Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Topic Maps are the two prominent technologies of Semantic Web developed for the purpose to make Web useful for humans and 'understandable' by machines by facilitating knowledge integration and sharing. The basic goal of RDF and Topic Maps is the same, i.e. to successfully turn the vision of semantic web into reality by attaching rich structured semantics to web contents. The problem of interoperability between RDF and Topic Maps emerged due to the difference in their fundamental architectures and their owner organizations which may lead to islands on the future web. The architecture of RDF and Topic Maps is also complex and a suitable query language is the essential pats of it for the precise and quick retrieval of required information from RDF and Topic Maps. Therefore, several types of query languages have been developed for both technologies to retrieve the required information precisely from both RDF and Topic Maps. These query languages have the capability of logic and inferencing and may be used to address the problem of interoperability. The purpose of this paper is to thoroughly investigate all aspects of the available query languages developed for RDF and Topic Maps. In this paper, a comprehensive literature study and comparison of RDF and Topic Maps query languages has been done according to different parameters. It is concluded that a universal query language capable of retrieving and filtering both RDF and Topic Maps data is possible subjected to little more efforts. This paper will not only provide a jump start in the field for new comers but will also help future researchers in selecting one query language over the other for their applications.


In this paper, we study longest lowest-density MDS codes, a simple kind of multi-erasure array code with optimal redundancy and minimum update penalty. We prove some basic structure properties for longest lowest-density MDS codes. We define a "perfect" property for near-resolvable block designs (NRBs) and establish a bijection between 3-erasure longest lowest-density MDS codes (T-Codes) and perfect NRB(3¿ + 1, 3, 2)s. We present a class of NRB(3¿+1, 3, 2)s, and prove that it produces a family of T-Codes. This family is infinite assuming Artin¿s Conjecture. We also test some other NRBs and find some T-Code instances outside of this family.


In this study, our objective is to apply the gene expression programming mathematical algorithm to propose a correlation based on the corresponding states method to determine the solubility parameters of 1641 pure compounds (mostly organic ones) at 298.15 K and atmospheric pressure. The studied compounds are from the 80 chemical families. The parameters of the method include the critical temperature, critical pressure, molecular weight, and acentric factor. Around 1477 solubility parameter data are randomly selected for developing (training + optimization) the correlation, and about 164 data are used for checking its prediction capability. The obtained statistical parameters, including average absolute relative deviation of the results from the applied data (about 6%), show the accuracy of the proposed method along with its simplicity and wide range of applicability.


A new adaptive beamforming algorithm for imaging via small-aperture 1-D ultrasonic-phased arrays through composite layered structures is reported. Such structures cause acoustic phase aberration and wave refraction at undulating interfaces and can lead to significant distortion of an ultrasonic field pattern produced by conventional beamforming techniques. This distortion takes the form of defocusing the ultrasonic field transmitted through the barrier and causes loss of resolution and overall degradation of image quality. To compensate for the phase aberration and the refractional effects, we developed and examined an adaptive beamforming algorithm for small-aperture linear-phased arrays. After accurately assessing the barrier's local geometry and sound speed, the method calculates a new timing scheme to refocus the distorted beam at its original location. As a tentative application, implementation of this method for trans-skull imaging of certain types of head injuries through human skull is discussed. Simulation and laboratory results of applying the method on skull-mimicking phantoms are presented. Correction of up to 2.5 cm focal point displacement at up to 10 cm depth under our skull phantom is demonstrated. Quantitative assessment of the method in a variety of temporal focusing scenarios is also reported. Overall temporal deviation on the order of a few nanoseconds was observed between the simulated and experimental results. The single-point adaptive focusing results demonstrate strong potential of our approach for diagnostic imaging through intact human skull. The algorithms were implemented on an ultrasound advanced open-platform controlling 64 active elements on a 128-element phased array.


ABSTRACT Whooping cough remains a problem despite vaccination, and worldwide resurgence of pertussis is evident. Since cellular immunity plays a role in long-term protection against pertussis, we studied pertussis-specific T-cell responses. Around the time of the preschool acellular pertussis (aP) booster dose at 4 years of age, T-cell memory responses were compared in children who were primed during infancy with either a whole-cell pertussis (wP) or an aP vaccine. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and stimulated with pertussis vaccine antigens for 5 days. T cells were characterized by flow-based analysis of carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) dilution and CD4, CD3, CD45RA, CCR7, gamma interferon (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) expression. Before the aP preschool booster vaccination, both the proliferated pertussis toxin (PT)-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell fractions (CFSEdim) were higher in aP- than in wP-primed children. Post-booster vaccination, more pertussis-specific CD4+ effector memory cells (CD45RA− CCR7−) were induced in aP-primed children than in those primed with wP. The booster vaccination did not appear to significantly affect the T-cell memory subsets and functionality in aP-primed or wP-primed children. Although the percentages of Th1 cytokine-producing cells were alike in aP- and wP-primed children pre-booster vaccination, aP-primed children produced more Th1 cytokines due to higher numbers of proliferated pertussis-specific effector memory cells. At present, infant vaccinations with four aP vaccines in the first year of life result in pertussis-specific CD4+ and CD8+ effector memory T-cell responses that persist in children until 4 years of age and are higher than those in wP-primed children. The booster at 4 years of age is therefore questionable; this may be postponed to 6 years of age.


During the past decades the incidence of diverticular disease of the colon and its complications has increased as well as the therapeutic options have expanded. However, there are still remaining doubts about the timing of surgery indication, the access (open vs laparoscopic) and the best approach to complicated diverticulitis. The current decisions are mostly based in old data of poor statistic strength. This review shows the present-day evidence about the treatment of diverticular disease.


ABSTRACT Three mechanisms are proposed for the transduction from action potential to Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum in skeletal muscle: Chemical mediation, a mechanical connection between transverse tubular membrane and sacroplasmic reticulum, and Ca2+-induced release of Ca2+. New biochemical, biophysical, and structural data favor a mechanical connection and add the possibility that Ca2+-induced Ca2+-release is working in parallel.


Litigation against police agencies for the use and misuse of control agents and procedures has become an important issue for the forensic medical specialist and expert witness. As police technology improves, it becomes apparent that more information for forensic experts will be required in this area. One such area of concern is the use of tear gas by police. This paper addresses the basic types of gas in terms of their chemistry, uses, and medical side effects and complications. Two types of gases--namely, chloroacetophenone (CN) and orthochlorobenzylidenemalontrile (CS)--are discussed in terms of basic properties, unique advantages, and possible harm to the body. CN and CS are relatively safe agents that can be used to control the behavior of a dangerous person. Clinical examples of their use and misuse by police are also reported. Specific guidelines are offered to help ensure a proper assessment of the dangerous person and to protect the health and lives of police personnel, perpetrators, and others exposed to the tear gas. Forensic experts called to testify about the behavior of the disturbed person or to assess the appropriateness of action taken to subdue that person must become more aware of the technology employed by police agencies to accomplish this particular job of protecting public safety.


BACKGROUND
The inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family of proteins regulates programmed cell death triggered by various stimuli. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the expression, regulation, and function of IAP genes in cultured rat mesangial cells.

METHODS
Basal and inducible expression of c-IAP1, c-IAP2, XIAP, and TIAP mRNAs was examined in mesangial cells, isolated glomeruli, and other cell lines under unstimulated and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-stimulated conditions. To examine a role of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) in the regulation of IAPs, expression of IAPs in NF-kappa B-inactive mesangial cells was compared with that in wild-type cells. To investigate roles of IAPs in mesangial cell apoptosis, NF-kappa B--inactive cells were stably supertransfected with c-IAP1 or c-IAP2, and the susceptibility of these cells to TNF-alpha--induced apoptosis was evaluated quantitatively.

RESULTS
Substantial, constitutive expression of c-IAP2, XIAP, and TIAP was observed in serum-deprived rat mesangial cells and c-IAP2 and XIAP in isolated normal rat glomeruli. In response to TNF-alpha, expression of c-IAP1 and c-IAP2 was induced in HeLa cells and ECV304 endothelial cells, but not in mesangial cells. In contrast to previous reports on other cell types, the expression of IAPs in rat mesangial cells was independent of NF-kappa B; that is, expression levels of IAPs in NF-kappa B--inactive cells were same as those in NF-kappa B--active cells under both unstimulated and TNF-alpha--stimulated conditions. Even without the induction of IAPs, NF-kappa B--active mesangial cells were more resistant to TNF-alpha--induced apoptosis than NF-kappa B--inactive cells. Interestingly, overexpression of either c-IAP1 or c-IAP2 completely compensated for the lack of resistance to apoptosis in NF-kappa B--inactive cells.

CONCLUSIONS
IAPs are constitutively expressed in cultured rat mesangial cells and isolated normal rat glomeruli. IAPs can contribute to the survival of rat mesangial cells, but unexpectedly, these molecules are not involved in the TNF-alpha--induced, NF-kappa B--dependent cytoprotection in this cell type.


We examine eight young stellar objects in the OMC-2 star-forming region based on observations from the SOFIA/FORCAST early science phase, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Herschel Space Observatory, Two Micron All Sky Survey, Atacama Pathfinder Experiment, and other results in the literature. We show the spectral energy distributions (SED) of these objects from near-infrared to millimeter wavelengths, and compare the SEDs with those of sheet collapse models of protostars and circumstellar disks. Four of the objects can be modeled as protostars with infalling envelopes, two as young stars surrounded by disks, and the remaining two objects have double-peaked SEDs. We model the double-peaked sources as binaries containing a young star with a disk and a protostar. The six most luminous sources are found in a dense group within a 0.15 × 0.25 pc region; these sources have luminosities ranging from 300 L☉ to 20 L☉. The most embedded source (OMC-2 FIR 4) can be fit by a class 0 protostar model having a luminosity of ∼50 L☉ and mass infall rate of ∼10−4 M☉ yr−1.


