INTRODUCTION
The term subclinical hypothyroidism was originally used to describe the patient
with a low- normal free T4 but a slightly elevated serum TSH level. Other terms
for this condition are mild hypothyroidism early thyroid failure, preclinical
hypothyroidism, and decreased thyroid reserve. The TSH elevation in such patients
is modest, with values typically between 4 and 15 mU/L, although patients with a
TSH above 10 mU/L more often have a reduced free T4 and may have some
hypothyroid symptoms. The definition of this syndrome depends significantly on
the reference range for a normal TSH concentration. This syndrome is most often
seen in patients with early Hashimoto's disease and is a common phenomenon,
occurring in 7% to 10% of older women. The common etiology of this disease
are not sufficiently treated cases of hypothyroidism and disease of the gland caused
by autoimmunity. The existence of antibodies against the gland point out the
existence of autoimmune disease of the gland. Other etiologies for this disease are
those cases of hyperthyroidism who have undergone therapy in the past, those who
have undergone radiation treatment to the neck in the past and also undergone
therapy like with cytokines, therapy with iodine, therapy with lithium, with drugs
like amiodarone and also the thyroiditis which develops after delivery which has
got a hypothyroid period. Subclinical hypothyroidism is very commonly
encountered in the community showing a prevalence rate of three to eight percent
where previously no disease of the thyroid has been shown to occur. There is a
rise seen in the prevalence as the age progresses and also more case is seen in
females.
Also prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism is more in females than in males
and also in older people than in younger people because of the fact that the
prevalence of thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase (microsomal) antibodies is
higher in females and in older people. Subjects due to subclinical hypothyroidism
show an increased rate at which they convert into clinical hypothyroidism about
2.6 % every year in cases when the thyroperoxidase have antibodies against them
not present and 4.3 percent if they have it [6]. However it has been shown that some
people do not manifest clinical hypothyroidism while others return to normal level.
A thyroid stimulating hormone value more than 10 mIU/L mostly manifest
clinical hypothyroidism while value below 6 mIU/L less frequently manifest. It has
been shown in one of the trials in both males and females above fifty five years
and followed up for a mean period of thirty two months, the thyroid stimulating
hormone values returned to normal in fifty two percent of subjects who had the
hormone below 10 mIU/L. Even though it has been agreed that hypothyroidism
results in increase in the cholesterol levels in the patient there by causing
atherosclerosis[8], it has been found out from various studies that the correlation
between increased lipids, atherosclerosis and subclinical hypothyroidism resulted
in not so convincing outcome. While some studies showed that there are large
number of hypercholesterolemic patients in SH while some other studies showed
that SH patients develop only modest in the range of only 10% higher average in
terms of total cholesterol than subjects not having the disease [9-22]. In the first
Whickham study it was shown that the cholesterol levels did not show any
association with regard to the increase in thyroid stimulating hormone after the
researchers adjusted the subjects for age [11]. Also after that the Whickham survey
showed that there is no relation between the increased thyroid stimulating hormone
and increased probability of suffering from ischemic disease of the heart or
abnormality in serum lipid levels [23]. Therefore it can be said that from the
discussions above the relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism and
cardiovascular disease remains controversial. However there was no difference
between women with subclinical hypothyroidism and controls regarding
hypertension and diabetes mellitus 21,24. This study was done to find out the
prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism and its relation to Hypertension,
Diabetes and Ischemic heart disease among women above the age of 50 years
attending medical outpatient clinic at Government Chengalpattu Medical College
and Hospital.
AIM OF THE STUDY :
• To find out the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism among women above 50 years of age.
• To study the relation between subclinical hypothyroidism and Hypertension,
Diabetes and Ischemic Heart Disease in those patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS :
Case selection :
Women above 50 years of age attending Medical outpatient clinic of Chengalpattu
medical college and hospital from January 2012 to june 2012 were studied. The
sample consisted of a random selection of 100 women. Informed consent was
obtained from all participants. All the participants were examined for thyroid
function. Women with subclinical hypothyroidism (defined as TSH > 5.5


Introduction This research integrates literature on masculinity stress—the distress experienced as the result of a perceived discrepancy with male gender norms—with research on goal conflict to examine preferences for plant-based meat alternatives (PBMAs). Men experiencing masculinity stress are likely to hold salient a goal of being masculine, which should lead to less preference for PBMAs. However, many of these men simultaneously hold competing goals, such as making ethical food choices, which remain inhibited in favor of the focal masculinity goal. We argue that once men experiencing masculinity stress highlight their masculinity through the selection of a manly product, they satisfy that higher-order goal and are then free to pursue previously inhibited goals, such as making an ethical choice through the selection of PBMAs. Methods We present the results of three studies supporting these expectations. Study 1 tests the link between masculinity stress and meat (alternative) consumption using consumer search behavior collected from Google Trends, showing that masculinity stress is positively (negatively) correlated with searches for red meat (PBMAs). Study 2 shows that men experiencing masculinity stress are more inclined to choose PBMAs, provided they are presented within a masculine product context. Study 3 presents a parallel mediation model, showing that ethical considerations (as opposed to masculine goals) shape the choice of PBMA preference. Results and discussion We conclude with a discussion of theoretical implications for the impression management strategies utilized by men experiencing masculinity stress and practical implications for the growing PBMA industry.


Nesiritide (recombinant B‐type natriuretic peptide) is often given for symptomatic relief of acute decompensated heart failure in adults. The literature describing the safety or efficacy of nesiritide in children is minimal, and we know of no data that describe the effects of a nesiritide overdose in adults or children. A 3‐year‐old, 10.9‐kg girl was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with the diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy and acute decompensated heart failure. She received several vasoactive infusions during her admission, including nesiritide. On hospital day 47 (day 45 of nesiritide therapy), the patient received an 18‐fold overdose of nesiritide, with no hemodynamic, cardiac, or renal sequelae. She subsequently underwent successful cardiac transplantation. The nesiritide treatment duration was longer for this patient than the 45 days previously reported in a pediatric patient. No hemodynamic instability or cardiac or renal sequelae were associated with the large, inadvertent bolus in our patient. This case report demonstrates the lack of adverse events in a pediatric patient administered nesiritide beyond the recommended dosing parameters. Increased vigilance is always advised when administering drugs not commonly given to pediatric patients.


ParaBIT (parallel inter-board optical interconnection technology) is a promising candidate for large-capacity board-to-board interconnection. In ParaBIT module assembly, a new multichip diebonding technique is needed, because precise optical device chip mounting is required for efficient optical coupling at the E/O (electric/optic conversion) and O/E (optic/electric conversion) interfaces. In this paper, we have proposed a new technique, called TMB (transferred multichip bonding), for the precise mounting of multiple optical device chips. We have also described the detailed procedures of TMB and demonstrated its use in ParaBIT module assembly.


An extraction-type magnetometer has been developed, which is performed under the low temperature of 0.5-0.6 K using a 3He-refrigerator and high magnetic fields up to 18 T using a superconducting magnet (SM) and 27 T using a hybrid magnet (HM). Magnetization curves can be measured with the absolute value over 0.0005 emu using SM and 0.005 emu using HM. We confirmed that the resolution is 0.001 emu for SM and 0.005 emu for HM. For demonstrating the ability of the magnetometer, high field magnetization curves of NdO4Ag in 0.6-4.2 K are presented.


This study demonstrates the physical and electrochemical characterization of nanocomposites based on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) synthesized by adopting a green and low cost approach using lactulose as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The RGO/Ag nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to obtain clear information about the removal of functional groups and morphology of nanocomposites. XRD results confirmed the formation of a high purity crystal of Ag on RGO. FTIR results established partial reduction of GO to RGO by lactulose. TEM images show that spherical Ag NPs of an average size of 4 nm are uniformly deposited onto RGO sheets and also prevent the restacking of RGO layers. The energy dispersive X-ray spectra (EDX) of RGO/Ag nanocomposites indicate the presence of Ag and graphene. Also, EDX spectra of FESEM show that Ag content increases with the increasing concentration of AgNO3 in RGO/Ag nanocomposites. The surface charge as well as stability of the nanocomposites is examined by measuring the zeta potential while electro-conductivity is measured by potentiostat–galvanostat. The zeta potential and conductivity of RGO/Ag nanocomposites is greatly improved compared to GO and RGO. The electro-conductivity of RGO/Ag nanocomposites indicates that conductivity of RGO/Ag nanocomposite increases with increasing concentration of Ag. The electrochemical result also indicates the presence of a higher amount of ionic functional groups in GO than those in RGO and RGO/Ag nanocomposites. GO indicates the lowest current which gradually increased for RGO and RGO/Ag nanocomposites, respectively.


The Christchurch Health Planning and Research Unit was established in April 1975 to develop an approach to regional health services planning based upon researched community need, making the best use of available resources and involving agencies, health professionals and the community. This paper reports on the background to its establishment, the development of a planning strategy and progress and problems to date, especially in the fields of geriatrics, mental health and primary care.


Because addiction is a secretive activity, the first awareness outside the family is mainly at work, where rising costs of absentecism, injuries, damage to, and stealing of, company property reveal the problem, without offering alleviation. Government drugs advice centres and methadone substitution approaches have provided no lasting cures, the major reason being that true cures cost money – not as much as sustaining the habit, but enough to be politically uncomfortable. Whether employers know it or not, drugs and alcohol are already costing them heavily, and it is increasingly being recognized that such involuntary spending – if deliberately channelled into procuring real cures – can provide one of the few effective ways forward. Examines why counselling has so far achieved only limited employer acceptance and, based on field experience, shows what needs to be done.


