Docking studies of twenty novel 5-nitro benzimidazo les was done with the help of VLife MDS3.5software using GRIP batch docking method by taking AT-2 receptor m del with bovine rhodopsin crystal structure as a t arget. Based on the docking scores of the designedmolecule s which ranged from -14.39 to -36.16 , the 5-nitro benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized by reflu xing 4-nitro-1,2-phenylenedimaine in dimethoxyetha ne with various substituted aromatic aldehydes in the prese nce of sodium metabisulphite as oxiding agent. The test compounds were characterized by TLC, melting point, UV, IR, H NMR and mass spectroscopy.All the compounds were evaluated for ex-vivovasorelaxant activity in rat aorta rings pre-contracted with phenylepherine. Compounds BDZ3, BDZ6, BDZ12, BDZ18 and BDZ20 showed good vaso relaxant activity (EC50<30 μM).


Testosterone replacement therapy is indicated in men with a deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone due to classical primary or secondary hypogonadism.1–8 Of note, however, some testosterone preparations are also specifically licensed for "male climacteric symptoms like decreased libido".1–3 This indication is based on the concept of 'late-onset hypogonadism', a term used to describe the decline in testosterone concentrations with age plus associated symptoms (by analogy with the female menopause/climacteric).9 Other terms for 'late-onset hypogonadism' include 'partial androgen deficiency in the ageing male'. It has also been known as 'andropause' or, colloquially, 'male menopause', but these latter terms are not usually used by specialists nowadays. Here we discuss whether 'late-onset hypogonadism' is a distinct medical entity, and whether testosterone replacement has a role in older men with low testosterone concentrations but not classical hypogonadism.


Understanding the embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels at high fluence region is very important for the long term operation of nuclear power plants. In this study, extensive microstructural analyses were performed on the RPV steels irradiated to very high fluences beyond 1020n/cm2, E>1 MeVat high fluxes under the Pressurized Thermal Shock and Nuclear Power Plant Integrity Management projects in Japan. Three dimensional atom probe analyses were performed to characterize the solute atom cluster formation in these materials. The effects of fluence, flux, and chemical compositions on the characteristics of clusters were analyzed. The formation of dislocation loops was identified in the transmission electron microscopy analyses of high and low Cu steels, and the changes in loop size and number density with fluence were studied. P segregation on grain boundaries was also studied by surface analyses as well as grain boundary chemical analyses. We found that nonhardening embrittlement due to grain boundary fracture is not a major contributor to the embrittlement in these materials and irradiation conditions. The correlation of the microstructural changes and the Charpy transition temperature shifts was studied. The volume fraction of solute atom clusters has an excellent correlation with the transition temperature shifts. The Orowan model calculations of the contributions of dislocation loops to the transition temperature shifts show that in low Cu materials, dislocation loops may be a major contributor, but in Cu containing materials its contribution is weak. Root-sum-square of the contributions of solute atom clusters and dislocation loops seems to be a reasonable model to describe the total ΔRTNDT.


Adamantyl groups are key structural subunit commonly used in many marketed drugs targeting diseases ranging from viral infections to neurological disorders. The metabolic disposition of adamantyl compounds has been mostly studied using LC-MS based approaches. However, metabolite quantities isolated from biological preparations are often insufficient for unambiguous structural characterization by NMR. In this work, we utilized microcoil NMR in conjunction with LC-MS to characterize liver microsomal metabolites of an adamantyl based CB2 agonist AM9338, 1-(3-(1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl) propyl)-N-(adamantan-1-yl)-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide, a candidate compound for potential multiple sclerosis treatment. We have identified a total of 9 oxidative metabolites of AM9338 whereas mono- or di-hydroxylation of the adamantyl moiety is the primary metabolic pathway. While it is generally believed that the tertiary adamantyl carbons are the preferred sites of CYP450 oxidation, both the mono- and di-hydroxyl metabolites of AM9338 show that the primary oxidative sites are located on the secondary adamantyl carbons. To our knowledge this di-hydroxylated metabolite is a novel adamantyl metabolite that has not been reported before. Further, the stereochemistry of both mono- and di-hydroxyl adamantyl metabolites has been determined using NOE correlations. Furthermore, docking of AM9338 into the CYP3A4 metabolic enzyme corroborates with our experimental findings, and the modelling results also provide a possible mechanism for the unusual susceptibility of adamantyl secondary carbons to metabolic oxidations. The novel dihydroxylated AM9338 metabolite identified in this study, along with the previously known adamantyl metabolites, gives a more complete picture of the metabolic disposition for adamantyl compounds.


Recognizing less salient features is the key for model compression. However, it has not been investigated in the revolutionary attention mechanisms. In this work, we propose a novel normalization-based attention module (NAM), which suppresses less salient weights. It applies a weight sparsity penalty to the attention modules, thus, making them more computational efficient while retaining similar performance. A comparison with three other attention mechanisms on both Resnet and Mobilenet indicates that our method results in higher accuracy. Code for this paper can be publicly accessed at https://github.com/Christian-lyc/NAM.


The inflammatory response is a critical molecular defense mechanism of the innate immune system that mediates the elimination of disease-causing bacteria. Repair of the damaged tissue, and the reestablishment of homeostasis, must be accomplished after elimination of the pathogen. The innate defense regulators (IDRs) are short cationic peptides that mimic natural host defense peptides and are effective in eliminating pathogens by enhancing the activity of the immune system while controlling the inflammatory response. Although the role of different IDRs as modulators of inflammation has been reported, there have been only limited studies of the signaling molecules regulated by this type of peptide. The present study investigated the effect of IDR-1002 on nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) transcription factors that are responsible for triggering and controlling inflammation, respectively, in macrophages. We found that TNF-α and COX-2 expression, IκBα phosphorylation, and NF-κB nuclear translocation were strongly inhibited in macrophages pre-incubated with IDR-1002 and then stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). IDR-1002 also increased CREB phosphorylation at Ser133 via activation of the p38/ERK1/2–MSK1 signaling pathways without detectable expression of the cytokines IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13 involved is suppressing inflammation or alternative activation. Transcriptional activation of NF-κB and CREB is known to require interaction with the transcriptional coactivator CREB-binding protein (CBP). To test for CBP–NF-κB and CBP–CREB complex formation, we performed co-immunoprecipitation assays. These assays showed that IDR-1002 inhibited the interaction between CBP and NF-κB in macrophages stimulated with LPS, which might explain the inhibition of TNF-α and COX-2 expression. Furthermore, the complex between CBP and CREB in macrophages stimulated with IDR-1002 was also inhibited, which might explain why IDR-1002 did not lead to expression of IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13, even though it induced an increase in phospho-CREB relative abundance. In conclusion, our results indicated that IDR-1002 has a dual effect. On one hand, it inhibited NF-κB nuclear translocation through a mechanism that involved inhibition of IκBα phosphorylation, and on the other, it activated a protein kinase signaling cascade that phosphorylated CREB to selectively influence cytokine gene expression. Based on these results, we think IDR-1002 could be a potential good biopharmaceutical candidate to control inflammation.


Based on the 40 to 50% prevalence of urinary tract infection in women and the role of education in changing health behaviors, this study was conducted aiming to determine the role of education on preventive behaviors of urinary tract infection in female adolescents. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 168 high school female adolescents; they were selected using cluster and simple sampling methods. The effect of education was examined by using a valid and reliable questionnaire which had been designed by the researcher. The intervention consisted of six-hour training classes over 4 sessions for the teens. Before the intervention, neither control nor intervention groups had differences in 4 domains of behavioral score and total score, but after the intervention, the mean scores in all areas were significantly increased. Considering the positive impact of education on health behaviors of adolescents, the use of this method is useful to change their behaviors in the prevention of urinary tract infection.


+ S&iX2(Xi — X2)} = 0. Clearly, the quartic degenerates into the #-line of the pencil of cubics, and into a cubic having (si, s2) sz) as the $-point. Hence the THEOREM: Any cubic of the net with a given S-point may be generated by any pencil of cubics within the net, not containing the given cubic, and the projective pencil of lines joining the Spoint of the given cubic to the S-points of the cubics of the pencil. Consider next two pencils of cubics Cx with the S-line I, and C^ with the /S-line m, and a point S, not on I or m. Draw any line g through S, cutting I and m in SA and SM, and construct the cubics Ck and C^ having #A and Sy as S-points. They both pass through the two fixed points P and P ' on g corresponding to each other in the Steinerian transformation. But P and P ' also lie on the cubic C8 associated with S as an /S-point. For a variable g through S, SA and fiy describe two perspective point sets on I and m which are projective with the pencils of cubics Ck and C^. These pencils are therefore themselves projective, and generate the cubic Cs. Hence the THEOREM: Every cubic of the net associated with a Steinerian transformation may be generated in an infinite number of ways by projective pencils of cubics of the same net


In vivo studies in rodents suggest that prostaglandins and/or leukotrienes are involved in the epidermal induction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC). Recently, we have shown that, in human epidermis, prostaglandins are not involved in this process. Here we report the role of leukotrienes in epidermal ODC induction in human skin. Topical flufenamic acid (DignodolinR), vehicle, or nothing was applied under plastic occlusion to three sites on the backs of healthy volunteers. This was followed 1 h later by SellotapeR stripping. After renewed application and occlusion for 8 h, biopsies were carried out for the estimation of ODC levels. There were no significant differences in the levels of ODC between the flufenamic acid treated and control sites. To confirm this finding, test sites were irradiated with 3 MED of UVB. This was immediately followed by the application of flufenamic acid, vehicle, or nothing to the three irradiated sites. After 8 h, biopsies were taken, and the levels of ODC were again similar in the flufenamic acid‐ and the vehicle‐treated sites. The data indicate that, following SellotapeR stripping or UVB irradiation, neither lipoxygenase nor cyclooxygenase products contribute to the in vivo induction of ODC in human epidermis.


