ABSTRACT A method for the detection of infectious human rotaviruses based on infection of CaCo-2 cells and detection of infected cells by indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytometry (IIF-FC) has been developed. The technique was validated by performing a seminested reverse transcription-PCR assay with sorted cell populations. The efficiency of the procedure has been compared with that of the standard method of infection of MA104 cells and ulterior detection by IIF and optical microscopy (IIF-OM) and with that of infection of MA104 cells and detection by IIF-FC. The limit of sensitivity for the detection of the cell-adapted strain Itor P13, expressed as the most probable number of cytopathogenic units, was established as 200 and 2 for MA104 and CaCo-2 cells, respectively, by the IIF-FC method. The ratio of infectious virus particles to total virus particles for a wild-type rotavirus was determined to be 1/2 × 106and 1/2 × 104 for IIF-OM with MA104 cells and IIF-FC with CaCo-2 cells, respectively. The use of IIF-FC with CaCo-2 cells was tested with fecal and water samples and proved to be more effective than the standard procedure for rotavirus detection.


With the growth of the Internet and the technology, the relationship between companies and consumers evolves by providing more and more the use of new strategies and forms of communication. Companies are increasing the use of the Internet so that it is possible to give the highest number of information in the faster way possible. This work wants to focus on the attention paid by wineries to the network by checking if there are some important differences between differing Italian production areas.


Background: Specific vaccine therapies have been proposed recently as possible alternative treatment modalities to interferon and antiviral drugs to enhance the immune response in HBV chronic carriers through induction of T cell activity which can lead to control viremia. To assess the efficacy of long term intradermal (ID) hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination with double standard dose as an active immunotherapy in elimination of HBV infection in chronic hepatitis B carriers. Materials and Methods: This double-blinded randomized clinical trial was conducted on all HBsAg positive patients. Among them 80 immunotolerant patients were recruited and randomly allocated to alternate study groups (vaccination or placebo) consecutively. Eligible healthy carriers in group 1 were assigned to vaccinate with six ID injections of the Heberbiovac HB vaccine at 30-day intervals and with double standard doses (2cc) in two forearms. Controls received normal saline with the same setting as a placebo. The mean ALT levels, detectable HBV DNA and seroconversion to anti-hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe) and anti hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBsAb) compared between groups at the beginning and the 6th and 12th months. Results: No significant difference was found in the mean ALT values, the clearance of HBV DNA, seroconversion from HBeAg to HBeAb and developing of HBsAb between vaccinated and control group at the end of the 6th and 12th months (P>0.05). Conclusion: Intradermal administration, even with double standard dose, is not an efficient treatment in the elimination of virus in chronic carriers of HBV.


Biochemical profiles of 350 C. albicans isolates from five towns in Poland and from Freiburg in Germany were determined on the basis of nine biochemical tests of Odds and Abbott method. API 20 C AUX system and additionally a resistogram. The analysis of the strains according to Odds' and Abbotts's system showed that investigated strains can be typed into 9 profile codes of common biochemical patterns. There were some differences among the profiles according to their geographical origin and anatomical sources of the isolation. On the basis of the ability C. albicans strains to assimilate of carbon sources, 350 isolates were categorised into 13 separate auxotrophic profiles with the major one: 2,576,174 accounting for 81% of the total. The majority of the investigated isolates were susceptible to antifungal agents (83%). A disproportionate distribution of auxotrophic profiles limited the use of resistogram method and API 20 C AUX as systems for typing C. albicans strains. On the other hand, the method of Odds and Abbott provides valuable criteria for typing of C. albicans.


Prostate adenocarcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer related mortality in men but still limited knowledge is available about its associated functional SNPs including rs1042522 (Pro72Arg). The present study was undertaken to explore the association of this SNP with susceptibility to prostate adenocarcinoma along with its structural and functional impacts in the Pakistani population in a case-control study. Three-dimensional structure of human TP53 with Pro72Arg polymorphism was predicted through homology modeling, refined and validated for detailed structure-based assessment. We also carried out a HuGE review of the previous available data for this polymorphism. Different genetic models were used to evaluate the genotypes association with the increased risk of PCa (Allelic contrast: OR=0.0.34, 95%CI 0.24-0.50, p=0.000; GG vs CC: OR=0.17, 95%CI 0.08-0.38, p=0.000; Homozygous: OR=0.08, 95%CI 0.04-0.15, p=0.000; GC vs CC: OR=2.14, 95%CI 1.01-4.51, p=0.046; Recessive model: OR=0.10, 95%CI 0.05-0.18, p=0.000; Log Additive: OR=3.54, 95%CI 2.13-5.89, p=0.000) except the Dominant model (OR=0.77, 95%CI 0.39-1.52, p=0.46). Structure and functional analysis revealed that the SNP in the proline rich domain is responsible for interaction with HRMT1L2 and WWOX. In conclusion, it was observed that the Arg coding G allele is highly associated with increased risk of prostate adenocarcinoma in the Pakistani population (p=0.000).


