The analysis of ionospheric equatorial noise (EN) with a quasiperiodic (QP) modulation observed by the Detection of Electro‐Magnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions (DEMETER) spacecraft is presented. These EN emissions, also called whistler mode or fast magnetosonic waves, play an important role in acceleration of radiation belt electrons. A statistical analysis with 103 events shows that they occur just after intense magnetic storms. Usually, they are generated by unstable proton ring distribution close to the magnetic equator at harmonics of the proton gyrofrequency in the inner magnetosphere (2 < L < 8). But at lower L values down in the ionosphere three events have been analyzed and it appears that the EN waves are at harmonics of—or very close to—a O+ ion gyrofrequency which can be found close to or slightly above the satellite. The wave propagation analysis indicates that these emissions are coming from an area above the satellite. Concerning one event, the EN emissions are observed on several consecutive orbits and there is a temporal coincidence with observations performed by the Cluster satellites at higher altitudes in the magnetosphere. EN emissions at lower frequencies have been also observed by the Cluster satellites in the same longitudinal sector as DEMETER but at ~5 RE. The analysis of the Spatio Temporal Analysis of Field Fluctuations data on board C1 reveals that the magnetic field spectrogram has peaks close to harmonics of the local proton gyrofrequency as usually reported. It is shown that the DEMETER and Cluster EN waves have a similar QP modulation but with slightly different period and frequency.


Abstract Standard portfolio choice models predict that investors consider the tax implications of trading. However, individuals are disposed toward realizing gains and holding losing investments, behaviors that worsen their performance. We show, in an experimental market, that increasing tax salience reduces the disposition effect between 22% and 47%, leading to higher portfolio balances without increasing total trading activity. Using field data, we find that investors' disposition is sensitive to taxes around tax rate changes when taxes are likely salient. Our analysis demonstrates that increasing tax awareness can affect households' portfolio choices, which suggests policy implications for improving financial decision-making.


Bangladesh is a land of rivers. The pride of Bangladesh is her rivers with one of the largest networks in the world. The Rivers of Bangladesh play an important role in the wealth of our country. The prosperity of agriculture and fisheries are depending on the rivers. But our resourceful rivers become polluted day by day due to over growth of population and uncontrolled industrialization and urbanization, which is deploying harmful impacts both on human health as well as aquatics ecosystem and environment. Improper management of industrial and seawage effluents are major causes of river water pollution. The microorganisms within the water are prime sources to cause different water borne diseases like Diarrhea, Cholera, Scabies, Asthma etc. To find out the remedies to this problem, urgent emphasis should be given on preventive measures and to take appropriate steps to improve the existing pollution of the rivers. A lots of water treatment systems like physical chemical treatments, microbial remediation, wetland remediation etc. are being practiced throughout the world to restore the health of the rivers. So, our government should take necessary steps to prevent river water as soon as possible.


Much evidence suggests that gut immunity homeostasis plays a vital role in regulating neuroinflammatory response under ischemic stroke. Acupuncture is an effective treatment for post-stroke rehabilitation. However, little is known about the effect of acupuncture on intestinal injury after stroke. Herein, we observed the intestinal inflammatory response and barrier's impairment of the post-stroke rats to explore the mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) against cerebral ischemia injury from the brain-gut axis. Rats were randomized to the sham operation group (SHAM), the middle cerebral artery occlusion group (MCAO), and the MCAO plus EA treatment group (MEA). Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and Longa neurologic score were performed to evaluate the outcomes after ischemic stroke. Inflammatory factors expression levels in the serum, ischemic hemisphere brain, and small intestine were detected. Additionally, the morphology change of small intestine was evaluated via analyzing villus height and smooth muscle thickness. Meanwhile, the expression of tight-junction proteins, including Zonula Occludens-1(ZO-1), Occludin and Claudin-1, was detected to evaluate the impact of EA on mucosal permeability in the small intestine. The percentage of Treg cells (CD45+CD4+Foxp3+) and γδ T cells (CD45+CD4−γδ T +) were measured to assess the effect of EA on T cells. Our data showed that EA could significantly decrease the brain infarction volume and intestine barrier injury of the ischemic stroke rats. At the same time, it effectively suppressed the post-stroke inflammation response of the ischemic brain, small intestine, and peripheral serum. More importantly, EA treatment increased the percentage of Treg cells in the small intestine while reducing the rate of γδ T cells, and ultimately increased the ratio of Treg/ γδ T cells. These results suggested that EA could ameliorate intestinal inflammation damage by regulating the Treg/ γδ T cell polarity shift and improving the intestine barrier integrity post-stroke. It may be one of the mechanisms underlying the anti-ischemic injury effects of acupuncture on stroke.


While many studies have shown that linguistic information is encoded in hidden word representations, few have studied individual neurons, to show how and in which neurons it is encoded. Among these, the common approach is to use an external probe to rank neurons according to their relevance to some linguistic attribute, and to evaluate the obtained ranking using the same probe that produced it. We show that this methodology confounds distinct factors—probe quality and ranking quality—and thus we separate them. We compare two recent ranking methods and a novel one we introduce, both by probing and by causal interventions, where we modify the representations and observe the effect on the model's output. We show that encoded information and used information are not always the same, and that individual neurons can be used to control the model's output, to some extent. Our method can be used to identify how certain information is encoded, and how to manipulate it for debugging purposes. 1


Aims: Phosphorous (P) is one of the military wastewater pollutants which has a key role in water resource eutrophication. The aim of this study was to analyze the kinetics and thermodynamics of the P adsorption by using bone charcoal (BC). Methods: BC was prepared in 400 °C and 2 h and pulverized via ASTM standard sieves in the range of 35-100 mesh. The structure of BC was analyzed using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM). The concentration of P was analyzed by spectrophotometer methods. Analysis of data was performed with pseudo first -order and pseudo second -order kinetic models, Langmuir, Freundlich, Elovich and DubininRadushkovich (D-R) models. Results: The main component of BC is calcium hydroxyl apatite. The adsorption of P for the preliminary concentrations of 10 and 20 mg/l complies with the pseudo firstorder kinetic model but for 50 and 100 mg/l complies with the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The energy of the adsorption reaction is 6.24 J/moloK which implies physical sorption. Based on the Langmuir model the adsorption capacity is 13.2 mg/g. Conclusion: Based on the BC adsorption capacity for P removal, it can be said that this absorbent could be utilized for the elimination of phosphorous and similar pollutants from water and wastewater.


Albert presents the theoretical arguments on development in one chapter, an overview of patterns of growth—in which he takes a stand against the dependency approach—in a second, and devotes the remaining four chapters to the economic history of the countries that serve as his illustrative cases. They include Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile. A brief conclusion allows the author to return to the theoretical debate, an opportunity he uses to deny the appropriateness of dependency analysis as a result of its failure to analyze sufficiently the "socio-economic structures" that were formed while the South American countries were joining the world economy. He reminds his readers at the end that a full appreciation of the relationship between external economic pressures and domestic policies is essential to an assessment of the character of social change in nineteenth-century in Latin America.


Within the EU, governments and education departments have been obliged to take the CEFR into account, and consequently new educational initiatives have been plentiful as policy makers attempt to incorporate competence-based language education into state systems (Lim, 2013). In Spain, however, we are only just starting to see the influence of the CEFR. The recently revamped Spanish national curriculum Ley Organica para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa (LOMCE) made law by the Ministry of Education, Culture & Sports (Boletin Oficial Del Estado (BOE), 2013); provides a new syllabus for English and has been elaborated using a competence-based curriculum consistent with the CEFR. However, there seems little interest on the part of the different national and regional governments in improving on the various school leaving tests currently in use — even though these old fashioned tests provide hardly any information about students' competences (Amengual Pizarro, 2005, 2006; Garcia Laborda, 2010, 2012; Sanz Sainz, & Fernandez Alvarez, 2005), and despite the fact that their replacement is a current requirement of Spanish law. Its future is thus somewhat uncertain. A clear sign of this lack of resolve is that while at present the LOMCE lays out the new proposals for educational reform in the Spanish baccalaureate teaching and assessment, the originally mandatory inclusion of both oral comprehension and production was postponed until 2018 and at present there are no visible indications of such changes to the test. Clearly further discussions are needed if progress is to be made in this area. The lack of a listening component on the present selectividad test is particularly worrying given the importance of oral comprehension both as an essential component of communicative competence and as a contributory factor in successful language acquisition (Rubin, 1994; Vandergrift, 1999; Zhang, 2012). If a final secondary school qualification is to be used for university entrance, this is of obvious importance — especially for those courses which use EMI. Students will be required both to take lecture notes and to take part in question and answer sessions and they therefore need to be adequately prepared for success at these tasks. Due to the importance of the skill of listening for students' future performance, this thesis will argue that a listening component should be included in the final baccalaureate test for school leavers, and furthermore that such a test should be a valid and reliable CEFR-related measure of students' proficiency levels. To this end, this thesis both develops a prototype test and provides validity evidence to support the interpretation and use of scores in a school-leaving/university-entrance context. Following a critical review of selected literature on the construct of listening proficiency and listening test tasks, a theoretical model is outlined along with test specifications to produce a test of B2 CEFR- related listening. The proposed test is then evaluated using both quantitative and qualitative methodology within a validity argument framework (Kane, 2012). Results are presented from a Rasch analysis of test scores, which show the test to be a reliable and accurate measure of the unidimensional construct of listening. Verbal report methodology showed that participants used construct relevant knowledge, skills and abilities to answer test items. Expert judges agreed that the test contains B2 level items and a cut score for the test was identified by following the CEFR-linking process recommended by the Council of Europe (CoE, 2009). Opinions canvassed from test takers themselves demonstrated that this group of stakeholders strongly believe that a listening section should be introduced as part of the school leaving/university entrance test. In so doing the present national curriculum as presented in the law would be evaluated. However, it was noted that ongoing research would be necessary to give evidence that such a test results in positive washback on teaching and learning within the Spanish education system.


