Abacavir (ABC)-induced hypersensitivity (AHS) is strongly associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B*57 : 01 expression. Previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of applying the HLA-transgenic mouse model in this context. ABC-induced adverse reactions were observed in HLA-B*57 : 01 transgenic (B*57 : 01-Tg) mice. Moreover, regulating immune tolerance could result in severe AHS that mimics symptoms observed in the clinical setting, which were modeled in CD4+ T cell-depleted programmed death-1 receptor (PD-1) knockout B*57 : 01-Tg (B*57 : 01-Tg/PD-1-/-) mice. Here, we aimed to examine whether thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC)/CCL17 level can be used as a biomarker for AHS. Serum TARC levels increased in HLA-B*57 : 01-transgenic mice following oral administration of ABC; this increase was associated with the severity of skin toxicity. In ABC-fed CD4+ T cell-depleted B*57 : 01-Tg/PD-1-/- mice, TARC was detected in the epidermal keratinocytes of the ear. Skin toxicity was characterized by the infiltration of CD8+ T cells partially expressing C-C chemokine receptor type 4, which is the primary receptor for TARC. In vivo TARC neutralization effectively alleviated the symptoms of ear skin redness and blood vessel dilatation. Moreover, TARC neutralization suppressed the infiltration of CD8+ T cells to the ear skin but did not affect the ABC-induced adaptive immune response. Therefore, TARC was involved in ABC-induced skin toxicity and contributed to the recruitment of CD8+ T cells to skin. This evidence suggests that serum TARC level may be a functional biomarker for AHS.


Sarcopenia is an age‐related disease and is often accompanied by other diseases. Now, many studies have shown that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) may raise the incidence rate of sarcopenia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta‐analysis to investigate the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients with CVDs compared with the general population, defined as relatively healthy non‐hospitalized subjects. The databases of PubMed, Embase, Medline and Web of Science were searched for eligible studies published up to 12 November 2022. Two assessment tools were used to evaluate study quality and the risk of bias. Statistical analysis was conducted using STATA 14.0 and R Version 4.1.2. Thirty‐eight out of the 89 629 articles retrieved were included in our review. The prevalence of sarcopenia ranged from 10.1% to 68.9% in patients with CVDs, and the pooled prevalence was 35% (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 28–42%). The pooled prevalence of sarcopenia was 32% (95% CI: 23–41%) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), 61% (95% CI: 49–72%) in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), 43% (95% CI: 2–85%) in patients with coronary artery disease, 30% (95% CI: 25–35%) in patients with cardiac arrhythmia (CA), 35% (95% CI: 10–59%) in patients with congenital heart disease and 12% (95% CI: 7–17%) in patients with unclassed CVDs. However, in the general population, the prevalence of sarcopenia varied from 2.9% to 28.6% and the pooled prevalence was 13% (95% CI: 9–17%), suggesting that the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients with CVDs was about twice compared with the general population. The prevalence of sarcopenia was significantly higher only in patients with ADHF, CHF and CA compared with the general population. There is a positive correlation between CVDs and sarcopenia. The prevalence of sarcopenia is higher in patients with CVDs than that in the general population. With global aging, sarcopenia has brought a heavy burden to individuals and society. Therefore, it is important to identify the populations with high‐risk or probable sarcopenia in order to do an early intervention, such as exercise, to counteract or slow down the progress of sarcopenia.


The high configurability and low cost of Reflective Intelligent Surfaces (RISs) made them a promising solution for enhancing the capabilities of Beyond Fifth-Generation (B5G) networks. Recent works proposed to mount RISs on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), combining the high network configurability provided by RIS with the mobility brought by UAVs. However, the RIS represents an additional weight that impacts the battery lifetime of the UAV. Furthermore, the practicality of the resulting link in terms of communication channel quality and security have not been assessed in detail. In this paper, we highlight all the essential features that need to be considered for the practical deployment of RIS-enabled UAVs. We are the first to show how the RIS size and its power consumption impact the UAV flight time. We then assess how the RIS size, carrier frequency, and UAV flying altitude affects the path loss. Lastly, we propose a novel particle swarm-based approach to maximize coverage and improve the confidentiality of transmissions in a cellular scenario with the support of RISs carried by UAVs.


Most undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Life Science collegesin Chile become involved in scientific experiments as subjects and as researchassistants from the earliest stages of their studies. The complex hierarchicalrelationships between students and their professors are associated with particularethical issues that are not fully covered in the universal guidelines that rule scientificresearch at Chilean universities. This paper reports the work of undergraduateand graduate students during an introductory Bioethics course and professors ata Chilean public university. The group observed a need for guidelines specificallyaddressing the ethical challenges of research performed with participation ofstudents. Some ethical issues and proposals for such guidelines are outlined. Keywords: Ethics, bioethics code, guidelines, student´s research


An in vitro culture system may be used to analyse interactions between T cells and epithelium. We have analysed two human buccal squamous epithelial cell lines: SqCC/Y1, derived from a buccal carcinoma, and SVpgC2a, an SV-transformed healthy buccal squamous epithelium. Under serum-free culture conditions, the cell lines resemble normal buccal squamous epithelium in situ in their expression of MHC class I, CD29 (beta1 integrin), CD40, CD44, CD54 (ICAM-1), CD58 (LFA-3), CD95 (Fas), and E-cadherin. Furthermore, when the SVpgC2a cell line was treated with T-cell derived cytokines, upregulation of CD40 expression was observed when the cells were treated with IL-4, whereas IFN-gamma caused upregulation in expression of CD40, CD54 and MHC class II. These buccal squamous epithelial cell lines, therefore, provide a good tool for analysing interactions between epithelium and T cells in vitro.


To bridge the technology gap between IC-level and board-level fabrications, a fully additive selective metallization has already been demonstrated in the literature. In this article, the surface characterization of each step involved in the fabrication process is outlined with bulk metallization of the surface. This production technique has used polyurethane as epoxy resin and proprietary grafting chemistry to functionalize the surface with covalent bonds on an FR-4 base substrate. The surface was then metalized using an electroless copper (Cu) bath. This sequential growth of layers on top of each other using an actinic laser beam and palladium (Pd) ions to deposit Cu is analyzed. State-of-the-art material characterization techniques were employed to investigate process mechanism at the interfaces. Density functional theory calculations were performed to validate the experimental evidence of covalent bonding of the layers. This manufacturing approach is capable of adding metallic layers in a selective manner to the printed circuit boards at considerably lower temperatures. A complete analysis of the process using bulk deposition of the materials is illustrated in this work.


Using the second Green formula, the boundary problem of Laplace equation satisfied by potential function of static electric field is transformed to the problem of the boundary integral equation, and then a boundary integral equation approach is established by partitioning boundary using linear boundary element.


The polymorphonuclear leukocytes of a two-year-old boy who had multiple episodes of bacterial infections demonstrated defective oxidative metabolism with phagocytic, but not with soluble (non-phagocytic), metabolic stimuli. We used a chemiluminescence assay to examine the patient's polymorphonuclear leukocyte responses to numerous particulate and soluble stimuli. The patient's polymorphonuclear leukocytes had substantially depressed chemiluminescent responses during phagocytosis of opsonized particles (latex, pneumococci, pseudomonas, streptococci and zymosan); however, we observed normal chemiluminescent responses when these leukocytes were stimulated with soluble agents (sodium fluoride, concanavalin A, cytochalasin E, calcium ionophore A23187 or phorbol myristate acetate). Polymorphonuclear leukocyte oxygen consumption and superoxide production were impaired during phagocytosis, even though phagocytosis was normal. In addition to the metabolic defect, this patient's polymorphonuclear leukocytes had depressed chemotactic and bactericidal activities. This study provides evidence that polymorphonuclear leukocytes have more than one mechanism for initiating oxidative metabolism.


The evaluation of a liver transplantation candidate is a complex and detailed process that in many cases must be done in an expedited manner because of the critically ill status of some patients with end‐stage liver disease. It involves great effort from and the collaboration of multiple disciplines, and during the evaluation several studies and interventions are performed to assess and potentially prepare a patient for liver transplant. Here we review the liver transplantation evaluation from a surgical perspective.


On 6 April 1994, President Habyarimana of Rwanda and several top government officials were killed when their plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile on its approach to Kigali airport. Within hours, members of the Hutu-dominated government, presidential guard, police, and military started rounding up and executing opposition politicians. The army set up roadblocks at 50 to 100 meter intervals throughout Kigali. The airport was surrounded and sealed. Telephone lines were cut. Military intelligence distributed lists of the government's political opponents to death squads: "every journalist, every lawyer, every professor, every teacher, every civil servant, every priest, every doctor, every clerk, every student, every civil rights activist were hunted down in a house-to-house operation. The first targets were members of the never-to-be-constituted broad-based transitional government." Once the Tutsi leadership and intelligentsia were killed, the army, presidential guard, and the Interahamwe militia, the youth wing of the ruling Hutu party, began executing anyone whose identity cards identified them as Tutsis. When checking identity cards became too time-consuming, they executed anyone with stereotypical Tutsi features. On 9 April, the Interahamwe militia directed by presidential guards hacked to death 500 men, women, and children who had taken shelter in the Catholic mission in Kigali. In another incident, the Interahamwe shot 120 men and boys who had taken refuge in St. Famille Church in Kigali. Soldiers killed any wounded Tutsis who made it to hospital. One killer went so far as to thank hospital staff for providing a "Tutsi collection point."


