Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006

4559

Air pollution particulate matter (PM) is associated with lung cancer risk. Copper, iron, nickel, vanadium, and zinc are in airborne PM, and cadmium, nickel, and zinc are in tobacco smoke. Cadmium and nickel, as well as several other metals released into air by industry are human lung carcinogens. We conducted an ecological study to examine the association of industrial air releases for metals with lung cancer incidence in Texas. During 1995-2000, 81,132 lung cancer cases were reported in Texas. We identified metals that: (1) are in airborne PM or tobacco smoke, or are human lung carcinogens, and (2) had consistent Environmental Protection Agency reporting for air releases for multiple counties during 1988-2000. We examined the association of metal air releases with average annual age-adjusted rates for lung and non-small cell lung cancer, and lung adenocarcinoma at the county level. Univariate analysis indicated the following positive associations: (1) zinc with the lung cancer ( p = 0.02), non-small cell lung cancer (p < 0.01), and lung adenocarcinoma rates ( p = 0.04), (2) chromium ( p = 0.01) and copper ( p = 0.01) with the non-small cell lung cancer rate, and (3) chromium ( p < 0.01), nickel ( p = 0.01), and vanadium ( p = 0.01) with the lung adenocarcinoma rate. In the multivariate analyses, risk adjusted for sex, race and ethnicity, zinc was positively associated with the non-small lung cancer rate (β = 0.12, p = 0.03), and vanadium (β = 0.10, p = 0.03) was positively associated with the lung adenocarcinoma rate. The study provides new information suggesting that metals, including those that are nutritionally required, play an important role in lung carcinogenesis, particularly for the non-small cell and adenocarcinoma pathologic subtypes. Thus, since metals can be inhaled in substantial quantities, especially in urban environments due to industrial air releases, emissions of PM air pollutants, and tobacco smoke exposure, it will be important to conduct future studies to determine the role of metals in lung carcinogenesis.


Objective To elucidate spatial orientation and posture regulation under conditions of microgravity. Material and Methods Coriolis stimulation was done with five normal subjects on the ground (1g) and onboard an aircraft (under conditions of microgravity during parabolic flight). Subjects were asked to tilt their heads forward during rotation at speeds of 0, 50, 100 and 150°/s on the ground and 100°/s during flight. Body sway was recorded using a 3D linear accelerometer and eye movements using an infrared charge-coupled device video camera. Flight experiments were performed on 5 consecutive days, and 11–16 parabolic maneuvers were done during each flight. Two subjects boarded each flight and were examined alternately at least five times. Results Coriolis stimulation at 1g caused body sway, nystagmus and a movement sensation in accordance with inertial inputs at 1g. Neither body sway, excepting a minute sway due to the Coriolis force, nor a movement sensation occurred in microgravity, but nystagmus was recorded. Conclusions Posture, eye movement and sensation at 1g are controlled with reference to spatial coordinates that represent the external world in the brain. Normal spatial coordinates are not relevant in microgravity because there is no Z-axis, and the posture regulation and sensation that depend on them collapse. The discrepancy in responses between posture and eye movement under conditions of microgravity may be caused by a different constitution of the effectors which adjust posture and gaze.


What do you understand by inclusive? While inclusive has many meanings, Malaysia Education Plan 2013 – 2025 has put under-enrolled schools in the inclusive education programmes as one of its targeted mission to enable equity education for all in Malaysia. Nevertheless, as reported in the Malaysia Education Plan 2013 – 2025, Malaysia is also facing a declining in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics interest among school children. This article aims to review the literature on inclusive pedagogical approach for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics learning practices that focus on the under-enrolled schools in Malaysia, which account for 7% of total primary school enrolment. This article further discusses six pedagogical strategies in under-enrolled schools. The strategies are (i) flexible method, (ii) group and individualize teaching & learning method, (iii) Class teaching & learning method, (iv) Peer coaching teaching & learning method, (v) contextual teaching & learning method, and (vi) the same level of ability teaching & learning method. It is claimed that these pedagogical strategies would help teachers to prepare their classroom activities, especially for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics learning practices. Thus, it is essential to be cleared that the strategies proposed by the Ministry of Education are to uplift teachers' knowledge for the under-enrolled schools' classroom activities. Finally, it was discussed on the impact of these pedagogical approaches for the learners.


The down-regulation of the catalytic subunit of the mitochondrial H+-ATP synthase (beta-F1-ATPase) is a hallmark of most human carcinomas. This characteristic of the cancer cell provides a proteomic signature of cellular bioenergetics that can predict the prognosis of colon, lung, and breast cancer patients. Here we show that the in vivo tumor glucose uptake of lung carcinomas, as assessed by positron emission tomography in 110 patients using 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-d-glucose as probe, inversely correlates with the bioenergetic signature determined by immunohistochemical analysis in tumor surgical specimens. Further, we show that inhibition of the activity of oxidative phosphorylation by incubation of cancer cells with oligomycin triggers a rapid increase in their rates of aerobic glycolysis. Moreover, we show that the cellular expression level of the beta-F1-ATPase protein of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation inversely correlates (P < 0.001) with the rates of aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells. The results highlight the relevance of the alteration of the bioenergetic function of mitochondria for glucose capture and consumption by aerobic glycolysis in carcinomas.


Virus-associated pulmonary exacerbations, most predominantly caused by rhinoviruses (RV), contribute to cystic fibrosis (CF) morbidity. However, there are only few therapeutic options to treat and/or prevent virus-induced CF pulmonary exacerbations. Recent evidence suggests that the macrolide antibiotic azithromycin (AZM) has antiviral properties in RV-infected primary human bronchial epithelial cells. We hypothesize that AZM induces antiviral mechanisms in primary CF bronchial epithelial cells. Primary bronchial epithelial cells from CF children were pretreated with AZM and infected with RV. Viral RNA, interferons (IFNs), IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), RV pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) expressions were measured by RT-qPCR. Pro-inflammatory cytokine production was assessed by ELISA. Cell death was evaluated by Flow cytometry. After AZM pretreatment, RV load was 7-fold reduced in CF bronchial cells compared to untreated cells (median [interquartile range] 10 6 copies/reaction: 8.13 [5.28-34.4] vs. 56.8 [18.4-81.5]; p=0.001). The decreased RV load was not due to AZM-induced cytotoxicity in CF bronchial cells. Furthermore, AZM pretreatment significantly increased RV1B-induced IFNs and ISGs, and also PRRs mRNA expression in CF bronchial cells. Interestingly, while stimulating antiviral responses, AZM pretreatment did not significantly prevent virus-induced inflammatory cytokine production. AZM pretreatment reduces RV load in primary paediatric CF bronchial epithelial cells in vitro , possibly by amplifying the antiviral response mediated by the IFNs pathway. This study points to the potential of AZM as a novel therapeutic approach to treat and/or prevent RV-induced CF pulmonary exacerbations.


Knowledge exchange between master and PhD students with regard to evolutionary product development

In this paper the exchange of knowledge between PhD- and master-students with regard to the theory of Evolutionary Product Development is presented. At the University of Twente this theory, based on six product phases, is shortly introduced in the bachelor programme. In the master programme there is a course where master students learn to work with the model. At this moment five PhD students work on improving the theory. The paper describes how the master and PhD students work together and exchange information to learn how to use the model and to further improve the model. The theory of product phases, first published in 1987, was formulated in a PhD thesis in 2007. Generally speaking, the emphasis in the first product phase – performance – is on new technologies. In the second phase – optimisation – new knowledge is required. The market no longer accepts imperfections and other disciplines become important. Product development is aimed at improving performance, better reliability, improvement of ergonomics and safety. In the third phase – itemisation - high quality and safety no longer suffice. Extra features, including special editions of the product for different trade channels and target groups, and styling become important success factors. The last three phases – segmentation, individualisation and awareness – co-exist. Product development is either aimed at the extra features and accessories, including special editions, or at mass customisation or co-creation, thus allowing the customer to influence the final result (individualisation). The social behaviour of the company or organisation behind the product is becoming more and more important to the customer (awareness).


A polarimeter is built to be used with the SCUBA-2 camera of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope to study polarized sub-millimeter radiations. We simulated the effect of the polarimeter on image quality and polarization measurements.


This paper demonstrates the latest Smart Grid and Demand Response pilot projects results and achievements in UAE. It also identifies the challenges that require the introduction of Smart Grid, the investigation of the life cycle cost/benefits, the analysis of Smart Grid deployments and finally, to define the road map of Smart Grid and the pillars to achieve the required smartness. The deliverable of this study addresses the future technology of Smart Grid in terms of road map, action plan, and recommendations to achieve Smart Grid objectives. Initial results show that by applying demand response initiatives it could reduce the annual peak demand by 8.5% or more.


G. K. Chesterton once remarked that all conservatism is based on the idea that if things are left alone, they will stay unchanged. Challenging this notion, he observed that a white post left alone soon becomes a black post; to maintain a white post one must always be painting it again—and, hence, always be having a revolution. Within evangelical Protestantism in late Victorian Canada a "revolution" of sorts took place in evangelical Protestantism's approach to conversion, the nature and consequences of which have been overlooked because the language of the parties involved has on the surface appeared to differ little from the revivalism which preceded it.


In brief: To determine the heart rate responses of a football official to both physical and psychological stress during actual game conditions, a head referee was telemetered continuously from one- half hour before until the end of a college football game. The referee's cardiac system was stressed throughout the monitoring period: The highest average heart rate was 161 beats min(-1) (85% of maximum), and the lowest average heart rate was 140 beats min(-1) (74% of maximum). Because officiating is largely anaerobic, the sustained sinus tachycardia was probably caused by psychological stress. Football officials should have a maximal ECG stress test every year and participate in an aerobic conditioning program on a regular basis.