: Objective: To determine the frequency of gastro esophageal varices in patients presenting with liver cirrhosis. Subject and Methods: It was a descriptive, cross sectional multi centre study, conducted at Children Hospital Multan, Nishtar Hospital Multan and Rahim Yar Khan during the period of July to December 2018. In this study the cases were selected between the ages of 30 to 60 years of any gender. The diagnosis of liver cirrhosis was made by the presence of clinical signs and symptoms with ascites, jaundice, splenomegaly, decreased serum albumin, prolonged PT and decreased liver size on USG abdomen. The detailed socio demographic data and clinical information was taken and recorded. These cases then underwent Upper GI endoscopy at emergency department of SZH, RYK. The varices of at least grade II or more were considered. Results: Out of total 300 patients in present study, there were 174 (58%) males and 126 (42%) females with mean age of 52.24±4.45 years. Gastro oesophageal varices (GOV) of grade II or more was seen in 143 cases (47.67%). GOV was seen in 83 males (47.16%) and 60 females (48.39%) out of their respective groups with p= 0.95. GOV were maximum seen in age group of 46-60 years affecting 129 (59.18%) cases (p= 0.02). GOV were significantly high seen in cases with child pugh class C having in 66 (84.62%) as compared to 20 (16.67%) in class A with p= 0.001. Conclusion: Liver cirrhosis is common in developing countries like Pakistan. Complications like OGV are common and are significantly associated with higher age and Child pugh class C.


We present experimental results using a single-electron resolution Skipper-CCD running above ground level to demonstrate the potential of this technology for its use in reactor neutrino observations and other low-energy particle interaction experiments. Operating conditions and event-selection criteria are provided to decouple most of the background rate at low energies. Our final results for events with energies as low as $5$ ionized electron-hole pairs show that the exponentially increasing rate of events seen in other technologies is not present in our data. This demonstrates that the Skipper CCD proves to be among the best options to measure low energy and weakly interacting particles at ground level.


Abstract Soybean, a vegetable protein-rich commodity needed to improve public nutrition, safe to consume, and the price affordable. The purpose of this research are to: 1. determine the effect of pressure and time of extraction the mass balance, yield and level of soybean oil extraction, 2. G ain mass transfer coefficient value in soybean oil extraction process, and 3. analyze the mechanism of mass changes during the extraction process soybean oil is mechanically using hydraulic pressing. Oil obtained results indicate an increase due to the influence of a given amount of pressure and length of time silenced. The greater the pressure exerted, the more oil produced this shows soybean oil can come out with a maximum at the greatest pressure of 200 kg/cm 2 . Mass transfer coefficient in soybean oil extraction process at a pressure of 100 kg/cm 2 5.57x10 -5 gcm 3 /cm seconds. In the pressure is 200 kg/cm 2 15.39 x 10 -5 g cm 3 /cm seconds. Keywords: mass transfer, mechanical extraction, soybean oil Diterima: 12 Maret 2010; Disetujui: 7 September 2010


The WHOQOL instrument was adapted as a health-related QOL instrument for a population-based epidemiologic study of eye diseases in southern India, the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS). A follow-up question was added to each item in WHOQOL to determine whether the decrease in QOL was due to any health reasons including eye-related reasons. Modifications in WHOQOL and translation in local language were done through the use of the focus groups including health professionals and people not related to health care. The modified instrument has 28 items across 6 domains of the WHOQOL and was translated into the local language, Telugu, using the pragmatic approach. It takes 10-20 minutes to be administered by a trained interviewer. Reliability was within acceptable range. This health-related QOL instrument is being used in the population-based study APEDS to develop a vision-specific QOL instrument which could potentially be used to assess the impact of visual impairment on QOL across different cultures and for use in evaluating eye-care interventions. This health-related QOL instrument could also be used to develop other disease-specific instruments as it allows assessment of the extent to which various aspects of QOL are affected by a variety of health problems.


This work aimed to explore the fundamental aspects of the spectral properties of few-body general operators. We first consider the following question: when we know the probability distributions of a set of observables, what do we know about the probability distribution of their summation? When considering arbitrary operators, we could not obtain useful information over the third-order moment, while under the assumption of k-locality, we can rigorously prove a much stronger bound on the moment generating function for arbitrary quantum states. Second, with the use of this bound, we generalize the Chernoff inequality (or the Hoeffding inequality), which characterizes the asymptotic decay of the probability distribution for the product states by Gaussian decay. In the present form, the Chernoff inequality can be applied to a summation of independent local observables (e.g. single-site operators). We extend the range of application of the Chernoff inequality to the generic few-body observables.


