In his 2016 budget submitted to Congress today President Barack Obama has asked for $213m (£140m; €190m) to fund a "precision medicine" initiative. The initiative would include a $130m program to create a "national research cohort" of a million or more volunteers whose genetic, medical, and lifestyle data would be collected for biomedical research.

Speaking at a White House event to announce the initiative on 30 January, Obama said that the goal of the precision medicine initiative will be to understand the differences between people, such as differences in their genetic makeup, to enable individualized treatments that would be most likely to be effective for each person. The approach, Obama said, promised to make it possible to deliver "the right treatments, at …


Present study evaluated the fatty acid profile and oxidative stability
of Shorea macrophylla and Shorea palembanica oils. Analysis on fatty
acid profile of S. macrophylla and S. palembanica oils using gas
chromatography mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy – attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) found no
significant difference among the oils. Stearic, palmitic and oleic acids
are the major fatty acids in Shorea oils. The influence of type of
extraction, fatty acid profile, and anti-oxidant activity on acid value
(AV) and peroxide value (PV) were determined using Pearson correlation
coefficient (r) analysis. Highest correlation was found between type of
extraction, antioxidant activity (phenolic content), AV and PV,
suggesting the type of extraction strongly influenced the phenolic
content and oxidative stability. S. macrophylla oil extracted using
mechanical expeller (MESM) have the highest quality oil (AV: 3.76 mg
NaOH/g; PV: 7.96 meq O2/kg) compared to SESM, MESP and SESP oils.
Similarities in fatty acid composition and oxidative stability of Shorea
oil and cocoa butter indicates the potential of Shorea oil to be
utilised industrially as Cocoa Butter Equivalence (CBE) and vegetable
oil. Shorea oilseeds contain an appreciable amount of essential
macrominerals and a comparable amount of microminerals to common seeds.
The anti-nutritive factor oxalate was found higher (p<0.05) in
S. palembanica oilseeds than in S. macrophylla with values of 0.14 and
0.12 g/100 g respectively. The amount of phytate in Shorea seeds is not
significantly different at 5% level with a value of 0.29 g/100 g.


The inability of CEOs and founders to be effective leaders has been one of the chief reasons identified for nearly 80% of new venture firms' failures within the first five years of being established. Entrepreneurial leadership has thus begun to garner increased attention as a result of the recognition that entrepreneurs cannot successfully develop new ventures without displaying effective leadership behaviors. While current leadership theories applied to entrepreneurial settings prescribe changing from transformational to transactional as per the environmental demands, a more foundational theory of entrepreneurial leadership that can be consistently implemented through all the phases of new venture creation and management is currently lacking. In order to provide a more consistent leadership style, based on the theory of meditative foundation, our paper proposes a spiritual entrepreneurial leadership model that can support new venture success by increasing founders' and CEOs' ability to be effective leaders in varying scenarios.


We use a global chemistry transport model to explore how changes in anthropogenic emissions alter ozone production and tropospheric oxidizing capacity over decadal (1990–2010) and centennial timescales (1900–2100). We find that the spatial extent of O3 production and loss in the troposphere changes very little despite large projected increases in precursor emissions. While tropospheric OH shows a long‐term decrease of only 20% between 1900 and 2100, there are widespread changes in distribution which alter regional oxidation capacity substantially. We show that the remote marine boundary layer remains an important net sink of O3, as greater production related to increased continental NOx emissions is outweighed by greater O3 destruction. The critical NOx level required to support net O3 production doubles between 1900 and 2100, from 28 to 55 pptv on average, preventing any large‐scale shift in production regime.


The coronary blood flow and carbohydrate metabolism of the heart during hypoxia were studied in two groups of dogs: a ) intact animals, and b ) those subjected to adrenalectomy and thoracic sympathectomy. The coronary sinus was catheterized via the external jugular vein. The coronary blood flow was measured by the nitrous oxide desaturation technique, and the coronary arteriovenous differences of oxygen, glucose, lactate and pyruvate were determined. A similar increase in coronary blood flow and a comparable change in myocardial carbohydrate metabolism were found during hypoxia in both groups of animals. In the adrenalectomized and partially sympathectomized dogs these changes took place without the increase in heart rate or blood pressure found in the intact animals. It is concluded that the increase in coronary blood flow during hypoxia is not necessarily mediated by either the cardiac sympathetic nerves or the adrenal glands. Local metabolic factors are the primary determinants of coronary blood flow.


Abstract During the entire period of GATE, all oceanic squall lines over the A/B array developed in the vicinity of the near-equatorial convergence zone (NECZ) when a strong midtropospheric easterly jet along the leading and southern borders of a Saharan air outbreak was observed at the Acad. Korolov. The peak magnitude of the jet, averaged between 700 and 600 mb, exceeded 16 m s−1 for all squall line occurrences. Phase III easterly wave activity was the most pronounced of the three phases. Every wave of Phase III with a Saharan air outbreak preceding the trough-produced squall lines. It is suggested that the presence of the Saharan air ahead of the trough is favorable for the development of squall lines in the vicinity of NECZ over the eastern Atlantic.


The ECJ grants migrant citizens an increasingly wide access to the social security schemes of Member States lacking competence. This line of case law is conceptualized as creating a parallel system of social security coordination. Its foundations lie in the doctrine of pre-emption and the case law on Union citizenship, both of which remodel the constitutional relationship between the free movement provisions of the TFEU on the one hand, and, on the other, secondary EU legislation (in particular Regulations 1408/71 and 883/2004) and national law. The system adds a layer of social security protection for migrants under the legislation of Member States with which they have a privileged connection. As a corollary, it imposes additional duties upon these States, which until recently were entirely free of social security responsibilities. The uncertain position of the employer generates a tension between the freedom to provide services and the free movement of workers.


The present study aimed to investigate the effects of palygorskite (PAL) as an alternative to antibiotic on the growth performance, oxidative status, immune function, intestinal barrier and cecal microbial community of broilers. A total of 360 1-day-old male Ross-308 broilers were randomly allotted to three treatments with eight replicates. Broilers in the three groups were designated as follows: basal diet (CON group), basal diet+50 mg/kg chlorotetracycline (ANT group), and basal diet+ 10 g/kg PAL (PAL group). Supplementing PAL reduced feed to gain ratio in broilers during 22 to 42 days of age (P < 0.05), with its value being similar to that of the ANT group (P > 0.05). Broilers fed a PAL-supplemented diet exerted decreased contents of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-1β in serum, and the same reduction was found in jejunal IFN-γ level, when compared to the CON group (P < 0.05). Moreover, compared with the CON group, broilers after PAL treatment had a lower malondialdehyde content in jejunal mucosa (P < 0.05). Supplementing PAL elevated jejunal villus height (VH) and ratio of VH to crypt depth compared with the ANT group (P < 0.05). Cecal microbiota communities among the three groups were significant different, as demonstrated by distinct clusters from partial least squares discriminant analysis, although dietary treatments had no significant effects on the bacterial richness and diversity indices (P > 0.05). At genus level, the addition of PAL increased the relative abundance of norank_f__Barnesiellaceae and decreased that of unclassified_f__Oscillospiraceae in cecal digesta compared with those in the CON group (P < 0.05); the proportion of genus norank_f__Barnesiellaceae was increased by PAL treatment when compared with the ANT group (P < 0.05). Moreover, spearman's correlations showed that the modulation of cecal microflora composition by PAL supplementation was closely correlated with the promotion of growth performance (feed to gain ratio) and intestinal health-related (contents of malondialdehyde and IFN-γ, and VH value in jejunum) variables of broilers (P < 0.05). Taken together, dietary PAL could improve the growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and immune status, as well as intestinal barrier function in broilers, which might be partially associated with the alteration of cecal microbiota. Moreover, dietary PAL may be a promising alternative to antibiotic growth promoter for broilers.


The conventional 3D magnetotelluric (MT) forward modeling and inversions generally assume an isotropic earth model. However, wrong results can be obtained when using an isotropic model to interpret the data influenced by the anisotropy. To effectively model and recover the earth structures including anisotropy, we develop a 3D MT inversion framework for a triaxial anisotropic model. We use the unstructured finite-element method for our forward modeling. This offers more possibility to simulate more complex underground geology and topography. To solve the inverse modeling problem, we use a limited-memory quasi-Newton algorithm (L-BFGS) with a parallel direct solver for optimization that avoids the explicit calculation of the Hessian matrix and saves the memory and computational time. We validate our algorithm via numerical experiments on both synthetic data and MT survey data from the US Array project.


Abstract Background Historical field data in ecology are exceedingly rare and, therefore, their preservation and publication is of high importance, especially as these data can function as a point of reference for present day biodiversity research. Therefore, we digitised a 65-year-old dataset on ground-dwelling beetles caught with pitfall traps in the coastal dune area "Meijendel", situated in the western part of the Netherlands. New information The data presented in this paper has never been published in a systematic way before and has had a long journey from moment of capture to the current digitisation. From 1953 through to 1960, 100 pitfalls were active and catches were collected once a week. A total of 36,400 samples were aggregated with approximately 90,000 occurrences recorded. All captures were identified up to species level and counted and sex determined where possible. The database has been registered in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and can be found under: https://www.gbif.org/dataset/9d02b439-aa5c-4c22-b1d9-d27fbde9e3ee.