BACKGROUND Sleep disturbances usually accompany osteoarthritis (OA) because of chronic pain. Poor sleep quality is related to many factors like pain, fatiguability, restless leg syndrome, immobility of joints, anxiety and depression. But the quality of the sleep in patients with osteoarthritis has been rarely studied. We wanted to assess the prevalence of sleep disturbances in OA patients, determine the sleep quality in osteoarthritis patients and evaluate the relationship between pains and sleep quality. METHODS 150 patients with osteoarthritis were selected through convenience sampling as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) were applied. Data was analysed using SPSS. One sample T test and Pearson Correlation were applied to find the correlation between the pains and sleep quality. RESULTS A total of 86 (57 %) patients with osteoarthritis were found to have sleep disturbances and were assessed for sleep quality and pain level. This group contains 18 (20 %) males and 68 (80 %) females. A total of 62 (72 %) osteoarthritis patients including 14 males and 48 females were having poor sleep quality; 67 (78 %) patients had intolerable pain (NPRS > 7). Strong positive correlation (p-value < 0.001) was found between GPSQI and NPRS. CONCLUSIONS Patients with osteoarthritis with high NPRS values have poor sleep quality. There is significant association between pain and poor sleep quality. It will be highly useful for the patients with osteoarthritis if osteoarthritis treatment protocol includes assessment and management of poor sleep quality. As poor quality is an early indicator of majority of mental illnesses, psychiatric liaison services will be highly beneficial for patients with osteoarthritis. KEYWORDS Osteoarthritis, Pain, Sleep Quality, Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)


The environment in cold regions undergoes significant changes that manifest in rising temperatures and melting ice caps. These processes allow access to new areas for shipping and the installation of structures. However, the occurring changes are not solely a reduction of ice, but also waves increasingly occur in cold regions contributing to ice break up in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) and the transport of ice towards the open sea. Much work has been done to combine the single topic disciplines: wave-hydrodynamics, ice mechanics and structure mechanics to wave-structure (WSI) and ice-structure interaction (ISI). The changing environment in cold regions and the increased wave activity form a new combined discipline: wave-ice-structure interaction (WISI). This paper addresses existing knowledge gaps of the future loading scenario WISI that need to be addressed in engineering to ensure safety for future operations in Polar Regions.
 The knowledge gaps however, do not only refer to the discipline interfaces, i.e. challenges in combining them, but also to knowledge gaps within them.
 Wave statistics and the cross-effect between wave and ice are widely unknown which limits the definition of a design wave-scenario. Structures in such environments are exposed to subzero temperatures and neither their impact on properties nor on fatigue life is fully understood. While most phenomena of these two disciplines and their implementation into numerical models are established the ice mechanics appear as the weakest link. Ice is a complex material and not all aspects of its mechanical behaviour are understood and if – the implementation into (numerical) models has not been successful yet. Ice pieces that are energetically charged by waves and collide with structures at high velocities and for such high impact loads the governing ice mechanics are hardly covered by the state of the art or not at all.


CASTLE was an atmospheric nuclear weapons test series held in the Marshall Islands at Enewetak and Bikini atolls in 1954. This is a report of DOD peronnel in CASTLE with an emphasis on operations and radiological safety.


Crossed immunoelectrophoresis in various modifications has directly revealed the immunological partial identity between isolated major allergens of timothy pollen (antigens 19 and 25) and the corresponding pollen allergens of false oat, orchard and rye grass, using rabbit antibodies raised against all four grasses. The inhibitory effects of antigens 19 and 25 relative to those of whole pollen extracts have been determined by means of RAST, inhibiting serum pools from selected grass-pollen-allergic patients and using insolubilized whole pollen extracts from the four grasses as allergosorbents. The inhibitory effects of antigens 19 and 25 were determined to be 97, 91, 92 and 73% of those of whole extracts of timothy, false oat, orchard and rye grass, respectively.


The development of appropriate road infrastructure is fundamental to economic growth and poverty reduction. Rural roads, especially, are especially important for economic development in rural areas. Against this background, this study aims at investigating the effect of rural road access on rural households' livelihood improvement. Concerning the methodology, mixed research approach involving descriptive and explanatory designs was used. This study compares (using propensity score matching techniques) households located in Keble's with road access to suitable controls. The descriptive analysis reveals that rural roads provide enhanced access to markets for inputs such as fertilizers and improved seeds, enable households to sell their produce to nearby markets, and allow to achieve additional non-farm employment opportunities, leading to a rise in income and reduce poverty. The results from econometrics analysis shows that road access positively and significantly improved the livelihood of households as measured by the livelihoods asset capital index. On the basis of their propensity score, the mean difference in the livelihood assets index between households located in Keble's with road access and non-accessible household's ranges up to 6% after matching. The results also indicated that women who are employed during road construction, on average, have 25% to 37% higher empowerment level than those who are not employed. This strengthens the argument for making efforts towards gender mainstreaming during rural road construction and greater engagement of women in road planning and implementation.


A cost-benefit analysis was used to investigate whether reflexive effects in a spatial cueing task are stronger when target location is cued by another person's gaze rather than arrows because the relative contribution of attentional shifts versus automatic priming is greater in the case of gaze cues. Across four experiments, nonpredictive arrows triggered rapid facilitatory, inhibition-less priming that peaked at 300-500ms SOA and then died away; across three experiments, nonpredictive gaze cues triggered facilitation-plus-costs at SOAs of 300-400ms or more, suggesting that gaze cues trigger stronger (and longer) attentional effects. At 200 ms SOA, gaze cues triggered facilitation-without-cost, consistent with the view that facilitatory effects accrue more rapidly due to earlier automatic priming, whereas costs are manifest slightly later, when attentional effects come online. There was some evidence that nonpredictive gaze cues trigger long-lasting congruency effects so long as observers maintain their preparedness to respond. Findings support the view that gaze is a unique symbolic directional cue.


Leprosy Type 1 Reactions (T1R) are immune-mediated events leading to nerve damage and preventable disabilities. They manifest clinically with erythema and oedema of skin lesions and tender peripheral nerves with loss of function. Up to 30% of patients with borderline leprosy are affected by T1R. Although T1R can occur at any time, the frequency is higher in the first six months of MDT treatment. T1R are treated with corticosteroids. Clinical trials are needed to assess not only efficacious and safe second line drugs but also to assess the best regimens of prednisolone in terms of dosage, length of treatment and rate of decrease. A tool which enables clinicians to assess the severity of T1R is useful in defining outcomes in clinical trials. The lack of uniformity surrounding interpretation of data has hindered development of internationally accepted treatment protocols and guidelines, while also making trialling of new therapeutic agents difficult. Using a validated clinical severity scale for leprosy reactions improves research quality and provides a tool to promote uniformity and comparability of research. A Severity Scale for T1R, based on the INFIR clinical severity scoring system, was developed and prospectively validated in Bangladesh and Brazil. The scale consists of 21 items to assesses three components of T1R. The first section looks at skin involvement using number of affected lesions, the degree of inflammation and the presence of peripheral oedema (Score A). The second section is a measurement of sensory function of the nerves by using graded Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments (SWM) to assess sensation in the hands and feet, and cotton wool for corneal sensation (Score B). The third section uses a standard measure of muscle power (MRC grading) to assess the motor function of the nerves of the face, hands and feet (Score C). The sum of the total for each section (A, B, and C) gives the overall severity scale score with a range of 0–63 (Appendix 1). The maximum score possible for sections A,


OBJECTIVE
The beneficial effects obtained by myo-inositol in association with seleno-methionine in patients affected by subclinical hypothyroidism have been recently demonstrated. Here, we evaluate the immune-modulating effect of myo-inositol in association with seleno-methionine in patients with euthyroid autoimmune thyroiditis (AT).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Twenty-one consecutive Caucasian patients with newly diagnosed euthyroid chronic AT were evaluated. All subjects were treated with myo-inositol in association with selenium (600 mg/83 mg) tablets, twice per day, for six months. A complete thyroid assessment was done before the treatment, and after six months.

RESULTS
After the treatment thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels significantly declined with respect to basal values, overall in patients with an initial TSH value in the high normal range (2.1<TSH<4.0), suggesting that the combined treatment can reduce the risk of a progression to hypothyroidism in subjects with autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). We found that after the treatment antithyroid autoantibodies levels declined. Moreover, the immune-modulatory effect was first confirmed by the fact that after the treatment CXCL10 levels declined, too.

CONCLUSIONS
We first show an immune-modulatory effect of myo-inositol in association with seleno-methionine in patients with euthyroid AT. Further studies are needed to extend the observations in a large population, to evaluate the effect on the quality of life, and to study the mechanism of the effect on chemokines.


Detection of pathogens and relevant genetic markers using their nucleic acid signatures is extremely common due to the inherent specificity genomic sequences provide. One approach for assaying a sample simultaneously for many different targets is the DNA microarray, which consists of several million short nucleic acid sequences (probes) bound to an inexpensive transparent substrate. Typically, complex samples hybridize to the microarray and the pattern of fluorescing probes on the microarray's surface identifies the detected targets. In the case of evolving or newly emergent organisms, a hybridization pattern can occur that differs from any previously known sources. When this happens it can be useful to recover the hybridized DNA from the binding locations of interest for sequencing. Here we present the novel utilization of a focused Infrared (IR) laser to heat user-selected spots on the DNA microarray surface, causing only localized dehybridization and recovery of the desired DNA into an elution buffer where it is available for subsequent amplification or sequencing. The introduction of a focused dehybridization method for spots of interest suppresses the amount of background DNA to be analyzed from downstream processes, and should reduce subsequent sequence assembly errors. This technique could also be applied to high-density protein microarrays where the desire to locally heat spots for release of bound molecules is desired.


