research either as
a source or as a benefactor. Stem cell research could offer various
solutions to gynecological tumors, perinatal pathologies, infertility
management and placental development studies. The source of stem cells
is mostly dependant on obstetrical-related supplies. Therefore,
obstetricians and gynecologists should be aware of the significance of
this research to their practice. This review is a aimed at exploring
the possibilities of building a basis for stem cell research in the
Middle East, with special emphasis on cultural and ethical issues, and
resources in the area.


Recent studies using Gaia DR2 have identified a massive merger in the early history of the Milky Way (MW) whose debris is dominated by radial and counterrotating orbits. This event, dubbed the Gaia-Enceladus/Gaia-Sausage (GE/GS), is also hypothesized to have built the majority of the inner stellar halo. We use the cosmological hydrodynamic simulation Illustris to place this merger in the context of galaxy assembly within lambda cold dark matter. From ∼150 MW analogues, $\sim \!80 {{ \rm {per\ cent}}}$ have experienced at least one merger of similar mass and infall time as the GE/GS. Within this sample, 37 have debris as radial as the GE/GS, which we dub the ancient radial mergers (ARMs). Counterrotation is not rare among ARMs, with $43 {{ \rm {per\ cent}}}$ having $\gt 40 {{ \rm {per\ cent}}}$ of their debris in counterrotating orbits. However, the compactness inferred for the GE/GS debris given its large radial orbital anisotropy, β, and its substantial contribution to the stellar halo are difficult to reproduce. The median radius of ARM debris is r*,deb ≃ 45 kpc, while GE/GS is thought to be mostly contained within r ∼ 30 kpc. For most MW analogues, few mergers are required to build the inner stellar halo, and ARM debris only accounts for (median) $\sim \!12 {{ \rm {per\ cent}}}$ of inner accreted stars. Encouragingly, we find one ARM that is both compact and dominates the inner halo of its central, making it our best GE/GS analogue. Interestingly, this merger deposits a significant number of stars (M* ≃ 1.5 × 109 M⊙) in the outer halo, suggesting that an undiscovered section of GE/GS may await detection.


In this paper we propose a modification of the finite termination algorithm which reduces the dimension of the primal-dual linear programming problem. We note that the similar approach is possible in any primal-dual algorithm for linear programming.


Objective To evaluate the accuracy of multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) compared with bronchoscopy in the assessment of airway complications related to endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes. Materials and Methods A review was performed of all consecutive patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) and bronchoscopy for symptomatic complications of endotracheal or tracheostomy tubes during an 18-month period. MDCT imaging was performed according to a standard protocol and interpreted by an experienced thoracic radiologist before bronchoscopy. After bronchoscopy by an experienced interventional pulmonologist, CT and bronchoscopic findings were reviewed jointly, and the accuracy of CT was determined using bronchoscopy as the "gold standard." Results The study population was comprised of 32 patients (range: 26 to 88 y, mean 55.6) with a total of 47 airway complications: tracheal stenosis (n=25), tracheomalacia (n=8), tracheal granulation tissue (n=8), tracheal cartilage fracture (n=4), tracheal perforation (n=1), and tracheostomy tube disruption (n=1). CT accurately diagnosed 42 of 47 airway complications (sensitivity 89.4%, specificity 95.2%, positive predictive value 85.7%, negative predictive value 96.5%). False negative findings at CT occurred in 5 (11.1%) of 47 cases. Contributing technical factors were identified in 3 (60.0%) of 5 false-negative cases, including the presence of tracheostomy tube during imaging and patient inability to complete the CT protocol. Conclusions MDCT of the central airways is highly accurate for detecting symptomatic airway complications of endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes, particularly when technical limitations to the performance of CT are minimized.


Castillo1 suggested the use of the G-Function plot based on the work of Nolte2. It has been a standard practice in the fracturing community to estimate the fracture closing pressure from a tangent to the G*dp/dg plot. In this analysis technique, the assumption is that a fracture has already developed under the high-pressure fracturing fluid. Then when the pumping is relaxed, one can estimate the fracture closing pressure. In many California waterfloods, the issue of maximum allowable injection gradient has been debated. Various solutions have been proposed to calculate a safe injection gradient. One method that has been promoted is the application of the G-function plot. In this paper, we maintain that this application can be misleading using the prescribed cartesian G function plots.
 We present the results of an extensive research study for analyzing pressure fall-off data using the G-Plot function. We studied a reappraisal of the G function plot using waterflood conditions where no prior fractures had formed, and no fracture closing pressure was meaningful or applicable. We show from analysis of generated data, using both numerical reservoir modeling and analytical derivations for a radial flow system, that fall-off tests analyzed using the cartesian G function can generate false indications of fracture closing where in fact, the entire injection has been based on radial flow homogeneous injection systems. We also studied systems with a pre-existing fracture before injection. We show that if such a reservoir system is subjected to injection and fall-off tests, again, one may compute a false indication of the irrelevant fracture closure pressure. We discuss how the cartesian scale used for the G function plot can be misleading for the analysis of fall-off test data.


A key goal of the Semantic Web is to shift social interaction patterns from a producer-centric paradigm to a consumer- centric one. Treating customers as the most valuable assets and making the business models work better for them are at the core of building successful consumer-centric business models. It follows that customizing business processes constitutes a major concern in the realm of a knowledge-pull-based human semantic Web. This paper conceptualizes the customization of service-based business processes leveraging the existing knowledge of Web services and business processes. We represent this conceptualization as a new Extensible Markup Language (XML) markup language Web Ontology Language-Business Process Customization (OWL-BPC), based on the de facto semantic markup language for Web-based information (Web Ontology Language (OWL)). Furthermore, we report a framework, built on OWL-BPC, for customizing service- based business processes, which support customization detection and enactment. Customization detection is enabled by a business- goal analysis, and customization enactment is enabled via event - condition-action rule inference. Our solution and framework have the following capabilities in dealing with in-consistencies and misalignments in business process interactions:1)resolve semantic mismatch of process parameters; 2)handle behavioral mismatches which may or may not be compatible; and 3)process misaligned rendezvous requirements. Such capabilities are applicable to business processes with heterogeneous domain ontology; and 4) to integrate databases into the Semantic Web, we use Semantic Web ontologies to incorporate database schemas. An expressive first order ontology language, Web-PDDL, is used to define the structure, semantics, and mappings of data re- sources. A powerful inference engine, OntoEngine can be used for query answering and data.