OBJECTIVES Dyspnoea is a common symptom in coal miners with pneumoconiosis. Among others, gas exchange disturbances due to airway obstruction or mismatch between ventilation and perfusion may be underlying mechanisms. The validation of dyspnoea by the degree of airway obstruction is controversial, because the extent of airway obstruction often does not correlate with the clinical grade of breathlessness. METHODS The association was investigated between breathlessness (self reported, on a six point scale) and indices of submaximal spiroergometry in 66 coal workers with radiographically confirmed pneumoconiosis (International Labour Organisation (ILO) grade of profusion ⩾1/0, mean (SD) age 64 (5.5) years, mean (SD) forced expired volume in 1 second (FEV1) 77.5 (22.9) % predicted). RESULTS The clinical degree of breathlessness was independently associated with minute ventilation/oxygen consumption (V˙E/V˙O2) ratio (β 0.423, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.18 to 0.67, p=0.001) and smoking (β 0.318, 95% CI 0.21 to 1.79, p=0.014) in a multiple linear regression analysis. The V˙E/V˙O2 ratio (β 0.556, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.90, p=0.003) was also the best predictor of breathlessness when only coal miners with airway obstruction (FEV1 < 80% predicted) were analyzed. CONCLUSION TheV˙E/V˙O2 ratio as a measurement of mismatch between ventilation and perfusion predicted the clinical grade of breathlessness better than measurements of bronchial obstruction at rest in coal workers with pneumoconiosis.


For the last past years, the formalism of classic Petri nets and their various extensions, offer powerful concepts and formal techniques for modeling, simulation and analysis of hybrid dynamic systems. In this way, this paper presents a Petri net approach to specify and simulate hybrid dynamic systems with autonomous commutation of the model generated by a hysteresis phenomenon, in order to validate their behavior for several simulation scenarios. An application to a thermostat with anticipative resistance used into a control temperature process is treated.


The aim of disciplinary action against dental practitioners is to uphold professional standards, to protect the safety of the patients and to maintain public confidence in the profession. Disciplinary action against dentists in Israel is based on the Dentists' Ordinance of 1979. The main principle behind disciplinary action is trial by peers, which in effect means that the profession upholds the required standards. Seven examples are mentioned in the law for which the Ministry of Health can reprimand or suspend the license of a dentist permanently or for a limited period of time. The panel for disciplinary action consists of three judges: one lawyer and two dentists--one (the chairman) represents the General Director of the Ministry of Health, the other represents the Israel Dental Association. This article deals with the form of legal discussion, types of punishment and their limitations as interpreted by the authors. All 26 complaint files presented to the disciplinary committees between 1997-2002 that were concluded are discussed. The accusations, as well as the verdicts, are listed.


This paper investigates radio wave propagation into buildings illuminated from an outdoor base station with an antenna above the rooftop. Field strength measurements are taken in four buildings in urban microcells. Results of the performed experiment as well as those of several other authors are analysed and the most important factors influencing building penetration loss have been discussed namely angle of incidence, external wall configuration, receiver height and significance of non-line-of-sight surface of the building.


Summary Background To establish a fast and simple quantitative method for detection of heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) in serum based on a background fluorescence quenching immunochromatographic assay. Methods A detection card based on the double-antibody sandwich double-antibody method with background fluorescence quenching was developed for quantitative measurement of H-FABP in serum. The optimal concentrations of control for coating the test and control lines were determined as well as the concentrations of gold-labeled antibodies used in preparing the detection system. The detection method for H-FABP in serum was established and validated using real-world clinical samples. Results The optimal concentrations of labeling antibody and coating antibody were 5.0 μg/mL and 1.0 mg/mL, respectively. The test card had a sensitivity of 1.15 ng/mL over a linear concentration range of 0–100 ng/mL. Based on three batches prepared for testing the card, the relative standard deviation (RSD) within batches was less than 15% without a significant difference (P=0.942). The detection method was tested against common interfering substances in serum, such as bilirubin, triglyceride and serum anticoagulants ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), heparin, and sodium citrate, and no significant cross-reaction was detected. The test method was further validated with 50 clinical serum samples, and the test results were comparable with standard reference detection methods with good correlation (R=0.95). Conclusion Our study presents a new method with strong specificity and sensitivity for the detection of H-FABP in serum, which could promote H-FABP detection in a broad range of applications.


SYRINGES WITH A PISTON AND THEIR USE AS "CLYSTER ORICULARIUS" IN THE ANCIENT ROME: Syringes with a piston were already known in ancient times and have been mentioned as a device for spraying rose water (Philon of Byzantium, about 230 BC), and for fighting fires (Heron of Alexandria about 110 AD). Celsus mentions it several times in his grand opus "De Medicina" (1st century AD) in the treatment of purulent discharge from the ear and for removing foreign bodies from the external ear canal. He always calls it "clyster oricularius", i.e. ear syringe, even when he describes its use in applications other than otological, such as in urology. Later the ear syringe fell from favor for a very long time and was reinvented only at the beginning of the 19th century. IRRIGATION OF THE BOWELS, FROM THE BAG SYRINGE TO THE PISTON SYRINGE: Irrigations of the bowels, clysters, were performed from ancient times to the 18th century with a baglike syringe using the bladder of animals as a pouch. Syringes with a piston were used by barbers and surgeons only for cleansing wounds or irrigating natural cavities of the body. Irrigation of the external ear canal had completely fallen from favor. In France in the 18th century large syringes with a piston made of tin oder brass came into use for enemas and replaced the old baglike devices. THE REINVENTION OF THE EAR SYRINGE AFTER THE PROTOTYPE OF THE ENEMA SYRINGE: Itard, an otologist in France in 1821, was the first to describe irrigating the ear with a syringe to remove hard wax. He recommended using an enema syringe ("seringue à lavement") for the procedure. Soon after his publication special ear syringes of appropriate size were developed and described by Beck in Freiburg, Germany, in 1827; by Fabrizi in Modena, Italy, 1839; and Schmalz in Dresden, Germany, 1846, who also introduced the kidney-shaped bowel for catching the water. Apart from that, small baglike syringes made of rubber were devised especially for use by the patient himself (Kramer, Berlin, 1860). This historical development is described in detail and illustrated by numerous figures.


A reduced complexity third-order digital delta-sigma modulator for fractional-N frequency synthesis is presented. The high-performance modulator, which consists of two sub-blocks, has a single-bit output making it best for this sort of application. A good shaping of quantisation noise is achieved using a new architecture for a digital third-order delta-sigma modulator. The hardware required for this modulator is considerably less than that in previously reported leading to lower power and area consumption and a higher operating frequency. The field programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation of the whole system shows an SNR of at least 94 dB and an operating input range of 0.7 of the full scale (0.7 FS) with an oversampling ratio of 167. The post-layout simulation of the digital circuit using 0.25 /spl mu/m CMOS technology predicts a maximum operating frequency of over 60 MHz at a supply voltage of 1.5 V.


Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder which leads to complications especially when not properly managed. The role of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in type 2 diabetic patients using oral hypoglycaemic agents has been a source of controversy. Objective: The objective was to study the effect of SMBG on glycaemic outcome among type 2 diabetics in a primary care setting. Methodology: A randomised control study was conducted between March 2013 and November 2013 at the General Outpatient Clinic of the Family Medicine Department (FMD) in Lagos State University Teaching hospital. A total of 120 diabetic patients were randomised into intervention and control groups; 107 patients (55 in the intervention and 52 in the control group) completed the study. Intention-to-treat analysis was done. Chi-square, Students t- and paired t-test were used to determine variables significantly associated with SMBG. Results: More than three-quarters (77.5%) of the participants were aware of SMBG prior to commencement of the study. Both the SMBG (8.7% vs. 7.2%; p-value < 0.001) and non-SMBG (8.7% vs 7.7%; p-value < 0.001) groups had a significant improvement in HbA1c at the end of the study. Similarly there was a significant improvement in FBG among both groups (SMBG 153 mg/dl vs. 123 mg/dl; p-value < 0.001 and non-SMBG (158 mg/dl vs. 137 mg/dl; p-value 0.022). The HbA1c at the end of the study was 7.2% for the SMBG vs 7.7% for the non-SMBG group with no statistical difference (p-value 0.174). Conclusion: The use of SMBG among type 2 DM patients did not result in better glycaemic control compared with patients who did not practise SMBG. It could be due to close follow-up and education of both groups.


Digital signal–processing (DSP) development tools such as Ptolemy, LabView and iConnect allow application developers to assemble reactive systems by connecting predefined components in generalised dataflow graphs and by hierarchically building new components by encapsulating sub–graphs. We follow the literature in calling this approach dataflow-oriented development. Previous work has shown how a novel process calculus, CaSE, can provide a model for this form of software, and how this can be used as the basis for a system of behavioural types. Well-typedness in this system implies reactivity (non-termination) in terms of a generalisation to the dataflow principle of consistency, which was previously unable to handle, in general, statefulness and non-determinism. In the previous presentation the typing rules were parameterised in a semantic behavioural equivalence, temporal observation congruence, which specialises CCS's notion of weak bisimulation to this setting. In this work, we show how a complete axiom system for CaSE allows these equivalences to be reduced to a syntactic check, which is more fitting to a type system.


This research examines the chants used by the fishermen across the river Niger, in Nigeria during annual river ritual theatrical regatta; a phenomenon known by this occupational set of people as eniyanwo. The chants of the fishermen are realized to be of pragmatic and semiotic relevance to the context of their use. The chants are collectively rendered and dramatized during ritual proceedings in paddled canoe race on the river. No known research done on the river Niger geographical setting of Nigeria has realized that, the nature and mode of the people's myth, ideology and subsequent religious practices are represented in the people's folkloric poetry collated into chants.. This research observed that the people's worldview, philosophy and vision are signalized in their annual aesthetic practice mainly sustained by the poetic chants analyzed here. These chants reflect the mythological imaginations of the riverside setting and origin. The research methodology here is based on the archetypal theory which best accounts for the ways the fishermen chants are produced and transmitted to symbolize the people's historical and mythical basis. The ultimate comprehensibility of the traditional forms (chants) should be through archetypal placement of the socio-ritual poetic compositions. In addition to the archetypal theory, the writer has used an eyewitness approach during personal participation on the river theatre. All chants were recorded. And rather than rely on translations, coinages and code-switching methods used by foreign researchers on the area, the writer used the advantage of being a native speaker to get the most valuable interpretations. Part of the findings of this research is that a review of the chants helps to reconstruct aspects of the Niger people's oral traditional composition. As aesthetic poetic forms, the chants serve as the major ritual factor that unify the river Niger people's geographic and economic livelihoods. The focus of this article is on the use of chants as symbols of the people's mythological reference.


