Deep reinforcement learning (RL) has shown promising results in the motion planning of manipulators. However, no method guarantees the safety of highly dynamic obstacles, such as humans, in RL-based manipulator control. This lack of formal safety assurances prevents the application of RL for manipulators in real-world human environments. Therefore, we propose a shielding mechanism that ensures ISO- verified human safety while training and deploying RL algorithms on manipulators. We utilize a fast reachability analysis of humans and manipulators to guarantee that the manipulator comes to a complete stop before a human is within its range. Our proposed method guarantees safety and significantly improves the RL performance by preventing episode-ending collisions. We demonstrate the performance of our proposed method in simulation using human motion capture data.


The neuroanatomy of the ileocecal valve (ICV) is poorly understood. A better understanding of this important functional component of the gastrointestinal tract would enable surgeons to reconstruct an effective valve following surgical resection of the ICV. ICVs were examined in young pigs (N = 5) using frontal and transverse paraffin embedded and frozen sections. Hematoxylin+Eosin (H+E) staining, acetylcholinesterase (AchE), and NADPH‐diaphorase (NADPH‐d) histochemistry and protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5) and C‐kit immunohistochemistry were performed. The H+E staining revealed that the ICV consists of three muscle layers: an external circular muscle layer continuous with that of the ileal circular muscle layer, an inner circular muscle layer continuous with that of the cecal circular muscle layer, and a single longitudinal muscle layer, which appears to be secondary to a fusion of the ileal and cecal longitudinal muscle layers. The AchE, NADPH‐d, and PGP 9.5 staining revealed two distinct coaxial myenteric plexuses, together with superficial and deep submucosal plexuses. The C‐kit immunostaining showed a continuous myenteric ICC network within the ICV. The structure of the neuromuscular components within the ICV suggests that the valve is a result of a simple intussusception of the terminal ileum into the cecum. This knowledge may help surgeons in their future attempts at reconstructing more anatomically and functionally suitable ICVs following surgical resection of native ICVs. Anat Rec 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


OBJECTIVES
To examine the expression of p16 gene and the clinicopathological characteristics of 31 pituitary adenomas. To investigate the relationship between p16 expression and cell proliferative activity by analyzing the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigens (PCNA).

METHODS
Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization were performed on freshly-prepared paraffin-embedded specimens of 31 pituitary adenomas.

RESULTS
Varying degrees of overexpression of the p16 gene was found in the tumors specimens. A higher proportion of p16 positive tumor cells was associated with bigger size, more frequent invasion and higher recurrence of the tumors. The expression of p16 was found to be significantly associated with the degree of PCNA expression.

CONCLUSION
Though inactivation of the p16 gene is known in wide range of tumors, our study suggested that p16 overexpression might play a role in the development and progression of pituitary adenomas.


Several existing mathematical models of the survival of mammalian cells in culture following heating are compared. These models describe the fraction of cells that survive in a normal culture environment following a relatively brief period of heating between approximately 43 °C and 60 °C. The models have been developed either from rate process or mechanistic arguments. Little quantitative comparison between such models has been made using the same sets of data. The models are compared using the Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) after the model parameters have been estimated for two sets of existing data: human prostate cancer cells and Chinese hamster ovary cells. Most of the models capture the cell survival response. Scaled sensitivity coefficients show that some of the models have parameters that are difficult to estimate reliably. Relatively small variations in the AICc suggest that more measurements are needed before ranking the models.


Abstract Purpose: People with vestibular disorders are typically treated by physiotherapists in vestibular rehabilitation. Anxiety is strongly associated with vestibular disorders; however, there is a lack of understanding about how physiotherapists respond to people presenting with anxiety within vestibular rehabilitation. This study aimed to explore physiotherapists' current practice in assessing and treating patients with anxiety in vestibular rehabilitation. Materials and methods: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 10 specialist physiotherapists in vestibular rehabilitation in three university teaching hospitals in England. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Four themes were identified: (i) The therapeutic relationship, (ii) Adapting assessment and treatment, (iii) Psychological intervention and support, and (iv) Physiotherapists' education and training. Physiotherapists reported using a range of behavioral and cognitive techniques and adapting their therapeutic approach by placing greater emphasis on education, building trust and pacing treatment. Physiotherapists highlighted the need for more specialist psychological support for patients during vestibular rehabilitation and tailored training and guidance on addressing anxiety within vestibular rehabilitation. Conclusions: Physiotherapists working in vestibular rehabilitation consider managing aspects of anxiety within their scope of practice and describe taking a psychosocial therapeutic approach. There is limited access to expert psychological support for patients with anxiety within vestibular rehabilitation. Implications for rehabilitation Anxiety is strongly associated with vestibular disorders and it is common for these patients to be managed by physiotherapists in vestibular rehabilitation. Vestibular rehabilitation services could improve access to psychological expertise through dedicated psychological input, more effective signposting and referral pathways, and better access to inter-professional support from psychologists and/or CBT practitioners in managing more complex patients. Physiotherapists requested tailored training and guidance to enhance their ability to manage patients with anxiety more effectively in vestibular rehabilitation.


Disorders of sex development (DSDs) are congenital conditions in which the external appearance of the individual does not coincide with the chromosomal constitution or the gonadal sex. In other words, there is an ambiguous or intermediate condition between the male and female phenotypes of the anatomical sex. These atypical conditions are manifested in several ways, ranging from genital ambiguity to phenotypes that are so attenuated that they can go unnoticed or appear normal. Currently, there is a lack of understanding of the factors responsible for these outcomes; however, they are likely to be conditioned by genetic, hormonal and environmental factors during prenatal and postnatal development. The present study determined the genetic etiology of DSDs in Colombian patients by conventional cytogenetic analysis, FISH and MLPA (for SF1, DAX1, SOX9, SRY and WNT4). A cohort of 43 patients with clinical phenotypes of sex development disorder was used in the present study. Using this multistep experimental approach, a diagnostic percentage of 25.58% was obtained: 17 patients (39.53%) were classified as having gonadal development disorders, the majority of which were ovotesticular disorders with numerical and/or structural alterations of the sex chromosomes, 9 patients (20.93%) were classified as having testicular DSD with a 46,XY karyotype, and 3 patients (6.98%) as having ovarian DSD with a 46,XX karyotype. The remaining 14 patients (32.56%) were classified as 'other' since they could not be grouped into a specific class of gonadal development, corresponding to hypospadias and multiple congenital anomalies. These findings highlight the importance of histological and cytogenetic studies in a gonadal biopsy. In 11/43 cases, the multistep experimental protocol presented in the present study yielded etiological or histological findings that could be used to define the medical management of patients with DSDs. In conclusion, for the etiological diagnosis of DSDs, a broad-spectrum approach that includes endocrinological tests, conventional karyotyping, molecular karyotyping by FISH and, molecular tests is required, in addition to gonadal tissue analyses, to identify genetic alterations.


Bottlenose dolphins are a key resource of the tourism industry in Fiordland and are used on a daily basis by the tour operators offering cruises on the fiords. Recent studies have shown that the current levels of dolphin-boat interactions in this region cannot be sustained by bottlenose dolphins. Interactions have both shortand longterm effects on both individuals and their populations. Population models indicate that these effects may be affecting the viability of the three bottlenose dolphin populations living in Fiordland. We are currently observing drastic changes in the bottlenose dolphin population living in Doubtful Sound which can be linked to the level of boat interactions to which they are currently exposed. The creation of a multi-level marine mammal sanctuary would help minimise dolphin-boat interactions and still allow for some further growth in the tourism sector in Fiordland.


We develop a printed circuit board (PCB) measurement system to measure the line width, the angle between two lines, the pad diameter and the pad center position. We present the hardware constructions and the software design scheme. We propose the key algorithms on the measurement of the line width and pad parameters. The origin of measurement error is discussed. The solutions to reduce the measurement error are proposed. Experimental results demonstrate that the system is efficient and its measurement error is less than 2µm. The system has been applied to manufacturing printed circuit boards and brought good social and economic benefits.


PERSEPSI MASYARAKAT TENTANG TAYANGAN IKLAN SAMPO CLEAR DI TELEVISI (Studi Kasus pada mahasiswa di Universitas Boyolali, Jawa Tengah)               Agus Triyono *)                                                        ABSTRACT  The competition business world has grown very rapidly. Various products and services also continue to appear and each showed its superiority. One of the products are widely used societies, especially the family is shampoo. Outstanding example is the type of shampoo Clear. Users are so many kinds of shampoo influenced many things, including the influence of television advertisements often published. The research is  formulated of the problem, namely: 1). How Public Perception Meaning Clear Shampoo ads on television. 2). How Public Perception Clear Shampoo Ad Format on television ". The research was done because many people have a complaint about hair. The purpose of this study was to determine: 1). Public Perceptions About the Meaning of Clear Shampoo ads on television. 2). Public Perception Clear Shampoo Ad Formats on television. "The study took place at the Boyolali University with samples of students who often watch the ad in Boyolali" Sampo Clear "on television.  Keywords:Perception, Advertisements Television, Clear Shampoo


We evaluated how ultrasound transducer frequency affected the appearance of the fetal bowel. One hundred women with singleton pregnancies, who were undergoing routine ultrasonographic examination, were assessed at a single institution. Patients with known fetal anomalies, abnormal biochemical screening results, or a history of cystic fibrosis were excluded. Images of the fetal abdomen were obtained in all patients using a single multi‐Hertz transducer, with transducer frequencies set at 5 MHz and 8 MHz. Images were read separately by two radiologists, blinded to patient name and transducer frequency. Observers rated the presence or absence of echogenic bowel, defined as bowel with echogenicity greater than or equal to that of adjacent bone. Using the 8 MHz frequency, the radiologists interpreted 31% of the cases as having echogenic bowel, whereas using the 5 MHz frequency, the radiologists interpreted only 3% of the cases as having echogenic bowel (P<0.0001). A fetus was 10 times as likely to be given a diagnosis of echogenic bowel by both observers when the 8 MHz transducer was used than when the 5 MHz transducer was used by one observer (relative risk 10, 95% CI 3‐11). Furthermore, using the 8 MHz frequency transducer, at least one of the radiologists interpreted echogenic bowel in 62% of the cases. We concluded that echogenic fetal bowel is a very common observation when imaging is performed with an 8 MHz transducer, and thus echogenic bowel diagnosed with an 8 MHz transducer is unlikely to reflect underlying abnormality. Identification of echogenic bowel with an 8 MHz transducer should not prompt further testing.


