Increasing scarcity of irrigational water is a major threat to sustainable production of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). It could be resolved by developing drought-tolerant cultivars. Osmotic adjustment and cellular membrane stability are well-documented traits that help to sustain yield under drought in cereals. However, their utility in cotton is not well established. Here, we studied genotypic variability and relationships among osmotic adjustment, cell membrane stability and productivity traits under field-induced water stress at the flowering stage. We evaluated a set of cotton germplasm comprising 32 cotton genotypes under contrasting water regimes for measurements of productivity including seedcotton yield, number of bolls per plant and boll weight, and physiological attributes such as osmotic adjustment and cell membrane stability in two field trials. The mean reduction in seedcotton yield due to water deficit was 20 and 43% in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Genotypes differed considerably for relative yield losses due to water stress ranging from 20 to 74%. Significant association between number of bolls and seedcotton yield under a water-limited regime suggests boll retention as the principal determinant of yield in a water-deficit-stress environment. Cell membrane stability varied significantly among the cotton genotypes; however, its association with productivity measurements was not significant in the water-limited regime. The significant positive correlation found between cell membrane stability and osmotic adjustment implicates the role of osmolytes in the protection of various cellular functions, including those associated with cellular membranes. Moderate but significant differences for osmotic adjustment were found among the genotypes in both years. Osmotic adjustment was positively associated with seedcotton yield under the water-limited regime and inversely correlated with the drought susceptibility index. These results demonstrated the contribution of osmotic adjustment in sustaining yield under water-deficit stress in cotton. Thus, like cereals, osmotic adjustment may be useful as a selection criterion in breeding programs with the objective of improving drought tolerance and yield in cotton under water-limited environments; however, the role of cell membrane stability as a drought-tolerant trait requires further investigation.


Chronic deep brain stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders is currently performed by numerous neurosurgeons. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with the surgical details necessary for this procedure. The selection of patients and targets are first reviewed. The nine phases of the surgical procedure are then described, including the use of computer-assisted technology for surgical planning and guidance. Our results corroborate the concept that DBS is a promising surgical procedure for treatment of movement disorders. Additional ongoing multi-center studies will allow precise determination of the role of chronic deep brain stimulation for treatment of Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders and the definition of the best brain target(s).


Background: The ideal imaging method for endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) should provide all data regarding diagnosis, measurements, and guiding of stent-graft deployment. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) is used for preoperative EVAR planning, together with intraoperative angiography. However, the administered contrast volume might result in contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). Purpose: To develop a technique for aortic measurements, vessel wall evaluation, and stent-graft positioning by using a vector phased-array intravascular ultrasound probe with color Doppler function (AcuNav) in elective EVAR. Material and Methods: Thirteen elective EVAR patients were included. AcuNav was compared to pre- and postoperative CT examinations, perioperative angiography, and postoperative duplex. Results: Measurements for stent-graft sizing were easily obtained and facilitated by the color Doppler function and corresponded well with CT and angiography. The combined information from AcuNav and fluoroscopy provided exact positioning of the stent graft. An aortic placement of the probe provided superior imaging results compared to an inferior vena cava approach. Detection of endoleak was found to be difficult. No complications were registered. Conclusion: The use of AcuNav combined with fluoroscopy in EVAR was found to be safe, effective, and feasible in planning and guiding EVAR procedures. Best results were seen with the probe placed in the artery. AcuNav might be used to replace contrast-enhanced CT and angiography, hence reducing the risk of CIN, especially in high-risk patients.


High-performance glazing technologies are essential for achieving the occupant comfort and building energy efficiency required in contemporary and future buildings. In real-world applications, glazing façades are selected from a steadily increasing number of glazing technologies. However, the authors could not identify a systematic and comprehensive review and classification of glazing technologies in the literature. This creates a barrier when comparing typologically different glazing technologies and combining multiple technologies in a glazing unit. This paper provides a systematic review and classification of established and emerging glazing technologies based on publications from 2001–2022 which were interpreted following the PRISMA methodology. This study reveals that the majority of high-performance glazing systems used in practice are in multi-layer glazing configurations and that the glazing system performance can focus on including additional and multiple functionalities, which aim at improving overall building performance. It was also found that there is a large potential for improvement of multilayer, evacuated, aerogels, electrochromic, and solar cell glazing by incorporating other technologies or innovative materials in multi-layer glazing units for either improving existing technologies or for the development of new ones. However, their longevity, robustness, and cost affordability should be ensured.


This paper discusses a passage from the Second Day of Galileo's Dialogue in which explicit reference is made to the game of tennis and, more specifically, to spinning balls. This often overlooked passage forms part and parcel of the tightly-knit argumentative structure of the work, and provides key arguments against Aristotelian physics. Furthermore, Galileo's choice of terms shows how careful he was in his use of analogies as effective tools to reconcile the new physics that he was struggling to introduce, with common sense. Finally, and most interestingly, by comparing this passage with a similar one from Galileo's unpublished writings, this paper shows the extent to which Galileo was interested in the physics of spinning balls and how he planned to include a discussion of it in a work that he began shortly after the publication of the Sidereus Nuncius, but never managed to finish.


Purpose To estimate the percentage of United States adults who accurately assessed their diet quality (DQ). Design Observational, cross-sectional, nationally representative. Setting National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2015-2018. Sample 9757 (86%) of 11 288 adults aged ≥20 years. Measures Perceived DQ was assessed by asking participants, how healthy is your diet? The five responses included excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. Measured DQ was assessed using 24-hours dietary recalls scored with 2015 Healthy Eating Index; scores were categorized using a 10-point grading scale. Analysis Matches between perceived and measured DQ that were classified as accurate included: excellent = A, very good = A or B, good = B or C, fair = C or D, and poor = D or F. All others were classified as inaccurate. Analyses included descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression for complex survey designs. Results 63% of adults perceived their DQ as very good or good while 70% scored DQ grades of F. Overall, 15% of adults accurately assessed their DQ with 96% accuracy in the poor perception group and <23% in the other 4 groups. Overall, 75% of adults overrated their DQ. Females, adults with lower educational attainment, and those with low food security were more likely to accurately assess their DQ. Conclusion Adults cannot accurately assess their DQ except for those perceiving their DQ as poor, and the majority overrate their DQ.


The vibrational dynamics of substitutional Fe and its influence on the vibrational properties of the host CoO matrix have been investigated using ab initio calculated Hellmann–Feynman forces. Corrections for the strong on-site interaction have been taken into account via the Hubbard potential U and the local exchange interaction J. Calculations were performed with constant U on Co and variable U on Fe. It was found that Fe impurities exhibit higher values of effective force constant than the original Co. New localized modes are created in the host CoO matrix due to force constant defect between Fe and Co. Iron impurities affect the optical phonon vibrations, while the long wavelength acoustic phonons do not experience changes upon the doping. Mean-squared vibrational amplitudes of cations and anions in the ideal and Fe-doped CoO are compared to the available experimental data. The calculated mean-squared displacements of Fe remain in very good agreement with those measured by Mössbauer spectroscopy.


 Abstract — For many enterprises, the delocalization of a part or the totality of their supply chain to low cost countries is the best way to reduce costs and remain competitive against the growing globalized market. This new tendency is driven by logistics advantages, as well as, financial and tax discount offered by the host countries. The objective of this article is to examine the new financial challenges introduced by the project of base erosion and profits shifting (BEPS), published in 2015, and also their impact on the decision of delocalization. In fact, the strategy adopted by multinational firms for determining the transfer price (TP) of goods and services, as well as the shared amount of revenues and expenses have a major impact upon group profit and may contribute to divergent results. In order to get more profit, a coherent decision of delocalization should be based on an evaluation of all the operational and financial characteristics associated with such movement. Therefore, it is interesting to model these new constraints and integrate them in a more global decision model. The established model will enable to measure how much these financial constraints impact the decision of delocalization and will give new helpful directives for enterprise managers.


Abstract. This article is a continuation of the review lightweight (low resource) cryptography, presented in the previous issue. The trend of increasing restrictions on the use computing resources, storage resources, energy capacity is shown. The urgency of algorithms lightweight cryptographic resistance which decreases slightly in contrast to the resources required is considered. The complete review of the literature in the field of lightweight cryptography is given. Applications of lightweight cryptographic are analyzed. The analysis of the application block and stream ciphers and hash functions are done. The comparison of software and hardware implementations of known ciphers is shown. The efficiency of using lightweight asymmetric cryptography systems is analyzed. The encouraging prospects lightweight cryptography are concluded. The recommenda-tions for development of lightweight cryptography in Russia are given. Keywords : cryptography, low resource cryptography, lightweight cryptography, block ciphers, resis-tance lightweight cryptography, efficiency lightweight cryptography, software ciphers, hardware ciphers, In-ternet of Things


The future of molecularly based Smart Materials hinges on the development of integrated technologies addressing synthesis, assembly, shaping etc and some of these are now becoming clear. Even in the bolt on era new technologies will allow issues of commensurate engineering to be addressed.


