Background Type-1 immunity plays a fundamental pathogenic role in various diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), which is a multisystem autoimmune disorder with heterogeneity in clinical manifestations and disease course. Although the etiology and pathogenic mechanisms of SLE remains elusive, the actual state of knowledge allow diagnose that genetic information is important for understanding the mechanisms of the disorder. In this respect several studies support that gene encoding cytokines, which regulate CD4+T cells differentiation, are attractive genetic factors that may predispose to susceptibility and severity of SLE Objectives To investigate the potential association between IL-12B and IL-27 gene polymorphisms and SLE, we performed a case-control study based on Polish population. Methods SLE patients and healthy individuals, were examined for -6415 CTCTAA/GC (rs17860508) and +1188A/C (rs3212227) in IL-12B and -924A/G (rs153109) and 4730T/C (rs181206) in IL-27 gene polymorphisms using the HRM method, PCR–RFLP method and TaqMan SNP genotyping assay, respectively. Results An increased frequency of GC/GC genotype as well as GC allele of the IL-12B rs17860508 was found in patients with SLE, as compared with healthy subjects (p<0.001). We did not find differences in genotype and allele frequencies of the IL-12B rs3212227 and IL-27 rs153109 and rs181206 variants between SLE patients and controls. IL-27 haplotype CG indicated higher risk for SLE (P=0.002), whereas haplotype TG indicated reduced risk for SLE (p=0.005). The IL-12B rs3212227 A/C polymorphism was associated with the mean value of the platelets, urea and complement C3 level. Furthermore IL-12B rs17860508 genetic variant showed correlation with platelets, prothrombin time, international normalized ratio and alkaline phosphatase. Conclusions Our results revealed that IL-12B rs17860508 as well as IL-27 haplotype CG are genetic risk factors for SLE and that both IL-12B rs17860508 and rs3212227 predict disease phenotype. References McCarthy EM, Smith S, Lee RZ, Cunnane G, Doran MF, Donnelly S et al. The association of cytokines with disease activity and damage scores in systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Rheumatology 2014; 53:1586–1594. Miteva LD, Manolova IM, Ivanova MG, Rashkov RK, Stoilov RM, Gulubova MV et al. Functional genetic polymorphisms in interlukin-12B gene in association with systemic lupus erythematosus. Rheumatol Int 2012; 32:53–59. Koening KF, Groeschl I, Pesickova SS, Tesar V, Eisenberger U, Trendelenburg M. Serum cytokine profil in patients with active lupus nephritis. Cytokine 2012; 60: 410–416. Guerra SG, Vyse TJ, Cunninghame Graham DS. The genetics of lupus: a functional perspective. Arthritis Res Ther. 2012;14(3):211. Acknowledgement Supported by grant No 502–01–01124182–07474, Poznań University of Medical Sciences. The technical assistance of Mr. Agnieszka Hertel, Wieslawa Frankowska and Teresa Golaszewska is gratefully acknowledged. We are also grateful to all of the SLE patients whose cooperation made this study possible. Disclosure of Interest None declared


The present study tries to improve our understanding of why some people value coastal zone using attitudinal and preference factors in a Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) study. Specifically, it aims at public preferences for improving the quality (protection) of Pagasitikos coastal area in Greece and explores the influence of environmental attitude on preference to people's willingness to pay (WTP) coastal zone conservation. It also presents the results of a discrete CVM survey which investigates households' WTP for a set of wetland attributes. The proposed approach uses applied methodological methods like Principal Components and Cluster Analyses together with logistic regression. Various demographic variables (as education and income) together with people's preferences for coastal zone show a strong impact on WTP and the specific amounts stated. At a second stage people who accept the CVM scenario results and grouped into two segments, with different attitude against coastal zone management and ecological view.


In this paper, we investigate the ultimate performance limits, in terms of achievable information rate (IR), of communication systems impaired by impulse noise. We compare single carrier (SC) and multi-carrier (MC) transmission systems employing quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) formats. More precisely, we consider SC schemes with coded modulations and MC systems based on orthogonal frequency division modulation (OFDM). For the MC schemes, we introduce a theoretically equivalent channel model which makes the computation of the IR feasible. This simple channel model will be referred to as interleaved MC. We show that, in the presence of impulse noise and except for systems operating at very high spectral efficiency, the IR of MC schemes is lower than that of SC schemes. More precisely, use of MC schemes may lead to an unavoidable fundamental loss with respect to SC schemes at typical coding rates, whereas MC schemes are to be preferred for very high coding rates or in uncoded systems. These results hold for additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and dispersive channels, either considering plain OFDM or MC schemes employing water-filling and bit-loading algorithms. In order to validate our theoretical results, we also obtain the bit error rate (BER) performance of SC and MC schemes through Monte Carlo simulations. A few trellis-coded modulation (TCM) and low-density parity-check (LDPC)-coded schemes are considered. The obtained SNR loss in the BER curves between the AWGN and impulse noise channels matches well with the corresponding IR gap.


Certain secondary metabolites, including antibiotics, evolve to mediate interactions among organisms. These molecules have distinct spectra for microorganisms and are often more effective against Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative ones. ABSTRACT Diaphorin is a polyketide produced by "Candidatus Profftella armatura" (Gammaproteobacteria: Burkholderiales), an obligate symbiont of a notorious agricultural pest, the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae). Diaphorin belongs to the pederin family of bioactive agents found in various host-symbiont systems, including beetles, lichens, and sponges, harboring phylogenetically diverse bacterial producers. Previous studies showed that diaphorin, which is present in D. citri at concentrations of 2 to 20 mM, has inhibitory effects on various eukaryotes, including the natural enemies of D. citri. However, little is known about its effects on prokaryotic organisms. To address this issue, the present study assessed the biological activities of diaphorin on two model prokaryotes, Escherichia coli (Gammaproteobacteria: Enterobacterales) and Bacillus subtilis (Firmicutes: Bacilli). Their growth and morphological features were analyzed using spectrophotometry, optical microscopy followed by image analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The metabolic activity of E. coli was further assessed using the β-galactosidase assay. The results revealed that physiological concentrations of diaphorin inhibit the growth and cell division of B. subtilis but promote the growth and metabolic activity of E. coli. This finding implies that diaphorin functions as a defensive agent of the holobiont (host plus symbionts) against some bacterial lineages but is metabolically beneficial for others, which potentially include obligate symbionts of D. citri. IMPORTANCE Certain secondary metabolites, including antibiotics, evolve to mediate interactions among organisms. These molecules have distinct spectra for microorganisms and are often more effective against Gram-positive bacteria than Gram-negative ones. However, it is rare that a single molecule has completely opposite activities on distinct bacterial lineages. The present study revealed that a secondary metabolite synthesized by an organelle-like bacterial symbiont of psyllids inhibits the growth of Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis but promotes the growth of Gram-negative Escherichia coli. This finding not only provides insights into the evolution of microbiomes in animal hosts but also may potentially be exploited to promote the effectiveness of industrial material production by microorganisms.


We report here a case of a 49 year-old woman who developed a unilateral Jaccoud's arthropathy 9 years after a mycosis fungoides of the left hand. This rheumatic affection, described in 1866, is a deformation of the hands or of the feet linked to a periarticular disease without any bone lesion. Many causes have been registered but the most frequent etiology is the systemic lupus erythematosus. The mycosis fungoides had never been reported as yet to be responsible to the Jaccoud's arthropathy.


Background There is a risk of steroid induced deterioration in patients with exacerbation of myasthenia gravis, possibly reduced if the steroid dose is increased slowly. However, there is limited evidence for this and individual practice varies. We aimed to determine if a slow steroid dose escalation reduced the risk of respiratory failure in our hospital. Methods We retrospectively analysed the clinical records of all patients admitted to our hospital with an exacerbation of myasthenia gravis between January 2010 and December 2014. Results 69 patients were admitted with an exacerbation of myasthenia gravis. 51 patients were treated with a slowly increasing dose and 18 patients immediately with a high dose of steroids. There was a no significant increase in ITU admission in the high dose group (27.78% vs 17.65% p:0.4957) nor any difference in FVC trend, readmission rate, mortality, or treatment with IVIG or PLEX. Length of stay was longer in the patients treated with a slowly escalating dose of steroids (mean number of days 17.8 vs 15.22, p:0.1687). Conclusion We did not find a significant deterioration in patients treated with a high dose of steroids. Given most patients are treated with an escalating steroid dose (that requires a longer hospital stay) there is need for a randomised trial to determine if this is required.


