Evolving optical deep space communication network architecture requires incremental growth in the total aperture. On the other hand, the cost of a large aperture telescope grows exponentially as a function of its diameter, therefore telescope array architecture could provide a cost effective scalable growth for an evolving optical deep space network. However, the total aperture size and the corresponding breakdown into smaller individual telescope segments poses some system architecture impact in terms of site selection of the entire network, and the number of telescopes that fall within the footprint from the space-to-Earth at various distances, e.g., Moon, Mars, etc. In this paper, the effect of synchronization on the performance of the telescope arrays is analyzed. An adaptive method based on Kalman filtering is developed and used to synchronize different telescope signals in a telescope array with PPM modulation and direct detection. It is shown that the degradation in combined signal due to synchronization error can be reduced to a small value so that it places only a minor limitation on the number of telescopes in a telescope array


Antigen-specific B cells (ASBCs) can drive autoimmune disease by presenting autoantigen to cognate T cells to drive their activation, proliferation, and effector cell differentiation and/or by differentiating into autoantibody-secreting cells. Autoantibodies are frequently used to predict risk and diagnose several autoimmune diseases. ASBCs can drive type 1 diabetes even when immune tolerance mechanisms block their differentiation into antibody-secreting cells. Furthermore, anti-histidyl tRNA synthetase syndrome patients have expanded IgM+ Jo-1-binding B cells, which clinically diagnostic IgG Jo-1 autoantibodies may not fully reflect. Given the potential disconnect between the pathologic function of ASBCs and autoantibody secretion, direct study of ASBCs is a necessary step towards developing better therapies for autoimmune diseases, which often have no available cure. We therefore developed a high-throughput screening pipeline to 1) phenotypically identify specific B cell subsets, 2) expand them in vitro, 3) drive them to secrete BCRs as antibody, and 4) identify wells enriched for ASBCs through ELISA detection of antibody. We tested the capacity of several B cell subset(s) to differentiate into antibody-secreting cells following this robust stimulation. IgM+ and/or IgD+, CD27- memory, memory, switched memory, and BND B cells secreted B cell receptor (BCR) as antibody following in vitro stimulation, whereas few plasmablasts responded. Bimodal responses were observed across autoimmune donors for IgM+ CD21lo and IgM- CD21lo B cells, consistent with documented heterogeneity within the CD21lo subset. Using this approach, we detected insulin-binding B cell bias towards CD27- memory and CD27+ memory subsets in pre-symptomatic type 1 diabetes donors. We took advantage of routine detection of Jo-1-binding B cells in Jo-1+ anti-histidyl tRNA synthetase syndrome patients to show that Jo-1-binding B cells and total B cells expanded 20-30-fold using this culture system. Overall, these studies highlight technology that is amenable to small numbers of cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells that enables interrogation of phenotypic and repertoire attributes of ASBCs derived from autoimmune patients.


Industrial PID consists of three elements: Lag (integrator), Lead (Differentiator) and Low Pass Filters (LPF). PID being a linear control method is inherently bounded by the waterbed effect due to which there exists a trade-off between precision & tracking, provided by Lag and LPF on one side and stability & robustness, provided by Lead on the other side. Nonlinear reset strategies applied in Lag and LPF elements have been very effective in reducing this trade-off. However, there is lack of study in developing a reset Lead element. In this paper, we develop a novel lead element which provides higher precision and stability compared to the linear lead filter and can be used as a replacement for the same. The concept is presented and validated on a Lorentz-actuated nanometer precision stage. Improvements in precision, tracking and bandwidth are shown through two separate designs. Performance is validated in both time and frequency domain to ensure that phase margin achieved on the practical setup matches design theories.


An experiment was designed to investigate the effect of different rates of glucose infusion into animals fed a maintenance diet supplemented with undegraded protein (HCHO-casein). Twelve Merino wether Iambs were divided into 3 treatment groups receiving different rates of glucose infusion, 10 mmolelh, 20 mmolelh and 30 mmolelh. The intake and digestibility of dry matter were not affected by glucose infusion. The infusion of glucose increased N retention by reducing both faecal and urinary N. It was estimated that per unit of glucose infused, animal retained 0.15 g N/mmole glucoselh. The efficiency of N retention were 28%, 35% and 44% for glucose infusion rate of 10 mmolelh, 20 mmolelh and 30 mmolelh respectively. Urea entry rate decreased as glucose infusion rate increased. The estimation of protein spared by glucose infusion calculated from N retention and urinary excretion rate gave a value of 20 g and 25 g per 100 g glucose infused respectively. The proportion of glucose entry rate (GER) that could potentially derived from amino acids reduced as the rate of glucose infusion increased, being 21%, 17% and 14% for 10 mmolelh, 20 mmolelh and 30 mmolelh of glucose infused respectively. The GER, percentage of glucose oxidized and its contribution to CO2 production increased as the rate of glucose infusion increased. However, CO2 entry rate was not significantly affected by rates of glucose infusion. Glucose uptake by the hind-limb muscles increased with increasing rates of glucose infusion and strongly related with both GER and plasma insulin concentration. There was a tendency for circulating essential amino acids to reduce as the rate of glucose infusion increased, and was more prominent for branched chain amino acids (BCAA) at 30 mmolelh of glucose infusion. The reduction of amino acids in the blood circulation occurred concurrently with the reduction in plasma urea concentration and urea entry rate indicated increased net incorporation of amino acids into protein. Key words : Compensatory growth, glucose, N retention, amin acid


First-order probabilistic models are recognized as efficient frameworks to represent several realworld problems: they combine the expressive power of first-order logic, which serves as a knowledge representation language, and the capability to model uncertainty with probabilities. Among existing models, it is usual to distinguish the domain-frequency approach from the possible-worlds approach. Bayesian logic programs (BLPs, which conveniently encode possible-worlds semantics) and stochastic logic programs (SLPs, often referred to as a domain-frequency approach) are promising probabilistic logic models in their categories. This paper is aimed at comparing the respective expressive power of these frameworks. We demonstrate relations between SLPs' and BLPs' semantics, and argue that SLPs can encode the same knowledge as a subclass of BLPs. We introduce extended SLPs which lift the latter result to any BLP. Converse properties are reviewed, and we show how BLPs can define the same semantics as complete, range-restricted, non-recursive SLPs. Algorithms that translate BLPs into SLPs (and vice versa) are provided, as well as worked examples of the intertranslations of SLPs and BLPs.


Glutathione (γ-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine, GSH) is a major thiol-containing peptide with cellular levels of up to 10 mM. (1) Several recent reports have demonstrated glutaredoxins (Grx) to form [Fe(2)S(2)] cluster-bridged dimers, where glutathione provides two exogenous thiol ligands, and have implicated such species in cellular iron sulfur cluster biosynthesis. We report the finding that glutathione alone can coordinate and stabilize an [Fe(2)S(2)] cluster under physiological conditions, with optical, redox, Mössbauer, and NMR characteristics that are consistent with a [Fe(2)S(2)](GS)(4) composition. The Fe-S assembly protein ISU catalyzes formation of [Fe(2)S(2)](GS)(4) from iron and sulfide ions in the presence of glutathione, and the [Fe(2)S(2)] core undergoes reversible exchange between apo ISU and free glutathione.


The selective oestrogen receptor modulator (SERM) tamoxifen (TX) has agonist/antagonist actions on LH secretion in the rat. Whereas in the absence of oestrogens TX elicits progesterone receptor (PR)-dependent GnRH self-priming, it antagonizes oestrogen-stimulatory action on LH secretion. The aim of these experiments was to explore whether TX treatment-induced differential expression of oestrogen receptor (ER)alpha and ERbeta in the gonadotrope may determine its agonist effect on LH secretion. In the first experiment, basal LH secretion, GnRH-stimulated LH secretion and PR-dependent GnRH self-priming were determined in incubated pituitaries from ovariectomized (OVX) rats treated with oestradiol benzoate (EB), TX or raloxifene (RX). Cycling rats in metoestrus or pro-oestrus were used as basic controls. As in pro-oestrus, pituitaries from OVX rats treated with EB exhibited GnRH-stimulated LH secretion, immunohistochemical PR expression and GnRH self-priming. While RX had no effect on these parameters, TX induced PR expression and GnRH self-priming. GnRH self-priming was absent in pituitaries incubated with the antiprogestin ZK299. In the second experiment, we evaluated the immunohistochemical expression of ERalpha and ERbeta in gonadotropes of cycling rats and OVX rats treated with EB, TX or RX. We found that while ERalpha expression was similar in all six groups, ERalpha expression was oestrous cycle dependent. Moreover, ERalpha expression in gonadotropes of TX-treated rats was as high as that found in pro-oestrus, while ERalpha expression in the gonadotropes of RX-treated rats was lower than in metoestrous or pro-oestrous pituitaries. These results suggest that, in the absence of the cognate ligand, TX, unlike RX, may regulate LH secretion through the ERalpha subtype in gonadotropes.


The result of surgical therapy of sellar region neoplasms in 107 patients treated between 1986-1995 is reviewed. In this series there were 89 pituitary adenomas, 8 meningiomas, 9 craniopharyngiomas, and one mucocele. Transcranial, transphenoidal, and combined transcranialtranssphenoidal approaches were used for surgical therapy. Three patients died postoperatively. Ten patients had complications related to surgery; CSF leak in three patients, diabetes insipidus in four, meningitis in two, and abscess in one. Radiation therapy was administered to four patients postoperatively.


This article describes performance improvements for the Web Services Security (WS-Security) specification. In the course of its development and performance measurement, we identified bottlenecks in the XML parsing and public key operations such as RSA signature and encryption. We are working on minimizing the impact of both of these bottlenecks. We implemented a stream-based WS-Security processor and showed its efficiency in XML parsing, in terms of both the processing time and the memory usage. In addition, we introduced the Web Services Secure Conversation (WS-SecureConversation) to avoid expensive public key operations.


Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a mutagenic and carcinogenic product of lipid peroxidation which has also been found at elevated levels in smokers. MDA reacts with nucleic acid bases to form pyrimidopurinone DNA adducts, of which 3-(2-deoxy-β-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)pyrimidol[1,2-α]purin-10(3H)-one (M1dG) is the most abundant and has been linked to smoking. Mutations in the TP53 tumour suppressor gene are associated with half of all cancers. This research applied a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the toxic effects of MDA on the human lung fibroblasts MRC5, which have an intact p53 response, and their SV40 transformed counterpart, MRC5 SV2, which have a sequestered p53 response.
Both cell lines were treated with MDA (0-1000 µM) for 24 and 48 h and subjected to a variety of analyses to examine cell proliferation, cell viability, cellular and nuclear morphology, apoptosis, p53 protein expression, DNA topography and M1dG adduct detection. For the first time, mutation sequencing of the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of the TP53 gene in response to MDA treatment was carried out.
The main findings were that both cell lines showed reduced proliferation and viability with increasing concentrations of MDA, the cell surface and nuclear morphology were altered, and levels of apoptosis and p53 protein expression appeared to increase. A LC MS-MS method for detection of M1dG adducts was developed and adducts were detected in CT-DNA treated with MDA in a dose-dependent manner. DNA appeared to become more fragmented with increasing MDA concentration, and the number of mutations in the 5' UTR region of the TP53 gene also increased. The majority of mutations observed were insertions, compared to lung cancer mutation data where the majority were G to T transversions. This was unexpected, suggesting that tobacco smoke compounds have a different role in mutagenesis than endogenous lipid peroxidation. Thus, MDA has been found to have a clear effect on human lung fibroblasts at both the cellular and DNA level.


In August 2002, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) recalled 87 complementary medicines containing extracts of kava after several reports of deaths from liver failure.1 In April 2003, there was a further recall of products manufactured by Pan Pharmaceuticals after the company was alleged to have failed to follow proper manufacturing standards. These events provide an opportunity for public health practitioners to reflect on the Australian regulatory system for nutritional supplements and complementary medicines. Most of the recalled products were over-the-counter nutrition supplements and complementary medicines that are generally regulated by the TGA as listed goods. This is a category for products that are considered to be intermediary in risk between 'food' (which is generally regarded as safe) and 'registered goods', a strictly regulated category that includes most prescription medications. The manufacturers of listed goods are required to comply with good manufacturing practice and are able to make health claims for minor, self-limiting conditions. Although the TGA corporate plan states that "the Australian public expects its medicines and medical devices to be safe, to be of a continuing high standard and to deliver the benefits they claim",2 listed goods do not have to provide the strict scientific evidence of efficacy and Protecting the health of the people


The workplace experiences of faculty in engineering, physics, and computer science were evaluated through the lens of self-determination theory (SDT), which posits three universal human needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness). It has been well-established that meeting these needs in the workplace is associated with higher productivity and greater employee retention. Interviews with 14 female and 10 male faculty employed at a variety of institutions across the United States were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed. Semi-structured questions regarding past and present work situations, as well as ideal and worst-case scenarios, were used to understand how needs were valued, met, or unmet in the workplace. In this study, content analysis was used to code the responses of interviewees regarding past and present workplace experiences according to the three universal needs of SDT. Results indicated that both men and women spoke to relatedness needs far more frequently than needs for autonomy and competence. Women spoke to the satisfaction of relatedness needs and the frustration of those needs about equally while men spoke primarily to relatedness satisfaction. Across the 24 interviews, over 100 independent ideas were expressed regarding relatedness in the workplace. The satisfaction of relatedness needs was expressed in similar ways between men and women. Collaboration and frequent interactions with peers were important to both men and women and often made a critical difference in whether interviewees found their respective workplaces to be fulfilling or not. In contrast, competition from colleagues that often progressed to the point of taking ideas, credit, or otherwise thwarting a faculty member's career came up multiple times as a source of frustrated relatedness needs. Unmet relatedness needs were often expressed as isolation and loneliness and often attributed to poor representation of women in a home department or unit. The results of these interviews viewed through the lens of SDT suggest a need to support relatedness more effectively in the academic workplace, both by reducing detrimental competitiveness and by alleviating isolation among all faculty, regardless of gender.


In vivo serial passage of non-pathogenic viruses has been shown to lead to increased viral virulence, and although the precise mechanism(s) are not clear, it is known that both host and viral factors are associated with increased pathogenicity. Under- or overnutrition leads to a decreased or dysregulated immune response and can increase viral mutant spectrum diversity and virulence. The objective of this study was to identify the role of viral mutant spectra dynamics and host immunocompetence in the development of pathogenicity during in vivo passage. Because the nutritional status of the host has been shown to affect the development of viral virulence, the diet of animal model reflected two extremes of diets which exist in the global population, malnutrition and obesity. Sendai virus was serially passaged in groups of mice with differing nutritional status followed by transmission of the passaged virus to a second host species, guinea pigs. Viral population dynamics were characterized using deep sequence analysis and computational modeling. Histopathology, viral titer and cytokine assays were used to characterize viral virulence. Viral virulence increased with passage and the virulent phenotype persisted upon passage to a second host species. Additionally, nutritional status of mice during passage influenced the phenotype. Sequencing revealed the presence of several non-synonymous changes in the consensus sequence associated with passage, a majority of which occurred in the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase and polymerase genes, as well as the presence of persistent high frequency variants in the viral population. In particular, an N1124D change in the consensus sequences of the polymerase gene was detected by passage 10 in a majority of the animals. In vivo comparison of an 1124D plaque isolate to a clone with 1124N genotype indicated that 1124D was associated with increased virulence.


In relation to the development of a Rolling Wheel Deflectometer (RWD), which is a non-destructive testing device for measuring pavement deflections, a finite element model for obtaining the soil/pavement response has been developed [1]. The RWD is operating at traffic speeds and the soil model is therefore subjected to a moving transient dynamic load. Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) [2] is used as absorbing boundary conditions in order to prevent reflections of the waves propagating through the soils due to the dynamic loading. As the load is moving with high speed, the formulation is in the moving frame of reference [3].To accurately predict pavement response, proper material characterization is needed. Flexible pavements are commonly modeled as multilayer linear elastic systems. However, asphalt behaves as a viscoelastic material because its response to induced loading depends on temperature and load frequency and can be modeled in different ways. A finite element model can quickly reach high computational cost, thus a simple, time-efficient viscoelastic model is preferable.The viscoelastic behavior of asphalt can be described by a relaxation format of the constitutive relation with four parameters; two elastic moduli defining the minimum and maximum stiffnesses of asphalt in relation to frequency, a time scale parameter controlling the relaxation time and a differential fractional order characterizing the interpolation between low and high frequency regimes [4]. Assuming the most common interpolation shape by setting the fractional order equal to one, the system is reduced to only 3 parameters and the formulation can be implemented in the finite element model without increasing the computational cost significantly.In this paper a formulation of the relaxation format of viscoelastic behavior is developed in translated coordinates with efficiently absorbing boundary conditions (PML). The viscoelastic properties of the formulation are illustrated through numerical examples. References[1] S. Madsen, S. Krenk and O. Hededal, Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) for transient wave propagation in a moving frame of reference. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Computational Methods in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, COMPDYN 2013, pp. 4379-4388. Kos, 2013.[2] R. Matzen, An efficient finite element time-domain formulation for the elastic second-order wave equation: A non-split complex frequency shifted convolutional PML. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 88, 951-973, 2011.[3] S. Krenk, L. Kellezi, S.R.K. Nielsen and P.H. Kirkegaard, Finite elements and transmitting boundary conditions for moving loads, in Proceedings of the Fourth European Conference on Structural Dynamics, EURODYN'99, Vol. 1, 447-452. Balkema, Rotterdam, 1999. [4] S. Krenk, Damping mechanisms and models in structural dynamics. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Structural Dynamics, EURODYN 2002, Vol 2, Munich, Germany, 2002.


Geological carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is a promising technology for curbing the global warming crisis by reduction of the overall carbon footprint. Degradation of cement wellbore casings due to carbonation reactions in the underground CO2 storage environment is one of the central issues in assessing the long-term success of the CCS operations. However, the complexity of hydrated cement coupled with extreme subsurface environmental conditions makes it difficult to understand the carbonation reaction mechanisms leading to the loss of well integrity. In this work, we use biased ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations to explore the reactivity of supercritical CO2 with the basal and edge surfaces of a model hydrated cement phase—portlandite—in dry scCO2 and water-rich conditions. Our simulations show that in dry scCO2 conditions, the undercoordinated edge surfaces of portlandite experience a fast barrierless reaction with CO2, while the fully hydroxylated basal surfaces suppress the formation of carbonate ions, resulting in a higher reactivity barrier. We deduce that the rate-limiting step in scCO2 conditions is the formation of the surface carbonate barrier which controls the diffusion of CO2 through the layer. The presence of water hinders direct interaction of CO2 with portlandite as H2O molecules form well-structured surface layers. In the water-rich environment, CO2 undergoes a concerted reaction with H2O and surface hydroxyl groups to form bicarbonate complexes. We relate the variation of the free-energy barriers in the formation of the bicarbonate complexes to the structure of the water layer at the interface which is, in turn, dictated by the surface chemistry and the degree of nanoconfinement.