Purpose The Action Plan for Medication Safety by the German Federal Ministry of Health introduced a standardized medication plan (MP), a printable document for the patient. The practical handling needs to be tested before the nationwide implementation in Germany. Therefore, the aims of our study were 1) to develop an instrument to evaluate the usage of the standardized MP, 2) to assess if patients can locate, and 3) understand important information. Moreover, we explored patients' opinion and suggestions regarding the standardized MP template. Patients and methods We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate the practical handling of the standardized MP. We interviewed 40 adult patients in seven community pharmacies in Germany, who took at least five medicines regularly and gave their written informed consent. The interview consisted of questions regarding finding and understanding information provided on a mock-up MP, patients' opinion and the execution of the information on the MP by filling pill boxes. We eventually developed a new evaluation method to quantify the practical handling of the MP by rating the pill boxes filled by the patients. Results Overall, the participants rated the MP positively. Thirty-nine (98%) participants found important information on a mock-up standardized MP. Patients were questioned to identify if they understood information on medical intake as it relates to meals. In particular, they were questioned about medicine intake "1 hour before a meal", which 98% (n=39) interpreted correctly, and "during a meal", which 100% (n=40) interpreted correctly. The less precise advice of "before a meal" was interpreted correctly by 73% (n=29), and only 15% (n=6) correctly interpreted the term "after the meal". The evaluation of the filled pill boxes resulted in the "Evaluation Tool to test the handling of the Medication Plan" (ET-MP) – a weighted scoring system. Conclusion The standardized MP is clearly arranged, and patients are able to find important information. The findings of this study resulted in minor but important revisions of the standardized MP template. The developed evaluation tool ET-MP may serve as an objective instrument to assess patients' ability to transfer written information on the MP into practical handling of medicines.


Abstract This article uses narrative analysis to explore the narrative construction of Deafhood (Ladd, 2003) in the South African post-apartheid context. The data comprise five life stories of Deaf South Africans. The theoretical framework includes Ladd's notion of Deafhood as belonging and becoming and De Certeau's (1984) notions of space and place. The specific questions addressed in the analysis are: (i) How do the narrators transform school as a place into a space of enacting Deafhood in terms of belonging and becoming? (ii) How do the narrators enact Deafhood as adults in relation to spaces in terms of their process of belonging, becoming and maintaining 'Deaf? The analysis details how the narrators construct Deafhood in boarding schools for d/Deaf learners and/ or in adulthood. The findings suggest that, although the narrators are of different ages and ethnicities, there is a focus on Deafhood as a belonging and becoming that suggests a core cultural self-identification as in other minority cultures that require an essentialised identity for political purposes. All the narrators use their agency in order to create spaces in which to belong and become. Through belonging and becoming, they gain a communal sense of Deafhood.


. Long-lived bird species, such as the Northern Bald Ibis ( Geronticus eremita ), are exposed to heavy metals through air, water and food because they are at the highest point in the food supply chain. Birds accumulate heavy metals in their bodies, organs, and in their feathers. The article aimed to investigate the trace element and heavy metal content of Northern bald ibis feathers using ICP-MS, as an endangered sentinel species, in order to both determine the contamination level of the area and evaluate the risk the species is facing. The study included 34 samples of feathers obtained from bald ibises released into their natural habitat. The results of the study showed that the average values of the trace elements ( 11 Na + , 24 Mg, 20 Ca + , 39 K + , P, 27 Al + , 56 Fe + ) which are necessary for the survival of living organisms were above 100 μg g-1, the second group of metals ( 205 Ti + , 55 Mn, 63 Cu + , 66 Zn + , 82 Br) which are toxic to the body in high amounts were between 8.24-22.4 μg g -1 and those which are highly toxic at very low doses ( 51 Sb + , 60 Ni, As, 60 Co, 138 Ba + , 208 Pb + , 111 Cd + , Mo, 75 Se) were lower than 1 μg g -1 . This study of the Northern Bald Ibis species, animals threatened by extinction due to environmental pollution, investigated their levels of heavy metal pollution in the feathers and indicates that Bald Ibis are possible bioindicators of environmental trace element contamination.


Purpose

The paper contributes to the debate on a general theory of markets. The purpose of this paper is to develop a market practice model based on social practice theories, and explore new ways of describing market boundaries.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual analysis of contemporary marketing directions and market theorizations provides a basis for defining markets and market boundaries in terms of social practices and their performances by market actors.

Findings

Based on the market performances held in place by institutional practices that define, contextualize and stabilize a market, this paper defines market boundaries by nine specific categories of practices, described here as parameters.

Research limitations/implications

This is a conceptual paper. Future research using empirical evidence derived from situated investigations should endeavor to refine the model and practices that define market boundaries.

Originality/value

The paper provides a new conceptualization of markets and market boundaries from the social practice perspective, and advances contemporary market theorizing that puts services at the center of exchange. The paper offers managerial implications by describing alternative means for analyzing markets and developing corresponding competitive strategies. Furthermore, the conception of market boundaries as nine parameters provides insights beyond the geographic and price boundaries typically used to describe market limits and exchange processes when developing policy.


This study was to develop instructional programs for elementary school students in which we reflected their preconceptions and typical emotions on bacteria and to apply them. They were developed using 5E learning cycle instructional model to change misconceptions and negative emotion regarding bacteria into biologically acceptable conceptions and positive emotion on them. They consist of two kinds of versions: teachers' guide and students' worksheet. To develop more practical programs, they had gotten a pilot study with 24 upper graders of elementary school students and been ameliorated three times. Seven classes titled as 'life as a bacteria, 'the size of bacteria', 'the shape of bacteria', 'bacteria-infested place', 'the usefulness of bacteria' and 'the importance of bacteria in human life' were conducted and applied to 33 fourth graders during one semester. The effectiveness of the program were tested by specially designed three kinds of instruments: test on the conception of bacteria, the emotion on bacteria and interview guide. These were administrated three times such as before, after and far after and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. In first result, most of the subjects have non-scientific conceptions and negative emotion about bacteria. Because Korean science curriculum has barely included about microorganism, elementary school students' personal experience such as visiting dental office, the hospital or TV programs including animation for bacteria characters could be affected their preconception and emotions on it. Secondly, the classes using special programs on bacteria had significantly effectively worked to change preconception of misconceptions and negative emotion on bacteria into scientific conceptions and positive prospect on it. The effectiveness of the programs make school science curriculum have to include biological contents regarding microorganism.


Background: The aim of this study was to determine the clinical course and outcome of coronary artery anomalies including anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) diagnosed by coronary artery angiography (CAA) at our institution. The term coronary artery anomaly refers to a wide range of congenital abnormalities, involving the origin, course and the structure of epicardial coronary arteries. Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is an extremely rare, but potentially fatal congenital coronary anomaly. Patients and Methods: The review included 21280 patients undergoing CAA at Medical Centers of Shiraz University between years 1997 -2006. The hospital records of all patients with diagnosis of ALCAPA reviewed for analysis. Data were expressed as percentages. Results: There were 149 (0.7 %) cases of coronary anomalies, including 9 (6.04%) proven cases of ALCAPA. In ALCAPA group ,five patients presented with congestive heart failure (CHF) and a non-specific systolic murmur on examination. Isolated mitral valve regurgitation (MR), cerebrovascular accident due to embolization of a mural thrombus, and chest pain were the main presentations in three patients. Two of the patients were under follow up with presumptive diagnosis of coronary artery fistula. The patients aged between 4 months and 35 years. Surgical correction done for all the patients with ALCAPA by direct reimplantation in 8 patients and Takeuchi technique in one. We had one early hospital mortality in our group. Conclusion: ALCAPA should be considered in differential diagnosis of any patient presenting with dilated cardiomyopathy, CHF, MR or chest pain syndrome. Awareness of such pathology can prevent or decrease the morbidity and mortality of a potentially fatal congenital heart disease.


Grand-potential based multiphase-field model is extended to include surface diffusion. Diffusion is elevated in the interface through a scalar degenerate term. In contrast to the classical Cahn-Hilliard-based formulations, the present model circumvents the related difficulties in restricting diffusion solely to the interface by combining two second-order equations, an Allen-Cahn-type equation for the phase field supplemented with an obstacle-type potential and a conservative diffusion equation for the chemical potential or composition evolution. The sharp interface limiting behavior of the model is deduced by means of asymptotic analysis. A combination of surface diffusion and finite attachment kinetics is retrieved as the governing law. Infinite attachment kinetics can be achieved through a minor modification of the model, and with a slight change in the interpretation, the same model handles the cases of pure substances and alloys. Relations between model parameters and physical properties are obtained which allow one to quantitatively interpret simulation results. An extensive study of thermal grooving is conducted to validate the model based on existing theories. The results show good agreement with the theoretical sharp-interface solutions. The obviation of fourth-order derivatives and the usage of the obstacle potential make the model computationally cost-effective.


Quality education greatly improved higher education of China in the past twenty years. Humanities courses are open to students majoring in science and engineering, science courses are also open to liberal arts majors. However, there are some problems in the science education of liberal arts majors, especially in mathematics education. In order to improve scientific literacy and reasoning ability of liberal arts majors, we need to pay more attention to mathematics education and try some new teaching modes, and then we can achieve the purpose of quality education.


