In Louise Erdrich: Tracks, The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, The Plague of Doves, editor Deborah L. Madsen brings together nine original essays— three focused on each novel—that together give both new and experienced readers a superbly insightful and innovative glimpse into the vast array of critical approaches to lauded American writer Louise Erdrich. The essay collection's structure, which helps achieve its goal of being "engaging and clear however complex the subject" (viii), is perhaps its greatest contribution to its readability. Madsen, who also contributes an informative introduction to each trio of essays, introduces the entire volume in "Louise Erdrich: The Aesthetics of Mino Bimaadiziwin." Moreover, each essay is itself divided into sections that summarize the forthcoming essay, provide a situated research review, demonstrate close readings and careful development of the argument, and add a summative conclusion. For experienced readers of literary criticism, this approach can seem artificial, even obvious, and it does constrain attempts at rhetorical or structural creativity; however, after making my way through several essays, the structure proved illuminating. The academic essay is an artifice that few scholars break from; Madsen's collection foregrounds the various components, a useful tactic for undergraduate and graduate students looking to understand, not merely imitate, the expectations for a scholarly essay. For general readers, the structure provides needed directional clarity without simplifying the arguments presented. Endnotes are at a minimum, and the volume has a short, valuable section on additional reading. The "Works Cited" list alone is a fascinating catalogue of key scholarly texts on Native American literature and Erdrich studies. As editor, Madsen deftly guides readers through key information. Her primary introduction concisely and smartly covers the key controversies surrounding Native American literature in general and Erdrich scholarship in particular. Personal, tribal, and historical background, as well as developments and debates in the scholarship, bring readers up to date. Throughout the volume, Madsen points out various ways many of the essays are in conversation with one another, taking up themes from different perspectives. For example, one of the most confounding and disturbing of Erdrich's characters, Pauline Puyat, the mixed-blood character that becomes the fanatically religious Sister Leopolda, is revisited in several essays in the collection. Allan Chavkin and Nancy Feyl Chavkin's essay, "A Bowen Family Systems Reading of Tracks," offers readers an elaborated discussion of the Bowen Family Systems theory and the likely ways in which family members respond to anxiety in order to apply the theory to Pauline/Sister Leopolda. This application of a very specific theoretical approach initially seems artificial but eventually proves to have considerable explanatory power.


When susceptibility to virulent Pasteurella multocida was compared, there was no significant (P greater than 0.05) difference between caponized and uncaponized tom turkeys. Neither was there any significant (P greater than 0.05) difference between the surviving caponized and uncaponized toms in the development of serum anti-P. multocida antibody. However, at 28 weeks of age, the average live body weight of the caponized toms was significantly (P less than 0.05) lower than that of the uncaponized toms. Turkeys were caponized when 9 weeks old, and different groups were exposed to P. multocida when 13, 18, 23, and 28 weeks old.


Peter Lyth claimed that my argument against an infinite temporal regress of events conflates number as an abstract entity with number as a number of events or things. I show that my argument does not depend on such a conflation.


A distributed control system including a control station that takes charge of control operation, and a remote input/output device that is connected to the control station through a remote input/output bus. In a normal state, cyclic scan transmission is carried out by using the remote input/output bus so that input/output data handled by the control station and input/output data on the remote input/output device side are maintained equivalently. The control station is provided with a continuation transmission service means that first performs transmission for urgent output only and then performs normal cyclic scan transmission service after the completion of the transmission for urgent output, an initialization start transmission service means that first performs cyclic scan transmission for input only, and an interruption duration measuring means that measures a period of transmission interruption duration of the remote input/output bus. When the result of measurement made by the interruption duration measuring means is shorter than a predetermined time, the continuation transmission service means is activated, whereas, when the result of measurement by the interruption duration measuring means is longer than the predetermined time, the initialization start transmission service means is activated. Thus, when the power supply recovers from a power failure, for example, the system can recover from the transmission interruption state rapidly and shift to the normal process control operation promptly.


Replacing the pay-as-you-go defined benefit (PAYG DB) system with an at least partially funded defined contribution (DC) system generates fiscal costs that need financing. The fiscal closures at hand differ by the channel and the extent of distortions. The main contribution of this paper is a thorough comparison of the welfare effects of the various fiscal closures of the pension system reform. In addition, we decompose the welfare effects to the parts attributable to changing the way pensions are financed (PAYG ⇒ prefunding) and to changing the way pensions are computed (DB ⇒ DC). We show that depending on the fiscal closure, the welfare effects differ substantially for the same pension system reform. The financing of the the pension system gap with public debt allows more intergenerational redistribution.


The article presents the views of energy scholars, researchers about household energy efficiency in global sphere. Past and current trends in the field of energy analysis are investigated. The objective of this paper is to provide brief household energy analysis and rather, it reviews current knowledge on energy analysis and identifies factors affecting the energy requirements and energy use patterns among households. The paper also combines the global barriers of household energy efficiency. We have summarized the recommendations of worldwide energy researchers to enhance the energy efficiency. The paper provide research gap, which will be positively useful for techno social researchers. The results of energy education experiments, energy information system seems to be helpful for governments and policy makers. However US, European, Chinese, Japanese research has been able to measure the influence of behavior on household energy consumption, to date Indian research has been unable to do so.


We have developed an AV (audio and video) decoder LSI for both DVD-audio and DVD-video standard. We describe the architecture of the LSI and the audio software algorithms for real-time decoding of high quality audio contents (192 Hz 24 bit stereo, 96 kHz 24 bit multi-channel, etc.) with still picture.


The research objectives is to analyze agglomeration over the company's productivity of 2 important factors of agglomeration: interindustry (localization) and cross industry spillover (urbanization) and review its effect if those agglomeration derives from upstream or downstream industry. In addition to it, this research is determining on how geographic distance and economic distance against spillover strength. By means of the company's level panel data of heavy and medium industrial survey result by the National Statistical Bureau in local regency/municipality level ranging from 2008 to 2015 and 2010 output input table to see the vertical industry relation, the outcomes may show that both company accepting positive and significant impact on productivity spillover of the same industrial sector, and other industrial sector in the same region. Nevertheless, the more far the area geographically, the less its impact. Productivity spillover is also determined from upstream dan downstream industries concentrating in the same region. However, the economic distance effect is not identified on the upstream level. Hence, the policy implication of the research result is to encourage and shaping the downstream industries, facilitate technology transfer from upstream companies, and periodically evaluate industrial estates.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency of venous thromboembolism, possible predictors, and the association between venous thromboembolism and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores and length of stay among cancer patients admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation unit at a cancer centre.

DESIGN
Retrospective analysis of patients admitted to acute inpatient rehabilitation from September 2011 to June 2013. Subject/patients: Cancer patients in the acute inpatient rehabilitation unit within a tertiary cancer centre.

METHODS
International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9) codes identified deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and inferior vena cava filter.

RESULTS
Venous thromboembolism occurred in 32/611 patients (5.2%): 23/611 (3.8%) during the course of hospitalization before admission to rehabilitation, and 9/611 patients (1.5%) during rehabilitation. Patients with lower extremity oedema at admission (p = 0.0218) had a higher chance of subsequently developing venous thromboembolism. Patients with venous thromboembolism during rehabilitation had a significantly lower FIM transfer score at admission to rehabilitation (p = 0.0247), a longer length of stay in rehabilitation (p = 0.0013) and overall hospitalization (p = 0.0580).

CONCLUSION
Cancer patients with low FIM transfer scores and lower extremity oedema are at higher risk of venous thromboembolism. Patients with these clinical findings at admission may require measures for more aggressive surveillance for the presence of venous thromboembolism. Patients with venous thromboembolism had an increased length of stay in rehabilitation, but ultimately did not have significant differences in FIM score changes.


: Taxation can contribute to state-building through a tax bargain in which taxpayers are willing to increase compliance in return for improved government accountability. There is limited evidence for this in sub-Saharan Africa where it is argued that the fiscal state is weak, with low tax revenues and governments that are not accountable. However, since the early 2000s, sub-Saharan African countries on average have increased tax/gross domestic product ratios significantly and there have also been increases in measures of accountability. Has the increase in taxation promoted improved accountability? This paper analyses data for up to 47 African countries from 1980 to 2019 and shows a robust positive correlation between tax revenue and accountability. Instrumental variable estimation provides support for a causal interpretation. The effect of taxation is only observed for vertical accountability (capturing the quality of elections and party competition), and not for other measures of accountability that capture the role of civil society or the judiciary, consistent with the emergence of a tax bargain. Furthermore, we show that the tax effect is one of the significant determinants of vertical accountability.


Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) and neprilysin have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in chronic inflammatory disease and heart failure, but these biomarkers have been studied less in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). We investigated the dynamic changes in these biomarkers, as well as the well-known C-reactive protein (CRP), in STEMI patients. PTX3, neprilysin and CRP were measured in samples from 165 STEMI patients, collected at the acute stage, 1–3 days after and 3 months after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and from 40 healthy donors. Patient survival was followed for approximately 8 years after the PCI. As compared with samples from healthy donors, plasma levels of CRP and PTX3 were significantly increased in the acute samples and 1–3 days after PCI, but not at 3 months. CRP levels peaked at 1–3 days, while PTX3 was similarly high in both acute and 1–3 days samples. For neprilysin, no significant differences were observed at the group level. We found no significant differences when comparing patients with patent versus occluded culprit vessels or between patients having a thrombus aspiration or not. However, we found a significant reduction in survival for individuals with PTX3 above the median, both for samples collected at the acute stage and 1–3 days after PCI (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.0008, respectively). For CRP, no significant differences were observed using this approach, but patients above the reference range for healthy donors in the acute samples showed significantly lower survival (p = 0.0476). Conclusions: Survival analysis suggests that PTX3 might be a promising marker to predict mortality in this patient population.