Purpose: In this study, police officers of the security police organization, which is the backbone of the security of the Republic of Korea, will be analyzed for their perception of the leaders' followership and will seek policy measures to improve the positive leadership of the security police organization, the subsequent followership, and even the positive self-leadership of the members of the organization. Method: In this study, 100 police officers in the security department of the Korean police organization were surveyed using self-administration method to analyze the perceived attitude toward leaders' followership. Educational background and employment paths were used as the main variables for measurement. Among the various characteristics of the special security police, the focus was on how the leaders' followership differed according to the educational background and employment paths of the security police department. Results: According to the analysis, for most of the questions that showed statistical significance, security police officers with a relatively high level of education rated the leaders' followership higher. For employment paths, on most of the questions that showed statistical significance, security police officers who were police cadets were found to have a more positive assessment of the leaders' followership than those who became police officers through general recruitment or special recruitment. Conclusion: In order to ensure that security police officers with a relatively low level of education and who were general policemen/women are reborn as more voluntary and active model followers, the overall employment paths of the entire police organization, including the security police, need to improve. That police officers with a relatively low level of education and who were general policemen/women had a negative assessment of the leaders' followership may be a negative reaction to the problems that the security police organization has been constantly undergoing changes depending on the government's political orientation. Therefore, future government, political circles, and police leaders should not make drastic changes to the security police organization in line with the government's political orientation and the micro changes in the inter-Korean relations. [Keywords] Security, Security Police, Followership, Employment Path, Educational Background


A hybrid procedure to extract spin-orbit pseudo-potentials is proposed, taking information from both the orbital shape in the valence region and the atomic spin-orbit splitting. An effective atomic spin-orbit parameter is derived from a Dirac–Coulomb–Fock reference atomic calculation and is then used to extract the spin-orbit pseudo-potential. This method is tested for the ground-state configuration (5s25p4) of the tellurium atom. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2006


AIM: Coronavirus disease in 2019 has been defined as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge toward the coronavirus disease 2019 among the Palestinian population. Method: A cross-sectional online survey among 554 Palestinians was designed. A structured self-administered online questionnaire was distributed among 190 participants from West Bank and 364 from Gaza Strip during the outbreak through social media. The survey was conducted between 10th and 24th of October, 2020. Results: Of the total enrolled participants, 401 were males and 153 were females; the mean age was 28.4 years with a standard deviation of 10.97. Results showed that the means of knowledge about coronavirus disease 2019 were: 76.7% (standard deviation = 12.8), 72.2 (standard deviation = 10.3), 77.7% (standard deviation = 11.0) for general knowledge, the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019, and immunity and protection aids, respectively. Univariate regression revealed significant associations among the level of knowledge and gender, governorates, education levels, and employment status. However, only gender remained a significant explanatory variable in multivariable analysis, as females were nearly four times more knowledgeable than males (OR = 3.94; 95% CI =1.71, 9.07; p = .001). Conclusion: In general, Palestinians had good knowledge about coronavirus disease 2019, modes of transmission, and immunity knowledge. Knowledge was less among males than females. This may need more effort by using different tools of communication to reach more to the male gender.


We present a new investigation of the intergalactic medium near reionization using dark gaps in the Lyβ forest. With its lower optical depth, Lyβ offers a potentially more sensitive probe to any remaining neutral gas compared to the commonly used Lyα line. We identify dark gaps in the Lyβ forest using spectra of 42 QSOs at z em > 5.5, including new data from the XQR-30 VLT Large Programme. Approximately 40% of these QSO spectra exhibit dark gaps longer than 10 h −1 Mpc at z ≃ 5.8. By comparing the results to predictions from simulations, we find that the data are broadly consistent both with models where fluctuations in the Lyα forest are caused solely by ionizing ultraviolet background fluctuations and with models that include large neutral hydrogen patches at z < 6 due to a late end to reionization. Of particular interest is a very long (L = 28 h −1 Mpc) and dark (τ eff ≳ 6) gap persisting down to z ≃ 5.5 in the Lyβ forest of the z = 5.85 QSO PSO J025−11. This gap may support late reionization models with a volume-weighted average neutral hydrogen fraction of 〈x H I〉 ≳ 5% by z = 5.6. Finally, we infer constraints on 〈x H I〉 over 5.5 ≲ z ≲ 6.0 based on the observed Lyβ dark gap length distribution and a conservative relationship between gap length and neutral fraction derived from simulations. We find 〈x H I〉 ≤ 0.05, 0.17, and 0.29 at z ≃ 5.55, 5.75, and 5.95, respectively. These constraints are consistent with models where reionization ends significantly later than z = 6.


The recent deployment of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (fDOM) probes in dam catchments and drinking water treatment plants (DWTP) for water quality monitoring purposes has resulted in the production of a large amount of data that requires scientific evaluation. This study introduces a comprehensive, transferable methodological framework for scientists and water professionals to model fluorescence site-specific quenching on fDOM probe readings caused by temperature, suspended particles, and the inner filter effect (IFE) and applies it to an Australian subtropical reservoir. The findings revealed that quenching due to turbidity and IFE effects were best predicted by threshold autoregressive models. Raw fDOM probe measurements were validated as being more reliable if they were systematically compensated using the proposed procedure. The developed fDOM compensation procedure must consider the instrument features (i.e., wavelength broadband and responsiveness) and site-specific conditions (i.e., DOM characteristics and suspended particles). A finding of particular interest was that the compensated normalized fDOM readings had a high correlation with the low (<500 Da) molecular weight fraction of the DOM, which is more recalcitrant to removal by coagulation. As a consequence, there is potential to use compensated fDOM probe readings to provide real-time, in situ information on DOM properties in freshwater systems, which will enable water treatment plant operators to optimize the coagulation process.


This study aimed to determine: (1) an analysis of the cooperative's performance based on the  agricultural  criteria  in  the district  of Kolaka, according to  the guidelines  on cooperative fostering and  cooperative  classification;  (2)  the performance of  the cooperative  as perceived by  farmers  and  cooperatives management;  (3) determine  the benefits gained by farmers as members of cooperatives; (4) an analysis of the relationship between performance and the benefits obtained by farmers as a cooperative member. The results showed that,  based on the  Guidelines  for  Cooperatives  Classification,  the performance of agricultural cooperatives in Kolaka in 2007 was on the average of 61.58 and fell within the "quite well" category. In 2008 the average performance of 62.05 and cooperatives are included in the category quite well. In2009, the average performance of the cooperatives was  62.38, remaining in the same  category.  In 2010  the  average performance was 61.28, also staying  in the category of "quite well". Furthermore,  the management of cooperatives as well as the majority of stakeholders considered that the agricultural cooperatives in Kolaka met the criteria of "quite well", as many as 48.75%. The majority of  respondents  (65%) considered the agricultural cooperatives  in Kolaka helpful.  Based on  SEM  analysis,  the relationship  of  the agricultural  cooperative performance was found  to be positively correlated  to the benefits obtained by farmers. Standardized  coefficient  value  of 0.85  has a value  of  14.40t statistic.  Standardized coefficient value of 0.85 indicates that the performance and benefits of the cooperative have  a real  relationship  closeness.  Sequentially  the  components  of  performance  that contribute  from  the  largest to  the smallest are, firstly, the concern for the community, which is equal to0.86. The component of voluntary and open membership component is 0.80.  The component of  democratic  control  by members  is 0.79.  The component of economic participation of member is 0.71. And the component of education and training is  0.25.  Regarding the  components of  the  cooperative  benefits,  the components that contributes  sequentially,  from  the  largest to  the smallest, are  the economic benefits of marketing,  that is equal to 0.96;the benefits of a large savings and loan with 0.88;  the economic benefits of farmers needs 0.86; and social benefits 0.48.


Visual Abstract Measurements of radionuclide uptake by the thyroid gland reflect its metabolic activity. Thyroid uptake is measured as a percentage of radioactivity retained by the gland at a specified time versus the activity administered to the patient; thus, uptake measurements must fall between 0% and 100%. Here, through a case study, we reviewed sources of error that can lead to uptake of more than 100%, and we describe a novel quality control (QC) indicator to improve the accuracy of uptake measurements in the clinic. Methods: Probe efficiency is determined as the ratio between the dose counts of the probe and the independent dose calibrator activity readings. The nominal probe efficiency value (M) was calculated as the mean of readings (n ≥ 20), and variance was characterized using the SD. Warning levels were set at M ± (1.96 × SD), and error levels were set at M ± (2.58 × SD). In subsequent routine clinical use, before a capsule is administered, the probe efficiency is calculated and compared with the warning and error limits. We derived M for 3 pairs of probe and dose calibrator devices using several doses and measured independently by several nuclear medicine technologists. Results: The recorded data indicated when technologists were made aware of the expected efficiency value, nominal efficiency was statistically different between our old device and the one that replaced it (P = 0.01), but coefficient of variation ([SD/M] × 100%) was not (P = 0.42). Using efficiency measurements acquired on the replacement device for the first 20 patients, we derived new QC values (M = 910, SD = 36). In 22 patients measured at our sister site, with the same device models but with the technologists unaware of the QC initiative, the derived QC values were an M of 1,025 and an SD of 116, demonstrating a significant difference between the nominal values of individual devices (P < 0.001). Furthermore, variability was significantly lower (P < 0.001) when QC was applied than when it was not. Conclusion: Adding probe efficiency as a QC indicator during thyroid uptake measurement is simple, can produce more precise clinical measurements, and can help mitigate operator and instrumentation errors.


Hepatitis virus C (HCV) is worldwide a health problem, which may lead to serious complications. The aim of this study was to correlate the onset of the cerebral ischemic attack accompanied by mixed cryoglobulinemia, with the chronic hepatitis C virus infection. These studies were carried out in 12 patients with serologic/virusologic confirmed chronic HCV infection associated with ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke occurred in equal proportion in women and men. The patients did not know of HCV infection diagnosis at that moment. All patients had type II mixed monoclonal cryoglobulinemia, hypergammaglobulinemia with polyclonal IgG and monoclonal IgM, blood hyperviscosity, high level of cryocrit, positive rheumatoid factor, normal levels of serum transaminases, negative serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag), negative anti HBc antibodies, positive HCV antibodies, positive serum RNA HCV, decreased serum C3 and C4 levels, antinuclear antibodies-false positive. Immunological tests for autoantibodies, namely, anti-Sm antibody, anti-RNP antibody, anti-SS-A and -B antibodies, and anti-Scl antibody were not detectable due to high level serum cryoglobulin. Cryoglobulin was washed several times with an isotonic chloride solution for purification, then subject to immunological analyses. The purified cryoglobulin contained monoclonal IgM-kappa, polyclonal IgG. Cryoglobulinemia is a risk factor for ischemic stroke, as it causes arterial thrombosis.


The area of artificial vision and robotics has very important advances in the recognition and tracking of objects, not only in indoor scenes but also in outdoor ones. These methods and algorithms have given rise to very important technological advances in different areas of knowledge. In the area of Precision Agriculture, the main problem of its use lies in its application in field surveys, whereas in the case of cultivation, we will have fixed objects (seedlings) in established spaces (furrows and plots), but in uncontrolled environments. The determination of the density of these crops and their distance between furrows among other data is in many cases, relevant to their performance. It is the purpose of this paper to solve the automated sensing of this data through the use of cameras and artificial vision techniques. In this work, an inverted tracking algorithm is defined in order to automatically determine the necessary shot-points by means of which the cameras involved as sensors on a robotic platform capture scene images. This will help to survey the density and distance of the crop to be analyzed.