[1] Observations of noctilucent clouds (NLC) from northwest Europe have been collected by a network of observers for almost 40 years. Previous analyses of the observations have found an apparent increasing frequency of occurrence, a 10–11 year modulation and evidence for 5-day periodicity. Here we reexamine the observational data for NLC occurrence to test whether the observed variations can be explained by planetary wave activity in the middle atmosphere. Planetary wave amplitudes and phases in the lower mesosphere are derived from global meteorological assimilations from 1979–2000 and extrapolated to the mesopause. When the NLC observations are selected from a constant observing area, we find that there is no substantial trend in yearly NLC occurrence over the observation period, whereas the 10–11 year and 5-day modulations remain significant. We find a strong correlation between the probability of observing NLC and the combined effects of stationary, 16-day and 5-day planetary waves at the NLC location. The most reasonable explanation for the correlation is that the probability of observing NLC depends on the strength of the wind from the north, which in turn depends on the amplitude and phase of the planetary waves. The influence of planetary waves on NLC occurrence may to a certain extent explain the 10–11 year periodicity in NLC. This possibility is a consequence of a strong correlation between the phase of the stationary planetary waves and the 10–11 year cycle of solar activity during the period 1979–2000.


Abstract: Activated β-catenin/T-cell factor (Tcf) signaling plays various roles in human cell mechanisms. We identified the inhibitory effect of isorhamnetin against β-catenin/Tcf signaling in β-catenin activated cells. Isorhamnetin inhibited the transcriptional activity of β-catenin/Tcf in HEK293 cells transiently transfected with a constitutively active mutant β-catenin gene. Also, isorhamnetin inhibited the β-catenin-activated melanogenesis in B16F1 cells. Regarding the inhibitory mechanism, the shift assay showed that the binding of Tcf complexes with its specific DNA-binding sites was suppressed by isorhamnetin. Western blot analysis showed a decreased level of β-catenin in nucleus caused by isorhamnetin. These results suggest that the isorhamnetin acts as a negative regulator of β-catenin/Tcf signaling and its inhibitory mechanism is related to the decreased binding of β-catenin/Tcf complexes to consensus DNA.


IMPORTANCE
The proportion of women at the rank of full professor in US medical schools has not increased since 1980 and remains below that of men. Whether differences in age, experience, specialty, and research productivity between sexes explain persistent disparities in faculty rank has not been studied.

OBJECTIVE
To analyze sex differences in faculty rank among US academic physicians.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
We analyzed sex differences in faculty rank using a cross-sectional comprehensive database of US physicians with medical school faculty appointments in 2014 (91,073 physicians; 9.1% of all US physicians), linked to information on physician sex, age, years since residency, specialty, authored publications, National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, and clinical trial investigation. We estimated sex differences in full professorship, as well as a combined outcome of associate or full professorship, adjusting for these factors in a multilevel (hierarchical) model. We also analyzed how sex differences varied with specialty and whether differences were more prevalent at schools ranked highly in research.

EXPOSURES
Physician sex.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Academic faculty rank.

RESULTS
In all, there were 30,464 women who were medical faculty vs 60,609 men. Of those, 3623 women (11.9%) vs 17,354 men (28.6%) had full-professor appointments, for an absolute difference of -16.7% (95% CI, -17.3% to -16.2%). Women faculty were younger and disproportionately represented in internal medicine and pediatrics. The mean total number of publications for women was 11.6 vs 24.8 for men, for a difference of -13.2 (95% CI, -13.6 to -12.7); the mean first- or last-author publications for women was 5.9 vs 13.7 for men, for a difference of -7.8 (95% CI, -8.1 to -7.5). Among 9.1% of medical faculty with an NIH grant, 6.8% (2059 of 30,464) were women and 10.3% (6237 of 60,609) were men, for a difference of -3.5% (95% CI, -3.9% to -3.1%). In all, 6.4% of women vs 8.8% of men had a trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, for a difference of -2.4% (95% CI, -2.8% to -2.0%). After multivariable adjustment, women were less likely than men to have achieved full-professor status (absolute adjusted difference in proportion, -3.8%; 95% CI, -4.4% to -3.3%). Sex-differences in full professorship were present across all specialties and did not vary according to whether a physician's medical school was ranked highly in terms of research funding.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Among physicians with faculty appointments at US medical schools, there were sex differences in academic faculty rank, with women substantially less likely than men to be full professors, after accounting for age, experience, specialty, and measures of research productivity.


Ten subjects identified 15 Danish utterances by a human speaker, differing only in their fundamental frequency (F0) course, as being either declarative, nonfinal, or interrogative (forced choice). Responses are closely correlated with F0: the most steeply falling intonation contours are identified as being declarative, the least falling ones as being interrogative, and contours in the middle of the continuum as being nonfinal. Several mutually interdependent parameters in the F0 course may account for the results, the two most powerful one, however, being the levels of the last stressed and the succeeding unstressed syllable, respectively, in the utterance. In a subsequent experiment, seven subjects identified the same utterances as being either declarative or nondeclarative. The majority of the (formerly) nonfinal sentences were now labeled nondeclarative, rather than being equally distributed among the declarative and nondeclarative categories. When a subset of the same utterances were multilated, identification deteriorated almost progressively with the number of syllables being cut away from the end of the utterance, but only slightly so until nothing but the first stress group remained; whereas, syllables cut away from the beginning hardly affected identification at all.


This article reports a simulation experiment which compared the decisions made by hierarchically organized groups with decisions made by egalitarian groups. The criterion for evaluating decision quality was return On investment. Overall the return on investment for hierarchically organized groups was significantly less than that of egalitarian groups. However, when sacrifices by individual group members gave a competitive advantage, hierarchically organized groups had a significantly higher return than egalitarian groups. The experiment also found that the hierarchically organized groups spent more time and effort making decisions but enjoyed the task less. The experiment used 64 groups of senior level business students that were organized into 11 computing industries.


Objectives: The Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) is defined by retromicrognathia, glossoptosis, and sleep apnea and can also be associated with cleft palate. Diagnosis, management and mandibular catch-up growth are still controversial issues in PRS patients. The aim of our retrospective study was to evaluate in three dimensions (3D) the airway space and mandibular morphology in PRS compared to a normal control group patients in the pre-orthodontic period of life. The null hypothesis was that we would not find a significant difference between the PRS and control group patients in oropharyngeal airway volume measurements. Material and methods: We analyzed 9 PRS patients (mean age: 8 years-old) who underwent cleft palate surgery in the first four months of life, performed by the same surgeon using the same technique. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) was performed in these patients after local ethical committee approval. The control group consisted of 15 patients (mean age: 9 years-old) with CBCT already performed for other reasons. 3D Slicer was used in both groups for semi-automatic segmentation of the airway space. Two independent observers performed semi-automatic segmentations twice in each patient with a one- week interval between the two series of measurements. Airway volume was automatically measured using 3D Slicer. We also developed a 3D cephalometric analysis with Maxilim software in order to define a 3D mandibular morphology which consisted of 25 landmarks, 4 planes, and 23 distances. Two independent observers performed the 3D cephalometric analysis twice for each patient, with a one- week interval between the two series of measurements. Results: There was no significant difference in the intra- and inter-observer measurements between the PRS and control groups for airway space volume (p<0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the shape of the mandible between the PRS group and the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: Vertical ramus width and mandibular global anteroposterior length were significantly lower in the PRS group. Mandibular hypoplasia could be found in PRS patients not only in the horizontal dimension. Nemesis relevance: the null hypothesis was confirmed. Moreover we failed to find exactly the same control group under 9 years-old due to radioprotection restrictions of application of cone beam CT in children.


Potential users of audio production software, such as parametric audio equalizers, may be discouraged by the complexity of the interface. A new approach creates a personalized on-screen slider that lets the user manipulate the audio in terms of a descriptive term (e.g. "warm"), without the user needing to learn or use the interface of an equalizer. This system learns mappings by presenting a sequence of sounds to the user and correlating the gain in each frequency band with the user's preference rating. The system speeds learning through transfer learning. Results on a study of 35 participants show how an effective, personalized audio manipulation tool can be automatically built after only three ratings from the user.


Increasing evidence indicates the presence of endogenous digitalis-like compound(s) in human body fluids. In this preliminary report, we describe a study of the partial purification by HPLC of these compounds in the plasma of neonates (who have particularly high concentrations of this substance) and adults. Plasma samples from neonates (cord blood) and adults, lyophilized and extracted with methanol, were applied on a 300 x 3.9 mm C18 Nova Pak column and eluted with a mobile phase of acetonitrile/methanol/water (17/17/66 or 14/14/72 by vol) and, after 30 min, with 100% methanol. We assayed eluted fractions for inhibitory activity of 86Rb uptake and for digoxin-like immunoreactivity. The elution profile revealed a first peak of inhibitory activity of 86Rb uptake at the beginning of the chromatography; another peak was eluted with the 100% methanol. The two peaks also cross-reacted with antidigoxin antibodies. Because the second peak could possibly reflect the nonspecific interference of various lipophilic compounds, we focused our attention on the first peak. For these fractions dose-response curves for 86Rb uptake and for displacement of digoxin were parallel, respectively, to those of ouabain and digoxin, suggesting similarities of digoxin-like immunoreactive substance to cardiac glycosides. Similar chromatographic profiles were also obtained for plasma from adults, suggesting that the endogenous glycoside-like compound(s) in the neonate may be the same as those in the adult.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore recent literature on the impact of changes in the workplace environment and projected trends through to the year 2030. This allows the authors to identify and discuss what key trends are changing the nature of project organising work. The authors aim to identify what knowledge and which skills, attributes and experiences will be most likely valued and needed in 2030.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper is essentially a reflective review and is explorative in nature. The authors focus on several recent reports published in the UK and Australia that discuss the way that the future workforce will adapt and prepare for radical changes in the workplace environment. The authors focus on project organising work and the changing workplace knowledge, skills, attributes and experience (KSAE) needs of those working in project teams in 2030 and beyond. The authors draw upon existing KSAE literature including findings from a study undertaken into the KSAEs of project alliance managers working in a highly collaborative form of project delivery.

