Drought is one of the problems in Gedangan Village during the dry season. So that district needs more groundwater resources. The geoelectric-resistivity method usually used for groundwater exploration. This method used for identifying changes in the resistivity of rock layers beneath the earth's surface by flowing direct current (DC). This research intends to identify the pattern of groundwater distribution using the geoelectric-resistivity method with Schlumberger configuration in Gedangan Village, Gedangan District, Malang Regency. Thirteen VES points were obtained by Schlumberger configuration and each long stretch until 400 m. Then each the two parallel VES points arranged to obtain a 2D cross-section. The results indicate this area surrounded by karst and it has lithology consists of sandy marlstone, claystone, and limestone. The resistivity value is between 1.41 - 8.28 Ωm identified as sandy marlstone and it presumed as an aquifer. The aquifers with large amounts of groundwater are in the VES point lines of 01-02, 03-04 and 04-05. These lines are located in the south of the Gedangan district office and the police station.


Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJD) are the most common debilitating conditions of the stomatognathic system. Although they exist in the community they are not mentioned in the literature as an endemic health problem. Their prevalence does not seem to be clear enough for the health system in Tanzania to give them priority as other health problems. Study setting: The study was done in the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). To determine the occurrence of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJD) among patients treated in the department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at MNH. Study Design: A descriptive prospective cross sectional hospital based study. Study population: In and out patients with TMJ disorders attending treatment in the department of Oral Surgery. The study was conducted over a period of six months from September 2009 to February 2010. All out patients who attended at the Oral Surgery department and those admitted in wards 23 and 24 with TMJDs and had consented were included in the study. The patients were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Physical examination was done and findings were recorded on a special clinical form. The study was conducted over a period of six months from September 2009 to February 2010. Among 4661 patients who attended at the Oral Surgery department during the study period, 61 (1.3%) patients suffered from TMJDs. The age of patients ranged from 4 to 80 years, with a mean age of 35 +/-18.5 years and a male: female ratio of 1 :2. TMJ-ankylosis was the most prevalent disorder comprising 36.1 % of the total TMJD patients. In this disorder the 11-20 years age group was the most (31. 8%) affected. It was noted that the prevalence declined with increase in age whereby 6 (27.3%) were in the 21-30 years age group. TMJ ankylosis showed a gender predilection whereby females were the most affected_accounting for 13 (59.1%) compared to 9 (40.9%) males with a female to male ratio of 2:1. Associated factors were trauma due to fall in 11 (50%) of the patients and infections to the joint in 8 (36.4%) patients. Major clinical features were limited opening of the mouth in 100% of the patients. About 14 (63.6%) of the patients presented with poor oral hygiene. Facial disfigurement was observed in 20 (90.9%) of the patients. X-ray revealed obliteration of the joint space in all the patients. Surgical treatment was provided to 18 (81.8%) and recurrence was found in 6 (33.3%) of the patients. Myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDs) was the second most (32.8%) prevalent TMJD. Forty percent of the patients were in the 21-30 years age group and 5 (25%) patients in the 31-40 years age group. The prevalence of signs and symptoms was lower in age groups below 20 years and above 40 years. Masticatory muscle tenderness was the major clinical feature in all patients, while clicking sound on mouth opening and closing was present in 15 (75%) of the patients. Radiographs of the joints of all the patients were normal. Medications (NSAIDs and antidepressants) were provided to all patients however, 2 (10%) of patients who were partially edentulous, missing posterior teeth were provided with prosthesis in addition to medications. Eighty percent of the patients improved while signs and symptoms persisted in 2 (10%) patients and the remaining 2 (10%) could not avail themselves for follow up. TMJ dislocation was observed in 19 (31.1%) patients. Females were 11 (57.9%) while males were 8 (42.1 %) with male to female ratio of 1.4: 1. The most affected age groups were those in 21-30 years age group who comprised of 7 (36.8%) patients followed by the 31-40 years age group with 4 (21.1 %) patients. Yawning was the commonest associated factor in 10 (52.6%) of the patients. All patients had the condyles displaced anterior to the articular eminence. Chronic recurrent dislocation was observed in 12 (63.2%) of the patients, acute TMJ dislocation in 5 (26.3%) patients and chronic TMJ dislocation in 2 (10.5%) of the patients. The mean duration of the dislocation before seeking treatment ranged between 2 days to 9 months. Clinically all patients had open mouth while 13 (68.4%) had pain in the joint region and 7 (36.8%) had difficulty in speaking. Radiographic examination revealed displacement of the condyles anterior to the articular eminence in 100% patients. Closed reduction was done in 17 (89.5%) of the patients, open reduction was provided to 2 (10.5%) of the patients and there was no recurrence reported. The temporomandibular joint disorders that were seen in this study occurred at a rather low prevalence of about 1.3%. TMJ ankylosis, MPD and TMJ dislocation were the only TMJDs found. TMJ ankylosis which was the commonest TMJD was mainly a result of trauma and infection. The treatment rendered to these patients was surgery (condylectomy alone or condylectomy and coronoidectomy) with a very low recurrence rate. MPD was mainly associated with bruxism, trauma and loss of posterior teeth contact. Patients presented with complints of pain and tenderness around the region of the masticatory apparus which was occasionally referred to the head and neck region. The treatment was mainly medication. Anterior dislocation was the only type found in the patients with TMJ dislocation. The commonest cause of TMJ dislocation was excessive mouth opening. Closed manual reduction was the main treatment modality provided in majority of the cases. However, long standing dislocations required surgical manipulation undrer general anesthesia.


New constructive solutions of the winches for single-row radial multi-layered cable smooth winding/unwinding are described. Two new structural solutions of winches are defined. The nonlinear phenomenon of a cable smooth winding/unwinding process on the winch by using one of the two proposed constructive solutions is defined and analyzed. To facilitate understanding of this concept, the cable winding/unwinding process on only one winch is analyzed. The obtained variables which characterize the kinematics of the cable smooth winding/unwinding process are nonlinear and smooth. This result is important because the systems for the smooth cable winding/unwinding process on the winch could be parts of any cable driven mechanism. These systems can be used in various fields of human activity. For the verification of the presented theoretical contributions, a novel software package named SMOWIND – OW has been developed using MATLAB.


A 79-year-old lady had experienced intermittent soreness and burning of the tongue for more than a year, starting a few months after she wore a new denture. Clinically, there was slight hyperplasia of blackish filiform papillae. Several cultures grew Candida a/bicans, but complaints did not diminish with antimycotic treatment. She was patch tested with the European standard series and a dental material series. She showed a 2+ reaction at 2 and 3 days to scrapings of the denture and to N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine 5% pet. (Chemotechnique, Malmo, Sweden). Since the patient stopped wearing her new dentures, she has been free of symptoms.


Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) also known as von Recklinghausen's disease, is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by benign tumors called neurofibromas. It is a serious disease, often overlooked. Indeed, people with NF1 have a lower life expectancy, because some of them develop malignant tumors and for many, there is deterioration in their life quality.
In the absence of medical treatment, only surgery is in place for now. However, the problem of neurofibromatosis surgery is that it is potentially very hemorrhagic and neurofibroma skin elasticity seems recurrent after few years.
The aim of this study was to evaluate structure alterations in NF1 skin. At First, mechanical tests that were performed on pathological and control samples have led to the identification of elasticity parameter in traction; then, a comparative histological study was carried out on healthy and pathological skin samples.
Twenty one samples were analysed in uniaxial traction to obtain stiffness coefficient. The mechanical results show that a neurofibromatosis skin is at least four times less elastic than a healthy skin. Histology of the skin samples showed reduced cellularity of pathological samples compared to healthy ones. In addition, the NF1 skin elastin rate is twice lower compared to the healthy one.
This work is part of the understanding of the structure of skin NF1. Although preliminary, this study enables to evaluate a rheological parameter and to correlate it to micro-constituents skin changes.


The underlying mechanism of the hyperproliferative response of human autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) epithelia was studied. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) protein is highly expressed in ADPKD cyst epithelia in vivo, and primary cultures are hyperesponsive to mitogenic stimulation by EGF in vitro. Doses of > 1 ng/ml EGF were highly mitogenic to ADPKD epithelia. 3H-labeled thymidine proliferation assays showed that cyst fluids and ADPKD epithelial cell-conditioned media also stimulated renal epithelial cell proliferation and contained EGF immunoreactivity (6, 30, and 37 kDa) as detected by Western blots. Radioimmunoassays detected mean levels of 2.87 and 1.4 ng/ml EGF in cyst fluids from early (proliferative) and end-stage ADPKD cysts, respectively. Scatchard analysis of 125I-labeled EGF binding to apical and basolateral membrane showed high-affinity binding to basolateral membranes of normal and ADPKD kidneys but additional unique high-affinity receptor binding to apical membranes of ADPKD but not normal kidneys. Cross-linking analysis and antiphosphotyrosine Western analysis demonstrated functionally active apical EGF receptors at 150-170 kDa. These results suggest mediation of cyst expansion via an autocrine loop involving EGF synthesis and processing by cyst epithelial cells, apical secretion into cyst lumens, and subsequent binding to and phosphorylation of apical membrane EGF receptors. These findings are consistent with a membrane protein polarization defect in ADPKD cyst epithelia.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate the agreement between surgeons' and lay caregivers' quality-of-life (QOL) perceptions of patients undergoing major skull base surgery.

DESIGN
Cohort survey of patients who had undergone anterior skull base tumor excision.

SETTING
University-affiliated medical center.

PARTICIPANTS
Thirty-five patients and their lay caregivers participated in the study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
A triple survey was performed: each patient and his or her caregiver were asked to answer 35 questions related to 6 distinct QOL domains: role of performance, physical function, vitality, pain, specific symptoms, and effect on emotions. The composite health-related QOL of the patients was also rated on an ordinal scale by 3 surgeons who participated in the operation and follow-up.