Rationale Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a devastating disease primarily found in women of reproductive age that leads to cancer-like cystic destruction of the lungs. Recent work has shown that LAM causes immunosuppression and that checkpoint inhibitors can be used as LAM treatment. IN lung cancer, TLR agonist, in particular TLR9 agonist CpG has been shown to be effective. Objectives Here we investigate the use of TLR9 agonist CpG as LAM immunotherapy in combination with checkpoint inhibitor, anti-PD1 and assess induced changes in anti-LAM immunity. Methods We used a murine model of metastatic LAM to determine survival after intranasal treatment with TLR9 agonist CpG at two doses and in combination the checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy, anti-PD-1. We used histology and flow cytometry to assess overall inflammation as well as changes in the immune response upon treatment. Measurements and Main Results We found that local administration of CpG enhances survival in a murine model of LAM and that a lower dose more effectively balanced the inflammation induced by CpG with the anti-LAM therapeutic benefits. We also found that CpG reduces regulatory T cell infiltration in LAM lungs and that CD4 helper T cells are skewed toward pro-inflammatory phenotypes. We also found that CpG treatment is effective in both early stage and progressive disease and that CpG is synergistic with previously tested anti-PD1 therapy. Conclusions We have found that TLR9 agonist CpG can be used as LAM immunotherapy and effectively synergizes with anti-PD1 therapy in LAM.


The research aims were to study the effect of gamma irradiation doses on Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev) and increasing the genetic diversit. The research were conducted at IPB Tissue Culture Laboratory, BATAN Laboratory, and IPB Micro Tehnique Laboratory, during February–November 2010. This research used completely randomized design with two factors. The first factor is varieties of Chrysanthemum, including Dewi Ratih and Puspita Nusantara. The second factor is five doses of gamma irradiation (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 Gy). The result showed that the interaction between varieties with doses of gamma irradiation affected growth of plants and the number of chloroplast in guard cell. The number and size (length and width) of stomata were influenced by a varieties and and irradiation dose as a single factor. Increasing doses of gamma irradiation could increase the length and width of stomata. LD50 of krisan planlets were obtained 22.22 Gy for Dewi Ratih and 22.85 Gy for Puspita Nusantara. The gamma radiation dose 20 Gy produced 13 potential mutant on Dewi Ratih and Puspita Nusantara varieties. Putative mutants characteristic showed small leaves and no serrated, reddish stems, stunted, rosette, and variegata leaves.


The authors report two years of experience in the recruitment and retention of minority physician assistant students and the employment patterns of graduates from one physician assistant program. Recruitment strategies increased the proportion of minority students to 54 percent in the first year of the program and to 44 percent in the second year. The number of years of postsecondary education and clinical experience acquired by the minority students before admission to the program tended to have less impact on their performance in training than did their prior completion of formal academic degree programs and prior level of clinical responsibility. Attrition was higher for the minority students than nonminority students, and the minority students took longer than nonminority students to complete the program. The rates at which the students passed the certifying examination of the National Commission on Certification of Physician's Assistants were comparable for the two groups. Minority graduates tended to practice in areas of health manpower shortage.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

The successful clinical management of lung cancer is limited by frequent loss-of-function mutations in p53 which cooperates with chronic oxidant-stress induced adaptations in mercapturic acid pathway (MAP) which in turn regulates critical intracellular signaling cascades that determine therapeutic refractoriness. Hence, we investigated the anti-cancer effects and mechanisms of action of a novel compound called 1, 3 bis (3, 5-dichlorophenyl) urea (COH-SR4) in lung cancer. Treatment with COH-SR4 effectively inhibited the survival and clonogenic potential along with inducing apoptosis in lung cancer cells. COH-SR4 treatment caused the inhibition of GST activity and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibited the expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins CDK2, CDK4, cyclin A, cyclin B1, cyclin E1, and p27. The COH-SR4 activated AMPK pathway and knock-down of AMPK partially reversed the cytotoxic effects of COH-SR4 in lung cancer. COH-SR4 treatment lead to regression of established xenografts of H358 lung cancer cells without any overt toxicity. The histopathology of resected tumor sections revealed an increase in pAMPK, a decrease in the nuclear proliferative marker Ki67 and angiogenesis marker CD31. Western-blot analyses of resected tumor lysates revealed a decrease in pAkt and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl2 along with an increase in pAMPK, pro-apoptotic protein Bax and cleaved PARP levels. Importantly, COH-SR4 lead to decrease in the mesenchymal marker vimentin and increase in the normal epithelial marker E-cadherin. The results from our in-vitro and in-vivo studies reveal that COH-SR4 represents a novel candidate with strong mechanistic relevance to target aggressive and drug-resistant lung tumors (Supported by NIH grant CA 77495 and Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope).

Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting.

Citation Format: Sharad S. Singhal, James Figarola, Jyotsana Singhal, Lokesh Nagaprashantha, David Berz, Samuel Rahbar, Sanjay Awasthi. Novel compound 1, 3-bis (3, 5-dichlorophenyl) urea inhibits lung cancer progression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2149. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2149


The objective of this research is to investigate the suppressive effects of lupeol on MCF-7 breast cancer cells, and explore its mechanism on inhibiting the proliferation of MCF-7 cells based on cell metabonomics and cell cycle. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used in the cell metabonomics assay to identify metabolites of MCF-7 cells and MCF-7 cells treated with lupeol. Then, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) was used to process the metabolic data and model parameters of OPLS-DA were as follows: R2Ycum = 0.988, Q2Ycum = 0.964, which indicated that these two groups could be distinguished clearly. The metabolites (VIP (variable importance in the projection) > 1) were analyzed by t-test, and finally, metabolites (t < 0.05) were identified to be biomarkers. Eleven metabolites such as butanedioic acid, phosphoric acid, L-leucine and isoleucine which had a significant contribution to classification were selected and preliminarily identified due to the accurate mass. Cell cycle assay was analyzed by FACSCalibur. Since the cells in the phase of G1 were increased significantly after the treatment of lupeol, we speculated that lupeol has a blocking effect on the generation of succinyl-CoA and the reaction of substrate phosphorylation of tricarboxylic acid cycle of MCF-7 cells. This study provided a novel approach to the mechanism research on the lupeol treatment on MCF-7 breast cancer cells based on cell metabonomics.


In this article we define an elliptic double shuffle Lie algebra $ds_{ell}$ that generalizes the well-known double shuffle Lie algebra $ds$ to the elliptic situation. The double shuffle, or dimorphic, relations satisfied by elements of the Lie algebra $ds$ express two families of algebraic relations between multiple zeta values that conjecturally generate all relations. In analogy with this, elements of the elliptic double shuffle Lie algebra $ds_{ell}$ are Lie polynomials having a dimorphic property called $\Delta$-bialternality that conjecturally describes the (dual of the) set of algebraic relations between elliptic multiple zeta values, periods of objects of the category $MEM$ of mixed elliptic motives defined by Hain and Matsumoto. We show that one of Ecalle's major results in mould theory can be reinterpreted as yielding the existence of an injective Lie algebra morphism $ds\rightarrow ds_{ell}$. Our main result is the compatibility of this map with the tangential-base-point section ${\rm Lie}\,\pi_1(MTM)\rightarrow {\rm Lie}\,\pi_1(MEM)$ constructed by Hain and Matsumoto and with the section $grt\rightarrow grt_{ell}$ mapping the Grothendieck-Teichm\"uller Lie algebra $grt$ into the elliptic Grothendieck-Teichm\"uller Lie algebra $grt_{ell}$ constructed by Enriquez.


Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a highly aggressive pathogen that caused SARS in 2003 and 2004.1-4 Spike protein (S) on the surface of virus particles mediates the attachment of the virus to cell surface receptors and induces the fusion of viral and cellular membranes. According to the epitope analysis and structure of S protein, we used two fragments of S protein S1 (108-488aa) and S2 (723-938aa) expressed in Escherichia coli and immunized Balb/c mice to investigate the immune response to the recombinant proteins in mice.


Prenatal screening of Toxoplasma gondii infection is controversial. The diagnosis is based on serological tests detecting IgM and IgG antibodies against T. gondii, but interpretation of these tests results is often confusing. It is commonly made retrospectively when serological screening indicates a possibility of recent infection. Most women have antibodies against T. gondii and serial testing is required only in monitoring of pregnancies where initial screening is negative. The introduction of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay for detection of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in selected cases of pathologic pregnancies has permitted a more accurate and faster diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis infections.


The Madhya Pradesh Housing & Infrastructure Development Board (MPHIDB) is a state-owned entity in Madhya Pradesh State of India with the mandate of providing housing for citizens, particularly for those in the low-income segment. MPHIDB has been constructing houses on its own using the traditional engineering and procurement contract (EPC) model. In July 2015, it was exploring the possibility of creating affordable housing units via public–private partnership (PPP). The advantage of involving private sector is that MPHIDB can tap into creative energy and construction efficiency of the private sector and deliver the best results within the given set of time and resource constraints. The proposed structure of PPP is that the private partner will be given a portion of land in lieu of the affordable housing units that it will build and transfer to MPHIDB. However, there are trade-offs involved in doing the project in PPP mode instead of EPC mode. The main advantages of a government body like MPHDIB doing the project on its own are as follows: (a) It is able to better manage regulatory risks in terms of getting clearances, land acquisition, and so forth; (b) it can raise finances at lower interest rates than what is charged for private sector entities; and (c) the entire land parcel is available to construct houses, and hence it can get more housing units per unit of land. The Commissioner (CEO) of MPHIDB had to decide whether to go for PPP or EPC model, and if he opted for PPP, how should the PPP be structured?