Background : Racial and ethnic disparities in physical activity (PA) are evident, with non-Hispanic Black and Mexican American children engaging in less vigorous activity than non-Hispanic White children. Collaborating with public health programs serving at-risk populations, such as the WIC program may be an effective way to promote the development of healthful PA behaviors among low-income preschool children and families. This paper explores WIC staff perceptions, attitudes, barriers, and facilitators related to PA levels and behaviors among low-income Latino preschool children and families, as well as the role the WIC program may play in promoting PA among low-income populations. Methods : A qualitative study was conducted with a sample of WIC staff in the State of Rhode Island (RI), Northeast United States. Individual, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 21 WIC staff working directly with Latino clients enrolled in the WIC program. Thematic content analysis was used. Results : The majority of WIC staff reported their Latino clients facing many barriers that limit their ability to be physically active, including busy and multiple shift schedules, lack of access to safe outdoor spaces, financial constraints to attending programs and recreational facilities, lack of transportation getting to safe outdoor spaces and facilities, etc. WIC staff identified several ways that the WIC program could increase the promotion PA among Latino families including partnering with local organizations such as the YMCA, Boys and Girls Club to provide increased access and opportunities for PA among low-income, Latino families. Conclusions : Study findings add to the existing literature suggesting that the WIC program is an important venue for educating low-income, Latino children and families about the importance of establishing early healthy PA habits within the context of overall health and development. Findings also highlight the need for a continuing effort to integrate the promotion of PA as part of the WIC program. In addition, findings highlight WIC staff desire for additional training and resources in promotion of PA.


29 Previous research has shown that resveratrol is able to increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the 30 absence of improved cognitive performance, in healthy, young humans during cognitively 31 demanding tasks. This lack of cognitive effects may be due to low bioavailability and, in turn, 32 reduced bioefficacy of resveratrol in vivo. Piperine is able to alter polyphenol pharmacokinetics but 33 previous studies have not investigated whether this affects the efficacy of the target compound. 34 Taken together, the objective here was to ascertain if piperine co-supplementation might affect the 35 bioavailability and efficacy of resveratrol with regards cognition and CBF. This investigation 36 utilized a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within subjects design, where 23 adults 37 received placebo, trans-resveratrol (250mg), and trans-resveratrol with 20mg piperine, on separate 38 days at least a week apart. After a 40min rest/absorption, participants performed a selection of 39 cognitive tasks and CBF was assessed throughout, in the frontal cortex, using Near-Infrared 40 Spectroscopy (NIRS). The presence of resveratrol and its conjugates in plasma were confirmed by 41 LC-MS following the same doses in a separate cohort (N=6). The results indicated that when co42 supplemented, piperine and resveratrol significantly augmented CBF during task performance in 43 comparison to placebo and resveratrol alone. Cognitive function, mood and blood pressure were not 44 affected. Plasma levels of resveratrol and its metabolites were not significantly different between 45 treatments which indicates that piperine co-supplementation enhances the bioefficacy of resveratrol 46 with regards CBF effects, but not cognitive performance, and does this without altering 47 bioavailability. 48


A 61-year-old Japanese woman with anemia, submandibular gland swelling, and enlarged lymph nodes was diagnosed with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) by lymph node biopsy. Bone marrow involvement of IgG4-RD was detected by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) and immunohistochemically proven by bone marrow biopsy in this patient. Anemia progressed gradually, and prednisolone treatment was initiated. Anemia and submandibular gland swelling improved soon after prednisolone treatment was initiated. We report a rare case of IgG4-RD involving the bone marrow. FDG-PET/CT and bone marrow biopsy were useful for diagnosis in this case.


Information communication technology (ICT), when used appropriately, can support language learning as well as enhance the learning experience. Although there is a lot of research on the role of technology in distance language learning, there is relatively little research on how it is used to support Chinese language teaching and learning at a distance. This paper reviews the role of technology in The Open University's Beginners' course in Chinese. It describes and discusses how and why various technologies are used to support teaching and learning in a context that mixes text and online self-study with attending online and face-to-face tutorials, with regard to the challenges of teaching and learning Chinese at a distance. The paper draws on data from a mixture of questionnaires together with telephone interviews, forum messages and routine statistics to review and evaluate students' learning experience. In addition, the challenges and limitations of the chosen technologies are considered. The aims of this paper are as follows: i) to offer a fresh perspective on the understanding of distance Chinese language learning and teaching; ii) to share our experiences in the successful application of technology in learning and teaching; and iii) to examine the relationship between the use of technology and learning and teaching.


Deep learning (DL) has demonstrated its powerful capabilities in the field of image inpainting. The DL-based image inpainting approaches can produce visually plausible results, but often generate various unpleasant artifacts, especially in the boundary and highly textured regions. To tackle this challenge, in this work, we propose a new end-to-end, two-stage (coarse-to-fine) generative model through combining a local binary pattern (LBP) learning network with an actual inpainting network. Specifically, the first LBP learning network using U-Net architecture is designed to accurately predict the structural information of the missing region, which subsequently guides the second image inpainting network for better filling the missing pixels. Furthermore, an improved spatial attention mechanism is integrated into the image inpainting network, by considering the consistency not only between the known region with the generated one, but also within the generated region itself. Extensive experiments on public datasets including CelebA-HQ, Places and Paris StreetView demonstrate that our model generates better inpainting results than the state-of-the-art competing algorithms, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The source code and trained models are available at https://github.com/HighwayWu/ImageInpainting.


The principal broadleaves in Interior British Columbia (trembling aspen, paper birch, balsam poplar and black cottonwood) are well distributed across all of the major Interior ecological zones but their occurrence is greatest in the northern areas. Their utilization has gradually increased over the last 20 years, especially in the north. Economic values are low compared to conifer species but shortage of conifer timber as a result of the mountain pine beetle epidemic could drive demand for broadleaves higher. The ecological and non-timber values of broadleaves are very high; however, management practices still favour conifer species. Retention of broadleaves in harvesting and reforestation programs is widely implemented, but at a very low intensity and with little attention to broadleaf silvics. Future management of broadleaves is likely to be based largely on natural regeneration of broadleaves and not nursery production. Investments in genetic research should focus on genecology and gene conservation, a...


Ohmyungsamycins (OMSs) A and B are cyclic depsipeptides produced by marine Streptomyces strains, which are synthesized by a non-ribosomal peptide synthetase. Notably, OMS A exhibits more potent activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and human cancer cells than OMS B. The substrate promiscuous adenylation (A) domain in the second module of OMS synthetase recruits either L-Val or L-Ile to synthesize OMSs A and B, respectively. Engineering of the substrate-coding residues of this A domain increased OMS A production by 1.2-fold, coupled with a drastic decrease in OMS B production. Furthermore, the culture conditions (sea salt concentration, inoculum size, and the supply of amino acids to serve as building blocks for OMS) were optimized for OMS production in the wild-type strain. Finally, cultivation of the A2-domain-engineered strain under the optimized culture conditions resulted in up to 3.8-fold increases in OMS A yields and an 8.4-fold decrease in OMS B production compared to the wild-type strain under the initial culture conditions.


Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is propagated by small populations of leukemia stem cells (LSC). Internal tandem duplication (ITD) in the FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) is the most frequent mutation seen in AML patients, and is associated with poor prognosis. However, FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) demonstrate only moderate clinical activity in FLT3-ITD AML patients. Persistent FLT3-ITD+ AML LSC may represent a source of relapse after treatment. Additional therapeutic strategies are required to target LSC and improve outcomes for FLT3-ITD+ AML patients. We have shown that the stress-related deacetylase SIRT1 is expressed at high levels in FLT3-ITD+ AML stem/progenitor cells and in cord blood CD34+ cells ectopically expressing FLT3-ITD. Inhibition of SIRT1 using RNAi or a potent small molecule inhibitor Tenovin-6 (TV-6) induces apoptosis in FLT3-ITD+ AML progenitors via p53-dependent mechanisms while sparing normal CD34+ cells suggesting a potential role for SIRT1 in FLT3-ITD+ AML LSC maintenance (Blood 2012,120: A1368) . We now show that treatment of FLT3-ITD+ AML CD34+ cells with the TKI AC220 (20 nM) did not significantly reduce SIRT1 levels, increase p53 acetylation, or increase p53 target gene expression (p21, Bax, Puma, DR5, Noxa), suggesting that kinase independent mechanisms maintain SIRT1 expression and activity in TKI-treated cells. The combination of TV-6 (1μM) with AC220 (20nM) significantly reduced survival of primary human FLT3-ITD+ AML CD34+ cells compared with AC220 or TV-6 alone (combination 47±8% inhibition, AC220 alone 21±7%, TV-6 alone 25±5%, p=0.03, n=7), and significantly increased inhibition of AML CD34+ cell growth compared to AC220 and TV-6 alone (TV-6 44±7% inhibition; AC220 30±6%, TV+AC220 59±8%, p=0.04, n=7). TV-6 treatment increased p53 expression and activity in AC220-treated FLT3-ITD+ AML CD34+ cells, but did not affect FLT3 phosphorylation or STAT5 activation. Interestingly, TV-6 treatment also reduced survival of FLT3-ITD+ AML CD34+ cells expressing the D835Y mutation associated with TKI resistance (AC220 5±5% inhibition, TV 33±8%, p=0.04, n=3], suggesting SIRT1 inhibition can target TKI-resistant FLT3-ITD+ AML cells. We next tested the effect of TV-6, AC220 and the combination on primary cells from one untreated cytogenetically normal and FLT3-ITD+ patient engrafted in NSG mice (2×10 6 cells/mouse).12 weeks after transplantation, mice were treated with vehicle, AC220 (10mg/kg, gavage), TV-6 (100mg/kg, intraperitoneal), or the combination (n=7 per group) for 4 weeks. Treatment with TV reduced human cell engrafted in NSG mice (TV-6 2.9*10 7 ±1.2*10 7 human CD45+ cells/2 femurs vs. Control 5.3*10 7 ±2.6*10 7 , after 4 weeks treatment, p=0.04). Importantly, the combination of TV and AC220 significantly reduced AML cell engraftment compared with AC220 alone (AC220 2.4*10 7 ±0.9*10 7 human CD45+ cells. Combination 1.2*10 7 ±0.6*10 7 , p=0.01). Residual functional LSC were assessed by transplantation into secondary recipients. BM cells from the combination treatment group demonstrated significantly reduced engraftment of leukemia cells after secondary transplantation compared to AC220 treatment alone (16 weeks after secondary transplantation, AC220 1.8*10 6 ±0.6*10 6 human CD45+ cells/2 femurs, Combination 0.4*10 6 ±0.1*10 6 , p=0.02, n=6). To determine the potential of this combination for FLT3-ITD+ AML patients refractory to standard chemotherapy, AML xenografts established using cells from a chemotherapy-resistant patient ( n = 36) were treated with TV-6, AC220, or the combination vs. Standard of care (SOC, Ara-C + DNR), and vehicle control. Molecular imaging of primary patient xenografts with fluorescently labeled monoclonal antibodies after 4 weeks of therapy revealed significant differences between combination and single arm groups (vs. TV-6, p=0.0005, n=8; vs. AC220, p=0.003, n=7). Furthermore, TV-6 alone increased survival over controls (TV-6 vs. Control, p=0.02, n=6), and the combination demonstrated significantly improved survival over AC220 (p=0.02) and SOC (p=0.006. n=6). In conclusion, our studies indicate that elevated SIRT1 expression in FLT3-ITD AML cells is maintained after FLT3 TKI treatment. Inhibition of SIRT1 with TV-6 can enhance ablation of FLT3-ITD+ AML LSC in combination with FLT3 TKI treatment. Our results support further evaluation of inhibition of SIRT1 as a therapeutic strategy in FLT3-ITD+ AML. Disclosures: Popa: KinN Therapeutics AS: Employment.


Objective
To investigate the short-term effectiveness of free radial head reconstruction of coronoid process, artificial radial head replacement, and ulna olecranon internal fixation in the treatment of the complex terrible triad of the elbow.

Methods
Retrospective analysis was made on the clinical data of 12 patients with complex terrible triad of the elbow treated with free radial head reconstruction of coronoid process, artificial radial head replacement, and ulna olecranon internal fixation between April 2011 and April 2018. There were 8 males and 4 females with an average age of 44.5 years (range, 26-62 years). The causes of injury included 5 cases of traffic accident, 7 cases of falling from hight. The Regan-Morrey classification of ulnar coronoid process fractures was type Ⅲ; Mason classification of radial head fractures was type Ⅲ in 7 cases and type Ⅳ in 5 cases. The time from injury to operation was 5-14 days, with an average of 6.0 days. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and complications were recorded. After operation, X-ray film of elbow joint was reexamined, fracture healing condition was observed, and fracture healing time was recorded. The flexion, extension, and rotation of the elbow joints on the healthy and affected sides were recorded and measured. The elbow function was evaluated according to Mayo elbow function score.

Results
The operation time was 90-140 minutes (mean, 110 minutes); the intraoperative blood loss was 100-300 mL (mean, 150 mL). None of the patients had vascular injury during the operation. One patient developed numbness in the ulnar nerve innervation area and recovered completely after symptomatic treatment for 1 week. All the 12 patients were followed up 12-22 months, with an average of 16 months. At last follow-up, the fracture healed completely, 1 patient developed ectopic ossification of elbow joint, and 2 patients developed traumatic arthritis of elbow joint. No internal fixation-related complications occurred. There was no significant difference in the range of motion of elbow flexion, extension, pronation, and supination between the affected and healthy sides ( P>0.05). The median Mayo elbow function score was 96, and the interquartile range was (94, 97), and the excellent and good rate was 91.7%.

Conclusion
For patients with complex terrible triad of the elbow with ulna coronoid process fractures of Regan-Morrey type Ⅲ and radial head fractures of Mason type Ⅲ, Ⅳ combined with ulna olecranon fractures, the free radial head reconstruction, artificial radial head replacement, and ulna olecranon internal fixation, through active rehabilitation function exercise after operation, can achieve more satisfactory short-term effectiveness.


MAP-Elites has been successfully applied to the generation of game content and robot behaviors. However, its behavior and performance when interacted with in co-creative systems is underexplored. This paper analyzes the implications of synthetic interaction for the stability and adaptability of MAP-Elites in such scenarios. We use pre-recorded human-made level design sessions with the Interactive Constrained MAP-Elites (IC MAP-Elites). To analyze the effect of each edition step in the search space over time using different feature dimensions, we introduce Temporal Expressive Range Analysis (TERA). With TERAs, MAP-Elites is assessed in terms of its adaptability and stability to generate diverse and high-performing individuals. Our results show that interactivity, in the form of design edits and MAP-Elites adapting towards them, directs the search process to previously unexplored areas of the fitness landscape and points towards how this could improve and enrich the co-creative process with quality-diverse individuals.


Thirty-two pouch-young tammar wallabies were used to discover the generators of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) during development by the use of simultaneous ABR and focal brainstem recordings. A click response from the auditory nerve root (ANR) in the wallaby was recorded from postnatal day (PND) 101, when no central auditory station was functional, and coincided with the ABR, a simple positive wave. The response of the cochlear nucleus (CN) was detected from PND 110, when the ABR had developed 1 positive and 1 negative peak. The dominant component of the focal ANR response, the N1 wave, coincided with the first half of the ABR P wave, and that of the focal CN response, the N1 wave, coincided with the later two thirds. In older animals, the ANR response coincided with the ABR's N1 wave, while the CN response coincided with the ABR's P2, N2 and P3 waves, with its contribution to the ABR P2 dominant. The protracted development of the marsupial auditory system which facilitated these correlations makes the tammar wallaby a particularly suitable model.


In this study the intrinsic thrombogenicity of the extracorporeal circuits and the benefit of heparin-bonded circuits in an extracorporeal life support system without full systemic heparinization and with minimal interference of the so called material-independent factors was tested in four calves. In two circuits (group A) all blood-contacting surfaces were coated with end-point-attached heparin and the other two were non-coated (group B). Under standardized conditions the calves were perfused at a blood flow rate of 2 L/min. After only one bolus injection of heparin (250 IU/kg body weight) before cannulation, plasma heparin activity rapidly decreased in both groups: half life of about 55 minutes. This decrease of the heparin activity was accompanied by a fall of the activated clotting time (ACT) level to baseline values. The experiments using a heparin-coated circuit, had a runtime of more than 360 minutes, whereas the experiments using a non-coated circuit had to be terminated after a runtime of 255 minutes, because massive fibrin formation was noticed in the circuit. This formation was accompanied by a rapid increase in the line pressure, measured just before the inlet of the oxygenator. The macroscopic inspections after terminating the experiments and rinsing the circuit showed a clean circuit in group A. The fibrinopeptide A (FPA) level increased faster during perfusion with the non-coated circuit than in the heparin coated circuit. Lung histopathological examinations of the lungs of the animals in group A showed no fibrin deposition, whereas most of the blood vessels of the lung preparations of the animals in group B were partially or completely occluded with fibrin. These results suggest that heparin-bonding greatly reduces the thrombogenicity of the extracorporeal circuit, and therefore it can reduce the need for systemic heparinization in an extracorporeal life support system.


This paper presents a new design and control strategy of the flyback inverter for decentralized grid-connected PV systems, in order to achieve high power density, high efficiency, and high power factor regulation. The design and control methodology which are investigated are aiming either to the achievement of a converter with the smallest possible volume for a given power or to the maximization of the power transfer that can be achieved for given converter parameters. The validation of the proposed design and control methodology will be confirmed by experimental results accomplished on a laboratory prototype


Usually multimedia services can be divided into two different phases: access to the service and content distribution. The first phase usually takes place over reliable transport protocols and unicast connections. The second one is often performed over unreliable transport protocols and multicast communications. Adding security to the first phase only needs a straight application of well known unicast security techniques. On the contrary, adding security to IP multicast requires the study of a new problem because traditional unicast solutions do not fit the new environment.This Doctoral Thesis deals with the arising problems when security is added to multicast environments and proposes different practical solutions.Among all the attacks to the distribution phase, eavesdropping is probably the most significant. Ciphering is the security service against eavesdropping. Multicast encryption introduces the Key Management problem in multicast.If Perfect Forward and Backward secrecy is required the session key must be updated every time a member joins or leaves the multicast group. In huge and highly dynamic groups the unicast distribution of the session key is completely unfeasible The contributions of this Thesis consist in different logical key tree based updating algorithms for multicast. Our proposals take advantage of pseudo-random functions and modular reduction in order to reduce required bandwidth for updating and total amount of bytes stored in the Key Server. In many scenarios it is not worth to update the key every time a change in the membership occurs. Services as Web-TV permit a decrease in security in order to reduce bandwidth requirements for key management. In such case batch rekeying algorithms are used. This kind of algorithm process periodically all joining and leaving requests produced since the last rekeying process at once. Batch rekeying algorithms are efficient if and only if the logical tree is maintained balanced. This Thesis also proposes a batch-rekeying algorithm that leads to completely balanced trees for the whole group lifetime.Batch processing techniques are also combined with the former contributions in order to increase efficiency.The proposals of this Thesis are not supported by the IETF standard on Key Management for multicast secure communications (GDOI). This is mainly because this standard does not allow members to change their position in the tree while they are members of the group. Finally, an adaptation of GDOI allowing the performance of our contributions is proposed.


