The sporadic form of inclusion body myositis (IBM) is the most common late-onset myopathy. Its complex pathogenesis includes degenerative, inflammatory and mitochondrial aspects. However, which of those mechanisms are cause and which effect, as well as their interrelations, remain partly obscured to this day. In this review the nature of the mitochondrial dysregulation in IBM muscle is explored and comparison is made with other muscle disorders. Mitochondrial alterations in IBM are evidenced by histological and serum biomarkers. Muscular mitochondrial dynamics is disturbed, with deregulated organelle fusion leading to subsequent morphological alterations and muscle displays abnormal mitophagy. The tissue increases mitochondrial content in an attempt to compensate dysfunction, yet mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) alterations and mild mtDNA depletion are also present. Oxidative phosphorylation defects have repeatedly been shown, most notably a reduction in complex IV activities and levels of mitokines and regulatory RNAs are perturbed. Based on the cumulating evidence of mitochondrial abnormality as a disease contributor, it is therefore warranted to regard IBM as a mitochondrial disease, offering a feasible therapeutic target to be developed for this yet untreatable condition.


This short paper is prompted by a booklet produced by Pat Stuttard to celebrate the International Year of Co-operation in 2012, and some of the women who feature in the history of the co-operative movement — "the dreamers and adventurers" (Rowbotham, 2010: 3). This review cannot be a complete account of women's voices, experiences, and actions and there are many names missing from the account below — women such as Jane Addams who set up Hull House, a settlement community in North America and who worked alongside John Dewey; Eleanor Rathbone, or Elizabeth Fry — Quaker and prison reform campaigner. Nor does it mention Sarah Reddish who, at the age of 11, became a silk weaver and was later active in the Manchester suffrage movement, or the women co-operators who worked to provide aid during the Spanish Civil War, so well depicted in some of the paintings by British artists in the recent touring exhibition 'Conflict and Conscience: British artists and the Spanish civil war' (Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, and Laing Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2015). It does, however, provide a springboard for further exploration and consideration of women then and now as activists, as peacemakers and as co-operators.


The Shewhart, Bonferroni-adjustment, and analysis of means (ANOM) control charts are typically applied to monitor the mean of a quality characteristic. The Shewhart and Bonferroni procedure are utilized to recognize special causes in production process, where the control limits are constructed by assuming normal distribution for known parameters (mean and standard deviation), and approximately normal distribution regarding to unknown parameters. The ANOM method is an alternative to the analysis of variance method. It can be used to establish the mean control charts by applying equicorrelated multivariate non central t distribution. In this article, we establish new control charts, in phases I and II monitoring, based on normal and t distributions having as a cause a known (or unknown) parameter (standard deviation). Our proposed methods are at least as effective as the classical Shewhart methods and have some advantages.


This study includes 100 total samples divided into 40 control, 60 patients suffering from HCV infection from Al-Saddar Medical City in Najaf governorate from December 2020 to May 2021, aging (20-70) years old and has shown higher frequency of hepatitis C infection in  males 35sample (58 %), also the age group of  (40-50)  years more frequency. Moreover, it was observed that the concentration of Interleukin 23 (IL-23) (pg/ml) in (60) patients with diabetic foot ulcer infection was increase significantly over (P value was (< 0.0001)


We analyse how competitive the banks in sub-Saharan Africa are and what determines their profitability. We use a panel data of 97 sub-Saharan African banks for the period from 2000 to 2012. Using recursive regression, there is no strong evidence to suggest a structural break. The findings indicate that on average banks have a 40% return on equity. The fixed effects indicate that both internal and external factors are influential in determining the profitability of the banks. Specifically, the cost–income ratio and capital ratio negatively and significantly influence profitability. Measuring revenue diversification with the Herfindahl–Hirschman index (HHI), the results indicate that the more diversified the bank is, the more profitable it is. On the other hand, we find that the coefficient of cyclical output almost doubles when the output exceeds its trend value. In contrast, when the output is below its trend, the coefficient of cyclical output is insignificant.


A method of speech signal compression, by variable rate coding of frames of digitized speech samples, comprising the steps of: determining a level of speech activity for a frame of digitized speech samples; selecting an encoding rate from a set of rates based upon said determined level of speech activity for said frame; coding said frame according to a coding format of a set of coding formats for said selected rate wherein each rate has a corresponding different coding format and wherein each coding format provides for a different plurality of parameter signals representing said digitized speech samples in accordance with a speech model; and generating for said frame a data packet of said parameter signals.


Interventional balloon catheterisation is now the recommended procedure for several congenital heart defects. The overall complication rate in the first 160 children (median age 3 years) to undergo balloon intervention (excluding balloon atrial septostomy) at the Brompton Hospital was 24% (14% excluding haemorrhage and including three deaths (1.9%]. Most complications were related to vascular problems at the site of cardiac catheterisation. Complications were more common in the younger patient, especially neonates, and also in procedures that were ultimately unsuccessful. Most complications were transient and usually had no long term effects. Improvements in equipment design and technical expertise may reduce morbidity from these procedures.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

There is no targeted therapy for triple negative breast cancers (TNBC), which have the worst prognosis of human breast cancers. TNBCs are prone to relapse and metastasize after cytotoxic drug treatment. This group of cancers, defined by low or absent expression of estrogen, progesterone and Her2 receptors, are heterogeneous in genetic, epigenetic and phenotypic features, making it difficult to identify specific drug targets suitable for this group of cancers as a whole. About half or more of TNBCs have an epithelial phenotype (classified based on gene expression profiling as basal-like or basal-A) and a large minority of the remaining tumors are mesenchymal (classified as basal-B). To identify selective genetic dependencies of the basal-like subtype of TNBC that are not required for survival of normal breast epithelial cells, which might be good targets for targeted drug therapy, we first performed a genome-wide siRNA lethality screen that compared two human breast epithelial TNBC cell lines transformed with the same genes in different media - basal-like BPLER and myoepithelial HMLER. BPLER are highly malignant and enriched for tumor-initiating cells, forming tumors in nude mice after injection of just 50 cells, while the more differentiated HMLER cell line only forms tumors when more than 50,000 cells are injected. The screen identified 154 genes on which BPLER, but not HMLER, depended. Expression of the 154 BPLER dependency genes correlated with poor prognosis in breast, but not lung or colon, cancer. Of note, no oncogenic kinases, which are often chosen as cancer drug targets, were identified in the screen. Proteasome genes were overrepresented hits. Basal-like TNBC lines as a group were selectively sensitive to proteasome inhibitor drugs relative to normal epithelial, luminal breast cancer and mesenchymal TNBC lines. Proteasome inhibition reduced growth of established basal-like TNBC tumors in mice and blocked tumor-initiation and metastasis. Tumor-initiating cells (T-ICs) within basal-like cancers did not survive proteasome inhibition. Developing ways to target T-ICs is a priority of cancer drug development. Proteasome addiction in basal-like TNBCs was mediated by NOXA and linked to MCL-1 dependence, which was also a common dependency gene of basal-like TNBCs. Because of the heterogeneity of TNBCs, we next assessed how many of the BPLER dependencies were shared with other breast cancers. A targeted screen was performed comparing the viability of 10 breast cancer cell lines (3 luminal A, 5 basal-A and 2 basal-B TNBCs) and telomerase-immortalized normal breast epithelial cells after knockdown of the 154 BPLER dependency genes. This screen confirmed the selective dependence of basal-A TNBCs on the proteasome and MCL-1. This screen identified 17 additional hits that were shared dependencies in at least 4 of 5 basal-like TNBC cell lines. A novel hit, required for survival of 4 of 5 basal-A TNBC cell lines, but not normal breast epithelial cells, was the spindle checkpoint regulator NDC80.

This work was supported by Department of Defense grants to FP and JL and by a grant from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. The authors have no financial conflicts of interest to disclose.

Citation Format: Fabio Petrocca, Gabriel Altschuler, Shen Mynn Tan, Marc L. Mendillo, Haoheng Yan, D. Joseph Jerry, Andrew L. Kung, Winston Hide, Tan A. Ince, Judy Lieberman. Screening for triple negative breast cancer vulnerabilities. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr SY43-03. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-SY43-03


A hot water and steam tester was used to examine thermal protective performance of waterproof and breathable fabric against hot water and steam hazards. Time to cause skin burn and thermal energy absorbed by skin during exposure and cooling phases was employed to characterize the effect of configuration, placing order and properties of waterproof and breathable fabric on the thermal protective performance. The difference of thermal protective performance due to hot water and steam hazards was discussed. The result showed that the configuration of waterproof and breathable fabric presented a significant effect on the thermal protective performance of single- and double-layer fabric system, while the difference between different configurations in steam hazard was greater than that in hot water hazard. The waterproof and breathable fabric as outer layer provided better protection than that as inner layer. Increasing thickness and moisture regain improved the thermal protective performance of fabric system. Additionally, the thermal energy absorbed by skin during the cooling phase was affected by configuration, thickness and moisture regain of fabric. The findings will provide technical data to improve performance of thermal protective clothing in hot water and steam hazards.


Lithium ion battery safety problem has attracted the whole world's attention essentially after the explosion of Samsung Note 7. This work mainly deals with the study of the generation, characteristics and prevention measures of the battery fire. Firstly, the heat generation rate of battery in the dynamic cycling was analyzed in Batteries & Fuel Cells Module and Heat Transfer Module of the COMSOL Multiphysics® software. Then a thermal abuse model was proposed in order to predict the thermal runaway of battery, which coupled the 1D electrochemical model and 3D thermal model, especially considering the material decomposition heat. Furthermore, a composite board based battery thermal management system was put forward in this work, which can effectively improve the heat dissipation capability and the heat-insulation capability of the battery pack.