Findings
The analysis suggests that there is good and bad news about project workers prospects in 2030. The good news is that for those working in non-routine roles their work will be more interesting and rewarding than is the case for today. The bad news is that for workers in routine work roles, they will be replaced by advanced digital technology.

Research limitations/implications
Few, if any, papers published in the project organising literature speculate about what this discipline may look like or what KSAEs will be valued and needed.

Practical implications
This paper opens up a debate about how project management/project organising work will be undertaken in future and what skills and expertise will be required. It also prompts project managers to think about how they will craft their careers in 2030 in response to expected work environment demands. This will have professional and learning implications.

Social implications
The issue of the future workplace environment is highly relevant to the social context.

Originality/value
This paper is about a projected future some 12 years onward from today. It bridges a gap in any future debate about how project organising jobs may change and how they will be delivered in the 2030s.


BACKGROUND
Cognitive test performance is decreased in hypertensive adults and children, a finding postulated to represent early target-organ damage to the brain. Hypertensive children are often obese, a comorbidity associated with sleep disordered breathing (SDB), itself associated with cognitive problems; potentially confounding the relation between hypertension (HTN) and neurocognition. Our objective was to determine the association between SDB as measured by a scale and questionnaire score and neurocognition among participants enrolled in an ongoing multicenter study of cognition in children with HTN.

METHODS
Subjects completed laboratory-based neurocognitive tests. Parents and subjects completed rating scales of executive function, mood, and behavior problems. Parents completed the Sleep-Related Breathing Disorder scale of the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (SRBD-PSQ).

RESULTS
To date, 38 HTN subjects and 34 control subjects have completed neurocognitive testing and the SRBD-PSQ. Median SRBD-PSQ scores were similar between groups but the HTN group had a higher percentage of subjects with SRBD-PSQ scores in the range suggestive of obstructive sleep apnea (26% vs. 6%, P = 0.03). Overall, higher SRBD-PSQ scores were not significantly associated with worse performance on laboratory-based measures of executive function and other cognitive domains but were significantly associated with worse scores on rating scales of executive function as well as mood and behavior problems.

CONCLUSIONS
A larger proportion of children with HTN had scores suggestive of SDB. The results underscore the importance of using a multi-method approach in the assessment of cognition and adjusting for potential confounding effects of SDB in studies of cognition in hypertensive children.


Abstract This presentation will review the most common issues that affect how reviewers see a manuscript submission. These include clarity, use of figures, and attention to existing research, especially establishing the significance and novelty of the work, and how to frame a narrative. I will also address responding to peer review. The focus will be on the biological science perspective (Journals of Gerontology Series A), but these issues are relevant to all submissions to GSA journals.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the effect of exogenous fibronectin (FN) on the rat dental papilla tissues and cells.

METHODS
Tooth germs of first mandibular molars obtained from 17-day-old rat (SD) embryos were cultured for 3, 6, 9 days on millipore filters in DMEM supplemented with 10% FCS, 50 mg/L Vitamin c. The dental papilla were isolated by trypsin treatment of homologous tooth germs and cultured on uncoated (control) and FN coated millipore filters for 3, 6 days, bovine plasma FN deposited on millpore filters by treated for 2 hours with 80 mg/L FN.

RESULTS
As shown by histological and cytological data, some mesenchymal cells differentiated into odontoblasts and deposited predentine in cultured tooth germs. In cultured dental papillas, polarized functional cells were observed in FN coated group, odontoblast-like cells never differentiated in control cultures.

CONCLUSION
FN may be involved in odontoblast polarization.


We report on electron spin resonance (ESR) investigations of a FeVO4 single crystal. Temperature and angular dependences of ESR resonance positions were measured and calculated in temperature range of 35–100 K. The spectra show rich angular dependences of the linewidth, the shape and the resonance field. They consist of a single broad line with asymmetric distortion. Due to the low symmetry of the crystal lattice this distortion can be explained by taking into account the influence of non diagonal dynamic susceptibility.


Limited company resources must be managed effectively and efficiently in order to guarantee corporate tax information technology information that will assist management within the company for every necessary process and reliable information. C 4.5 can be used to predict motor stock at Brothers Motor. the learning process that existed in the algorithm C 4.5 is preparing the data traning, calculate the root of the tree, and the partition process of the decision. The decision process will stop when all the records are in the N node that gets the same class, there are no attributes in the record that are partitioned again, there is no record in the empty network. The result of the average calculation algorithm algorithm C 4. Then the results of the calculation can be used for data processing. Data Mining uses the C4.5 algorithm then obtains a decision tree. Produce data obtained 12 rules (rules) in determining the prediction of preparation of motor stocks at Brothers Motor dealers.Key word: dss, algortm c 5.4,motorbike, dealer


In service delivery business, the service practitioners create solutions for the customer requests by integrating proper service components available from the service provider company. This process is called solution design. The solution design process requires the translation of the service requests from the customers, which come in various forms, into the terminology that is internally used by the service provider company. This is a crucial task as all of the internal processes of the service provider, such as financial processes, service delivery etc., need to be in coordination with the solution design process. In today's business environment, performing this translation in a very efficient way is critical. In this paper, we present the business process and the problem with regards to solution design process. Subsequently, we formalize the business problem as an optimization problem and present a formal algorithm to solve the optimization problem.


Three-dimensional finite element analyses simulate the mechanical response of enlarging existing caverns at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The caverns are located in Gulf Coast salt domes and are enlarged by leaching during oil drawdowns as fresh water is injected to displace the crude oil from the caverns. The current criteria adopted by the SPR limits cavern usage to 5 drawdowns (leaches). As a base case, 5 leaches were modeled over a 25 year period to roughly double the volume of a 19 cavern field. Thirteen additional leaches where then simulated until caverns approached coalescence. The cavern field approximated the geometries and geologic properties found at the West Hackberry site. This enabled comparisons are data collected over nearly 20 years to analysis predictions. The analyses closely predicted the measured surface subsidence and cavern closure rates as inferred from historic well head pressures. This provided the necessary assurance that the model displacements, strains, and stresses are accurate. However, the cavern field has not yet experienced the large scale drawdowns being simulated. Should they occur in the future, code predictions should be validated with actual field behavior at that time. The simulations were performed using JAS3D, a three dimensional finite element analysis code for nonlinear quasi-static solids. The results examine the impacts of leaching and cavern workovers, where internal cavern pressures are reduced, on surface subsidence, well integrity, and cavern stability. The results suggest that the current limit of 5 oil drawdowns may be extended with some mitigative action required on the wells and later on to surface structure due to subsidence strains. The predicted stress state in the salt shows damage to start occurring after 15 drawdowns with significant failure occurring at the 16th drawdown, well beyond the current limit of 5 drawdowns.


REBECCA N., aged 2:3 days, was admitted an out-patient, under Mr. Johnson's care, on July 26th, on account of malformation of the rectum. There was a narrow fistulous orifice in the back part, of the V0agina, just behind the situation of the hymen, sufficiently large to admit a moderate-sized probe, from which the feces were exuding. There was no anal orifice, and the parts in that situatiorL were hard and firm. A probe introduced into the fistulous orifice passed backwards and upwards into the rectumln, a space of about three-quarters of an inch separatin(g it fioim the skin in the site of the natural opening. The child had thrush, and strained a good deal in attempting to pass fteces. It is the first child. No deformity is traced in the famil,. Operation. A probe was introduced into the fistulous orifice, and its point pressed downwards towards the fundament. A free incisioni was then made into the soft parts in front of the coccyx down to the probe, which was then made to protrude through the wound, and the latter enlarged with the knife sufficiently to allow a No. 10 catheter to be passed freely into the bowel. F-eces then came through the wound. The parts cut through were firm and solid. There was moderate haemorrh age. July 28th. The child is going on well. The catheter is removed. There is much less straining. Feces are discharged freely through the wound, and in small quantities through the fistulous orifice. The wound was kept open by the passage of a bougie, daily at first antd then at increasing intervals. A little of the fneces still comes through the fistulous orifice in the vagina. The child's general health has mnuchl improved; and the wound, at the date of the last note (Sept. 21st) showed no disposition to close.


The relative volumes occupied by nerve cell somata, axons, myelin, the remaining neuropil, glial cell nuclei, blood vessels and degenerating terminals have been determined in the foveal and parafoveal portions of laminae 5 and 6 of the monkey (Macaca fascicularis) lateral geniculate nucleus, in control animals and at varying times after unilateral enucleation. The proportions occupied by these tissue components are very similar within the same lamina of all control animals, but differ significantly between lamina 5 and 6. After enucleation there are alterations, not only in the denervated lamina 6, but also in lamina 5.