This report presents the results of a review of the Emergency Feedwater System Reliability Analysis for Seabrook Nuclear Station Units 1 and 2. The objective of this report is to estimate the probability that the Emergency Feedwater System will fail to perform its mission for each of three different initiators: (1) loss of main feedwater with offsite power available, (2) loss of offsite power, (3) loss of all ac power except vital instrumentation and control 125 VDC/120 VAC power. The scope, methodology, and failure data are prescribed by NUREG-0611, Appendix III. The results are compared with those obtained in NUREG-0611 for other Westinghouse plants.


The concept of village development has changed since the passing of Law number 06 of 2014. These changes have had a major impact on the concept of village development ranging from broader authority granted to village governments to the authority of village financial management. All these authorities have demands and responsibilities to the village government to strive for the welfare of the village community. The welfare of the village community becomes mandatory after the enactment of Law number 06 of 2014 concerning the Village, implicitly or explicitly giving clear instructions and making guidelines to the village government to maximize all efforts in realizing the welfare of the village community either through physical infrastructure development or human resource development. Because the village is a miniature of the Republic of Indonesia,the benchmark of the success and the progress of Indonesiaare reflectedby the smallest entity in the scale of village government. The impact of development in the village will be directly felt by the village community as a whole and indirectly affect the progress of the Republic of Indonesia. Keywords: Village, Welfare, Community


Summary Major zones of imbrication under the Pindos ophiolite of northwestern Greece relate to the formation of frontal and oblique ramp structures. These are marked by a northwest-trending line of tectonic windows in the ophiolite and a northeast-trending anticlinal structure which folds thrust contacts. The simplified structural sequence from top to bottom is: (1) Ophiolite lithologies, mainly pillow basalts and basal serpentinite; (2) Metabasites and meta-sediments of the ophiolite dynamothermal aureole ranging up to lower amphibolite facies; (3) A complex sequence of basalt, gabbro, pelagic sediments, olistostromes, debris flows and breccias interpreted as a sea floor sequence (the Perivoli Complex); (4) Early Cretaceous calcareous flyschoid sediments; and (5) Tertiary Pindos Flysch and melange. All the greenschist facies and the higher grade metamorphic rocks are interpreted as part of the metamorphic aureole and not as Palaeozoic basement. The generalized sequence of major deformational episodes is: (A) Thrusting within the sea floor with concurrent metamorphism causing polyphase deformation and juxtaposition of the ophiolite, the dynamothermal aureole and the Perivoli Complex. (B) The main imbrication along NNW-trending, E-dipping planes, involving all the lithologies and associated with the formation of major frontal and oblique ramp structures. (A) occurred during the Middle Jurassic 'displacement' of the ophiolite sheet. 'Emplacement'-related deformation may have occurred in (1), (2) and (3), but is difficult to isolate due to the intensity of episode (B) which occurred during westward overthrusting in the Late-Tertiary and may have been related to an E-dipping subduction zone.


Deterministic neural networks (NNs) are increasingly being deployed in safety critical domains, where calibrated, robust and efficient measures of uncertainty are crucial. While it is possible to train regression networks to output the parameters of a probability distribution by maximizing a Gaussian likelihood function, the resulting model remains oblivious to the underlying confidence of its predictions. In this paper, we propose a novel method for training deterministic NNs to not only estimate the desired target but also the associated evidence in support of that target. We accomplish this by placing evidential priors over our original Gaussian likelihood function and training our NN to infer the hyperparameters of our evidential distribution. We impose priors during training such that the model is penalized when its predicted evidence is not aligned with the correct output. Thus the model estimates not only the probabilistic mean and variance of our target but also the underlying uncertainty associated with each of those parameters. We observe that our evidential regression method learns well-calibrated measures of uncertainty on various benchmarks, scales to complex computer vision tasks, and is robust to adversarial input perturbations.