RESULTS
An overall significant agreement was found between patients' and caregivers' scores at the group level (mean scores of each domain) and individual level (patient-caregiver pairs) (r = 0.76, P<.001). There was a minor correlation in the effect on emotions domain and no correlation in the pain domain. We found no correlation between the surgeons' and patients' ratings. The operating surgeons tended to overate their patients' QOL.

CONCLUSIONS
The study results show that the surgeon's perception of his or her patient's QOL is not sufficiently accurate to correctly estimate patients' QOL status. These judgments should come from the patient or from the caregiver, whose perception can be used in clinical trials as a proxy for estimation of a patient's QOL.


We provide a simplified proof of the random $k$-XORSAT satisfiability threshold theorem. As an extension we also determine the full rank threshold for sparse random matrices over finite fields with precisely $k$ non-zero entries per row. This complements a result from [Ayre, Coja-Oghlan, Gao, M\"uller: Combinatorica 2020]. The proof combines physics-inspired message passing arguments with a surgical moment computation. \hfill MSc: 60B20, 15B52


Rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) are high among female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), and children of parents experiencing PTSS are at increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems. However, little is known about the factors that may explain this relation. We examined child's emotion regulation as a moderator and mother's emotion regulation as a mediator of the relation between mother PTSS and child adjustment. Sixty-four female survivors of IPV and their 6-12-year-old children participated. Mothers reported their own PTSS and their children's adjustment. Child emotion regulation was measured using respiratory sinus arrhythmia, a physiological index of emotion regulation. Mother's emotion regulation was measured from observer coding of the Parent Meta-Emotion Interview (Katz & Gottman, 1986), which asked mothers about their awareness and regulation of emotion. Child emotion regulation moderated the relation between mother's PTSS and child depression and child PTSS. Mothers' total trauma symptom severity showed significant indirect effects on children's internalizing, externalizing, and total problems via mothers' emotion regulation. Results suggest that children's as well as mothers' emotion-regulation abilities represent factors that affect associations between maternal PTSS and child adjustment in families exposed to IPV.


The purpose of this research is to construct and prioritize the measures of digital capital of real estate websites. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is adopted to collect and analyze data. A total of 12 professional agents were selected. According to the results, the digital capital is categorized into three dimensions: Internet relational capital, Internet customer capital, and Internet service capital. The research also develops 12 indicators for digital capital assessment.


OBJECTIVES:The clinical subclassification of Crohn's disease by phenotype has recently been reevaluated. We have investigated the relationships between smoking habit, age at diagnosis, disease location, and progression to stricturing or penetrating complications using the Montreal classification.METHODS:408 patients (157 male, median age 29.4 yr) were assessed. Data were collected on smoking habit, age at diagnosis, anatomical distribution, and disease behavior. Follow-up data were available on all patients (median 10 yr).RESULTS:At diagnosis, ex-smokers (N = 53) were older than nonsmokers (N = 177) or current smokers (N = 178, medians 43.2 vs 28.3 or 28.9 yr, respectively, P < 0.001). Disease location differed according to smoking habit at diagnosis (χ2 = 24.1, P = 0.02) as current smokers had less colonic (L2) disease than nonsmokers or ex-smokers (30% vs 45%, 50%, respectively). In univariate Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, smoking habit at diagnosis was not associated with time to development of stricturing disease, internal penetrating disease, perianal penetrating disease, or time to first surgery. Patients with isolated colonic (L2) disease were slower to develop strictures (P < 0.001) or internal penetrating disease (P = 0.001) and to require surgery (P < 0.001). Cox models with smoking habit as time-dependent covariates showed that, relative to ileal (L1) location of disease, progression to stricturing disease was less rapid for patients with colonic (L2) disease (HR 0.140, P < 0.001), but not independently affected by smoking habit. Progression to surgery was also slower for colonic (L2) than ileal (L1) disease location (HR 0.273, P < 0.001), but was independent of smoking habit.CONCLUSIONS:Smoking habit was associated with age at diagnosis and disease location in Crohn's disease, while disease location was associated with the rate of development of stricturing complications and requirement for surgery. The pathogenic basis of these observations needs to be explained.


Background: Prevalence of remediable visual disability among institutionalised elderly people, resulting from inappropriate use or non-use of low-vision aids, is reported to be high, but largely rests on anecdotal evidence. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of binocular low vision and underlying eye diseases among institutionalised elderly people in a Dutch urban population and the size of remediable visual disability as the result of inappropriately corrected low vision. Methods: The design was a cross-sectional survey of 284 subjects with low vision (corrected binocular vision <0.4) in nursing homes and homes for the elderly in the Netherlands. Results: 284 of 610 eligible residents were examined. The prevalence of binocular low vision was 31.3%. Among elderly residents with low vision, prevalence of cataract, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy was 77.9, 37.7, 5.2 and 5.2%, respectively. In 32 residents (41.6%), (non)-use of low-vision aids was considered inappropriate. In 50 residents (64.9%), visual disability was considered at least partially remediable, either through better use of low-vision aids, or through cataract extraction. Residents who were not optimally corrected for low vision were significantly more functionally impaired compared with their peers who were optimally corrected. Conclusion: Low vision is likely to be highly prevalent among institutionalised elderly. A significant amount of the associated visual disability may be remediable.


Extension of the skin with the help of an interstitial expander allows to rationally use local tissues. Soviet models of tissue expanders of different designs were developed and approved in clinic. 46 operations were performed on 23 patients. Effective results of using the expanders were obtained during repairing extensive defects of the hairy part of the head.


Abstract The investigation of additional services from the aspect of local embeddedness is a novelty in the academic literature related to the tourism and hotel industry. The primary function of hotels is to provide accommodation and other services for the hotel-guests. Secondarily, they may also offer complementary-services and a community space for the city-residents and for non-hotel guests. Due to the globalization, the change in the consumer behaviour and global firms, the question of location and local resources are becoming more and more significant especially in the case of international hotel chains. The international hotel company is a member of a hotel market at a specific location, and it is surrounded by a sociological environment, local people, culture and traditions which have an impact on the competitiveness of the hotel. The author explains the results with the application of the multidimensional scaling model, finding answers for the questions in which ways the local embeddedness can have an effect on the competitiveness of a hotel based on a case-study carried out in a five-star hotel (member of an international chain) of Budapest in 2016.


A low-refractive-index film plays an important role in attaining a high density of rewritable HD DVD optical recording media, for which the blue-violet laser of 405 nm wavelength incident on a 0.6-mm-thick substrate is used. We have developed a new low-refractive-index material, SiOC, for the medium, which can be sputter-deposited at much higher rates than the conventional SiO2 film. The SiOC film is formed using a SiC target with an Ar and O2 gas mixture using either a RF or DC power supply. The film exhibited similar optical constants as SiO2, and DC sputtering in particular showed very low substrate temperature rise. The resultant deposition rate per sputter power is about three times higher than the rate of deposition using a SiO2 target. The obtained thin film consists of Si, O, and C. Although the film includes a substantial amount of carbon, it showed almost the same optical characteristics as SiO2. We demonstrated that the single-layer HD DVD rewritable medium with 20 GB capacity using SiOC film had satisfactory recording characteristics. We believe that this media can be manufactured at a cost similar to that of conventional rewritable DVDs in mass production.


The first occurrence of arachnids (Aphantomartus pustulatus) in the Carboniferous strata of Portugal is documented and its palaeobiogeographic significance is assessed. The Aphantomartidae species are thought to be native to Central Europe where its oldest example is recorded in Middle–Upper Mississippian strata. Known occurrences are preserved along the flanks of mountains such as the Appalachian Mountains, the Cantabrian Mountains and the Valongo Anticline (Portugal, Iberian Massif) and provide clear evidence that the Aphantomartidae species probably lived in upland or mountainous environments. The Iberian Massif may have served as a 'link' between the migration routes of several terrestrial animals from North America and Eurasia, and this linkage constrains the palaeogeographic and palaeoenvironmental conditions in equatorial Pangaea during the Carboniferous and Early Permian. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We describe 17 atypical carcinoid tumors of the lung that are histologically intermediate between small-cell undifferentiated carcinoma and typical carcinoid tumor. Atypical carcinoid tumors have a distinctive microscopic pattern of nests, trabeculae, and ribbons of intermediate-sized, moderately pleomorphic cells that lack the nuclear modeling and dense hyperchromasia of small-cell undifferentiated carcinoma. Mucin was present in 15 cases and nine contained argyrophilic granules. The three primary tumors and one metastasis studied ultrastructurally contained dense-core granules and variable degrees of squamous and glandular differentiation. Eleven patients were men; six were women. Their mean age was 58 years. Sixteen patients were known smokers. Twelve tumors involved the upper lobes and three were located in the right middle lobe. Mean tumor size was 4.9 cm (median 4; range 2.5–20). Four of 13 patients having potentially curative resection died of tumor. The other nine patients were disease free with a mean follow-up of 20 months. Four additional patients treated palliatively died.