English Environment Programs is one of method In Improving Speaking Ability At Polytechnic of National Informatics. This research aims at finding out wheather or not the use of English environment Programs improve the speaking ability. This research used Quasy experimental method with two group pre-test and post-test design. The result of the data analysis showed that the degree of freedom (df) was 43 (n1 + n2 – 2) where n1 = 30 and n2 = 15 so 30 + 15 – 2 = 43), the level of significant (α) = 0.05, the t-test value of students' speaking ability= 3.765, and the t-table value = 2.021. The t-test value is greater than the t-table value (3.765 > 2.021), this showed that there is a significant difference of improvement between the Control group and Experimental Group. It means that the Alternative Hypothesis (H1) is accepted while the Null Hypothesis (H0) rejected. Based on the result above, the researcher concluded that the using of English Environment Programs can improve the speaking ability of the second year students of Polytechnic of National Informatics


The curved root canals often pose utmost challenges in their endodontic management. Common mishaps in such cases are primarily related to iatrogenic errors such as ledge, fractured instruments, canal transportation, canal blockage, zip, elbow and perforation. Knowledge of dental anatomy and its variations is essential for the success of endodontic treatment more so in such difficult cases. A clinician is required to have a meticulous study of the pre-operative IOPAR and draw an insight of the morphology of coronal and radicular portions of the tooth related to its shape, form and structure before commencing treatment. This article gives a review of the literature and reports an interesting case of fractured instrument in a severely curved root canal where perhaps the complication could have been avoided if the need of a pre-operative IOPAR was duly addressed.


Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate intrauterine adhesion formation after laparoscopic and laparotomic myomectomy. Design: This is a prospective, multicenter, observational study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04030273). Methods: We included patients after laparotomic and laparoscopic myomectomy. All patients underwent postsurgical diagnostic hysteroscopy, after 3 months. The intrauterine adhesion rate and associated factors were investigated. Results: Between January 2020 and December 2020, 38 and 24 consecutive patients underwent laparoscopic and laparotomic myomectomy, respectively. All diagnostic hysteroscopies were performed in the office setting without complications. Intrauterine adhesions were identified in 19.4% of women (95% CI: of 9–29%). Factors univariately associated (p < 0.2) with the presence of intrauterine adhesions after myomectomy were previous uterine surgery, the surgical approach (laparoscopic or laparotomic), the number of removed fibroids, the type and diameter of the largest myoma, and the opening of the uterine cavity. In the multivariable analysis, only the opening of the uterine cavity (odds ratio [OR] 51.99; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.53–596.28) and the laparotomic approach (OR, 16.19; 95% CI: 1.66–158.35) were independently associated with the identification of intrauterine adhesions after myomectomy. Limitations: One of the main limitations of our study is that we used uterine manipulator only in the laparoscopic group; in addition, we did not perform a preoperative hysteroscopy to evaluate the rate of intrauterine adhesions potentially present even before the myomectomy. Conclusions: The prevalence of intrauterine adhesions after 3 months from surgery was significantly associated with the opening of the uterine cavity and the laparotomic approach.


An important challenge in measuring whole brain activation is to develop a measure that could distinguish between normal and abnormal mood states. The application of chaos theory and non-linear dynamics to problems in biological sciences has resulted in a growing body of advancements and the notion of brain as a complex, non-linear system has attracted physicists, mathematicians, biologists and psychologists alike. To search for a correlation between alterations in chaotic brain states and mood disorders, we compared the fractal dimension of the electroencephalographic (EEG) signal in patients going through a manic episode of bipolar mood disorder (BMD) type I to a control group of healthy adults and showed that the EEG fractal dimension is significantly augmented in our patients. Thus, for the first time, we draw a clear objective distinction between normal and abnormal mood and associated brain states.


Eyespot disease caused by the soil-borne facultative fungi Oculimacula yallundae and O.acuformis is the major component of the stem-base disease complex of wheat in temperate regions of the world with a cool and wet climate. In this review, we focus on results of genetic studies concerning both partners of the hostnpathogen interaction. This comprises analyses of genetic diversity of the pathogen and identi?cation of particular genes within it, evaluation and screening methods for host resistance, resistance sources and genetics of these resistances, breeding of resistant cultivars in wheat, and application of genetic markers in tagging and tracking of eyespot resistance genes. We also attempt to foresee some of the key issues and developments that may occur in future. The identi?cation of markers tightly linked to eyespot resistance genes is the important research focus opening the door to marker-assisted selection of resistant varieties. Acknowledgements


Introduction The characterization of B. pertussis (Bp) antigen-specific CD4+ T cell cytokine responses should be included in the evaluation of immunogenicity of pertussis vaccines but is often hindered by the lack of standardized robust assays. Methods To overcome this limitation, we developed a two-step assay comprising a short-term stimulation of fresh whole blood with Bp antigens and cryopreservation of the stimulated cells, followed later on by batch-wise intracellular cytokine analysis by flow cytometry. Blood samples collected from recently acellular (aP) vaccine boosted subjects with a whole-cell- or aP-primed background was incubated for 24 hrs with Pertussis toxin, Filamentous hemagglutinin or a Bp lysate (400µl per stimulation). Antigen-specific IFN-γ-, IL-4/IL-5/IL-13-, IL-17A/IL-17F- and/or IL-22-producing CD4+ T cells were quantified by flow cytometry to reveal Th1, Th2, and Th17-type responses, respectively. The frequencies of IFN-γ-producing CD8+ T cells were also analyzed. Results We demonstrate high reproducibility of the Bp-specific whole blood intracellular staining assay. The results obtained after cryopreservation of the stimulated and fixed cells were very well correlated to those obtained without cryopreservation, an approach used in our previously published assay. Optimization resulted in high sensitivity thanks to very low non-specific backgrounds, with reliable detection of Bp antigen-specific Th1, Th2 and Th17-type CD4+ T cells, in the lowest range frequency of 0.01-0.03%. Bp antigen-specific IFN-γ+ CD8+ T lymphocytes were also detected. This test is easy to perform, analyse and interpret with the establishment of strict criteria defining Bp antigen responses. Discussion Thus, this assay appears as a promising test for evaluation of Bp antigen-specific CD4+ T cells induced by current and next generation pertussis vaccines.


Effects of using air voids to vary the effective permittivity of Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) TP20280 thermoplastic filament have been investigated. Measurements of the relativity permittivity and loss tangent of 3D printed substrates with different infill fractions have been made. A 3D printer has been used to manufacture heterogeneous antenna substrates, allowing for extra degrees of design freedom; specifically, varying the relative permittivity as a function of substrate location. S11 magnitude responses and performance parameters of heterogeneous antenna prototypes have been measured and validated through comparison with simulated data. Results presented conclude that patch antenna with linear variation of relative permittivity perpendicular to major current direction improved impedance match of the second resonant frequency, when compared with a traditional homogenous substrate patch antenna.


After an experimental neonatal screening program for cystic fibrosis (CF) had been carried out in the Netherlands during 1973-1979, a follow-up study to evaluate the effects of neonatal screening was started in 1980. The results of this study suggest that early diagnosis and appropriate treatment may prevent serious deterioration and death at a young age, and may reduce the extent of early irreversible lung damage in patients with CF. The short period between the birth of an affected child and the diagnosis and the timely information on the high recurrence risk, may lead to a significant reduction in subsequent births in the case of neonatal screening. However it is still doubtful whether general neonatal screening for CF should be recommended, as treatment directed against the harmful effects of the genetic defect is not yet available.


The absorption spectrum of CrI between 30 and 400 Å++ has been photographed. At least 17 discrete features have been recorded and all are attributed to excitation of the 3p-subshell, after comparison with Hartree-Fock calculations. Previous observations of photoabsorption in Mn vapour (Connerade, Mansfield & Martin 1976) have shown a close correspondence to exist between the atomic and metallic spectra. For Cr, however, no similar correspondence has been found and reasons for this difference are proposed. The observation of a prominent discrete spectrum has enabled the energy of a 3p ionization threshold to be determined with reasonable confidence.


An advanced TFT memory cell technology has been developed for making high-density and high-speed SRAM cells. The cell is fabricated using a phase-shift lithography that enables patterns with spaces of less than 0.25 /spl mu/m to be made using the conventional stepper. Cell area is also reduced by using a small cell-ratio and a parallel layout for the transistor. Despite the small cell-ratio, stable operation is assured by using advanced polysilicon PMOS TFT's for load devices. The effect of the Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ multilayer gate insulator on the on-current and the influence of the channel implantation are also investigated. To obtain stable operation and extremely low stand-by power dissipation, a self-aligned offset structure for the polysilicon PMOS TFT is proposed and demonstrated. A leakage current of only 2 fA/cell and an on-/off-current ratio of 4.6/spl times/10/sup 6/ are achieved with this polysilicon PMOS TFT in a memory cell, which is demonstrated in a experimental 1-Mbit CMOS SRAM chip that has an access time of only 7 ns. >


A new method for analyzing plane wave propagation in a periodically layered, elastic, nonhomogeneous composite body is proposed. The nonhomogeneity considered is a variation of the material properties within each composite layer. Results from probability theory are used to arrive at the two fundamental solutions of the governing second order ordinary differential equations. Floquet's wave theory is combined with a Wronskian formula to yield the dispersion relationship for this nonhomogeneous composite. Numerical results show that the presence of material nonhomogeneity affects the range of frequencies which can pass through the composite unattenuated.


Abstract Despite a common trajectory, sport has taken significantly different forms in Cape Verde and Portuguese Guinea. These differences provide a glimpse into both the plasticity of sport as a phenomenon and the specificities of colonial processes, even more remarkable in this case, given that both contexts involve the same colonizer: Portugal. This study focuses on the different ways in which representations of sport were constructed in Cape Verde and in Portuguese Guinea during the colonial period. The debate centres on two themes: (a) the political uses of sport by metropolitan interests and (b) the political uses of sport by local interests.


BACKGROUND
The traditional medical treatment for type B acute aortic dissection (AAD) is widely accepted, but the optimal clinical pathway has not been confirmed. Methods and Results From admissions over the past 12 years, 210 patients with uncomplicated type B AAD were divided into 2 groups: Conventional therapy group (CG) of 90 who were treated by 7 days of bed rest and intravenous antihypertensive agents and the Clinical pathway group (CPG) of 120 who were treated by early rehabilitation. In the CPG, patients were administered oral medication from the first day after onset and took a short walk from the third day after onset. The incidence of respiratory complications, and of delirium, was significantly decreased in the CPG. Early mortality was similar: 3.3% and 2.5%, respectively. The diameter of the aorta had not enlarged in either group 1 month later. Conclusions The clinical pathway of treatment for uncomplicated type B AAD was safer and better for preventing early complications and cost benefit.