On account of the colossal expansion in the size of research paper repository, the stature of Recommender System has increased, as it can guide the researchers to find papers akin to them from this vast collection. Furthermore, the recommendation methods like collaborative-filtering or content-based do not allow the user's to provide their personalized requirements explicitly; hence the focus is shifted towards the customized Recommender Systems that can scrutinize user's preferences by contemplating their inputs. But the state-of-art recommendation techniques satisfying user's personalized requirements make a strong assumption of static dataset. So, in this work we are going to present a customized Recommender System that can acknowledge the ever growing nature of research paper repository. To accomplish this, the Efficient Incremental High-Utility Itemset Mining algorithm (EIHI), which has been recently introduced in the literature, is used which is specialized to work with dynamic datasets. Experimental results prove that the proposed system satisfies the researcher's personalized requirements and at the same time handles the incremental nature of the research paper repository efficiently. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of the Twelfth International Multi-Conference on Information Processing-2016 (IMCIP-2016).


Usability and cognitive workload (CWL) are multidimensional constructs that describe user experience, predict performance, and inform system design. The relationship between the subjective measures of these constructs has not been adequately explored, especially in healthcare delivery settings where suboptimal usability of electronic health records and CWL of healthcare professionals are among the major contributing factors to medical errors. This study quantifies the perceived usability of a dosimetry quality assurance (QA) checklist and the perceived CWL of dosimetrists in radiation oncology clinical settings of an academic medical center and investigates the association between perceived usability and perceived CWL. Findings suggest that our institutional dosimetry QA checklist has suboptimal usability, but the associated CWL is acceptable. Further, the correlation analysis reveals that perceived usability and perceived CWL are non-overlapping constructs and may be jointly employed to reduce the risk of healthcare professionals committing medical errors.


were investigated. Of great interest are the results of the single and multiple regression analyses of the vitality criteria against climatic and air pollution data. The ' Index of Lichen Vitality ' was composed of a combination of the degree of thallus bleaching, growth rate and electrical conductivity of the thallus eluates, which showed the closest correlation with air pollution data. The results and the conclusions are presented in a very condensed form with a high degree of information. This book is necessary for everybody who works with lichens as bioindicators of pollution.


Introduction: MUC16 (CA125) is a type I transmembrane mucin that exhibits differential expression in multiple malignancies including ovarian, pancreatic and breast cancers. It was initially predicted to undergo cleavage in the penultimate and/or last sea urchin, enterokinase, and agrin (SEA) domain (among a total of 56) to generate circulating CA125. However, our recent studies demonstrated the presence of a unique cleavage site that involves 12 amino acid residues proximal to transmembrane segment. Upon ectopic overexpression, this cleaved intracellular C-terminal (C-ter) fragment promotes tumor metastasis, invasion and upregulates cancer stem cell inducing genes in cancer cells. However, physiological presence of C-ter cleavage and its role in cancer remains obscure since most available antibodies recognize the N-terminal tandem repeat domain of MUC16. The present study aims to develop novel antibodies against MUC16 C-ter fragment to dissect its role in tumor development and progression. Methods: Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were generated by immunizing mice with purified C-ter (114 amino acid) domain of MUC16. MUC16 reactive hybridomas were screened by indirect ELISA. Positive hybridomas were isolated, cloned and the antibodies were purified from culture supernatant. The specificity of the newly generated anti-MUC16 antibodies was determined using immunoprecipitation, immunoblot, confocal, and FACS analysis. Finally, the reactivity of novel antibodies was evaluated on mouse and human tumor tissues by immunohistochemistry. Results: Two mAbs (3H1 and 5E6) showed specific reactivity to recombinant MUC16 C-ter fragment in ELISA. Stringent checkpoints were included such as expression analyses in MUC16 expressing and non-expressing cell lines, histological reactivity in normal and MUC16 expressing cancer tissues and MUC16 C-ter over expression constructs to delineate the highly specific nature of these antibodies. Epitope mapping studies using MUC16 C-ter constructs transfected into HEK293T cells identified the epitope to most probably lie in a 61 amino acid region just proximal to transmembrane domain. Interestingly, in immunoblot and immunoprecipitation analysis, these mAbs identified a unique 20kDa cleavage product in some but not all MUC16 expressing cancer cell lines. This suggests the existence of a cell-context dependent cleavage mechanism for MUC16. Both mAbs preferentially recognize intracellular antigen as compared to cell surface exposed epitope. Further, these exhibited strong reactivity in pancreatic and ovarian cancer tissues in the same regions that stained positive for mAb CA125. Conclusions: The novel mAbs exhibit unique specificity towards cleaved MUC16 C-ter in cell lysates and tissues and hence can be valuable reagents for studying the mechanisms and role of MUC16 cleavage in cancer cells. Citation Format: Abhijit Aithal, Wade Junker, Sukhwinder Kaur, Srustidhar Das, Prakash Kshirsagar, Satyanarayana Rachagani, Kavita Mallya, Maneesh Jain, Surinder K. Batra. Characterization of novel antibodies for understanding MUC16 cleavage and its pathological implications in cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2978.


Chronic alcohol consumption has been linked to increased morbidity and mortality in the intensive care unit setting. The purpose of our study was to assess outcomes in trauma patients admitted to our institutional university-affiliated, Level I emergency trauma unit (ETU) with and without per cent carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (%CDT) elevations over a 12-week timeframe. Markers for alcohol consumption including %CDT, gamma glutamyl transferase, and serum osmolality were measured along with the standard trauma laboratory panel on arrival to the ETU. Intensive care unit length of stay (LOS), length of time requiring ventilator support, hospital LOS, total hospital charges as well as incidences of postoperative complications were collected on all patients with a LOS greater than or equal to 48 hours. Demographics between the groups were similar. Drinking histories were more significant in the elevated %CDT group (P = 0.0006). Patients with elevated %CDT had significantly longer ICU and hospital LOS (5.1 vs 3.9, P = 0.01; 8.7 vs 7.1 days, P = 0.0052) and ventilator days (2 vs 1.5 days, P = 0.0286). Complications and hospital charges were similar between groups. Trauma patients presenting to the ETU with %CDT elevations appear to be at risk for longer ICU and hospital LOS.


A visual aid to pace self-controlled respiratory cycles in humans is presented. Respiratory manoeuvres need to be accomplished in several clinic and research procedures, among others, the studies on Heart Rate Variability. Free running respiration turns to be difficult to correlate with other physiologic variables. Because of this fact, voluntary self-control is asked from the individuals under study. Currently, an acoustic metronome is used to pace respiratory frequency, its main limitation being the impossibility to induce predetermined timing in the stages within the respiratory cycle. In the present work, visual driven self-control was provided, with separate timing for the four stages of a normal respiratory cycle. This visual metronome (ViMet) was based on a microcontroller which power-ON and -OFF an eight-LED bar, in a four-stage respiratory cycle time series handset by the operator. The precise timing is also exhibited on an alphanumeric display.


Generally, reinforced concrete is one of the most commonly used structural materials and it prevents corrosion of steel bar by high pH of interior. But, as time elapsed, reinforced concrete structure become deteriorated by many of combined deterioration factors and environmental conditions. And, there are large number of deteriorate mechanism of the reinforced concrete structure and it acts complexly. It is recognized that steel bar corrosion is the main distress behind the present concern regarding concrete durability. In this study, to institute combined deterioration environments, established acceleration condition and cycle for combined deterioration environments has a resemblance to environments which are real structures placed. After that to confirm corrosion properties of reinforced concrete due to permeability with covering depth and types of surface cover under combined deterioration environments, measured carbonation velocity coefficients, chloride ion diffusion coefficients, water absorption coefficients, air permeability coefficients and electric potential, corrosion area ratio, weight reduction, corrosion velocity of steel bar. The results showed that an increase in age also decrease carbonation velocity coefficients, increase Chloride ion diffusion coefficients and increases water absorption coefficients. As well, an increase in age also increases corrosion of steel bar. Data on the development of corrosion velocity of steel bar with types of surface cover made with none, organic B, organic A, inorganic B, and inorganic A is shown. As well, permeability and corrosion velocity of steel bar with covering depth is superior to 10㎜ than 20㎜. And it is confirmed permeability and corrosion properties of steel bar are closely related.


Replacing a single tooth with an implant has become a common dental procedure; however, careful evaluation is necessary before placing one in the esthetic zone. Thorough diagnosis and planning - including the use of transposed diagnostic casts and cone beam computed tomography scans - can help dentists predict the final esthetic result prior to treatment, and help inform the patient of the potential result prior to performing any irreversible therapy. In the present case, the primary concern was the presurgical location of the facial free gingival margin (FGM) of the implant-supported crown, in relation to the adjacent teeth. Steps taken to correct the position of the facial FGM prior to implant placement led to a successful esthetic result.


—In urban environments, cellular network-based positioning of user equipment ( UE ) is a challenging task, especially in frequently occurring non-line-of-sight ( NLOS ) conditions. This paper investigates the use of two machine learning methods – neural networks and random forests – to estimate the position of UE in NLOS using best received reference signal beam power measurements. We evaluated the suggested positioning methods using data collected from a fifth-generation cellular network (5 G ) testbed provided by Ericsson. A statistical test to detect NLOS conditions with a probability of detection that is close to 90% is suggested. We show that knowledge of the antenna are crucial for accurate position estimation. In addition, our results show that even with a limited set of training data and one 5 G transmission point, it is possible to position UE within 10 meters with 80% accuracy.