Hypothyroidism is a prevalent endocrine disorder and is associated with a variety of metabolic disturbances. This study aimed to investigate the polygenic variants associated with hypothyroidism risk and the interaction of polygenic risk scores (PRS) with dietary patterns in influencing disease risk in 56,664 participants aged >40 in a hospital-based cohort. The participants were classified as having hypothyroidism (n = 870) diagnosed by a physician and no hypothyroidism (n = 55,794). Genetic variants associated with hypothyroidism were identified using a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Genetic variants interacting with each other were selected using a generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction analysis, and the PRS generated was evaluated for interaction with lifestyle parameters. Coffee, alcohol, meat intake, and a Korean balanced diet were inversely associated with hypothyroidism risk, as were selenium, copper, and manganese intakes. White blood cell (WBC) counts and serum alkaline phosphatase and triglyceride concentrations were positively associated with hypothyroidism risk, as were osteoporosis and thyroid cancer. The GMDR analysis generated a three-single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) model comprising dual oxidase-1 (DUOX1)_rs1648314; thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR)_rs75664963; and major histocompatibility complex, class-II, DQ Alpha-1 (HLA-DQA1)_rs17426593. The PRS derived from the three- and seven-SNP models were associated with a 2.11- and 2.32-fold increase in hypothyroidism risk, respectively. Furthermore, the PRS from the three-SNP model showed interactions with WBC counts, wherein the positive association with hypothyroidism risk was more pronounced in participants with low WBC counts than those with high WBC counts (≥4 × 109 /L). Dietary patterns, such as the plant-based diet (PBD) and the Western-style diet (WSD), along with smoking status, exhibited interactions with the PRS, influencing hypothyroidism risk. In participants with a high PRS, those in the high-PBD, low-WSD, and smoker groups had a higher proportion of hypothyroidism than those in the low-PBD, high-WSD, and non-smoker groups. In conclusion, genetic variants related to immunity and thyroid hormone secretion were linked to hypothyroidism risk, and their PRS interacted with PBD and WSD intake and smoking status. These results contribute to a better understanding of hypothyroidism and its prevention strategies for precision medicine intervention.


Abstract Objectives To analyse by WGS the ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T) resistance mechanisms in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. isolates recovered from complicated intra-abdominal and urinary tract infections in patients from Spanish ICUs (SUPERIOR surveillance study, 2016–17). Methods The clonal relatedness, the resistome and the virulome of 45 E. coli and 43 Klebsiella spp. isolates with different C/T susceptibility profiles were characterized. Results In E. coli, two (C/T susceptible) carbapenemase producers (VIM-2-CC23, OXA-48-ST38) were detected. The most relevant clone was ST131-B2-O25:H4-H30 (17/45), particularly the CTX-M-15-ST131-H30-Rx sublineage (15/17). ST131 strains were mainly C/T susceptible (15/17) and showed an extensive virulome. In non-ST131 strains (28/45), CTX-M enzymes [CTX-M-14 (8/24); CTX-M-15 (6/24); CTX-M-1 (3/24); CTX-M-32 (2/24)] were found in different clones. C/T resistance was detected in non-clonal E. coli isolates (13%, 6/45) with ESBL (4/6) and non-ESBL (2/6) genotypes. Among Klebsiella spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae (42/43) and Klebsiella michiganensis (1/43) species were identified; 42% (18/43) were carbapenemase producers and 58% showed a C/T resistance phenotype (25/43). OXA-48-ST11 (12/18), OXA-48-ST392 (2/18), OXA-48-ST15 (2/18), NDM-1-ST101 (1/18) and OXA-48+VIM-2-ST15 (1/18) isolates were found, all C/T resistant. Correlation between carbapenemase detection and resistance to C/T was demonstrated (P < 0.001). In non-carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (25/43), C/T resistance (28%, 7/25) was detected in ESBL (3/7) and AmpC (2/7) producers. Overall, an extensive virulome was found and was correlated with carbapenemase carriage (P < 0.001) and C/T resistance (P < 0.05), particularly in OXA-48-ST11 strains (P < 0.05). Conclusions Prediction of antimicrobial susceptibility profiles using WGS is challenging. Carbapenemase-encoding genes are associated with C/T resistance in K. pneumoniae, but other resistance mechanisms might be additionally involved.


Perturbation-theory techniques are used to generate an approximate transcendental equation for the leading Regge pole produced by an infinite sum of Feynman ladder diagrams. This equation is not restricted to the weak-coupling domain and can be used to produce trajectories with $\ensuremath{\alpha}(0)g0$. The equation is solved both below and above the elastic and inelastic thresholds to provide the first complete description of a relativistic Regge trajectory in the ladder-diagram model. The same technique is used to generate potential-theory trajectories which agree with the exact solutions obtained by more complicated methods.


OBJECTIVE
To identify veterinarians' approaches and concerns when managing canine and feline patients with acute and chronic seizure disorders.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional survey.

METHOD
A questionnaire was distributed to veterinarians to determine how many dogs and cats they were actively treating for seizures, their anticonvulsant drug (ACD) preferences for treating acute and chronic seizure disorders and whether serum anticonvulsant concentrations and/or biochemical analytes were routinely measured. Additional questions involved the respondent's year and place of graduation and identified concerns they faced when managing patients with seizure disorders.

RESULTS
Phenobarbitone was the most commonly used ACD for managing chronic seizure disorders in both dogs and cats, with 82% of respondents using a combination of phenobarbitone and potassium bromide to manage refractory seizure disorders in dogs. Most respondents (96%) felt comfortable managing seizures in dogs, but only 63% were comfortable managing affected cats. Routine monitoring of serum ACD concentrations and of liver biochemical analytes was performed routinely by 71% and 45% of respondents, respectively. Of the respondents, 86% graduated from Australian universities and of these 53% had graduated after 1985.

CONCLUSION
Veterinarians identified when to commence medication, whether regular monitoring of serum ACD concentrations and liver enzyme activity was necessary, and if the cost was justified. Veterinarians also identified the need to balance dose rates and side-effects by using combination therapy, and the importance of providing accurate information to clients about what to expect in terms of seizure control for their pet.


Abstract:  There is an urgent need to reduce the growing backlog of forensic examinations in Digital Forensics Laboratories (DFLs). Currently, DFLs routinely create forensic duplicates and perform in‐depth forensic examinations of all submitted media. This approach is rapidly becoming untenable as more cases involve increasing quantities of digital evidence. A more efficient and effective three‐tiered strategy for performing forensic examinations will enable DFLs to produce useful results in a timely manner at different phases of an investigation, and will reduce unnecessary expenditure of resources on less serious matters. The three levels of forensic examination are described along with practical examples and suitable tools. Realizing that this is not simply a technical problem, we address the need to update training and establish thresholds in DFLs. Threshold considerations include the likelihood of missing exculpatory evidence and seriousness of the offense. We conclude with the implications of scaling forensic examinations to the investigation.


Besides the effects on peripheral energy homeostasis, insulin also has an important role in ovarian function. Obesity has a negative effect on fertility, and may play a role in the development of the polycystic ovary syndrome in susceptible women. Since insulin resistance in the ovary could contribute to the impairment of reproductive function in obese women, we evaluated insulin signaling in the ovary of high-fat diet-induced obese rats. Female Wistar rats were submitted to a high-fat diet for 120 or 180 days, and the insulin signaling pathway in the ovary was evaluated by immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting. At the end of the diet period, we observed insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, an increase in progesterone serum levels, an extended estrus cycle, and altered ovarian morphology in obese female rats. Moreover, in female obese rats treated for 120 days with the high-fat diet, the increase in progesterone levels occurred together with enhancement of LH levels. The ovary from high-fat-fed female rats showed a reduction in the insulin receptor substrate/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT intracellular pathway, associated with an increase in FOXO3a, IL1B, and TNFalpha protein expression. These changes in the insulin signaling pathway may have a role in the infertile state associated with obesity.


Fluorescent brain tubulin, injected into living cells of the green alga Nitella pseudoflabellata and the higher plant Tradescantia virginiana, incorporates into the cortical microtubules, allowing these structures to be observed. With confocal laser scanning microscopy, clear images of microtubules were recorded and changes in microtubule patterns documented. After injection, fluorescent lengths of microtubules appeared within a few minutes and their number and length increased rapidly to a "steady state" over the first 15 min. In many instances, fluorescent microtubules could still be detected several hours after injection. In the cells examined, microtubules are arranged as an array of separate units only occasionally displaying close association or accurate co-alignment with neighboring microtubules. In what we perceive to be the steady state condition, some microtubules remain relatively static, while others undergo rapid changes in length or small translocations. We also document what appears to be bidirectional microtubule elongation during postdepolymerization assembly. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.


The normal modes of a thin free electron like metal film are calculated within a specular model. When the film is described by different dielectric functions the normal modes dispersion relations change. In particular the effects of single-particle excitations are studied by using a dielectric function calculated for a thin film, i.e., a dielectric function calculated for a system having a quasi-discrete excitation spectrum. Single-particle effects are seen both in the dispersion relations and in the surface loss function. The latter clearly exhibits the Landau damping of the surface plasmons.


This paper aims to analyze political uncertainty in Thailand by looking at various dimensions of political uncertainty and quantifying the economic impacts. Based on keyword search in Thai-language newspapers, the paper proposes five measures related to different aspects of political uncertainty. These are: (1) political protest (2) official measures in dealing with political violence (3) coup d'tat (4) parliament dissolution or election and (5) political structural reform, including the aggregate index of political uncertainty. We find that the overall political uncertainty in Thailand has been in the rising trend during the past 20 years. In particular, during the past 10 years, the main source of Thai political uncertainty comes from uncertainty related to political structural reform. Based on various econometric specifications, rising political uncertainty is found to have significant negative impacts on the Thai economy both in the short run ? particularly, private investment ? and economic growth in the long run. Nevertheless, we find that the degree of the economic impact and statistical significance on different components of macroeconomy is quite varied, reflecting complicated interaction between political factors and economic outcome.


Metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the extracellular matrix enzymes indispensable in physiological and pathological matrix remodeling. They are produced intracellulary as endopeptidases and secreted to the extracellular space. Under normal conditions MMPs are present in tissues at low levels which increases dramatically during any changes. To date 28 enzymes have been identified and 23 in humans. This paper is a review of metalloproteinases structure, their natural and artificial inhibitors and regulation mechanisms. Function and distribution are critical for pathogenesis and therapy of diseases.