This paper introduces one way to integrate an interactive simulator within a behavioral synthesis tool, thereby allowing concurrent synthesis and simulation. Such a simulator performs dynamic analysis and time evaluation. This paper also discusses an implementation of this concept resulting in a simulator, called AMIS. This tool assists the designer for understanding the results of behavioral synthesis and for architecture exploration.


OBJECTIVES
To describe the frequency and distribution of the consumption of medicines in a census-based sample of people of 60 or over. To determine the association between the consumption of medicines and other socio-demographic and clinical (presence of disease) variables.

DESIGN
An epidemiological crossover study based in the community.

SETTING
Rural population: the Health District of Arévalo in Castilla y León.

PARTICIPANTS
825 subjects (446 women and 379 men) over 60, with an average age of 71,84.

MEASUREMENTS
A standard questionnaire was used, containing medicine consumption, prescription, and clinical and demographic features.

RESULTS
The consumption of medicines per person per day was 1,92. Therapeutic groups most consumed were, in this order, hypotension drugs, cardiotonics, antirheumatics, peripheral vasodilators, digestive system drugs, neurotropics and analgesics. The number of illnesses suffered by this age-group was 2,19. There is a strong connection between consumption of medicines and age, especially in the over 80's.

CONCLUSIONS
75% of the target population took some medicine each day. Consumption is higher among women than men. Cardiovascular drugs are the most frequently used therapeutic group. Consumption of medicines is directly related to age and the number of illnesses.


Cluster head selection in LEACH is characterized with its distribution algorithm of high randomicity, which makes the distance between the cluster heads unevenly. This causes great energy cost both in setup and data transmission phase. To solve the problem mentioned above, a modified cluster head selection algorithm based on random waiting is proposed for the wireless sensor network composing of trivial sensor nodes, which divide the setup phase into three sub-phases including cluster head pre-selection, cluster head campaign and cluster head announcement. Based on the random waiting cluster head advertisement message, the cluster head is selected dynamically among the candidates within an optimum local area. This will make the location and the number of the cluster heads more reasonable. Simulations show that cluster heads selected by the algorithm distribute more evenly and the energy cost needed in setup phase is reduced exponentially within a large-scale network.


The rapid deployment of video visits during COVID-19 may have posed unique challenges for home-based primary care (HBPC) practices due to their hands-on model of care and older adult population. This qualitative study examined provider perceptions of video visits during the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis in New York City (NYC) through interviews with HBPC clinical/medical directors, program managers, nurse practitioners/nurse managers, and social work managers (n = 13) at six NYC-area practices. Providers reported a combination of commercial (health system-supported) and consumer (e.g., FaceTime) technological platforms was essential. Video visit benefits included triaging patient needs, collecting patient information, and increasing scheduling capacity. Barriers included cognitive and sensory abilities, technology access, reliance on caregivers and aides, addressing sensitive topics, and incomplete exams. Effectively integrating video visits requires considering how technology can be proactively integrated into practice. A policy that promotes platform flexibility will be crucial in fostering video integration.


Common bean is the most important grain legume in the human diet. Bean improvement efforts have been focused on classical breeding techniques because bean is recalcitrant to both somatic embryogenesis and in vitro regeneration. This study was undertaken to better understand the process of somatic embryogenesis in the common bean. We focused on the mechanisms by which somatic embryogenesis in plants is regulated and the interaction of these mechanisms with plant hormones. Specifically, we examined the role of the gene PvTRX1h, an ortholog of a major known histone lysine methyltransferase in plants, in somatic embryo generation. Given the problems with regeneration and transformation, we chose to develop and use regeneration-competent callus that could be successively transformed. Embryogenic calli of common bean were generated and transformed with the PvTRX1hRiA construction to down-regulate, by RNA interference, expression of the PvTRX1h gene. Plant hormone content was measured by mass spectrometry and gene expression was assessed by q-PCR. Detailed histological analysis was performed on selected transgenic embryogenic calli. It was determined that down-regulation of PvTRX1h gene was accompanied by altered concentrations of plant hormones in the calli. PvTRX1h regulated the expression of genes involved in auxin biosynthesis and embryogenic calli in which PvTRX1h was down-regulated were capable of differentiation into somatic embryos. Also, down-regulation of PvTRX1h showed increased transcript abundance of a gene coding for a second histone lysine methyltransferase, PvASHH2h. Accordingly, the PvTRX1h gene is involved in the synthesis of plant hormones in common bean callus. These results shed light on the crosstalk among histone methyltransferases and plant hormone signaling and on gene regulation during somatic embryo generation.


Background:
 Coronary angiography is frequently performed after the initial diagnosis of heart failure to determine etiology and revascularization strategy. Current body of evidence suggests that surgical revascularization conveys a mortality benefit as compared to medical therapy alone, and the role of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not yet established. The aim of this study is to describe revascularization patterns among patients presenting with systolic heart failure who underwent diagnostic angiography at a large urban county hospital.

 Methods:
 We evaluated patients presenting to the emergency department with symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) without acute coronary syndrome (n=150; average left ventricular ejection fraction of 25%) who underwent coronary angiography between January 2011 and January 2015. We defined surgical coronary artery disease (CAD) as: 1) three-vessel disease, 2) two-vessel disease including the proximal LAD artery, or 3) two-vessel disease including the left main coronary artery. Primary outcomes included intervention (PCI, CABG, or medical therapy [MT] alone) as well as referral for CABG.

 Results:
 Of patients presenting with HFrEF who underwent diagnostic angiography, 80% (n=120) of patients had obstructive CAD with 36% (n=43) of those patients having surgical CAD. Of those with surgical CAD, 74% (n=32) underwent PCI, 18% (n=8) underwent CABG and 7% (n=3) received MT alone. Of patients with 1-vessel CAD, or 2-vessel CAD without involvement of the proximal LAD artery or left main coronary artery, 81% (n=63) underwent PCI while 19% (n=14) received MT alone.

 Conclusion:
 Patients presenting with symptomatic HFrEF referred for cardiac catheterization have a high prevalence of obstructive CAD. Most patients with evidence of either surgical or non-surgical CAD during coronary angiography underwent revascularization, with PCI being the dominant revascularization method.


The 94th Annual Meeting was originally scheduled for 5-9 April 2003, in Toronto, ON., Canada. However, the meeting was postponed due to the SARS epidemic and was later held in July in Washington, DC.


A tumor bank (TB) is an ordered collection of neoplastic samples, normal tissue, and/or fluids preserved under optimal conditions, as well as storing patients' clinical information. The objective of this article is to outline the planning and logistics necessary for the functioning of the Instituto Nacional de Cancerología (INCan) TB in Mexico City. For the planning and logistics of a TB, several technical, legal, medical, structural, and physical aspects were considered, which can be grouped under four headings: (1) design and structure, (2) equipping the area and informatics, (3) ethical-legal aspects, and (4) sample collection, preservation, and quality control. One crucial element of interinstitutional interest will be the transfer of these concepts to the different oncological centers, integrating in this manner a network that enables the exploration of the different pathologies from therapeutic, epidemiological, and molecular points of view.


This summary and update of information on the marine birds of the southeastern Beaufort Sea is intended to support discussions on how to improve management of marine resources in the Canadian Beaufort Sea region. Perhaps the most outstanding use of the Beaufort Sea by marine birds is the staging during spring migration by hundreds of thousands of eiders and long-tailed ducks in the early open water off Cape Bathurst and Banks Island. During midsummer, tens of thousands of long-tailed ducks, scoters, scaup, and mergansers moult in the sheltered bays and behind barrier beaches and spits. Although several species of geese, ducks, loons, gulls, and terns nest on islands and in wetlands along the Beaufort Sea coast, this region has relatively few nesting seabirds compared to eastern Arctic Canada and the Bering Sea. Two possible reasons for this are a shortage of cliffs suitable for nesting and a lack of pelagic fish. The five most common sea duck species that occur in the region, long-tailed duck, king eider, common eider, surf scoter, and white-winged scoter, have all declined in numbers since the mid-1970s. Western Arctic brant populations have also declined, although their status within the Beaufort Sea region is unclear. Brant and king eider are the only marine bird species harvested there in substantial numbers. Other threats to Beaufort Sea marine bird populations include oil spills, global warming, coastal development, and contaminants. Certain threats can be managed at a local level since they are a result of local economic development, but others, such as global warming or loss of critical wintering areas, stem from environmental problems outside the region. Solving these issues will require mutual understanding and commitment on the part of numerous countries.


The seminal work of Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat published in 1952 demonstrates that it is possible to formulate Einstein's equations as an initial value problem. The purpose of this article is to describe the background to and impact of this achievement, as well as the result itself. In some respects, the idea of viewing the field equations of general relativity as a system of evolution equations goes back to Einstein himself; in an argument justifying that gravitational waves propagate at the speed of light, Einstein used a special choice of coordinates to derive a system of wave equations for the linear perturbations on a Minkowski background. Over the following decades, Hilbert, de Donder, Lanczos, Darmois and many others worked to put Einstein's ideas on a more solid footing. In fact, the issue of local uniqueness (giving a rigorous justification for the statement that the speed of propagation of the gravitational field is bounded by that of light) was already settled in the 1930s by the work of Stellmacher. However, the first person to demonstrate both local existence and uniqueness in a setting in which the notion of finite speed of propagation makes sense was Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat. In this sense, her work lays the foundation for the formulation of Einstein's equations as an initial value problem. Following a description of the results of Choquet-Bruhat, we discuss the development of three research topics that have their origin in her work. The first one is local existence. One reason for addressing it is that it is at the heart of the original paper. Moreover, it is still an active and important research field, connected to the problem of characterizing the asymptotic behaviour of solutions that blow up in finite time. As a second topic, we turn to the questions of global uniqueness and strong cosmic censorship. These questions are of fundamental importance to anyone interested in justifying that the Cauchy problem makes sense globally. They are also closely related to the issue of singularities in general relativity. Finally, we discuss the topic of stability of solutions to Einstein's equations. This is not only an important and active area of research, it is also one that only became meaningful thanks to the work of Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat.


