p-Toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) is a typical homogeneous acid for biodiesel production. Due to the shortcomings of high deliquescence and non-recyclability, it is necessary to synthesize a recyclable solid acid. For the sake of this, UiO-66(Zr) is used to support PTSA through defect coordination, and four different preparation routes are compared. The obtained catalyst (UiO-G) is characterized with thermogravimetry analysis (TG), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), pyridine FTIR spectroscopy (py-FTIR), nitrogen adsorption-desorption, and base titration. In addition, the effects of esterification parameters on conversion are investigated to obtain the optimal conditions. To further verify the high catalytic activity of UiO-G, the kinetic model of solid-liquid-liquid esterification is established, in which the kinetic parameters of activation energy, reaction order, and exponential factor are calculated. Results indicate the PTSA is successfully inserted in UiO-66(Zr) without destroying its original structure. With that, the maximum conversion of oleic acid to biodiesel of 91.3% is achieved with a molar ratio of methanol/oleic acid of 12 and a catalyst amount of 8 wt% at 70 °C for 2 h. Moreover, UiO-G could remarkably reduce the activation energy, where the activation energy is 28.61 kJ mol-1, the average reaction order is 1.51, and the pre-exponential factor is 29.11 min-1.


Estimation of total harmonic current generated by a group of sources is a difficult task, because of time variations of loads and background harmonic voltages caused by the rest of the network. Several simulation techniques have been proposed in the past, which try to address the problem and estimate the maximal levels of current and voltage distortion, but with limited field measurements to verify the results. In this study, the subject of the summation of harmonic currents in industrial installations is reviewed and analysed based on field measurements. Harmonic magnitudes and phase angles of individual load currents and the total current were measured simultaneously, on four locations. The duration of each measurement was approximately 1 week, with a time resolution of 1 s. The assumptions made in probabilistic studies are discussed based on the results, and coefficients for simplified estimation are calculated together with their limit values. Lastly, some considerations about the measurement approach are made.


A new panel base package (PBP) technology that was developed based on the concepts of the wafer level package (WLP) has been proposed in order to obtain the signal fan-out capability for the fine-pitched integrated circuit (IC). In the PBP, the chip is attached to a selected chip carrier, and the volume of IC devices is extended for the redistribution of the original die pads. In this study, the thermal performance of the PBP technology was investigated and discussed through three-dimensional finite element (FE) analysis. In order to compare the thermal performance between conventional WLP and the proposed PBP, the junction temperature of WLP was also recorded through the modified FE model. The results showed that due to the larger packaging size of the PBP structure, the added solder bumps can be used as thermal balls. Moreover, they can effectively reduce the packaging thermal resistance (from 55degC/W to 41degC/W). It is expected that thermal performance could be further improved by applying solder paste between the chip and chip carrier. The study likewise discussed the condition of forced convection and developed the PBP technology for high-density IC devices. In light of the results obtained from this study, we believe in our new PBB technologypsilas great potential for future applications.


One day Dr. Green finished writing a grant proposal concerning the possibility ofdetecting static electrical effects from the body during meditation and during the process of bioenergetic healing. As described in the following paper, this topic was central in his dreams and visions for decades, springing from his study of the esoteric literature and his recognition that electrostatic energies were being used in training chelas (as described in the articles below) perhaps for hundreds ofyears. The very week he completed the grant proposal, he received a phone call on behalf ofJohn Fetzer of the Fetzer Foundation, Kalamazoo, Michigan. Fetzer thought ofthe mind as a 'subtle" radio transmitter and was looking for someone interested in measuring how the mind could be used to affect the world in a similar way a radio transmitter affects a radio. After conversation he asked for Green s grant proposal. This synchronicity led to several years ofscientific efforts studying electrostatic correlates of the body during meditation, and to the eventual selection ofa group of individuals with 'special abilities "-bioenergetic healing and intuitional diagnosis-with whom he conducted laboratory studies. The following three papers describe this work. The first summarizes the history of this work in Dr. Green s own words. rEds.}


The activity of industrial design is adding tools focused on sustainability to contribute to traditional design methodology. One such tool is the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) which are several software alternatives and different methods of analysis. The Life Cycle Assessment plays a very important role to understand the best alternatives of selecting of materials and processes in a product. Confronting with consumer activity, with an estimated useful life of the product increasingly short, reflect on the selection of materials and processes appropriate to each project through the LCA provides a powerful tool to support the project, making it essential when talking about sustainability. In this manuscript intend to reflect on the material selection in product life cycle, exploring an analysis tool life cycle in two types of products with low technological complexity, "squeeze bottle" and "lamp". Through exercises in disciplines of sustainability in design courses show up different analyzes for the same type of product, reflecting on the choice of materials and processes these. It was used for the analysis of Life Cycle Assessment the software CES EduPack with Eco Audit Tool. Students become stimulated to study more stiffness the correct selection of materials in the design phase, covering all stages of the life cycle of these products, which allowed students to visualize more clearly the necessity to have a systemic view of the entire life cycle of this product. The results show the complexity and importance of proper selection of materials and processes for sustainability.


This paper considers development of positioning systems for manipulator links to solve the forward kinematics problem (FKP) and inverse kinematics problem (IKP). Here we study a robotic manipulator with four degrees of freedom. It should be noted, that one of the relevant research problems of modern modular robotic devices consists in the lack of the universal algorithms, that would ensure kinematics problem recalculations in the cases of reconfigurations of the whole system. Challenges, the researchers are facing with when solving this problem, have to do with geometrical and non-linear equations (trigonometric equations), finding of inverse matrix of the Denavit—Hartenberg presentation, as well with other problems, such as multiple solutions when using the analytical approach. Common mathematical solutions of the inverse kinematics problem, such as geometric, iterative and algebraic ones, may not always lead to physically appropriate solutions. It's also noteworthy, that, trying to introduce physical solutions for the manipulator, we need to take into account, that the number of calculation formulas increases, what, in turn, causes further computing power consumption increase. If the manipulator acquires additional degrees of freedom, analytical modeling becomes virtually impossible. One of relevant inverse kinematics solution methods consists in implementation of neural networks to that end. To solve this problem various sources were analyzed, considering alternative ways of target point discovery. Considering the analyzed papers, we propose to use a perceptron. Before training the network, we compose an algorithm, calculating the Denavit—Hartman presentation matrix and check for correctness of target point reach by the terminal manipulator link. We did calculations for a thousand positions of manipulator and object in the environment, fed to the neural network. When solving FKP we obtain object coordinates as network output, whereas in the case of IKP — manipulator link angles. We present kinematic scheme testing results, as well a control scheme for a manipulator with four degrees of freedom.


CD4+ T-cells play crucial roles in the injured heart. However, the way in which different CD4+ T subtypes function in the myocardial infarction/reperfusion (MI/R) heart is still poorly understood. We aimed to detect the dynamic profile of distinct CD4+ subpopulation-associated cytokines/chemokines by relying on a closed-chest acute murine MI/R model. The protein levels of 26 CD4+ T-cell-associated cytokines/chemokines were detected in the heart tissues and serum of mice at day 7 and day 14 post-MI/R or sham surgery. The mRNA levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-13, IL-27, MIP-1β, MCP-3, and GRO-α were measured in blood mononuclear cells. The protein levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-13, IL-27, MIP-1β, MCP-3, and GRO-α increased in both injured heart tissues and serum, while IFN-γ, IL-12P70, IL-2, IL-1β, IL-18, TNF-α, IL-5, IL-9, IL-17A, IL-23, IL-10, eotaxin, MIP-1α, RANTES, MCP-1, and MIP-2 increased only in MI/R heart tissues in the day 7 and day 14 groups compared to the sham group. In serum, the IFN-γ, IL-23, and IL-10 levels were downregulated in the MI/R model at both day 7 and day 14 compared to the sham. Compared with the protein expressions in injured heart tissues at day 7, IFN-γ, IL-12P70, IL-2, IL-18, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, IL-17A, IL-23, IL-27, IL-10, eotaxin, IP-10, RANTES, MCP-1, MCP-3, and GRO-α were reduced, while IL-1β and MIP-2 were elevated at day 14. IL-13 and MIP-1β showed higher levels in the MI/R serum at day 14 than at day 7. mRNA levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-13, and IL-27 were increased in the day 7 group compared to the sham, while MIP-1β, MCP-3, and GRO-α mRNA levels showed no significant difference between the MI/R and sham groups in blood mononuclear cells. Multiple CD4+ T-cell-associated cytokines/chemokines were upregulated in the MI/R hearts at the chronic stage. These results provided important evidence necessary for developing future immunomodulatory therapies after MI/R.


A diverse assemblage of coalified sporangia from Lochkovian/Gedinnian, fluvial rocks imicrornatus-newportensis Spore Biozone) contains fusiform forms assignable to Salopella Edwards & Richardson and Tortilicaulis Edwards. Both show bifurcation within some sporangia. In specimens assigned to Salopella cf. marcensis, longitudinal dehiscence produces two equal valves revealing spores resembling Aneurospora, although trilete marks may be difficult to distinguish. The spores are in two forms with distal ornament of either coarse or fine coni, each occurring in separate sporangia. A further sporangium of Salopella shape contains distally apiculate, hilate cryptospores. Elongate sporangia exhibiting spiralling of superficial cells and sometimes gross twisting, are placed in a new species of Tortilicaulii, T. offaeus. Anatomical data include details of irregularly thickened epidermal cells, sporangial wall and in situ spores. The latter are trilete, equatorially thickened and highly distinctive, because the entire exospore surface is covered with grana, a feature not common in dispersed spores of this age. The nomenclatural and curatorial problems associated with these small, coalified fossils, whose anatomical examination by scanning electron microscope necessitates elimination of gross morphology, are discussed.


