Thin needle biopsy of a suspected tumor will usually yield material amenable to cytologic examination and sufficient for diagnosis. Sixty children with suspected solid malignant tumors were subjected to this procedure. The masses biopsied were in bone, abdomen, mediastinum, tongue, pharynx, soft tissue, and peripheral lymph nodes. The diagnostic yield was 66% on first biopsy and rose to 93% on repeated biopsies. The diagnostic accuracy was 97% in malignant tumors with histologic confirmation. There were no proved false-negative diagnoses, and two (3%) false-positive (for malignancy) diagnoses. All patients were followed up. There were no complications of note.


WBP2 encodes the WW domain‐binding protein 2 that acts as a transcriptional coactivator for estrogen receptor α (ESR1) and progesterone receptor (PGR). We reported that the loss of Wbp2 expression leads to progressive high‐frequency hearing loss in mouse, as well as in two deaf children, each carrying two different variants in the WBP2 gene. The earliest abnormality we detect in Wbp2‐deficient mice is a primary defect at inner hair cell afferent synapses. This study defines a new gene involved in the molecular pathway linking hearing impairment to hormonal signalling and provides new therapeutic targets.


Background: Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by impaired thought processes and weak emotional responses. This situation is generally a chaotic way of speaking and thinking, and is accompanied by significant social and work dysfunction. Early symptoms usually appear during young adulthood. One of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia is low self-esteem. Therapy given in this study is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

The Study: the purpose of this research is to determine the effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on the reduction of symptoms of low self-esteem schizophrenia patients in mental hospitals in Medan, North Sumatra

Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design with a control group". The sample of this study was schizophrenia patients with nursing problems with low selfesteem at mental hospital in North Sumatra. The sample of this study was 60 respondents, 30 respondents who received ACT and 30 respondents control group.

Results: The results showed no significant differences between the intervention group and the control group (p<0.05).Changes in symptoms of low self-esteem after being given ACT increased by 24, 51% and the control group by 7.74%. This means that the higher the percentage obtained, the lower the symptoms of low self-esteem in schizophrenic patients Conclusion: The results of this ACT study can be applied in public hospitals and mental hospitals and can be combined with other nursing therapies


This paper presents the analysis of cost-effective dispatching of emergency reserves with a specific focus on supply and demand side options. On the demand side options the focus is the demand market participation product. On the supply side options the use of open cycle gas turbines is studied. In capacity constraint systems the supplying demand with the current generation mix needs to be met. With a diminishing reserve margin and increase in demand yearly this challenge increases. The South African scenario is reported in this paper. As demand grows the ability to meet that demand remains a focus; a responsibility that remains a priority for the system operator. In times of surplus or shortage generation with adequate or diminishing reserve margins the focus on dispatching optimally and economically is an important aspect. Currently the South African Interconnected Power System is constrained; at times there's more demand than supply. The reserve categories are the ancillary requirements and it is different for all power systems. Reserves are to cater for disturbances on the power system to ensure a healthy frequency is maintained. Reserve categories according to the ancillary requirements are: instantaneous, regulating, ten minute, supplemental and emergency. This paper focuses on emergency reserve.


This is a report on the publication of REME - Revista Mineira de Enfermagem (the Minas Gerais Nursing Journal), its history and the outlook for its development and planning to attain its inclusion in the greatest number possible of databases, so that it is widely disseminated nationally and internationally.


Cancer-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a rare but serious condition seen in patients diagnosed with malignancy. Certain tumor characteristics highlight this entity, such as large tumor burden, adenocarcinoma histology with mucinous features and bone marrow infiltration. Although these tumors may originate from any site, the majority are of stomach, breast or prostate origin. The optimal therapy is unknown but there is evidence that immediate initiation of an effective antineoplastic regimen is important. However, it is difficult to differentiate cancer-associated TMA from primary thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in a timely manner. We present the first case of cancer-associated TMA in a patient secondary to a locally advanced gallbladder adenocarcinoma that lacked mucinous features and bone marrow involvement. The clinical presentation closely mimicked primary thrombocytopenic purpura and led to the ineffective use of plasma exchange. Nonetheless, the patient eventually received systemic chemotherapy and had a remarkable response by the resolution of her TMA.


Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890) - explorer, linguist, anthropologist - was one of the most fascinating figures of the Victorian era. In 1866, while serving as British consul in Brazil, he presented four lectures on the highlights of his travels in Arabia and Africa. The first two lectures describe the visits Burton made to Medina and Mecca disguised as an Islamic piigrim. The rites of pilgrimage, framed by the drama of Burton's disguise and its attendant dangers, are described in extensive and sympathetic detail. The next two lectures are dramatic accounts of Burton's journeys to Harar and Dahomey, and of his mission to persuade King Gelele to give up the practice of human sacrifice. The vivid details he presents reveal not only the characteristics of the cultures he encountered but also the prejudices of the culture he represented. Well received by critics when first published in 1990, this volume of lectures is now available in paperback.


When a problem instance is perturbed by a small modification, one would hope to find a good solution for the new instance by building on a known good solution for the previous one. Via a rigorous mathematical analysis, we show that evolutionary algorithms, despite usually being robust problem solvers, can have unexpected difficulties to solve such re-optimization problems. When started with a random Hamming neighbor of the optimum, the (1+1) evolutionary algorithm takes Ω(n2) time to optimize the LeadingOnes benchmark function, which is the same asymptotic optimization time when started in a randomly chosen solution. There is hence no significant advantage from re-optimizing a structurally good solution. We then propose a way to overcome such difficulties. As our mathematical analysis reveals, the reason for this undesired behavior is that during the optimization structurally good solutions can easily be replaced by structurally worse solutions of equal or better fitness. We propose a simple diversity mechanism that prevents this behavior, thereby reducing the re-optimization time for LeadingOnes to O(γδn), where γ is the population size used by the diversity mechanism and δ ≤ γ the Hamming distance of the new optimum from the previous solution. We show similarly fast re-optimization times for the optimization of linear functions with changing constraints and for the minimum spanning tree problem.


Trust and credibility in machine learning models is bolstered by the ability of a model to explain itsdecisions. While explainability of deep learning models is a well-known challenge, a further chal-lenge is clarity of the explanation itself, which must be interpreted by downstream users. Layer-wiseRelevance Propagation (LRP), an established explainability technique developed for deep models incomputer vision, provides intuitive human-readable heat maps of input images. We present the novelapplication of LRP for the first time with structured datasets using a deep neural network (1D-CNN),for Credit Card Fraud detection and Telecom Customer Churn prediction datasets. We show how LRPis more effective than traditional explainability concepts of Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Ex-planations (LIME) and Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) for explainability. This effectivenessis both local to a sample level and holistic over the whole testing set. We also discuss the significantcomputational time advantage of LRP (1-2s) over LIME (22s) and SHAP (108s), and thus its poten-tial for real time application scenarios. In addition, our validation of LRP has highlighted features forenhancing model performance, thus opening up a new area of research of using XAI as an approachfor feature subset selection


A detailed three-dimensional computational model is developed to assess the potential of micron-scale field emission dielectric barrier discharge (FE-DBD) plasma actuators in non-premixed microburners with channel heights in the range of Lz = 0.25–0.75 mm. Results for H2–O2 combustion with Reynolds number Re = 100 are studied for different configurations of plasma actuator arrays. Without plasma actuation, results agree with corresponding experiments, although in this case the burner typically suffers from incomplete combustion due to thermal quenching, radical quenching, and slow diffusive mixing. For the range of conditions simulated, plasma actuation increases combustion completeness from 25%–70% to 40%–80% by enhancing mixing, generating radicals, and Joule heating. Ionic wind resulting from the FE-DBD plasma disrupts the otherwise simple laminar flow in the burner, accelerating the growth of a mixing layer and enhancing heat transfer to channel walls. The larger, lower temperature flames reduce thermal gradients (and thereby thermal stresses) in the walls. Radical generation due to electron-impact dissociation extends the reaction zone in the diffusion flame and increases combustion completeness. In all cases, the additional heat release with plasma actuation (100–190 W) is significantly larger than the power needed to sustain the plasma (≲0.1 W), suggesting that plasma actuation may provide a significant advantage in energy generation using realistic portable micro-combustion devices.


OBJECTIVE
Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen found in a wide variety of environments. Subtype characterization of L. monocytogenes isolates from listeriosis outbreaks that have occurred over the last three decades has suggested that a number of outbreaks were caused by a small number of L. monocytogenes epidemic clones (ECs). In this study we compared the prevalence, ecology, and phylogenetic position of outbreak-associated isolates and non-outbreak-associated isolates to probe the evolutionary and ecological characteristics of outbreak-associated L. monocytogenes subtypes, including those representing previously described ECs.

METHODS
Multilocus sequence typing data for isolates from 15 listeriosis outbreaks in Europe and North America were generated and compared, using a phylogenetic framework, with 180 isolates representing a local sampling of diverse sources, including human sporadic cases.

RESULTS
Isolates from 15 listeriosis outbreaks represented eight sequence types (STs). STs corresponding to previously designated ECI (ST1 and ST93) and ECIa (ST29) represented isolates from eight outbreaks. ST17 (corresponding to ECII) was involved in two outbreaks in the United States (1998 and 2002). No other STs were involved in multiple outbreaks. While ST1 was the most common ST among sporadic human cases and non-human listeriosis-related isolates, ST29 was rare among non-human listeriosis-related isolates and was significantly overrepresented among isolates from human listeriosis outbreaks and sporadic cases as compared to isolates from other sources in our local sampling.