Mediation is now an established and expanding way of dispute resolution in a growing number of practice fields: family, community, victim-offender, civil and commercial matters, en- vironment and labour, to name but a few. The number of mediations is rising each day and so, the number of people involved in it. One of the central issues in the field of conflict resolution concerns the degree to which we can define a mediated or negotiated outcome as successful. Is this increased number of mediations succesfull? How do we know that the outcome of the mediation process meets the criteria of success? How can we evaluate it? This article will present the author's point of view about the factors influencing a succesful mediation, concluding with a presentation of what are considered to be the most important qualities of a succesful mediator.


Detection of indoor and outdoor scenarios is an important resource for many types of activities such as multisensor navigation and location-based services. This research presents the use of NMEA data provided by GPS receivers to characterize different types of scenarios automatically. A set of static tests was performed to evaluate metrics such as number of satellites, positioning solution geometry and carrier-to-receiver noise-density ratio values to detect possible patterns to determine indoor and outdoor scenarios. Subsequently, validation tests are applied to verify that parameters obtained are adequate.


This paper describes an attempt to design television apparatus for monitoring access to the storage site of depleted nuclear fuel of a nuclear power station. The prospects for using it to monitor the status of the structural designs of nuclear power plants are evaluated.


Abstract:  Goeckerman treatment has been used for the management of widespread psoriasis in children for several decades at Mayo Clinic. We aimed to review our institutional experience with the effectiveness of Goeckerman treatment for psoriasis in children. We retrospectively reviewed the records of pediatric patients who underwent Goeckerman treatment over a 21‐year period (1983–2003). The main outcome measure was improvement in psoriasis. During the study period, 65 children received Goeckerman treatment for predominantly widespread, recalcitrant psoriasis. The mean age was 11.6 years (range, 3 mos to 18 yrs), and the female‐to‐male ratio was 2:1. Psoriasis improved in all patients: 55 patients (85%) had >80% clearance of their psoriasis. The only adverse effect was folliculitis, occurring in 27 patients (42%). Mean duration of follow‐up was 2.6 years (range, 17 days–18.2 yrs); average duration of remission was 2.6 years (range, 2 mos–12.79 yrs). Goeckerman treatment is an effective treatment for widespread psoriasis in children.


exo-Olefin-terminated polyisobutylene was obtained directly from living isobutylene polymerizations by addition of a quenching compound to the living chain ends. Three broad classes of compounds were evaluated including hindered bases such as hindered pyridines and piperidines, N-hydro-2,5-disubstitutedpyrroles, and sulfides, ethers, and silylethers. The proposed mechanism of quenching unique to each class was discussed, with supporting kinetic, spectroscopic, and structure-based evidence presented. Hindered bases were proposed to operate by E2 elimination reaction of free base at the carbenium ion. N-Hydro-2,5-disubstitutedpyrroles were proposed to form the η5-2,5-disubstitutedpyrrolyltrichloro-titanium(IV) coordination complex, which serves as the true quencher. Sulfides, ethers, and silylethers were proposed to operate by first converting the PIB chain ends quantitatively to the onium adduct, which is then decomposed to form exo-olefin PIB. Sulfides and ethers were the best performing quenchers of all the types studied, particularly bulky ones such di-tert-butylsulfide and diisopropyl ether.


A novel round cable electromagnetic interference (EMI) suppressor comprising a bundle of Mn-Zn ferrite tubes was realized using different principles of suppressing, such as direct suppressing, inverting/suppressing, transform/inverting suppressing, and transform/short circuited secondary suppressing. Different primary to secondary configurations were realized for each suppressing principle and characterized in the EMI frequency region. The results obtained for different bundle configurations were compared with known commercial round cable ferrite suppressors and the initial bundle configuration made of a half turn wire through the central ferrite tube of the bundle. The results obtained for different principles and configurations were correlated in order to optimize the electromagnetic coupling between primary and secondary circuits. The values such as maximums of impedance Zm, frequency of maximum impedance Fm and suppressing range Δf around Fm calculated on 0.707 Zm were defined as the main parameters for each configuration. Certain correlations were noticed between impedance Zm and frequency Fm changes. Finally, the realized configurations were considered as devices suitable for EMI suppressing applications.


Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) inhibit T cell responses and are relevant to cancer, autoimmunity and transplant biology. Anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) is a commonly used T cell depletion agent, yet the effect of ATG on MDSCs has not been investigated. MDSCs were generated in Lewis Lung Carcinoma 1 tumor-bearing mice. MDSC development and function were assessed in vivo and in vitro with and without ATG administration. T cell suppression assays, RT-PCR, flow cytometry and arginase activity assays were used to assess MDSC phenotype and function. MDSCs increased dramatically in tumor-bearing mice and the majority of splenic MDSCs were of the polymorphonuclear subset. MDSCs potently suppressed T cell proliferation. ATG-treated mice developed 50% fewer MDSCs and these MDSCs were significantly less suppressive of T cell proliferation. In vitro, ATG directly bound 99.6% of MDSCs. CCR7, L-selectin and LFA-1 were expressed by both T cells and MDSCs, and binding of LFA-1 was inhibited by ATG pre-treatment. Arg-1 and PD-L1 transcript expression were reduced 30–40% and arginase activity decreased in ATG-pretreated MDSCs. MDSCs were bound and functionally inhibited by ATG. T cells and MDSCs expressed common Ags which were also targets of ATG. ATG may be helpful in tumor models seeking to suppress MDSCs. Alternatively, ATG may inadvertently inhibit important T cell regulatory events in autoimmunity and transplantation.


Benin has attractive ethnobotanical potential with a vast diversity ofmedicinal plants widely used to treat human diseases. Urinary tract infections are among the diseases traditionally treated by medicinal plants. Mangifera indica, Bridelia ferruginea, Alstonia boonei, Morodora myristica, Xylopia aethiopica and Zanthoxylum zantoxyloides are six plants used in the traditional treatment of urinary infections in Benin. The general objective of this study was to identify the ethnopharmacological uses of these six plants used in traditional medicine in South Benin. To this end, an ethnopharmacological survey was conducted using the semi-structured interview method among herbalists in the markets of South Benin. The ethnobotanical data collected were analyzed using the use-value, the informant consensus factor and the medicinal plant fidelity index. A total of 98 herbalists participated in this study. The six plants studied were involved in 15 different diseases divided into seven disease categories. The most mentioned disease categories are infectious diseases, blood and digestive diseases. Malaria, ulcers, anemia and urinary tract infections are the pathologies most commonly treated by these plants. Informants agreed on the use of these plants in these disease categories. Bark, leafy stems and roots are the parts of the plants most used to treat diseases. Decoction and maceration are the two main methods of preparation, and the oral and cutaneous routes are the main routes of administration. These data constitute ethnopharmacological documentation that can be used for further pharmacological and toxicological studies.