ABSTRACT Tithonia diversifolia has the ability to sequester nutrients from soil in its tissues, including P, and has been shown to be useful for cycling nutrients via biomass transfer and improved fallow. We investigated the effects of its establishment from bare root seedlings (plantlets) and vegetative stem cuttings (stakes) on shoot and root growth characteristics, arbuscular-mycorrhizae (AM) associations, nutrient acquisition and utilization, and P dynamics in a fine-textured volcanic-ash soil (Oxic Dystropept) of a mid-altitude hillside in southwestern Colombia. One year after establishment, the following determinations were made: leaf area index; shoot and root N, P, K, Ca, and Mg acquisition; AM root infection; AM fungal spores per 100 g soil; soil chemical characteristics; and P fractionation into inorganic (Pi) and organic (Po) pools. AM root infection in both coarse and fine roots was significantly greater in plants established from plantlets than those established from stakes with differences of 21 and 31%, respectively. Nutrient uptake efficiency (μg of shoot nutrient uptake per m of root length) and use efficiency (g of shoot biomass produced per g of shoot nutrient uptake) for N, P, K, Ca, and Mg were also greater with plants established from plantlets than those established from stakes. Improved nutrient acquisition could be attributed to relief from P stress and possibly uptake of some essential micronutrients resulting from AM association. High soil variability masked the effect of the establishment method on phosphorus pools, and neither the biologically available P (H2O-Po, resin-Pi, and NaHCO3-Pi and -Po) nor the moderately resistant P (NaOH-extractable P) was significantly affected, although plantlets had higher values. This study has shown that on this soil when Tithonia is to be used as a fallow species, the use of plantlets as compared to the stake method of establishment is better for nutrient acquisition and recycling.


Disposition of ["4C]SCE-129 was studied in rats and dogs after intramuscular (i.m.) or intravenous (i.v.) injection. In rats, the plasma level of i.m. [14C]SCE-129 attained a peak at 15 min after dosing and then declined with a half-life of 35 min, whereas the half-life after an i.v. dose was 26 min. The area under the plasma level curve within 2 h after the i.m. dose was 85% of that after the i.v. dose. Intramuscular injection of [14C]SCE-129 into dogs gave a peak plasma level at 30 min and a half-life of 60 min. In both rats and dogs, the plasma levels of 14C were closely similar to those of the unchanged antibiotic, which was weakly bound to plasma protein. The rat tissue level of i.m. [14C]SCE-129 was maximum at 15 min, with the highest concentration in the kidney, followed by plasma, adrenal, lung, heart, thymus, gastrointestinal wall, and liver, and the lowest in the brain. The antibiotic barely entered erythrocytes of rats and dogs. Whole-body autoradiographic studies showed that i.m. [14C]SCE-129 scarcely crossed the rat placenta. 14C was detected in the milk of rats given i.m. [14C]SCE-129. In both rats and dogs, almost all of the dosed '4C was excreted in urine within 24 h as the unaltered antibiotic, with only small amounts appearing in feces via bile. Thus, these findings evidenced a rapid absorption and wide distribution of i.m. SCE129, followed by extensive renal elimination as the unaltered antibiotic. 4,No. 1


This article describes novel phase-separation behavior by a binary mixture of alkanethiols when deposited onto a gold surface using micro- and nanodeposition tools, such as microcontact printing (muCP) and dip-pen nanolithography (DPN). This behavior is significantly different than that observed in the bulk. We demonstrate this behavior using three model compounds: 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHA), 1-octadecanethiol (ODT), and CF3(CF2)11(CH2)2SH (PFT). The identity of the resulting segregated structure is confirmed by lateral force microscopy (LFM) and by selective metal-organic coordination chemistry. Importantly, this phenomenon can be exploited to print sub-100 nm wide alkanethiol lines via conventional muCP and to form sub-15 nm features using DPN, which is below the ultimate resolution of both these techniques. We also demonstrate that these nano-patterned materials can serve as templates for constructing more complex architectures.


Nobel hydroxamic acids containing bis-netropsin units coupled by polymethylenetether (BNHA) have been synthesized. BNHA-ferrous complexes sequence-specifically cleaved pBR322 DNA fragment whereas corresponding cerium complexes showed low-sequence specific cleavage pattern.


T o process information efficiently, the brain is believed to operate on a knife-edge between two dynamical phases. At this critical point, networks of neurons are stable enough to store information reliably, but sensitive enough to quickly send signals to other, distant parts of the brain (see Viewpoint: The Brain—as Critical as Possible). Now, using methods adopted from quantum field theory, Moritz Helias, at Jülich Research Centre in Germany, and his colleagues have confirmed the existence of these critical points in a classic model of brain dynamics [1].


The purpose of this paper was to examine the importance of the marriage law from various disciplines, in terms of the legal age of marriage. Data were collected by examining journals, books and other documents deemed relevant to the study. The findings indicated that the minimum age of marriage for girls, which was originally regulated in Law number 1 of 1974 concerning marriage, was 16 years. The Constitutional Court stated that this was unconstitutional and a violation of human rights, as well as a form of exploitation of children. Therefore, based on this decision, the Constitutional Court ordered legislators within a period of three years to make amendments to the Marriage Law, particularly with regard to the minimum age of marriage. In 2019, the issuance of a new rule of Article 7 paragraph (1) of Law number 16 of 2019 concerning amendments to Law number 1 of 1974 concerning marriage states that marriage is only permitted if the man and woman are a minimum of 19 years old. In adolescence, cervical cells have not yet grown in maturity. Sexual intercourse during adolescence increases the risk of being exposed to the human papilloma virus, the virus that causes cervical cancer. Another impact is that babies born to mothers who are under 18 years of age are more likely to have health issues. According to the BKKBN, the normal age for marriage is 25 years for men and 21 years for women. Early marriage not only has an impact on health, but also on the psychological survival of marriage. In addition, as a country where the majority of the population is Muslim, the age of marriage is also discussed in terms of religion and psychology.
Keywords: legal competent, marriage, socio-science


Immunization drives the proliferation and differentiation of effector CD8 T cells followed by a contraction phase after the peak of the T cell response. The survivors of this contraction phase differentiate into long-lived memory cells, which can provide life-long protection. Generating long lived T cell memory through vaccination holds great promise to provide protection in situations where antibody-inducing vaccines fail. Prime-boost strategies have been used to repeatedly stimulate T cells with the aim of increasing memory T cell frequency. However, repeated stimulation of the memory T cell pool leads to T cell senescence and loss of responsiveness. We sought to determine whether a prime-boost vaccination strategy can be developed that does not suffer from this drawback. We report that the extent of senescence at the memory stage is determined during the primary response. We developed a system that allows priming of CD8 T cells without acquisition of maximal effector function and show that the ensuing memory population is fully functional upon rechallenge. Importantly, these memory cells derived from minimal effector T cells have full access to non-lymphoid tissue and are less senescent upon rechallenge than memory cells that did acquire maximal effector markers and function during priming. Understanding how the nature of the priming stimulus shapes memory T cell differentiation allows situation dependent tailoring of vaccines to achieve maximal protection efficacy.


The present study characterized the projections of the anterodorsal (AD) and the anteroventral (AV) thalamic nuclei to the limbic cortex. Both AD and AV project to the full extent of the retrosplenial granular cortex in a topographic pattern. Neurons in caudal parts of both nuclei project to rostral retrosplenial cortex, and neurons in rostral parts of both nuclei project to caudal retrosplenial cortpx. Within AV, the magnocellular neurons project primarily to the retrosplenial granular a cortex, whereas the parvicellular neurons project mainly to the retrosplenial granular b cortex. AD projections to retrosplenial cortex terminate in very different patternsthan do AV projections: The AD projection terminates with equal density in layers I, III, and IV of the retrosplenial granular cortex, whereas, in contrast, the AV projections terminate very densely in layer Ia and less densely in layer IV. Further, both AD and AV project densely to the postsubicular, presubicular, and parasubicular cortices and lightly to the entorhinal (only the most caudal part) cortex and to the subiculum proper (only the most septal part). Rostral parts of AD project equally to all three subicular cortices, whereas neurons in caudal AD project primarily to the postsubicular cortex. Compared to AD, neurons in AV have a less extensive projection to the subicular cortex, and this projection terminates primarily in the postsubicular and presubicular cortices. Further, the AD projection terminates in layers I, II/III, and V of postsubiculum, whereas the AV projection terminates only in layers I and V. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In this paper, we consider a target-tracking sensor network and improve its energy awareness through predicting a target trajectory and decreasing sampling rate of sensors while maintaining an acceptable tracking accuracy. The tracking problem is formulated as a hierarchical Markov decision process (MDP) and is solved through neurodynamic programming. Though this is not new, improvements in performance of the network are achieved by use of a reinforcement learning algorithm to solve the MDP that converges faster than the preceding used methods, since the energy efficiency and speed of convergence of the solution are tightly coupled. Simulation results show the effectiveness of our algorithm against other known target tracking algorithms.


Dendritic poly(ester-amine) with a peripheral hydroxyl [PEA(OH)] was synthesized from dendritic PEA terminated with acrylic double bonds [PEA()] and diethanolamine (DEA) by a Michael addition reaction. The effects of the reaction temperature, time, and solvent on the purities of PEA(OH) were studied. It was found that when the mole ratio of PEA() to DEA was 1:8 and the reaction was carried out in methanol at 25°C for 22 h, the purity of PEA(OH) was 94.6%. The structure of PEA(OH) was identified by IR, 1H-NMR, and elemental analysis. PEA(OH) is a surfactant and its aqueous form exhibits cloud points between the mass concentrations of 0.1 and 50 mass %. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 60–64, 2005


Background. Septic tanks that are commonly used in the community are conventional septic tanks. The use of this septic tank is still not optimal because the processing efficiency has only reached 65%, causing only 22.5% of the total organic pollutants that can be processed (Said, 2005). In addition, low efficiency causes rapid accumulation of sludge which reduces the service life of the septic tank. Aim. This study aims to determine the differences in the efficiency of conventional septic tanks and modified septic tanks in reducing levels of BOD, TSS, and Coliform in household wastewater. Method. This research is an experimental study using a one group pretest-posttest research design. Results. The results showed that conventional septic tanks were not efficient in reducing BOD (-38.21%) and Coliform (0%), as well as very small efficiency in reducing TSS content (5.09%) in wastewater, modified septic tanks had little efficiency for reducing BOD content (2.4%), but it is very efficient for reducing TSS content (89.44%) and inefficiency to reduce coliform content (0%) in wastewater. Conclusion. There was no significant efficiency difference between conventional septic tanks and modified septic tanks in reducing BOD and Coliform content, but there were significant efficiency differences between conventional septic tanks and modified septic tanks in reducing TSS content in the wastewater.