CONCLUSIONS
STs associated with outbreaks (and representing previously designated ECs) appear to differ in their ecology. While association of ECI with multiple human listeriosis outbreaks appears to reflect strain abundance across environments, ECIa seems to represent an L. monocytogenes EC that appears to be overrepresented among outbreaks and sporadic cases and thus may have increased transmission potential.


Using observational data to infer the coupling structure or parameters in dynamical systems is important in many real-world applications. In this paper, we propose a framework of strategically influencing a dynamical process that generates observations with the aim of making hidden parameters more easily inferable. More specifically, we consider a model of networked agents who exchange opinions subject to voting dynamics. Agent dynamics are subject to peer influence and to the influence of two controllers. One of these controllers is treated as passive and we presume its influence is unknown. We then consider a scenario in which the other active controller attempts to infer the passive controller's influence from observations. Moreover, we explore how the active controller can strategically deploy its own influence to manipulate the dynamics with the aim of accelerating the convergence of its estimates of the opponent. Along with benchmark cases we propose two heuristic algorithms for designing optimal influence allocations. We establish that the proposed algorithms accelerate the inference process by strategically interacting with the network dynamics. Investigating configurations in which optimal control is deployed. We first find that agents with higher degrees and larger opponent allocations are harder to predict. Second, even factoring in strategical allocations, opponent's influence is typically the harder to predict the more degree-heterogeneous the social network.


Many snorers complain of tiredness during the day, but little is known about the impact of snoring on daily life in other respects. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of life of middle-aged men who were heavy snorers. We used the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), which has been utilized during the last two decades as an instrument for evaluating the influence different medical conditions have on quality of life. Forty-two men (median 45 years, mean BMI 26 kg/m2 and mean Respiratory Disturbance Index 8.6) completed quality of life questionnaires. The answers were compared with those of a population sample of 786 men from the region with the same mean age. There were significant differences between the snorers and the population sample in the total score for quality of life (p=0.001) and the sections about energy (p < 0.001) and emotional reactions (p=0.02). There were highly significant differences in the frequency of health-related problems among the snoring men compared with the population sample in the ability to perform tasks around the home (p < 0.001). social life (p=0.003), family relationship (p < 0.001 ) and sexual life (p=0.001). When the snorers were compared with results reported from patients suffering from other medical conditions (hypertensives, growth hormone deficiency, myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), we found an equal level of total mean score and negative influence on their quality of life. The study illustrates that snoring men have a poor quality of life, comparable to that of patients with chronic diseases.


organisms found were carefully recorded. He has studied the nature of the forms according to Koch's methods, and describes their appearance, cultivation, and effects when introduced into animals. He concludes: firstly, inflammation of the thyroid gland is of haematogenic origin ; secondly, in exceptional cases, primary ; thirdly, in some cases a primary infection is found, and the disease may be looked upon as metastatic; fourthly, it may be a single or mixed affection. The author concludes with reference to the differential diagnosis and therapeutics. Michael.


Hyperglycemia, a predictor of poor clinical outcomes in acute stroke, must be lowered safely and promptly. We investigated the safety and effectiveness of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) combined with medical nutrition therapy in lowering blood glucose levels. This retrospective study included stroke patients admitted between 2014 and 2019, who (1) had glycated hemoglobin ≥6.5%, blood glucose level ≥ 11.1 mmol/L at admission, (2) took their diet and drugs orally during hospitalization, (3) underwent SGLT2is pharmacotherapy after admission, and (4) underwent a fasting blood glucose (FBG) test on day 7. Patients were provided with a moderate-carbohydrate diet combined with total energy restriction. We assessed the achievement of FBG < 7 mmol/L on day 7 and the need for sulfonylurea or a long-acting insulin analog (LIA) treatment during hospitalization, which carries a risk of hypoglycemia. Fifty-one patients met our inclusion criteria. Of them, 33 (64.7%) achieved the target FBG on day 7. Only eight patients were treated with a small dose of LIA; however, no patients required sulfonylurea. No dehydration occurred. SGLT2is combined with a moderate carbohydrate- and energy-restricted diet achieved the target FBG level safely, effectively, and promptly in mild stroke patients with oral ingestion.


To investigate the significance of theory and practice issues in translation teaching to the students for learning and mastering translation and cultivating translation innovative thinking, the study on new translation teaching model is very important to cultivate translation talent who is more suitable for the times and the needs of society. At first, this paper discusses the existing problems in translation teaching, analyzes the theory teaching in translation teaching, and then discusses the teaching method practice of translation curriculum and finally concludes the practice links in the translation classes. Properly treating the translation theory and translation skills, minding the understanding and translation practice in translation, organically combining the translation theory and translation practice activities and trying our utmost to train the translation and innovative abilities of the students, these are always our goals of translation teaching.


Earthquake precursors have long been sought as a means to predict earthquakes with very limited success. Recently, it has been suggested that a decrease in the Gutenberg–Richter b-value after a magnitude 6 earthquake is predictive of an imminent mainshock of larger magnitude, and a three-level traffic-light system has been proposed. However, this method is dependent on parameters that must be chosen by an expert. We systematically explore the parameter space to find an optimal set of parameters based on the Matthews correlation coefficient. For each parameter combination, we analyze the temporal changes in the frequency–magnitude distribution for every M ≥ 6 earthquake sequence in the U.S. Geological Survey Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog for western North America. We then consider smaller events, those with a foreshock magnitude as small as 5, and repeat the analysis to assess its performance for events that modify stresses over smaller spatial regions. We analyze 25 M ≥ 6 events and 88 M 5–6 events. We find that no perfect parameter combination exists. Although the method generates correct retrodictions for some M 5 events, the predictions are dependent on the retrospectively selected parameters. About 80%–95% of magnitude 5–6 events have too little data to generate a result. Predictions are time dependent and have large uncertainties. Without a precise definition of precursory b-value changes, this and similar prediction schemes are incompatible with the IASPEI criteria for evaluating earthquake precursors. If limitations on measuring precursory changes in seismicity and relating them to the state of stress in the crust can be overcome, real-time forecasting of mainshocks could reduce the loss of lives.


This study examined the trophic ecology of the zoanthid Palythoa caribaeorum in tropical reefs and evaluated its role in the energy flow in that ecosystem. Colonies of this species were sampled in the infralittoral zone of reefs in north-eastern Brazil in 2008. We calculated the richness, total abundance, relative abundance and frequency of occurrence of prey items. The biovolumes and weighted biovolumes of prey were calculated to characterize the most important food items in terms of their biomasses. To evaluate the selectivity, zoanthid and plankton samples were collected in 2010. Pennate diatoms were the most abundant and most frequent prey and, together with invertebrate eggs, constituted the most important food items in terms of their biomasses. There were no significant differences in abundance or richness among the different beaches studied, nor between the different seasons. The mean size of prey items within the polyps was significantly smaller than of the general plankton, indicating that P. caribaeorum selected for (or limited) certain prey sizes. This species predominantly fed on diatoms, and did not take advantage of many other prey items abundant in the plankton. Our results indicate that P. caribaeorum is suspensivorous and feeds principally on small phytoplankton. As this species is prey for benthic organisms such as polychaetes and nektonic organisms, our results indicate the importance of this zoanthid in tropical reef ecosystems as a primary consumer that serves as an energy transfer link between the planktonic environment and the nektonic and benthic spheres.


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

Acquired apoptosis resistance plays an important role in acquired chemoresistance in cancer cells during chemotherapy. Based on our previous observations that acquired TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-resistance in lung cancer cells was associated with Akt-mediated stabilization of c-FLIP and Mcl-1, we further examined if the TRAIL-resistant cells also have acquired resistance to apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutics, such as cisplatin (CDDP) and adriamycin (Adr), and the mechanism underlying this resistance. By systematically delineating the signaling pathway for acquired apoptosis resistance using in vitro cell culture and in vivo xenografted tumor models, we determined that these TRAIL-resistant cells also have acquired resistance to apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutics such as cisplatin (CDDP) and adriamycin (Adr). We further found that COX-2 is dramatically overexpressed in cells with acquired apoptosis resistance. COX-2 appears to be a crucial mediator in acquired apoptosis resistance because suppressing COX-2 activity with chemical inhibitors or reducing COX-2 protein expression level with COX-2 siRNA dramatically alleviated resistance to therapeutic-induced apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Inhibiting Akt markedly reduced COX-2 expression, suggesting COX-2 is a downstream effector mediating apoptosis resistance of this cell survival kinase. Furthermore, the expression of Mcl-1 but not c-FLIP was significantly reduced when COX-2 was suppressed and knockdown of Mcl-1 substantially sensitized the cells to CDDP- or Adr-induced apoptosis. Our results establish a novel pathway that consists of Akt, COX-2, and Mcl-1 for acquired apoptosis resistance, which could be a molecular target for circumventing acquired chemoresistance in lung cancer.

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 2568.


The aim of this study was to examine the phytoplankton patchiness, as expressed by community composition and their diversity during the monsoon and Non-monsoon seasons along the Pahang estuary, Malaysia during 2008. Three zones in the estuary were sampled on both the seasons covering both upstream and downstream of the estuary. Among the identified 42 genera of phytoplankton, the most dominant phytoplankton were Leptocylindrus sp. (19.05%), Lauderia sp. (11.02%) and Skeletonema sp. (10.32%) of total abundance. The least dominant or rare phytoplankton were Ditylum sp. (0.05%), Asterionella sp. (0.04%), Gyrosigma sp. (0.05%), Gymnodinium sp. (0.04%) and Prorocentrum sp. (0.07%) of total abundance. The statistical analysis showed that there was no significant difference in diversity of phytoplankton between different zones (p>0.05). Result indicated that many of the phytoplankton species inhabiting in Pahang estuary were sensitive to salinity fluctuation. The increased diversity during monsoon might be due to the runoff water that probably brought the phytoplankton of other freshwater sources. Physicochemical parameters showed significant variation between different zones (p<0.05) except for temperature. Present study clearly showed that phytoplankton community in Pahang estuary was quiet diverse during monsoon and dominant during non monsoon season.