FOR a number of years certain analogies between the results of experimental mesencephalic transection in apes and other mammals and occasional clinical phenomena in man in cases where cortical function is in abeyance have impressed themselves on my attention. These cases are marked by inhibition of cortical activity in the form, usually, of unconsciousness, and by the appearance of limband trunkhypertonus, with frequent exacerbations of this tonus in the guise of " tonic " or postural fits. The cause of the cortical defect has been, as a rule, cerebral heemorrhage-submeningeal, or intraventricular, or both-and the resulting rigidity closely resembles that produced experimentally by the method above mentioned. Such characteristic attitudes and postural schemes as are to be seen in mescencephalic transection are reproduced with fidelity in man, and may also appear involuntarily in full consciousness, in certain types of organic and functional nervous disease, while partial or fragmentary types also occur. The hypothesis to be developed is that many of the involuntary postures of a limb, or even part of a limb, as well as many of the transient. positions assumed in involuntary movements


The surfaces of soil animals which have evolved various kinds of non-smooth surfaces were studied. By means of microscopes, five kinds of non-smooth shapes were sorted. The dynamic adhesion systems, which formed between the bionics non-smooth surfaces and the wet soil, were analyzed to confirm that the systems of non-smooth surface have discontinuous water film, air pocket, and reduced contact area. The phenomena of contact interface have been observed. To investigate the resistance reduction effects, sliding tests were conducted. Test results indicate that the non-smooth surface plates can reduce resistance from 14.4% to 16.5% for convex type, and from 4.0% to 6.2% for concave type, respectively, compared to the traditional smooth surface.


Facing difficulties due to dementia syndromes, systemic care is necessary. Amongst therapies assessed specifically to caregivers, psychoeducative steps seem to be the strongest effective one on neuropsychiatrics symptoms. Psychoeducations tend to teach the caregivers to modify their interactions with patients via a better understanding of illnesses and patients. Our training "Pour mieux vivre avec la maladie d'Alzheimer", applied in groups of eight to twelve persons, consists in twelve sessions of two hours each. To assure the biggest possible availability, we recently incorporated the concomitant coverage of patients into artistic workshops. These sessions of art-therapy realized in parallel to our psychoeducative program will thus be estimated according to the same rigorous methodology. The critical evaluations realized by participants at the end of our program reflect the outcome of our main objective (to teach to modify interactions with the patients) while contributing to the improvement of social contacts and to the learning of calling to existing helps. These preliminary results strongly argue for the pursuit and even extension of this kind of caregiver's management.


The trending topic in today's education is computational thinking skills which are used to help to solve complicated problems easier. This study aims to identify the level of knowledge and self-confidence of science teacher candidates (physics and biology) on computational thinking skills. The survey research design was used through a mixed-method approach by combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative study involved 1016 randomly selected groups of science teachers while in the qualitative study, eight science teachers were chosen based on the scores obtained from the quantitative study. The questionnaire was used as a quantitative data collecting technique to analyze descriptive statistics. Then, an interview was used as the qualitative data collecting technique and was analyzed through theme creation. The findings show that science teacher candidates have a high level of knowledge and self-confidence. The implication of this study is very important for teacher candidates because computational thinking can help to facilitate problems solving in everyday life. Teacher candidates need to be given knowledge and understanding of computational thinking skills, to have readiness and self-confidence in facing the challenges of the learning in the 21st-century


Genital mycoplasmas are rare in extraintestinal specimens, but can cause disseminated infections in immunocompromised patients and wound infections after surgery or injury. We report two cases of Myoplasma hominis wound infections after lung lobectomy and kidney transplantation, and a case of M. salivarium wound infection after aortic graft replacement. Mycoplasmas grew in aerobic and anaerobic cultures as tiny colonies but were not observed by gram- or acid fast stain and were confirmed by MYCOFAST EvolutioN 2 kit or 16S rRNA sequencing. These cases indicated that mycoplasmas were probably underestimated in wound infections because they were not in suspicion. We suggest that Mycoplasma should be suspected when microorganisms are not readily observable in Gram stains but can be cultured. (Korean J Clin Microbiol 2010;13: 121-124)


This study establishes a conceptual model to assess the cybersecurity readiness for the public sector in Cambodia. The prime motivation of prioritizing the public institutions in this study is due to the fact that these institutions have been reported as the most vulnerable and most wanted target of cyber attacks. We suggest that it is really vital should the weakness and strength of each institutions can be represented by a single indicator that is a result of combination of various sub-indicators, so that the policymaker could realize the issue in detail before the countering measures could be established. In this study, we perform detail analysis on how the readiness index can be constructed and what area it could be employed. We measure the cybersecurity preparedness of public institutions on three dimensions including, Human Resource, Infrastructure, and Environment. These three categories are the combination of 46 indicators aggregated by using Factor Analysis/Principal Component Analysis as multivariate and weighting method with linear additive aggregation.


Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, and acrolein, all of which are constituents of tobacco smoke, were reacted in 5 mM concentration with the purified major fraction of normal adult human hemoglobin (hemoglobin Ao) in 1 mM concentration. A cigarette smoke condensate, diluted to contain 5 mM total aldehydes, was also reacted with 1 mM hemoglobin Ao. Cationic exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that the products formed from simple aliphatic aldehydes, with the exception of formaldehyde, were analogues of those formed from acetaldehyde, earlier shown by us to be imidazolidinone derivatives, that is, cyclic addition products of the N-terminal aminoamide function of alpha and beta chains. Formaldehyde and acrolein produced a heterogeneous mixture of derivatives including cross-linked hemoglobin dimers. The greater proportion of modified hemoglobins produced by condensate aldehydes resembled those formed from acetaldehyde, the most abundant aldehyde in the condensate. A smaller fraction consisted of cross-linked hemoglobin dimers, presumably due to the action of formaldehyde. Mass spectrometric and HPLC analyses of the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones precipitated from the condensate documented the presence of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, furfural, and methylfurfural. The toxicity of aldehydes is briefly discussed in the context of the findings of this study.


This study focused on primate distribution and abundance in yaaiwa and Ipinu-Igede Forest Reserves in Kwande and Oju local Government Areas of Benue State, Nigeria, respectively. The study also assessed the species of tree composition and abundance in addition to types of anthropogenic activities in these areas. The research period was from June, 2018 to May, 2019. The methods used were line transect method to determine their population density and the total enumeration count for plants species composition and abundance. Structural questionnaire were used to obtain information on anthropogenic disturbances in the study areas. Results revealed that population density of the three species of primates sighted in the study areas were very low, 1.68 individuals /km2 due to high rate of anthropogenic activities such as farming, hunting and logging in and around these study areas. However, the presence of three different species of primates such as olive Baboon (Papio Anubis), Patas monkey (Erythrocebus Patas) and Tantatus monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) were confirmed, through physical observations and indirect indices such as calls, dungs and foot prints. The plant species and ecology of the study areas were mainly of primary forest which was seriously modified through human activities. Clearly, most of the respondents were energetic youths of age between 16 – 35 years, who were mostly said to be unemployed who posed threat to wildlife conservation in these study areas. However, awareness on the importance of wildlife (Primates) conservation should be carried out using radio and town criers in the state to reduce the rate of ignorance on Line Transect Method . Efforts should be made to adequately protect the study areas, through enactment of laws since they are still one of the few remaining locations in the state where some valuable tropical and indigenous tree species could be found


Incorporating formamidinium (FA) into methylammonium (MA) based perovskite has brought significant thermal and environmental stability including best device performance. It has been shown that addition of Cesium (Cs) makes perovskite robust in terms of thermodynamic stability as well. We explore the means of incorporating Cs into a base perovskite of mixed cation (FA/MA) and mixed halide (I/Br) that has a proven track record of high performance through an inter-diffusion approach. With this approach, it has been shown that perovskites form a smooth film without any residual PbI2 and exhibit higher absorbance. Though the residual PbI2 disappeared with the increase in added Cs, the film morphology became rough for Cs concentration higher than 15%. Addition of small amounts of PbCl2 allowed inclusion of more Cs content, which resulted in smooth film surface and further improved device performance.


The project "ReconnACT Blumenthal to the water" is a concept for a particular area in the north of Bremen, Blumenthal, which is currently in a transition phase from an industrial to a post-industrial urban district. In line with the general theme of the summer school, "City on Water", making connections between the water and the city stands central. Blumenthal's proximity to the river 'Weser' is therefore considered as a main chance. However, Blumenthal is not an area where usual waterfront developments, i.e. creating space for retail and rather luxury housing as can be seen in Hamburg, Barcelona, London and elsewhere, would work. Given the magnitude of social problems in Blumenthal, we aimed at creating a socially acceptable waterfront. Our concept therefore does not only stress physical connections with the water, but also social connections which may pave the ground for revitalization and social integration.