Abstract Lower Cretaceous deltaic sandstones in the Scotian basin form important gas reservoirs. This study uses single-grain geochronology of detrital muscovite to better understand the sources and dispersal patterns of sediment in the Early Cretaceous. One hundred muscovite grains were dated from a transect of wells near Sable Island and a further 17 grains were dated from the Naskapi N-30 well in the western part of the basin. Excluding a few old grains, the muscovite ranges in age from ca. 420 to 240 Ma. The lack of ages <240 Ma for muscovite and for rare detrital monazite suggests that ages were not reset by post-depositional alteration. The age distribution of muscovite from the wells near Sable Island suggests that the principal sources were rocks that had experienced resetting during Alleghenian deformation and Late Triassic– earliest Jurassic rifting. The distribution of ages, together with mass balance calculations, suggest that these sources mainly were Meguma metasedimentary rocks, especially phyllites, on the inner Scotian Shelf, although shear zones on land and the inner shelf also may have contributed. The age distribution at Naskapi N-30 is similar to that in the South Mountain batholith, except for some grains younger than 360 Ma that suggest an offshore source with Alleghenian resetting. On the inner Scotian Shelf, Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks onlap across Appalachian basement and the eroded edge of Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous rocks, providing further evidence that the inner shelf was an erosional area during the Early Cretaceous.


Sixty-two patients with beta-thalassemia (36 men and 26 women) were investigated in a survey of the incidence and distribution of fractures. Patient ages ranged from 10 to 32 years (mean, 16.7). The examination consisted of a detailed orthopedic and roentgenographic skeletal survey. Fractures are a frequent occurrence in beta-thalassemia (Cooley's anemia). One in three patients had sustained fractures. In one of five, fractures were multiple or recurrent. The fractures, however, were not entirely responsible for the high incidence of deformities. Only one patient had a malunited limb-deforming fracture. The high incidence of deformities was caused by the premature fusion of the epiphyses of the long bones; the pathogenesis of beta-thalassemia-induced epiphyseal fusion is obscure. Thirty patients of the 62 patients developed epiphyseal abnormalities, generally in the lower tibial and fibular, upper humeral, and lower femoral epiphyses. The ensuring deformities are severe and frequently occur in patients older than 12.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the indications and surgical outcomes of amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) for ocular-surface disease.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
This study involved 304 AMTs performed at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine between April 1998 and March 2008. Preoperative diagnoses, clinical features, surgical procedures and postoperative outcomes were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTS
Of 304 cases, 145 cases had a pterygium (48 primary, 82 recurrent, and 15 pseudo-pterygium). The recurrence rate at one year was 6.1% among the 99 cases of pterygium followed for at least one year postoperatively. Ninety-three cases had severe ocular surface diseases including ocular pemphigoid (30), chemical or thermal burn (29), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (23), and others (11) AMT and epithelial transplantation was combined in 64 cases, and successful ocular-surface reconstruction was obtained in 88 cases (94.6%). Neoplasia was observed in 22 cases (12 benign, 10 malignant). The ocular-surface was successfully reconstructed in all cases by AMT combined with complete tumor resection. Other preoperative diagnoses included persistent epithelial defects (PED) (15), conjunctival chalasis (12) and uncontrollable glaucoma (11). No cases experienced any AMT-related complication.

CONCLUSIONS
AMT proved effective for preventing the recurrence of pterygium and for ocular-surface reconstruction in patients with severe ocular-surface disease or ocular-surface neoplasia.


Background Vernier acuity was measured longitudinally for comparison with published results on early stereopsis development. Methods Thirty-seven human infants were tested using forced-choice preferential looking. These included 29 pilot infants (9 or 12 weeks of age) and eight infants tested longitudinally (9 weeks to 11 to 15 weeks of age). Results At 9 weeks, Vernier acuity was about 40 minutes of visual angle, compared with a typical adult value of less than 10 arc sec of visual angle. Vernier acuity improved rapidly immediately after emergence, doubling within about 10 days. After age 11 weeks, Vernier acuity remained constant, at 1000 arc sec (17 min) of visual angle, until testing ended. Conclusion Vernier acuity developed over a time course different from published data on stereoacuity. Vernier acuity emerged significantly sooner, whereas stereopsis improved most quickly at an age when Vernier acuity was changing most slowly. It is unlikely that a single critical immaturity limits infant performance on both visual tasks.


With attempts to quench the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ having so far failed, we instead investigate what could be done if $\Lambda$ is not quenched and actually gets to be as big as elementary particle physics suggests. Since the quantity relevant to cosmology is actually $\Omega_{\Lambda}$, quenching it to its small measured value is equally achievable by quenching not $\Lambda$ but $G$ instead, with the $G$ relevant to cosmology then being much smaller than that measured in a low energy Cavendish experiment. A gravitational model in which this explicitly takes place, viz. conformal gravity, is presented, with the model being found to provide for a completely natural, non fine tuned accounting of the recent high $z$ accelerating universe supernovae data, no matter how big $\Lambda$ itself actually gets to be. Thus to solve the cosmological constant problem we do not need to change or quench the energy content of the universe, but rather only its effect on cosmic evolution.


Airway stents are used to keep airways open for those patients symptomatic from tracheobronchial disease. Tracheobronchial disease or central airway obstruction (CAO) can occur with benign or malignant disease, or complications from lung transplantation. Although stents can offer symptomatic relief for CAO, complications such as granulation tissue formation, stent fracture, and infection commonly occur after stent placement. Currently, all airway stents promote mucus buildup which can lead to stent failure and airway complications. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of special anti-fouling coatings to prevent mucus buildup. The coatings have been tested: 1) for wettability, 2) using XPS and TOF-SIMS to characterize surface properties, and 3) in the laboratory (in vitro) to study effects of mucin incubation. Findings include significant improvement in limiting mucus adhesion in a lab model.


* Abbreviations:
 CD — : celiac disease
 IgA — : immunoglobulin A
 NCGS — : nonceliac gluten sensitivity
 tTG — : transglutaminase

Celiac disease (CD) is likely an ancient disease. It is thought that CD became a health problem as people moved from a hunter-gatherer economy to farming-based economy some time during the Neolithic period and geographically in the Fertile Crescent. Indeed, the earliest description of CD is attributed to Aretaeus the Cappadocian. Cappaddocia is adjacent to the Fertile Crescent.1 Recent studies on the introduction of farming, however, demonstrate a complex coexistence of hunter-gatherers and farmers over 2 millennia, and this new observation may affect how we understand the history of CD.2,3

CD is not a benign disease; it can be associated with malnutrition, malabsorption, osteoporosis, liver disease, skin disease, mental health issues, and other health problems. In addition, and of particular concern, undiagnosed CD is associated with a fourfold increased risk of death.4 CD is not a rare disease; prevalence ranges from 0.3% to 3%.5

These observations make it imperative that a diagnosis of CD be definitively made, that consideration be given to …

Address correspondence to Susan S. Baker, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, Women and Children's Hospital, 219 Bryant St, Buffalo, NY 14222. E-mail: sbaker{at}upa.chob.edu


360 Background: Translocation renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a rare subtype of kidney cancer that is characterized by translocations involving TFEB or TFE3 genes. We recently reported that adults with translocation RCC have worse prognosis than pediatric and adolescent patients (Malouf et al, J Urol, 2011), however little is known about the genetic and epigenetic differences between these groups.

METHODS
Cytogenomic analysis was performed with 250K SNP microarrays (Affymetrix) on 19 tumor specimens of translocation RCC (Age <18 (n=6); Age >=18 (n=13) and 2 established cell lines (UOK109, UOK146). Changes in global DNA methylation levels were measured by using pyrosequencing of highly repetitive LINE-1 sequences on 27 tumor samples. Results were correlated with the patients' clinical data.

RESULTS
3p loss was observed in 8 patients (42%) and was associated with other chromosomal alterations frequently seen in clear-cell RCC such as 9p loss. Patients with 3p loss showed poor overall survival (OS) as compared to patients without 3p loss (Median OS 12.7 month vs. not reached) [p=0.03]. There was no association found between 3p loss and clinico-pathological variables such as AJCC stage, age and gender. The UOK146 cell line also showed 3p and 9p loss. Young patients (<18 years) displayed fewer number of genetic abnormalities as compared to older patients (p=0.02). Moreover, Line-1 methylation was found to be lower in adult as compared to young patients (76.7% vs. 71.1%, p=0.02).

CONCLUSIONS
Our results show that a subset of translocation RCC is characterized by a genetic profile similar to that of clear-cell RCC and these tumors seem to behave aggressively. Studies to determine the presence of VHL mutation in these tumors are underway. Adult patients display higher genetic abnormalities and lower Line-1 methylation as compared to young patients. These results might explain the different behavior of pediatric and adult translocation RCC.


The present study was conducted during rabi season of 2017–18 and 2018–19 (November–April) to assess the performance of rice variety KNM 118 (Kunaram sannalu) over existing farmers' popular variety MTU 1010 in fifty (50) number of farmers fields of Miryalaguda and Damaracherla mandals in Nalgonda District, Telangana, India under Tribal Sub-plan. Based on the collected data, per cent increase yield over the farmer's practice, economics such as gross returns, cost of cultivation, net returns, additional costs, effective gain, additional returns and incremental benefit-cost ratio were worked out. The technology gap, extension gap and technology index were calculated. The results revealed that the average grain yield was 7297.5 kg ha-1 in improved practice which was a 12.1% increase over the farmer's practice i.e. 6510.0 kg ha-1 during the study period. Mean of the extension gap, technology gap, and technology index were 787.5 kg ha-1, 202.5 kg ha-1, and 2.7%, respectively over the seasons. The average gross returns and net returns of ` 1,29,211.3 ha-1 and ` 76,812.8 ha-1, respectively were higher in demonstration plots as compared to farmer's practices over the two seasons. The benefit-cost ratio recorded was 2.5 in improved practice, and 2.2 in farmer's practices. The average sustainability yield index and sustainability value index in improved practice were 0.94 and 0.88 and in the farmer's practice were 0.94 and 0.89 during the study period. The horizontal spread of the improved practice was increased from 107.5 ha to 1442.0 ha, which was 1222.8%.