Imbalanced learning data often emerges during the process of the knowledge discovery in data and presents a significant challenge for data mining methods. In this paper we investigate the influence of class imbalanced data on: artificial intelligence methods, i.e. neural networks and support vector machine and on classical classification methods represented by RIPPER and Naive Bayes classifier. The research is conducted on classification problems and, in purpose of measuring the quality of classification, the accuracy and the area under ROC curve measures are used. For the reduction of the negative influence of imbalanced data, SMOTE oversampling technique is used. All experiments on 30 different data sets, obtained from KEEL (Knowledge Extraction based on Evolutionary Learning) repository, are conducted on original datasets, and repeated on balanced datasets generated using SMOTE technique. The results of the research indicate that imbalanced data have significant negative influence on AUC measure on neural network and support vector machine. The same methods are showing improvement of AUC measure when applied on balanced data, but at the same time, are showing the deterioration of results from aspect of the classification accuracy. RIPPER results are also similar, but the changes are of smaller magnitude, while results of Naive Bayes classifier show overall deterioration of results on balanced distributions.


Anterior procedures on the spine, initially popularized for the treatment of spinal tuberculosis8, are now frequently used for the treatment of a variety of complex spinal disorders. Several authors have discussed the perioperative complications of such procedures5,10,12,17,18,19,22, however, to our knowledge, development of a hemothorax contralateral to the side of the incision has not been reported.

We report such a complication in a patient who had a burst fracture of the twelfth thoracic vertebra, which was osteoporotic. The patient was managed with a decompression and arthrodesis from the eleventh thoracic to the first lumbar vertebra. The procedure was performed through a left thoracoabdominal approach and consisted of corpectomy of the twelfth thoracic vertebra, placement of a strut graft, and internal fixation with screws and a plate. Postoperatively, a hemothorax developed on the right side and necessitated a second procedure. This unexpected, serious complication was iatrogenic; it developed because a protruding screw tip lacerated the diaphragm on the contralateral side.

A seventy-four-year-old woman was first seen by us because of a two-month history of back pain following a motor-vehicle accident. The patient reported that the pain had been increasing during the previous two weeks and that there was progressive motor weakness of the lower extremities. Neurological examination revealed a symmetrical decrease in the strength of the muscles of the lower extremities, with the patient having a full range of motion against gravity but not against resistance. There was a sensory loss distal to the inguinal level. The neurological deficit was recorded as grade C on the scale of Frankel et al.6. A magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed a burst fracture of the twelfth thoracic vertebra, which was osteoporotic, and an associated loss of …


Over the last few decades the prevalence of diabetes has dramatically grown in most regions of the world. In 2010, 285 million people had diabetes and it is estimated that the number will increase to 438 million in 2030 (1). About 5-10% of them have type 1 diabetes. Both types of diabetes are characterized by a progressive decline of pancreatic beta cell function and mass. In type 1 diabetes, the chronic autoimmune process causes the selective destruction of insulin-producing beta cells by the auto-reactive T cells in genetically predisposed individuals. There is a continuous loss of functional C-peptide responses and at the time of clinical presentation the beta cell mass is reduced by 70–90 %, as suggested by anatomic studies (2, 3). This results in an inability to secrete sufficient amounts of insulin and loss of metabolic control. As a consequence, exogenous insulin replacement in the form of multiple subcutaneous injections or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusions (CSII) is essential for patients with type 1 diabetes. It prevents death from acute metabolic complications and assures normal growth and development, maintenance of normoglycemia and prevention of end-organ complications. Type 2 diabetes results from an entirely different pathophysiological process. It is characterized by an increased resistance to insulin action in the peripheral tissues with decreased glucose uptake and enhanced hepatic glucose output associated with impaired insulin-secretory capacity caused by a progressive decline of beta cell function over time. Studies indicate a substantial loss of beta cell mass (of about 25-60 %) by the time of diagnosis, mainly secondary to increased apoptosis and impaired augmentation of cell mass through neogenesis (4, 5). The clinical onset is due to the reduction of beta cell mass per se and to a concomitant dysfunction of residual beta cells (6, 7). The beta cell failure, which seems to occur much earlier during the natural history of the disease than previously thought, results in significant insulin deficiency and by then, insulin administration is required in order to achieve glycemic control (8, 9).


The Internet of Things (IoT) devices is able to communicate with another IoT devices in heterogeneous environments. They are also able to create a network by their own using wireless capabilities without a centralized approach. This network is called wireless mobile ad hoc network (MANET).  The MANET facilitate IoT devices to communicate with each other in an infrastructure less network of the Internet of Things environment. The IoT devices can dynamically join, create connection and exchange information among them. The role of cloud in this framework is to store and process the data by IoT devices. The communication Security has been raised as one of the most critical issues of cloud computing where resolving such an issue would result in a constant growth in the use and popularity of cloud. Our purpose of this study is to create a framework for providing the communication in an integrated framework of Cloud and MANET among IoT devices. Our main contribution links a new study that integrates cloud computing to the MANET and provides communication to the internet of things. This study can be used in the framework of the Internet of Things in future.


A method was established for simultaneous determination of 21 active constituents including flavanols, isoflavones, flavonols, dihydroflavones, dihydroflavonols, chalcones, pterocarpan, anthocyanidins and phenolic acids in Spatholobi Caulis by ultra fast liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry(UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS). Then, it was employed to analyze and evaluate the dynamic accumulation of multiple bioactive constituents in Spatholobi Caulis. The chromatographic separation was performed on a XBridge®C_(18)(4.6 mm×100 mm, 3.5 μm) at 30 ℃ with a gradient elution of 0.3% formic acid aqueous solution-methanol, and the flow rate was 0.8 mL·min~(-1), using multiple-reaction monitoring(MRM) mode. A comprehensive evaluation of the multiple bioactive constituents was carried out by gray correlation analysis(GRA). The 21 target components showed good linearity(r>0.999 0) in the range of the tested concentrations. The average recovery rates of the 21 components were from 97.46% to 103.6% with relative standard deviations less than 5.0%. There were differences in the contents of 21 components in Spatholobi Caulis at diffe-rent harvest periods. Spatholobi Caulis had high quality from early November to early December, which is consistent with the local tradi-tional harvest period. This study reveals the rule of the dynamic accumulation of 21 components in Spatholobi Caulis and provides basic information for the suitable harvest time. At the same time, it provides a new method reference for the comprehensive evaluation of the internal quality of Spatholobi Caulis.


Abstract If circulating adrenal androgens levels rise before the age of 8 years in girls, this phenomenon is termed premature adrenarche (PA), while the concomitant appearance of pubic hair is called premature pubarche (PP). Girls with PA-PP display an unfavorable hormonal profile compared to their normal peers and have an increased risk of developing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) features peripubertally. However, the sequelae of premature adrenarche remains unclear. We assessed metabolic, hormonal, psychologic profiles, and ovarian morphology in 21 women of mean age (±SD) 21.3±3.3 years, BMI: 23.6±4.4 kg/m2 with PA-PP, 45 women with PCOS and 26 controls, matched for age and BMI. PA-PP women displayed a favorable lipid profile compared to PCOS and controls. Insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), however, were similar in PA-PP and PCOS women (2.09±1.42, 2.08±0.83) and higher than controls (1.13±0.49, p <0.05). Circulating androstenedione levels did not differ between PA-PP and PCOS women (0.11±0.05 vs. 0.12±0.03), but was higher than that of controls (0.02±0.0 nmol/l, p <0,05). Ovarian volume was increased in PA-PP and PCOS (11.14±3.3 vs. 10.99±4.61) compared to controls (6.74±1.83 cm3). PA-PP women had a higher score of state/trait anxiety and depressive and eating disorder symptoms than controls, with a pattern that matched that of PCOS women. Only 14% of the PA-PP group fulfilled the Rotterdam PCOS criteria. Some women with a history of PA-PP displayed hormonal and psychologic profile similar to PCOS, and accordingly a regular monitoring of these girls during adulthood is advised.


OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to develop a pregnancy insert for the Hybrid III (First Technology, Farmington, Mich.) crash dummy allowing evaluation of the effects of various restraint conditions on energy transmission to both the fetal and maternal compartments. STUDY DESIGN: A pregnancy insert with an elasticized vinyl uterine shell, simulated silicon amniotic fluid, and a 28-week simulated fetus was fitted to a female crash dummy. The fetus was instrumented with accelerometers in the head and thorax and a transducer to measure force transmission through the uterus. Thirty-nine crash tests were run under six different restraint conditions at speeds ranging from 10 to 25 miles/hr. Fetal responses were compared for different restraint conditions. RESULTS: Increasing speed of the crash resulted in greater force transmission through the uterus. Placement of the lap belt over the uterus instead of under the uterus resulted in a threefold to fourfold increase in force transmission through the uterus at all speeds tested. Air bag deployment in the unbelted or out-of-position dummy (laying against air bag) appears to impart significant energy transmission to the fetus. CONCLUSIONS: Energy transmission can be measured in terms of both abdominal force and acceleration within the fetal head and thorax. This new dummy demonstrates substantial transmission of energy, which is accentuated in some restraint conditions commonly used by pregnant women. The use of the 3-point restraint system appears to reduce the likelihood of injury in this model. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1996;175:977-81.)