BACKGROUND
Stroke is a major health concern and a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. We and other groups have documented that hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning could significantly alleviate neuronal damage in ischemia‒reperfusion models through various mechanisms. However, we found that some of the subjects did not benefit from preconditioning with hyperbaric oxygen. The preconditioning phenomenon is similar to vaccination, in which the endogenous survival system is activated to fight against further injuries. However, with vaccine inoculations, we could test for specific antibodies against the pathogens to determine if the vaccination was successful. Likewise, this experiment was carried out to explore a biomarker that can reveal the effectiveness of the preconditioning before neuronal injury occurs.

METHODS
Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was used to induce focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. 2D-DIGE-MALDI-TOF-MS/MS proteomic technique was employed to screen the differentially expressed proteins in the serum of rats among the control (Con) group (MCAO model without hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) preconditioning), hyperbaric oxygen protective (HBOP) group (in which the infarct volume decreased after HBO preconditioning vs. Con), and hyperbaric oxygen nonprotective (HBOU) group (in which the infarct volume remained the same or even larger after HBO preconditioning vs. Con). Candidate biomarkers were confirmed by western blot and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the relationship between the biomarkers and the prognosis of cerebral injury was further validated.

RESULTS
Among the 15 differentially expressed protein spots detected in the HBOP group by Two-dimensional fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE), 3 spots corresponding to 3 different proteins (haptoglobin, serum albumin, and haemopexin) products were identified by MALDI-TOF-MS/MS. Serum albumin and haemopexin were upregulated, and haptoglobin was downregulated in the HBOP group (p < 0.05 vs. Con and HBOU groups). After the western blot study, only the changes in haemopexin were validated and exhibited similar changes in subjects from the HBOP group in accordance with MALDI-TOF-MS/MS proteomic analysis and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. The serum level of the hemopexin (HPX) at 2 h after HBO preconditioning was correlated with the infarct volume ratio after MCAO.

CONCLUSIONS
Haemopexin may be developed as a predictive biomarker that indicated the effectiveness of a preconditioning strategy against cerebral ischaemic injury.


This working paper presents a new coincident economic indicator developed by the COE, able to detect in real time peaks and troughs of the american business cycle. This probabilistic indicator is based on the Markov-Switching model proposed by Hamilton (1989), applied to various economic time series carefully chosen. The filtered probabilities stemming from these series are combined by taking into account the risks of false signals in order to provide a recession probability. This new indicator fruitfully completes the leading indicator IARC, released monthly by the COE, which aims at forecasting the fluctuations of the growth cycle. It is planned to apply this new indicator to the eurozone in the next future.


We developed an excretion monitoring system equipped with non-contact temperature sensor and a semiconductor gas sensor installed under a toilet seat. The gas sensor is able to detect odors due to human excretion by transiently increasing the output. The peak amplitude and duration of the gas sensor output due to defecation were signi cantly greater than those due to urination. These results demonstrate the capability of the gas sensor in distinguishing whether the excretion is urination or defecation.


aERD2 and aSAR1 of Arabidopsis are functional homologs of yeast genes encoding proteins essential for endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-to-Golgi transport. The regulation of these secretory pathway genes in yeast, mammals, and plants is not known. High levels of expression of aERD2 and aSAR1 were observed in roots, flowers, and inflorescence stems, with the highest levels being detected in roots. The aSAR1 transcript levels were highest in young leaves and declined during leaf maturation. Low levels of aERD2 were detected in both young and fully mature leaves when compared with roots. In situ hybridization showed that trichomes accumulate more aERD2 transcript as the leaf expands, whereas aSAR1 is expressed equally in all leaf cell types. Treating plants with tunicamycin, a drug that blocks N-glycosylation in the ER, or with cold shock, known to block secretory protein transport, led to a marked accumulation of aERD2 and aSAR1 transcripts. The Arabidopsis ARF gene, which encodes a GTPase probably involved in Golgi vesicle traffic, was not affected by these treatments. This study is an essential first step toward understanding the regulation of genes that encode proteins involved in vesicular trafficking.


Introduction and Objectives Dislodgement of intercostal chest drains (ICDs) is common, affecting up to 21% of ICDs.1 Why ICDs dislodge is not well understood. The optimum technique for securing ICDs has never been the subject of a randomised trial. Current BTS guidelines recommend '0' or '1' sutures and caution against excessive adhesive dressings. Adhesive dressings are nevertheless widely used, sometimes instead of sutures. This study aims to identify the best technique for securing ICDs. Methods A chest wall model was developed using 7mm medium-density fibreboard with one hole for a 12-French ICD and four smaller holes for sutures. Appropriately qualified doctors secured ICDs to the model with their usual sutures and technique. Some doctors who used small sutures repeated the experiment using larger sutures. The force required to remove the ICD from the model was measured with a Newton metre. A maximum force of 100N was applied, as ICDs snapped at forces over 110N. The force needed to detach ICDs fixed to the experimenter's chest using adhesive dressings was also measured. Results Using '1' sutures, ICDs remained attached even at 100N '0' sutures snapped at 86N '2/0' sutures were most commonly used, but snapped at 57N '3/0' and '4/0' sutures were the least effective; the drain slipped at 25N and 20N respectively. Individual doctors using the same technique with larger sutures ('1' or '0' instead of '2/0') attached ICDs more securely (92N vs 57N, p=0.03) though the number of sutures, technique and doctor's experience had no effect. ICDs detached painlessly from Rocket© dressings at 47N. An improvised tegaderm© dressing was more secure but detached painfully from the skin at 73N (p=0.03). The force required didn't diminish over 48 hours. Conclusions '1' sutures may be the best way to secure an ICD however the force required to pull sutures from the skin is unknown and knots may loosen over time. Using larger sutures improved ICD fixation. Adhesive dressings secure ICDs with similar strength to sutures and may represent an important alternative or adjunct, particularly in patients with fragile skin. Reference Davies HE et al. Respirology (2008)13:603–607. Abstract S14 Figure 1


Placement of a prism in front of an eye results in a change in the tonic position of the eyes, a shift in the forced fixation disparity curve, and a shift in fusional amplitudes. These changes remain in effect as long as motor fusion is maintained. Elimination of fusion by occlusion or by removal of the prism results in a slow movement of the eyes back to the preprism position. This phenomenon, known as prism adaptation or slow fusional vergence, has important clinical implications in maintaining binocular vision with anisometropic prescriptions, age-related physiological changes in the positions of the eyes, blinking, high phorias, etc. Vergence adaptation is useful in explaining previous discrepancies between alternate and unilateral cover test, pre- and postorthoptic ACA ratios, stimulus and response ACA ratios, changes in phorias after orthoptics, and the observation of patients "eating up prism." Vergence adaptation anomalies have been implicated in causing asthenopia. Adaptation has been shown to change after orthoptic therapy. This paper reviews the clinical findings associated with vergence adaptation.