Visceral hyperalgesia, intestinal dysfunction and unexplained irritability in neurological impaired children is a medical enigma for many healthcare professionals. The neuro-medical management can be challenging and difficult, due to poor understanding of the underlying aetiology and pathophysiology of the condition. Neuro-enteric axis has been proposed as emerging physiologic mechanism in the pathogenesis of many gastrointestinal diseases. The bidirectional connection between enteric and central nervous system may represent a direct relationship between neurological system and gut physiology. Insult to the brain indirectly contribute to the ongoing gut and brain axis sequalae. Microbiota has been an important modulator in the brain-gut axis. Irritability episodes in severe neurological impairment children has been commonly associated with pain originated from gastrointestinal pathology. Management of such condition requires a holistic approach to tackle multidimensional factors that has contributed to the 'totality' of the symptoms.


The exceptional physical properties of diamond, cBN, and other superhard materials make them not only valuable gems but also important materials in a wide variety of industries where their extreme hardness, toughness, high refractive index, transparency over a broad spectral range, and high thermal conductivity are exploited. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) nanocrystalline films, polycrystalline cubic diamond and cBN have been attracting rapidly increasing interest that focuses on the design of optimum materials by reducing grain dimensions and on how new useful properties could be achieved. We will discuss fundamental issues of high-pressure, hightemperature synthesis and characterization of advanced superhard nano-materials. The new fields of their application will be also considered. Special emphasis will be given to the novel phases, such as nanodiamond, nano-cBN, diamond-like phases in the B-C-N system, spinel nitrides, oxides, and carbides.


APG350 is a TRAIL-receptor (TRAIL-R) agonist comprising two single-chain TRAIL-R binding domains (scTRAIL-RBD) that are dimerized via the Fc-part of a human IgG1-mutein thereby creating six receptor binding sites per molecule. This improved ability to form clusters on target cells composed of six TRAIL-Rs each, distinguishes APG350 from current clinical development candidates. In vitro, comparison of APG350 with recombinant APO2L/TRAIL and a TRAIL-R2 specific agonistic antibody revealed superior apoptosis induction for APG350 on primary and established human tumor cell-lines. Treatment of mice bearing Colo205 xenograft tumors with APG350, APO2L/TRAIL or an agonistic TRAIL-R2 specific antibody showed superior anti-tumor efficacy for APG350. Pronounced anti tumor efficacy was also shown on colon cancer stem cell (CSC) derived xenografts and successful APG350 re-treatment of relapsed CSC derived tumors demonstrated that tumors did not develop drug resistance. For most agonistic TRAIL-R antibodies effective apoptosis induction is achieved only upon additional cross-linking. SEC-based fractionation of a TRAIL-R2 specific agonistic antibody indicates a small amount of multimerized antibody that showed efficient apoptosis induction in vitro. However, the respective monomeric antibody showed poor apoptosis induction in vitro that could be enhanced upon cross-linking. In contrast apoptosis induction by APG350 was only marginally enhanced by cross-linking. Although monomeric agonistic TRAIL-R antibodies are poor apoptosis inducers in vitro, they show efficient apoptosis induction on xenograft tumors in vivo. A likely explanation for this difference is given by a recent publication showing that anti-tumor efficacy of an agonistic TRAIL-R2 specific antibody (Drozitumab) depends on cross-linking by Fcα-receptors (FcαR) in vivo. These data suggest that FcαR cross-linking might be a common requirement for the anti-tumor efficacy of agonistic TRAIL-R antibodies. To exclude that in vivo efficacy of APG350 depends on cross-linking by FcαRs we designed APG350-muteins with strongly reduced (APG808) or lacking FcαR binding (APG780). Side by side comparison of APG808, APG780 and APG350 in mice bearing Colo205-derived xenograft tumors showed identical anti-tumor efficacy for all respective proteins. Given that APG780 cannot bind to FcαRs these results suggest that the anti-tumor efficacy of APG808, APG780 and APG350 is solely based on the unique construction principle of the dimerized scTRAIL-RBD. APG350 induces superior clustering of TRAIL-Rs that in contrast to agonistic TRAIL-R antibodies does not require cross-linking via FcαRs for its potent anti-tumor efficacy. APG350 based dimerized scTRAIL-RBD formats may therefore have the capacity to bridge the current gap seen between preclinical and clinical efficacy for agonistic TRAIL-R specific antibodies. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3856. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3856


Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the official language used in all Arabic countries. In this paper we describe an investigation of the uniformity of MSA across different countries. Many studies have been carried out locally or regionally on Arabic and its dialects. Here we look on a more global scale by studying language variations between countries. The source material used in this investigation was derived from national newspapers available on the Web, which provided samples of common media usage in each country. This corpus has been used to investigate the lexical characteristics of Modern Standard Arabic as found in 10 different Arabic speaking countries. We describe our collection methods, the types of lexical analysis performed, and the results of our investigations. With respect to newspaper articles, MSA seems to be very uniform across all the countries included in the study, but we have detected various types of differences, with implications for computational processing of MSA.


Optimal control systems are of considerable practical and theoretical interest. Although solutions of certain optimal control problems have been known for many years, it is only recently that fairly general, rigorous solution techniques have been developed. Unfortunately, the computational aspects of these solution techniques still present formidable problems. The time-optimal problem which is treated in what follows has a very well developed theory. Our purpose here is to show the utility of hybrid computer techniques. Some of the programming procedures described may also be useful in the solution of other problems.


PURPOSE
Our aim was to better understand how to isolate the cone-mediated response in rats. Therefore, we studied the difference of ERGs in the course of light adaptation between 2 and 20 Hz stimulus frequencies.

METHODS
A total of 90 rats divided into 18 different groups were used following overnight dark adaptation. ERGs were recorded against 3 different adapting field luminances (1.15, 1. 50 or 1.75 log cd/m(2)) with a combination of 3 stimulus flash intensities (0.86, 1.30 or 2.03 log cd sec/m( 2)). The responses were obtained at 2 minute intervals for 25 minutes of light adaptation.

RESULTS
The response of the rat cone ERG was large despite the small number of cones. The mean amplitude increased systematically from the dark-adapted value requiring more than 15 minutes to reach an asymptote at 2 Hz stimulation, but only 10 minutes at 20 Hz stimulation. The 2 Hz adaptation curves had biphasic pattern compared to the monophasic 20 Hz curve. This second increase in the amplitude at 2 Hz appeared at around 7-8 minutes as a function of adaptation time. This tendency was most evident when using a low adapting field luminance with a high flash intensity.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the rods intrude much more during light adaptation at 2 Hz stimulation in rodents than in humans. Therefore, 20 Hz flicker stimulation can better isolate more the cone-mediated function than 2 Hz stimulation during the course of light adaptation in rats. Furthermore, the functional characteristics of the cone in rats may be different from that in humans.


In this paper we describe the data structure and some implementation details of the tunneling algorithm for generating a set of triangle strips from a mesh of triangles. The algorithm uses a simple topological operation on the dual graph of the mesh, to generate an initial stripification and iteratively rearrange and decrease the number of strips. Our method is a major improvement of a proposed one originally devised for both static and continuous level-of-detail (CLOD) meshes and retains this feature. The usage of a dynamical identification strategy for the strips allows us to drastically reduce the length of the searching paths in the graph needed for the rearrangement and produce loop-free triangle strips without any further controls and post-processing, while requiring a more sophisticated implementation to manage the search and undo operations.


In the article we report about our investigation of cytogenetic parameters in chromosomal complex of the new Ukrainian winter wheat varieties and some relations amid value of cytological indexes and different concentrations of DMS (dimethylsulfate). We used the anaphases method for the investigation of chromosomal rearrangements and determination the mutagen action on plants and identification the nature of mutagen. We studied combined the sensitivity of genotype by the cytological analysis of mutagen treated population of wheat and revealed the reaction of different varieties depending upon the way of its origin. This was done for determining its connections and differences on cytogenetics level together with specificity of mutagen action on cell level. Dry seeds of seven varieties and one line of winter wheat were subjected to DMS in 0.0125, 0.025, and 0.05 % concentrations, which are the most useful for winter wheat in terms of genetic investigation programs. We investigated the rates and spectra of chromosomal aberrations in winter wheat (primary roots of tips cells) during the mitosis. We identified the following types of chromosomal rearrangements: chromatid and chromosome bridges, single and double fragments, micronuclei, and lagging chromosomes. Investigation of DMS action confirmed reliability of fragments-bridges ratio (prevalence of fragments under the bridges for chemical mutagens and vice versa for physical mutagens) for the mutagen nature identification.


Using a new, highly sensitive and specific method for the determination of histamine in human plasma, it was shown that release of histamine followed injection of propanidid and thiopentone. Observations of gastric secretion, arterial pressure and pulse rate supported these findings. In normal persons the release of histamine had no special clinical significance. On the other hand, when anaphylactoid reactions occurred following propanidid injection histamine release was so massive as to explain the severe clinical signs and symptoms observed. In this study no reactions occurred following thiopentone injection. Although it seems likely that massive histamine release can occur during anaphylactoid reactions with this anaesthetic, we have no observations to confirm this. In one case it was shown that premedication with glucocorticoids and anti-histaminics and therapy with plasma substitutes could prevent the development of a severe reaction.