The smoking habits of an epidemiologically unselected material of patients with bronchial carcinoma in the Swedish county of Uppsala were studied in detail. Out of 273 bronchial carcinoma patients in the period 1971-1976, 82% were smokers - 96% of the males and 34% of the females. In a control material 10-15 years earlier, there were 67% male and 26% female smokers. The difference in males is statistically significant, but not in females. However, 71% of younger female patients were smokers and this difference from the controls is statistically significant. Ninety-eight per cent of the males with epidermoid carcinoma and small cell carcinoma were smokers. Ninety per cent of the 40 males with adenocarcinoma were smokers, in contrast to 24% of the 38 females. The smoking habits in females with adenocarcinoma were the same as in the female population of the county 15 years earlier. The mean age at the start of smoking was 19 years. The mean total tobacco consumption was 207 kg, 215 kg for males and 130 kg for females, and the mean average consumption per year 4.6 kg. Fifty-four per cent of the males smoked both cigarettes and pipe tobacco.


In this article, I propose a model for understanding the concept of ownership that I call the 'exclusivity model.' Like many of the contemporary critics of the 'bundle of rights' approach to ownership, I insist that ownership is a legal concept with a well-defined structure. I differ from most of them, however, in the model of ownership that I believe to be at work in property law. Most of these critics propose a model of ownership that emphasizes the owner's right to exclude non-owners from the owned thing as the central defining feature of ownership. I call this the 'boundary approach' to highlight its fixation on the owner's power to decide who may cross the boundaries of the owned thing. But this, I argue, makes it impossible for the boundary approach to explain adequately the many subsidiary rights in things that coexist with the rights of owners. Indeed, I argue that when we look more closely at the structure of ownership in property law, its central concern is not the exclusion of all non-owners from the owned thing but, rather, the preservation of the owner's position as the exclusive agenda setter for the owned thing. So long as others – whether they be holders of subsidiary property rights or strangers to the property – act in a way that is consistent with the owner's agenda, they pose no threat to the owner's exclusive position as agenda setter.


T he epidemiology of giant cell arteritis (GCA) is one of its most fascinating and complex aspects. This inflammatory vasculopathy usually involves largeand medium-sized blood vessels, and often leads to devastating visual loss in one or both eyes from ischaemic damage to the retina, optic nerve or intracranial visual pathways. It is the most common vasculitis in Western countries, especially in people aged .50 years with northern European ancestry. In these populations, annual incidence rates are 20–30/100 000. In contrast, the incidence in ageand gender-matched populations in southern Europe and in Israel is about half that of northern Europe and the USA (about 11/ 100 000). In Japan, the first government-supported nationwide epidemiological study on GCA showed a prevalence of only 1.47/100 000. In this issue of the BJO, Chaudhry et al (see page 715) report the results of their study on an Arab population in Saudi Arabia. They conclude that the incidence and prevalence of GCA in this population are also extremely low, probably similar to that of Japan. This was not a nationwide, prospective, population-based study, nor has one ever been carried out in any of the Arab countries in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the conclusions of the authors would seem justified if one accepts—as I do—their assumptions regarding the type and number of patients evaluated by their hospital, the only specialised tertiary eye-care facility in Saudi Arabia. The explanation for the marked differences in incidence and prevalence of GCA in different parts of the world and among different ethnic and racial groups is multifactorial, and includes geographical, genetic and environmental factors. These factors are undoubtedly interrelated, at least to some extent. It has been the subject of intense debate whether geographical factors truly influence the susceptibility to GCA and its manifestations or simply reflect the genetic makeup of people who live in particular geographical locations. Nevertheless, there appears to be a clear geographical gradient of frequencies in GCA, with a statistically significant increase in both incidence and prevalence of the disorder with increasing northern latitudes. Genetic factors were first suggested by reports that showed an increased prevalence of GCA among first-degree relatives. More recently, it has been postulated that some major histocompatability complex class II molecules have a role in the susceptibility of patients to GCA, particularly HLA-DRB1*04 alleles ; major histocompatibility complex class I molecules could also be involved. In addition, certain polymorphisms that relate to the expression of various cytokines and chemokines, including tumour necrosis factor a, intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and interleukin 1 receptor antagonist seem to influence susceptibility for both GCA and polymyalgia rheumatica. 22 Environmental factors, particularly infectious agents, have been postulated by some investigators to be the ultimate triggers for the development of GCA, partly because the condition is usually characterised by constitutional symptoms, fever and an increased level of acute-phase reactants in the serum of affected people, and partly because the incidence of such phenomena has an annual and seasonal fluctuation. 24 Some of the potential aetiological agents include Mycoplasma pneumoniae, human parvovirus B19 and human parainfluenza virus type 1. 26 Although Varicella zoster virus (VZV) can produce a histopathological picture identical with GCA, including multinucleated giant cells, 28 a study of biopsy-positive temporal arteries, using immunohistochemical and PCR techniques showed no evidence of either VZV antigen or VZV DNA in any of the specimens. Gordon et al examined whether microbial DNA fragments were present at GCA lesions and whether such microbial fragments could be associated with disease pathogenesis. These investigators identified microbial sequences using genomic representational difference analysis. Then, they used laser dissecting microscopy to isolate cells from GCA lesions and adjacent uninvolved temporal artery. Using these techniques, they were able to isolate 10 gene fragments, three of which contained sequences with high homology with prokaryotic genes, suggesting a bacterial or viral origin. Gordon et al then examined serum from people with biopsy-proven GCA, compared it with that from healthy age-matched controls and found immunoglobulin G that recognised in vitro translated proteins from the three clones. The paper by Chaudhry et al (see page xxx) is consistent with the findings of others that non-European people and those who live in southern latitudes have a relatively low incidence and prevalence of GCA. The next step is to assess this relatively (genetically, geographically and environmentally) isolated population for factors that would, on the one hand, distinguish it from populations with a high incidence and prevalence of GCA, such as that in the Scandinavian countries, and on the other hand, link it to populations with an extremely low incidence and prevalence of GCA, such as those in Israel or Japan. It may well be that by comparing and contrasting these various populations, we would gain much more insight into the aetiology of this potentially visionand life-threatening disorder.


Hole boring characteristics of laser beams are studied using two different laser wavelengths in preformed plasmas with overdense regions. We have shown that a whole beam self-focusing is created in plasma with a considerable density scale length using a 1 microm wavelength laser. The whole beam self-focusing of this type could be used for guiding the ultrahigh intense laser pulse to a highly compressed core for studying the feasibility of a fast ignitor. There is a clear difference in the hole-boring characteristics between two laser wavelengths at 1053 and 351 nm, both in the experiment and the simulation. Using the third-harmonic laser, a whole beam self-focusing is never created. The 351-nm laser beam broke up into filaments resulting in plasma jets observed in our interferogram.


In his seminal paper that inaugurated abstract argumentation, Dung proved that the set of complete extensions forms a complete semilattice with respect to set inclusion. In this note we demonstrate that this proof is incorrect with counterexamples. We then trace the error in the proof and explain why it arose. We then examine the implications for the grounded extension.
[Reason for withdrawal continued] Page 4, Example 2 is not a counterexample to Dung 1995 Theorem 25(3). It was believed to be a counter-example because the author misunderstood ``glb'' to be set-theoretic intersection. But in this case, ``glb'' is defined to be other than set-theoretic intersection such that Theorem 25(3) is true.
The author was motivated to fully understand the lattice-theoretic claims of Dung 1995 in writing this note and was not aware that this issue is probably folklore; the author bears full responsibility for this error.


The aim of the study was to analyze changes of systolic and diastolic blood pressure values over five and ten years separately boys and girls and to estimate correlation between them. Three age groups from 8 centers in Serbia were evaluated: Group 1: 10 year old patients, Group 2: 15 year old and Group 3: 20 year old. Group with normal blood pressure values, prehypertensive and hypertensive group were analyzed. Regarding the period of follow-up we analyzed: 10/15 years period-children between 10 and 15 years, 15/20 years period-children between 15 and 20 years, and 10/20 years period-children between 10 and 20 years. Significant increase of diastolic blood pressure was noticed for both genders in 10/15 years period of prehypertensive population, while in hypertensive children, boys showed decline in frequency for systolic and diastolic blood pressure and girls only for diastolic. In 15/20 years period there was significant decrease of prehypertensive and significant increase of hypertensive diastolic blood pressure frequency. In 10/20 years period significant reduction in frequency of prehypertensive systolic blood pressure was noticed, while only hypertensive group of boys showed significant reduction regarding systolic blood pressure frequency. Prehypertensive diastolic and hypertensive systolic blood pressure fluctuations are more related to age.


Every early childhood education institution allocates considerable attention to nurturance of national traditions and values of spiritual culture and organises traditional events, festivals, projects and other events every year. Calendar and national festivals are also celebrated. The goal of the research was to reveal and analyse the experiences of children, teachers and other adults that they go or went through during the festivals organised in early childhood education institutions.The research methods: scholarly literature analysis, its systemisation and generalisation; narrative research employing a semi-structured interview with adults and teachers and an interview with children; narrative qualitative data analysis. The narrative research included 10 participants: 4 teachers, 3 early age children and 3 adults, who attended early childhood education institutions in their childhood.The research data show that similar aspects are found in the narrations of all participants, which can be grouped into five main themes of narrations: emotions, impressions, teacher support, cultural experience and parents' participation. The analysis of experiences obtained by the participants in the research allows stating that festivals in early childhood education institutions are usually only performances for parents. This causes both positive and negative emotions of research participants. The participants in the research remember not only the experienced emotions but also the first impressions, which are evoked by a certain surprise, new experience or an exceptional occurrence. The article also discusses the parents' role in the kindergarten festivals, teacher's activities and analyses cultural experience, which is acquired by early age children during such festivals.