We investigate power dissipation phenomena in individual and coupled nanoscale magnets using micromagnetic simulations. We demonstrate that nanomagnet dots pumped with slowly varying external fields can dissipate as small as a few-ten millielectronvolts of energy per switching. This makes coupled nanomagnets promising candidates for realizing low-power computing devices.


INTRODUCTION: In this study the performance of world class long jumpers was analyzed to determine whether jumpers can be divided into groups which have the same starting conditions and different jumping styles but nevertheless attain the same jump distance. It was also determined whether there are ideal jump strategies for various starting conditions given for both men and women at the worldclass level of competition.

METHODS: The data for this study was recorded at the 1997 World Athletics Championships. Three stationary video cameras (50 Hz) filmed the jumps of 24 athletes, 62 jumps of which were analyzed from the women's and men's finals.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The analysis revealed that independent of gender athletes demonstrating different combinations of vertical and horizontal velocities attain comparable jump distances. The total energy at touch down determines the maximum jumping distance, but most athletes fail to use this energy optimally (Fig.1). The take-off phase characteristics as given by the loss of center of mass (CM) energy during take-off and the transformation of the approach energy into jump energy (transformation index) are important determinants of jump distance. The transformation index shows a high correlation between energy at touch down and energy decrease during take-off. The optimum energy loss at take-off for the athletes analyzed was determined to be 5.5-6.0 J/kg for the women and 7.5-8.4 J/kg for the men. For a few athletes the measured values and the theoretical values varied considerably. These instances may indicate that the transformation index is dependent on individual physical differences.


Event-related potentials (ERPs) of error trials in choice tasks and Go/Nogo tasks are found to be considerably different from the ERPs of the correct trials: In error trial ERPs there is an additional negative (Ne) and an additional positive component (Pe) compared to correct trials. Amplitude and latency variation of both components in different experiments supports the hypothesis that these components reflect different aspects of error processing. The Ne is interpreted as a real-time correlate of error detection, as defined by a mismatch between cognitive representations of the erroneous response and the correct response. The variation of Pe with experimental variables is different from that of the Ne and it also from that of positive components in correct trials, and may therefore reflect an additional aspect of error processing, such as change of response strategies.


This research paper is based upon the production, purification and characterization of bacteriocin by L.pentosus MW857478 followed by its enhancement of food safety and shelf life of paneer. In recent year LAB (Lactic acid bacteria) produced bacteriocin attract a great attention of researcher due to their many potential applications. This paper focused on isolation, identification, evaluation of broad spectrum inhibitory activity, production and purification, characterization and evaluation of food safety and shelf life of paneer. Bcateriocin produced by L. pentosus showed antagonistic activity against food spoiling pathogens in broad range of Bacteriocin production parameter was optimized with pH 5.5 incubated at 35°C for L. pentosus . Bacteriocin was purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation and purified bacteriocin with single band on SDS-PAGE for molecular weight. The purified bacteriocin stable at 2-10 pH and 30-75°C temperatures, suggesting L. pentosus a potent candidates for safety and extending shelf life of paneer for 15 days.


Recently, the smart network performance is great significance in quality of service. When the Energy server provider requires several types of information signals with different requirements from all nodes it manages. These signals will meet some interference when sent in view of the limitation of bandwidth for wireless technologies. To insure from receiving information signals its required suitable modulation schemas Proportional to hugging data signals whereas any wireless communication technology performance depends firstly on bandwidth factor and latency. This paper explains bandwidth consumption gains (BCG) to match the appropriate communication technologies that enhance the QoS of Smart Grid.


. Similarity method has been in science for several centuries. The basis of the study is closely connected with mathematical linguistics. This approach has allowed obtaining new results in the analytical geometry, which, in turn, is used in different applications in information technology. The results are described briefly. Binary relations in linguistics and geometry are compared with the position of system analysis. The modified hypothesis of space as a binary structure is put forward on the basis of singular linear transformations. The hypothesis of the human sensory system is given shortly. Architecture computing appliance for solving this class of problems is proposed. The modified method is also applied in pattern recognition. The presence of symmetry in natural languages is shown briefly.


Six women with chronic illness engaged in multiple conversations with the investigator to help her understand what it is like to live with chronic illness. Phenomenologic writing and reflection were used to analyze the data. The story is guided by an integrating theme: Living in paradox circumscribes one's loss while enabling one to embrace new discoveries of self in the life world through unfolding awareness


This commentary comprises our responses to each of the seven conclusions and twenty-four recommendations made in the report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures, published in July 2002.


According to the molecule-string model for glass transition, a more exact Monte Carlo protocol to simulate all the spatial relaxation modes (SRMs) of the string are proposed. The variations of the simulated relaxation times of the SRMs with temperature and string length are consistent with the predictions of the string relaxation equation of the model, i.e. the theretical predictions and the simulation results verify each other. It should be pointed out that the necessary condition of molecule string used as a collective unit in liquid is that the qualitative characteristics of the SRMs cannot be changed when the inter-string interactions are taken into account. This needs to study the coupling between the SRMs, but till now, the corresponding exact solutions have not been achieved, and only the self-consistent relaxation mean-field method is vailable. Therefore, the present simulation protocol will provide a necessary basis to study the coupling between the SRMs of neighboring strings, including the feasibility of the mean-field method.


Relative absorbed dose energy response correction, R, for various radiochromic films in water phantom is calculated by the use of the Monte Carlo‐based EGSnrc code system for high energy brachytherapy sources 60Co, 137Cs, 192Ir and 169Yb. The corrections are calculated along the transverse axis of the sources (1‐15 cm). The radiochromic films investigated are EBT, EBT2 (lot 020609 and lot 031109), RTQA, XRT, XRQA, and HS. For the 60Co source, the value of R is about unity and is independent of distance in the water phantom for films other than XRT and XRQA. The XRT and XRQA films showed distance‐dependent R values for this source (the values of R at 15 cm from the source in water are 1.845 and 2.495 for the films XRT and XRQA, respectively). In the case of 137Cs and 192Ir sources, XRT, XRQA, EBT2 (lot 031109), and HS films showed distant‐dependent R values. The rest of the films showed no energy dependence (HS film showed R values less than unity by about 5%, whereas the other films showed R values higher than unity). In the case of 169Yb source, the EBT film showed no energy dependence and EBT2 film (lot 031109) showed a distance‐independent R value of 1.041. The rest of the films showed distance‐dependent R values (increases with distance for the films other than HS). The solid phantoms PMMA and polystyrene enhance the R values for some films when compared the same in the water phantom. PACS number: 87.53.Jw


Morgellons disease is a rare disease with unknown etiology. Herein, we report the first case of Morgellons disease in Korea. A 30-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of pruritic erythematous patches and erosions on the arms, hands, and chin. She insisted that she had fiber-like materials under her skin, which she had observed through a magnifying device. We performed skin biopsy, and observed a fiber extruding from the dermal side of the specimen. Histopathological examination showed only mild lymphocytic infiltration, and failed to reveal evidence of any microorganism. The polymerase chain reaction for Borrelia burgdorferi was negative in her serum.


Resurfacing the patella during primary total knee arthroplasty is controversial. The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the outcome of total knee arthroplasty with or without resurfacing of the patella with particular attention to patient satisfaction, incidence of anterior knee pain, patellar complications, and the need for secondary operations. Computerized databases were searched for citations and published randomized clinical trials relevant to patellar resurfacing from 1966–2003. Of 158 citations identified as related to patellar resurfacing during total knee arthroplasty, 14 articles met all inclusion criteria for this study. The incidence of anterior knee pain was greater in knees with nonresurfaced patellas. Secondary resurfacings for anterior knee pain was needed in 8.7% of nonresurfaced knees. No difference in reported complications existed. Total knee arthroplasty resulted in improvement of functional outcome regardless of whether the patella was resurfaced. Based on the results of this meta-analysis, nonresurfacing of the patella during primary total knee arthroplasty is likely to result in a greater incidence of anterior knee pain, the need for secondary resurfacing in almost one in 10 patients, and possibly less patient satisfaction. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.


The effects of muscarinic and beta-adrenergic agonists on Cl(-) currents in acinar cells were investigated to clarify their role in the regulation of fluid secretion in rat perfused submandibular glands. Additions of isoproterenol (IPR) at 10(-8) to 10(-6) M and 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cyclic AMP (CPT-cAMP) at 10(-3) M to the perfusate suppressed carbachol (CCh; 10(-6) M)-induced fluid secretion. IPR and CPT-cAMP also diminished CCh-induced oscillatory Cl(-) current and increased CCh-stimulated non-oscillatory Cl(-) current. Propranolol blocked the effect of IPR on fluid secretion. IPR did not modulate the CCh-induced increase in intracellular concentration of calcium ions and intracellular pH in isolated cells. Propranolol blocked IPR-induced changes in Cl(- )currents, while propranolol itself increased CCh-induced K(+) current and reduced CCh-induced oscillatory Cl(-) current. Increasing external osmolarity with 50 mM sucrose abolished IPR-enhanced non-oscillatory Cl(-) current. Neither CCh-induced oscillatory Cl(-) current nor IPR-induced suppression of the oscillatory Cl(-) current was influenced by the hypertonicity. Perfusion of the gland with the hypertonic solution did not affect the IPR-induced suppression of fluid secretion. These results suggest that IPR induces the suppression of CCh-induced oscillatory Cl(-) current and potentiation of the non-oscillatory Cl(-) current via an increase in cyclic AMP level, and that suppression of the oscillatory Cl(-) current by IPR may contribute to the inhibition of fluid secretion from submandibular glands.


