Spheromak research from 1979 to the present is reviewed including over I60 references. Emphasis is on understanding and interpretation of results. In addition to summarizing results some new interpretations are presented. An introduction and brief history is followed by a discussion of generalized helicity and its time derivative. Formation and sustainment are discussed including five different methods, flux core, theta -pinch z-pinch, coaxial source, conical theta -pinch, and kinked z-pinch. All methods use helicity injections. Steady-state methods and rules for designing spheromak experiments are covered, followed by equilibrium and stability. Methods of stabilizing the tilt and shift modes are discussed as well as their impact on the reactor designs. Current-driven and pressure-driven instabilities as well as relaxation in general are covered. Energy confinement is discussed in terms of helicity decay time and and beta s limits. The confinement in high and low open-flux geometries are compared and the reactor implications discussed.


This report gives the preliminary results of a pretest cosponsored by the International Fertility Research Program and the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. It includes data on 33 116 deliveries in 20 maternity centers in Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The findings are organized around four themes: (a) family formation and reproductive history, (b) family health, (c) management of this delivery and (d) desired family size and family planning practices.


The exfoliating exotoxin of serotype II staphylococci is responsable of three diseases with prevailing dermatologic symptoms: staphylococcal scarlet fever, staphylococcal Lyell syndrom and Ritter-Lyell disease. Melish demonstrated the effect of staphylococcal exotoxin on new-born mice less than five days old. This experimental model allowed to study the characteristics of the toxin. Precocious antistaphylococcal antibiotherapy is necessary.


An inactivating mutation in the human CCR5 gene reduces the risk of HIV-1 infection in individuals with homozygous alleles. We explored whether genetic immunization would induce an immune response directed to CCR5 structures and if immunological tolerance toward endogenous CCR5 could be broken. We also studied whether this immunization approach could protect cynomolgus monkeys from an infection, with SIVsm, which primarily uses CCR5 as a coreceptor. Epidermal but not intramuscular delivery of the CCR5 gene to mice elicited strong IgG antibody binding responses to CCR5. Intramucosal immunization of cynomolgus macaques with CCR5 DNA followed by boosts with CCR5 peptides induced prominent IgG and IgA antibody responses in serum and vaginal washings. The CCR5-specific antibodies neutralized the infectivity of primary human R5 HIV-1 strains, and the macaque SIVsm but not that of a tissue culture-adapted X4 HIV-1 strain. The consecutive CCR5 gene and CCR5 peptide immunizations induced B- and T-cell responses to peptides representing both human and macaque amino acid sequences of the respective CCR5 proteins. This indicates that tolerance was broken against endogenous macaque CCR5, which has a 98% homology to the human CCR5 gene. After the final boost, the vaccinated monkeys together with two control monkeys were challenged with SIVsm. Neither protection against nor enhancement of SIVsm infection was achieved.


For the past 15 years, Wilfried H. Brutsaert has been Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, Itahca, N.Y., teaching and conducting research in hydrology and fluid mechanics. He began life in Ghent, Belgium, and received the Engineer's Diploma from the State University of Ghent in 1958, having spent the previous summer investigating evapotranspiration and applied hydrology in Zaire.

My acquaintance with Wilfried began in September 1958, when he arrived at the University of California, Davis, to study for and later receive the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. It is with great satisfaction, personally and professionally, that I have had the opportunity to be a colleague of Brutsaert during the past 3 decades.


High risk neuroblastoma (NB) represents a major clinical challenge in pediatric oncology and accounts for 15% of pediatric cancer deaths. Our recent studies suggest that neuroblastoma tumors are heterogeneous and composed of multiple subpopulations including cancer stem cells (CSCs), marked by Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor Receptor (G-CSFR or CD114) positive cells. These CD114+ cells are shown to be highly tumorigenic, metastatic, self-renewing and can differentiate into non-tumorigenic progeny. As tumor subpopulations typically demonstrate distinct epigenetic modifications at histone H3K4 and H3K27, we evaluate these epigenetic marks at the CSF3R locus (gene encoding G-CSFR) by ChIP-qPCR. Results suggest that the CSF3R gene is switched 'on' in NB CSCs via reversible epigenetic histone modifications. The CSF3R promoter in CD114+ NB CSCs, shows increased activating H3K4me3 marks and reduced repressive H3K27me3 marks. In the CD114- bulk tumor population, we found the opposite pattern of increased H3K27me3 marks and reduced H3K4me3 marks. In addition, knockdown of EZH2 (the PRC2 methyltransferase responsible for H3K27me3 marks) increases CD114+ expression in both cell culture and murine xenograft models of neuroblastoma. Furthermore, gene expression studies revealed high levels of MLL1 (encoded by KMT2A), and Jumonji D3 (JMJD3, encoded by KDM6B) in CD114+ cells. MLL1 is a histone methyltransferase that catalyzes mono-, di- and tri-methylation on H3K4, while JMJD3 is an H3K27me3 demethylase. Blocking MLL1 and JMJD3 with specific small molecule inhibitors, MM-102 and GSK-J4 reduces overall survival of NB cells and also reduces the percentage of CD114+ cells in vitro. Importantly, targeting these epigenetic regulators rapidly down-regulate the G-CSF receptor expression and induces apoptosis specifically in CD114+ cells but not in CD114- cells, suggesting maintenance of NB CSCs by these epigenetic modifiers. In vivo studies of these epigenetic inhibitors in neuroblastoma murine xenograft models validate our in vitro studies and demonstrate highly significant reduction in overall tumor size and metastasis with correlated reduction of total CD114+ cells in resected tumors. Overall, we demonstrate that histone modifications play a key role in maintaining the NB cancer stem cells, and that specific epigenetic inhibitors are highly potent anti-tumor agents for high risk neuroblastoma. Our findings have direct translational impact and support the development of epigenetic stem cell targeted therapies for neuroblastoma. Citation Format: Saurabh Agarwal, Zaowen Chen, Sanjeev Vasudevan, Jason M. Shohet. Epigenetic regulators maintain neuroblastoma cancer stem cells: Model to treatment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Pediatric Cancer Research: From Mechanisms and Models to Treatment and Survivorship; 2015 Nov 9-12; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(5 Suppl):Abstract nr A15.


Thought experiments and simulation experiments are compared and contrasted with each other. While the former rely on epistemic transparency as a working condition, in the latter complexity of model dynamics leads to epistemic opacity. The difference is elucidated by a discussion of the different kinds of iteration that are at work in both sorts of experiment.


Objective The aim of this study was to assess the caesarean section (CS) rates using Robson's 10-Group Classification System among women who gave birth at Hawassa University Referral Hospital in southern Ethiopia. Design Cross-sectional study design to determine CS rate using Robson's 10-Group Classification System. Setting Hawassa University Referral Hospital in south Ethiopia. Participants 4004 women who gave birth in Hawassa University Referral Hospital from June 2018 to June 2019. Results The 4004 women gave birth to 4165 babies. The overall CS rate was 32.8% (95% CI: 31.4%–34.3%). The major contributors to the overall CS rates were: Robson group 1 (nulliparous women with singleton pregnancy at term in spontaneous labour) 22.9%; group 5 (multiparous women with at least one previous CS) 21.4% and group 3 (multiparous women without previous CS, with singleton pregnancy in spontaneous labour) 17.3%. The most commonly reported indications for CS were 'fetal compromise' (35.3%) followed by previous CS (20.3%) and obstructed labour (10.7%). Conclusion A high proportion of women giving birth at this hospital were given a CS, and many of them were in a low-risk group. Few had trial of labour. More active use of partogram, improving fetal heartbeat-monitoring system, implementing midwife-led care, involving a companion during labour and auditing the appropriateness of CS indications may help to reduce the CS rate.


The difference between male and female behavior and male and female susceptibility to a number of neuropsychiatric conditions is not controversial. From a biological perspective, one might expect to see at least some of these differences underpinned by identifiable physical differences in the brain. This Mini‐Review focuses on evidence that plasticity mechanisms differ between males and females and ask at what scale of organization the differences might exist, at the systems level, the circuits level, or the synaptic level. Emerging evidence suggests that plasticity differences may extend to the scale of synaptic mechanisms. In particular, the CaMKK, NOS1 and estrogen receptor pathways show sexual dimorphisms with implications for plasticity in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Neuroscience Research Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


This work proposes a sensor-based control system for fully automated object detection and exploration U+0028 surface following U+0029 with a redundant industrial robot. The control system utilizes both offline and online trajectory planning for reactive interaction with objects of different shapes and color using RGB-D vision and proximity U+002F contact sensors feedback where no prior knowledge of the objects is available. The RGB-D sensor is used to collect raw 3D information of the environment. The data is then processed to segment an object of interest in the scene. In order to completely explore the object, a coverage path planning technique is proposed using a dynamic 3D occupancy grid method to generate a primary U+0028 offline U+0029 trajectory. However, RGB-D sensors are very sensitive to lighting and provide only limited accuracy on the depth measurements. Therefore, the coverage path planning is then further assisted by a real-time adaptive path planning using a fuzzy self-tuning proportional integral derivative U+0028 PID U+0029 controller. The latter allows the robot to dynamically update the 3D model by a specially designed instrumented compliant wrist and adapt to the surfaces it approaches or touches. A mode-switching scheme is also proposed to efficiently integrate and smoothly switch between the interaction modes under certain conditions. Experimental results using a CRS-F3 manipulator equipped with a custom-built compliant wrist demonstrate the feasibility and performance of the proposed method.


Memorizing kanji-Japanese written characters-and their thousands of shapes, sounds, and meanings-would drive anyone crazy. And here's something crazier: a whole book about kanji-where they come from, why they look like they do, how to tell husband from prisoner, where to find kanji in Wales, and how to learn kanji faster. Scattered throughout are nearly one hundred large-type "exhibits" of kanji madness, including puzzles and even kanji sudoku. Crazy for Kanji is visually striking and loads of fun for students and language lovers. Eve Kushner, based in Berkeley, California, is a student of Japanese and an incurable kanji-holic.