A critical problem in sensory interpretation is the derivation of the right mapping between sensor signals and properties of the world. In this regard, the method proposed uses active sensing to acquire environmental features for reliable navigation in indoor environments. The features utilized are lines, corners, and edges extracted from common indoor room features such as walls, room corners and room edges, respectively. These features are abundant in indoor environments and allow for closed-form location estimates from time-of-flight sonar information. Subsequently, a multiple hypothesis testing procedure is utilized to accurately localize and identify those features. Experiments using a new active sonar system, implemented using a 3 DOF binaural sonar head, shows that the system is able to correctly localize and identify indoor environmental features, and that active sensing strategies based on sensor reconfiguration makes the process of feature extraction more accurate.


As a result of the Reagan administration's commitment to nuclear energy as a significant future energy source and of attempts by the 97th Congress to grapple with legislative aspects of the problem, increased attention has focused recently on the problem of safely disposing of nuclear waste. These proceedings of the Third Symposium on Nuclear Waste Management of the Materials Research Society provide insight into the status of investigations on the subject as of late 1980. As with volumes 1 and 2 of this series, the 77 contributions are all short progress reports of ongoing research with the emphasis fittingly on materials science. Readers who wish extensive background material on the problems of nuclear-waste management and disposal, details of specific sites, or overviews of the programs of research in this country and abroad will have to look elsewhere.


This paper presents a general approach to DC motor modeling, using the finite element technique for maggnetic analysis, and tensor manipulation of network parameters to simulate the machine to the desired degree of complexity. Winding types and saturation of magnetic materials are taken into account. By including electrical and mechanical dynamic behaviour in the equations of state, this approach compactly manipulates the generalized machine mathematical modelto calculate transient response.


Boron doped and undoped poly(vinyl) alcohol/zirconium-yttrium acetate (PVA/Zr-Y) nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning using PVA as a precursor. The effect of boron doping was investigated in terms of solution properties, morphological changes and thermal properties. The effect of boron doping on calcined yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) fibers was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. XRD analysis revealed varying amounts of monoclinic and tetragonal zirconia present in the undoped fibers calcined at 800°C. The average crystallite sizes of the undoped YSZ were increased from 9.28 to 22.79 nm with calcining temperature increasing from 250 to 800°C. The crystallite size was enhanced with boron doping. The systematic evolution of morphological features in the spun and the processed fibers were employed by scanning electron microscopy. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers


A Matlab implementation, multiplicity, of a numerical algorithm for computing the multiplicity structure of a nonlinear system at an isolated zero is presented. The software incorporates a newly developed equation-by-equation strategy that significantly improves the efficiency of the closedness subspace algorithm and substantially reduces the storage requirement. The equation-by-equation strategy is actually based on a variable-by-variable closedness subspace approach. As a result, the algorithm and software can handle much larger nonlinear systems and higher multiplicities than their predecessors, as shown in computational experiments on the included test suite of benchmark problems.


Open source software was a revolutionary concept among computer programmers and users. To a certain extent open source solutions could provide an alternative solution to costly commercial software. Open source software is, software that users have the ability to run, copy, distribute, study, change, share and improve for any purpose. Open source library software's does not need the initial cost of commercial software and enables libraries to have greater control over their working environment. Library professionals should be aware of the advantages of open source software and should involve in their development. They should have basic knowledge about the selection, installation and maintenance. Open source software requires a greater degree of computing responsibility than commercial software. Library professionals do not think seriously about the advantages of open source software for automation and hence are reluctant to use it. They do not have the expertise to support open source software. Paper highlights problems of selection, installation and maintenance of open source library software.


Recent laser-plasma experiments (Fox et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 111, 2013, 225002; Huntington et al., Nat. Phys., vol. 11(2), 2015, 173–176; Tzeferacos et al., Phys. Plasmas, vol. 24(4), 2017a, 041404; Tzeferacos et al., 2017b, arXiv:1702.03016 [physics.plasm-ph]) report the existence of dynamically significant magnetic fields, whose statistical characterisation is essential for a complete understanding of the physical processes these experiments are attempting to investigate. In this paper, we show how a proton-imaging diagnostic can be used to determine a range of relevant magnetic-field statistics, including the magnetic-energy spectrum. To achieve this goal, we explore the properties of an analytic relation between a stochastic magnetic field and the image-flux distribution created upon imaging that field. This 'Kugland image-flux relation' was previously derived (Kugland et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. vol. 83(10), 2012, 101301) under simplifying assumptions typically valid in actual proton-imaging set-ups. We conclude that, as with regular electromagnetic fields, features of the beam's final image-flux distribution often display a universal character determined by a single, field-scale dependent parameter – the contrast parameter $\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}\equiv d_{s}/{\mathcal{M}}l_{B}$ – which quantifies the relative size of the correlation length $l_{B}$ of the stochastic field, proton displacements $d_{s}$ due to magnetic deflections and the image magnification ${\mathcal{M}}$ . For stochastic magnetic fields, we establish the existence of four contrast regimes, under which proton-flux images relate to their parent fields in a qualitatively distinct manner. These are linear, nonlinear injective, caustic and diffusive. The diffusive regime is newly identified and characterised. The nonlinear injective regime is distinguished from the caustic regime in manifesting nonlinear behaviour, but as in the linear regime, the path-integrated magnetic field experienced by the beam can be extracted uniquely. Thus, in the linear and nonlinear injective regimes we show that the magnetic-energy spectrum can be obtained under a further statistical assumption of isotropy. This is not the case in the caustic or diffusive regimes. We discuss complications to the contrast-regime characterisation arising for inhomogeneous, multi-scale stochastic fields, which can encompass many contrast regimes, as well as limitations currently placed by experimental capabilities on one's ability to extract magnetic-field statistics. The results presented in this paper are of consequence in providing a comprehensive description of proton images of stochastic magnetic fields, with applications for improved analysis of proton-flux images.


An experimental study of Ion Acoustic (IA) wave propagation is performed to investigate the effect of neutral density for Argon plasma in an unmagnetized linear plasma device. The neutral density is varied by changing the neutral pressure, which, in turn, allows the change in ion-neutral, and the electron-neutral collision mean free path. The collisions of plasma species with neutrals are found to modify the IA wave characteristics such as the wave amplitude, the velocity, and the propagation length. Unlike the earlier reported work where neutrals tend to heavily damp the IA wave in the frequency regime ω < ν i n (where ω is the ion-acoustic mode frequency and ν i n is the ion-neutral collision frequency), the experimental study of the IA wave presented in this paper suggests that the collisions support the wave to propagate for longer distances as the neutral pressure increases. A simple analytical model is shown to qualitatively support the experimental findings.An experimental study of Ion Acoustic (IA) wave propagation is performed to investigate the effect of neutral density for Argon plasma in an unmagnetized linear plasma device. The neutral density is varied by changing the neutral pressure, which, in turn, allows the change in ion-neutral, and the electron-neutral collision mean free path. The collisions of plasma species with neutrals are found to modify the IA wave characteristics such as the wave amplitude, the velocity, and the propagation length. Unlike the earlier reported work where neutrals tend to heavily damp the IA wave in the frequency regime ω < ν i n (where ω is the ion-acoustic mode frequency and ν i n is the ion-neutral collision frequency), the experimental study of the IA wave presented in this paper suggests that the collisions support the wave to propagate for longer distances as the neutral pressure increases. A simple analytical model is shown to qualitatively support the experimental findings.


Abstract With increasing urbanization, urban‐fragmented landscapes are becoming more and more prevalent worldwide. Such fragmentation may lead to small, isolated populations that face great threats from genetic factors that affect even avian species with high dispersal propensities. Yet few studies have investigated the population genetics of species living within urban‐fragmented landscapes in the Old World tropics, in spite of the high levels of deforestation and fragmentation within this region. We investigated the evolutionary history and population genetics of the olive‐winged bulbul (Pycnonotus plumosus) in Singapore, a highly urbanized island which retains <5% of its original forest cover in fragments. Combining our own collected and sequenced samples with those from the literature, we conducted phylogenetic and population genetic analyses. We revealed high genetic diversity, evidence for population expansion, and potential presence of pronounced gene flow across the population in Singapore. This suggests increased chances of long‐term persistence for the olive‐winged bulbul and the ecosystem services it provides within this landscape.


Researchers have recently started investigating deep neural networks for dialogue applications. In particular, generative sequence-to-sequence (Seq2Seq) models have shown promising results for unstructured tasks, such as word-level dialogue response generation. The hope is that such models will be able to leverage massive amounts of data to learn meaningful natural language representations and response generation strategies, while requiring a minimum amount of domain knowledge and hand-crafting. An important challenge is to develop models that can effectively incorporate dialogue context and generate meaningful and diverse responses. In support of this goal, we review recently proposed models based on generative encoder-decoder neural network architectures, and show that these models have better ability to incorporate long-term dialogue history, to model uncertainty and ambiguity in dialogue, and to generate responses with high-level compositional structure.


1. L. E. Reizin, Behavior of integral curves of systems of three differential equations near a singular point, Latvijas PSR Zinätnu Akademijas Vëstis Nr2 (43) 1951 (in Russian), Mathematical Reviews vol. 15 (1954) p. 311. Translations of this article are available by writing to the Ordnance Research Laboratory, University Park, Pennsylvania. The article is also translated in American Mathematical Society Translations, ser. 2, vol. 1, 1955, pp. 239-252.