This article aims to identify the level of similarity between dengue and climatic, sociodemographic and sanitation variables in Brazilian Northeast capitals between 2001 and 2012, by cluster analysis, an explanatory technique used on multivariate data to verify the interrelationship between groups formed by the similar distances among its components. The results, validated by Spearman, showed high correlation (p-value ≤ 0.0001) of dengue with: female subjects between 10-19 years old and over 79 years old; the annual total of urban public waste collected by all types of agents, especially private agents; and the total extent of area swept by public agents, suggesting that a higher volume of residues would lead to higher occurrence of mosquito breeding sites transmitting the disease. There was also some correlation with the indexes of water and sewage treatment, suggesting that it is related to the maintenance of the mosquito-borne life cycle due to the water availability.


Negative effects of small population size on fitness, so-called Allee effects, may threaten population persistence even in intact habitat remnants. We studied genotypes of 14 isolated populations of the clonal plant Ranunculus reptans, for which molecular genetic (RAPD-) variability is higher for large than for small populations. In a competition-free greenhouse environment vegetative offspring of genotypes from large populations produced more rosettes and flowers, indicating higher fitness. Within-genotype coefficients of variation in performance traits, indicating developmental instability, were lower for genotypes from populations with higher RAPD-variability. In competition with a taller grass, we found relative reduction in leaf length less pronounced for plants from large populations, suggesting higher adaptive plasticity. Our experimental study of a plant with predominantly vegetative reproduction suggests, that negative genetic effects of recent habitat fragmentation, which so far rather were expected in plants with frequent sexual reproduction, are more severe and more common than previously acknowledged.


There has been a range of online Test of English for International Communication courses in Thailand. However, the courses lack interaction, and learners do not have enough opportunities to contact tutors when they have problems. Therefore, the interactive web-based Test of English for International Communication tutoring course was developed in this study to promote interaction in online learning. This study investigates the effects of the course on students' English grammar proficiency and explores students' opinions on the course. The participants were 40 Thai students enrolling in the course. This research employed the mixed-methods approach. The effects of the instruction on grammar proficiency were assessed by pre- and post-tests. Students' opinions were explored through reflective journals, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The results show that students' grammar proficiency significantly improved after taking the course. All students had a positive attitude towards the course. They perceived a high level of instructor-student interaction, leading to an increase in learning motivation and eagerness to complete the course. Although student-student interaction was in a slightly lower degree, the students had a positive impact on one another. Besides, considerable course flexibility facilitated active learning and increased students' satisfaction. This course also encouraged autonomous learning as the students perceived a sense of responsibility for their study. Extrinsic incentives effectively motivated students to become more active and participate in activities. This study provides a guideline of the teaching approaches to incorporate the concept of interaction into web-based instruction to improve students' grammar proficiency.


This article discusses the dynamics inherent in modeling and simulation (M&S) standards development processes within the context of the competitive struggle for resources and market dominance. A conceptual framework is presented that provides the theoretical logic for the tension between inclusive, consensus-driven standards development processes and exclusive, preferential processes. Standards development is conceptualized as a porous process subject to both cooperative interests and competitive pressures. We elucidate how the tension between these two process ideals shapes the adoption and conformity of M&S standards and, in turn, how these processes facilitate broader system values. Normative questions are explicated about the proper tradeoffs among the desire to realize collective efficiencies gained through standards, the drive to create, own, and financially exploit new, emerging technologies through the concept of intellectual property, and the objective of economic development through fostering innovation. Both the organizational and individual incentives to engage in standards processes are discussed, together with how the politics of participation may shape standards development. This research contributes a compelling theoretical perspective not fully developed in the growing and changing discipline of M&S. The significance of exploring these questions is found in that there is a national interest in M&S standards development activities that contribute to our technological innovation and economic competitiveness.


Covid 19 began to spread to the State of Indonesia in 2020 it still could not find a solution to break the chain of spread of covid 19 until now, parenting parents in accompanying and educating children to learn while at home.. The method used in this study is qualitative research with a case study approach that describes the parenting of parents in accompanying children to study at home during the covid-19 pandemic. Based on the results of the discussion and research above,, there is asituation ofthe covid 19 pandemic has changed the order of life from various aspects. Included in online learning activities at home, college law number 12 of 2012, article 31 on distance education (PJJ) Learning that was once done in school is now studied at home. However, online learning poses many challenges. Parenting applied by parents has been as much as possible given to children, parents always want to make their children the best in the educational process to instill values and foster the child's spiritual intelligence, by always trying to accompany their children to learn regularly and parents also always provide supervision and restrictions to children so that children do not always play gadgets that will later result in gadget addiction


WHO regards access to primary care as a priority for all health systems, because of the benefits for population health and because of the changing nature of populations (more older people with chronic conditions) and the growing expectations of the public.1 In most developed countries, progress has been made in enabling people to use primary care services during routine office hours, and policymakers have begun to ask "how much access is enough"?

The two main drivers for extending access to general practices beyond traditional office hours are the possibility that longer opening hours would lead to reduced pressure on hospital services and the need for policy to respond to the pressure from patients for appointments with their primary care providers.

Difficulty in getting appointments in general practice is associated with higher use of hospital emergency departments,2 and evidence from a US study of extended hours in primary care indicates that extended hours can reduce the demand for care from hospitals. In a study relating to the years 2005–2008, a national sample of 43 484 people with a usual source of care, 77.5% reported their provider offered care in the evening and weekend.3 Total expenditure per patient was 10% lower, and there were fewer emergency department attendances, among patients reporting access to extended hours. Evidence from England on the potential effect of weekend opening of general practices is likely to be emerging soon, and professionals and policymakers in this country will soon have to decide how much access to primary care is enough. Their conclusions are likely to be of interest to the primary care services of other countries.

The effect of extended hours may be dependent on other characteristics of the healthcare system; for example, if the capacity of primary care is already stretched, extending opening hours will …


The increased deployment of sensors and data communication networks yields data management workloads with update loads that are intense, skewed, and highly bursty. Query loads resulting from location-based services are expected to exhibit similar characteristics. In such environments, index structures can easily become performance bottlenecks. We address the need for indexing that is adaptive to the workload characteristics, called workload-aware, in order to cover the space in between maintaining an accurate index, and having no index at all. Our proposal, QU-Trade, extends R-tree type indexing and achieves workload-awareness by controlling the underlying index's filtering quality. QU-Trade safely drops index updates, increasing the overlap in the index when the workload is update-intensive, and it restores the filtering capabilities of the index when the workload becomes query-intensive. This is done in a non-uniform way in space so that the quality of the index remains high in frequently queried regions, while it deteriorates in frequently updated regions. The adaptation occurs online, without the need for a learning phase. We apply QU-Trade to the R-tree and the TPR-tree, and we offer analytical and empirical studies. In the presence of substantial workload skew, QU-Trade can achieve index update costs close to zero and can also achieve virtually the same query cost as the underlying index.


The article provides the results of a set of analyses conducted to compare two major radio technologies, DECT/PWT-E and PACS, for their suitability in the local loop in the United States to provide voice and data services. DECT, digital enhanced cordless telecommunications, is a radio interface standard developed in Europe mainly for indoor wireless applications and being promoted lately for wireless local loop applications as well. PWT, personal wireless telecommunications, is a DECT-based standard developed by the TIA in the United States for the unlicensed PCS applications. PWT-E, enhanced, is the version that is suitable for the licensed PCS applications. PACS, personal access communications systems, is a total system standard (i.e. radio interface and associated network infrastructures) developed in the United States for licensed PCS applications. (PACS-UA and PACS-UB are the standards for the unlicensed PCS applications.) For the wireless local loop (WLL), we make an assumption that the radio technologies operating in the licensed PCS spectrum are more suitable to provide a quality of service that is expected traditionally from a local exchange company (LEC). Therefore, this article focuses on the PACS and PWT-E, rather than PACS-UB and PWT. Also note that the article focuses on the North American version, PWT-E, rather than the European version, DECT. It provides an introduction to the PACS and PWT technologies.


The climatology of atmospheric fronts crossing Cluj-Napoca city and the weather associated. In this paper the evolution of weather patterns by tracking various weather variables change as a result of frontal passages through the area of Cluj-Napoca city was investigated, over a period of 10 years (2001 – 2010). The study is focused on warm and cold fronts, while other types of atmospheric fronts have not been considered for this study. Hourly air temperature, sea level pressure, relative humidity, and wind speed have been analyzed. The main conclusions of the study are: the lowest number of atmospheric fronts charaterizes the summer, and especially the last weeks of summer and the first weeks of the autumn, because of the high frequency of anticyclone regime which is dominant over that period, while the most are specific to spring season; the most intense changes in weather parameters (>10.1oC, >10.1 hPa) are much less frequent compared to the moderate (5.1 10.0oC, 5.1 10.0 hPa) and small ones (0.0 5.0oC, 0.0 5.0 hPa); the warm fronts had the highest occurrence frequency between 06:00 and 12:00 UTC and the cold fronts between 18:00 and 00:00 UTC. Key-words: atmospheric fronts, meteorological variables, synoptic analysis, ClujNapoca.