Simian virus 40 (SV40) was used as a model for eukaryotic chromatin to allow analysis of strand scission drug action on DNA of the same nucleotide sequence in different environments. Cleavage of purified DNA, cell-free chromatin, and intracellular chromatin by the antitumor drugs bleomycin, neocarzinostatin, and auromomycin was assayed. Comparison of total (single-and double-stranded) drug-induced cutting of purified SV40 DNA and isolated viral minichromosomes, as measured by the conversion of supercoiled DNA to the nicked circular form, revealed that a 2-3-fold higher concentration of all three drugs is required to cut minichromosomes as extensively as naked DNA. In addition, differences in drug activity on cell-free nuclear viral chromatin and intracellular SV40 chromatin were measured. Three times more auromomycin was needed to cut intracellular SV40 DNA as extensively as the viral DNA in isolated nuclei, whereas, surprisingly, the increases in bleomycin and neocarzinostatin concentrations were 200-fold and 1000-fold respectively. When the drugs were used to treat SV40-infected cells, no repair of strand scissions was detected. Formation of double-stranded breaks by bleomycin, neocarzinostatin, and automomycin, measured at equivalent levels of total cleavage, was also examined to provide information on the distribution of strand scissions in different environments. Nucleoproteins were found to cause a 3-fold higher level of neocarzinostatin-induced double-stranded breaks to be made on isolated minichromosomes than on purified DNA, but they had no effect on double-stranded break formation by either bleomycin or auromomycin. In contrast, auromomycin made twice as many double-stranded breaks on intracellular SV40 DNA as on minichromosomes in isolated nuclei. However, neither bleomycin- nor neocarzinostatin-induced double-stranded breaks on intracellular SV40 DNA were significantly different from those made on SV40 in isolated nuclei.


The major purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of internal managerial competencies on customer philosophy, integrated marketing efforts, marketing information, market orientation and operational efficiency. The statistical population included seventy marketing managers of a food industry in Jey township located in Isfahan that the whole population was studied due to the fact that the statistical population was limited. So no sampling was needed. Questionnaire was used to collect the required data that contained 38 questions about research variables. Construct validity was applied to investigate validity of the questionnaire and the obtained results revealed that the applied questionnaire had a suitable validity. The reliability was calculated by means of Cronbach's alpha coefficient which was equal to 0.897 for the whole questionnaire. It was an acceptable coefficient that confirmed reliability of the questionnaire. Descriptive indexes such as frequency tables and statistical diagrams were used to describe the statistical population in order to analyze research data and a general view of subjects was obtained. Then quantitative methods of statistical analysis including Kolmogoroff-Smirnoff test, correlation coefficient and structural equations modeling were used for data analysis and testing of hypotheses. To this end, SPSS 20 and LISREL software were applied. The obtained results indicate that all hypotheses were confirmed. Therefore, managerial competencies have a significant and positive effect on marketing effectiveness.


ABSTRACT The island of Taiwan's location, topography, and weak geological structure make its bridges vulnerable to the destructive effects of natural disasters. This was revealed in the aftermath of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake and 2009 Typhoon Morakot, which severely damaged hundreds of bridges across several cities and counties. In crises like these, the immediate restoration of bridges to their pre-disaster levels of safety and serviceability is of the utmost importance, as they serve as critical channels for emergency response and socio-economic recovery. However, the national disaster management system currently lacks an efficient strategy for dealing with such situations. This paper proposes an AHP-based prioritization model to support bridge officials in establishing the order of priority for post-disaster bridge maintenance actions. Through the evaluation of twelve decision criteria, bridges are ranked and categorized according to their vulnerability to disaster-induced damage and their strategic importance. The model uses the information available from the Taiwan Bridge Management System (TBMS) and can be applied to bridge maintenance management following disasters triggered by earthquakes, typhoons, or floods. A case study based on the 2018 Hualien earthquake was performed to demonstrate the model's utility.


Series of agonists and antagonists were examined for their actions on a Bombyx morialpha-adrenergic-like octopamine receptor (OAR) stably expressed in HEK-293 cells. The rank order of potency of the agonists was clonidine>naphazoline>tolazoline in Ca(2+) mobilization assays, and that of the antagonists was chlorpromazine>yohimbine. These findings suggest that the B. mori OAR is more closely related to the class-1 OAR in the intact tissue than to the other classes. N'-(4-Chloro-o-tolyl)-N-methylformamidine (DMCDM) and 2-(2,6-diethylphenylimino)imidazolidine (NC-5) elevated the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) with EC(50)s of 92.8 microM and 15.2 nM, respectively. DMCDM and NC-5 led to increases in intracellular cAMP concentration ([cAMP](i)) with EC(50)s of 234 nM and 125 nM, respectively. The difference in DMCDM potencies between the cAMP and Ca(2+) assays might be due to "functional selectivity." The Ca(2+) and cAMP assay results for DMCDM suggest that the elevation of [cAMP](i), but not that of [Ca(2+)](i), might account for the insecticidal effect of formamidine insecticides.