Electrophysiology is one of the major experimental techniques used in neuroscience. The favorable spatial and temporal resolution as well as the increasingly larger site counts of brain recording electrodes contribute to the popularity and importance of electrophysiology in neuroscience. Such electrodes are typically mechanically placed in the brain to perform acute or chronic freely moving animal measurements. The micro positioners currently used for such tasks employ a single translator per independent probe being placed into the targeted brain region, leading to significant size and weight restrictions. To overcome this limitation, we have developed a miniature robotic multi-probe neural microdrive that utilizes novel phase-change-material-filled resistive heater micro-grippers. The microscopic dimensions, gentle gripping action, independent electronic actuation control, and high packing density of the grippers allow for micrometer-precision independent positioning of multiple arbitrarily shaped parallel neural electrodes with only a single piezo actuator in an inchworm motor configuration. This multi-probe-single-actuator design allows for significant size and weight reduction, as well as remote control and potential automation of the microdrive. We demonstrate accurate placement of multiple independent recording electrodes into the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus in vivo in acute and chronic settings. Thus, our robotic neural microdrive technology is applicable towards basic neuroscience and clinical studies, as well as other multi-probe or multi-sensor micro-positioning applications. One Sentence Summary Miniature robotic multi-probe single-actuator microdrive utilizing phase change material based micro-grippers.


Abstract : This invention relates to computer-aided design (CAD) techniques to generate custom LSI and VLSI devices. The development and increased application of LSI and VLSI devices has resulted in considerable activity in the area relating to the effective and economical design of such circuits. One of the principal fields in which this activity has focused is in the development of CAD techniques to reduce the cost and design time of complex and sophisticated custom LSI and VLSI devices using various technologies. While many computer-aided solutions to these design problems have been offered, these methods have generally failed to meet the demands imposed by improved manufacturing capabilities which permit smaller and more dense circuit layouts. As the logic layout becomes increasingly complex, new solutions must be provided in order to maintain the cost and design effectiveness of computer-aided approaches. (Author)


RN-to-BSN nursing
programs fulfill a needed link to the BSN degree for nurses who hold associate
or diploma degrees. Although enrollment rates are currently on the rise for all
nursing programs retention remains an issue. Improving retention in nursing
education, particularly RN-to-BSN programs, will help meet the demands for increasing
numbers of BSN-educated nurses. The purpose of this study was to describe
factors that restricted or promoted retention among RN-to-BSN students and
examine if there was a difference in the measure of these factors between a
group of senior students and junior students. Jeffreys' (2004) nursing
undergraduate retention and success (NURS) model, a conceptual framework, was
used to guide the study. A non-experimental, descriptive, comparison design was
used. This study was a replication of Jeffreys' (2007) study utilizing a
different population of RN-to-BSN students. Analysis was completed by
descriptive techniques, and comparisons were made using independent t-tests. No significance
was found between junior status students and senior status students for five
factors of retention. Although all of the factors were found to be supportive,
environmental factors were the least supportive and support from family and
friends was found to the most
supportive. More studies are needed focused on the RN-to-BSN student population to validate the findings of this study
related to factors that restrict and support retention among this
population so strategies can be developed to address the issues.


We propose Instruction-based Prediction as a means to optimize directory based cache coherent NUMA shared memory. Instruction-based prediction is based on observing the behavior of load and store instructions in relation to coherent events and predicting their future behavior. Although this technique is well established in the uniprocessor world, it has not been widely applied for optimizing transparent shared memory. Typically, in this environment, prediction is based on data block access history (address based prediction) in the form of adaptive cache coherence protocols. The advantage of instruction-based prediction is that it requires few hardware resources in the form of small prediction structures per node to match (or exceed) the performance of address based prediction. To show the potential of instruction-based prediction we propose and evaluate three different optimizations: i) a migratory sharing optimization, ii) a wide sharing optimization, and iii) a producer consumer optimization based on speculative execution. With execution driven simulation and a set of nine benchmarks we show that i) for the first two optimizations, instruction-based prediction, using few predictor entries per node, outpaces address based schemes, and (ii) for the producer consumer optimization which uses speculative execution, low mis speculation rates show promise for performance improvements.


Background: The first elected chamber of representatives of the Portuguese nation started operating after the 1820 Liberal Revolution. Although historically distant from nursing professionalization, education, regulation, and control, several references were made to nurses in this chamber. Objectives: To analyze the discussions about nurses and nursing in the Sovereign Congress in 1821-22. Methodology: An historical search was conducted in the daily session records, followed by the collection, analysis, and interpretation of sources. Results: Five themes were identified: the figure of enfermeiro-mor; the Proposal for a General Public Health Regulation; references to nurses; the presence of midwives and bleeders; and the organization of nursing wards and hospitals. Conclusion: No explicit reference was made to nursing, only to nurses. The definitions of enfermeiro-mor and nurse differed. Bleeders were frequently mentioned, as well as the structured organization of midwives. Nurses appeared as caregivers in hospitals and at home, in a different category of other care delivery activities; however, nursing was still far from professionalization. Finally, there were references to issues related to hygiene, safety, qualifications, and care organization.


Dynamical fluctuations in global conserved quantities such as baryon number, strangeness or charge may be observed near a QCD critical point. Results from new measurements of dynamical K/π, p/π and K/p ratio fluctuations are presented. The commencing of a QCD critical point search at the RHIC has extended the reach of possible measurements of dynamical K/π, p/π and K/p ratio fluctuations from Au+Au collisions to lower energies. The STAR experiment has performed a comprehensive study of the energy dependence of these dynamical fluctuations in Au+Au collisions at the energies = 7.7, 11.5, 39, 62.4 and 200 GeV. New results are compared to previous measurements and to theoretical predictions from several models. The measured dynamical K/π fluctuations are found to be independent of collision energy, while dynamical p/π and K/p fluctuations have a negative value that increases toward zero at top RHIC energy. Fluctuations of the higher moments of conserved quantities (net-proton and net-charge) distributions, which are predicted to be sensitive to the presence of a critical point, are also presented.


Restinga vegetation occurs along the entire coast of Brazil. The 187 km of coastline of the state of Pernambuco demonstrates a diversity of habitats, such as beaches, dunes, and restingas. The present study sought to elaborate a checklist of the phanerogamic species found there. The species listed were compiled from surveys undertaken between 1951 and 2007, as well as from herbaria collections in that state. A total of 477 species distributed among 303 genera and 95 families were encountered. The families with the greatest numbers of species were Poaceae (39 species), Fabaceae (34), Cyperaceae (26), Euphorbiaceae (25), Myrtaceae (24), Rubiaceae (20), Caesalpiniaceae (17), Mimosaceae (16), Asteraceae (14), Orchidaceae (14), Bromeliaceae (9), Boraginaceae (8), Malvaceae (8), Solanaceae (8), and Annonaceae, Araceae, Chrysobalanaceae, Malpighiaceae, and Melastomataceae (7 each). Approximately 60 % of the species were common to other restinga areas in northeastern Brazil, and 39.3 % were restricted to the coast of Pernambuco.


In this paper I undertake to analyze the way in which the arrival of HETs may influence the therapeutic relationship between the medical doctor and the patient. I begin with presenting he notion of transhumanism, insisting especially on the fact that some of the technologies that can be classified as HETs are already in use. As a result, the traditionally difficult task of defining health and a disease is becoming even more complicated. This circumstance poses the risk that medical doctors in their relationship with the patient, because of the possibilities offered by new technologies, will oscillate in their professional practice between helping the patient to recover and satisfying needs that are not justified by the considerations of health. I will try to show how the therapeutic relationship between the medical doctor and the patient may be transformed because of new technologies by using the example of IVF procedure applied to postmenopausal patients. In order to understand why the relationship between the medical doctors and their patients is so vulnerable in the context of transhumanism, I propose to re-analyze the most basic notions which help us understand the nature of the therapeutic relationship: the status of medicine as contrasted with technology, basic principles of medical ethics, the notion of a disease and an illness.


BACKGROUND
Raltegravir, an inhibitor of the HIV-1 integrase enzyme, is now available for the treatment of drug-resistant virus.

OBJECTIVE
To establish raltegravir as an effective addition to the existing antiretroviral armamentarium by reviewing pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety and tolerability.

METHODS
Data from pharmacokinetic, Phase II and III clinical trials were reviewed.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS
Results from clinical trials indicate that raltegravir is safe and highly effective in the treatment of both antiretroviral-naïve and -experienced patients.


The purpose of this report is to describe three cases of unilateral conjunctivitis with canalicular involvement of long duration. One was associated with infection with both spirochetes and fusiform bacilli; the other two, with only fusiform bacilli. The pathogenesis and therapy are discussed, as well as methods for isolation and cultivation of the fusospirochetal agents. Review of the Literature Fusospirochetal (genus Fusobacterium 1 ) ocular infections may be commoner than is revealed by the finding of only 19 cases in the literature, since 4 cases have been recognized at this institution in approximately two decades. As may be seen by reference to Table 1, these infections may develop by various pathways. The first reported case was that of Bertozzi, 2 in which, during the course of an attack of measles, an intense conjunctival reaction and ensuing endophthalmitis developed in the right eye of a boy. A similar mechanism accounted for


In applied cryptography, RSA is a typical asymmetric algorithm, which is used in electronic transaction and many other security scenarios. RSA needs to generate large random primes. Currently, primality test mostly depends on probabilistic algorithms, such as the Miller-Rabin primality testing algorithm. In 2002, Agrawal et al. published the Agrawal–Kayal–Saxena (AKS) primality testing algorithm, which is the first generic, polynomial, deterministic and non-hypothetical algorithm for primality test. This paper proves the necessary and sufficient condition for AKS primality test. An improved AKS algorithm is proposed using Fermat's Little Theorem. The improved algorithm becomes an enhanced Miller-Rabin probabilistic algorithm, which can generate primes as fast as the Miller-Rabin algorithm does.