Exchange is the termination of two mutual, overdue, and identical debts by the amount of debt that is small by the declaration of the will of one of the parties. The bankruptcy of the debtor, as a rule, does not constitute an obstacle to the introduction of the exchange. Unlike the system in Turkish debt Law, in case of bankruptcy of the debtor, the creditors of the bankrupt can exchange even their overdue receivables for their debts. And it is also possible that receivables that are subject to something other than money are also the subject of exchange by being cashed in bankruptcy. In addition to the exceptions introduced by the general provisions, provisions a ban of exchange are also included in the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. In the Concordat, the exchange provisions applicable to bankruptcy apply in relation to the exchange ban. In bankruptcy, the ban on exchanging is made only for bearer papers. In terms of bearer papers, sufficient recognition of the transfer of ownership makes it impossible to determine who, when and for what purpose this paper was transferred through the paper. Therefore, the difficulty in determining whether the holder of the bill acquired the stock before or after the bankruptcy causes the bearer papers to be subject to the barter of exchange. A foreign exchange bill transferred with a blank endorsement must also be subject to an exchange ban, such as bearer papers. Because the legislator's ban on exchange is limited to bearer papers and does not include blank endorsement and transferred securities within the scope of the provision, it is far from providing the interest to be protected in the real sense.


At first sight I thought this book was going to turn out to be just another account of a personal skiing trip in the Arctic, of which there have been many in recent years. However, because I live in Svalbard and have participated in several ski expeditions (the last one traversed Greenland and was led by a disabled woman who accomplished the journey by sit-ski) I am always interested in reading other people's experiences of polar expeditions, as they may provide inspiration for a future trip or kindle new dreams. I'm also keen to learn from other people's mistakes and successes, as well as from their choice of equipment and experiences in its use.


Theoretically, lyotropic behavior of flexible polymers can be induced by associating the polymers with a large amount of long-tail surfactants leading to bottle-brush type conformations in suitable solvents. To address this and related questions, complexes of poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP) and poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) with p-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA), characterized by FT-IR, were investigated in the bulk and in xylene, i.e., a good solvent for the alkyl side chains. At a 1:1 molar ratio of vinylpyridine monomer and DBS, the polymers are shown by FT-IR to be almost completely protonated. In the bulk, the complexes form mesomorphic layer structures which have been characterized by polarized optical microscopy and by both wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering. In the xylene solutions, birefringence indicating liquid crystallinity is observed for concentrations of the fully protonated P4VP-(DBSA)(1.0) complex of ca. 50% (w/w) and higher. In contrast, for P2VP(DBSA)(1.0), this is only observed at complex concentrations of ca. 70% (w/w) and higher. The mesomorphic behavior of P4VP(DBSA)(1.0) in xylene was further demonstrated by SAXS.


Based on an orthogonal expansion and orthogonality correction in an element, superconvergence at symmetric points for any degree rectangular serendipity finite element approximation to second order elliptic problem is proved, and its behaviour up to the boundary is also discussed.


Communications security is becoming more and more Important today. There is thus an increasing interest in analog scramblers due to the desire for secure speech communications over existing telephone channels with standard telephone bandwidth at acceptable speech quality and reasonable cost. The concept of scrambling the sample values of the speech waveforms is attractive due to its higher degree of security compared to traditional scramblers. But all these sample value scramblers require frame synchronization, i.e., the signal segments used in scrambling and descrambling processes have to be exactly the same for signal recovery. This not only complicates the implementation but makes the transmission very sensitive to channel conditions. A new frequency domain scrambling system was proposed recently, which eliminates the requirement for frame synchronization. However, FFT algorithms are used in this system to transform speech samples back and forth between time and frequency domains. This not only requires higher complexity and cost, but introduces significant roundoff errors and enhances the channel noise and distortion. In this paper, a new time domain scrambling system was proposed which eliminates all the FFT's in the previous system but still does not require frame synchronization. This simplifies the implementation and improves the quality and reliability. The theoretical derivation, synchronization analysis, software simulation, hardware implementation, and residual intelligibility tests of this new system are discussed in great detail in this paper.


A previously reported high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for indoprofen determination in physiological fluids was modified and extended to provide quantitative data on drug concentrations in human milk samples at a low nanogram per milliliter level. The reversed-phase HPLC technique was modified to give a better separation of the drug and milk components. To achieve the necessary cleanup for low level determination, the milk samples required protein precipitation, liquid-liquid drug extraction, and concentration. Excellent indoprofen recovery was obtained with this technique; the average recovery from 20 milk samples spiked with various nanogram drug levels was 95%. The analytical technique showed excellent reproducibility; the calibration solutions over 15 days had a relative standard deviation of 3.2%. Results for indoprofen levels in milk and plasma samples from seven subjects who received either a single or multiple oral drug dose are presented.


We propose a revised conceptual basis for the economic torts which is true to their historical role of regulating the competitive process. Claims that the economic torts are part of a wider principle of prima facie liability for intentional harm or that they are based on a theory of secondary or accessorial liability should, we argue, be rejected. Instead, we focus on a narrower and, we claim, more defensible conception of these torts in terms of the economic interests which they protect, the kinds of interferences which trigger liability, and the nature of the justifications which should be accepted as defences.


Should there be a legally enforceable duty for a parent to raise his child in an atmosphere of warmth and love? Is it possible to use our current judicial system to judge a civil dispute between a parent and child based on failure to meet the duty of emotional care? And, if it is possible, should the legal process impose a positive duty on the parent to love his child, or should it confine itself to merely a negative duty for the parent not to emotionally neglect his child? These questions are not trivial in a world that, until recently, held the perception that the law should refrain from intervening in the family unit and allow the parent to retain his authority, rather than giving the child the right to file a claim against his parent for damages in general, and on the grounds of emotional neglect and lack of love in particular. The paper grapples with the question of whether parents should be required by law to act lovingly towards their children. The paper presents several legal models which attempt to seek a balanced approach which will perceive the family as a separate sphere, where legal intervention in its affairs may cause more harm than good, but also perceive the family as a collection of individuals whose disputes may be resolved within the framework of private law. This paper will show that the existing models not balanced enough: some prefer the sanctity, autonomy, and privacy of the family and therefore grant immunity to the parent from tort lawsuits brought by their children; some tend to the other extreme, and almost negate, in practice, any separate arrangement for the family unit; and some, which are more balanced and allow for the creation of special arrangements for the child to sue which rely on ordinary legal mechanisms, are insufficient because they lack a clear legal declaration defining the rights of the child in general, and the right not be emotionally neglected in particular. One religious model presents a satisfactorily balanced solution, but it cannot be applied as is to modern secular law. The proposed model tries to achieve true balance between the sanctity of the family and the needs of a child by bringing together tools from modern law and religious legal systems to result in a new and creative solution. The paper wrestles with many difficult topics within the realm of family law, among them: familial relations as reflected in civil law; justiciability of parent-child relations; the role of extra-judicial means of mediation or treatment within the legal process; children's rights and the respect owed to the child; and the importance of recognizing the role of expressive law and its declarative function in cases when, on the one hand, it is very important to create the norm and grant the right, but, on the other hand, it is not so appropriate, due to the nature of familial relations, to enforce it in daily life. Emotional neglect serves as a test case for examining tort lawsuits against parents in general. The proposals in this paper are also relevant in non-tort cases of civil claims brought by children against their parents, not just claims for emotional neglect.


Modern media data such as 360° videos and light field (LF) images are typically captured in much higher dimensions than the observers' visual displays. To efficiently browse high-dimensional media, a navigational streaming model is considered: a client navigates the media space by dictating a navigation path to a server, who in response transmits the corresponding pre-encoded media data units (MDU) to the client one-by-one in sequence. Assuming that the MDU quality is pre-chosen and fixed, the problem resides in selecting and storing redundant representations of MDUs at the server in order to best trade off storage and transmission costs, while enabling adequate user's random access. We address this problem with a landmark-based MDU optimization framework. The media space is divided into neighborhoods, each containing one landmark (a chosen MDU). MDUs in a neighborhood use the associated landmark as a predictor for inter-coding. Thus, for any MDU transition within the same neighborhood, only one inter-coded MDU transmission is required when the landmark resides in the decoder buffer. It results in lower transmission cost and enables navigational random access. To optimize an MDU structure, we employ tree-structured vector quantizer (TSVQ) to first optimize landmark locations, then iteratively add P-MDUs as refinements using a fast branch-and-bound technique. Taking interactive LF images and viewport adaptive 360° images as illustrative applications, and I-, P- and previously proposed merge frames to intra- and inter-code MDUs, we show experimentally that landmarked MDU structures can noticeably reduce the expected transmission cost compared with MDU structures without landmarks.


In the framework of the new feed-in-tariff system in Switzerland for Small Hydropower Plants (SHP), the aim of the SmallFLEX project, led by HES-SO Valais and performed in collaboration with EPFL, WSL, EAWAG, PVE, and FMV, is to show how SHP can provide winter peak energy and ancillary services, whilst remaining eco-compatible. The pilot and demonstrator site selected is the new small hydropower plant of Gletsch-Oberwald (KWGO) owned by FMV and commissioned end of 2017. This run-of-river power plant is equipped with two six-jet Pelton turbine units featuring a maximum power of 7 MW each. The addition of flexibility can be reached by using existing volumes of the power plant: the settling basin, the forebay chamber as well as part of the headrace tunnel. By consequence, the turbine head will undergo variations. To ensure that these variations will not cause any damages to the Pelton runner, the influence of the available head is investigated by numerical simulations. The simulations are carried out using two different software. OpenFOAM, which is based on a Finite Volume Method (FVM), is used for computing the flow inside the distributor until the jet. GPU-SPHEROS, which is based on Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) Finite Volume Particle Method (FVPM) is utilized to compute the interaction between the jet and Pelton buckets. Mixing the two aforementioned approaches, i.e. mesh-based FVM and particle-based FVPM, the overall torque T of the present six-jet Pelton runner can be reconstructed for different rated heads and discharges. The predicted torque fluctuations can then be considered for an estimation of the structural fatigue damage of the runner.