Radar is an important tool for investigating and forecasting processes in Earth's atmosphere. More specifically, multiple frequencies of radar with sensitivities to cloud and precipitation regimes are important for process-level weather and climate studies. An online educational applet (http://lecuyer.aos.wisc.edu/radarlabviewer) has been developed to provide a learning experience about this topic with an intended audience of undergraduate and graduate university–level students. Cloud-resolving model data coupled with a radar instrument simulator provide a three-dimensional view of a midlatitude winter cyclone that is explorable through the applet. This synthetic laboratory environment provides direct comparisons between modeled hydrometeors and simulated instrument observations allowing students to visualize the concepts of attenuation, non-Rayleigh scattering, insensitivity of instruments, and viewing perspective. Variations in the minimum detectable signal of instruments also expose students to the real-world tradeoffs between instrument features and costs. Additional development and formal educational assessment of the applet is planned in the future.


Ontology learning aims to automatically extract ontological concepts and relationships from related text repositories and is expected to be more efficient and scalable than manual ontology development. One of the challenging issues associated with ontology learning is word sense disambiguation (WSD). Most WSD research employs resources such as WordNet, text corpora, or a hybrid approach. Motivated by the large volume and richness of user-generated content in social media, this research explores the role of social media in ontology learning. Specifically, our approach exploits social media as a dynamic context rich data source for WSD. This paper presents a method and preliminary evidence for the efficacy of our proposed method for WSD. The research is in progress toward conducting a formal evaluation of the social media based method for WSD, and plans to incorporate the WSD routine into an ontology learning system in the future.


Tracheal abnormalities are extremely rare and can occur as a single congenital anomaly, as part of a wider spectrum of abnormalities [such as the syndrome of vertebral defects, anal atresia, tracheoesphageal fistula and/or oesophageal atresia, radial dysplasia, and renal defects (VATER), and the syndrome of vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiovascular defects, tracheoesphageal fistula and/or oesophageal atresia, radial dysplasia, and renal and limb defects (VACTERL)] or in tracheomalacia. Congenital complete and near-complete tracheal rings are the more common morphological abnormalities that occur. A case of a long segment of bow-shaped, as opposed to horseshoe-shaped, tracheal rings is presented, along with a review of tracheal anatomy and embryology. This abnormality presented when, during repeated attempts at endotracheal intubation, the anaesthetist was consistently unable to ventilate the patient, whereas they were able to do so with a facemask. Bronchoscopy showed the posterior tracheal wall prolapsing into the airway, and radiology demonstrated this to be due to wide tracheal rings without any intrathoracic abnormality.


Long-chain fatty acyl-CoA synthase 1 (ACSL1) plays a vital role in the synthesis and metabolism of fatty acids. The proportion of highly unsaturated fatty acids in beef not only affects the flavor and improves the meat's nutritional value. In this study, si-ACSL1 and NC-ACSL1 were transfected in bovine preadipocytes, respectively, collected cells were isolated on the fourth day of induction, and then RNA-Seq technology was used to screen miRNAs related to unsaturated fatty acid synthesis. A total of 1,075 miRNAs were characterized as differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs), of which the expressions of 16 miRNAs were upregulated, and that of 12 were downregulated. Gene ontology analysis indicated that the target genes of DE-miRNAs were mainly involved in biological regulation and metabolic processes. Additionally, KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analysis identified that the target genes of DE-miRNAs were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways, fatty acid metabolism, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, glycerophospholipid metabolism, fatty acid elongation, and glucagon signaling pathway. Combined with the previous mRNA sequencing results, several key miRNA-mRNA targeting relationship pairs, i.e., novel-m0035-5p—ACSL1, novel-m0035-5p—ELOVL4, miR-9-X—ACSL1, bta-miR-677—ACSL1, miR-129-X—ELOVL4, and bta-miR-485—FADS2 were screened via the miRNA-mRNA interaction network. Thus, the results of this study provide a theoretical basis for further research on miRNA regulation of unsaturated fatty acid synthesis in bovine adipocytes.


From an AI point of view, Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games are hard because they have enormous state spaces, they are real-time and partially observable. In this paper, we present an approach to deploy game-tree search in RTS games by using game state abstraction. We propose a high-level abstract representation of the game state, that significantly reduces the branching factor when used for game-tree search algorithms. Using this high-level representation, we evaluate versions of alpha-beta search and of Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS). We present experiments in the context of StarCraft showing promising results in dealing with the large branching factors present in RTS games.


In this contribution, the evolution of the Bay of Brest ecosystem over the past 50 years is used to explore the construction of interdisciplinary knowledge and raise key questions that now need to be tackled at the science-policy-communities interface. The Bay of Brest is subject to a combination of several aspects of global change, including excessive nutrient inputs from watersheds and the proliferation of invasive species. These perturbations strongly interact, affecting positively or negatively the ecosystem functioning, with important impacts on human activities. We first relate a cascade of events over these five decades, linking farming activities, N and Si biogeochemical cycles, the proliferation of an exotic benthic suspension feeder, the Great scallop fishing and biodiversity in maerl beds. This cascade leads to today's situation where toxic phytoplankton blooms become recurrent in the Bay, preventing the fishery of the great scallop and leading the fishermen community to switch
pray and alter the maerl habitat and the benthic biodiversity it hosts, despite the many scientific alerts and the protection of this habitat, How is this possible despite decades of joint work between scientists and fishermen? Is adaptive co-management a sufficient condition for a sustainable management of an ecosystem? How do the different groups (farmers, fishermen, scientists, environmentalists…), with their diverse interests, take charge of this situation? What is the role of power in this difficult transformation to sustainability? Answering these questions requires an interdisciplinary approach, especially between natural sciences (NS) and human and social sciences (HSS). Here, we first show the importance of geographical proximity in the build-up of this interdisciplinary knowledge, first among biogeochemists and benthic biologists by the time the IUEM institute was built in the late 1990's. We also confirm the importance of this proximity and the need for the establishment of boundary settings that allow for the crucially needed long-term interactions between the NS and HSS communities. The
creation of the research group ApoliMer (for a political anthropology of the sea) in 2014 and the creation of a new axis on social-ecological systems (SES) within the LabexMer in 2015, are such examples of these boundary settings created recently. Combining natural sciences with political science, anthropology and the political sociology of science, we hope to improve the contribution of HSS to SES studies, creating the conditions to address these key questions at the science-policy interface. The ZABrI created in 2012 provides an ideal setting for inter- and trans-disciplinary studies through tight work with various stakeholders, hopefully improving the transformation towards sustainability.


Internet-based video delivery offers new opportunities for interactive television. The creation and usability of interactive television is very different from desktop or web-based interaction. The concepts of frameworks and genres provides an approach to learnable interaction in an entertainment rather than task-oriented activity. The concept of a framework defines the tools required for both producing and viewing a particular style of interactive video experience. An interactive framework for televised sports is presented. This framework implements a sports television experience that support play-by-play navigation as well as viewer's interactive choice of camera angles. Tools for creating and viewing interactive sports are developed in parallel. In-home and in-lab experiments give indications of how sports fans will use interactive television in the future. The experiments demonstrate that fans will use the interaction rather than passively watching, can easily learn the interactive features and strongly prefer the new features over tradition rewind/fast-forward. The data indicates that many users will use the interactive controls to enrich and prolong their viewing rather than simply skipping as rapidly as possible through a game. However, there is also indication that some viewers will simply skip rapidly. There are also indications that the skip vs. review interaction depends on the interest level of current game play.


The relative motions of the tectonic plates show remarkable variation throughout Earth’s history. Major changes in relative motion between the tectonic plates are traditionally viewed as spatially and temporally isolated events linked to forces acting on plate boundaries (i.e., formation of same-dip double subduction zones, changes in the strength of the boundary), or thought to be associated with mantle dynamics. A Cretaceous global plate reorganization event has been postulated to have affected all major plates. The Cretaceous ‘swing’ in Africa-Eurasia relative plate motion provides an ideal test-bed for assessing the temporal and spatial evolution of both relative plate motions and surrounding geological markers. Here we show a novel plate kinematic model for the closure of the Tethys Ocean by implementing intra-Cretaceous Quiet Zone time markers and combine the results with the geological constraints found along the convergent plate boundary. Our results allow to assess the order, causes and consequences of geological events and unravel a chain of tectonic events that set off with the onset of horizontally-forced double subduction ~105 Myr ago, followed by a 40 Myr long period of acceleration of the Africa relative to Eurasia that peaked at 80 Myr ago (at rates four times as high as previously predicted). This acceleration, which was likely caused by the pull of two same-dip subduction zones was followed by a sharp decrease in plate velocity, when double subduction terminated with ophiolite obduction onto the African margin. These tectonic forces acted on the eastern half of the Africa-Eurasia plate boundary, which led to counterclockwise rotation of Africa and sparked new subduction zones in the western Mediterranean region. Our analysis identifies the Cretaceous double subduction episode between Africa and Eurasia as a link in the global plate tectonic chain reaction and provides a dynamic view on plate reorganizations.


The serum glucose values of 1,423 blood samples from 620 Mystromys albicaudatus have been determined and defined as ortho glycemie or hyperglycemie. Analyses of variance tests and regression analyses of the data revealed a significant difference between orthoglycemic and hyperglycemie serum glucose means and indicated that serum glucose is not affected by sex, inbreeding, or age in these animals. However, within classifications of orthoglycemic and hyperglycemie, weight did affect serum glucose. Therefore, while obesity did not occur during this study, obese-hyperglycemia syndromes might be expected should the animals become overweight. The data and their analyses are strongly indicative that spontaneous diabetes mellitus in M. albicaudatus, as related to hyperglycemie, is very similar to the disease in man.