The basic excavation methods to be used in the New Tomei Expressway tunnels are the method of upper heading and bench in locations where the ground is relatively good, and the method of upper heading and bench with a center pilot in the upper heading in locations where face stability is poor. In addition to these excavation methods , the TBM Pilot and Enlargement Excavation Method is to be introduced as a new excavation method for the New Tomei Expressway tunnels. With the TBM Pilot and Enlargement Excavation Method , by performing a pilot excavation by TBM within the tunnel cross section in advance, various beneficial effects such as confirmation of geological conditions and drainage into the pilot are expected , so that safe and efficient enlargement excavation can be performed. This paper describes evaluation of beneficial effects for the TBM Pilot and Enlargement Excavation Method in large scale tunnels.


Our work aims to exploit deep learning (DL) models to automatically segment diagnostic regions involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) volumetric scans in order to provide a more objective diagnosis of this disease and to reduce the variability induced by manual segmentation. The dataset used in this study consists of 102 volumes (40 controls, 39 with established Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 23 with established mild cognitive impairment (MCI)). The ground truth was generated by an expert user who identified six regions in original scans, including temporal lobes, parietal lobes, and frontal lobes. The implemented architectures are the U-Net3D and V-Net networks, which were appropriately adapted to our data to optimize performance. All trained segmentation networks were tested on 22 subjects using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and other similarity indices, namely the overlapping area coefficient (AOC) and the extra area coefficient (EAC), to evaluate automatic segmentation. The results of each labeled brain region demonstrate an improvement of 50%, with DSC from about 0.50 for V-Net-based networks to about 0.77 for U-Net3D-based networks. The best performance was achieved by using U-Net3D, with DSC on average equal to 0.76 for frontal lobes, 0.75 for parietal lobes, and 0.76 for temporal lobes. U-Net3D is very promising and is able to segment each region and each class of subjects without being influenced by the presence of hypometabolic regions.


The photometric redshift distributions, spectral types, Sérsic indices, and sizes of all resolved galaxies in the Hubble Space Telescope Ultra Deep Field (UDF) are studied in order to understand the environment and nature of star formation in the early universe. Clumpy disk galaxies that are bright at short wavelengths (rest-frame λ < 5000 Å) dominate the UDF out to z ~ 5.5. Their uniformity in V/Vmax and comoving volume density suggest that they go even further, spanning a total time more than an order of magnitude larger than their instantaneous star formation times. They precede as well as accompany the formation epoch of distant red galaxies and extreme red objects. Those preceding could be the premerger objects that combined to make red spheroidal types at z ~ 2-3. Clumpy disks that do not undergo mergers are likely to evolve into spirals. The morphology of clumpy disks, the size and separation of the clumps, and the prevalence of this type of structure in the early universe suggests that most star formation occurs by self-gravitational collapse of disk gas.


Distributed computing oers a high degree of exibility to accommodate modern learning constraints and the ever increasing size of datasets involved in massive data issues. Drawing inspiration from the theory of distributed computation models developed in the context of gradient-type optimization algorithms, we present a consensus-based asynchronous distributed approach for nonparametric online regression and analyze some of its asymptotic properties. Substantial numerical evidence involving up to 28 parallel processors is provided on synthetic datasets to assess the excellent performance of our method, both in terms of computation time and prediction accuracy.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the application of color Doppler ultrasound in examining hypothyroidism among radiation-exposed workers.

METHODS
A total of 181 radiation-exposed workers who had clinical and laboratorial diagnoses of hypothyroidism were divided into X-ray diagnosis group, interventional radiology group, and radiotherapy group. Another 62 healthy people who underwent physical examinations were used as control group. All cases underwent color Doppler ultrasound; thyroid function, sonograms, and blood flow characteristics were analyzed.

RESULTS
In the X-ray diagnosis group, interventional radiology group, and radiotherapy group, significant differences in the levels of free thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone were found across workers with different lengths of service (P < 0.05). In the X-ray diagnosis group, interventional radiology group, and radiotherapy group, the percentages of individuals having uneven internal echo intensity among clinical hypothyroidism cases were higher than the percentages among subclinical hypothyroidism cases (P < 0.05). The X-ray diagnosis group, interventional radiology group, and radiotherapy group had significantly higher constituent ratios of grade II and III blood flow signals than the control group (P < 0.05). The peak systolic velocity of the superior thyroid artery (V(max)) was significantly higher in the X-ray diagnosis group, interventional radiology group, and radiotherapy group than in the control group (P < 0.05); in each group, Vmax was significantly higher in clinical hypothyroidism cases than in subclinical hypothyroidism cases (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
As a simple, non-invasive, and economic examination, color Doppler ultrasound has been demonstrated as a valuable method for evaluating occupational hypothyroidism and holds promise for clinical application.


The aim of this paper is to enable model guided multi-scale and multi-modal image integration for the head and neck anatomy. The image modality used for this purpose includes multi-pose Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Mega Voltage CT, and hand-held Optical Coherence Tomography. A biomechanical model that incorporates subject-specific young's modulus and shear modulus properties is developed from multi-pose MRI, positioned in the treatment setup using Mega Voltage CT (MVCT), and actuated using multiple kinect surface cameras to mimic patient postures during Optical Coherence Microscopy (OCM) imaging. Two different 3D tracking mechanisms were employed for aligning the patient surface and the probe position to the MRI data. The results show the accuracy of the two tracking algorithms and the 3D head and neck deformation representing the multiple poses, the subject will take during the OCM imaging.


Bleomycin inhibited the ligase, which was partially purified from rat ascites hepatoma, AH-130, even at a concentration as low as 0.01-1 mug/ml. The DNA degraded by bleomycin was not repaired by ligase. Therefore, it was suggested that bleomycin at higher concentration produced strand scission of DNA, which could not be repaired by the ligase, and at lower concentration inhibited the ligase reaction presumably by binding to DNA strand or to ligase. Also, the specificity of inhibition by bleomycin on the DNA polymerase of oncogenic RNA virus was tested, comparing with the four kinds of DNA polymerases extracted from the spleen of mice infected with Friend virus. Three kinds of DNA polymerases from spleen were not inhibited by bleomycin, but the fourth enzyme, which was induced in the spleen by virus infection, was inhibited by the antibiotic, when poly-d(AT) and poly-dG with dC were used as template.


Roos, J. M. (2009). Quality of personal assistance: Shaped by governments, markets and corporations. Background: Swedish personal assistance for people with severe disabilities became a legal right in 1994. The support is completely financed by the government and with a few exceptions transferred to External assistance providers (EAPs). There are three types of EAP; the municipality (i.e. public providers), private firms and user-cooperatives. An EAP is the formal employer of the user's personal assistants and supports the user with a wide range of services. Different EAPs have different perspectives on personal assistance, different legal frameworks and different raisons d'être. Aims: The thesis has three aims; (1) to explore what users desire of their personal assistance i.e. their EAPs and their personal assistants, (2) to compare user-satisfaction across different EAPs, and (3) to compare the number of assistance hours between users of different EAPs. Participants: Adult users in the area of Gothenburg who received personal assistance for basic needs (e.g. hygiene, meals, dressing, communication) for at least 20 hours a week, and who arrange their personal assistance through an EAP. Methods: Three different research methods were used in the thesis; (1) qualitative interviews with 12 users, in order to explore what users desires of their personal assistance, (2) survey study of 427 users (response rate 39.3 %) in order to compare user-satisfaction across different EAPs, and (3) register data from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency in order to compare number of assistance hours across users with different EAPs. Results: Users would like their assistants to be obedient, reliable, informative, alert, respectful, considerate, friendly, pleased and practical. Users would like their EAPs to have a "proper" (well thought through) ideology of personal assistance, interacting with the user in a service-minded way, mediating between users and personal assistants, providing good working conditions for personal assistants and representing the user politically. In 2008, users of personal assistance were more satisfied with other EAPs (i.e. private firms and user-cooperatives) than municipal providers. During the period 1994 – 2006, an average user with a private firm had received 18.4 percent more assistance hours than an average user with a municipal provider.


The aim of this study was to translate the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) into Swedish and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Swedish version (OHIP‐S). The OHIP is a 49‐item, self‐administered questionnaire divided into 7 different subscales. The original version in English was translated into Swedish, accompanied by back‐translation into English, after which the Swedish version was revised. A total of 145 consecutive patients participated and answered a questionnaire. The patients comprised five clinically separate groups: temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) (n = 30), Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) (n = 30), burning sensation and pain in the oral mucosa (oral mucosal pain, OMP) (n = 28), skeletal malocclusion (malocclusion) (n = 27), and healthy dental recall patients (controls) (n = 30). The TMD group and the control group participated in a test–retest procedure. The internal reliability of each subscale was calculated with Cronbach's alpha and found to be high and to range from 0.83–0.91. The stability (test–retest) of the instrument, calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient, ranged from 0.87 to 0.98. The construct validity of OHIP‐S was compared with subscales of the Symptom Check List (SCL‐90) (rho 0.65) and the Jaw Function Limitation Scale (JFLS) (rho 0.76) and analyzed with Spearman's correlation coefficient. Convergent validity was evaluated by comparing OHIP with self‐reported health using Spearman's correlation coefficient and was found to be acceptable (rho 0.61). In the evaluation of the discriminative ability of the instrument, significant differences were found in the total OHIP‐S score between the controls and the other four groups (P<0.001). We conclude that the reliability and validity of OHIP‐S is excellent. The instrument can be recommended for assessing the impact of oral health on masticatory ability and psychosocial function.


Nucleotides are composed of nitrogen bases, ribose units and phosphate groups. Adenine (Ade), adenosine monophosphate (AMP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) all play important roles in physiological metabolism. Royal jelly, a secretion produced by worker bees, contains a variety of natural ingredients and several studies have shown that royal jelly can serve as a source of nutrition for humans. In this study, a rapid and effective LC/ MS method coupled with pre-processing methods was developed and validated for the accurate quantification of Ade, AMP, ADP and ATP in royal jelly. To achieve the best extraction efficiency, two pretreatment methods, namely, solid-phase extraction (SPE) and dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE), were developed and investigated. Silica-based cyanopropyl (CN) liquid chromatography was employed using pH programming with a quaternary mobile phase system for the analyses. The total LC/MS run time was less than 12 min with a constant flow rate of 0.25 mL/min. The linear range were 2.5–1000 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient r = 0.9995. The limit of detection (LOD) of Ade, AMP, ADP and ATP was 1, 1, 2.5 and 5 ng/mL; the limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 2.5, 2.5, 5 and 10 ng/mL, respectively. Precision (RSD% <10.5%) and accuracy (recovery 81.3–118.4%) were satisfactory for both two pre-processing methods. Nucleotides were successfully quantified from 2-day and 3-day royal jelly samples, with concentrations within 6.2–2126.0 mg/kg.