The trend towards autonomous systems in today's technology comes with the need for environment perception. Deep neural networks (DNNs) constantly showed state-of-the-art performance over the last few years in visual machine perception, e.g., semantic segmentation. While DNNs work fine on uncorrupted data, recently introduced adversarial examples (AEs) led to misclassification with high confidence. This lack of robustness against such adversarial attacks questions the use of DNNs in safety-critical autonomous systems, e.g., autonomous driving vehicles. In this work, we address the mentioned problem with the use of a redundant teacher-student framework, consisting of a static teacher network (T), a static student network (S), and a constantly adapting student network (A). By using this triplet in combination with a novel inverse feature matching (IFM) loss, we show that a significant robustness increase of student DNNs against adversarial attacks is achieveable, while maintaining semantic segmentation quality at a reasonably high level. With our approach, we manage to increase the mean intersection over union (mean IoU) ratio between static student adversarial examples and clean images from about 35 % to about 80 % on the Cityscapes dataset. Moreover, our proposed method can be integrated into any DNN-based perception mechanism to increase the (online) robustness in an adversarial environment, created from static model knowledge.


Intravenous lipid emulsions as part of Total Parenteral Nutrition, are now standard in most centers. The most frequently used lipid formula contains predominantly long-chain triglycerides (LCT) of n-6 series . Controversy and concern exist about the immunosuppressive effects of this fuel source mainly based on experimental data because clinical studies are sparse. Some investigators have pointed out that this lipid emulsion impair monocyte, lymphocyte and neutrophil functions although these changes seem to be related to quantity and rate of lipid administration. A new lipid emulsion that contains 50% as medium chain triglycerides is available. The impact of this formula on immune function is unknown although some papers suggest that it produces less deleterious effects on immune response than the traditional lipid source. Prostaglandins and leukotrienes have numerous effects on immune functions and mediate many of the hemodynamic aspects of the metabolic response to injury. The use of n-3 fatty acids that produce less immunosuppressive eicosanoids have been studied in experimental model with hopeful results. Despite these conflicting data, almost all authors agree that there are no justification for withholding intravenous lipid therapy because they are safe and effective providing essential fatty acids with a high caloric content. Future studies are needed to define the precise composition of lipid emulsions that may vary in the different pathologic situations.


Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer (Panax ginseng) has been used for several thousand years to prolong longevity in Asian countries. Ginsenosides are the most active components isolated from ginseng and belong to damarane saponin which are separated into protopanaxadiol and protopanaxtriol. To evaluate the complex effect of ginsenoside in apo E null mice, ginseng extract were intraperioneally (i.p.) injected and provided high-cholesterol diet for 12 weeks. Ginseng extract came from were i.p. injected with dose of 100 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks in the last experimental duration. Ginseng extract used experiment was abundant Rb1, Rc, Re, and Rg1 and PD:PT ratio was 1.2. The high-cholesterol diet induced liver damage was significantly reduced by ginseng extract. Results from plasma lipid profiles and atherogenic index were improved by ginseng extracts. The GE group significantly decreased plasma TG and TC by 73% and 61% compared to apo E (-/-) group. Also ginseng extract tend to decrease lipid profiles and lipidperoxidation contents in liver and heart. Ginseng extract with an abundant amount of Rg1 significantly suppressed the apoptosis induction of cardiac tissue. In conclusion, ginseng extract (PD:PT = 1) was improved lipid profiles and anti-oxidant effects.


The authors have been treating early gastric carcinoma endoscopically by high-frequency-current polypectomy since 1976, by microwave coagulation since 1982, and by laser coagulation since 1983. In order to achieve absolute curability of early carcinoma, we recommend that polypectomy be performed first, whenever possible. The reason for this is that the resected polypectomised tissue enables a decision to be made as to whether further treatment is necessary, after histopathological examination of the specimen. Otherwise, cases in which snaring is impossible, such as flat or depressed carcinomas of markedly small or large size, should be treated by microwave and/or laser coagulation. In total, we have experienced 92 lesions (83 cases) of early gastric carcinoma treated by all of above 3 methods, and we currently have 5 cases showing more than 5-year survival. Among these, type II a early carcinomas less than 10mm in diameter accounted for the majority; on the other hand, there were 11 type II c cases, also with tumors less than 10mm in diameter. Referring to our surgical data, type II c (without ulcer nor lymph node metastases) less than 5mm in size is limited to the mucosa in 100% of cases, and of 6-10mm in size in 85%. We therefore propose that type II c tumors less than 10mm in size should be treated endoscopically, as well as type II a tumors of the same size. In order to determine the depth of carcinomatous invasion, endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is effective. The diagnostic accuracy for Ul(-) early carcinoma is almost 100%, but for Ul(+) cases EUS is not so accurate. Further studies and improvements of EUS are thus needed.


Secondary school-pupils frequently underachieve in tests which require problem-solving skills. Training of working memory (WM) may improve problem solving skills. We review primary and secondary school-based interventions to evaluate the capability WM-training to enhance problem solving skills. Two aspects of WM appear to affect reasoning skills. WM capacity plays a role in short term storing and in manipulating information. Meta-cognitive WM concerns the storage of acquired knowledge of problem solving skills in long term memory. We conclude that both aspects could improve reasoning skills. Metacognition causes students to achieve significantly better compared with non-trained groups regardless of training type and intensity. Few studies are found that focus on school-based interventions. Furthermore, in line with earlier reviews, many studies lack a critical analysis of the mechanisms by which WM causes reasoning achievements in classroom environments. The question whether transfer-effects to domain-specific reasoning is expected remains a topic for further research.


The publication of the second edition of the SAGE Handbook of E-learningResearch attests to the continued need for study and understanding of learningpractices in contemporary technology-supported and technology-enabled educational, work and social settings. In preparing the first edition (Andrews &Haythornthwaite, 2007a), we found that while there had been considerabledevelopment in teaching and learning online, and in learning design, there wasno coherent view of what constituted research in the field. Writing for this 2016edition, we find there has been much progress in research, but it has taken many new directions, each wrestling with how to analyze and represent learning in an era of continuing change in technologies, learning practices, and knowledge distribution. This volume, like the last, takes stock of progress in e-learning research, highlighting advances as well as new directions in studies and methods for approaching and keeping up with changes in learning in an e-society.


The East-African lowland coastal forest (LCF) is one of Africa's centres of species endemism, representing an important biodiversity hotspot. However, deforestation and forest degradation due to the high demand for fuelwood has reduced forest cover and diversity, with unknown consequences for associated terrestrial carbon stocks in this LCF system. Our study assessed spatio-temporal land use and land cover changes (LULC) in 1998, 2008, 2018 in the LCF ecosystem, Tanzania. In addition, we conducted a forest inventory survey and calculated associated carbon storage for this LCF ecosystem. Using methods of land use change evaluation plug-in in QGIS based on historical land use data, we modelled carbon stock trends post-2018 in associated LULC for the future 30 years. We found that agriculture and grassland combined increased substantially by 21.5% between the year 1998 and 2018 while forest cover declined by 29%. Furthermore, forest above-ground live biomass carbon (AGC) was 2.4 times higher in forest than in the bushland, 5.8 times in the agriculture with scattered settlement and 14.8 times higher than in the grassland. The estimated average soil organic carbon (SOC) was 76.03 ± 6.26 t/ha across the entire study area. Our study helps to identify land use impacts on ecosystem services, supporting decision-makers in future land-use planning.


European higher education institutions (HEIs) in the last two decades have faced a number of challenges: reduced public funding, increased competition from foreign and private universities, constant pressures and demands for their greater quality, and constant changes of education laws and legal regulations. The only way for fast adjustment of HEIs to the new competitive conditions is to explore all possibilities for effective implementation of some of the most popular management concepts such as Balanced Scorecard (BSC) system. Although the application of the BSC in the business sector is well documented, limited research has been reported regarding the application of the BSC in the education sector. For this purpose, relied on the existing literature, reported results and experiences from its implementation in business, firstly, we propose a suitable process for building a BSC system for HEI, and then we design a specific Strategy map and BSC system applicable for the Faculty of Economics-Skopje, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, easily adaptable for implementation in other HEIs.


The principal electronic factors determining the reactivity of addends in the diene synthesis reaction are considered. The applicability of the model taking into account both the donor–acceptor properties of the reactants and their relative stabilities with respect to the reaction described by delocalisation energies or reaction enthalpies is demonstrated. The unusual influence of the donor–acceptor interactions between the addends on their selectivity in the Diels–Alder reaction is also demonstrated and the qualitative differences between the effects of the pair interactions of the antisymmetric and symmetrical frontier orbitals are noted. The bibliography includes 103 references.