Objective
Therapeutic management of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is heterogeneous among countries worldwide, and some treatment indications are still controversial. To investigate DCIS management in different countries; identify both consensual practices and controversial topics; and survey opinions about the future management of DCIS.

Materials and Methods
The Senologic International Society network members participated to an online survey using a questionnaire, between November 2021 and February 2022.

Results
Twenty-two responses from 20 different countries showed that organized breast cancer screening programs were present for 87% participants, and DCIS cases represented 13.7% of all breast cancers. Most participants used the grade classification (100%), the morphological classification (78%) and performed immunohistochemistry assays (73%). In case of conservative treatment, the mean re-excision rate was 10.3% and clear margins of mean 2.5 mm were considered healthy. Radical mastectomy rate was 35.5% with a breast reconstruction rate of 53%. Tumor bed boost indications were heterogeneous, and 73% of participants indicated hormone therapy for hormone-positive DCIS. Surgery and radiotherapy omission for some low-risk DCIS were considered by 73% of participants. Multigene assays were used by 43% of participants. Concerning future changes in DCIS management, participants mostly answered surgical de-escalation (48%), radiotherapy de-escalation (35) and/or active surveillance for some cases (22%).

Conclusion
This survey provided an overview of the current practices of DCIS management worldwide. It showed that some areas are rather consensual: incidence increases over time, treatment in young women, pathological classifications, definition of healthy margins, the skin-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction. However, some topics are still debated and result in heterogeneous practices, such as evolution in the age of diagnosis, the benefit of de-escalation in low-risk DCIS among elderly women, indications for hormone therapy, radiotherapy omission, or multigene assays. Further evidence is needed to reach consensus on these points, and innovative approaches are still under evaluation in clinical trials. The International Senologic Society, by its members, encourages precision medicine and personalized treatments for DCIS, to avoid overtreatment and overdiagnosis, and provide better healthcare to women with DCIS.


Attitudes towards production processes increased their importance over food purchase decissions in recent years. This paper aims to test which factors mainly affects attitudes towards aquaculture. Factors are classified into three groups: demographic, situational, and personal and marketing infuences. Using consumer survey data, factor analysis techniques were used to obtain an attitude meassure from a set of scales. Diferent linear models and fit methods were performed with variables of the three groups of factors to test for significant effects over attitude scores. Significant effects were found with education, ocupation and income. Purchase and consumption place were also found to be significant causes of diferencies across attitudes. Finally Consumer involvement with food safety and sustainability and generic advertising credibility have shown significant effects over attitudes towards aquaculture.


BACKGROUND
There has been considerable difference in the mode of the imaging procedure and approach for the workup and post-surgery surveillance of thyroid cancer. Determination of serum thyroglobulin is recommended in the follow-up for monitoring the patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Herein, the precise clinical role of individual imaging modalities is discussed, including ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and scintigraphic procedures for the diagnosis of recurrent or metastatic thyroid cancer.

METHOD
A review is presented of the scientific papers published in the literature between 1982 and 2007. Relevant articles for this review were identified by searching PubMed using the following search terms: thyroid cancer, ultrasound, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and scintigraphy. The papers were analyzed and categorized in tabular form by date, subject, author and the type of scientific paper (e.g., randomized controlled trial, meta-analysis, clinical cases and review articles).

CONCLUSION
Sonographic features of malignancy include microcalcifications, solid mass, absence of halo and internal blood flow, and these are helpful to predict thyroid malignancy in a nodule. Ultrasound is used for guiding fine needle aspiration to improve the accuracy of cytological analysis. However, biopsy is often necessary for a definitive diagnosis. This modality is also useful for postoperative neck evaluation of patients with elevated serum thyroglobulin levels to search for local recurrence or regional lymph node metastasis, which are the most common sites of recurrence. Tumor extension to the neighboring musculature, trachea, larynx and retropharyngeal, parapharyngeal and retrotracheal nodes are better defined by other anatomical imaging methods, such as CT or MRI. Anatomical imaging procedures are highly sensitive but not specific for postoperative evaluation of these patients and have few implications for deciding on subsequent I-131 therapy in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. In addition to radioiodine scan, which has been the cornerstone of managing patients with differentiated thyroid cancer, nuclear imaging (scintigraphy) with technetium-99m sestamibi and tetrofosmin have all been used for determination of recurrent or metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer. Meta-iodo-benzylguanidine labeled either with I-123 or with I-131, 99mTc sestamibi and tetrofosmin and In-111 labeled somatostatin receptor analogues have been used for determination of recurrent or metastatic disease of medullary thyroid cancer. Over the last decade, positron emission tomography using 18-F-fluorodeoxyglucose has emerged as a useful tool in detecting non-iodine avid dedifferentiated and/or poorly differentiated thyroid cancer and plays a principal role in such settings.


A review of JSTOR, an online system for archiving academic journals, reveals 1,921 unique citations—articles, proceedings papers, book reviews—for the word "cooperatives" in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Review of Agricultural Economics. Of these 1,921 citations, 620 are in the area of finance, more than any other category. This body of research suggests that cooperative finance is a critical challenge for agricultural cooperatives' survival and growth. Our engagement with industry cooperative leaders also suggests that the income distribution decision and the equity management decision, including equity investment and redemption, and the balance sheet management decision continue to be on their priority list. This article summarizes the results from a survey of cooperative leaders to better understand current challenges in financing agricultural cooperatives.


This research assessed the factors influencing effective implementation of (PEP) in Lindi Municipality, Tanzania. This focused on the existence of pre-primary education, factors influencing implementation of PEP, Stakeholders participation in improvement of preprimary education and the solutions on what should be done to ensure effective implementation of the PEP in Lindi Municipality. A cross-sectional survey design was used to carry out the study. The primary data were collected by questionnaires, observation, documentary review and the interview guides. Purposive sampling was used for Educational Officers, Ward Education Coordinators, School Committee Members and Pre-primary school teachers whereas simple random sampling was applied to the Primary teachers. Questionnaires included structured and semi-structured questions administered through drop-and-pick method to the Primary teachers and Members of school committee. Observation checklists were used to help in establishing the conditions of the school's infrastructures, facilities and equipments used to facilitate the programme. Data collected were organized and analysed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, Version 24) and Excel (2010) was used to analyze the data using descriptive statistics. The study found that at least 40% of the schools do not run this education seriously as a result the outcome of this education is somehow doubtful, as well as the implementation of PEP.


Abs to U1 RNA are frequently found in patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus overlap syndromes and Ab titers correlate with disease activity. We describe the isolation of the first human anti-U1 RNA autoantibodies from a combinatorial IgG library made from the bone marrow of a systemic lupus erythematosus patient. With the use of phage display technology, two anti-U1 RNA single-chain variable fragment (scFv) Abs were selected. Both high affinity anti-U1 RNA Ab fragments (Kd approximately 1 nM) recognize stem II of U1 RNA and were derived from the same heavy chain gene (VH3-11) and the same lambda (3r) light chain gene although somatic mutations, predominantly present in the complementarity-determining regions, are different. Experiments, in which the heavy chain genes of both anti-U1 RNA scFvs were reshuffled with the original light chain repertoire of the patient resulted, after selection on stem loop II, in a large number of RNA-binding Ab fragments. All these stem loop II-specific RNA binding clones used a similar, but not identical, 3r lambda light chain. When scFvs were selected from the reshuffled libraries by stem loop IV, representing the other autoantigenic site of U1 RNA, most selected Ab clones did react with stem loop IV, but no longer with stem loop II. The stem loop IV-reactive Ab clones contained different, not 3r-related, light chains. These results point to a major role for the light chain in determining the sequence specificity of these disease-related anti-U1 RNA Abs. The possibility that secondary light chain rearrangements are involved in this autoimmune response is discussed.


Motion simulation of an organ can be useful in some cases like organ study, surgery aid or tumor destruction. When using a non-invasive way of tumor destruction through transcutaneous transmition of waves, it is primordial to keep the wave beam focused on the tumor. When the tumor is not in movement, such a task is trivial. But when the tumor is located in a moving organ like the kidney, motion simulation is necessary. We present here an original method to obtain the kidney motion simulation: this is done using a mesh morphing (we consider the kidney has already been segmented and reconstructed for three different phases of the respiratory cycle). Such an approach allows a smooth transition between the different kidney models, resulting in a motion simulation. Thus, the method is purely geometric and does not need any kind of markers or tracking device. It gives directly a full 3D simulation and models are animated in real time. Finally, our approach is automatic and fast, so that it can easily be used in a medical environment.


Beam Induced Fluorescence Monitor Due to the high beam power expected for FAIR, novel methods for non-intersecting beam diagnostics for the High Energy Beam Transport Lines must be considered. We investigate the detection of fluorescence photons from the excited states of the residual gas N2 with a Beam Induced Fluorescence (BIF) Monitor [1]. This method was successfully applied for high current measurements at UNILAC [2]. Photons in the wavelength range 390 nm < λ < 470 nm are generated by transitions in N2 with about 60 ns lifetime [3]. 'Single-photon counting' is performed with an image intensifier [4], equipped with a double MCP for 10-fold photo-electron amplification. The light from the fast P46 phosphor screen with 300 ns decay time is taper-coupled to a digital CCD camera with a FireWire interface (Basler 311f). The setup was installed behind SIS close to the beam dump HTP and tested with different ions (Xe, Ta, U) and varying energies (from 60 to 750 MeV/u) for fast and slow extraction. An example of such a measurement is shown in Fig. 1: The spots within the area of the vacuum window are created by single optical photons, their projection along the beam axis yield the horizontal profile. The correspondence to a SEM-Grid measurement proves the applicability. But the BIF method offers a higher spatial resolution (here 300 μm/pixel), which can be matched easily to other requirements by the choice of an appropriated lens/taper system, e.g. In addition, a BIF Monitor can be realized within a short insertion length.