Ventral subiculum (vSUB) is the major output region of ventral hippocampus (vHIPP) and sends major projections to nucleus accumbens medial shell (NAcMS). Hyperactivity of the vSUB-NAcMS circuit is associated with substance use disorders and the modulation of vSUB activity alters drug seeking and drug reinstatement behavior in rodents. However, to the best of our knowledge, the cell type-specific connectivity and synaptic transmission properties of the vSUB-NAcMS circuit have never been directly examined. Instead, previous functional studies have focused on total ventral hippocampal (vHIPP) output to NAcMS without distinguishing vSUB from other subregions of vHIPP, including ventral CA1 (vCA1). Using ex vivo electrophysiology, we systematically characterized the vSUB-NAcMS circuit with cell type- and synapse-specific resolution in male and female mice and found that vSUB output to dopamine receptor type-1 (D1R) and type-2 (D2R) expressing medium spiny neurons (MSNs) displays a functional connectivity bias for D2R MSNs. Furthermore, we found that vSUB-D1R and vSUB-D2R MSN synapses contain calcium-permeable AMPA receptors in drug-naive mice. Finally, we find that, distinct from other glutamatergic inputs, cocaine exposure selectively induces plasticity at vSUB-D2R synapses. Importantly, we directly compared vSUB and vCA1 output to NAcMS and found that vSUB synapses are functionally distinct and that vCA1 output recapitulated the synaptic properties previously ascribed to vHIPP. Our work highlights the need to consider the contributions of individual subregions of vHIPP to substance use disorders and represents an important first step toward understanding how the vSUB-NAcMS circuit contributes to the etiologies that underlie substance use disorders. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Inputs to nucleus accumbens (NAc) dopamine receptor type 1 (D1R) and D2R medium spiny neurons (MSNs) are critically involved in reward seeking behavior. Ventral subiculum (vSUB) provides robust synaptic input to nucleus accumbens medial shell (NAcMS) and activity of this circuit is linked to substance use disorders. Despite the importance of the vSUB to nucleus accumbens circuit, the functional connectivity and synaptic transmission properties have not been tested. Here, we systematically interrogated these properties and found that basal connectivity and drug-induced plasticity are biased for D2R medium spiny neurons. Overall, we demonstrate that this circuit is distinct from synaptic inputs from other brain regions, which helps to explain how vSUB dysfunction contributes to the etiologies that underlie substance use disorders.


In this study the results of a 15-year long monitoring survey on heavy metals in water at Lake Modrac were assessed using pollution indices of heavy metals, such as Heavy metal pollution index HPI, Heavy metal evaluation index HEI and the Degree of contamination CD. The results of the survey on heavy metal pollution of sediment conducted in 2015 were used as input data for the following pollution indices: Concentration factor , Pollution load index PLI, Enrichment factor EF, Index of geo-accumulation Igeo, Ecological risk factor , Potential ecological risk index to the water-body, RI. The results showed a good correlation and the lake sediment was characterized as polluted. Enrichment factors and indices of geo-accumulation of heavy metals were indicated as very high enriched in the sediment, and have been identified as an anthropogenic source of pollution. Cumulative presence in the sediment is assessed through the pollution index, RI, and has been assessed as moderate ecological risk to the lake water-body. The application of pollution indices presents a valuable tool in assessing the long-term pollution status of Lake Modrac.


As the feature size of the CMOS integrated circuit continues to shrink, process variations have become a key factor affecting the interconnect performance. Based on the equivalent Elmore model and the use of the polynomial chaos theory and the Galerkin method, we propose a linear statistical RCL interconnect delay model, taking into account process variations by successive application of the linear approximation method. Based on a variety of nano-CMOS process parameters, HSPICE simulation results show that the maximum error of the proposed model is less than 3.5%. The proposed model is simple, of high precision, and can be used in the analysis and design of nanometer integrated circuit interconnect systems.


Novel Cu(I) complexes containing a mu2-eta2,eta2-type benzoquinone ligand have been synthesized and crystallographycally characterized. These complexes are synthesized by the redox reaction of a copper-quinonoid pair and may indicate a significant intermediate in the Cu-BQ catalytic system. Moreover, this study is regarded as one of the good examples in the Cu(I)-olefin family of enhanced pi-back-donation.


Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a difficult-to-treat B-cell malignancy characterized by the t(11,14) translocation, resulting in cyclin D1 (CD1) overexpression. In addition to CD1 overexpression, pathways such as the B-cell receptor, PI3K/AKT/ GSK3β, NFκB and Wnt have been reported to be deregulated in MCL. Despite advancements in MCL treatment, most patients still relapse. Although the introduction of ibrutinib to relapsed/refractory MCL significantly improved the outcome of MCL patients, ibrutinib resistance has become a clinical obstacle. MCL treatments are thus pursued by studying novel agents with a broad spectrum of targets or by rationally combining existing therapies aiming for synergistic antitumor activities. Deferasirox (DFX) is a clinically approved iron chelator with only few side effects. DFX has been reported to exert anti-tumoral and synergistic effects in several types of cancers by affecting a multitude of targets. We have previously shown that DFX exerts a vigorous anti-tumoral effect via growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in MCL cells through ROS elevation, triggering of oxidative stress, induction of DNA damage, modulation of PI3K/AKT/GSK3β signaling and most importantly by elimination of CD1 expression. The capacity of DFX to affect a multitude of targets establishes a solid basis for a possible synergistic interaction with other drugs, such that may overcome drug resistance in MCL. In this study we focused on assessing the efficiency of DFX combined with the established therapeutic-agents etoposide, cytarabine and ibrutinib in MCL cell-lines. We found that DFX synergizes with etoposide, cytarabine and ibrutinib, prompting remarkable anti-tumoral effects in MCL cells with combination index (CI) values < 1. Interestingly, the DFX-drug combinations achieved synergism regardless of the innate sensitivity of the cell-lines to the treatment: ibrutinib-resistant cells restored their sensitivity to the drug when it was combined with DFX. In addition, we found that the sensitivity of MCL cells towards the drugs correlated with the drugs ability to induce CD1 degradation. In agreement, DFX co-treatment enhanced CD1 degradation, especially in resistant cells.
 We show here that DFX is a putative promising drug-sensitizing agent for the treatment of MCL. DFX-co-treatment not only enhances the efficacy of the tested drugs, but also restores the anti-proliferative activity of the drugs in resistant MCL cells. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to provide evidence on the potential of DFX to overcome drug resistance in MCL.
 Figure 1 Figure 1.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


There's a new role emerging for today's medical practice administrator: member of the organization's clinical team. Although the tasks of an administrator still stop at the doorway of the exam or operating room, what he or she does everywhere else in the practice is increasingly recognized as a direct aid to clinical quality. Nonclinicians can--and should--try to influence the patient care process. In addition to understanding their roles in risk management and patient safety, administrators should help ensure a courteous, competent and compassionate administrative staff.


To provide cellular data services with differentiated QoS, a shared resource scheme based on the optimization theory and LaGrange /spl lambda/-calculus was developed. This scheme can generate a fair schedule for a diverse mix of traffic with diverse QoS requirements in a limited radio spectrum. We define acceptance indication (AI) as the QoS measurement of the shared resource scheme. The experimental results show that the average acceptance rate of the schedule derived from our approach provides 2.5% higher than those of other existing heuristics.


Antibacterial susceptibility study of the aqueous, methanol and chloroform extract of Moringa oleifera and Nigella sativa was carried out to comparatively evaluate the antibacterial effects of these plants against some clinical isolates (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The susceptibility of the bacterial isolates to the extract of M. oleifera and N. Sativa were determined by agar well diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) techniques. The findings from this study revealed that M. oleifera leaf extract exhibited better antibacterial effects than N. sativa seed extract, as indicated by their zones of inhibition and MIC values. The aqueous and chloroform extract of M. oleifera exhibited activity only against S. aureus and E. coli (MIC values of the aqueous and chloroform extract of M. oleifera against S. aureus and E. coli were reported as 3.91 mg/ml and 1.96 mg/ml for S. aureus, as well as 7.20 mg/ml and 31.25 mg/ml for E. coli), while the methanol extract of M. oleifera showed activity against all the three bacterial isolates (MIC values were 31.25 mg/ml, 3.91 mg/ml, and 125 mg/ml for S. aureus, E. coli and P. aeruginosa respectively). Unlike the chloroform extract of N. sativa which showed no activity against the three bacterial isolates, the aqueous and methanol extract of N. sativa seeds showed some activity only against S. aureus with a MIC value of 31.25 mg/ml each. Evidence of the antibacterial effect of M. oleifera and N. sativa, as revealed in this study, underscores their therapeutic utilization in traditional medicine.


This teaching note has two objectives: first, to describe a particular type of teaching method and its special benefits; and second, to provide a substantive example of the kind of intellectual insights (in this case, understandings of Chinese national security) that can be achieved by using this method. The teaching situation described was an introductory graduate seminar on Chinese foreign policy, taught at the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1998. Critical comments on either the teaching method or the substantive arguments presented here would be welcome at firstname.lastname@example.com.


We analyze, for a general concave entropic form, the associated conditional entropy of a quantum system A + B, obtained as a result of a local measurement on one of the systems (B). This quantity is a measure of the average mixedness of A after such measurement, and its minimum over all local measurements is shown to be the associated entanglement of formation between A and a purifying third system C. In the case of the von Neumann entropy, this minimum determines also the quantum discord. For classically correlated states and mixtures of a pure state with the maximally mixed state, we show that the minimizing measurement can be determined analytically and is universal, i.e., the same for all concave forms. While these properties no longer hold for general states, we also show that in the special case of the linear entropy, an explicit expression for the associated conditional entropy can be obtained, whose minimum among projective measurements in a general qudit–qubit state can be determined analytically, in terms of the largest eigenvalue of a simple 3 × 3 correlation matrix. Such minimum determines the maximum conditional purity of A, and the associated minimizing measurement is shown to be also universal in the vicinity of maximal mixedness. Results for X states, including typical reduced states of spin pairs in XY chains at weak and strong transverse fields, are also provided and indicate that the measurements minimizing the von Neumann and linear conditional entropies are typically coincident in these states, being determined essentially by the main correlation. They can differ, however, substantially from that minimizing the geometric discord.


A total of 45 cases of multiple myeloma has been followed up clinically during the period from 7 to 80 months. Out of these, six patients (13.3%) were diagnosed to be the tumor-forming type; they developed discrete tumor formation at the disease onset or during clinical observation. Biological behavior of these cases is briefly outlined. Histologically, five cases presented with well or moderately well differentiated plasma cells according to the grading made by Pasmantier and Azar. The remaining one case was poorly differentiated in cell maturity, and with electron and immunofluorescence microscopies, proved to be of plasmacytic nature.