Backguroud: Breast cancer is one of the most threatening diseases for women, whose metastasis and recurrence are important causes of death in breast cancer patients. Vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) is a cytoskeletal regulatory protein that promotes invasion and metastasis of tumor cells by regulating cell migration. Bioinformatics data indicated that H3K4me3, WDR5 and MYC co-enriched in the VASP promoter region. Aims: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the regulatory function and mechanism of WDR5-MYC nexus complex on VASP in breast cancer.Method: In this present study, the expression of VASP in breast cancer and adjacent normal tissues was detected by RT-qPCR. The enrichment of H3K4me3, WDR5 and MYC on the VASP promoter was analyzed by ChIPseeker R package and verified by ChIP-PCR. The interaction of H3K4me3, WDR5 and MYC in breast cancer cells was detected by immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence. Transcriptional activation function of MYC on VASP was detected by site-directed mutagenesis and dual fluorescence reporter system. The regulatory effect of WDR5 on breast cancer cell migration was tested by wund healing and transwell.Result: VASP is up-regulated in breast cancer tissues as compared with adjacent normal tissues. There is interaction between H3K4me3, WDR5 and MYC and co-enrichment on the VASP promoter. MYC can activate VASP transcription by binding to the VASP promoter-842 binding site. WDR5 and MYC can enhance the migration ability of breast cancer cells by up-regulating VASPConclusion: Our results suggest that WDR5-MYC nexus can activate the transcription of VASP by binding to the VASP promoter region, and promote the migration of breast cancer by up-regulating the expression level of VASP.


We present the first density functional theory investigation on the adsorption properties of borohydride on Os surfaces and nanoparticles with respect to the effects of facets, size and local sites. We found that the adsorption configuration and the binding energy significantly changed with respect to these factors. On Os surfaces, the most stable adsorbate configuration is molecular on (0001) but dissociated on (100) and (100). For the Os nanoparticles, the preferred configurations on the Os surface are preserved only on the counterpart (0001) and (100) planes and the binding energies are significantly larger due to the presence of vertices/edges. The difference in the structures between the (100) facet of the slab and of the nanoparticle is attributed to very different Os lateral distances. With respect to the nanoparticle size, the adsorbate structure is also preserved but the binding energy increases when the particle size is increased. At various electrode potentials, borohydride oxidative adsorption is less favorable on the ~2.0 nm Os nanoparticles as compared to the Os surface of the same facet due to enhanced solvation at the vertex sites of the former. Finally, using ab initio molecular dynamics, we found that these less coordinated sites of the Os nanoparticles reconstruct significantly with temperature, especially the smaller sized ones. Only when the nanoparticle size is ~2.0 nm do these reconstructions become minimal. These findings present fundamental borohydride adsorption information on nanoparticles and surface facets relevant for modeling/screening of suitable nanostructures of anode catalysts for direct borohydride fuel cells.


In his 2002 book Greening the Lyre: Environmental Poetics and Ethics, David Gilcrest argues that our attitudes toward the natural environment will only change as a result of  "environmental crisis" (22). Although this prediction is apt, as evidenced by the rise of resistance to environmentalism over the past two decades, it implies that such environmental crisis must physically devastate the Earth before action will be taken.1 Such a model of apocalyptic environmental activism, however, has proven to be ineffective. Many contemporary readers are turned off by this brand of environmentalism because it predicts disaster without the hope of preventing it. As such, I would like to think about how Gilcrest's claim can be examined through the poetry of William Carlos Williams, one of the best-known American poets of the twentieth century. In this paper I will argue that ecopoetics in William Carlos Williams' long poem Paterson allows crisis to occur in a text, creating both a material and potentially allegorical poetic experience for the historically situated contemporary reader. I will consider how language becomes material in the text and argue that the physicality of the words, which appear to be formally and structurally impacted by the natural disasters described in the text, may function as allegory for present-day environmental concerns. I will argue that Paterson's power as both a material and allegorical text may resonate in ecopolitically meaningful ways.....Leaving. Elana Santana.


Tutorials are widely used for learning technical mattersin architecture and design courses. This is a case study of questions from a student and answers provided by a teacher. The communication medium used was Screenr©, a web application for creating short screencasts. A sequence of screencasts was analyzed from a qualitative perspective, using Media Richness Theory and an e-learning model as framework. Ambiguity and Equivocality are managed through a rich medium that allows communication of precise data and paralinguistic cues. Visual deictic gestures (from the users) and visual cues provided by the interfaceare fundamental for building understanding.


Bedridden patients always need more attention in order to prevent unexpected falling, bedsores and other dangerous situations in daily care. This work proposes a data-driven classification method to recognize different bed-related human activities including exiting the bed, turning over, stretching out for something on the bedside table, sitting up and lying down by analyzing the real-time signals that are acquired from four load cells installed around the hospital bed. Considering the dynamic characteristics of the signals, dynamic principal component analysis (DPCA), here serving as a pre-processing step, is firstly utilized to extract both static and dynamic relations from the variables. Then the final statistical model for each class is established by Gaussian mixture model (GMM) with Figueiredo-Jain algorithm that can optimally select the number of components. An alarm will be triggered when a noteworthy action is detected. The proposed method has achieved superior performance using the experimental data from 10 adult volunteers. The results move a step forward towards the design of an intelligent hospital bed for practical applications.


Fueled by internal migration Manilas rapid population has left the philippine capital unable to provide basic services to the citys population. With an annual growth rate of 2.3% Manilas current population of 8 million is expected to increase to 10 million by the year 2000. The number of migrants to the city has steadily increased over the last 20 years; a recent study indicates that 1/2 of the population currently living in the Manila metropolitan area was born in the province. The growth that began in the 1970 has coincided with increases in the birth rate. As one expert noted by the year 2000 1/2 of the citys growth will be due to a high birth rate. The rapidly growing population has made it difficult for the government to provide adequate food water systems and other services. The increasing number of people living in squalor are at great risk on contracting communicable diseases and suffer from poor maternal and child health inadequate nutrition and lack safe drinking water and waste disposal systems. Most of the migrants come to the city looking for employment and opportunity but many are left economically trapped working in low-paying and often gruelling jobs. Critics attribute the population imbalance to government policies that have favored the city and neglected the countryside. Realizing the dangers associated with the massive urban growth the government has begun to address the problem. It has asked business to invest in the countryside it has built roads and bridges there to spur economic growth and has tried to convince people to return to the province.


I am the new columnist reporting on industrial happenings, both on the website and in the print magazine. This column will update the power electronics community on the key news events from industry, government, and academia around the world. Most importantly, I will attempt to bring context and clarity to this kind of information, and show how it relates to the industry and your day-to-day work.


The superconducting diode effect has been recently reported in a variety of systems and different symmetry breaking mechanisms have been examined. However, the frequency range of these potentially important devices still remains obscure. We investigated superconducting micro-bridges of Nb$_{3}$Sn in out-of-plane magnetic fields; optimum magnetic fields of $\sim$10 mT generate $\sim $10% diode efficiency, while higher fields of $\sim$15-20 mT quench the effect. The diode changes its polarity with magnetic field reversal. We documented superconductive diode rectification at frequencies up to 100 kHz, the highest reported as of today. Interestingly, the bridge resistance during diode operation reaches a value that is a factor of two smaller than in its normal state, which is compatible with the vortex-caused mechanism of resistivity. This is confirmed by finite element modeling based on time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations. To explain experimental findings, no assumption of lattice thermal inequilibrium was required. Dissimilar edges of the superconductor strip can be responsible for the inversion symmetry breaking by vortex penetration barrier; visual evidence of this opportunity was revealed by scanning electron microscopy. Estimates are in favor of much higher (GHz) range of frequencies for this type of diode.


Although implementing quality assurance (QA) processes in construction is important in the South African economy, small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) faced difficulties in improving rural road infrastructure and highquality roads. Hardly any effort is made on to how sustain quality in road-project construction through suitable construction strategy in local governments. This article aims to analyse and examine the quality of road-construction projects built by SMEs contractors in Mopani District Municipality, South Africa. The article follows a quantitative survey approach in which a three-section questionnaire was administered to 160 purposively selected roadbuilding practitioners in South African construction SMEs. The questionnaire was structured into three parts, which sought the participants' profile, identified the quality assurance practices (QAPs) incorporated in the construction SMEs' road-building programmes, and identified the factors that negatively Acta Structilia 2019: 26(1) 2 influence the implementation of QA processes. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the reliability of the various constructs, mean scores, and standard deviations. The empirical findings established eight QAPs that were reliable and valid for implementation processes that can control or minimise their causes of poor quality in projects undertaken by construction SMEs' level of skill acquisition. These are: project planning and control techniques; project construction design; process implementation and process improvement; financial management; organisational structures; involvement of people, as well as quality standards and measurements. The eight factors attained high Cronbach Alpha values above the recommended 0.70, which indicates high internal consistencies among the sub-scales. This article is significant in that project managers working in similar environments may use the results of this study either as diagnostic tools or as a reference benchmark for strategic interventions in solving construction projects-related problems. The researchers also recommend that these practices are for QA in construction projects undertaken by SMEs in South Africa.


ABSTRACT Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a group of diseases characterized by immune-mediated lysis of mature red blood cells (RBCs). It is mainly classified into primary and secondary types based on etiology and mechanisms underlying autoantibody production. AIHA is diagnosed using morphological observation of bone marrow smears under a light microscope and monospecific direct antiglobulin test to detect hemolysis. Here, we retrospectively studied ultrastructural abnormalities of nucleated erythroid cells in bone marrows from 10 patients with AIHA using transmission electron microscopy. Our results revealed severe damage and injury to nucleated erythroid cells, including morphological irregularity, pyknosis, karyolysis, expansion of perinuclear cisternae and cytoplasmic lysis. These results indicate that aberrant immunity attacks not only mature RBCs but also nucleated erythroid cells, and ineffective hematopoiesis is partly involved in the pathogenesis of AIHA.


The situation of electric energy generation in Brazil is presented here, showing the problems in the implementation of the new model for the Power Sector, as well as in the inclusion of thermal plants in a very big hydroelectric system. Environment issues are considered, in particular the greenhouse gas emissions. The article pays attention to the possible construction of new nuclear reactors in Brazil. It is pointed out the importance of energy conservation and of using renewable energy sources.