A culture of Nocardia tartaricans ATCC 31190 was capable of catalyzing the conversion of ethylbenzene to 1-phenethanol and acetophenone while growing in a shake flask culture with hexadecane as the source of carbon and energy. This subterminal oxidative reaction with ethylbenzene appears not to have been previously reported for Nocardia species. When N. tartaricans was grown on glucose as its source of carbon and energy and ethylbenzene was added, no subsequent production of 1-phenethanol or acetophenone was observed. The mechanisms of 1-phenethanol and acetophenone production from ethylbenzene are thought to involve a subterminal oxidation of the alpha-carbon of the alkyl group to 1-phenethanol followed by biological oxidation of the latter to acetophenone.


Learners are not born with an understanding of the principles of democracy. However, as citizens of the future they have to be prepared for their future responsibilities as citizens of a democratic society. Many institutions help to develop citizens' knowledge and skills and shape their civic character and commitments: family, religious institutions, the media and community groups exert important influences. Schools, however, bear a special and historic responsibility for the development of civic competency and responsibility. Schools are needed as much for political as for educational reasons: on the school, more than upon any other institution, will depend the quality and nature of the citizenship of the future. The notion that South African schools have a distinctively civic mission has been recognised with the introduction of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (2002). Closer scrutiny of the introductory remarks above reveals the existence of a number of problems. The first problem centres around the question of how public schools in South Africa, charged with delivering democratically-inspired programmes on citizenship, should meet the challenge. The second problem centres around the question of how a public school as a whole can work to ensure that education for democratic citizenship is more than an idealistic ambition. The main aim of this article is to sensitise the policymakers, curriculum developers and educational administrators involved in drafting a blueprint for education for citizenship in South African public schools, to the need to gain independent and well-reasoned knowledge of the different models of citizenship education and to assist teachers so that they will be able to successfully educate young South Africans for responsible citizenship using areas within the informal or hidden curriculum of public schools which have the potential for democratic citizenship education.


Nephrons develop from mesenchymal cells that have contacted the ureteric bud (UB). To determine whether cell associated or secreted ureteric molecules induce the mesenchyme, we have isolated UB cell lines from mice transgenic for T antigen. These cells express epithelial and ureteric (Dolichos lectin staining, c-ret, c-met without hepatocyte growth factor) specific markers, which identifies them as authentic UB cells. Medium conditioned by our cells rescues mesenchyme from apoptosis without inducing the appearance of epithelial aggregates. The same was found by culturing mesenchymes upon the apical surface of a UB monolayer. In contrast, tubules were induced in mesenchymes contacting trypsinized pellets of UB cells. As revealed by staining for T antigen and Dolichos lectin or by prelabeling UB cells with 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI), we found that our cells encapsulated the mesenchyme but did not incorporate in the tubules. These data demonstrate that nephrogenesis is stimulated by two distinct ureteric signals, secreted molecules rescue the mesenchyme from apoptosis, whereas diffusion-limited basolateral molecules trigger mesenchymal/epithelial conversion.


Background: Cold weather is confirmed trigger for asthma exacerbations Objective: To compare the frequency of exacerbations in asthmatics patients in two months: July and December (summer and winter) Material and method: We evaluate 115 patients with moderate Asthma who used ICS regularly. All subjects received 250 mg Fluticasione two times/day. We calculate the frequency of exacerbations (wheezing, cough and dyspnea) in two months one in summer, one in winter. Results : The frequency of exacerbations was significantly higher in December than July (17 vs. 4 subjects; 14,8% vs. 3,5%, P Conclusion : Our findings suggest that cold weather is strong trigger for exacerbations in asthmatics on long term ICS therapy.


Summary
Recently Namboodiri and Beck (1968c) and Beck (1970) in proposing a new hypothesis of stelar evolution in the gymnosperms failed to mention its possible application to angiosperms. This paper, by showing the close similarity of the primary vasculature of gymnosperms with that of the 'parastichous type' (Philipson and Balfour, 1963) in dicotyledons, shows that the hypothesis applies equally to both groups. Brief reference is made to other instances of stelar structure where application of the leaf-gap theory (Jeffrey, 1902, 1917) has failed. Here Namboodiri and Beck's new concept, that parenchymatous areas may arise having no association with leaf gaps, is most helpful.


Sun-as-a-star coronal plasma composition, derived from full-Sun spectra, and the F10.7 radio flux (2.8 GHz) have been shown to be highly correlated (r = 0.88) during solar cycle 24. However, this correlation becomes nonlinear during increased solar magnetic activity. Here we use cotemporal, high spatial resolution, multiwavelength images of the Sun to investigate the underlying causes of the nonlinearity between coronal composition (FIP bias) and F10.7 solar index correlation. Using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, Hinode/EIS (EUV Imaging Spectrometer), and the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we observed a small active region, AR 12759, throughout the solar atmosphere from the photosphere to the corona. The results of this study show that the magnetic field strength (flux density) in active regions plays an important role in the variability of coronal abundances, and it is likely the main contributing factor to this nonlinearity during increased solar activity. Coronal abundances above cool sunspots are lower than in dispersed magnetic plage regions. Strong magnetic concentrations are associated with stronger F10.7 cm gyroresonance emission. Considering that as the solar cycle moves from minimum to maximum, the sizes of sunspots and their field strength increase with the gyroresonance component, the distinctly different tendencies of radio emission and coronal abundances in the vicinity of sunspots is the likely cause of saturation of Sun-as-a-star coronal abundances during solar maximum, while the F10.7 index remains well correlated with the sunspot number and other magnetic field proxies.


This study focuses on the effects of a surface mechanical attrition treatment on the structural and mechanical behavior of arc-sprayed Ni–Cr coatings deposited on steel substrates. The surface of the as-sprayed and SMATed coatings was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and non-contact profilometry. The coating porosity was evaluated by using image analysis software. The residual stresses were determined using X-ray diffraction with the sin2ψ. Indentation tests were carried out on the cross sections of the different coatings to evaluate their hardness. The wear properties of the coatings were assessed using a pin-on-disk tester at ambient temperature without lubrication. The results showed that surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) induced a grain refinement on the coating surface due to severe plastic deformation, which was associated with a significant improvement of the mechanical properties.


In this paper, we focus on blind identification of standards for Green Communications. The aim of Green Communications is to propose solutions to overcome the rapid increase in energy consumption in communication and networking devices. Cognitive Radio (CR) presents itself as a set of concepts which can help achieve the goals of Green Communications, since a CR device collects information from surroundings and improves its behavior accordingly. One way to achieve Green Communication is to select a standard for communication which requires less transmission power. Thus, the CR device must be capable of identifying all the standards in its surroundings in order to select one. In this paper, we implement a bandwidth shape detector and a pilot based detector. These detectors are the building blocks of the so called Blind Standard Recognition Sensor (BSRS) for a CR. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated both through simulations and experiments conducted using USRP n210 with Matlab/Simulink. The simulation results show that the proposed blind bandwidth identifier and pilot based detector work well at low SNR values. The experiments were realized under line-of-sight transmission conditions, however, the results show that the designed system is indeed able to discriminate several standard-like spectrums under real transmission conditions using their different bandwidth shapes.


This special edition was mooted at a meeting of our Dean, Professor Marian Jacobs, and colleagues to discuss ways to mark the Centenary of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) of the University of Cape Town (UCT). We volunteered to seek and edit articles from colleagues to showcase the work of the Faculty.


Voevodsky Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion, Novosibirsk, Russia E-mail: email@example.com The computer code is elaborated for numerical simulation of transient combustion of energetic materials (EM) subjected to the action of time-dependent heat flux and under transient pressure conditions. It allows studying combustion response upon interrupted irradiation (transient pressure) and under action of periodically varied heat flux (pressure) in order to determine stability of ignition transients and parameters of transient combustion. The originally solid EM melts and then evaporates at the surface. It is assumed that chemical transformations occur both in the condensed and gas phases. At the burning surface, the phase transition condition in the form of Clapeyron-Clausius law for equilibrium evaporation is formulated that corresponds to the case of combustion of sublimated or melted EM. The paper contains description of transient combustion problem formulation and several examples of transient combustion modeling. At present time a precise prediction of transient burning rate characteristics is impossible because of the lack of information about magnitude of EM parameters at high temperatures. However, the simulation results bring valuable qualitative information about burning rate behavior at variations in time of external conditions – radiant flux and pressure.


Cancer mutations in Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) drive aberrant epigenetic states. Although therapies inhibiting the PRC2 enzymatic component EZH2 are FDA-approved, oncogene-specific dependencies remain to be discovered. Here, we identify mutations that confer both resistance and drug addiction to PRC2 inhibitors in EZH2-mutant lymphoma, resulting in cancer cells that paradoxically depend on drug for survival. Drug addiction is mediated by hypermorphic mutations in the CXC domain of EZH2, which maintain H3K27me3 levels even in the presence of PRC2 inhibitors. Drug removal leads to overspreading of H3K27me3, surpassing a repressive methylation ceiling compatible with lymphoma cell survival. Activating EZH2 cancer mutations establish an epigenetic state precariously close to this ceiling, which we show can be breached by inhibition of SETD2, a PRC2 antagonist, to block lymphoma growth. More broadly, we highlight how approaches to identify drug addiction mutations can be leveraged to discover cancer vulnerabilities.