Laminated composites are increasingly being used in civil engineering structures. The light weight coupled with high strength has paved the way for using laminated composites in important structures such as bridges and roof shells. Isogeometric analysis using splines has been of immense interest to a structural engineer to model and analyse the structure in three dimensions. The present study is focused on using basis splines to perform topology optimisation of laminated composite thin shell structures. Three different shell have been considered elliptical, cylindrical and hyperbolic structures having simply supports on all four edges. Two different lamina have been considered 0/90/0/90, 45- 45/45/-45 for each type of simply supported shells. Inverse buckling formulation with the inverse of the buckling load is taken as the objective function to perform topology optimisation. Strength and stability criteria are included in the analysis. Deformed profile of laminates is presented here for each case of lamina using isogeometric analysis. The results of cubic basis spline based analysis are in good agreement with the results given in the literature obtained using finite element analysis.


A device, preferably a terminal valve, the complete valve being provided with a cone (9), which cooperates with a valve seat (10), said components also cooperating with a veil (12) and the valve seat (10) being a part of a seat ring (19), which is a combined sealing element, which seals against the cone (9) as well as against the valve body (1), at the same time as the seat ring is a valve seat (10), and the cone (9) having a cylindrical portion (46), which is provided with slits (49) and (50), the passage area, which is obtained, causing a flow, which corresponds to a modified logarithmic function.


Background We hypothesize that different positions of the wrist in the coronal plane makes the carpus susceptible to ulnar impaction. Methods We prospectively enrolled 10 adult volunteers and obtained fluoroscopic images of each wrist in 12 different positions using a standardized protocol. Distances from the ulna to the lunate (UL) and ulna to the triquetrum (UT) were digitally measured as was the portion of the lunate surface area that was uncovered (LUR) with wrist deviation. Results A wrist position of Pronation, Neutral Deviation, and Grip (P-ND-G) significantly shortened the ulnocarpal distance when compared to a position of Neutral Rotation, Neutral Deviation, and No Grip (NR-ND-NG). Radial deviation during pronation and gripping (Pronated, Radial Deviation, Gripping [P-RD-G]) resulted in the lowest mean UL distance (1.2 mm). UT distance was minimized by a position of ulnar deviation during a pronated grip (Pronated, Ulnar Deviation, Gripping [P-UD-G]) (3.1 mm). The lunate becomes more uncovered with radial deviation. Conclusion Radial deviation minimizes the UL distance while ulnar deviation minimizes the UT distance during a wrist position of pronation and gripping. Further, there is more proximal lunate surface area uncoverage during all positions of radial deviation compared to ulnar deviation.


: The only symptom of chronic inflammation of the periapical tissues are periapical changes visible on radiographs. The damage is visible as the inflammation reaches the cortical plates. The lesions located in the cancellous bone are not easily visible on the radiograph. The advancement of computer technology in radiography, which has many advantages and appears on the market, is encouraging clinicians to use this technology. It has additional image processing software such as the color spectrum. Most of the systems available today can convert the colors of images to grayscale. People can distinguish between many more colors than shades of gray. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic efficacy of conventional radiography, and digital radiography with color conversion in diagnosing the periapical lesions located in cancellous bone. Place and Duration: In the Department of Endodontics, Nishtar Institute of Dentistry, Multan for six months duration from January 2020 to June 2020. Methods: 10 premolars were placed in the bony sections of the mandible. Conventional X-rays were taken to ensure that the slices had not previously seen any periapical changes. In the next stage, simulated periapical changes in the cheek or lingual spongy bone were artificially prepared. Then, direct and indirect conventional and digital photos were taken. The digital black and white images have been converted to color images using an image processing system. Five observers were asked to determine the presence, location and size of the lesions. Results: Statistical analyzes showed that color conversion in digital radiography is more accurate than in black and white digital and conventional radiography in determining the presence, location and size of lesions. Conclusion: In conclusion, converting gray values of digital images to a color spectrum can improve bone loss detection. It is a useful tool for diagnosing cancers of the cancellous bone.


Upward‐looking acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) (300 kHz) and echosounders (125 kHz) were deployed on moorings at South Georgia to measure abundance of Antarctic krill continuously over several months. Echoes from krill were identified using the theoretical difference in echo intensity at 300 and 125 kHz and scaled to krill density using target strengths appropriate for krill in the region: krill size was determined from diet samples from furseals and penguins foraging near the moorings. A method using water flow past the moorings was developed to convert time‐based acoustic observations of krill to area‐based abundance estimates. Flow past the stationary moorings was treated analogously to motion along‐track of a research vessel through a nominally stationary body of water during a conventional survey. The moorings thus provide a Eulerian view of variation in krill abundance. This is ecologically instructive for South Georgia, where krill are generally passive drifters on currents and where temporal fluctuations in abundance have significant consequences for krill‐dependent predators. Moorings were positioned on routine research vessel survey transects, and validity of the mooring method was assessed by comparison of mooring and vessel observations. Krill density estimates from the moorings were not statistically different from vessel estimates in adjacent time periods. A time series of krill density from a mooring revealed step‐changes that were not seen during short‐term vessel surveys. Moorings deliver data over time scales that cannot be achieved from research vessels and provide insight on environmental factors associated with variation in krill abundance at South Georgia. Mooring data may aid ecosystem‐based management.


Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a heterogeneous group of malignancies that represents ~4% of all cancers. Rituximab, a chimeric CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb) that effectively treats half of NHL patients variably depletes non-malignant tissue B cells. Whether endogenous or remnant B cells affect CD20 mAb-induced lymphoma depletion is unknown. To determine whether endogenous B cells can influence in vivo lymphoma therapy in mice, the therapeutic effectiveness of a potent mouse anti-mouse CD20 mAb was compared in wild type and CD20-deficient (CD20-/-) mice given homologous CD20+ primary lymphoma cells. CD20 mAb efficiently depleted endogenous mature B cells and lymphoma cells in wild type mice and prolonged survival significantly. By contrast, endogenous B cells are not depleted in CD20-/- mice, including a rare IL-10-producing regulatory B cell subset (B10 cells). Furthermore, the persistence of endogenous B cells significantly inhibited the anti-tumor effects of CD20 mAb in CD20-/- mice. Even small numbers of adoptively transferred CD20-/- B10 cells dramatically suppressed lymphoma depletion in wild type mice by inhibiting monocyte activation and effector function through IL-10-dependent mechanisms. Thus, endogenous B10 cells are potent negative regulators of innate immunity, with even small numbers of residual B10 cells inhibiting lymphoma depletion by CD20 mAb. This may provide a new explanation for treatment resistance in some lymphoma patients.


The Traditional cash payment for electricity charges is characterized by long queue; long distance traveling and time wasting that negatively affect business activities and ultimately economic development. In the present time, the internet has brought about innumerable changes to the way enterprises do business, so all sorts of businesses (such as shopping, hotel reservation, medical checkup, etc.) are performed online. Agent based e-commerce has emerged and become the focus of the next generation of electronic commerce (e-commerce).The system is designed to pay the electricity charges to Electric Supply Enterprise (ESE) through the Internet. The proposed system is implemented by using multi-agent electronic payment architecture. By implementing the proposed online-payment system for electricity charges, it reduces manual effort, paper work and time saving. The system is implemented with Java based programming language (Aglet).


PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
We analyzed calcaneum burst fractures in multiple trauma patients and propose a management scheme.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
In a retrospective study, we isolated 23 patients with 31 calcaneum burst fractures. All were stage V in the Duparc classification. We call them "pied de mine" fractures as they resembled those described in military reports. Half of them (16 cases; 54%) were open fractures. All patients suffered multiple injuries and 12 had a psychiatric history. These fractures were associated with spinal fracture in 17 cases (73%) and half had neurologic deficit, limb fracture in 16 (73%), and pelvic fracture in 12 (52%). The most frequent associated foot injuries were a talus fracture in 9 cases (29%) and Chopart displacement in 10 cases (32%). Clinical evaluation used the Maryland foot score, foot print and radiologic evaluation with lateral retrotibial view.

RESULTS
Mean follow-up was 35 months. Mean Maryland foot score was 62.7 and 13 cases were pain free. Pain was due to conflict with the lateral malleolus, bony plantar thorns, medial malleolus and subtalar osteoarthritis. Orthopedic shoes were used 11 times. The other patients used sports shoes. Subtalar mobility was most frequently absent (23/29 cases, 2 amputations). Foot print showed 13/16 flat feet; 6 thorns were indirectly visible. Two patients had retraction toes and were initially treated by external fixation. Radiologic evaluation showed 23/29 complete subtalar arthrodeses, 23/29 migration of the great tuberosity, often(17/23 cases) associated with varus angulation. Eleven patients needed subsequent surgery: 5 for arthrodeses and 6 for resection of bony thorns. Rate of complication was high, especially for open fractures: 2 infections for 15 closed fractures, and 8 infections (50%) for 16 open fractures with 2 cases of chronic osteitis. Secondary amputation was required in 2/31 cases due to sepsis. TREATMENT PROPOSITIONS: For closed calcaneum burst fractures, it is better to wait one week before osteosynthesis. This delay is used to decrease edema with limb elevation and compressive bandaging. Skin tension due to trauma is increased by edema and osteosynthesis gives a high risk of wound disunion. We recommend reduction and Y-plate fixation even for burst fracture. Reduction must lower the tuberosity and correct the varus. After surgery, subtalar spontaneous arthrodesis is usually observed in a good position. Any bony plantar thorn must be resected. For open calcaneum burst fracture, the risk of sepsis is high. First treatment is debridement, stabilization and external fixation with antibiotic therapy. Stabilization should improve vascularization and facilitate internal fixation. The external fixation can be placed on the medial side to free the lateral approach to the calcaneum. Flap repair can be performed after one week when skin tension has subsided and areas of necrosis controlled.