Stingless bees' flight activity is mostly regulated by interactions among environmental factors, such as temperature, luminosity and relative humidity, and by intranidal conditions, such as colony strength. However, body size is another factor that might influence external activities of stingless bees. Thus, the purpose of this study was to verify the influence of both body size (intertegular span) and ambient temperature on flight activity beginning of stingless bees. At June 2001 we collected data about flight activity from twenty-seven colonies of nine stingless bees species with different body sizes (range: 1 to 3.1 mm). It was verified that both body size and ambient  temperature do influence the start of flight activity of stingless bees. Larger species began their activities in lower temperatures than smaller ones. The largest species, Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier, 1836 (3,1 mm), started to fly in the lowest temperature (11.3oC), while the smallest ones, Friesella schrottkyi (Friese, 1900) (1.1 mm) and Plebeia lucii (1.0 mm), did not fly in temperatures under 20.8oC.


BACKGROUND: Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) for glioblastoma (GBM) has been reserved for poor surgical candidates and deep "inoperable" lesions. We present the first reported series of LITT for surgically accessible recurrent GBM (rGBM) that would otherwise be treated with surgical resection. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of LITT for unifocal, lobar, first-time rGBM compared with a similar surgical cohort. METHODS: A retrospective institutional database was used to identify patients with unifocal, lobar, first-time rGBM who underwent LITT or resection between 2013 and 2020. Clinical and volumetric lesional characteristics were compared between cohorts. Subgroup analysis of patients with lesions ≤20 cm3 was also completed. Primary outcomes were overall survival and progression-free survival. RESULTS: Of the 744 patients with rGBM treated from 2013 to 2020, a LITT cohort of 17 patients were compared with 23 similar surgical patients. There were no differences in baseline characteristics, although lesions were larger in the surgical cohort (7.54 vs 4.37 cm3, P = .017). Despite differences in lesion size, both cohorts had similar extents of ablation/resection (90.7% vs 95.1%, P = .739). Overall survival (14.1 vs 13.8 months, P = .578) and progression-free survival (3.7 vs 3.3 months, P = 0. 495) were similar. LITT patients had significantly shorter hospital stays (2.2 vs 3.0 days, P = .004). Subgroup analysis of patients with lesions ≤20 cm3 showed similar outcomes, with LITT allowing for significantly shorter hospital stays. CONCLUSION: We found no difference in survival outcomes or morbidity between LITT and repeat surgery for surgically accessible rGBM while LITT resulted in shorter hospital stays and more efficient postoperative care.


Electrodes have been developed for the assay of glucose, urea, amino acids, uric acid, phosphate, nitrate and perchlorate. The electrodes for the organic compounds are enzyme electrodes which are prepared by chemically immobilizing an enzyme over the outside of a conventional ion-selective electrode. These electrodes will be discussed in depth. The progress and the development of the electrodes that show sensitivity and selectivity for phosphate, nitrate and perchlorate will be outlined. The basis of these sensors is a complex of a transition metal of either an analog of thiourea or an organic chelator, such as 1,10-phenanthraline. Such electrodes respond linearly to phosphate, nitrate or perchlorate, and show selectivity over sulphate, halides and acetate. The linear range of all these electrodes is approx. 10(-1)-10(-5) M with a near Nernstian slope and a reproducibility of 1%. The electrodes are stable and can be used continuously.


The Contractor should distinctly understand that it will not be their prerogative to insist on using a particular make/brand from amongst the approved ones. The final selection will have to be done with the approval of Engineer. The provision will apply where contractors do not state their choice of materials while submitting tenders. The list given below is only indicative and not restricted to brands mentioned. Other equipment brands may be approved at the discretion of the Engineer.


Climate change and its impact on ecosystems is one of the main problem of 21st century. Increase in green house gas in the atmosphere was regarded as an important cause. Atmospheric composition had significantly changed due to intensive technogenic pollution. Increase in aerosol (solid, liquid and gas) concentration had serious impact on human health and raised the level of risk factors for longevity of life. Despite, global character of climatic change and its intensity in numerous ways was influenced by local specificity of regions, their geographical location and meteorological factors. A study on the atmospheric quality (quantitative and percentage estimation of aerosols) of Georgia was carried out. Also the assessment of impact of meteorological and ecological conditions on human health was made for Tbilisi city. A relation between contaminants and meteorological factors was evaluated, particularly gas pollutants were strongly correlated with each other due to their photochemical activity; positive correlation (0.65; 0.69) between air temperature and pollutants. All the contaminants showed negative correlation with relative humidity, due to hydrolyzing ability. On the basis of multi-factorial statistical analysis, correlation between ambulance call, weather type, atmosphere pollution index, change in ground ozone quantity and earth magnetic field were determined. Atmospheric pollution due to dust, carbon, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, ground ozone quantity in Tbilisi significantly exceeded maximum permissible level, that effected human health.


We studied the effect of perindopril, administered for a period of 9 months, on renal function, albuminuria and glycemic control of diabetic subjects with mild-to-moderate hypertension. After 1 month of placebo, 40 insulin-treated patients were divided into 3 groups based on the level of albuminuria. Group I had normal albuminuria (less than 15 mg/24 hr), group II had pathological microalbuminuria (15-150 mg/24 hr) and group III had macroproteinuria (greater than 150 mg/24 hr). They were given perindopril (4 or 8 mg) once daily. Diastolic blood pressure was normalized within the first 3 months in 80% of the patients. Twenty-nine of these patients (13, 9 and 7 from groups I, II and III, respectively) were followed for a total treatment period of 9 months. They were matched for age, duration of diabetes and hypertension, daily insulin dose, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and quality of glycemic control. Diastolic blood pressure was decreased by 14 and 17% at 1 and 9 months, respectively. Heart rate was not significantly modified. At 3 months, the angiotensin converting enzyme activity was markedly inhibited, while plasma renin activity was increased. In patients in group II, microalbuminuria was reduced from 59 +/- 13 to 32 +/- 6 mg/24 hr after 1 month and this effect was maintained at 9 months. Despite similar decreases in blood pressure, no significant change in the albumin excretion rate was observed in patients in groups I and III. Creatinine clearance remained stable and glycemic control did not change throughout the study in the 3 groups. We conclude that perindopril normalizes blood pressure in a large majority of hypertensive diabetic patients without affecting the quality of diabetes control. It also induces a marked and sustained reduction in microalbuminuria in patients at risk of developing diabetic nephropathy.


In this paper, we have studied all kinds of static absorption spectra and transient absorption spectra of podophyllotoxin and its derivatives. We have located the site of absorption spectra and their forming mechanism with spectrofluorometry, Ultraviolet, pulse radiolysis and laser photolysis, and suggested the connection of their structrue with their anti-tumour and toxicity.


The article is devoted to a topical issue of the economy and society of the 21st century - the search and scientific substantiation of methodological techniques and tools for the formation and effective use of human capital in the regions of Russia. To achieve this goal, traditional general scientific methods were used: analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, survey. It is substantiated that vocational guidance work with the young generation of Russians contributes not only to their professional and personal self-determination, but also to the successful implementation of the accumulated human capital. The development of the phenomenon of vocational guidance is considered in a historical retrospective in the context of expanding the boundaries of human freedom in the socio-economic system. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the development of the applied aspect of vocational guidance work in high school - a certified program of additional professional education "Perspective: Your Path to Success". The article presents a career guidance project based on the program "Perspective: Your Path to Success" and implemented in Vologda on the basis of the Vologda Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The uniqueness of the program lies in keeping a diary "Turn on 35!" The concept of which includes three sequential and complementary blocks: motivation, self-knowledge, resource map. The first block of the diary is devoted to the motivational component in choosing a professional path. The second block is aimed at self-knowledge and compilation by students of an individual "selfie screen" reflecting the inner world. The third block is a resource map of the region, which consists of up-to-date information about enterprises and organizations of the Vologda region, about the prospects for employment and career growth in the region. It is this aspect that determines the scientific novelty of the work. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that a similar project can be applied in other regions interested in highly effective development and preservation of human resources.


In recent years, online social networks (OSNs) have become an important part of daily life and become a portal for millions of Internet users. These OSNs provide attractive means for digital interactions between social network and information sharing, but also a number of security and privacy issues are increase. The online social networks also allow the user to control the shared data and presently do not provide any mechanism to enforce concerns of privacy and security over data associated with multiple users. To solve this problem, we propose a systematic approach for enabling the shared data in OSNs. An access control model is formulated to capture the essence of multiparty authorization requirements, along with a multiparty policy specification system and a policy enforcement mechanism. We begin by investigate how to control lacks for shared data in OSNs based on the relationship between the user, data and their data sharing patterns. Based on the sharing patterns, we make a Multi party Access Control (MPAC) model to control the features of multiparty authorization requirements. In our MPAC model contains a multiparty policy specification system. Also this model provides a voting mechanism to avoid conflicts.


The tumor suppressor p53 may influence the ability of cancer cells to escape immune detection [Also see Research Article by Yoon et al.] A major challenge in biomedical research is elucidating connections between stress responses within the cell and the extracellular microenvironment. This dialogue can transcend cellular life, and as such, premortem stress responses condition the mechanism through which corpses are cleared postmortem (1, 2). This implies that the reason why, and the means by which, cells die determine whether their demise ultimately triggers immune responses against dead-cell antigens (3). On page 499 of this issue, Yoon et al. (4) explore the role of p53, a major stress-elicited transcription factor and tumor suppressor protein (5, 6), in the clearance of dying cells by macrophages. The authors determine that p53 operates in a signaling pathway that protects against a systemic, life-threatening autoimmune disease encompassing ulcerative dermatitis, seizures, otitis, eye lesions, and glomerulonephritis (4, 7).