Copolymers (IABb) composed of N-isopropylacrylamide (I), N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-acrylamide (A), 3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid (B), and a hydrophobic comonomer, n-butyl methacrylate (b), were synthesized as cell culture substrata since we previously learned that bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) cultured on the phenylboronic acid-containing copolymer (IAB) differentiated into capillary structures after 26 days culture. The synthesized IABb copo ymers contained higher boron and amine moieties than the IAB copolymer. The results of the dynamic contact angle measurement revealed that IABb copolymer-coated surfaces showed a relatively hydrophobic nature, changing to hydrophilic in response to the aqueous environment. BAECs cultured on the copolymer substrata developed into capillary networks after 7 days. This is probably due to the enrichment of boron and amine segments in the vicinity of the hydrophilic copolymer surface, enhancing more pronounced interaction of boronates with cell membrane glycocalyx. The introduction of n-butyl methacrylate into the polymers might enhance the diffusion of the hydrophobic segments to the bulk polymers and the concentration of relatively hydrophilic segments at the outermost polymer surfaces by contact with water. A copolymer (IAP) without boronic acid groups was also prepared using N-phenylacrylamide (P) as a comonomer instead of 3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid in the IAB copolymer to investigate the effect of boronic acid moieties on the capillary formation of the cultured cells. Although the endothelial cells seeded on the copolymer without boronic acid groups adhered during the early culture period, these cells showed neither proliferation nor differentiation and detached from the surface after 13 days. These results strongly support the opinion that the phenylboronic acid groups in the copolymers are responsible for the specific induction of tissue formation of BAECs through the interaction with glycoconjugates on the cell membranes.


This paper discusses the results of a study carried out from the period of December 2017 to April 2018, on assessing water quality of Al-Khazer river between Mosul and Erbil City. Al-Khazer river is considered as one of the tributaries of Al-Zab river that flow into the Tigris river. Three locations were chosen in order to evaluate its suitability, as resources of raw water, for human, industrial and agricultural uses. The spectral methods have been used to assign some of the physiochemical parameters, which include Water temperature, Turbidity, Electrical conductivity, pH, Dissolved oxygen, Total hardness, Chloride, Sulfate, Nitrate and Orthophosphate. Results showed that all values were within permissible limits and the water of Al-Khazer river were hardened water and suitable for drinking, irrigation, swimming as well as different uses for agriculture and industry.


We introduce a novel search-based decision procedure for Quantified Boolean Formulas (QBFs), called Abstract Branching. As opposed to standard search-based procedures, it escapes the burdensome need for branching on both children of every universal node in the search tree. This is achieved by branching on existential variables only, while admissible universal assignments are inferred. Running examples and experimental results are reported.


This paper aims to test the issue of: Educational policies that succeed in achieving equal educational opportunities, can improve the economic opportunities. Applied to the Governorates of Egypt (1986-2012) by using Human Opportunity Index (HOI). HOI is used to track the progress toward the goal of providing equal access to educational and economic opportunities. The findings indicate that Eduation played a limited role in improving Economic Opportunities in Egypt (1986 - 2012). HOI results of Egypt can be served as a tool to help guide public policies aimed at equalizing opportunity and designing policies to break intergenerational cycles of inequality and improve future outcomes. The paper suggests initially converting the results of HOI to A map of Spatial Opportunities which distributes educational and economic opportunities on the geographical location, to identify disadvantaged groups, which will be the beginning point of regional policies in the future.


The tiger nut Cyperus esculentus belongs to the family cyperaceous and is worldwide in distribution. Two varieties (yellow and black) obtained from Bondoukou area harvesting periods in Côte d'Ivoire were evaluated. Results showed wide variations between the two varieties. Means values for weight, length and diameter of two varieties ranged from 1.41±0.45-2.43±0.92g, 11±1.42-13.5±1.89mm, 8±1.11-9±1.38mm respectively. Major physicochemical properties are carbohydrates (63.93±1.43-63.27±1.10%), fat (23.41±1.75-22.54±1.41%), and fibers (7.68±0.2-8.57±0.06%). Caloric energy ranged from 422.07 to 431.27 kcal/100g. There was significant (p<0.05) difference between fat, carbohydrates, ash and fibers content of the flour samples. Minerals in abundance are potassium (12.37±0.01-16.57±0.01%), magnesium (0.69±0.00-4.1±0.07%) and phosphorus (2.63±0.01-5.05±0.01%). Ca, Na, Mn, Zn and Cu contents have lower than 1%. This work revealed that tiger nut flour is a potential source of food ingredient for supplementation and could be an excellent source of raw material for our growing food industries.


The excavation of the cairn in 1988 revealed a complex sequence of EBA funerary activities. These comprised several episodes of pyre cremation, construction of a large central cist, and six smaller satellite cists all of which had cremations deposited within them. This `cemetery' area was later surrounded by an eccentrically positioned ring-cairn which, subsequently, was covered by a massive mantle of stones. Burial and other ceremonial activities continued in the vicinity of the cairn, taking the form of further cremation deposits within a succession of at least three ring-groove palisade, and a minor cairn finally covered these structures as well. Two final cremations in pits atop this cairn, marked by small upright boulders, attest the longevity of the funerary tradition associated with this monument. There are specialist reports on: `The pottery' by Colin Burgess (305--9); `The plano-convex knife' by Bill Finlayson (309--10); `Cremated human remains' by Kath McSweeney (311--18); `Plant remains' by Camilla Dickson (318--22); `The soil and pollen stratigraphy beneath the cairn' (322--5) and `Palynology of the cist deposits' (326--7), both by Richard Tipping; `Minerals' by J G MacDonald (327--8); and `Kerb stones of the ring-cairn: size, type and colour' by Richard Tipping (328--31).


RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to apply a paper-based clinical reminder to improve the adherence to lipid guidelines.

METHODS
Patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) without lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) were recruited, and medical records were reviewed. Eligible subjects were randomized; a clinical reminder stating current standards and local insurance policy was stamped on the paper chart in the study group but not in the control. The primary outcome was new LLT subscription in the 6-month follow-up period, and the secondary end point was the composite result of LLT or lipid profile check-up.

RESULTS
Ninety-two patients were assigned to the study group and 102 to the control group. The primary outcome showed no difference at the end of 6 months (OR: 1.70, P = 0.248, 95% CI: 0.69-4.19). The secondary end point was significantly higher in the reminder group (OR: 2.81, P = 0.001, 95% CI: 1.57-5.04).

CONCLUSION
A paper chart based clinical reminder providing update clinical recommendations could modify the doctor's behaviour and improve the attention to lipid levels. However, its effect cannot be transformed into an increase in LLT or a decrease in low-density lipoprotein level owing to local policy constraint.


study cohort, this cutoff would have reduced pitMRI burden by 30%. Ordering pitMRI when the PRL/T ratio >0.08 or when PRL >25 increases sensitivity (98%, 39/40 lesions detected) at the cost of decreased specificity (32%, 32/101 controls excluded). Presenting symptoms including fatigue, decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, and gyneco-mastia did not vary between cases and controls. Though patients with pituitary lesions were more likely to receive dopamine agonists than controls (40% vs. 23%; p=0.0392), they were not more likely to be prescribed testosterone, antipsychotics, or antidepressants. Conclusions : The PRL/T ratio is superior to PRL or T alone in identifying pituitary pathology in hypogonadal men with mild hyperprolactinemia. Ordering pitMRI when the PRL/T >0.08 is sensitive for detecting pituitary lesions and may reduce pitMRI burden in this population by 30%.


This paper describes the application of the MSC/NASTRAN finite element program to the structural analysis of automotive vehicle wheels and the optimization of wheel designs subject to both NVH and fatigue related constraints. Common wheel design considerations are discussed including wheel tests for both fatigue and stiffness. Techniques for the finite element modelling of wheels subjected to such loadings are described including MSC/NASTRAN cyclic symmetry capabilities, solid element modelling and plate element modelling of wheels. The use of OPUS (Optimization Process Utility System) interfaced with MSC/NASTRAN for automated design optimization is described. Its application to the structural optimization of a cast aluminum wheel using gage related design variables and both NVH and fatigue related constraints is described. It is concluded that such analytical techniques represent a practical approach to the design, structural analysis, and optimization of automotive vehicle wheels.


We wish to understand how neural systems store, recall, and process information. We are using cultured networks of cortical neurons grown on microelectrode arrays as a model system for studying the emergent properties of ensembles of living neurons. We have developed a 2-way communication interface between the cultured network and a computer-generated animal, the Neurally Controlled Animat. Neural activity is used to control the behavior of the Animat, and 2-photon timelapse imaging is carried out in order to observe the morphological changes that might underlie changes in neural processing. The 2-photon microscope is ideal for repeated imaging over hours or days, with sub-micron resolution and little photodamage. We have designed a computer-controlled microscope stage that allows imaging several locations in sequence, in order to collect more image data. For the latest progress, see: http://www.caltech.edu/~pinelab/PotterGroup.htm


I revisit Fazzari et al. (1988) seminal paper on the investment-cash flow sensitivity as a measure of financing constraints and augment their approach with the findings from recent papers. I find that the investment-cash flow sensitivity has decreased and mostly disappeared over time, in line with recent literature. This finding is robust to alternative specifications and a number of robustness checks. I contribute to the literature by explicitly analyzing the strict-exogeneity assumption of the fixed-effects and first-differences estimators in empirical practice. In this setting, strict exogeneity does not hold and the violation can cause substantial inconsistencies.