An advanced three-dimensional fully self-consistent optical/electrical/thermal/gain model of a 1.3 µm (GaIn)(NAs)/GaAs vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) has been applied to simulate its room-temperature (RT) continuous-wave (CW) performance characteristics and to enable its structure optimisation. Localisation of the AlxOy aperture has been found to have a decisive impact on the device RT CW lasing threshold. Orders of excited transverse modes have been discovered to be dramatically reduced (and device mode selectivity considerably improved) with a decrease in the lateral size of the laser active region. Hence, RT CW single-fundamental-mode operation becomes possible in small-active-region GaInNAs VCSELs.


The interaction of nutrition and infections is known by experience by generations of medical doctors. Before the era of antibiotics, diet was an integral part of the management of infections. Now, it is necessary to take a fresh look at this interaction as the understanding of immune response has expanded considerably. Comparatively little research has addressed the impact of nutrition interventions on the management of infectious diseases. Most observations of the interaction between nutrition and infections are epidemiological in character. This holds especially true for measles as well as for tuberculosis. In AIDS, the deterioration of the nutritional status is an indicator of disease progression. Infections in undernourished children are a common cause of death, and taking this finding into account helps to reduce the case fatality rate in severely malnourished patients. Regarding the immune response, cellular as well as soluble components are affected by deficiencies of single nutrients or general undernutrition. The immunosuppressive effect of undernutrition starts during intrauterine life already: maternal nutrition status has been shown to impact on immune function in adult animals. Recent research suggests that not only undernutrition but also caloric overnutrition impacts on immune response to infections and immunization. This is partly due to the chronic inflammatory activity of the adipose tissue and partly due to neuroendocrine alterations. Infectious diseases also impact on the nutritional status, either specifically or through unspecific mechanisms, such as anorexia, tachypnea, and vomiting.


ABSTRACT This article critically compares the planning and production of 'native' housing estates in Douala and Lomé up to the Second World War, for which academic interest has been minimal. Although these two cities had been inhabited by local ethnic groups for much longer, both became the object of German planning initiatives as of the late nineteenth century. Around 1910, this resulted in the introduction of public housing for African citizens as a serious issue, for which the planning and design in both cities departed from similar urban-colonial visions, while interacting and conflicting which what would prove to be resilient, pre-existing actors. A main reason why German 'native' housing projects were hardly realized until 1918 and would undergo important (trans)mutations while built under the French administration. Using a comparative ANT-inspired analysis, attention is paid to the untangling of relevant actors and actor-networks; to the nuancing of presumed ruptures between successive (in this cases German and French) colonial systems; and to the friction between (urban) planning and built realities. This article is part of an ongoing research into concepts, models and realities that figure in Sub-Sahara African urban transformations since the early twentieth century, more specifically those related to 'native' housing production.


The (C2H5NH3)2[BiBr5] (EBB) crystals adopt the one-dimensional (1D) polymeric anionic form [BiBr5]∞2-, which is preferred by halobismuthates(III) exhibiting polar properties and realized in R2MX5 stoichiometry. Differential scanning calorimetry and dilatometric measurements reveal reversible structural phase transitions: at 160 K (phase I → phase II) and 120 K (phase II → phase III). The resolved crystal structures of EBB show the centrosymmetric space group in phase I (Aeam), polar (Pca21) in phase II, and polar (Aea2) in phase III. The presence of dielectric hysteresis loops in phases II and III evidence ferroelectric properties. The dielectric response [ε*(ω,T)] of EBB close to 160 K is characteristic of ferroelectrics with a critical slowing down process. The molecular mechanism of a paraelectric-ferroelectric phase transition at 160 K is explained as "order-disorder" (assigned to the dynamics of the ethylammonium cations) and dominating "displacive" (related to strong distortion of the 1D anionic network). The optical band gap obtained from UV-vis measurements is about 2.6 eV. The conduction band minimum is formed by the hybridized Bi 6p and Br 4p states. An analysis of the CSD results for haloantimonates(III) and halobismuthates(III) ferroelectrics characterized by [MX4]-, [M2X9]3-, [MX5]2-, and [M2X11]5- anions is given.


Attitude towards plagiarism of students of theological institutions is considered important as they are expected to be upholders of moral and spiritual values. However, some studies reveal that students of theological institutions have a positive attitude towards plagiarism. This could be a function of their level of information literacy skills. Thus, the main objective of this study is to examine the influence of information literacy skills on the attitude towards plagiarism by students in three theological institutions in South-west, Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design of the correlational type was adopted for this study. The population consisted of 1472 undergraduate and postgraduate students in three theological institutions in South-west, Nigeria. The two-stage random sampling technique was used to arrive at the sample size of 355. Data was collected with the aid of questionnaire. Results showed that the level of information literacy skills of the respondents is also high (overall mean=85.97). Majority of the respondents (𝑥̅ =1.41) and (𝑥̅ =1.48) also disagreed that it is acceptable to copy word for word from a book or journal without acknowledgement, and that is acceptable to copy from the Internet without citing the source. Also, exactly four-fifths of the respondents (𝑥̅ =1.87) agreed that plagiarism is against their ethical values. This depicts a negative attitude towards plagiarism. There is a significant negative relationship between literacy skills and the attitude towards plagiarism by the students (r = -.156** ; df = 299; p< 0.05). Part of the recommendations was that the high level of information literacy skills can be strengthened if librarians in collaboration with lecturers continually organise workshops and lectures to build the capacity of the students of theological institutions in information literacy.


Studies on variation in Streptoco s hemolyticus have been reported by a number of observers, but no parallelism has been demonstrated between the dissociational behavior of the organisms and its ability to produce streptolysins. A detailed study of the morphological variation of streptococcal colonies with relation to type-specific substance, virulence, toxin, and fibrinolytic activity was made by Todd and Lancefield (1928), Dawson et al. (1938), and Hadley and Hadley (1938). However, the correlation of colonial variation, cellular morphologic variation, and degree of streptolysin formation in derivatives of a single strain have not been described. Todd (1939), in his study of the streptolysins of various groups and types of hemolytic streptococci, stated: "It has been noticed that certain Group A strains, on continued subcultivation, gradually lose their power of producing streptolysin-O while retaining the power of producing streptolysin-S", but no obeervation was described on its relation to colonial variation. In the present communication, study on the variation of hemolytic streptococci with special reference to streptolysin formation in derivatives of a single "pure" culture is presented. Since this phenomenon is of fundamental interest in the characterization of the biology of the streptococcus, the observations of some intrinsic and extrinsic factors which are considered to be closely associated with this variation phenomenon will also be presented and discussed.


Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains one of the major healthcare problems globally. Pneumococcal disease is the leading cause of deaths among vaccine preventable diseases in children and adults. Plain polysaccharide vaccine PPSV-23 and conjugated pneumnococcal polysaccharide vaccine PCV-13 are widely used to prevent pneumococcal disease and CAP in adults without immunosuppression. The review concerns the results of trials and meta-analysis of PPSV-23 and PCV-13 effectiveness in invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and CAP prevention in immunocompetent adults. More and more expert immunization committees in different countries are taking into consideration uncertain effectiveness of PPSV-23 in CAP prevention in immunocompetent adults, and recommend the PCV-13 priority use for mass immunization campaigns in high-risk groups and elder population. Since the Russian Federation has started the PCV-13 vaccination campaign for early childhood only at the end of 2014, the anticipated serotype replacement should not be taken into consideration at the moment across all the age groups, and therefore the risk and age based approach to adult vaccination should be used with the PCV-13 priority.


Primary dysmenorrhea is pain during menstruation period due to high levels of prostaglandins, especially prostaglandin F2α in epithelial cells. MungBean Extract Drinks contain several nutrients including vitamin C, calcium, carbohydrates and flavonoids as anti-depressants and anti-inflammatory agent. Stretching is a relaxation technique that can helps relieve menstrual pain in the abdominal part by increasing the production of endorphins which function as neurotransmitters. To determine the effect of Mung Bean ExtractDrinks and Stretching on primary dysmenorrhea (primary menstrual pain) in adolescent girls stressed. This type of open-label non-randomized controlled trial used 87female adolescents who experienced primary menstrual pain with moderate and severe stress levels from two Islamic boarding schools in Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, which were divided into 3 groups, one group as the control and two groups as the experiment. The experiment of 29people with pre and post-test. Mung bean extract drinks were given 250ml/day, otherwise stretching was given 1x/day for 7days before menstruation. Control and experimental group was observed for 1 month. Measurement of menstrual pain scale using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) assessment sheet. Data analysis uses T-test. The mean primary menstrual pain in adolescents for MungBean Extract Drinks with moderate stress levels was 1.31±1.32 and the difference before and after mung bean extract drinks experience is significant at p=0.004 while at severe stress levels was 1.69±1.54 and the difference between before and after mung bean extract drinks experience is significant at p=0.001. The mean primary menstrual pain in adolescents for stretching experience with moderate stress levels was 2.50±1.93 and the difference before and after stretching experience is significant at p=0.008 while the severe stress level was 2.05±1.80 and the difference before and after stretching experience is significant at p≤0.001. The multivariate test with linear regression revealed that mung bean extract drinks contributed y= (-)138X1+4.897(p=0.001) and related stretching contributed y= (-)2.517X1+6.276(p=0.001). MungBean ExtractDrinks and Stretching will affect to the reduction of primary dysmenorrhea in adolescent girls both at moderate and severe stress levels


When the voltage of an analog input signal is equal to the supply voltage, it is difficult for a conventional successive approximation ADC to correctly convert the analog signal into digital signal. This paper introduces an improved successive approximation ADC, which can convert the rail-to-rail input range and reduce sampling time through a track-and-hold circuit. Comparator offset cancellation and capacitor self-calibration techniques are used in this ADC. Measurement results show that the peak SNDR of this ADC reaches 72 dB and the signal effective bandwidth is up to 1.25 MHz. It consumes 1 mW in the test, and the figure of merit is 123 fJ/conversion-step.