This paper deals with implementation of Mashup using service oriented architecture without exposing the schema of the database. However today such type of services exits but the schema of the database is released by the service provider. Using service oriented architecture we shall call the service of a particular service provider with our tools embedded on the bus architecture of SOA model. Our proposed model and tool which we have designed for a Mashup where Data containing system does not wish to expose its schema for simple security and privacy reasons. So writing query against is not advisable or possible. Our paper deals basically with two renowned Mashup where one deals with travel services and other deals with stock market.


N-PEP-12 is a derivative of cerebrolysin, a brain-derived neuropeptide compound that has been approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in more than 30 countries. N-PEP-12 is much less potent than cerebrolysin but it can be administered orally whereas the parent compound must be administered through multiple intravenous infusions. This study was undertaken to determine whether N-PEP-12 is effective in improving memory and other cognitive abilities among healthy older adults who have experienced 'normal' age-related memory loss. Subjects were 54 males and females, aged 50 years and older, who presented both subjective and objective evidence of memory loss since early adulthood. The study was a fully randomized, double-blind comparison of N-PEP-12 and placebo. Cognitive assessments were performed at baseline and following 30 days of treatment. The primary outcome measure was the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive (ADAS-cog) Memory score, with the Syndrom Kurz Test (SKT) test, digit cancellation, digit span, verbal fluency and clinical ratings as secondary outcomes. N-PEP-12 treated subjects performed better than placebo-treated subjects on the ADAS-cog Memory score, the SKT, clinical ratings and some, but not other tests. N-PEP-12 may be an effective treatment for memory loss in healthy older adults.


A glance through the table of contents of this volume might suggest that it is yet another introductory text on principles of groundwater hydrology. All of the usual basic topics are covered including definitions of terms and concepts, aquifer types, drilling methods, and pumping tests. But partly because this book is intended for practicing groundwater consultants rather than students, other less elementary topics such as environmental isotope techniques, geochemical methods, interpretation and utilization of spring flow, geophysical methods, and groundwater balances are also included.

According to the preface, 'practical applicability' is stressed 'to show how groundwater investigations should be conducted using a systematic, well-directed effort' and to describe '… what to do, what to avoid, and what kind of results one can reasonably expect …' While this book was published as part of a series of monographs on water pollution, it is more in the nature of a handbook than a true monograph. That is, it is not an in-depth treatment of a single topic but presents a broad introduction to the ways in


Objective: To assess the initiation of antiretroviral therapy with respectto gender at the Brazzaville Ambulatory Treatment Centre, Republic of Congo (CTA).
Methods: A retrospective cohort study of HIV-positive patients enrolled at the CTA between january 2005 and december 2006 with 4 years of follow-up up until December 2010. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) among those meeting the conditions for ART. We investigated the factors associated with initiation of ART using multiple Cox regression models. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate the proportion of patients initiating ART.
Results: A total of 1,012 patients with a median age of 38.15 years (IQR: 31.81 – 44.54) were included. Eight hundred fourteen patients (84.8%) had baseline CD4 count < 200 cells/mm3 and 604 patients (59.7%) were at WHO clinicalstage III and IV. 64.82 % of these patients were women. Five hundred and forty-two (53.56%) patients received ART and the median time to initiation of ART was 28.42 weeks. Men (aHR: 1.56; 95%CI = 1.13 – 2.16; p = 0.007) and patients with baseline haemoglobin above 10g/dL (aHR: 1.68; 95%CI: 1.25 – 2.27; p = 0.001) were more likely to initiate ART.
Conclusion: Patients admitted to the Brazzaville Ambulatory Treatment Centre were predominantly women with irregular monthly income. Being a man and having a baseline haemoglobin greater than or equal to 10 g/dL were associated with more rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy.


Living kidney donor evaluations and follow-up have previously been addressed mostly by transplant physicians and surgeons. However, this area is significantly informed by basic principles of renal physiology and is of increasing clinical interest to general nephrologists. The general nephrology community is increasingly involved in evaluating the suitability of potential donors and in following them after donation when questions are raised about low GFR, hypertension, and other renal concerns. This article focuses on some of the most central and common issues that arise in evaluating potential donors and attempts to provide guidance on the basis of our review of the living donor literature, extrapolations from the general nephrology literature, and our own clinical experience.


Publications in which the distribution of Cenozoic benthic foraminifera is correlated with planktic foraminiferal zonal schemes Correlation of zones and formation in the areas under discussion Part I. Trinidad: Barremian to Early Albian Late Albian to Early Eocene Late Early Eocene to Middle Miocene Part II. Venezuela: Early Cretaceous of eastern Venezuela Oligocene and Miocene of eastern Venezuela The Falcon basin The Maracaibo basin Part III. Barbados Annotated taxonomic list of late Early Eocene to Middle Miocene benthic foraminifera of Trinidad, Venezuela (Falcon), and Barbados References Index.


Understanding the behavior of laboratory NHP facilitates health assessment and clinical care. We sought to characterize the behavior of critically ill rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and determine whether specific behaviors or behavioral changes might facilitate the determination of prognosis and clinical endpoints. Twenty-two critically-ill subjects were videorecorded after they were removed from the outdoor breeding colony for diagnostic work-up and treatment. Subjects were categorized as survivors (n = 15) and those that were euthanized according to existing clinical endpoints (n = 7). Behavior before, during, and after cageside examination was compared between these groups with regard to the presence or absence of direct observation. This approach allowed us to determine whether these settings revealed differences between groups or masking of behaviors during direct observation. Before cageside examination, several behaviors (for example, self-grooming and anxiety behaviors) were significantly more common in surviving subjects than in euthanized subjects. Few significant differences in behavior were detectable during or after the examination. Subjects that were eventually euthanized showed more illness-related behaviors; however, not all animals requiring euthanasia showed these signs when an observer was present. Furthermore, euthanized animals spent more time in an alert posture during direct observation than at other times. Therefore, direct observation of critically ill rhesus macaques may not yield the most accurate assessment of illness severity, and using video to assess behavior may be helpful for prognosis.


OBJECTIVES
Spa therapy is often considered as a dedicated period for a global treatment of patients. However, the prescription behaviours of spa physicians remain largely unknown.

METHODS
A postal questionnaire concerning drug prescriptions during spa therapy and occurrence of adverse reactions to spa therapy was sent to the 95 spa physicians of South West of France.

RESULTS
Seventy physicians answered to the survey. During spa period, most of them (67%) could associate drug prescription in complement of spa therapy. Drugs most often prescribed were analgesic (80%), non steroidal anti-inflammatory (57%) and antiinfectious (37%) drugs. Fifty nine per cent of the spa physicians could suppress part of the usual drug treatment of the patients. Spa related drugs which were the most often suppressed were anti-arthrosic and veinotonic drugs. Spa physicians could also modify or suppress drugs unrelated to the purpose of spa therapy, mainly psychotropics (anxiolytics or hypnotics), statins, diuretics or hypoglycemics (in case of inefficacy or adverse drug reactions). Spa physicians modified more drug prescriptions related to spa therapy than those unrelated to the purpose of spa therapy. Most of the spa physicians (77%) did observe adverse reactions to spa treatments. For 53% of the physicians, these adverse reactions could be "serious". The 2007 results were compared to those obtained during a similar survey performed 20 years before (1987).

CONCLUSION
Spa therapy is often associated with change in drug prescriptions, with mainly a decrease in the number of prescribed drugs. Adverse reactions to spa therapy are rare and mainly "unserious". However, their imputability remains difficult to establish, thus justifying the need of a specific vigilance in spa therapy ("SpaVigilance").


A multifactor perspective on writing self-efficacy was examined in 2 studies. Three factors were proposed—self-efficacy for writing ideation, writing conventions, and writing self-regulation—and a scale constructed to reflect these factors. In Study 1, middle school students (N = 697) completed the Self-Efficacy for Writing Scale (SEWS), along with associated measures. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed SEWS data fit the proposed 3-factor model well. In Study 2, a second CFA of data from 563 students from 2 high schools likewise showed good model fit. Scores based on the 3 writing self-efficacy factors were examined in relation to students' liking writing, self-reported writing grades, and statewide writing assessment (SWA) scores. Results showed writing ideation and self-regulation self-efficacy to be significantly more strongly related to liking writing than conventions self-efficacy but less related than conventions self-efficacy to SWA scores. All 3 writing self-efficacy dimensions showed moderate positive correlations with self-reported writing performance. Further analyses showed higher levels for all 3 dimensions of writing self-efficacy for students in more advanced English/language arts classes. Overall, results from the studies were interpreted as supporting multifactor models of writing self-efficacy and the utility of closer ties between self-efficacy measures and domains being assessed.


BACKGROUND
Cytogenetic abnormalities have important implications in diagnosis and prognosis of acute leukemia and are now considered an important part of the diagnostic workup at presentation. Karyotype, if known at the time of diagnosis, guides physicians to plan appropriate management strategies for their patients.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES
To determine the cytogenetic profile of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Pakistani children in order to have insights regarding behavior of the disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective analysis of all the cases of ALL (<15years old) diagnosed at Aga Khan University from January 2006 to June 2011 was performed. Cytogenetic analysis was made for all cases using the trypsin-Giemsa banding technique. Karyotypes were interpreted using the International System for Human Cytogenetic Nomenclature (ISCN) criteria.