Frequently, the number of circulating tumor cells (CTC) isolated in 7.5 mL of blood is too small to reliably determine tumor heterogeneity and to be representative as a "liquid biopsy". In the EU FP7 program CTCTrap, we aimed to validate and optimize the recently introduced Diagnostic LeukApheresis (DLA) to screen liters of blood. Here we present the results obtained from 34 metastatic cancer patients subjected to DLA in the participating institutions. About 7.5 mL blood processed with CellSearch® was used as "gold standard" reference. DLAs were obtained from 22 metastatic prostate and 12 metastatic breast cancer patients at four different institutions without any noticeable side effects. DLA samples were prepared and processed with different analysis techniques. Processing DLA using CellSearch resulted in a 0–32 fold increase in CTC yield compared to processing 7.5 mL blood. Filtration of DLA through 5 μm pores microsieves was accompanied by large CTC losses. Leukocyte depletion of 18 mL followed by CellSearch yielded an increase of the number of CTC but a relative decrease in yield (37%) versus CellSearch DLA. In four out of seven patients with 0 CTC detected in 7.5 mL of blood, CTC were detected in DLA (range 1–4 CTC). The CTC obtained through DLA enables molecular characterization of the tumor. CTC enrichment technologies however still need to be improved to isolate all the CTC present in the DLA.


Ionization energies of beryllium-like ions for Z = 26 — 36 in hot and dense plasmas (ne = 1022 — 1024 cm -3, kT = 500 — 2000 eV) are obtained by using an approach developed for electronic structure and transition property of ions in hot and dense plasmas based on the multi-configuration Dirac-Fock model. Influence of the plasma environment is considered by introducing a correction to the one-electron potential to account for the screening of the ionized electrons. This correction is calculated from the ionized electron micro-space distribution, which is obtained based on an average atom model for the temperature and density-dependent average ionization of atoms in plasmas. Comparison between the present and the ion sphere models is made to display the significance of the ionized electron micro-space distribution.


Abstract The continuous, worldwide availability of very low-frequency signals from the Omega navigation system makes them useful for application to timing of portable seismographs, particularly in remote parts of the world where other radio sources may be difficult or impossible to receive. In our seismograph system, Omega phase data, which are sampled relative to a temperature-compensated quartz crystal oscillator, are digitized and recorded along with seismic data, and used to correct chronometer errors in postexperiment processing. An analysis procedure that statistically optimizes the correction process has been developed. Once time is known to ±5 sec, corrections are determined using a combination of two processes: (1) synchronizing the received Omega pattern to the propagation-corrected transmitted Omega pattern, and (2) measuring the drift rate from short-term (10-sec) changes in Omega phase. The Omega pattern synchronization yields the absolute time reference, and the cumulative drift rate gives the relative time correction. Standard errors of less than 1 msec are obtained under most circumstances. Absolute timing accuracies as high as 4 μsec are obtainable, however, through continuous phase tracking of Omega signals and application of very low-frequency, phase-velocity models. This suggests Omega9s suitability for earth-imaging experiments using dense arrays of portable seismographs. Although it is probable that Omega will eventually be replaced by satellite-based systems such as the Global Positioning System, it will most certainly be years before such a system can compete in terms of cost, reliability, and worldwide applicability.


An extradural spinal tumor was diagnosed in a 12-year-old Labrador retriever that was presented with a one-week history of paraparesis. Myelography indicated a deviation of the spinal cord to the right side at the level of the second lumbar (L2) vertebra. The difference in length measuring the left and right sides of the L2 vertebra suggested a fracture of the vertebral body. Severe bone remodeling and an extradural mass were seen on computed tomography (CT). Clinical, radiographical, and histological findings are described and considered homologous to extradural angiolipomas described in the human literature.


This study was conducted to examine the effect of capital adequacy and operational costs on operational revenues (BOPO) on operating profit simultaneously or partially. This study was classified as causal quantitative study. The subjects of this study consisted of Village-Owned Enterprises in Banjar Sub-District, which were registered at the Village and Community Empowerment Service, and the objects included capital adequacy, operational costs, operational revenues and operating profit. The samples that were involved in this study were determined by means of purposive sampling with a total sample of six BUMDes. Moreover, data were gathered by means of document recording, and were then analyzed by using multiple linear regression analysis. The results showed that (1) capital adequacy and operational costs on operational revenues provided a significant effect on operating profit (2) capital adequacy provided a negative and insignificant effect on operating profit (3) operational costs on operational revenues had a negative and significant effect on operating profit. Keywords: capital adequacy, operational costs on operational revenues, and operating profit.


In environments which possess relatively few features that enable a robot to unambiguously determine its location, global localization algorithms can result in multiple hypotheses locations of a robot. In such a scenario the robot, for effective localization, has to be actively guided to those locations where there is a maximum chance of eliminating most of the ambiguous states - which is often referred to as dasiaactive localizationpsila. When extended to multi robotic scenarios where all robots possess more than one hypothesis of their position, there is the opportunity to do better by using robots apart from obstacles as dasiahypotheses resolving agentspsila. The paper presents a unified framework accounting for the map structure as well as measurement amongst robots while guiding a set of robots to locations where they can singularize to a unique state. The appropriateness of our approach is demonstrated empirically in both simulation & real-time (on Amigobots) and its efficacy verified. Extensive comparative analysis portrays the advantage of the current method over others that do not perform active localization in a multi-robotic sense.


A review of recent developments in the cultivation and preservation of sheets of epidermal cells, which enable successful skin-grafting in cases of extensive burn injuries and non-healing leg ulcers.


BACKGROUND
Silibinin is a traditionally well-known drug for its hepatoprotective efficacy against various types of liver afflictions. In addition, it has recently been considered broadly as a potential chemopreventive agent against many types of cancers. The current study was designed to evaluate the restrictive effects of pharmacological doses of silibinin on SKBR3, an ErbB2-overexpressed and ER-negative human breast carcinoma cell line.

METHODS
Effect of silibinin on metabolic activity and proliferation of human breast carcinoma (SKBR3) cell line were evaluated by MTT and BrdU assays respectively. Furthermore, the proapoptotic effect of silibinin was investigated using flow cytometry. The NF-κB phosphorylation assay was also used to assess the effect of silibinin on NF-κB activation. The alkalizing effect of silibinin on SKBR3 cell line was evaluated by measuring pH of media of the silibinin-treated cells compared to control.

RESULTS
Our results indicate that silibinin inhibited metabolic activity and cell proliferation of SKBR3 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, silibinin significantly induced apoptosis in SKBR3 cells. On the other hand, silibinin significantly inhibited activation of NF-κB which is known to be highly active in this cell line. Alkalizing effect of silibinin was also observed.

CONCLUSION
The results obtained here indicate that silibinin may be an efficacious therapeutic agent against ER-negative breast carcinomas with high inhibitory effect on NF-κB.


Indonesian Bridal is a practical learning method at Cosmetology education that difficult to understand by student because learning media that used by lecturer not giving the explanation of theory.Based of observation students in Makeup and Beauty Education for Indonesian Bridal that difficult to understand because a learning media not been effected. Based on that problem, the purpose of this research were developing learning mediaof tutorial video that effective on Indonesian Bridal learning. This research used Research and Development (R&D) method, and model that was used is 4D model. There was four steps in 4D model, there were define, design, develop, and disseminate. Edmodo applicationappliedto developing learning media. The result concluded that learning media were effective by effectiveness result was have a significant difference between the control class and experimental class. This learning media can be used as a learning media at Indonesian Bridal.


We reexamine the charged AdS domain wall solution to the Einstein-Abelian-Higgs model proposed by Gubser et al. as holographic superconductors at quantum critical points and comment on their statement about the uniqueness of gravity solutions. We generalize their explorations from 3 + 1 dimensions to arbitrary n + 1 Ds and find that the n + 1 ≥ 5D charged AdS domain walls are unstable against electric perturbations.


It is now 11 years since the discovery of EB virus (1), and during that time an immense amount of information has been accumulated on this new human herpes virus by large numbers of investigators in many different countries (for reviews, see 2-4). With so many studies currently going forward on this agent and so many new workers coming into the field, it was thought that a brief historical survey on the early findings with EB virus might be timely, coupled with a consideration of some still outstanding problems connected with its biological behavior in man.


Accurate flow measurement at irrigation canal check gates, bifurcations, and turnouts makes it possible for water managers to better match supply and demand, thereby reducing administrative spills and enabling delivery of the optimum amount of water to crops. Recent developments have improved our ability to accurately measure discharge at canal gates, and further improvements are possible. An ASCE Task Committee active since late 2002 has been working to focus research efforts in this area. This paper reviews recent developments, highlights areas in which research is now being performed, and discusses issues and difficulties yet to be overcome.