ABSTRACT Background The continual improvement of teaching and learning is vital for schools in order to meet the rapid changes in the world around us. Lesson study is considered a valuable professional development approach in that regard. It is focused on teachers collaboratively studying live classroom lessons. Sustaining lesson study, by making its core components part of the school's organisational routines, can help schools continually and systematically to improve student learning and teaching. However, despite the value of this approach, sustaining lesson study turns out to be complex. Leadership seems to play a crucial role therein, but the question is: how? Purpose The study aimed to gain in-depth insight into what leadership looks like in schools that sustained lesson study. Method A case study design was used to investigate leadership in two secondary schools. We conducted over 300 hours of observations through immersion within practice, collected school policy documents, and interviewed the school leadership. Data were analysed qualitatively. Findings The analysis identified that both schools carried out various leadership practices for sustained lesson study. For leadership at schools that aim for sustained lesson study, it seems important to schedule lesson study, to be available, to have knowledge about lesson study and to appoint a lesson study coordinator. Whether and how leadership practices were carried out seemed to depend on the school's context – for instance, by the policy reasons for working with lesson study. As such, it is important to examine the school and its leadership in context when considering sustainability. Conclusion Through immersion within practice, specific and real-life examples of leadership were identified. This study's insights could help school leadership to sustain lesson study in their schools.


We use an analogy with the statistical mechanics of gas to build the statistical mechanics of granular media. The case of an isotropic disordered packing of equal spheres submitted to an isotropic stress is considered. We use the assumption of a maximal disorder and the method of the Lagrange multipliers to demonstrate that the distribution of the force moduli decreases exponentially and obeys an exponential-decay statistics. This distribution results from the above hypotheses and from the existence of a mean stress, which acts as a constraint. This distribution is confirmed by experiments and simulations. We apply the same method to find the distribution of void defects of a granular assembly. It follows also an exponential-decay statistics.


The metabolism of carbinoxamine, 2-[(4-chlorophenyl)-2-pyridinyl-methoxy]-N, N-dimethylethaneamine, was studied in adult male volunteers after an oral dose of 15 mg. Solvent extracts of urine obtained with or without enzyme hydrolysis were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after derivatization with MSTFA/TMSCl (N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide/trimethyl chlorosilane). The structures of metabolites were determined based on the electron impact (EI) and chemical ionization (CI) mass spectra. Nonconjugated metabolites identified in the urine were carbinoxamine, nor-carbinoxamine, and bis-nor-carbinoxamine. Parent drug, nor-carbinoxamine, and bis-nor-carbinoxamine were also detected as conjugated forms. These metabolites observed in human urine were different from those previously reported in the rat. Urinary excretions of carbinoxamine were reached to maxima in 4 hours after drug administration with 4.9%-8.1% and 2.5-4.2% of the dose excreted during 24 h as carbinoxamine and its glucuronide, respectively.


The problem of electromagnetic scattering by a three-dimensional dielectric object can be formulated in terms of a hypersingular integral equation, in which a grad-div operator acts on a vector potential. The vector potential is a spatial convolution of the free space Green's function and the contrast source over the domain of interest. A weak form of the integral equation for the relevant unknown quantity is obtained by testing it with appropriate testing functions. The vector potential is then expanded in a sequence of the appropriate expansion functions and the grad-div operator is integrated analytically over the scattering object domain only. A weak form of the singular Green's function has been used by introducing its spherical mean. As a result, the spatial convolution can be carried out numerically using a trapezoidal integration rule. This method shows excellent numerical performance. >


Rapid advances in satellite imaging technologies have made it possible to obtain images of the atmosphere using different modalities and accordingly, make weather predictions. The progress of cyclone storms is one such area where cloud intensity images exhibit characteristic patterns at various stages of evolution. These patterns have been classified using Dvorak's technique, which is based on expert human judgment. Recent research efforts are being made to perform a computer analysis of these intensity patterns in order to make the classification process more objective. However, in order to perform an analysis of these image intensity patterns, the satellite images of different modalities need to be preprocessed to extract the dominant cyclone cloud patterns. This paper describes our algorithm to obtain cloud intensity contours to be used for pattern analysis. Results obtained using Visible (VIS) and Enhanced Infra-Red satellite images of cyclones have been found to be promising. General Terms Image Processing, Pattern Recognition


Cytokinesis is the concluding step of the cell cycle. Coordination between multiple cellular processes is essential for the success of cytokinesis. The fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, like other fungal cells is contained within a cell wall. During cell division, the external cell wall is extended inwards to form a special septum wall structure in continuity with the cell wall. The primary septum, the central component of the three-layered division septum, is enriched with linear β-1,3-glucan formed by Bgs1p, a β-1,3-glucan synthase. In this study we uncover a novel essential protein, Smi1p, that functions as a suppressor of the Bgs1p temperature-sensitive mutant, cps1-191. We observe a rescue in the cell wall composition and ultrastructure and also in actomyosin ring dynamics. Further, we identify a colocalization and physical association between Bgs1p and Smi1p. Altogether, our results indicate that Smi1p regulates the function of Bgs1p during cytokinesis.


329 adult patients with tinea pedis interdigitalis, which clinical diagnosis was confirmed by positive direct microscopic examinations and cultures of organisms from the lesions, were enrolled in this open and multicentric study. Informed consent was requested and obtained in each case. The bifonazole, 1% gel, tested was applied topically once daily for 3 weeks. Weekly clinical controls were performed during the treatment period and, at least, two clinical mycological posttreatment assessments were carried out. The evaluation criteria were based on the clinical and mycological findings at the end of the second posttreatment week. According to these criteria, the results obtained were: very good (clinical cure, negative mycology) 276 (84.0%); good (clinical improvement, negative mycology) 32 (9.5%); moderate (clinical improvement, positive mycology) 20 (6.0%), and failure (no clinical and mycological changes) 1 (0.5%). Tolerance was excellent, side effects were not observed in any case.


The recent decision issued by the European Commission against Microsoft raises legitimate concerns in many respects. Firstly, the way the Commission handled the proceeding highlighted the impasse that characterises antitrust authorities when dealing with complex cases from the high-tech world. Secondly, the Commission adopted an incorrect approach to interoperability, confusing it with perfect emulation of Microsoft's copyrighted source code. Thirdly, the Commission showed little or no attention to the economics of technological leveraging in dealing with the media player market, and ended up awkwardly mimicking the rationale upheld by the US District Judge in the "browsers war". We conclude by calling for more sound economic analysis at the European Commission, and suggesting solutions which would significantly improve the level-playing-field in the server software and in the media player markets without hindering incentives to invest and consequently stifling innovation.


With its large field of view, GWAC can record hundreds of meteors every day. These meteors are valuable treasures for some meteor research groups. It is therefore very important to accurately find all of these meteors. To address the challenge of precisely distinguishing meteors from other elongated objects in a GWAC-like sky survey system, we design and implement a meteor candidate recognition algorithm, including the recognizing and morphology analysis of the light curves of the meteor candidates. Although the algorithm may filter out some real meteors, it can provide a sample of meteor with high confidence. After processing the images of Mini-GWAC taken in two months, we detect 109,000 elongated objects in which more than 90 percent of objects are not meteor. Among the elongated objects, about 5.9% objects are identified as meteors with high confidence, after the filters based upon an existence in a single frame, a single peak in the light curves, and a slow variation of the light curves.


Nonlinear wrinkling of a compressed film on a soft substrate in the presence of inhomogeneous swelling actuation strain caused by solvent diffusion is studied. The simulation relies on a continuum model which integrates phase field microelasticity and Föppl-von Kármán plate theory. We show that the wrinkling morphologies developed in the diffusive domain exceeding a critical compression are confined and become shape and size dependent. A rich variety of wrinkling patterns observed in experiments including hexagonal ordered, dimple, or peanut structures, are numerically recovered, depending on the distribution of diffusion-mediated actuation strain. A cascade feature of the diffusion-coupled wrinkle is demonstrated as well: There are two ranges of solvent concentration within which the sequences of wrinkling pattern are different.


Congenital Diaphragmatic Disease (CDD) is a relatively common condition that usually occurs in the neonatal period, and the diagnosis of CDD in adulthood is rare. A 64-years-old Caucasian woman was admitted in emergency at our Academic Department, due to a bowel obstruction and dyspnea. The anamnesis revealed intellectual disability and strabismus. A CT scan showed a diaphragmatic herniation in the left area, with chest dislocation of dilated transverse and descending colon, with complete atelectasis of the medial-basal part of the lung. A toxic megacolon was also supposed. Moreover, the left hepatic lobe was not radiologically detectable. An emergency laparatomy was performed, confirming the preoperative diagnosis of toxic megacolon, in the absence of a true diaphragmatic hernia, and a left diaphragm and left liver hypoplasia were reported. An intraoperative bronchoscopy revealed concomitant hypoplasia of the left lung. A subtotal colectomy with ileo-rectal anastomosis was performed. The postoperative course was uneventful. Histological examination demonstrated hyperplasia of the muscularis mucosae of the colon and cytoplasmic vacuolization of the Auerbach plexus ganglia. The karyotype genetic analysis excluded concomitant microdeletion or duplication syndromes. In conclusion, the correct development of the diaphragm is essential for the neighboring organs; the observed clinical pattern could be related to a partial modification of neural crest cell detachment or migration, which could have been responsible for bowel and diaphragm defects. Even though it was not included in typical neural crest cell syndromes. Further researches should be performed in order to define the sporadic or syndromic source of these multiorgan defects. Angela Gurrado1*, Roberta Maria Isernia1, Alessandro De Luca1, Valentina Ferraro1, Daniela Virgintino2, Anna Napoli3, Giuseppe Cavallaro4, Eugenio Maiorano3, Angela Pezzolla5 and Mario Testini1 1Department of Biomedical Sciences and Human Oncology, Unit of Endocrine, Digestive and Emergency Surgery, University Medical School ''A. Moro'', Bari, Italy 2Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences, and Sensory Organs, Human Anatomy and Histology Unit, University Medical School ''A. Moro'', Bari, Italy 3Department of Pathology, University Medical School ''A. Moro'', Bari, Italy 4Department of Surgery "P. Valdoni", Sapienza University, Rome, Italy 5Department of Emergency and Organs Transplantation, University Medical School ''A. Moro'', Bari, Italy


Perturbation of potassium homeostasis can affect various cell functions and lead to the onset of programmed cell death. Although ionophores have been intensively used as an ion homeostasis disturber, the mechanisms of cell death are unclear and the bioapplicability is limited. In this study, helical polypeptide‐based potassium ionophores are developed to induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress‐mediated apoptosis. The polypeptide‐based potassium ionophores disturb ion homeostasis and then induce prolonged ER stress in the cells. The ER stress results in oxidative environments that accelerate the activation of mitochondria‐dependent apoptosis. Moreover, ER stress‐mediated apoptosis is triggered in a tumor‐bearing mouse model that suppresses tumor proliferation. This study provides the first evidence showing that helical polypeptide‐based potassium ionophores trigger ER stress‐mediated apoptosis by perturbation of potassium homeostasis.