RESULTS
A total of 153 patients were diagnosed as ALL during the study period, of which 127 samples successfully yielded metaphase chromosomes. The male to female ratio was 1.8:1. A normal karyotype was present in 51.2% (n=65) of the cases whereas 48.8% (n=62) had an abnormal karyotype. Most of the abnormal cases showed hyperdiploidy(13.4%) followed by t(9;22)(q34;q11.2) (7.08%).

CONCLUSIONS
This study revealed a relative lack of good prognostic cytogenetic aberrations in Pakistani children with ALL.


Within the past decade, once limited biomedical application of microwave imaging started to expand from the breast cancer imaging to imaging of other anomalies. One such anomaly is the brain stroke where the application of microwave imaging is two folds. One application is the identifying the source of stroke that is to categorize whether the stroke stems from blockage (ischemic) or bleeding (hemorrhagic). The other possible application is the continuous imaging of the progression of hemorrhagic stroke during the post-acute stage. In this work, a phantom for emulating the dielectric properties of the lossy brain tissue is given for testing of the microwave devices for continuous monitoring. The recipe is simple and is composed by mixing carboxymethyl cellulose, ethylene glycol, and deionized water. The recipe is simple, has viscose texture, and can be easily composed. Dielectric property measurements and comparison with the literature data is given in this paper.


By implementing a vacuum ultraviolet laser-pulsed field ionization-photoion ion source with a double quadrupole-double octopole ion guide mass filter, we have obtained detailed quantum-vibrational-state-selected integral cross sections σν+, ν+ = 0-2, for the ion-molecule reaction of N2+(X2Σg+: ν+ = 0-2) + C2H4 in the center-of-mass kinetic energy range of Ecm = 0.05-10.00 eV. Three primary product channels corresponding to the formation of C2H3+, C2H2+, and N2H+ ions are identified with their σν+ values in the order of σν+(C2H3+) > σν+(C2H2+) > σν+(N2H+). The minor σν+(N2H+) channel is strongly inhibited by Ecm and observed only at Ecm < 0.70 eV. The high σν+(C2H3+) and σν+(C2H2+) values indicate that C2H3+ and C2H2+ product ions are formed by prompt dissociation of internally excited C2H4+ (C2H4+*) intermediates produced via the near-energy-resonance charge-transfer mechanism. The σν+(C2H3+) and σν+(C2H2+) are found to drop only mildly or stay nearly constant as a function of Ecm in the range of 0.05-6.00 eV. This observation is contrary to the expectation of a steep decline for the σν+ value commonly observed for an exothermic reaction pathway as Ecm is increased. Significant vibrational enhancement is observed for the σν+(C2H3+) and σν+(C2H2+) at ν+ = 2 and in the Ecm range of ∼0.20-7.00 eV. The branching ratios σν+(C2H3+):σν+(C2H2+):σν+(N2H+) are also determined with high precision by measuring the intensities of product C2H3+, C2H2+, and N2H+ ions simultaneously at fixed Ecm values. The σν+ and branching ratio values reported here are useful contributions to the database needed for realistic modeling of the chemical compositions and evolutions of planetary atmospheres, such as the ionosphere of Titian. The quantum-state-selective results can also serve as experimental benchmarks for theoretical calculations on fundamental chemical reaction dynamics.


In the study, instead of electrical resistance monitoring in JEDEC JESD22–B111 for mechanical shock testing of handheld electronics, a proprietary strain-controllable dynamic bending method is applied to verify the effects of lead free SnAgCu solder ball with different dopant on the board level reliability of green TFBGA package.


The fast-pace development of trades with the Far East is giving the Mediterranean Sea the chance of becoming a major logistics hub. In the Mediterranean-front E.U. regions, public and private investments are aimed at this opportunity by integrating transportation networks, sea ports, and inland logistics platforms. With specific regard to the North-West of Italy, a model based on System Dynamics has been simulated to help decision and policy makers in the task of planning and directing the investment effort. The model provides impact analysis of freight traffic flow trends in the region on the medium and long-term, as a result of the interaction between exogenous variables and different case-scenarios for road and railroad infrastructure investments


We presented the case of mumps complicated by left ear's hearing loss in 32-year-old man. Audiological examinations performed after one, two and three months since the date of discharge from hospital showed the maintenance of hearing loss.


Moon4You is an initiative led by the Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research TNO, with partners from industry and universities in the Netherlands that aims to provide a combined Raman/LIBS instrument as scientific payload for lunar exploration missions, and specifically for Odyssey Moon's MoonOne mission, slated for launch in the second half of 2012. It is the first time that Raman spectroscopy and LIBS (Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy) are combined into a single miniaturised instrument with minimum mass, volume and use of resources and can deliver data-products almost instantly. These characteristics make it the next-generation instrument for mineralogical and elemental (atomic) characterisation of lunar soil and rock samples, as well as for a host of other planetary exploration and terrestrial applications. This instrument would be the first Dutch 'footprint' on the surface of the Moon. We believe we will obtain the necessary investments for the Moon4You programme from the private sector by advocating the projected high media visibility of the Google Lunar X PRIZE, the potential of the combined Raman/LIBS technology for a large range of Space and on-Earth applications and the inspiration that the Moon4You programme will deliver for science education in the Netherlands. Copyright © 2009 International Astronautical Federation.


The aim of the study is to design and validate an indigenous three dimensional Radiation Field Analyser (3D RFA). The feed system made for X, Y and Z axis movements is of lead screw with deep ball bearing mechanism made up of stain less steel driven by stepper motors with accuracy less than 0.5 mm. The telescopic column lifting unit was designed using linear actuation technology for lifting the water phantom. The acrylic phantom with dimensions of 800 × 750 × 570 mm was made with thickness of 15 mm. The software was developed in visual basic programming language, classified into two types, viz. beam analyzer software and beam acquisition software. The premeasurement checks were performed as per TG 106 recommendations. The physical parameters of photon PDDs such as Dmax, D10, D20 and Quality Index (QI), and the electron PDDs such as R50, Rp, E0, Epo and X-ray contamination values can be obtained instantaneously by using the developed RFA system. Also the results for profile data such as field size, central axis deviation, penumbra, flatness and symmetry calculated according to various protocols can be obtained for both photon and electron beams. The result of PDDs for photon beams were compared with BJR25 supplement values and the profile data were compared with TG 40 recommendation. The results were in agreement with standard protocols.


To deepen financial reform, China's financial policy displays more regional characteristics and the expansion of financial innovation to the regions has a far-reaching impact. This paper aims to evaluate the performance of financial innovation in 30 provinces in China. By using the panel data of 30 provinces in China, we apply the three-stage data envelopment analysis (Three-stage DEA) to regional financial innovation with environmental constraints taken into account. The application of Three-stage DEA that involves environmental factors and statistical noise enables us to assess the innovation disparity in the financial industry of each province in terms of technology. The conclusions are as follows:(1) Technical efficiency and scale efficiency are significantly reduced except for pure technical efficiency in the intermediary-oriented model compared with that before adjustment. The main reason for the decrease in overall efficiency is that the real level of financial innovation declined after the external environmental factors have been excluded. And the overall level in the market-oriented model is lower than that in the intermediary-oriented model.(2) External environment variables, including the regional economic basis, government loan intervention, the founding of the regional financial market, will affect the input of regional financial industry in accounting technical efficiency.Firstly, with a higher level of economic development, the quantity of personnel employed in the financial industry tends to rise. Secondly, the intervention from the local government is positive in the slack model of capital investment input, indicating that more government intervention in one area will lead to the inefficient use of capital investment in the financial industry. The estimated value of personnel input is negative, implying that personnel redundancy is negatively correlated with government intervention. Finally, the effect of the regional dummy variable is significantly negative in the slack of capital input, indicating that the regional financial market can improve the efficiency of capital investment in the financial sector.(3) The efficiency gap between provinces and districts still exists. It is revealed in our finding that there are efficiency disparities between coastal and interior regions, and between eight economic zones as well. It is suggested that fostering a good external environment is beneficial not only to promoting the efficiency of regional financial innovation, but also to bridging the gap between developed and developing provinces.Expanding the perspective of financial innovation research, this paper extends efficiency evaluation from traditional manufacturing to financial industry. Specifically, in this paper, regional financial innovation refers to the ability to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of input factors in financial industry.However, there is still plenty of room for research in this field, such as the characteristics of financial innovation in organizational structure, the external environment of financial competition and cooperation, and the growth effect of financial innovation. These are the directions for further research.


Rattus norvegicus may be as the reservoir host of plague in some domestic plague foci of Yunnan province, and some of its ectoparasite species may be the potential vectors of human diseases. To understand the ectoparasite communities in a population of R. norvegicus in the surrounding areas of Erhai Lake and the potential medical and veterinary importance of these ectoparasites are described. Ectoparasite communities of 431 rats of R. norvegicus were studied by using Mann-Whitney U-tests and Spearman correlation analysis, which were sampled in the surrounding areas of Erhai Lake (a famous fresh water lake in Southwestern China) in Yunnan in 2003 to 2004. The constituent ratio (C), prevalence (P) and average ectoparasite abundance (A) were used to test prevalence and density of ectoparasites. The surveyed areas were located in the wild rodent-type plague focus, one of the 11 known plague foci in China and also an important focus of both scrub typhus and epidemic hemorrhagic fever (EHF). The results indicated that a high proportion (71%, 307 individuals) of the sampled 431 rats was found to be infested with ectoparasites. A total of 47 ectoparasite species, including 23 species of chigger mites, 16 species of mesostigmatid (gamasid) mites, 6 species of fleas and 2 species of sucking lice were collected from R. norvegicus. Within this ectoparasite complex, 16 species had previously been reported to be vectors of human disease agents. The results suggest that there is very high species diversity of ectoparasites of R. norvegicus.