Purpose Breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA) is the most common malignant tumor. MiR-124 plays a tumor-suppressive role in human cancer. However, the clinical significance of miR-124 in BRCA remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of hsa-mir-124 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics in BRCA using database analysis. Methods The clinical data and expression profiles of hsa-mir-124 were obtained from the cancer genome atlas for BRCA (TCGA_BRCA). Then, the prognostic value of hsa-mir-124 in BRCA was investigated using the Cox Regression test, and the association of hsa-mir-124 and pathology TNM stages and pathologic stages were measured by the Kruskal–Wallis test and Wilcox. test. In addition, the association of hsa-mir-124 and tumor molecular phenotypes was performed using the Chi-Square test. Results We found that the overall survival of patients with high expression of hsa-mir-124-1 and hsa-mir-124-2 was better than that of patients with low expression of hsa-mir-124-1 and hsa-mir-124-2. And the expression of hsa-mir-124-1, hsa-mir-124-2, and hsa-mir-124-3 was mainly enriched in T1/T2 stages, NO/N1 stages, and M0 stages. Then, the expression of hsa-mir-124-1, hsa-mir-124-2, and hsa-mir-124-3 was negatively associated with tumor lymph node metastasis. Moreover, the expression of hsa-mir-124 was associated with tumor molecular phenotype in breast invasive carcinoma. Conclusion Our findings indicated that hsa-mir-124 expressions were associated with overall survival, TNM stages, pathologic characteristics, and tumor molecular phenotype in BRCA via TCGA_BRCA database, providing a new biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for BRCA patients.


The paper is an attempt to study the links between eating and politeness and to show that politeness spans other social practices or instances of non-verbal behaviour, such as food and eating. The paper aims to view how food structures relationships and mediates social interactions and explores different ways in which food and eating fit the concepts of the politeness theory (Brown and Levinson, 1987). Politeness is regarded in the broadest sense possible as civility, propriety, relevance; and above all, it is based on the notion of face. Food is a signifier of collective identity, a sign of affiliation and bonding (vertical or horizontal), a cultural icon and a personal statement.  Shared food and commensality are markers of politeness and acceptance of relationship. Logically, failure to share often seems rude and a denial of social qualities. Giving or choosing 'wrong' or improper food for certain occasion (that is, for breakfast, lunch, or wedding), or for a certain group of people, depending on their age, ethnicity, or religion, may seem very impolite and a sign of a social faux pas.

 Key words: Food, meals, politeness, social interaction, discourse.


With one notable exception, namely the genus Parasponia in the elm family, the ability to form nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with gram-negative soil bacteria known as rhizobia is restricted to the legume family, Leguminosae. It has been well established that initiation of successful nodular symbiosis requires strict compatibility between rhizobial-secreted Nod factors and a perception machinery of the plant host roots (Albrecht et al., 1999). Nod factors comprise a heterogeneous group of morphogenic lipochitooligosaccharides with a major role as determinants of host specificity (Spaink, 2000). Nanomolar concentrations of purified Nod factors can mimic bacterial infections to a certain extent by inducing several root cellular responses that are characteristic of compatible interaction between the host plant and symbiotic bacteria. Early plant responses to Nod factors, including activation of a subset of plant specific genes called early nodulins (ENODs), calcium spiking, root hair curling, pre-infection thread formation, and induction and organogenesis of nodule primordia (NP), have been extensively studied and constitute the subject of several recent reviews (for example, Geurts and Bisseling, 2002). Curiously, while the biology of nitrogen-fixing root nodules has been broadly investigated, we still do not understand what unique evolutionary event predisposed legume plants and Parasponia to form nodular symbiosis with rhizobia. In an attempt to address this question, we analyze here three specific examples demonstrating that this symbiosis may have recruited existing plant regulatory programs during its evolution. The fact that there are homologs of ENOD genes in non-legumes suggests that development of nodular symbiosis involved the harnessing of genetic functions from existing developmental pathways. Albrecht et al. (1999) discussed genetic and corroborating molecular observations that support the notion that legume-Rhizobium symbiosis may have evolved, in part, from a pre-existing pathway(s) that regulates the more widespread (pertaining to more than 80% of extant plant species) and ancient phosphate-acquiring symbiosis of plant roots with fungi, termed arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM). In the first section of this Update, we discuss recently characterized genes that may represent "footprints" of such a pathway(s). That a number of nodulin genes are also expressed in non-symbiotic plant tissues suggests that genes involved in nonsymbiotic pathways may also have been recruited during the evolution of nodular symbiosis. We highlight this point in the second section of the Update by discussing similarities between early rhizobial infections and events occurring during flower pollination. The final section addresses early nodulation events on a broader, organismal, level. Here, we consider a longrange signaling mechanism, termed autoregulation of nodulation, and its relationship with other regulatory pathways that coordinate plant growth and development. While these three examples refer to a broad spectrum of early developmental events during legume-Rhizobium interactions, they emphasize that the evolution of nodular symbiosis probably involved the recruitment of several different plant developmental programs.


In the case of the manufactured linear permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMLSMs), dynamic range evaluation for system efficiency and performance limits is difficult to accomplish because of the moving length restriction with mover and the absence of interface between the design field and control field. To solve this problem, this paper presents a dynamic analysis based on design parameters by magnetic field analysis of the linear PM machine. And then, maximum operating range of the system is estimated considering the control method of a fixed dc-link voltage of the inverter. This analysis is verified from the dynamic experiments through continuous progressive motion of the manufactured disk-type PMLSM by current control.


This study investigates the level of compliance and disclosure of corporate governance mechanisms in Middle East and North Africa countries. The study uses a panel data of 250 companies from MENA countries between 2009 and 2016. The ordinary least square multiple regression analysis technique is used to examine the relationships. Additionally, to alleviate the concern of potential endogeneity, we use fixed effect regression, two-stage least squares using instrumental variables. The results show that the level of voluntary compliance with and disclosure of corporate governance mechanisms among MENA countries varies substantially across countries and is low. The result is consistent with the neo-institutional theory. Future research could investigate more sets of firm-level internal CG mechanisms and country-level variables and use of weighted index. This study extends, as well as contributes to the extant CG literature by offering new evidence on the effect of corporate governance mechanisms among listed firms in ten different MENA countries within a neo-institutional theoretical perspective. The findings will help regulators and policy makers in their countries to pursue reforms to improve national governance quality.


Inspired by recent photoelectron spectroscopy experiments on hydroxide solutions, we have examined the conditions necessary for enhanced (and, in the case of solutions, detectable) inter-Coulombic decay (ICD)--Auger emission from an atomic site other than that originally excited. We present general guidelines, based on energetic and spatial overlap of molecular orbitals, for this enhancement of inter-Coulombic decay-based energy transfer in solutions. These guidelines indicate that this decay process should be exhibited by broad classes of biomolecules and suggest a design criterion for targeted radiooncology protocols. Our findings show that photoelectron spectroscopy cannot resolve the current hydroxide coordination controversy.


In nature, the self-assembly of sequence-specific biopolymers into hierarchical structures plays an essential role in the construction of functional biomaterials. To develop synthetic materials that can mimic and surpass the function of these natural counterparts, various sequence-defined bio- and biomimetic polymers have been developed and exploited as building blocks for hierarchical self-assembly. This review summarizes the recent advances in the molecular self-assembly of hierarchical nanomaterials based on peptoids (or poly-N-substituted glycines) and other sequence-defined synthetic polymers. Modern techniques to monitor the assembly mechanisms and characterize the physicochemical properties of these self-assembly systems are highlighted. In addition, discussions about their potential applications in biomedical sciences and renewable energy are also included. This review aims to highlight essential features of sequence-defined synthetic polymers (e.g., high stability and protein-like high-information content) and how these unique features enable the construction of robust biomimetic functional materials with high programmability and predictability, with an emphasis on peptoids and their self-assembled nanomaterials.


The present study examines job insecurity in the context of dual-earner couples. Linking conservation of resources theory (e.g., Hobfoll, 1989, Am. Psychol., 44, 513) with crossover research (e.g., Westman, 2001, Hum. Relat., 54, 717), we proposed that a partner's job insecurity constitutes an additional resource threat. Thus, the partner's job insecurity would exacerbate a person's negative reaction to his or her own job insecurity in terms of attitudinal (i.e., work engagement) and both health- and withdrawal-related outcomes (i.e., psychological health and turnover intention). Using a time-lagged design and multisource data from 171 mixed-gender dual-earner couples, multilevel path analysis applying the Actor-Partner-Interdependence Model revealed interesting gender differences. The negative relationship between the husband's job insecurity and his work engagement was stronger, the higher his wife's job insecurity was. The data further showed a moderated mediation, such that the husband's job insecurity was negatively and indirectly related to both psychological health and turnover intention (via reduced work engagement) if his wife experienced a medium or high level of job insecurity. Our study demonstrates the interactive effects of stressors in dual-earner couples, and highlights the importance of overcoming an overly individualistic perspective when studying job insecurity in particular and stressors more generally.


Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration of the global atmosphere has increased during the last decades. Increasing global atmospheric CO2 concentrations are expected to influence crop production. In order to evolution of CO2 concentration effects on morphophysiologycal traits in Tagets, Ageratum and Gauilardia, a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with 3 replications and 12 treatments was conducted at the greenhouses of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad at 2009. Treatments were 3 plant species (Tagets spp, Ageratum spp and Gauilardia spp) and 4 concentrations of CO2 (350, 700, 1050 and 1400 ppm). Plants were placed under increasing CO2 concentrations during of 30 days. Day and night temperatures were 25 and 18 °C in all treatments. The number of individual plant leaf, stomatal index, stomatal diameter, plant leaf area, SPAD number and plant dry weight were determined. Results indicated that increasing CO2 concentration from 350 to 1400 ppm leading to increase of 41.6, 3.35, 61.1, 17.1 and 73.9 percentage in number of individual plant leaf, stomatal index, individual leaf area, SPAD number and individual dry weight, respectively. Whilst increasing of CO2 concentration leaded to reduce of stomatal diameter (62 percent). Increasing of CO2 concentration affected individual dry weight accumulation and leaf area significantly. As there was a positive relation between increasing of leaf area and dry weight accumulation, increasing of CO2 concentration could have effect on production and beneficial of Tagets, Ageratum and Gauilardia by increase leaf area and dry weight accumulation.