This paper attempts to analyze the concept of localization and its relationship with the psychological performance of zakat.  It argued that localization could produce development opportunities from the management decentralization of supply chain in zakat institution. In this study, localization is treated as the mediator, while property rights of zakat and asset specificity performed as the independent factors in determining the performance of zakat. Data from 428 samples of zakat payers reveal that localization was performed as the complementary partial mediation toward the performance of zakat. This is due to the property rights of zakat and the asset specificity have the direct impact on the psychological performance. Hence, further exploration of the innovation in supply chain management, especially on the aspect of decentralization of zakat is needed. This study suggested that development opportunities could be met by applying the concept of localization in the zakat institution.


The stratigraphic architecture of aeolian sandstones is thought to record signals originating from both autogenic dune behavior and allogenic environmental boundary conditions within which the dune field evolves. Mapping of outcrop-scale surfaces and sets of cross-strata between these surfaces for the Jurassic Page Sandstone near Page, Arizona, USA, demonstrates that the stratigraphic signature of autogenic behavior is captured by variable scour depths and subsequent fillings, whereas the dominant signatures of allogenic boundary conditions are associated with antecedent surface topography and variable water-table elevations. At the study area, the Page Sandstone ranges from 55 to 65 m thick and is separated from the underlying Navajo Sandstone by the J-2 regional unconformity with meters of relief. Thin, climbing sets of cross-strata of the basal Page representing early dune-field accumulations fill J-2 depressions. In contrast, the overlying lower and middle Page consist of cross-strata ranging from less than 1 to 15 meters thick (average 2.44 m), and packaged between outcrop-scale bounding surfaces, though parts of the lower Page are bounded from beneath by the J-2. These bounding surfaces have been previously correlated to highstand deposits of the adjacent Carmel sea and at this site possess up to 13 meters of erosional relief produced by dune scour. Notably absent in packages of cross-strata bounded by these outcrop-scale surfaces are strata of early dune-field accumulations, any interdune deposits, and climbing-dune strata. Instead, these packages preserve a scour-and-fill architecture created by large dunes migrating in a dry, mature, dune field undergoing negligible bed aggradation. Any record of early phases of dune-field construction for the lower and middle Page are interpreted to have been cannibalized by the deepest scours of later, large dunes. Interpretations are independently supported by the relatively large coefficients of variation (cv) in middle Page set thicknesses (cv = 0.90), which are consistent with set production by successive deepest trough scours, the relatively low coefficient of variation for the depression-filling basal Page and lower Page sets consistent with a significant component of bed aggradation in J-2 depressions (cv = 0.64 and 0.49), and the fit of set thickness distributions to established theory. Numerical modeling presented here and more completely in the companion paper demonstrates how this cannibalization of early-phase stratigraphy is an expected outcome of autogenic dune-growth processes, and that early-phase strata can be preserved within antecedent depressions. Relative rise of the inland water table from basin subsidence and changing Carmel sea level forced preservation of 5–6 stacked packages composed of scour-and-fill architecture. Without these allogenic forcings, the Page would be little more than an erosional surface.


Many people are encountered with finding the best way to reach to their destination. One definition for wayfinding is "the act of travelling to the destination by continuous processes of making route-choices whilst evaluating previous spatial decisions against stable cognition of the environment.  General understanding and keen appraisal of the environment can aid decision-making process of how to navigate around an area in the form of mental schemas. However, having a level of familiarity and attachment to a place is the underlying factor. The study is aimed at evaluating what is the level of familiarity of people and what is their attachment to notable landmarks in the town of Muar, Malaysia. To do so, the traditional survey analysis with the focus on data set that is attributed to a specific phenomenon and the quantifiable variable using statistical analysis on the tabularized format is undertaken.


Over the last two decades, interest on hybrid metaheuristics has risen considerably in the field of multi-objective optimization (MOP). The best results found for many real-life or academic multi-objective optimization problems are obtained by hybrid algorithms. Combinations of algorithms such as metaheuristics, mathematical programming and machine learning techniques have provided very powerful search algorithms. Three different types of combinations are considered in this paper to solve multi-objective optimization problems: Combining metaheuristics with (complementary) metaheuristics. Combining metaheuristics with exact methods from mathematical programming approaches. Combining metaheuristics with machine learning and data mining techniques.


Summary:
• The growth in the use of OP across many western countries and the subsequent rise in OP dependency and overdose has become a major health concern for international agencies and especially in the United States
• In the UK, the subject of OP dependency is chronically under-researched. Despite having some of the highest levels of OP use and sales in the EU and a wealth of anecdotal evidence from individuals, patient group representatives and clinicians about OP dependence, the estimate of those who might be OP dependent varies wildly from tens of thousands to nearly a million. But whatever the figure, it is clear that a significant number of people in the UK are battling with an OP dependency while being 'hidden in plain sight.'
• Home Office figures released in 2015 revealed for the first time, a cohort of people across the age ranges using OP that were not prescribed to them, often for recreational purposes. This potentially heightens the risk of dependency and overdose among naive users and is a further indication of the overall level of availability in the community.
• Until the publication of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drugs report An inquiry into physical dependence and addiction to prescription and over-the-counter medication in 2009, little interest was shown in this issue either from government or professional medical organisations. This has begun to change with, for example, guidelines from the RCGP, the development of assessment tools, professional calls for regular reviews on repeat prescriptions and reductions in packet size for OTC painkillers with additional patient health warnings.
• Most people will use their OP in accordance with medical instructions and patient leaflet information. But while in theory anybody could become dependent on their medication, research is establishing that some people are more vulnerable to OP dependency than others.
• In the main, those suffering from OP dependency are not willing to attend established community drug treatment centres, but find that there are few specialist treatment options.
• Research has shown that GPs and pain specialists are often uncertain as to the best way forward in treating OP dependent patients – and have differing perceptions of the groups most at risk - but new initiatives from drug treatment services are pointing the way towards primary care being the most suitable environment for treatment where GPs work in shared care arrangements.
• Growing public and professional concerns about OP dependency has resulted in a consequential increase in patient advocacy and help groups demanding action at both a local and national level.
• It is encouraging that steps are being taken to address this issue at a local and national level, but there is still much to be done.


The 2003 Institute of Medicine report, Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality, delineated a set of core competencies for health care professionals-providing patient-centered care, working in interdisciplinary teams, using evidence-based practice, applying quality improvement processes, and using informatics. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which these core competencies have been incorporated in the rules and regulations of state boards of nursing in the United States as required curricular content for professional nursing programs. A research team compiled state boards of nursing regulations related to prelicensure nursing curricula from all 50 states, and content analysis was performed. Eight states incorporated all five competencies in their regulations. Other states incorporated some of the five competencies; evidence-based practice and informatics were the competencies most frequently excluded from state regulations. The lack of emphasis on these competencies has implications for the ongoing development of the profession of nursing.


This study compares the leachates generated in the treatment of Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) of similar origin but managed in two different ways: (a) sorting and composting in a Treatment Plant in Aranda de Duero (Burgos, Spain), and (b) direct dumping in a landfill in Aranda de Duero (Burgos, Spain) with no prior treatment. Two different leachates were considered for the former: those generated in the fermentation shed (P1) and those generated in the composting tunnels (P2); another leachate was collected from the landfill (P3). Physical and chemical properties, including heavy metal contents, were seasonally monitored in the different leachates. This study allowed us to conclude that the sampling season had a significant effect on Pb, Cd, Ni, Mg and total-N contents (P < 0.01). Similarly, leachates P1, P2 and P3 exhibited significant overall differences for most of the measured parameters except for Cd, Cu, Pb, K, Fe, C-inorg and C-org contents (P < 0.01). This study concludes with the feasibility of a whole treatment for both leachates using ultrafiltration in a membrane bioreactor (MBR).


Aquatic Ecotoxicity Effects of TiO2 Nanocrystals
A new and facile synthesis method of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) is presented in this work. This novel approach allows one to produce titanium dioxide nanoparticles owing to a modified solvothermal process that makes use of Titanium (IV) butoxide as the titanium precursor and Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) as a solvent. The structure and morphology of the TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Optical absorption measurement showed that the TiO2 nanoparticles exhibit a UV significant absorption peak clearly blue-shifted with respect to that of bulk TiO2. The results showed that monodisperse quasi-spherical TiO2 nanoparticles (with an average size of 11 nm) consisting of pure anatase phase were formed. To investigate the environmental impacts of the new synthesized TiO2 NPs, the oxidative stress in marine bivalves (Mytilus galloprovincialis) was assessed. No considerable effect was found in digestive gland in any of the treatment groups with TiO2 concentration gradients ranging from 0.1 to 100 mg/L. Thus, the level of the superoxide anion, the activity of an antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the GSH/GSSG ratio showed no significantly differences in digestive gland of all treated groups compared to control. Whoever, slight modifications were observed in gill at high concentration (100 mg/L). These results demonstrated that the considered TiO2 appears to exert little toxicity on marine mussels after a short-term exposure at high concentration. The high crystalline quality, together with the easy synthesis process and limited environmental risk, makes the new TiO2 nanoparticles a promising candidate for many applications such as optoelectronics and water photolysis for hydrogen production.


Abstract Renal artery aneurysms (RAA) are rare, occurring with an incidence of <0.1%. Open repair remains the mainstay of treatment for anatomically complex aneurysms. Here, we present a case of a large hilar RAA managed with ex vivo reconstruction and heterotopic renal autotransplantation. In this case, the complex anatomy and location of the aneurysm precluded the use of an endovascular approach. In situ repair was deemed unfavorable because of the technical difficulty of the repair with the numerous arterial branches involved, risk of parenchymal injury from prolonged warm ischemic time, restricted surgical field and risk of aneurysm rupture. This case contributes to the literature on laparoscopic nephrectomy, ex vivo repair and autotransplantation as a safe and viable treatment strategy for patients with complex RAA.