Objectives:A lots of studies have investigated the psychosocial characteristics of suicidal attempters in order to find efficient coping strategy and treatment intervention. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychosocial factors affecting the suicide attempt in psychiatric patients. Methods:Two hundred eighty patients who attempted suicide and admitted in the emergency room in 3 university hospitals from December 2003 to May 2006 were recruited in this study. The patients were interviewed using Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorder (SCID-RV), Lethality of Suicide Attempt Ratings Scale (LSARS) and Risk-Rescue Rating system (RRR). Results:The suicide attempters have psychosocial characteristics of female preponderance, age 20-39, high school in educational level, married in marriage condition, inoccupation, house makers in occupation. Most of attempters used the nonsevere methods such as drug ingestion or wrist cutting, and selected home as the place of attempt. The delay until discovery was less than 4 hours for most suicide attempters, and the rate of asking for help directly or dropping clues were high. Major depressive disorder was the most common psychiatric illness among attempters. Conclusions:The present study would be the early stage to explore the risk factor and protect factor of suicidal attempt. This study suggests that the closed observation to potential-suicidal attempter in daily life is critical to protect against the fatal results due to suicidal attempts. (J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc 2007;46(2):129-135)


E. Diakaki,S.Chroni,& M. Goudas The present study delves into two cases of sport labor migration and athlete identity, as we learn from two migrating athletes about the narrative mechanisms used to reconstruct their priorities and identities. Low-structured interviews were conducted with elite level male cyclists who migrated from Greece upon signing professional contracts with European continental teams. To immerse into the experiences, we employed the dialogic/performance analysis and, along with the theoretical framework of identity narratives (Douglas & Carless, 2006), this helped us co-construct a relational and a discovery tale. The narrations reveal that the cyclists' physical and mental relocations triggered and intensified processes of identity negotiation, formation, and reconstruction. These processes are traced in the narrative schemata they used as they tried to attain or maintain integrity, along with a sense of coherence between the lived and the told. A continuous negotiation took place between the self, the society, and the sport culture, as they struggled to find their fit within the stereotypically-accepted sport success stories. The findings are discussed with regard to migrant cyclists' psychology, identity development, and well-being, while highlighting the need to enrich the narrative repertoire in the elite sport culture, as it can promote and safeguard athlete identity and well-being. Keywords: sport labor migration, athlete identity, relational narrative, discovery narrative


I describe the therapy of a 20-year-old women who believed that her difficulties in concentrating and remembering were caused by her "ME' (Myalgic encephalomyelitis, Chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS). She had been fathered by a man who never left his own wife. Work with her dreams revealed a within-body drama in which she was locked in an unspeakable fight to the death with her mother. Her symptoms improved after parallels between a dream and an accident showed her own self-destructive hand in her story. Another dream, reflecting her first 'incestuous' affair, showed her search for her original father-self as someone separate from mother, and a later affair provided a between-body drama, helping her to own the arrogant and abject traits she had before seen only as her mother's. I show how we worked in the area of Winnicott's first 'primitive agony' as experienced by a somatizing patient, stuck in a too-close destructive relationship with her mother-body. I discuss how analytical work can be done with the primitive affects and conflicts against which the ME symptoms may be defending.


According to Wollstonecraft 'every being may become virtuous by the exercise of its own reason'. This suggests that for her ethical judgement is based on reason, and so she is an ethical cognitivist. This impression is upheld by the fact that she clearly believes in the existence of ethical truth and has little sympathy with subjectivism. At the same time, she places a great deal of importance on the role of the emotions in ethical judgement. This raises the question how the emotions can be relevant if ethics consists in a realm of truths, discoverable by reason. The paper answers this question and clarifies Wollstonecraft's model of the interaction of emotion and reason by comparing it with those of Rousseau, Godwin, Price and Adam Smith. It argues that the originality of Wollstonecraft's position resides in the way she understands the role of the imagination in ethical reasoning.


The African continent has traditionally been considered as Europe's 'backyard' or 'pré-carré'. Yet, percepetions of Africa are gradually changing, with emerging powers such as China increasing their engagement on the continent. From this arises the fundamental question of how the European Union's (EU) position as an established actor in Africa is affected by the rise of China. While it has been widely acknowledged that the growing Chinese activities in Africa have various implications for the EU, this article revisits the prevailing argument that the Chinese (re)involvement on the African continent poses a threat to the EU's geopolitical reach in the region by challenging its norms and practices. On the contrary, this article takes the view that the alternative presented by China has encouraged the EU to act as a more coherent and consistent international actor and to start redefining the nature of its partnership with Africa. As a result, new opportunities arise for Sino-European cooperation in Africa.


Anthropogenic actions, including deforestation, disorganized urbanization, and globalization, contribute to emergence and reemergence of arboviruses worldwide, where Flavivirus is the most prevalent, and its continuous monitoring can help in preventive control strategies. Thus, the aim of this study was to detect flavivirus RNA in single hematophagous insects, which are used as sentinels. Total RNA was extracted from six Aedes aegypti stored since 2003 and from 100 Culicidae and collected through CDC trap in a public park of a Brazilian Northwest city of São Paulo State. Flavivirus was detected through RT/PCR targeting 230–250 bp of the RNA polymerase coding sequence (NS5). PCR amplicons were sequenced by Sanger method, used in comparative analysis over Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) in GenBank, and subjected to Neighbor-Joining phylogenetic analyses. Efficiency of Flavivirus diagnosis was confirmed by detection of Dengue virus serotype 2 in Ae. aegypti. From the 100 collected insects, 19 were positive for Culex flavivirus (CxFV). NS5 partial sequence phylogenetic analysis clustered all CxFV in one branch separated from vertebrate flaviviruses, being applicable to the identification of Flavivirus species. The dipteran RNA extraction methodology described in this work supports detection of flaviviruses in single insects maintained in 80% ethanol, which can be used to constant arbovirus surveillance.


The stable water isotope deuterium (2H) was applied as an artificial tracer (2H2O) in order to estimate groundwater recharge through the unsaturated zone and describe soil water movement in a semi-arid region of northern central Namibia. A particular focus of this study was to assess the spatiotemporal persistence of the tracer when applied in the field on a small scale under extreme climatic conditions and to propose a method to obtain estimates of recharge in data-scarce regions. At two natural sites that differ in vegetation cover, soil and geology, 500 ml of a 70 % 2H2O solution was irrigated onto water saturated plots. The displacement of the 2H peak was analyzed 1 and 10 days after an artificial rain event of 20 mm as well as after the rainy season. Results show that it is possible to apply the peak displacement method for the estimation of groundwater recharge rates in semi-arid environments via deuterium labelling. Potential recharge for the rainy season 2013/2014 was calculated as 45 mm a−1 at 5.6 m depth and 40 mm a−1 at 0.9 m depth at the two studied sites, respectively. Under saturated conditions, the artificial rain events moved 2.1 and 0.5 m downwards, respectively. The tracer at the deep sand site (site 1) was found after the rainy season at 5.6 m depth, corresponding to a displacement of 3.2 m. This equals in an average travel velocity of 2.8 cm d−1 during the rainy season at the first site. At the second location, the tracer peak was discovered at 0.9 m depth; displacement was found to be only 0.4 m equalling an average movement of 0.2 cm d−1 through the unsaturated zone due to an underlying calcrete formation. Tracer recovery after one rainy season was found to be as low as 3.6 % at site 1 and 1.9 % at site 2. With an in situ measuring technique, a three-dimensional distribution of 2H after the rainy season could be measured and visualized. This study comprises the first application of the peak displacement method using a deuterium labelling technique for the estimation of groundwater recharge in semi-arid regions. Deuterium proved to be a suitable tracer for studies within the soil–vegetation–atmosphere interface. The results of this study are relevant for the design of labelling experiments in the unsaturated zone of dry areas using 2H2O as a tracer and obtaining estimations of groundwater recharge on a local scale. The presented methodology is particularly beneficial in data-scarce environments, where recharge pathways and mechanisms are poorly understood.


DNA sequence analysis of the alpha 5(IV) collagen chain gene (COL4A5) was carried out between exon 47 and 51, which encode the noncollagenous (NC) domain, in eight Japanese families with Alport's syndrome. In one family with X-linked inheritance of the disease, a point mutation (G to C) was found at the 3' end of exon 49 in the COL4A5. This mutation converted the codon of a conserved methionine-1601 to the codon for isoleucine, and also altered the normal splicing process. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product amplified between exons 47 and 51 of cDNA in the affected male (hemizygote) of this family contained four fragments with various molecular weights, whereas that of a normal control contained one with the expected molecular weight. Sequence analysis of the PCR fragments of the male patient revealed various types of alternative splicing between the exons, reflecting the various sizes of PCR fragments. The PCR amplified product of the cDNA of the affected female (heterozygote), on the other hand, contained a fragment with the same molecular weight as the normal control. Sequence analysis of the PCR fragments of her cDNA revealed normal splicing and no point mutation at the 3' end of exon 49. These findings indicate that this point mutation at the consensus sequence not only converted the codon but also altered the splicing between these exons encoding the NC domain of the COL4A5. Resulting in missense of the alpha 5(IV) chain, changing a large portion of the carboxyl terminal crosslinking NC domain, this mutation can alter the normal structure of the type IV collagen network.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We study the modulational instability in discrete lattices and we show how the discreteness drastically modifies the stability condition. Analytical and numerical results are in very good agreement. We predict also the evolution of a linear wave in the presence of noise and we show that modulational instability is the first step towards energy localization.


Acute undifferentiated febrile illness (AUFI) constitutes the predominant cause of healthcare seeking in Odisha. This prospective study was conducted to analyse the clinical, epidemiological and laboratory profile of scrub typhus patients presenting with AUFI from January to December 2017. Four hundred and thirty-two samples were tested for dengue, malaria, scrub typhus and enteric fever. Scrub typhus was overall the most common cause of AUFI (26.3%, 114/432) followed by dengue (19.2%, 83/432). Eschar was seen in 6.1% of cases. Aetiologies of 38.6% of AUFI remained unidentified. In the present study, there was no mortality attributed to scrub typhus.


Recent evidence shows that both music therapy and resonance breathing (breathing at about 0.1 Hz) may be effective in treating stress-related symptoms and promoting relaxation. However, no study has yet explored the potential of integrating the working mechanisms into a combined approach using live played music to guide respiration. Therefore, the objective of the present pilot study was to evaluate the psychophysiological effects of a combined intervention. A total of 60 healthy adults were randomized to either the experimental group or the control group (where participants listened to prerecorded relaxation music). Heart rate and heart rate variability were extracted for the following 5-minute segments: Resting baseline, stress task, intervention, resting post-intervention. Additionally, self-evaluation scores for relaxation and general well-being were assessed with visual analogue scales. Significant time × group interaction effects were found for general well-being ( p = .028) and heart rate variability as measured by RMSSD ( p < .001), indicative of increased parasympathetic outflow in the experimental group. In conclusion, the combination of music therapy and resonance breathing seems to be a well-received and effective way to induce relaxation and well-being in healthy adults.