Recently much attention has been given to the possible relationship between the use of bisphosphonates and some low-energy femoral fractures. These fractures were named "atypical fractures" to distinguish them from "typical fractures" that occur in the neck and trochanteric region of low energy trauma in the elderly and in the femoral shaft. Atypical fractures are stress fractures that occur in the femur (subtrochanteric or diaphyseal region) and are closely related to chronic use of bisphosphonates. Although the pathogenesis of atypical fracture of the femur remains unclear, several pathological mechanisms have been proposed. It is believed that prolonged use of bisphosphonates decrease osteoclast activity by reducing bone's ability to remodel and leading to an accumulation of micro damage with reduced bone strength. There is a prodrome period of pain before the fracture is complete. The patients using bisphosphonates should be advised about the appearance of symptoms that might indicate a possible atypical femoral fracture. The emergence of pain in the groin or thigh should be investigated. Conventional radiography is usually the initial imaging procedure, followed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) or bone scan. Symptomatic patients with an incomplete fracture can be treated conservatively or can have a prophylactic fixation indicated. For patients with atypical fractures or a stress reaction, the bisphosphonates must be stopped and adequate supplementation of calcium and vitamin D should be started. Alternatively, the use of parathyroid hormone (PTH) or others bone anabolic agents can be used in some cases.


Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the pathway and associations among acculturation (ie, language, social interaction and lifestyle), psychological adjustment and mental health of internal migrant adolescents in China. Design Cross-sectional questionnaire study. Setting Six private migrant junior high schools located in Tianhe and Baiyun districts in Guangzhou were chosen as the study sites. Participants A total of 1122 migrant adolescents aged 11–17 years old completed the study. Main outcome measures Mental health was measured by using the Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC) and major depression disorder (MDD) in a Brief Child and Family Phone Interview. Acculturation and psychological adjustment were measured by a self-designed and verified questionnaire. Multiple regression models and structural equation models were performed to analyse the association among acculturation, psychological adjustment and mental health while controlling for participant demographic characteristics. Results The average MDD score for boys was 8.78 (SD=2.17) and for girls was 8.56 (SD=2.22), while the average SASC score for boys was 14.67 (SD=3.72) and for girls was 13.41 (SD=4.01). Psychological adjustment had a direct positive effect on MDD (p<0.001, β=0.30) and SASC (p<0.001, β=0.28), and it was the key variable fully mediating the impact of acculturation components on MDD and partly mediating the impact of acculturation on SASC, whereas lifestyle showed a direct negative effect (p=0.003, β=−0.17) on SASC. Of the three acculturation components, lifestyle had the strongest influence on psychological adjustment (p<0.001, β=0.37 and 0.51), followed by social interaction (p<0.001, β=0.24 and 0.13) and language (p<0.001, β=0.17 and 0.11). Conclusions The association between acculturation and the mental health of internal migrant adolescents was complex and could be mediated by psychological adjustment. Interventions such as promoting local language and social interaction are needed to enhance psychological adjustment and further improve the mental health of migrant adolescents.


Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an increasingly recognised complication of HIV disease. The effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on the clinical course of HIV-associated PAH are still debated.1 Bosentan, a dual endothelin 1 receptor antagonist, may be an effective approach to treatment of PAH in both HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected patients.2–4 We report the results of an open-label, six-month prospective,observational, preliminary study of previously untreated HIV-infected patients with PAH. They were followed up to assess the effect of HAART compared with HAART and bosentan in combination on their exercise capacity and cardiopulmonary haemodynamic parameters.

Previously untreated HIV-infected patients with PAH were elegible for the study. The patients were screened by clinical examination and tranthoracic echocardiography. Patients with an echocardiographic right ventricular systolic pressure > 35 mm Hg underwent right heart catheterisation. PAH was defined on the basis of mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) at rest > 25 mm Hg, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure 240 dyn·s·cm−5 by right heart catheterisation.4 Exclusion criteria were age < 18 years; history of drug addiction and use of drugs known to have a definite cardiotoxic action (for example, cocaine and amphetamines); recent HIV-associated opportunistic infections; previous treatment with antiretroviral or immunomodulating drugs, or both; history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (assessed by analysis of clinical records and by pulmonary function tests); previous congenital or acquired heart disease (assessed by analysis of clinical records …


The role of FtsZ-associated proteins in the regulation of the assembly dynamics of Mycobacterium smegmatis FtsZ is not clear. In this work, we examined the effect of M. smegmatis SepF on the assembly and stability of M. smegmatis FtsZ polymers. We discovered a single dominant point mutation in SepF (G51D or G51R) that renders the protein inactive. SepF promoted the polymerization of FtsZ, induced the bundling of FtsZ filaments, stabilized FtsZ filaments and reduced the GTPase activity of FtsZ. Surprisingly, both G51D-SepF and G51R-SepF neither stabilized FtsZ filaments nor showed a discernable effect on the GTPase activity of FtsZ. The binding affinity of SepF to FtsZ was found to be stronger than the binding affinity of G51R/D-SepF to FtsZ. Interestingly, the binding affinity of SepF to G51R-SepF was determined to be 45 times stronger than FtsZ. In addition, the interaction of SepF with G51R-SepF was found to be 2.6 times stronger than SepF-SepF interaction. Furthermore, G51R-SepF impaired the ability of SepF to promote the assembly of FtsZ. In addition, the overexpression of G51R-SepF in M. smegmatis mc2 155 cells retarded the proliferation of these cells and increased the average length of the cells. The results indicated that SepF positively regulates the assembly of M. smegmatis FtsZ and the G51 residue has an important role in the functioning of SepF.


BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS
The correct histological diagnosis of gastric borderline adenomas is often difficult, especially in excluding malignancy, since the usual diagnostic methods, such as radiography and histological examination of forceps biopsy specimens, are of limited accuracy. The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze the value of endoscopic mucosal resection in establishing the correct diagnosis of borderline adenomas.

RESULTS
Fourteen borderline adenomas were finally diagnosed as containing early gastric cancer type IIa (well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma) after endoscopic mucosal resection, of the remaining 36 tubular adenomas, six represented mild dysplasia, 24 moderate dysplasia, and six severe dysplasia. Most parts of the 14 adenomas containing early gastric cancers had regions of structural atypia, and cellular atypia was moderate in all. Seven of 14 cancers were completely resected, all patients being tumor-free after a follow-up of 33-61 months.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that diagnosing borderline adenoma on the basis of radiographic and endoscopic-bioptic findings is generally unreliable, because biopsy specimens may not be representative of the entire lesion. Borderline adenomas of the stomach should be completely resected by endoscopic mucosal resection to obtain a final diagnosis and - depending on the size and type of the lesion - possibly also definitive treatment.


Background: In 1995, Medicare developed the Medicare Functional Classification Level (MFCL) system to classify lower extremity amputees into different categories to guide prosthetic reimbursement based on their potential level of ambulation. Very few clinical tests exist to accurately assist clinicians in determining an amputee's mobility potential. The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate the use of the AMP in order to provide an objective and appropriate determination of an amputee's mobility following a unilateral transtibial amputation. Case Description: The patient was a 61 year old male status post left transtibial amputation following a bimalleolar ankle fracture which healed in valgus deformity with nonunion. The AMP was administered three weeks after his amputation. The patient scored at a K3 level and he was subsequently fitted for his prosthesis. Intervention: The patient was seen in physical therapy for 5 visits for lower extremity strengthening, gait training, and various balance training tasks beginning 9 weeks after his amputation. Outcome Measures: Outcome measures used were 10 meter walk test (10 MWT) and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. The subject's gait speed at his initial evaluation was 0.89 m/s and his TUG time was 15.2 seconds. At his final visit his gait speed improved to 1.3 m/s and his TUG time improved to 11.5 seconds. Discussion: This case describes the use of the AMP to determine an amputee's functional classification level in order to maximize mobility and quality of life after a transtibial amputation. This case also demonstrates that the AMP is a quick and simple way for clinicians to use objective data to determine an amputee's potential for ambulation. AMP and Amputee MFCL


Termite raiding behaviour of the African poneromorph ant Pachycondyla analis was studied at Mpala, Kenya. In all, 330 raids were observed with the raiding activity showing peaks in the morning and evening. Time spent at the termite source was positively correlated with the numbers of termites taken. The sizes of foraging parties, number of termites taken, distance travelled and time spent at termite sources also showed a positive correlation. Pachycondyla analis preyed significantly more on Microtermes spp. than they did on Odontotermes spp. but no significant differences were found in terms of predator efficiency even though many ants were injured in raids on Odontotermes spp. compared with those on Microtermes spp. Our results indicate that P. analis seems to forage optimally, balancing the costs of energy with prey reward and prey choices were not only influenced by prey abundance, but also by the costs of foraging, as influenced by prey defences, size and foraging behaviour.


Bioprosthetic valves are often used to replace diseased heart valves. They differ from mechanical valves by optimal hemodynamic parameters and low thrombogenicity. However, although the durability of modern bioprosthetic valves, their design, and implantation procedures are being improved, the replacement of the native valve does not necessarily lead to favorable outcome, because valvular defect is often replaced by "prosthetic valve disease". Structural valve degeneration is one of the main causes of bioprosthetic valve failure, but its mechanisms have not been studied in detail. This review summarizes and analyzes current data on mechanisms responsible for bioprosthetic valve structural degeneration. These mechanisms include passive degeneration, inflammation, fibrosis and osteogenesis.