In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the COX5a and COX5b genes encode two forms of cytochrome c oxidase subunit V, Va and Vb. We report here that heme increases COX5a expression and decreases COX5b expression and that the HAP2 and REO1 genes are involved in positive regulation of COX5a and negative regulation of COX5b, respectively. Heme regulation of COX5a and COX5b may dictate which subunit V isoform is available for assembly into cytochrome c oxidase under conditions of high- and low-oxygen tension.


Urinary leukotriene E 4 in bronchial asthma. C.M. Smith, R.J. Hawksworth, F.C.K. Thien, P.E. Christie, T.H. Lee. ABSTRACT: Leukotriene E 4 (LTE) Is excreted Into the urine in a relatively constant proportion of 4-7% when either leukotrlene C 4 (LTC 4 ) or LTE 4 Is Intra venously Infused, regardless of the magnitude of the infused dose. Measurement of LTE 4 in urine is, therefore, a convenient and non-invasive method for assessing changes In the rate of total body sulphldopeptlde leukotrlene production. We assayed urinary LTE 4 in 17 normal subjects, 31 subjects with asthma without aspirin sensitivity, and 10 aspirin-sensitive subjects. The relationship between urinary LTE 4 and nonspecific bronchial hyperresponslveness, as assessed by the provocative dose producing a 20% fall in forced expiratory volume In one second (PD 3 J to Inhaled histamine, was examined In 19 non-aspirin-sensitive asthmatic subjects. The urinary LTE4 values were log-normally distributed. Urinary LTE 4 was detected in 28 of the 31 non-aspirin-sensitive asthmatic subjects, and the geometric mean (95% confidence Interval (Cl) of 43 (32-57) pg·mg- 1 creatinine was no different to that of 34 (25--48) pg·mg- 1 creatinine measured in the normal subjects. The geometric mean of 101 (55-186) pg·mg- 1 creatinine measured in the aspirin-sensitive asthmatics was slgnlticantly higher than that measured In the normal subjects (p<0.005) and in the asthmatic subjects who were non aspirin-sensitive (p<0.002), but there was considerable overlap between the three groups. There was no relationship between urinary LTE 4 and PDw or between urinary LTE 4 and baseline forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 ) (% predicted). Thus, measurement of LTE 4 in a single sample of urine will not predict the extent of bronchial hyperresponsiveocss or degree of airflow obstruction.


President Ronald Reagan's June 6, 1984, "Address on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day" is one of his most celebrated speeches, and yet no critical assessment of the address exists in rhetorical scholarship. In this article, I examine this speech as a deictic epideictic address, or a speech in which the rhetor uses the physical place, the immediate scene/setting, and the assembled audience as evidence to commemorate the past and chart a clear course for the future. Through this analysis, I argue that Reagan's speech at Pointe du Hoc is exemplary because it relies on rhetorical vision and deixis to connect a past moment to the present, and in so doing, invites the audience to participate in the discourse emotionally, mentally, and even physically. I conclude by suggesting that a deictic approach to rhetorical criticism offers scholars a vocabulary to describe how speakers can "point" or refer to the physical and material elements of a speech setting as evidence for their argument.


Broad political participation is widely accepted as a crucial element of transitions from armed conflict to peace. As such, reforms to increase access to participatory democracy are often written into peace accords. Yet despite this connection between peace and participation in policy, we know relatively little about how the two interact in practice. Who uses participatory institutions? Does civilians' experience during armed conflict affect how they participate after war ends? This article examines an unlikely case of post-conflict participation in Colombia to answer these questions: the activation and organization of local referenda from below – that is, by conflict-affected communities themselves – to contest the national government's mining and oil policy. Using an original dataset of 95 municipality-level attempts to organize these referenda (consultas populares), I find that both conflict intensity and insurgent group presence have significant and positive effects on consulta activation. The impact of insurgent group presence, however, is mediated by the timing of armed groups' consolidation of territorial control. I further explore this relationship through a qualitative case study. The results highlight the importance of considering the lingering impact that armed conflict may have on democratic participation beyond electoral politics. Even when communities explicitly avoid references to conflict or victim status in their discourse, experiences during armed conflict can still shape local dynamics of political participation during post-conflict transitions.


The iCSS Chemistry Dashboard is a publicly accessible dashboard provided by the National Center for Computation Toxicology at the US-EPA. It serves a number of purposes, including providing a chemistry database underpinning many of our public-facing projects (e.g. ToxCast and ExpoCast). The available data and searches provide a valuable path to structure identification using mass spectrometry as the source data. With an underlying database of over 720,000 chemicals, the dashboard has already been used to assist in identifying chemicals present in house dust. However, it can also be applied to many other purposes, e.g., the identification of agrochemicals in waste streams. This presentation will provide a review of the EPA's platform and underlying algorithms used for the purpose of compound identification using high-resolution mass spectrometry data. We will also discuss progress towards a high-throughput non-targeted analysis platform for use by the mass spectrometry community. This abstract does not reflect U.S. EPA policy.


Rabbit aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) and Rb-1 cells, a continuous line of the same origin, were transformed by transfection with pSV3-neo DNA, a plasmid containing the SV40 early region linked to the neoR resistance gene. Transformed clones were selected in G418-containing medium at a rate of 10(-4) per cell. All transformed clones were immortalized and contained in the early passages two free recombined plasmids derived from pSV3-neo. At advanced passages pSV3-neo sequences were found integrated in the cellular genome. Transformed cells had an altered morphology and growth pattern that differed among clones. Some clones reached high density in low-serum medium. All the clones stained positively for the intranuclear T antigen. Some clones had distinct transcripts for the large T and small t antigens, while in others only larger or truncated transcripts were found. Alpha-actin filaments were visualized by immunofluorescent staining in all the clones, but Northern blot analysis revealed a significant reduction in transcripts for this actin. All the transformed clones accumulated, to a variable extent, cholesteryl esters after incubation with beta very low-density lipoprotein. Six of the eight transformed clones maintained a diploid chromosome number, but there was an increase in structural chromosome aberrations, predominantly dicentrics. Transfection of pSV3-neo into rabbit vascular SMCs is an efficient model for obtaining transformed clonal populations. These clones show some phenotypic changes that may be relevant to the study of atherogenesis.