Ishay Lev is a family medicine resident at The Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Center at Jerusalem, Israel. After spending more than 10 years as a fighting commander in Ramallah (a major Palestinian city next to Jerusalem) and Al-burrage (a major refugee camp next to Aza) on his regular army duty, Dr. Lev was recruited again for his first duty as a military reserve medical officer. The following diary describes the first week from a month that Dr. Lev spent as the physician of Palestinian and Israeli soldiers – detainees and jailers – in an army camp used as a prison.

This prison camp was built to accommodate Palestinian men detained before their court appearance and for short periods of imprisonment, since the initiation of the second Palestinian uprising (The Second Intifada) and usually for reasons of aiding and abating Palestinian terrorists. On arrival Dr. Lev was immediately educated on the importance of adhering to the Geneva law and representatives as well as the need to allow things to run smoothly in the camp. Confronting both of these impossible tasks during times of war is detailed in the following authentic description.


References es http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/full/177/9/6256#otherarticl1 online articles that cite this article can be accessed at: €http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/full/177/9/6256#BIBL This article cites 27 articles, 12 of which can be accessed free at:Subscriptions online at http://www.jimmunol.org/subscriptions/ Information about subscribing to The Journal of Immunology isPermissions http://www.aai.org/ji/copyright.html Submit copyright permission requests at Email Alerts up at http://www.jimmunol.org/subscriptions/etoc.shtml Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign


Drawing upon perceived justice and trust literature, this study developed a research model to examine two types of platform assurances, specifically policy assurance and technology assurance, on users' continuance intention towards "Xianghubao", which is recognized as one of the largest online healthcare mutual aid platform supported by blockchain technology. A free simulation experiment was conducted and structural equation modelling technique was used to test the research model. The empirical results suggested that two assurance mechanisms exhibited significant influences on perceived procedural justice and trust, which further promoted continuance intention to different degrees. This study contributes to the extant literature by identifying blockchain technology as a salient technology assurance in the context of online healthcare platform, and uncovering its influence mechanism on continuance intention from a lens of justice and trust.


Dr Delbanco: The patient is a 39-year-old single man who is unemployed, in large part because of chronic problems arising from alcoholism. He came to the primary care practice at Beth Israel Hospital in 1991 seeking care for newly diagnosed neurosyphilis and has been cared for by Dr U since then. He has recently acquired stable health insurance by applying for and receiving Supplemental Security Income. His doctors supported his application, feeling he was disabled by his use of alcohol. The patient grew up in Boston, Mass, in a family with a strong history of alcoholism and emotional abuse. His father left home when the patient was 2 years old. His mother drank heavily, and two of his brothers have problems with alcohol. In his early teens, the patient experimented with multiple drugs, including cocaine, speed, LSD, and "uppers and downers" of various sorts. He took heroin intravenously on rare


Gowan treats the prophetic books individually in chronological order, grouped around the appropriate key historical moment. As a result, part of Isaiah appears in each of the three sections. Each book's unique character and consistent message emerge from his descriptions along with an explanation of how it contributes to the understand ing of the death and resurrection of Israel. T h e minor prophets receive a disproportionately larger share of attention and illuminating discussion.


Abstract Paul Celan is a central figure in the work of José F.A. Oliver, a multilingual poet who emerged from the context of the so-called migration literature. This article shows the extent to which Celan stands for Oliver's development into a self-reflexive poet who examines the possibilities of contemporary poetry and memory within the poem itself. For Oliver, the poem results from a process of condensation, a reflective and inward movement. At the same time, however, his "extensive" poetry integrates various places and languages. Celan's role within this field of tension—in fernlautmetz (2000) and fahrtenschreiber (2010), for instance—exceeds that of an intertextual reference. This idiosyncratic reception goes far beyond quotation and points back to an openness inherent in Celan's work itself. The extent to which historical experience and memory are transferable in the poem is an issue that Oliver also tackles on a meta-lyrical level. 1


To evaluate whether combinations of liver lobe and spleen volumes obtained on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could predict esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EVB) in hepatitis B-related cirrhotic patients. Ninety-six consecutive patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis underwent upper abdominal contrast-enhanced MRI within 1 week after initial hospitalization, and grouped based on outcomes of EVB during the 2 years' follow-up after being discharged. Total liver volume (TLV), spleen volume (SV) and 4 liver lobe volumes including right lobe volume (RV), left medial lobe volume (LMV), left lateral lobe volume (LLV), and caudate lobe volume (CV) were measured on MRI. Percentages of individual liver lobe volumes in TLV (including RV/TLV, LMV/TLV, LLV/TLV, and CV/TLV), ratios of SV to individual liver lobe volumes (including SV/RV, SV/LMV, SV/LLV, and SV/CV), and SV/TLV were statistically analyzed to predict EVB. Patients with EVB had lower RV than without EVB (P value = .001), whereas no differences in LMV, LLV, CV, and TLV were found (P values >.05 for all). Among percentages of individual liver lobe volumes in TLV, RV/TLV was lower whereas LMV/TLV and LLV/TLV were greater in patients with EVB than without EVB (P values <.05 for all). SV, ratios of SV to individual liver lobe volumes, and SV/TLV in patients with EVB were larger than without EVB (P values <.05 for all). Among parameters with difference between patients with and without EVB, SV/RV could best predict EVB with an area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.84. SV/RV could best predict EVB in hepatitis B-related cirrhotic patients.


The invention, without maintaining a communication connection by a proximity wireless communication, and the data to be sent to choose a data acquisition device. In this way, the central processor of a digital camera, when the digital camera is connected to the communication by the external device and the proximity wireless communication, and acquires the index information indicating a list of data stored in the external device from the external device. Then, the central processor, cut the communication connection to the external unit and will be accepted through the operation section to specify the data to be transferred on the basis of the index information. In addition, the image processing unit of a digital camera, after the designation of data to be transferred when the camera is again a communication connection by the external device and the proximity wireless communication, and acquires the specified data from the external device.


The present paper deals with the research of laser radiation polarized structure, transformed by biotissue crystalline phase. It is urgent in creating optical methods of diagnostics of biotissue orientation and mineralized structure, and in modeling biocomposite materials as well.


The south-central Andes in NW Argentina are characterized by a strong rainfall asymmetry. In the east-west direction exists one of the steepest rainfall gradients on Earth, resulting from the large topographic differences in this region. In addition, in the north-south direction the rainfall intensity varies as the climatic regime shifts from the tropical central Andes to the subtropical south-central Andes. This study focuses on the investigation of the hydroclimatic extreme events over the south-central Andes. In this study, we use TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) data, GPS data, meteorological reanalysis, such as ERA-Interim reanalysis of the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) and the high resolution regional climate model (COSMO-CLM) data (http://www.clmcommunity.eu/) to obtain a detailed view of the atmospheric processes related to hydro-meteorological extreme events over the south-central Andes. Here, we divide the erea in three different study regions based on elevation: The high-elevation Altiplano-Puna plateau, an intermediate area characterized by intramontane basins, and the foreland area to analyze the correlations between climatic variables and extreme rainfall events in all three domains.


Scrub typhus is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by the organism Orientia tsutsugamushi. However, to date, there have been no clearly identified determinants or reports published on the clinical severity of scrub typhus in liver cirrhosis (LC) patients. This study was carried out by retrospectively reviewing medical records accumulated over 7 years at a tertiary hospital. Sixteen patients of 160 had underlying LC, and they were defined as 'cases'; those without underlying LC were defined as 'controls'. The duration of hospital stay (23.0 +/- 24.8 days for cases and 6.8 +/- 7.0 days for controls, p 0.020) and APACHE II scores (14.1 +/- 6.0 for cases and 7.2 +/- 4.6 for controls, p <0.001) were, respectively, significantly longer and significantly higher on admission in the cases than in the controls. Surprisingly, hospital mortality was significantly higher in the cases than in the controls (31.3% and 3.5%, respectively, p 0.001). Among the LC group, the highest Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score during hospitalization (MELD-Peak) (p 0.024) and the lowest blood sodium concentration during hospitalization (MELD-Na-Lo) (p 0.003) were higher in fatal cases than in the survivors (MELD-Na-to). Physicians should be aware of an adverse relationship between LC and scrub typhus, and patients with LC should be advised to avoid exposure to O. tsutsugamushi, particularly in endemic areas and epidemic seasons.