This study investigated authoritarian personality, ethnicity, and religiosity as predictors of educational instructors' authority-exercising style in disciplinary encounters in juvenile correctional institutions. Participants were all 320 educational instructors from all 56 juvenile correctional institutions in Israel. Research findings indicated that educational instructors with a high level of authoritarianism responded with more power assertion and withdrawal during disciplinary encounters, whereas instructors with a low level of authoritarianism responded with induction during these events. In addition, ethnicity and level of religiosity predicted exercising of authority. Arab as well as Jewish religious instructors were more inclined to respond with power assertion during disciplinary encounters. The present study attempts to interconnect personality and environmental and behavioral characteristics and calls for follow-up research on educational instructors' behaviors in juvenile correctional institutions.


Anticocaine antibody, resulting from immunization with the cocaine-keyhole-limpet-hemocyanin (KLH) conjugate, weakened the ability of cocaine to act as a discriminative stimulus in rats. Subjects were given extensive training to discriminate 5.0 mg/kg of cocaine from saline prior to immunization. Several weeks following immunization with cocaine-KLH, subjects failed to reliably discriminate cocaine from saline. Nonimmunized control rats retained the ability to discriminate cocaine from saline throughout the experiment. These results further demonstrate that active immunization is effective in blunting cocaine effects. Immunized subjects were able to discriminate 20 mg/kg of cocaine, however, suggesting that anticocaine antibody may be overwhelmed by large cocaine doses.


We studied the fragmentation of C60 molecules in collisions with slow Ar+ ions (v ≈ 0.04–0.55 au) and with Arz+ ions (z = 2, 3) at somewhat higher velocities (v ≈ 0.3–0.95 au). The measured mass spectra show C60q+ ions (q ≤ 5), smaller C60−2mq+ fullerenes and C60−2mq+ + C n+ fission products. Special attention is devoted to the C60 multi-fragmentation process, i.e. the breakup of the C60 cage into several small Cn+ fragments (n = 1–29). Up to seven correlated small Cn+ fragments (n = 1–5) have been observed. The multi-fragmentation pattern depends on the projectile charge. Furthermore, it varies strongly with the projectile velocity for slow ions, whereas it becomes nearly constant for faster ions. This is in accordance with recent non-adiabatic quantum molecular dynamic calculations.


The global climate model is extended through the stratosphere by increasing the vertical resolution and raising the rigid model top to the 0.01 mb (75 km) level. The inclusion of a realistic stratosphere is necessary for the investigation of the climate effects of stratospheric perturbations, such as changes of ozone, aerosols or solar ultraviolet irradiance, as well as for studying the effect on the stratosphere of tropospheric climate changes. The observed temperature and wind patterns throughout the troposphere and stratosphere are simulated. In addition to the excess planetary wave amplitude in the upper stratosphere, other model deficiences include the Northern Hemisphere lower stratospheric temperatures being 5 to 10 C too cold in winter at high latitudes and the temperature at 50 to 60 km altitude near the equator are too cold. Methods of correcting these deficiencies are discussed.


Abstract Online discussions of electoral fraud are becoming an increasingly important aspect of the electoral landscape in many contexts, as cyberspace is one of the few places where concerns about electoral conduct can be aired openly and freely. But it is often difficult to assess what this online activity tells us about actual electoral processes. This article analyzes a surge of tweets about electoral fraud at the time of the Scottish independence referendum of 2014 in order to ascertain whether this online activity reflected: (a) actual offline fraud observed by the social media users, (b) a concerted effort to undermine confidence in electoral administration, or (c) a collective delusion. Data mining and machine learning techniques are deployed in this analysis, which comes out strongly in favor of the collective delusion hypothesis.


These celebrated mines occupy the head of a small valley in the immediate vicinity of Cardona, a town in the province of Catalonia. This valley extends about half a mile in length, from the river Cardonero to the mines, in a direction from east-south-east to west-north-west. Its north-western side is bounded by a very steep and lofty ridge, the summit of which is crowned by the town and castle of Cardona. The opposite boundary is somewhat less elevated; but both sides are considerably higher than the upper surface of the fossil salt. On entering this valley, the attention is arrested by bold cliffs of a greyish white colour, which are soon discovered to consist pf one vast mass of salt. The sides and bottom of the valley are composed of reddish brown clay, forming a thick bed, from which here and there large imbedded masses of rock salt project in the manner of more ordinary rocks; especially along the winding ascent which leads up to the town of Cardona. The summits of the ridges which bound the valley on each side, are formed of a yellowish grey sandstone of a coarse texture, and containing many scales of grey mica. The great body of the salt forms a rugged precipice, which is reckoned between 400 and 500 feet in height at the upper extremity of the valley, and is covered by a thick bed of the clay above mentioned. The precipitous form is partly owing to the manner in which the


Background Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) has been proposed as a potential target for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). In experimental studies, RAAS blockade led to the reduction of inflammation and modulated cartilage metabolism. Recently, a study showed chondroprotective effects of captopril in an animal model of OA [1]. The effects of RAAS blockade on knee OA have never been studied in humans. Objectives To investigate longitudinal effects of RAAS blockade on knee pain, function, and radiographic progression of knee OA. Methods For the current analysis we used data from the publically available Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) database. We assessed longitudinal data from OAI participants who did not use angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) on baseline (new user design) and who had radiographically suspected or confirmed knee OA. The evaluated clinical outcomes were WOMAC pain and WOMAC function subcategories. Radiographic progression was assessed using minimal joint space width (mJSW). The outcomes were measured annually from the baseline to year 4 of follow up. We used structural equation modeling to assess the correlations between the trajectories of ACEI/ARB use and WOMAC knee pain, WOMAC knee function, and mJSW. The models were adjusted for potential baseline confounders. Results A sample of 1796 OAI participants was analyzed. The proportion of ACEI/ARB users rose from 4.7% on year 1 to 15.14% on year 4 of follow up. No associations between ACEI/ARB use and knee pain, function, and knee OA radiographic progression trajectories were found in the analyses both adjusted or non-adjusted for baseline covariates. Conclusions RAAS system blockade has no influence on knee OA. References Tang Y, Hu X, Lu X. Captopril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, possesses chondroprotective efficacy in a rat model of osteoarthritis through suppression local renin-angiotensin system. Int J Clin Exp Med 2015; 8: 12584–12592. Disclosure of Interest None declared


A prospective outcome analysis was conducted on 100 consecutive women who requested explanation of their silicone gel breast implants from January 6, 1992 (the moratorium), through 1995. Eighteen patients were referred by rheumatologists with a diagnosis of autoimmune or rheumatic disease. Six had autoimmune disease (systemic lupus, 2 patients; rheumatoid arthritis, 2 patients; multiple sclerosis, 1 patient; and Raynaud's disease, 1 patient). Twelve had rheumatic disease (fibromyalgia, 10 patients; inflammatory arthritis, 2 patients). All of these 18 patients had developed symptoms of their disease after they had received implants. All 100 patients were extensively evaluated pre- and postoperatively by interviews, clinical assessment, and by assay of the following laboratory tests: rheumatoid factor, ESR, ANA, and anti-Ro/SSA, -La/SSP, -Sm, -RNP, -double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid, -Scl-70, -centromere, and -cardiolipin. Patients were also evaluated by a questionnaire that was sent at a mean time of 2.7 years postexplantation (range, 1–5 years), which had a 75% response rate. Reasons for implants were augmentation, 75%; lifting, 11%; reconstruction, 12%; and congenital aplasia, 2%. The mean age at first implant was 28.9 years (range, 13–55 years) and at explantation was 41.5 years (range, 25–65 years). The mean duration of implantation was 12.0 years (range, 1–27 years). Thirty-six percent of the patients had undergone at least one closed capsulotomy and 54% at least one open capsulotomy. The main reasons for explantation were suspected silicone-related health problems, 76%; suspected rupture, 59%; breast firmness, 36%; breast pain, 36%; and musculoskeletal pain, 23%. Before explantation 75% of the questionnaire respondees had lost some sensitivity in their nipples following their breast augmentation. In 36% of those 75 patients, that loss was almost complete. Loss of sensitivity was related to capsular contracture and to pain (p < 0.05). Following explantation there was significant improvement in nipple sensitivity in 38% of breasts in the 75 respondees. A total of 186 implants were removed. Fifty-seven percent had failed by rupturing or leaking. Only 3.2% demonstrated extravasation extracapsularly. Twenty-five percent of the capsules were calcified, demonstrating visible plaques of calcification on their inner surface. Forty-two percent were colonized by bacteria. The prevalence of class III–IV capsular contracture was 61% and it was related to implant location, duration in situ, and capsular calcification (p < 0.05), but not to capsular colonization or implant integrity (p > 0.05). Only 43 of the 100 patients elected to have saline implants inserted. Of the others, 56% felt that the shell of the saline implant could be associated with medical problems. The others felt that breast size was of minor importance to them at this time. There were few complications from the explantation procedure. Two "masses" were discovered—one was an occult carcinoma, the other a galactocele. There was one wound infection, which responded to antibiotics. Three patients developed decreased sensitivity and 3 developed increased breast pain. From the patient questionnaires, in those women who did not have saline implants inserted, 15% felt that their breast appearance was improved after explantation, 36% were "pleased," 33% were disappointed, and 13% felt "mutilated." In women who did have saline implants inserted, 18% felt that their breast appearance was now improved, 60% were "pleased," and 14% were disappointed, mainly because of wrinkling. At a mean time of 2.7 years (range, 1–5 years) after explantation, 45% of the 75 questionnaire respondees felt that their implants had caused permanent health problems and 56% felt that they had not been given adequate informed consent by their original surgeon (particularly regarding implant rupture and a possible relationship to medical disease). Nineteen patients had breast fed after implantation (only 1 patient felt that her implants had adversely affected her child), 28% had attended an implant support group, 24% had undergone professional psychological support, and 43% were involved in litigation against implant manufacturers. Of the 75 respondees, those who had no proved rheumatic or autoimmune disease responded most favorably to explantation. In those patients, more than 80% related "major improvement" in their symptoms and more than 93% related significantly improved psychological well-being. In patients with fibromyalgia or inflammatory arthritis, most experienced an initial, almost euphoric improvement in symptoms during the first few months after explantation. However, their symptoms subsequently recurred over the following 6 to 12 months. Ultimately, 11 of these 12 patients related no change or further deterioration from their preexplantation status. One patient related "slight" improvement. In all 6 patients with autoimmune disease, there was no improvement in clinical or laboratory findings after explantation.