This paper aims to draw attention to the personalist meaning of the category of common good. The discussion begins with consideration of possible interpretations of the fact of society and principal foundations of the philosophical concept of common good. The person's structure, the most perfect form of being in light of the personalist theory, is shown against this background. It is also a fundamental common good of each social structure. The reflection will be guided by two main proponents of Polish philosophical personalism, who present an interesting theory of man and society which is important to contemporary culture: Mieczysław Albert Krąpiec and Karol Wojtyła.


Trust is an important aspect of decision making for Internet applications and particularly influences the specification of security policy, i.e., who is authorized to perform actions as well as the techniques needed to manage and implement security to and for the applications. This survey examines the various definitions of trust in the literature and provides a working definition of trust for Internet applications. The properties of trust relationships are explained and classes of different types of trust identified in the literature are discussed with examples. Some influential examples of trust management systems are described.


We tested the ability of d-cycloserine, a partial glycine agonist acting at the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor complex, to improve implicit memory in Alzheimer patients in a parallel-group, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. One-hundred eight patients with probable Alzheimer's disease of mild to moderate severity received d-cycloserine (5, 15, or 50 mg) or placebo twice daily for 10 weeks. We then evaluated their ability to identify perceptually degraded words, some of which were repeated over multiple trials across 3 days. Implicit memory performance of words repeated across trials was significantly enhanced for the patients who received 15 mg d-cycloserine compared with those who received placebo. These findings support development of NMDA receptor-mediated glutamatergic interventions for the treatment of Alzheimer-related memory disorders. NEUROLOGY 1996;46: 420-424


Due to the gap between a substitute model and a victim model, the gradient-based noise generated from a substitute model may have low transferability for a victim model since their gradients are different. Inspired by the fact that the decision boundaries of different models do not differ much, we conduct experiments and discover that the gradients of different models are more similar on the decision boundary than in the original position. Moreover, since the decision boundary in the vicinity of an input image is flat along most directions, we conjecture that the boundary gradients can help find an effective direction to cross the decision boundary of the victim models. Based on it, we propose a Boundary Fitting Attack to improve transferability. Specifically, we introduce a method to obtain a set of boundary points and leverage the gradient information of these points to update the adversarial examples. Notably, our method can be combined with existing gradient-based methods. Extensive experiments prove the effectiveness of our method, i.e., improving the success rate by 5.6% against normally trained CNNs and 14.9% against defense CNNs on average compared to state-of-the-art transfer-based attacks. Further we compare transformers with CNNs, the results indicate that transformers are more robust than CNNs. However, our method still outperforms existing methods when attacking transformers. Specifically, when using CNNs as substitute models, our method obtains an average attack success rate of 58.2%, which is 10.8% higher than other state-of-the-art transfer-based attacks.


Monte Carlo and theoretical studies of thin 3D films of biaxial and uniaxial nematics with tangential boundary conditions show distinct differences in structure and evolution of topological defects. In the uniaxial films, defects of strength k=+/-1 are point defects that bear no bulk singularity and disappear by annihilation with each other. In the biaxial films, k=+/-1 defects are true singular bulk disclinations that split into pairs of k=+/-1/2 lines; the latter disappear by annihilation processes of the type +1/2-1/2=0. These observed differences are of relevance for the current debate on the existence of biaxial phases.


In 111 thyroid cancer patients consisting of 89 papillary carcinomas, 17 follicular carcinomas, 2 medullary carcinomas, 1 squamous cell carcinoma and 2 malignant lymphomas, the levels of 12 tumor markers, including thyroglobulin (Tg), were measured in the serum by radioimmunoassay and radioimmunoassay related methods. Serum levels of Tg were elevated in 58.6%, those of CA-M26 in 15.7%, CA 19-9 in 5.3%, CT in 3.6%, NSE in 3.6%, CA 15-3 in 2.6%, CA 125 in 2.6%, CEA in 0.9%, CA-M 29 in 0%, ferritin in 0%, SCC in 0% and AFP in 0% of cases. Among the patients, there was a case of thyroid carcinoma secreting thyroglobulin and CA 19-9, both of whose titer decreased after surgery. Immunohistochemical studies were carried out on 57 of the above mentioned patients plus 6 anaplastic carcinomas, 15 adenomas, 5 adenomatous goiters, 6 Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 15 Graves' disease and 15 normal subjects. CA 19-9 was positive in 58% of the papillary carcinomas, EGF in 73% of papillary carcinomas, 67% of anaplastic carcinomas, and 33% of follicular carcinomas, while EGF-R was found in 73% of the papillary carcinomas, and 33% of the follicular carcinomas. Enhanced expression of ras p 21 oncogene and (c-myc oncogene) was demonstrated in 100% (100%) of anaplastic carcinomas, in 100% (67%) of follicular carcinomas and in 63% (90%) of papillary carcinomas. Our results indicate that a better tumor marker is required and more extensive molecular oncology research should be pursued.


Metric learning aims to build a distance metric typically by learning an effective embedding function that maps similar objects into nearby points in its embedding space. Despite recent advances in deep metric learning, it remains challenging for the learned metric to generalize to unseen classes with a substantial domain gap. To tackle the issue, we explore a new problem of few-shot metric learning that aims to adapt the embedding function to the target domain with only a few annotated data. We introduce three few-shot metric learning baselines and propose the Channel-Rectifier Meta-Learning (CRML), which effectively adapts the metric space online by adjusting channels of intermediate layers. Experimental analyses on miniImageNet, CUB-200-2011, MPII, as well as a new dataset, miniDeepFashion, demonstrate that our method consistently improves the learned metric by adapting it to target classes and achieves a greater gain in image retrieval when the domain gap from the source classes is larger.


Abstract. Comprehensive analysis of a moderate 600 nT substorm was performed using simultaneous optical observations inside the auroral oval and in
the polar cap, combined with data from satellites, radars, and ground
magnetometers. The onset took place near the poleward boundary of the
auroral oval that is not typical for classical substorms. The substorm onset
was preceded by two negative excursions of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz component, with a 1 min
interval between them, two enhancements of the antisunward convection in the
polar cap with the same time interval, and 15 min oscillations in the
geomagnetic H component in the auroral zone. The distribution of the
pulsation intensity along meridian has two local maxima, namely at the equatorial and
poleward boundaries of the auroral oval, where pulsations occurred in the
out-of-phase mode resembling the field line resonance. At the initial stage, the
auroral breakup developed as the auroral torch stretched and expanded poleward
along the meridian. Later it took the form of the large-scale coiling
structure that also distinguishes the considered substorm from the classical
one. Magnetic, radar, and the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics
Response Experiment (AMPERE) satellite data show that, before the collapse,
the coiling structure was located between two field-aligned currents, namely
downward at the poleward boundary of structure and upward at the equatorial
boundary. The set of GEOTAIL satellites and ground data fit to the near-tail
current disruption scenario of the substorm onset. We suggest that the
15 min oscillations might play a role in the substorm initiation.


This report is based on the investigation of changes in renal function produced by operations performed under general anesthesia, and of the variations in renal activity dependent on relief from back-pressure of urine. For this work, the rate of excretion of phenolsulphonephthalein and the concentration of urea in the blood have been taken as the indexes of renal activity. These tests were chosen because of their recognized value and because they are so easily performed. The phenolsulphonephthalein test was carried out by the technic of Rowntree and Geraghty. 1 The determination of the urea concentration in the blood was made by the urease method introduced by Marshall. 2 The concentration of total nonprotein nitrogen in the blood is probably a better index of renal efficiency, but the urea determination is made with less difficulty and can easily be made a routine clinical procedure. It is true that the proportion of


The role of generic drugs in both the US and global marketplace has been steadily increasing over the last few years. Although generic drugs clearly represent an important economic alternative for many patients, there are reasons for concern in certain disease states. Recently, the substitution of antiepileptic drugs in patients with epilepsy has gained increased attention. Concerns over potential therapeutic inequivalence has prompted many clinicians to question current regulatory requirements for both establishing bioequivalence, as well as product substitution. The objective of this article is to present arguments both for and against the use of generic drugs and practice of generic substitution in patients with epilepsy. Regulatory requirements, pharmacokinetic methodology, and biopharmaceutical considerations are discussed.


Abstract While the rat has been used extensively in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)-cerebral vasospasm studies, concerns exist whether this animal represents a usable model because its time course and pattern of cerebral vasospasm following SAH is not comparable to that observed in man. At present, our knowledge of the rat model is based almost exclusively on studies using a 'single hemorrhage' method. Since there is a positive correlation between severity of cerebral vasospasm, and volume of subarachnoid blood, an obvious question is whether the rat will show modifications in vascular responses when insulted by a second SAH. Here, an SAH was produced in rats using a 'double hemorrhage' method. Following SAH, cerebral arteries showed pathological alterations, significant decreases in luminal perimeter, and increases in arterial wall thickness, over a 7-day post-SAH period. The above vascular features are considered to be indicative of cerebral vasospasm and their presence over a 7-day post-SAH period represents a significant time extension when compared to a single hemorrhage. These modified vascular responses made the double hemorrhaged rat a much-improved animal model. [Neurol Res 2001; 23: 761-766]


Visual processing varies dramatically across the visual field. These differences start in the retina and continue all the way to the visual cortex. Despite these differences in processing, the perceptual experience of humans is remarkably stable and continuous across the visual field. Research in the last decade has shown that processing in peripheral and foveal vision is not independent, but is more directly connected than previously thought. We address three core questions on how peripheral and foveal vision interact, and review recent findings on potentially related phenomena that could provide answers to these questions. First, how is the processing of peripheral and foveal signals related during fixation? Peripheral signals seem to be processed in foveal retinotopic areas to facilitate peripheral object recognition, and foveal information seems to be extrapolated toward the periphery to generate a homogeneous representation of the environment. Second, how are peripheral and foveal signals re-calibrated? Transsaccadic changes in object features lead to a reduction in the discrepancy between peripheral and foveal appearance. Third, how is peripheral and foveal information stitched together across saccades? Peripheral and foveal signals are integrated across saccadic eye movements to average percepts and to reduce uncertainty. Together, these findings illustrate that peripheral and foveal processing are closely connected, mastering the compromise between a large peripheral visual field and high resolution at the fovea.