The long-lasting COVID-19 pandemic and increasing SARS-CoV-2 variants demand effective drugs for prophylactics and treatment. Protein-based biologics offer high specificity yet their noncovalent interactions often lead to drug dissociation and incomplete inhibition. Here we developed covalent nanobodies capable of binding with SARS-CoV-2 spike protein irreversibly via proximity-enabled reactive therapeutic (PERx) mechanism. A novel latent bioreactive amino acid FFY was designed and genetically encoded into nanobodies to accelerate PERx reaction rate. After covalent engineering, nanobodies binding with the Spike in the down state, but not in the up state, were discovered to possess striking enhancement in inhibiting viral infection. In comparison with the noncovalent wildtype nanobody, the FFY-incorporated covalent nanobody neutralized both authentic SARS-CoV-2 and its Alpha and Delta variants with potency drastically increased over tens of folds. This PERx-enabled covalent nanobody strategy and uncovered insights on potency increase can be valuable to developing effective therapeutics for various viral infections.


In this magisterial history, Richard B. Sher breaks new ground for our understanding of the Enlightenment and the forgotten role of publishing during that period. "The Enlightenment and the Book" seeks to remedy the common misperception that such classics as "The Wealth of Nations" and "The Life of Samuel Johnson" were made by their authors alone. To the contrary, Sher shows how the process of bookmaking during the late eighteenth century involved complex partnerships between authors and their publishers. Similarly, Sher demonstrates that publishers were involved in the project of bookmaking for a variety of reasons, ranging from accumulating profits to advancing human knowledge.


The principles of medication management include storing, ordering, dispensing, and administration of the medications. Each of these steps is equally important to achieve the maximum benefits of the medicines. However, self-medication is common across the globe where these principles are severely compromised. Self-administration of medication is an approach in which an individual uses a medicine or drug to treat any symptoms or diagnosed disorder. It is an individual's initiative to take medicines without consulting a doctor and commonly used to gain personal independence and autonomy to treat minor illness. Its prevalence in developing countries is significantly high and ranges from 12.7% to 95%. This review examines self-medication practices among students of various health-care courses. The search criteria included studies published from 2008 to 2018. All studies that explored the use of self-medication practices among the Indian students of various health-care professions were retrieved. Three major databases Google Scholar, PubMed, and Shodhganga were searched. The keywords used for search included "self-medication," India, prevalence, students, medical, dental, nursing, pharmacology, and physiotherapy. In total, 106 articles were reviewed, 21 of these studies met the inclusion criteria. The number of total participants across all studies was 7271. Overall, 5875 (80.80%) participants were practicing self-medication. Analgesics, antipyretics, antibiotics, antacids, and anti-allergic drugs were commonly used drugs for self-medication. Some studies also revealed that students have poor knowledge regarding drug reactions, and this can significantly compromise patient safety. Whereas, the study reveals that the practice of self-medication among the students is alarmingly high. This presents a significant challenge to patient safety and also poses a threat to public health in view of ever-increasing antibiotics resistant. The government must take immediate actions to regulate over-the-counter medication availabilities and also ensure a wider education program for the public.


The Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway plays a critical role in hair follicle physiology and is constitutively active in basal cell carcinomas (BCCs), the most common human malignancy. Type 3 iodothyronine deiodinase (D3), the thyroid hormone-inactivating enzyme, is frequently expressed in proliferating and neoplastic cells, but its role in this context is unknown. Here we show that Shh, through Gli2, directly induces D3 in proliferating keratinocytes and in mouse and human BCCs. We demonstrate that Gli-induced D3 reduces intracellular active thyroid hormone, thus resulting in increased cyclin D1 and keratinocyte proliferation. D3 knockdown caused a 5-fold reduction in the growth of BCC xenografts in nude mice. Shh-induced thyroid hormone degradation via D3 synergizes with the Shh-mediated reduction of the type 2 deiodinase, the thyroxine-activating enzyme, and both effects are reversed by cAMP. This previously unrecognized functional cross-talk between Shh/Gli2 and thyroid hormone in keratinocytes is a pathway by which Shh produces its proliferative effects and offers a potential therapeutic approach to BCC.


Background: Utilization of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for treatment of high-grade gliomas (HGGs) has been slowly increasing with variable reported success rates. Objective: Systematic review of the available data to evaluate the efficacy of SRS as a treatment for HGG with regards to median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), in addition to ascertaining the rate of radiation necrosis and other SRS-related major neurological complications. Methods: Literature searches were performed for publications from 1992 to 2016. The pooled estimates of median PFS and median OS were calculated as a weighted estimate of population medians. Meta-analyses of published rates of radiation necrosis and other major neurological complications were also performed. Results: Twenty-nine studies reported the use of SRS for recurrent HGG, and 16 studies reported the use of SRS for newly diagnosed HGG. For recurrent HGG, the pooled estimates of median PFS and median OS were 5.42 months (3–16 months) and 20.19 months (9–65 months), respectively; the pooled radiation necrosis rate was 5.9% (0–44%); and the pooled estimates of major neurological complications rate was 3.3% (0–23%). For newly diagnosed HGG, the pooled estimates of median PFS and median OS were 7.89 months (5.5–11 months) and 16.87 months (9.5–33 months) respectively; the pooled radiation necrosis rate was 6.5% (0–33%); and the pooled estimates of other major neurological complications rate was 1.5% (0–25%). Conclusion: Our results suggest that SRS holds promise as a relatively safe treatment option for HGG. In terms of efficacy at this time, there are inadequate data to support routine utilization of SRS as the standard of care for newly diagnosed or recurrent HGG. Further studies should be pursued to define more clearly the therapeutic role of SRS.


Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize microbial components and initiate inflammation during infection. TLR2 is the receptor for microbial lipoproteins and other parts of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. The endothelium expresses TLR2 and is important in sepsis-induced organ failure. We found that activation of TLR2 broadly affects endothelial cell (EC) functions, leading to upregulation of cytokine and chemokine production, increased neutrophil trafficking, altered expression of coagulation pathway intermediaries, and increased permeability. We probed the signaling pathways involved in TLR2-dependent activation of the EC by treating human umbilical vein EC (HUVECs) with lipopeptide TLR2 agonists and performed immunoblots, NF-κB EMSA's, transcription factor arrays, and qRT PCR to assess responses. We found that TLR2 agonists transiently activate p38-MAPK and JNK at early time points and induce a sustained, albeit weak, activation of the transcription factor NF-κB. Through the use of siRNA knockdown and specific inhibitors, we determined that p38-MAPK, JNK, and NF-κB are necessary for TLR2-dependent upregulation of IL-6, IL-8 and TLR2 itself. Additionally, using mRNA human immune arrays, we found that markers of neutrophil trafficking and activation are most robustly upregulated by TLR2-dependent activation of the endothelium. We are currently investigating the mechanisms responsible for neutrophil trafficking and activation responses in more detail.


The effect of novel anti-cancer agents on the vascular properties of radiation-induced fibrosarcomas in C3H-strain mice was evaluated in vivo using dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI. A T1-weighted volume acquisition was used to obtain DCE-MRI data. Pre-contrast T1 measurements and the contrast agent arterial input function were used to estimate the volume transfer constant (Ktrans) and extravascular extracellular volume fraction (ve). Five novel combretastatin analogues, combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) and hazelnut oil (vehicle) were tested for their effect 24 hours after administration on the tumours. Three of the five agents and the positive control (CA-4), significantly decreased tumour Ktrans and ve: Ktrans for CA-4 by 72%; fluorocombretastatin by 75%; methylcombretastatin by 68%; and ve by 40% for methylcombretastatin and 75% for the combretastatin quinone. These agents were recommended for further consideration. These results suggest that DCE-MRI may be a useful tool for pre-clinical evaluation of anti-...


High-temperature, high-pressure measurements combined with observation and calculations are providing a better picture of Earth's lower mantle. The lower mantle extends from 660 to 2890 km below the surface of the Earth. The rocks and minerals of the deep mantle are not accessible in nature, except those occurring infrequently as inclusions in diamond. However, they can be synthesized and examined at the relevant high pressure and temperature conditions in the laboratory. Recent such experimental investigations, as well as theoretical calculations, have suggested that the properties of lower-mantle minerals vary with increasing depth much more than was previously thought. On page 193 of this issue, Irifune et al. (1) report that iron (Fe) partitioning between the two main lower-mantle constituents, iron–magnesium silicate perovskite (Pv) and iron–magnesium oxide (ferropericlase, Fp), indeed changes in a natural mantle composition for conditions corresponding to depths below 1100 km. The results have profound implications for predicting the properties and dynamics of the deep mantle.


Many applications in Natural Language Processing require a semantic analysis of sentences in terms of truth-conditional representations, often with specific desiderata in terms of which information needs to be included in the semantic analysis. However, there are only very few tools that allow such an analysis. We investigate the representations of an automatic analysis pipeline of the C&C parser and Boxer to determine whether Boxer's analyses in form of Discourse Representation Structure can be successfully converted into a more surface oriented event semantic representation, which will serve as input for a fusion algorithm for fusing hard and soft information. We use a data set of synthetic counter intelligence messages for our investigation. We provide a basic pipeline for conversion and subsequently discuss areas in which ambiguities and differences between the semantic representations present challenges in the conversion process.