This paper studies cycles of nationalization and privatization in resource-rich economies. It starts with a synthesis of available evidence on the drivers and consequences of privatization and nationalization. Then it develops a dynamic model of the choice between private and national regimes for the ownership of natural resources. The choice is driven by a basic equality-efficiency trade-off: national ownership results in more redistribution of income and more equality but undermines incentives for effort. We discuss how the resolution of the trade-off depends on external variables—such as the commodity price—and domestic ones—such as the tax system. The model thus identifies the determinants of the observed cycles of privatization and nationalization and is consistent with key stylized facts.


Author(s): Bryant, Adam Douglas | Advisor(s): Kolomensky, Yury G | Abstract: This dissertation describes an experimental search for neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay of 130Te. An observation of 0νββ decay would establish that neutrinos are Majorana fermions and would constrain the neutrino mass scale. The data analyzed were collected by two bolometric experiments: CUORICINO and an RaD experiment for CUORE known as the Three Towers Test. Both experiments utilized arrays of TeO2 crystals operated as bolometers at ∼10 mK in a dilution refrigerator. The bolometers measured the energy deposited by particle interactions in the crystals by recording the induced change in crystal temperature. Between the two experiments, there were 81 TeO2 bolometers used in the analysis, each of which was an independent detector of nuclear decays as well as a source of 130Te. The experiments were conducted underground at a depth of about 3300 meters water equivalent in Hall A of the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Assergi, Italy, in order to shield the detectors from cosmic rays. The data analyzed represent an exposure of 19.9 kg · y of 130Te (18.6 kg · y from CUORICINO and 1.3 kg · y from the Three Towers Test). In addition to the combined analysis of the two experiments, an analysis of CUORICINO data alone is presented in order to compare with an independent analysis being carried out by collaborators at the Univerity of Milano-Bicocca.No signal due to 0νββ decay is observed, and therefore a limit on the partial half-life for the decay is set. From a simultaneous fit to the 81 independent detectors, the rate of 0νββ decay of 130Te is measured to be Γ0νββ(130Te) = (-0.6 ± 1.4 (stat.) ± 0.4 (syst.)) × 10-25 y-1, which corresponds to a lower limit on the partial half-life for 0νββ decay of 130Te of T1/20νββ(130Te) g 3.0 × 1024 y (90% C.L.). Converting the half-life limit to an upper limit on the effective Majorana neutrino mass, mββ, using a set of recent nuclear matrix element calculations results in mββ l 0.25–0.68 eV (90% C.L.), where the range reflects the spread of calculated nuclear matrix element values. These results disagree by at least 1.2σ, depending on the nuclear matrix element calculation, with a claim of observation of 0νββ decay of 76Ge, assuming that the dominant mechanism driving 0νββ decay is the exchange of light Majorana neutrinos.


Importance Previous retrospective studies have shown that surgical quality affects local control in rectal cancer.. Objective In this secondary end point analysis, we evaluated the prognostic effect of the total mesorectal excision (TME) plane in the CAO/ARO/AIO-04 phase 3 randomized clinical trial. Design, Setting, and Participants The CAO/ARO/AIO-04 trial enrolled 1236 patients with cT3-4 and/or node-positive rectal adenocarcinoma from 88 centers in Germany between July 25, 2006, and February 26, 2010. Interventions Patients were randomized to receive treatment with standard fluorouracil-based preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) alone (control arm) or oxaliplatin (experimental arm) followed by TME and adjuvant chemotherapy. Main Outcomes and Measures The TME quality (mesorectal, intramesorectal, and muscularis propria plane) was prospectively assessed in 1152 operation specimens. An assessment was performed independently by pathologists and surgeons. The results were correlated with clinicopathologic data and the clinical outcome was tested, including multivariable analysis with the Cox regression model. Results Of 1152 German Caucasian participants, 332 (28.8) were women and the mean age was 63 years. The plane of TME was mesorectal in 930 patients (80.7%), intramesorectal in 169 (14.7%), and muscularis propria in 53 (4.6%). In a univariable analysis, the TME plane was significantly associated with 3-year disease-free survival (mesorectal vs intramesorectal vs muscularis propria, 95% CI, 73.1-78.8 vs 61.6-76.0 vs 55.6-81.3, respectively; P = .01), cumulative incidence of local and distant recurrences (mesorectal vs intramesorectal vs muscularis propria, 95% CI, 2.0-4.5 vs 1.2-8.1 vs 2.5-20.5, respectively; P < .001; and mesorectal vs intramesorectal vs muscularis propria, 95% CI, 17.0-22.4 vs 18.3-32.0 vs 14.2-39.0, respectively; P = .03, respectively), and overall survival (mesorectal vs intramesorectal vs muscularis propria, 95% CI, 88.3-92.3 vs 79.7-91.0 vs 81.6-98.7, respectively; P = .02). In contrast to the pathologist-based evaluation, the assessment of TME plane by the operating surgeon failed to demonstrate prognostic significance for any of these clinical end points. In a multivariable analysis, the plane of surgery (mesorectal vs muscularis propria TME) constituted an independent factor for local recurrence (P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance This phase 3 randomized clinical trial confirms the long-term clinical effect of TME plane quality on local recurrence, as initially reported in the MRC CR07 study. The data highlight the key role of pathologists and surgeons in the multidisciplinary management of rectal cancer. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00349076.


We studied the thermal stability of new amorphous ZrAl-based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with a ZrAl-oxide barrier replacing the Ta layers traditionally used for the under and capping layers. The MTJs were compared with similar conventional MTJs (Ta-based MTJ with Al-oxide). After annealing at various temperatures up to 450/spl deg/C, the ZrAl-based MTJs still had a significant tunnel magnetoresistance signal of nearly 21%. The thermal stability of amorphous ZrAl-based and conventional Ta-based MTJs differs dramatically, mainly because of the different microstructural evolution. The noncrystalline ZrAl-alloy film had superior surface uniformity and an induced microstructure that resisted interdiffusion, with dense, equiaxed grains making up the upper stacks' films. By contrast, the conventional Ta-based MTJ had a broad columnar structure with less dense boundaries, which act as a source of interdiffusion, resulting in barrier deformation at elevated temperatures.


The temperature dependence of diffusion length, lifetime, and diffusivity of the free exciton is measured in a commercial ZnO-substrate as well as in an epitaxial ZnO quantum well using nm-spatially and ps-time-resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. The characteristic temperature dependence of the exciton mobility gives information of the underlying excitonic scattering processes. Since excitons are neutral particles, scattering at ionized impurities should be not effective. On both samples, with decreasing temperature, the diffusion lengths, lifetimes, and diffusivity give rise to a monotonic increase of the excitonic mobility. Two different methods will be discussed and are used for determining the excitonic transport parameters. On the one hand, we are able to perform completely pulsed excitation experiments, and on the other hand, a combination of cw excitation and pulsed excitation in two independent measurements is used.


In three trials pigs were fed semisynthetic diet characterized by vitamin E deficit and supplemented with lard at different degrees of oxidative rancidity. When rancid lard was used and pigs were exposed to the effects of stress factors from the 55th day of the trail, signs of affected walking and lack of appetite were observed. Pig organs were subject to histological examination on the 83rd day. Dystrophic changes of heart and skeletal muscles were revealed. The changes were accompanied by increased activities of aspartate and alanine amino transferases and lactate dehydrogenase in blood serum. The addition of 150 mg of tocopherol acetate per 1 kg of feed increased its concentration in tissues and prevented the occurrence of clinical, biochemical, and morphological signs; decreases in weight gains were also avoided. When fresh fat was used without any additional effect of stress factors, no morphological signs of vitamin E deficiency were observed. A decreased quality of lard in feed was not found to exert any influence on a higher consumption of vitamin E. The production of lipoperoxides in tissue homogenates was considerably decreased as a result of the addition of vitamin E to feed. The criteria to be used for intravital and post-mortal diagnosis of vitamin E deficiency in pigs are evaluated.


The exploratorium described here consists of hyper-linked tutorials and quizzes on high performance computational concepts and computational modules implemented on different computer systems: desktop workstations, vector and parallel supercomputers. The exploratorium provides a highly interactive environment in which students can experiment with computational modules and visually compare algorithms, numerical techniques, performance and implementation related issues. Such a hands-on simulation and experimentation based learning will enable students to gain a deeper understanding of advanced concepts. The World Wide Web based exploratorium fosters the easy development of instructional material from research software.<<ETX>>


This document is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted with permission except those copyrighted materials that are clearly noted in the document. Further reproduction of those copyrighted materials is prohibited without the specific permission of copyright holders. None of the investigators has any affiliations or financial involvement that conflicts with the material presented in this report. ii Acknowledgments We would like to recognize the sustained help of Teresa Zayas-Cabán, the AHRQ Project Officer. We would also like to thank all reviewers who provided feedback on earlier drafts of this report. In particular, we would like to thank Background Industrial and systems engineering (ISyE) has the potential to address many of the challenges faced by the health care delivery system. Mindful of potential synergies between health care and ISyE, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) convened a workshop in which experts in both fields were asked to explore the critical areas of research at the intersection of ISyE and health care, with a special emphasis on the supportive role of health information technology (IT). Objectives The objectives of the project were to (1) articulate a vision for an ideal health care delivery system, (2) determine why current efforts to apply ISyE knowledge to health care have not resulted in meaningful change, and (3) propose a research and action agenda that should be pursued to enable the field of ISyE to substantially contribute to the realization of an ideal health care delivery system. Methodology Background materials included thirteen seminal reports generated in the last decade by various national bodies and a background report reviewing and critiquing them. Analysis of background materials led to the formulation of purpose statements for the workshop, guided participant invitations, and helped shape the activities undertaken as part of the workshop and afterwards. The background materials were circulated to all participants prior to the workshop. Presentations and keynote addresses during the workshop contributed to providing a backdrop for discussions. Small group discussions were used to probe deeply into how specific ISyE specialties could address health care challenges. Five ISyE specialty groups and six health care challenge area groups were constructed. Each participant was assigned to one ISyE group and one crosscutting health care challenge area group. Large group discussions served to identify points of consensus and tension, and to report out conclusions reached by the small …


Colon cancer‐associated transcript 2 (CCAT2) was originally identified as an oncogenic long non‐coding RNA in colorectal cancer. Since its discovery, the oncogenic role of CCAT2 has been increasingly demonstrated in human cancers. In this connection, CCAT2 upregulation is frequently reported and very often associated with tumour progression and poor clinical outcomes. Functionally, knockdown of CCAT2 could induce cancer cell apoptosis and suppress cell proliferation and invasiveness, suggesting that CCAT2 might be a therapeutic target. The present review summarized current literature concerning the expression and functional role of CCAT2 in human malignancies.