Extending from existing research on how public libraries offer information literacy (IL) instruction through classes or programs, the purpose of this research was to explore how public librarians provide IL instruction through individual interactions with patrons. US public librarians recorded their impressions of instructional interactions over a five-day period using an online diary instrument. Key findings were that public librarians incorporate a range of IL concepts in their interactions with patrons, across a wide variety of expressed information needs, with most of the instruction directed toward helping patrons plan their information tasks, access information, and judge information. Secondary themes showed that although librarians believed strongly in the value and importance of providing instruction, individual and situational factors presented barriers to effective instruction. This research contributes to an understanding of how IL instruction in public library settings differs from school and academic library settings and raises some questions around the need for instructional resources focused more specifically around the needs of the public library to facilitate effective instruction.


A Tilt Wing Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) UAV, which highlights Tilt wings alongside each other and propellers fitted at the mid-span of every wing, is one of the better reassuring UAV configurations having both vertical take-off and landing capability and high cruise performance. A small prototype TW UAV has been constructed to prove the concept and full transition between vertical and horizontal flight has been successfully demonstrated under remote manual control. The essential aerodynamic characteristics of the TW i.e. Tilt wing derived from ANSYS data are summarized, and a tandem wing concept which achieves both hovering and cruising stability has been applied to design the prototype UAV. A flight control system (FCS) enabling continuous sway through all flight phases enabled a pilot to carry out vertical take-off, accelerating transition, cruise, decelerating transition and hover landing, all these phases with sufficient flying qualities.


Acinetobacter baumannii is a bacterial pathogen that is commonly associated with hospital-acquired illnesses. Antimicrobial drug resistance in A. baumannii includes several penicillin classes, first and second-generation cephalosporins, cephamycins, most aminoglycosides, chloramphenicol, and tetracyclines. The recent rise in multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strains has resulted in an increase in pneumoniae associated with ventilators, urinary tract infections associated with the catheter, and bloodstream infections, all of which have increased complications in treatment, cost of treatment, and death. Small compounds known as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are known to have damaging effects on pathogenic bacteria. To determine their antimicrobial activity, AMPs are created from proteins acquired from various sources and evaluated in vitro. In the last phase of lytic cycle, bacteriophages release hydrolytic enzymes called endolysins that cleave the host's cell wall. Due to their superior potency and specificity compared to antibiotics, lysins are used as antibacterial agents. In the present study, different types of endolysin from phages of A. baumannii were selected based on an extensive literature survey. From the PhaLP database, the sequences of the selected lysins were retrieved in FASTA format and antimicrobial peptides were found among them. With the help of available bioinformatic tools, the anti-biofilm property, anti-fungal property, cell-penetrating property, and cellular toxicity of the antimicrobial peptides were determined. Out of the fourteen antimicrobial peptides found from the eight selected endolysins of A. baumannii specific phage, eight of them has anti-biofilm property, nine of them has anti-fungal property, five of them has cell-penetrating property and all of them are non-toxic.


In many applications, there are problems of small sample size and high dimensionality of data, for example, in traditional Chinese medicine syndrome classification of chronic gastritis. To attack these problems, this paper gives a method which combines data preprocessing and Bayesian networks. Firstly, data is divided into groups with hierarchical clustering. Then, principal component analysis technique is used to extract principal components of each group of the data. At last, the new principal components are used to train a Bayesian network classifier. Experiment results demonstrate that the method is feasible and effective.


ABSTRACT Objective This study assessed the associations of binge eating, compensatory behaviors, and dietary restraint with the composition and diversity of the intestinal microbiota among participants with binge-eating disorder or bulimia nervosa. Methods We analyzed data from 265 participants aged 18 to 45 years with current binge-eating disorder or bulimia nervosa enrolled in the Binge Eating Genetics Initiative study. We evaluated the associations of binge-eating frequency; presence/absence and frequency of vomiting, laxative use, and compulsive exercise; and dietary restraint with abundances of gut microbial genera, species, and diversity (Shannon diversity, Faith phylogenetic diversity, and Peilou's evenness) from 16S rRNA gene sequencing. General linear regression models adjusted for potential confounders, including age and current body mass index, were used to test associations; p values were corrected for the false discovery rate. Results The normalized abundance of four genus- and species-level gut microbes and three diversity indices were lower among Binge Eating Genetics Initiative participants who reported any laxative use compared with those who reported no laxative use. Vomiting frequency was positively associated with the normalized abundance of the genus Escherichia-Shigella, a potential pathobiont, although the association was attenuated to nonsignificance after adjustment for age, body mass index, and binge-eating episodes. Conclusions Laxative use was highly and uniformly predictive of a reduced gut microbial diversity including potential commensals and pathobionts, and should be assessed and accounted for in all future studies of eating disorders and the gut microbiota. Future studies should collect data on specific medications—particularly laxatives—and dietary intake to obtain unbiased estimates of the effect of eating disorders on the gut microbiota and identify potential downstream clinical implications. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04162574.


In this paper, the power consumption of a transparent circuit-switched wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) optical network is evaluated, considering client flow protection requirements and the daily traffic variability. Moreover, a simple heuristic algorithm is applied to the considered network scenario to reduce the power consumption of optical links. When traffic load decreases, the algorithm tries to switch off optical links according to several heuristic criteria that take into account the power consumption parameter of links, some topological consideration and the congestion of each fiber. By performing such an optimization, applying the best link-ordering criterion, it is possible to save an amount of power from 28% up to 86% of the power consumed by optical links on the basis of the traffic load. This leads to an average energy saving of 35% with respect to the energy consumed by the whole optical network. Moreover, we evaluate the impact of network design parameters on the proposed algorithm and the network power consumption. Results show that, for a 18-node network supporting an average traffic of 75 Gbits/s between each node pair, a number of wavelengths equal to 80 can drastically reduce the power consumption of optical links.


This in vitro study evaluated the marginal leakage of two resin composites light cured in four different polymerization modes. Standardized Class V cavities were prepared on the buccal enamel surface of 80 sound, freshly extracted inferior bovine incisors. The teeth were randomly divided into eight experimental groups: two resin composites (Z250 Charisma) and four polymerization modes (conventional-680 mW/cm2/30 seconds; soft start-380mW/cm2/10 seconds + 680 mW/cm2/20 seconds; plasma arc curing- 1480mW/cm(2)-3 seconds; combined- 380mW/cm2-10 seconds + 1480mW/cm(2)-3 seconds). All specimens were thermocycled (1,000 cycles at 5 degrees C and 55 degrees C) with a dwell time of one minute at each temperature and immersed in a 2% methylene blue solution for more than 12 hours. The specimens were then washed and prepared for spectrophotometric analysis to quantify the dye concentration. Soft start and combined polymerization modes presented better results and were statistically different from conventional and plasma arc curing polymerization methods for both resin composites. There were no statistical differences between the two resin composites.


Here we present the dental pathologies found in the population of Cortijo Coracho, which dates from Late Antiquity (4th-8th centuries AD) and is located in the region of Lucena (Córdoba). Using a sample of 160 individuals over the age of twenty years at death, with a total of 1681 dental crowns, the frequency of various oral diseases (dental calculus, alveolar reabsorptions, periodontal diseases, and dental abscesses) were analysed. The frequency of oral disease was compared between the mandible and the maxilla, the anterior and posterior teeth as well as the right and left sides. Consideration was given to ante-mortem tooth loss, which may be caused by dental disease. Statistical analysis showed a significantly greater frequency of oral disease in the posterior teeth of the mandible.


BACKGROUND
Current methods for the detection and surveillance of bladder cancer (BCa) are often invasive and/or possess suboptimal sensitivity and specificity, especially in early stage, minimal, residual tumors.

METHODS
We developed a novel method for the detection of urine tumor DNA Methylation at multiple genomic regions by Mass Array, termed utMeMA. We identified the BCa-specific methylation markers by combined analyses of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital (SYSMH), TCGA and GEO cohorts. The BCa diagnostic model was built in a retrospective cohort (n=313) and validated in a multicenter, prospective cohort (n=175). The performance of this diagnostic assay was analyzed and compared with urine cytology and FISH.

RESULTS
We first discovered 26 significant methylation markers of BCa in combined analyses. We build and validate a two-marker-based diagnostic model that discriminated patients with BCa with high accuracy (86.7%), sensitivity (90.0%) and specificity (83.1%). Furthermore, utMeMA based assay achieved a great improvement in sensitivity over urine cytology and FISH, especially in the detection of early stage (Ta and low grade tumor, 64.5% vs. 11.8%, 15.8%), minimal (81.0% vs. 14.8%, 37.9%), residual (93.3% vs. 27.3%, 64.3%) and recurrent (89.5% vs. 31.4%, 52.8%) tumors. The urine diagnostic score (UD-score) from this assay was better associated with tumor malignancy and burden.

CONCLUSIONS
Urine tumor DNA methylation assessment for early diagnosis, minimal, residual tumor detection and surveillance in bladder cancer is a rapid, high-throughput, non-invasive and promising approach, which may reduce the burden of cystoscopy and blind second surgery.