Botswana has the reputation of being Africa's longest surviving democracy having held uninterrupted elections at five year intervals since the pre-independence elections of 1965. The latest elections were held in October 2009. Al- though in democratic discourse it is assumed and/or expected that the holding of regular free, fair and competitive multi- party elections should provide an opportunity of regime change, this has so far not materialized in Botswana. The country is therefore a dominant-party system with only one political party, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), having won all the elections held so far. This paper argues that there is nothing inherently undemocratic with people voting for the same political party provided the political playing field is level. A number of factors are advanced to explain the dominance of the BDP in the country's politics. These include, inter alia, the perceived delivery of the ruling party, the politics of pa- tronage, advantages of incumbency and other factors related to the culture of Batswana. Having said this, it is concluded that recent political events in the country point towards the emergence of a new undemocratic culture which may result in the reversal of the system of one-party dominance. Thus, it is argued that the dominance of the BDP in the country's poli- tics is likely to be seriously challenged in the not too distant future.


MicroRNAs (miRs) have been implicated in tumorigenesis through inhibition of the expression of their target genes at post-transcriptional levels. miR-124 has been found to be downregulated in many malignant tumors including osteosarcoma (OS). However, the detailed mechanism of miR-124 in the regulation of OS malignant phenotypes remains largely unclear. Here we aimed to explore the role of miR-124 in mediating OS cell migration and invasion, as well as the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Real-time RT-PCR data showed that miR-124 was frequently downregulated in OS cell lines compared to normal human osteoblast cells. We further conducted bioinformatic analysis and a luciferase reporter assay, and identified receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 2 (ROR2) as a novel target of miR-124. Furthermore, we found that ROR2 was significantly upregulated in OS cell lines compared to normal human osteoblast cells, and miR-124 negatively mediated the protein level of ROR2 in U-2OS and Saos-2 cells. Moreover, transfection with miR-124 mimics significantly suppressed migration and invasion in the U-2OS and Saos-2 cells, while overexpression of ROR2 in the miR-124-transfected OS cells reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-124 upregulation on OS cell migration and invasion. In addition, we found that overexpression of miR-124 significantly suppressed the activity of non-canonical Wnt signaling, downstream of ROR2. Based on these findings, we suggest that miR-124 may inhibit OS metastasis, partly at least, via targeting ROR2 and thus suppressing the activity of ROR2-mediated non-canonical Wnt signaling.


This volume is one by-product of the Travel and Maintenance Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, begun in 1969 to stimulate academic interest in the study of international organizations from a variety of perspectives involving new international issues and processes. Growing out of a long-standing Endowment concern with the United Nations and the UN system, the program has sought to create links among the scholarlycommunity in a number of disciplines to develop a focus on changes in the international system that result in apparent shifts in political allegiance away from the territorial state. The program has been supported on a matching basis by the Ford Foundation


ABSTRACT We identified four novel nonpeptidic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease inhibitors (PIs), GRL-078, -079, -077, and -058, containing an alkylamine at the C-5 position of P2 tetrahydropyrano-tetrahydrofuran (Tp-THF) and a P2′ cyclopropyl (Cp) (or isopropyl)-aminobenzothiazole (Abt) moiety. Their 50% effective concentrations (EC50s) were 2.5 to 30 nM against wild-type HIV-1NL4-3, 0.3 to 6.7 nM against HIV-2EHO, and 0.9 to 90 nM against laboratory-selected PI-resistant HIV-1 and clinical HIV-1 variants resistant to multiple FDA-approved PIs (HIVMDR). GRL-078, -079, -077, and -058 also effectively blocked the replication of HIV-1 variants highly resistant to darunavir (DRV) (HIVDRVrp51), with EC50s of 38, 62, 61, and 90 nM, respectively, while four FDA-approved PIs examined (amprenavir, atazanavir, lopinavir [LPV], and DRV) had virtually no activity (EC50s of >1,000 nM) against HIVDRVrp51. Structurally, GRL-078, -079, and -058 form strong hydrogen bond interactions between Tp-THF modified at C-5 and Asp29/Asp30/Gly48 of wild-type protease, while the P2′ Cp-Abt group forms strong hydrogen bonds with Asp30′. The Tp-THF and Cp-Abt moieties also have good nonpolar interactions with protease residues located in the flap region. For selection with LPV and DRV by use of a mixture of 11 HIVMDR strains (HIV11MIX), HIV11MIX became highly resistant to LPV and DRV over 13 to 32 and 32 to 41 weeks, respectively. However, for selection with GRL-079 and GRL-058, HIV11MIX failed to replicate at >0.08 μM and >0.2 μM, respectively. Thermal stability results supported the highly favorable anti-HIV-1 potency of GRL-079 as well as other PIs. The present data strongly suggest that the P2 Tp-THF group modified at C-5 and the P2′ Abt group contribute to the potent anti-HIV-1 profiles of the four PIs against HIV-1NL4-3 and a wide spectrum of HIVMDR strains.


The authors showed previously that the effusions of the experimental polyseritis after intraperitoneal injections of trypsin and elastase, go from peritoneum to the pleural cavities and never from thorax to the peritoneum. The intraperitoneal injections of collagenase or of collagenase and trypsin can also cause polyseritis in the rat; but more often they provoke heavy hemorrhagic lesions of the wall of the abdomen and the diaphragm. Perforations of the diaphragm were observed in 8 rats of 32, with in 6, a intrathoracic hernia of the liver or the stomach. After the intrapleural injection of collagenase or of collagenase and trypsin, hemorrhagic lesions were seen in the thorax, but not in the abdomen. These facts are a new proof for the transdiaphragmatic propagation of the proteasic solutions injected in the peritoneum.


This paper discusses several techniques used in developing a parallel, production quality data mining application in Java. We started by developing three sequential versions of a product recommendation data mining application: (i) a Fortran 90 version used as a performance reference, (ii) a plain Java implementation that only uses the primitive array structures from the language, and (iii) a baseline Java implementation that uses our Array package for Java. This Array package provides parallelism at the level of individual Array and BLAS operations. Using this Array package, we also developed two parallel Java versions of the data mining application: one that relies entirely on the implicit parallelism provided by the Array package, and another that is explicitly parallel at the application level. We discuss the design of the Array package, as well as the design of the data mining application. We compare the trade-offs between performance and the abstraction level the different Java versions present to the application programmer. Our studies show that, although a plain Java implementation performs poorly, the Java implementation with the Array package is quite competitive in performance with Fortran. We achieve a single processor performance of 109 Mflops, or 91% of Fortran performance, on a 332 MHz PowerPC 604e processor. Both the implicitly and explicitly parallel forms of our Java implementations also parallelize well. On an SMP with four of those PowerPC processors, the implicitly parallel form achieves 290 Mflops with no effort from the application programmer, while the explicitly parallel form achieves 340 Mflops.


While transmission grid assets are more and more pushed towards their limits, the use of WAM systems to supervise and maintain high voltage grid stability has won significant attention. This paper introduces the concepts of WAM systems, it describes stability assessment solutions based on phasor measurement data and gives insight into experiences gained with actual WAM system installations in Europe and Asia. Conclusions are drawn for WAM system design requirements allowing the stepwise upgrading from monitoring to protection and control functionality.


The introduction traces how, through the comparison to Egyptian hieroglyphs, twentieth-century writers, directors, and theorists incessantly invoked other media as well as other nations as they sought to define the most essential qualities and capabilities of their own. Rather than attempting to combine media, the modernists defined the uniqueness of any medium by its hybridity, its ability to enclose or embody the sonic, visual, or semantic characteristics of other media forms. At the same time, by situating conceptions of hieroglyphics within the historical context of Egypt in the 1920s and in relation to the novels of Tawfiq al-Hakim and Naguib Mahfouz, the book insists on the fundamental connection between theories of new technologies on the one hand and colonialism, nationalism, and the universalist desire to bridge linguistic and cultural boundaries on the other.


The history of mankind has been together with the history of image because image provides with excellent information as a communication means. However, this study argues that there is more underlying cause for it. A subject is the subject of unconscious and the role of image is huge in the process toward the subject. Of course, image has been dealt in-depth in psychoanalysis. Film study also applied psychoanalysis on it. However, they were not the approach from the viewpoint with image in the center. Accordingly, this study will verify the image toward the subject and the absoluteness of image. The result of this study is that image intervened deeply in the formation of the subject much higher than the level of simple communication. Since image communicates with the subject on more underlying level, the subject have been always entangled with image and men have delved in image and been attracted to it.


The paper presents calculations and estimations of the economic damage caused by cases of trichinosis in the North Caucasus before and after economic reforms. Before ruble denomination, the economic damage from a case ofsubclinical, mild, moderate, severe, and very severe (and fatal) trichinosis was 246.9, 374.6, 621.6, 882.1, and 63,000 rbl., respectively. After the country's economic transition to market relations, it was 10,688, 12,935, 24,885, 37,596, and 139,592 rbl., respectively, as shown by the 2003 data. Before and after economic reforms, the mean cost of a case of trichinosis was 1,342 and 21,526 rbl., respectively. According to the author's estimates, the damage caused by cases of trichinosis to the economy of the North Caucasus in the period of 1990 to 2004 was over 50 million rbl. Only did the 2001 large-scale outbreak of invasion in the Krymsky District, Krasnodar Territory, cause damage at 7 million rbl.