The present study investigates the impact of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) on Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension performance. 70 participants were assigned randomly to the experimental and control groups. Having instructed the two groups with the same texts but different task types and activities (i.e. tasks in 4 types) during 20 sessions, the learners' reading performance results were compared through utilizing a reading post–test to both groups. The obtained data was analyzed using t-test to examine the effects of independent variable, namely, the method of teaching reading (task-based activities vs. classical reading comprehension) on learners' reading performance as the dependent variable. As well, the performance of the experimental group in four task types was analyzed in order to investigate possible differences among four reading sets of scores obtained on four task types. A follow up TUKEY test was also conducted to locate the exact areas of difference. Results showed that TBLT had a significantly more positive effect on learners' reading performance compared to traditional reading instruction. Also, the second task type investigated in this study, namely read, note and discuss, found to be more useful in increasing learners' reading skill. This study has pedagogical implications for Iranian teachers, because reading comprehension is a rally important part of most standard exams in this country. Yet due to limited participants, it requires further studies in future.


Here, we report a case of spontaneous granulocytic leukemia in a 51-week-old male NOD/Shi-scid IL-2Rγnull (NOG) mouse. The mouse showed progressive anemia and rough respiratory movement. Macroscopically, the spleen was discolored and enlarged. Histologically, the bone marrow of the sternum and femur was highly cellular and almost exclusively filled with neoplastic cells. The nuclei of neoplastic cells were large, oval to slightly irregular in shape, and a small number of cells had kidney- or ring-shaped nuclei. Neoplastic cells extensively infiltrated the organs, and the spleen and liver were prominently involved. Immunohistochemically, a large population of neoplastic cells in the red pulp of the spleen and sinusoid of the liver was positive for myeloperoxidase. Based on the histological features, this case was diagnosed with granulocytic leukemia. This novel information on spontaneous tumors may be helpful for the appropriate use of this mouse strain in further research.


Various cities in Indonesia, Samarinda are one of the cities experiencing the impact of this pandemic. In education itself, the city of Samarinda has followed the government's direction since March 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by conducting learning from home (BDR) activities. The purpose of this study was to describe the information obtained regarding the effectiveness of implementing learning from home (BDR) activities for elementary school students in the city of Samarinda during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study uses a qualitative descriptive research method. This research will be conducted at SDN 012 Samarinda Ulu, Samarinda city in the even semester from April to July 2021. The subjects of this research are students of SDN 012 Samarinda Ulu who are the main informants. As a triangulation researcher added informants, namely class teachers and parents of students from SDN 012 Samarinda Ulu. To obtain the data that will be needed in this study, it is carried out by techniques, namely interviews and documentation. Activities in analyzing the data obtained are by means of data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing/verification. To test the validity of the data in this study, triagulation is used, namely source triagulation. The results of this study can be concluded that one form of preventing the spread of covid-19 is by conducting learning from home (BDR) activities, in Samarinda City itself, especially at the elementary school level, the process of implementing BDR is carried out online. The steps for implementing online BDR are started from the classroom teacher by asking the virtual attendance of students. After that, it was continued with the delivery of material, then giving assignments and collecting assignments from students. The dominant media used in online learning is mobile phones or smartphones. Furthermore, BDR constraints include student saturation, giving a lot of assignments, difficulty understanding the material and internet network disturbances.


The article defines the role of the clustering process as an innovative form of integrated development of the tourist sphere. The state of the regulatory framework in the tourist sphere and clusterization process development in Ukraine is analyzed. The idea of tourist clusters creating lies in the mutual coordination of activities, when the different in functional characteristics subjects implement a common goal, thereby increasing work efficiency, accelerating the achievement of planned results, introducing new technologies, facilitating of the loans obtaining, establishing a competitive bases in the contracts distribution, forming the optimal structure of products production, determining the priorities of directions development. For Ukraine, clustering process is one of ways economy development. The tourism clusters creation is able to neutralize of the state policy imperfection of small and medium-sized businesses supporting. Tourist enterprises, united in the tourism cluster within the region, have opportunity to more effectively defend their interests at the local authorities level, and also participate in large investment programs. The tourism clusters formation mechanism traditionally includes two components: on the one hand, this is an initiative group the creation for the cluster formation, which should include both representatives of key enterprises of a potential tourist cluster and also specialists with experience in implementing the cluster model in other regions or industries (for example, experts from regional development agencies, experts from various programs and initiatives), on the other hand, a necessary condition is the cluster official recognition and registration by state and local authorities. The features creating of the different types of tourist clusters in Ukraine are investigated. The level of tourist business development in the Odessa region is assessed, existing and perspective clusters in the tourism sphere are analyzed. The directions of tourist activity improvement in region due to the clusterization process are offered.


The Internet which contains untold riches of information and access to people world-wide has been launched in Sierra Leone. This article discusses the potential benefits the country stands to derive from this relatively new technology.