We previously reported that endothelial-derived lipase (EDL) efficiently hydrolyses high-density-lipoprotein-derived phosphatidycholine (HDL-PC). In the present study, we assessed the ability of EDL to supply HepG2 cells with non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) liberated from HDL-phospholipids. For this purpose, HepG2 cells infected with adenovirus encoding human EDL (EDL-Ad), or with control beta-galactosidase-expressing adenovirus (LacZ-Ad), were incubated with (14)C-HDL-PC. The analysis of the cellular lipids by TLC revealed that EDL overexpression led to an increase in the amount of cellular (14)C-lipids, whereby the label was mainly incorporated into phospholipids and triacylglycerols (TAG). Cells expressing mutant enzymically inactive EDL (MUT-EDL-Ad) contained similar amounts of (14)C-TAG but higher amounts of (14)C-phosphatidylcholine (PC) compared with LacZ-Ad-infected cells. The co-expression of CD36 augmented the EDL-mediated accumulation of (14)C-lipids in HEK-293 cells. The quadrupole MS analysis of the cellular lipids revealed an increased content of PC and TAG in EDL-expressing HepG2 cells compared with MUT-EDL-Ad-expressing and control cells. However, the MUT-EDL-Ad-expressing cells contained more PC than control cells. Additionally, EDL overexpression led to a 2-fold decrease in the amount of fatty acid synthase mRNA and, in turn, a slightly, but significantly, decreased rate of fatty acid (FA) synthesis in HepG2 cells. In the present study, we show for the first time that EDL efficiently supplies HepG2 cells with NEFA derived from HDL-PL, thus affecting cellular lipid composition and FA synthesis.


In Aldous and Shields (1988) a model for a rooted, growing random binary tree with edge lengths 1 was presented. For some $c>0$, an external vertex splits at rate $c^{-i}$ (and becomes internal) if its distance from the root (depth) is $i$. We reanalyse the tree profile for $c>1$, i.e. the numbers of external vertices in depth $i=1,2,...$. Our main result are concrete formulas for the expectation and covariance-structure of the profile. In addition, we present the application of the model to cellular ageing. Here, we say that nodes in depth $h+1$ are senescent, i.e. do not split. We obtain a limit result for the proportion of non-senesced vertices for large $h$.


1. Scope I. l These test methods cover the determination of organic chloride (above 1 ~tg/g organically-bound chlorine) in crude oils, using either distillation and sodium biphenyl reduction or distillation and microcoulometry. 1.2 These test methods involve the distillation of crude oil test specimens to obtain a naphtha fraction prior to chloride determination. The chloride content of the naphtha fraction of the whole crude oil can thereby be obtained. 1.3 Test Method A covers the determination of organic chloride in the washed naphtha fraction of crude oil by sodium biphenyl reduction followed by potentiometric titration. 1.4 Test Method B covers the determination of organic chloride in the washed naphtha fraction of crude oil by oxidative combustion followed by microcoulometfic titration. 1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, i f any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 1.6 The preferred concentration units are micrograms per gram of chloride.


Proteins terminating with a CAAX motif, such as the nuclear lamins and the Ras family of proteins, undergo posttranslational modification of a carboxyl-terminal cysteine with an isoprenyl lipid—a process called protein prenylation. After prenylation, the last three residues of CAAX proteins are clipped off by an endoprotease of the endoplasmic reticulum. Rce1 is responsible for the endoproteolytic processing of the Ras proteins and is likely responsible for endoproteolytic processing of the vast majority of CAAX proteins. Prenylation has been shown to be essential for the proper intracellular targeting and function of several CAAX proteins, but the physiologic importance of the endoprotease step has remained less certain. Here, we will review methods that have been used to define the physiologic importance of the endoproteolytic processing step of CAAX protein processing.


Motivated by the non-holographic phenomenology, where the mesonic constituent mass breaks linearity in Regge trajectories, we discuss how to implement nonlinear Regge trajectories by deforming the static (monoparametric) quadratic dilaton into a non-quadratic one. This deformation adds an extra parameter into the dilaton, which measures the constituent mass effect, accounting for nonlinearity in the hadronic trajectory. We applied this model to the description of the isovector multiplet spectrum. The set of isovector parameters defines a set of hadronic calibration curves for the dilaton slope and linearity deviation parameter, allowing us to extrapolate the model to other vector states, such as heavy-light mesons or vector non-q ¯ q hadrons. In other words, this approach allows us to consider the hadronic inner structure by modifying the dilaton profile.


Trust networks among users of a recommender system (RS) prove beneficial to the quality and amount of the recommendations. Since trust is often a gradual phenomenon, fuzzy relations are the pre-eminent tools for modeling such networks. However, as current trust-enhanced RSs do not work with the notion of distrust, they cannot differentiate unknown users from malicious users, nor represent inconsistency. These are serious drawbacks in large networks where many users are unknown to each other and might provide contradictory information. In this paper, we advocate the use of a trust model in which trust scores are (trust,distrust)-couples, drawn from a bilattice that preserves valuable trust provenance information including gradual trust, distrust, ignorance, and inconsistency. We pay particular attention to deriving trust information through a trusted third party, which becomes especially challenging when also distrust is involved.


Developmental dyslexia is a heterogeneous disorder in which the prominent manifestation is a discrepancy between reading achievement and intelligence. There is no serious auditory, visual, psychiatric, social or educational factor that could be responsible of the discrepancy. Males are more often affected than females. It is a pervasive condition but with adequate help and spontaneous compensation, reading ability may improve. Neuroimaging, mainly MRI, allows to demonstrate in two thirds, an absence of the usual symmetry of the planum temporale favoring the left side. Twenty to 25% of the remaining cases show asymmetry of the right side. Etiology is unknown but heredity plays an important role. The pathology of dyslexia has revealed abnormalities of the cerebral cortex focal four-layer microgyria, microdysgenesis and arteriovenous malformations. Galaburda hypothesises that a pre or perinatal adverse event produces a basic cognitive, progressive alteration, that eventually invades the perceptual elements (visual, phonological, semantic-syntaxic difficulties). Heilman, Voeller and Alexander propose a motor-articulatory feedback hypothesis.


Purpose: The purposes of this study were to identify nurses' attitude toward use of physical restraints, competence and organizational culture of evidence based practice (EBP) and implementation of evidence based restraint use in long-term care hospitals and to explore associated factors. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study in which self-administered questionnaires were collected from 210 nurses from 21 long-term care hospitals. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and standard multiple regression. Results: Nursing staff showed moderate level in their attitudes toward restraints use, competence and organizational culture of EBP. Standard multiple regression analysis showed that the significant factors affecting implementation of evidence based restraint use were organizational culture of EBP, nurses' competence and their work position. These factors explained 34.0% of variance. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that organizational culture toward EBP and nursing staff competence are the important attributes which need to be enhanced by systematic support at the organizational level and educational programs at the individual level.


Necrotizing pancreatitis (NP) is a life-threatening complication of acute pancreatitis. It requires an extended hospital stay, aggressive management, and has a higher risk of mortality. Risk factors such as comorbidities in the patient's history including history of coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease can increase the risk of developing necrotizing pancreatitis. The presentation of necrotizing pancreatitis is similar to acute pancreatitis, but specific labs such as hematocrit level can be monitored to anticipate the development of necrotizing pancreatitis. In addition, diagnostic imaging must be obtained to classify necrotizing pancreatitis and aid in management choice. Fluid hydration, adequate pain management, and nutritional support are the principles of treating necrotizing pancreatitis. Deciding whether to drain the necrotic collection or not is usually determined based on the type of necrosis present and whether it is infected. Infected necrotizing pancreatitis can also occur, and patients usually need to be monitored closely with appropriate antibiotics for a long duration. Patients affected by necrotizing pancreatitis can potentially develop complications that can lead to devastating outcomes. Necrotizing pancreatitis complications can occur due to an inflammatory reaction on the adjacent structure such as splanchnic vein thrombosis, gastrointestinal fistula or inflammatory reaction within the pancreas leading to an exocrine and an endocrine pancreatic insufficiency. We present here a literature review of necrotizing pancreatitis and the complications that can arise from it.


Zhang Y, Markova D, Im H-J, Hu W, Thonar EJ-MA, He T-C, An HS, Phillips FM, Anderson DG: Primary bovine intervertebral disc cells transduced with adenovirus over-expressing 12 BMPs and Sox9 maintain appropriate phenotype. Objective:To confirm that primary intervertebral disc cells cultured in monolayer transduced with adenovirus maintained their phenotype, hence is an appropriate system to test gene therapy agents. Design:Adult bovine nucleus pulposus and anulus fibrosus cells cultured in monolayer were transduced with adenoviruses expressing human bone morphogenetic proteins (AdBMPs) or Sox9 (AdSox9), or green fluorescence protein (AdGFP, as control). Chondrocyte phenotypic markers (e.g., type II collagen and aggrecan) and the chondrocyte hypertrophy marker (type X collagen) were measured 6 days after viral transduction by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results:Primary nucleus pulposus and anulus fibrosus cells transduced with AdBMPs, AdSox9, or adenovirus-expressing green fluorescence protein only (AdGFP, as control) continue to express healthy chondrocyte phenotypic markers and showed no evidence of the expression of the chondrocyte hypertrophy marker (type X collagen gene). Thus, we have shown that bovine nucleus pulposus and anulus fibrosus cells transduced with adenovirus overexpressing 12 different bone morphogenetic proteins or Sox9 maintain their phenotype in short-term culture. Conclusions:In this study, primary bovine intervertebral disc cells transduced with adenovirus overexpressing 12 bone morphogenetic proteins or Sox9 preserved their phenotype in short-term culture. These cells did not express the type X collagen gene, an undesirable chondrocyte hypertrophic gene that could lead to ossification. Therefore, low-passage intervertebral disc cells cultured in monolayer is an appropriate culture system to test therapeutic genes. We further suggest that these cells may also be appropriate for engineering tissues or for cell therapy for degenerative disc diseases.