Severe frac hit incidents were encountered during stimulating horizontal production wells in a pilot pad of a tight oil reservoir in Ordos basin. The reservoir is interbedded, highly heterogeneous both vertically and horizontally as result of gravity flow deposition. This raised a big concern on the stimulation treatment size and well spacing of the pad and further implication on the field development plan of the reservoir. A deep understanding of root causes and an effective frac hit prevention and mitigation strategy were much needed to address the problem.
 A multidisciplinary team was formed to investigate the problem. Initial analysis on the frac hit incidents showed that the frac hits were not correlated to well spacing, or stimulation volume as frac hits only occurred at certain stages out of those with the same stimulation volume or well spacing. Then the study turned the focus to investigating the problem from the geological and geomechanical perspective through leveraging a 3D high definition (HD) geological and geomechanical model.
 The detailed investigation revealed that the root causes of the frac hits were multiple folds: Existence of natural fracture corridors led to frac hit of wells in much longer distance.Alignment of hydraulic fractures among horizontal wells also increased the chance of frac hits as the result of alignment of perforations among horizontal wells.Asymmetrical propagation of hydraulic fracture (e.g., deviated to one side of horizontal laterals increased the chance of frac hit as the result of heterogeneous sand body and in-situ stress field.)Lack of vertical fracture containment resulted in the crossing-layer frac hits.
 With the good understanding of the root causes of frac hits, a frac hit risk map was generated based on the 3D HD geoscience model, which highlighted high frac risk zone in the pad. The frac hits observed from subsequent stimulations of the horizontal wells occurred only in the high frac hit risk zone, which validated the frac hit risk map. Based on the findings from the study, the frac hit prevention and mitigation strategy was developed.


The two-way sound systems require time alignment procedures between different speakers using audio processors. Framed in this object of study, this article describes the implementation of a software tool for the analysis of sound systems. This tool was developed in the visual programming environment Matlab ®, Simulink ®, and is useful for evaluating the performance of a sound in an enclosure through the analysis of the frequency response of the same, which is affected by the acoustics of the room. Tests show that the software is reliable, presenting relative errors less than 4% in the different modes of operation.


Many environmental impacts can be attributed to fish farming and there is a need to explore new ways of reducing environmental impacts, such as fish genetic improvement. The environmental consequences of genetic improvement in thermal growth coefficient (TGC) and in feed conversion ratio (FCR) were investigated, therefore, in an African catfish farm in Recirculating Aquaculture System. A Life Cycle Assessment study was conducted and combined with a bioeconomic model of genetic response. Results show that environmental consequences of genetic improvement in TGC and FCR are different among impact categories, depending on their main contributors and on the factor limiting production at farm level. Genetic improvement of FCR always leads to lower environmental impacts while improving TGC decreases environmental impacts only when density was the limiting factor. Those results are important for the future development of selective breeding programs in fish farming taking into account environmental impacts.


Prior research indicates that peer code review is an effective method for reducing the number of defects and improving the quality of code. Besides maintaining the integrity of the code, code review spreads knowledge, expertise, and development techniques among the review participants. In the recent years, many Open Source Software (OSS) communities and commercial organizations have adopted 'contemporary' or 'modern' code review, an informal, regular, toolbased process. Because both OSS and commercial developers spend a significant amount of effort performing code reviews, the primary goal of this dissertation is to better understand contemporary code review practices, its benefits, and factors that influence its outcomes. To address this goal, this dissertation describes empirical studies using surveys, software repository mining, and social network analysis. The first study is a survey of OSS developers to understand their collaboration and the process by which they form impressions of each other. The results suggest that coding-related factors influence impression formation the most among OSS developers. Therefore, the types of interactions where participants can judge a peers code or creativity (e.g., code review) should be crucial for peer impression formation. The results of this study motivated the selection of peer code review as the focus of this dissertation. The second study describes a survey of developers from 36 popular OSS projects and from Microsoft about: 1) the code review process in their projects, 2) their expectations from code review, and 3) how code review impacts impressions about their peers. The results suggest that the primary perceived benefit of code review is knowledge sharing, relationship building, better designs, and ensuring maintainable code, as opposed to the expected result of defect detection. Code reviews help build impressions between code review participants. Those impressions not only impact code review process but also future collaborations among developers. Due to the rarity of face-to-face interactions, OSS developers rely more on the reputation of and relationship with the author during code reviews. Conversely, Microsoft developers focus more on expertise and anticipated efforts. Finally, the third study aims to find the impact of developers' reputation on the outcome of his/her code review requests. The results suggest that developers' reputations help them receive quicker feedback on their review requests, complete reviews in shorter time, and get their


Microscopic colitis (MC) is a common cause of chronic diarrhea with limited long-term data. We searched the pathology records at our institution from 2008 to 2018 to identify cases of MC. Total sample included patients with either a diagnosis of MC or incomplete MC (MCi).Chart review was performed and data were summarized for descriptive statistics. Logistic regression was used to estimate the unadjusted effects of predictors on MC. A total of 216 patients (88.32% white, 80.56% females, mean age 67.12 +/– 15.79) were studied; 50.00% had CC, 40.28% had LC and 9.72% had MCi. Majority (52.31%) were smokers and 21.84% of females were using some form of hormonal therapy. The odds of LC in reference to CC were significantly higher for those using tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) (OR: 3.23, 95% C.I: 1.18–8.80, p = 0.02). The odds of smoking, statins, aspirin and beta-blocker use were decreased in MCi in reference to CC (all p < 0.05), 29 (74.35%) patients with unresolved symptoms underwent repeat colonoscopies with biopsies. One case of MCi resolved, 8 (72.73%) out of 11 cases of LC resolved, 2 (18.18%) continued to be LC and 1 (9.09%) transformed to CC, 8 (47.06%) out of 17 cases of CC resolved, 8 (47.06%) continued to be CC and 1 (5.88%) transformed to LC. Majority of patients had CC. TCA use resulted in increased odds of LC in reference to CC. Biopsies from repeat colonoscopies in some patients revealed changes in the pathological diagnoses raising the question of interchangeability of MC (CC to LC and vice versa).


Microwave signatures of the ocean surface are affected by wind and rain. To support the development of theoretical models for remote sensing applications, radar scatterometry experiments at 13.5 and 36 GHz with VV polarization were conducted at the Rain-Sea Interaction Facility at NASA Wallops. Backscatterings from rain drop impacts on fresh and salt water surfaces were measured with an incidence angle of 30 degrees for eight different drop sizes. Results are also presented for terminal and non-terminal fall velocities. Surface features were imaged by an ultrahigh-speed digital camera synchronized with radar data acquisition and their geometrical characteristics were determined. Backscattered powers from crowns, craters, stalks and ring-waves were measured and compared. These measurements confirm that for slant radar configurations, ring-waves are the dominant scattering contribution, even though stalk scattering is not negligible.


A simple method is proposed for obtaining a partially reflective surface with increasing reflection phase for use in wideband, low-profile electromagnetic band-gap resonator antennas. Using the proposed types of partially reflective surfaces and a perfect electric conductor ground, a wideband resonant cavity can be formed and hence a wideband resonant cavity antenna can be designed. The method to design the partially reflective surface is described and examples are given.


Fluid overload and uncontrolled hypertension may be considered important mortality risk factors in peritoneal dialysis (PD) population. Even malnutrition is highly prevalent in PD patients. It is now well established that lower levels of serum markers of nutrition such as albumin, creatinine, and prealbumin are associated with increased mortality in PD patients [Fein, P.A. et al: Adv Perit Dial 2002;18:195-199]. Moreover cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in patients with end-stage renal disease, and hypertension and volume expansion are highly prevalent in long-term PD patients. Many studies in hemodialysis and in PD have demonstrated that phase sensitive bioelectrical impedance analysis is a widely used and proven method for evaluating patient's body composition. The vectorial bioimpedance analysis is a validated system to evaluate the hydration and nutritional state of hemodialysis and PD patients with acceptable sensitivity and specificity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of the new multifrequency BodyComp bioimpedance analyzer as a home based tool versus traditional Bia Vector.


Some modified techniques are used in this article in order to have approximate solutions for systems of Volterra integro-differential equations. The suggested techniques are the so called Laplace-Adomian decomposition method and Laplace iterative method. The proposed methods are robust and accurate as can be seen from the given illustrative examples and from the comparison that are made with the exact solution.


stitute a scholarly presentation of psychoanalytic metapsychology and ego psychology; and these, for most readers, will require study, Part Two, "Ego Psychology and the Education of the Child," focuses on important ego defense mechanisms and their implications for learning and, therefore, for formal schooling. Part Three, "Psychoanalysis and the Development of the Moral Sense," deals with the functions and development of the superego and the functions and development of the ego ideal, again with specific application to the tasks of formal education. The final chapter is devoted to suggestions on the relationship between psychoanalyst and educator. This will be a difficult book for anyone not well versed in psychoanalytic theory. It is aimed at the professional educator, and at the psychoanalyst who undertakes to collaborate with educators, rather than at the psychotherapist, counselor, or caseworker. At the same time, however, it has both direct and indirect implications for anyone who may be called upon to understand and treat children whose intellectual development is disturbed or whose school adjustment is poor. The case material alone will be very rewarding even to the reader who may bog down on some of the more theoretical pages, and even in these, an occasional sentence or "aside" will often clarify something previously obscure. DOUGLASS W. ORR, M.D. Seattle, Washington


Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a group of emerging pathogens that can cause human diseases, including hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and hemorrhagic colitis (HC). Monitoring slaughtering stages and checking contamination points are crucial for the production of safe food. In this context, the aim of this study was to verify contamination by STEC strains, to determine the contamination points and evaluate the resistance profile to 12 antimicrobials used in both veterinary and human medicine. A total of 80 samples were obtained from eight collection points (pen floor, rectum, hide, carcass swabs and esophagus, diaphragm, masseter, and retail beef tissue samples). The isolates were collected by dilution plating on MacConkey agar with sorbitol, cefixime, and tellurite and analyzed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction for virulence genes. Serotyping of non-O157 was performed, and testing for 12 antibiotics by disk diffusion was carried out. A total of 18 STEC strains were isolated, presenting different virulence profiles. Contamination by STEC was observed in the rectum (5/18), carcass surface (5/18), hide (3/18), diaphragm (2/18), retail beef (2/18), and masseter muscle (1/18). Pen floor swabs and esophagus tissues showed no STEC contamination. Moreover, three strains were identified as O26 and three as O113:H21 strains, which have been linked to HUS and HC outbreak cases in Brazil. All STEC isolates were susceptible to all evaluated antimicrobials, except streptomycin. The presence of STEC strains is a direct risk to the consumer, especially when isolated from retail beef, and contamination can occur during different slaughter stages. However, antimicrobial resistance profiles did not identify multidrug-resistant strains, limiting potential antimicrobial resistance transmission to other pathogens.