Software defects lead to security vulnerabilities, which cost businesses millions of dollars each year and threaten the security of both individuals and the nation. Changes to the software engineering process can help to reduce the number of defects, improving the quality of the process. This chapter introduces the concept of threat modeling to include security in the process of developing software. Adding threat modeling to the software development process will improve the quality of the process. The majority of software coding errors are preventable using a process designed to avoid a series of common errors. Increasing the visibility of common errors will enable software engineers to produce code with substantially fewer security errors. Threat modeling provides insight into the risks facing the software at design time, increasing the software engineering team's opportunity to avoid errors during coding.


This study determined whether a significant difference in response to vibratory stimuli was consistently present in a large group of children with idiopathic scoliosis as compared with age-matched controls. Fifty-eight unselected adolescent females with documented progressive idiopathic scoliosis were studied along with age-matched controls. Threshold to detection of a vibratory stimulus was measured in both the right and left upper and lower extremities. Results indicated that highly significant differences existed between scoliotic children and controls at all sites tested (p < 0.01), with scoliotic children being more sensitive than controls. The results support the presence of a central aberration in posterior column function that may be a primary etiology of idiopathic scoliosis.


A tubular adenocarcinoma of the colon with solid area composed by small cells that was found by immunohistochemistry study using antibody to neuron-specific enolase (NSE) to possess neuroendocrine differentiation is related. In another areas of the tumor were visualized keratinizing squamous cells. The presence of neuro-endocrine and squamous cells features provide further evidence that neoplastic colonic cells have the capacity for multi-directional differentiation. The implications of this combination in relation to theories of tumor origin and differentiation and the prognostic significance of neuro-endocrine cells in malignant neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract are discussed.


We present a simple BGP simulator that is used for testing convergence properties of inter-domain routing. The discrete-event driven simulator contains a high-level abstraction model of the BGP protocol. The purpose is to perform simulations to examine the complexity of routing information exchange and to test different possible reasons for delayed convergence of BGP routing. We have simulated effects of BGP timers on convergence and compared the results with simulations done by Labovitz and Griffin. Our simulator displayed the theoretically predicted characteristics. We then tested the effects of skewed timers, split horizon and the sender side loop detection (SSLD) techniques on convergence for different network topologies. We conclude that SSLD helps to decrease the number of announcements and the convergence time. However, SSLD increases the number of withdrawals.


We present in this deliverable more details about the implementation of the SCAMSTOP framework as well as its performance testing results. Altogether, different modules and detection techniques have been implemented and tested under laboratory conditions. The detection modules work well under laboratory conditions and cause only a marginal processing overhead. Tests have also been performed to ensure that all modules can work cooperatively in one setup. Finally we have begun to deploy the modules in testing networks of two VoIP providers and some feedback were already inserted in this document.


A new species of Australobius Chamberlin, 1920 (Lithobiidae: Lithobiinae), from Jiuzhaigou of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is described as Australobius apicicornis sp. n. The new species is distinguished from two recorded congeneric species from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by having 24 antennal segments, eight ocelli, lacking porodonts, and with accessory claws in 14 legs. A key to the Chinese species of Australobius is presented.


Air pollution has become an urgent issue that affecting public health and people's daily life in China. Social media as potential air quality sensors to surveil air pollution is emphasized recently. In this research, we picked up a case-2013 Eastern China smog and focused on two of the most popular Chinese microblog platforms Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo. The purpose of this study is to determine whether social media can be capable to be used as 'sensors' to monitor air pollution in China and to provide an innovative model for air pollution detection through social media. Based on that, we propose our research question, how a salient change of air quality expressed on social media discussions to reflect the extent of air pollution. Hence, our research (1) determine the correlation between the volume of air quality-related messages and observed Air quality index (AQI) with the help of time series analysis model; (2) investigate further the impact of a salient change of air quality on the relationship between the people's subjective perceptions regarding to air pollution released on the Weibo and the extent of air pollution through a co-word network analysis model. Our study illustrates that the discussions on social media about air quality reflect the level of air pollution when the air quality changes saliently. (Less)


Ultrasonic measurements of compressional and shear wave velocities are reported for peridotite, dunite, partially serpentinized dunite and peridotite, and serpentinite at hydrostatic pressures to 10 kb. Compressional wave velocities for monomineralic aggregates of olivine, pyroxene, and serpentine approximate 8.54, 7.93, and 5.10 km/sec, respectively. Shear wave velocities for similar aggregates are 4.78, 4.65, and 2.35 km/sec. The relationships between velocity and mineralogy are reported for rocks containing olivine, pyroxene, and serpentine. Young's modulus, Lame's constant, the bulk modulus, and the shear modulus of peridotites and dunites decrease rapidly with serpentinization. Poisson's ratio and compressibility increase with serpentinization. The effect of olivine orientation on velocity is discussed and found to account for compressional wave anisotropy. High velocities correspond to propagation parallel to maximum concentrations of olivine a axes, and low velocities are characteristic of propagation parallel to b axes.


Thyroglossal duct cysts develop from a persistent portion of the thyroglossal tract and have been described as occurring anywhere from the base of the tongue to the manubrium. We present two patients who presented with a cystic thyroid nodule due to an intrathyroid thyroglossal duct cyst. A fine-needle aspiration biopsy was performed, which revealed benign squamous cells. Upon exploration, the first patient was found to have a 2-cm cyst within the thyroid isthmus, and in the second patient, a 1-cm cyst was found in the right thyroid lobe. Pathologic analysis revealed the cyst to be lined by a squamous epithelium consistent with a thyroglossal duct cyst. The lesions were completely surrounded by normal thyroid tissue. There was no evidence of a remnant of the thyroglossal duct extending from the thyroid in the region of the cyst. Both patients were treated by thyroid lobectomy and isthmusectomy and have remained without evidence of recurrence. Intrathyroid thyroglossal duct cysts should be included in the differential of patients with cystic thyroid lesions. Fine-needle aspiration revealing benign squamous cells is usually diagnostic and may detect an occult carcinoma arising within the cyst. Surgical resection is curative and should include a Sistrunk procedure if a thyroglossal duct tract is present.


On the basic of analyzing the sizing device of HS20-Ⅱ sizing machine,through practice of sizing techniques of some product,the paper points the theory of the configuration of the squeezing power and the velocity of sizing and feasibility of the design of the squeezing power primarily.The view of this paper has some direction for the produce practice.


A propulsion concept relying on the direct steady-state acceleration of a plasma by an inductive wave-launching antenna is presented. By operating inductively in steady state, a direct wave-drive thruster (DWDT) avoids drawbacks associated with pulsed acceleration and electrode erosion. The generalized relations for the scaling of thrust and efficiency are derived analytically. Thrust is shown to scale with the square of the antenna current, and efficiency is shown to increase with increasing current or power. The total force and resistive losses between an annular antenna and a finite-conductivity plasma slab are modeled. Calculations from the model suggest four design criteria for efficient performance of a DWDT: the size of the device must be large when compared to both the standoff distance and plasma skin depth, the excitation frequency must be as large as the electron collision frequency, and the resistive losses within the wave-launching antenna must be minimized. A sample evaluation is performed w...


Bone residues from mechanical deboning of chicken backs, necks and spent layers were extracted at pH 9.2, 10.0, 10.7 and 11.5. The centrifuged liquid protein extracts were kept at 22, 35 and 50°C for 1, 4 and 16 h. Determinations of lysino-alanine (LAL) were made after freeze-drying and fat extraction of the treated samples. No LAL was detected in any samples treated for 1 h. Samples treated for 4 h showed measurable amounts of LAL only at pH 11.5 at all three temperatures used, and at pH 10.7 at 50°C. After 16 h, LAL was produced at all pH treatments at 50°C; small amounts were also formed at 22 and 35°C at pH 10.7 and 11.5. It is concluded that the proposed alkali extraction procedure would not produce LAL in the protein extract under technologically optimal conditions.


The piggyBac (IFP2) short inverted terminal repeat transposable element from the cabbage looper Trichoplusia ni was tested for gene transfer vector function as part of a bipartite vector-helper system in the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata. A piggyBac vector marked with the medfly white gene was tested with a normally regulated piggyBac transposase helper at two different concentrations in a white eye host strain. Both experiments yielded transformants at an approximate frequency of 3-5%, with a total of six lines isolated having pigmented eyes with various levels of coloration. G1 transformant siblings from each line shared at least one common integration, with several sublines having an additional second integration. For the first transformant line isolated, two integrations were determined to be stable for 15 generations. For five of the lines, a piggyBac-mediated transposition was verified by sequencing the insertion site junctions isolated by inverse PCR that identified a characteristic piggyBac TTAA target site duplication. The efficient and stable transformation of the medfly with a lepidopteran vector represents transposon function over a relatively large evolutionary distance and suggests that the piggyBac system will be functional in a broad range of insects.


Colonization of implant surfaces with bacteria should ideally be prevented right from implantation, as bacteria attaching to the surface will form a biofilm, being then well protected against antibiotic treatment. Therefore, implant coatings should combine antibacterial properties with biocompatibility towards their host tissue. We tested a UV‐induced covalent coating procedure with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) for smooth titanium (Ti) surfaces for its ability to prevent attachment and proliferation of Staphylococcus epidermidis and to allow mineralization of MC3T3‐E1 osteoblasts. Bacterial initial attachment was highest for EPA‐coated surfaces, but was reduced by vigorous washing, possibly due to low adhesive strength on those surfaces. We found an increase in the ratio of dead bacteria and in overall biofilm after 16 h on Ti surfaces with covalently bound EPA compared to Ti. The UV‐induced EPA coating did not impair the ability of MC3T3‐E1 preosteoblasts to mineralize, while a reduction in mineralization could be found for UV‐irradiated Ti surfaces and UV‐irradiated surfaces washed with ethanol compared to Ti. Although in vivo studies are needed to evaluate the clinical significance, our results indicate that covalent coating of Ti surfaces with EPA by UV irradiation decreases the survival of S. epidermidis and maintains the mineralization ability of osteoblasts. © 2012 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 30:1384–1390, 2012


Sudden death occurred in a 15-year-old female athlete with an unusual anomalous left coronary artery. The left coronary artery origin was at (below) the commissure between the left and noncoronary aortic valve cusps. The ostium was slitlike and had an aortic ridge superiorly. In addition, there was an anomalous moundlike intimal proliferation of the noncoronary leaflet adjacent to the left coronary ostium that may have been an additional factor contributing to obstruction of coronary blood flow during diastole.