Localization of underwater acoustic (UWA) sources using observed signals is a popular research topic that has many potential applications, both military and civilian (e.g., navigation of underwater vehicles, mine hunting, marine mammal studies). This work adopts an inverse problem framework where the temporal and spatial structure of multipath observed at an array of sensors deployed in an ocean waveguide is exploited to determine the source position. The proposed method aims at deriving useful spatial information as side information from high-frequency signals used for underwater acoustic communication. The approach involves several steps: (i) estimating channel responses and segmenting wavefronts to recover the temporal and spatial structure of multipath arrivals at the receiver array; (ii) computing a coarse source position estimate with no a priori knowledge of its location and only crude environmental information; (iii) refining the source location using model-based tomographic methods that match observed vs. predicted wavefront arrival patterns across the array through ray tracing. The Coarse Source Localization (CSL) scheme uses an algorithm for free-space localization based on time differences of arrival, and several modifications are discussed to adapt it to non-homogeneous underwater waveguides. The ensuing Model-Based Source Localization (MBSL) scheme uses an iterative linearized least-squares algorithm and benefits from the good accuracy of CSL to attain very fast convergence and avoid local extrema of its multimodal cost function. The algorithms are tested in simulation and using experimental data (CALCOM'10) for high-frequency transmissions at ranges from 200 m to 1 km.


The drill string used in drilling oil and gas wells is a long and slender structure that is confined by the wellbore wall and subject to significant axial, lateral and torsional vibrations while drilling. Detection and mitigation of drill string vibrations are especially important, as vibrations can be hard to detect at the surface, yet cause significant damage to the drill bit, downhole tools and the formation being drilled.
 Study of the drilling process by downscaling to laboratory conditions is an attractive prospect as it is a cost-efficient alternative to dedicated large-scale testing and it can be instrumented to provide vibration measurements from different locations along the string. However, the extreme geometrical length scales, the complex wellbore trajectories and the large mechanical strains on the drill string lead to challenges when attempting to downscale the drilling process to manageable laboratory conditions.
 Downscaling based on similarity analysis provides consistent scaling laws for predicting large-scale dynamics based on observations from the downscaled test drilling rig. We perform a similarity analysis for an example full scale drill string that illustrates these challenges in terms of similarity criteria for an equivalent laboratory model of the drill string. We focus particularly on the geometric and mechanical properties of the drill string and consequences of downscaling on the time scale and the forces in the string. We illustrate the downscaling criteria through numerical simulations by solving the governing equations of motion at different scales, and provide recommendations for downscaling based on widely available material types.


Background: The serum level of soluble Human Leukocyte Antigen-antigen-D Related (HLA)-(DR) (sHLA-DR) may appear as a useful parameter to monitor maternal immune response during pregnancy. Objective: The aim was to compare HLA-G serum levels in patients with or without preeclampsia.
Methods: Pregnant women seen at the "Mónica Pretelini Sáenz" Maternal-Perinatal Hospital (HMPMPS) were recruited at their first visit. Two groups were conformed: a) women with healthy pregnancies, and b) women with preeclampsia. The patients' sociodemographic and laboratory data were introduced into the SPSS software program. HLA-G quantification was performed in peripheral blood samples through the Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method.
Results: The total number of women seen was 16 (mean age, 24 ± 8 years), eight healthy women (mean age, 22 ± 3 years) and eight women with preeclampsia (mean age, 27 ± 7 years). Women with preeclampsia were older, heavier, had higher levels of Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), and referred less sexual intercourse per week than healthy pregnant women. There was no difference in HLA-G levels.
Conclusion: The sexual intercourse frequency is a major factor to develop preeclampsia and the serum HLA-G levels measured previous to the child delivery or cesarean are not different between women with or without preeclampsia.


Besides well-known diseases, about 5,000 identified are classed as "orphan" because of the lack of any response in terms of diagnosis, prevention and treatment. The development of drugs for these diseases, intended for a limited number of patients, often requires considerable research, and subsequently, cost. The aim of the present article is to discuss the ethical, political and economic problems relevant to the development and disposal of drugs specifically designed for these diseases, now commonly called "orphan" drugs. These questions have been raised at discussions and dialogues at the European Parliament where European regulations on orphan drugs were adopted on December 15, 1999. These regulations (141/2000/EEC) came into effect in the European Union on January 22, 2000, and are widely inspired from the American model. The regulations stipulate that the criterion for designation of the drug is based on a disease prevalence of 5/10000). Advantages commonly recognized for the orphan drug status concern: community registration (centralized marketing approval), eligibility for grants and national or community fiscal support, lower or canceled registration fees, technical contribution via the European drug agency (EMEA), and exclusive rights for a 10-year period. On May 12, 2000, the European Commission completed the status by adopting rules establishing the criteria used for designating a drug as an orphan drug. This document implements the dispositions available to pharmaceutical firms inciting them to invest in the development of orphan drugs.


Background: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is one of the most significant causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality. The known causes are poor maternal nutrition, hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy, maternal medical disorders (multiple pregnancy, congenital fetal malformations), and lifestyle influences. However, in vast majority of cases, the cause still remains unknown. Recent studies have suggested the role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of FGR. The aim of this study was to evaluate non-enzymatic oxidative stress biomarkers in maternal and cord blood of idiopathic FGR cases.
Methods: A total of 100 women subjects aged 18 to 35 years, who fulfilled the recruitment criteria, were enrolled in the study after taking an informed written consent. Non-enzymatic oxidative stress was measured by the quantification of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy-guanosine (8-OHdG), malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl, reduced glutathione (GSH) and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) in maternal and cord blood samples of FGR pregnancies of idiopathic origin and compared with those of normal healthy mother-infant pairs.
Results: The levels of 8-OHdG, MDA and protein carbonyl were significantly higher in the 'idiopathic' FGR group as compared to the controls, where as the GSH and FRAP were significantly lower.
Conclusion: Increased oxidative stress has been found significantly associated with the increased risk of developing idiopathic FGR.


Cathodoluminescence of Permian lacustrine carbonates from the Westem Pyrenees: a model for early cementation in meteoric aquifers associated with lakes. We present here a case-study of early diagenetic cementation in Permian lacustrine lithofacies (Aragon-Bearn and Basque Country Basins, western Pyrenees). Cathodoluminescence zoning in calcite cements shows a general non-luminescent-bright luminescent-dull luminescent sequence which we interpret as a result of the transition from the vadose and oxic phreatic environments to the progressively reducing phreatic ground waters. Vadose features and non-lumines-cent cements predominate in the more  pedogenically altered andlor subaerially exposed facies. The very early timing of the whole sequence and the differences in cementation among lacustrine, palustrine and alluvial plain facies emphasize the dependence of the aquifers on sedimentary subenvironments and lake level changes. The Permian model here described is applicable to early cementation in meteoric aquifers related to shallow, carbonate lakes. Our data agree with the well-known control of Fe and Mn contents on the cathodolurninescence of calcites and dolomites and the uncertainties of a quantitative relationship between chernical composition and luminescence. The proposed sensitizer role for Mg needs further testing.


Polarization-resolved edge-emitting electroluminescence (EL) studies of InGaN/GaN MQWs of wavelengths from near-UV (390 nm) to blue (468 nm) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are performed. Although the TE mode is dominant in all the samples of InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs, an obvious difference of light polarization properties is found in the InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs with different wavelengths. The polarization degree decreases from 52.4% to 26.9% when light wavelength increases. Analyses of band structures of InGaN/GaN quantum wells and luminescence properties of quantum dots imply that quantum-dot-like behavior is the dominant reason for the low luminescence polarization degree of blue LEDs, and the high luminescence polarization degree of UV LEDs mainly comes from QW confinement and the strain effect. Therefore, indium induced carrier confinement (quantum-dot-like behavior) might play a major role in the polarization degree change of InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs from near violet to blue.


The article discusses the potential entry of Tajikistan into the Eurasian Economic Union. The strategically important position of this country at the crossroads of trade routes between Central Asia, East and South Asia is mentioned among important arguments for this entry. Besides, the Republic possesses unique reserves of natural resources, including such strategically important ones as gold, silver, uranium and rare-earth metals. Tajikistan has a huge but inadequately used hydropotential. The author points out the advantages of such an entry for political, economic and military spheres of Tajikistan, as well as the possible specialization of the country within the Union. At the same time, the problems facing the country on the way to joining the Eurasian Economic Union are also discussed. Most importantly, Tajikistan does not want to lose the "freedom of maneuver" within its multi-vector foreign policy in the situation, when there is a growing conflict between the great states.


Laser detection and ranging (LADAR)-based systems operating in the Near Infrared (NIR) and Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) have become popular optical sensors for remote sensing, medical, and environmental applications. Sophisticated laser-based radar and weapon systems used for long-range military and astronomical applications need to detect, recognize, and track a variety of targets under a wide spectrum of atmospheric conditions. Infrared APDs play an important role in LADAR systems by integrating the detection and gain stages in a single device. Robust silicon-APDs are limited to visible and very near infrared region (< 1 um), while InGaAs works well up to wavelengths of about 1.5um. Si APDs have low multiplication or excess noise but are limited to below 1um due very poor quantum efficiency above 0.8um. InGaAs and Ge APDs operate up to wavelengths of 1.5um but have poor multiplication or excess noise due to a low impact ionization coefficient ratio between electrons and holes. For the past several decades HgCdTe has been traditionally used in longer wavelength (> 3um) infrared photon detection applications. Recently, various research groups (including Ghosh et. al.) have reported SWIR and MWIR HgCdTe APDs on CdZnTe and Si substrates. However, HgCdTe APDs suffer from low breakdown fields due to material defects, and excess noise increases significantly at high electric fields. During the past decade, InAs/GaSb Strain Layer Superlattice (SLS) material system has emerged as a potential material for the entire infrared spectrum because of relatively easier growth, comparable absorption coefficients, lower tunneling currents and longer Auger lifetimes resulting in enhanced detectivities (D*). Band engineering in type II SLS allows us to engineer avalanche properties of electrons and holes. This is a great advantage over bulk InGaAs and HgCdTe APDs where engineering avalanche properties is not possible. The talk will discuss the evolution of superlattice based avalanche photodiodes and some of the recent results on the work being done at Raytheon on SWIR avalanche photodiodes.