Agile processes like extreme programming (XP), Scrum, Crystal, and adaptive software development aim to increase a software organization's responsiveness while decreasing development overhead. They focus on delivering executable code and see people as the strongest ingredient of software development. We offer an overview of the philosophy and practice behind XP, which is currently the most popular agile methodology.


Aim.The presented study aims to describe and analyze major opinions regarding the economic, lobbying, and geopolitical aspects of defense budget formation. Tasks.The authors qualitatively and quantitatively assess the impact of economic, geopolitical, and lobbying factors on the level of Russian military spending. Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition to examine the effects of economic, geopolitical, and lobbying factors on the level of Russian military spending in various aspects. Results.Currently, there is uncertainty in assessing the impact of economic and geopolitical factors, as well as lobbying, on the level of military spending. However, it can be concluded that while the factor of lobbying for the interests of companies increases the level of military spending unilaterally, the interaction between the economy and military security is assessed by scientists as negative, positive, or neutral. A certain level of defense spending is established by balancing the influence of economic, geopolitical, and lobbying factors. At the same time, the capability to significantly "boost" defense spending is a distinctive feature of geopolitical factors. Conclusions.In today's relatively calm geopolitical environment, the level of Russian defense spending stands at 65-75 billion US dollars (2.5–4.0% of GNI). However, geopolitical factors can raise the level of military spending to 300 billion dollars per year or even higher (20% of GNI and more). According to rough estimates based on data on the formation of US military spending, lobbying influences about 10% of defense spending.


The adenylate cyclase in rat caudate nucleus homogenate could be stimulated by dopamine and less potently by the dopamine D1 receptor specific agonist SKF38393. Agonists selective for mu[D-Ala2, MePhe4Gly(ol)5]enkephalin (DAGO) and delta opioid receptors [D-Pen2, D-Pen5]enkephalin (dPen-dPen), inhibited the dopamine but not the dopamine D1 stimulated adenylate cyclase. The kappa opioid agonist, U69593, had no effect, probably due to low kappa receptor contents in rat caudate nucleus. 10(-4) M of the sigma receptor specific agonist, 1,3-di-o-tolylguanidine (DTG), potentiated the dopamine as well as the dopamine D1 stimulated adenylate cyclase while lower concentrations of DTG had no effect.


1. A scheme of purification by fractional precipitation of insulin with alcohol has been presented. The procedure yields a product as potent as crystalline insulin. 2. The solubility of insulin and associated inert protein in alcoholic solution has been described. Neutral salts increase the solubility at the pH of minimum solubility. The increase is dependent upon the concentration of the neutral salts present in the alcoholic system. Sulphates displace the pH of minimum solubility to a region quite acid to isoelectric point whereas chlorides and acetates do not alter markedly the precipitation zone. Possibly displacement by chlorides is to a region slightly alkaline to the isoelectric point. 3. Preparations of different physiological activity have been analyzed for tyrosine and tryptophane. Three of the four methods employed showed tryptophane absent in crystalline insulin. The highly potent insulin obtained by fractional precipitation with alcohol carried from less than 0.1 to 0.56 per cent tryptophane. 4. A comparison of procedures for crystallization of insulin was made. Abel9s brucine-pyridine-ammonium acetate method was considered to be the most satisfactory for the majority of samples. New modifications were described, based upon the conception that crystallization will occur in systems in which insulin is held in solution at its isoelectric by agents which do not cause chemical change. All methods yield crystalline insulin of essentially the same activity. 5. Insulin was crystallized from material which has been previously coagulated by heat in acid solution. Its potency was essentially the same as crystalline insulin prepared from uncoagulated insulin. 6. The influence of purity, pH and temperature upon the rate of coagulation was studied in some detail. No conclusive evidence could be obtained which showed that highly purified insulin would coagulate at a faster rate than the cruder preparations. It was shown that presence of certain types of inert protein actually retarded the rate of coagulation. Retardation also occurred in the presence of formaldehyde. The rate of coagulation conformed to that calculated for a first order reaction. In dilute H 2 SO 4 solutions, it was found to be slowest between pH 2.6 and 3.3. Between 70 and 100°C. the temperature coefficient, µ, was 36,000. 7. Coagulated insulin was tentatively regarded to be the anhydride form. 8. Comments have been made as to the probable molecular weight of insulin protein.


This is a case report of an 81-year-old male with severe headaches caused by osteonecrotic lesions in the frontotemporal part of the skull. Initially, metastatic lesions were suspected but other causes had to be identified because of chronic inflammation evidence in all biopsies. In the diagnostic process a discussion of missed malignancy, morbus Paget and steroid induced avascular necrosis are presented.


The members of Euphorbiaceae are valuable source of different kinds of useful products like dyes, edible tubers, oil crops, furniture, agricultural implements, ornamental plants, pharmacological products, rubber, timber and aesthetic items. Micropropagation is an alternative mean of propagation that can be employed in conservation of the flora in relatively shorter time. Tissue culture is useful for multiplying and conserving the species, which are difficult to regenerate by conservation methods and save them from extinction. Cryopreservation of germplasm would help in maintaining the genetic diversity of the endangered population. Improved cell and tissue culture technologies would help in producing the active compounds in vitro with better productivities without cutting down the natural resources. There is sufficient progress at research level to suggest that the tissue culture of Euphorbiaceae can and should be further developed. This review emphasizes the in vitro manipulation and remarkable achievements with biotechnology in this family made during the last six decades.


Simple Summary Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) typically displays female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD), but its epigenetic regulatory mechanisms are poorly understood, especially the role of circRNAs. To explore the function of circRNAs in Chinese tongue sole SSD, we firstly identified differentially expressed circular RNAs (DE circRNAs) in female, male, and pseudo-male C. semilaevis. Secondly, the ceRNA network containing DE circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in the three genders was constructed. Among the ceRNA network, several circRNAs such as novel_circ_004374 and novel_circ_014597 may regulate hipk2 expression by sponging miR-130-x. It is also worth exploring whether or how novel_circ_008696 regulates setd2 by binding to novel-m0387-3p. The present study provided the cirRNA and its ceRNA network that potentially regulate C. semileavis female-biased SSD for the first time. Abstract Sexual size dimorphism (SSD), which is the sexual differences in body size, has been widely reported in various species including fishes. For Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis), a flatfish exhibiting typically female-biased SSD, little is known for its epigenetic regulation mechanism, especially the role of circRNAs. Here, we identified the differently expressed abundances of circRNAs in females, males, and pseudo-males to explore the potential functions of circRNAs in Chinese tongue sole SSD. In total, 14,745 novel circRNAs were screened, among which 1461 DE circRNAs were identified from the brain, gonad, liver, and muscle in female, male, and pseudo-male individuals. The ceRNA network was subsequently constructed, including 10 circRNAs, 26 mRNAs, and 11 miRNAs. These DE mRNAs were mainly related to the mRNA surveillance pathway, metabolic pathways, and cellular senescence. Importantly, the ceRNA network has revealed that several circRNAs such as novel_circ_004374 and novel_circ_014597 may regulate homeodomain interacting protein kinase 2 (hipk2) expression by sponging miR-130-x. It is also worth exploring whether or how novel_circ_008696 regulates SET Domain Containing 2, histone lysine methyltransferase (setd2), which in turn affects the epigenetic patterns of different sexual individuals. The present study not only enriches the knowledge on the potential roles of circRNA in the physiological process, but also provides new clues for the explanation of fish SSD. In future studies, the precise function and involvement of circRNAs in female-biased SSD will require more efforts.


INTRODUCTION
Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is the most common cause of hepatitis during childhood and is an important public health problem. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate an outbreak of symptomatic viral hepatitis in children and in young adults in a rural area from Chaharmahal Va Bakhtiari Province, Iran.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Serum samples from the 70 patients with icterus, who were suspected for HAV infection, referred to a therapeutic center in a central province of Iran from February to July, 2010 were tested for IgM specific antibody to HAV, using Enzyme linked Fluorscent assay (ELFA) Kit (General Biological Corp., Hsinchu, Taiwan).

RESULTS
All of the 70 children had jaundice. The ELFA results showed that 48 out of 70 (68.6%) tested positive for anti-HAV specific antibody (IgM). The mean age of the individuals were 12.81+12.2 and 23 of them (32.8%) were females. There was significant relationship between seropositivity for IgM anti-HAV antibody and age group in the patients studied (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION
The high number of cases identified, may indicate an outbreak of hepatitis A in this region with the children as the most susceptible age group to this symptomatic infection.


Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) provides a strong second factor for user authentication. In TOTP, a prover authenticates to a verifier by using the current time and a secret key to generate an authentication token (or password) which is valid for a short time period. Our goal is to extend TOTP to the group setting, and to provide both authentication and privacy. To this end, we introduce a new authentication scheme, called Group TOTP (GTOTP), that allows the prover to prove that it is a member of an authenticated group without revealing its identity. We propose a novel construction that transforms any asymmetric TOTP scheme into a GTOTP scheme. Our approach combines Merkle tree and Bloom filter to reduce the verifier's states to constant sizes. As a promising application of GTOTP, we show that GTOTP can be used to construct an efficient privacy-preserving Proof of Location (PoL) scheme. We utilize a commitment protocol, a privacy-preserving location proximity scheme, and our GTOTP scheme to build the PoL scheme, in which GTOTP is used not only for user authentication but also as a tool to glue up other building blocks. In the PoL scheme, with the help of some witnesses, a user can prove its location to a verifier, while ensuring the identity and location privacy of both the prover and witnesses. Our PoL scheme outperforms the alternatives based on group digital signatures. We evaluate our schemes on Raspberry Pi hardware, and demonstrate that they achieve practical performance. In particular, the password generation and verification time are in the order of microseconds and milliseconds, respectively, while the computation time of proof generation is less than 1 second.