Given the importance of assessment in higher education, it is critical to understand how to promote faculty engagement in assessment initiatives in institutions of higher education. This qualitative study identified factors that are associated with positive faculty satisfaction with assessment endeavors and those factors that reduce faculty satisfaction with these activities. Data revealed that faculty satisfaction varied across academic programs. Factors that promoted assessment included assessment methodologies, resources, support, participation, and effective leadership. Factors that reduced faculty satisfaction included the lack of comparative data across institutions, increased workload, and the continuous change in assessment plans.


The cardiac inwardly rectifying potassium channel (I(K1)), which is mainly expressed in mammalian atrial and ventricular myocytes, has been considered as the primary conductance controlling the resting potential (RP) and permitting a significant repolarizing current during the terminal phase of action potential. Therefore, I(K1) is highly influential on the RP, and the modulation of I(K1) would likely have profound effects on cardiac excitability and arrhythmogenesis. This article may shed light on the fundamental properties of cardiac I(K1), the mechanisms of inward rectification and I(K1) subunits composition. Furthermore, the article discusses the role of I(K1) in ventricular excitability and arrhythmogenesis and explores the possibility of modulating I(K1) as an antiarrhythmic mechanism. In fact, both blocking and enhancing I(K1) could be antiarrhythmic, but have proarrhythmic potential at the same time. Action potential duration (APD) prolongation has been accepted as an important antiarrhythmic strategy with some evidence in animal models of arrhythmogenesis that I(K1) blockade can prolongate APD and be antiarrhythmic. However, the potential of I(K1) blockade has not resulted in the development of specific I(K1) blockers used clinically. Safety concerns are probably the main reason, and the therapeutic potential for I(K1) blockers seems somewhat small. On the contrary, the up to date reports indicate that moderately activating I(K1) and hyperpolarizing the RP which has been depolarized by pathologic injury are to be feasible and effective to alleviate some kinds of ventricular arrhythmias.


A rapid and sensitive high-pressure liquid chromatography assay for metronidazole and its two principle metabolites, 1-(2-hydroxyethyl-2-hydroxymethyl)-5-nitro-imidazole [hydroxy metabolite] and 1-acetic acid-2-methyl-5-metronidazole [acid metabolite], was developed. The retention times observed were 5.7, 3.3, and 4.5 min, respectively. A reverse-phase μC18 Bondapak column using a solvent system of methanol, acetonitrile, and 0.005 M pH 4 potassium dihydrogen phosphate (4:3:93, vol/vol) was used to achieve separation of the three compounds. Patients receiving metronidazole therapy were given a loading dose of 13.6 mg of drug per kg intravenously over 1 h, followed by a maintenance dose of 1.43 mg/kg per h. The range of metronidazole concentrations observed was 6.8 to 47.5 μg/ml. These levels are well above the minimal inhibitory concentrations of most clinically significant anaerobic bacteria including Bacteroides fragilis. Little of the acid metabolite was observed in the plasma. The concentration of hydroxy metabolite ranged from 1.6 to 16 μg/ml. The latter may represent an additional source of antimicrobial activity since the hydroxy metabolite has approximately 30% the biological activity of metronidazole.


I examine a Canadian Supreme Court decision concerning the constitutionality of Canada's 1982 rape-shield legislation, and suggest how material from the decision might profitably be used in an informal-logic class in connection with the topics of relevance and conductive argument. I also consider theoretical matters related to the decision: first I develop two analyses of what I call an argument from 'unchasteness' and connect them to George Bowles's theory of propositional relevance; then I present Trudy Govier with a problem in response to which she might revise her account of a conductive argument in a way I describe.


The Arctic region is rich in natural resources such as oil, gas, minerals and fish. Climate change causes the Arctic ice melt, making resource extraction possible as well as opening up new transport routes through the Northwest Passage and the Northeast Passage. This has led to competition and cross-border strife among the Arctic States. The two largest states in the Arctic are Russia and Canada, which are also members of the Arctic Council. Russia and Canada are at the moment involved in several disputes regarding the Arctic territory where the ownership of the North Pole is one example. This study aims to explain the Russian and Canadian actions in the Arctic in a geopolitical aspect and to what extent it is consistent with the objectives of the Arctic Council's Kiruna Declaration. The presence of security aspects like economic, military and environmental security is examined through a text analysis where the Arctic policies and the National security policies are compared, where the results then are compared with the objectives in the Kiruna Declaration to find similarities and differences. The result shows that the economic security is the most important aspect for both Russia and Canada, while the environmental security is the most important in the Kiruna declaration of the Arctic council. The conclusion is that the significant economic and strategic potential of the Arctic guides Russia's and Canada's behaviour and that the financial benefits outweigh the environmental risks that are associated with the development of the area.


Continuous glacier margin and equilibrium‐line altitude fluctuations of a former glacier on central Andøya, northern Norway, are reconstructed during the Lateglacial based on moraines and AMS 14C‐dated sediments from the distal glacier‐fed lake Ner‐Finnkongdalsvatnet. The results indicate that a valley glacier occupied the entire valley during the Last Glacial Maximum (before 21 970±620 cal. a BP). The glacier remained large throughout the early Lateglacial until a significant glacier retreat took place about 14 300±330 cal. a BP. Major advances occurred during the Older Dryas (OD) and during the Younger Dryas (YD), while minor advances are suggested to have taken place during the Intra Allerød Cold Period and the Late Allerød Cooling. Additionally, three smaller glacier retreats/re‐advances within the YD are suggested to have taken place, the latter being the largest. The glacier re‐formations/advances during the Lateglacial are consistent with increases in temperature, and they are thus suggested to be the result of increased winter precipitation. Comparing the results with relevant glacier and sea‐surface temperature records, a south–north migration of storm tracks may have occurred between 12 100–11 810±220 cal. a BP. The high temporal resolution of local glacier activity in Finnkongdalen improves our understanding of the climate forcing of the regional glacier fluctuations of the northwestern sector of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the Skarpnes‐ (OD) and Tromsø‐Lyngen (YD) re‐advances.


The feasibility of using ion chromatography (IC) in solutions containing quaternary ammoniums is studied. The results establish the applicability of IC for the determination of halide ions in a pharmaceutical sample without interferences by various excipient ions. For IC measurements with suitable methodical parameters, linearity is maintained over the range of 20 to 200 mg/L and 10.0 to 250 mg/L for the chloride and bromide of quaternary ammoniums, respectively. A comparison of the anion results obtained from differential pulse voltammetry shows good agreement.


Fiber-coupled, high-quality-factor (Q > 105) AlGaAs microdisks with embedded InAs quan tum dots are demonstrated. Microdisk lasers employing evanescent fiber coupling for optical pump ing and collection of emission exhibit up to two orders of magnitude improvement in differential effi-ciency compared to devices probed through normal-incidence, free-space photoluminescence. The fiber taper coupling is also shown to provide an efficient optical channel for studying and manipulating the microcavity-quantum dot system, with in-fiber cavity mode collection efficiences greater than 20% and cavity loading approaching critical coupling. Progress and current challenges in incorporating such fiber coupled devices into low temperature experiments for studying coherent interaction between single quan tum dot and single cavity mode excitations will be discussed.


AIM: To study the chemical constituents and bioactivities of the roots of Polygala tenuifolia Willd.. METHODS: Bioactivity-guide was applied to study the chemical constituents of P. tenuifolia, and the chemical structures were determined by application of spectroal data (NMR, MS). RESULTS: One new, four known triterpenoid saponins and six oligosaccharides were obtained and their structures were identified as 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-presenegenin 28-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-(1→3)-β-D-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)-[β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1→3)]-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-[3-O-3, 4, 5-trimethoxycinnamoyl]-β-D-fucopyranosyl ester (on-jisaponin Wg, 1), onjisaponins Fg (2), Ng (3), R (4), and O (5), tenuifolioses A (6), B (7), C(8), I (9), K (10), and G (11). CONCLUSION: Compound 1 is a new saponin. Compounds 6 and 7 showed neuroprotective activity against glumate and serum deficiency at the concentration of 1×10-5 mol·L-1. Compounds 7 and 8 potentiated basal synaptic transmission in the dentate gyrus of anesthetized rats. The NMR data of 2-5 were reported for the first time.


Abrasion resistance in concrete is related to the ability of the surface to resist being worn away by rubbing and friction. High-quality concrete is recognized as enhancing both abrasion and macrotexture durability under traffic loading. Pavement friction is the result of two primary frictional force components: adhesion and hysteresis. Adhesion is dependent on the microtexture of the surface, while hysteresis depends on its macrotexture; both microtexture and macrotexture significantly affect friction. Macrotexture is also significant in preventing hydroplaning because of its effect on the surface drainage of pavements. Improving the texture durability of concrete may provide important benefits in delivering long-term friction performance. A microtexture modification with nanotechnology improves the friction response in rigid pavements and enhances the durability of concrete materials by how it affects the deterioration mechanism at the molecular level. Nanomaterials can improve the calcium silicate hydrate component in hardened concrete; this action is crucial to enhancing the strength and durability of the cement paste. Therefore, applications using nanotechnology in concrete materials are receiving increased attention. This paper presents the results of a study in which several concrete samples were produced with different proportions of nanosilica. The results show that nanosilica enhances the compressive strength and abrasion resistance in concrete materials. Because of the relationship between abrasion response and macro texture, it can be concluded that nanomaterials increase macrotexture durability and therefore improve the safety of concrete pavements in wet conditions.


An experimental dowsing of the planetary and lunar bodies of the solar system suggests that all planetary and lunar names evoke some degree of energetic excitation reflecting that of the bodies themselves. The highest values of pranic energy were found for Jupiter and the other large distant planets, and for moons close to their planet which are subject to gravitational forces and show volcanic activity. The Earth, Venus and Mars show similar moderate-high levels of pranic energy, but the low-moderate scores for pranic energy shown by Mercury and the Sun seem to verify that subtle energy production is incompatible with high production or high levels of conventional photonic radiation. A short discussion of the implications of these observations follows.