The effects of glucose and oxygen on cultures at the stationary phase were also studied. Table 1 summarizes the results. As also reported by Manners & Ryley (1952), Tetruhymenu can store large quantities of glycogen that serve as an energy source in anaerobic cells. The glycogenic capacity is lower in cells from shaken cultures, whereas cells from glucose-containing cultures cannot convert acetate into glycogen (Hogg & Kornberg, 1963; Levy & Hunt, 1967). When cells that had been grown in glucose-free medium until the stationary phase were transferred to a glucose-supplemented medium, they showed increasing amounts of glycogen synthesis during the incubation time of 180niin. The amounts in static cultures were always higher than in shaken cultures. No remarkable changes in the activities of synthase or phosphorylase could be observed during synthesis of glycogen after addition of glucose. Also in these experiments the total and a forms of the glycogen-metabolizing enzymes did not show differences. From these studies it is clear that glycogen synthase a and phosphorylase a activities are independent of glucose concentration or incubation conditions. Furthermore there was no relationship between the amounts of glycogen deposited and the synthase activity in the u form at the stationary phase. It may be that the glycogen synthesis in Tetruhymenu pyriforrnis is regulated by intracellular metabolites. A role for peroxisomes in the regulation of glycolysis in this protozoan has also been suggested (de Duve & Baudhuin, 1966). Further investigation to clarify the mechanism of control involved in glycogen metabolism in these organisms is needed.


Radiolarians were first discovered in the palaeozoic rocks by Dr. Rothpletz, who found them in siliceous shale of Upper Silurian age in Saxony. Prof. H. A. Nicholson was the first to record them from the palaeozoic rocks of Scotland, in 1890. Dr. G. J. Hinde originally illustrated the proper forms of the Scottish radiolarians from the Ordovician (Llandeilo) beds of the South of Scotland, "more particularly developed in the counties of Lanark, Peebles, and Edinburgh," and, I may add, Ayr; while Mr. B. N. Peach of the Geological Survey was the first to trace the radiolarian beds over a large extent of country.* The chert beds had been known for a long time, but were thought to be simply shales metamorphosed into porcellanite by some unknown agency in nature. The greatest exposure of these rocks, so far as I know, is at Bennane Head, near Ballantrae, and on the shore below, where they have a width of 202 paces, measured at right angles to their outcropping edges, the outcrop being vertical.† Some years ago I made the following notes on this place:—Interlarded, or more properly speaking, folded up, with the chert, there are several beds of volcanic agglomerate containing many fragments of chert, and numerous pieces of light-grey limestone. Evidently, therefore, the former is younger than the chert, through which it must have broken up, carrying numerous fragments along with it. The agglomerate subsequently became folded up with the chert when it was turned up on edge. The chert at This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract


The Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) is a new concept in clinical nurse education. The DEU plays a major role in enhancing links between health care providers and The Flinders University of South Australia (FUSA) School of Nursing. This collaborative venture has created a more positive clinical learning environment, maximized the achievement of student learning outcomes, and nurtured closer partnership between clinicians and academics. Recognition of mutuality, respect and trust among all stakeholders is central to its success. This paper (part one) explains the rationale for the DEU and describes its inherent values. Part two reports on an evaluation of the DEU.


ABSTRACT This article contributes to postfeminist media debates by interrogating an emerging configuration of celebrity feminism; one in which authenticity, entrepreneurial subjectivities and intersectionality mark the uneasy contours of a new political subject. Coining the term "activist capital", this paper moves beyond the impasse of celebrity feminism debates (where branding and commerce = bad, grassroots organising = good) to establish the uneven conditions through which celebrity feminist activisms are accepted, even deferred to, in media and activist accounts. Drawing on an illustrative case study of the high-profile Amber Rose SlutWalk (2015–2018), a Los Angeles-based monetised and branded edition of an existing political movement against sexual violence, this paper employs a discourse analytical approach to argue that celebrity and activist cultures condition each other. Aided by digital media, a celebrity activism nexus is now emergent that is mediated by practices of individualised consumer capitalism and oriented by explicit social justice frameworks, troubling dominant narratives of depoliticised postfeminist sensibilities. These ambivalences, where commodification no longer holds the power of disavowal it once did, and where grassroots activism and celebrity culture collide, condition the emergence of new activist arrangements in this late capitalist moment.


Metal contamination in water is a major determinant of water quality. People who consume this water suffer from water borne diseases. There are various natural and anthropological activities at the sample collection site leading to increase in concentration of trace elements in drinking water. Activities like corrosion of metal coated pipes, herbicides, insecticides, ceramic wastes, taking gravel from near water source, etc. may lead to pollution of drinking water by heavy metals like chromium. The objective of this study was to detect metal concentration in spring and tap water from selected residential areas in the Gurage Zone. Tap water samples were collected from seven different locations during the rainy season. Samples were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry to determine the concentration of dissolved metal. Metal analysis was done to detect chromium, copper, zinc, lead, cadmium, magnesium and calcium. The results obtained were compared with guidelines for drinking water quality such as the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

 Key words: Cadmium, copper, lead metal concentration, chromium, Gurage Zone.


A naphthalimide based chemosensor (NPG), containing 1,8-naphthalimide as a fluorophore unit and pentaethylene glycol as a binding unit, has been used for the detection of Pd2+ ions in 50% HEPES buffer-DMSO (pH 7.2) solution. The NPG showed aggregation induced emission enhancement (AIEE) properties in H2O-DMSO binary mixtures (0-90%) and the CIE plot of NPG in DMSO has x = 0.152, y = 0.102 coordinates corresponding to blue colour emission with 86% colour purity. Upon addition of Pd2+ ions, NPG showed a decrease in fluorescence intensity associated with a colour change from fluorescent blue to non-fluorescent colourless solution. The lowest limit of detection for Pd2+ ions was 75 nM. The mechanism of interaction of NPG with Pd2+ ions leads to complexation induced aggregation caused quenching (ACQ) supported by DLS, SEM and AFM studies. The NPG has been successfully utilized for (i) intracellular detection of Pd2+ ions (250 μM) in live MG-63 cells; (ii) detection of Pd2+ ions in pharmaceutical (99.74 ± 0.6%), urine (98.20 ± 2.96%) and blood serum (99.17 ± 1.84%) samples and (iii) detection of Pd2+ ions using silica coated TLC strips via a contact mode method. NPG can be used as a security ink for writing letters and alphabets for anticounterfeiting applications.


A tumor suppressor commonly targeted in human cancers is the retinoblastoma (pRb) protein, a regulator of the G1/S phase transition of the cell cycle. pRb itself is inactivated with a frequency of over 90% in a subset of human tumors such as retinoblastomas, osteosarcomas, and small cell lung carcinomas. Ours studies suggest a novel role of pRb as a regulator of the activity of the small Rho/GTPase Rac1. Our data show that pRb can regulate Rac1 activity by controlling the levels of the p21‐activated protein kinase 1 (PAK1), a main Rac‐1 effector. qRT‐PCR, immunoblot and immunofluorescence analyses showed that pRb loss in murine osteoblasts results in a dramatic increase of PAK1 mRNA and protein. In order to determine if this increase is due to increased mRNA half‐we performed mRNA stability assays using culturing cells with actinomycin D to block new transcription and to assess the half‐life of pre‐existing PAK1 mRNA molecules. We did not find a significant change in PAK1 mRNA half‐life when comparing pRb‐expressing vs pRb‐deficient osteoblasts, suggesting that pRb regulation of PAK1 is not post‐We next tested whether PAK1 regulation by pRb occurs at the trancriptional level, a scenario that would be consistent with pRb9s well characterized role as a transcriptional regulator. We used a genomic PCR strategy to amplify several fragments of the PAK1 promoter spanning an area from − 601 to + 159 downstream into the coding region. Fragments were cloned into a luciferase reporter plasmid and the resulting constructs were transfected into pRb‐expressing and pRb‐osteoblasts, followed by luciferase activity assays. We identified a pRb‐responsive element in the promoter fragment spanning from −201 to +159 that seems to be responsible for PAK1 transcriptional repression in pRb‐expressing osteoblasts, suggesting the presence of pRb‐sensitive elements within this Pak1 promoter fragment. We next performed bioinformatics analyses aimed at identifying binding sites for transcription factor known for their capacity to interact with pRb. We found that this fragment of the PAK1 promoter contains binding sites for several well known transcriptional factors, notable among this being E2F transcription factors. This observation makes it tempting to speculate that pRb represses PAK1 transcription by blocking the E2F mediated transcriptional of the PAK1 gene. Taken together our results implicate pRb in the regulation of the activity of the small Rho/GTPases Rac1. This in turn brings forth the interesting possibility that pRb, acting via small Rho/GTPases, could have additional novel roles as a regulator of processes such as changes in cell shape, migration, and cytoskeletal reorganization, processes in which small Rho GTPases are known to play a role. This project is supported by PSM Institutional Funds, by the U56 Partnership between PSM and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center (Pilot Grant No. 10‐14352‐02‐03), and RISE Program 1R25GMO82406 from NIH‐NIGMS. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(23 Suppl):A68.