Pain is associated with stimulation of some behaviors and depression of others, and μ-opioid receptor agonists are among the most widely used analgesics. This study used parallel assays of pain-stimulated and pain-depressed behavior in male Sprague-Dawley rats to compare antinociception profiles for six μ-agonists that varied in efficacy at μ-opioid receptors (from highest to lowest: methadone, fentanyl, morphine, hydrocodone, buprenorphine, and nalbuphine). Intraperitoneal injection of diluted lactic acid served as an acute noxious stimulus to either stimulate stretching or depress operant responding maintained by electrical stimulation in an intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS). All μ-agonists blocked both stimulation of stretching and depression of ICSS produced by 1.8% lactic acid. The high-efficacy agonists methadone and fentanyl were more potent at blocking acid-induced depression of ICSS than acid-stimulated stretching, whereas lower-efficacy agonists displayed similar potency across assays. All μ-agonists except morphine also facilitated ICSS in the absence of the noxious stimulus at doses similar to those that blocked acid-induced depression of ICSS. The potency of the low-efficacy μ-agonist nalbuphine, but not the high-efficacy μ-agonist methadone, to block acid-induced depression of ICSS was significantly reduced by increasing the intensity of the noxious stimulus to 5.6% acid. These results demonstrate sensitivity of acid-induced depression of ICSS to a range of clinically effective μ-opioid analgesics and reveal distinctions between opioids based on efficacy at the μ-receptor. These results also support the use of parallel assays of pain-stimulated and -depressed behaviors to evaluate analgesic efficacy of candidate drugs.


Serum IgG subclass antibodies to insulin were semiquantitatively estimated using a highly sensitive and specific technique of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The three groups of patients (categorised on the basis of duration and dose of exogenous insulin administered) showed a variable pattern. In spite of considerable variations from patient to patient in a group, IgG1 and IgG2 levels were higher in patients receiving a low dose of insulin for 9-18 and 30-72 months, respectively, while in the patients on high dose of therapeutic insulin, IgG4 well predominated over all other subclasses. It is postulated that IgG4 antibodies are directed against the biologically active site of insulin and explains the high requirement of insulin in these patients.


This study examines Buchi Emecheta's motives in portraying the otherness of Igbo women through her novel Second-Class Citizen (1974). In this novel, Emecheta presents African women's experience of otherness within a broad context of social inequalities resulting from monolithic and unyielding societal construct in the West and in the Third World. In fact, Buchi Emecheta is a marginalized African woman writer crafting fictionalized autobiography of the experience of determined first-generation diasporic mother in Second-Class Citizen while living in exile far from her home of origin. By depicting the bodily and migratory experiences of the African woman and her sense of self, Emecheta reassigns previous generalizations of "Mother Africa". At this point, the figure of determined mother comes to the fore as a strategy of resistance to cultural expectations imposed on women or established customs as being stultifying to women, preventing self-development throughout the novel. Accordingly, in Second-Class Citizen, the mother figure is motivated by the desire both to change the community and the societal construction of citizen in London and to achive discursive agency.


We report the first study of interfacial wetting at the liquid-vapour surface of metallic gallium-bismuth alloys approaching the miscibility gap. Ellipsometry has been used to probe the interface continuously with increasing temperature along the coexistence curve. Below the monotectic (eutectic) temperature Tmono a liquid Ga-rich phase is in equilibrium with solid bismuth and the real part epsilon 1 of the complex dielectric function measured at the liquid surface clearly reflects Ga-like behaviour. Above Tmono the second liquid Bi-rich phase becomes stable and epsilon 1 changes from Ga-like to Bi-like behaviour. We conclude that the Bi-rich phase, which has the higher mass density, now covers the low-density phase. This can be consistently interpreted as complete wetting of the interface between the vapour and the Ga-rich phase by a coexisting Bi-rich layer.


Recent advances in electronic imaging have led to an increased utilization of soft-copy display for presentation and diagnostic interpretation of medical images in clinical settings. Because of the fundamental importance of display quality in the overall effectiveness of diagnostic imaging, the AAPM has recently formed a Task Group (TG18) to address the acceptance testing and quality control of medical electronic display devices. The purpose of the Task Group is to provide standard guidelines for performing displays evaluation by practicing medical physicists, engineers, and displays investigators, to assure adequate display performance for clinical tasks, and to facilitate inter- and intra-institutional comparisons. The scope of the effort is limited to display devices for monochrome radiological images. The performance characteristics considered include luminance response, luminance uniformity, resolution noise, veiling glare, ambient light response, color uniformity, geometrical distortions, and displays artifacts. For each of the characteristics, three levels of evaluation are considered: visual, quantitative, and advanced. Based on the current standard of practice, suggestions are made for the acceptable ranges of display performance with limited impact on diagnostic efficacy. The purpose of this paper is to provide outline and summary of the TG18 report.


A research proposal on the algebraic structure, the representations and the possible applications of paraparticle algebras is structured in three modules: The first part stems from an attempt to classify the inequivalent gradings and braided group structures present in the various parastatistical algebraic models. The second part of the proposal aims at refining and utilizing a previously published methodology for the study of the Fock-like representations of the parabosonic algebra, in such a way that it can also be directly applied to the other parastatistics algebras. Finally, in the third part, a couple of Hamiltonians is proposed, suitable for modeling the radiation matter interaction via a parastatistical algebraic model.


Birth weight is a predictor of the infant's ability to survive, grow, and evolve, even as a predictor of health status in the next life cycle. In 2012, in the city of Tangerang number of low birth weight increased from 436 cases to 647 cases. This research was conducted in Puskesmas Kecamatan Cipondoh on January 24, June 20 and 23 June 2014. The design of this research used a retrospective design with a sample of 140 people. Average birth weight 2867.14 ± 373.674 gram, the size of the mother MUAC 25.46 ± 3.333 cm, weight gain during pregnancy of 9.67 ± 3.483 kg, maternal height 153.9 ± 5.894 cm, and maternal age 28,28 ± 6.226 years. Pregnant mother who have a risk parity of 42 people (30%) and 98 people are not at risk (70%), pregnant women who have completed primary school education 20 (14.3%), graduated SMP/MTS 42 people (30%), graduated SMA/MA 70 people (50%), and graduated from PT 8 people (5.7%), pregnant women who worked 20 persons (14.3%) and didn't work 120 people (85.7%). Based on statistical tests, there is a relationship between birth weight based MUAC mother, mother body weight gain, and maternal height. However, there was no relationship between maternal age and there was no difference in birth weight by maternal parity. Pregnant women should consume nutritious foods in accordance with their needs well before and during pregnancy.


The beam optics was evaluated to determine the specifications for the electromagnets in the proton beamline and the surface muon beamline at the RAON facility. Beam optics was evaluated, up to the fifth order by using GICOSY software; fringe field effects were also investigated. The distributions of the position and the angular divergence of 600-MeV protons were assumed to be Gaussian, and the initial beam emittance was 0.125 π mm mrad. The proton beamline was optimized by adjusting the positions and the magnetic fields of the electromagnetic components. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) proton beam size at the muon production target was 2.75 mm ( x ) × 6.73 mm ( y ), which met the requirement for achieving the maximum surface-muon production at the target. The designed surface-muon beamline is 23-m long and consists of two solenoids, two dipoles with a deflection angle of 70°, six quadrupoles, and a Wien filter. For an initial muon beam size of 6 cm ( x ) × 2 cm( y ), the expected muon intensity at the end of the beamline, where the muon irradiation sample will be located, was estimated to be 7.7 × 10 7 per second.


BACKGROUND
Few studies have examined self-medication with corticosteroids among patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).

AIMS
To assess the frequency of self-medication with oral corticosteroids in UC patients, and associated factors and reasons.

METHODS
An anonymous, voluntary, web-based survey was administered to adults with UC recruited via a Spanish patient association (ACCU) and hospital gastroenterology departments. Information was provided by patients; no clinical data were collected. Descriptive statistics and comparisons of frequencies are displayed.

RESULTS
Among 546 respondents (mean age 39.9 years, median duration of UC since diagnosis 7 years,) 36 (6.6%) reported self-medication with oral corticosteroids during the past year (once: 23 patients; 2-3 times: 10 patients; >3 times: 3 patients). Self-medication was more common among patients managed in general gastroenterology vs. inflammatory bowel disease clinics [23 (9.0%) vs. 11 (2.9%), P = 0.019], patients with no regular follow-up [4 (22.2%) vs. 32 (6.1%), P = 0.026] and patients with more flares (P < 0.001). Patients who stored steroids from previous flares (17.9% vs. 6.0%, P < 0.001) or who lived with a partner taking steroids (9.3% vs. 1.1%, P = 0.038) were more likely to self-medicate than other patients. Common reasons for self-medicating included the need for quick symptom relief (55.6%), fear of worsening (47.2%) and difficulty in getting an appointment (25.0%). Only seven patients (19.4%) informed their physician when they started self-medicating and only four (11.1%) declared they would not start corticosteroids again.

CONCLUSION
Self-medication with oral corticosteroids is not a common practice among patients with UC in Spain, but several areas of improvement exist.


Twenty-eight very low birthweight children (less than or equal to 1500 grams; the VLBW-group) and 24 term born children were studied from birth to 2 years of age. Over this period the interaction of these children with their mothers was observed in 6 naturalistic situations, and other aspects of their development were measured. The VLBW-group consisted of a relatively homogeneous group of healthy preterms, who had no sign of handicap at birth. It emerged that these VLBW-children were more liable to develop various types of problem, although such problems were on the whole not very serious in nature. Interesting differences were observed in mother-infant interaction, particularly in relation to the expression of negative emotions between mother and child. These differences were mainly interpreted in terms of their function in the mutual adaptation of mother and child.


Oil palm trunks found in abundant and considered as an agriculture waste were investigated as alternative to dimensional wood. The trunks are of no economic importance in their natural form. However, once converted into the form of Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) their properties improved tremendously. This study highlighted properties of the LVL made from oil palm trunks at four different positions comprising two portions height and two cross-sectional zones. These LVL have shown to behave differently when tested for their physical, mechanical and glue delaminating properties. Testing on all the LVL specimens were done in accordance with the Japanese Agricultural Standard SE-11, 2003. © 2008 Academic Journals Inc.