Hotel XYZ explain that reporting customer complaints related to facilities such as facilities and services that are less good. Based on observations of a complaint with every departemen then, to the holding of the study to measure how much the level of interest and satisfaction level of service to customer satisfaction at the Hotel XYZ. The purpose of this research is knowing the level of satisfaction and a customer, determine what attribute the service that needs to be prioritized, the analysis of gaps (gap) between the level of satisfaction and a customer, and made a proposal to improve the quality of service at the Hotel XYZ. The SERVQUAL, which is used in this study to measure the gap between consumer perceptions of service and the expectation, while the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) be used to analyze the appropriateness of and the performance of services, as well as the proposed improvements to do. Based on the results of research has been done by the average satisfaction level of the Hotel Merpati Pontianak to 20 atributes the quality of service is 3.860. But there are some attributes that must be improved as about the condition of the building when he's doing the spread of the questionnaire and other attributes that has a value of the level of satisfaction is low and a high number of attributes that indicated on the service employees to visitors.proposed improvments that can be done to improve the quality of the attributes of the building condition by performing the checks, maintenance and improvement of the condition of the room and hotel facilities on a regular basis and can make a regular schedule or route area that should be prioritized for checking, maintenance and repair. To determine the conditions that need to be repaired, it can be done by specialized employees who are able to perform such work. Whereas the proposed improvement in employee services namely, with the addition of employees there are parts that need immediate attention but existing employees can not cope. A system of reward, punishment, training and briefing also can be done to improve the performance and morale of employees in order to know and understand the responsibilities of work, know the condition of the working environment, to improve the performance and knowledge customer service. Keyword ; The quality of service, SERVQUAL, Importance-Performance Analysis


We describe four male patients with hypothalamic hamartomas associated with sexual precocity. Our assessment of their management suggests that resection using current microsurgical techniques is a valid treatment option if the patient has a normal pubertal endocrine makeup, if the hamartoma is pedunculated, and if the patient is young enough to require years of parenteral medical treatment. Such surgical treatment can be curative, and subsequent growth and development can be normal (patients 1 and 2). However, if the patient is near to pubertal age (patient 3) or if neurosurgical or gonadotropin releasing hormone analogue treatment is not available, the natural history (patient 4) suggests that the only undesirable effects are accelerated growth, tall stature for age, and premature sexual development during childhood, as well as the psychosocial problems that may accompany them. Adult height may be compromised, although the two patients who did not undergo a surgical procedure and did not receive gonadotropin releasing hormone analogue therapy are above the lower limits of the normal range of adult male height. Therefore, if the hamartoma is pedunculated and cessation of pubertal development is desired, resection of the hamartoma is a reasonable therapeutic option.


Purpose: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a deadly disease. Chemotherapy options are limited to gemcitabine and 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU). The molecular profile of PC offers several growth receptors (epidermal growth factor receptor [EGFR], insulin‐like growth factor 1 receptor [IGF‐1R]) and tyrosine kinases (AKT and MAPK) as promising therapy targets. EGFR, IGF‐1R, AKT and MAPK are dependent upon the heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) to gain the mature functional active protein form hence HSP90 represents a promising therapy target in PC. Functional inhibition of HSP90 has the advantage of disruption of many oncogenic signalling pathways simultaneously. The aim of this study was evaluate the efficacy of different HSP90 inhibitors in gemcitabine and 5‐FU resistant PC. Material and Methods: Human gemcitabine and 5‐FU resistant pancreatic cancer cell lines 5061, 5072 and 5156 were generated and brought in to culture from patients who were operated for PC at our institution and received gemcitabine as adjuvant therapy. The commercial L3.6pl cell line served as a control. Antiproliferative efficacy of three different HSP90 inhibitors (17AAG, 17DMAG and 17AEPGA) was evaluated by the MTT assay. Alterations in signalling pathway effectors and apoptosis upon HSP90 inhibition was determined by western blot analysis (WB). Results: The cell lines 5061, 5072 and 5156 were resistant to gemcitabine and 5‐FU. In contrast, 17AAG and the water‐soluble derivates 17DMAG and 17AEPGA displayed high antiproliferative activity in all tested cell lines. The calculated GI50 was below 1 µM. In line with the proliferation inhibition in the MTT assay, the expression of EGFR, IGF‐1R, AKT and MAPK was significantly down regulated under HSP90 inhibition as verified inWB. In contrast, HSP70 and HSP27 were upregulated in all cell lines under HSP90 inhibition. Apoptosis was an early event in all three HSP90 inhibited cell lines and determined by CASPASE‐3 and poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase assay. In contrast, gemcitabine treated cells did not show significant apoptosis. Conclusions: Functional inhibition of HSP90 disrupts multiple signalling cascades in gemcitabine and 5‐FU resistant PC. Water‐soluble 17DMAG is equally effective as 17AAG. The up‐regulation of HSP70 and HSP27 indicates counter regulation of tumor cells to prevent apoptosis and should be addressed when considering HSP90 inhibition in PC. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):B86.


A narrow absorption feature in an atomic or molecular gas (such as iodine or methane) is used as the frequency reference in many stabilized lasers. As part of the stabilization scheme an optical frequency dither is applied to the laser. In optical heterodyne experiments, this dither is transferred to the RF beat signal, reducing the spectral power density and hence the signal to noise ratio over that in the absence of dither. We removed the dither by mixing the raw beat signal with a dithered local oscillator signal. When the dither waveform is matched to that of the reference laser the output signal from the mixer is rendered dither free. Application of this method to a Winters iodine-stabilized helium-neon laser reduced the bandwidth of the beat signal from 6 MHz to 390 kHz, thereby lowering the detection threshold from 5 pW of laser power to 3 pW. In addition, a simple signal detection model is developed which predicts similar threshold reductions.


Objective This study aimed to investigate the distributions of lymphocytes in adult onset Still's disease (AOSD) with liver dysfunction, and further prospectively explore whether receptor interacting serine/threonine kinases (RIPKs) in lymphocytes play a role in the pathogenesis of AOSD especially liver involvement. Methods Seventy-two AOSD patients and 19 cases of healthy controls (HCs) were retrospectively reviewed, the AOSD group was then divided into liver damage (LD) group and non-liver damage (NLD) group, and the distributions of lymphocytes in peripheral blood were analyzed. Another independent 24 AOSD patients and 20 HCs were recruited for prospective study of RIPKs; the RIPKs in peripheral blood lymphocytes were detected by flow cytometry. Liver biopsy specimens were obtained from two AOSD patients and underwent immunochemistry analysis with RIPK1 and RIPK3 antibody. Results In the retrospective study, AOSD showed significantly abnormal lymphocytes distributions, and disease activity was positively correlated with percentage of CD3+ T cells. LD patients were younger in age and showed higher disease activity score than NLD patients; they had higher frequencies of CD3+ T cells, especially higher CD8+ T cells (all p<0.05). In the prospective study, RIPKs in lymphocytes were significantly higher in AOSD patients than that of HCs, and LD patients also showed higher RIPKs expression than NLD patients. In addition, RIPKs were positively correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and disease activity in AOSD patients and LD and NLD subgroups (all p<0.05). Further, RIPKs expression was confirmed in two AOSD patients' liver. ROC curve analysis indicated that RIPKs in lymphocytes (%) could be potential biomarkers in the diagnosis of AOSD and liver damage. Conclusions Abnormal lymphocytes distributions and RIPKs expression were detected in AOSD. Aberrant expression of RIPKs in lymphocytes might be involved in the pathogenesis of AOSD. RIPKs could be candidate markers for AOSD and liver damage.


The purpose of this paper relates to the understanding of the phenomenon of tax effects in value and profitability analyses. How to incorporate taxes into discounted cash flow calculations - dealing with the past, the present and the future - from a Value Based Management perspective? Ignoring this question, neglecting tax effects (which is normal practice in some companies) is not realistic and this conservative approach is the contrary to 'being careful' which is what is supposed to happen. Tax is a fact of life. Without correctly dealing with tax effects, all values are 'out-of-control'. Whoever is not aware of the real tax burden nor fully counts it, endangers the continued existence of the company. This is because the after-effects are self-evidently wrong decisions.What operating surpluses are needed, at least? The bare minimum. Neither gaining nor losing money. Where is the red line? This paper gives the answer to this vexed question. It revolves around monitoring the operating surpluses on almost the top line of the cash flow calculation scheme. Periodical net cash flow information is rather late in being available. Steering on real time developing operating surpluses (to be compared to the best possible pattern that is indicating the red line) is far better than steering from the back seat, lead by various series of cash flows on the bottom line.Though OCFD (Operating Cash Flow Demand) has been massively criticized in http://ssrn.com/abstract=378501, Weissenrieder continues to sing the praises of OCFD in http://ssrn.com/abstract=501602, posted 2004 Feb 28, revealing no counter-arguments. The latter paper is even an enlargement of the problem area. OCFD in combination with taxes as presented by Weissenrieder turns out to be an added danger.This paper presents the author's elaboration of a numerical example in full detail, in reaction to the corresponding working-out(s) published by Weissenrieder, and may the best one prevail. Furthermore, what has been argued by so many people e.g. Pablo Fernandez about tax shields (VTS) is not true. VTS from debt as well as from depreciation has been computed too. This paper also indicates that everything written down in economic literature about 'the value of tax shields' together with 'various WACCs' is not necessary. The so-called 'appropriate discount for tax shields' exists by way of definition only, with all the resulting consequences. It can be done - quite simple really - without all of this.