Background
Allergic Rhinitis (AR) is an IgE-mediated inflammatory disorder with high morbidity rates. The eitiology of this disease is understood to occur from a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. T helper type 2 cells have been shown to have a crucial role in atopic disease due to their production of the cytokines, intelukin (IL)-13 and IL-4, involved in inflammation. Research has shown single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the IL-13 and IL-4 genes to be associated increased levels of IgE and with allergic diseases such as, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis. Specifically, the rs2243250 SNP of IL-4 and the rs20541 SNP of IL-13 have been shown to be associated with AR.

Methods
A case-control study was designed to investigate the relationship between the two SNPs rs2243250 and rs20541 with the incidence of AR. The SNPs were examined in patients with AR and healthy controls (86 patients and 86 controls). Blood samples were collected and DNA was extracted to evaluate the SNPs by RFLP-PCR.

Results
Recessive analysis model of the IL-13 gene (GG vs. AA+AG) revealed that the GG genotype was more common in AR patients (P=0.36) )OR=0.8 [81% CI 0.38-1.6]). For the IL-4 gene (TC vs. TT+CC), the TC genotype was more common in AR patients (P = 0.0022)) OR=0.71 [60% CI 1.41-5.02]). Furthermore, in the IL-4 gene, the 590 T>C polymorphism had a significant association with AR. However, no association was found between AR and the IL-13 rs20541 polymorphism.

Conclusion
Our findings suggest that the IL-13 polymorphism (rs20541, Exo 4, G>A, Arg130Gln) and IL-4 polymorphism (rs2243250= C-590T, promoter, T>C) are co-associated with AR and sensitivity to aeroallergens. However, this study used a cohort of AR patients and healthy controls from the northeast of Iran. Given the influence of ethnicity and environment on genetics, further investigation is needed to elucidate the role of SNPs in IL-4 and IL-13 in AR among different populations.


56 patients on the pill, and who had experienced cardiovascular accidents, were closely observed. It is probable that the major factors causing cardiovascular accidents are metabolic anomaly and hyperlipemia, both factors very often of hereditary origin. Smoking and hypertension can be considered secondary factors. A problem is constituted by the fact that lipid anomalies are very unstable and can remain latent or nonapparent for a long time, thus making their detection very difficult. Patients should be checked for hyperlipemia before starting the pill, and again between the 1st and 3rd cycles.


With the exponential growth of clinical data, and the fast development of AI technologies, researchers are facing unprecedented challenges in managing data storage, scalable processing, and analysis capabilities for heterogeneous multisourced datasets. Beyond the complexity of executing data-intensive workflows over large-scale distributed data, the reproducibility of computed results is of paramount importance to validate scientific discoveries. In this paper, we present MULTIX, a cross-domain research-oriented platform, designed for collaborative and reproducible science. This cloud-based framework simplifies the logistical challenges of implementing data analytics and AI solutions by providing pre-configured environments with ad-hoc scalable computing resources and secure distributed storage, to efficiently build, test, share and reproduce scientific pipelines. An exemplary use-case in the area of cardiac image analysis will be presented together with the practical application of the platform for the analysis of ~20.000 subjects of the UK-Biobank database.


The basic processing unit for instant ramen noodles includes mixing, rolling, boiling, frying, cooling, and packing processes. For uniform thickness of dough sheets in rolling process, the roll-gap in rolling process needs to keep uniform thickness of flour sheets in spite of different kinds of raw materials. In this paper, we have developed a roll gap adjustment system using a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) with a touch panel and an AC servo-mechanism to make dough sheets with a good gluten starch-network structure and uniform thickness and to contribute to process standardization by transferring from tacit knowledge of skilled workers to explicit knowledge. The developed system can adjust the roll gap in units of 0.01mm and correspond to various product items which have different thickness specification by recalling the presetting values of the desired thickness from database.


We identified IRF8 as a constitutive and IFN-γ-stimulated nuclear factor in microglia of the CNS. IRF8 is a transcription factor with a key role in the cellular response to IFN-γ but is also pivotal in myeloid cell differentiation. Here we employed IRF8 KO mice to determine the role of IRF8 in microglial development and function in the healthy CNS and in the microglial response to injury (facial nerve axotomy [FNA]) or infection (West Nile Virus [WNV] encephalitis). Microglia were present in the CNS of IRF8 KO mice but showed altered morphology and significantly reduced surface area and had alterations in a number of key markers including reduced levels of Iba1, CCR2 and CCR5 but increased levels tomato lectin binding. Following FNA the microglial response was markedly delayed and attenuated in IRF8 KO mice and the wrapping of motor neuron cell bodies by microglia involved in synaptic stripping and phagocytosis was incomplete. Finally, IRF8 KO mice had increased susceptibility to WNV accompanied by a marked reduction in both microglial cell activation and leukocyte accumulation in the brain. In the periphery, ly6Cint monocytes were increased in number but exhibited defective trafficking to the infected CNS while ly6Chi monocytes were almost completely absent. In conclusion: (1) IRF8 is a major intrinsic determinant of the microglial phenotype in the healthy and the diseased CNS, and (2) IRF8 has a crucial role in the development and trafficking of inflammatory monocytes.


In order to rationally evaluate the high speed railway operation safety level, the environmental safety evaluation index system of high speed railway should be well established by means of analyzing the impact mechanism of severe weather such as raining, thundering, lightning, earthquake, winding, and snowing. In addition to that, the attribute recognition will be identified to determine the similarity between samples and their corresponding attribute classes on the multidimensional space, which is on the basis of the Mahalanobis distance measurement function in terms of Mahalanobis distance with the characteristics of noncorrelation and nondimensionless influence. On top of the assumption, the high speed railway of China environment safety situation will be well elaborated by the suggested methods. The results from the detailed analysis show that the evaluation is basically matched up with the actual situation and could lay a scientific foundation for the high speed railway operation safety.


We study the question of when we can provide logarithmic-time direct access to the k-th answer to a Conjunctive Query (CQ) with a specified ordering over the answers, following a preprocessing step that constructs a data structure in time quasilinear in the size of the database. Specifically, we embark on the challenge of identifying the tractable answer orderings that allow for ranked direct access with such complexity guarantees. We begin with lexicographic orderings and give a decidable characterization (under conventional complexity assumptions) of the class of tractable lexicographic orderings for every CQ without self-joins. We then continue to the more general orderings by the sum of attribute weights and show for it that ranked direct access is tractable only in trivial cases. Hence, to better understand the computational challenge at hand, we consider the more modest task of providing access to only a single answer (i.e., finding the answer at a given position) - a task that we refer to as the selection problem. We indeed achieve a quasilinear-time algorithm for a subset of the class of full CQs without self-joins, by adopting a solution of Frederickson and Johnson to the classic problem of selection over sorted matrices. We further prove that none of the other queries in this class admit such an algorithm.