The purpose of this work is a review of usefulness, indications and handling of some antidotes which are at our disposal for therapeutic use since several years, especially naloxone, flumazenil, Fab fragments of digoxin specific antibodies, hydroxocobalamine, 4-methyl-pyrazole, N-acetylcystein or the new metal chelators. Older clinically relevant substances are also reviewed.


Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Jagsi reported having stock options as compensation for her advisory board role in Equity Quotient, receiving personal fees from Amgen and Vizient, and receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Doris Duke Foundation, the Greenwall Foundation, the Komen Foundation, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium. Dr Lansdorp-Vogelaar reported receiving funding from the National Cancer Institute at the NIH through Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Consortium colorectal and cervical cancer grants. No other disclosures were reported.


A low-resolution structure of the Na(+)-translocating NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase from the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae was determined by ab initio phasing and independently confirmed by electron microscopy. This multi-subunit membrane-protein complex (molecular weight 210 kDa) generates an Na(+) gradient that is essential for substrate uptake, motility, pathogenicity and efflux of antibiotics. The obtained 16 Å resolution electron density-map revealed an asymmetric particle with a central region of low electron density and a putative detergent region, and allowed the identification of the transmembrane regions of the complex.


No major citizenship reform has been adopted in Lebanon since the creation of the Lebanese citizenship in 1924. Moreover, access to citizenship for foreign residents does not depend on established administrative rules and processes, but instead on ad hoc political decisions. The Lebanese citizenship regime is thus characterized by immobilism and discretion. This paper looks at the relationship between citizenship regime and confessional democracy, defined as a system of power sharing between different religious groups. It argues that confessional democracy hinders citizenship reform and paves the way to arbitrary naturalization practices, and that, in turn, the citizenship regime contributes to the resilience of the political system. In other words, the citizenship regime and the political system are mutually reinforcing.


Abstract Against the backdrop of the push from the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development for competence-based curricula, this article problematises the complexity of developing twenty-first century skills, such as critical thinking, by addressing the role transnational and national policy contexts play in realising critical thinking in the national contexts of Sweden and Kosovo. The article distinguishes between policy-critical thinking and civic-critical thinking. Relying on analyses of curriculum and policy documents, it is concluded that while in the Swedish context critical thinking competence (or ability) seems to be much more implicit than explicit, in Kosovo, the national curriculum makes explicit references to thinking competences as a form of policy-critical thinking and civic competencies as a form of civic-critical thinking. Thus, students in both contexts have opportunities to develop critical thinking skills. Furthermore, Sweden emerges as a divergent case and Kosovo as a convergent case with regard to transnational policy flow research paradigms.


This project is embedded in SANTANA (Smart Antenna Terminal) project. The project goal is to design a Ka-band circularly polarized antenna radiator for the receiver SANTANA system. The research work focuses on two types of circularly polarized antennas: aperture-coupled patch antenna and CPW-fed patch antenna. A two steps design process is used. Firstly, only the antennas and their feed structure are designed and optimized. Secondly, a via-transition to connect to a MMIC layer is added. When designing the aperture-coupled patch antenna, a simplified cavity model method for computation is used to achieve the computational model. Both of the structures are optimized. The aperture-coupled microstrip feed patch antenna is selected to fabricate, so that a transition-VIA is added to the bottom of it. After comparing simulation results and measurement results, the two types of radiators's different behavior can be easily observed. Also, the influences of the transition-VIA to the radiator are obviously seen.


Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) engage in a host of activities to influence world political affairs. They lobby states, pressure economic actors and alter cultural frames to shape widespread thought and behavior. Most scholars of international relations ignore the cultural dimension of NGO work either because it seemingly lacks clear political significance or because alterations in cultural life are difficult to gauge. In this article I demonstrate that, while less direct and obvious, NGO cultural challenges may have, ironically, more political relevance than conventional forms of activism and engagement. Additionally, I show that, notwithstanding formidable methodological challenges, there are ways to measure shifts in broad ideational frameworkseven across bordersand scholars can adopt these in productive ways. I develop both these points through a study of environmental NGOs. The article's findings, however, can be generalized beyond environmental organizations to all types of NGOs.


Abstract. Frequency and intensity of floods and the extent of salt-affected lands are expected to increase in pastures and grassland ecosystems as a result of global climate change. This study evaluated the effects of waterlogging, salinity (150 mm NaCl, ∼15 dS m–1) and their combination over 14 days of treatment on morphological and growth traits of seven cultivars of Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue). Recovery was also assessed after a 14-day growth period under aerated, non-saline conditions (recovery phase). All cultivars survived the imposed stresses, showing greater tolerance to waterlogging than to salinity or the combined stress, evaluated as a response ratio of total dry mass relative to the control. The combined stress provoked growth lower than predicted by a multiplicative model in one cultivar, growth equal to the model in three cultivars and growth higher than the model in three cultivars. High variability among cultivars in response to each stress and phase was observed; this was more evident for relative growth rate of roots than of shoots. Plant morphological traits were affected by treatments in different ways; mature tiller weight was maintained, and tiller number decreased by 79–71% under waterlogging and combined stresses, whereas the opposite responses occurred under salinity. During the recovery phase, plants in all stress treatments had lower tiller numbers than controls and prioritised the growth of pre-existing tillers, which were heavier. Number of dead leaves per plant increased in saline and combined treatments. In general, F. arundinacea proved more tolerant to waterlogging than to salinity or combined treatments, and showed promising variability among cultivars with respect to root relative growth rate under the evaluated stresses, which can be used in future breeding programs. The findings also provide a basis for further research into the tolerance mechanisms involved.


Objective To report a case of probable hepatotoxicity associated with intravenous (IV) azithromycin. Case Summary A 61-year-old white male was admitted to the hospital with shortness of breath and a subsequent diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia. The patient's aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were within normal limits. The patient was started on piperacillin/tazobactam 2.25 mg IV every 8 hours and ceftriaxone 1 g IV daily. On day 2 of hospitalization, azithromycin 500 mg IV once daily was initiated. On day 4, the patient's AST increased to 1,594 international units/liter (IU/L) and ALT to 650 IU/L. The ALT/AST peaked on day 6 of hospitalization. The patient's AST and ALT trended downward after discontinuation of the azithromycin. Discussion The Naranjo probability scale rated the patient's hepatotoxicity as a probable adverse reaction related to azithromycin toxicity. Two case reports have documented an association with oral azithromycin and hepatotoxicity. Conclusion This case report documents an acute increase in ALT and AST levels associated with IV administration of azithromycin. Health care professionals may consider monitoring AST and ALT in patients at risk for hepatic dysfunction with IV administration of azithromycin.


The foreword to Vivliofika 's cluster of articles on French language acquisition in Imperial Russia mentions the scholarly project and conference out of which the cluster arises, briefly describes the UK-based project, states the importance of study of education in it, summarises a few of the main educational questions that are germane in this connection and, finally, simply introduces the contents of the cluster.


This study focus on derivation of such fragility curves using conventional industrial frames with masonry infill wall. A set of stochastic earthquake waves compatible with the response spectrum of China seismic code selected to represent the variability in ground motion. Dynamic inelastic time history analysis was used to analyze the random sample of structures. Industrial structural seismic capability of longitudinal and transversal orientation is different. Stochastic damage scatter diagrams based different seismic intensity index are obtained. Seismic fragility of longitudinal axis (X axis) is larger than transversal axis (Y axis) of frames under major earthquake obviously.


A brief review of the current state of modeling the relationship between the recorded electromyogram @MG) and muscle output force in humans performing static (isometric) and dynamic (anisometric) contractions is presented. Some difficulties in deriving a general model are discussed.


Foot ulcers are a common complication of diabetes that is not being managed through methods such as diet, exercise, and insulin treatment. Ulcers are formed as a result of skin tissue breaking down and exposing the layers underneath. The management and successful treatment of diabetic wounds represents a significant therapeutic challenge. To this end, the development of novel therapies and biological dressings has gained increased interest. Acellular matrix therapy has shown promise in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) in several studies.


The review presents data on pharmacological properties of atorvastatin, its lipid lowering activity, and action on main mechanisms of atherogenesis. Favorable pleiotropic effects of atorvastatin such as normalization of endothelial function, antiinflammatory, antithrombotic and antioxidant activity contribute to stabilization of atheromatous plaques. Clinical trials revealing early and significant effects of the drug on main end points have demonstrated its high value for primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerosis.


Three cases of ovarian teratoma in bovine were diagnosed at first time in southern of Iraq. Through investigation of ovaries in 120 cows. Showed macroscopical description of ovaries lesions which were bilateral malignant tumors on external surface for each ovary (left and right).The specific characteristics of this tumor was presence of hair embedded within texture of lesion which represented to embryo remnants, As well as, the study revealed a histological exploration of tumor that. Granulosa cells under go different stages of mitotic divisions were noted during the histological study. Also tumor tissues represented as keratinized squamous epithelial tissue, contained skin adenxal structures such as hair follicle. The closed similarity between teratoma and epidermoid cysts results in misdiagnosis between them. The present study revealed that teratoma is more frequently incidence to the cattle than other demotic animal in addition this tumor had similar features to the teratoma in women.


ABSTRACT Present work aims to create a benzoylglycine (BG)-modified glassy carbon (GC) substrate exploiting the electroreduction of diazonium salts. Dopamine was used to confirm the attachment of benzoylglycine molecules onto the glassy carbon surface by observing the blockage of the electron transfer using cyclic voltammetry (CV). BG-modified GC surface (BG-GC) was also characterized by Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The ellipsometric thickness of the BG film was measured as approximately 14 nm for seven CV cycles. The electrocatalytic effect of BG-GC electrode surface against dioxygen reduction was investigated. The catalytic effect for dioxygen reduction of the BG-GC surface was compared with that of 2-benzo[c]cinnoline, 2-benzo[c]cinnoline 6-oxide- and diethylene glycol bis(2-aminophenyl)ether-modified GC surfaces to clarify the mechanism of catalysis of the surfaces in terms of molecular structure.