Abstract Cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR) is responsible for the CoA ester→aldehyde conversion in monolignol biosynthesis, which can divert phenylpropanoid-derived metabolites into the biosynthesis of lignin. To gain a better understanding of lignin biosynthesis in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a cDNA encoding CCR was isolated and named Ta-CCR2. DNA hybridization analyses demonstrated that the Ta-CCR2 gene exists in three copies in the wheat genome. RNA blot hybridization indicated that Ta-CCR2 was expressed most abundantly in root and stem tissues that were in the process of lignification. The secondary and three-dimensional structures of Ta-CCR2 were analyzed by molecular modeling. Recombinant Ta-CCR2 protein purified from E. coli converted feruloyl CoA, 5-OH-feruloyl CoA, sinapoyl CoA and caffeoyl CoA with almost similar efficiency, suggesting that it is involved in both G and S lignin synthesis. Ta-CCR2 had a very low V max value for 4-coumaroyl CoA, which may serve as a mechanism to control metabolic flux to H lignin in vivo. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism of Ta-CCR2 was analyzed in relation to its possible three-dimensional structure. The activity of Ta-CCR2 in relation to lignin biosynthesis is discussed.


Background The main clinical presentation of episodic ataxias (EAs) consists of vertigo and dizziness attacks lasting for minutes to hours with widely varying accompanying symptoms. The differentiation of EA and episodic vertigo/dizziness syndromes in childhood and adolescence such as vestibular migraine (VM) and recurrent vertigo of childhood (RVC) can be challenging. Furthermore, only few prospective studies of children/adolescents with EA are available. Objective This study aims to characterize clinical and instrument-based findings in EA patients under 18 years of age, to delineate the clinical and therapeutic course in EA, and to present potentially new genetic mutations. Furthermore, the study aims to differentiate distinct characteristics between EA, VM, and RVC patients. Methods We prospectively collected clinical and instrument-based data of patients younger than 18 years, who presented at the German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ) at the LMU University Hospital in Munich with EA, VM, or RVC between January 2016 and December 2021. All patients underwent a comprehensive evaluation of neurological, ocular-motor, vestibular and cochlear function, including video-oculography with caloric testing, video head impulse test, vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, posturography, and gait analysis. Results Ten patients with EA, 15 with VM, and 15 with RVC were included. In EA the main symptoms were vertigo/dizziness attacks lasting between 5 min and 12 h. Common accompanying symptoms included walking difficulties, paleness, and speech difficulties. Six EA patients had a previously unknown gene mutation. In the interictal interval all EA patients showed distinct ocular-motor deficits. Significant differences between EA, VM, and RVC were found for accompanying symptoms such as speech disturbances and paleness, and for the trigger factor "physical activity". Furthermore, in the interictal interval significant group differences were observed for different pathological nystagmus types, a saccadic smooth pursuit, and disturbed fixation suppression. Conclusion By combining clinical and ocular-motor characteristics we propose diagnostic criteria that can help to diagnose EA among children/adolescents and identify patients with EA even without distinct genetic findings. Nevertheless, broad genetic testing (e.g., next generation sequencing) in patients fulfilling the diagnostic criteria should be conducted to identify even rare or unknown genetic mutations for EA.


A group of 2205 operations of strabismus in the course of 12 years reveals a clear predominance of operations of dynamic strabismus (94%), as compared with surgery of paralytic strabismus and ocular torticollis on account of nystagmus (6%). This fact provides evidence of a marked ratio of a non-paralytic aetiology of strabismus in the child population. In esotropia, the most frequent type of strabismus, the authors consider as most suitable the technique of weakening of the inner rectus muscles by a dosed elongation according to Gonin-Hollwich, as compared with the classical retroposition of this muscle. In exotropia the authors recommend reinforcing operations only or in combination with a weakening operation of the rectus muscles. The gradual development of application of the technique of surgery of the hyperfunctional lower oblique muscle is in favour of treble partial myotomy (elongation). They operate paretic strabismus when the IIIrd, IVth, VIth nerve are affected and supranuclear paresis of the levators by a complex procedure incl. transposition operations of the functional muscles. The authors operate ocular torticollis after a careful analysis of the congenital nystagmus, using special techniques on the rectus and oblique muscles which adjust the position of the head and bulbs.


A predominant idiotype was detected on almost all antibody molecules directed against the multideterminant antigen, hen egg white lysozyme (HEL). This idiotypic set was defined by rabbit and quinea pig antiidiotypic antisera raised against a rare cross-reactive antibody population isolated and from a heterogeneous BALB/c anti-human lysozyme (HUL) humoral response. This isiotype was fond on the majority of all HEL-reactive antibody from all strain tested; its presence was independent of Ig-1 allotype of H-2 haplotype. The idiotype was also present on the majority of anti-HEL antibody from nonresponder mice immunized with keyhole limpet hemocyanin coupled to HEL. The idiotype was not found on normal mouse immunoglobulin or on antibodies specific to two other proteins, HUL and ribonuclease, which are similar to HEl in size and charge. Individual idiotype-positive anti-HEL antibody populations exhibited specificity differences when analyzed for reactivity toward other avian lysozymes, suggesting that distinct clonal products shared the idiotype specificities. Fractionation of heterogeneous anti-HEL antibodies by preparative isoelectric focusing yielded distinct antibody fractions that were demonstrated to share the relevant idiotype determinants. The data are discussed in terms of the HEL peptide specificites of idiotype-positive and -negative antibodies.


Sudden death in sleep, particularly in the young, is a tragic occurrence that conjures thoughts of wrongdoing and foul play. Despite activation of powerful arousal mechanisms when a threat occurs, massive lesions, sudden insurmountable dysfunctions, or profound toxicities may lead to death. Sudden death in sleep is not always inexplicable or unavoidable, which opens a window of opportunity for its prevention. This review explores predisposing conditions and suspected risk factors of sudden death in sleep with a focus on prevention and management.


Background Aged Zanzibari women are in a disadvantaged position, having high demand for near-vision spectacles. Currently, there is no information on the eye health status of craftswomen, which makes planning a women-targeted project to deliver eye health services to older craftswomen in Zanzibar difficult. We assessed the prevalence of vision impairment, refractive error, presbyopia, effective spectacle coverage (distance and near) and attitude towards spectacle wearing among older Zanzibari craftswomen. Methods and analysis This was a cross-sectional study. Unaided and presenting distance and near vision of craftswomen 35 years and older were assessed at the women's co-operatives. We determined the number of those with distance vision poorer than 6/12 and their causes (distance-vision impairment), the number of those with near vision poorer than N8 at 40 cm (presbyopia) and the number of those whose distance and/or near-vision needs were met adequately with their habitual spectacles (effective distance and near spectacle coverages). A piloted and validated questionnaire (15 statements) was used to determine their attitude towards spectacle wearing. Results In all, 263 craftswomen participated in the survey (mean age 52.1 years±9.4 years). The prevalence of distance vision impairment among the craftswomen was 29.7% (95% CI 24.2% to 35.6%), the primary cause being uncorrected refractive error (n=51, 65.4%), and none were corrected. The prevalence of presbyopia was 86.6% (95% CI 81.5% to 90.7%, n=231) and the effective near spectacle coverage was 0.99%. The craftswomen showed a positive attitude towards spectacle wearing (strongly agree or agree) based on 12 out of 15 statements. Conclusion The high burden of vision impairment, uncorrected distance refractive error and presbyopia, and a positive attitude towards spectacle wearing among older craftswomen in Zanzibar indicated the need for women-targeted eye health programmes in low-resource settings.


A new time-dependent R-matrix theory of multiphoton processes is described which can be applied to an arbitrary many-electron atom. The theory is complementary to the R-matrix Floquet theory developed by Burke, Francken and Joachain (1991 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 24 761) enabling processes involving higher laser field intensities and shorter laser pulses to be treated. The new theory is illustrated by analysing the multiphoton ionization of a charged particle bound initially in a one-dimensional potential well where the results are compared with an independent R-matrix Floquet calculation.


Power and the Presidency in Kenya: The Jomo Kenyatta Years by Anais Angelo represents an innovative look at the rule of Kenya's first president (1964– 1978). For readers interested in the foundational period of independent Kenya, the book provides significant insights as well as challenges. Through extensive archival research, Dr. Angelo presents a revealing examination of the origins and emergence of this presidency. The result is a book that, while traversing familiar ground, sets aside the more traditional themes of "father of the nation," that the British favored KADU and did not want Kenyatta to rule, or that of a neo-colonial state, and asks readers to consider an alternate paradigm for Kenyatta's rise to power and his fifteen-year rule. Regarding the rise, the author maintains that rather than being a dominating and visionary figure, Kenyatta followed "a strategy of charismatic indecision" (87). Also on a new and refreshing note, the author stresses that "negotiations on the decolonization of land institutions" prepared the way for a centralized post-independence government, notwithstanding the deep divisions over federalism that marked the period from 1961 to 1964. These are welcome departures fromwhat have long been the "standard" treatments of the period covered by the book, though the author was unable to divert from the misleading assertion that "the European settlers" (or "the settlers") in Kenya fostered and favored federalism, or majimbo, prior to independence. The second half of the book focuses onKenyatta's presidency, withmuch attention given to the 1960s. Chapter Five, titled "Kenyatta,Meru Politics, and the last Mau Mau (1961/3–1965)," is in many ways the highlight. Dr. Angelo utilizes oral interviews and little-used archival sources, particularly files from Eastern Region/Province in the lands and settlement department. With land issues in the then-Meru district as a central concern, the chapter details how Kenyatta and theMeru leader Jackson Angaine repressed "resilientMauMau elements" and took control of local politics. This case study is fascinating and illuminating, though how this experience translated to other districts of independent Kenya is never made clear.


The risk of progression to ESRD among individuals with cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not well defined. The purpose of this study was to describe the risk of ESRD among patients with cardiovascular disease. Charts were abstracted for randomly selected hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis of either congestive heart failure (CHF) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The prevalence of CKD, based on the estimated modified diet in renal disease GFR of <60 ml/min per m2, was 60.4% of CHF patients and 51.7% of AMI patients. When compared with patients without CKD, the 30-d readmission rate was higher for CHF patients with CKD (odds ratio [OR], 1.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18 to 2.44) and for AMI patients with CKD (OR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.17 to 2.70). CHF patients (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.15 to 2.30) and AMI patients (OR, 3.10; 95% CI, 1.98 to 4.84) with CKD were more likely to die during the year after discharge from the hospital. ESRD after discharge occurred in nine of 517 patients with AMI and 24 of 640 patients with CHF. CKD increased the risk of ESRD among CHF patients (OR, 34.5; 95% CI, 4.23 to 279.43) and AMI patients (0 and 3% for those without and with CKD, respectively). At discharge, 18% of AMI patients and 21% of CHF patients with CKD were discharged with a diagnosis of renal disease. CKD is highly prevalent among patients with cardiovascular disease and is associated with increased risk of adverse outcomes, including progression to ESRD. This study suggests that opportunities may exist to improve the detection of CKD in these patients who are hospitalized with cardiovascular disease.