The Australian distribution of the grass owl (Tyto capensis) is poorly understood. It has been proposed that there are two centres of distribution: a resident coastal population in the north-east, and a less stable inland population from which there is Australia-wide dispersal when good seasons are followed by deteriorating conditions. We analysed records of the grass owl and modelled its bioclimatic profile and distribution, which was typically subtropical, warm to hot humid with no dry season or a dry winter. This predicted a north-east sub-coastal to coastal, permanently occupied, core distribution for the owl. We found no evidence for a permanent or isolated inland population, nor for inland populations being the sole source of dispersers, as has been suggested previously. Most inland and northern records were made in the 1970s when grass owls colonised the arid inland, the Kimberley and the far north of the country in association with events leading to the flooding of Lake Eyre. The data suggest that grass owls disperse from their core range after exceptionally good breeding seasons to areas made temporarily favourable by exceptional rainfall or flooding, only to disperse again when conditions become drier. These dispersal events are not tied uniquely to outbreaks of the long-haired rat (Rattus villosissimus), but to a variety of terrestrial prey with dynamic life histories driven by rainfall.


Background : CD45 is a Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase C (PTPRC) and regulates Src Family Kinases activation in Lymphocytes. Although it is known to be absent from the platelet surface, proteomics studies prove that the CD45 c-terminal catalytic domain is present in platelets. Thus the aim of this study is to identify presence of CD45 c-terminal domain in platelets and characterize the functional implications of CD45 deficiency in platelets using a global CD45 knockout mouse. Results : Platelets from CD45-deficient mice displayed a selective impairment of aggregation and dense granule secretion mediated by the collagen receptor Glycoprotein VI. CD45 deficient mice show increased bleeding times, indicating an important role for CD45 in hemostasis. However, there was no difference observed in thrombus generation and thrombus stability using the ferric chloride-induced carotid artery injury model. Signaling downstream of the GPVI receptor, indicated by Src Family Kianse (SFK), Syk and Phospholipase C_2 (PLCg2) tyrosine phosphorylation, was also impaired. In order to establish the presence of CD45 in platelets we used an established primary antibody that recognizes the c-terminal domain of CD45. We observed that this antibody recognized a protein of approximately 65 kDa, which is the expected size of the c-terminal 1 and 2 domains of CD45, in wild type (WT) mice but not in knockout (KO)mice. Conclusion : Thus we conclude that CD45 is expressed in platelets as a truncated form, possibly generated by proteolytic cleavage, and regulates GPVI signaling, through regulation of Src Family Kinase activation. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Introduction: Neonatal sepsis is a major cause of neonatal mortality. The proportion of under-five deaths in the newborn period was found to have increased from 41 per cent (in year 2000) to 46 percent [1]. Statistics indicate that 98% of the global one million deaths as a result of neonatal sepsis occur in Africa. Neonatal sepsis contributes to 28% of neonatal mortality in Kenya. Study objective: The study sought to identify maternal characteristics of mothers to neonates admitted for management of neonatal sepsis in Kenyatta National Hospital (K.N.H) pediatric wards. Methodology: This was a mixed-method study where both quantitative cross-sectional and qualitative approaches were used within K.N.H pediatric wards. A total of 107 study participants were enrolled in the study. The study subjects were selected by systematic random sampling method in which every alternate participant was selected Data was obtained from consenting mothers and healthcare workers. The researcher gathered data on maternal factors associated with the development of neonatal sepsis. Three focused group discussions comprising nurses, doctors and clinical officers were conducted. Data was collected by use of researcher administered semi-structured questionnaire. Qualitative data was audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed into themes. Data was cleaned, entered into computer and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Level of significance was at < 0.05. Study results: Among the sampled mothers, (44.9%) were aged between 20-25 years, (78.5%) were married while fifty-two (48.6%) had attained secondary school education. Fifty-two (47.7%) of the mothers were unemployed and most (42.1%) were earning between KShs of 10,000 – 20,000 per month. More than half 60(56.1%) of the mothers were primiparas. Conclusion The study revealed maternal factors such as primary level of education, low economic class, being a first-time mother and unemployment were common among mothers to newborns admitted with sepsis. *Correspondence: Florence Muthwii, University of Nairobi, College of Health Sciences, School of Nursing Sciences, Nairobi, Kenya. Received: 02 November 2020; Accepted: 17 November 2020 Journal of Pediatrics & Neonatology ISSN 2689-1085


This thesis examines how financial institutions can address outcomes of the global financial crisis (GFC) such as mistrust of customers and ambitious requirements of regulations such as Basel III. Moreover, the market is facing a dramatic sociocultural change which creates the necessity to realign retail banks' strategies. It will be outlined why social media is an important trend for the financial sector and which methods can be used to achieve a competitive advantage through customer-centricity. On the one hand the financial sector will be analysed to determine which of Porter's five forces are shaping it. On the other hand, it will be shown how social media can be used to achieve a competitive advantage. This thesis will find out that social media is an important medium for retail banks to gain back customers' trust in financial institutions and to focus on the customers' needs. By engaging customers on social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, financial institutions can even create value beyond financial products and increase their innovative drive. Best practice examples of Banks such as CBA, ING Direct, Wells Fargo, and ICICI prove that. The implications are that social media gives customers the power to shape the bank of tomorrow and in turn banks can gain valuable insights into customers' needs. Financial products and services will make more use of social media platforms and increase customers' engagement through sharing, commenting and liking.


Since 2016, in the SNSF-project 'Mobilities, entanglements and transformations in Neolithic societies on the Swiss Plateau (3900-3500 BC)', we have been using a computer-aided classification of vessel shapes to investigate completely preserved Neolithic pottery of Swiss wetland sites and neighbouring regions from the 4th M BC beyond classical typologies and cultural assignments. We follow a holistic approach in which the entire vessel body is understood as a rotational body. One side of the rasterized, filled and equally scaled profile is extracted, and via a simple transfer of the image information into a matrix, the profile line is converted into 400 measuring points. The profile information, enriched with nominal as well as metric values, can be evaluated using various multivariate methods. We opted for a combination of t-sne as ordination and dimension-reducing method and HDBSCAN as cluster algorithm for this analysis. This approach was accompanied by a impressionistic classification by hand. We found that both methods complement each other meaningfully: While computer-aided classification was able to work out more general, cross-cultural trends, which can be interpreted with regard to the function of the vessels and a consumer perspective, impressionistic classification leads to an identification of different styles, which rather open up a producer perspective. The juxtaposition of both methods on the same material can be used to overcome existing stereotypes in the ceramic classification. Furthermore the results also serve to identify yet unresolved shortcomings of the computer-based approach, which will be addressed in the future.


40 min after injecting tritiated thymidine into an animal, 20–30% of the total plasma radioactivity is nonvolatile. This fraction decreases to about 6% 10 hr after the injection and 3% 24 hr after the injection. There appears to be material in this nonvolatile fraction that can label mastocytoma cells in culture. The labeling indices decrease with time after injection in the same way as the nonvolatile fraction. The 40 min plasma sample contains sufficient material to allow accurate assessment of the fraction of cells in S in culture after a 6 wk exposure. The circulating material is not apparently available for incorporation into those cells in cycle in the donor animal. The material appears to be related to the G0 cell-specific pool that has been described elsewhere. The trichloroacetic acid-soluble or ethanol-soluble nonvolatile activity appears to contain thymine, and some thymidine-phosphorylated compounds.


The SWIFT-RIMPUFF can provide refined atmospheric dispersion modeling for nuclear emergency response, but its performance for the mesoscale range in a nuclear power plant (NPP) site with highly complex topographies hasn't been fully investigated. In this study, a validation of SWIFT-RIMPUFF was performed based on a wind tunnel experiment simulating a real China's multi-reactor NPP site with heterogeneous upwind topography and dense buildings to understand the potential discrepancies or limits. The results demonstrate that the SWIFT-RIMPUFF can reproduce the sharp changes of wind flows for both speed and directions near the buildings, but usually overestimate the wind speed in the complex topography. For vertical wind profiles, the accuracies show high dependencies on the local topography and building layout, and the deviation of those near the building is more obvious. The simulated ground concentrations match the topographic changes of high-altitude mountains. The concentration predictions in the downwind building area are acceptable which displays that the influence of building effects can be well introduced, but the simulations in the building area still show noticeable discrepancies when compared with those in the sea area. However, such deviations do not propagate to the downwind mountainous and sea areas, which the accuracies are quite satisfactory.


Taking into account the quantum size effects and considering three types of scattering from bulk impurities,rough surfaces and rough interfaces, we use the quantum-statistical Greens function approach and Kubo theory to calculate the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) in magnetic multilayered structures.Our calculations can reproduce the main features of GMR experiment, including the oscillations of GMR with nonmagnetic thickness, and the GMR increases with increasing number of bilayer N of the (Fe/Cr) N /Fe system.Moreover,whether or not additive are the parts of scattering from the impurities, surfaces and interfaces is also discussed.