AIM
The aim of this study was to compare the antimicrobial properties of a slow release noncorrosive chlorine dioxide with those of sodium dichloroisocyanurate to establish their possible use in the dental settings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Disinfectant solutions were prepared according to manufacturers' instructions and tested against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Streptococcus mutans NCTC 1044, Candida albicans ATCC 90028, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 15244 spores, Mycobacterium tuberculosis ATCC 25177, Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium ATCC 25291 and Hepatitis B virus using the Standard quantitative suspension test. The shelf-lives of the disinfectants were also determined.

RESULTS
Both disinfectants killed all the test organisms within 30 seconds. B. subtilis spores were killed in 2 and 2.5 minutes by chlorine dioxide and sodium dichloroisocya nurate respectively. When diluted solutions of these disinfectants were stored in screw cap bottles, they retained their activity for at least 30 days.

CONCLUSIONS
Chlorine dioxide and sodium dichloroisocyanurate containing disinfectants can be used in the denta settings for surfaces and heat sensitive instruments. However, chlorine dioxide is advantageous because it is non-corrosive and the effective concentration is lower than that recommended for sodium dichloroisocyanurate.


Passive systems, such as electronic intelligence and electronic support measures systems, aim to extract necessary information from the received radar signals for situational awareness. To achieve this, the system must first deinterleave the radar signals simultaneously coming from different emitters, so that the pulse repetition interval (PRI) patterns will be revealed for further analysis and identification purposes. PRI transform is a well-known deinterleaving method that utilizes the complex autocorrelation function. There are two main versions of the method. The initial version detects only constant PRI schemes, while the second modified version is capable of detecting varying PRI schemes as well. Miss detection of varying PRI patterns is the drawback for the first version, while producing harmonics, especially at high PRI levels, is the disadvantage of the second one. To alleviate these problems, we propose an image segmentation method based on deep learning. The developed preprocessing step uses both versions of the PRI transform outputs to generate 2-D time–PRI images of the collected radar emissions, so that constant and varying PRI patterns are revealed. The images are concatenated and fed to the proposed network, which uses a practicable U-Net structure. The output of the network directly estimates the PRI levels of the existing radars and the time duration of the transmission jointly. In addition to qualitative and quantitative experiments on the synthetic datasets, qualitative experiments are conducted on real measurements, in which we demonstrate that the proposed method effectively utilizes PRI transform in the preprocessing step and outperforms both versions of the PRI transform in terms of accuracy, Jaccard index, structural similarity, and PRI estimation error metrics.


We note that in general there exist two basic aspects in any branch of physics, including cosmology-one dealing with the attributes of basic constituents and forces of nature, the other dealing with how structures arise from them and how they evolve. Current research in quantum and superstring cosmology is directed mainly towards the first aspect, even though a viable theory of the underlying interactions is lacking. We call the attention to the development of the second aspect, i.e., on the organization and processing of the basic constituents of matter (in classical cosmology) and spacetime (in quantum cosmology). Many newly developed concepts and techniques in condensed matter physics stemming from the investigation of disordered, dynamical and complex systems can guide us in asking the right questions and formulating new solutions to existing and developing cosmological issues, thereby broadening our view of the universe both in its formative and present state.


This article examines the emergence of Non Formal Education (NFE) in Fiji, its current provision and the potential for school-based programmes. This requires an examination of the various learning systems and, in particular, the development of the formal education system, how it has acquired its high status and value in Fiji, and the inherent problems which have emerged. This article also provides a background discussion of the pre-colonial to post-independence education and the limitations of the formal schooling system.


We have utilized time-resolved high-temperature atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the mechanism by which topographic templates induce alignment of cylinder-forming diblock copolymer thin films. By tracking the same sample spot during thermal annealing, we observed that the structural evolution and alignment of thin films in confinement involve an intermediate state with disordered morphology and the evolution and annihilation of disclination quadrupoles guided by the channel edges, which ultimately lead to the essentially perfect alignment of cylindrical microdomains.


Foamed concrete (FC) is a high-quality building material with densities from 300 to 1850 kg/m3, which can have potential use in civil engineering, both as insulation from heat and sound, and for load-bearing structures. However, due to the nature of the cement material and its high porosity, FC is very weak in withstanding tensile loads; therefore, it often cracks in a plastic state, during shrinkage while drying, and also in a solid state. This paper is the first comprehensive review of the use of man-made and natural fibres to produce fibre-reinforced foamed concrete (FRFC). For this purpose, various foaming agents, fibres and other components that can serve as a basis for FRFC are reviewed and discussed in detail. Several factors have been found to affect the mechanical properties of FRFC, namely: fresh and hardened densities, particle size distribution, percentage of pozzolanic material used and volume of chemical foam agent. It was found that the rheological properties of the FRFC mix are influenced by the properties of both fibres and foam; therefore, it is necessary to apply an additional dosage of a foam agent to enhance the adhesion and cohesion between the foam agent and the cementitious filler in comparison with materials without fibres. Various types of fibres allow the reduction of by autogenous shrinkage a factor of 1.2–1.8 and drying shrinkage by a factor of 1.3–1.8. Incorporation of fibres leads to only a slight increase in the compressive strength of foamed concrete; however, it can significantly improve the flexural strength (up to 4 times), tensile strength (up to 3 times) and impact strength (up to 6 times). At the same time, the addition of fibres leads to practically no change in the heat and sound insulation characteristics of foamed concrete and this is basically depended on the type of fibres used such as Nylon and aramid fibres. Thus, FRFC having the presented set of properties has applications in various areas of construction, both in the construction of load-bearing and enclosing structures.


[1] Time-mean abyssal current observations over the flanks of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 9–10°N and at the Juan de Fuca Ridge at 45°N document the occurrence of paired along-ridge current jets that are trapped to the ridge flanks and sheared across the ridge in an anticyclonic sense. A coincident feature, where local hydrothermal discharge effects are not in play, is the upward bowing of isopycnals over ridge crests and isopycnals plunging into ridge flanks. It would be tempting to explain the jets primarily as geostrophic responses to the doming/plunging isopycnal distribution, though that should lead to the question as to how the isopycnal perturbations originate. A numerical model of time-dependent flow on a cross-ridge (x–z) transect, forced in a way to be consistent with a yearlong, hourly sampled record of currents measured at the EPR ridge crest, is used to investigate some of the underlying physics. It will be shown that the jets can arise from oscillatory flows via eddy-momentum, eddy-heat, and eddy-salt fluxes that ultimately cause the isopycnals to dome over the ridge. As the probable offspring of velocity-velocity and velocity-density correlations that depend upon oscillatory motion, the jets are likely examples of stratified topographic flow rectification. An ancillary feature is a slight yearlong-averaged downward current O (0.1–0.5 mm/s) over the EPR ridge crest that crosses the time-mean, upward bowing isopycnals in a counter-intuitive vertical direction.


UNLABELLED
We developed a modular software package SNPbox that automates and standardizes the generation of PCR primers and is used in the strategy for constructing single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) maps. In this strategy, the focus of primer design can be either on the validation of annotated public SNPs or on the SNP discovery in exon regions or extended genomic regions, both by resequencing. SNPbox relies on Primer3 for the primer design and combines this program with other publicly available software tools such as BLAST, Spidey and RepeatMasker, and newly developed algorithms. Primer conditions were chosen such that PCR amplifications are uniform for each PCR amplicon facilitating the use of high-throughput genetic platforms. SNPbox can also be used for the design of primer sets for mutation analysis, STR marker genotyping and microarray oligo design. Of the 2500 primer sets designed by SNPbox, 95% successfully amplified genomic DNA under uniform PCR conditions.

AVAILABILITY
The software is available from the authors upon request.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
SNPbox_supplement.


Extended family can be a resource for conversations about sex, but extended family perspectives have been largely left out of existing research. The present study investigates how extended family, such as aunts and uncles, siblings and cousins, perceive communication with teens in their families about sex. A thematic analysis was conducted with data from interviews in the U.S. with 39 extended family members, primarily siblings, who reported talk with teens in their families about sex. The analyses identified one theme focused on perspectives surrounding what is most important for teens to know about sex and relationships and seven themes focused on the content of conversations with teens about sex. The most prevalent content areas were: Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships (87%), Sexual Orientation (82%), Sexual Behavior (82%), and Protection (74%). The findings highlight extended family members' unique roles in supporting the sexual health of teens in their families, which include providing information and support about issues other family members may not address, such as sexual orientation and the positive aspects of sex. The findings suggest the need to include extended family in sex education interventions to reflect the broader ecology of teens' family relationships and access an underutilized resource for teens' sexual health.


Introduction Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is the state-of-the-art treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Pulmonary vein reconnection is one of the main mechanisms of AF recurrence after ablation. Catheter-tissue contact is essential for effective ablation lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of catheter contact monitoring during PVI on AF recurrence rate. Material and methods One hundred and forty-three patients who underwent PVI were analysed. In 31 patients, PVI was performed by monitoring the catheter-tissue contact with a contact force (CF) sensing catheter. One hundred and twelve patients in whom conventional PVI was performed without CF information served as the control group. Procedural data and recurrence rate within 12-month follow-up were compared. Results A significant reduction in procedure duration was seen in the CF mapping group (128.4 ±29 min vs. 157.7 ±30.8 min, p = 0.001). Complete pulmonary vein isolation was achieved in 100% of the patients. Rate of AF recurrence within 12 months after ablation was significantly lower in the contact force group (16.1%) when compared to the standard ablation group (36.6%) (p = 0.031). Conclusions Pulmonary vein isolation with the use of contact force information results in a shorter procedure duration and a lower rate of AF recurrence after 12 months compared to conventional PVI without this information. Catheter-tissue contact monitoring may have a beneficial effect on mid-term and long-term results of PVI procedures.