The transfer of information, both factual and interpretive, to patients and their families is a responsibility of dermatologic practice. "Doctor, is my child's psoriasis contagious?" and "Is it true my acne won't clear up until I get married?" are basic questions that demand answers. Often, one reply leads to several more questions. For many practitioners, the lack of time and the pressure of more immediate problems do not permit the luxury of leisurely discussion. A small, unpretentious book, written simply by an expert, seems like the solution; that is, one that can be taken home until the next office visit or purchased at low cost from a neighborhood book store. Perhaps this is why many physicians have written these "little books" to service their needs. The latest of these books, by Dr Zacarian, is barely 150 pages in length and sells for less than $9. The chapters are short and


[1] Summertime phytoplankton blooms in the oligotrophic North Pacific Ocean are supported by N2-fixing organisms that relieve the system of nitrate limitation. Phosphate and iron, however, limit their growth and need to be supplied for these organisms to thrive. We analyze two recent blooms in the region whose differences provide insight into their possible formation mechanisms. In 2008, a typical late summer bloom, with sporadic patches of higher-chlorophyll concentration, occurred near the island chain and the subtropical front. In 2010, an unusually large, contiguous bloom was observed in the western oligotrophic North Pacific, a region where blooms seldom, if ever, occur. Streaks of high chlorophyll in 2008 coincide with surface temperature fronts and regions of large horizontal stretching, as detected by Lagrangian diagnostics. Such regions are prone to the generation of vertical velocities via frontogenesis. Horizontal transport from upwelling regions or iron-rich island sediments is also important for the redistribution of nutrients. In the case of the 2010 bloom, we use a global aerosol transport model as well as space-borne lidar observations to argue that atmospheric dust deposition events prior to the bloom provided the necessary nutrient conditions for the growth of N2-fixing organisms. As sea surface temperature increased in the region, chlorophyll values increased significantly, showing that this bloom was likely a consequence of prior enrichment and that temperature is a key factor in bloom development in this important biome.


AIMS
Electrical remodelling is believed to influence the outcome following cardioversion of patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the results in clinical studies are conflicting. We assessed the hypothesis that non-invasively obtained atrial fibrillatory organization can be used as a predictor of sinus rhythm (SR) maintenance.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Fifty-four patients (37 men, age 67+/-11) with persistent AF (median duration 3 months, 1 day to 18 months), without anti-arrhythmic drug treatment, referred for cardioversion were studied. Assessment of the atrial harmonic decay was made by time-frequency analysis of the ECG. At 1-month follow-up, 30 patients had relapsed into AF. The mean harmonic decay at inclusion of those relapsing into AF was 1.5+/-0.3 compared with 1.1+/-0.3 among those maintaining SR (P=0.0004). Using a cut-off value of harmonic decay <or=1.5 to determine suitability for cardioversion would have resulted in a clinically useful discriminator (sensitivity=92%, specificity=47%, PPV=59%, and NPV=88%).

CONCLUSION
This study shows that patients relapsing rapidly to AF have a higher harmonic decay than those maintaining SR. The degree of AF signal organization (harmonic decay) was a superior discriminator to other patient parameters. Further studies are needed to confirm these results and to determine the electrophysiological correlate of harmonic decay.


Background: Herbal supplements are commonly used, however, their side-effect profiles are poorly understood and not subject to the same scrutiny as prescribed medications. Some herbal supplements such as St Johns' Wort are accepted to interfere with clotting pathways, however others, including Red Clover have theoretical bleeding risks based on coumarin content with very little underlying evidence. Case Description: This case reports a 65-year-old woman who suffered a spontaneous acute-on-chronic subdural hemorrhage with a significant postoperative re-hemorrhage. She had no other risk factors for coagulopathy other than a history of taking Red Clover supplements for postmenopausal symptoms. Her normal INR combined with an intraoperative thromboelastogram confirmed a coagulopathy which was more consistent with anti-platelet effects than coumarin toxicity. After tranexamic acid and platelet transfusions she had no further bleeding and made an uneventful recovery. Conclusion: This case highlights another risk factor for intracranial hemorrhage and the importance of a thorough drug history. The mechanism of Red Clover induced coagulopathy appears to be mediated through anti-platelet actions, which is consistent with in-vitro evidence reporting its role in preventing platelet adhesion.


This study was designed to construct and identify the subtracted cDNA library in peripheral blood cells of BALB/c mice and tracheal–bronchial epithelial cells of Wistar rats following exposure to radon inhalation. Two groups of the animals were exposed in a radon chamber at an accumulative dose of 100 WLM, while control animals were housed in a room at a background dose of 1 WLM. To construct a subtracted cDNA library enriched with differentially expressed genes, the SMART technique and suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) assay were performed. The obtained forward and reverse cDNA fragments were directly inserted into a pMD-18 vector and transformed into Escherichia coli JM109. In total, 593 white bacterial clones were selected from both forward- and reverse-subtracted libraries. Among them, 81 clones were chosen for their differential expressions based on reverse Northern blot. Portions of these cDNA clones were also verified by a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The screening resulted in 14 upregulative and 8 downregulative known function/annotation genes, which were revealed to be functionally related to cell proliferation, cell oxidative and DNA damage, apoptosis, and tumor promotion. Access numbers were obtained from the GenBank for 11 unknown expressed sequence tags (EST). Analysis of biological roles of these cDNA fragments may provide further insight into mechanisms underlying adverse molecular events induced by high-dose radon exposure.


This article proposes a mathematical model and a branch‐and‐price algorithm for the multivehicle covering tour problem. This problem consists in finding a set of routes on a weighted graph such that a set of nodes that cannot be visited is covered. A node is covered if it lies within a predefined distance of a visited node. The subproblem encountered during the column generation is a variant of the profitable tour problem. It is reduced to a ring star problem and a branch‐and‐cut algorithm is developed. Computational results are reported on randomly generated instances. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, Vol. 64(3), 160–168 2014


Summary Induction of intestinal tumors by intragastric administration of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) was studied in rats fed a semisynthetic diet containing either high, adequate, or low levels of vitamin A. Sixty to 100% of the treated rats had intestinal carcinoma 6 months after administration of the first dose of DMH. Total doses in amounts ranging from 195 to 420 mg/kg did not affect tumor incidence; however, rats given the largest total dose in the largest individual doses (30 mg/kg) developed more tumors in the colon than in other sites. Tumors were polypoid or intramural adenocarcinomas, of which a variable number produced mucus. In many cases they caused passage of bloody stools, intestinal obstruction, and/or intussusception. Tumor incidence and morphology were in all ways comparable to those reported in studies in which DMH was administered s.c. A high level of vitamin A in the diet (sufficient to raise the vitamin content in the serum and liver and reduce growth) did not change the incidence of colon tumors but decreased the number of tumors per rat at the highest DMH dose. Chronic dietary deficiency of vitamin A increased the incidence of tumors slightly and may have reduced induction time.


This article is dedicated to the problem of the reception of the literary text, its laws and mechanisms. The main questions are: the analysis of the readers aesthetic reaction, text strategies that direct the reading act, the influence of the social and cultural factors on the literary text. The main postulates of the article are shown on the analysis of the Borges's short story Pierre Menard Auther of the Quixote. The main mistake of the reception theories is that investigating the context, the ideology, the form and the content, they forget about the reception experience, the event of the text as it is. The article is based on the monumental works of the Constance reception school, which is led by W. Iser, H. Jauss.


Triplicate preserved fecal samples from 265 patients were pooled into single samples, and the recovery rate of intestinal parasites from the pooled samples was compared with that from the individual samples. Parasites were detected in 109 patients when results from the individual samples were used compared with 108 patients when results from the pooled specimens were used. Pooling preserved fecal samples is an efficient and economical procedure for the detection of ova and parasites.


It has been seen that Social network analysis is gaining its applicability in several areas like business, marketing, biology, disease modeling, and anti-terrorism. In this paper, we have discussed its practical application in the domain of computer network to identify distribution of computer viruses flowing through the network. To the best of our knowledge this is a novel idea and is based on the gSpan (Graph based substructure Pattern Mining) algorithm for identifying frequent pattern of viruses flowing in a particular region of connected nodes. This crusades make analysist enabled to deal with the problems and deploy more efficient antivirus in that region of nodes.


The petroleum ether extract of the leaves of Butea monosperma was investigated for its antinociceptive and antiinflammatory activity in respective animal models. In the present study leaves were extracted successively to obtain extract. The phytochemical analysis of extract contains alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids and glycosides. This extract was screened at a dose 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg orally for its antinociceptive activity using writhing, tail immersion and hot plate test while for anti-inflammatory activity, carrageenan, serotonin and histamine induced rat paw edema model used. Oral administration of 200 and 400 mg/kg of extract exhibited significant (p<0.001) antinociceptive activity in writhing, tail immersion and hot plate test. In rat paw edema model by carrageenan, serotonin and histamine, the extract was found to be reduce significantly (p<0.001) the formation of edema at a dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 h. Butea monosperma possesses evident antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities. The results signify the traditional uses of butea monosperma for inflammation and pain.