The effects of recombinant human leucocyte interferon alpha A/D on experimental myocarditis due to coxsackie virus B3 were investigated. Specific plaque reduction assays showed that 50% of in vitro plaque formation in VERO (kidney of African green monkey) cells was inhibited by interferon alpha A/D 48 U.ml-1 when administered 24 h before infection with coxsackie virus B3. Three week old male C3H/He mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with 3 x 10(2) plaque-forming units (pfu) of coxsackie virus B3. Controls (group 1) were injected with saline. Interferon alpha A/D 10(4) (group 2) or 10(3) (group 3) U.g-1.day-1, was administered subcutaneously daily, starting 1 d before the infection. Interferon alpha A/D 10(4) U.g-1.day-1 (group 4) was also given, starting the same day. Each group consisted of ten mice. Animals were sacrificed on d 5 for evaluation. Myocardial virus titres were significantly lower in groups 2, 3, and 4 (p less than 0.05) compared with controls. Histological examination showed extensive myocardial necrosis and cellular infiltration in all untreated mice but less severe necrosis and cellular infiltration in treated groups. Thymus and spleen weights in treated groups were greater than in the untreated group, and cellular depletion was less. Thus interferon alpha A/D effectively inhibited myocardial replication of coxsackie virus B3, reduced the myocardial inflammatory response, and prevented the disease associated lymphoid organ atrophy in this animal model.


The measurement of the binding of a biotherapeutic to its cellular target, receptor occupancy (RO), is increasingly important in development of biologically‐based therapeutic agents. Receptor occupancy (RO) assays by flow cytometry describe the qualitative and/or quantitative assessment of the binding of a therapeutic agent to its cell surface target. Such RO assays can be as simple as measuring the number of cell surface receptors bound by an antireceptor therapeutic agent or can be designed to address more complicated scenarios such as internalization or shedding events once a receptor engages the administered therapeutic agent. Data generated from RO assays can also be used to model whether given doses of an experimental therapeutic agent and their administration schedules lead to predicted levels of receptor occupancy and whether the receptor is modulated (up or down) on cells engaged by the therapeutic agent. There are a variety of approaches that can be used when undertaking RO assays and with the ability to measure distinct subsets in heterogeneous populations, flow cytometry is ideally suited to RO measurements. This article highlights the importance of RO assays on the flow cytometric platform in the development of biotherapeutic agents. © 2016 The Authors Cytometry Part B: Clinical Cytometry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The effects of the soy protein and casein diets on mice were studied. Bifidobacteria, clostridia, and lactobacilli were fewer and the cecal β-glucuronidase activity was higher in the soy protein diet group. Equol was detected only in plasma from the soy protein diet group. These results indicate that the soy protein diet has an impact on the intestinal microflora.


This paper describes a research result of a external shape optimization study to maximize the range of the guided missile with canards and tailfins in atmospheric flight. For this purpose, the external shape optimization program which can enhance the range of a missile was developed, incorporated with the trajectory analysis and the optimization technique. In the trajectory analysis part, Missile DATCOM which utilizes the semi-empirical method was directly connected to the trajectory code to supply the aerodynamic coefficients efficiently at every time step. In the gliding flight trajectory after apogee, a maximum C L /C D trim condition calculation module was attached under the assumption of the missile continuously flying at maximum C L /C D condition. In the optimization part, a Response Surface Method(RSM) was adopted to reduce the computing time.


In computational grid, resource backup is the most important method for improving the availability of applications. It can be implemented by making advance reservation of redundant resources. But in order to make the grid applications more cost-effective, it is absolutely necessary to devise multiple policies for resource backup in order to provide flexible resource backup services. In this paper, we give the detailed discussion of several resource backup policies, which were briefly presented in our former work, and evaluate them with a grid resource backup simulator, GReBSim, which is designed as one of the simulating tools in our grid project. The simulating results show that combination of multiple policies is quite important for trading off in resource utilization and time to recovery for failed applications.


Border disputes between China and India in June 2020 almost lead South Asian countries to take a side. But, Nepal, situated between India and China, has always expressed a stern belief in neutrality and non-alignment. Even though New Delhi doubted Nepal's neutrality and non-alignment citing China's growing footprints in Nepal, Kathmandu reckoned such suspicion as the result of a new map row between two countries connected by open borders. While Nepal's repeated calls to diplomatically resolve India-Nepal border problems remained unheeded by New Delhi, it provided room for the ruling communist party in Nepal to reap geopolitical benefits out of the Sino-Indian dispute. But, interestingly, such geopolitical benefits are usually targeted in tempering Indian influence in Nepal, by getting closer with China. Apprehending the same, this study aims to assess the geopolitical implication of Sino-Indian conflict on the survival strategy of Nepal. To fulfill the same objectives, the Chinese perception of Nepal-India relations, and Indian perception of Sino-Nepal ties have been critically assessed in this study. This study is methodologically based on the information collected from the secondary sources. In order to critically evaluate the geopolitical expression of Sino-Indian conflict in Nepal, this study reviews India's perception of Nepal-China relations, and China's perception of Nepal-India relations. Also, the reports and the press releases of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, historical facts, treaties, government reports and decisions have been studied and analyzed. Media sources are also reviewed to understand the diverse narratives produced on the geopolitical reflection of Sino-Indian conflict. The themes that emerged from the reviews are thematically analyzed and interpreted, to discover that cultivating relations with one country at the expense of the other may be counterproductive to Nepal's survival strategies.


Introduction: Glaucoma is a second cause of blindness worldwide. Diet may potentially contribute to the disease progression. Coffee which contains caffeine is widely consumed globally. The aim of this study was to determine the association between coffee intakes and progression of glaucoma. Method: A cross sectional study was conducted on 91 primary glaucoma patients who were on topical antiglaucoma drugs. Direct face to face questionnaire on the frequency of coffee intake was conducted between December 2011 and May 2012. Ocular examination was performed including intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement and fundus examination. Two consecutive reliable Humphrey visual field (HVF) 24-2 standard analysis was obtained at the recruitment period. Severity and progression was based Hoddap- Parrish- Anderson (HPA) criteria. The progression of primary glaucoma was based on the difference of HVF at the diagnosis and the recruitment. Results: 63 (69%) were coffee drinkers with 68% of them drink coffee daily. 42 of primary glaucoma patients who consumed coffee in their diet developed progression of their disease after 6.6 (SD 4.4) years of follow up. Mean IOP at initial presentation (22.9 SD 8.1mmHg) and at current recruitment period (15.5 SD 2.3mmHg) was slightly lower among coffee drinkers but without significant difference (p=0.538, 0.454 respectively). There was no significant association between coffee drinking and severity of glaucoma (p=0.863). In spite of negative association between coffee drinking and progression of glaucoma (p=0.250), the frequency of coffee drinking was significantly associated (p=0.001) with progression glaucoma. Daily coffee drinking increased the risk of progression 8.1 folds (95% CI 2.5, 26.9) based on multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Drinking coffee daily was associated with glaucoma progression in this small study. Perhaps, glaucoma patient should minimize or avoid coffee intake.


ARTICLE INFO: Article history: Received: 20 April 2017 Received in revised form: 16 May 2017 Accepted: 18 May 2017 Available online: 30 June 2017


p-Dichlorobenzene is used widely in the United States as a room deodorizer, a moth repellent, and a precursor for a polymer. In a previous study of selected children in Arkansas, we found that 96% of the children had detectable urinary concentrations of 2,5-dichlorophenol, the metabolite of p-dichlorobenzene. In the current study, we found that, in a sample of 1,000 adults who lived throughout the United States, 98% had detectable levels of 2,5-dichlorophenol in their urine, and 96% had detectable levels of p-dichlorobenzene in their blood. Urinary 2,5-dichlorophenol concentrations ranged up to 8,700 micrograms/l (median and mean concentrations of 30 micrograms/l and 200 micrograms/l, respectively). p-Dichlorobenzene blood concentrations ranged up to 49 micrograms/l, with median and mean concentrations of 0.33 micrograms/l and 2.1 micrograms/l, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient for 2,5-dichlorophenol in urine and p-dichlorobenzene in blood was .82 (p < .0001), thus demonstrating a strong association between these exposure measurements. Neither age nor gender was related to urinary 2,5-dichlorophenol or blood p-dichlorobenzene concentrations (p > .40). When these results are viewed with data from other studies, the collective data show that p-dichlorobenzene is a common, worldwide contaminant. The high prevalence of exposure to p-dichlorobenzene, coupled with its potential for adverse health effects, indicate the need for more detailed studies, including studies of long-term health effects on exposed populations.


Two dominant spoilages on post harvested duku are skin browning and fungal growth. Two types of three-day post harvested duku, i.e. those detached from its raceme and those still attached on its raceme, were exposed to ozone or UV-C irradiation for 40 seconds, prior to storage at 29 C.The percentage of duku with skin browning based on a fixed scale,fungal growth, aril damage, composition changes were examined after 9 days of storage. There was no skin browning, fungal growth and aril damage on the attached duku treated by ozone on the 9 days of postharvest or the 6 days of storage. The level of total soluble solids and skin thickness of the attached duku were significantly higher than those of detached duku. The level of total soluble solids of untreated and UV treated detached duku were significantly lesser among others. ozonated duku had higher titratable acidity than the UV treated and untreated duku. Ozone can be used as an effective, simple and rapid method to prolong the shelf life of duku without adversely affecting the quality attributes.