Increased demands on the capacity of the railway network gave rise to new issues related to the dynamic response of railway tracks subjected to moving vehicles. Thus, it becomes important to evaluate the applicability of traditionally used simplified models which have a closed form solution. Regarding simplified models, transversal vibrations of a beam on a visco-elastic foundation subjected to a moving load are considered. Governing equations are obtained by Hamilton's principle. Shear distortion, rotary inertia and effect of axial force are accounted for. The load is introduced as a time varying force moving at a constant velocity. Transversal vibrations induced by the load are solved by the normal-mode analysis. Reflected waves at the extremities of the full beam are avoided by introduction of semi-infinite elements. Firstly, the critical velocity obtained from this model is compared with results of an undamped Euler-Bernoulli formulation with zero axial force. Secondly, a finite element model in ABAQUS is examined. The new contribution lies in the introduction of semi-infinite elements and in the first step to a systematic comparison, which have not been published so far.


Production subsidies, as a part of the strategy of economic growth of the agricultural sector, are of great importance around the world. Subsidizing production inputs, particularly energy input, is another way of directing subsidy to the agricultural sector. In this research, production function of the agricultural sector was estimated using econometric methods and time series data. After calculating the elasticity of agricultural sector inputs and, simultaneously, estimating their cost and demand functions of production inputs using ISUR (Iterated Simingly Unrelated Regression), farmers' elasticity of price fluctuation of these inputs was determined. The findings of the production function demonstrated that all inputs, including capital, labor, and energy were used in the optimal production region. The findings of the cost function demonstrated that there was negative and low own elasticity price for inputs, in accord with economic theory. In addition, cross price elasticity of all inputs was positive, i.e. they were substitutes for each other. The findings of the subsidization policy showed that since price elasticity of demand for energy inputs was inelastic, reducing the energy subsidy would reduce energy consumption slightly and, eventually, would decrease value added in the agricultural sector. Finally, it is suggested that the government implements the energy subsidy reduction policy based on cost-benefit analysis.


It is a key procedure for breeding Chinese gallnuts to put the collected Melaphis chinensis on winter host Mnium cuspidatum. The result shows that the most suitable storage condition for the collected Me. chinensis is to store it for four days in shade before putting to winter host.


The general goal of this paper is to relate learning processes and learning mechanisms used by employees of irrigated fruit culture companies, located in the navigable waters of Sao Francisco river to understand how they deal with the changes in the working conditions from being family farmers and becoming corporate workers as well as those that result from competitive challenges of organizations to entry into international markets. Therefore, we conducted a cross section survey based on an accessibility sampling that consisted of 32 companies and 950 employees. This particular productive sector and region were chosen because they illustrate paradigmatic situations of changes in traditional production practices and work organization and also because rural workers' learning processes have been little explored in studies in the administration field. Individual learning was identified - difference between the current work experience and the previous experience - associated to the use of a few informal mechanisms instead of structured learning mechanisms. The results obtained did not validate the first hypothesis that the acquisition of work related knowledge is associated to variety, intensity, and interaction of learning mechanisms. On the other hand, the second hypothesis - that the internal and external learning mechanisms are associated to the amount of knowledge - was validated. The gap between the reviewed studies' results and those reported in this present study is related to the differences in companies' characteristics, market structures, products, and work organization.


Diffusive by nature, glioma challenges clinical care by the impossibility of complete surgical resection of tumor, leaving the radio- and chemoresistant cells responsible for recurrence intact. We identified mammary-derived growth inhibitor (MDGI/FABP3) as invasive glioma biomarker. Here, we show that high MDGI expression associated with poor patient survival and promoted invasive glioma cell growth both in vitro and in vivo, while MDGI silencing drastically compromised patient-derived tumoroid viability via induction of lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP). This alternative cell death pathway provokes release of lysosomal hydrolases into the cytosol leading inevitably to the cell death. Our results show a novel functional role for MDGI in glioma cell invasion, survival, and maintenance of the lysosomal membrane integrity as well as an unsuspected sensitivity of glioma cells to an LMP-inducing drug, anti-histamine clemastine. In a preclinical study, clemastine-treatment significantly prolonged the survival of intracranial glioblastoma-bearing animals due to eradication of invasive glioma cells. This glioma cell vulnerability to LMP-inducing drugs opens new horizons for development of novel treatments and suggest re-positioning of an established drug for new indication.


Through the recent decades, the technical area of antenna testing has undergone disruptive changes, since modern telecommunication systems demand ever increasing test cases. OTA (Over the Air) testing initially mostly concerned making sure that cellular phones complied with radiation pattern and efficiency requirements [1]. For future BTS (Base Transceiver Station) systems, OTA testing will cover a much larger proportion of the testing needed for a transceiver product. Testing of multi-antenna devices will further require more advanced test methods, in many times involving spatial channel models [2]. This paper presents different existing OTA test methods of wireless transceivers, and what adaptations of these which may be needed for testing future 5G BTS systems. Aspects of both conformance testing and performance testing are discussed.


The provision of feedback with complex information beyond the correct answer, i.e., elaborated feedback, can powerfully shape learning outcomes such as transfer, i.e., the ability to extend what has been learned in one context to new contexts. However, an understanding of neurocognitive processes of elaborated feedback during instructor-learner interactions remains elusive. Here, a two-person interactive design is used during simultaneous recording of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals from adult instructor-learner dyads. Instructors either provided elaborated feedback (i.e., correct answer and an example) or simple feedback (i.e., correct answer only) to learners during a concept learning task. Our results showed that elaborated feedback produced comparable levels of retention to simple feedback, however, transfer was significantly enhanced by elaboration. We also noted significant instructor-learner neural synchronization in frontoparietal regions during the provision of elaborated feedback, especially when examples were provided. Further, interpersonal neural synchronization in the parietal cortex successfully predicted transfer of knowledge to novel contexts. This prediction was retained for both learner-delayed and learner-preceding neural synchronization. These findings point toward transfer effects of elaborated feedback provided in a social context can be predictable through interpersonal neural synchronization, which may hold important implications for real-world learning and pedagogical efficacy. Educational Impact and Implications Statement Feedback provides learners with crucial information regarding the gap between what has currently been achieved and what remains to be achieved, and thus plays a critical role in any learning process. In real-world settings, feedback is typically provided and received through social interaction, and high-quality "elaborated feedback" contains complex information that goes beyond the correct answer. This study aims to elucidate the neurocognitive processes underpinning elaborated feedback during instructor-learner interactions. We detected significant instructor-learner neural synchronization in mutual frontoparietal brain regions during elaborated feedback, particularly during the provision of specific elaborated information (i.e., concrete examples). Moreover, this synchronization (including learner-delayed and learner-preceded synchronization) in the parietal region predicted whether the learners transferred learning to novel examples of learned psychology concepts. This study advances current understanding on the neural mechanisms for elaborated feedback and the role of social interaction in feedback effects. These results may have important implications for successful real-world learning and communication, and related pedagogical applications in educational settings.


The extension of the Belgian law on euthanasia to minors during the course of 2014 raises questions with regard to the needs of children in the context of paediatric palliative care. These needs concern essentially the focus given to the interrelations between the child, their family and the caregiving team as well as to the relief of the physical, psychological and spiritual pain. Ethical guidelines help to fuel the discussions surrounding professional practices.


ABSTRACT Given the increased importance of identifying the critical Policy Driving Forces (PDFs) to uptake Modular integrated Construction (MiC) practices in Hong Kong (HK), this study aims to identify and examine the critical PDFs associated with MiC projects in HK from the perspective of industry experts. After drawing on the plentiful relevant literature and conducting a pilot study, an expert opinion survey was conducted to gather the necessary data for this study. The collected data were analysed using relevant significance analysis and factor analysis to identify critical PDFs and appropriate groupings. The results revealed 23 critical PDFs under seven critical components in three stages of the MiC process. Regulative PDFs show the highest criticality for up-taking the MiC in the initiation and planning and design phases, while Greater Bay Area development PDFs are critical in the construction phase. The PDF related to the COVID-19 pandemic is the only critical PDF that appeared in all three stages. As the first study that explores PDFs for MiC uptake throughout all project phases, this study contributes substantially to theory and practice while better informing policymakers on how to initiate MiC-related policies to boost MiC practice in HK, where MiC is achieving greater prominence in application.


In this paper, we study the notion of a fuzzy b-metric space and establish certain fixed point results for Geraghty-type contraction in the setting of G-complete fuzzy b-metric space. We furnish an example to illustrate our main result. Our results extend and generalize the existing results in the literature. An application related to our main result for the existence of solution of nonlinear integral equations is also presented.


OBJECTIVES
We discuss two main categories of blood substitutes: perfluorocarbons and hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers.

METHODS
We provide a review of the notable products developed in both categories and include their attributes as well as their setbacks.

RESULTS
We contribute a case report tothe growing literature of the successful use of Sanguinate.

CONCLUSIONS
We find that artificial oxygen carriers are an attractive field of research because of the practical limitations and the multitude of potential complications that surround human blood transfusions.


One critical problem in wireless sensor networks is to assemble the sensors in different covers in order to solve different objectives such as maximum duration of the network lifetime of minimizing the coverage breach. The output of these problems is a set of covers with a duration of usage. Another problem coming just after is how to schedule the covers. Most of the time, this part is left unsolved as the challenges appear less important than generating the covers. Our current work will describe the wireless sensor network cover scheduling problem (WSN- CSP), a non-linear mathematical model, a MILP model and a heuristic (CSH) that solves this problem. To improve the quality of the solutions, we also propose a memetic algorithm (CSMA). Both approaches will be tested on a large set of instances. Moreover, some complexity results and theorical properties are also given in the paper.