The impact of Al-Asfiya can still be felt across Iraq; its scholars still shine in the scholarly circles, particularly with regards to the recitation and interpretation of the holy Quran. One of the most successful scholars in this field is Professor Ahmed Al-Kubaisi, whose book The Best of Stories is the focus of this paper. This study is broken into three parts. The introduction lays out the research objectives and potential issues. The next section offers an overview of Professor Al-Kubaisi's work. The third section explores the scholarship in The Best of Stories, considering the approach taken and resources used.
Keywords: Asfiya, efforts, interpretation, Ahmed Kubaisi, the best stories.


Abstract The flow-cytometric DNA content in the plasma cells of patients with multiple myeloma has been studied as a prognostic factor and contrasting results have been found. In a group of 45 patients with myeloma from a single institution, the DNA content of the malignant plasma cells was studied by means of flow cytometry: no patients were found to have hypodiploid DNA content, 14 patients had hyperdiploid DNA, and 31 patients were found to have diploid DNA. The overall survival of patients with hyperdiploid DNA was better than that of patients with diploid DNA: 93% at 85 months and 79% at 89 months, respectively; in both groups, the median overall survival has not been reached. No correlation was found between the DNA content and the International Staging System and the discriminatory effect of the DNA content was apparent only in the patients who were not autografted. It is concluded that the flow-cytometric DNA content of the plasma cells of patients with multiple myeloma may be a prognostic factor independent of others already identified and that myeloma patients with hyperdiploid DNA content in the plasma cells may have a better prognosis than those with a normal DNA content.


Purpose: To examine collagen fibril diameter, spacing and organisation in the corneal stromas of keratocan-null Kera-/- mice.
Methods: Immediately after enucleation, the corneas from 4-month-old Kera-/- mice and their age-matched, wild-type littermates were either fixed in 2.5% formalin (n=8) or frozen (n=12) and transported to the synchrotron radiation source at Daresbury, UK. Low-angle synchrotron X-ray patterns were obtained from which the average fibril diameter, interfibrillar spacing and the degree of order in the nearest neighbour fibril packing were assessed.
Results:In corneas that were stored frozen, a small but significant increase in the average diameter of the collagen fibrils was found between wild-type and Kera-/- corneas (32.2 nm to 35.3 nm) together with an increase in the average interfibrillar spacing (44.6 nm to 50.7 nm). Kera-/- mice showed a significant decrease in local fibril order. Similar effects were found in the frozen and fixed corneas.
Conclusions: Kera-/- corneas showed an increased diameter and interfibrillar spacing suggesting that these corneas were more hydrated. The constituent fibrils were more disordered, an effect also observed in Lum-/- mice (Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 42:1750-1756) although, unlike in Lum-/- mice, it has been previously noted that there is no increase in light scattering in Kera-/- corneas.


The study was to verify the strategic behavior adopted by administrators hotels Florianopolis-SC, Brazil, according to the typology of Miles and Snow (1978). The search is characterized as a quantitative, survey-type, it has a population of 22 hotels located in Florianopolis-SC, Brazil, falling between three and five stars. We opted for the quantitative and descriptive approach, using for data collection, closed questions. The results showed that 45% of Florianopolis hotels administrators adopt behaviors Surveyors, 31% Analysts, 19% Reactives and Defensives 5%. The conclusion is that administrators adopt mostly Prospectors behaviors that are characterized by the pursuit of new markets and introduction of new products and services to customers.


Borrowing from the Rich Amal Sanyal RECENTLY the Union government is seeking to reduce its borrowing from the RBI, as a matter of policy, not by increasing direct taxes, nor by reducing its wasteful consumption or the items of budgetary transfer to the rich, but by directly borrowing from the public. Borrowing from the public is of course an inoffensive expression to mean borrowing from the rich. Since the largest items in the recent Union budgets are transfers to the rich and the payment of salary and perks to the bureaucracy and the government servants in the higher brackets of income, this policy in plain words can be described as borrowing from the rich in order to maintain the consumption of the rich. From the point of view of common- sense the policy certainly looks a trifle curious in that it seeks to pay the rich a stream of interest receipts for the expenses incurred on maintaining mostly their own living standard. The following is an attempt to examine the various implications of this course somewhat more closely.


An improved analog beamformer is described that is used to process the data from a high frequency linear array. This unit is a part of a test system, which has the capability to characterize ultrasound transducer arrays up to 128 elements. Improvements include increasing the accuracy of the dynamic focusing capability and an increased bandwidth of the summing circuit.


The molecular structure of the flavohemoglobin from Alcaligenes eutrophus has been determined to a resolution of 1.75 A and refined to an R‐factor of 19.6%. The protein comprises two fused modules: a heme binding module, which belongs to the globin family, and an FAD binding oxidoreductase module, which adopts a fold like ferredoxin reductase. The most striking deviation of the bacterial globin structure from those of other species is the movement of helix E in a way to provide more space in the vicinity of the distal heme binding site. A comparison with other members of the ferredoxin reductase family shows similar tertiary structures for the individual FAD and NAD binding domains but largely different interdomain orientations. The heme and FAD molecules approach each other to a minimal distance of 6.3 A and adopt an interplanar angle of 80 degrees. The electron transfer from FAD to heme occurs in a predominantly polar environment and may occur directly or be mediated by a water molecule.


We report an under recognized magnetic resonance postcontrast and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequence finding characteristic of adult Moyamoya disease in a young woman who presented with new onset headache and a history of migraine. The imaging finding of the "ivy sign" is presented, along with a brief discussion of the pathophysiology of this radiologic presentation of adult Moyamoya disease.


Letter to the Editor In 2020, the whole world has been challenged by the SARSCoV2 virus (Coronavirus19).1 Following coronavirus19 infection people with diabetes are at higher risk than those who do not have diabetes, of becoming very unwell and in some cases dying.24 Notably, Barron et al 4 reported an odds ratio (OR) of 2.03 (95% CI 1.972.09) for inhospital coronavirus19related death in people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). A body of work is emerging which is beginning to explain why people with diabetes are more likely to become seriously unwell following a coronavirus19 infection. However, much of the detail remains to be determined.3 For people with diabetes, 2020 has been a very difficult year, with the awareness that their condition puts them at an increased risk of becoming very seriously unwell/dying following coronavirus19 infection. It is, therefore, critical to determine all the factors that put any person with diabetes at an increased risk of a serious outcome after contracting a coronavirus19 infection. In one area of the United Kingdom (Salford) over the period of MarchOctober 2020, we examined the potential risk factors relating to mortality in people with T2DM, who were confirmed as being coronavirus19 positive. We examined health records for a representative sample of 308 T2DM people who were confirmed to be infected with coronavirus19. All data for this study were fully anonymised prior to analysis. The data were only released after the approval of the project by the Salford Integrated Record (SIR) Board. Of these 56 people died, with the peak mortality rates seen in the months of April/May 2020. All patient data were fully anonymised prior to analysis. Overall deaths for T2DM individuals living in Salford were 100% higher in March, 220% higher in April and 34% higher in May 2020 compared with the previous 5year average monthly mortality rates for people with T2DM. Those who died following a confirmed coronavirus19 infection were significantly older than those who survived (age ± 95% confidence Interval (CI)) at 82.8 ± 10.3 vs 70.7 ± 14.8 years (P <.001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, only age (Odds ratio (OR) (95% CI)) 1.07 (1.021.12) was the predictive of death following coronavirus19 infection, independent of gender, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, serum creatinine, serum cholesterol, smoking status, and urine albumin/creatinine ratio. None of the other variables (than age) were statistically significant. We were not able to include ethnicity in the analysis, as the sample included only a small number of people of nonCaucasian ethnic origin. This analysis highlights the fact that age outweighs many other factors in people with T2DM in relation to mortality from the coronavirus19 once infected, as previously proposed by McCullough et al5 in a paper advocating that age should be an important feature in risk stratification for early ambulatory treatment in the context of a SarsCov2 (Covid19) infection. The age factor should, therefore, be taken into account in relation to the vaccination programme against the coronavirus19 in people with T2DM in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, while emphasising as always, support for concordance with lifestyle and pharmacological management in order to optimise the health of the individual.


Oil is derived from the bean of castor plant ricinus communis l., belonging to euphorbiaceae family. Oil rendement per gram of castor bean is 45 – 48 % with hight pure product and better than standard resulted by The Association of Official Analytical Chemistry (AOAC). The main components in castor oil are oleic, palmitic and resinoleic acid. Protection process by acetylation occurs well on hydroxyl group of castor oil, indicated by increasing of iodine number and decreasing of hydroxyl number. Oxidation process is more efective on protected oil than non protected oil. The excess of oxidator concentration changed the product to be aldehide and carboxylic acid. Optimum condition was reached when oxidator concentration was 15 %, with hydroxyl value of 1280.438 mg/g and iodine number of 33.093 mg/g.