The structure, phase composition and spectral luminescence properties of single crystal and ceramic specimens of (ZrO2)0.909(Y2O3)0.09(Eu2O3)0.001 solid solutions synthesized using uniaxial compaction and slip casting techniques have been compared. The ceramic specimens have been synthesized from crushed single crystal specimens of similar composition. It has been shown that the crystalline structures of the ceramic and single crystal specimens are identical and cubic. The ceramic specimens synthesized using different methods prove to have close microstructure patterns. The spectral luminescence properties of Eu3+ ions in the (ZrO2)0.909(Y2O3)0.09(Eu2O3)0.001 ceramic specimens are similar to those of the single crystals with similar composition. The (ZrO2)0.909(Y2O3)0.09(Eu2O3)0.001 ceramic specimens prove to have uncontrolled Cr3+:Al2O3 impurities due to the synthesis conditions.


Objectives Advances in Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) allow for multiple gene analysis in an efficient, cost-effective manner. Deceased ovarian cancer patients untested for germline BRCA mutations represent a missed opportunity for clinicians to prevent future cancers in their surviving relatives. Families of this lost cohort can benefit through Traceback initiatives. We sought to validate our London Health Sciences custom Hereditary Cancer Panel using formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumor samples to assess BRCA 1/2 status in a cohort of high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) patients. Methods FFPE samples from 150 deceased HGSC patients were assessed using an Illumina MiSeq sequencer with a mean coverage of 1000x and average minimum coverage of 700x when 24 samples were tested per run. Validation of a subset of identified variants was then undertaken using Sanger and Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplication (MLPA). Results Among 150 HGSC samples, we identified 44 samples (29.3%) with reportable variants with variant allele frequencies from 10.3% - 99.4%. These included 35 point mutations/insertions/deletions, 7 exon/whole gene deletions, and 2 BRCA1 exon 13 duplications. A subset (26) of these variants were then confirmed by targeted assays using Sanger and MLPA. Conclusions Utilizing NGS technology, we reliably identified BRCA mutations in FFPE tumor samples. A validated NGS pipeline provides a valuable clinical tool to conduct Traceback initiatives to the families of deceased ovarian cancer patients never tested for germline mutations.


Dynamical control of the atomic tunneling between two Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC's) confined in a double-well potential is predicted to occur when laser pulses induce transition between one of the condensate state and the excited state which brings about phase shifts for the condensate wave function, leading to transition between macroscopic quantum self-trapping, which is a self-maintained population imbalance between two BEC's due to interatomic interaction, and large amplitude oscillations. We investigate this phenomenon for the case of a three-level system with two condensate states and an excited state.


In this paper, different methods of deriving the grid current references for a three-phase renewable energy based inverter connected to generalized micro-grid system are compared. The three-phase micro-grid voltage is considered to have unbalance as well as harmonic contamination. Primarily the p-q and FBD theory based methods are compared in terms of different specifications like manifestation of DC link side ripples, computational power required for implementation and restriction on the power circuit topology. Another method, equal phase active power sharing is also compared with these well known methods and its effect on the power circuit topology is also investigated. The comparisons are carried out based on the mathematical analysis and the experimental results under different operating conditions.


Wheat genetic materials developed from research at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico for developing countries have provided spillover benefits to Australia. Varieties developed from those genetic materials have resulted in yield increases in Australia. CIMMYT's success in developing countries has also reduced the world price for wheat. While the lower prices affect returns in Australia, the increased yields in Australia from the CIMMYT spillovers have provided benefits to Australia averaging A$30 million per year since 1973. If these benefits are to continue in the future, Australia must continue its close relationship with CIMMYT.


Background and aims: Cholera toxin B subunit (CT-B) is a powerful modulator of immune responses. The authors have previously demonstrated that oral administration of recombinant CT-B (rCT-B) is able to prevent and cure the Crohn's disease (CD)-like trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) mediated colitis. In this study they extended their observations and examined if rCT-B interferes with the molecular signaling underlying the Th1 type response both in TNBS colitis and in ex vivo human CD explants. Methods: TNBS treated mice were fed with rCT-B, and IFN-γ and IL-12 production by colonic lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC) was examined by ELISA. In vitro culture of mucosal explants from CD patients and non-inflammatory bowel disease controls, pre-incubated with rCT-B, were examined for IFN-γ and IL-12 production by ELISA and semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions. STAT-1, -4, -6 activation and T-bet expression were examined following rCT-B treatment by western blotting both in TNBS treated mice and in human mucosal explants. Results: rCT-B significantly reduced IL-12 and IFN-γ secretion by LPMC from TNBS treated mice. Consistent with this, rCT-B inhibited both STAT-4 and STAT-1 activation and downregulated T-bet expression. Inhibition of Th1 signaling by CT-B associated with no change in IL-4 synthesis and expression of active STAT-6 indicating that rCT-B does not enhance Th2 cell responses. Moreover, in vitro treatment of CD mucosal explants with rCT-B resulted in reduced secretion of IL-12/IFN-γ and inhibition of STAT-4/STAT-1 activation and T-bet expression. Conclusions: These studies indicate that CT-B inhibits mucosal Th1 cell signaling and suggest that rCT-B may be a promising candidate for CD therapy.