Author(s): Chun, Matthew G.H. | Advisor(s): Hanahan, Douglas | Abstract: My thesis sought to advance our understanding of the genetic, molecular, and cellular factors governing the acquisition of an invasive growth phenotype during tumor development and progression using a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumorigenesis (PNET) known as RIP-Tag. In one line of investigation, I compared the genome wide transcriptional profiles of non-invasive and highly invasive PNETs in RIP-Tag mice, which revealed that the expression of multiple genes encoding components of desmosomes, a cell-cell adhesion complex, is downregulated in invasive PNETs. Genetic deletion in RIP-Tag mice of one of these genes, desmoplakin, results in increased local tumor invasion, demonstrating that desmosomes can act as a distinct suppressor of tumor invasion. In a second line of investigation, I show that tumor invasion in the RIP-Tag model can be modified by genetic background. Using genetic mapping analysis, I identify a polymorphic locus on mouse chromosome 17 that is significantly associated with the development of invasive PNETs in RIP-Tag mice. I show that one gene residing in this locus, the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (Alk), is expressed at significantly higher levels in mice inbred into the C57Bl/6 genetic background versus the C3HeB/Fe genetic background and that higher levels of Alk expression are correlated with the development of invasive PNETs in RIP-Tag mice. Additionally, I demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of Alk results in reduced tumor invasiveness in RIP-Tag mice. Collectively, my thesis research adds two new functional components to the growing list of factors that affect the hallmark capability of tumor invasion, one component of a malignant tumor phenotype. My thesis work demonstrates that tumor invasion is regulated at both the molecular and genetic levels and establishes desmosomal adhesion and signaling from the anaplastic lymphoma kinase as modulators of invasive tumor growth.


Drug-induced agranulocytosis (DIA) is often caused by antithyroid drugs. We retrospectively studied the use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) therapy in antithyroid-DIA. Data for 20 patients (10 treated with G-CSF) with antithyroid-DIA (neutrophil count <0.5x10(9)/l) were extracted from a cohort study of DIA patients (n=110). G-CSF (300 microg/day subcutaneously) was used where the neutrophil count was <0.1x10(9)/l, or the patient was aged >70 years, or there were severe features of infection or underlying disease. Mean patient age was 62 years (range 34-87); sex ratio (M/F) was 0.05. Carbimazole (n=19) and benzylthiouracile (n=1) were the causative drugs, at mean doses of 30 mg/day (range 20-60) and 100 mg/day (range 50-150), respectively, for a mean of 37 days (range 31-90). Antithyroid drugs were prescribed for Graves' disease (n=8), thyrotoxicosis related to amiodarone intake (n=6) and multinodular goitre (n=6). Clinical features included isolated fever (n=7), pneumonia (n=5), septicaemia or septic shock (n=5) and acute tonsillitis (n=3). Mean neutrophil count was 0.07+/-0.1x10(9)/l. No patient died. Mean durations of haematological recovery, antibiotic therapy and hospitalization were significantly reduced with G-CSF: 6.8+/-4 days vs. 11.6+/-5; 7.5+/-3.8 days vs. 12+/-4.5; and 7.3+/-4.8 days vs. 13+/-6.1, respectively (all p<0.05). G-CSF induced flu-like symptoms in 30% of patients, but reduced overall costs.


Multi-core processors have become mainstream; they provide parallelism with relatively low complexity. As true on-chip SMPs evolve, coherence traffic between cores is becoming problematic, both in terms of performance and power. The negative effects of coherence (snoop) traffic can be significantly mitigated through snoop filtering. Shielding each cache with a device that can squash snoop requests for addresses known not to be in cache improves performance significantly for caches that cannot perform normal load and snoop lookups simultaneously. In addition, reducing snoop lookups yields power savings.
 This paper introduces Stream Register snoop filtering, which captures the spatial locality of multiple memory reference streams in a few registers. We propose a snoop filter that combines Stream Registers with "snoop caching", a mechanism that captures the temporal locality of frequently accessed addresses. Simulations of Splash- 2 benchmarks on a 4-core multiprocessor illustrate tradeoffs and strengths of these two techniques. Their combination is most effective, eliminating 94-99% of all snoop requests using very few stream registers and snoop cache lines.


Lower English literacy achievement of deaf students is often hypothesized to be an impediment for successful adult life experiences. Yet, literacy practices that individuals engage in throughout their daily lives are much more complex than what school-based measures of English can capture and particularly so for deaf individuals. A national large-scale data set with a sample of over 1,000 deaf youths was used to assess what, precisely, standardized measures of literacy may predict in terms of postschool outcomes in three domains: life, employment, and education. Regression analyses indicate that these measures predicted some postschool outcomes, but not all, and if significant, only a small amount of variation in the outcomes was explained. Findings suggest that English literacy, particularly the narrow conceptualization of English literacy skills that are measured through school-based assessments, may not play a significant role in the lives of deaf individuals, contrary to expectations.


Visual Abstract Our objective was to evaluate the prognostic value of somatostatin receptor tumor burden on 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in patients with well-differentiated (WD) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT scans of 84 patients with histologically confirmed WD NETs (51 grade 1, 30 grade 2, and 3 grade 3). For each PET/CT scan, all 68Ga-DOTATOC–avid lesions were independently segmented by 2 operators using a customized threshold based on the healthy liver SUVmax (LIFEx, version 5.1). Somatostatin receptor–expressing tumor volume (SRETV) and total lesion somatostatin receptor expression (TLSRE = SRETV × SUVmean) were extracted for each lesion, and then whole-body SRETV and TLSRE (SRETVwb and TLSREwb, respectively) were defined as the sum of SRETV and TLSRE, respectively, for all segmented lesions in each patient. Time to progression (TTP) was defined as the combination of disease-free survival in patients undergoing curative surgery (n = 10) and progression-free survival for patients with unresectable or metastatic disease (n = 74). TTP and overall survival were calculated by Kaplan–Meier analysis, log-rank testing, and the Cox proportional-hazards regression model. Results: After a median follow-up of 15.5 mo, disease progression was confirmed in 35 patients (41.7%) and 14 patients died. A higher SRETVwb (>39.1 cm3) and TLSREwb (>306.8 g) correlated significantly with a shorter median TTP (12 mo vs. not reached; P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, SRETVwb (P = 0.005) was the only independent predictor of TTP regardless of histopathologic grade and TNM staging. Conclusion: According to our results, SRETVwb and TLSREwb extracted from 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT could predict TTP or overall survival and might have important clinical utility in the management of patients with WD NETs.


Video course is an important part of resource sharing course construction for college. Firstly, this paper analyzed some shortage such as lack of professional filming environment, monotony of the video screen, lack of design of teaching, lack of post-production. Secondly, some improvements were proposed, such as equipment with professional recording and broadcasting classroom, welldesigned teaching process, demonstration experiment extensive video teaching, focus on post-production, integration courses feedback seriously. Thus improve the quality of video courses and promote the construction of resource sharing courses.


The primitive topography of the enamelled surface of molar teeth of the Cricetidae is described as expressed in the fossil Cricetodontinae. Morphological variations in the molar structure of different subgroups among the Cricetidae are interpreted as derivations from this cricetodontine pattern. Eleven available naming systems for such components are surveyed, and a new unifying nomenclature is proposed, based on the Cope-Osborn cusp homologies for mammals. Names for enamel cusps, cuspules, styles, lophs, folds and islands are given, in an attempt to include in an overall general nomenclature the advantages of the most valuable, already available, nomenclatorial systems. The system purports to apply to all modifications of the cricetid crown molar pattern, and it claims to fulfil the need for a uniform nomenclature.


For myself, earthbound and fettered to the scene of my activities, I confess that I do feel the differences of mankind, national and individual …I am, in plainer words, a bundle of prejudices - made of likings and dislikings - the veriest thrall to sympathies, apathies, antipathies (Charles Lamb, quoted by Allport,). Segregation, on the basis of both economic and ethnic characteristics, is a feature of most cities. Segregation is usually measured on the basis of the spatial distribution of individuals or households belonging to a particular economic or ethnic group. Most commonly, the actual distribution of group members is compared to the pattern that would exist if the group members were distributed evenly throughout the area under study - the deviation between the actual and even distributions forming a measure of the degree of segregation.


Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a potentially malignant condition, which affects the oral cavity and the oropharynx. Despite the high prevalence rates of the disease and the morbidity and mortality related to the malignant transformation of 3%–19%, that is, OSMF into oral squamous cell carcinoma, there are fewer methods to identify the malignant transformation associated with OSMF. Dissecting the molecular aspects of these disorders will significantly contribute to improved prevention, early diagnosis, and clinical management. The complementary process involved in decreasing of the cellular components is called downregulation and the vice versa is known as upregulation. Materials and Methods: To predict the malignant transformation of OSMF, a study was conducted for quantitative proteomic profiling on the serum of histopathologically proven patients with OSMF to identify the candidate protein biomarkers. Among the differentially expressed proteins, only the downregulated proteins are included in the scope of this article. Results: During the study, 133 proteins were identified from the plasma of the case samples who histopathologically confirmed OSMF. These proteins were identified using mass spectrometric analysis. During the analysis, 14 proteins were differentially expressed. A fold change of more than 1.5 indicates upregulated proteins and less than 0.6 indicates downregulated proteins when compared with the control group. Conclusion: This study depicts the scope of the candidate protein biomarkers that can aid in definitive diagnosis of OSMF through a minimally invasive technique and help in the early detection and better treatment planning to reduce the morbidity of the disease in the future.


In this paper a novel approach is presented for compression of digital images. It consists of finding the wavelet spectrum of an image into certain number of sub-bands after given levels of regular or irregular decomposition. Then each sub-band is decomposed with the inverse pyramid algorithm using some linear orthogonal transform such as DCT. Depending on whether a lossless or lossy compression is desired all or only some of the spectral coefficients from the inverse pyramid are preserved and then entropy coding is applied. Higher compression ratios are achieved at high image quality levels compared to some popular algorithms from the practice.