Objective Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in children seriously threatens TB control. Information on the epidemiology and characteristics of DR-TB in children in China is limited. We studied data in Shenyang Tenth People's Hospital to understand the DR-TB epidemiology in children in Shenyang. Design or Methods We retrospectively analyzed drug resistance testing data of pediatric TB patients between 2017 and 2021, and included 2976 clinically-diagnosed pediatric TB patients. We described the epidemiology of DR-TB and analyzed the trends of DR-TB incidence. The Kappa value was calculated to assess the agreement between MGIT 960 DST and Xpert MTB/RIF for detecting rifampicin resistance. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors for DR-TB in pediatric patients. Results Of the 2976 TB patients, 1076 were confirmed by MGIT 960 culture and/or Xpert MTB/RIF. Among the 806 patients identified by MGIT 960 culture, 232 cases (28.78%) were DR-TB. Resistance to the six drugs was in the following order: streptomycin (21.09%), isoniazid (9.35%), rifampin (15.01%), levofloxacin (6.20%), ethambutol (4.22%), and amikacin (3.23%). Alarmingly, 12.90% were MDR-TB (104/806), including 28 (3.47%) pre-XDR-TB. Of the 1076 pediatric TB patients, 295 (27.4%) developed DR-TB to any one drug (including 69 rifampicin-resistant cases identified by Xpert MTB/RIF only). No difference was found in the incidence of pediatric DR-TB between 2017 and 2021. Among 376 patients who were positive for both methods, using the MGIT 960 DST results as the gold standard, Xpert MTB/RIF's sensitivity for detecting rifampicin resistance was 91.38% and its specificity was 94.65%. Conclusion Between 2017 and 2021, the DR-TB incidence in children remained unchanged in Shenyang. RR-TB, MDR-TB, and even Pre-XDR-TB require attention in children with drug-resistant TB. Xpert MTB/RIF helped to detect more rifampicin-resistant pediatric patients; thus Xpert MTB/RIF should be widely used as an important complementary tool to detect rifampicin-resistant TB in children.


Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease in well-being and an increase in mental health problems were registered in medical and psychotherapeutic practices, counseling centers, and clinics. According to previous studies, younger people and women seemed to be particularly affected. The aim of this study was to describe mental health problems of students and to draw consequences for the further handling of pandemics and other crises. Method: Students at the University of Heidelberg, a typical German "full university," were surveyed online using internationally comparable screening instruments like the Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). In addition, the students had the opportunity to describe in a narrative form their well-being and to make suggestions how to improve their situation. Results: Out of a population of 27,162 students who were contacted by email, 2,137 students completed the questionnaire. The salient finding is that according to the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, 72.2% of the respondents feel seriously impaired in their well-being. This corresponds to the finding that 75.8% of the respondents in the PHQ-D show indications of at least one syndrome diagnosis. Depression was found in 41.8% of the respondents in the PHQ-D. Indications of moderate to severe and severe depressive syndromes were present in 31.8%. Signs of somatoform syndromes are found in 25.4% and of anxiety syndromes in 20.0%. 1,089 students gave narrative reports on how they were feeling and made suggestions for improvement. About 75% reported severely reduced well-being. Their main complaints were loneliness and depression and lack of recognition for their specific academic and life situation during the pandemic. By far, the largest proportion of students supposed that their mental health issues were caused and/or intensified by the pandemic-related social contact restrictions. The vast majority of them made reasonable suggestions for controlled relaxation of contact restrictions. Conclusions: Students suffer severely from the pandemic-related social restriction. In respect to future pandemic outbreaks or other crises leading to social isolation, the dramatic consequences of social lockdowns should be taken into account. Under pandemic conditions, we especially should support persons lacking social networks.


The effect of blending various methacrylate copolymers on the physical and mechanical properties of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) has been investigated. Copolymers of methylmethacrylate with methylacrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate in 80:20 and 50:50 wit methylmethacrylate have been prepared and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Polyblends of PVC and such polyacrylates have been prepared in 80:20 ratio by melt blending technique and characterized by thermomechanical analysis to study the glass transition behavior vis-a-vis the compatibility of these blends. Mechanical properties of these blends revealed a substantial increase in impact strength particularly when long chain acrylate polymers like butyl acrylate and 2-ethyl hexyl acrylates are used; however, there is a decrease in the yield stress and initial modulus. A shift from brittle failure to ductility has been observed in blends of PVC on incorporation of these acrylate copolymers. Scanning electron microscopic studies have been carried out to support these observations.


Symbiotic associations between bacteria and eukaryotes exhibit a range of transmission strategies. The rates and distributions of transmission modes have not been thoroughly investigated across associations, despite their consequences on symbiont and host evolution. To address this empirically, I compiled data from the literature on bacteria-multicellular eukaryote associations for which transmission mode data was available. Of the total 528 analyzed symbioses, 21.2% were strictly horizontally transmitted, 36.0% exhibited some form of mixed mode transmission and 42.8% were strictly vertically transmitted. Controlling for phylogenetically independent symbiosis events revealed modes were approximately equally distributed among the 113 independent associations, at 32.1%+/-0.57% horizontal, 37.8%+/-1.4% mixed mode and 31.1%+/-1.3% vertical transmission. Binning symbioses by environment revealed an abundance of vertical transmission on land and a lack of it in aquatic environments. The naturally occurring uneven distribution of taxa among environments prevented controlling for host/symbiont phylogeny. However, the results were robust over a large number of independently evolved associations, suggesting that many vertically transmitted bacteria are capable of mixed mode transmission and barriers exist that reduce the rate of horizontal transmission events. Thus, both the environment type and host/symbiont taxa influence symbiont transmission mode evolution.


With the rapid development of Internet finance, it has already had a profound impact on commercial banks. In this context, commercial banks should change their business models and competitive strategies, and rationally use the advantages of Internet finance to promote the development of their own and China's financial market is an urgent problem to be solved. This article will analyze the characteristics and models of Internet finance and commercial banks to compare their strengths and weaknesses. Specific analysis on which aspects of Internet finance will pose challenges to traditional commercial banks, and how to deal with challenge of commercial banks. Analyze the future development direction and market positioning of commercial banks and internet finance.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of plasma homocysteic acid (HCA) reduction on serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level in children with Kawasaki disease (KD).

METHODS
Seventy-six children with KD were divided into 2 equal groups for treatment with aspirin and IVIG, or with vitamin B6 and folic acid besides in addition to aspirin and IVIG. Serum CRP level was tested before and after the treatments, and plasma HCA level was also measured after the treatments.

RESULTS
Serum CRP level was comparable between the two groups before the treatment, but significantly reduced after vitamin B6 and folic acid treatment (7.56-/+2.94 mg/L vs 12.23-/+4.16 mg/L, P<0.05). Additional vitamin B6 and folic acid treatment significantly lowered plasma HCA level (4.56-/+1.14 micromol/L vs 7.79-/+1.79 micromol/L, P<0.05), and correlation analysis demonstrated a positive correlation between plasma HCA and serum CRP levels (r=0.697, P<0.01).

CONCLUSION
Lowering plasma HCA can decrease serum CRP in children with KD to enhance the therapeutic effect.


Large, untreated articular cartilage (AC) defects degenerate into osteoarthritis, and successful cryopreservation of AC may improve treatment outcomes. This study compared three cryoprotectant solutions (6 M dimethyl sulfoxide, 5 M propylene glycol, and a combination solution of 3.1 M dimethyl sulfoxide, 2.2 M propylene glycol, and 3.1 M formamide in phosphate-buffered saline) using a rapid-cooling protocol on intact, 10-mm-diameter, porcine osteochondral dowels. Fresh controls, toxicity controls, and experimental samples were examined using membrane integrity stains for intact chondrocyte recovery. The results of this study demonstrated that after rapid cooling and warming, the 6 M dimethyl sulfoxide (33 ± 2%) and 5 M propylene glycol (24 ± 2%) solutions had significantly higher recovery of intact cells than the combination solution (10 ± 2%). The chondrocytes in the superficial layer were the most significantly damaged in the toxicity controls, but after rapid cooling, the middle layer in all solutions ...


One of the most important components in the pathogenesis of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia is presented by disturbed neuroimmune interaction, characterized by development of chronic inflammation in the nervous system structures. Normally existing interaction between immune and nervous systems is altered and results in development of pathological system. Altered level of TNFα and S100B proteins may characterize the features of neuroimmune inflammation during herpes zoster infection. Objective: to assess a relationship between TNFα and S100B level in patients with herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia. We examined 106 patients with herpes zoster within the framework of our study. Based on assessing intensity of pain syndrome and its three-month follow-up data after primary treatment patients were subdivided into 3 main groups: group I – weak or moderate pain syndrome; group II – severe pain syndrome; group III – postherpetic neuralgia. The control group contained 30 age-matched apparently healthy volunteers. Venous blood sampling was performed twice: on day 1 and day 10 after disease onset. Biological material in control group was collected once. Level of blood serum TNFα and S100B was measured by using solid-phase enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) on analyzer "Multiscan". While assessing TNFα level in all three main groups, its lowered level was detected (p 0.05) on day 1, without finding inter-group differences. On day 10 after disease onset, level of TNFα did not differ from the control values found in groups I and II, while in group III it remained lowered, not being significantly differed from those found on day 1. Level of S100B in the blood serum in patients vs. control group was equivalently increased (p 0.05), showing no inter-group differences. On day 10, the level of S100B in the blood serum from patients of groups I and II tended to stabilize, by decreasing almost by 2-fold to reference intervals in group I, without reaching control values, in group II. Patients from group III were found to have serum level of S100B remained elevated compared to control group without dynamic changes between 1 and 10 days. A correlation analysis for TNFα and s100b protein revealed significant feedback relation between them (p 0.05) in group III.


In Australia, as in many other parts of the world, representations of childhood are ubiquitous in what Nikolas Rose refers to as 'the public habitat of images'. In the education landscape – a term used here to refer to the extensive range of policy-related, pedagogic and promotional sites associated with educational provision, participation and purchase – depictions of children feature prominently, and function as an important means by which dominant discourses of childhood are produced, circulated and maintained. In this article, I analyse images and text from a recent Australian government advertising campaign regarding the proposed national curriculum, in order to explore how familiar images, activities and ideals associated with schooling are implicated in cultural imaginaries of Australian childhood. I consider how notions of order, accomplishment and aspiration function to inscribe and reiterate gendered and racialised discourses through which imagined futures of individual and national prosperity are installed as normative ideals.