BACKGROUND The most dramatic diseases in the aorta are aortic dissection and aneurysm, which both of them are common in pregnant women with Marfan syndrome (MFS). According to recommendations in existing guidelines, pregnancy is not recommended in patients with severe dilation of the aorta and patients with MFS with aortic dilation > 45 mm should have prophylactic aortic repair before pregnancy. CASE REPORT In this rare and unique report, we described a 34-year-old pregnant woman with marfanoid feature who had an approximate aortic root of 60 mm and severe aortic insufficiency. She denied terminating the pregnancy at her first prenatal visit and continued it until 30 weeks of gestation and the pregnancy terminated in the cardiac operating room due to multiple episodes of chest pain. No complication occurred during her close observation before surgery. The aortic repair was performed for her after the cesarean section. CONCLUSION Pregnancy with severe aortic root dilation is high-risk for all patients; however, if it occurs, when the mother denies an abortion, inform the patient about its risk and continue the pregnancy with close observation and tight blood pressure (BP) control until the fetus becomes viable.


BACKGROUND
One of the most frequent complications in the immediate post-operation period is the fall in arterial oxygen saturation due to different factors, outstanding of which is the time that the patient remains disconnected from the oxygen supply during transport from the operation site to the recovery ward. The aim of the present paper is to measure the proportion of arterial desaturation in patients who arrive in the recovery room proceeding from the operation site without oxygen provision during transport.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
The study was made with a sample of 208 cases corresponding to the patients who underwent operations in the period from March 20th to April 19th 2000. Saturation was measured by pulse oximeter at the moment of arrival in the recovery unit prior to the provision of oxygen. Patients were classified in four groups according to average saturation and they were grouped by ASA and the anaesthetic technique employed. The statistical treatment was carried out with Student's t and variance analysis.

RESULTS
The sixty three per cent of patients showed a saturation of > or =95%; 26.4% slight desaturation; 6.3% moderate desaturation and 1% severe desaturation. The average of saturation of the ASA III patients showed significant differences with the ASA II and ASA I patients (p=0.004). Patients with general anaesthetic showed a desaturation with significant differences with respect to the other anaesthetic techniques employed (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
ASA III patients and those subjected to general anaesthetic require oxygen provision during transport from the operation site to the recovery ward.


The Organic Computing initiative aims to build robust, flexible and adaptive technical systems. Future systems shall behave appropriately according to situational needs. But this is not guaranteed in novel systems, which are complex and act in dynamically changing environments. This book aims to investigate the creation of a robust hybrid central/self-organising multi-agent system using the Organic Computing (OC) concept. The new developed methodology (RobustMAS) has the goal of keeping a multi-agent system running at a desired performance level when disturbances occur. The result is an interaction between decentralised mechanisms (autonomous agents) and centralised interventions. This represents a robust hybrid central/self-organising multi-agent system, in which the conflict between a central planning and coordination algorithm on one hand and the autonomy of the agents on the other has to be solved. A traffic intersection without traffic lights was used as an application scenario, where vehicles are driven by agents.


The Beveridge Committee had an inauspicious start. It was intended by the British government to be a minor tidying-up operation. When the report was completed, the government seriously considered not publishing it. The report advocated family allowances, a free health service and full employment, and that all social insurance benefits should be at flat rate and at subsistence level with the aim of abolishing poverty. But the actual recommendations would not have fully achieved Beveridge's aims. Although the report had a rapturous media reception, the government initially decided not to commit itself to action. But pressure from parliament forced Prime Minister Churchill to produce plans for legislation. When the report finally became law, the benefits were about a third less than Beveridge had recommended. As a result his social assistance safety net, intended to have a very small role, ended up giving ultimate protection to some 7 million persons. The report had a major influence in other countries by setting a much more ambitious agenda for social security than had generally been accepted before.


SUMMARY
We have created a software tool, SNPTools, for analysis and visualization of microarray data, mainly SNP array data. The software can analyse and find differences in intensity levels between groups of arrays and identify segments of SNPs (genes, clones), where the intensity levels differ significantly between the groups. In addition, SNPTools can show jointly loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) data (derived from genotypes) and intensity data for paired samples of tumour and normal arrays. The output graphs can be manipulated in various ways to modify and adjust the layout. A wizard allows options and parameters to be changed easily and graphs replotted. All output can be saved in various formats, and also re-opened in SNPTools for further analysis. For explorative use, SNPTools allows various genome information to be loaded onto the graphs.

AVAILABILITY
The software, example data sets and tutorials are freely available from http://www.birc.au.dk/snptools


Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus. Cardiovascular reflex tests (CARTs) are the gold standard in the diagnosis of CAN, but the handgrip test is no longer recommended to be performed. Previously, the inverse association between the presence of hypertension and handgrip test abnormality was demonstrated and hypertension as major cause for excessive diastolic blood pressure rise during handgrip testing in diabetic individuals proposed. The aim of the present study is to describe more precisely the association between handgrip test and hypertension by performing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) among diabetic patients. A more comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between cardiovascular autonomic function, hypertension and the handgrip test was targeted using heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. Our study involved 163 patients with diabetes. Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy was assessed by the CARTs and sustained handgrip test was performed. All patients underwent ABPM and HRV analysis well. CAN was diagnosed in 69 patients. Significant associations were found between the diastolic blood pressure increase in response to handgrip exercise and the 24-h (rho = 0.245, p = 0.003), daytime (rho = 0.230, p = 0.005) and night-time (rho = 0.230, p = 0.006) mean systolic and 24-h diastolic (rho = 0.176, p = 0.034) blood pressure values, systolic blood pressure load (rho = 0.252, p = 0.003) and systolic (rho = 0.236, p = 0.005) and diastolic (rho = 0.165, p = 0.047) hyperbaric impacts. Higher values of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring parameters are associated with greater increases in diastolic blood pressure during isometric handgrip exercise. Diastolic blood pressure elevations during the handgrip test are also correlated, in order to diminished heart rate variability parameters attributable to parasympathetic dysfunction highlighting the pivotal role of sympathetic overactivity in evolving handgrip test results. Our study provides further evidence on the inverse association between handgrip test abnormality and hypertension in diabetic patients.