Tele-schooling is a distance learning approach that is fruitful in COVID-19. The corona virus destroyed the world system desperately. All fields business, trade, educational institution etc. are closed due to pandemic virus and only one slogan in the world is "SOCIAL Distancing". The Ministry of Education introduced the tele-schooling as distance learning approach for school students in Pakistan during COVID-19. The purpose of launching new approach of teaching and learning is the continuity of students learning.The intention of researchers behind this study was to explore perceptions of students about tele-schooling at that time when corona damaged theworld badly. This study was designed under survey design and correlational approach. It was descriptive study directed for collecting data from school students regarding teleschooling during uncertain atmosphere.One hundred and forty students were selected by convieninet sampling technique.A self-developed questionnaire regarding teleschooling in COVID-19 on five point likert scale was used for this study. The collected data were analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. It is concluded that tele-schooling is helpful in distance learning during COVID-19. This approach is better source of developing skills and learning in pandemic situation. They found tele-schooling effective learning approach to accomplish the learningobjectives. A strong association was there which indicated that all dimensions were essential and fruitful to measure the tele-schooling learning approach in COVID-19. The school students are happy and enjoying tele-schooling. Therefore, its presence should be there after pandemic COVID-19.


Tungsten and Niobium substituted αII-VOPO4 structure type solid solution (V1–x-yWxNby) OPO4 where x = 0.07 and y ≤ 0.05 was synthesized by solution combustion technique followed by heating in air at 700˚C for 3 days. Further incorporation of niobium (y > 0.05) leads to a mixture of αII-VOPO4 structure type solid solution and two very weak reflections of another unknown phase. The synthesized product was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, SEM/EDX, FTIR, and magnetic property analysis.
Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol. 43, No. 1, 31-37, 2019


Migration of inlet hot streaks and the clocking effects are investigated by three-dimensional unsteady numerical simulations in a 1-1/2 turbine stage. Two hot streak circumferential positions with respect to first-stage stator, passage centered and vane centered, are simulated. Results indicate that hot streaks tend to accumulate on rotor blade pressure side and move towards shroud, causing hot spots on these parts. Separation of hot and cold fluid is observed in rotor, thus influence of hot streaks spreads to second-stage stator. Hot streaks are broken into fragments by rotor blade wakes and rotor-stator interactions in second-stage stator. Impinging hot streaks on first-stage stator passages results in separation of hot and cold lats longer in rotor, but area-averaged temperature at rotor outlet is relatively lower. Hot streaks keep a higher temperature through rotor, yet area-averaged temperature has a quicker drop in second-stage stator. Impinging hot streaks on first-stage stator vanes brings a more uniform temperature distribution at rotor and turbine outlet while a higher area-averaged temperature at the same time. Hot streaks adhere to the first-stage stator vane surfaces and move towards hub due to tip leakage, causing extra heating to these parts compared with passage centered hot streaks. Rortex, as a new way to identify vortexes in fluid, is employed to understand how vortexes contribute to migration and dissipation of hot streaks. Also, Proper Orthogonal Decomposition analysis is applied to identify flow features that impact migration and dissipation of hot streaks, and a few connections between the flow features and POD modes are made.


New spectrographic observations have been made of the flashes of light appearing in small burning iron particles produced in a grinding wheel. In a dispersion of about 80 Ångström per mm slitless spectra of individual flashes show a great number of Fe I lines as well as molecular bands due to FeO, C2, CN and N2. The region observed is between 5160 and 5870 Å. These observations confirm earlier observations by the writer, that discharge phenomena appear in connection with the splitting of a particle in two or more parts. That is to say, the light emission of a flash is due to a discharge spectrum superimposed on a continuous spectrum due to thermal emission. Possible astrophysical applications are briefly discussed.


Over the past several decades, pharmaceutical manufacturing has become increasingly global and supply chains have become longer, more complex, and fragmented. While pharmaceutical products available to patients and customers typically conform with appropriate standards, supply chains are often affected by disruptive events and shocks that impact public health. One approach to assuring the availability of quality pharmaceutical products is to encourage drug manufacturers to invest in quality management maturity (QMM) and promote continual improvement. The interests of patients are served by risk-based drug shortage prevention and mitigation activities that help to proactively manage supply chain complexities and ensure availability of drugs. This paper demonstrates that adherence to certain quality practices enables improved manufacturing performance. Prior research has identified quality practices that are correlated with manufacturing performance. To better understand how these quality practices can be characterized, measured, and analyzed, this research project conducted a voluntary global study of pharmaceutical manufacturing establishments. Over 200 global pharmaceutical manufacturing establishments participated in this Quality Benchmarking Study (QBS) and provided data on manufacturing performance and self-assessments of adherence to quality practices. The analysis of these data found that the implementation level for selected quality management practices correlates positively with certain Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). More specifically, we found a significant positive correlation between (i) Delivery Performance and (ii) Application of QMM principles associated with Technical Production.


One class classification is widely used in many applications. Only one target class is well characterized by instances in the training data in one class classification, and no instance is available for other non-target classes, or few instances are present and they cannot form statistically representative samples for the negative concept. A two-step paradigm employing nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) and support vector data description (SVDD) for one class classification training of nonnegative data is developed. Firstly, a projected gradient based NMF method is used to find the hiding structure from the training instances and the training instances are projected into a new feature space. Secondly, SVDD is employed to perform one class classification training with the projected feature data. Classification examples demonstrate that the proposed method is superior to principal component analysis (PCA) based SVDD method and other standard one class classifiers.


Among its many affordances, the interactive whiteboard (IWB) as a digital space for children's dialogic engagement in the Foundation Phase classroom remains largely under-exploited. This paper emanates from a study which was undertaken in an attempt to understand how teachers acquire knowledge of emerging technologies and how this shapes their classroom practices when employing technology as a pedagogic tool. The findings of this ethnographic case study show that, while teachers have become technically skilled through continuous professional teacher development (CPTD), they have also begun to reflect more rigorously on constructivism as a learning theory. Data was generated through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations with digital video recordings. Observations revealed a perceived gap in the use of the IWB as a promising space to generate reciprocal dialogue in classrooms to influence curriculum delivery and learning. This paper argues, therefore, that IWBs can become spaces for dialogic engagement to expand learners' participation and higher order thinking skills through pedagogic strategies. Thus, there is a need to introduce Foundation Phase teachers to dialogic teaching methodologies and the potential impact thereof on learner engagement and learning.


ABSTRACT In the proposed new European chemicals regulations—the REACH system—the improved control of persistent and bioaccumulating substances is stated as one of the tasks being of particular importance. In this article, the reliability and validity of the scientific basis for identification of persistent (P), bioaccumulating (B), and toxic (T) substances, and for assessing the risks that these substances may pose, are discussed. We have used the European Union risk assessment of pentabromodiphenyl ether, PentaBDE (CAS 32534-81-9) as a study case in the analysis. It is concluded that for PBT substances there is room for development both with regard to test methodology and with regard to risk assessment procedures.


Introduction Early inflammatory changes may explain the negative impact of adiposity on bone acquisition during childhood. We aimed at estimating the effect of systemic inflammation during adolescence on forearm bone mineral density at 17 years-old. Methods We used data from 377 girls born in 1990 and assessed at 13 and 17 years-old (EPITeen cohort). Adolescents were evaluated through physical examination, including height, weight and bone mineral density (BMD) at the forearm using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Serum high-sensitivity C reactive protein (CRP) was quantified (participants over 10 mg/l were excluded). Associations between CRP and BMD were quantified using linear regression. Coefficients were adjusted for gynaecologic age, weight and height, to minimise confounding by body size. Results Median (25th–75th percentiles) CRP concentration increased from 0.2 (0.1–0.5) mg/l at 13 to 0.6 (0.2–1.7) at 17 years-old. Mean (SD) BMD was 0.362 (0.058) g/cm2 at 13 and 0.437 (0.052) g/cm2 at 17. Adolescents in the upper quarter of CRP at 13 had similar adjusted mean BMD at that age but significantly lower BMD at 17 years-old when compared to those in the lowest quarter (−0.024, 95% CI −0.040 to −0.007). Additionally, girls in the two highest quarters of CRP variation had significantly lower BMD at 17 when compared to the lowest quarter (−0.016, 95% CI −0.031 to −0.001 and −0.027, 95% CI −0.043 to −0.010, respectively). Conclusion Systemic inflammation in early adolescence and its increase during follow-up, predicted lower bone quality in late adolescence, providing evidence that the negative association between obesity and bone accrual is probably mediated by low-grade inflammation.


We find that the activity of a 0.4-kb human c-fos gene promoter (-404/+41), which lacks consensus estrogen-responsive elements (EREs), is regulated by estrogen receptor (ER) ligands in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells through ERs in a manner distinct from ERE-mediated regulation. When ERalpha is coexpressed, both estrogens and antiestrogens upregulate promoter activity. When ERbeta is coexpressed, however, three tested antiestrogens affect c-fos promoter activity, with tamoxifen exerting the greatest effect, while estrogens have no such effect. The tamoxifen agonism through ERbeta is antagonized by 17beta-estradiol, while the 17beta-estradiol agonism through ERalpha is canceled by excess-level coexpression of ERbeta. Deletion analysis revealed that the sequence -206/-110 plays a crucial role in the ERbeta-mediated tamoxifen agonism. Interestingly, there is no ERbeta-mediated tamoxifen agonism when nonosteoblastic cells are tested. Taken together, these results suggest that the transcription of the c-fos gene is regulated by ER ligands possibly through non-ERE elements in ligand structure-, cell type-, and ER subtype-dependent manners.


Described herein is the synthesis of stable oxonium-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by the rhodium-catalyzed C-H activation/annulations of naphthalene-type aldehydes with internal alkynes. This protocol provides four divergent reaction types, including two unexpected annulations with an oxygen transposition process, which lead to diverse types of phenalenyl-fused pyrylium cations comprising a four-, five-, or six-ring-fused π-conjugated core. The annulations exhibit an exquisite regioselectivity and a high tolerance of sensitive functional groups. These PAHs feature intriguing photophysical properties such as full-color tunable fluorescence emission, high quantum yield, and positively charged core, and can be reduced easily to the phenalenyl radicals.