Maize ( Zea mays ) is a major food stable in sub-Saharan Africa. However, yields are constrained by insect pests. Insect feeding induces a number of changes in genes encoding different proteins and the plant's response can either be direct or indirect, or both. In this study, maize plants were infested with two insects with different feeding strategies (Spodoptera littoralis , chewing insect and Busseola fusca , stem borer) to investigate differential protein expression using the Proteomics technique. Infestation of S. littoralis (3rd instar larvae) resulted in 14 spots being up-regulated and 7 being down-regulated. Similarly, infestation of maize with B. fusca (3rd instar larvae) resulted in 12 spots being up-regulated and 9 spots being down-regulated. Interestingly, of those up-regulated only 9 were common to both insects, with only 4 common to both in terms of down regulation. Infestation of maize with S. littoralis resulted in a greater number of spots being up-regulated and less being down-regulated compared to maize infested with B. fusca. Unfortunately, we were unable to identify the proteins represented by these spots. Key words: Busseola fusca, down-regulation, expression, proteomics, Spodoptera littoralis, up-regulation.


The ethnography of an indigenous student organization based in Iquitos, the largest town in Peruvian Amazonia, allows one to examine the experience of its leaders. On the basis of skills acquired through contact with schools and activist organizations, these new leaders are asserting themselves via ever more visible mobilizations. The process of politicization through which students learn to demand their rights on account of an indigenous identity is examined from the point of view of their place in urban spaces of activism. It is in such spaces that definitions of indigenous leadership are developed. These come into conflict with other, more traditional, organizations and contribute to internal tensions within the "indigenous people's movement." The networks of mediation in which indigenous students participate — networks that serve as conduits for the messages that local authorities, ecological activists, and oil companies wish to pass on to indigenous communities — underscore the ambivalence of this protest movement.


The introduction of a system of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) decreases medication error rates by formalizing the drafting of the orders and providing alarms which announce potential side effects, drug interactions and overly high doses. The quality of the CPOE does not insure its success. Its deployment must be preceded by an assessment and update of the available computer resources, by training of the users and setting up a help-desk attainable 24 hours a day. The project must be lead by senior medical and nursing staff. A joint effort is the key to ensure the success of CPOE and facilitate its acceptability. CPOE provides opportunities for improving: patient safety, training of professionals, quality and efficiency of care. CPOE systems are an ideal basis to set up clinical protocols and clinical pathways.


In studies of the acute effects of haloperidol on the severity of stuttering in 12 subjects not in treatment at the time of drug evaluation, a single 0.5 mg haloperidol injection was found to increase fluency in 9 to 12 subjects, as compared with saline placebo. The average improvement in those subjects who improved was 25% on reading and 40% on spontaneous speech. Side effects from this dose of haloperidol were minimal. The effects of apomorphine on speech were not statistically significant, but increased fluency was seen in a number of subjects on the reading test. The results of this study suggest that acute drug evaluation studies may be valuable in determining the effects of various psychotropic agents on the severity of stuttering. The increased fluency after haloperidol, an agent which is felt to turn off the dopaminergic system via postsynaptic blockade, and after low-dose apomorphine, which appears to inhibit the dopamine system via presynaptic effects is consistent with a role for central dopaminergic systems in the pathogenesis of stuttering. Further studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.


Indigenous hunting communities around the world possess capabilities to accumulate and maintain knowledge based on their traditional practices, cultural norms, and belief systems. Case studies around the world have demonstrated that merging indigenous hunting knowledge with community-based conservation approaches is often complementary to biodiversity conservation. A combination of such approaches improves wildlife conservation practices and livelihood strategies while enhancing communities' social-ecological resilience. However, if mismanaged, such approaches lead to negative results in the community, such as an increased exposure/vulnerability to corruption, power inequality among interest groups, as well as mismanagement of wildlife species. We explore the existence of hunting-specific traditional ecological knowledge and the contribution of such knowledge to wildlife management in the case of community-based conservation in Tajikistan. We reviewed hunting-related literature from 1850 to 1950, conducted interviews, and accompanied hunters in the field to document their ecological knowledge of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), also known as the Pamir region of Tajikistan. Throughout our research, we found that there exists a rich body of hunter-specific ecological knowledge of hunting norms, ethics, taboos, and belief systems in the Pamir region of Tajikistan. Traditional hunters largely accepted a community-based conservation approach because it resonates with their subsistence hunting practices. Also, combining traditional hunter knowledge with a community-based conservation approach created an opportunity for knowledge sharing, improved the quality of scientific wildlife surveys, and led to better collaboration among conservancies and other conservation NGOs. More importantly, such approaches empowered and incentivized local traditional hunters to take responsibility for wildlife management.


Visual acuity measurement is an important visual function test to perform in infancy and childhood. However, accurate visual acuity measurement in infants is difficult because of deficiencies in their communication ability. This paper presents a novel automated method to assess visual acuity in children (5-36 months old). This method, the automated acuity card procedure (AACP), uses a webcam for eye tracking and recognizes children's watching behaviors automatically. A two-choice preferential-looking test is performed when the tested child watches the visual stimuli shown on a high-resolution digital display screen. When the tested child watches the stimuli, their facial pictures are recorded by the webcam. These pictures are used by the set computer program to analyze their watching behavior. With this procedure, the child's eye movement responses to different stimuli are measured, and their visual acuity is assessed without communication. By comparing the results with grating acuity obtained by Teller Acuity Cards (TACs), AACP performance is deemed comparable to that of TACs.


Extrinsic allergic alveolitis is an occupational condition intensively studied and published about, unlike cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitis. The coexistence of these two diseases is even more rare in the same patient with exposure to occupational pollutants of animal origin. We present the case of a 44-year-old man, a pigeon breeder admitted to hospital with a pruritic purpuric eruption and lower limb paresthesia, dyspnea on exertion, polymyalgia rheumatica, mixed polyarthralgias. Based on the clinical, paraclinical and laboratory investigations (electroneuromyography, plethysmography, computed tomography scan, musculocutaneous biopsy, current laboratory tests and immunoassays), the main diagnoses of extrinsic allergic alveolitis and leukocytoclastic vasculitis were determined. The patient underwent treatment with corticosteroids with a favorable outcome, but which becomes aggravated by the occurrence of necrotic skin lesions at the cessation of corticosteroid therapy on the patient's own initiative. After the resumption of the corticosteroid therapy, the lesions and symptoms improve. To our knowledge, this case report is the first one that describes an association of two major conditions, extrinsic allergic alveolitis and cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitis, in the same clinical context of an occupational exposure to specific pollutants. Long-term corticosteroid therapy has proved to be useful in preventing relapses and improving the patient's clinical status with the association of cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitis and extrinsic allergic alveolitis. Considering our findings in this case report, we may suggest the inclusion of systemic vasculitis on the list of recognized professional diseases.


This article discusses an instructional strategy which explores eventual similarities and/or analogies between familiar problems and more sophisticated systems. In this context, the Atwood's machine problem is used to introduce students to more complex problems involving ropes and chains. The methodology proposed helps students to develop the ability needed to apply relevant concepts in situations not previously encountered. The pedagogical advantages are relevant for both secondary and high school students, showing that, through adequate examples, the question of the validity of Newton's second law may even be introduced to introductory level students.


. Traditional heat treatment methods are an integral part of the dairy industry. However, non-thermal methods ensure microbiological safety while preserving nutritional value of the dairy product, as well as improving its technological properties. The article reviews scientific and technical publications on ultraviolet (UV) treatment and its effect on the structure and properties of milk proteins and technological indicators of dairy products. The review includes English and Russian articles published in Scopus, Web of Science, Elsevier, ResearchGate, and Elibrary databases in 2004–2021. Most publications focus on maintaining the microbiological safety of milk and dairy products. Depending on the radiation dose, UV treatment was reported to cause denaturation and aggregation of milk proteins, followed by new cross-links. Conformational changes improve the functional properties of milk proteins, which makes them valuable food ingredients of film coatings and fermented milk products. Electromagnetic strong film with low vapor permeability. In fermented milk production, UV radiation improves such technological properties of yogurt as viscosity and water-holding capacity. The effect of electromagnetic waves on animal proteins and dairy products remains an understudied area of advanced research.


The study was concerned with a relationship between the influence of subcutaneously (s/c) transplanted LS and MMT1 tumors in a syngeneic system on the development of spontaneous and experimental lung metastases in mice and the dose of transplanted tumor cells. It was shown that the development of spontaneous of metastases in the lung depends on s/c transplanted tumor cells dose. Tumor inhibitory effect on experimental lung metastasis formation became apparent at doses ranging 10(6) -6 X 10(6), it rising proportionally to the increase in the dose of transplanted tumor cells. This relationship was more pronounced in MMT1 tumor-bearers. The relationship of experimental lung metastasis development and transplanted tumor cells was reproduced in the system of adoptive transfer of tumor-bearers' splenocytes to intact mice (no other splenocytes than those in mice with tumors induced by 2 X 10(6) of transplanted cells were capable of any antitumor activity). The blood serum of tumor-bearing mice blocked the antitumor effect of splenocytes.


The problem of realization of dynamic precompensators by static output feedback is considered. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the solution in the case of non invertible as well as invertible precompensators are given.


Lone offences are becoming more common across Europe among people with an immigrant background. In Hungary, the number of crimes related to migration and people with an immigrant background is small. The appearance of migration in the media, on the other hand, generates serious emotions. It can create groupings and trigger emotions in individuals to commit acts of wrongdoing. The phenomenon of migration has both positive and negative effects. One of the most frightening of the negative effects is the way it reshapes our thinking. This can be observed in the relationship between people with an immigrant background and the inhabitants of the host country. In my study I examine a lone perpetrator who emerges as a result of migration, focusing on the issue of prevention. I show how criminal policy and prevention models work, or do not work. At the end of the study, I outline a possible prevention model.