We investigate the problem of classifying a line of program as containing a vulnerability or not using machine learning. Such a line-level classification task calls for a program representation which goes beyond reasoning from the tokens present in the line. We seek a distributed representation in a latent feature space which can capture the control and data dependencies of tokens appearing on a line of program, while also ensuring lines of similar meaning have similar features. We present a neural architecture, Vulcan, that successfully demonstrates both these requirements. It extracts contextual information about tokens in a line and inputs them as Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) paths to a bi-directional LSTM with an attention mechanism. It concurrently represents the meanings of tokens in a line by recursively embedding the lines where they are most recently defined. In our experiments, Vulcan compares favorably with a state-of-the-art classifier, which requires significant preprocessing of programs, suggesting the utility of using deep learning to model program dependence information.


Background
Travel-related psychosis (TrP) can be difficult for both the traveller and treating clinician. This review focuses upon a particular subset of TrP occurring during travel to destinations with high religious, spiritual, cultural or aesthetic value (high valence destinations) because it is both interesting and informative.

Method
Psychiatric, occupational and travel medicine literature was reviewed using PubMed with search terms of 'travel' AND 'psychosis' and 'international travel' AND 'psychosis' from 1998 to the present. Articles were included if they dealt with psychosis in travellers to high valence destinations. Articles were excluded if they dealt primarily with psychosis in travellers due to drug or medication usage. French literature was obtained using the CH St. Anne Ey Medical Library, Paris, France.

Results
Literature on TrP to high valence destinations is lacking many details. The range of high valence destinations is wide. Incidence and prevalence figures for TrP of any type do not exist although rough calculations as to incidence of psychiatric problems and psychosis in travellers are made based upon the articles reviewed and are discussed. Findings lead to several hypotheses with both medico-legal, diagnostic and epidemiological ramifications.

Conclusions
TrP to a number of high valence destinations is a real phenomenon worthy of further study. It is not clear that TrP is more likely to occur with such travel than to non-high valence destinations or not. First episode psychosis during travel to high valence and other destinations is reported and has medico-legal ramifications. Some TrP episodes likely are brief psychotic disorders and this hypothesis should be rigorously explored in future reports. A number of suggestions concerning further studies are made.


A Campanian spit comprised of clinoform-bound sandstone wedges demarcates the base of the Eagle Sandstone along the rim-rocks surrounding Billings, Montana. The spit is connected to the Eagle strandline via a seismically defined northwest-southeast-trending basement fault which cores the Crooked Creek anticline. This recurrently active fault cut perpendicular to the Eagle strandline, localizing a fluviodeltaic headland which delivered an enormous volume of sand to the pendant spit. Detailed facies analysis of outcrop and subsurface data documents a strandline-parallel, southwesterly offlap of the sandstone wedges on the shallow shelf. Facies progressions within and across accretionary wedges define relative sea level movements during the genesis of the spit. Longshore and eddy currents, combined with a slow eustatic rise, forced a southwesterly migration of fine- to medium-grained sand. Spit progradation slowed and was ultimately terminated as the rate of eustatic rise overtook the rate of sediment supply. Spits resulting from similar/fault intersections are excellent exploration targets. The Billings spit spans 180 mi{sup 2} and reaches thickness exceeding 100 ft. A favorable reservoir/trap configuration results from the spit's lensoidal and potentially shale-encased geometry. Exploration for these spits must concentrate seaward and downcurrent of near-perpendicular fault/strand intersections.


Reliable inkjet drop-on-demand dispensing of cells has numerous applications including cell assays and tissue engineering. Previous work on inkjet cell printing has demonstrated that the cell count per droplet is inhomogeneous and does not follow the expected Poisson distribution. In the present work, the flow-induced cell behaviour is characterised to better understand the hydrodynamic mechanisms behind unreliable cell printing. A glass piezoelectric inkjet nozzle with an 80 μm diameter orifice is mounted on a PDMS cast which acts as a refractive index matching material for cell tracking through an inverted microscope. Droplet formation is achieved by a bipolar waveform. A high-speed camera focused on the centre plane of the nozzle captures images which are then analysed by a cell tracking algorithm to obtain the horizontal and vertical position of the cells over time. High-speed tracking of cells within a transparent inkjet nozzle revealed three possible cell behaviours caused by the formation and break-off of droplets. These behaviours are cell travel, cell ejection and cell reflection, determined as a function of the position of the cell at the onset of droplet formation. The first behaviour, cell travel, is characterised as the displacement of the cell towards the orifice during droplet formation followed by a small backwards motion due to the retracting meniscus after droplet pinch-off. Cell travel results in a net forward displacement of the cell towards the nozzle orifice. The second observed cell behaviour is cell ejection, where a cell is ejected with a droplet and can no longer be observed within the nozzle after the droplet break-off. The third observed cell behaviour is cell reflection. In this case, hydrodynamic forces produced during droplet ejection acts on the cell to move it further away from the nozzle orifice resulting in a net displacement of the cell away from the orifice after droplet ejection. Through the cell tracking information, it is hypothesized that cell reflection is caused by fluid flow reversal during the droplet ejection process.As a result of cell reflection, certain cells within a region close to the orifice will not be printed; instead they are pushed to a location further away from the orifice. Therefore, mapping of cell positions before droplet formation is performed to identify regions within the nozzle that exhibit a high probability of cell ejection and reflection. Overall, the results from this study will greatly contribute to our understanding of the cell printing process, which will allow us to optimize current inkjet systems for cell printing applications.© 2014 ASME


CONTEXT.—
The yield of the prospective rescreening process for "negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy" (NILM) Papanicolaou (Pap) tests is higher with the inclusion of a greater proportion of high-risk cases. One of the suggested criteria for classifying a Pap test finding as high-risk is recent or concurrent high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) positivity.

OBJECTIVE.—
To evaluate how the results of HPV testing have been incorporated in the prospective rescreening of NILM Pap tests across a wide range of laboratories.

DESIGN.—
A questionnaire survey was sent to laboratories participating in the 2019 College of American Pathologists (CAP) Gynecologic Cytology (PAP Education) Program.

RESULTS.—
Of the 1507 participating laboratories, 667 (44%) responded to the survey. Most laboratories (59.4%; 396 of 667) had not incorporated HPV test/genotyping results to select NILM Pap tests for rescreening. Amongst the remaining laboratories, for NILM HPV-positive Pap test results, 112 (16.8%) had a policy to rescreen by a cytotechnologist only, 51 (7.6%) by a pathologist only, and 86 (12.9%) by both. Of 264 laboratories, 181 (68.6%) reported the cytology upon availability of the HPV test result and completion of the secondary review. Of 661 laboratories, 145 (21.9%) included consensus-type recommendations in the cytology report for such Pap tests.

CONCLUSIONS.—
This CAP survey provides significant information regarding the current trends in the use of HPV test results in prospective rescreening of NILM Pap tests. Future studies on quality improvement can further assist in the standardization of this process across different laboratories.


The UNC-104/KIF1A motor is crucial for axonal transport of synaptic vesicles, but how the UNC-104/KIF1A motor is activated in vivo is not fully understood. Here, we identified point mutations located in the motor domain or the inhibitory CC1 domain, which resulted in gain-of-function alleles of unc-104 that exhibit hyperactive axonal transport and abnormal accumulation of synaptic vesicles. In contrast to the cell body localization of wild type motor, the mutant motors accumulate on neuronal processes. Once on the neuronal process, the mutant motors display dynamic movement similarly to wild type motors. The gain-of-function mutation on the motor domain leads to an active dimeric conformation, releasing the inhibitory CC1 region from the motor domain. Genetically engineered mutations in the motor domain or CC1 of UNC-104, which disrupt the autoinhibitory interface, also led to the gain of function and hyperactivation of axonal transport. Thus, the CC1/motor domain-mediated autoinhibition is crucial for UNC-104/KIF1A-mediated axonal transport in vivo.


The barriers to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the staging and diagnosis of breast cancer are being resolved through merging technologies and the new ability to perform MRI-guided biopsies. Detailed spatial resolution and excellent sensitivity are the strengths of this modality, whereas specificity is the primary challenge, requiring a strong commitment by the interested radiologist. While the original indication for breast MRI was in the evaluation of implant integrity, this modality is now recommended for: mapping tumor extent in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, diagnosing breast cancer when conventional imaging is complex and indeterminate, and possibly for screening high-risk patients who have dense mammograms. A breast-dedicated magnetic resonance unit offers several advantages, including the first commercially available biopsy device. RODEOtm software (ROtating Delivery of Excitation Off-resonance) is an anticipated upgrade to this breast-dedicated unit, offering such a high degree of sensitivity and resolution that improved detection of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ will be possible.


Context: Nurses and other health care workers, and at the same time nursing students in clinical training, are at high risk for needle stick injury. The main problem is that needle stick injury (NSIs) can lead to an increase in the risk of over 20 types of infection transmission among health care workers (HCWs), and the most dangerous infections are hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Aim: This study aimed to explore awareness and assess the prevalence of needle stick injury among nursing students at King Abdulaziz University, KSA.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of 217 nursing students at king Abdulaziz University. A pretested, structured self‐administered questionnaire was used for data collection.
Results: Most of the students (92.6%) were aware that it is necessary to report the needlestick injury, 90.8% thought that there was a chance of getting an infectious disease from a needle stick, and 47.9% knew that all HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C are of these infections. About one-third of students (32.3%) knew that the most common cause of needle stick injury was recapping the needle. For students' practice, 91.2% and 74.2% wore protective gear while handling sharp instruments and did not recap the needle after use. The mean knowledge and practice scores were 9.43± 2.96 and 1.65± 0.52, respectively. The prevalence of needle stick injuries among nursing students was 14.7%.
Conclusion: The study concludes that a good awareness level of nursing students regarding needle stick injuries. This data emphasizes the importance of increased awareness, training, and education of nursing students for preventing needlestick injuries and reporting the incidence.