The site plans of Soewon Architecture are classified into several types. The main factors to classify the type are the existence or the location of Kang-dang and Jae-sa,the hierarchy of Kang-dang and Sa-dang, and the axis of main buildings. They are classified largely into five kind, and each kind is classified into several minute kinds. The purpose of this study is to investigate the classification of site plan types of Soewon Architecture and the transition of periodic tendency of them.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Interleukin-27 (IL-27), the newest member of the IL-6/IL-12 family, is secreted by antigen presenting cells and has anti-tumor activity through its activation of the JAK-STAT pathway. Transcriptional factors STAT1 and STAT3 have been implicated in the balance of tumor suppressor and oncogenic functions. Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process whereby cells undergo changes from a highly polarized epithelial phenotype to a mesenchymal, migratory phenotype, which plays an important role in tumor metastasis. The role of IL-27 in EMT was evaluated in lung carcinogenesis. Human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs), genetically modified HBEC to over-express Snail and K-ras (HBEC-Snail, HBEC-K-ras), and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lines (A549, H2122) were treated with IL-27 at multiple time points. Phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3 measured by Western Blot demonstrated activation of both pathways in these cell lines treated with IL-27. However, the STAT1 pathway was attenuated in HBEC-K-ras cells exposed to IL-27. Western analysis of markers for epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) (E-cadherin, γ-catenin, N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail) showed up-regulation of E-cadherin and γ-catenin, important for the epithelial phenotype, which peaked 8 hours after IL-27 exposure, while markers important for the mesenchymal phenotype (N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail) were all down-regulated at similar time points. The addition of a STAT3 inhibitor to IL-27 treatment led to continued down-regulation of Vimentin beyond 8 hours. A wound healing functional assay to study cell migration after IL-27 treatment of cancer cell lines for up to 48 hours, demonstrated overall decrease in cell migration. In summary, IL-27 inhibits epithelial mesenchymal transition in NSCLCs and oncogenically manipulated HBECs through the regulation of STAT1 and STAT3 pathways.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3425. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3425


We consider semiparametric log periodogram regression estimation of memory parameter for the latent process in long memory stochastic volatility models. It is known that though widely used among researchers, the Geweke and Porter-Hudak (1983; GPH) LP estimator violates the Gaussian or Martingale assumption, which results in significant negative bias due to the existence of the spectrum of non-Gaussian noise. Through wavelet transform of the squared process, we effectively remove the noise spectrum around zero frequency, and obtain Gaussian-approximate spectral representation at zero frequency. We propose wavelet-based regression estimator, and derive the asymptotic mean squared error and the consistency in line with the asymptotic theory in the long memory literature. Simulation studies show that wavelet-based regression estimation is an effective way in reducing the bias, compared with the GPH estimator.


Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been causally linked to cervical cancer, which has resulted in the implementation of an effective preventative vaccination strategy. Virus-driven immune dysregulation occurs in HPV-associated cervical cancer and contributes to cancer progression. However, the role of HPV in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) remains unclear. Patients with a previous cSCC who are seropositive for HPV are more likely to develop another cSCC, with metaanalysis-level evidence showing cSCCs are more likely to carry HPV on polymerase chain reaction compared with normalappearing skin in immunosuppressed and immunocompetent patients. It is unknown if HPV is simply a manifestation of immune suppression, which is a significant risk factor for cSCC, or causally implicated in cSCC pathogenesis. Recent studies have also implicated a role for FOXP3 T-regulatory (Treg) cells, a subgroup of CD4 T cells known to promote immune suppression, in cSCC. In this issue of the BJD, Hampras et al. investigate the association between cutaneous viruses and circulating Treg cells. The authors correlated the frequency of circulating Treg cells with the presence of beta and gamma HPV and human polyomavirus (HPyV) DNA in eyebrow hair and skin from 352 patients attending a skin cancer screening clinic as part of an ongoing study on cutaneous viral infections and skin cancer. Plucked eyebrow hairs and skin swabs from sun-exposed forearm sites were analysed for the presence of DNA for 98 types of cutaneous HPV and five polyomaviruses. Levels of viral DNA expression were correlated to the proportion of Treg cells in peripheral blood, and subpopulations of skin homing (CLA and CCR4), and antigen activated (CD27, CD45RA) Treg cells. There was no association observed between the proportion of circulating Treg cells and skin/hair HPyV or beta HPV DNA. However, there was a significant inverse relationship between the proportion of circulatory activated CD27CD45 Treg cells and gamma HPV DNA from eyebrow hairs and skin swabs, and circulatory skin homing CLA Treg cells with gamma HPV DNA in eyebrow hairs. Hampras et al. propose that gamma HPV in skin or eyebrow hair may recruit Treg cells into the skin, which provides an immunosuppressive environment contributing to the development of skin carcinomas. However, the skin sites were not evaluated for the presence of Treg cells and Hampras et al. recognize that the cross-sectional design of their study did not allow for temporality of association between circulating Treg cells and gamma HPV infection to be established. Their findings demonstrate the need for future studies to dissect the specific role of circulating and cutaneous Treg cells in cutaneous viral infections and the development of skin cancer.


We report the results of an experiment on d.c.-biased electronic breakdown in a semiconductor where we observe quasi-periodic oscillations, analogous to those observed in externally and periodically driven systems. We describe the results using the circle map with appropriate parameters Ω and K and find good agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical calculations. Furthermore we find that the observed current should be identified with sin 2πθ instead of θ to reproduce the experimental phase portrait.


We introduce a general framework for OFDM pulse shape design and demonstrate how to obtain a pulse optimally matched to given channel properties. Furthermore, standard OFDM systems are associated with a rectangular grid in the time-frequency plane, which is not optimal for pulse-shaping OFDM systems for doubly dispersive channels. We introduce lattice OFDM systems which are OFDM systems using general lattices in the time-frequency plane.


A new chlorobenzylidene imine ligand, (E)-1-((5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino) naphthalen-2-ol (HL), and its [Zn(L)(NO3)(H2O)3], [La(L)(NO3)2(H2O)2], [VO(L)(OC2H5)(H2O)2], [Cu(L)(NO3)(H2O)3], and [Cr(L)(NO3)2(H2O)2], complexes were synthesized and characterized. The characterization involved elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV/Vis, NMR, mass spectra, molar conductance, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The obtained data confirmed the octahedral geometrical structures of all metal complexes, while the [VO(L)(OC2H5)(H2O)2] complex exhibited a distorted square pyramidal structure. The complexes were found to be thermally stable based on their kinetic parameters determined using the Coats–Redfern method. The DFT/B3LYP technique was employed to calculate the optimized structures, energy gaps, and other important theoretical descriptors of the complexes. In vitro antibacterial assays were conducted to evaluate the complexes' potential against pathogenic bacteria and fungi, comparing them to the free ligand. The compounds exhibited excellent fungicidal activity against Candida albicans ATCC: 10231 (C. albicans) and Aspergillus negar ATCC: 16404 (A. negar), with inhibition zones of HL, [Zn(L)(NO3)(H2O)3], and [La(L)(NO3)2(H2O)2] three times higher than that of the Nystatin antibiotic. The DNA binding affinity of the metal complexes and their ligand was investigated using UV-visible, viscosity, and gel electrophoresis methods, suggesting an intercalative binding mode. The absorption studies yielded Kb values ranging from 4.40 × 105 to 7.30 × 105 M−1, indicating high binding strength to DNA comparable to ethidium bromide (value 107 M−1). Additionally, the antioxidant activity of all complexes was measured and compared to vitamin C. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of the ligand and its metal complexes was evaluated, revealing that [Cu(L)(NO3)(H2O)3] exhibited the most effective activity compared to ibuprofen. Molecular docking studies were conducted to explore the binding nature and affinity of the synthesized compounds with the receptor of Candida albicans oxidoreductase/oxidoreductase INHIBITOR (PDB ID: 5V5Z). Overall, the combined findings of this work demonstrate the potential of these new compounds as efficient fungicidal and anti-inflammatory agents. Furthermore, the photocatalytic effect of the Cu(II) Schiff base complex/GO was examined.


Handling an infinite number of inequality constraints in infinite-dimensional spaces occurs in many fields, from global optimization to optimal transport. These problems have been tackled individually in several previous articles through kernel Sum-Of-Squares (kSoS) approximations. We propose here a unified theorem to prove convergence guarantees for these schemes. Inequalities are turned into equalities to a class of nonnegative kSoS functions. This enables the use of scattering inequalities to mitigate the curse of dimensionality in sampling the constraints, leveraging the assumed smoothness of the functions appearing in the problem. This approach is illustrated in learning vector fields with side information, here the invariance of a set.


In this study, a series of new laboratory experiments were performed in a wave-current flume in the presence/absence of tidal current. Experimental results are reported for a variety of combined wave-current conditions based on an idealized barrier reef model. Result analysis shows that the mean water level on the reef flat was consistently lower during the shoreward current (flood tide) than that during the seaward current (ebb tide). Maximum wave set-up on the reef flat decreased significantly as the current flowrate changed from its seaward maximum to its shoreward maximum. A theoretical model, which was derived based on the cross-shore balances of momentum and energy, was proposed to reproduce the wave set-up on the reef flat in the presence of current. The model was then validated by the laboratory data. The key model parameter was found to decrease rapidly with increasing current flowrate.