This article discusses the presence of Dalmatia in the epistolarium of the prolific fifteenth-century humanist Francesco Filelfo. Addressed to the most prominent humanists, prelates and rulers of his age, the more than two thousand Greek and Latin epistles, written between 1427 and 1477, are an important source for early modern history. The first part examines the way in which Filelfo presents his historical and geographical knowledge of Dalmatia, a region that faced both the interference of the Venetian Republic and the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. The second part focuses on Filelfo's personal relations with people originating from or living in Dalmatia, both in the Republic of Dubrovnik and in the cities under Venetian rule: Filelfo's own son Senofonte, who spent the last decade of his life in Dubrovnik (Ragusa), where he married Jakobina Turčinović; archdeacon Mato Vidov Gozze (Mato Gučetić); and finally Girolamo Genesio, one of the teachers of Marko Marulić.1


The post-graduate study of gross anatomy, normal and pathologic, is for the practitioner a subject of great importance. There is a strong necessity for a continued review of these fundamental subjects, in order that clinical procedure may rest on a scientific basis. A mere book review, however, on which the great majority of practitioners are obliged to depend, is very inadequate. How then shall the practitioner review his knowledge of practical anatomy? The ideal method is, doubtless, for the practitioner to attend from time to time the post-graduate courses in normal and pathologic anatomy offered in the leading medical schools. Here he will find an abundance of material, wellequipped laboratories and valuable assistance from the instructors. Only a small percentage of the practitioners, however, are fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of these facilities. For numerous reasons such courses are inaccessible to the great majority. It is the


Testing is the most commonly used approach to the assurance of software quality and reliability. The testing of object-oriented software is much more complex than that of conventional programs. Although we proposed previously a method called TACCLE for testing object-oriented software at the class and cluster levels, it did not cover concurrent or non-deterministic situations. This paper puts forward a strategy for selecting synchronization sequences to test concurrent object-oriented software, including non-deterministic cases. It is based on OBJSA net/CLOWN specifications. Experiments have been carried out in a case study to verify the efficacy of the strategy.


A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-flagellated, non-gliding, catalase-positive, long-rod-shaped bacterium designated strain CSW06T, was isolated from surface seawater of the Bohai Sea. Optimal growth occurred in the presence of 4 % (w/v) NaCl, at pH 7 and at 28 °C. The predominant fatty acids (>10 % of total fatty acids) were iso-C15 : 1G, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH and summed feature 3 (iso-C15 : 0 2-OH and/or C16 : 1ω7c). The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified phospholipids and one unidentified aminolipid. The DNA G+C content of CSW06T was 50.3 mol%. The predominant isoprenoid quinone detected was menaquinone with six isoprene units (MK-6). On the basis of the results of polyphasic analyses, CSW06T was considered to represent a novel species of the genus Muricauda in the family Flavobacteriaceae, for which the name Muricauda lutea sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CSW06T (=CGMCC 1.15761T=JCM 31455T=KCTC 52375T=MCCC 1K03195T).


Several analysis of Coordination of Unlikes have been proposed within the HPSG framework. In some of these approaches the possible combinations of 'unlike categories' are encoded in the grammar, while other accounts resort to an independently motivated ellipsis analysis. In this paper we provide further arguments in favor of the latter. However, some problematic cases of Coordination of Unlikes in certain S-adjoining constructions are left unaccounted for. We propose a general analysis of these S-adjoining constructions, and in doing so, the problematic coordination cases are predicted without the need for further assumptions.


In this article, we analyze renal failure data from patients with mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) which was modeled by [1] non-parametrically using the Kaplan-Meier curve. In their work, they showed that the clinical variables, large increase serum creatinine (LISC) and systolic blood pressure >160 mmHg (SBP>160), and morphological variables, benign nephrosclerosis present (BNP) and interstitial score group 5-6 (IS5-6) were part of the variables which indicated progression to end-stage renal failure (ESRF). Though survival curves associated with these variables may be difficult to model by existing parametric distributions in literature. Therefore, we introduce a four-parameter Odd Weibull extension, the exponentiated Odd Weibull (EOW) distribution which is very versatile in modeling lifetime data that its hazard function exhibits ten different hazard shapes as well as various density shapes. Basic properties of the EOW distribution are presented. In the presence of random censoring, a small simulation study is conducted to assess the coverage probabilities of the estimated parameters of the EOW distribution using the maximum likelihood method. Our results show that the EOW distribution is very convenient and reliable to analyze the MPGN data since it provides an excellent fit for the variables LISC, SBP>160, BNP, and IS5-6. Furthermore, advantages of using the EOW distribution over the Kaplan-Meier curve are discussed. Comparisons of the EOW distribution with other Weibull-related distributions are also presented.


This study aimed to identify the impact of a digital educational story based on sports on developing alphabetical learning skills among Jordanian pre-school kids in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study sample consisted of (29) pre-school kids from the leaders' international schools, "The International Curriculum," which is affiliated to Al-Qweismeh District's Directorate in Amman. The study used an Experimental approach; the study sample chosen by intention randomly was divided into two groups: experimental group (14) kids: (7) girls and (7) boys, and control group (15) kids: (7) are boys, and (8) are girls. To achieve the study's goal, the researchers built a guide for the teacher to implement the experiment; they also built a pre-and post-test consisting of (16) items and provided the Arabic language teacher with digital educational stories based on sport learning the alphabet. The stories include the alphabet lessons: (letter al-ba, letter al-da, letter al-ha, letter al-ain), from the "curriculum in the Arabic language" for the academic year 2020/2021. The results of the study showed that there were statistically significant differences in favor of students of the experimental group, which studied the digital educational story in each Alphabet learning skills: Pronunciation, Abstraction, and writing, in the combined skills, and the absence of statistically significant differences attributed to gender, interaction in testing the skills of learning the alphabet together, and in each of the skills of learning the alphabets: (pronunciation, abstraction, writing). In light of the findings mentioned above, the researchers proposed a set of recommendations that include Arabic language curricula guides in digital educational programs based on sports to be used in learning and teaching processes in teaching Arabic.


In a grid connected power conversion system, the phase angle information of a grid voltage is very essential for supplying power to the grid since it is used for active and reactive power control. A Phase Locked Loop (PLL) system is used and should be robust because often the actual grid voltages are usually distorted by unexpected harmonics. However, conventional PLL systems have steady state errors when distorted voltages are used as a PLL input. Furthermore, using this distorted phase angle in the power control could reduce the output power quality. In this paper, the grid voltages are separated into fundamental and harmonic components and a virtual phase voltage is generated from the fundamental component using a Full Order Observer (FOO). Two virtual voltages are used as an input for the PLL system so the phase angle errors can be reduced and the output power quality can be improved. The dynamic characteristics of the PLL system are designed using the modeling method to improve the dynamic response and stability of the whole system. The performance of the proposed method has been verified by a comparative analysis to the conventional PLL system. It is concluded the proposed method works well.


Currently, most APL systems are line and workspace oriented. It will be shown how a modern APL could fit into a window-based, event driven environment. To achieve this goal, a future user interface in an experimental environment is sketched by presenting its language environment, the editor and the debugging facility.


Abstract Heat transfer performance for high Prandtl number and high temperature molten salt flow in a circular pipe and in sphere-packed pipes are evaluated with modified Tohoku-NIFS Thermofluid Loop (TNT loop) using high-temperature molten salt HTS (KNO3 : NaNO2 : NaNO3 = 53 : 40 : 7), as a stimulant of Flibe (LiF : BeF2 = 66 : 34). The modified TNT loop has much longer entrance region to develop a thermal boundary layer, which enable us to obtain more precise heat transfer data. In the modified TNT loop experiments, the heat transfer characteristics in a circular pipe flow have good agreements with the representative correlations. It is obvious that the analogy for heat and momentum transfer is also valid for high-temperature and high-Prandtl-number molten salt flow. It is also confirmed that the heat transfer performance of sphere-packed pipes increases up to about 4 times higher than that of circular pipe, in case of relatively low flow rate. This can be effective in the Flibe blanket system from the viewpoints of moderating MHD effect and electrolysis.


This chapter provides an overview of research on language and sexual stigma. Sexual stigma is defined as the sociolinguistic and psychological process by which a person or group's physiological characteristics, cultural and linguistic practices, and/or identities become marked as polluted or taboo. The chapter suggests that sexual stigma tends to target those people or groups associated with practices felt to threaten ideologically normative social reproduction, which is encoded in conventions of linguistic markedness. Sexual stigma is linked to the fluid boundaries between grammatically encoded markedness and discursive indexicality as normative categories emerge in interpersonal encounters. The chapter addresses four key topics in the study of language and sexual stigma: sociolinguistic markedness; taboo and threats to ideologies of social reproduction; avoidance and indirection as strategies of linguistic containment of threats; and emergent sexualities.


Stroke remains a disease with a serious impact on quality of life but few effective treatments exist. There is an urgent need to develop and/or improve neuroprotective strategies to combat this. Many drugs proven to be neuroprotective in experimental models fail to improve patient outcome in a clinical setting. An emerging treatment, therapeutic hypothermia (TH), is a promising neuroprotective therapy in stroke management. Several studies with TH in experimental models and small clinical trials have shown beneficial effects. Despite this, implementation into the clinical setting is still lacking due to methodological considerations as well as hypothermia-related complications. This paper discusses the possible opportunities and limitations of the use of TH in animal models and the translation into the clinic.


A Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) is a development of computer networks it is an infrastructure less (wireless) network. In wireless network it changes the network topology randomly and communication can be done by anyplace, anywhere and anytime. In this research to analysis of QoS parameter for reactive routing protocols for different Routing protocols used in mobile ad hoc networks. The reactive routing protocols are Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) Protocol and Ad-hoc On Demand Vector (AODV) protocol. To analysis different parameters such as Packet Delivery Fraction, Average end to end delay, Routing overhead and Normalized Routing[2] are used for anglicizing these parameters. The analysis is done Network Simulator 2 and graphs are generated for performance of these parameters. The performance report is DSR is better when compared to AODV when nodes are minimum. Suppose nodes are high AODV perform better.