Atovaquone (Mepron, 566c80) is an effective agent against Pneumocystis carinii, which probably acts by binding to cytochrome b and inhibiting electron transport. To assess the possibility that atovaquone resistance might be developing, the genes for the cytochrome b from P. carinii sp. f. carinii and P. carinii sp. f. hominis were partially sequenced. Eight of 10 patient isolates had cytochrome b genes with the same amino acid sequence. The P. carinii cytochrome b genes from 2 of 4 patients who had atovaquone prophylaxis failure contained mutations resulting in amino acid changes in one of the ubiquinone (coenzyme Q) binding sites (Qo). These mutations are homologous to mutations in other microorganisms that confer resistance to similar inhibitors. Variations in the sequence of the P. carinii cytochrome b gene suggest but do not prove the development of drug resistance.


Transitory (eruptive) cutaneous xanthomas are occasionally observed in almost all diseases characterized by chronic hyperlipemia. Such conditions include diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, biliary cirrhosis, Von Gierke's disease, idiopathic hyperlipemia, chronic pancreatitis, and the nephrotic syndrome. The term hyperlipemia refers to elevation of all serum lipid fractions as well as cholesterol. McCleary et al.1recently discussed the confusion regarding this term in the literature; to some hyperlipemia means elevation of only cholesterol, to others, elevation of phospholipids and triglycerides as well. In the nephrotic syndrome all serum lipid moieties are increased.2 Eruptive xanthomatosis associated with the nephrotic syndrome is rare despite periods of extreme hyperlipemia. To the best of our knowledge, only five case reports of eruptive xanthomas occurring as an evanescent phenomenon during the course of nephrosis have appeared in the literature.3-6It has been suggested that the transitory nature of the nephrotic hyperlipemia accounts for the infrequent


To find a nonabsorbable suture material that is equivalent to polypropylene in ease of handling and tensile properties, and that has low thrombogenicity and tissue reactivity but improved biostability, some researchers and clinicians see merit in considering the suitability of monofilaments made from polyvinylidene fluoride. The current animal study investigated the relative biocompatibility and biostability of these two suture materials by using them to anastomose a polyester arterial prosthesis in a canine thoracoabdominal bypass model for 10 periods of implantation ranging from 4 hr to 2 years. Biocompatibility was assessed with light and scanning electron microscope examinations of the explanted sutures, and biostability of the cleaned sutures was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope analysis. The polyvinylidene fluoride and polypropylene sutures were found to have similar handling and healing characteristics. During the first months in vivo, both types of suture experienced a temporary increase in carbonyl group absorption that coincided with the duration of the inflammatory response. After 1 and 2 years in vivo, the explanted polypropylene sutures showed visual evidence of surface stress cracking. This was not found with the explanted polyvinylidene fluoride sutures. These results suggest that polyvinylidene fluoride may be more biostable than polypropylene in the long term. ASAIO Journal 1998; 44:199–206.


Abstract Objective Epidemiological studies suggest that green leafy vegetables, which are high in dietary nitrate, are protective against CVD such as stroke. High blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for stroke and inorganic nitrate has been shown to reduce BP. The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that diets containing high-nitrate (HN) vegetables would increase plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and reduce BP in healthy women. Design A randomized, crossover trial, where participants received HN vegetables (HN diet) or avoided HN vegetables (Control diet) for 1 week. Before and after each intervention, resting BP and plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations were measured. Setting University of Exeter, UK. Subjects Nineteen healthy women (mean age 20 (sd 2) years; mean BMI 22·5 (sd 3·8) kg/m2). Results The HN diet significantly increased plasma nitrate concentration (before HN diet: mean 24·4 (sd 5·6) µmol/l; after HN diet: mean 61·0 (sd 44·1) µmol/l, P<0·05) and plasma nitrite concentration (before HN diet: mean 98 (sd 91) nmol/l; after HN diet: mean 185 (sd 34) nmol/l, P<0·05). No significant change in plasma nitrate or nitrite concentration was observed after the Control diet. The HN diet significantly reduced resting systolic BP (before HN diet: mean 107 (sd 9) mmHg; after HN diet: mean 103 (sd 6) mmHg, P<0·05). No significant change in systolic BP was observed after the Control diet (before Control diet: mean 106 (sd 8) mmHg; after Control diet: mean 106 (sd 8) mmHg). Conclusions Consumption of HN vegetables significantly increased plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations and reduced BP in normotensive women.


AFM imaging requires precision positioning of the AFM probe relative to the sample in all x-y-z axes, especially the vertical z-axis direction. Recently, the current-cycle-feedback iterative-learning-control (CCF-ILC) approach is proposed for high-speed AFM imaging. The CCF-ILC feedforward-feedback 2 degree-of-freedom (DOF) controller design has been successfully implemented for iteratively imaging on one scanline. In this article, we extend this CCF-ILC approach to the entire imaging of samples. The main contribution of this article is the analysis and the use of the CCF-ILC approach for tracking sample profiles with variations between scanlines (called line-to-line sample variations). The convergence (stability) of the CCF-ILC system is analyzed for the general case where the line-to-line sample variation occurs at each iteration. The allowable line-to-line sample profile variation is quantified. The performance improvement of the CCF-ILC is discussed by comparing the tracking error of the CCF-ILC technique to that of using feedback control alone. The proposed CCF-ILC control approach is illustrated by implementing it to the z-axis direction control in AFM imaging. Experimental results show that the imaging speed can be significantly increased by using the proposed approach.


Experiments were performed to detect the presence of thin silver oxide films by Raman spectrometry. Samples consisted of multilayer stacks of ZnO/Ag/ZnO films deposited on glass substrates by a sputtering process. A range of samples was produced where the sandwiched Ag film was protected and unprotected from oxidation during the deposition of the top ZnO film. Raman spectra showed that the individual oxide layers of ZnO and Ag-O on glass substrates had characteristic bands in the spectra. Analysis of the stacks indicated that the samples in which the Ag film was unprotected during the deposition of the top ZnO showed the presence of a typical Ag-O band. It was concluded that Raman spectroscopy is a sensitive, nondestructive technique for the detection of silver oxide layers in a multilayer system.


The approach of "controlled supply of slow-release particles" is evaluated for a dissolving carrier system containing drug particles. Drug dissolution from this system is calculated after solving a convolution integral. The effects of geometry and relative dissolution time between drug particles and carrier device on drug dissolution kinetics are considered. Minima in the deviation of the dissolution profiles from linearity as a function of relative dissolution time are found. The impacts of geometry on the minima are discussed. Incorporation of a second system of isometric drug particles in an isometric carrier shows less deviation from constant-release kinetics when suitable values of the parameters affecting drug release are used in the calculations. A substantially constant rate of release of drug can be realized for a system of two carriers, each containing "slow-release" drug particles. The initial deviation from linearity in the sigmoidally shaped profile of drug dissolved in time from one of the two carriers is eliminated by the release of dissolved drug from the second carrier. About 80% of the drug content is dissolved at a constant rate by the combination of the two carriers.


A number of remote-sensing wind-measuring instruments, such as LIDAR and radar wind profilers, have been set up in the vicinity of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for monitoring of low-level windshear and turbulence. The combined usage of wind data from a radar wind profiler and boundary layer temperature profiles from a ground-based microwave radiometer in turbulence application is studied in this paper. Data collected in a field experiment of the radiometer conducted in Hong Kong in February 2006 were used to obtain the Richardson number profile up to 1.5 km above ground. Two examples of atmospheric turbulence reported by the pilots are considered. The Richardson number profiles are found to capture the turbulence events reasonably well. The evolution of these profiles and airflow disruption by the nearby terrain as a possible cause of the turbulence will also be discussed.


In the present work a design is made, using numerical simulations, with the finite element method (FEM) a linear elastic analysis will be performed for the optimal design of a toroidal pressure vessel resistant, lightweight and capable of storing compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicles.
For the design the material AS / 3501 (carbon fiber and epoxy matrix) is used, since there are studies that indicate that, with this type of material, high resistances and better performance have been obtained than with metallic materials.
In the analysis, the influence exerted by the angular orientation of the sheets on the strength of the laminate will be determined, as well as the variation of tension, deformation and displacement that occurs in the toroid when subjected to pressure, until the criterion of failure indicate it.

The optimization of the volume of the material, will be made with the metaheuristic algorithm called Particles Swarm Optimization (PSO), which will use Threads in Java for the execution of the scripts developed in ANSYS for the analysis of the FEM and with which will be reduced computing times improving to the optimizer.

Key Words: pressure vessel, toroidal shape, finite elements, numerical simulations, optimization, threads.


Background:. Liver enzymes AST, ALT, Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (γ-GT), ALP activity in serum is assayed in Controls, Chronic alcoholics and Acute viral hepatitis and controls. Analysis was done to find the comparative level of liver associated enzymes among chronic alcholics and viral hepatitis.
Materials and Methods: Fifty-one chronic male alcoholics aged between 30-60 years, and thirty six patients with viral hepatitis who were admitted to the medicine ward, were the subjects. Forty Eight Age-matched, normal, healthy controls were also included in the study. GGT, ALT, AST and ALP were assayed in the clinical biochemistry laboratory using auto analyser by kit method
Results: Chronic alcoholics (n=51) subjects shows increased in serum levels of GGT (185.42±58.32), ALT (83.43±32.48), AST (139.29±64.34), ALP (173.42±31.62), as compared to controls which was statistically significant. In Acute Viral hepatitis (n=36), all enzymes levels were statistically increased significant as compared to controls. But the levels of GGT (108.47±31.54) & ALT (293.43±54.62) were more significant in viral hepatitis as compared to controls and chronic alcoholics. Ratio of AST/ALT was significantly increased (1.66) as compared to controls (0.92). But the ratio of AST/ALT was more significantly decreased (0.49) in acute viral hepatitis as compared to chronic alcoholics
Conclusion: Serum GGT and the ratio of AST/ALT increased much more in chronic alcoholics than viral hepatitis. In Viral hepatitis the GGT increased but not more than in chronic alcoholics, while level of ALT most significant in viral hepatitis.