After an intravenous glucose load in man, total serum amino acid concentrations are rapidly depressed and remain below baseline values for at least 2 to 3 hr after serum glucose and insulin have returned to preload concentrations. Despite the presence of basal hypoaminoacidemia, a decreased glucose disappearance rate, and hyperinsulinemia in volunteers who were ill with sandfly fever, an intravenous glucose load resulted in a further depression of serum amino acids which was equal to or slightly greater than that observed in the same individuals before exposure to the virus. Although the infectious process may have some effect on insulin-stimulated hepatic disposal of a glucose load, it does not appear to influence the ability on insulin to decrease the rate of release of certain amino acids from skeletal muscle.


The object of this research effort was, upon request for
evidence from a building contractor, to compare the influence of various
amounts and types of fibers on crack widths, using a steel ring mold.
Comparisons were made between synthetic fibers (polyolefin) of 48 mm length, hooked-end steel fibers of
diameters 0.6 mm and 1.05 mm, both of 50 mm length. 10-liter samples were extracted from
concrete ready-mix truck batches at delivery sites, whereupon fibers were mixed
into the samples, layer by layer, by applying a drill-mounted mortar mixing
device. For each amount of fiber content, 4 rings were cast, and of the plain
concrete control samples, 5 rings were cast. After removing the outer steel
casting, strain gages were installed on the exposed outer concrete surface.
Strain values were continuously logged, and crack developments and crack widths
were measured daily. Sufficient data with statistically high significance were
obtained to indicate that: A
synthetic fiber content of 3 kg/m3 did not decrease crack-widths as compared to the non-fiber concrete samples.
Synthetic fiber contents of 5 kg/m3 and higher, did reduce crack widths on par with hooked-end steel fibers in the
amounts of 25 kg/m3 and above. Hooked-end steel fibers of aspect ratio 80 are more efficient with
regards to crack width reduction, yielding 33% narrower cracks, than hooked-end
steel fibers, at equal weight-contents, with aspect ratio 45.


O-Ethyl O-p-nitrophenyl phenylphosphonothioate (EPN)-induced inhibition of rat liver microsomal carboxylesterase (CEase) and formation of O-ethyl O-p-nitrophenyl phenylphosphonate (EPNoxon), an oxygen analog of EPN, were enhanced remarkably by addition of NAD in vitro. This potentiation of the anti-CEase action of EPN by NAD was significantly inhibited by addition of SKF 525-A or potassium thiocyanate (KSCN); and a simultaneous decrease in cytochrome P-450 contents were also observed. Addition of N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) at various concentrations inhibited potentiation of the anti-CEase action of EPN by NAD in parallel with inhibition of liver microsomal dehydrogenase activities. In conclusion, NAD was enzymatically reduced to NADH, a cofactor of microsomal dehydrogenase(s), and then formation of EPNoxon through microsomal cytochrome P-450-coupled monooxygenase was accelerated. Consequently, inhibition of CEase by EPN was potentiated.


The focus of this study is a 3D inverse scattering problem underlying non-invasive reconstruction of piecewise-homogeneous (PH) defects in a layered semi-infinite solid from near-field, surface elastic waveforms. The solution approach revolves around the use of Green's function for the layered reference domain and a generalization of the linear sampling method to deal with the featured class of PH configurations. For a rigorous treatment of the full-waveform integral equation that is used as a basis for obstacle reconstruction, the developments include an extension of the Holmgren's uniqueness theorem to piecewise-homogeneous domains and an in-depth analysis of the situation when the sampling point is outside the support of the obstacle that employs the method of topological sensitivity. Owing to the ill-posed nature of the featured integral equation, a stable approximate solution is sought via Tikhonov regularization. A set of numerical examples is included to demonstrate the feasibility of 3D obstacle reconstruction when the defects are buried in a multi-layered elastic solid.


Introduction Reducing maternal mortality and guaranteeing universal access to reproductive health are related to the fifth Millennium Development goal; however, the identification of maternal deaths and the trustworthiness and comparability of the data are a challenge for epidemiological surveillance and the Maternal Mortality Committee (MMC), in assessing this information. Methods All reproductive-aged women's deaths in the city of João Pessoa, Brazil, in 2005–2010, were investigated using multiple data sources (RAMOS). The MMC analysed this information for the correction of the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). Results Investigation and data analysis showed that 44.4% of deaths (24 360) of residents in João Pessoa during 2005–2010 were feminine. Of these, 1417 (13.1%) involved women aged 10 to 49 years. Of the deaths investigated, 25 (1.8%) occurred during pregnancy, childbirth or puerperium (PCP). The MMR found was 36.73/100 000 live-births, with no correction factor. The principal causes of maternal death were: puerperal infection (24%) and eclampsia (12%). The times when fields 43 (ie, death during pregnancy, labour or miscarriage) and 44 (during the puerperium) of the death certificate showed potential reasons for sub-registration, beyond not contributing to the selection of the deaths investigated. Conclusion The analysis of the deaths investigated enabled us to clarify all the cases of maternal morbi-mortality. This study showed how joint surveillance action together with that of the Committee enhances the quality of the information and contributes to the advance of maternal health.


The pastoral communities of Turkana in northern Kenya have for ages satisfied their economic, social and cultural needs through nomadic pastoralism. But due to increasing frequency of drought and market shocks, the ability of age-old strategies to shield these pastoralists from poverty and food insecurity has declined. With only livestock and social capital as the main assets in a communal property regime, it is not clear which of the various livelihood strategies that these pastoralists pursue can shield households from drought and market shocks and guarantee their food security. This study investigates the livelihood strategies as pursued by pastoralists in Turkana County with a view to identify strategies that can effectively shield households from shocks. Data for the study is sourced from the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) 2005/06. Available literature is used to identify livelihood strategies in Turkana, while the KIHBS data is used to establish the population of people pursuing each strategy. Anova and Bonferroni tests give evidence of the existence of four livelihood strategies using food expenditure ratio as the categorizing variable. Probit regression is used to estimate the determinants of food insecurity in Turkana, while multinomial logit regression is used to do further analysis on the determinants of livelihood strategies. The findings suggest correlation between food insecurity and livelihood strategies. Policies that target livelihood strategies may have implications on food security in Turkana. However, further analysis is required to confirm the reverse causality between livelihood strategies and food insecurity.


This paper describes the second government-conducted, piloted flight simulation of the Grumman Design 698 V/STOL (vertical and short takeoff and landing) aircraft. Emphasis is on the aircraft's handling qualities as rated by various NASA, Navy, and GAC pilots with flight experience ranging from CTOL (conventional take-off and landing) to V/STOL aircraft. The Design 698 had been modified to resolve the flight problems that were of most concern to the pilots in the first investigation (Phase I). Those problems included an adverse nonminimum phase (NMP) acceleration response in both the longitudinal and lateral axes, a large thrust-response lag, and adverse ground effects. The adverse NMP acceleration is an attribute of the vertical vanes (a Grumman patent) positioned in the fan exhaust flow. The primary modifications included using the vertical-vane deflection as a thrust spoiling method, the addition of the cross-shafted propulsion system, and the implementation of two velocity and attitude control modes (standard and precision) for speeds below 50 knots.


This article examines the figuration of the home automation device Amazon Echo and its digital assistant Alexa. While most readings of gender and digital assistants choose to foreground the figure of the housewife, I argue that Alexa is instead figured on domestic servants. I examine commercials, Amazon customer reviews, and reviews from tech commentators to make the case that the Echo is modeled on an idealized image of domestic service. It is my contention that this vision functions in various ways to reproduce a relation between device/user that mimics the relation between servant/master in nineteenth- and twentieth-century American homes. Significantly, however, the Echo departs from this historical parallel through its aesthetic coding as a native-speaking, educated, white woman. This aestheticization is problematic insofar as it decontextualizes and depoliticizes the historic reality of domestic service. Further, this figuration misrepresents the direction of power between user and devices in a way that makes contending with issues such as surveillance and digital labor increasingly difficult.


Fabry disease is a genetic disorder caused by deficient activity of alpha-galactosidase A (alpha-Gal A). Recent gene analysis of a Fabry patient revealed a point mutation (S65T) resulting in a significant decrease of enzyme activity (Chen, C.-H., et al. (1998) Hum. Mutat. 11, 328-330). In order to evaluate the role of Ser-65 in the alpha-Gal A activity and the molecular mechanism of its deficient enzyme activity in mammalian cells, we prepared gene products of S65T, S65A, and E66D mutations of alpha-Gal A by using an expression system with baculovirus/insect cells and characterized the kinetic and physical properties of those purified enzymes. The Km values of mutant enzymes were 3.5 (S65T), 3.4 (S65A), and 2.3 mM (E66D), using 4-methylumbelliferyl alpha-D-galactoside as a substrate, and the Vmax values were 2.7 x 10(6) (S65T), 3.4 x 10(6) (S65A), and 2.5 x 10(6) units/mg (E66D), respectively, which were similar to those of the normal enzyme (Km, 2.3 mM; Vmax, 2.3 x 10(6) units/mg). The in vitro stability of mutant enzymes at neutral pH was significantly reduced (S65T, 4% of normal; S65A, 29%; E66D, 54%). The intracellular alpha-Gal A activities of S65T, S65A, and E66D in COS1 cells transfected with corresponding plasmid DNAs were markedly lower than the normal enzyme activity (9, 26, and 68% of normal, respectively). However, intracellular enzyme activities were enhanced to 34% (S65T), 44% (S65A), and 80% (E66D) of normal, respectively, by cultivation of the cells with 20 microM 1-deoxygalactonojirimycin (a potent inhibitor of alpha-Gal A) for 24 h. These results suggest that Ser-65 is responsible for the stability of alpha-Gal A but not for the enzyme function.