Background and Purpose— Policy makers require evidence on the costs and outcomes of different ways of organizing stroke care. This study compared the costs and survival of different ways of providing stroke care. Methods— Hospitalized stroke patients from 13 European centers were included, with demographic, case-mix, and resource use variables measured for each patient. Unit costs were collected and converted into US dollars using the purchasing power parity (PPP) index. Cox and linear regression analyses were used to compare survival and costs between the centers adjusting for case mix. Results— A total of 1847 patients were included in the study. After case-mix adjustment, the mean predicted costs ranged from $466 [95% CI 181 to 751] in Riga (Latvia) to $8512 [7696 to 9328] in Copenhagen (Denmark), which reflected differences in unit costs, and resource use. The mean length of hospitalization ranged from 8.3 days in Menorca (Spain) to 36.8 days in Turku B (Finland). In the 3 Finnish centers at least 80% of patients were admitted to wards providing organized stroke care, which was not provided at the centers in Almada (Portugal), Menorca, or Riga. Patients in Turku A and Turku B were less likely to die than those in Riga, Warsaw (Poland), or Menorca. The adjusted hazard ratios were 0.18 [0.10 to 0.32] for Turku A, 0.18 [0.10 to 0.32] for Turku B, 0.68 [0.48 to 0.96] for Warsaw, and 0.56 [0.33 to 0.96] for Menorca, all compared with Riga. Conclusions— The cost of stroke care varies across Europe because of differences in unit costs, and resource use. Further research is needed to assess which ways of organizing stroke care are the most cost-effective.


llIn previous papers the arithmetic of hierarchical matrices has been described, which allows us to compute the inverse, for instance, of finite element stiffness matrices discretising an elliptic operator L. The required computing time is up to logarithmic factors linear in the dimension of the matrix. In particular, this technique can be used for the computation of the discrete analogue of a resolvent (zI - L) -1 , z ∈ C. In the present paper, we consider various operator functions, the operator exponential e -tL , negative fractional powers L -α , the cosine operator function cos(t√L) L-k and, finally, the solution operator of the Lyapunov equation. Using the Dunford-Cauchy representation, we get integrals which can be discretised by a quadrature formula which involves the resolvents (z k I - L) -1 mentioned above. We give error estimates which are partly exponentially, partly polynomially decreasing.


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a phospholipid normally residing in the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane and becomes exposed on tumor vascular endothelial cells and tumor cells in response to chemotherapy, irradiation and oxidative stresses in the tumor microenvironment. Binding of antibodies targeting PS on the tumor endothelial cells and tumors induces the recruitment of immune cells and engages the immune system to destroy tumor vasculature. The antibodies also enhance anti-tumor immunity by blocking the immunosuppressive action of PS. A chimeric PS-targeting antibody, bavituximab, is being used in combination with chemotherapy to treat patients with solid tumors in Phase II trials. Fully human antibody PGN635 binds PS through the interaction of beta-2-glycoprotein 1 (β2GP1) in the same manner as bavituximab. Using human PC-3 prostate tumor xenografts in SCID mice, we demonstrate that targeting of PS in tumors by PGN635 is enhanced by chemotherapy. Combination of PGN635 with docetaxel inhibited tumor growth compared to the control IgG plus docetaxel group (p<0.05). Near-infrared optical imaging of PS in tumors with PGN650, an F(ab')2 antibody fragment of PGN635, showed tumor growth inhibition in mice treated with docetaxel correlates with PS expression levels in the tumors. Maximal uptake of the PS imaging was observed when chemotherapy was given 24 hours before the imaging probe.

Citation Format: Jian Gong, Richard Archer, Van Nguyen, Christopher C.W. Hughes, Jeff Hutchins, Bruce Freimark. Predicting anti-tumor responses to phosphatidylserine targeting antibodies using tumor imaging. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2850. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2850


The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we propose a new method for enhancing the contrast of gray-value images. We use the difference of the average local contrast measures between the original and the enhanced images within a variational framework. This enables the user to control the contrast level and the scale of the enhanced details intuitively. Moreover, our model avoids large modifications of the original image histogram. Thereby it preserves the global illumination of the scene and can cope with large areas having similar gray values. The minimizer of the proposed functional is computed by a gradient descent algorithm in connection with a polynomial approximation of the average local contrast measure. The polynomial approximation is done via Bernstein polynomials and leads to to a speed up of the algorithm by applying fast Fourier transforms. In the second part, the approach is extended to a variational enhancement method for color images. The model approximately preserves the hue of the original image and includes additionally a total variation term to correct possible noise. The method requires no post-or pre-processing. The minimization problem is solved with a hybrid primal-dual algorithm. Numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency and the flexibility of the proposed approaches in comparison with state-of-the-art methods.


The study aims to investigate the impact of Customers Relationships Management on the organizational performance from the perspective of Jordanian commercial banks managers. In order to achieve the objectives of the study the researcher designed a questionnaire to gather the primary data from the study sample. The population of this study consists of Jordanian commercial banks (13 banks). The research sample consists of all managers and head of departments in Jordanian commercial banks. Out of 150 questionnaires retrieved, only 138 were valid for further analysis, 12 were excluding due to large percentage of missing data. The results revealed that there was a significant impact for Customer Relationships Management (key customers focus, Customers relationships management organization, Customers Knowledge management, and technology-based customers' relationships management) application on organizational performance measured by balanced scorecard (financial dimension, customers dimension, internal processes dimension, and learning and growth dimension) in commercial banks working at banking sector in Jordan. The results also indicated that the key customers famous and customers' relationships management organization have the highest impact on organizational performance measured by balanced scorecard, but no impact were noticed for customers knowledge management and technology-based customers relationships management. Based on the research results, the study arrived to set of practical recommendations among the foremost are: The Jordanian commercial banks should be given more attention to technology-based customers' relationships to boost customers' satisfaction. Commercial banks also should activate customers' knowledge management to improve customers' satisfaction and their competitive positions. Finally, commercial banks should raise the awareness of their customers to use electronic interaction tools that are fundamental to technology-based customers' relationships management in order to know their developed needs and retain them.


Legume species belonging to the genus Lupinus are annual herb plants. The majority of them are indigenous to the Americas. They are known for nitrogen-fixing symbioses with soil bacteria collectively called rhizobia. The aim of this study was to characterize a rhizobium strain isolated from Lupinus albescens using phenotypic, symbiotic and molecular approaches. Strain UFSM LA 1.3 was tested in vitro according to several parameters: colony size, color and growing rate; acid or alkaline reaction in yeast mannitol media supplemented with bromothymol blue; gum production. Molecular characterization was evaluated by PCR technique using primers BOX A1-R and sequence analysis of the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic region (ITS). ITS sequencing fragments showed genetic similarity with Bradyrhizobium sp. The polymorphism observed by BOX-PCR have shown that strain differs from the reference strain SEMIA 928 and SEMIA 938. The symbiotic efficiency under axenic conditions of UFSM LA 1.3 was 94.6%, without statistical differences compared to the mineral nitrogen fertilized control, to which was applied solution of 400 mg of ammonium nitrate.


Aim: Monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) has recently emerged as a predictor of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. Since around one-fifth of strokes are linked to atherosclerosis carotid artery, we aimed to present the relationship between carotid artery disease (CAD) and MHR value in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Materials & methods: A total of 209 adult AIS patients analyzed. Patients divided into two groups in respect to the existence of CAD. MHR was compared between the two groups. Results: MHR with a cut off of 17.23 predicted the presence of disease in the carotid artery, with a sensitivity of 91.9% and specificity of 66.7. MHR was the independent predictor for the presence of disease in the carotid artery. Conclusion: MHR was found to be an independent predictor for the CAD in AIS. Therefore, in AIS patients with high MHR value, CAD should be examined more carefully.


Economic geology evaluation of lunar He-3 should answer the question: Can lunar He-3 be sold on Earth with sufficient profit margins and low enough risk to attract capital investment in the enterprise. Concepts that relate to economic geology of recovering He-3 from the lunar maria are not new to human experience. A parametric cost and technology evaluation scheme, based on existing and future data, is required to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the comprehensive economic feasibility and return on investment of He-3 recovery from the lunar maria. There are also many political issues which must be considered as a result of nuclear fusion and lunar mining.


Effective wildlife management and conservation depends on a detailed understanding of population dynamics at large spatial scales. Distance sampling is an efficient tool for landscape‐scale monitoring, and the recent development of the open‐population distance sampling framework for analysis allows efficient estimation of population parameters for unmarked populations. Applications of open‐population distance approaches are relatively rare, and further development is required to generalize this powerful class of models for use in complex sampling scenarios. Here, we extend this class of models to situations where individuals occur in groups and address: the incorporation of group composition information, fluctuations in aggregation among individuals into groups, and non‐repeated survey designs. We also describe a new parameter, κ, representing the change in the rate of aggregation of individuals into groups over time. Using simulations, we assess the performance of this extended framework, and demonstrate its utility through an applied example using a Dall's sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) dataset collected in Alaska from 2009 to 2016. Our simulation study demonstrated that our extended model reliably recovered the data‐generating parameter values without bias. In the applied example, we found that an abrupt decline in abundance observed in the Dall's sheep population was driven primarily by reductions in lambs and ewe‐like sheep that coincided with the late onset of spring conditions in 2013. Rams were much less affected, suggesting declines in the ewe‐like class drove overall population trajectory in this population. This work demonstrates how ecological questions related to the dynamics of group‐dwelling species may be assessed in complex sampling situations using an open‐population distance sampling framework. The resulting framework is broadly applicable to a variety of species and will be especially useful for evaluating population dynamics in unmarked populations of group‐dwelling species at large spatial scales.


System simulation has become a tool that is of much help to the radar engineer in solving various problems of modern carrier-borne electronic scanning radar (CESR). This paper introduces the principles and design of a simulation system for CESR. The paper presents also the implementation of CESR simulation using a microcomputer. The system models the antenna beam position, multiple targets that have different RCS and trajectory, clutter interference, jamming and detection performance.


A novel metabolite, alpha-phenyl-gamma-butyrolactone, isolated from the urine of a glutethimide overdose victim, was synthesized and tested for biological activity in mice. Interperitoneal injections of this lactone caused severe toxicity at moderate dose levels. These results point to another metabolite of glutethimide contributing toxicity to patients severely intoxicated by the parent drug. An improved synthesis as well as complete spectral data of this lactone are also presented.