Problem statement: Shrinkage induced cracking cause damage to reinforced concrete structures. An experimental study was conducted on restrained shrinkage test of cement mortar and light weight High Performance Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites (HPFRCC). Approach: Two types of light weight HPFRCC and a premix mortar containing small amount of fiber were included in the experiment. Results: Results showed the multiple cracks, as many as 49, in light weight HPFRCC specimens compared to few cracks (about six cracks) in the premix mortar specimen. At the end of shrinkage test, the width of the cracks in the mortar specimen was more than 250 μm with the largest crack width of about 400 μm. However, the scenario was quite different in light weight HPFRCC specimens, where the width of almost all cracks was less than 100 μm. Conclusion: The higher number of multiple cracks with small cracks width in light weight HPFRCC specimens due to drying shrinkage was due to their strain hardening and ductile behavior compared to quasi brittle behavior of premix mortar where less number of wide cracks was observed.


Widespread applications of cadmium (Cd) in various products have caused Cd contamination in marine ecosystems. Meanwhile, human activities in the ocean have also generated an increasing amount of noise in recent decades. Although anthropogenic noise and Cd contaminants could be present simultaneously in marine environments, the physiological responses of marine bivalve mollusks upon coexposure to anthropogenic noise and toxic metal contaminants, including Cd remain unclear. Therefore, the combined effects of anthropogenic noise and Cd on the physiological characteristics of the blood clam Tegillarca granosa were investigated in this study. The results showed that 10 days of coexposure to anthropogenic noise and Cd can enhance adverse impacts on metabolic processes, as indicated by the clearance rate, respiration rate, ammonium excretion rate, and O:N ratio of T. granosa. In addition, both the ATP content, ATP synthase activity and genes encoding important enzymes in ATP synthesis significantly declined after coexposures to anthropogenic noise and Cd, which have resulted from reduced feeding activity and respiration. Furthermore, the expressions of neurotransmitter-related genes (MAO, AChE, and mAChR3) were all significantly down-regulated after coexposure to anthropogenic noise and Cd, which suggests an enhanced neurotoxicity under coexposure. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that anthropogenic noise and Cd would have synergetic effects on the feeding activity, metabolism, and ATP synthesis of T. granosa, which may be due to the add-on of stress responses and neurotransmitter disturbances.


Recently there has been a renewed emphasis on the importance of a well-functioning health system in order to ensure sustainable access to essential health services, including HIV/AIDS. At the same time, there is growing recognition that the private sector plays a key role in the health systems of many developing countries. To illustrate, around 60 percent of the total health expenditure in sub-Saharan Africa in 2005 was financed by private sources, mostly through out-of-pocket payments. Expenditures on private providers accounted for half of this total expenditure (International Finance Corporation, 2007). In many contexts the private sector also employs a sizeable proportion of the human resources needed to deliver health services—a recent assessment in Kenya found that more than 60 percent of health providers in that country work in the private health sector (Barnes et al, 2009).


In this paper, we discuss a simulation method that allows students to experience the many typical and often underlying forces of product management and design. Given the dynamic nature of strategy and product portfolio management, it is often difficult to convey the actions necessary to juggle multiple and sometimes conflicting constraints or opportunities within a business context. For the past five years, over 200 students in 15 offerings of a Product Portfolio Management class have been using this simulation technique to combine the different perspectives of business and design and how they inform strategic decisions over time. The simulation has been successful at helping design students understand the dynamics involved in product management and how design choices can influence, and be influenced, by business forces. In particular, it helps the students extend their thinking beyond a single product or service into the considerations necessary to manage an entire portfolio of products and services. It also gives them insights into competitive issues beyond cash flow efficiency and profitability, so they come to realize, for instance, that competitors do not necessarily share the same objectives – making it possible for more than one organization to "win" at the same time.


My role in this program is clearly limited to a discussion of the report of the Millis Commission on Graduate Education (except that section on family practice) and specifically to present what might be a reasonable response to a study and its recommendations, which if followed, would alter greatly our present concept of education beyond medical school and would require drastic changes in its overall structure. I begin with the assumption that those responsibile for education at this level recognize a need for and welcome a study in depth of graduate education, hopeful that from a better understanding of its weaknesses as well as its strength will come more coordinated and efficient educational opportunities for all of the recent medical school graduates. Before proceeding to the report itself, I would like to comment briefly on the commission which developed it. There are undoubtedly many who believe that those selected to


Blast furnace hot metal temperature prediction, by mean of mathematical models, plays an interesting role in blast furnace control, helping plant operators to give a faster and more accurate answer to changes in blast furnace state. In this work, the development of parametric models based on neural networks is shown. Time has been included as an implicit variable to improve consistency. The model has been developed departing from actual plant data supplied by Aceralia from its steel works located in Gijon.


To the Editor.— There is a general agreement about the qualitative accuracy of the 1980 to 1982 Graduate Medical Education National Advisory Committee (GMENAC) reports of a substantial, almost across-the-board surplus of US physicians. This is not surprising in the light of the almost doubling of the number of medical school graduates from 1970 to 1980, and a present ratio of 2.2 physicians per 1,000 citizens. What is surprising is the lack of public discussion about this problem. There is a divergence of opinion between the town and the gown medical communities regarding the implementation of the GMENAC recommendations. Medical school class size has diminished only minimally since 1982, and little further decrease is anticipated. Academic discussions of this issue have centered less on domestic medical school enrollment than on the related and also important questions of foreign medical graduates, distribution of physicians within medical specialties, and geographic maldistribution of


Due to future crisis of energy and environmental degradation due to a carbon-containing fuel, hydrogen utilization as a fuel may be better for the near future. Hydrogen's vitality content per unit volume and larger heating esteem is around 3 times when compared with present fossil fuel [1], and it has a wide range of combustibility limits, and just requires a modest quantity of energy to initiate ignition, also for H2 fuel ignition product is water vapour which doesn't affect the environment. This paper presents H2 usage as a fuel in IC engines, and it also contains a study on its performance as compared to other fuel and mainly concentrates on various existing methods and various researches of H2 production systems [3] which used to generate H2 and inject it as a replacement for fuel in carburetor air intake. All data of different combustion characteristics was collected from a research paper of various authors [1], [8] given in the reference. The results obtained shows that the greatest estimation of Brake mean effective pressure is acquired at an engine speed of 3000 rpm, this is because of the appropriate burning in engine and increasing H2 content, the CO2 content decreases. It is found that when H2 blends are used as fuel in IC engine, the brake thermal efficiency and most of the emissions were improved.


Immobilization of ascorbate oxidase (AO) in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composite films was achieved by one-step electrochemical polymerization. The PEDOT/MWCNTs/AO modified electrode was fabricated by the entrapment of enzyme in conducting matrices during electrochemical polymerization. The PEDOT/MWCNTs modified electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The experimental results showed that the composite films exhibited better mechanical integrity, electrochemical activity, higher electronic and ionic conductivity, and larger redox capacitance compared with pure PEDOT films, which would be beneficial to the fabrication of PEDOT/MWCNTs/AO electrochemical biosensors. The scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that MWCNTs served as backbone for 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) electropolymerization. Furthermore, the resulting enzyme electrode could be used to determine L-ascorbic acid successfully, which demonstrated the good bioelectrochemical catalytic activity of the immobilized AO. The results indicated that the PEDOT/MWCNTs composite are a good candidate material for the immobilization of AO in the fabrication of enzyme-based biosensor. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011


Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease that affects several populations worldwide, against which there are no vaccines available and the chemotherapy is highly toxic. Depending on the species causing the infection, the disease is characterized by commitment of tissues, including the skin, mucous membranes, and internal organs. Despite the relevance of host inflammatory mediators on parasite burden control, Leishmania and host immune cells interaction may generate an exacerbated proinflammatory response that plays an important role in the development of leishmaniasis clinical manifestations. Plant-derived natural products have been recognized as bioactive agents with several properties, including anti-protozoal and anti-inflammatory activities. The present review focuses on the antileishmanial activity of plant-derived natural products that are able to modulate the inflammatory response in vitro and in vivo. The capability of crude extracts and some isolated substances in promoting an anti-inflammatory response during Leishmania infection may be used as part of an effective strategy to fight the disease.


burst of SAW at 140 MHz. This device, with a bandwidth of 20 MHz, has demonstrated the correlation of waveforms with lengths to 10 ms, providing  a  potential  correlation  gain  in excess of 50 dB. The integration time can  be  varied from 100 ps to 10 msec by illuminating the diode array during the integration period, thus providing control of the maximum correlation gain. Possible applications of this new wideband signal-processing device are the synchronization and correlation of reference and signal codes in spread spectrum communications systems.


In the last few years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are making a revolution as an emerging technology with many different applications in the military, civilian, and commercial fields. The advent of autonomous drones has initiated serious challenges, including how to maintain their safe operation during their missions. The safe operation of UAVs remains an open and sensitive issue since any unexpected behavior of the drone or any hazard would lead to potential risks that might be very severe. The motivation behind this work is to propose a methodology for the safety assurance of drones over the Internet (Internet of drones (IoD)). Two approaches will be used in performing the safety analysis: (1) a qualitative safety analysis approach and (2) a quantitative safety analysis approach. The first approach uses the international safety standards, namely, ISO 12100 and ISO 13849 to assess the safety of drone's missions by focusing on qualitative assessment techniques. The methodology starts with hazard identification, risk assessment, risk mitigation, and finally draws the safety recommendations associated with a drone delivery use case. The second approach presents a method for the quantitative safety assessment using Bayesian networks (BN) for probabilistic modeling. BN utilizes the information provided by the first approach to model the safety risks related to UAVs' flights. An illustrative UAV crash scenario is presented as a case study, followed by scenario analysis, to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach. These two analyses, qualitative and quantitative, enable all involved stakeholders to detect, explore, and address the risks of UAV flights, which will help the industry to better manage the safety concerns of UAVs.