This R&D aims to collect and separate aluminum-containing waste materials (general waste and industry waste), and recover highly-pure aluminum by the efficient dry distillation process. By using the cartridge system (containing the aluminum and reactant), hydrogen energy is generated, and electric power is generated by fuel cell for variety of applications. This system contributes the improvement of aluminum material flow and provides low-carbon solutions. PCR (pulper continual reject) Pulper system could separate aluminum-rich material from the paper-based waste. It was possible to find the condition to recover aluminum and pulp by establishing the model which predicted time to separate aluminum and pulp from the paper-based waste with aluminum. キーワード:アルミ付き紙系廃棄物,水素,分離,パルプ,パルパー


This study was undertaken to test the hypotheses that, due to gradual accumulation of dead erythrocytes and their ingested products resulting from repeated hemorrhage, older endometriomas (whitish in color) contain chocolate fluid with higher iron content than younger (brownish/blackish in color) ones with concomitant higher collagen content and more adhesions. We recruited 30 premenopausal women with histologically confirmed ovarian endometriomas and collected samples of their endometriotic lesions and chocolate fluid and measured the viscosity, density, and the concentration of total bilirubin, ferritin, and free iron of the chocolate fluid. We also evaluated the lesion color and adhesion scores. In addition, we performed Masson trichrome and Picro-Sirius red staining on all endometriotic cysts and evaluated the extent of fibrosis in the lesions. We found that fluids taken from white-colored endometriomas had significantly higher concentration of total bilirubin, ferritin, and free iron, respectively, than black/brown-colored ones. In addition, older cysts had fluids that had significantly higher density and viscosity. Fluid density correlated positively with the concentrations of total bilirubin, ferritin, and free iron. Older lesions had significantly more collagen content and higher adhesion scores. Taken together, these data supports the notion that older cysts, having experienced more bleeding episodes, contain chocolate fluid that is higher in viscosity, density, and iron content and higher fibrotic content than younger ones. This provides another piece of evidence that endometriotic lesions are wounds that undergo repeated injury and repair, resulting ultimately fibrotic lesions that are resistant to hormonal treatment.


Guidelines on asthma management may be useful in defining optimal standards of care and as a basis for audit. They also have a role in the education of health professionals and offer a common approach for use by all who care for those with asthma. They should define the goals and outcomes expected from treatment and preferably outline several ways in which they may be achieved. It should be made clear when the recommendations are based upon the results of clinical trials and where they merely reflect current clinical practice. Areas for future research should be clearly outlined. The production of guidelines is only likely to influence patient care, if the guidelines are adapted and made relevant to individual districts or health establishments. There needs to be a realisation that they contain much more than advice about drug treatments. A more patient centred approach to management and attention to patient education is necessary if they are to be effective in reducing the morbidity associated with this common condition.


In order to investigate the post-arc period and the hot gas regions surrounding the electrical arc in circuit breakers, a broad band radiation source has been developed to perform absorption spectroscopy measurements. The source consists of a Z-pinch electrical discharge in which the high temperature and the high density argon plasma obtained at maximum compression produces an extremely intense continuous radiation pulse of about 2 μs duration. The radiation spectrum has been characterized both temporally and spectrally in order to determine the best operating conditions to produce an intense and continuous radiation spectrum. Absorption tests have been performed on the hot gas region of a low voltage rail gap circuit breaker. Absorption of copper atom resonance lines (Cu I 324.75 and Cu I 327.40 nm) is used to determine the copper atom density in the rear of the arc. In addition, absorption of the C2 molecule Swan bands, (0,0) and (1,1), is used to determine roughly the concentration of C2 and also the kinetic temperature of the hot gas.


ABSTRACT Objectives : This study was performed to investigate the anti-diabetic effe ct of the fruit extract of Lycium chinense Mill(Lycii Fructus, LF) on multiple low-dose streptozotocin-in duced diabetic rats.Methods : Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups; normal, STZ-control, Lycii Fructus extract-orally administrated 300 ㎎/㎏ group (STZ-LF). Diabetes was induc ed in rats by consecutive injection of streptozotocin (STZ) at doses of 30 ㎎/㎏ for 5 days. After 4 wee ks, all rats were sacrificed, Fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol (CHO), triglyceride (TG) and HDL-Cholesterol were measured in sera of rats. Histopathological changes of pancreas, kidney, liver and lung tissues were observed by microscope after H&E, Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Masson's trichrome staining. The changes of body weight, blood glucose, and food and water intake were also measured.Results : There were no differences in body, food intake and water intak e in LF-administrated groups compared with STZ control group. However, LF extract significantly decre ased the levels of serum glucose, CHO, TG and HDL-Cholesterol in diabetic rats. In histopathological analysis of kidney, liver and lung, LF-administrated groups showed the inhibition of morphological damage.Conclusions : These results suggest that LF have a biological action on multi low-dose STZ-induced diabetes in rats via decreasing the serum glucose, TG and TG levels and may protect the morphological changes of kidney, liver and lung.Key words : Diabetes, Streptozotocin, multiple administration, Lycii Fruct us, histopathological analysis


In-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) measurements during laser ablation of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-x/ (YBCO) on SrTiO/sub 3/[100], [305] and on SrTiO/sub 3/[100] misoriented 2 degrees and 3 degrees towards [110] were performed. The specularly reflected electron intensity oscillation is modulated by the laser pulse deposition frequency. The crystallization of the deposited material is directly monitored by an exponential intensity rise of the specular intensity. From the time constant the critical laser repetition frequency can be estimated. Oscillations were not observed during the growth on 3 degrees vicinal SrTiO/sub 3/[100] and on SrTiO/sub 3/[305] substrates. For these substrates well-aligned steps parallel to the [100] direction exist due to growth by step movement. From this a mean diffusion length between 7.5 nm and 11 nm at 720 degrees C was determined.<<ETX>>


A microfluidic assay based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification was successfully developed to analyse Staphylococcus aureus in clinical cerebrospinal fluid samples. A set of primers was designed showing high specificity and good sensitivity. The reagent consumption was reduced to 1.5 μl and the total analysis time is about 60 minutes.


Severe influenza infections are a common cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ARDS is characterized by acute lung injury as well as pulmonary edema or "leakage," which is caused by endothelial dysfunction and subsequent alveolar flooding from circulating blood vessels. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a protein released from lung endothelial cells that acts as a proinflammatory cytokine during bacterial and viral infections. However, the effect of HMGB1 on the endothelium during influenza viral infection is unknown. This study demonstrates that HMGB1 released from primary human microvascular lung endothelial cells (HLMECs) during influenza infection increases endothelial activation and apoptosis, while also disrupting adherens junctions between cells. Sequestering extracellular HMGB1 using the small molecule glycyrrhizin (GCZ) attenuates these effects, suggesting that HMGB1 signaling occurs in a paracrine manner. Inhibition of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 pathway, a downstream effector of HMGB1, with peptide P5779 did not substantially decrease endothelial apoptosis. Therefore, HMGB1 likely elicits its effects on the endothelium in a TLR4-independent manner. These results will elucidate a partial mechanism that potentially explains ARDS symptoms seen in patients with severe influenza infections.


We present a method to estimate the time‐dependent vaccine efficacy from the cohort‐specific vaccination coverage and from data on the vaccination status of cases and apply it to a measles epidemic in Germany which involved 529 cases, 88 of whom were vaccinated and 370 unvaccinated (for the remaining 71 cases the vaccination status is unknown). Our epidemiological model takes into account that maternal antibodies prevent successful vaccination and that vaccine immunity may be lost over time. Model parameters are estimated from the data using maximum likelihood. Vaccination coverage, as determined in school surveys, ranged from 27.6 per cent for the cohort born in 1974 to 85 per cent for the 1986 cohort, which is far too low to prevent measles transmission. Cohorts for which no school surveys were performed are omitted from analysis. Thus, sufficient data are available for only 282 cases, 69 of whom are vaccinated. According to our estimates, measles vaccinations provided no immunity before 1978 (95 per cent CI: 0 to 47 per cent), for the period 1978‐1982, the estimated vaccine efficacy was 80per cent (95 per cent CI: 67 to 89 per cent), and for 1982–1990 it was 97 per cent (95 per cent CI: 93 to 99 per cent). After 1990, the estimated value dropped to 89 per cent, but its confidence interval widely overlaps with that of the previous period (95 per cent CI: 74 to 97 per cent). Loss of immunity was estimated to be zero (95 per cent CI: 0 to 0.003/year). Several sensitivity analyses were performed with respect to the model assumptions. A modified model which assumed constant efficacy at all vaccination times yielded a high estimate of 96 per cent (95 per cent CI: 92 to 98 per cent) for primary vaccine efficacy but also a high loss rate of immunity of 0.007/year (95 per cent CI: 0.001 to 0.012) to explain the high fraction of vaccinated cases among older individuals. The likelihood score value is however significantly inferior compared to the score value of the model with time‐dependent vaccine efficacy. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Until popular music studies took hold twenty years ago, it was not considered a legitimate field of studies in musicology. Furthermore, the strong art music orientation of conservatories and musicology departments in Latin America did not at all encourage the development of popular music studies. The same phenomenon can be seen with the nation-state, which in many Latin American countries supports the development of conservatories, orchestras, concert seasons, and the research of folk and indigenous music, but rejects any support for popular music, considering it as decadent, commercial, and full of foreign influences. However, old or pre-industrial popular music, from the late fifteenth to early nineteenth century, did achieve academic prestige due to its strong relation to art music, and not only because of the existence of suites, single dances, and themes to develop, but also because it was created and performed by the art musicians themselves. Also, most Latin American folk music, a music protected by the nation-state, emerged under the influence of nineteenth-century salon music and musical plays. The same quadrilles, waltzes, mazurkas, and polkas, which arrived in scores and on the stage, could be found in the countryside, the streets, and later, the radios of Latin America. While folklorists have considered these phenomena when studying folk music of their countries, musicologists and ethnomusicologists have been more reluctant to investigate the crossovers between sheet music, oral tradition, and mass media. Since Robert Schumann and his concept of trivialmusik, composers ceased to compose dance music and rather looked to folklore when needing a theme to develop. Therefore, when Guido Adler and the other German scholars of the 1880s founded musicology, urban popular music was, in a way, already outside of the realm of music. Juan Pablo González