We study the problem of transfer in a population structured by a continuum variable corresponding to the quantity being transferred. The transfer of the quantity occurs between individuals according to specified rules. The model is of Boltzmann type with kernels corresponding to the transfer process. We prove that the transfer process preserves total mass of the transferred quantity and the solutions of the simple model converge weakly to Radon measures. We generalize the model by introducing proliferation of individuals and production and diffusion of the transferable quantity. It is shown that the generalized model admits a globally asymptotically stable steady state, provided that transfer is sufficiently small. We discuss an application of our model to cancer cell populations, in which individual cells exchange the surface protein P-glycoprotein, an important factor in acquired multidrug resistance against cancer chemotherapy.


Introduction: For the past three decades, the buzz word in Economics has been Market reforms and Economic Liberalization. It has been presented as a panacea for ailing economies and as a necessity for continuing economic growth. The problems faced by developing economies has been attributed to excessive state control, stifling of competition and inefficient and loss making state enterprises. Thus, the international organizations, the industrialized countries and a large part of academia is presenting market liberalization as the only option for these economies. For the most part, increasing number of developing countries are accepting this path to economic growth. It is 15 years, since the start of the economic reform program adopted by India. The program, started in part due to an economic crisis, has now been projected as the path for India's prosperity. There seems to be widespread acknowledgement of the need for such reform programs and the desire to, not steer off course. The reform program is seen as being instrumental in breaking the cycle of 3.5 percent growth rate (often referred to as the Hindu rate of growth) and moving into higher spheres of economic growth. It is thus necessary to evaluate the impact of these economic policies on the regional disparity that has existed in India. Several scholarly works have been written about the problem of regional disparity in the Pre-reform period (Srivastava 1991; K.R.G. Nair 1982;


Documenting how human pressure on wildlife changes over time is important to minimise potential adverse effects through implementing appropriate management and policy actions; however, obtaining objective measures of these changes and their potential impacts is often logistically challenging, particularly in the natural environment. Here, we developed a modular stochastic model that infers the ratio of actual viewing pressure on wildlife in consecutive time periods (years) using social media, as this medium is widespread and easily accessible. Pressure was calculated from the number of times individual animals appeared in social media in pre-defined time windows, accounting for time-dependent variables that influence them (e.g. number of people with access to social media). Formulas for the confidence intervals of viewing pressure ratios were rigorously developed and validated, and corresponding uncertainty was quantified. We applied the developed framework to calculate changes to wildlife viewing pressure on loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) at Zakynthos island (Greece) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2021) based on 2646 social media entries. Our model ensured temporal comparability across years of social media data grouped in time window sizes, by correcting for the interannual increase of social media use. Optimal sizes for these windows were delineated, reducing uncertainty while maintaining high time-scale resolution. The optimal time window was around 7-days during the peak tourist season when more data were available in all three years, and >15 days during the low season. In contrast, raw social media data exhibited clear bias when quantifying changes to viewing pressure, with unknown uncertainty. The framework developed here allows widely-available social media data to be used objectively when quantifying temporal changes to wildlife viewing pressure. Its modularity allowed viewing pressure to be quantified for all data combined, or subsets of data (different groups, situations or locations), and could be applied to any site supporting wildlife exposed to tourism.


Social networking services (SNSs) have been garnering attention from society due to their recent rapid growth. This study examines whether SNS use can affect the relationship between the Big Five personality model and individual job satisfaction. Based on a sample of 1,452 workers in Korea, the results of this study indicate that the Big Five personality model (extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) was significantly related to individual job satisfaction. Further, SNS use moderated the relationship between extroversion and neuroticism with individual job satisfaction. Also, SNS use was found to increase job satisfaction of Korean workers who are more extroverted, while it also affected job satisfaction of Korean workers with low agreeableness. As SNS use plays an important role in the workplace, it is necessary to realize and appreciate the importance of SNSs in shaping and promoting job satisfaction of working individuals.


Chemical restraint or "rapid tranquilization" is another option in treating patients who are a danger to themselves or others and struggle violently once physically restrained. The most commonly used drugs are benzodiazepines and antipsychotics. The use of benzodiazepines, either alone or in combination with high potency neuroleptics, has increased in recent years. Benzodiazepines are extremely safe but may cause respiratory depression and hypotension. Respiratory depression is more likely with intravenous administration, therefore these medications should be given slowly and titrated to the desired effect. Special care should be taken when sedating patients who are under the influence of alcohol or narcotics and are sleep apneic patients. This report deals with a case of respiratory distress in a patient with sleep apnea syndrome after the rapid tranqulization. All patients receiving chemical restraint must be carefully monitored. For critically ill patients who require sedation or chemical restraint, the constant attendance of a physician may be warranted.


Polymer-iron hybrid magnetic microspheres with different carboxyl functionalisation for biomedical applications, thanks to suitable bio-recognition of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), were prepared by the precipitation polymerisation of styrene-divinylbenzene-acrylic acid embedding iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (∼10 nm). The influence of the acrylic acid concentration in the final size of copolymer and, consequently, in the efficiency of the antibody coupling between the primary amino group (–NH2) and the carboxyl functional groups (–COOH) in the polymeric surface were evaluated by varying monomers ratio with fixed content of magnetite nanoparticles. Particle size and morphology were investigated by scanning electronic microscopy and transmission electronic microscopy, as well as the saturation magnetisation values were measured in an electromagnet. The –COOH functionalisation and the covalent bounding of the antibodies, via detecting amino and carbonyl groups, were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Regarding possible applications in molecular/cellular recognition and solid supports for immunoassays, efficient immobilisation of antibodies against CEA on particles surface via covalent bonding of the antibody and surface –COOH groups was demonstrated by immunochemistry techniques.


ABSTRACT:Beliefs can cause moral wrongs, no doubt, but can they also constitute moral wrongs in their own right? This paper offers some grounds to be skeptical of the idea that there are moral norms which operate directly on belief, independently of any epistemic norms also operating on belief. The resultant skepticism is moderate in the following sense: it holds that the motivations underlying the doxastic morality approach should not be dismissed lightly; they are genuine insights and serve to bring to light important new issues concerning the interaction between our notions of moral and epistemic responsibility. Nonetheless, it is also skeptical, in holding that these concerns are ultimately best voiced in more traditional categories which distinguish the epistemology of belief from the morality of action.


BACKGROUND
Temporal muscle thickness (TMT) was described as surrogate marker of skeletal muscle mass. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic relevance of TMT in patients with progressive glioblastoma.

METHODS
TMT was analyzed on cranial magnetic resonance images of 596 patients with progression of glioblastoma after radio-chemotherapy enrolled in the EORTC 26101 trial. An optimal TMT cutoff for overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) was defined in the training cohort (n=260, phase 2). Patients were grouped as "below" or "above" the TMT cutoff and associations with OS and PFS were tested using the Cox model adjusted for important risk factors. Findings were validated in a test cohort (n=308, phase 3).

RESULTS
An optimal baseline TMT cutoff of 7.2 mm was obtained in the training cohort for both OS and PFS (AUC=0.64). Univariate analyses estimated a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.54 (95% CI: 0.42, 0.70, p<0.0001) for OS and a HR of 0.49 (95% CI: 0.38, 0.64, p<0.0001) for PFS for the comparison of training cohort patients above versus below the TMT cutoff. Similar results were obtained in Cox models adjusted for important risk factors with relevance in the trial for OS (HR of 0.54, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.70, p<0.0001) and PFS (HR of 0.47, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.61, p<0.0001). Results were confirmed in the validation cohort.

CONCLUSION
Reduced TMT is an independent negative prognostic parameter in patients with progressive glioblastoma and may help to facilitate patient management by supporting patient stratification for therapeutic interventions or clinical trials.


Hip Navigation was used as an assessment tool to compare ability to reproduce trial and definitive acetabular placement in total hip replacement, using cemented and uncemented components. We demonstrated a significant difference in reproducibility between components. Four of 20 (20%) uncemented cups deviated from the target inclination by 5 degrees or more compared to none of 21 in the cemented group (p=0.048). Seven of the 20 (35%) of the uncemented cups deviated from the target version by 5 degrees or more compared to none of 21 in the cemented group (p=0.003). This may explain higher rates of revision for dislocation with uncemented components. There was also a significant difference between the groups with regard to deviation from planned leg length (p<0.001).


By addressing the consequences of the ongoing crisis as well as the stimulus packages implemented by governments it appears that time is near to start reexamining the whole approach to the economic system. The concept of the welfare state has been profoundly shaken. Fundamental thesis outlaid by the classical economics and the Austrian school are still very much relevant, as the need to face structural misbalances closely related to high public expenditures grows. The issues some EU member states have with the state of their public finances cannot emphasise that challenge enough. Though certain state functions keep their legitimacy it takes a refreshed definition of state. At the same time, there is a need to revisit economics and the relations between micro and macro aspect as well as to reexamine aggregates such as GDP. It is clear one cannot ignore the need of humans to live in community, but also the fact our decisions are motivated by various reasons and therefore could not be predetermined. Knowledge plays role of energy that moves market forces keeping entrepreneurs awake. Extinguishing that energy is a safe way to suffocate market forces. On the other hand, it is in the human nature to give strong legitimacy to the institutions of egalitarianism which causes the need to unify different scientific research in order to identify the long term trends. By reaffirming the Austrian business cycle theory and the need to revisit the boundaries of the state's interference into the economy it seems that economics need new energy of thought to invent a new general economics theory. This paper practices the hypothesis that consistent economic policy cannot but encompass rational nutshell of every economic theory in its mission to address the micro and macro characteristics of a concrete economy.