This research aims to find out whether the Impact Information Technology with electronic supply chain management and competitive Advantage will provide a significant influence on company performance. The approach of electronic supply chain management with five dimensions, namely: communication, collaboration, information sharing, Trust, and trading partner's power. Variable of competitive advantage consists of five dimensions, which are price, Quality, Delivery, product innovation, and time to market. As for variable of company performance measured by three indicators: financial performance, operational performance and performance-based marketplace. Data collection is gathered by distributing questionnaires. The Analysis method used in hypothesis is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) by using Partial Least Square (PLS). The research found that the Effect of Information Technology with electronic Supply Chain management and Competitive advantage have significant effect on the performance of the company.


The thermal conductivity of strongly coupled Yukawa liquids, being relevant to dusty plasmas, is calculated from nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. The calculations cover a wide range of plasma coupling (Gamma) and screening (kappa) parameters and yield data which are generally in good agreement with the results of recent independent calculations. An improved analytical formula, relating the thermal conductivity to the reduced temperature and to the screening length, is proposed.


With the recent developments in information and communication technologies, designers have adapted digital tools and new ways of designing into their practice. In order to develop efficient systems for designing, the adaptation of new tools and techniques in design practice requires a better understanding of how designers employ the digital medium and what impact the digital medium have on designers' cognition. The latter one is the subject of this paper. The paper presents the methodology and the initial results of a pilot to investigate the impact of immersion on design cognition. The initial result of the pilot study indicates that the designers were able to adapt to each design environment which affords different kinds of activities and requires different cognitive load.


This paper describes the development of a high-density electronic interface to the central nervous system. Silicon micromachined electrode arrays now permit the long-term monitoring of neural activity in vivo as well as the insertion of electronic signals into neural networks at the cellular level. Efforts to understand and engineer the biology of the implant/tissue interface are also underway. These electrode arrays are facilitating significant advances in our understanding of the nervous system, and merged with on-chip circuitry, signal processing, microfluidics, and wireless interfaces, they are forming the basis for a family of neural prostheses for the possible treatment of disorders such as blindness, deafness, paralysis, severe epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease.


This communication gives an explanation why the ideal gas law is sufficient to calculate the observed surface temperature of celestial bodies, if the mass density and the pressure of the respective atmospheres are known. The ideal gas law provides also a nice tool to check the experimental consistency of the parameters obtain by other measurements. But it does not permit to directly determine the radiative forcing.


Time-domain simulation methods allow the observation of the state of the simulation domain at each discrete time step. In this work an approach to analyze the progress of the sound field in the simulation domain using time-windowing and spectrum analysis is presented. The method makes it possible to analyze the effect of geometric structures into the spatiotemporal distribution of energy in the domain at a frequency range of interest. Several examples are presented.


During hydraulic fracturing operations of low-permeability reservoirs, packers are the key component to ensure the success of multistage fracturing. Packers enable sections of the wellbore to be sealed of and separately fractured by hydraulic pressure, one at a time, while the remainder of the wellbore is not afected. However, reliable sealing properties of the packer rubber are required to meet the high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) conditions of reservoirs (such as 70 MPa and 170 °C). In this study, the structures of the packer rubber with two diferent materials are optimized numerically by ABAQUS and validated by experiments. The optimization process starts from the packer rubber with a conventional structure, and then, the weakest spots are identifed by ABAQUS and improved by slightly varying its structure. This process is iterative, and the fnal optimized structure of a single rubber barrel with expanding back-up rings is achieved. For the structure of three rubber barrels with metallic protective covers, both HNBR and AFLAS fail under HPHT conditions. For the fnal optimized structure, the packer rubber made of AFLAS can work better under HPHT than that made of HNBR which ruptures after setting. The results show that the optimized structure of a single rubber barrel with expanding back-up rings and the material AFLAS are a good combination for the packer rubber playing an excellent sealing performance in multistage fracturing in horizontal wells.
Keywords: packer rubber, sealing property, structure optimization, hydrogenated nitrile–butadiene rubber (HNBR), AFLAS rubber.


Handover mechanism for mobility support in a remote real-time streaming Internet-of-Things (IoT) system was proposed in this paper. The handover mechanism serves to keep the connection between sensor nodes and a gateway with a low latency. The handover mechanism also attentively considers oscillating nodes which often occur in many streaming IoT systems. By leveraging the strategic position of smart gateways and Fog computing in a real-time streaming IoT system, sensor nodes' loads were alleviated whereas advanced services, like push notification and local data storage, were provided. The paper discussed and analyzed metrics for the handover mechanism based on Wi-Fi. In addition, a complete remote real-time health monitoring IoT system was implemented for experiments. The results from evaluating our mobility handover mechanism for mobility support shows that the latency of switching from one gateway to another is 10%–50% less than other state-of-the-art mobility support systems. The results show that the proposed handover mechanism is a very promising approach for mobility support in both Fog computing and IoT systems.


1) Background: Consumers' response to threat is an important topic and needs further exploration, especially in times of Covid-19 pandemic. This paper contributes towards widening its understanding from the perspective of consumers' purchase behaviour in the context of convenience stores. It adds to the debate on the influence of the Covid-19 threat and all unprecedented pandemic circumstances (exogenous and endogenous impacts) on consumers' purchase routines and habits. 2) Methods: This study analyses a unique dataset of transactional data (783,502 observations) drawn from 1,291 convenience stores located in the United Kingdom (thanks to The Retail Data Partnership Ltd). The captured period includes 36 months (from January 2018 till December 2020). This panel data study concentrates on the particular aspects of purchase behaviour (one item transactions, average spend per transaction) in the pre-pandemic and pandemic period. 3) Results: This investigation reveals that the share of one item transactions fundamentally decreased in the analysed pandemic period (especially in April 2020) both in the overall number and value of transactions. The average transaction (basket) value increased in that period. Further analysis concerning the stores' location, affiliation and size adds depth to our contribution. 4) Conclusions: Our findings show the meaning of convenience sector in times of threat. We demonstrate specific aspects of the claim that purchase behaviour habits and patterns have significantly changed in the era of Covid-19 pandemic. Understanding this change underpins the long-term process of knowledge building in the field of consumers' purchase behaviour. It also makes business practitioners, policymakers and consumers more proactive than reactive in the case of future.


Stereocontrolled synthesis of the A/B-ring fragment of the originally assigned structure of gambieric acid B and its possible diastereomers has been accomplished. Detailed comparison of their 1H and 13C NMR data with those of the corresponding moiety of the natural product culminated in a stereochemical reassignment of the absolute configuration of the polycyclic ether region of gambieric acid B.


ABSTRACT Zhang, H.; Wu, S.; Gu, D., and Tian, Y., 2020. Improvement of water quality assessment in payments for ecosystem services: Evidence from Xin'anjiang River Basin. In: Qiu, Y.; Zhu, H., and Fang, X. (eds.), Current Advancements in Marine and Coastal Research for Technological and Sociological Applications. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 107, pp. 383-387. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is one of the important indexes to assess the pollution of water. The Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme implemented in Xin'anjiang River Basin took total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) into assessment, while the index COD was ignored in the evaluation index system. It is necessary to figure out whether the indexes that put into the assessment were reasonable, especially if the indexes did not take into consideration were getting worse. Taking the Xin'anjiang River basin as a case, Synthetic Control Method (SCM) was used to analyze the effects of the PES scheme implemented in Anhui Province from 2012 on NH3-N and COD. The results showed that the PES scheme success to alleviate the pollution of NH3-N in Anhui Province, but failed to alleviate the pollution of COD at the same time. The study demonstrates whether the water quality has been improved since the PES scheme according to the indexes it was regulated, as well as COD, which did not take into consideration. Finally, the reasons for the increase of COD in Anhui Province have been analyzed, and suggestions have been offered from the perspective of improving the assessment of water quality.