The present study prepared shell-core nanoparticles comprising poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)(PLGA) cores encapsulated by shells composed of mixed lipids(Lipoid S100 and DSPE-PEG 2000) or polymer F127 to investigate the effects of shell composition on overcoming physiological barriers of gastrointestinal mucus and intestinal epithelial cells and improving bioavailability.The results are expected to provide references for the research on the improvement of the oral bioavailability of Chinese medicine by nanocar-riers. Silibinin(SLB) was used as a model drug to prepare PLGA nanoparticles coated with the shell of mixed lipids(SLB-LPNs) or F127(SLB-FPNs) via a modified nanoprecipitation method.Transmission electron microscopy showed that both LPNs and FPNs were spherical with a core-shell structure.The average particle sizes of SLB-LPNs and SLB-FPNs were(94.13±2.23) and(95.42±4.91) nm, respectively.The Zeta potential values were(-39.3±2.8) and(-17.0±0.2) mV, respectively.X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the presence of SLB in the two types of nanoparticles in a molecular or amorphous state.The ability of nanoparticles to cross both the mucus and epithelial barriers were evaluated using the cellular internalization kinetics assay.LPNs showed a higher rate of cell internalization than FPNs, indicating that LPNs could penetrate the mucus layer and become internalized by cells more rapidly.As revealed by the in vivo pharmacokinetic assay in rats with SLB suspension as the reference, the relative oral bioavailability of SLB-LPNs and SLB-FPNs was 400.37% and 923.31%, respectively.The effect of SLB-FPNs in improving oral bioavailability was more significant than that of SLB-LPNs.In summary, shell composition can influence the ability of nanoparticles to overcome oral physiological bar-riers, such as the mucus layer and intestinal epithelial cells, and improve oral bioavailability.Shell-core structured nanoparticles are promising nanocarriers for oral drug delivery systems.


The attenuation constants of a symmetric polyethylene slab waveguide are measured in the submillimeter-wave region at lambda/sub 0/= 337 mu m. In our experiments the fine metal grating is used as a coupler, instead of a usual prism coupler. Our coupler which is different from the conventional grating coupler fixed on a slab is easily movable along a slab without a fluctuation in the coupling efficiency, and the loss measurement is successfully performed for several kinds of slab thicknesses by using such couplers. As a result, the attenuation constant of about 1.3 dB/m is measured, in good reliability, for a slab of 10 mu m in thickness. Finally, to make clear the accuracy of our loss measurements, the transverse broadening of the field along the propagating direction of a slab is measured experimental!y, and it is concluded that there is little influence of the transverse broadening on the measured attenuation constants.


Energy calibration of CdTe detectors is usually done using known reference sources disregarding the exact amount of charge that is collected in the pixels. However, to compare detector and detector model the quantity of charge collected is needed. We characterize the charge collection in a CdTe detector comparing test pulses, measured data and an improved TCAD simulation model [1]. The 1 mm thick detector is bump-bonded to a TIMEPIX chip and operating in Time-over-Threshold (ToT) mode. The resistivity in the simulation was adjusted to match the detector properties setting a deep intrinsic donor level [2]. This way it is possible to adjust properties like trap concentration, electron/hole lifetime and mobility in the simulation characterizing the detector close to measured data cite [3].


An experiment was carried out in Santa Maria, RS, to study the effects of different soil and leaf diseases management for watermelon on soil fauna. The treatments were: 1) Conventional Tillage (CT) 2) CT with strip (s) without plowing; 3) No-Till (NT)+Chisel (Ch)+Herbicide (H); 4) NT+Ch without H; 5) NT+H and 6) NT. All NT had black oat straw over the soil. The subplots had the leaf disease control treatments: 1) Check Plot, without control; 2) Chemical, with fungicide; Ecological, with a mixture of "calda bordalesa" + "Supermagro" + "Alhol". Tretzel pitfalls traps were placed in plots before seeding and in subplots during watermelon vegetative cycle. Samplings were done: at 45 and 5 days before and at 30, 67 and 90 days after watermelon seeding. Each trap stayed 4 days at field. Were calculated richness, abundance and Simpson's diversity index (SDI). Acari population was higher in CTs than NT+Ch and Collembola population was higher in CTs than in NT+Ch+H, NT+Ch e NT+H, before watermelon seeding. However, Collembola population in CT and CTs was smaller than NT at 90 DAS. Coleoptera population was smaller in CTs than in NT+Ch+H and NT, while Hymenoptera population was not affected by soil management. Conventional tillage in strips decreased richness at 5 and 30 days before watermelon seeding and abundance at 90 DAS. NT treatments didn ́t affect richness and abundance. Chemical leaf disease management increased abundance. Simpson's diversity index was not affected by soil management nor by leaf disease management.


Ewing's sarcoma is found exceptionally as a primary epidural tumor of the spine. Four cases have been described in the literature. We describe the fifth case: a 10-year-old boy who underwent operation followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. For 1 year he then had a complete remission with no local recurrence and his neurological condition was satisfactory, although metastases developed later. Comparison with the cases described previously shows all five to possess interesting features in common.


A technique of intestinal anastomosis, developed for the treatment of meconium ileus, was used by the authors in the treatment of neonates suffering from various other intestinal anomalies such as atresia, volvulus and apple-peel syndrome. This technique was used in 6 neonates to make a safe intestinal reconstruction.


Certification to industry standards is the most tangible means for a company to prove its commitment to sustainability issues. The construction sector is of particular interest, due to the huge impacts of its operations. Many companies operating within the sector have implemented environmental management systems in line with ISO 14001 although recently the industry has become focused on the concept of responsible sourcing (RS); the ethical management of sustainability issues associated with products and materials in the construction supply chain. An adoption of this concept can be evidenced by certification to BES 6001, the framework standard for responsible sourcing. Despite this, the number of accreditations is relatively low and knowledge and awareness of RS is still limited. This review paper explores the reasons behind the under-emphasis of RS within the industry, despite a continually increasing knowledge of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda. Currently, opinion is divided on whether CSR and RS represent a form of corporate philanthropy or a channel by which revenue can be increased. The issue is further complicated by the presence of engineered-to-order (ETO) products, which creates barriers to the enactment of RS and CSR principles. These are explored and possible explanations for their absence from supply chain management issues offered. Furthermore, the potential to extend the interpretation and application of the ISO 14001 framework to demonstrate the consideration of these principles is presented. Other certification schemes of particular significance to the industry and the problems for companies to achieve certification are also discussed; in particular, access to financial and other resources are identified as a key barrier to certification, especially for SMEs. Recommendations are made for future research that might enable SMEs to achieve sustainability certification more readily and to help the industry embrace the concept of RS more broadly.