In this letter we address the long-standing controversy which originated from differences between the experimental and theoretical values of the scaling exponent (n) for the critical amplitude ξ0 of the correlation length in polymer solutions. Using small-angle neutron scattering we examine the dependence of ξ0 on polymer molecular weight in polystyrene-methylcyclohexane-d14 solutions. We find that the experimental values of ncr = 0.195 ± 0.010 in the critical region of phase demixing as well as nmf = 0.255 ± 0.009 in the mean-field domain around the Θ temperature agree with the predictions of scaling theory (ncr = 0.185, nmf = 0.25).


Background Signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is recognized as an uncommon subtype of colorectal carcinoma (CRC). It showed characteristic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) manifestations. However, the MRI features post-chemoradiotherapy (CRT) were not reported, and it is unknown whether the current tumor regression grade (TRG) system by MRI (mrTRG) is applicable to SRCC. Purpose To summarize the image features of rectal SRCC on post-CRT images corresponding to the pathology, and to determine the predicting value of mrTRG compared with TRG by pathology (pTRG). Methods We retrospectively enrolled seven patients (male: female = 3:4; mean age, 45.1 years) with biopsy-pathology proved SRCC, who underwent pre- and post-CRT MR imaging followed by surgery. An experienced gastrointestinal radiologist accessed mrTRG using a 5-point grading system by mandard standard on T2 weighted image (T2WI) and then added diffusion weighted image (DWI) in a 1-month interval. Additionally, MRI features were recorded on pre- and post-CRT images as follows: pattern (target sign) and main signal intensity of T2WI, characterized manifestation of DWI, and mean Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC)values. The mrTRG and all MR image features were compared to the post-operative pathology. Results At post-CRT histology, five patients got a good response (TRG 1, n = 4; TRG 2, n = 1), one patient got a partial response, and one patient got a poor response. The accuracy of MRI predicted the pathology response by mandard standard was 14% and increased to 71.4% when added DWI. After CRT, different degrees of homogeneous high SI without enhancement representing acellular mucin were observed in all patients, and the thick-ring high SI turned into a thin-target sign in most good responders. Moreover, the tumor volume decreased or slightly increased in good responders, while it markedly increased in the partial and poor responder by 57% and 73.8%, respectively. Conclusion Homogeneous high SI on T2WI and thin target sigh on DWI were the main MRI changes of RSRCC, which was corresponding to the mucinous regression and represents for good response post-CRT. The mrTRG and tumor volume was not a reliable indicator to the pathology response. We considered that DWI should be added to T2WI to evaluate RSRCC response to CRT.


Knowledge of the chromosome biology of archaeal species has grown considerably in the last 15 years, since the publication of the first full archaeal genome sequences. A number of model organisms have been studied, revealing a striking variety of mechanisms and modes of genome duplication and segregation. While clear sequence relationships between archaeal and eukaryotic replication proteins are well known, some archaea also seem to possess organizational parameters for replication and segregation that reveal further striking parallels to eukaryotes.


A novel mouse isolated atrial preparation with intact postganglionic autonomic innervation was used to investigate the neuronal control of heart rate. To establish whether autonomic activation was likely to alter heart rate by modulating the hyperpolarization-activated current (If), the L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L), or the ACh-activated K+ current (IK,ACh), the effects of nerve stimulation (right stellate ganglion or right vagus, 1-30 Hz) and autonomic agonists (0.1 microM norepinephrine or 0.3 microM carbachol) on heart rate were investigated in the presence of inhibitors of these currents, cesium chloride (Cs+, 1 mM), nifedipine (200 nM), and barium chloride (Ba2+, 0.1 mM), respectively. The positive chronotropic response to stellate ganglion stimulation was reduced by approximately 20% with Cs+ and nifedipine (P < 0.05), whereas the heart rate response to norepinephrine was only reduced with Cs+ (P < 0.05). Ba2+ attenuated the decrease in heart rate with vagal stimulation and carbachol by approximately 60% (P < 0.05). These results are consistent with the idea that sympathetic nerve stimulation modulates If to increase heart rate in the mouse. Activation of ICa,L also appears to contribute to the sympathetic heart rate response. However, the decrease in heart rate with vagal stimulation or carbachol is likely to result primarily from the activation of IK,ACh.


Splenectomy has traditionally been considered as standard treatment for SMZL conferring a survival advantage over chemotherapy. However it carries significant complications, especially in elderly patients. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Rituximab for the treatment of SMZL. Fourteen patients with SMZL, diagnosed in our Department were treated with Rituximab. Diagnosis was established using standard criteria. Twelve received Rituximab as first line treatment at a median time of 2 months (1–120) after diagnosis. The remaining two received Rituximab after splenectomy. Four patients were symptomatic. Patients' median age was 68 yrs (range 50–78) and four were male. All non-splenectomized patients had palpable splenomegaly before treatment. The median size of the spleen was 10 cm blcm (3–20 cm). 12/14 patients had anemia, 6/14 leukocytosis, 9/14 lymphocytosis, 4/14 leukopenia and 5/14 thrombocytopenia prior to treatment initiation. Rituximab was administered for six weekly cycles of 375mg/m2. 6/13 patients received maintenance treatment, starting at a median time of four months (range 2–7) after the completion of the six cycles. Maintenance was given as 375mg/m2 every two months. Complete clinical response was defined as disappearance of palpable splenomegaly. Complete hematologic response was defined as the restoration of all hematologic parameters to normal values and partial hematologic response as an improvement of abnormal values without complete normalization. Molecular remission was defined as PCR negativity for IgH rearrangement in patients with negative bone marrow biopsy. 11 of 11 non-splenectomized patients achieved a complete clinical response (the 12th patient is still under treatment and response cannot be evaluated). Symptomatic patients had resolution of disease/splenomegaly related symptoms. 8/13 (62%) patients achieved a complete hematologic response, including the two previously splenectomized patients and 5/13 (38%) a partial hematologic response. Anemia was resolved in 8/11 patients, leukocytosis in 6/6, leukopenia in 1/3 and thrombocytopenia in 4/4 patients. Bone marrow biopsy after treatment disclosed persistent but reduced infiltration in 6/10, disappearance of lymphomatous infiltration in 3/10 and remained unchanged in a single patient. 2/3 patients with negative bone marrow biopsy were in molecular remission, while one patient remained PCR positive after treatment. He subsequently received a second course of four weekly cycles and became PCR negative. No patient presented infectious complications after Rituximab administration. Infusion related side effects were easily treated with steroids, antihistamines and paracetamol. Two patients, who did not receive maintenance treatment progressed with reappearance of splenomegaly both at 7 months after completion of treatment and were retreated with six cycles of Rituximab. One of them had a second response and the other remained with stable disease. All patients are alive. Median follow up after treatment initiation is 16 months (range 1–22) and median response duration has not been reached. In conclusion, Rituximab is a safe and effective treatment for SMZL and can be considered an alternative to splenectomy as first line therapy. Maintenance may be important for consolidation of response.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the telomerase activity of human adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) during proliferation and differentiation in vitro.

METHODS
ADSCs were highly purified and cultured in vitro. The morphology, phenotype and biological properties of the cultured ADSCs were observed by flow cytometer. Then ADSCs were induced to differentiate into adipocytes and osteoblast. The telomerase activity was detected by TRAP.

RESULTS
ADSCs had the ability of multi-directed differentiation, like adipocytes and osteoblast. It could also express the stem cell-related surface markers. The telomerase activity was negative or lowly expressed in ADSCs in vitro within 12 generations. The telomerase activity was up-regulated when ADSCs was adipogenic differentiated, but deceased 3-6 days later.

CONCLUSIONS
The telomerase activity of ADSCs is not changed during culture in vitro. It is up-regulated when ADSCs are induced to adipogenic differentiation, but decreased later.


In this paper, we consider three kinds of temporal-spatial dichotomous noises. Three systems driven by these noises are studied, respectively. The master equations for these systems are derived.


A simple process for on-farm bioethanol production from cassava, using cassava koji supplemented with crude liquid enzyme and yeast was described. On a small scale, a fed-batch mode where 4 kg of koji, 2 kg of gelatinized cassava flour and 30 g of yeast cells were mixed and allowed to ferment for two days, followed by addition of 1.5 kg of cassava flour and fermenting for another three days, gave higher ethanol concentration of 7.05% (0.34 g-ethanol/g-cassava flour) than when 3.5 kg of gelatinized cassava flour, 4 kg of koji and 30 g of yeast cells were mixed at the same time and allowed to ferment for five days. The process was scaled up 100 times and economic feasibility was evaluated. The total investment cost was seven million, five hundred thousand Nigerian naira (₦) (US$46,875). With a payback period of five years, the cost of cassava tubers represented 71.73% of the total production cost. At a market price of fresh cassava tubers of ₦10,000/ton, the ethanol production cost was ₦102.5/l (US$0.641/l), which is not profitable considering the current market price of ethanol (US$0.597-0.748/l). The process becomes profitable only when the price of fresh cassava tuber is reduced to ₦5,000/ton (US$31.25/ton). At this price, the ethanol production cost would be ₦58.53/l (US$0.366/l). The process is recommended for vertically integrated system (on-farm process) where the cassava produced in the farm is used, thereby shielding it from high and fluctuating market prices of cassava. Keywords: Fuel ethanol, bioenergy, koji , economic analysis, cassava ethanol African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(37), pp. 5618-5626


Should we be concerned with, or alarmed or outraged by, the insincerity and hypocrisy of politicians who apologize for historical injustice? This paper argues that the correct reply to this question is: sometimes, but not always. In order to establish what types of insincerity must be avoided, Judith Shklar's hierarchy of ordinary vices is critically revisited. Against Shklar's overly benign account of hypocrisy, the paper then tries to demonstrate that only institutional and harmful forms of hypocrisy must be rejected in political apologies for historical injustice. Employing Melissa Nobles' 'membership theory', this paper defends the claim that the sincerity standard for political apologies is, in stark contrast to apologies between individuals, agent independent. This means that in political apologies, rather than focusing on the remorse and regret of the agent who apologizes, we must primarily examine the apology's consequences in terms of renegotiating the legal, political and affective dimensions of citizenship. In domestic affairs, the paper shows that apologies can only be considered sincere if they push the polity towards a more inclusive conception of membership in the political community.