A card which is compatible with an SRAM memory card and can store a large amount of image data at low cost without battery backup is described. This card incorporates 4-MBit NAND-EEPROMs, a custom designed gate array, and an 8-bit microprocessor. The card utilizes the following techniques: (1) a byte writing method to realize byte writing for header data; (2) an automatic erasing method to reduce apparent writing time; (3) automatic command writing on the NAND-EEPROM, executed within the card without burdening the camera; and (4) a block substitution method for recovering local cell error. These functions can be executed automatically within the card. Accordingly, the present camera system can utilize the card without any limitations caused by the chip architecture of the NAND-EEPROM. >


Ready-made plaster-of Paris bandages, established in Orthopaedic surgcn for many years. arc now being· a<Inicatcd for the construction of special splints as a first aid measure in the treatment of some comnion fractures and soft tissue injuries. under certain conditions. Under medical supervision and training. nursing auxiliaries and first aiders can be taugh1 to apply these splints which are suitahie for use in the first treatment of mass casualties arising from air or rail disasters. _ The film aims at showing how this can he done. It ilhistrates the ease of storage, transport, and the safe llse of I II I II Paster-of-Paris bandages as we as t 1c we · known · k · · ·1·1 f'l . ns 'S resulting from their nlls-use. IC I Ill IS e~pec;all · I I . ., Y suitable for those engaged m t 1c tcac ling <~f nicmbcrs of the National Hospital Ser\'icc Rescn·c, h>n,·a·J , re .,ledical . .\id units and to all who mav in tin1cs f 0 cmcrgencv. he railed upon to save li1·es & li1n1is. ·


Abstract When the renewable energy is used, the challenge is match the supply of intermittent energy with the demand for energy therefore the energy storage solutions should be used. This paper is dedicated to hydrogen accumulation from wind sources. The case study investigates the conceptual system that uses intermitted renewable energy resources to produce hydrogen (power-to-gas concept) and fuel (power-to-liquid concept). For this specific case study hydrogen is produced from surplus electricity generated by wind power plant trough electrolysis process and fuel is obtained by upgrading biogas to biomethane using hydrogen. System dynamic model is created for this conceptual system. The developed system dynamics model has been used to simulate 2 different scenarios. The results show that in both scenarios the point at which the all electricity needs of Latvia are covered is obtained. Moreover, the methodology of system dynamics used in this paper is white-box model that allows to apply the developed model to other case studies and/or to modify model based on the newest data. The developed model can be used for both scientific research and policy makers to better understand the dynamic relation within the system and the response of system to changes in both internal and external factors.


The problem of obtaining quantitative data on spatial ocean wave spectra from the images of the ocean surface by either regular SAR or along-track interferometric SAR (INSAR) is studied. The dominant mechanism which allows imaging of ocean waves by SAR/INSAR is the so-called velocity bunching. This mechanism is essentially nonlinear. The theoretical analysis of SAR/INSAR imagery of the ocean surface due to velocity bunching is performed, and nonlinear solutions of the SAR/INSAR images of monochromatic waves and of the spectra of these images are obtained. Analytic expressions are presented which allow for the accurate simulation both SAR and INSAR images of waves with arbitrary lengths, heights and propagation directions. It is demonstrated that a monochromatic wave expands in the SAR/INSAR images into an infinite number of harmonics. In addition to the nonlinearity parameters of SAR which is related to the velocity bunching mechanism, it is shown that for complex INSAR, the degree of nonlinearity depends also on separation time between the two antennas. The results of the present study indicate that in addition to the prevailing practice to consider the phase component of the INSAR image, an analysis of the imaginary part of the complex INSAR map of the ocean surface may provide some supplementary information, beneficial, in particular, for rough sea.


This paper studies an unsupervised approach for online adaptation of electroencephalogram (EEG) based brain–computer interface (BCI). The approach is based on the fuzzy C‐means (FCM) algorithm. It can be used to improve the adaptability of BCIs to the change in brain states by online updating the linear discriminant analysis classifier. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, we applied it to a set of simulation data and compared with other unsupervised adaptation algorithms. The results show that the FCM‐based algorithm can achieve a desirable capability in adapting to changes and discovering class information from unlabeled data. The algorithm has also been tested by the real EEG data recorded in experiments in our laboratory and the data from other sources (set IIb of the BCI Competition IV). The results of real data are consistent with that of simulation data. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Identification of the tissue of origin in cancer of unknown primary (CUP) poses a diagnostic challenge and is critical for directing site-specific therapy. Currently, clinical decision-making in patients with CUP primarily relies on histopathology and clinical features. Comprehensive molecular profiling has the potential to contribute to diagnostic categorization and, most importantly, guide CUP therapy through identification of actionable lesions. We here report the case of an advanced-stage malignancy initially mimicking poorly differentiated soft-tissue sarcoma that did not respond to multiagent chemotherapy. Molecular profiling within a clinical whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing program revealed a heterozygous, highly amplified KRAS G12S mutation, compound-heterozygous TP53 mutation/deletion, high mutational load, and focal high-level amplification of Chromosomes 9p (including PDL1 [CD274] and JAK2) and 10p (including GATA3). Integrated analysis of molecular data and histopathology provided a rationale for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy with pembrolizumab, which resulted in rapid clinical improvement and a lasting partial remission. Histopathological analyses ruled out sarcoma and established the diagnosis of a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Although neither histopathology nor molecular data were able to pinpoint the tissue of origin, our analyses established several differential diagnoses including triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). We analyzed 157 TNBC samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas, revealing PDL1 copy number gains coinciding with excessive PDL1 mRNA expression in 24% of cases. Collectively, these results illustrate the impact of multidimensional tumor profiling in cases with nondescript histology and immunophenotype, show the predictive potential of PDL1 amplification for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and suggest a targeted therapeutic strategy in Chromosome 9p24.1/PDL1-amplified cancers.


ABSTRACT Objectives To use ultrasound (US) imaging to determine the validity and reliability of needle placement of two dry needling (DN) protocols for the lumbar multifidus (LM) in individuals with a high body mass index (BMI). Methods Twenty-one participants with a BMI higher than 25 kg/m2 completed the study. A US scanner was used to determine the location of needle placement after a 100 mm long needle was inserted in the LM at L4 and L5 following two DN protocols for the deep LM muscle. US images were saved and viewed 6 months later to determine the intra-tester reliability. Results The probability of reaching the deep LM muscle was high (85–95%) at L4 and L5. Although the needle reached a bony landmark 85–100% of the time, it only reached the vertebra lamina as intended 70–75% of the time. The intra-tester reliability of needle placements based on analysis of real-time and recorded US images was poor-to-moderate. Conclusions Although the bony drop may not indicate that the needle has reached the vertebra lamina as the protocol intended, reaching a bony drop is still meaningful as it coincided with reaching the LM in the majority of participants.


Sex‐specific effects for body mass index (BMI) were explored in a newly established, population‐based Norwegian twin panel. The sample includes 5,864 individuals, aged 18–25 years, who responded to a questionnaire containing items for zygosity classification, height, weight, health, health‐related behaviors, well‐being, and demographic information. Among the 2,570 intact pairs who returned the questionnaire there were 416 identical (MZ) male pairs, 387 fraternal (DZ) male pairs, 528 MZ female pairs, 443 DZ female pairs, and 796 unlike‐sexed pairs. Alternate sets of models testing for either sex‐specific genetic or environmental parameters were evaluated using structural equation analysis. Results from the most parsimonious model indicated that the genes contributing to variation in BMI are not identical for men and women; rather, some genetic effects were shared by the sexes and some were unique to each sex. Total variation in BMI could be explained by sex‐specific additive genetic effects, as well as genetic and non‐shared environmental effects common to men and women. Estimates of heritability were .708 for men and .789 for women, and the male‐female genetic correlation was 0.622. The series of models specifying sex‐specific shared environment also fit the data and suggests that shared environmental factors may be important for males but not for females. The findings raise questions concerning the relationship between sex‐specific effects for BMI and sex differences in health outcomes. ©1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Heterozygous frameshift mutation in glomulin causing autosomal dominant familial glomuvenous malformation with associated intracranial cavernoma K. Farquhar, A. Iqbal, N. Fullerton, C. Thum, P. Beattie, D. Koppell, K. Asakura, D. Baty, A. Jamison, P. Cauchi, C. Jury, M. Zamiri and S. Joss Departments of Dermatology, Neuroradiology, Pathology, Maxillofacial Surgery, Ophthalmology and Clinical Genetics, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Glasgow, UK; Department of Dermatology, Royal Children's Hospital, Glasgow, UK; and East of Scotland Regional Genetics Unit, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, UK Glomuvenous malformations (GVMs; OMIM 13800) are hamartomas most commonly presenting in childhood as multiple bluish soft papules and nodules with a cobblestone appearance. Histologically, they are characterized by abnormal smooth muscle-like 'glomus cells' and are inherited in 64% of cases in an autosomal dominant pattern owing to mutations in GLMN, which is located on chromosome 1p21-22. Previously, it was thought that GVMs were a solely cutaneous presentation, but recent reports confirm systemic associations. We report a multigeneration pedigree with autosomal dominant GVM due to a recurrent mutation in GLMN with associated deep intracranial cavernoma and developmental venous anomaly (DVA). A 38-year-old woman attended for assessment of the possible inheritance of an extensive facial vascular malformation, noted from birth, with her 57-year-old mother being similarly affected. Her deceased grandmother, who had a cerebrovascular event at a young age, was reported to have a similar facial lesion. The proband had previously received bleomycin sclerotherapy, but lower lid ectropion and subsequent epiphora occurred. Bony facial asymmetry was present on computed tomography with invasion of fat by the malformation, and surgery was successfully performed with malar osteotomy and debulking of the vascular lesion. Histology from an eyelid biopsy confirmed positive glomus cells (smooth muscle actin + calponin positive), consistent with GVM. Mutation screening of both affected family members confirmed a previously reported pathogenic heterozygous variant in GLMN designated c.743dup, p.(Leu248Phefs*14) resulting in a frameshift and subsequent premature termination of the GLMN encoded protein. Given the grandmother's history and the extent of the visible malformation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head for assessment of the internal vasculature was requested for both patients. The proband had evidence of a mixed vascular malformation (DVA and cavernoma) and associated white matter changes in the left frontal and parietal region. Her mother had a posterior fossa mixed vascular malformation, with old microhaemorrhages noted. The national neurovascular multidisciplinary team suggested clinical observation but no active treatment. The proband's 10-year-old twins have been invited to attend for assessment and consideration of genetic screening. There are increasing reports of many systemic associations of GVMs, but there is a paucity of information on intracranial vascular anomalies. Mixed malformations have been reported to be associated with epilepsy or present with stroke-like symptoms due to haemorrhage but are considered benign in > 90% of cases. This pedigree highlights the benefit of a multidisciplinary management approach and the role of intracranial MRI in cases of facial GVM.