There is extensive evidence in Parkinson's disease of a link between oxidative stress and some of the monogenically inherited Parkinson's disease-associated genes. This paper focuses on the importance of this link and potential impact on neuronal function. Basic mechanisms of oxidative stress, the cellular antioxidant machinery, and the main sources of cellular oxidative stress are reviewed. Moreover, attention is given to the complex interaction between oxidative stress and other prominent pathogenic pathways in Parkinson's disease, such as mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation. Furthermore, an overview of the existing genetic mouse models of Parkinson's disease is given and the evidence of oxidative stress in these models highlighted. Taken into consideration the importance of ageing and environmental factors as a risk for developing Parkinson's disease, gene-environment interactions in genetically engineered mouse models of Parkinson's disease are also discussed, highlighting the role of oxidative damage in the interplay between genetic makeup, environmental stress, and ageing in Parkinson's disease.


Entrepreneurship is a phenomenon that occurs in different environments and places and, as a result, it leads to economic growth through innovations that people have created in response to economic opportunities (Chitsaz et al., 2019; Ziya et al., 2019). In fact, successful organizations are those that have a coherent plan for the future besides keeping pace with social developments (Tajpour et al., 2015). Entrepreneurial university is involved as a trend in the development and transformation of universities (Taucean et al., 2018). Therefore, nowadays, universities are evaluated with methods to meet the social and economic needs of the community (Tajpour et al., 2018; Tajpour & Salamzadeh, 2019). Thus, the Entrepreneurial University is considered as a catalyst for universities to facilitate entrepreneurship in the international arena (Centobelli et al., 2019). The internationalization of the entrepreneurial university is a set of activities related to the expansion of international scientific and academic cooperation and communication, which aims to provide an educational and research environment in universities (Altbach, 2014). Besides, one of the essential methods in the development of the entrepreneurial university is the use of virtual social media for teaching and learning (Salamzadeh et al., 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019; Tajpour et al.,2019). For this reason, researchers consider entrepreneurial universities as a social system that seeks to innovate in business activities (Tajpour et al., 2018). Therefore, the Entrepreneurial University represents universities that provide opportunities, trends, cultures, and suitable environments that are conducive to encouraging and accepting the entrepreneurship of students and graduates (Gibb, 2012; Khahande Karnama et al., 2017; Ratten, 2017). However, environments that are more dynamic than before have led universities to seek answers to this dynamism in order to achieve higher success and performance (Nikraftar & Hosseini, 2016). Research shows that universities are increasingly devoted to the commercialization of knowledge and suggest that entrepreneurial universities focus on changes in the university paradigm (Ziyae & Tajpour, 2016; Tajpour et al., 2018); Therefore, we conclude that the entrepreneurial university impact on the improvement of the economic and social situation of the society by changing the mentality and perception of people about innovation in order to build the process of creating a business. Besides, with the development of societies, the presence of entrepreneurs in social and economic activities has increased, and its continuation requires the existence of appropriate contexts. The internationalization of the university has different sources that resource-based theory allows us to compare them. Finally, universities that work in the field of internationalization respond more to innovation in society. For doing future research on the development of university spin-out companies, the internationalization of university should be taken into account.


BACKGROUND
To conduct a multicenter, prospective survey within the program of the Cooleycare Cooperative Group to evaluate the rate of transfusion-transmitted infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) in a cohort of patients who were homozygous for beta thalassemia and underwent multiple transfusions during the 6-year follow-up.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
One thousand three hundred eighty-four patients with beta thalassemia from 36 centers were enrolled from December 1989 to March 1990. Serum samples were tested at regular intervals during the period from December 1989 to March 1996 for anti-HIV and anti-HTLV antibodies in 1 laboratory. Samples from 1073 and 1001 of the 1384 patients were available for evaluation also during the periods from December 1992 to March 1993 and December 1995 to March 1996, respectively. The risk of acquiring infection was calculated by the ratio between the number of patients who experienced seroconversion and the number of red blood cell units administered to the patients during the study period.

RESULTS
The prevalence of HIV infection found in the period from December 1989 to March 1990 was 2.9% (40 of 1384 patients). During follow-up, 1 of 1001 patients showed anti-HIV seroconversion. The incidence of HIV infection was 1.7 per 10,000 person-years (upper boundary of the 95% confidence interval, 5 per 10,000). The risk of HIV infection was 1 in 190,000 U (upper boundary of the 95% confidence interval, 1 in 67,000). At baseline, 4 patients were infected with HTLV (3 with HTLV-1 and 1 with HTLV-2). No seroconversions were observed during follow-up; the risk of HTLV infection was less than 1 in 190,000 U.

CONCLUSION
The application of reliable screening procedures for donor selection reduced the transmission of transfusion-associated HIV infection in 1989-1995 to fewer than 2 cases in 10,000 person-years or 1 case per 190,000 units of red blood cells.


Clinical, laboratory, and pathologic findings from a case of malignant extramedullary plasmacytoma of the skin are presented. To our knowledge, this is the 11th reported case of extramedullary plasmacytoma of the skin and the second reported case with a complete follow-up and postmortem examination. In these two cases, surgical excision of the tumor mass, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy were ineffective. At necropsy, visceral metastases were found, but there was no bone marrow involvement.


NRAMP-1 and iNOS genes were reported to be associated with a defense mechanism against bacteria and virus infections. This study aimed to identify NRAMP-1 and iNOS genes polymorphisms and their associations with the defense mechanisms against Salmonella enteritidis and Newcastle Disease (ND) in SenSi-1 Agrinak chicken. The present study used a total number of 172 SenSi-1 Agrinak chicken. Identifications of NRAMP-1 and iNOS genes polymorphisms were performed by PCR-RFLP method. NRAMP-1 and iNOS genotypes were associated with immunoglobulin Y (IgY) concentration, specific antibodies against S. enteritidis and ND using General Linear Model (GLM). Immunity characteristics were further grouped into high, medium, and low categories. NRAMP1|SacI exon 11 and iNOS|AluI intron 24 in SenSi-1 Agrinak chickens were polymorphic. TC genotype has a higher immune response to infectious agents compared to TT and CC genotypes. The frequency of C allele was higher than the T allele in the concentration of immunoglobulin Y (IgY), antibodies titers against S enteritidis and ND. The TC genotype of NRAMP-1 gene was significantly associated with ND antibody titers, and the TT genotype of iNOS was significantly associated with S. enteritidis specific antibody. NRAMP-1 and iNOS genes can be used as potential candidate genes for immune traits in SenSi-1 Agrinak chickens.