The blood-labyrinth barrier is a concept used to explain the stability of composition of the labyrinthine fluids in spite of systemic alterations in blood composition. This blood-labyrinth barrier concept was tested by injecting various test substances into the systemic circulation of experimental animals and recovering these compounds in perilymph. The concentration of each test substance in perilymph lagged behind that of serum, and the transport of a series of test substances was found to be inversely related to the molecular weight and diameter. Among the osmotic agents injected, glycerol and urea penetrated into perilymph to a considerable degree, however, mannitol did not enter perilymph in any significant amount. This may explain the clinical differences noted with these agents in testing for Meniere's disease. Furosemide, an ototoxic diuretic, was found to penetrate into perilymph after intravenous injection into chinchillas. The concentration of furosemide, measured by high pressure liquid chromatography, was fairly constant at the time of full recovery of endocochlear potential after doses of 50-200 mg/kg. The principle of correlating drug concentration in serum and in inner ear fluids with pathophysiologic effect may provide a prediction of threshold concentration of ototoxic effect by measurement of serum concentration of the drug. More extensive studies are necessary to clarify the role of the blood-labyrinth barrier in the regulatory mechanisms which maintain the homeostasis in the inner ear and the pathology which may follow when this homeostasis is disrupted.


This paper is the follow-up of the research we conduct to find an alternative way to measure the sensitivity of capacitive MEMS accelerometers. The goal is to be able to perform production test and calibration using only an electrical test bench, i.e. without applying acceleration. In the previously published study, we introduced three parameters that can be measured through electrical means and that are related to the accelerometer sensitivity through analytical expressions. However some restrictive assumptions were made on the conditioning electronic of the accelerometer. In this paper, the design for test capability needed to implement the measurement is discussed and improvement of the method is presented. It is based on a new set of electrical parameters that can be more easily measured and a MARS regression algorithm to find the relation between these parameters and the sensitivity. The method is evaluated through Monte Carlo simulations.


The successful design and operation of a gas-liquid-solid fluidized-bed system depend on the ability to accurately predict the fundamental properties of the system, specifically, the hydrodynamics, the mixing of individual phases, and the heat and mass transfer properties. Identification of the flow regimes under which the system operates is crucial to an understanding of both the variations of these properties and overall system performance. This timely, comprehensive review describes in a systematic manner the status of fundamental gas-liquid-solid fluidization behavior. This review also discusses the areas in which current knowledge is deficient and further research is needed.


Neurolinguistics studies the relation of language processes to the brain. It is well established that the critical brain regions for language include the perisylvian association cortex, lateralized to the left in most right-handed individuals. It is becoming increasingly clear that other brain regions are part of one or more complex systems that support language operations. Evidence regarding the more detailed organization of the brain for specific language operations is accruing rapidly, due to functional neuroimaging, but has not clearly established whether specific language operations are invariantly localized, distributed over large areas, or show individual differences in their neural substrate.


Private Information Retrieval (PIR) protocols allow a user to retrieve a data item from a database while hiding the identity of the item being retrieved. Specifically, in information-theoretic, -server PIR protocols the database is replicated among servers, and each server learns nothing about the item the user retrieves. The cost of such protocols is measured by the communication complexity of retrieving one out of bits of data. For any fixed , the complexity of the best protocols prior to our work was ! (Ambainis, 1997). Since then several methods were developed in an attempt to beat this bound, but all these methods yielded the same asymptotic bound. In this work, this barrier is finally broken and the complexity of information-theoretic -server PIR is improved to #"%$'& ( )*& ( ) & (+) -, . The new PIR protocols can also be used to construct -query binary locally decodable codes of length . /10 #"2$ & ( )*& (+) & (+) -, , compared to . /10 ! in previous constructions. The improvements presented in this paper apply even for small values of : the PIR protocols are more efficient than previous ones for every 4365 , and the locally decodable codes are shorter for every 7398 .


We examined the action of N‐methyl‐N′‐nitro‐N‐nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) on HeLa cells and compared it with that of cisplatin (CP). MNNG directly killed a substantial number of cells within 1 hour and resulted in strong DNA‐damage as evidenced by Comet measurements. Despite appearance of DNA lesions, p53 protein was not activated. Analysis of HeLa cells treated with MNNG for 1h, 3h and 6h by flow cytometry and by Hoechst staining did not reveal any sub‐G1 cell population and chromatin condensation/fragmentation characteristic for apoptosis, respectively. Also, no biochemical changes typical for apoptosis such as activation of caspase‐3 or release of cytochrome C from mitochondria were detected. Inactivation of PARP‐1 reduced the direct cytotoxicity exerted by MNNG. Our results showing that despite appearance of severe DNA lesions after short exposure of HeLa cells to MNNG neither activation of p53 response nor induction of apoptosis occurred implicate that generation of strong DNA damage is not sufficient to stabilize p53 protein in HeLa cells. Our data unequivocally show that the conscientious determination of the type of cell death induced by genotoxic agents is necessary. The assessment of the changes based on at least a few independent criteria is required to discriminate between apoptosis and necrosis. Since the alkylating agents generate DNA strand breaks, the recruitment of methods based on determination of DNA cleavage such as DNA ladder or TUNEL assay for evaluation of apoptosis is not adequate. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This study is focused on the investigation of moisture uptake properties of chitosan films. The GAB isotherm model is found to fit well to the experimental moisture uptake data obtained at 10, 25, and 37°C. The water vapor permeability is found to increase with temperature. The use of plasticizer enhances the water vapor permeability. Finally, the films have been loaded with ZnO nanoparticles and characterized by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, surface plasma resonance, and scanning electron microscopic analyses. The crystal size as determined using Scherrer's equation is found to be around 15 nm. The films have shown excellent antibacterial action against the model bacterium Escherichia coli. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010


In the paper we propose a direct method for recovering the Sturm–Liouville potential from the Weyl–Titchmarsh m-function given on a countable set of points. We show that using the Fourier–Legendre series expansion of the transmutation operator integral kernel the problem reduces to an infinite linear system of equations, which is uniquely solvable if so is the original problem. The solution of this linear system allows one to reconstruct the characteristic determinant and hence to obtain the eigenvalues as its zeros and to compute the corresponding norming constants. As a result, the original inverse problem is transformed to an inverse problem with a given spectral density function, for which the direct method of solution from Kravchenko and Torba (2021 Inverse Problems 37 015015) is applied. The proposed method leads to an efficient numerical algorithm for solving a variety of inverse problems. In particular, the problems in which two spectra or some parts of three or more spectra are given, the problems in which the eigenvalues depend on a variable boundary parameter (including spectral parameter dependent boundary conditions), problems with a partially known potential and partial inverse problems on quantum graphs.


In 1995 the two senior authors of the present paper introduced a new algorithm designed to replace the Taylor–Galerkin (or Lax–Wendroff) methods, used by them so far in the solution of compressible flow problems. The new algorithm was applicable to a wide variety of situations, including fully incompressible flows and shallow water equations, as well as supersonic and hypersonic situations, and has proved to be always at least as accurate as other algorithms currently used. The algorithm is based on the solution of conservation equations of fluid mechanics to avoid any possibility of spurious solutions that may otherwise result. The main aspect of the procedure is to split the equations into two parts, (1) a part that is a set of simple scalar equations of convective–diffusion type for which it is well known that the characteristic Galerkin procedure yields an optimal solution; and (2) the part where the equations are self-adjoint and therefore discretized optimally by the Galerkin procedure. It is possible to solve both the first and second parts of the system explicitly, retaining there the time step limitations of the Taylor–Galerkin procedure. But it is also possible to use semi-implicit processes where in the first part we use a much bigger time step generally governed by the Peclet number of the system while the second part is solved implicitly and is unconditionally stable. It turns out that the characteristic-based-split (CBS) process allows equal interpolation to be used for all system variables without difficulties when the incompressible or nearly incompressible stage is reached. It is hoped that the paper will help to make the algorithm more widely available and understood by the profession and that its advantages can be widely realised. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Objective Epilepsy affects approximately 50 million people globally, with approximately 80% living in low/middle-income countries (LMIC), where access to specialist care is limited. In LMIC, primary health workers provide the majority of epilepsy care, despite limited training in this field. Recognising this knowledge gap among these providers is an essential component for closing the epilepsy treatment gap in these regions. Setting In Zambia, the vast majority of healthcare is provided by clinical officers (COs), primary health providers with 3 years post-secondary general medical education, who predominantly work in first-level health centres around the country. Participants With cooperation from the Ministry of Health, a total of 10 COs from 4 surrounding first-level health centres around the capital city of Lusaka participated, with 9 completing the entire course. Intervention COs were trained in a 3-week structured course on paediatric seizures and epilepsy, based on adapted evidence-based guidelines. Results Preassessment and postassessment were conducted to assess the intervention. Following the course, there was improved overall knowledge about epilepsy (69% vs 81%, p<0.05), specifically knowledge regarding medication management and recognition of focal seizures (p<0.05), improved seizure history taking and appropriate medication titration (p<0.05). However, knowledge regarding provoked seizures, use of diagnostic studies and general aetiologies of epilepsy remained limited. Conclusions This pilot project demonstrated that a focused paediatric epilepsy training programme for COs can improve knowledge and confidence in management, and as such is a promising step for improving the large epilepsy treatment gap in children in Zambia. With feasibility demonstrated, future projects are needed to expand to more rural regions for more diverse and larger sample of primary health provider participants and encompass more case-based training and repetition of key concepts as well as methods to improve and assess long-term knowledge retention.


In this paper, the Lie symmetry analysis and generalized symmetry method are performed for a short-wave model. The symmetries for this equation are given, and the phase portraits of the traveling wave systems are analyzed using the bifurcation theory of dynamical systems. The exact parametric representations of four types of traveling wave solutions are obtained.