Pharmacovigilance hospital programs play a key role in the consolidation of a national program and the continuous improvement of health care. The goal of this study was to develop a pharmacovigilance pilot program in a level two hospital and identify the salient clinical features of the adverse reactions detected. The program was presented before the hospital's Epidemiologic Surveillance Committee and the professionals of the wards included (internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology and emergency). Information was collected by spontaneous reporting by the medical staff and intensive follow-up, carried out by the researcher during a six month period (march-september 2006). A format based on the INVIMA reporting sheet was used. Reports presented periodically to the committee were produced. Sixty adverse drug reactions were detected, of which 48 occurred in hospitalized patients (incidence 19X1000); eight led to hospitalization and four were detected in the emergency ward. Adverse reactions affecting gastrointestinal system were the most frequent ones reported in hospitalized patients (27%). Hypoglycemia was the adverse reaction that more often led to hospitalization (62.5%). 82% of the adverse reactions were reported by the author and 18% by the medical staff. Some of the clinical features of the adverse reactions detected are similar to those found in studies performed at level three hospitals. The rate of spontaneous notification was low. The features of the program match those of a second level hospital and allow its continuity.


The purpose of the current study was to evaluate influences of radial tears and partial meniscectomy of lateral meniscus on the knee joint mechanics during normal walking by using computational modeling. A 3D geometry of a knee joint of a healthy patient was obtained from our previous study, whereas the data of normal walking were taken from the literature. Cartilage tissue was modeled as a fibril reinforced poroviscoelastic material, whereas meniscal tissue was modeled as a transverse isotropic elastic material. The realistic gait cycle data were implemented into the computational model and the effects of radial tears and partial meniscectemy of lateral meniscus on the knee joint mechanics were simulated. Middle, posterior, and anterior radial tears in lateral meniscus increased stresses by 300%, 430%, and 1530%, respectively, at the ends of tears compared to corresponding areas in the model with intact lateral meniscus. Meniscus tears did not alter stresses and strains at the tibial cartilage surface, whereas partial meniscectomy increased contact pressures, stresses, strains and pore pressures in the tibial cartilage by 50%, 44%, 21%, and 43%, respectively. Increased stresses and strains were observed primarily during the first ∼50% of the stance phase of the gait cycle. The present study suggests that anterior radial tear causes the highest risk for the development of total meniscal rupture, whereas partial meniscectomy increases the risk for the development of OA in lateral tibial cartilage. Highest risks for meniscus and cartilage failures are suggested to occur during the loading response and mid‐stance of the gait cycle. In the future, the present modeling may be further developed to offer a clinical tool for aid in decision making of clinical interventions for patients with knee joint injuries. © 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 31:1208–1217, 2013


This paper describes the results of the investigation of a low-current atmospheric-pressure discharge in air flow with electrode geometry typical of the so-called gliding arc. At a current of fractions of an ampere the discharge burns in a regime of normal glow rather than in an arc regime and the area of the negative glow plasma smoothly moves over the cathode surface under the effect of gas flow. At the background of the glow discharge, occasional creation of a spark cathode spot can occur. Then the discharge becomes attached to the cathode surface and the site of current attachment does not move due to the gas flow. The site of current attachment continues its smooth displacement when the cathode spot is spontaneously extinguished. The events when the cathode spot abruptly jumps to a new place of attachment downstream are also observed.


OBJECTIVE
This preliminary study aimed to evaluate changes in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the testes in patients presenting with varicocele.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
This cross-sectional study included 25 consecutively recruited patients with varicocele and 25 healthy control volunteers. The ADC values were measured in all participants. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to test the normality of the data distributions, and the data were expressed as arithmetic means and SDs. A one-way analysis of variance with a post hoc Bonferroni test was used to analyze normally distributed continuous data. Independent sample Student t tests were used to compare continuous variables between two groups. Furthermore, a Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was used to examine the association of venous diameters with mean ADC values in patients with varicocele. A two-sided p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Sensitivities, specificities, and areas under the curve were calculated for the ADC values.

RESULTS
The ADC values associated with the ipsilateral testicular parenchyma of patients with varicocele were found to be lower than those of healthy volunteers. Moreover, the ADC values of the contralateral testicular parenchyma in patients with varicocele were also lower than those of healthy volunteers. The sensitivity and specificity of ADC values were 90% and 96%, respectively, for patients with varicocele and 89.5% and 96% for healthy volunteers. The mean ADC values were significantly negatively correlated with venous diameter.