Our study explores the structuring decisions made by intermediaries seeking to alleviate poverty by connecting base‐of‐the‐pyramid markets with more developed markets. Using intermediation theory to ground our study, we collected qualitative data on 29 social intermediation projects located within Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Our findings suggest that 'socializing' intermediation theory to more accurately explain and predict structural outcomes across more diverse contexts requires three key modifications: (1) the attenuation of opportunism, which creates an internalizing social force; (2) the accommodation of non‐monetary objectives, which creates an externalizing social force; and (3) the perception of transaction capabilities as tractable, which serves as a guidepost for reconciling these two opposing social forces.


Case: Three years after a total knee arthroplasty, the patient presented with persistent pain and an enlarging intra-articular periprosthetic mass. Attempts at nonoperative treatment and arthroscopic debridement were unsuccessful. A biopsy revealed a large, intermediate-grade chondrosarcoma involving the joint space. The patient was treated with an above-the-knee amputation, but eventually died as a result of widespread metastatic disease. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of chondrosarcoma involving the joint space that was diagnosed after total knee arthroplasty. This case demonstrates the need for increased awareness when there are suspicious clinical findings and the importance of diagnosing and/or treating tumors prior to or shortly after total joint arthroplasty.


Recently, the separated fragment (SF) of first-order logic has been introduced. Its defining principle is that universally and existentially quantified variables may not occur together in atoms. SF properly generalizes both the Bernays-Schonfinkel-Ramsey (BSR) fragment and the relational monadic fragment. In this paper the restrictions on variable occurrences in SF sentences are relaxed such that universally and existentially quantified variables may occur together in the same atom under certain conditions. Still, satisfiability can be decided. This result is established in two ways: firstly, by an effective equivalence-preserving translation into the BSR fragment, and, secondly, by a model-theoretic argument.
Slight modifications to the described concepts facilitate the definition of other decidable classes of first-order sentences. The paper presents a second fragment which is novel, has a decidable satisfiability problem, and properly contains the Ackermann fragment and---once more---the relational monadic fragment. The definition is again characterized by restrictions on the occurrences of variables in atoms. More precisely, after certain transformations, Skolemization yields only unary functions and constants, and every atom contains at most one universally quantified variable. An effective satisfiability-preserving translation into the monadic fragment is devised and employed to prove decidability of the associated satisfiability problem.


This study evaluated matrix effects during Fe isotope analysis using a 266 nm femtosecond (fs) laser and a 193 nm nanosecond (ns) laser coupled to a multi-collector ICP-MS. During 150 second spot analysis on pyrite, Fe isotope fractionation was not observed for fs-laser ablation (fs-LA), but was evident for nsLA. The observed downhole Fe isotope fractionation during ns-LA is caused by multiple processes comprising ablation, transport, and ionization in the ICP. Contrary to the common perception of "matrixfree" analysis, matrix effects clearly exist during fs-LA analysis; small deviations of up to 0.2& in the measured Fe/Fe ratios from the true value of magnetite grains with $ 8 wt% impurities were resolved using a nearly pure magnetite as the bracketing standard. Moreover, inaccurate and imprecise Fe/Fe results were obtained when magnetite and pyrrhotite was measured against a non-matrixmatched standard (pyrite or Fe metal). The observed matrix effects during fs-LA cannot be explained by formation of a large heat-affected zone during ablation, but result from the influence of different chemical compositions of samples and standards on space-charge effects in the ICP-MS. Such matrix effects can be largely suppressed by water addition during analysis at a price of reduced sensitivity, so that precise and accurate Fe isotope analysis to a 0.1& level can be routinely achieved under "wet" conditions without matrix-matching between sample and standard. These results may reconcile dramatically different precisions previously reported for Fe isotope analysis by fs-lasers, and also highlight fs-LA-MC-ICP-MS as an appealing option for in situ Fe isotope analysis on samples with complex matrices and high-symmetry minerals, both of which encounter significant analytical difficulties using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). For ns-LA, in addition to similar composition-related matrix effects experienced by fs-LA in the ICP, matrix effects also originate from ablation-related processes that produce sample particles with matrix-dependent size distributions and, often, larger aerodynamic sizes, resulting in highly inaccurate Fe/Fe results during non-matrix-matched analysis under "dry" conditions. The collective matrix effects during Fe isotope analysis by ns-LA cannot be fully suppressed by water addition, therefore, matrix matching is required for accurate Fe isotope analysis by ns-LA.


Preferential transport in adsorptive membranes can be used to selectively remove biochemicals directly from fermentation broths. During preferential transport, an adsorbing solute is selectively transported across the membrane while nonadsorbing solutes and cells are retained by the membrane. This technique was used to separate lysozyme directly from a feed containing lysozyme, myoglobin, and yeast cells. We found that because the oscillatory flows used in preferential transport involve strokes that are close to symmetric, they are very efficient in alleviating cake formation due to cell deposition on the membrane surface. Theoretical results suggest that, by optimizing process variables, preferential transport can lead to a continuous concentrated stream of the adsorbing protein. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 54: 581-591, 1997.


Background: Inefficient remyelination of demyelinated plaques in multiple sclerosis (MS) leads to secondary axon degeneration and progressive disability. Therapies that potentiate remyelination would be of immense help for managing MS. Objective: Here, we report the effects of valproic acid (VPA) on focal experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (fEAE). Methods: fEAE was induced in Wistar rats by immunizing the animals with guinea pig spinal cord homogenate emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant and with pertussis toxin (PT) injection into the spinal cord at the level of T8 vertebra on day 18 after immunization. VPA 300 mg/kg was applied for 4 days after or 8 days before PT administration. Behavioral evaluation, histological assessment and immunohistofluorescence assays were used to evaluate the outcomes. Results: VPA administration had no effect on the development of symptoms, but after discontinuing VPA, animals showed faster recovery. Eight days of pretreatment with VPA accelerated the recovery phase of EAE and increased the number of remyelinated axons in the lesion area. VPA pretreatment also increased the recruitment of neural stem cells and oligodendrocyte precursors within the lesion. Conclusions: Results suggest VPA as a potential therapy for remyelinating the lesions in MS and for faster recovery from disease relapses. The effect of VPA seems to be mediated by endogenous progenitors recruitment.


IntroductionSince the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, public health professionals have been constantly making decisions on face mask use among individuals who are not medically diagnosed with COVID-19 or "healthy individuals" to limit the spread of COVID-19. While some countries have strongly recommended face masks for "healthy individuals", other countries have recommended against it. Public health recommendations that have been provided to this population since the beginning of the outbreak have been controversial, contradicting, and inconsistent around the world. The purpose of this paper is to understand available evidence around the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of face mask use in limiting the spread of COVID-19 among individuals who have not yet been diagnosed with COVID-19 and most importantly, to understand the state of knowledge that the public health recommendations that have been provided since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak are based on.MethodsA systematic review was conducted to identify studies that investigated the use of face masks to limit the spread of COVID-19 among "healthy individuals".ResultsNo studies were found, demonstrating a lack of evidence for and against face mask use suggesting implications around public health recommendations provided to "healthy individuals" since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.ConclusionsThree and a half months into the COVID-19 outbreak (December 2019 – 2nd week of April 2020), there are no peer-reviewed scientific studies that have investigated the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of face mask use among "healthy individuals". Yet, very strong public health recommendations have been provided on whether they should or should not wear face masks to limit the spread of COVID-19. A lack of scientific evidence heavily questions the basis of these public health recommendations provided at a very early, yet a crucial stage of an outbreak. This finding and a further look at public health recommendations conclude that there is a clear need for more concentrated research around face mask use among healthy individuals as well as public health recommendations that are evidence-based; precautionary in the absence of evidence; based on benefit-risk assessment; transparent; and globally aligned in order to provide the most successful guidelines during an infectious disease outbreak.


The biological characteristics of inverted senescing sequence of wheat leaves were investigated.The study arranged comparative experiments of wheat materials presenting inverted and conventional leaf senescing sequences with the measurements of canopy temperature and some important biological parameters between 2006-2011.There was a type of wheat that presents an inverted leaf senescing sequence differing from the conventional leaf senescing sequence of the majority of wheats in nature,i.e.,its canopy temperature is lower and the temperature of 2nd leaf is lower than flag leaf′s.The 1000-kernel weights of the inverted sequence wheats were higher than that of common wheat and significant difference was observed.Moreover,the variation pattern of the topmost leaf color and chlorophyll content of conventional sequence stem were similar to that of common wheat,but the inverted sequence stem′s was contrary.The color rank of flag leaf was higher than the second leaf since the last stage of milk within the leaf-color inversion stem;the chlorophyll content of the second leaf was higher than that in top-three leaf along with the progress of growth,moreover,this phenomenon continued to wheat mature.The inverted senescing sequence of wheat leaves has been discovered in nature,the senescence process of the flag leaf was faster than the second leaf within the leaf-color inversion stem,and these biological parameters related to this phenomenon induced abnormal changes.