Power electronics and exotic energy storage devices are making wind power steady enough to compete with conventional electricity sources. Systems based on advanced power electronics and energy storage devices are massaging and managing power flows from wind turbines, enabling them to contribute to electricity grids without putting those grids at risk. Not only are the technologies making wind power more palatable to grid operators, they are even making it possible for engineers to finally harness wind energy's tremendous potential in wind-swept, remote locales. This article discusses the power electronic and energy storage technologies used in wind power.


In the process of teaching and learning it will be fun if students have self-efficacy and the teacher has high creativity in teaching. The purpose of this study is to find out how much the relationship between teacher teaching creativity and self-efficacy of fifth grade students at SDN Sukamaju 03 District Cigudeg, Bogor Regency. This type of quantitative research is a functional relationship between variable X with variable Y, the subjects in this study were 1 group teacher that was sampled only grade V teachers who numbered 20 and class V students of SDN Sukamaju 03 totaling 20 students and the data obtained from questionnaires, Data collection techniques by questionnaire, observation, interview and documentation. Based on the results of testing using product moment, the correlation between teacher teaching creativity (X) with student self-efficacy (Y) obtained a value of rcount = 0.790 and rtable for 20 is 0.444 at level significance of 5% thus rcount > rtable (0.790> 0.444) then H0 is rejected, which means there is a significant correlation between creativity teaching self-efficacy of teachers with students. The significance of the regression equation obtained the Fcount of 29.840 and the Ftable of 4.41 with a sig value of 0.000, so that Fcount > Ftable, then there is a significant relationship between teacher teaching creativity (Variable X) and student self-efficacy (Variable Y). And this research is to get R = 0.624 62.4% showed their creativity variables affect self-efficacy of teachers to teach students, the remaining 37.6% influenced by other factors not an analysis in this study.


Introduction: The Phase 3 QUASAR induction study evaluated e ffi cacy and safety of guselkumab (GUS), an IL-23p19 subunit antagonist, in patients (pts) with moderately to severely active UC. Here we present results for e ff ects of GUS induction on histologic and combined histologic and endoscopic outcomes at Week (Wk) 12. Methods: Pts with modi fi ed Mayo score of 5-9 and a centrally reviewed Mayo endoscopy subscore (MES) $ 2 at induction baseline (BL) were randomized 3:2 to receive either GUS 200mg IV or placebo (PBO) IV at Wks0, 4, and 8. Colonic biopsies collected during endoscopy at BL and Wk12 were used to evaluate treatment e ff ect on histology using three methods: Geboes score (GS), Robarts Histopathology Index (RHI), and Nancy Histological Index (NHI).


Abstract The polyphagous fruit fly, Terellia serratulae (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Tephritidae), exploits hosts belonging to three genera of thistles: Carduus Linnaeus, Cirsium Miller, and Picnomon Adanson (Asteraceae). The difference in phenology among its hosts suggests intraspecific variation. Comparative morphometric and genetic studies revealed differences among its populations. Adults reared from different hosts showed intraspecific morphological variations. Canonical discriminant analysis based on two head and four wing measurements divided the adults into four distinct clusters with 70% accuracy, reflecting four host-associated populations. The most useful predictors in distinguishing adults associated with the different host plants were wing width and head length, in addition to ovipositor length for females. Only the ovipositor tip in females reared from Picnomon acarna (Linnaeus) Cassini was clearly distinct. Mitochondrial DNA sequencing revealed genetic differentiation among the different populations of T. serratulae with the P. acarna-associated population being most distinct. Sequencing a region of the mtND1 gene and mtCOXI gene revealed nine and seven haplotypes, respectively. Surprisingly, haplotype sequences of flies emerging from P. acarna showed a sequence divergence of over 3% for both genes. This study provides morphometric and molecular evidence supporting that the Lebanese T. serratulae population associated with P. acarna most likely constitutes a distinct host race.


We present a rare case of carcinoma developing in an accessory breast. The patient presented with a progressive lump in her right axilla for 1 year. On examination, there was a well-developed nipple areola complex in the right axilla overlying a hard, fixed 5×3 cm lump. On investigation, core biopsy revealed poorly differentiated carcinoma of the breast. Mammography also revealed features of a malignant lesion with skin and muscle infiltration. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was administered followed by modified radical mastectomy after three cycles. Immunohistochemistry study showed positive status of oestrogen and progesterone receptors, and negative HER-2 neu. Three more cycles of chemotherapy along with 50 Gy radiotherapy were given in an adjuvant setting followed by hormone therapy.


Background The United Kingdom COVID-19 pandemic response included large scale changes to emergency healthcare delivery across primary care, secondary care and ambulance services without fully understanding potential unintended effects. Our aim was to ascertain themes within the emergency response that could be modified to mitigate against future excess deaths. Methods A structured judgement review of the entire care pathway (primary care, secondary care, 111 and 999 calls) for deaths registered in Salford during weeks 12-19 of 2020, creating a single integrated record of all Healthcare interactions and outcomes between 1stMarch 2020 and death for all patients. An expert panel judged avoidability of death against the National Mortality Case Record Review Programme scale, and themes associated with potential harm. Results 522 deaths (197 hospital, 190 care homes): 51% female, 81% Caucasian, 35% dementia, age 79±9 years, 44% COVID-19 cause of death. 18% of deaths contained avoidability themes. In people aged ≥75 years who lived at home this was 53%, in care home residents 29%, in learning disability patients 44%. For COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 deaths the figures were 49% and 23%. 15 deaths were judged more than 50:50 avoidable. For higher avoidability (score 2 or 3), 44% had >2 themes. Common themes were delays in patients presenting to care providers (10%, n=53), delays in testing (27%, 139), avoidable exposure to COVID-19 (29%, 149), delays in provider response (6%, 32), and sub-optimal care (34%, 177). Pre-hospital healthcare contact frequently was primary care 81%, 999 56%, NHS 111 11%. The most common outcome of 111 calls was advice to contact GP (34%). 46 patients (9%) had healthcare appointments cancelled (median 1 cancellation, range 1-9). Conclusions The initial emergency response to COVID-19 was associated with late presentation, sub-optimal assessments, and delays in receiving care. The effects had multifaceted impacts and will require complex remedy.


ABSTRACT Heavy or extra-heavy crude oil has difficulty in transportation, especially for off shore. Catalytic upgrade treatment with iron oil-soluble catalyst (FASFe) was used in this paper to reduce crude oil's viscosity and meet the transport demand. After optimization of reaction conditions and without hydrogen donor added, both NB35-2B43 (from Bohai offshore oilfield) and LD16-1-3 (from Liaohe oilfield) reduced their viscosities from 2,167 mPa s and 20,600 mPa s to 279 mPa s and 396 mPa s, respectively. With determinations of analyzation, it was proved that FASFe catalyst can effectively upgrade the heavy oil. Meanwhile, the mechanism of upgrading was also investigated.


This study extends the previous research regarding the beneficial impacts of nature experiences on mental and physical health. A provocative exercise was designed to facilitate the sensory contact with natural objects on a group of 30 persons. The level of anxiety was assessed before and after participating in this exercise. We used an experimental design, observation, psychodiagnostic instruments (State – Trait Anxiety Inventory), and statistical methods (Paired-Samples T Test). After the participation in this type of provocative exercise the participants experienced a lower level of state anxiety, decresed levels of irritability, worry and fear.


Studies of translocation of polymers across the pores embedded in membranes draw attention not only to understand such naturally occurring events within the cell, but also to utilize them in various biotechnological applications. In this study, translocation properties of dendrimers of various sizes through alpha-hemolysin, a biological nanopore, are studied through accelerated molecular dynamics simulations. Our results reveal heterogeneity in the dependence of current blockade values on dendrimer size for trans side translocations. We show that not only size but also flexibility of the dendrimers of different generations, as well as their binding site must be collectively taken into account when determining ionic conductance upon translocation.


In this paper, we consider a one-dimensional diffusion process with jumps driven by a Hawkes process. We are interested in the estimations of the volatility function and of the jump function from discrete high-frequency observations in long time horizon. We first propose to estimate the volatility coefficient. For that, we introduce in our estimation procedure a truncation function that allows to take into account the jumps of the process and we estimate the volatility function on a linear subspace of L 2 (A) where A is a compact interval of R. We obtain a bound for the empirical risk of the volatility estimator and establish an oracle inequality for the adaptive estimator to measure the performance of the procedure. Then, we propose an estimator of a sum between the volatility and the jump coefficient modified with the conditional expectation of the intensity of the jumps. The idea behind this is to recover the jump function. We also establish a bound for the empirical risk for the non-adaptive estimator of this sum and an oracle inequality for the final adaptive estimator. We conduct a simulation study to measure the accuracy of our estimators in practice and we discuss the possibility of recovering the jump function from our estimation procedure.


Background: Nigella sativa oil (NSO) has been suggested for use in several food and pharmaceutical applications due to its bioactive contents.
Objectives: The present study investigated the effects of 14 µl/g body weight dosage of NSO on body weight, gut microflora and liver function status (LFS) of albino wistar rats. Phytochemical analysis of NSO extract was done.
Materials and Methods: Sixty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into two groups: 14 µl/g body weight of NSO was administered to group A while group B was given an equal volume of distilled water. Five rats provided baseline data for weight, the microbial counts and LFS in a 12-weeks experiment. At two weeks interval, five rats were sacrificed from each group and their intestinal contents were used for the microbial count (Viable, Coliform, E. coli, Staphylococci and Lactic acid bacteria (LAB)) assessment and the blood samples for LFS study.
Results: Nigella sativa oil showed the presence of alkaloids (0.083 mg/g), flavonoids (0.302 mg/g), saponins (0.325 mg/g), terpenes (0.138 mg/g), steroids (0.152 mg/g), tannins (0.008 mg/g) and terpenoid (0.138 mg/g). In both groups, the weight of rats continued to increase from the onset of the study, but between 10th and 12th week, non-significant (p>0.05) weight reduction was observed from 191.72±3.23 g to 189.30±4.71 g in the treatment group. Baseline Viable, Coliform, E. coli, Staphylococci and LAB counts (x 106 CFU/g) were 160, 146, 55, 23, and 154 respectively. Sequel to intake of NSO for twelve weeks, the microbial counts (x 106 CFU/g) were respectively 49, 38, 27, 11, and 318. Blood samples also showed a significant (p<0.05) reduction in LFS for Aspartate aminotransferase (78.48 to 60.06U/L), Alanine aminotransferase (30.80 to 18.54 U/L), Alkaline phosphatase (97.00 to 79.34U/L), and Bilirubin (0.52 to 0.20 U/L).
Conclusion: Beneficial effects of NSO at the investigated dosage of 14 µl/g body weight has been demonstrated as no toxicological effect was observed.