Diabetes is a combination of heterogeneous disorders presenting with episodes of hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance, as a result of lack of insulin, defective insulin action, or both. There are more than 387 million people with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and the number is likely to reach 592 million by 2035. The prevalence of DM is 9.1% in India. With increasing incidence of diabetes worldwide, evaluation of diabetes knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) has become crucial for guiding behavioral changes for persons with diabetes and individuals at risk. KAP-related studies are important in tailoring a health programme to help curb the threats caused by the disease. Adequate information helps the public understand the risks of diabetes and its complications, seeks treatment of existing disease, takes preventive measures and develops proactive attitude towards health. This was an interventional study where patients of either gender with ≥1-year history of DM were enrolled into the study after obtaining the consent. A total of 200 patients were included in this study. The p-value (<0.0001) showed that there was significant improvement in the KAP score of intervention group patients from baseline to follow up compared to that of control group. This study shows that improvement in knowledge of the disease has positive impact on Attitude and Practice of the subjects, thus improving their glycemic control.


Head motion degrades image quality and causes erroneous parameter estimates in tracer kinetic modeling in brain PET studies. Existing motion correction methods include frame-based image registration (FIR) and correction using real-time hardware-based motion tracking (HMT) information. However, FIR cannot correct for motion within 1 predefined scan period, and HMT is not readily available in the clinic since it typically requires attaching a tracking device to the patient. In this study, we propose a motion correction framework with a data-driven algorithm, that is, using the PET raw data itself, to address these limitations. Methods: We propose a data-driven algorithm, centroid of distribution (COD), to detect head motion. In COD, the central coordinates of the line of response of all events are averaged over 1-s intervals to generate a COD trace. A point-to-point change in the COD trace in 1 direction that exceeded a user-defined threshold was defined as a time point of head motion, which was followed by manually adding additional motion time points. All the frames defined by such time points were reconstructed without attenuation correction and rigidly registered to a reference frame. The resulting transformation matrices were then used to perform the final motion-compensated reconstruction. We applied the new COD framework to 23 human dynamic datasets, all containing large head motion, with 18F-FDG (n = 13) and 11C-UCB-J ((R)-1-((3-(11C-methyl-11C)pyridin-4-yl)methyl)-4-(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)pyrrolidin-2-one) (n = 10) and compared its performance with FIR and with HMT using Vicra (an optical HMT device), which can be considered the gold standard. Results: The COD method yielded a 1.0% ± 3.2% (mean ± SD across all subjects and 12 gray matter regions) SUV difference for 18F-FDG (3.7% ± 5.4% for 11C-UCB-J) compared with HMT, whereas no motion correction (NMC) and FIR yielded −15.7% ± 12.2% (−20.5% ± 15.8%) and −4.7% ± 6.9% (−6.2% ± 11.0%), respectively. For 18F-FDG dynamic studies, COD yielded differences of 3.6% ± 10.9% in Ki value as compared with HMT, whereas NMC and FIR yielded −18.0% ± 39.2% and −2.6% ± 19.8%, respectively. For 11C-UCB-J, COD yielded 3.7% ± 5.2% differences in VT compared with HMT, whereas NMC and FIR yielded −20.0% ± 12.5% and −5.3% ± 9.4%, respectively. Conclusion: The proposed COD-based data-driven motion correction method outperformed FIR and achieved comparable or even better performance than the Vicra HMT method in both static and dynamic studies.


It is known that a plasma in a magnetic field, conceived microscopically as a system of point charges, can exist in a magnetized state, and thus remain confined, inasmuch as it is in an ordered state of motion, with the charged particles performing gyrational motions transverse to the field. Here, we give an estimate of a threshold, beyond which transverse motions become chaotic, the electrons being unable to perform even one gyration, so that a breakdown should occur, with complete loss of confinement. The estimate is obtained by the methods of perturbation theory, taking as perturbing force acting on each electron that due to the so-called microfield, i.e., the electric field produced by all the other charges. We first obtain a general relation for the threshold, which involves the fluctuations of the microfield. Then, taking for such fluctuations, the formula given by Iglesias, Lebowitz, and MacGowan for the model of a one component plasma with neutralizing background, we obtain a definite formula for the threshold, which corresponds to a density limit increasing as the square of the imposed magnetic field. Such a theoretical density limit is found to fit pretty well the empirical data for collapses of fusion machines.


Abstract : The beginning of the l9th Century was a time of profound upheaval. The French Revolution unleashed the power of a "people numerous and armed" upon the nations of Europe. Napoleon harnessed that power to the nascent Scientific, Industrial, and Agricultural Revolutions and created a new mode of warfare. During and immediately after the Napoleonic Wars, political and military thinkers of all nations and positions faced the challenge of understanding and adapting to Napoleon's methods. Out of the ranks emerged two seminal thinkers whose theories remain influential almost 200 years later - Antoine Henri Jomini and Carl von Clausewitz. As the quotes above illustrate, they approached the analysis of military success from strikingly different frames of reference. And it is an irony of history that while Clausewitz's work is still studied almost universally, it is the mostly-ignored Jomini who's influence, while quite subtle, is more pervasive Jomini essentially won the battle for posterity because his frame of reference, and thus his methodology and conclusions, was more attuned to the mode of thinking dominant in both his time and the present.


Y. Er~ahin (~) 9 S. Mutluer 9 E, Giizelba~ Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, Ege University Medical School, Bornova, TR-35100 Izmir, Turkey Abstraet Forty-four consecutive patients with brain abscesses, aged between 1 month and 16 years, were reviewed. The cause of abscess was meningitis in 36% of the cases, otitis in 27%, head injury in 16%, congenital heart disease in 9%, other in 5%, and undetected in 5%. Thirty patients had a single abscess and 12 had multiple abscesses. Multiloculated abscess was present in 2. Total excision was accomplished in 22 patients. Three patients underwent needle aspiration. Drainage of the abscess was performed in 13. Secondary excision was needed in 5 patients. One patient was treated nonsurgically. Streptococci, staphylococci and Proteus mirabilis were the microorganisms recovered in cultures. Overall mortality was 20% (9 patients). Mortality was significantly higher in patients under 2 years of age than in those older. Of 15 patients who were comatose at the time of admission, 6 died. Etiology, diagnostic method, and treatment modalities were not found to be significant factors in terms of predicting mortality.


A function $f: \mathbb{Z}_+^E \rightarrow \mathbb{R}_+$ is DR-submodular if it satisfies $f({\bf x} + \chi_i) -f ({\bf x}) \ge f({\bf y} + \chi_i) - f({\bf y})$ for all ${\bf x}\le {\bf y}, i\in E$. Recently, the problem of maximizing a DR-submodular function $f: \mathbb{Z}_+^E \rightarrow \mathbb{R}_+$ subject to a budget constraint $\|{\bf x}\|_1 \leq B$ as well as additional constraints has received significant attention \cite{SKIK14,SY15,MYK15,SY16}.
In this note, we give a generic reduction from the DR-submodular setting to the submodular setting. The running time of the reduction and the size of the resulting submodular instance depends only \emph{logarithmically} on $B$. Using this reduction, one can translate the results for unconstrained and constrained submodular maximization to the DR-submodular setting for many types of constraints in a unified manner.


The Heavy Vehicle Propulsion Materials Program was begun in 1997 to support the enabling materials needs of the DOE Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT). The technical agenda for the program grew out of the technology roadmap for the OHVT and includes efforts in materials for: fuel systems, exhaust aftertreatment, valve train, air handling, structural components, electrochemical propulsion, natural gas storage, and thermal management. A five-year program plan was written in early 2000, following a stakeholders workshop. The technical issues and planned and ongoing projects are discussed. Brief summaries of several technical highlights are given.


The Body Weight (BW) of sheep is an important indicator for producers. Genetic management, nutrition, and health activities can benefit from weight monitoring. This article presents a polynomial model with an adjustable degree for estimating the weight of sheep from the biometric parameters of the animal. Computer vision tools were used to measure these parameters, obtaining a margin of error of less than 5%. A polynomial model is proposed after the parameters were obtained, where a coefficient and an unknown exponent go with each biometric variable. Two metaheuristic algorithms determine the values of these constants. The first is the most extended algorithm, the Genetic Algorithm (GA). Subsequently, the Cuckoo Search Algorithm (CSA) has a similar performance to the GA, which indicates that the value obtained by the GA is not a local optimum due to the poor parameter selection in the GA. The results show a Root-Mean-Squared Error (RMSE) of 7.68% for the GA and an RMSE of 7.55% for the CSA, proving the feasibility of the mathematical model for estimating the weight from biometric parameters. The proposed mathematical model, as well as the estimation of the biometric parameters can be easily adapted to an embedded microsystem.


Orthodontic archwires are among the most important devices of fixed orthodontic therapy. Many types of archwires are made available on the market by various manufacturers with different elemental composition and structural characteristics. Knowing this information is important when choosing a suitable archwire for a particular stage of orthodontic treatment. The aim of our study is to characterize a new type orthodontic archwires (TriTaniumTM, American Orthodontics) before their placement in the oral cavity. To achieve the aim, we used modern methods for determining their elemental composition and structural characteristics: laser-induced plasma spectroscopy (LIBS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results obtained from the qualitative elemental analysis by LIBS and the quantitative elemental analysis by EDX showed that Ni and Ti are the main elements in the archwire studied. The room-temperature XRD patterns showed peaks typical for a Ni-Ti alloy with an austenite-type structure. Monitoring the phase transitions by means of DSC measurements in the temperature range from –50 °C to +50 °C, we showed that in TriTaniumTM archwires, besides the austenite to martensite transition, there exists a rhombohedral intermediate phase (R phase). This study will be useful in assisting orthodontists in applying appropriate nickel-titanium orthodontic archwires in the clinical practice.


The root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria and to a lesser extent M. javanica affect brinjal in Tamil Nadu, India causing an yield loss of 20-30%. The nematodes infect the crop invariably in the nursery, since farmers use repeatedly the same field for this purpose.


Geologist Walter Alvarez is a scientist best known for his 1980 publication of evidence that a comet or large asteroid collided with the earth 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period and ultimately caused numerous mass extinctions, including that of the dinosaurs. He has made other significant contributions to science, including to the areas of European plate tectonics and to the age of reversals of the earth's magnetic field.