This paper addresses the issue of query refinement, which involves reformulating ill-formed search queries in order to enhance relevance of search results. Query refinement typically includes a number of tasks such as spelling error correction, word splitting, word merging, phrase segmentation, word stemming, and acronym expansion. In previous research, such tasks were addressed separately or through employing generative models. This paper proposes employing a unified and discriminative model for query refinement. Specifically, it proposes a Conditional Random Field (CRF) model suitable for the problem, referred to as Conditional Random Field for Query Refinement (CRF-QR). Given a sequence of query words, CRF-QR predicts a sequence of refined query words as well as corresponding refinement operations. In that sense, CRF-QR differs greatly from conventional CRF models. Two types of CRF-QR models, namely a basic model and an extended model are introduced. One merit of employing CRF-QR is that different refinement tasks can be performed simultaneously and thus the accuracy of refinement can be enhanced. Furthermore, the advantages of discriminative models over generative models can be fully leveraged. Experimental results demonstrate that CRF-QR can significantly outperform baseline methods. Furthermore, when CRF-QR is used in web search, a significant improvement of relevance can be obtained.


BACKGROUND
Leukoreduction to eliminate mononuclear cells within blood products is necessary to prevent graft-versus-host disease after transfusion. Published reports document low concentrations of mononuclear cells leftover in fresh-frozen plasma products, however the phenotype and the proliferative potential of these cells has not been tested.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We investigated residual cellular components contained within fresh and fresh-frozen plasma products and characterised their proliferative potential in co-cultures with unrelated allogeneic cells. We designed a flow-based assay to phenotype cells and quantify cell division by measuring the dilution of fluorescently labeled protein as cells divide. Leukocytes from consenting donors were purified from fresh liquid or fresh-frozen plasma units and cultured for three to seven days with unrelated irradiated allogeneic targets.

RESULTS
We discovered a median of 1.6×107 viable lymphocytes were detectable in fresh plasma units after collection (n=8), comprised of a mixture of CD3+ CD8+ and CD3+ CD4+ cells. Furthermore, we identified a median of 8.4% of live CD3+ plasma lymphocytes divided as early as Day 4 when co-cultured with unrelated allogeneic cells, expanding to a median 88.8% by Day 7 (n=3). Although freezing the plasma product reduced the total number of viable leukocyte cells down to 2.3×105 (n=10), residual naive CD3+ cells were viable and demonstrated division through Day 7 of co-culture.

DISCUSSION
The evidence of viable proliferative lymphocytes in fresh and fresh-frozen plasma products derived from centrifugation suggests that additional leukoreduction measures should be investigated to fully eradicate reactive lymphocytes from centrifuged plasma products.


When today's leading architects - such as Frank O. Gehry, Helmut Jahn and the THINK team - are looking for engineers to provide structural viability for their aesthetic visions, they often turn to Jorg Schlaich and his partner Rudolf Bergermann. The work of these brilliant and creative men is distinguished by a holistic approach combining science, practicality and meticulous attention to detail with environmental and situational concerns. This retrospective of their work highlights Schlaich and Bergermann's independent projects, including towers, bridges, wind farms and swimming pools. It features nine critical and biographical essays as well as detailed examinations of their most impressive work, illustrating a triumphant alliance of technical and architectural goals.


Au+Au, $\sqrt{s} = 200$ A GeV measurements at RHIC, obtained with the PHENIX, STAR, PHOBOS and BRAHMS detectors, have all indicated a suppression of production, relative to an appropriately normalized NN level. For central collisions and vanishing pseudo-rapidity these experiments indicate a considerable reduction, relative to that nominally expected from equivalent PP measurements, in charged and particle production, especially at mid- to large transverse momenta. In the PHENIX experiment similar behavior has been reported for $\pi^0$ spectra. In a recent work \cite{luc4brahms} on the presumably simpler D+Au interaction, to be considered perhaps as a tune-up for Au+Au, we reported on a hadronic cascade mechanism which can explain the observed moderatereduced $p_\perp$ suppression at higher pseudorapidity as well as the Cronin enhancement at mid- rapidity. Here we present the extension of this work to the more massive ion-ion collisions.


Stroke, including asymptomatic cerebrovascular events, is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in sickle cell disease, occurring with an incidence of 10 to 25%. Extensive research has established that cerebral stenosis, involving the circle of Willis, is the most common mechanism in children. We report a child with sickle cell disease who presented with cortical blindness and right-sided hemiplegia. Computerised tomography of the brain revealed an infarct involving the left parietal region and extending to the occipital region. Stroke in SCD is multifactorial, but high-risk individuals can be identified by simple well-established strategies such as transcranial doppler ultrasonography. There are approaches for both primary and secondary interventions, which have been shown to be effective and need to be incorporated into management guidelines for SCD patients. Before schemes are recommended into health care policies, research in the appropriate setting is required.


The tachinid Lespesia aletiae (Riley) was obtained from parasitized larvae of Syntomeida epilais (Walker), which is an arctiid pest of oleander, Nerium oleander (L.). Development of L. aletiae in fifth and sixth instars of S. epilais and of a noctuid, the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) was determined in laboratory studies. Female L. aletiae flies lived an average of approximately 24 d, 14 days longer than males, and were observed to oviposit membranous eggs directly on the host body. First instars cut their way out of the egg and into the host within 2 min of oviposition. The percent of successful parasitism in laboratory assays ranged from 36% in fifth instar S. epilais to 65% in sixth instar fall armyworms. Puparial size was found to increase with increasing host instar and to decrease with increasing number of maggots per host. The time between exposure to parasitoids and host death was longer in fifth than sixth instars of the same host, and was significantly longer in fifth instar S. epilais than in any other combination of host instar and species tested. The parasitoid puparial stage was approximately one day longer for females than it was for males. Both the fifth and sixth instars of the fall armyworm and S. epilais were suitable for the parasitoid's development, however, parasitism levels and parasitoid survival were higher in fall armyworms.


We used the Balloon Analogue Risk Task to study the changes and differences in risk preference between individuals and dyads in successive loss and gain contexts. Regardless of who was making the decision, the degree of risk taking after the first gain was significantly higher than
 that after the first loss, whereas the degree of risk taking after successive gains was significantly lower than that after successive losses. Further, risk preference increased after successive losses, and the increase was smaller for a dyad than for an individual, meaning the dyad's
 decision making was more rational. Participants' risk preference decreased after successive gains, and the extent of the decrease was larger for a dyad than that for an individual, meaning that individuals' decision making was more rational. These findings indicate that the rational
 performance of both individuals and dyads in continuous risk decision making varies according to their gains or losses.


Metformin (MET) constitutes the first-line treatment against type 2 diabetes. Growing evidence linking insulin resistance and cancer risk has expanded the therapeutic potential of MET to several cancer types. However, the oncostatic mechanisms of MET are not well understood. MET has been shown to promote the expression of progesterone receptor (PGR) and other antitumor biomarkers in patients with non-diabetic endometrial cancer (EC) and in Ishikawa EC cells cultured in normal glucose (5.5 mM) media. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effects of MET on EC cells under conditions simulating diabetes. Ishikawa cells treated with 10 nM 17β-estradiol (E2) and/or 100 µM MET and exposed to normal and high (17.5 mM) concentrations of glucose were evaluated for proliferative and PGR expression status. Under normal glucose conditions, MET attenuated E2-induced cell proliferation and cyclin D1 gene expression, and increased total PGR and PGR-B transcript levels. MET inhibited Ishikawa cell spheroid formation only in the absence of E2 treatment. In E2-treated cells under high glucose conditions, MET showed no effects on cell proliferation and spheroid formation, and increased total PGR but not PGR-B transcript levels. Transfection with Krüppel-like factor 9 small interfering RNA increased PGR-A transcript levels, irrespective of glucose environment. Medroxyprogesterone acetate downregulated PGR-A expression more effectively with metformin under high compared with normal glucose conditions. To evaluate the potential mechanisms underlying the targeting of PGR by MET, E2-treated cells were incubated with MET and the AMPK inhibitor Compound C, or with the AMPK activator 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR), under normal glucose conditions. Compound C abrogated the effects of MET on PGR-B while AICAR increased PGR-B transcript levels, albeit less effectively compared with MET. The present results demonstrate the glucose-dependent effects of MET on PGR-B isoform expression, which may inform the response to progestin therapy in diabetic women with EC.


A possible origin of kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in low-mass X-ray binaries is proposed. Recent numerical magnetohydrodynamic simulations of accretion disks with turbulent magnetic fields of magneto-rotational instability definitely show the presence of two-armed spiral structure in the quasi-steady state of accretion disks. In such deformed disks, two-armed ($m=2$) c-mode ($n=1$) oscillations are excited by wave–wave resonant instability. Among these excited oscillations, the fundamental in the radial direction ($n_{\rm r}=0$) will be the higher kHz QPO of twin QPOs, and the first overtone ($n_{\rm r}=1$) in the radial direction will be the lower kHz QPO of the twin. A possible cause of the twin high-frequency QPOs in black hole X-ray binaries is also discussed in the final section.


To study the effects of narcotics on plasma testosterone a single dose of methadone was given to 8 male volunteers. There were no significant changes in plasma testosterone, prolactin, FSH or LH level; plasma methadone levels rose. Although patients' plasma containing higher levels of methadone tended to have lower testosterone levels, no simple relationship was found. Daily methadone doses in stable tolerant individuals did not produce adverse effects on plasma pituitary or testosterone hormone levels.