A Japanese version of Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS) was developed after the original AIMS Version 2 and utilized for Quality of Life (QOL) measurement in 691 patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Various medical (physical and laboratory) examinations, which are widely used in the clinical settings for the assessment of RA activity and severity, were also performed by physicians. Interrelationships between QOL, patient subjective health status, and health and life satisfaction were analyzed with the following results: 1: The effect of QOL impairment by RA upon patients' subjective health rating and health satisfaction were not constant over the range of severity of disease status. Pain was found to lower overall subjective health and health satisfaction regardless of RA class. On the other hand, while the deterioration of mobility aspects of QOL had negative effects upon patients' subjective health status and satisfaction among less-disabled RA patients, any of physical aspects of QOL, including the degree of mobility impairment, showed no significant association with patients' subjective health status and satisfaction in the more disabled. 2: Psychological aspects of QOL (mood and tension) had significant associations with patients' subjective health status and satisfaction. In the less severe group, mood impairment had a significant effect on subjective health and satisfaction, while in the more severe group tension showed a significant association. It was indicated that management of psychological aspects of QOL is important in RA patients to improve and advance their subjective health status and satisfaction. 3: Although social aspects of QOL, i.e. social support, social life and job status, showed no significant relationship to subjective health rating and health satisfaction, those with less disease severity who lacked social support and who had a jobless state were likely to have lower disease acceptance and life satisfaction, while those with more severe disease who had less social interaction manifested lower life satisfaction. These results suggested that social aspects of QOL, while not directly associated with subjective health rating, could be important factors affecting disease acceptance and life satisfaction.


2612 5-Fluoro-2'-deoxycytidine (FdCyd) inhibits DNA methyltransferases which are responsible for methylation of the C-5 position of cytosine in CpG dinucleotides. FdCyd is able to induce expression of some genes silenced by DNA methylation through the reduction of methylation at their promoter region. The human MAGE-1 gene is not expressed in any normal adult tissue except in testis and its CpG-rich 5'-region is methylated in normal cells. The MAGE-1 negative human melanoma cell line 888-mel was used as a model for studying the effects of FdCyd on the expression of MAGE-1 mRNA and protein. Based on bisulfite sequencing methodology, we reported previously that the degree of methylation in a 5'-CpG island of untreated 888-mel cells varied substantially among the 17 individual CpGs. Overall, FdCyd decreased the methylation substantially at CpGs which were highly methylated to begin with. Because FdCyd caused demethylation of CpGs in MAGE-1 gene 5'-region, we studied the expression of MAGE-1 mRNA in 888-mel by real-time RT-PCR. MAGE-1 mRNA was detected after 2 weeks of treatment with 10 and 100 μM FdCyd treatment. The expression increased gradually with longer exposure to 10 and 100 μM FdCyd. The level of MAGE-1 expression with 100 μM treatment was higher than with 10 μM FdCyd treatment at each time point. The results from real-time RT-PCR indicated that expression of MAGE-1 mRNA increased as function of both FdCyd concentration and time of exposure. Since MAGE-1 mRNA in 888-mel cells was induced by FdCyd treatment, we investigated the MAGE-1 protein. MAGE-1 Ab-4 (Clone MA454, ThermoScientific) was used to detect the gene product. The immunoblot analysis was performed on extracts from 888-mel treated with 10 and 100 μM FdCyd for 8 and 10 weeks. MAGE-1 protein was detected in 888-mel treated with 10 μM FdCyd for 10 weeks or with 100 μM FdCyd for 8 and 10 weeks. In conclusion, FdCyd reduced the methylation of CpGs within MAGE-1 5'-CpG island, induced the expression of MAGE-1 mRNA, and increased MAGE-1 protein. Our results indicated that FdCyd has similar effects on DNA methylation and gene expression as 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, although it is less potent. (Supported by DOD grant W81XWH-04-1-0538.)


Handheld personal digital assistants (PDA) are increasingly being used by physicians for a variety of information and data management purposes. We evaluated a PDA-based data management system for our acute pain service. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted to assess staff experience and attitude towards the paper system before the introduction of the PDA, and three months after introduction of the PDA system. We compared the time taken to conduct the acute pain round before and after the implementation of the PDA. The time saved in data management and the amount of paper saved were estimated. Data from 177 patients with a total of 635 acute pain follow-up visits were entered over a three-month period. User satisfaction, ease of access to drug reference and clinical guidelines were similar between the two systems. The respondents found that the PDA was easy to use but less so than the paper system (P=0.007), in particular, when accessing a patient's cumulative data (P=0.007). There was no missed follow-up or data entry with the use of PDA. The time taken to attend follow-up visits was similar for the two systems (Paper: 8.8±3.2 compared to PDA: 7.0±2.0 minutes, P=0.151). The estimated annual amount of paper and time saved in data management was 650 sheets and 130 man-hours respectively. Our experience with the use of the PDA in APS was satisfactory. The PDA system can potentially reduce time and paper use and missed data entry and patient follow-up.


This report describes a fetus presenting with intrauterine tachycardia and hydrops fetalis. Soon after birth the neonate was noted to be in torsades de pointes that responded dramatically to medical management. Long QT syndrome (LQTS) was diagnosed on electrocardiogram obtained soon after birth. The prognosis is poor when LQTS presents in utero or during the first week of life. However, our infant did well with medical management and has remained free of arrhythmias at follow‐up. PACE 2012; 35:e87–e90)


The Heisenberg representation of quantum operators provides a powerful technique for reasoning about quantum circuits, albeit those restricted to the common (non-universal) Clifford set H, S and CNOT. The Gottesman-Knill theorem showed that we can use this representation to efficiently simulate Clifford circuits. We show that Gottesman's semantics for quantum programs can be treated as a type system, allowing us to efficiently characterize a common subset of quantum programs. We also show that it can be extended beyond the Clifford set to partially characterize a broad range of programs. We apply these types to reason about separable states and the superdense coding algorithm.


Currently, the model of the research evaluation system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is set up through imitating that of western medicine. The application of quantitative research to TCM does promote the advance of modernization of TCM, which explore the part of TCM that can be measured in quantitative method. However, TCM has a background of profound philosophy and culture. The priority of TCM can not be expressed through quantitative research alone. On the contrary, qualitative research is more suitable to most research area of TCM. In TCM clinical research, the priority of TCM should be fully explored. It is very significant to set up the effectiveness evaluation system of TCM, especially by applying qualitative research to the diagnosis and the evaluation of treatment results and combining quantitative research.


This small volume is a collection of six articles published in the 1980 volume of Parasitology. It is the first of a projected series of such volumes to contain the articles published under the title "Trends and Perspectives in Parasitology" as a regular part of the six individual issues of each volume of the journal. Authors of these articles are asked to present "a personal view about their own interest in a subject" in a way that will focus attention on advances in parasitology, call attention to problems in need of research, suggest how research in other areas of biology might relate to studies in parasitology, and provide summaries of recent discoveries and new theories.
In this volume are "Recent developments in coccidian biology …" by John F. Ryley of Imperial Chemical Industries, "Invertebrate immunity" by Ann M. Lackie of University of Glasgow, "Some implications of a sexual cycle in Theileria" by A. D. Irvin and C. D. H. Boarer of the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases at Nairobi, Kenya, "The contribution of Ascaris lumbricoides to malnutrition in children" by Lani S. Stephenson of Cornell University, "Nematode eggshell" by David Wharton of University College of Wales, and "Prospects for the biological control of plant-parasitic nematodes" by H. T. Tribe of University of Cambridge.


We consider how transfer of genetic information between individuals influences the phase diagram and mean fitness of both the Eigen and the parallel, or Crow-Kimura, models of evolution. In the absence of genetic transfer, these physical models of evolution consider the replication and point mutation of the genomes of independent individuals in a large population. A phase transition occurs, such that below a critical mutation rate an identifiable quasispecies forms. We show how transfer of genetic information changes the phase diagram and mean fitness and introduces metastability in quasispecies theory, via an analytic field theoretic mapping.


1 This paper examines the economic effects of management policies on four of the seven beach-seine net fishing operations in False Bay. The effects of past regulations are examined by assessing whether or not this industry is at present profitable. It was found that under the present management policies all fishing crews are profitable. A new policy preventing fishermen from catching white steenbras has been introduced. This was examined and it was shown that only one of the crews examined would be effected. Two proposed policies were examined to determine their impact on the sector. The first proposal aims to remove kob as a target species, however none of the crews would be significantly effected by this proposal. The second proposal aims to restrict fishing to working days, this proposal would result in collapse of two crews. Long term feasibility was examined using three models that predict the NPV of income for each crew under different assumptions. It was shown that if stocks continue to decline and white steenbras remains restricted all crews except one would collapse. If stocks improve but the catching of white steenbras remains prohibited for IO years, one of the crews will collapse. The final section assessed the validity of a proposal that the Marine Resource Fund be used to buy trek fishermen's permits, it was concluded that this is not a feasible proposal.


Doctors and nurses must assume an increasing responsibility for designing and supervising the rapidly expanding programs for family planning and population control. This survey concentrates on the medical colleges of India which devote an average of 10.6 hours to the teaching of population dynamics, family planning programs, conception control techniques, and related social, cultural, educational, and motivational aspects. Ward rounds and family planning clinics provide observation and some experience during clerkship and internship. The time assigned to family planning has almost doubled in the past two years, and far exceeds the time allotted in US and United Kingdom medical schools. Only the two leading medical schools in Taiwan and two in Seoul can match this amount of teaching. These changes indicate a responsiveness to national needs and conditions.


Synchronous current measurement is a standard method for digital inverter control. Conventionally the measurement is sampled at pulse-width modulation carrier peaks to provide an average value of the current over the modulation cycle. With increased switching frequencies of inverters, the accuracy of the current measurement may suffer, especially during short output voltage pulses at high duty cycles. This paper focuses on the effect of sampling instant timing of the current measurement of a single-phase H-bridge inverter. Experimental tests show that proper analog to digital conversion timing and antialiasing filter design will significantly improve the current measurement accuracy.