Active tuberculosis (ATB), instigated by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), rises as a primary instigator of morbidity and mortality within the realm of infectious illnesses. A significant portion of M.tb infections maintain an asymptomatic nature, recognizably termed as latent tuberculosis infections (LTBI). The complexities inherent to its diagnosis significantly hamper the initiatives aimed at its control and eventual eradication.Utilizing the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), we procured two dedicated microarray datasets, labeled GSE39940 and GSE37250. The technique of weighted correlation network analysis was employed to discern the co-expression modules from the differentially expressed genes derived from the first dataset, GSE39940. Consequently, a pyroptosis-related module was garnered, facilitating the identification of a pyroptosis-related signature (PRS) diagnostic model through the application of a neural network algorithm. With the aid of Single Sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA), we further examined the immune cells engaged in the pyroptosis process in the context of active ATB. Lastly, dataset GSE37250 played a crucial role as a validating cohort, aimed at evaluating the diagnostic prowess of our model.In executing the Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), a total of nine discrete co-expression modules were lucidly elucidated. Module 1 demonstrated a potent correlation with pyroptosis. A predictive diagnostic paradigm comprising three pyroptosis-related signatures, specifically AIM2, CASP8, and NAIP, was devised accordingly. The established PRS model exhibited outstanding accuracy across both cohorts, with the area under the curve (AUC) being respectively articulated as 0.946 and 0.787.The present research succeeded in identifying the pyroptosis-related signature within the pathogenetic framework of ATB. Furthermore, we developed a diagnostic model which exuded a remarkable potential for efficient and accurate diagnosis.


This study aimed to investigate the potential effects of an oral treatment by a newly isolated probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum TN8 strain on trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis in Wistar rats. Thus, 18 rats were divided into three groups (n = 6 per group): group 1 (control) - rats not receiving TNBS application; group 2 - rats receiving an intrarectal TNBS infusion (100 mg/kg TNBS dissolved in ethanol); and group 3 - rats treated with intragastrical TN8 strain once per day (for 5 days before TNBS induction). The performance and the effects of the probiotic treatment were evaluated using a series of histological, biophysical and biochemical analyses. The results have shown that the treatment with the L. plantarum TN8 strain improves the body weight and reduces the diarrhoea, colonic mucosal inflammation and colon shortening. TN8-treated rats showed a significant decrease in the total cholesterol content from 1.86 (for group 2) to 1.32 mmol/l and in triglyceride (TG) content from 2.09 (for group 2) to 1.23 mmol/l. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol contents increased from 0.95 to 1.02 mmol/l. The histological studies have confirmed that the architecture of the liver and kidney tissues of the TN8-treated rats were found to be improved. Overall, the results suggest that the L. plantarum TN8 presents promising perspectives for the development of safe and cost-effective agents for the prevention or alleviation of several intestinal pathologies.


An important task in the field of sensor technology is the efficient implementation of adaptation procedures of measurements from one sensor to another sensor of identical design. One idea is to use the estimation of an affine transformation between different systems, which can be improved by the knowledge of experts. This paper presents an improved solution from Glacier Research that was published back in 1973. It is shown that this solution can be adapted for software calibration of sensors, implementation of expert-based adaptation, and federated learning methods. We evaluate our research with simulations and also with real measured data of a multi-sensor board with 8 identical sensors. The results show an improvement for both the simulation and the experiments with real data.


tized. The hybridization signal of the radiolabeled probe appears as white grains. All specimens were observed under dark field illumination after nuclear counterstain with hematoxylin. Immunostaining for factor Vill-related antigen (4) confirmed that injury was limited to endothelium. 23. Binding was carred out in buffer containing 50 mM NaCI, 5 mM MgCI2, 5% glycerol, 2.5 mM Hepes (pH 7.9), 1 pLg of polydeoxyinosinic-deoxycytidylic acid, and 20 jig of BSA for 30 min at 22°C. Polyclonal antipeptide antibodies to Spl and Egr-1 (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA) were incubated with nuclear extracts 15 min before the addition of the probe. 24. d77mEgr-CAT was constructed with the use of an oligonucleotide beanng the Oligo Bm (12) sequence as the 5' primer for the polymerase chain reaction. Transfections in BAECs were performed with 10 .Lg of reporter plasmid and the calcium phosphate protocol (10). The cells were incubated with PMA (100 ng/ml), cotransfected with CMV-Egr-1, or injured with a sterile comb (8), and then incubated for 36 hours at 37°C. CAT activity was assessed by the two-phase fluor diffusion technique (13) and was normalized to the amounts of protein in the cell lysate. 25. Recombinant Egr-1 was incubated with 32P-Oligo B (12) for 30 min at 22°C and applied to a running nondenaturing 5% polyacrylamide gel at the times indicated. Alternatively, a 1 000-fold molar excess of the unlabeled cognate was added after the 30-min incubation and applied to the gel (21). 26. Increasing amounts of recombinant Egr-1 were applied to a solution in which Spl was preincubated with 32P-Oligo B (12) for 30 min at 22°C (Fig. 3B, left side). Alternatively, 32p-Oligo B was incubated with a fixed concentration of Spl and decreasing amounts of Egr-1 (Fig. 3B, right side) (21). 27. Protein immunoblots were analyzed with polyclonal antibodies to Egr-1 and Spl (1:2500; Santa Cruz Biotechnology) and to PDGF-B (1:200; Genzyme). Immunoreactive proteins were detected by enhanced chemiluminescence (Amersham) with horseradish peroxidase-linked donkey secondary antiserum to rabbit immunoglobulin at 1 10,000 dilution. 28. J. T. Kadonaga, K. A. Jones, R. Tjian, Trends Biochem. Sci. 11, 755 (1986); K. A. Jones, J. T. Kadonaga, P. A. Luciw, R. Tjian, Science 232, 755 (1986). 29. B. Christy and D. Nathans, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 8737 (1989). 30. We thank F. J. Rauscher IlIl for recombinant Egr-1, V. P. Sukhatme for CMV-Egr-1, M. A. Frosch for critical review of the manuscript, and M. A. Gimbrone Jr. for enthusiastic support. Supported in part by grants from NIH (T.C.) and the American Heart Association (V.L.). L.M.K. is a C. J. Martin Postdoctoral Research Fellow (National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia) and a recipient of a J. William Fulbright Postdoctoral Research Award. T.C. is an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association.


Inflammation plays an important role in the development of many obesity-related diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effect of ezetimibe on inflammation and myocardial remodeling in obese rats. A rat model of obesity was established, and myocardial damage was examined by transmission electron microscopy and Masson staining. Twenty obese rats were divided into two groups (n=10): obese group and ezetimibe group. Ten SD rats were used as controls. Western blot was performed to monitor the expression of P-p38MAPK and interleukin (IL)-6. Immunohistochemical staining was used to monitor the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. In the obese rats group, we observed increased inflammatory factors and myocardial hypertrophy. In contrast, the ezetimibe group exhibited decreased expression of inflammatory factors and an improvement in myocardial remodeling compared to the obese group. Mechanistically, we found that ezetimibe decreased P-p38MAPK, IL-6, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 levels in the hearts of the obese rats. Taken together, these results indicate that ezetimibe may improve myocardial remodeling in obese rats by inhibiting inflammation.


The ideal valve substitute should have cellular viability. Cryopreserved allograft has cellular viability in some degree, but the quantity, viability and function of the cells are affected by some preexistent factors such as chemical injury, hypoxia during valve processing and injury at the time of implantation. Early cellular autolysis and apoptosis take place not long after implantation, the implanted valve thus loses significant capacity to grow, remodel, or exhibit active metabolic functions. The viable donor cells are antigenic and capable of eliciting immune response, including antigenic and antigen-specific T cells. Calcification appears to originate in residual nonviable cells and their fragments. Proteinases released from endothelial and fibroblast cells of allograft heart valve will lead to the destruction of the valve matrix. One of the focuses of creating an ideal heart valve is the progressive recellularization of the valve matrix by the autologous cells. The acellular valve matrix, after being recellularized, has two characters: cellular viability and normal cellular function, which are the bases of creating ideal bioprosthetic valve with the potentiality of growing, repairing and remodeling.


In this contribution, we demonstrate the separation of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) by host–guest methodology. New chiral diporphyrin nanocalipers with a longer spacer (∼1.9 nm) consisting of carbazole–pyrene–carbazole are rationally designed as a host on the basis of the previous chiral diporphyrin nanocalipers with carbazole–anthracene–carbazole spacer (∼1.4 nm). The chiral nanocalipers are found to recognize the diameter of DWNTs to make diameter distribution much narrower. In addition, the extracted carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibited circular dichroism (CD) after removal of the chiral nanocalipers and dissolution in water in the presence of achiral surfactant.


BACKGROUND
A previous study observed that women who are underweight prior to conception were significantly more likely to have infants affected by congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). The objective of the current study was to examine the association between maternal body mass index and the risk of a CDH-affected offspring based on a larger number of cases of CDH.

METHODS
A case control study was conducted using data collected by the Boston University Slone Epidemiology Center Birth Defects Study, which identifies infants with major malformations who are born in the metropolitan area surrounding Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Control infants were selected from infants without malformations who were born in the same areas. The study included 85 cases of CDH and 655 controls delivered between 1993 and 1997.

RESULTS
After adjustment for maternal education and maternal age, we observed that women who were thin or underweight for their height (body mass index < or = 19.0 kg/m2) had an increased risk of having an infant with isolated CDH (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 0.92-4.1), but no increase in the risk of having a CDH infant with multiple defects (OR = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.29-2.6) compared with all other women.

CONCLUSIONS
Although our finding for isolated CDH was not statistically significant (P = 0.08), it suggests that the offspring of thin or underweight women may have an increased risk of isolated CDH. This finding requires confirmation. If it is confirmed, further research on factors associated with being underweight should be explored such as diet, exercise, and use of drugs.