Abstract The action of vitamin D3, in its biological form 1α,25(OH)2vitD3 or calcitriol, may be summarized as a steroid-like hormone able to modulate basic functions of cell encompassing energy balance, stress response, mitochondria biogenesis, intracellular calcium oscillations, and replication/apoptosis mechanisms leading to cell survival. Moreover, calcitriol exerts a potent role as an innate and adaptive immune cytokine as immunity is closely related to self-maintenance through its energetic/metabolic balance and homeostasis of cell turnover. Therefore, vitamin D might be the ancestral form of survival hormones developed with calcified vertebrate bearing skeleton in order to survive far from water. This characteristic may suggest that the role of dietary vitamin D in preventing cancer is simply ancillary to the many factors playing a major role in contrasting impairment in energy balance and cell survival. Most probably, the immune role of calcitriol might be included in the maintenance, mostly by adipose tissue, of an anti-inflammatory, tolerant immune status, depending on the immune tolerance and modulation from the gut. A balance closely modulated by the leptin axis, which when impairments in metabolism occur, such as in insulin resistance or obesity, calcitriol is unable to face at this imbalance, while leptin plays a major role and cancer progression may be promoted. Furthermore, this mechanism promotes epithelial/mesenchymal transition-mediated fibrosis, leading to cancer resistance to immune control and drug action. Interestingly, this pathologic picture is triggered by deficiency in vitamin D from the diet. Therefore, a dietary habit including vitamin D sources, besides flavonoids, may ameliorate lifestyle and health span in most individuals, depending on their genetic background.


Background
Red reflex screening is the primary but unheeded test for the detection of vision- and life-threatening eye conditions.

Aims
To evaluate the red reflex of newborns, percentage of ocular diseases resulting in red reflex abnormality, and their relation with consanguinity in Southeast Turkey.

Methods
Newborns (n = 1358) were examined with pencil light and direct ophthalmoscopy.

Results
Eight hundred of these newborns were hospitalized in a rooming-in unit. (RIU) and 558 were in the neonatal intensive care service (NICS). In the RIU there were 7 (0.88%) newborns with abnormal red reflex and in the NICS there were 14 (2.51%). Sensitivity of pencil light examination was 71.4%. Studies from the Middle East have shown potential recessive genetic causes of common paediatric ocular conditions. In our study, consanguineous marriage was found to have a significant association with red reflex abnormality (P = 0.017).

Conclusions
Red reflex screening test is important in the early diagnosis of vision- and life-threatening eye disorders in Southeast Turkey where consanguinity is common.


Amylin is a 37–amino acid peptide synthesized in the pancreatic β-cell and cosecreted with insulin. In situ hybridization of nondiabetic rat pancreas shows that insulin and amylin RNA are both localized within the islet of Langerhans in a similar distribution. After 12 days of insulin-induced hypoglycemia (mean blood glucose 3.0 ± 0.4 mM [54 ± 8 mg/dl]), both insulin and amylin RNA fell > 95%. However, maintenance of euglycemia by simultaneous infusion of glucose with insulin did not suppress insulin or amylin RNA. Fasting suppressed amylin and insulin secretion from the isolated, perfused pancreas 70 and 58%, respectively, and with refeeding, secretion rates recovered to fed levels. Despite these changes in the rates of secretion, the relative ratio of amylin to insulin was not significantly different in fed, fasted, or refed rats. The molar ratio of insulin to amylin was estimated to be 100:2.3–2.6. Both insulin and amylin RNA was suppressed ∼ 50% in response to fasting. Thus, although the absolute amounts of insulin and amylin change substantially under the conditions tested, the relative amounts of these peptides do not change.


Bordetella parapertussis is one of the bacteria that causes whooping cough. However, little attention has been paid to this bacterium because it causes a milder illness than Bordetella pertussis and the rate of detection is low, even though research suggests that pertussis vaccines have limited efficacy against B. parapertussis infection. However, recent studies have revealed high rates of detection in patients with whooping cough in some field studies. In this review, the relevant studies of B. parapertussis are summarized and it is demonstrated that it is now necessary to pay greater attention to infections by this bacterium.


In a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service system that connects devices to the internet and provides various remote services, the long polling communication method is effective as a communication protocol that satisfies requirements of both security and immediacy simultaneously. It sustains a communication session among devices and servers for a definite period. For this reason, when a medium server for load balancing is introduced into a large-scale M2M service system, it might cause a performance bottleneck. As described in this paper, we propose an autonomic control method to achieve load balancing and load leveling using only devices and servers, without introducing a medium server. This study estimates the proposed method by simulation, demonstrates its effectiveness, and derives the conditions of proper operation parameters.


This research proposes a new approach on the Holter monitor by creating a portable Electrocardiogram (ECG) Holter monitor that will alert the user by detecting abnormal heart beats using a digital signal processing software. The alarm will be triggered when the patient experiences arrhythmias such as bradycardia and tachycardia. The equipment is simple, comfortable and small in size that fit in the hand. It can be used at any time and any moment by placing three leads to the person's chest which is connected to an electronic circuit. The ECG data will be transmitted via Bluetooth to the memory of a selected mobile phone using an application that will store the collected data for up to 24 hrs. The arrhythmia is identified by comparing the reference signals with the user's signal. The diagnostic results demonstrate that the Cardiac monitor alerts the user when an arrhythmia is detected thru the Holter monitor and mobile application


The Bering Slope Current (BSC) flows along the continental slope between the broad continental shelf and the deep basin in the Bering Sea. In this study, we consider the seasonal variability of the BSC and associated eddies by using a high-resolution model output. The BSC is strong (weak) in winter (summer), when isopycnal surfaces deepens (shoals) through the propagation of coastally trapped waves. The eddies are generated as a result of baroclinic instrability when the BSC is strengthened, extracting potential energy from the BSC. The seasonality of the BSC, as well as the eddies, is controlled by the seasonal variation of the Alaskan Stream via coastally trapped waves, generation of which is attributed to the seasonal variation of winds along the Alaskan coast.


OBJECTIVE
To call attention to the rare involvement of pulmonary artery by sarcoma.

METHODS
To summarize the clinical, radiological and pathologic features of a case of pulmonary artery sarcoma.

RESULTS
Pulmonary artery sarcoma has similar clinical manifestations as other pulmonary artery obstructive diseases (including pulmonary thromboembolism). The diagnosis should be considered in the patient with clinical presentations suggested pulmonary embolism. The radiological findings included unilateral hilar enlargement, contiguously soft tissue-filled pulmonary artery and pulmonary nodules and clinically deterioration was found after anticoagulant therapy.

CONCLUSION
Pulmonary artery sarcoma is usually misdiagnosed as other pulmonary artery obstructive diseases. More attention should be paid to it.


Canadian governments must rethink healthcare on five areas of national priority, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In "Challenging Vested Interests: National Priorities for Healthcare," authors Ake Blomqvist and Colin Busby find that compared to the healthcare systems of a large group of peers, Canadian systems do not produce enough high-quality care for the money spent.


An overlapping-generations model where agents choose whether to become educated when young is presented. Education enhances productivity, but needs to be financed by borrowing. Because of the possibility of default, lenders may ration credit. We characterize the steady-state equilibrium with and without credit constraints and show that credit constraints are associated with lower education and a lower real interest rate. We then study the role of public policy in remedying the inefficiency which occurs with credit market imperfections and examine whether public education can improve on the constrained equilibrium.


Introduction. There are no available data on the safety of recommended schedules for the initiation of treatment with budesonide inhalation suspension in children with recurrent wheezing episodes. We compared the safety of high and low starting dose of budesonide by measuring their effect on plasma cortisol concentration. Methods. A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled design was used. Twenty-nine children ages 6 months to 3 years were divided into three groups: (1) high starting dose: 1 mg budesonide inhalation suspension twice daily followed by a stepwise decrease of 25% every second day for 8 days (n = 11); (2) low starting dose: 0.25 mg twice daily for 8 days (n = 11); (3) placebo (n = 7). The 8 AM (fasting) and 1-hour post-ACTH stimulation plasma cortisol concentrations were measured before and 10 days after initiation of budesonide treatment. Results. Before treatment and after 8–10 days of treatment, there was no significant difference in mean serum cortisol concentration in the high starting dose, low-dose and placebo groups, either at 8 AM or at 1 hour after ACTH stimulation. Conclusion. The administration of nebulized suspension of budesonide at a high starting dose (2 mg/day for 2 days) followed by a rapid stepwise decrease over 8 days was safe, causing similar changes in serum cortisol levels to low-dose budesonide suspension or placebo.


The conversion of glucose into platform chemicals such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, levulinic acid and formic acid has been investigated using two aluminophosphate based zeotypes (SAPO-5 and MeAPO-5) catalysts in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [BMIM]Cl ionic liquid as a reaction medium. The silico aluminophosphates (SAPO-5) and metal aluminophosphates (MeAPO-5) were designed and chosen for their tunable amount and strength of acid sites. The dehydration of glucose using each catalyst gave more than 90% glucose conversion. Among all the catalysts tested, the most hydrophilic SAPO-5 (1.5T) results in a better 5-HMF yield of 8% at 100 °C and 6 h reaction time. Contrary to this, the more hydrophobic SAPO-5 gives higher yield of levulinic acid and formic acid and no 5-HMF yield at this particular reaction time. In general, despite the higher glucose conversion attained by these aluminophosphate based catalysts, the lower yield obtained by these materials can be attributed to the type of acidity and the incompatibility of the pore diameter of the AFI channels of the catalysts and the desired products. KEY WORDS : Biomass, 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural, Levulinic acid, Formic acid, Ionic liquids, Aluminophosphate Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2014 , 28(1), 45-52. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v28i1.6


The central motivation of this paper is to consider the microfoundations of the neo-Kaleckian model with monopolistic competition, by explicitly considering the effect of entry deterrence. Using this model, the neo-Kaleckian model is stable even though the Keynesian stability condition is not satisfied. In the long run, we find various economic policies which depend on not only their growth regimes but also their market structures. When there is cooperative marketing agreement between competitors, an increase in the income distribution in favor of workers may lead to an increase in the growth rate even though the model is based on a profit-led growth regime.