The appearances of the tracked object and its surrounding background usually change during tracking. As for tracking methods using subspace analysis, fixed subspace basis tends to cause tracking failure. In this paper, a novel tracking method is proposed by using incremental 2D-LDA learning and Bayes inference. Incremental 2D-LDA formulates object tracking as online classification between foreground and background. It updates the row- or/and column- projected matrix efficiently. Based on the current object location and the prior knowledge, the possible locations of the object (candidates) in the next frame are predicted using simple sampling method. Applying 2D-LDA projection matrix and Bayes inference, candidate that maximizes the posterior probability is selected as the target object. Moreover, informative background samples are selected to update the subspace basis. Experiments are performed on image sequences with the object's appearance variations due to pose, lighting, etc. We also make comparison to incremental 2D-PCA and incremental FDA. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is efficient and outperforms both the compared methods.


The simulation of manufacturing processes is more and more becoming an important tool in simultaneous engineering. The aim is to cut the time necessary for development and to optimise processes by simulation of the complete manufacturing chain. The field of heat treatment offers a large variety of applications for the use of simulation tools. Heat treatment of steels always includes the development of residual stresses and distortions. The geometry of the part, the composition of the material, the heat treatment process as well as the initial state of the part interact with each other in complex ways and have an influence on the distortion of the part. Using simulation the temporal development of temperature, phases, stresses and distortions while quenching as well as the residual stress distribution and distortion after quenching can be calculated. Transformation plasticity has been proved to be very important for heat treatment simulation. Three steels with identical contents of alloying elements but different carbon contents of 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8 wt.-% were analysed. The transformation plasticity constants for the martensitic transformation under tensile as well as compressive stresses were determined by quenching hollow specimen with nitrogen. Distortions and residual stresses were examined experimentally with cylinders made out of the three steels. Additionally, simulations of the quenching process of the cylinders were taken into account in the analysis of the experimental findings.


This book deals with the modeling and simulation of multiple effect evaporators. A computer program for the optimum design of the above has been developed in C++. Two different methods are used for calculating number of effects. Once the number of effects are finalized the program proceeds to calculate heat transfer area of the short tube vertical (Calandria type) evaporator for different feeding arrangements.The program also gives detail of mechanical design of evaporator which includes thickness of tubes, tube sheet thickness, drum diameter and drum thickness etc.Finally the program is tested using published data with success.


BACKGROUND
Grades II and III gliomas have unpredictable rates of progression, making management decisions difficult. Currently, several clinical and radiological characteristics are utilized to predict progression and survival but collectively are suboptimal.

METHODS
In this study, we analyzed a set of 108 nonenhancing hemispheric grade II-III gliomas. Demographic variables, including patient age, tumor diameter, extent of resection, and performance status, were combined with molecular data (IDH mutation status [mIDH], 1p/19q codeletion, PTEN deletion, and EGFR amplification). A complete dataset for all variables was compiled for 70 of the 108 patients. Both univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to determine whether the molecular data singly or in combination offer advantages over tumor type and grade for prediction of overall survival (OS) and/or progression-free rate (PFR).

RESULTS
Patient age, clinical variables (tumor diameter, extent of resection, performance status), and pathology (tumor type and grade) were not predictive of OS or PFR. IDH mutation status alone was predictive of longer OS and PFR for the entire group of tumors; 1p/19q deletion alone was predictive of OS but not PFR. In the multivariable analysis, none of the clinical or demographic factors were predictive of OS or PFR. IDH mutation status, 1p/19q codeletion, and PTEN deletion were predictive of OS (P = .003, P = .005, P = .02, respectively). Both mIDH (P < .001) and the interaction term of 1p/19q and PTEN (P < .001) were found to be predictive of PFR.

CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that the combination of mIDH, 1p/19q codeletion, and PTEN deletion may be particularly effective in discriminating good prognosis from poor prognosis hemispheric gliomas. We propose that such a scheme merits testing on larger prospective cohorts. Should our findings be confirmed, routine clinical analysis of hemispheric gliomas for mIDH, 1p/19q codeletion, and PTEN deletion would be justified.


OBJECTIVE
Current approaches for soft tissue thickness evaluation and visualization still represent a challenge for full extent evaluation and visualization. The aim of this clinical technique article is to introduce a novel approach for comprehensive visualization and precise evaluation of oral soft tissue thickness utilizing a fusion of optical 3D and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images.

CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS
3D models of the maxilla were obtained by CBCT imaging and intraoral scanning. The CBCT images were reconstructed to standard tessellation language (STL) file format models by segmentation of teeth and bone using implants planning software. 3D soft tissues and teeth models were obtained by intraoral scanning and were exported in STL file format as well. 3D multimodal models were then superimposed using best-fit matching on teeth. Soft tissue thickness was then visualized and evaluated with a 3D color-coded thickness map of gingival and palatal areas created by surface comparison of both 3D models. Additionally, threshold color-coding was used to increase comprehensibility. Palatal areas were further visualized and evaluated for the optimal donor site.

CONCLUSIONS
A novel approach for 3D evaluation and visualization of masticatory mucosa thickness presents all available 3D data in a comprehensible, "clinician-friendly" manner, using threshold regions and clinically relevant views.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Proposed approach could provide comprehensive presurgical treatment planning in periodontal plastic surgery and implantology without additional invasive procedures for the patient, resulting in more predictable treatment, improved outcomes, and reduced risk for complications.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Introduction: Cyclin E deregulation appears to be an important event in the pathogenesis of a subset of epithelial ovarian cancers associated with poor outcome. One mechanism of cyclin E deregulation is through enhanced p27 degradation, which eliminates a powerful negative regulator of cyclin E. The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib has been shown to inhibit the growth of both ovarian and colorectal tumor cell lines through upregulation of p27 and induction of apoptosis, giving it a potential therapeutic role in the subset of ovarian cancers that overexpress cyclin E. Studies demonstrate that as many as five low molecular weight (LMW) isoforms of cyclin E exist, while only the 50-kDa cyclin E form is typically expressed in normal tissues. These LMW isoforms are tumor-specific and cause increased cell proliferation, elevated kinase activity and increased clonogenicity. LMW cyclin E isoforms are generated via proteolysis of the normal 50-kDa cyclin E form by elastase, which itself can be selectively inhibited by indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural component of Brassica vegetables. I3C exhibits potent anticarcinogenic properties and has recently been shown to shift the stable accumulation of cyclin E from the LMW to 50-kDa cyclin E form. By taking advantage of the specific inhibitory properties of I3C and bortezomib in the processing and potential expression of cyclin E, respectively, we hypothesize that ovarian cancers overexpressing cyclin E may demonstrate an enhanced response to targeted combination therapy with I3C and bortezomib.

Methods: A panel of ovarian cancer cell lines was screened for cyclin E and p27 protein levels through western blotting. Representative cell lines with high and low cyclin E expression were treated with I3C and bortezomib and evaluated by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell proliferation assay and western blotting analysis.

Results: OVCAR3 was found to express high levels of cyclin E and moderate levels of p27. In contrast, OVCAR5 was found to express low levels of cyclin E and high levels of p27. Treatment of OVCAR3 cells with I3C stabilized the expression of the normal 50-kDa cyclin E form in a dose-dependent manner. The combination of I3C and bortezomib treatment in OVCAR3 and OVCAR5 cells caused a significantly greater degree of cytotoxicity compared to either drug alone. While the effect was seen in both cell lines, inhibition of cell proliferation was more enhanced in the cyclin E overexpressing cell line OVCAR3.

Conclusions: Indole-3-carbinol is a natural dietary substance that sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib through stabilization and inhibition of cyclin E activity.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3880.


Autophagy is a highly regulated and evolutionarily conserved process of cellular self-digestion. Recent evidence suggests that this process plays an important role in regulating T cell homeostasis. In this study, we used Rag1−/− (recombination activating gene 1−/−) blastocyst complementation and in vitro embryonic stem cell differentiation to address the role of Beclin 1, one of the key autophagic proteins, in lymphocyte development. Beclin 1-deficient Rag1−/− chimeras displayed a dramatic reduction in thymic cellularity compared with control mice. Using embryonic stem cell differentiation in vitro, we found that the inability to maintain normal thymic cellularity is likely caused by impaired maintenance of thymocyte progenitors. Interestingly, despite drastically reduced thymocyte numbers, the peripheral T cell compartment of Beclin 1-deficient Rag1−/− chimeras is largely normal. Peripheral T cells displayed normal in vitro proliferation despite significantly reduced numbers of autophagosomes. In addition, these chimeras had greatly reduced numbers of early B cells in the bone marrow compared with controls. However, the peripheral B cell compartment was not dramatically impacted by Beclin 1 deficiency. Collectively, our results suggest that Beclin 1 is required for maintenance of undifferentiated/early lymphocyte progenitor populations. In contrast, Beclin 1 is largely dispensable for the initial generation and function of the peripheral T and B cell compartments. This indicates that normal lymphocyte development involves Beclin 1-dependent, early-stage and distinct, Beclin 1-independent, late-stage processes.