Knowing the sorptive behavior of anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) by soils is useful in predicting the appropriate application rate, depth of effective treatment, and its mobility in soils, Sorption isotherms of PAM by soil materials, six natural soils, and their subsamples with partial organic matter (OM) removed by H 2 O 2 oxidization under different dissolved salt concentrations were examined. The PAM sorption isotherms can be well described by the Langmuir equation. Soil texture, OM content, and dissolved salts (a combined contribution of soil salinity and irrigation water quality) influenced the extent of PAM sorption. Soils with high clay or silt content and low OM content had a high sorptive affinity for anionic PAM. The amount of PAM saturation sorption increased significantly as the total dissolved salts (TDS) increased. Divalent cations Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ were about 28 times more effective in enhancing PAM sorption than monovalent cations Na + and K + , mainly because of their stronger charge screening ability. The effectiveness of cation enhancement on PAM sorption varied with soil texture and was greater in fine soils than in sandy soils. Organic matter had a negative effect on PAM sorption. Soil samples after the removal of partial OM adsorbed more PAM than natural soils. The negative effect of OM on PAM sorption was attributed to the reduction of accessible sorption sites by cementing inorganic soil components to form aggregates and to the enhancement of electrostatic repulsion between PAM and soil surface by its negatively charged functional groups.


when the steam turbine-generator is connected with series of compensation along the transmission line, the sub synchronous resonance may happen. The Flexible Ac Transmission System (FACTS) controller of the devices wide use which has been used to reduce and suppress the phenomenon of sub-synchronous resonance the Thyristor Control Series Compensation (TCSC) and Static VAR Compensation (SVC) are the types of FACTS controller that has been used to put down the SSR and also for the purpose of provide a better and efficient solution to improve the transferred capacity system to connect the series compensation along the transmission line. Series capacitor work to increase the chance of creating sub synchronous resonance. Series capacitors also have an inclination to amplify the shaft stress during considerable network transien toccurrence, SSR phenomena happen which can cause damage of the shaft generator turbine. The first standard model of IEEE was adopted to study this phenomenon. This research deals the PID control of SVC( Static VAR Compensation) and TCSC (Thyristor Controlled Series Compensator) and excitation system controller for reducing SSR in power system. In this research, the method of Eigenvalue was used to analysis the sub-synchronous resonance phenomenon and the result was verified using DYMOLA simulation


A comprehensive mechanism-based crystallographic constitutive model has been developed for L12-structured Ni3Al-based intermetallic single crystals. This model represents the unusual thermomechanical behaviours of Ni3Al, such as the anomalous temperature dependence of both the flow stress and strain-hardening rate (SHR), the strain dependence of these anomalous behaviours and an orientation-dependent tension–compression asymmetry. The model framework was based on two major contributions to plastic flow, namely the repeated cross-slip exhaustion and athermal defeat of screw-character dislocations, and the motion of macro-kinks (MKs). The contribution of irreversible obstacle storage was incorporated into the constitutive formulations as a resistance against the glide of MKs. The model was implemented in a finite element method numerical framework, and the simulation results showed qualitative agreement with experimental observations. §This paper is dedicated to Dr. Peter M. Hazzledine (1940–2005), one of few pioneers who brought the unique dislocation behaviour of L12 intermetallics to scientific attention.


Thermo-acoustic combustion instabilities have frequently been reported to occur when slight changes in operating conditions lead to significant and abrupt changes in flame shape or flame position, i.e. changes in the mode of flame stabilization. The present paper offers an explanation and mathematical model of this observation. The analysis rests on the assumption that changes in the mode of flame stabilization are accompanied by a significant variation of the pressure drop across burner and flame, such that the pressure drop - flow rate characteristic locally displays a negative slope. In the limit of low frequencies (Helmholtz mode), it is then straightforward to show that an oscillatory instability can result from such behavior. A stability criterion is derived, relating the non-dimensionalized gradient of the pressure drop characteristic to the Helmholtz number of the burner. The physics of the instability mechanism is explained, and it is observed that the Rayleigh criterion need not be satisfied for this kind of instability to occur. The analysis is then extended to higher frequencies and the transfer matrix for a burner with non-monotonic pressure drop is derived in the limit of low Mach number and negligible fluctuations of the rate of heat release. Experimental results obtained with an externally premixed swirl burner are presented. The pressure drop characteristic, the observed onset of instability and the instability frequency match very well the analytical predictions.Copyright © 2001 by ASME


Six motile Lactobacillus strains with meso-diaminopimelic acid in their cell walls were isolated from fermented cane molasses in Thailand and were compared with three strains labeled Lactobacillus mali (strains JCM 1116T [T = type strain], JCM 3821, and JCM 3822) and with a strain labeled Lactobacillus yamanashiensis (strain JCM 1153T). Morphological, biochemical, and chemotaxonomic characteristics of these 10 strains were similar, and the levels of deoxyribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid homology among the strains revealed that they belong to a single species, Lactobacillus mali Carr and Davis 1970, which has precedence according to the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria.


Objective. To shed light on the role of KG, its influence on periodontal behavior was investigated. Methods. Tissue fluid transudation was assessed in alveolar mucosa (P1A), outer gingival margin (P1B), at entrance of (P2) and within gingival sulcus (P3), before and after chewing of fibrous food in 16 patients portraying ≥2 mm KG at one tooth (group 1), and <2 mm at another homologous tooth (group 2). Results. There was a significant increase in GCF after chewing at P1B and P3 in group 1 and at P1A in group 2 (t-test, P < 0.05). Conclusions. The results suggest that KG plays a role in marginal periodontal homeostasis.


Short-gap (less than 1 mm) electrostatic discharge (ESD) between a charged thin dielectric film on an earthed-plate electrode and a spherical electrode, connected to the plate, with or without an uncharged thin dielectric film coating was observed. Discharge-current waveform, discharge gap length, current rise time, discharging photograph, and current peak value were recorded by the authors' measuring system. The initial charge supply effects by irradiation of /spl beta/-ray or ultraviolet light were found to be not highly apparent; that is, the reproducibility of ESD experiments was not greatly improved. Surface-charge-polarity dependence of surface ESD between charged and uncharged dielectric films decreases with increase of the film thickness. The discharge gap length of ESD with a 1.5 /spl mu/m uncharged film coating on the spherical electrode decrease to 50 or 70% compared with that between a charged film and a bare spherical metal electrode. Peak current and transferred charge value of ESD also decrease to roughly one-third of that between the film and the spherical electrode. >


The experimental setup for a hole-pattern seal is modeled using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and results compared with measured test data and bulk flow model (ISOTSEAL) predictions. The inlet swirl boundary condition for prior CFD analyses of this test case have either been assumed or based on pitot-tube measurements. In this paper, the validity of each is investigated by including radial inlet nozzles with the inlet plenum in the model geometry. A transient mesh deformation technique with multiple frequency journal excitations is used to determine frequency-dependent rotordynamic coefficients. This multifrequency excitation method is validated against single frequency sinusoidal journal excitation. An empirical limit on the number of frequencies that can be packed in a multifrequency excitation signal to provide a reasonable estimate of rotordynamic coefficients is provided. Rotordynamic coefficients estimated using CFD compare well with measured rotordynamic coefficients. For the given test data, the ISOTSEAL bulk flow model does not provide good correlation for cross-coupled stiffness if the measured swirl ratio at the inlet of the seal is used in the prediction. However, improvement in correlation for cross-coupled stiffness is obtained if the swirl ratio found from CFD analysis is used in the bulk flow model, indicating that pitot-tube measurements of swirl may not be accurate.


This report describes the scientific aims and potentials as well as the preliminary technical design of IRIDE, an innovative tool for multi-disciplinary investigations in a wide field of scientific, technological and industrial applications. IRIDE will be a high intensity "particle factory", based on a combination of a high duty cycle radio-frequency superconducting electron linac and of high energy lasers. Conceived to provide unique research possibilities for particle physics, for condensed matter physics, chemistry and material science, for structural biology and industrial applications, IRIDE will open completely new research possibilities and advance our knowledge in many branches of science and technology. IRIDE will contribute to open new avenues of discoveries and to address most important riddles: What does matter consist of? What is the structure of proteins that have a fundamental role in life processes? What can we learn from protein structure to improve the treatment of diseases and to design more efficient drugs? But also how does an electronic chip behave under the effect of radiations? How can the heat flow in a large heat exchanger be optimized?
The scientific potential of IRIDE is far reaching and justifies the construction of such a large facility in Italy in synergy with the national research institutes and companies and in the framework of the European and international research. It will impact also on R&D work for ILC, FEL, and will be complementarity to other large scale accelerator projects. IRIDE is also intended to be realized in subsequent stages of development depending on the assigned priorities.


Ring frame process parameters, namely spindle speed, top roller pressure and traveller mass, have been optimized using three-variable Box and Behnken design to achieve better yarn quality and production. It is observed that 15000 rpm spindle speed with top roller pressure of 2.5 kg/cm2 and traveller mass of 50 ISO No. gives the optimum results within the experimental zone explored. But to achieve the spindle speed of 17000 rpm, the traveller mass of 40 ISO No. with the optimum value of top roller pressure gives acceptable running performance of the machine.