Nanotechnology will make us healthy and wealthy though not necessarily wise. In a few decades, this emerging manufacturing technology will let us inexpensively arrange atoms and molecules in most of the ways permitted by physical laws. It will let us make supercomputers that fit on the head of a pin and fleets of medical nanorobots smaller than a human cell able to eliminate cancer, infections, clogged arteries, and even old age. People will look back on this era with the same feelings we have toward medieval times-when technology was primitive and almost everyone lived in poverty and died young. Besides computers billions of times more powerful than today's, and new medical capabilities that will heal and cure in cases that are now viewed as utterly hopeless, this new and very precise way of fabricating products will also eliminate the pollution from current manufacturing methods. Molecular manufacturing will make exactly what it is supposed to make, no more and no less, and therefore won't make pollutants. However it should be remembered that as well as being used for great good, nanotechnology could also be used to do great harm. The implications of this are discussed.


Purpose - The practice of management having control over auditor appointment and compensation is believed to be a fundamental cause for the lack of auditor independence. While researchers propose alternative auditor appointment procedures to improve auditor independence, there are a few settings that allow researchers to examine alternative auditor appointment procedures such as regulator designation of auditors. This research aims to investigate the effects of regulator designation of auditors and litigation risk on auditor independence in a Chinese setting Design/methodology/approach - This study adopts a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design. A total of 110 surveys were sent out and 81 were collected from eastern China. Findings - The results of an experiment with 81 Chinese auditors indicate that regulator designation of auditors improves auditor independence. In particular, auditors designated by the regulator feel less pressure from the audited company, perceive themselves to be more independent and are more willing to challenge the audited company's aggressive financial reporting compared with those directly hired by the company. In addition, litigation risk moderates the effect of regulator designation of auditors on auditor independence such that regulator designation of auditors has a stronger impact on auditor independence when the litigation risk is low. Research limitations/implications - This study is also subject to limitations. First, regulator designation of auditors in China was examined. While regulator designation of auditors seems to improve auditor independence in the Chinese context, it is unclear if the same results will be observed in other economies, as China is a unique setting. For example, the majority of listed companies in China are under the control of government-related agencies. Consequently, the government has significant power in influencing auditor appointment policy. In contrast, the majority of other economies are more market-oriented with less government influence. Future studies in other markets will further enrich the understanding on regulator designation of auditors. Second, only regulator designation of auditors for state-owned enterprises was examined. It is unclear how regulator designation of auditors would affect non-state-owned enterprises. Moreover, future research could investigate the designation of auditors in other forms such as the designation of auditors by investors. Third, auditor appointment procedure may affect perceived risk of loss of client which in turn influences auditor independence. Future research could further investigate the mechanism through which regulator designation of auditors affect auditor independence. Originality/value - Results of an experiment with 81 Chinese auditors show that regulator designation of auditors can improve auditor independence. In a decision context where auditors must provide judgments relating to a proposed audit adjustment that is quantitatively material and will affect the client's ability to meet debt covenants, auditors designated by the State-Owned Assets Management Bureaus are more resistant to management pressure and are less willing to accept the management's aggressive financial reporting practice than those directly hired by the company.


Abstract Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been shown to be significant in improving the overall survival rate in certain malignancies with poor prognoses. However, only 20–40% of patients achieve long-term benefits, highlighting the relevance of the factors that influence the treatment, which can help clinicians improve their results and guide the development of new immune checkpoint therapies. In this study, the current pharmacokinetic aspects associated with the ICIs and the factors influencing clinical efficacy were characterised, including in terms of drug metabolism, drug clearance, hormonal effects and immunosuppressive effects.


The helical pitch of the cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) can be adjusted to reflect the colors red, green, and blue. Additive mixing of these colors in displays results in multicolor images and it is easy to use pure primary blue and green colors, but the red color is in general very unsaturated. We show by simulations that this poor red color performance is due to reflection sidebands on the smaller wavelength side of the normal red Bragg reflection band. We discuss five approaches to improve the red color performance, namely, two types of spectral filtering (dyes or filters), a very low birefringence CLC, a gradient in the birefringence of the CLC, and the use of a bluish reflector. The two methods of spectral filtering are also experimentally tested.


Big data are key building blocks for creating information value. However, information systems are increasingly plagued with useless, waste data that can impede their effective use and threaten sustainability objectives. Using a constructive design science approach, this work first, defines digital data waste. Then, it develops an ensemble artifact comprising two components. The first component comprises 13 machine learning models for detecting data waste. Applying these to 35,576 online reviews in two domains reveals data waste of 1.9% for restaurant reviews compared to 35.8% for app reviews. Machine learning can accurately identify 83% to 99.8% of data waste; deep learning models are particularly promising, with accuracy ranging from 96.4% to 99.8%. The second component comprises a sustainability cost calculator to quantify the social, economic, and environmental benefits of reducing data waste. Eliminating 5948 useless reviews in the sample would result in saving 6.9 person hours, $2.93 in server, middleware and client costs, and 9.52 kg of carbon emissions. Extrapolating these results to reviews on the internet shows substantially greater savings. This work contributes to design knowledge relating to sustainable information systems by highlighting the new class of problem of data waste and by designing approaches for addressing this problem.


The paper is aimed at analysing the dilemmas of compositional technique and aesthetics in Slavko Osterc, the non-conformist avant-garde figure of Slovene inter-war music, who always kept his own conception of new music abreast, or else in the very heart, of what was happening in the international trends. Characteristically, Osterc chose not to follow the dodecaphonic technique of Schoenberg but rather went on to develop his own extra-tonal and athematic attitude in following with the Haba school. This attitude, as he saw it, offered him more opportunities for the individualization of his own visions as a creator. On the whole, his work gives one the impression of Osterc having found some original solutions to the clash between the willed tone "shocks" and the likewise willed compositionally clean style. In this sense, Osterc (being an expatriate, and a prominent and highly regarded personality of his days) constituted an integral figure of European historical avant-garde. Those influencing him most strongly were, besides Haba, Stravinsky and Hindemith. However, he did take a conscious step away from the two, making himself his own master, critic and promoter in the mature age of his short-lived creative period. He let himself be guided by his astonishingly concentrated creative energy as well as by his talent which manifested itself in a unique combination of aphorisms, satire, grotesque and irony mixed with both soft lyricism and robust humour. Often, these contrasts would find reflection in his music without any decided borderline given between poetry and prose; they can be perceived as a specific expression of poetical prose and/or prosaic poetry in their musical dimensions, which are by no means small.


This position paper intends to trigger a debate on the engagement of the design research community with healthcare systems. We analyse the specificities of healthcare systems design and of healthcare organisations. We discuss the focus on evaluation and the evidence-based paradigm in healthcare, and argue that design research currently is ill-prepared to meet such expectations. Dedicated research attention in healthcare seems necessary to bridge this gap. It could enrich design research through multidisciplinary collaborations, and enable design to make a precious contribution to healthcare.


The overall system that has been implemented involves a web site which introduces the study and applications of robotics. The web site also acts as a platform to program and control the Gryphon robot found at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Mauritius. The system is based on the client/server model, with a suitable front-end for viewing and interactive sessions with web users and a back-end relational database for storing and retrieving relevant information at the server side. This paper describes the development of a web-based interface for undergraduate students to learn the basics of robotics. The advantage of this interface is that the students can study robotics, write their programs and run the robot remotely at any time and this flexible learning approach definitely contributes to distance education and e-learning through the World Wide Web.


Background Vitamin K antagonist (VKA) therapy is safer and more effective when patients have a high time within the therapeutic range and low international normalised ratio variability. The SAMe-TT2R2 score aims to identify those at risk for poor VKA control. Objectives To evaluate the predictive value and clinical usefulness of the SAMe-TT2R2 score to identify those at risk for poor VKA control. Methods We performed a systematic review in MEDLINE and Embase for original research papers assessing the SAMe-TT2R2's relation to poor TTR. We performed a meta-analysis where scores ≥ 2 and ≥ 3 predicting TTR < 70%. When studies evaluated other cutoffs for TTR or SAMe-TT2R2, they were harmonised by multiple simulations with patient characteristics from the individual studies, if the data were available. Results 16 studies were identified and used in the meta-analysis: 4 and 2 times directly, 8 and 8 times harmonised for scores ≥ 2 and ≥ 3, respectively (not all studies provided information about both cutoffs). The sensitivities and specificities were too heterogeneous to pool. The positive likelihood ratios were 1.25 (1.14-1.38) for a score ≥ 2, and 1.24 (1.09-1.40) for a score ≥ 3; the negative ones were 0.87 (0.82-0.93) and 0.96 (0.91-1.02), respectively. This shows that the post-test probabilities hardly differ from the prior probability (prevalence). Conclusion The SAMe-TT2R2 score does predict low TTR, but the effect is small. Its effect on individual patients is too limited to be clinically useful.