Melatonin (MT) is an ubiquitous molecule, representing one of the phylogenetically oldest signaling mechanisms. Our previous studies demonstrated that MT and its precursor L-tryptophan (L-Trp) show strong protective effect on gastric mucosa. The aim of the present study was: 1) to assess the effect of MT and L-Trp on healing of chronic gastric ulcer and accompanying changes in gastric mucosal blood flow (GBF); 2) to study the effect of MT and L-Trp on expression of iNOS. cNOS and HSP70 in ulcerated mucosa; 3) to compare the effect of L-Trp free and L-Trp rich diet on ulcer healing and gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), superoxide dismutase (SOD), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and NFkappaB-p65 protein expression in ulcer area and intact non-ulcerated. Chronic ulcers were induced in Wistar rats by Okabe's modification of acetic acid method. Rats with chronic gastric ulcers were divided in following treatment groups: 1) vehicle (saline); 2) MT (20mg/kg-d i.p.) and 3) L-Trp (100 mg/kg i.p.). The expression of iNOS, cNOS and HSP70 protein was measured by Western blot. In separate experiments, the influence of commercially available (Bio-Serv, USA) L-Trp free diet (TFD) was compared to the L-Trp rich diet (TRD) on the course of ulcer healing was assessed. The ulcer area was measured by planimetry. The expression of TNFalpha, COX-2 and SOD mRNA in ulcerated mucosa was analyzed by RT-PCR method. MT and its precursor L-Trp significantly accelerated ulcer healing. Healing ulcerated mucosa showed increased protein expression of iNOS and HSP70 as compared to intact gastric mucosa. TFD in contrast to normal diet significantly attenuated the ulcer healing, whereas the TRD exerted opposite effects and significantly accelerated ulcer healing. This last effect was accompanied by significant decrease of TNF-alpha mRNA expression and expression of NFkB-p65 in gastric mucosa. We conclude that: 1) MT and its precursor L-Trp significantly accelerate healing of gastric ulcer; 2) L-Trp free diet significantly attenuates experimental ulcer healing and this is due to decreased synthesis of MT from L-Trp by EE cells in gastric mucosa and 3) MT shows strong anti-inflammatory effects due to inhibition of NFkappaB and TNF-alpha expression.


The author draws attention to the holistic approach to studying responses evoked by the absorption of energy from ionising radiation. This can only be achieved through more recent concepts and measurements using microdosimetry. The emphasis is on the individual cell being an element within a tissue system on the one hand, and, on the other hand, being a system itself containing as elements a large number of different biochemical substrates, macromolecules and subcellular organelles. It is the energy deposition to individual cells that is the focus of attention in this holistic approach. Employing this cell dose concept allows the responses of the system following perturbation of its elements to be studied in terms of cell adaptations; these adaptations, which attempt to preserve the integrity of the system, include defence against toxic substrates, repair of damaged structures and replacement of lost elements. This approach promises to improve the risk assessment from exposure especially to low doses of ionising radiation and thus bears directly on the practice of radiation protection.


ABSTRACT Glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 12 comprises enzymes with a wide range of activities critical for the degradation of lignocellulose. However, the important roles of the loop regions of GH12 enzymes in substrate specificity and catalytic efficiency remain poorly understood. This study examined how the loop 3 region affects the enzymatic properties of GH12 glucanases using NfEG12A from Neosartorya fischeri P1 and EG (PDB 1KS4 ) from Aspergillus niger. Acidophilic and thermophilic NfEG12A had the highest catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km, 3,001 and 263 ml/mg/s toward lichenin and carboxymethyl cellulose sodium [CMC-Na], respectively) known so far. Based on the multiple-sequence alignment and homology modeling, two specific sequences (FN and STTQA) were identified in the loop 3 region of GH12 endoglucanases from fungi. To determine their functions, these sequences were introduced into NfEG12A, or the counterpart sequence STTQA was removed from EG. These modifications had no effects on the optimal pH and temperature or substrate specificity but changed the catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) of these enzymes (in descending order, NfEG12A [100%], NfEG12A-FN [140%], and NfEG12A-STTQA [190%]; EG [100%] and EGΔSTTQA [41%]). Molecular docking and dynamic simulation analyses revealed that the longer loop 3 in GH12 may strengthen the hydrogen-bond interactions between the substrate and protein, thereby increasing the turnover rate (kcat). This study provides a new insight to understand the vital roles of loop 3 for GH12 endoglucanases in catalysis. IMPORTANCE Loop structures play critical roles in the substrate specificity and catalytic hydrolysis of GH12 enzymes. Three typical loops exist in these enzymes. Loops 1 and 2 are recognized as the catalytic loops and are closely related to the substrate specificity and catalytic efficiency. Loop 3 locates in the −1 or +1 subsite and varies a lot in amino acid composition, which may play a role in catalysis. In this study, two GH12 glucanases, NfEG12A and EG, which were mutated by introducing or deleting partial loop 3 sequences FN and/or STTQA, were selected to identify the function of loop 3. It revealed that the longer loop 3 of GH12 glucanases may strengthen the hydrogen network interactions between the substrate and protein, consequently increasing the turnover rate (kcat). This study proposes a strategy to increase the catalytic efficiency of GH12 glucanases by improving the hydrogen network between substrates and catalytic loops.


The outline of a theoretical analysis to calculate the steady-state temperature distribution within a rectangular prism mounted on a semi-infinite heat sink is presented. The incident heat flux is uniform over a given centralized circular region on one face of the prism. The thermal conductivity of the material is treated as being dependent on the temperature. The model is used to calculate the maximum temperature rise within a heat sink configuration that is used to package contemporary two-terminal microwave oscillator devices. Results are presented that show how the maximum temperature rise within such commercially available heat sink packages depends on the input heat flux and the dimensions and thermal conductivity of the materials. These results are presented in a generalized form for device design purposes.


A method validation study for the determination of ochratoxin A in Capsicum spp. (paprika and chili) was conducted according to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry harmonized protocol. The method is based on the extraction of samples with aqueous methanol, followed by an immunoaffinity column cleanup. The determination is carried out by RP-HPLC coupled with a fluorescence detector. The study involved 21 participants representing a cross-section of research, private, and official control laboratories from 14 European Union (EU) Member States and Singapore. Mean recoveries reported ranged from 83.7 to 87.5%. The RSD for repeatability (RSDr) ranged from 1.7 to 14.3%. The RSD for reproducibility (RSDR) ranged from 9.1 to 27.5%, reflecting HorRat values from 0.4 to 1.3 according to the Horwitz function modified by Thompson. The correction for recovery of results from naturally contaminated samples further improved the reproducibility of the method. The method showed acceptable within-laboratory and between-laboratory precision for each matrix, and it conforms to requirements set by current EU legislation.


laboratory by post. Klebsiella pneumoniae was cultured from the faeces of 8 (33-3%) of the patients and 8 (30 8%) of the controls. This difference is not significant. When the results were analysed with regard to our classification of activity of their spondylitis, we found that 2 (33-3%), 5 (33 3%), and 1 (33 3%) of patients with definitely active, probably active, and inactive spondylitis respectively carried Klebsiella in their gastrointestinal tract. There are no differences between these three groups. 2 (25-0%) and 6 (37 5%) of the spondylitic patients with and without gastrointestinal Klebsiella respectively had inflammatory disease of a peripheral joint at the time of study. No patient had active anterior uveitis. Two (25.0%) of the patients with ankylosing spondylitis and gastrointestinal carriage of Klebsiella had been in hospital within the preceding 7 months. This compares with 1 (6 3%) of patients who did not have gastrointestinal Klebsiella and with 4 (50 0%) and 8 (44-4%) of the controls with and without gastrointestinal klebsiella respectively. The recent antibiotic usage in patients and controls with and without gastrointestinal Klebsiella was similar. These results do not show the high gastrointestinal carriage rate of Klebsiella in patients with clinically active ankylosing spondylitis reported by Ebringer et al. None of our patients had active acute anterior uveitis. This could be the explanation for the difference between the two studies since the presence of active anterior uveitis was one of their criteria of active disease. It may be that Klebsiellapneumoniae is an aetiological factor in exacerbations of acute anterior uveitis, eradication of these microorganisms being followed by the complete remissions observed. Presence of active anterior uveitis, however, does not imply activity of ankylosing spondylitis since the ocular disease may occur in the absence of clinical activity of the spinal disease. In addition, ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic disease in which radiological progression may occur in the absence of severe symptoms. This suggests that episodic infection associated with clinical activity is unlikely to be an aetiological factor. Our results suggest caution in attributing intestinal carriage of Klebsiella pneumoniae to be an aetiological factor in ankylosing spondylitis itself. C. J. EASTMOND Department of Rheumatology


Using microsolvation models and mixed quantum/classical ab initio molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the vibrational properties of two azoles in water solution: pyrazole and oxazole. The effects of the water-azole hydrogen bonding are rationalized by an extensive comparison between structural parameters and harmonic frequencies obtained by microsolvation models. Following the effective normal-mode analysis introduced by Martinez et al. [Martinez et al., J. Chem. Phys. 2006, 125, 144106], we identify the vibrational frequencies of the solutes using the decomposition of the vibrational density of states of the gas phase and solution dynamics. The calculated shifts from gas phase to solution are fairly in agreement with the available experimental data.


The categorical compositional distributional model of meaning gives the composition of words into phrases and sentences pride of place. However, it has so far lacked a model of logical negation. This paper gives some steps towards providing this operator, modelling it as a version of projection onto the subspace orthogonal to a word. We give a small demonstration of the operators performance in a sentence entailment task.


Corporate Communication changes trying to follow new social, technological and media dynamics. In the current context, it begins to experience with transmedia storytelling that offers a story to explain, multiple platforms and distinct levels of audience participation. Up to now, transmedia storytelling has been studied especially linked to fiction brands (television, cinematographic or literary, fundamentally). This article is one of the first in tackling a corporate campaign from the key elements of transmedia storytelling: story, media/platforms and audiences. It highlights the importance of the new tendency for the future of Corporate Communication.