In order to explore the high performance bivalent DNA-based vaccine against schistosomes, SjFABP and Sj26GST were selected and used to construct a vaccine. Two strategies were used to construct the bivalent DNA vaccine. In the first strategy, a plasmid encoding antigen in the secreted form was used, while in the other, a plasmid encoding a truncated form of SjFABP and Sj26GST targeted to the cell surface was used. Various parameters, including antibody and cytokine response, proliferation, histopathological examination, and characterization of T cell subsets were used to evaluate the type of immune response and the level of protection against challenge infection. Injection with secreted pIRES-sjFABP-sj26GST significantly increased the levels of antibody, splenocyte proliferation, and production of IFN-γ, compared with membrane-anchored groups. Analysis of splenic T cell subsets showed that the secreted vaccine significantly increased the percentage of CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ T cells. Liver immunopathology (size of liver granulomas) was significantly reduced in the secreted group compared with the membrane-anchored groups. Moreover, challenge experiments showed that the worm and egg burdens were significantly reduced in animals immunized with recombinant vaccines. Most importantly, secreted Sj26GST-SjFABP markedly enhanced protection, by reducing worm and egg burdens by 31.8% and 24.78%, respectively, while the membrane-anchored group decreased worm and egg burdens by 24.80% and 18.80%, respectively. Taken together, these findings suggest that the secretory vaccine is more promising than the membrane-anchored vaccine, and provides support for the development and application of this vaccine.


S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 W I C A Z O S A R E V I E W The new administration that took offi ce in January 2009 faces numerous challenges in the area of American Indian health. Media reports have recently shined a spotlight on disparate life expectancy rates in the United States based on race, ethnicity, culture, and income. Unfortunately, American Indians suffer among the worst health disparities in the nation with alarming gaps in life expectancy. Death rates from preventable causes such as diabetes and alcoholism are dramatically higher in American Indians than in the rest of the population. Nearly a third of our people live in poverty as compared to approximately 12 percent of the rest of the country. In Arizona, the average age at death is 72.2 years for the general population, but it is 54.7 years for American Indians. Despite this gross inequality, American Indians are the only population born with a legal right to health care in this country. The treaties between the tribal nations and the federal government in which the tribes exchanged vast amounts of land and natural resources resulted in guarantees for social services including housing, education, and health care. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Indian Health Service (IHS) were established to administer the federal government's trust responsibility to provide health care and other vital services to American Indians. At the same time we have an underfunded health system, other policies such as the damming of rivers and the loss of land and resources have led to signifi cant lifestyle changes. Less physical activity, less The State of Indigenous America Series Ten Indian Health Policy Challenges for the New Administration in 2009


Background/Aims: Whether the postobstructive natriuresis and diuresis is related with an altered regulation of sodium transporters in the kidney was examined. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent either bilateral (BUO) or unilateral obstruction (UUO) of the proximal ureters for 24 h. The expression of Na,K-ATPase, type-3 sodium-hydrogen exchanger (NHE3), type-1 bumetanide-sensitive sodium cotransporter (BSC1), and thiazide-sensitive sodium cotransporter (TSC) proteins was determined in the obstructed kidney by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Catalytic activity of Na,K-ATPase was also determined. Results: The expression of α1 and β1 subunit proteins and the catalytic activity of Na,K-ATPase were significantly decreased in the obstructed kidney in BUO. The expressions of NHE3, BSC1 and TSC proteins were also significantly decreased. Immunohistochemistry confirmed the downregulation of these sodium transporters in the obstructed kidney. In UUO, the expression of sodium transporters was similarly decreased in the obstructed kidney. Conclusion: The postobstructive natriuresis and diuresis may in part be accounted for by a reduced abundance of sodium transporters in the kidney.


I argue that widely accepted just war theory precepts morally allow and require the assassination of politically powerful individuals under some circumstances instead of waging a just war or implementing any other policy such as non-targeted economic sanctions that would very likely severely harm more innocents. While all just war theory precepts permit just assassinations under certain circumstances, proportionality, necessity, and last resort make just assassinations required whenever they would cause severe harm to the fewest innocents. There are several implications of my argument. First, there are fewer circumstances when wars and other policies that foreseeably but unintentionally harm innocents are just than is commonly thought. Second, the realm of morally permissible violent and non-violent action for powerful individuals is more limited than many presume and politicians are more often morally liable to actions that would mitigate or end objectively unjust serious threats for which they are culpable, although this does not always include lethal force.


Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) has achieved state-of-the-art performances on several text classification tasks, such as GLUE and sentiment analysis. Recent work in the legal domain started to use BERT on tasks, such as legal judgement prediction and violation prediction. A common practise in using BERT is to fine-tune a pre-trained model on a target task and truncate the input texts to the size of the BERT input (e.g. at most 512 tokens). However, due to the unique characteristics of legal documents, it is not clear how to effectively adapt BERT in the legal domain. In this work, we investigate how to deal with long documents, and how is the importance of pre-training on documents from the same domain as the target task. We conduct experiments on the two recent datasets: ECHR Violation Dataset and the Overruling Task Dataset, which are multi-label and binary classification tasks, respectively. Importantly, on average the number of tokens in a document from the ECHR Violation Dataset is more than 1,600. While the documents in the Overruling Task Dataset are shorter (the maximum number of tokens is 204). We thoroughly compare several techniques for adapting BERT on long documents and compare different models pre-trained on the legal and other domains. Our experimental results show that we need to explicitly adapt BERT to handle long documents, as the truncation leads to less effective performance. We also found that pre-training on the documents that are similar to the target task would result in more effective performance on several scenario.


We propose an architecture for photonic arbitrary waveform generation where the phase-locked longitudinal modes of a 12.4-GHz fundamentally modelocked external cavity semiconductor laser are individually modulated. We report photonic synthesis of microwave tones at 37.2 GHz (limited by photodetector bandwidth) with linewidth < 100 Hz and dynamic range 50 dB at 100-Hz resolution bandwidth. We show photonically synthesized 12.4-GHz sine waves with superimposed sinusoidal and pulsed RF modulations, demonstrating the potential for photonic arbitrary waveform generation with the proposed architecture.


The most relevant result of this thesis work is the development of a first-level trigger to fast filtering events for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project.
After a depth study of the discrimination events problem, which allowed to develop a filter working with two original algorithms called FCTA-R and FCTA-N.
The first one, FCTA-R, consists essentially in a criteria to ``cut'' the absolute time-line, in intervals of time, each of them containing at least one ore more events but with the strong condition that no event is divided into different time-box.
The second one, FCTA-N, is a original Network Filter Algorithm, which trasforms a compatibility matrix, well defined between the delays matrices in a network and than evolves the systems obtaining a clustering effect. The cluster corresponds at the simulated physical events.
All this procedure is innovative and probably never used first in CTA data analysis.
Finally we tested our filter onto Official ASTRI-MC data. Obtaining a very good performance with a purity of about 99.8% and the highest efficiency obtainable with the same purity.
The deployment of the algorithm on a GPU system, made possible by the FCTA-R condition and it is probably the our next step.


A sensitive and specific gas chromatographic method, using an electron capture detector, for the measurement of plasma concentrations of loprazolam (HR-158) is described. Retention times of the hydrolysis product of loprazolam (2-amino-2'-chloro-5-nitrobenzophenone) and of the internal standard (2-amino-2'-fluorobenzophenone) were, respectively, 9 and 7 minutes. The sensitivity of the assay was 1.0 ng ml-1 of plasma, and for drug concentrations ranging from 1.0 to 15 ng ml-1 the mean recovery from plasma was 94.4 per cent and the mean coefficient of variation 9.8 per cent. This method was used to determine some pharmacokinetic parameters of loprazolam after administration of 2 X 1 mg capsule doses to nine healthy, fasted volunteers. The mean t 1/2 was 6.4 h, mean AUC infinity 65.42 ng.h ml-1, and the mean clearance 0.51 l min-1.