This work discusses a novel framework for simultaneous synthesis of optimal watermarking signal and robust controllers in cyber-physical systems to minimize the loss in performance due to added watermarking signal and to maximize the detection rate of the attack. A general dynamic controller is designed to improve system performance with respect to the ${{\mathcal{H}}_2}$ norm, while a watermarking signal is added to improve security performance concerning the detection rate of replay attacks. The attack model considered in the paper is a replay attack, a natural attack mode when the dynamics of the system is unknown to the attacker. The paper first generalizes the existing result on the detection rate of χ2 detector from a static-LQR controller to a general dynamic controller. The design improvements on both robustness and security fronts are obtained by iteratively solving the convex subsets of the formulated non-convex problem in terms of the controller and watermarking signal. A semi-definite programming optimization is formulated using Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) results to solve the larger system-level design optimization problem. We highlight the effectiveness of our method over a simplified three-tank chemical system.


The extent with which pesticides have been used in Malaysia has rarely been studies. This paper examined the impact of pesticides usage in Malaysia. Data on pesticides application in the Muda Padi area indicated increasingly excessive usage of pesticides. A case study was presented to show the prevalence and persistence of organochlorine (OCL) pesticides in the human environment. Blood samples from three population groups were drawn, analysed for OCL compounds in Malaysian padi farmers, rubber workers and general population were much higher than those in similar categories in the U.S.A. These results indicate that we should examine seriously our pesticide practices, pesticides Act and the implementation of integrated Pest Management. Development efforts may suffer setbacks because of the damage to our ecosystem caused by our poor agricultural chemicals control and management.


Recent developments in PDC bit modelling and single cutter analysis have enabled to design a new generation of cutting structures - based on the optimization of a specific interactive cutting mode - that generates, by the mere drilling action of the cutters, an axial force oriented in the drilling direction : a negative weight on bit. This paper presents the application of this new PDC bit design and shows that WOB can be significantly reduced in a wide range of formations. A monobloc 8"1/2 PDC bit was designed, tested in laboratory, and self penetration was clearly achieved in field conditions. A full PDC bit design methodology using a new PDC cutters geometry optimized for a maximum thrust effect, along with specific manufacturing procedures for high-level precision in cutter positioning, were developed for this specific new bit generation. Laboratory tests showed that it was possible to drill without WOB at a high rate of penetration and with a small increase in specific energy. Preliminary field tests in cement demonstrated that self penetration - drilling with the neutral point just above the bit - was possible with specific surface control, and a first operational application was conducted by Total E&P Angola. This new bit technology has the potential to increase bit performance, specifically in operating conditions where power is available but WOB is limited due to friction, buckling or reduced vertical depth. The ability to drill with reduced WOB - or even without any WOB - should extend the potential of existing drilling technologies such as Extended Reach Drilling, Coiled Tubing or Steerable Motor in sliding mode and reduce axial vibration, thus increasing the MTBF of downhole tools.


Therapeutic games can be considered as a promising rehabilitation tool since they provide personalized rehabilitation sessions in which training intensity and challenges can be adapted to the patient's ability, motivation and performance. In this paper, we discuss post-stroke therapeutic game design challenges and requirements that open-up a variety of adaptation issues. Our objective is to present a generic difficulty adaptation technique for a family of post-stroke upper-limb rehabilitation games. The proposed technique aims to increase rehabilitation volume by maintaining patients' motivation and engagement.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to use the data from two clinical trials to evaluate premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptom severity after the discontinuation of fluoxetine treatment.

STUDY DESIGN
A retrospective analysis of two clinical trials was performed. Patients were treated with fluoxetine or placebo for three cycles, with the use of several different dosing regimens, followed by single blind placebo treatment for one cycle. Assessments of relapse included the daily record of severity of problems, the Sheehan disability scale, the premenstrual tension scale-clinician rated, and the clinical global impressions-severity.

RESULTS
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms significantly increased after fluoxetine discontinuation. The scores did not return to baseline; however, the fluoxetine group was no longer significantly superior to placebo.

CONCLUSION
The two trials demonstrate that, after three cycles of treatment, premenstrual dysphoric disorder symptoms recur within the first cycle after treatment discontinuation. The rapid recurrence of symptoms further supports the view of premenstrual dysphoric disorder as a clinical entity distinct from depression.


A synergetic approach is applied to the study of nonlinear evolution of unstable waves in an electron beam plasma. When the beam velocity is sufficiently large compared with the thermal velocity of electrons, the system is linearly unstable against electrostatic perturba· tions of large wavelengths, but stabilized in its nonlinear stage by the effect of ponderomotive force of high·frequency fields. The results show that the amplitude of unstable plane wave behaves such as ~sech rt as a function of time t, where r is the linear growth rate, never growing up infinitely. It is also shown that the plane wave is unstable for long wavelength modulation and is stabilized by emission of a series of envelope solitons.


Study Design. Prospective observational study. Objectives. Quantify the amount of lumbar lordosis achieved on a hinged operative table in neutral, flexion, and extension. Summary of Background Data. Hinged operative tables may allow surgeons to adjust lumbar spine positioning intraoperatively. The amount of lumbar lordosis in neutral, flexion, and extension positions has not been quantified prospectively using a hinged table. Methods. Thirty patients undergoing elective lumbar surgery were enrolled. Standing x-rays taken in neutral, maximal flexion, and maximal extension were obtained. After prone positioning on a hinged operative table, x-rays in neutral, maximal flexion, and maximal extension were taken. Total lumbar lordosis was calculated for all six images by two physicians. Disc degeneration was graded using Pfirrmann grades. Results. Lumbar lordosis on the operative table was 56.5° ± 2.1°, 43.6° ± 2.2°, 63.2° ± 2.0° compared with 46.9° ± 3.1°, 33.2° ± 2.8°, 52.3° ± 3.3° on the standing films in neutral, flexion, and extension, respectively. Average flexion (12.9° ± 1.1°) and extension (6.7° ± 1.2°) were significantly different from neutral on the table (P < 0.001). Lumbar lordosis was significantly higher on the operative table (P < 0.001). Total range of motion was 19.6° ± 1.9° on the table and 19.1° ± 2.0° with standing (P = 0.42). Average Pfirrmann disc grade was 2.77 ± 0.10 that did not correlate with range of motion (P = 0.40). Conclusion. In this cohort, the hinged operative table allowed for a physiologic arc of motion of nearly 20° from flexion to extension. A considerable amount of lumbar sagittal motion can be obtained on hinged operative tables without decreasing overall lumbar lordosis below physiologic levels. Level of Evidence: 3


The genetic events leading the progression of midgut carcinoid tumors are largely unknown. The disease course varies from patient to patient, and there is a lack of reliable prognostic markers. In order to identify genes involved in tumor progression, gene expression profiling was performed on tumor specimens. Samples comprised 18 primary tumors, 17 lymph node (LN) metastases, and seven liver metastases from a total of 19 patients. Patients were grouped according to clinical data and histopathology into indolent or progressive course. RNA was subjected to a spotted oligo microarray and B-statistics were performed. Differentially expressed genes were verified using quantitative real-time PCR. Self-organizing maps demonstrated three clusters: 11 primary tumors separated in one cluster, five LN metastases in another cluster, whereas all seven liver metastases, seven primary, and 12 LN metastases formed a third cluster. There was no correlation between indolent and progressive behavior. The primary tumors with Ki67 >5%, with low frequency of the carcinoid syndrome, and a tendency toward shorter survival grouped together. Primary tumors differed in expression profile from their associated LN metastases; thus, there is evidence for genetic changes from primary tumors to metastases. ACTG2, GREM2, REG3A, TUSC2, RUNX1, TPH1, TGFBR2, and CDH6 were differentially expressed between clusters and subgroups of tumors. The expression profile that assembles tumors as being genetically similar on the RNA expression level may not be concordant with the clinical disease course. This study reveals differences in gene expression profiles and novel genes that may be of importance in midgut carcinoid tumor progression.


Gram-positive bacteria use SigI/RsgI-family sigma factor/anti-sigma factor pairs to sense and respond to cell wall defects and plant polysaccharides. In Bacillus subtilis this signal transduction pathway involves regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) of the membrane-anchored anti-sigma factor RsgI. However, unlike most RIP signaling pathways, site-1 cleavage of RsgI on the extracytoplasmic side of the membrane is constitutive and the cleavage products remain stably associated, preventing intramembrane proteolysis. The regulated step in this pathway is their dissociation, which is hypothesized to involve mechanical force. Release of the ectodomain enables intramembrane cleavage by the RasP site-2 protease and activation of SigI. The constitutive site-1 protease has not been identified for any RsgI homolog. Here, we report that RsgI's extracytoplasmic domain has structural and functional similarities to eukaryotic SEA domains that undergo autoproteolysis and have been implicated in mechanotransduction. We show that site-1 proteolysis in B. subtilis and Clostridial RsgI family members is mediated by enzyme-independent autoproteolysis of these SEA-like (SEAL) domains. Importantly, the site of proteolysis enables retention of the ectodomain through an undisrupted ß-sheet that spans the two cleavage products. Autoproteolysis can be abrogated by relief of conformational strain in the scissile loop, in a mechanism analogous to eukaryotic SEA domains. Collectively, our data support the model that RsgI-SigI signaling is mediated by mechanotransduction in a manner that has striking parallels with eukaryotic mechanotransducive signaling pathways. SIGNIFICANCE SEA domains are broadly conserved among eukaryotes but absent in bacteria. They are present on diverse membrane-anchored proteins some of which have been implicated in mechanotransducive signaling pathways. Many of these domains have been found to undergo autoproteolysis and remain noncovalently associated following cleavage. Their dissociation requires mechanical force. Here, we identify a family of bacterial SEA-like (SEAL) domains that arose independently from their eukaryotic counterparts but have structural and functional similarities. We show these SEAL domains autocleave and the cleavage products remain stably associated. Importantly, these domains are present on membrane-anchored anti-sigma factors that have been implicated in mechanotransduction pathways analogous to those in eukaryotes. Our findings suggest that bacterial and eukaryotic signaling systems have evolved a similar mechanism to transduce mechanical stimuli across the lipid bilayer.