The force as a function of separation has been measured between two molecularly smooth mica surfaces immersed in dilute solution of cytochrome c. At pH 5.7 this protein, which has the shape of a flattened sphere, carries twelve net positive charges per unit and adsorbs on the negatively charged mica surfaces. The decay length for the asymptotic form of the double-layer forces as a function of the protein concentration is markedly less than the classical Debye screening length. The measured decay lengths are in close agreement with the asymptotic form derived by Mitchell and Ninham for highly asymmetric (here 12:1) electrolyte solutions. Some consequences for colloid stability are discussed.


The article presents the results of a study of the effectiveness of the use of an inhibitor of pancreatic enzyme secretion of octreotide (Octrade) for the prevention of pancreatitis after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). It was shown that the administration of Octrade at a dose of 0.3 mg in 500 ml of 0.9 % NaCl by continuous intravenous infusion for 7 hours and then 0.1 mg of Octrade subcutaneously at 6 and 12 hours after the end of intravenous infusion significantly reduced the frequency of pancreatitis (4.0 % and 22.2 %; p < 0.05) and hyperamylasemia (8.0 % and 25.9 %; p < 0.05) after ERCP. It is concluded that Octrade is effective in preventing the development of pancreatitis and hyperamilasemia after ERCP.


The effect of atmosphere on the fabrication of boronized Ti6Al4V/hydroxyapatite (HA) composites was investigated by microwave sintering of the mixture of Ti6Al4V alloy, HA, and TiB2 powders at 1050 °C for 30 min in the mixed gases of Ar + N2, Ar + CO, and Ar + H2, respectively. The presence of N2, CO, and H2 in the atmosphere caused formations of TiN, TiC, and TiH2 in the composites, respectively, together with evident microstructural changes that determined the mechanical properties (compressive strength, compressive modulus, and Vickers microhardness) and wettabilities of the composites after sintering. It was found that the composite exhibited the best mechanical performance with compressive strength of 148.59 MPa, compressive modulus of 13.9 GPa, and Vickers microhardness of 300.39 HV by microwave sintering in the mixed gas of Ar + H2, followed by those obtained in the mixed gases of Ar + N2 and Ar + CO. All of the composites possessed desirable wettabilities, irrespective of the sintering atmosphere, as demonstrated by their very low water contact angles (≤31.9°). The results indicated that it is critical to control the extents of nitration and carbonization for maintaining the performance of the composites, especially the mechanical properties, whereas there is no strict requirement for the same objective using the mixed gas of Ar + H2 in which qualified composites could be obtained for implant applications.


Electric field treatment was performed on a Ni-Cr-W-Mo superalloy to investigate the effects of electric field treatment on its corrosion behavior. The microstructure evolution and the elements distribution at grain boundaries of both annealing twins and high angle grains were examined. The results show that the corrosion resistance can be improved by the electric field treatment and both of the corrosion weight loss and corrosion rate are decreased with the increasing treating time. When the alloy is electric field treated at 1093K for 600min with 4 kV cm , the intergranular corrosion rate is 65.3mm y 1 with the decreasing ratio of 25.1% compared with the untreated one, and the immersion corrosion rate is 3.9mm y 1 with the decreasing ratio of 57.9% compared with the untreated one. The redistribution of elements between the original high angle grain boundaries and the annealing twins occurred by the formation and growth of the annealing twins during the electric field treatment, as well as the improvement of exhaustion of Cr and Mo elements at the grain boundaries. With the increasing treating time, a large amount of original high angle grain boundaries are replaced and the continuously distributed original grain boundaries are separated, which leads to the retardation the growth rate of the corrosion ditches. The corrosion resistance of the alloy is improved due to the changes of corrosion behavior of the grain boundary. Moreover, the promotion effect of electric field treatment on the atom diffusion rate decrease the exhaustion tendency of Cr and Mo elements on both sides of normal high angle grain boundary. Those can be considered as the reasons of improving the corrosion resistance after electric field treatment. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MF200905]


The spin-resolved electronic band structure of Au-induced metallic atomic wires on a vicinal silicon surface, Si(553), was investigated using spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. We directly measured the spin polarization of three partially filled one-dimensional metallic bands, a one-third-filled band, and the doublet of nearly half-filled bands. For the half-filled doublet, the strong apparent spin polarization was observed near the Fermi energy with a minor out-of-plane spin component. This observation is consistent with the Rashba-type spin-orbit splitting and with a recent experiment on a similar doublet of Si(557)-Au. In contrast, the one-third-filled band does not show a substantial spin polarization within the experimental accuracy, indicating a much smaller spin splitting, if any. These results are discussed for the origin of the partially filled bands and for the intriguing broken-symmetry ground state observed at low temperature.


Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is believed to be an important technique for future wireline and wireless communications. One of the major disadvantages of such a multi-carrier modulation is the sensitivity of the performance to a frequency offset. The frequency offset can result from a Doppler shift due to mobile movement as well as from a carrier frequency synchronization error. Such a frequency offset causes a loss of the carriers' orthogonality, and hence Inter Carrier Interference (ICI). A previously proposed method to estimate and correct the frequency offset uses the retransmission of a data symbol, thus reducing the bandwidth efficiency. Another method, which merely reduces the effects of the IC1 instead of completely correcting for effects of the frequency offset is based on repetition coding in the frequency domain, hence also reducing the throughput. In this paper, we propose a blind method using the correlation of the samples at the output of the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) to estimate the frequency offset. As no training sequence or symbol retransmission is required there is no loss in bandwidth efficiency. Additionally, we develop an adaptive algorithm for the frequency offset correction. The derived algorithm is basically a stochastic gradient algorithm which minimizes the mean squared frequency offset error.


This paper is concerned with the derivation of a consistent formal method to allow for estimating the economic value of a Dash proposal. Standing on the Currency Fair Value[1] theory as rational financial pricing model of a currency, the paper will arrive at a straightforward and objective calculation tool, in the form of several simple equations. These will allow Masternode owners and individuals who submit proposals to the Dash treasury to estimate the expected value return of the economic proposals and thus, enable them to make more rational decisions. Development of this new model will require differential analysis of the fair value equation, as a basis for the analytical expressions expected by the main target audience. This analysis goes beyond the scope of Dash and many other currency research efforts may also drawn upon it. Keywords: Dash·Proposal·Quantitative Finance·Asset Pricing·Currency Fair Value·Investing


Knowledge productivity, the central theme of this thesis, brings on new challenges in managing the knowledge workers in the 21st century. This thesis was embarked with the purpose to understand the relationship between the job design and knowledge productivity among Administrative and Diplomatic Officers (PTD). The PTD has been regarded as a premier knowledge worker in the Malaysian government. They primarily acts as a think tank in assisting the government in formulating and maintaining the public policies portfolios. In accordance with the rapid transformations in the age of information, the PTD is required to have knowledge and competencies to face the increasing responsibilities and upcoming challenges. Thus, it is the responsibility of the Malaysian Federal Ministries in overseeing the productivity of their knowledge workers. However, as a consequence of the transition towards the knowledge economy, most organizations including the public sectors are dumbfounded on understanding the drivers of productivity. The traditional factors for workers' productivity such as rewards and incomes have lost its significance. Organizations clearly do not understand on the concept of knowledge productivity and how to make the knowledge more productive for the benefits of their workers and organizational improvements. Accordingly, based on the literature studies, the researcher found that there is lack of studies with regards to knowledge productivity in the context of Malaysia's public sectors. This has created a big gaps on how to harness the knowledge of the civil servants, particularly the PTD to become more productive. Identifying the factors that influence the PTD's knowledge productivity could facilitate the public sectors in enhancing their knowledge workers' competency and innovation. This study employs a quantitative research approach involving 305 PTDs working in 21 Malaysian Federal Ministries in Putrajaya. Preliminary studies were conducted to gain better understanding on the perceptions of knowledge productivity in the public sectors, followed by a survey to validate the developed conceptual framework and testing the formulated hypotheses. Job design characteristics namely task, knowledge, social and work context characteristics were hypnotized to be significantly related to knowledge productivity measured in terms of knowledge creation process and innovation. The statistical analyses findings revealed that all the formulated hypotheses were well-supported. Hence, the Malaysia's public sectors need to design the jobs of the PTDs more fittingly as it could harness their knowledge activities to be more productive and this leads to ideas in innovating the public services and processes.


Reported speech/quotations are used to insert other voices in texts, resulting in a form of intertextuality. With this characteristic, they are a form of intertextuality. Reporting can be through direct, indirect, strategic, transformed indirect and ostensible direct quotations and these involve ideological implications since they are closely related to evaluation and assessment. In this study, different types of reported speech and their discursive functions have been studied within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis in the op-ed articles in nine different newspapers known to be the representatives of different political ideologies. According to the findings of the study, direct quotations are the most frequently used type of reported speech and they are followed by indirect quotations in all types of ideologies. Considering type and ideology relationship, it has been found that writers of secular ideology use direct, strategical and transformed indirect quotations more frequently than the others. On the other hand, indirect and ostensible direct quotations are used more frequently in Islamist ideology. Regarding their discursive functions, writers use quotations to realize different aims: tangibly supporting their arguments to make themselves more creditable, increase the reliability of their arguments, legitimize/validate their own statements; dramatizing events; evading responsibility by distancing themselves from the source of information; describing and disparaging the characteristics of the person they quote or report; bringing the opposing opinions to the attention of the readers; providing the background of a piece of information; describing the characteristics of the person quoted and praising them.