Using a model of uncomplicated burn injury in mice, we assayed the bone marrow and splenic production of granulocytes and macrophages after burn injury. The effects of burn size and burn wound excision and closure were studied. Using an in vitro quantitative clonal culture technique for granulocyte/macrophage progenitor cells (GM-CFC), myeloid precursors were directly assayed. Burns of a 10% body surface area were equal to burns of larger magnitude for effects on marrow and splenic granulocyte/macrophage production. The total peripheral blood leukocyte and lymphocyte counts were depressed at days 1 and 4 postburn but were elevated at days 8 and 12. Granulocytes, however, remained significantly increased at days 8 and 12. The bone marrow response to burning showed an initial depression in marrow cellularity on day 1 with return to normal values by days 8 and 12. The numbers of GM-CFC were significantly elevated on days 4-12 with a near threefold increase in the number of GM-CFC 12 days following burn injury. The splenic response to burn injury was characterized by a decrease in the splenic index on day 1 but then a persistent increase at days 8 and 12. Total splenic cellularity was depressed on day 1 but significantly increased at days 8 and 12. The total number of splenic GM-CFC was increased on days 4-12 with a 100-fold increase on day 8. The immediate or delayed excision of the burn wound did not alter marrow or splenic response to burning. We conclude that following a cutaneous injury there is a marked alteration in the generation of the phagocytic cells of the granulocyte and macrophage series and that this response is secondary to the wounding process.


Following the publication of the above paper, an interested reader drew to the authors' attention that, in Fig. 2D, the si‑ITGB3/E‑cadherin image appeared to show an overlap with the Scr/MDA231+CCL18/N‑cadherin image from Fig. 4E in a paper published in 2013 that shared some of the same authors [Zhang B, Yin C, Li H, Shi L, Liu N, Sun Y, Lu S, Liu Y, Sun L, Li X et al: Nir1 promotes invasion of breast cancer cells by binding to chemokine (C‑C motif) ligand 18 through the PI3K/Akt/GSK3β/Snail signalling pathway. Eur J Cancer 49: 3900‑3913, 2013]. Furthermore, the si‑Scb/E‑cadherin panel, also featured in Fig. 4D, appeared to show an overlap with a Figure included in the following paper that also featured some of the same authors, published in 2011 [Li W, Liu C, Tang Y, Li H, Zhou F and Lv S: Overexpression of Snail accelerates adriamycin induction of multidrug resistance in breast cancer cells. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 12: 2575‑2580, 2011]. The authors were able to re‑examine their raw data, and identified the data that should have correctly been used in Fig. 2D in the above paper. The revised version of Fig. 2 is therefore shown on the next page, featuring the correct data panels for the si‑Scb/E‑cadherin and the si‑ITGB3/E‑Cadherin experiments. Note that these errors did not have a significant impact on the results or the conclusions reported in this study. The authors are grateful to the Editor of International Journal of Oncology for granting them the opportunity to publish this Corrigendum, and all the authors agree to the publication of this Corrigendum. The authors sincerely apologize for the errors presented in this figure, and apologize to the readership for any inconvenience caused.[the original article was published in International Journal of Oncology 48: 1155‑1164, 2016; DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2016.3319].


Late in the summer of 1997, President Clinton signed the Children's Health Insurance Program into law. The program follows the example of many states that have expanded health coverage for uninsured children through Medicaid or other state programs. Through combining funds, federal and state governments seek to provide for all of the children in America who currently have insufficient health coverage.


Pharmacological interventions are critical in dementia treatment to prevent disease progression. In this review, we aim to summarize and discuss about the current developments and recommendations in the pharmacological treatment of dementia. Cholinesterase inhibitors have demonstrated efficacy for Alzheimer's disease, mixed pathology with vascular dementia and Parkinson's disease dementia. The comparison study revealed no difference between each cholinesterase inhibitors. A high incidence of side effects of cholinesterase inhibitors could lower compliance. In this case, changing to the other drug or trying a transdermal type could be the solution. Memantine, a N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, has proven to improve function at moderate to severe dementia and for dementia with Lewy body. But there are still insufficient evidences for the combination of a cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine. Discontinuing medicine in moderate to severe dementia may lead to worsening of cognitive function. For this reason, improving patients' compliance is important and for drug selection we should consider the type of dementia, severity of cognitive impairment and side effects of each medicine. Noncognitive symptoms, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common and can dominate disease presentation. For depression, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors could be effective. Atypical antipsychotics could be used for other neuropsychological symptoms such as agitation, aggression, delusions and hallucinations. (Brain & NeuroRehabilitation 2015; 8: 19-23)


Histological analysis for cancer detection or stratification is performed by observing and examining a small portion of a biopsied tissue under a microscope. Nevertheless, to assign clinical meaning to the findings, the analysis and interpretation of an experienced Pathologist is always necessary. Using high-resolution images, these experts visually examine the sample looking for specific characteristics on the cell shapes and tissue distributions, so they could decide whether tissue regions are cancerous, and establish the malignancy level of it. However, with the increasing demand for work for those pathologists and the importance of accuracy on diagnostics, multiple attempts to simplify their work have been performed. Current Imaging technologies allow novel horizons in the automatized selection of some of the characteristics that indicate malignancy in a biopsy. In this work, we propose a simple computer vision algorithm that can be implemented as a screening method for focusing in histological areas with higher risk of malignancy saving time to the pathologist and helping to perform a more standardized work, an easy observation with the potential to become in an aid to daily clinical work.


We consider the problem of mobilizing community effort to reposition indiscriminantly parked shared bikes in urban environments through crowdsourcing. We propose an ethically aligned incentive optimization approach WSLS which maximizes the rate of success for bike repositioning while minimizing cost and prioritizing users' wellbeing. Realistic simulations based on a dataset from Singapore demonstrate that WSLS significantly outperforms existing approaches.


Perennial questions about the Jewish scriptures concern the date of the establishing of the Hebrew canon and the extent of the Old Testament deutero-canonical writings in the LXX and in the Latin Vulgate. Andrew E. Steinmann in The Oracles of God: The Old Testament Canon (Concordia Academic Press, 1999, $19.95, pp.221, ISBN 0-570-04282-8) takes an historical view, by showing which books writers in the period from the second century BCE to 400 CE seemed to accept as authoritative and thus defacto as canonical. Three main chapters are 'The BC Canon' , investigating the evidence of the Qumran writings, Philo, 1-2 and 4 Maccabees, and Ben Sira; 'The AD Canon: The First Century', including the New Testament and Josephus; and 'The AD Canon: After the First Century', discussing Talmudic and Christian Patristic testimony. The evidence collected makes this a useful reference book, showing who said what and when, with this information helpfully summarized at the end of each chapter, and also displayed in tables. A correction is required in Table 8: Codex Sinaiticus contains I and 4 (not I and 2) Maccabees. The book's own thesis is that the Hebrew Bible was in


The spatial arrangement of the brightness values of remotely sensed imagery bears important information for forest canopy structures. This paper presents the theory and a simple analytical model to estimate tree crown size using sills of semivariograms from images at two spatial resolutions. The theoretical basis for the model is that the spatial patterns of multiresolution imagery are diagnostic of tree size. The sills of variograms from images containing larger trees decrease more slowly than those for images containing smaller trees as the image spatial resolution decreases. Tests with generated images, integrated simulation of stand development and its spatial patterns, and Ikonos images show that the model can provide realistic estimates of tree crown size. Errors of the estimated crown size strongly depend on the spatial resolutions of the images. The best combination of spatial resolutions is at the ratio of pixel size to the object size around unity.


A simple, fast and sensitive method was developed to verify the presence of the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen on an N-linked glycoprotein. High performance liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI/MS) was used to identify which of the five N-linked glycosylation sites of human plasma alpha1-acid-glycoprotein (orosomucoid, OMD) contain the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen. OMD was digested with proteolytic enzymes and analyzed by reversed phase chromatography coupled with on-line ESI/MS. A tandem mass spectrometry experiment was designed to detect the presence of the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen based on the observation of an 803 mass to charge ratio ( m/z ) ion produced in the intermediate pressure region of the ESI interface. The ESI/MS signal at m/z 803 is consistent with an oxonium ion for a glycan structure containing NeuAc, Gal, GlcNAc, and Fuc. The identity of the m/z 803 ion was confirmed by ESI/MS/MS analysis of the m/z 803 fragment ion and comparison with a sialyl Lewis(x) standard. The stereochemistry and linkage positions were assigned using previous NMR analysis but could be determined with permethylation analysis if necessary. The analysis of OMD gave a pattern showing signal for the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen coeluting with each of the five N-linked glycopeptides. The ability to monitor sialyl Lewis(x) expression at each of the five sites is of interest in the study of OMD's role in inflammatory diseases.


The systematic clustering analysis based weight determination methods are suitable for the experts of complex multiattribute large-group decision-making (CMALGDM) in intervalvalued intuitionistic fuzzy environment. However, these methods mainly have two shortcomings: they do not consider the consistency of the experts in each aggregation; the aggregation weights are often determined simply by the "majority principle", and neglect the quantity of information provided by the holistic aggregation, leading to decision biases. Hence, a double weight determination method for experts is proposed to solve these problems. As for the first shortcoming, a mathematical programming model is used to solve for the optimal expert weights within each aggregation, ensuring consistency in the overall preferences of the aggregations. As for the second shortcoming, we propose a modification of the aggregation weights based on the information entropy, which fully considers both the number of experts and the amount of information provided by the holistic aggregation. With the proposed method, the final expert weights are determined more rigorously and objectively. The feasibility of the proposed method is investigated through an illustrative example.


Experimental study of the structure of the boundary layer on the suction side of a plate is to be presented. The flat plate with rounded edges and angle of attack of 7° is used. The boundary layer flow will be explored using the time-resolved PIV technique, measuring plane was located very close to the wall. Analysis of the flow dynamics is to be presented using the POD technique applied on both velocity and vorticity fields.