Recently, there has been a growing interest in the mining industry in issues related to risk assessment and management, which is confirmed by a significant number of publications and reports devoted to these problems. However, theoretical and application studies have indicated that risk in mining should be analyzed not only in the human factor aspect, but also in strategic (environmental impact) and operational ones. However, there is a lack of research on systematic literature reviews and surveys of studies that would focus on these identified risk aspects simultaneously. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to develop a literature review in the area of analysis, assessment and risk management in the mining sector, published in the last decade and based on the concept of a human engineering system. Following this, a systematic search was performed with the use of Primo multi-search tool following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The main inclusion criteria were: (a) not older than 10 years, (b) article written in English, (c) publication type (scientific article, book, book chapter), (d) published in chosen electronic collections (Springer, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier, Science Direct, JSTOR). This resulted in the selection of the 94 most relevant papers in the area. First, the general bibliometric analysis was conducted. Later, the selected papers in this review were categorized into four groups and the critical review was developed. One of the main advantages of this study is that the results are obtained from different scientific sources/databases thanks to using a multi-search tool. Moreover, the authors identified the main research gaps in the area of the implementation of risk management in the mining industry.


A 19-month-old girl with idiopathic severe aplastic anemia refractory to multi-agent immunosuppressive therapy developed severe platelet alloimmunization following several months of platelet transfusions. She became refractory to human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched platelet transfusions and experienced frequent episodes of bleeding. She was treated with intravenous vincristine administered weekly for three doses and showed marked improvement in both clinical and laboratory response to platelet transfusions. When vincristine was held for 3 weeks, she again became refractory to HLA-matched platelet transfusion. Reinstitution of vincristine resulted in cessation of clinical bleeding and improved response to platelet transfusion. The mechanism of response likely involves selective delivery of cytotoxic drug to macrophages. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of alloimmune thrombocytopenia responsive to vincristine.


Reflections on the consequences of modernity, seen as a deep fragmentation of reality dimensions that makes students suffer because of pedagogical practices contrary to human needs, led us to main question of this research: can the formalist and fragmentizing practices of the dimensions of making, being and knowing cause pain and suffering that jeopardize the full development of students? We describe the theoretical assumptions derived from the complexity paradigm and how they support the logical-theoretical structure of investigation. The most import theoretical frameworks were drawn from the theory of the Biology of Cognition developed by H. Maturana and F. Verela, whose main thrust is the issue of the inseparability knowledge building and subject building.


Given varied consumer perceptions of inventory information, online retailers' presentation of such information influences purchase behavior. We investigate an online retailer's optimal inventory disclosure policy assuming two distinct consumer segments: savvy (or, experienced) consumers, who can predict a retailer's stock levels (even when masked) and naive (or, inexperienced) consumers who rely on prior beliefs regarding (unknown, and hence stochastic) inventory. We analyze a two-period setting in which a retailer clears residual stock in the second period. By jointly and optimally addressing both inventory disclosure and pricing, a retailer can leverage heterogeneous consumers' sensitivity to stock-out risk and thus discourage strategic purchase deferrals. We find that inventory information masking and sharing tactics are optimal at high and low stocking levels, respectively. Even though the threshold structure of this optimal disclosure strategy is robust to the relative proportion of savvy and naive consumers, optimal retailer pro t changes substantially depending on market composition. We find that, if a sufficiently large savvy consumer segment exists, incorrectly assuming all consumers are naive may yield a substantial pro fit loss, even higher than the loss the retailer would have incurred by implementing an incorrect inventory disclosure strategy.


Introduction Type 2 diabetes results mainly from weight gain in adult life and affects one in twelve people worldwide. In the Diabetes REmission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), the primary care-led Counterweight-Plus weight management program achieved remission of type 2 diabetes (for up to six years) for forty-six percent of patients after one year and thirty-six percent after two years. The objective of this study was to estimate the implementation costs of the program, as well as its two-year within-trial cost effectiveness and lifetime cost effectiveness. Methods Within-trial cost effectiveness included the Counterweight-Plus costs (including training, practitioner appointments, and low-energy diet), medications, and all routine healthcare contacts, combined with achieved remission rates. Lifetime cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) was estimated according to projected durations of remissions, assuming continued relapse rates as seen in year two of DiRECT and the consequent life expectancy, quality of life and healthcare costs. Results The two-year intervention cost was EUR 1,580 per participant, with over eighty percent of the costs incurred in year one. Compared with the control group, medication savings were EUR 259 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 166–352) for anti-diabetes drugs and EUR 29 (95% CI: 12–47) for anti-hypertensive medications. The intervention was modeled with a lifetime horizon to achieve a mean 0.06 (95% CI: 0.04–0.09) gain in QALYs for the DiRECT population and a mean total lifetime cost saving per participant of EUR 1,497 (95% CI: 755–2,331), with the intervention becoming cost-saving within six years. Conclusions The intensive weight loss and maintenance program reduced the cost of anti-diabetes drugs through improved metabolic control, achieved diabetes remission in over one-third of participants, and reduced total healthcare contacts and costs over two years. A substantial lifetime healthcare cost saving is anticipated from periods of diabetes remission and delaying complications. Healthcare resources could be shifted cost effectively to establish diabetes remission services, using the existing DiRECT intervention, even if remissions are only maintained for limited durations. However, more research investment is needed to further improve weight-loss maintenance and extend remissions.


Between 12/2018 – 12/2021 our centre performed 163 deceased donor transplants. 30.7% of these utilised organs from so-called extended criteria donors (ECD). ECD [originally in context of donation after brain death (DBD), but later used also for donation after cardiac death (DCD)] refers to donors >60yo; or >50yo with ≥2 of hypertension / death from CVA / Cr >133. We wanted to assess outcomes in ECD transplant recipients and compare with outcomes of our standard donor (SCD) recipients.

 Retrospective analysis of 40 ECD transplants (12/2018- 12/2021) and control group of 40 age-matched (overall mean age 58.2) SCD recipients with 12 month follow up.

 The groups were comparable regarding proportion of DCD donors (ECD 62.5%, SCD 50%; X2= 1.270 p=0.260).
 Although rate of delayed graft function (DGF) was higher in the ECD group, this was not statistically significant (ECD: 62.5%, SCD:47.5%; X2=1.257 p=0.262). There was, however a difference in creatinine at discharge (median ECD:390; SCD:221; U= 1018.500; p=0.036) and in EGFR at 1 year (mean ECD:39.62; SCD: 54.3; t=-3.780 p<0.001).
 There was no difference in incidence of graft loss (ECD:0%; SCD:2.5%; X2=1.013, p=0.314) or mortality (ECD:5.0%; SCD:7.5%; X2=0.213, p=0.644).
 There was no difference in index length of stay (median ECD:6; SCD: 6; U=928.000 p=0.212), or total readmissions (median ECD:2.5; SCD:2.0; U=902.500 p=0.319).

 In our sample incidence of DGF was similar between the two groups. ECD recipients had poorer graft function at 1 year but there was no evidence of increased risk of graft loss at 1 year.


Generation of wastes in the form of palm oil mill effluent (POME) is unavoidable due to increase in oil palm development worldwide. Direct discharge of POME into receiving water bodies is strongly discouraged due to high chemical and biochemical oxygen demand concentrations, respectively. Aerobic granulation technology features microbial aggregates generated following immobilization and cell-to-cell adhesion of multiple bacteria. Primary observation has shown that bacterial aggregates may survive for a long period of time at 4°C and possess the capability to recover their metabolic activities upon reactivation. In this study, preserved aerobic granular sludge previously developed using POME was reactivated in modified laboratory scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) termed as R1 and R2 which were operated at fixed OLR of 2.5 kgCOD m -3 d -1 . R1 was operated with the preserved granules while R2 was the control reactor. Microscopic examinations have shown good microstructure of aggregates in R1 as compared to R2. Good chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 75% was achieved in R1 as compared to 68% in R2 indicating successful reactivation of aerobic granules despite 3 months preservation period.


The impact of fluid molecules on detachment was studied using the edge fluid code UEDGE for a set of DIII–D Lmode plasmas with varying degree of low-field side (LFS) target detachment. A baseline atom-only, fluid-neutral model was compared to models including diffusive deuterium molecules with user-defined molecular temperatures and molecular temperatures solved via an energy equation, respectively. The UEDGE simulations including molecules with their temperature solved via the molecular energy equation displayed improved qualitative agreement with DIII–D measurements. However, at LFS separatrix electron densities below × 1.3 10 m 19 3 the LFS target peak electron temperature was over-estimated compared to the DIII–D measurements by a factor of 1.5–2. Kinetic effects, as the SOL collisionalities for LFS separatrix electron densities below × 1.3 10 m 19 3 are 15, SOL * could contribute to this discrepancy. At LFS separatrix electron densities above × 1.5 10 m 19 3 UEDGE predicted LFS target peak ion current and electron densities a factor up to ∼ 4 lower than the DIII–D-measured values for all models. The consideration of molecules in UEDGE simulations induced a stable X-point MARFE, while an X-point MARFE was not achieved with the ion-atom model. The X-point MARFE forms due to a high-density front which connects the high-field side (HFS) and LFS divertor legs over the X-point, and is not observed for the atom-only UEDGE simulations. The high-density front forms due to molecular particle dynamics and cross-field drifts increasing the plasma density towards the X-point in the HFS leg.