This study investigated the physical activity levels and health profiles of adult women
living in the Mmasechaba informal settlement in Gauteng. Apart from the
questionnaire, anthropometric measurements were recorded and body mass index
and waist-to-hip ratios were calculated. The results indicated that the incidence of
lower back pain (74.1%) was the highest hypokinetic disease pathology demonstrated
and a number of biomechanical factors are implicated. The daily physical activity
levels of these women were fairly high (180 minutes). These activity levels include 30
minutes of vigorous activity consisting of chopping wood, carrying and lifting water.
The other 150 minutes per day was spent on mild to moderate activity consisting of
cleaning the house, walking to work and doing other chores around the house. In
addition, about two hours a day was spent on passive recreational activities such as
socialising and watching television. The study strongly recommends that educational
programmes must be put in place to increase the awareness of health and dietary
problems that exist among these communities.


To estimate the conditional probability functions based on the direct problem setting, V-matrix based method was proposed. We construct V-matrix based constrained quadratic programming problems for which the inequality constraints are inconsistent. In particular, we would like to present that the constrained quadratic optimization problem for conditional probability estimation using V-matrix method may not have a consistent solution always.


OF THE THESIS Natural Killer Cells in Colon Cancer: A Study in Racial Differences and Immune Coordination by Ranor Bello Basa Master of Science in Biology with a Concentration in Molecular Biology San Diego State University, 2011 Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. There is a disparity in CRC cases, with blacks having a higher incidence and mortality than whites. The cause of these disparities is a mixture of socioeconomic, dietary, lifestyle, and biological factors. The role of biology in causing these disparities is largely unknown. Studies have shown that immune cell infiltration into the tumor can be used as prognostic factors in CRC and other cancers. Many of these studies focus on cytotoxic T lymphocytes, but other cells exist that possess antitumorigenic properties. One of these types of cells is natural killer (NK) cells, which are both cytotoxic and capable of secreting IFN-γ. The goal of this study is to elucidate the role of the immune response—specifically, NK cells—in the prognostic disparities observed in colon cancer based on race, gender, and infiltration of CD8 T lymphocytes. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded archival colon cancer tissue slides were obtained from the North Carolina Colon Cancer Study (NCCCS), a population-based cohort (45% black, 55% white). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect the presence of CD57 cells, and the mean numbers of intraepithelial and intratumoral cells were quantified by two independent observers from three high-powered fields (HPF; 100x total magnification). Tumors from 126 different patients in the NCCCS, culled from the top and bottom quartiles for CD8 cell infiltration and chosen to as equally represent blacks/whites and males/females as possible, were analyzed by IHC. The Mann-Whitney U test was employed for statistical analysis. No significant difference was found between blacks and whites using both intraepithelial and intratumoral CD57 cell counts, but a significant difference was observed between males and females using intratumoral CD57 cell counts (p<0.05). Additionally, a highly significant difference in CD57 cell infiltration was found between highand low-CD8 cell infiltrating patients (both p<0.001). These data indicate some degree of immune coordination between CD8 and CD57 cells. The basis of this immune coordination depends on the identity of the CD57 cells, but may include cytotoxic T lymphocytes and/or NK cells (either in a cytotoxic capacity or by secretion of IFN-γ). Further investigation into the identity and function of the CD57 cell infiltrate are needed. Additionally, our data suggest—but do not completely rule out the possibility—that NK cells are not involved in the observed racial disparities in colon cancer. Furthermore, the data do not eliminate the possibility that other immunological factors are involved in contributing to the racial disparity.


The effect of short‐chain aliphatic acids on [3H]deoxythymidine incorporation into DNA was studied in human mitogen‐stimulated lymphocytes. Butyric acid at 1‐‐2 mM level was strongly inhibitory; however, its hydroxy or amino derivatives were ineffective. Valeric and propionic acids were less inhibitory. Formic, acetic, and hexanoic acids did not have any inhibitory effect. The effect of butyrate persisted in washed lymphocytes for 24‐‐48 hr depending on the concentration used and the time of its addition into the incubation medium. The inhibitory effects of butyrate, valerate, and propionate on deoxythymidine and amino acid incorporation into DNA and protein were also found in human leukocytes in myelocytic and lymphocytic leukemias.


Background : The laboratory of chemistry is a facility for education, research, service and quality test. There is risky and dangerous chemical which brings the effect for the heath of humankinds and environment. The objective of this research is to evaluate the implementation of safety and health in the laboratory of chemistry. Method : This is a descriptive qualitative research. The technique of instruments used is questioner and observation. This research is obtained by interviewing, FGD and studying the document and the result of observation. Result : The equipment and chemical in the laboratory of chemistry have been applied the labeling for each chemical. The laboratory of chemistry has not been completed by safety tools, such as alarm, fire escape and fire extinguisher. Conclusion : The equipment for practicum is in safe condition, there is storage of equipment and chemical, and the use of safety tools has been the necessity for using this laboratory. The laboratory should be completed by fire siren and fire extinguisher. It is going to be better, if the laboratory is completed by particular ventilation as well. The use of safety tools needs to be emphasized and become the duty of the users by pasting on the poster about the importance of using the fire extinguisher, dangerous condition, the instruction of work and basic rules for the safety work. Moreover, there should be hard punishment for one who does not pay attention about the rule. Keywords : Occupational Safety and Health at Laboratory of Chemistry


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract Most studies on the prediction of venous thromboembolism (VTE) focused on hospitalized, surgery, and cancer patients or women receiving hormonal contraceptives or menopausal hormone therapy. No study considered diabetic and general populations to establish a VTE prediction model, especially in Asia. We developed a predictive model for VTE among type 2 diabetic patients and the general population. This study considered 2 nationwide retrospective cohort studies consisting of 52,427 diabetic participants and 508,664 participants from the general population aged 30 to 85 years during 2001 to 2004 in Taiwan. All participants were followed up until VTE event, death, or December 2011. The outcome event was VTE, including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Candidate predictors consisted of socio-demographic factors, diabetes-related factors and biomarkers, comorbidities, and medicine use. Our study followed the procedures proposed by the Framingham Heart Study to develop prediction models by using a Cox regression model. The predictive accuracy and performance characteristics were assessed using the area under curve of receiver operating characteristics curve and calibration of a risk score were performed by Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. The common factors for persons with type 2 diabetes and general population included age, hospitalization status 1 year before the baseline, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and anti-diabetes medications; the specific factors for persons with type 2 diabetes consisted of body mass index, glycosylated hemoglobin A1C, and creatinine; and the factors for general population included gender, peripheral vascular disease, cancer, hypertension medication, cardiovascular medication, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. The area under curve of 3-, 5-, and 8-year VTE prediction models were 0.74, 0.71, and 0.69 in the diabetic population and 0.77, 0.76, and 0.75 in the general population, respectively. The new clinical prediction models can help identify a high risk of VTE and provide medical intervention in diabetic and general populations.


The aim of this paper was to provide some rich insights into how an elite ice-hockey player responded to his coaches' pedagogical delivery of video-based feedback sessions. Data for this study were gathered through a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews and a reflective log relating to those interviews. The interviews were transcribed verbatim with the text being subject to the process of inductive analysis. The results highlighted how the pedagogical application of performance analysis technology is far from a sequential and unproblematic process. Indeed, the participant's perceptions of, and respect for, his coaches' practices appeared to influence whether learning occurred in the video-based feedback sessions.


In order to find out the effect of corticosteroids on postoperative edema, the authors studied the effect of 80 mg methylprednisolone acetate (DM) given IM preoperatively. Forty-four patients undergoing 88 punch hair grafting operations were studied. The procedure was exactly the same in all patients, and all patients went through two similar operations, one with preoperative methylprednisolone and the other without. In this way they served as their own controls. The frequency of edema dropped from 88.6 to 61.4 percent when methylprednisolone was used. The difference was statistically significant. In addition, the duration of edema dropped from 3.54 to 2.07 days when methylprednisolone was used (p = 0.0013). Furthermore, the degree of severity of edema was less when methylprednisolone was used.


ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus phage pSa-3, isolated in South Korea from a sewage sample, has a 137-kb genome with 29% G+C content. This phage was targeted to control the bacteria in clinical isolates (mainly from skin lesions) and can be used in the decolonization of S. aureus.


Blood monocytes mediate the hematogenous dissemination of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in the host. However, monocytes have a short 48-hour (h) lifespan and are not permissive for viral replication. We previously established that HCMV infection drives differentiation of monocytes into long-lived macrophages to mediate viral dissemination, though the mechanism was unclear. Here, we found that HCMV infection promoted monocyte polarization into distinct macrophages by inducing select M1 and M2 differentiation markers and that Akt played a central role in driving differentiation. Akt's upstream positive regulators, PI3K and SHIP1, facilitated the expression of the M1/M2 differentiation markers with p110δ being the predominant PI3K isoform inducing differentiation. Downstream of Akt, M1/M2 differentiation was mediated by caspase 3, whose activity was tightly regulated by Akt in a temporal manner. Overall, this study highlights that HCMV employs the PI3K/SHIP1/Akt pathway to regulate caspase 3 activity and drive monocyte differentiation into unique macrophages, which is critical for viral dissemination.


In this study, the effects of maternal physical activity level on several fetal haemodynamic parameters such as pulsatility index of the fetal middle cerebral and umbilical arteries and cerebral-to-fetal ratio, as well as on fetal heart rate responses to one bout of moderate exercise (20 min cycle-ergometry at ∼60% of age-predicted maximum heart rate) during the third pregnancy trimester were assessed. 26 Sedentary and 26 physically active gravidae aged 29 (3) and 30 (2) years, respectively, were studied. Maternal exercise did not have a deleterious effect on fetal haemodynamics (particularly, cerebral-to-fetal ratio remained within normal limits with exercise). Overall, maternal training status did not influence the fetal cardiovascular variables studied.