Ages in ocean sediment cores are often inferred using either benthic ${\delta}^{18}{\rm{O}}$ or planktonic ${}^{14}{\rm{C}}$ of foraminiferal calcite. Existing probabilistic dating methods infer ages in two distinct approaches: ages are either inferred directly using radionuclides, e.g. Bacon [Blaauw and Christen (2011)]; or indirectly based on the alignment of records, e.g. HMM-Match [Lin et al. (2014)]. In this paper, we introduce a novel algorithm for integrating these two approaches by constructing Dual Proxy Gaussian Process (DPGP) stacks, which represent a probabilistic model of benthic ${\delta}^{18}{\rm{O}}$ change (and its timing) based on a set of cores. While a previous stack construction algorithm, HMM-Match, uses a discrete age inference model based on Hidden Markov models (HMMs) [Durbin et al. (1998)] and requires a number of records enough to sufficiently cover all its ages, DPGP stacks with time-varying variances are constructed with continuous ages obtained by particle smoothing [Doucet et al. (2001); Klaas et al. (2006)] and Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) [Peters (2008)] algorithms, and can be derived from a small number of records by applying the Gaussian process regression [Rasmussen and Williams (2005)]. As an example of the stacking method, we construct a local stack from 6 cores in the deep northeastern Atlantic Ocean and compare it to a deterministically constructed ${\delta}^{18}{\rm{O}}$ stack of 58 cores from the deep North Atlantic [Lisiecki and Stern (2016)]. We also provide two examples of how dual proxy alignment ages can be inferred by aligning additional cores to the stack.


This study aims to investigate the pattern of dynamic relationships between energy consumption, economic growth, and poverty in panel data set of 12 provinces of Eastern Indonesia during the period 2009-2019. PVECM and    FM-OLS were applied to analyze the dynamic link of the variables both in the short and long term. All secondary data used were collected from BPS and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The results of this empirical study in the short term corroborate the neutrality hypothesis, which reveals that there is no short-term relationship in the case of energy-growth nexus, energy-poverty nexus, and poverty-growth nexus. In the long term, empirical evidence corroborates the feedback hypothesis in the case of the energy-growth nexus and poverty-growth nexus. Concerning the long-run energy-growth nexus, the increase in energy consumption has a positive effect on the acceleration of economic growth, and also the increase in economic growth requires the fulfillment of adequate energy consumption. Furthermore, a feedback relationship is found in the poverty-growth nexus case which explains that the progress of poverty reduction is significantly determined by sustainable economic growth that supports several previous studies and the trickle-down economics argument or pro-growth-poverty. On the other hand, widespread poverty has a negative impact on the achievement of economic growth.


The effects of management on insect communities have been studied in several forest ecosystems, although the consequences for single potential pests are only known for a few species. The present study investigated whether forest management affects the infestation of European beech trees by the beech scale Cryptococcus fagisuga. We assessed the densities of C. fagisuga on a total of 520 trees (Fagus sylvatica) at 104 forest sites, representing three main types of beech forest management intensity across three regions in Germany. The infestation rates on beech trees were 16% in the South‐West, 20% in the Centre and 35% in the North‐East of Germany, although the rates per plot did not differ significantly among regions. No significant differences between unmanaged beech, managed even‐aged beech and managed uneven‐aged beech forests were found because of high variability in beech scale infestation observed among forest sites and within forest management types. Highest infestation rates occurred on widely dispersed mature trees within thickets with shelterwood stage and lowest infestation rates occurred on young beech trees in the thicket stage. The results of the present study suggest that the infestation rates of C. fagisuga on beech depend on tree age and canopy openness rather than on management intensity.


BACKGROUND
The surgical approach in treating coexisting vitreoretinal disease and cataract is controversial. We report on patients who developed early posterior capsular fibrosis after combined cataract and vitreoretinal surgery with air/SF6-gas tamponade.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The medical records of 15 consecutive eyes (13 patients) who underwent combined phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation and vitreoretinal surgery with intraocular air/SF6-gas tamponade were retrospectively analyzed. The indications for vitreous surgery included: subfoveal neovascular membrane in age-related macular degeneration (5 eyes), macular hole (4 eyes), macular pucker (2 eyes), rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (2 eyes), persistent vitreous haemorrhage after branch retinal vein occlusion (1 eye), persistent vitreous haemorrhage and/or tractional retinal detachment in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (1 eye). The mean follow-up period was 7 months (1-13 months). A control group consisted of 15 eyes (15 patients) who underwent the equal combined operation without intraocular tamponade. The indications for vitreous surgery were persistent vitreous haemorrhage in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (5 eyes), persistent vitreous haemorrhage after branch retinal vein occlusion (5 eyes), asteroid hyalosis (2 eyes), macular pucker (1 eye), posttraumatic vitreous haemorrhage (1 eye), acute retinal necrosis (1 eye). The mean follow-up was 8 months (2-13 months). The posterior capsule was examined at the slit lamp microscopy with maximal dilated pupils. We defined posterior capsular opacification (PCO) as severe if posterior capsule was fibrotic, diffusely thickened and opaque. Modest PCO was characterized by focal fibrotic opacifications at otherwise clear posterior capsule.

RESULTS
Severe posterior capsular fibrosis developed in 9 eyes (60%) after 2-14 weeks postoperatively (mean 8 weeks) including 3 of 6 eyes with air tamponade (50%) and 6 of 9 eyes with 20% SF6-gas tamponade (66.7%). In 6 eyes (40%) Nd:YAG-laser capsulotomy was performed 4-14 weeks postoperatively (mean 8.5 weeks). In the control group modest PCO developed in 8 eyes (53.3%) 1-13 months postoperatively (mean 6.5 months) none requiring Nd:YAG-laser capsulotomy during follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS
Combined cataract and vitreoretinal surgery with intraocular air/SF6-gas tamponade induces severe posterior capsular fibrosis in the early postoperative period. The capsular fibrosis is presumably caused by accumulation of fibrin and proliferation stimulating factors in the narrow space between intraocular lens and air/SF6-gas bubble.


Calcium–fortified rice is normal rice fortified with calcium and processed by consecutive steps, i.e. infusion or soaking of the rice grain in a calcium salt solution, draining and drying. Heating during infusion causes pregelatinization of rice starch resulting in a change in the pasting properties of Ca-fortified rice. Pasting properties determine the cooking quality of rice. The purpose of the research was to evaluate the changes of the pasting properties in three varieties of calcium-fortified rice. These are: low amylose (LA), medium (MA), high (HA) rice and they were represented by the varieties: Memberamo, Ciherang and IR-42. The calcium salt used as a fortificant was Ca-lactate. Calcium fortification process was conducted at temperatures of 80oC and 90oC with infusion times of 10 minutes and 25 minutes. The pasting properties were determined by Brabender Amilograph (Visco amilograph) with the parameters being peak viscosity, breakdown viscosity, and gelatinization temperature. The research showed that calcium fortification of rice resulted in a calcium-fortified rice that had a higher gelatinization temperature than that of normal rice, low pasta viscosity and a flat curve of starch granules breakdown. These data explained that calcium-fortified rice took a long time to cook and resulted in a cooked-rice with a hard texture due to its decreased water binding capacity. Based on the rice amylose content, the higher the rice amylose the higher the gelatinization temperature, and the lower the paste viscosity. From these data it was found that there was a decrease in the cooking quality of calcium – fortified rice.


In this paper, a new class of models, named twin nonlinear two-box (TNTB) models, is proposed for modeling and digital predistortion of power amplifiers and transmitters exhibiting memory effects. The forward, reverse, and parallel TNTB models are introduced. These models enable a more general modeling of nonlinear distortions and memory effects in comparison with previously reported behavioural models. The models' performance is assessed experimentally for a high power Doherty amplifier driven by multi-carrier WCDMA signals. The modeling and predistortion results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed models when compared to the well established memory polynomials. Indeed, the proposed models lead to the same performance as memory polynomial models while reducing the number of parameters by approximately 50%. Definitely, only 24 parameters were required to accurately model and linearize a highly nonlinear Doherty power amplifier driven by a 20 MHz wide multi-carrier signal. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the lowest complexity model/digital predistorter reported for similar context.


The Maslach Burnout Inventory was projected to evaluate the Burnout Syndrome in workers. This article analyses the psychometric characteristics (reliability and construct validity) of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey in a sample of 655 Brazilian workers. The factorial analysis identified three factors: Emotional Exhaustion, Low Professional Accomplishment, and Depersonalization. These three factors explained 55,69% of the total variation of the subject's answers. All of them have reached a satisfactory level of internal consistency, considering that the first Factor (Emotional Exhaustion) and the second (Low Professional Accomplishment) could function independently. Factor 3 (depersonalization), as its internal consistency was under .80, can not be considered as independent scale. However, this sub-scale contributes in an explanatory way to the comprehension about the Burnout Syndrome configuration in workers.


Abstract Aim This study seeks to analyze the vertical migration pattern of Cladocera species as related with the physical and chemical parameters of the water. Methods Samplings were carried out at 3-h intervals for 24 h in January 15 on the Sapucaí River compartment of Furnas reservoir, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. These samples were taken at five depths, from the surface to the near-bottom layer (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9 m) totalizing 54 samplings for each limnological variable (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, chlorophyll-a content, Index of Trophic State, water transparency and Cladocera populations abundance). The samplings were performed at the limnetic region at a point with total depth of 9 meters. Results Water column thermal and chemical stratifications and thermocline occurrences were registered in the middle of the day. Among the 14 Cladocera species, only Ceriodaphnia cornuta and C. silvestrii displayed a significant migration pattern, which was mainly related to chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen concentrations. Diaphanosoma birgei and D. spinulosum are found at high densities near the surface and low ones in depth. The migration of Diaphanosoma was directly related to the concentration of chlorophyll a and pH, thus acting as a limiting factor. Feeding at high temperatures in the surface layer and assimilating at lower ones in depth, usually confer metabolic advantages to the vertically migratory species. Conclusions In this study, a well-defined pattern of vertical migration was found for two Cladocera species and its possible causes were hypothesized. To the species with less locomotory capacity, thermal and chemical stratifications can act as barriers to migration and distribution through the water column. This pattern may probably be found for zooplankton species in other compartments of Furnas reservoir, with similar physical and chemical properties.