Colloidal submicrometer-diameter amorphous silicon (a-Si) particles are synthesized with >90% yield by thermal decomposition of trisilane (Si3H8) in supercritical hexane at temperatures ranging from 400 to 500 degrees C and pressures up to 345 bar. A range of synthetic conditions was explored to optimize the quality of the product. Under the appropriate synthetic conditions, the colloids are spherical and unagglomerated. The colloids can be produced with average diameters ranging from 50 to 500 nm by manipulating the precursor concentration, temperature, and pressure. Relatively narrow particle size distributions, as measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), with standard deviations about the mean as low as approximately +/-10% could be obtained in some cases. We explored the thermal annealing of the amorphous silicon particles after isolation from the reactor and found that crystallization to diamond structure silicon occurred at temperatures as low as 650 degrees C. The amorphous and crystalline materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction and high resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy.


Approximating the partition function of the ferromagnetic Ising model with general external fields is known to be #BIS-hard in the worst case, even for bounded-degree graphs, and it is widely believed that no polynomial-time approximation scheme exists. This motivates an average-case question: are there classes of instances for which polynomial-time approximation schemes exist? We investigate this question for the random field Ising model on graphs with maximum degree $\Delta$. We establish the existence of fully polynomial-time approximation schemes and samplers with high probability over the random fields if the external fields are IID Gaussians with variance larger than a constant depending only on the inverse temperature and $\Delta$. The main challenge comes from the positive density of vertices at which the external field is small. These regions, which may have connected components of size $\Theta(\log n)$, are a barrier to algorithms based on establishing a zero-free region, and cause worst-case analyses of Glauber dynamics to fail. The analysis of our algorithm is based on percolation on a self-avoiding walk tree.


Synopsis : Slow strain rate tensile tests were carried out on specimens of a high tensile structural steel( JIS SM50B) in 3.5 %NaC1 solution as a function of strain rate under freely corroding and cathodically polarized conditions. The main rasults obtained are as follows ; (1 ) A tendency of decrease in ductility was notable at potentials less than-850 mV(SCE) with strain rates less than 7 •~ 10-5 s-1. This decrease in ductility was attributed to cathodically charged hydrogen induced cracking. (2 ) The hydrogen induced cracking resulted in formation of transgranular cracks and their crystallographic planes were found not to be cleavage but mainly parallel to {110} slip planes. (3 ) The hydrogen induced cracking was not observed under constant load condition in the range of cathodic potential studied, so it was suggested that the continuous plastic deformation played an important role for the hydrogen induced cracking to occur.


In this paper we analyse the main barriers that people with intellectual disabilities who have suffered sexual abuse have to face when they access the Justice system. Regarding these barriers, the Victim Support Unit for People with Intellectual Disabilities of the Fundacion Carmen Pardo-Valcarce proposes the inclusion in the judicial process of a helper advisor. The entry into force in 2015 of the Law 4/2015, in 27 April, the Statute of the crime victim represents an exemplary opportunity to ensure the incorporation of support proposals involving the insertion of the helper advisor in the judicial process in cases where the victim is a person with intellectual disabilities. In this paper we analyse the impact of the helper advisor, with particular emphasis on cases that have been dismissed under instruction.


Accounts of the history of Zionism usually trace its origins to the late nineteenth century. In this groundbreaking book, Arie Morgenstern argues that its roots go back even further.Morgenstern argues compellingly that the Jewish community in Israel may be traced back to a large-scale wave of immigration during the first half of the nineteenth century. Inspired by an expectation for the coming of the Messiah in the year 1840, thousands of Jews from throughout the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and Eastern Europe relocated to Jerusalem. Morgenstern describes the messianic awakening in all these lands but focuses primarily on the concept of redemption through messianic activism that prevailed among the disciples of Rabbi Elijah, the Ga'on of Vilna. These immigrants believed that the Messiah's arrival would bring about the redemption of the Jews, but also that, in order for this redemption to come about, they needed to prepare the way for the Messiah by fulfilling the commandment to dwell in the land of Israel. Morgenstern offers a dramatic account of their relocation, their efforts to renew rabbinic ordination, their reestablishment of the Ashkenazi community, and the building of Jerusalem. He also explores the crisis of faith that followed the Messiah's failure to appear as expected, and its effects on the community.Drawing on a wealth of previously untapped sources, Morgenstern sheds important new light on the history of messianic Judaism and on the ideological trends that preceded, and eventually gave birth to, modern political Zionism.


The Gin recombinase of phage Mu selectively mediates DNA inversion between two inversely oriented recombination sites (gix) and requires the assistance of three accessory factors: negative supercoiling, an enhancer sequence, and the protein Fis. Deletion and fusion reactions are proscribed. Recombination by Gin is selective because it occurs only through a particular synaptic complex tailored for inversion. A single amino acid change in Gin allows it to carry out deletion and fusion as well as inversion and to dispense with the requirement for the accessory factors. We investigated the recombination mechanism of a mutant Gin protein by analyzing the knotted products of processive recombination by electron microscopy and gel electrophoresis. We find that, in sharp contrast to wild-type Gin, mutant Gin recombines through a broad spectrum of synaptic complexes that differ topologically. We propose a model for the selectivity of wild-type Gin recombination that explains how the dependence on the accessory factors limits recombination to inversion. In addition, we show that processive recombination by wild-type Gin is not restricted by the number of base-pairs separating the gix sites from each other and from the enhancer. This result can be explained if strand exchange proceeds through alternative paths dictated by the energetics of DNA coiling.


1532 Background: The cytotoxic RNase, ranpirnase (ONCONASE®, ONC), shows promise as an alternative to cisplatin for the treatment of lung and breast cancer, due to the inhibition of protein synthesis by t-RNA cleavage. Materials & Methods:Cell culture: Two human NSCLC (A549 and NCI-H1975) and two human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) were cultured in RPMI1640 (15% FBS in 5% CO2 in air at 37 oC). Apoptosis in vitro analysis: Tumor cells (2.5x104/chamber) were plated on 2/4 chamber slides in RMPI1640 containing no phenol, incubated for 3 days prior to ONC treatment for 3 days. Apoptosis was measured by using the fluorescein in situ cell death detection kit with fluorescence/ phase contrast microscopy. Cellular oxygen consumption (QO2) and lactate/glucose analysis: Using YSI O2 and YSI lactate/glucose analyzers, changes in cellular metabolism were monitored. Animal studies using a growth delay assay: 10-week-old, female athymic NCR-nu/nu nude mice bearing human tumor xenografts of A549, NCI-H1975, MCF-7, or MBA-MD-231 were utilized. 2 x 106 viable cells suspended in 50 µl of RPMI1640 medium were injected subcutaneously into the right thighs of mice. Apoptosis in vivo analysis: H. & E. staining, TUNEL labeling, and caspase-3-antibody labeling were used for apoptosis measurement. ONC-induced changes in perfusion in tumor, skeletal muscle and kidney: Using dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), we monitored the effect of ONC on perfusion of the tumors, skeletal muscle, and kidney. NMR spectroscopy in vivo: Lactate levels in the tumors were measured after treatment with ONC by non-localized 1H in vivo spectra. ONC-induced changes in ATP levels were monitored by non-localized 31P NMR spectroscopy. Results: ONC-treated cells in all four cell lines showed considerable induction of apoptosis in a dosage dependent manner. ONC led to significant reduction in cellular QO2, but did not alter cellular lactate levels. In animal studies of A549 NSCLC, multiple small doses of ONC were more effective than one large single dose for the inhibition of tumor growth with reduced side-effects. Our histopathology reports using caspase-3 antibody labeling and TUNEL labeling assay in vivo showed remarkable increases in apoptosis after multiple small injections of ONC. We observed significant increases in tumor perfusion (without changes in blood flow in skeletal muscles) by NIRS. Significant increases in Ktrans values at the rim of tumor regions were found at 1.5 h after ONC treatment. Using non-localized MR spectroscopy, we observed a ~20% decrease of lactate levels in vivo caused by the removal of tumor acidic metabolites. ATP levels were also decreased, probably due to ONC-induced inhibition of QO2. Conclusions: ONC may be a new and promising drug for the treatment of NSCLC and breast cancer.


Over the last decade, the technological development has revolutionized the world. Electrical and electronic products have become ubiquitous in modern day life. The technological boom has, however, brought with it a new problem – the problem of e-waste that barely existed to cause concern two decades ago. The e-waste now represents the biggest and fastest growing manufacturing of wastes with as high as about 40 million tons a year at the global level. Generation and use of e-product and it's widespread distribution eventually leads to hazardous problem of e-waste, which has been largely taken as "out of sight out of mind" issue by doth developed and developing nations. While the developing world has consumed the largest share of more than 1 billion PC sold, the less developed countries end to bear the environmental cost, as most of them welcome their shipment for recycling. Even though, the inevitable consequence on the natural resources and subsequent impact on the health and livelihood base of poor communities are yet to be established, the problem with e-waste will continue to grow faster as the pace of development takes greater leaps as has been in last few decades.