Michael Halliday's and Ruqaiya Hasan's estates have been found
 to include a large amount of unpublished materials: draft papers, research
 notes, photographs, comments on student papers and so on. They comprise
 important elements of their legacy and a potential research resource. In this
 paper we outline a project to preserve and digitise these materials and to make
 them readily available internationally. The project is being carried out under
 the auspices of, and with the support of, the Australian Systemic Functional
 Linguistics Association Inc. (ASFLA).


The high temperature oxidation and wear resistance gradated coating for improving the bonding strength between the ceramic coating and the substrate was designed. The properties of the gradated coating with the surface layer of nanostructured (ZrO2+8%Y2O3) and the middle layer of NiCr prepared by thermal spray on the 45 steel, were studied by scanning electronic microscope(SEM),X-ray diffraction, bonding strength and microhardness measurements. The results show that NiCr/nanostructured (ZrO2+8%Y2O3) gradated coating microstructure is very dense and its mechanical properties are better than that of NiCr alloy coating or nanostructured ZrO2 ceramic coating, the high temperature and wear resistance of the gradated coating can be improved by the surface layer and the high temperature oxidation resistance can be enhanced by the middle layer.


Introduction: Nurses play an increasingly important role in the management of patients with COPD across Europe. However there are often skills gap and lack of access to accessible education that is appropriate to the needs of the learner. Aims and objectives: An educational package was developed by Education for Health with endorsement from the European Respiratory Nurses Association (ERNA) for use by COPD nurses. In order to widen access the learning intervention was delivered online, concomitantly revealing the uptake and completion rates of the resource. Methods: The highly engaging resource was created through blending animation, MCQs and interactive activities. Student performance and activity was analysed through a linked LMS. Results: 911 users have registered to use the resource since launch on the 20/11/2013 Users from the UK (70%), Netherlands (7.5%) and Brazil (6%), with the remainder largely European countries 95 users have completed the full programme. 3,458 sessions have been recorded indicating that users are logging in multiple times, suggesting that the site is used more as a reference resource as opposed to a course. This is supported by the finding that a third of users on the site are also returning visitors and also that 23% of users accessed the resource on mobile devices Average usage time per user: 2 hrs. 45 min. Conclusions: The relatively low completion rate aligns to the tool being used more as a reference resource rather than a complete course. Online education is an acceptable mode of delivery and wider access to education for nurses and as the potential to improve patient care worldwide.


Hyperbaric oxygenation as an adjunct in the treatment of clostridial myonecrosis (gas gangrene) has been used extensively in facilities with hyperbaric chambers. The United States Air Force has had extensive experience in the treatment of clostridial myonecrosis, treating 77 patients since 1965. This study reviews the experience in the treatment of this disease process in military multiplace hyperbaric chambers and provides an in-depth analysis of factors affecting patient survival. A comprehensive review of the literature on the treatment of clostridial myonecrosis with hyperbaric oxygenation is presented in this paper.


Eighty three patients suffering from brain tumors have been treated by anticancer pellets containing 5-FU, urokinase, mitomycin and BUdR in dimethylsiloxan (Silastic) for three years. Constant and prolonged release of the chemicals from the anticancer pellet had already been proved in vitro. The amount of daily release were 1-3/1,000 of original volume. Tissue concentration of 5-FU was measured by bioassay system using staphylococcus 209 P strain with plate dilution method. In spite of the rapid disappearance of serum 5-FU, the local high accumulation of 5-FU was demonstrated in vivo. In rat neurogenic tumor, 1.104 microgram/g was detected on 60 days after the application of anticancer pellet containing 500 mg of 5-FU. The growth of tumor was also suppressed. The clinical study consists of 83 patients, 30 of glioblastoma, 19 of metastatic brain tumor, 13 of astrocytoma, 7 of oligodendroglioma, 4 of ependymoblastoma, 4 of malignant lymphoma and 6 of others. The median survival time of gliblastoma was prolonged to 71.5 weeks by the implantation of anticancer pellet from 40 weeks of control group. However, the median survival time of astrocytoma and metastatic brain tumor were 24 and 6 months, respectively, which have no significant difference from control groups. In the patients of metastatic brain tumor, the regrowth of metastatic foci in the brain was completely suppressed. However, most of them were succumbed from the original tumors. The concentration of 5-FU in several human tissue was measured in ten patients with different time intervals after the implantation of the anticancer pellet. Although they have different histologic patterns, the concentrations of 5-FU in human brain tumors were ranged from 0.05 to 0.67 microgram/g by 14 months after the implantation of the anticancer pellet. The adjacent cystic fluids also contain from 0.62 to 4.9 microgram/ml of 5-FU for two years. These results mean that they are keeping higher level of 5-FU than the tumoricidal level of 5-FU (0.056 microgram/g) for more than two years. On the other hand, no respective accumulation was demonstrated in other tissues. None of the patients showed any adverse reactions except a continuous slight fever up to 38 degrees C.


A literature search was conducted for evidence of natural selection having acted on PGI loci at two levels: (1) on polymorphisms, and (2) on homologous loci in closely related species during the speciation process. The results indicated that at both levels there is a significant relationship between relative electrophoretic mobility (probably net charge) and environmental conditions, such that the more anodal allozyme/isozyme is favoured under a suite of conditions comprising one or more of the following: increased temperature, increased salinity, increased exposure and risk of desiccation, and reduced oxygen availability.


This paper compares the investment characteristics between foreign funds operating under Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFIIs) in China and domestic Chinese funds and analyzes the firm-level drivers that influence their allocation choices. The analysis reveals that foreign funds have a preference for a range of sectors such as transportation, metals and non-metals, and machinery, as opposed to industries with a requirement for local knowledge. The portfolios of domestic Chinese funds are distributed more evenly than those of the foreign funds. The comparative analysis indicates that foreign funds invest in firms that are significantly different from those favored by domestic funds in terms of size, profit, and compensation of management. Finally, we find that when making investment decisions, foreign funds tend to rely on some corporate governance indicators, which is not consistent with the results obtained from previous studies examining developed markets. In particular, foreign funds have a preference for firms with a high percentage of state-owned shares, while the reverse is the case for domestic funds. These empirical findings highlight the differences between QFII and domestic fund investment preferences and will be of value to policy-makers in emerging markets, and China, in particular, in gauging the important drivers of foreign investment.


Chinese herbal medicine is widely cultivated in southwest China where the soil cadmium (Cd) contamination of farmland is more serious than that in the whole of China. In this study, Polygonatum sibiricum were exposed to Cd at the concentrations of e− 1, e0, e2, and e4 mg·kg− 1 for up to 30,60, and 90 days and their physiological stress responses, Cd and mineral element uptake, antioxidant enzyme activities, and content changes of pharmaceutical ingredients (polysaccharides) were analyzed to decipher the feasibility of safety use in Cd contaminated soil. Results showed that the activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, and CAT) of the aboveground part was enhanced in response to Cd stress after 90 d. Compared with the control, the underground part mobilizes non-enzymatic systems to facilitate the synthesis of polysaccharides (PCP1, PCP2) with antioxidant properties to cope with Cd stress. Mineral elements (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, and Zn) were significantly changed after 90 d of cultivation. In particular, the changes in iron and zinc contents were significantly correlated with the activities of SOD and POD. The soil Cd safety thresholds value for Polygonatum sibiricum is e0 mg·kg− 1, under which concentration the stimulation of Cd promotes polysaccharides synthesis and biomass growth.


This paper provides an overview of building structure modeling and control under bidirectional seismic waves. It focuses on different types of bidirectional control devices, control strategies, and bidirectional sensors used in structural control systems. This paper also highlights the various issues like system identification techniques, the time-delay in the system,
estimation of velocity and position from acceleration signals, and optimal placement of the sensors and control devices. The importance of control devices and its applications to minimize bidirectional vibrations has been illustrated. Finally, the applications of structural control systems in real buildings and their performance have been reviewed.


An 83-year-old woman with a history of coronary artery disease presented with anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction. During coronary intervention, she was found to have a ventricular septal rupture, but was felt not to be a surgical candidate due to advanced shock. She was offered transcatheter repair using an Amplatzer post-infarction muscular ventricular septal defect occluder and recovered completely. She was discharged, but returned four months later with chest pain. A cardiac CT and contrast-enhanced echocardiogram revealed a left ventricular pseudoaneurysm. She underwent transcatheter repair using an Amplatzer Vascular Plug II and recovered without further sequelae.


Ice rises are locally grounded parts of Antarctic ice shelves that play an important role in regulating ice flow from the continent towards the ocean. Because they protrude out of the otherwise horizontal ice shelves, ice rises induce an orographic uplift of the atmospheric flow, resulting in an asymmetric distribution of the surface mass balance (SMB). Here, we combine younger and older internal reflection horizons (IRHs) from radar to quantify this distribution in time and space across Derwael Ice Rise (DIR), Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. We employ two methods depending on the age of the IRHs, i.e. the shallow layer approximation for the younger IRHs near the surface and an optimization technique based on an ice flow model for the older IRHs. We identify an SMB ratio of 2.5 between the flanks and the ice divide with the SMB ranging between 300 and 750 kg m a. The SMB maximum is located on the upwind side, ∼4 km offset to today's topographic divide. The large-scale asymmetry is consistently observed in time until 1966. The SMB from older IRHs is less-well constrained, but the asymmetry has likely persisted for >ka, indicating that DIR has been a stable features over long time spans.


AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a person as having AIDS if she or he is living with HIV and has a CD4 cell [3] count of 200 or less. The CDC has also developed a list of opportunistic infections (OIs) [4], cancers [5], and conditions that are considered AIDS-defining conditions (see below). If you live with HIV and one or more of these infections or conditions, you have a diagnosis of AIDS, no matter what your CD4 count is or how it changes in the future. This does not necessarily mean you are sick or will get sick in the future. It is just the way the public health system counts the number of people who have had advanced HIV disease.


Introduction Necrosis of hepatic cells may occur during severe infections, 2,6-9 after exposure to certain chemical agents, 1,2,6,7 and occasionally in association with alterations in the peripheral or hepatic circulations. 3-6,10-12 Massive necrosis of the left lobe of the liver occurred in a patient with S-A hemoglobin during the course of a Gram-negative septicemia secondary to pyelonephritis occurring pre- and postpartum. The course of the patient is described here because: Biopsy material obtained during the acute and healing stages demonstrated changes compatible with hepatic infarction; this degree of hepatic destruction with subsequent survival is unusual, and our patient made a complete recovery from what appeared to all who saw her to be a moribund state. Report of a Case A 17-year-old Negro woman was first seen in late June, 1961, during the seventh month of her first pregnancy with fever, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, clay-colored stools, and dark urine for 4-6


From an extensive model developed to interpret physiological processes we are able to show that the observed elevated creatine kinase-myoglobin (CK-MB) and serum concentration of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) values for a particular patient are associated with the inflammatory disease, polymyositis, and not myocardial injury. This highlights that caution must be exercised in using elevated CK-MB and cTnT levels as evidence for myocardial damage in patients with chronic muscle degeneration such as polymyositis.


A new brush plating process with a soluble anode of nickel was introduced. TDY112 brush plating solution was used on the No.20 carbon steel substrate. It has the higher deposit velocity, better properties and lower cost. Scanning electronic microscopy(SEM), optical microscope, microhardness test and wear test were adopted to detect the surface quality and the properties of the coating, such as micrograph, microstructure, micro-hardness wear resistance and adherence between the coating and the substrate. The experimental results showed that the suitable technological parameters to be used, the coatings had better the surface quality, higher hardness and wear resistance.


The key information required for quantitative evaluation of bulk power system reliability includes frequency and duration of multiple transmission line outages that cause system problems. Two fundamental approaches to reporting and analyzing transmission performance data to predict these multiple outages have evolved in the industry. These have been referred to as "unit" and the "component" approaches. A third approach "hybrid" has also been suggested. This paper interprets these approaches and discusses their relative advantages. Their relative accuracies are also discussed applying these approaches to Commonwealth Edison Company's 345 kV transmission outage data.


Presented is a harmonic regulator that regulates a plurality of individual harmonics in a system having periodic torque disturbances to commanded values, including zero. For each harmonic being regulated, a feedback signal having at least one harmonic component due to the harmonic being regulated is transformed from a source reference frame to a harmonic reference frame of the harmonic being regulated to form a qd feedback signal. The qd feedback signal is subtracted from the commanded value to form a qd signal and regulated. The regulated qd signal is transformed to a destination reference frame to form a compensation signal and the compensation signal is added to a control signal to form a qd control signal that drives each harmonic being regulated towards the commanded value. ® KIPO & WIPO 2009


Abstract To quantify the effect of a current on the height of a wave's run-up and overtopping combined with an oblique wave approach, the "FlowDike" hydraulic research project was carried out. Tests were performed on two dike slopes of 1:3 and 1:6. Waves were generated across (perpendicular to) the physical model and also inclined in-plane to the stream axis. Oblique waves were generated both towards and along the flow's direction. The effect of the current and of the wave direction on the height of the wave run-up and amount of the wave overtopping was expressed by means of a combined correction factor for the wave's inclination and flow velocity. The results of the research confirmed that the flow velocity had only a small effect.


Abstract In this study, it was hypothesized that progesterone (P4) acts as a survival factor primarily by actions of the classic nuclear progesterone receptor (PGR) signaling pathway in rat periovulatory granulosa cells. Granulosa cells were isolated from immature female rats primed with equine chorionic gonadotropin/human chorionic gonadotropin and treated in vitro with PGR antagonists. As little as 10 nM of two different PGR antagonists (Org 31710 and RU 486) increased apoptosis measured as caspase 3/7 activity, which was reversed by cotreatment with the progestin R5020. Concurrently, P4 synthesis was decreased. Inhibition of P4 synthesis by cyanoketone similarly induced apoptosis but required greater inhibition of P4 synthesis than that seen after treatment with PGR antagonists. Therefore, the induction of apoptosis by PGR antagonists cannot be explained by decreased P4 synthesis alone. Low concentrations of R5020 also completely reversed the effects of cyanoketone. Inhibition of P4 synthesis was more effective in inducing apoptosis than treatment with PGR antagonists. However, cotreatment with PGR antagonists protected cells from the additional effects of cyanoketone, indicating partial agonist effects of the antagonists and a dominating role for PGR in P4-mediated regulation of apoptosis. Progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) was expressed in granulosa cells; however, an anti-PGRMC1 antibody did not induce apoptosis in periovulatory granulosa cells. Neither anti-PGRMC1 nor P4 or cyanoketone affected apoptosis of immature granulosa cells. In conclusion, we show that P4 regulates apoptosis in periovulatory granulosa cells by acting via the classic nuclear receptor.


A model for estimating the cost required to do a cost estimate for Deep Space Network (DSN) projects that range from $0.1 to $100 million is presented. The cost of the cost estimate in thousands of dollars, C(sub E), is found to be approximately given by C(sub E) = K((C(sub p))(sup 0.35)) where C(sub p) is the cost of the project being estimated in millions of dollars and K is a constant depending on the accuracy of the estimate. For an order-of-magnitude estimate, K = 24; for a budget estimate, K = 60; and for a definitive estimate, K = 115. That is, for a specific project, the cost of doing a budget estimate is about 2.5 times as much as that for an order-of-magnitude estimate, and a definitive estimate costs about twice as much as a budget estimate. Use of this model should help provide the level of resources required for doing cost estimates and, as a result, provide insights towards more accurate estimates with less potential for cost overruns.


Patterns of habitat selection by American mink Mustela vison within foraging areas located on the shore, were studied in a coastal environment of Scotland from November to March in 1983/84, 1984/85 and 1994/95. The abundance of prey in the intertidal zone was modelled in relation to abiotic environmental characteristics. Four factors were found to be important predictors of prey abundance: the position within the tidal zone, the abundance and size of rockpools, the nature of the substratum and the presence of fresh water streams. The model was used to predict prey abundance in different areas of the shore. We then investigated whether mink were choosing areas with higher prey abundance at different tidal levels and within, as opposed to between, core areas (areas with a relatively high density of fixes, encompassing usually one or more dens). Only when foraging at low or mid-tide and within core areas were mink found to behave selectively. They showed no significant preference for areas rich in prey when foraging at high tide and between core areas. Mink were also found to avoid areas with fresh water streams and to prefer foraging in the mid-tide zone. The findings are discussed in relation to prey abundance and competition with the otter Lutra lutra.


Sand volcanoes are small volcano-like features. They range in diameter from a few centimetres to several metres. Five volcanoes with a maximum diameter of 2 m were observed during the construction of a dike on the coast of Northwestern Germany. The cones reached heights of about 15 cm with craters in the middle.

The rise of the volcanoes is explained by de-watering of sediment.


To review studies on hypertension in Nigeria over the past five decades in terms of prevalence, awareness and treatment and complications. Following our search on Pubmed, African Journals Online and the World Health Organization Global cardiovascular infobase, 1060 related references were identified out of which 43 were found to be relevant for this review. The overall prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria ranges from 8%-46.4% depending on the study target population, type of measurement and cut-off value used for defining hypertension. The prevalence is similar in men and women (7.9%-50.2% vs 3.5%-68.8%, respectively) and in the urban (8.1%-42.0%) and rural setting (13.5%-46.4%).The pooled prevalence increased from 8.6% from the only study during the period from 1970-1979 to 22.5% (2000-2011). Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension were generally low with attendant high burden of hypertension related complications. In order to improve outcomes of cardiovascular disease in Africans, public health education to improve awareness of hypertension is required. Further epidemiological studies on hypertension are required to adequately understand and characterize the impact of hypertension in society.


Introduction: This study aimed to explore the association of angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) use with in-hospital mortality among Chinese patients with hypertension hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods: This study was conducted from January 2014 to January 2017, and data from patients with hypertension hospitalized with CAP were analyzed retrospectively. Multivariable logistic regression and propensity score matching (PSM) were used to investigate any association. Results: 1,510 patients were included in this study. The crude in-hospital mortality was significantly lower in patients with ARBs use (4.2% vs. 12.5%, p < 0.001). In the extended multivariable logistic models, the odds ratios (ORs) of ARBs use were consistently significant in all six models (OR range 0.27–0.48, p < 0.05 for all). After subgroup analysis, ARBs use remained a potentially protective factor against in-hospital mortality, and no interaction was detected. After PSM, the in-hospital mortality remained significantly lower in the ARBs use group (4.2% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.002). In the univariate analysis, using ARBs was associated with in-hospital mortality (PSM OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.19–0.68; p = 0.002). Additionally, compared with the control group, ARBs use did not significantly increase the risk of acute kidney injury (12.4% vs. 10.9%, p = 0.628), renal replacement therapy (0.6% vs. 0.3%, p = 1.000), and hyperkalemia (1.8% vs. 2.1%, p = 1.000). Conclusion: Although residual confounding cannot be excluded, the use of ARBs was associated with lower in-hospital mortality in Chinese patients with hypertension hospitalized with CAP.