OBJECTIVE
To produce a conceptually equivalent Arabic version of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Assessment Test (CAT), and to assess its reliability.

METHODS
A prospective observational study was carried out from June 2010 to September 2010 at King Abdulaziz Medical City and King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We conducted this study in 2 phases. Phase 1: the translation of the CAT from English to Arabic, through forward and backward translation, as well as pilot testing. Phase 2: assessment of the test-retest reliability of the CAT for 45 patients with COPD who received optimal care by their pulmonologist.

RESULTS
This study was conducted on 45 participants. The CAT mean total (+/- SD) score at the test session was 10.7+/-5.8, and 9.2+/-4.5 at the re-test session. The interclass correlation of the total score was 0.9 (p=0.000076). The strongest correlation was for the item of confidence in leaving home with a value of 0.92 (p=0.000082), whereas the weakest was for the item related to sleep with a value of 0.53 (p=0.007).

CONCLUSION
The Arabic version of the CAT was found to be easy to administer, reliable, and had a strong interclass correlation reflecting stability over time and across the items.


This paper gives a framework of data semantic description using RDF/XML. The paper first clarifies the functions and characters of XML and RDF, especially the XML Schema and RDF Schema which are important to the framework to put forward. Subsequently ,it proposes the RDF/XML data semantic description framework. In succession, solutions are brought forward to combine the XML Schema and RDF Schema in the framework.


Overall abstractSuicide is a complex phenomenon
that occurs on a continuum with thoughts of suicide, plans and
attempts that can eventually result in death. Suicide is one of the
top ten reasons for death in most countries. Governments are
challenging healthcare systems to reduce suicide through
preventative healthcare. The first paper explores psychological
interventions for people with suicidal thoughts and behaviours
delivered through technology. It explores the evidence-base for
internet-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, telephone based
interventions, CD-ROMs and other Internet-based therapies. Nineteen
papers were identified with four papers of good quality evidence
supporting Internet-based cognitive behavioural interventions. The
second paper is a feasibility and acceptability study which
explores a diary and intervention delivered through a mobile phone.
Twenty participants were recruited through adult secondary care
community mental health teams in the North West of England. High
completion rates and low dropout rates were found. Participants
rated the technology and interventions high in terms of
practicality, ease of use and overall satisfaction with the
programme and reported that it was moderately helpful. Preliminary
data on effectiveness suggests reactivity to the method in the
short term but a reduction in symptoms overall. These results and
ESM methodology must be treated with caution for people with
suicidal thoughts due to the increase in symptoms found following
the intervention.The third paper offers a critical reflection on
the first and second papers.%%%%CD of interventions


INTRODUCTION: The tumor microenvironment consists of a complicated interplay between a heterogeneous mixture of tumor cells and the surrounding tissue and there is a burgeoning interest in the role of the tissue microbiota within this microenvironment. Our group has investigated the breast tumor microbiome using the unaligned (non-human) reads from 796 RNASequencing data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) repository of Breast Cancer. METHODS: Unmapped sequences for 720 TCGA tumor samples and 76 paired normal samples were analyzed with Kraken v0.10.5 using the RefSeq 16S and standard genomes. To minimize false discoveries Kraken results were filtered to species that have bacterial genomic and 16S read support. Cluster analysis of the T-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (tsne) was performed and consensus voting of 26 maximum scoring metrics identified 3 distinct clusters. Differential abundance analysis was performed with the edgeR package. Covariate association analysis was performed for tumor clinical characteristics, as well as sample heterogeneity characteristics. RESULTS: There were three microbiome clusters we identified using TCGA breast samples. The average silhouette width of the third cluster was deemed statistically insignificant (0.071), suggesting further stratification of this cluster is necessary. The remaining two TCGA clusters (467) shared an average silhouette width of 0.39, using Bray9s dissimilarity index. Differential abundance analysis of the two clusters after Bonferroni correction identified 450 significant species. The biomes were represented by 63 triple negative, 93 HER2+, 258 Luminal, and 50 tumor adjacent normals. Concordant cluster assignment was observed in 93.7 +/- 7.3% of the normal-tumor pairings, averaged across clinical subtypes. We observed clear delineation of biome populations at the order taxonomic level, which was not associated with the clinical subtype or the tumor/tumor adjacent pairings. We found enrichment of Burkholderiales in the first biome and enrichment of Bacillales and Lactobacillales within the second biome. The second biome appears to be deplete of representatives from the Asian population (p value 0.005) and survival associations were observed to be significantly reduced for HER2 patients associated with Biome 1 (p value 0.025). Geneset enrichment analysis of the expression signatures indicated drug metabolism and chemical carcinogenesis pathways to be associated with biome 2. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we observed two significantly different microbiomes among TCGA breast cancer samples that were not associated with the clinical subtypes. Current efforts include validating these biomes, using 16S sequencing on matching fresh frozen paraffin embedded samples. Additionally, we are evaluating the influence of the biomes in independent adjuvant and neo-adjuvant studies with next generation sequencing data. Citation Format: Kevin J. Thompson, Jason Sinnwell, Xiaojia Tang, James N. Ingle, Matthew P. Goetz, Krishna R. Kalari. Distinct microbiome populations within breast cancer microenvironments. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3298.


With the popularity of the Internet of Things on the rise, sensor networks have become essential parts of traditional Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructures in a wide variety of applications. However, their increasing complexity, inter-connectivity, and pervasive implementation, exposes these infrastructures to a large variety of security threats. As a result, practical security analysis needs to be performed to evidentiate the possible vulnerable points in IoT infrastructures. In this work we consider a typical architecture of a data aggregation platform with publish-subscribe support composed of interconnected sensor and ICT infrastructures. We present a comprehensive threat analysis by considering the availability, integrity, and confidentiality security objectives. We describe the experimental results of a case study performed on a real, laboratory-scale implementation of an IoT-based application. Finally, we demonstrate that modern IoT-based software are susceptible to cyber attacks that use traditional attack vectors and recently reported vulnerabilities, e.g., Heartbleed and Shellshock.


Doubts about being of value to medically ill patients and their referring physicians is not an uncommon emotional reaction of consultation-liaison psychiatrists to the medical environment. Both realistic perceptions of negative attitudes of non-psychiatric physicians as well as unrealistic doubts about their potential uesfulness, which may be projected upon and attributed to their non-psychiatric colleagues, can contribute to this unsettling response. This reaction may interfere with effective collaboration between consultation-liaison psychiatrists and their non-psychiatric colleagues and needs to be understood and mastered.


Introduction and Objectives: We report a rare case of localized primary bladder amyloidosis, and we conducted a literature review.

 Materials and Methods: A 70-year-old man with gross haematuria and storage bladder symptoms was diagnosed with primary bladder amyloidosis with clinical and radiological features of bladder tumor. A comprehensive review of English literature was done. PubMed, NCBI and Science Direct were searched using the following search terms: "primary"; "Bladder"; "Amyloidosis".

 Results: Primary localized bladder amyloidosis is a rare and benign urological disease with approximately 210 reported cases in the English literature. It is usually of the AL type and commonly presents with gross painless haematuria and storage bladder symptoms, mimicking bladder malignancy. Imaging investigations such as ultrasound scan, CT scan and MRI are not diagnostic, whereas histopathological examination confirms the diagnosis. Transurethral resection of the bladder lesion is the treatment of choice; however local recurrence is common (50% of cases).

 Conclusion: Localised bladder amyloidosis is almost always of AL type and does not progress to systemic amyloidosis. Treatment is not curative and recurrence is common, hence surveillance cystoscopy is required.


In the framework of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM) for the first time the spectral dependence of particle linear depolarization ratios was measured by combining four lidar systems. In this paper these measurements are compared with results from scattering theory based on the T-matrix method. For this purpose, in situ measurements—size distribution, shape distribution and refractive index—were used as input parameters; particle shape was approximated by spheroids. A sensitivity study showed that lidar-related parameters—lidar ratio Sp and linear depolarization ratio δp—are very sensitive to changes of all parameters. The simulated values of the δp are in the range of 20% and 31% and thus in the range of the measurements. The spectral dependence is weak, so that it could not be resolved by the measurements. Calculated lidar ratios based on the measured microphysics and considering equivalent radii up to 7.5μm show a range of possible values between 29 and 50 sr at λ = 532 nm. Larger Sp might be possible if the real part of the refractive index is small and the imaginary part is large. A strict validation was however not possible as too many microphysical parameters influence Sp and δp that could not be measured with the required accuracy.


The paper defines a new approach and investigates a fundamental problem in route planners. This capability is important for robotic vehicles (Martian Rovers, etc.) and for planning off road military manoeuvres. The emphasis throughout the paper is on the design and analysis and hierarchical implementation of our route planner. The work was motivated by anticipation of the need to search a grid of a trillion points for optimum routes. This cannot be done simply by scaling upward from the algorithms used to search a grid of 10,000 points. Algorithms sufficient for the small grid are totally inadequate for the large grid. Soon, the challenge will be to compute off road routes more then 100 km long and with a one or two meter grid. Previous efforts are reviewed and the data structures, decomposition methods and search algorithms are analyzed and limitations are discussed. A detailed discussion of a hierarchical implementation is provided and the experimental results are analyzed. The principal contributions of the paper are: new algorithms for decomposing the map and new search methods; analysis of new approaches; and the use of expert systems, deductive databases and mediators. Experimental results are included of a detailed implementation.