Teaching and learning has been and will live as one of the oldest industries world over. The academia during the industrial revolution contributed immensely to its development. Principles, theory, norms, ethnics and manpower were developed through the help of the academia. The industrial sectors are firmly rooted and established, it is a payback time through it established successes to the academia. Hence, a modification and hybrid of some widely used and acceptable model in the industrial sector is proposed for adoption and used in the academia due to it hug successes in the industries. This work improves and cross bird TAM, TOE and UTAUT in improving teaching and learning. This paper is a study about the different ICT techniques that can be adopted to improve teaching and learning process in Omoku, Nigeria. We also proposed a hybrid model which gives a productive usage of technical tools and


The effect of age on lesion pathophysiology in the context of thrombectomy has been poorly investigated. We aimed to investigate the impact of age on ischemic lesion water homeostasis measured with net water uptake (NWU) within a multicenter cohort of patients receiving thrombectomy for anterior circulation large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke. Lesion-NWU was quantified in multimodal CT on admission and 24 h for calculating Δ-NWU as their difference. The impact of age and procedural parameters on Δ-NWU was analyzed. Multivariable regression analysis was performed to identify significant predictors for Δ-NWU. Two hundred and four patients with anterior circulation stroke were included in the retrospective analysis. Comparison of younger and elderly patients showed no significant differences in NWU on admission but significantly higher Δ-NWU (p = 0.005) on follow-up CT in younger patients. In multivariable regression analysis, higher age was independently associated with lowered Δ-NWU (95% confidence interval: −0.59 to −0.16, p < 0.001). Although successful recanalization (TICI ≥ 2b) significantly reduced Δ-NWU progression by 6.4% (p < 0.001), younger age was still independently associated with higher Δ-NWU (p < 0.001). Younger age is significantly associated with increased brain edema formation after thrombectomy for LVO stroke. Younger patients might be particularly receptive targets for future adjuvant neuroprotective drugs that influence ischemic edema formation.


Dying patients and their families repeatedly express their need for supports based on compassion and caring, yet healthcare efforts focus on often ineffective technological interventions and procedures. Professional healthcare schools provide little or no formal training in pain and palliative symptom management or in the multidimensional approach to care of the dying. And the pace of change in healthcare leaves little time for communication between the patient, family, and caring team. Physician denial of death and dying has a significant impact on clinical decision making and misleads healthcare administrators about priorities. Even when clinicians want to practice holistic supportive care, they are often unable to because of competing productivity demands and lack of reimbursement. Inappropriate therapies may be initiated to justify continued care in acute and skilled nursing environments. Because healthcare professionals may not inform families about what can be done in the way of supportive care, they may choose to ¿do everything,¿ which often means using inappropriate treatments. Supportive Care of the Dying: A Coalition for Compassionate Care is a unique collaborative effort to help change the culture of dying in healthcare and to help Catholic and other organizations offer appropriate care based on respect for the sanctity of life, regard for human dignity, and a commitment to stewardship. The coalition intends to develop a comprehensive supportive care model built on Catholic values and tradition.


Synopsis Dense slash from cleared stands of invasive alien trees in mountain catchment areas poses a hazard to fynbos recovery and soil stability, ifit burns under extreme summer weather conditions. Experimental burning of alien slash fuel was done to investigate whether winter burning of fuel may be used as a practical alternative to risking a summer wild fire. Fire intensity, heat release at the soil surface and indigenous post-fire plant recruitment were compared between different blocks of the same felled alien stand, which burnt during a controlled winter burn and a summer wild fire. Both fires consumed nearly all the fuel, but fire intensity and heat penetration into the soil were much greater for the summer wild fire than the winter control burn. Fynbos plant recruitment following the main winter establishment season was extremely low in the summer burn, and indicated that propagules in the upper soil had been killed in the fire. Species that emerged following the summer burn were predominantly resprouters or species with larger seeds that could emerge from deeper in the soil. Plant recruitment, species richness and cover were much higher following the winter burn. Half the species (mainly forbs, resprouters and legumes) appeared during the summer after the fire, but the remainder appeared only after the main winter establishment season. Small-seeded species were few and indicated that all germination cues were not optimized by burning in winter. Alternatively, soil-heating during the winter burn was sufficient to kill small seeds located close to the surface. Comparisons between summer slash fires on granite versus sandstone parent materials suggest that the impacts are much greater on the granite. The impacts were also greater where fuel loads are high. It is recommended that summer burning ofslash fuel be avoided in all areas supporting old (>8 yr), dense (>75%cover) alien stands. Furthermore, summer slash fires also should be avoided for moderately dense (>50%)alien stands on shale bands or granite-derived soils. As an interim strategy in these areas, winter burning offuel should be considered to prevent excessive soil and propagule damage during a summerwild fire. However, future alternatives, such as the immediate targeting of low-density stands and the implementation of biological control agents, urgently should be sought.


The objective of the paper is to analyse the process of reforms in the urban public transport which has been going on in some EU member states (Italy, Spain and Germany). How some countries are proceeding in transferring the sector competence from the central governments to the local authorities; how the direction, legislation and programming functions are separated from the management ones in transforming a monopolistic market into a competition-driven one, is going to be evaluated, considering the dispositions and guidelines issued by the European Union, The analysis shows that the legislative environment of the Union leaves ample space to discretion, thus encouraging different action, depending on the national peculiarities, and producing widely differing results.


This book explores the outstanding issues in agricultural development and its environmental externalities in one province of Northern Vietnam. Its coverage of agricultural issues ranges from the details of on-farm management practices issues to the balances of nutrients at regional level and the perception of the society to suggest alternative strategies. The book brings together the background issues and findings to guide researchers and policymakers in their domestic policies on agriculture and livestock considering environmental protection. The book also explores the key questions for global agricultural policies, both the impacts of current development policies and the regional implication on environment. Detailed version of the 11 chapters : Cover. Index. 1. An introduction about sustainable pig production in Vietnam. 2. General context of a dynamic agricultural sector in the Red River delta. 3. Using multi-temporal satellite images to evaluate the changes of vegetation index of land cover in Thai Binh province. 4. Stakeholders' perception on pig manure management in Thai Binh province. 5. Pig farms classification regarding environmental risk and their internal use of pig manure. 6. Local fish farming practices and a typology of farms based on organic matter intake management. 7. Composition of animal manure and co-products. 8. Farmers practices in organic and inorganic fertilization on crops, trees and vegetables. 9. Economic appraisal of animal manure considered as a commodity. 10. Adequacy between the production of farm fertilizers and their potential use to fertilize crops and fish farm ponds. 11. outlook for an integrated sustainable development of pig production in Red River. The CD-Rom contains detailed supplementary tables, maps, appendixes and background reading recommended by the authors.


The regional sandwiching of compliant sheets (ReCS) technique presented in this work creates flat-foldable, rigid-foldable, and self-deploying thick origami-based mechanisms. Regional sandwiching of the compliant sheet is used to create mountain-valley assignments for each fold about a vertex, constraining motion to a single branch of folding. Strain energy in deflected flexible members is used to enable self-deployment. This work presents the methods to design origami-based mechanisms using the ReCS technique, including volume trimming at the vertex of the compliant sheet and of the panels used in the sandwich. Three physical models, a simple single fold mechanism, a degree-four vertex mechanism, and a full tessellation, are presented to demonstrate the ReCS technique using acrylic panels with spring and low-carbon steels. Consideration is given to the risk of yielding of the compliant sheet due to parasitic motion with possible mitigation of yielding by decreasing the thickness of the sheet.


In this paper we study the problem of estimating quantiles from data that contain additional measurement errors. The only assumption on these errors is that the average absolute measurement error converges to zero for sample size tending to infinity with probability one. In particular we do not assume that the measurement errors are independent with expectation zero. We show that the empirical measure based on the data with measurement errors leads to an estimator which approaches the quantile set asymptotically. Provided the quantile is uniquely determined, this implies that this quantile estimate is strongly consistent for the true quantile. If this assumption does not hold, we also show that we can construct estimators for the limits of the quantile set if the average absolute measurement error is bounded by a given sequence, that tends to zero for sample size tending to infinity with probability one. But if such a sequence, which upper bounds the measurement errors, is not given, we show that there exists no estimator that is consistent for every distribution of the underlying random variable and all data containing the measurement errors. We derive the rate of convergence of our estimator and show that the derived rate of converStatistica Sinica: Preprint doi:10.5705/ss.202016.0061


The purpose of this study was to investigate whether individual leg cycling could produce higher whole body peak oxygen uptake (VO(2peak)) than two legs cycling during aerobic high intensity interval training in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Nineteen patients trained in 24 supervised cycling sessions either by one leg training (OLT) (n = 12) or by two legs training (TLT) (n = 7) at 4 x 4 min intervals at 85-95% of peak heart rate. Whole body VO(2peak) and peak work rate increased significantly by 12 and 23% in the OLT, and by 6 and 12% in the TLT from pre- to post-training, respectively, and were significantly greater in the OLT than the TLT (P < 0.05). The present study demonstrates that one leg aerobic high intensity interval cycling is superior to two legs in increasing whole body VO(2peak), indicating a muscle rather than a cardiovascular limitation to VO(2peak) in these COPD patients.