We studied the effects of iron chelators and of a thallium salt on growth of Cryptococcus neoformans in defined medium. An oxidant-sensitive mutant strain was found to require exogenous ferric iron for growth. Using this strain, we found that the synthetic iron chelator, N-hydroxyethylenediamine triacetate (HEDTA), in several saturation states, stimulated growth as well as the comparably saturated siderophore deferoxamine. This non-specific result makes the existence of a cryptococcal ferrihydroxamate receptor doubtful. The catechols, caffeic acid, L-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, epinephrine, gallic acid, 3-hydroxytyramine (dopamine) and norepinephrine, were tested for growth stimulation in iron deprivation, under conditions in which deferoxamine was stimulatory. Catechols were found to be either neutral or inhibitory. The ferrous iron chelator, bathophenanthroline disulfonate (BPDS), inhibited growth strongly in the absence of exogenous iron, suggesting that ferric ion must be reduced before it can be internalized. Direct evidence of extracellular reduction was provided by accumulation of red-coloured ferrous-BPDS complex. The inhibition caused by BPDS was relieved by ferric HEDTA, even in the presence of 10-fold increased BPDS, suggesting a second, low-affinity, non-reductive iron uptake pathway. This inference was further supported by the observation that toxicity of the non-reducible ferric analogue, thallium (III), is relieved by iron repletion.


Abstract A version of Holton's numerical model of the stratospheric sudden warming is found to be very sensitive to the assumed initial mean zonal wind distribution. In tests with three initial wind profiles, in only one case can we simulate a wavenumber 1 warming involving flow reversal over a deep layer of the polar atmosphere and substantial warming (i.e., a major warming). In the other two cases, flow reversal is noted in restricted areas and warming is less intense. Examination of Eliassen-Palm cross sections and of Matsuno's refractive index squared throughout each integration reveals how the different warnings develop, and why they differ. Examination of refractive index squared in the atmosphere at the time of enhanced wave propagation out of the troposphere may be valuable aid in predicting the likelihood of a warming. Some characteristics of an "ideal" mean zonal wind profile (with which a major warming can develop) are discussed.


Organisms have developed different strategies to cope with environmental conditions of low Fe availability based on the exudation of reducing, ligating, and acidifying compounds. In the context of Fe acquisition from soil, the effects of these reactive compounds have generally been considered independent and additive. However, highly efficient Fe acquisition strategies may rely on synergistic effects between reactive exudates. In the present study, we demonstrate that synergistic effects between biogenic ligands and a reductant (ascorbate) can occur in Fe mobilization from soil. Synergistic Fe mobilization was found for all ligands examined (desferrioxamine B (DFOB), 2'-deoxymugineic acid (DMA), esculetin, and citrate). The size and duration of the synergistic effect on Fe mobilization varied with ligand: larger effects were observed for the sideorphores compared to esculetin and citrate. For DFOB, the synergistic effect lasted for the 168 h duration of the experiment; for DMA, an initial synergistic effect turned into an antagonistic effect after 4 h because of enhanced mobilization of competing metals; and for esculetin and citrate, the synergistic effect was temporary (less than 24 h). Our results demonstrate that synergistic effects greatly enhance the reactivity of mixtures of compounds known to be exuded in response to Fe limitation. These synergistic effects could be decisive for the survival of plants and microorganisms under conditions of low Fe availability.


The paper is intended for clinical trial SAS® programmers who create graphs using ADaM (Analysis Data Model) datasets. ADaM datasets are analysis-ready, so programmers need to apply CDISC principles and guidelines to create them, while at the same time being mindful of their intent as plotting datasets. The paper will discuss the basic principles of graph creation using ADaM datasets. We propose the use of PARAM, AVAL, AVISIT and AVISITN for plotting. The paper will show in an example how to use AVAL for the y-axis and AVISITN for the x-axis for simple plotting. We will discuss the role of AVISITN as a numeric representation of AVISIT and propose the use of AVISITN for plotting purposes. We will also discuss some of the graphs created by features of SAS/STAT, ODS GRAPH and Graph Template Language (GTL). This will eliminate some of the intermediate SAS datasets that SAS programmers need to create for graph creations, which means that the graphs can be created directly from ADaM without the intermediate datasets. Examples using SAS/STAT, ODS GRAPH and GTL will be provided.


We analyze the assignment of passengers in a shared ride, which considers the social relationship among the passengers. Namely, there is a fixed number of passengers in each vehicle, and the goal is to recommend an assignment of the passengers such that the number of friendship relations is maximized. We show that the problem is computationally hard, and we provide an approximation algorithm.


Optical modes possessing orbital angular momentum constitute a very useful platform for experimental studies on the quantum limits of Thermodynamics. Here, we present experimental results for entangled photon pairs subjected to thin turbulence simulated with spatial light modulators and interpret them in the context of the generalized Jarzysnki's fluctuation relation. By holographic measurement of the orbital angular momentum, we obtain the work distribution produced by the turbulence for single and double-sided turbulence channels. The use of the Klyshko's advanced wave picture allows us to interpret the experimental scheme as two-way processes in a fully quantum picture.


Halogen atoms in molecular crystals may be involved in various interactions, often playing a very important role in structure stabilization. By introducing electron-donating groups, such as NH2, the electron density of the molecule is changed and thus interactions with the bromine substituent may alter. Herein, the crystal structures of meta-bromonitrobenzene and its NH2-substituted derivatives are analyzed. In all four described structures, namely m-bromonitrobenzene [Charlton & Trotter (1963). Acta Cryst. 16, 313], 4-bromo-2-nitroaniline (C6H5BrN2O2, 1), 2-bromo-6-nitroaniline (2) and 2-bromo-4-nitroaniline [Arshad et al. (2009). Acta Cryst. E65, o480], the Br atom is engaged in different interactions (Br...π, Br...O, Br...Br and C-H...Br, respectively). The Hirshfeld surface analysis (HS) and Reduced Density Gradient NonCovalent Interaction (RDG NCI) plots are used to prove the relevance, directionality and stabilizing nature of these interactions. Their modifications have been associated with the position of the amino group in the molecular structure and its influence on charge distribution analyzed with electrostatic potential surfaces (EPS). The diversification of the interactions has been correlated with a σ-hole potential value that enables a switching of the Br-atom character from electrophilic to nucleophilic.


When UMR-106 osteoblastic cells, LLCPK1 kidney cells, and VDR transfected COS-7 cells were transfected with the rat 24-hydroxylase [24(OH)ase] promoter (-1,367/+74) or the mouse osteopontin (OPN) promoter (-777/+79), we found that the response to 1,25dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25-(OH)(2)D(3)] could be significantly enhanced 2- to 5-fold by the protein phosphatase inhibitor, okadaic acid (OA). Enhancement of 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3)-induced transcription by OA was also observed using a synthetic reporter gene containing either the proximal 24(OH)ase vitamin D response element (VDRE) or the OPN VDRE, suggesting that the VDRE is sufficient to mediate this effect. OA also enhanced the 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3)-induced levels of 24(OH)ase and OPN mRNA in UMR osteoblastic cells. The effect of OA was not due to an up-regulation of VDR or to an increase in VDR-RXR interaction with the VDRE. To determine whether phosphorylation regulates VDR-mediated transcription by modulating interactions with protein partners, we examined the effect of phosphorylation on the protein-protein interaction between VDR and DRIP205, a subunit of the vitamin D receptor-interacting protein (DRIP) coactivator complex, using glutathione-S-transferase pull-down assays. Similar to the functional studies, OA treatment was consistently found to enhance the interaction of VDR with DRIP205 3- to 4-fold above the interaction observed in the presence of 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) alone. In addition, studies were done with the activation function-2 defective VDR mutant, L417S, which is unable to stimulate transcription in response to 1,25-(OH)(2)D(3) or to interact with DRIP205. However, in the presence of OA, the mutant VDR was able to activate 24(OH)ase and OPN transcription and to recruit DRIP205, suggesting that OA treatment may result in a conformational change in the activation function-2 defective mutant that creates an active interaction surface with DRIP205. Taken together, these findings suggest that increased interaction between VDR and coactivators such as DRIP205 may be a major mechanism that couples extracellular signals to vitamin D action.


September already! Can you believe it? Are you exhausted from the Olympics? Has it motivated your patients to be active? Interestingly, when Australians were interviewed before and just after the Sydney Games, there was an increase in people thinking about doing physical activity. Unfortunately, a year later physical activity levels had remained unchanged.1 Not to worry, the Olympics contribute to world peace. So we eagerly anticipate more peace during upcoming Olympics in Vancouver (2010), London (2012) and, we hope, Tromso (2018).

But on to BJSM business and Barack. In this issue we learn that 10% of FIFA World Cup players took NSAIDs prior to every match ( see p 725 )! Would paracetamol/acetaminophen have been better choices? Or a placebo? As sports clinicians working with the "healthy elite athlete" is this OK? Futhermore, supplement use was rampant—the champion ingester took 7.4 different supplements before every game! Clearly this player couldn't play in the Football Association for the Visually Impaired (http://www.favi.co.uk) because his stomach rattle would have him confused for the ball. This is a landmark paper not only for athlete health but also for the terrific collaboration among team physicians—Hippocrates would approve. Fortunately the supplement creatine does not produce liver or kidney damage ( see p 731 ). Good thing. But the question remains—does it provide athletes any benefit? Pluim argued that there is no evidence for its use in tennis.2 Another expensive placebo?3 Share your thoughts on the BJSM Blog http://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/.

The second cover page controversy relates to overtraining/overreaching. IOC Medical Commission Chairman, …


This study investigates the impact of Big Data and Predictive Analytics (BDPA) capability on crisis management in the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), Jordan. Effective utilization of BDPA is considered in the study to depend upon the five dimensions: Tangible resources, technical skills, management skills, organizational learning and data driven culture. Crisis management is classified into the three stages of crisis preparedness, crisis response and crisis recovery. A32 item questionnaire was developed for the purpose of the study, which was completed by 140 participants; with128 responses deemed suitable for research analysis. PLS2 software was used to analyze the data. The study results confirm that the Greater Amman Municipality has medium levels of big data availability and predictive analytics capability overall. The study's findings further demonstrate that big data and predictive analytics capability has a significant impact on crisis management. The main recommendation of the study is that organizations enhance their ability to utilize big data through expanding their tangible resources infrastructure, including machine learning algorithms, python software, simulation and regression analysis for understanding huge volumes of data. In addition, the study recommends that organizations improve the technical skills of their staff by providing the necessary training for performing big data analysis.