E-commerce is a rapidly growing phenomenon that constantly attracts new target audiences and finds new fields of application. Some products are popular in the E-commerce and others are considered hard to sell over the web. Even the products that are considered a hard sell over the web are getting more popular, and the E-commerce web sites are evolving to increase customer satisfaction. The E-commerce market for clothes and accessories is already major, yet there are a lot of potential customers who won't take part because of reasons like: you don't know how the clothes will fit, or how they will translate into a bigger format, or how they will match other clothes, or your skin tone. These reasons show there is potential for improvement in the E-commerce. With the use of virtual avatars, it's possible to close the gap between E-commerce and conventional shopping. The avatar concept was developed as a result of the original vision, studies of the market, and the feedback from various test subjects. The concept is an overall solution for testing apparel online, which brings the Omni channel vision of E-commerce closer to reality. By integrating techniques as Character modeling and garment making into the E-commerce, the avatar concept will be realized. There are endless possibilities to further this concept, by changing its flexible structure or enriching it with other techniques. (Less)


Radical Prostatectomy and radiation therapy are the two most common treatments for primary prostate cancer (PCa). However, patients treated with radiotherapy are at greater risk for metastases compared to those treated with radical prostatectomy. Among other factors regulating biochemical or clinical recurrence is the formation of gene fusions. Ionizing radiation (IR) can trigger formation of TMPRSS2-ERG in PCa which may facilitate the development of more aggressive clones, especially in men with an intact androgen axis. Bioinformatics analysis has indicated that breakpoint regions of TMPRSS2 and ERG are rich in Alu elements, including inverted Alu repeat that are inherently unstable when in close proximity. Previous work in multiple cell lines showed that adjacent inverted Alu repeats, but not tandem or single Alu's, are recombinationally unstable subsequent to IR exposure. Based on these results, we hypothesize that regions containing inverted Alu repeats in the prostate genome are vulnerable to DNA strand breaks and rearrangements in hormone naïve PCa patients undergoing IR therapy. As gene fusions require each gene to be broken prior to fusion, the effect of irradiation on ERG fragmentation was studied using ligation mediated-PCR. Data from two androgen-sensitive PCa cell lines, PC-346C and LNCaP, showed that after irradiation DNA breaks were introduced preferentially in proximity to an Alu inverted repeat, Alu-Y pair, in intron 3 of ERG. To determine if the enhanced fragmentation observed in this region is translated into rearrangements, FISH (fluorescence in-situ hybridization) probes were designed to bracket the area of interest in ERG. In addition, the same region has been analyzed by inverse-PCR to detect ERG rearrangements. Application of these techniques will enable a better understanding of those mechanisms driving the formation of fusion genes in the proximity of Alu repeats.


Abstract : As the United States enters the 21st century, a "new" enemy has emerged to replace the "old. The Cold War is over and many would argue that the need to plan and/or prepare for major combat operations is an archaic way of moving forward. While the author doesn't necessarily espouse this view, he does believe that the preponderance of conflicts in the nation's future will be against foes of a tribal nature. As such, it is not likely that these tribes will possess the assets or size of a nation-state. Understanding the tribal foe, their culture, and their unique identity will be critical to strategic success for the United States. The United States must be willing to meet the enemy on their terms, and as it evaluates their values and cultural identity, it also must evaluate itself. The United States must not fall victim into believing that all tribal enemies are the same because they speak the same language, look the same, or are located on the same continent. Understanding the enemy to this degree will allow for greater success during the conflict or even the avoidance of conflict altogether. The author examines two cases in which U.S. armed forces engaged in warfare with a tribal enemy: the Plains Indian Wars (1865-1891), and the Philippine Insurgency. These case studies illustrate the U.S. military's vulnerabilities in combating a tribal enemy structure. They also show how the country failed to retain lessons observed in previous encounters. Though neither one of these wars was considered a failure, in today's strategic environment, a 25-year war is not acceptable, particularly if it is fought on foreign soil.


The escape of fluorescent dyes from the bile passages during bile stasis and after a retrograde infusion into the common bile duct was examined in rats and mice. After an intravenous dye injection in bile stasis a strong fluorescence is seen in the periportal spaces. During retrograde dye infusion great amounts of dye accumulate in the periportal spaces but, in consequence of focal disruption of liver cell membranes, escapes also into the spaces of Disse, to be consequently transported by the sinusoidal blood.


In order to continue cost-optimization of modern large wind turbines, it is important to continuously increase the knowledge of wind field parameters relevant to design loads. This paper presents a general statistical model that offers site-specific prediction of the probability density function (PDF) of turbulence driven short-term extreme wind shear events, conditioned on the mean wind speed, for an arbitrary recurrence period. The model is based on an asymptotic expansion, and only a few and easily accessible parameters are needed as input. The model of the extreme PDF is supplemented by a model that, on a statistically consistent basis, describes the most likely spatial shape of an extreme wind shear event. Predictions from the model have been compared with results from an extreme value data analysis, based on a large number of full-scale measurements recorded with a high sampling rate. The measurements have been extracted from Database on Wind Characteristics (http://www.winddata.com/), and they refer to a site characterized by a flat homogeneous terrain. The comparison has been conducted for three different mean wind speeds in the range of 15-19 m/s, and model predictions and experimental results are consistent, given the inevitable uncertainties associated with the model as well as with the extreme value data analysis.


Peer-to-peer needs new middleware technologies and counterparts to the widely established CORBA, EJB, COM+, and messaging systems products. Specially designed middleware would release the advantages of peer-to-peer networks to a broad spectrum of applications. Network-specific advantages like scalability, fault tolerance, and resource availability could easily be utilized without any concerns about their underlying infrastructure and resources. We address this need with our P2P Messaging System, which focuses on high-performance group communication based on a publish/subscribe model. The P2P Messaging System considers the heterogeneous and dynamic character of peer-to-peer networks by an augmented topology and its supporting features. The P2P Messaging System was evaluated by experimental benchmark tests, and the results provide evidence of its efficiency and scalability.


Summary: We present a case of Guglielmi detachable coil extraction into a microcatheter after coil detachment during embolization of a superior hypophyseal artery aneurysm; extraction was a result of the suction generated during pusher-wire withdrawal. Experimental simulations using many coil and microcatheter combinations were used to identify factors that contribute to the likelihood of this phenomenon.


BACKGROUND
Bone block grafting may be required to restore the alveolar process prior to implant placement in Kennedy Class IV partial edentulism of the anterior mandible.

PURPOSE
Evaluate the application of allograft cancellous bone blocks for the augmentation of the anterior atrophic mandible.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fourteen consecutive patients underwent augmentation with cancellous bone block allografts in the anterior mandible. A bony deficiency of at least 3 mm horizontally and up to 3 mm vertically according to computerized tomography para-axial reconstruction served as inclusion criteria. Following 6 months, 26 implants were placed and a cylindrical sample core was collected. All specimens were prepared for histological and histomorphometrical examination. The rehabilitation scheme was two dental implants, placed in the lateral incisor area, supporting a 4-unit implant-supported prosthesis.

RESULTS
Twenty-four blocks were placed in 14 patients. Mean follow-up was 26 ± 17 months. Mean bone gain was 5 ± 0.5 mm horizontally, and 2 ± 0.5 mm vertically. Twenty-six implants were used. Marginal bone loss at last follow up did not extend beyond the first thread. Block and implant survival rates were 91.6% and 100%, respectively. All patients but one received a fixed implant-supported prosthesis. Histomorphometrically, the mean fraction of the newly formed bone was 42%, that of the residual cancellous block-allograft 17%, and of the marrow and connective tissue 41%.

CONCLUSIONS
The potential of cancellous bone block allografts for reconstruction of Kennedy Class IV partial edentulism in the anterior mandible seems promising but still has to be evaluated scientifically in long-term observations.


ABSTRACT Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging virus that, since March 2020, has been responsible for a global and ongoing pandemic. Its rapid spread over the past nearly 3 years has caused novel variants to arise. To monitor the circulation and emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, surveillance systems based on nucleotide mutations are required. In this regard, we searched in the spike, ORF8, and nucleocapsid genes to detect variable sites among SARS-CoV-2 variants. We describe polymorphic genetic regions that enable us to differentiate between the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants of concern (VoCs). We found 21 relevant mutations, 13 of which are unique for Omicron lineages BA.1/BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5. This genetic profile enables the discrimination between VoCs using only four reverse transcription PCR fragments and Sanger sequencing, offering a cheaper and faster alternative to whole-genome sequencing for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance. IMPORTANCE Our work describes a new (Sanger sequencing-based) screening methodology for SARS-CoV-2, performing PCR amplifications of a few target regions to detect diagnostic mutations between virus variants. Using the methodology developed in this work, we were able to discriminate between the following VoCs: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron (BA.1/BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5). This becomes important, especially in low-income countries where current methodologies like next-generation sequencing have prohibitive costs. Furthermore, rapid detection would allow sanitary authorities to take rapid measures to limit the spread of the virus and therefore reduce the probability of new virus dispersion. With this methodological approach, 13 previously unreported diagnostic mutations among several Omicron lineages were found. Our work describes a new (Sanger sequencing-based) screening methodology for SARS-CoV-2, performing PCR amplifications of a few target regions to detect diagnostic mutations between virus variants. Using the methodology developed in this work, we were able to discriminate between the following VoCs: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron (BA.1/BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, and BA.5). This becomes important, especially in low-income countries where current methodologies like next-generation sequencing have prohibitive costs. Furthermore, rapid detection would allow sanitary authorities to take rapid measures to limit the spread of the virus and therefore reduce the probability of new virus dispersion. With this methodological approach, 13 previously unreported diagnostic mutations among several Omicron lineages were found.