Disciplinary boundaries are inevitable within a complex academic system and as those boundaries shift with time, the problem of speaking across them only increases. The scholars today who study the Japanese collections held by British museums are primarily art historians or archaeologists, but the context in which these collections were created was little informed by either of these disciplines. Other motivations were at work, such as the advancement of British manufactures, the comparative study of religions, or a desire to capture "specimens". In
Edinburgh, construction of what is today the National Museum of Scotland began in 1861 to parallel the institutions created in London during the previous decades. The citizens of Glasgow, too, desired a museum for their city, and the Kelvingrove House Museum was created in 1872. By establishing the context for collecting Japanese material artefacts in the second half of the 19th century we can understand the divergent trajectories taken since their acquisition, and thus better appreciate their significance within our national collections.


The present study evaluated the metabolic and functional effects, beyond nutritive value, of feeding garra meal to broiler chickens. Three hundred twenty Sasso-breed day-old chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments with either 0, 10, 20 or 30% garra meal added on top of a formulated starter and grower basal diets. The experiment lasted for 42 days. There was a gradual increase in feed intake and body weight gain with increasing garra meal addition (p < 0.05). Broiler chickens fed 30% garra meal were more efficient in converting feed to body weight and yielded the highest carcass weight (p < 0.05). Crude protein and crude fat digestibility coefficients were higher with the garra meal receiving groups with the highest values (74.8 ± 1.6 and 92.3 ± 0.6) recorded with 20% and 30% garra meal additions, respectively (p < 0.05). The increase in individual and total esterified carnitine concentrations in dried blood spots demonstrated the elevated metabolic rate with increasing garra meal addition (p < 0.05). A better supply of glucogenic substrate to the citric acid cycle was seen with garra meal addition due to the increase of propionylcarnitine to acetylcarnitine ratio (p < 0.05) while no effect was observed on ketogenesis as measured through the 3-hydroxybutyrylcarnitine to acetylcarnitine ratio (p > 0.05). Yet, it likely showed that part of the higher amino acids (Leucine, Methionine and Citrulline) uptake due to garra meal was used as glucogenic substrate (p < 0.05). Histo-morphology showed gradual increases in villus height, crypt depth and their ratio in the proximal parts of the intestine (duodenum and jejunum) with the opposite results observed in the more distal part (ileum) with garra meal addition (p < 0.05). It can be concluded that garra meal strongly improved broiler performance when added to a plant-based diet and only few parameters warranted for caution when using more up to 30% garra meal addition. Beyond growth performance, garra meal generated a shift to a more efficient digestion and nutrient metabolism, and induced changes in edible muscle that may aid in solving shortages in the Ethiopian human diet.


To investigate the spatial organization of the vagal preganglionic neurons that control gastric acid, insulin and glucagon secretion, as well as bradycardia, these variables were simultaneously monitored before, during, and after monopolar stimulation (50 microA, 1 ms, 50 Hz) through semimicroelectrodes (tip 25-50 microns) in urethan-chloralose-anesthetized rats. Gastric acid, insulin, and glucagon secretion were elicited by stimulation of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV), whereas heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, and plasma glucose were not affected. Post hoc analyses were used to characterize the viscerotopic patterns within the DMV. For each of the three positive responses, the "center of gravity" (centroid) of 205 stimulation sites was located within the DMV at approximately the midanterioposterior extent of the nucleus. Vectors of response effectiveness around the centroids as well as comparisons of different groups of DMV electrodes established that effective sites were found throughout the full rostrocaudal extent of the DMV. Comparisons of left vs. right DMV sites indicated that gastric acid, insulin, and glucagon secretion are influenced equally by the two sides of the brain stem. The differences in response strength observed in the DMV were best described in terms of the discrete medial and lateral longitudinal columns of the DMV. The centroid point for gastric acid was in the medial DMV, and the points for insulin and glucagon were in the lateral DMV. Further, medial placements were significantly more effective than lateral ones in eliciting gastric acid secretion; lateral placements were more effective than medial ones in eliciting insulin secretion. Although the effect was not significant in the case of glucagon, the trend paralleled the pattern for insulin.


The organic ligands acetate, lactate, oxalate and EDTA have been identified as components of wastes targeted for disposal in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) located in Southeastern New Mexico. The presence of these ligands is of concern because complexation of the actinides with the ligands may increase dissolved actinide concentrations and impact chemical retardation during transport. The current work considers the complexation of Am(III), Th (IV), Np(V), and U(W) with two of the organic ligands, acetate and lactate, in NaCl media from dilute through high concentration. A thermodynamic model for actinide complexation with the organic ligands has been developed based on the Pitzer activity coefficient formalism and the Harvie-Moller-Weare, Felmy-Weare database for describing brine evaporite systems. The model was parameterized using first apparent stability constant data from the literature. Because of complexation of other metal ions (Fe, Mg, Ni, Pb, etc.) present in the WIPP disposal room with the organic ligands, preliminary results from model calculations indicate the organic ligands do not significantly increase dissolved actinide concentrations.


It has been suggested that systolic time intervals (STI) can be used to monitor the cardiac effects of antihypertensive treatments and also to evaluate hypertensive patients. STI changes observed in hypertensives have been ascribed to myocardial disease, although they could be due to the existence of a relationship between STI and blood pressure. A group of 37 subjects (18 normotensives and 19 hypertensives) with no signs of heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction were studied to examine the relationship of STI to blood pressure. Pacing with an external battery pulse generator was performed at the rate of 95 beats/min in order to eliminate differences in heart rate. STI were measured from good quality high speed (100 mm/s) recordings and the average value of 10 consecutive cardiac cycles was used for statistical analysis. Normal subjects showed significantly lower values of preejection period (PEP), electromechanical systole (QS2), and pre‐ejection period/left ventricular ejection time ratio (PEP/LVET). Moreover, a significant inverse relationship between diastolic pressure and LVET and significant direct relationships between diastolic pressure and PEP, systolic pressure and PEP, diastolic pressure and PEP/LVET, and between systolic pressure and PEP/LVET were demonstrated. We suggest to consider the relation of STI to blood pressure to provide regression equations to best appreciate and use STI.


Many membrane proteins possessing hydrophobic transmembrane (TM) segments are cotranslationally integrated into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Various peroxisomal and mitochondrial membrane proteins escape the ER-targeting mechanism and are targeted to their destinations. Here, we discovered a short segment in the 70-kDa peroxisomal membrane protein (PMP70) that suppresses ER targeting. The first TM segment has an intrinsic signal function that targets the nascent chain to the ER. The ER targeting was suppressed by a short N-terminal sequence of nine residues that is 80 residues upstream of the TM segment. Among the nine residues, Ser(5) is indispensable. The short segment also suppressed the signal peptide function of an authentic secretory protein. This function of the short segment was suppressed by the recombinant motif-GST fusion protein. The 50-kDa and 20-kDa proteins were crosslinked with the motif. The PMP70 molecule with the Ser5Ala point mutation predominantly localized to the ER. We propose the concept of an ER-targeting suppressor that suppresses the ER-targeting mechanism via a binding factor.


Objective. To explore the availability of veterinary pharmacy didactic and experiential learning opportunities in US pharmacy programs. Methods. A 23-item questionnaire was sent to subscribers of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Curriculum and Pharmacy Practice listservs, which reach 2,098 participants and 141 pharmacy programs. The Fisher exact test was used to evaluate the association of offering a didactic course and accepting credit from an outside program for veterinary pharmacy course and between pharmacy programs offering a veterinary didactic course and being affiliated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. All analyses were conducted using SPSS, version 26. Results. Questionnaire response rate was 61% (86/141). Twenty seven percent (23/86) of pharmacy programs reported offering a didactic veterinary pharmacy course and 60% (52/86) reported having experiential rotation opportunities. Pharmacy programs that do not offer a veterinary pharmacy course, were not more or less likely to accept outside credit to gain didactic knowledge. Pharmacy programs geographically associated with a veterinary school were more likely to offer didactic as well as experiential opportunities. Conclusion. Pharmacy programs were twice as likely to have experiential opportunities in veterinary pharmacy compared to didactic opportunities, leaving room for curricular development. With most graduating pharmacists choosing to work in the community pharmacy setting and the growth of veterinary pharmacy at several national corporate pharmacy chains, it would be advisable for pharmacy programs to expose students to veterinary pharmacy whether as a didactic course and/or an experiential rotation.


The application of flow equation to analytic function enables one to see physical applicability of complex analysis. This work provides solution to physical problem in fluid flow that formalizes the idea of motion of fluid element. Harmonic functions are used to study fluid flow under the assumption that an incompressible and frictionless fluid, flows over the complex plane and that all cross sections in planes parallel to the complex are the same. Conformal mapping is used to transform a region in which the problem is posed to the one in which the solution is easy to obtain. Keywords : Complex Potential, Analytic function, harmonic function, conformal mapping, irrotational


With the continuing increase in the number of images collected every day from different sensors, automated registration of multisensor/multispectral images has become a very important issue. This is particularly true when pre- and postevent image comparison is concerned: For this particular application, the requirement of obtaining the earliest possible postevent image imposes the use of data potentially showing strongly different characteristics with respect to the pre-event image. Strongly inhomogeneous image pairs require robust automatic registration techniques. Resolution-independent feature-based registration is naturally preferred over correlation-based registration where data are inhomogeneous. In this letter, we propose a mode-based feature matching scheme, formerly invented for computer vision application and adapted in this letter to pre- and postevent matching. We list a few weak points in the original technique when used for this particular application and illustrate how a significant improvement was obtained by modifying the algorithm. Three real cases of pre- and postevent feature matching on high resolution satellite images are shown and discussed.