Several prominent researchers in the problem gambling field have recently called for high-quality replications of existing gambling studies. This call should be extended to the entire field of addiction research: there is a need to focus on ensuring that the understanding of addiction and related phenomena gained through the extant literature is robust and replicable. This article discusses two important questions addictions researchers should consider before proceeding with replication studies: [1] which studies should we attempt to replicate? And: [2] how should we interpret the findings of a replication study in relation to the original study? In answering these questions, a focus is placed on experimental research, though the discussion may still serve as a useful introduction to the topic of replications for addictions researchers using any methodology.


Abstract The invitation to Catalan culture to be the guest of honour at the 2007 Frankfurt Book Fair has revived a polemic about what Catalan literature is and who can be considered a Catalan author. In their responses to the announcement, many Catalan cultural commentators drew on the language and discourse of postcolonialism to explain the historical and political reasons for the existence of Catalans who write in Castilian and to justify the exclusion of such writers as suitable representatives of Catalan culture. This article examines the use of postcolonial theories by Catalan intellectuals, writers and literary critics. It argues that Catalan postcolonial studies largely reinforce nationalist discourse which maintains that Catalan literature is literature written exclusively in Catalan. The article questions the very restricted understanding of postcolonial subjectivity by Catalan critics, arguing that they either ignore entirely or gloss over theories of bi-directional cultural contact, cultural change and hybridity which are a central feature of postcolonial studies. In light of these unexamined theories, the article proposes a framework for understanding Castilian-language writers from Catalonia and situating them within a broader Catalan postcolonial context.


Let X be any Q-Fano variety and Aut(X)0 be the identity component of the automorphism group of X. Let G denote a connected reductive subgroup of Aut(X)0. We prove that if X is G-uniformly K-stable, then it admits a Kähler-Einstein metric. The converse of this result holds true if G contains a maximal torus of Aut(X)0. These results give versions of Yau-Tian-Donaldson conjecture for arbitrary singular Fano varieties. A key new ingredient is a valuative criterion for the G-uniform K-stability.


Massive localized lymphedema (MLL) is a rare disease observed in people with morbid obesity. MLL is easily confused with soft tissue sarcoma. Therefore, MLL is sometimes called as pseudosarcoma in the literature. MLL was initially described by G. Farshid and S. Weiss in 1998. However, etiology of MLL is still unknown despite certain relationships with injuries, operations and hypothyroidism. Since the term «MLL» was introduced only 20 years ago, there are no reliable statistical data on the prevalence of MLL. According to the World Health Organization data (2016), 13% of the adult world population are obese. Therefore, the risk of MLL is increased in these people. Thigh is the most common site of lesion. Abdominal wall lesion is rare and can cause diagnostic difficulties due to large dimensions and appearance. We report a 50-year-old obese woman with MLL of anterior abdominal wall. She experienced discomfort while walking and sleeping due to giant MLL of anterior abdominal wall that significantly reduced quality of life. Removal of MLL (weight 22160 g) was followed by favorable cosmetic and functional outcome. Analysis of differences between MLL and soft tissue sarcoma in the era of «obesity epidemic» is valuable for correct diagnosis and treatment of this rare complication. This report is the first case of MLL, registered in Russia. In our opinion, this is associated with insufficient awareness of physicians about this complication of obesity. We hope our observation will help clinicians to identify and treat this complication.


IMPORTANCE
The standard care for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) usually is panretinal photocoagulation, an inherently destructive treatment that can cause iatrogenic vision loss. Therefore, evaluating the effects of therapies for diabetic macular edema on development or worsening of PDR might lead to new therapies for PDR.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of intravitreal ranibizumab or triamcinolone acetonide, administered to treat diabetic macular edema, on worsening of diabetic retinopathy.

DESIGN
Exploratory analysis was performed on worsening of retinopathy, defined as 1 or more of the following: (1) worsening from no PDR to PDR, (2) worsening of 2 or more severity levels on reading center assessment of fundus photographs in eyes without PDR at baseline, (3) having panretinal photocoagulation, (4) experiencing vitreous hemorrhage, or (5) undergoing vitrectomy for the treatment of PDR.

SETTING
Community- and university-based ophthalmology practices.

PARTICIPANTS
Individuals with central-involved diabetic macular edema causing visual acuity impairment.

INTERVENTIONS
Eyes were assigned randomly to sham with prompt focal/grid laser, 0.5 mg of intravitreal ranibizumab with prompt or deferred (≥24 weeks) laser, or 4 mg of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide with prompt laser.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Three-year cumulative probabilities for retinopathy worsening.

RESULTS
For eyes without PDR at baseline, the 3-year cumulative probabilities for retinopathy worsening (P value comparison with sham with prompt laser) were 23% using sham with prompt laser, 18% with ranibizumab with prompt laser (P = .25), 7% with ranibizumab with deferred laser (P = .001), and 37% with triamcinolone with prompt laser (P = .10). For eyes with PDR at baseline, the 3-year cumulative probabilities for retinopathy worsening were 40%, 21% (P = .05), 18% (P = .02), and 12% (P < .001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Intravitreal ranibizumab appears to be associated with a reduced risk of diabetic retinopathy worsening in eyes with or without PDR. Intravitreal triamcinolone also appears to be associated with a reduced risk of PDR worsening. These findings suggest that use of these drugs to prevent worsening of diabetic retinopathy may be feasible. Given the exploratory nature of these analyses, the risk of endophthalmitis following intravitreal injections, and the fact that intravitreal triamcinolone can cause cataract or glaucoma, use of these treatments to reduce the rates of worsening of retinopathy, with or without PDR, does not seem warranted at this time.


Machine learning methods have found novel application areas in various disciplines as they offer low-computational cost solutions to complex problems. Recently, metasurface design has joined among these applications, and neural networks enabled significant improvements within a short period of time. However, there are still outstanding challenges that needs to be overcome. Here, we propose a data pre-processing approach based on the governing laws of the physical problem to eliminate dimensional mismatch between high dimensional optical response and low dimensional feature space of metasurfaces. We train forward and inverse models to predict optical responses of cylindrical meta-atoms and to retrieve their geometric parameters for a desired optical response, respectively. Our approach provides accurate prediction capability even outside the training spectral range. Finally, using our inverse model, we design and demonstrate a focusing metalens as a proof-of-concept application, thus validating the capability of our proposed approach. We believe our method will pave the way towards practical learning-based models to solve more complicated photonic design problems.


Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) involves epigenetic changes including DNA hypomethylation, a paradigm shift in the role of DNA methylation alterations in colorectal carcinogenesis. Aim: Here we performed Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) on a normal, and a tumor patient9s tissue DNA to elucidate hyper- and hypomethylaed target genes in colorectal cancer progression in this population. Methods: Genomic DNA was isolated from fresh frozen surgical tissues from a patient with normal colon, and from a carcinoma patient. RRBS was performed on these DNA samples for hyper- and hypomethylation targets identification. Alignment, mapping and CpG methylation analyses were performed. Preferential hypomethylated pathways were determined using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Results: We identified the hyper (6360 CpG sites) and hypo-methylation (4845 CpG sites) status of top genes in the CpG Island within promoter regions (19 and 18 genes respectively). Top hyper- and hypomethylated CpG Island outside promoter regions (16 and 18 genes, respectively) were also identified. Among these top genes, CDH4 and SOX21 were reported to be hypermethylated in CRC and SCUBE2 (112 methylated CpG) mapped by IPA to the Hedgehog, TGF-β, and VEGF Signaling pathways was reported to play a role in breast cancer. Among the top hypomethylated genes, ACOT9 (97 CpGI sites) and RIN2 (40 CpGI sites) might play a significant role in CRC in AAs, since IPA mapped these markers to the Wnt/β-catenin, VEGF and PTEN signaling pathways. ACOT9 was found to play a role in breast cancer. Conclusion: This work provides insight into differential CpG island hyper- and hypo-methylation profiles in CRC and provides a window into the more complex epigenetic events associated with CRC, including the hypomethylation of known and novel genes. Investigations into the possible roles of the novel gene targets in the context of early and prognostic methylation biomarkers are underway. Citation Format: Hassan Ashktorab, Afnan Shakoori, Shatha Zarnogi, Xueguang Sun, Sudhir Varma, Edward Lee, Babak Shokrani, Adeinko O. Laiyemo, Kareem Washington, Hassan Brim. Whole genome hypo- and hyper-methylation sequencing among Africa American patients with colorectal cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4588. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4588


The Stiglitz report on the measurement of economic performance and social progress has been recently released. Part of this report is devoted to the issue of measuring sustainability. One of the sustainability indexes it considers is the concept of adjusted net savings (ANS). Compared to other indexes, it has the advantage of being truly concentrated on measuring sustainability stricto sensu, avoiding a frequent confusion between the measurement of sustainability and the measurement of current well-being. It also relies on an explicit accounting framework, and it includes all potential dimensions of global sustainability: physical and human capital accumulation, as well as changes in quantities or quality of environmental assets. But the major stumbling block is the definition of prices that are needed for valuing these different groups of assets. In a context of notoriously imperfect markets, these prices cannot be observed. They have to be imputed. This paper recalls what are the theoretical requirements for this imputation, and that they are quite strong: what is needed is no less than a full model projecting long term interactions between the economy and the environment. We use this observation as a point of departure for explaining why consensus on sustainability measurement is so difficult to reach, and how this argues in favor of more eclectic approaches mixing the ANS with some complementary indicators focusing on environmental issues.