Due to the high aspect-ratio of 2D graphene oxide nanosheets in water,  the lyotropic nematic liquid crystal phases of graphene oxide dispersions can be  spontaneously formed. The unique visco-elastic characteristics of such liquid crystals can make them a  novel category of soft materials. The fundamental insights ensued in this work can be used as a basis for the development of new guidelines for the processing of soft 2D materials by means of vastly available traditional fabrication methods. The concentration range of isotropic, biphasic and nematic phases was determined by employing polarized optical microscopy. Using 2D sheets with  a high aspect ratio (over 35000) resulted in the formation of the biphasic region at a concentration as low as 0.05 g/l and the fully nematic region at concentrations higher than 0.25 g/l. Shear rotational rheology and interfacial dilational rheology were employed, as the tools of choice, to correlate the nematic phase formation with the processability and the change in modulus. Our results underpin the argument that the combination of the  low concentration of 2D sheets in the supporting media and high elastic modulus can  facilitate the use of graphene oxide based formulations for an array of processing and fabrication techniques including but not limited to wet-spinning, electro-spraying, inkjet printing, and 3D printing.


The control of RNA stability and function via 3' end modification is a widely conserved and biologically important regulatory mechanism. Though this control has traditionally been considered to depend entirely on the addition or removal of long or short poly(A) tails, in recent years the post-transcriptional addition of uridylyl residues to the 3' ends of diverse RNAs has been identified as a physiologically relevant degradative signal in a range of different species. The Schizosaccharomyces pombe protein Cid1 has been previously shown to possess uridylylation activity on mRNAs and via this uridylylation to promote the decapping and degradation of mRNAs. This work investigates the presence of residual uridylylation activity in strains lacking the cid1 uridylyltransferase and shows that a second S. pombe enzyme, cid16, possesses robust and highly specific poly(U) polymerase (PUP) activity in vitro and is able to uridylylate the act1 mRNA in vivo Characterisation of Cid16 shows that it possesses greater processivity and selectivity than Cid1 both for RNA substrates and for UTP, suggesting that Cid16 is a more stringent PUP than is Cid1. Deletion of cid16 causes few changes in mRNA levels during exponential growth, suggesting that cid16 may act on other targets or during other phases of the S. pombe life cycle, including a potential role in the regulation of RNAi factors during meiosis. Separate experiments show that, while cid1 is dispensable for the stability of most RNAs during exponential growth, it unexpectedly regulates the transcription of genes in extended subtelomeric regions of the S. pombe genome, suggesting a hitherto unknown role for cid1 in the regulation of subtelomeric heterochromatin formation and/or propagation. These observations suggest that the process of uridylylation in S. pombe is significantly more complicated than previously suspected and may regulate a range of different targets in diverse biological pathways.


We explored the association between online and subsequent offline altruistic behavior in shy and not-shy individuals, using a 2 (priming condition: online altruism vs. control) × 2 (shyness level: shy vs. not shy) between-subjects design with 108 Chinese university students. We
 designed 6 online situations to prime altruism and a volunteer situation to assess subsequent offline altruism. Results were as follows: (a) engaging in online altruistic behavior was significantly associated with subsequently undertaking altruistic behavior offline; (b) shyness was not significantly
 associated with online altruism, but was significantly associated with subsequent altruistic behavior offline; and (c) shyness level moderated the association between online altruism and subsequent offline altruism. Engaging in online altruistic behavior had a stronger association with subsequent
 offline altruism among shy (vs. not-shy) participants. These findings clarify the relationship between online and offline altruistic behavior, and may help shy people overcome behavior inhibition in offline altruism contexts.


A series of novel dinuclear gold(II) complexes having an unsupported Au(II)-Au(II) bond with well-defined oxidation state at the gold center were synthesized. Red shifts in both the low-energy absorption and emission bands were observed upon increasing the donor ability of the coordinated halogen atoms.


Group II self-splicing introns are phylogenetically diverse retroelements that are widely held to be the ancestors of spliceosomal introns and retrotransposons that insert into DNA. Folding of group II intron RNA is often guided by an intron-encoded protein to form a catalytically active ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex that plays a key role in the activity of the intron. To date, possible structural differences between the intron RNP in its precursor and spliced forms remain unexplored. In this work, we have trapped the native Lactococcus lactis group II intron RNP complex in its precursor form, by deleting the adenosine nucleophile that initiates splicing. Sedimentation velocity, size-exclusion chromatography and cryo-electron microscopy provide the first glimpse of the intron RNP precursor as a large, loosely packed structure. The dimensions contrast with those of compact spliced introns, implying that the RNP undergoes a dramatic conformational change to achieve the catalytically active state.


This paper presents the results of an analysis of indicators that can be used to predict whether a student will succeed in a Computer Science Ph.D. program. The analysis was conducted by studying the records of 75 students who have been in the Computer Science Ph.D. program of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Seventy-seven variables were extracted from each student's record, and the variables were correlated with whether the student did or did not successfully graduate from the program. A multivariate model was developed that predicts success with a high degree of accuracy. Importantly, the model relies on variables that can be determined reasonably early in a student's Ph.D. class work, enabling its use as a selection metric. Hypotheses about the composition of the model are also presented and discussed.


OBJECTIVES
To assess to what extent the primary school vision screening programme was being carried out in the years 1993-94 and 1994-95, what the prevalence of eye defects was in the primary schools and how many children had a positive screening test.

DESIGN
Summary sheets of the results of screening were returned by each school nurse.

SETTING
All 315 mainstream primary schools served by Greater Glasgow Health Board.

SUBJECTS
All school nurses working in these schools.

RESULTS
Large numbers of tests were being performed but the screening programme was not fully carried out in 10% of schools in 1993-94 and in 68% in 1994-95, although the number of schools where some screening was performed did increase. The years were not directly comparable due to a change in the age groups screened. When a class was screened 94-96% of children were tested. The rate of positive screening varied from 4% to 15.6% and varied with age and locality. Fewer abnormalities were found at five years than in the older age groups (Primary 1-7.6%, Primary 4-11.4%, and Primary 7-9.7%) and fewer abnormalities were detected in the North-West area where a pre-school orthoptic screening programme was operating (4% in the North-West compared with 11% in the South where no pre-school screening was carried out).

CONCLUSION
If the recommended programme is carried out, then 95% of children at age five years could be tested at a stage when amblyopia is still potentially treatable. The reasons for the programme not being completed require to be addressed. Variations between areas need to be confirmed and the reasons for them identified. Further evaluation of the programme is required, exploring the accuracy of it and the long-term outcomes.


Natural Language Processing (NLP), a cornerstone field within artificial intelligence, has been increasingly utilized in the field of materials science literature. Our study conducts a reproducibility analysis of two pioneering works within this domain:"Machine-learned and codified synthesis parameters of oxide materials"by Kim et al., and"Unsupervised word embeddings capture latent knowledge from materials science literature"by Tshitoyan et al. We aim to comprehend these studies from a reproducibility perspective, acknowledging their significant influence on the field of materials informatics, rather than critiquing them. Our study indicates that both papers offered thorough workflows, tidy and well-documented codebases, and clear guidance for model evaluation. This makes it easier to replicate their results successfully and partially reproduce their findings. In doing so, they set commendable standards for future materials science publications to aspire to. However, our analysis also highlights areas for improvement such as to provide access to training data where copyright restrictions permit, more transparency on model architecture and the training process, and specifications of software dependency versions. We also cross-compare the word embedding models between papers, and find that some key differences in reproducibility and cross-compatibility are attributable to design choices outside the bounds of the models themselves. In summary, our study appreciates the benchmark set by these seminal papers while advocating for further enhancements in research reproducibility practices in the field of NLP for materials science. This balance of understanding and continuous improvement will ultimately propel the intersecting domains of NLP and materials science literature into a future of exciting discoveries.


Pahlawan Lake Resort, under the management of Paka Utama Holdings Sdn Bhd, is focused to project itself to become the best rural tourism destination in Kedah State and and best tourist hub for Northern Region of Malaysia. Paka Utama Holdings Sdn Bhd is awarded a 20 years leasing of land of Pahlawan Lake, a 25 km distance from Alor Setar, a capital of State of Kedah and a 5 km distance from Jitra township, dated 15 Mac 2006. Since then, major activities
are planned and implemented with major ones are the building and facilities construction since 2007, with more than RM 8 million being spent to re-launch or re-branding and up-grading the resort to meet the expectations of the management as the best tourists destination for northern
region. Full constructions of the facilities and buildings are expected to be completed fully by end of 2009. But as the business too need to be run at the same time, the sales progress are not encouraging even though much efforts are put into the promotions and advertisements, especially
through the internet, brochures and tourism networks. It is ironic that there are an increasing flow of foreign tourists to Malaysia since 1998 to 2008 but the tourists' destinations such as Pahlawan Lake Resort is almost insignificant in the context of tourists' attractiveness. This caused some discontentment over the focused plan and how the plan is being implemented as only 20 to 30 percent of the total sales forecasted had been achieved so far.
Thus, this consultation project intends to provide Pahlawan Lake Resort with plans and strategies after carefully examine and analyze their Porter's 5 Forces of Strategic Plan as the main model of the study; and internal and external factors of their strengths, weaknesses,opportunities and threats (SWOT Analysis). The internal analyses of strengths and weaknesses would examine the resort from the following aspects - management, finance, human resources, marketing,organizational image, cost, location, facilities/infrastructure, number of tourists (local, domestics and foreigners) and government assistant. Meanwhile, the external analyses would examine the resort opportunities and threats factors such as economy, competitiveness, customers' trend,technology, legal, and market structures.Based on Porter's 5 Forces Model and SWOT analyses, it is found that the resort unable to seize opportunities available in the external environment if their internal weaknesses are left
unattended and the internal strengths are simply not upgraded. Thus, recommendations are given based on its strategic sales planning and appropriateness of execution. Nonetheless, the recommended strategies would serve as roadmap for the resort to achieve as their favorite
tourists' destination target and become the best tourists' hub for Northern Region of Malaysia.Thus this will provide the resort to become self-sufficient in future for any other plan that they intend to explore.