Unlike other Polish cities such as Gdansk, Kraków and Wroclaw, Lódz is a "young city" that emerged as a modern industrial metropolis in the second half of the nineteenth century. At first under Prussian rule after the partitions of Poland, the city fell to Russia after the Treaty of Vienna (1815). In 1825, Tsar Aleksander I visited the then small town of only 1004 inhabitants to encourage industrial development. This led to the city's golden age in the late nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth. Lódz became a mixed city of Poles, Germans, Jews, Russians and also Czechs. As a flourishing center of industry, the city became popularly known as "the Polish Manchester" or "the Promised Land." The unique constellation of textile factories, workers' housing and industrialist palaces and gardens built in various architectural styles still lend it character today. Industrialists of Lódz's gilded age such as Jakub Poznanski, Karol Scheibler and Ludwik Geyer gave the city an enduring personality The Second World War brought an abrupt end to the vibrant multicultural life in the city. After the defeat of Poland, the Germans incorporated the city into the Third Reich. Its Jewish population was confined to the infamous Lódz ghetto in the district of Bałuty, a Jewish working class district. Only a small number of the large, influential, and diverse Jewish residents of the city would survive the mass murder that ensued. After World War II Communist Poland promoted Lódz as a modern industrial and socialist city by emphasizing the architecture of bleak shopping centers and apartment blocks such as one dubbed by the locals as "Manhattan." The multicultural, multi-ethnic character of the city's built heritage was ignored and forgotten. Without provenance, the once renowned factories, palaces and villas that survived WWII began to house the various institutions of the communist state. The homogeneity of the city's postwar population of Poles also played an important role in obscuring its multi-ethnic heritage. Since 1989 Lódz, like many cities in East Central Europe, has begun to research and discover its historical identity. Attempting to "remake" the present and future image of the city, an archeology of the local is bringing a variegated past to light. Key to this project is the idea of Lódz as a classically modern, industrial, and European city. Monuments and art works, architectural renovation, and commemorative practices such as the organization of the annual Festival of Four Cultures (2001-2004) are part of this program. This paper considers the steps taken by the city authorities and cultural elites to revitalize the built heritage and how these steps manifest themselves in the articulation of the postcommunist city space. I question the extent to which this restoration project can be realized in a city that underwent major and irreversible transformations of its local identity during the Second World War and the communist era. What does it mean to recover a built heritage that derived from the mix of four cultures, German, Jewish, Polish, and Russian, in a city that has been Polish for four decades? Can the post-1989 Lódz become once again "the new Promised Land ?"


Abstract The study explored leisure among second-generation Mexican-American youth residing in low-income communities in Southern California with a particular focus on how neighborhood features influenced their leisure participation; the strategies parents adopted to keep their children safe during leisure, and the effects of parental negotiation strategies on youth's leisure. The study was framed by the Family Systems Theory and the socio-ecological model. Data were collected using individual semi-structured interviews with six families, including four fathers, six mothers, and six children of middle-school age. The findings revealed that two main neighborhood-level factors influenced youth's participation in leisure: safety and space limitations. These features led to parents' imposing restrictions on children's leisure and adopting coping and negotiation strategies, which led to youth engaging mostly in passive, home-based activities, clustering of friends, and spending time with the family.


This paper presents an optimised power semiconductor architecture based on the CIGBT approach to be used in solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) applications where the conduction losses have to be as low as possible without compromising the forward voltage blocking capability. Indeed, a high overcurrent turn-off and shortcircuit withstand capabilities have to be ensured. Starting from a standard NPT-IGBT design for switching applications, the results show that the proposed device, which is optimised by the application of the individual clustered concept, offers a reduction in conduction losses of 13%, without compromise on voltage blocking capability. An original design solution is implemented to further ensure short-circuit and overload turn-off capabilities at maximum ambient temperature and twice the nominal rated current.


From a young age children feel the need to identify two-dimensional geometric figures (shapes) and three-dimensional geometric figures (solids). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics indicates the importance of being able to identify and name various geometric figures by kindergarten age. One of the objectives of this study was to learn the ability of second graders to identify examples and non-examples of three generally known solids: cylinder, cone and pyramid, and to justify their identification based on the attributes (critical and non-critical) of those solids. Another objective was to find out whether changing the position of the solids would result in those children maintaining their decisions regarding the name or changing their identification of the solids, giving arguments accordingly. Findings of this study illustrate that children can identify and characterise solids presented to them in a typical position. However, they find it difficult to correctly identify the same solids in another position. An interesting finding was that most of the arguments given to justify their identification were based on the specific attributes of the solid rather than on the perception of the solids in general. Findings of the present study suggest that it is highly important for learners to be acquainted with a variety of both non-examples and examples of solids. Moreover, it is recommended that solids are presented to learners not only in the typical position, in order to improve their ability to identify them and understand that the name of the figure does not change when its position changes.


AbstractGrid and spectral nudging are effective ways of preventing drift from large-scale weather patterns in regional climate models. However, the effect of nudging on the wind speed variance is unclear. In this study, the impact of grid and spectral nudging on near-surface and upper boundary layer wind variance in the Weather Research and Forecasting Model is analyzed. Simulations are run on nested domains with horizontal grid spacing of 15 and 5 km over the Baltic Sea region. For the 15-km domain, 36-h simulations initialized each day are compared with 11-day simulations with either grid or spectral nudging at and above 1150 m above ground level (AGL). Nested 5-km simulations are not nudged directly but inherit boundary conditions from the 15-km experiments. Spatial and temporal spectra show that grid nudging causes smoothing of the wind in the 15-km domain at all wavenumbers, both at 1150 m AGL and near the surface where nudging is not applied directly, while spectral nudging mainly affects longer wav...


An analysis of causes of permanent disability indicates which diseases most frequently result in chronicity and inability to work. A nation-wide study comprising all applications for permanent disability pension due to skin diseases in the period 1970--1976 was carried out. A total of 564 persons applied. The most common diagnosis was contact dermatitis followed by psoriasis and connective-tissue diseases. Allergic contact dermatitis alone accounted for 222 cases. 70% of these were due to nickel and chromium allergy. In all the diagnostic groups there was a preponderance of women except for hyperkeratotic hand eczema and genodermatoses. The frequency of the individual disorders in the present study is discussed in relation to their prevalence and prognosis in the literature.


OBJECTIVE
To identify the correlation between the progression rate of motor unit number estimate (MUNE) at diagnosis and survival.

METHODS
We included 129 patents with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) enrolled in our hospital from January 2002 to December 2005. We recorded clinical features, ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS), forced vital capacity (FVC) and electrophysiological data at diagnosis. The patients were monitored every 3 months from visit to death or tracheotomy.

RESULTS
Mean age at onset was (52.19+/-11.00) years. The median survival time from symptom onset was 45.71 months (95% CI=35 to 51). In univariate analysis of Kaplan-Meier method, outcome was significantly related to progression rate of MUNE (P<0.05). In the Cox multivariate model, progression rate of MUNE was a significant prognostic factor of survival (P<0.01). Using 2.9/month as cutoff point, the value beyond this point at diagnosis tended to have a shorter survival (P<0.05). A 1-unit decrease in the progression rate of MUNE was associated with a 34.2% decrease risk of death.

CONCLUSION
Progression rate of MUNE at diagnosis can provide the information of disease progression at one particular point, which may help to stratify patients and affect survival. It is the strongest prognostic factor of survival in patients with ALS compared with age, onset site and time from onset to diagnosis.


Introduction: The morphological and functional information provided by micro-CT and micro-PET allows monitoring of acute and chronic disease states in small laboratory animals. We examined in-vivo micro-CT and micro-PET as non-invasive tools to assess pulmonary fibrosis in mice. Material/Methods: Pulmonary fibrosis was induced in mice by intratracheal delivery of an adenoviral gene vector encoding biologically active TGF-β1. Respiratory gated and ungated micro-CT was performed in 18 mice at 1 to 4 weeks after pulmonary adenoviral gene vector delivery. In 5 additional mice 18 F-FDG micro-PET and micro-CT was performed. Imaging was correlated to histopathology and findings in animals exposed to a control vector. Radiation doses were measured using thermoluminescence dosimeters. Results: Significant correlation between Ashcroft histology scoring and micro-CT was found for visual assessment scoring (p 18 F-FDG micro-PET showed slight increase of glucose metabolism in the consolidated lung areas determined by micro-CT, which was coregistered to the micro-PET data using anatomical landmarks. Radiation doses for micro-CT ranged from 174 to 277 mSv. For micro-PET an expected dose of 140 mSv was calculated from the measurements. Conclusion: Micro-CT and micro-PET allow valid visualisation of morphology and metabolism for the assessment of fibrosis in mice. The measured radiation doses allow serial examinations without deterministic radiation effects.


Gene therapy with recombinant viral vectors such as adenovirus and adenovirus-associated virus holds great promise in treating a wide range of diseases because of the high efficiency with which the viruses transfer their genomes into host cells in vivo. However, the activation of the host immune responses remains a major hurdle to successful gene therapy. Studies in the past two decades have elucidated the important role co-stimulation plays in the activation of both T and B cells. This review summarizes our current understanding of T cell co-stimulatory pathways, and strategies targeting these co-stimulatory pathways in gene therapy applications as well as potential future directions.


The topology optimization of electromagnetic (EM) systems considering the effect of the magnetization direction in the magnet is investigated using the finite element method. The density method is used for topology optimization and continuum design sensitivity analysis is used for the sensitivity of EM systems. Also ANSYS is used for analysis. The force of a magnet is divided into two components of x and y direction in the rectangular coordinates. And the topology optimization of a c-core and a brushless dc motor are obtained.