Abstract 1289 Introduction: Myeloablative doses of Yttrium-90 (90Y)-Ibritumomab Tiuxetan combined with tandem autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) support can be safely administered to patients aged up to 76 years (Devizzi L et al, J Clin Oncol 2008). Whether marrow exposure to myeloablative doses of radiolabelled antibodies (hd-radio-immunotherapy) could increase the risk of secondary myelodysplastic syndrome and acute leukemia (sMDS/AL) remains a matter of concern. Therefore, we prospectively investigated by means of a longitudinal study the incidence of sMDS/AL in a cohort of high-risk non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients receiving hd-radio-immunotherapy. The cumulative incidence of sMDS/AL in the study group was compared with that observed in a historical group of patients autografted following chemotherapy-based myeloablative conditioning. Additionally, to further investigate marrow damage induced by hd-radio-immunotherapy, hematopoietic and stromal progenitors, as well as telomere length (TL) were assessed. Patients and Methods: From July 2004 through December 2007, 53 relapsed/refractory (n= 36) or de novo high-risk (n= 17) NHL patients (median age, 64 years; range, 26 – 76 years) received a high-dose sequential (HDS) chemotherapy program, including a myeloablative phase with 90Y-Ibritumomab Tiuxetan (1.2 mCi/kg body weight). Patients were monitored for frequency of colony-forming cells (CFCs), cytogenetic and TL analysis. Bone marrow (BM) samples were collected prior to hd-radio-immunotherapy, every six months for two years and annually thereafter. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee and written informed consent was obtained from each patient. The study group included 29 patients with aggressive lymphoma (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, n = 19; mantle cell lymphoma, n = 8; Richter syndrome, n = 2) and 24 with indolent NHL subtypes (follicular lymphoma, n = 20; marginal zone lymphoma, n = 3; lymphocytic lymphoma, n = 1). Thirty patients were relapsed after one (n=15) or more (n=15) previous chemotherapy regimens, 6 patients were refractory and 17 patients were previously untreated with high-risk prognostic index. Pre-exposure to alkylating agent involved 68% of the patients. A historical group of 55 NHL patients who received an analogous HDS program with final chemotherapy-based autografting was used as control group. Study and control groups were pair-matched for age, gender, histological subtype, disease status at transplant and type of grafted PBSC. Results: At a median follow-up of 49 months (range, 32 – 74), 4 out of 53 patients of the study group developed sMDS/AL at 6, 12, 27 and 36 months from transplant. According to WHO criteria, refractory anemia with excess of blasts 1 (RAEB-1) was diagnosed in one patient, whereas refractory cytopenia with unilineage dysplasia (RCUD) was diagnosed in the other three cases, with acute leukemia transformation being observed in two patients at 12 and 18 months after initial detection of abnormal cytogenetics, respectively. The cumulative incidence of sMDS/AL resulted of 8.29% at 5-years. An analogous 5-year cumulative incidence of 8.05% was observed in the historical control group autografted following a chemotherapy-based conditioning. Radioimmunotherapy-treated patients showed a significant but transient decrease in granulocyte-macrophage colony forming unit (CFU-GM) at 6 months after transplant, with recovery to baseline values at 12 months. Multilineage colony-forming units (CFU-Mix), erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) and fibroblast CFU (CFU-F) were not show significantly affected over time. In contrast, a progressive and significant decrease in BM TL was evident from 12 months after transplant. Conclusion: In our series of elderly NHL patients receiving hd-radio-immunotherapy, the incidence of sMDS/AL was found increased compared to recently reported series of younger lymphoma patients receiving chemotherapy-based conditioning. However, the increased risk of sMDS/AL was not associated with the type of myeloablative conditioning, i.e. chemotherapy vs radio-immunotherapy. Other factors may have favored the development of sMDS/AL, including advanced age at transplant, extensive pre-transplant therapy and type of reinfused PBSC. The observed progressive TL loss gives support to the concept that TL loss might be involved in sMDS/AL development. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA

Circulating plasma DNA (cpDNA) has been widely applied to detecting molecular alterations of cancers. However, the mechanisms regarding how tumor derived DNA is released into peripheral blood have not been clarified. In this study, we established animal model with highly metastasis, and analysis relationship between the amount of cpDNA derived from tumor and tumor progression. We recently established a system for monitoring EGFR mutation, T790M using mutation-biased PCR and quenched probe (MBP-QP) method. T790M is a gatekeeper mutation of EGFR, which appears in half of lung cancer patients treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI). Because the system is highly sensitive, it was able to successfully detect T790M using circulating plasma DNA (cpDNA). Using this system, we performed a prospective, multicenter, observational study, and showed usefulness of this method for monitoring acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI. In this study, we applied the technique to monitor metastasis in an animal model. To establish an animal model reflecting human metastatic lung cancers, we used NOD/SCID/Jak3null (NOJ) mice, which exhibit deficiencies in NK cell activity, macrophage and dendritic cell function, and complement activation, as well as T and B cell deficiencies. After screening twenty human lung cancer cell lines through expression patterns of E-cadherin and vimentin according to epithelial mesenchymal transition features, an H1975 cell line carrying EGFR mutations, L858R and T790M, was selected for investigation. After inoculation of the cells into the dorsal flanks, metastatic status was monitored. The frequency of metastasis to axillary and abdominal lymph nodes was 79% (11/14), and that to lung and liver occurred in 64% (9/14). Peritoneal dissemination with ascites was also observed in 29% (4/14). In total, one or more of these types of metastasis was observed in 93% (13/14) of the mice. We confirmed the existence of H1975 cells in metastatic lesions by detection of T790M and L858R using MBP-QP system. Next, we investigated the relationship between tumor progression and amount of EGFR mutations with cpDNA analyzed from the area under the mutation peak. The frequency of metastasis increased with time concomitant with increasing detection of EGFR mutations using plasma DNA. Tumor volume of the primary lesion was significantly correlated with area under the mutation peak, whereas that of metastatic lesions for T790M was not. Regardless of tumor volume of metastatic lesions, area under the mutation peak was relatively high. This animal model should be useful to investigate further the mechanisms of circulating tumor derived DNA in peripheral blood and could be applicable to a preclinical trial for a novel anti-cancer agent targeted at metastasis.

Citation Format: Naoko Aragane, Akemi Sato, Naomi Kobayashi, Eisaburo Sueoka, Seiji Okada, Shinya Kimura. Analysis of circulating plasma DNA on metastatic animal model using human lung cancer cell lines. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5250. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5250


OBJECTIVES
Attributional biases to externalize blame for negative events (externalizing bias) and to target other people for blame (personalizing bias) may constitute a vulnerability to psychosis. However, most research to date has only examined attributional biases in chronic patients. We examined attributional style, paranoia, and depression in early psychosis patients to assess the primacy of attributional biases in psychosis.

DESIGN
A quasi-experimental design was adopted to compare the attributional style of patients and controls. Correlates of attributional style were also examined.

METHODS
Early psychosis patients and age- and gender-matched healthy controls completed the 'Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire'. Paranoid tendencies, suspiciousness, and depression were also assessed in both groups, while severity of current symptoms was assessed in patients.

RESULTS
A high proportion of patients had persecutory delusions. These patients, however, did not differ from controls in externalizing or personalizing bias. Whereas suspiciousness and persecutory delusions in patients associated with externalizing bias, no bias measures associated with paranoid tendencies in either patients or controls. Counter to the pattern seen for endogenous depression, depression in patients was associated with an increased tendency to attribute events to self and a decreased tendency to attribute events to circumstances.

CONCLUSIONS
These preliminary findings raise doubts about the primacy of attributional biases in psychosis. The novel findings with regard to depression warrant further investigation and suggest that young people, who develop depression after the onset of psychosis, may experience a need to re-establish a sense of personal control over life events that appear unpredictable.


The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cisplatin etoposide chemotherapy on platelet indices in advanced stage lung cancer patients. Twenty advanced stage lung cancer patients who received cisplatin and etoposide chemotherapy and 35 healthy subjects were enrolled. The platelet indices (platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV), plateletcrit (Pct) and platelet distribution width (PDW)) and other blood count parameters were recorded in baseline, before second cycle and after sixth cycle of chemotherapy. In baseline analysis, white blood cell count, but not other blood parameters, were different in patient group compared with control group,. After six cycles of chemotherapy, PDW values were elevated than baseline analysis in lung cancer patients. Other platelet parameters were not changed after chemotherapy. This study showed that MPV, platelet count, or Pct don't change after cisplatin-etoposide chemotherapy in lung cancer patients.


This research was aimed to evaluate the physico-chemical and nutritional qualities of biscuit produced from sturgeon fillet protein concentrate (SFPC), based on gross chemical composition, effects of SFPC incorporation, and storage stability for six months. SFPC was used in production of biscuits by replacing low gluten wheat flour by 5%, 7% and 10% to ensure the quality and acceptability of the biscuit. The obtained results for biscuits fortified with SFPC revealed that the nutritional and proximate composition of biscuits were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) improved: moisture (4.75 ± 0.08-4.76 ± 0.11), protein (14.63 ± 0.12-19.52 ± 0.12), fat (16.20 ± 0.06-16.50 ± 0.17), ash (1.53 ± 0.04-1.66 ± 0.12). Total amino acids were: 6.93, 13.15, 13.93, and 17.20; and essential amino acids: 2.43, 5.29, 5.87, and 7.48 gram/100 gram, for 0%, 5%, 7% and 10% SFPC, respectively. Leucine was the major amino acid in 5% and 7% SFP, while Leucine, Phenylalanine and lysine were the major amino acid in 10% SFPC. The obtained results also showed the produced fish biscuit and SFPC had a good physico-chemical quality. In addition that fish biscuit protein characterized with a good nutritional protein quality as it composed of all essential amino acids. Microbial and physico- chemical results revealed that the shelf life of biscuit supplemented with SFPC were more than 6 months. The obtained results also showed the supplementation of SFPC into the wheat flour mix ratio used for making biscuits at level up to 10% improved the most nutritional content, rheological properties of prepared biscuits dough batches and physical, and sensory quality characteristics of the final biscuit products. Therefore, the present results recommended that it should be directed towards the utilization of SFPC products in food products fortification, especially cereal products up to the concentration of 7-10% depending upon the fortified food product.


The implementation of BIM in construction will have far reaching implications for the organization of construction works, the roles, relations and responsibilities of the actors, business models, risk distribution, etc. At a project level, the application of BIM for management purposes facilitates the integration of management processes, e.g. integration of time and cost, which enables integrated management of labor distribution, procurement and just-in-time deliveries of building materials, on site logistics, cash-flow analysis, and other resource related aspects that connect to time scheduling. However, even though the potential of BIM is generally recognized in industry, the practical application of BIM for management purposes is still limited among contractors. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore and analyze the gap between BIM-based scheduling and the prevailing scheduling process in construction from a general contractor's point of view. The purpose of the study is to add knowledge and understanding about to what extent BIM-based scheduling can answer to the principal shortcomings of the current scheduling process. The study of the prevailing scheduling process results in five key areas of importance; Improper supply of information, Collaboration supports validation and acceptance of the schedule, Continuous improvements in scheduling is a challenge, Current scheduling methods fail to support time and resource simulation and optimization, Challenging to overview and communicate scheduling output. The study finds that BIM-based scheduling can answer to the identified shortcomings and best practice work methods in the prevailing scheduling process. However, the full use of BIM-based scheduling is dependent on an organization that foster openness, collaboration and transparency. In addition, obtaining full advantages of BIM-based scheduling presuppose standardization of building components, diffusion of the current phase divided construction process and a shift from decentralized to centralized and collaborative resource management.