Noether's general analysis of conservation laws has to be completed in a Lagrangian theory with local gauge invariance. Bulk charges are replaced by fluxes at a suitable singularity (in general, at infinity) of so-called superpotentials, namely local functions of the gauge fields (or more generally of the gauge forms). Some gauge-invariant bulk charges and current densities may subsist when distinguished one-dimensional subgroups are present. We shall study mostly local consequences of gauge invariance. Quite generally there exist local superpotentials analogous to those of Freud or Bergmann for general relativity. They are parametrized by infinitesimal gauge transformations, but are afflicted by topological ambiguities which one must handle on a case-by-case basis. The choice of variational principle: variables, surface terms and boundary conditions is crucial. As a first illustration we propose a new affine action that reduces to general relativity upon gauge fixing the dilatation (Weyl-1918-like) part of the connection and elimination of auxiliary fields. We can also reduce it by similar considerations either to the Palatini action or to the Cartan-Weyl moving frame action and compare the associated superpotentials. This illustrates the concept of Noether identities. We formulate a vanishing theorem for the superpotential and the current when there is a (Killing) global isometry or its generalization. We distinguish between asymptotic symmetries and symmetries defined in the bulk. A second and independent application is a geometrical reinterpretation of the convection of vorticity in barotropic non-viscous fluids first established by Helmholtz-Kelvin, Eckart and Ertel. In the homentropic case it can be seen to follow by a general theorem from the vanishing of the superpotential corresponding to the time-independent relabelling symmetry. The special diffeomorphism symmetry is, in the absence of dynamical gauge field and spin, associated with a vanishing internal transverse momentum flux density. We also consider the non-homentropic case. We identify the one-dimensional subgroups responsible for the bulk charges and thus propose an impulsive forcing for creating or destroying selectively helicity (respectively enstrophies) in odd (respectively even) dimensions. This is an example of a new and general forcing rule.


The number of notified cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in the 4th quarter of 2016 (n = 389) was less than the previous quarter (n = 643), but more than the number of notified cases in the 4th quarter of 2015 (n = 314). Overall, the decline in disease due to the serotypes targeted by the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (13vPCV) has been maintained across all age groups, since the 13vPCV replaced the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vPCV) in the childhood immunisation program from July 2011 (Figure 1).


This paper argues that the lack of distinction between human and nonhuman animals in the fantastic world of children's literature and film results in distorted representations of intelligence, capabilities, and morality of nonhuman animals. From the perspective of attachment theory, the paper shows how humans internalize and sustain misrepresentations throughout adulthood and how these misrepresentations influence relationships with real animals. An ongoing search for the ideal "Walt Disney dog" of childhood jeopardizes relationships to companion animals. Trying to recreate the fantasy dog by genetic manipulation of a real animal's characteristics results in needless distress for companion animals. Because the companion does not meet expectations engendered by childhood stories, normal dog behaviour—chewing, digging, and barking—may result in relinquishing the dog for adoption and subsequent euthanasia. Shifting to the scientific realm, the paper discusses the on-going debate on the study of animals' human-like abilities, most salient in ape language programs. In closing, the paper discusses the disservice done to real animals as illusions of childhood and subsequent misunderstandings leave them judged by impossible, anthrocentric standards—which they rarely can fulfill.


The species of the genus Centroctenus can be distinguished from other Ctenidae genera by the presence of a long tibiae and the absence of a retrolateral projection of the cymbium in the male palp, and by the presence of a rounded spermathecae in the female epigynum. The composition of this spider genus is herein expanded to eleven Neotropical species, with the description of six new species: Centroctenus dourados sp. n., C. claudia sp. n., C. chalkidisi sp. n., and C. varzea sp. n., from Brazil; and Centroctenus coloso sp. n. from Colombia and Centroctenus alinahui sp. n. from Ecuador. A map with the distribution of all known species in the genus is presented.


The present study has dealt with the measuring method of ice slurry viscosity using falling sphere viscometer. The experimental apparatus was composed by test section and high-speed video system. And the spheres used in this study were alumina and glass. The main parameters were ice packing factor (IPF) and falling velocity of sphere so the acquired results were discussed for these parameters. The viscosity of ice slurry was calculated by using measured falling velocity and moving distance at instantaneous time and the Stokes hypothesis was used for this calculation. It was clarified that possible measuring range was IPF = 0.06~0.14 of this type of measuring device and measuring method. In addition, it was clarified that the viscosity of ice slurry increased to increase of ice packing factor (IPF) of ice slurry.


Obesity is the leading cause of death worldwide and a significant contributing factor to heart disease, diabetes, and many other life-limiting health burdens (1). In the United States alone, the prevalence of obesity rose from 30.5% in 2000 to 39.8% in 2016 and has been cited as a leading factor in the slowing of US mortality improvement over the last few decades (2,3). Without a doubt, the obesity epidemic requires careful attention as the search for medical, environmental, and health policy solutions to this complex problem continues.


Background/Aims: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising noninvasive technique, which has been successfully applied to the treatment of human cancers. Studies have shown that the Bcl-2 family proteins play important roles in PDT-induced apoptosis. However, whether Bcl-2-interacting mediator of cell death (Bim) is involved in photodynamic treatment remains unknown. In this study, we attempt to determine the effect of Bim on Photofrin photodynamic treatment (PPT)-induced apoptosis in human lung adenocarcinoma ASTC-a-1 cells. Methods: The translocation of Bim/Bax of the cells were monitored by laser confocal scanning microscope. The levels of Bim protein and activated caspase-3 in cells were detected by western blot assay. Caspase-3 activities were measured by Caspase-3 Fluorogenic Substrate (Ac-DEVD-AFC) analysis. The induction of apoptosis was detected by Hoechst 33258 and PI staining as well as flow cytometry analysis. The effect of Bim on PPT-induced apoptosis was determined by RNAi. Results: BimL translocated to mitochondria in response to PPT, similar to the downstream pro-apoptotic protein Bax activation. PPT increased the level of Bim and activated caspase-3 in cells and that knockdown of Bim by RNAi significantly protected against caspase-3 activity. PPT-induced apoptosis were suppressed in cells transfected with shRNA-Bim. Conclusion: We demonstrated the involvement of Bim in PPT-induced apoptosis in human ASTC-a-1 lung adenocarcinoma cells and suggested that enhancing Bim activity might be a potential strategy for treating human cancers.


Music education is an important part of infant education, which belongs to an important means for shaping personality and aesthetics of pre-school children. Music produces a subtle role for children emotional development with unique appeal. It has extremely important role for perfecting infant personality and aesthetic experience. In the paper, influence of music education on emotional development of pre-school children is preliminarily studied.


A growing attention has been recently devoted to the impact of the underwater noise field generated by shipping activities on the marine fauna. While in international treaties and conventions this problem is now well treated, from a technical point of view the quantification of the impact of underwater noise emissions from the ship is not yet consolidated. The program created allows the user to identify the sound rays generated by source and, between these, to find the beam nearest a receiver calculating the Trasmission Loss (TL). The user enters as input data the source position, the Sound Pressure Level (SPL) of the source, the depth of the backdrop, sound velocity profile, thickness of the layers in which the water column is divided, salinity, temperature and pH of sea water and the frequency of emission of the source to characterize the propagation environment. Through the Ray Tracing Theory, a technique of optical geometry that is based on the calculation of the path made by light the rays are shown on the screen. Then the rays closest to the receiver are identified and the program calculates the sound loss, divided into Geometrical Loss (due to distance between the source and the receiver), Dissipation Loss (due to the characteristics of the propagation environment) and Reflection Loss (due to the surfaces that delimit the field).In output the program will show the propagation field of the Sound Pressure Level through which in the future it will be possible to identify the emission limits to protect the marine fauna.


Solid-state lasers have remained a vibrant area of research because several major innovations expanded their capability. Major innovations are presented with emphasis on the laser efficiency. A product of efficiencies approach is developed and applied to describe laser performance. Efficiency factors are presented in closed form where practical and energy transfer effects are included where needed. In turn, efficiency factors are used to estimate threshold and slope efficiency, allowing a facile estimate of performance. Spectroscopic, thermal, and mechanical data are provided for common solid state laser materials.


As the first published anthology of Scottish poetry, the Choice Collection of Comic and Serious Scots Poems has long been regarded as a milestone in Scottish literary history. But acknowledgments of the Choice Collection's importance have historically been coupled with criticisms about its content. In particular, the Collection has been taken to task for its seeming disregard for genre or tone. This essay seeks to reevaluate the assessment of the Choice Collection as a "flawed" text by considering the Collection in relation to several contemporary miscellanies. Furthermore, it investigates the national impulse behind Watson's employment of this particular genre. Recognizing the competing interests at stake in the Scottish political landscape of 1706, Watson uses the imaginative space of the miscellany to bring readers of different tastes and interests together to promote the cause of Scotland at a time when the nation's very existence was under threat. Such a rereading of Watson's collection also contributes toward a reevaluation of the impression that Scottish literature after the Act of Union is pathologically split, a reflection of what G. Gregory Smith referred to as the "Caledonian antisyzygy."