Hand Writing detection is a meadow of research in pattern detection; different people have a different hand writing, so hand Handwriting detection is a difficult task or one of the difficult problems in the field of hand writing detection and also number detection. Still academic research in the field continues, the hub of character detection has shifted to implementation of confirmed techniques .OCR is one of the best technique for recognition system. OCR basically used in two modes, first one is offline mode and second one if online mode. The endeavor of this paper is to create a new handwritten character recognition method. This paper deals with recognition of inaccessible handwritten gurmukhi characters using Neural Network and Particle Swarm optimization neural network Algorithm.


Summary: Tissue damage occurs often in the life of mammals and is usually repaired. Dying cells are swiftly phagocytosed, but before disappearing, they alert surrounding cells to activate homeostatic programs. They release signals that recruit inflammatory cells to the site of injury, promote cell migration and cell division to replace dead cells, and activate the immune system in anticipation of microbial invasion. Many of these events involve high‐mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1), a nuclear protein that is released passively when necrotic cells lose the integrity of their membranes. HMGB1 behaves as a trigger of inflammation, attracting inflammatory cells, and of tissue repair, recruiting stem cells and promoting their proliferation. Moreover, HMGB1 activates dendritic cells (DCs) and promotes their functional maturation and their response to lymph node chemokines. Activated leukocytes actively secrete HMGB1 in the microenvironment. Thus, HMGB1 acts in an autocrine/paracrine fashion and sustains long‐term repair and defense programs. DCs secrete HMGB1 several hours after contact with the first maturation stimulus; HMGB1 secretion is critical for their ability to reach the lymph nodes, to sustain the proliferation of antigen‐specific T cells, to prevent their activation‐dependent apoptosis, and to promote their polarization towards a T‐helper 1 phenotype. These immune responses will also be directed against self‐antigens that DCs process at the time of injury and can lead to autoimmunity.


American criminal laws and criminal justice systems are harsher, more punitive, more afflicted by racial disparities and injustices, more indifferent to suffering, and less respectful of human dignity than those of other Western countries. The explanations usually offered—rising crime rates in the 1970s and 1980s, public anger and anxiety, crime control politics, neoliberal economic and social policies—are fundamentally incomplete. The deeper explanations are four features of American history that shaped values, attitudes, and beliefs and produced a political culture in which suffering is fatalistically accepted and policy makers are largely indifferent to individual injustices. They are the history of American race relations, the evolution of Protestant fundamentalism, local election of judges and prosecutors, and the continuing influence of political and social values that emerged during three centuries of western expansion. The last, encapsulated in Frederick Jackson Turner's "frontier thesis," is interwoven with the other three. Together, they explain long-term characteristics of American criminal justice and the extraordinary severity of penal policies and practices since the 1970s.


The author of this paper elaborates risks in marine insurance. Firstly, the author primarily specifies the concept, types and basic characteristics of risks, emphasizing specifics of marine risk in relation to general risks. The author particularly considers determination of risk according to our legal regulations and English Marine Insurance Act, as the most important act in this matter. Special attention is paid to insured risk according to the most recent standard conditions for insurance of ships and goods, as the basic legal regulations in terms of marine insurance. In the final part of the paper the author gives a brief overview of certain risks in marine insurance.


Malaria, caused by Plasmodium falciparum is a very common disease that causes 2.5 million deaths worldwide. This makes designing of lead molecules for malaria very exigent. DHFR has been known to be one of the major targets of antimalarial drug therapy which functions as a fundamental cofactor in the synthesis of histidine and methionine as well as purine nucleotides. Inhibition of this DHFR blocks the reduction of Dihydrofolate (DHF) to Tetrahydrofolate (THF) and hence prevents the synthesis of DNA, resulting in death of Plasmodium falciparum. Pyrimethamine is a Diaminopyrimidine that inhibits pfDHFR (Plasmodium falciparum DHFR) at a concentration that is 1000 times less than that required to inhibit the mammalian DHFR. Virtual screening is performed to find Pyrimethamine analogs from PubChem database. Docking studies are performed on DHFR (PDB ID: 3QGT) with Pyrimethamine and its 193 derivatives and the differences in their binding modes are investigated. The binding score suggests 53 derivatives to be more potent than Pyrimethamine which has a score of -24.7 showing interaction with Ile14, Asp54 and Ile164. The compound with best binding score (-35) showed interaction with Ile14, Cys15, Asp54, Phe58, Ser108, Ser111, Ile164 and Tyr170. The compounds are screened based on hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions, halogen bonding and orientation within the binding site with high binding score using Maestro (v.11.0.014, Schrodinger). The best screened compound is selected for Molecular Dynamic Simulation analysis up to 20ns using Desmond (v.4.8, Schrodinger) which represents a good starting point for further in vivo experimentation and can probably serve as an ideal lead compound for the treatment of Malaria. Citation: Bhole, P., Lokhande, K.B., Nagar, S. and Swamy, K.V. Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulation studies of DHFR inhibitors in Plasmodium falciparum [Abstract]. In: Abstracts of the NGBT conference; Oct 02-04, 2017; Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India: Can J biotech, Volume 1, Special Issue, Page 23. https://doi.org/10.24870/cjb.2017-a11


PurposeCriteria of skills and their schemata have evolved out of historical social practices. Interpretation of social events is guided and constrained by the prevailing rationality which itself reflects the dominant constellation of power. Hence, some argued that informal provision of skills delivery is the base of business growth. Upon the success of informal provision, institutional counterpart unethically grabs the market, kicking off the earlier. Evidences arguably confirmed that the institutional provision of skills delivery contributes to rapid business growth. Business growth is indeed important but not at the cost of exploitation of ethics which is the central focus of this study.Design/methodology/approachGiven the differentiated nature of research questions, multiple techniques are used to collect the data. However, this research adopts the norms of qualitative methods. Both secondary and primary data are used. While secondary data are collected through document reviews, primary data are collected via interviews. In total, 12 industries are sampled and equally distributed into two sectors (manufacturing and services).FindingsFindings show that the professional positions in the manufacturing industries at their inception phase were occupied by non-university graduates who received neither informal trainings nor on-the-job trainings. Over the time, university graduates started capturing the market. This has forced the non-university graduates to accrue a diploma from the universities in order to retain. Those who failed to obtain a university diploma are compelled to leave the sector. In fact, professional positions in service industries at the inception phase were mainly occupied by the university graduates who did not study the relevant subjects from the universities but received training from the informal provision. Later, universities started offering these programmes.Originality/valueA few studies have been published in the area of manufacturing industries especially on garments sector. None covers the paradigm transformation of skills (human capital theory) in garments. The authors also failed to locate a comparative study that maps the contribution of different provisions of skills providers and their paradigm transformations occurred within manufacturing and service industries. Therefore, this project explores the contribution of informal and institutional provisions of skills delivery for the inception and growth of industries by comparing between manufacturing and service industries.


Every career is different, emerging from different circumstances and almost always influenced by unforeseen opportunities and challenges. The script we write will be revised and edited many times. I have found my script changing at important junctures in my career. This reality is difficult to convey to researchers just starting out, but it is important to know. As have others in this series, I hope that some of the opportunities and challenges in my career can inform or support them as they travel similar roads. In looking back on my journey to and through educational research, I will try to show how striving, persistence, and taking risks helped me to forge the path I wanted to travel. I learned that following my own path rather than the current fashion, thinking outside the box to solve problems, emphasizing the quality of my work and cultivating relationships with schools all helped me to persist and to change the script when I needed to in order to reach my goals.Download the PDF and read more about Dr. Turner's journey.


Formic acid is considered as a promising hydrogen carrier and can be used as a source of hydrogen in the processing of heavy oil fractions such as tar. The interaction of formic acid with tar was studied by infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy via special technique using a mirror substrate. The infrared (IR) spectra were interpreted considering density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It was shown that formic acid dissolved in tar in three forms, as dimers, monomers of cis- and trans-configurations, hydrogen-bonded to the aromatic rings of the tar compounds, and as free-rotating gas molecules (microbubbles in the tar bulk). The research performed provides an opportunity and methodological base for studying the process of tar conversion in the presence of formic acid into gasoline fractions at temperatures up to 300 oC. Graphical Abstract


A 35-day feeding trial involving three hundred (300) five (5) week old broilers was carried out in a completely randomized design to evaluate the haematology, serum biochemical and gastro-intestinal characteristics of broiler finishers fed diets containing a mixture of fermented bovine blood and rumen digesta (FBBRD) meal at dietary levels of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 %, respectively. The birds were randomly grouped into five, with sixty birds each and four replicates of fifteen birds per treatment. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected from eight birds randomly selected from each treatment for haematological and biochemical analyses. The group on 10 % FBBRD diet had significantly (P<0.05) higher packed cell volume, haemoglobin concentration and red blood cells. Eosinophil values of birds on all the treatment groups except those on 5 % FBBRD dietary level were within the normal range. Serum biochemical analysis of the experimental birds recorded significant (P<0.05) differences in total protein, albumin, creatinine, cholesterol, except blood sugar concentrations. Serum concentrations of sodium and potassium of the experimental birds were also significantly (P<0.05) different. This study suggested that FBBRD meal when properly processed and at 10 % dietary level of inclusion, can be used in broiler finisher production without adverse effects on the physiological indices of birds. Keywords: Physiological evaluation ,broiler finisher ,bovine blood rumen digesta.


Abstract : Structural acoustics often utilizes Fourier transformation to either reveal a phenomenon that is more directly recognized in one domain than in its Fourier conjugate domain or to employ complementarity in order to decipher a phenomenon. In this paper, a novel computational technique is introduced. This technique advantageously performs this transformation in situations in which specific spatial scales govern aliased factors in the integrand of a Fourier transformation. The technique can factorially save computational steps over corresponding computations that employ discrete Fourier transform procedures.