CONCLUSION
The measurement of testicular ADC values may be used as a diagnostic indicator in the detection of testicular fibrosis.


An interstitial saline-electrode has been developed to couple radiofrequency (RF) energy to prostate tissue in order to produce large lesions quickly and controllably. In this study, we attempted to produce similar results using a flexible catheter introduced transurethrally via a flexible cystoscope. An insulated 4F catheter with an extendable needle electrode (26-gauge, 5-mm exposed metal tip) was introduced through a port of a flexible cystoscope into the urethra of 10 dogs via a small perineal incision (required for the canine U-shaped urethra). Under visual endoscopic guidance, the electrode was placed in the center of the prostate and the needle electrode extended at an angle into the prostate, one lobe at a time. Hypertonic saline (14.6% NaCl) was infused at 2 mL/min through the needle electrode into the tissue for 30 seconds before and during RF application. The energy (50 W, 475 kHz) was delivered for 30, 45, 60, or 90 seconds (RFT System; U.S. Surgical Corporation). Prostate and urethral temperatures were monitored using thermocouples mounted on the catheter. There was an automatic high-temperature shut-off if the urethra reached >42 degrees C or if impedance reached >300 omega during RF energy application. Prostate sizes ranged from 1.4 x 2.0 x 1.4 cm to 5.0 x 4.5 x 4.2 cm. In this group, there were no automatic shut-offs at any of the energy durations, and the lesions produced ranged from 1.3 x 1.3 x 1.1 cm (0.99 cm3) to 1.6 x 2.7 x 2.2 cm (5.03 cm3). The average ablation volumes produced were 1.76 cm3 at 30 seconds' RF application, 2.42 cm3 at 45 seconds, 3.96 cm3 at 60 seconds, and 5.03 cm3 at 90 seconds. Histologic examination revealed typical coagulation necrosis in the treatment zone without tissue desiccation. Introduction of the saline-electrode through a flexible cystoscope provides a minimally invasive procedure that quickly and controllably produces large lesions that may provide effective treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia with less patient discomfort.


The traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) currently mandated worldwide on all commercial transport aircraft is intended to provide last-minute collision avoidance (CA) guidance directly to the flight crew and has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of near-midair collisions. The TCAS logic uses a deterministic model to predict the future trajectories of the aircraft and does not explicitly represent variability in pilot response time which can have a great impact on the execution of the CA logic. Prior work has designed an encounter model to identify all the induced potential collision scenarios that are representative of possible hazardous situations that may occur with a fixed configuration of aircraft in the surrounding airspace. This paper extends the encounter model using an agent-based modeling approach developed via the colored Petri net (CPN) formalism to include the agent pilot response time that captures the variability delay in pilot behavior in order to analyze its influence on TCAS-induced collisions. Quantitative simulation results are conducted to validate the proposed causal model, dealing with challenging results about the extra airside capacity that could be obtained by offering a specific training on TCAS to the pilots or by use of automatisms, which is the case of remotely piloted aircraft systems.


The huge amount of multivariate temporal data that has been produced in several applications demands the creation of appropriate tools for the analysis and pattern characterization of change. This paper introduces a novel image-based representation, named Change Frequency Heatmap (CFH), to encode temporal changes of multivariate numerical data. The method computes histograms of change patterns observed at successive timestamps. We validate the use of CFHs through the creation of a temporal change characterization tool to support complex plant phenology analysis, concerning the characterization of plant life cycle changes of multiple individuals and species over time. We demonstrate the potential of CFH to support visual identification of complex temporal change patterns, especially to decipher interindividual variations in plant phenology.


Objectives To provide a specific example of how systems dynamics tools can increase understanding of stakeholder 'mental models' and generate robust systems-based hypotheses about the escalating problem of rising pedestrian death rates in the USA. Methods We designed and facilitated two group model building (GMB) workshops. Participants generated causal loop diagrams (CLDs) individually and in small groups to explore hypotheses concerning time–dynamic interacting factors underlying the increasing rates of pedestrian deaths. Using a grounded theory approach, research team members synthesised the structures and hypotheses into a single CLD. Results CLDs from the 41 participants indicated four core factors hypothesised to have a direct impact on pedestrian fatalities: pedestrian–vehicle crashes, vehicle speed at the time of the crash, vehicle size/dimensions and emergency response time. Participants diagrammed how actions and reactions impacted these proximal factors over time and led to ripple effects throughout a larger system to generate an increase in pedestrian deaths. Hypothesised contributing mechanisms fell within the following broad categories: community responses; research, policy and industry influence; potential unintended consequences of responses to pedestrian deaths; and the role of sprawl. Conclusions This application of systems science tools suggested several strategies for advancing injury prevention research and practice. The project generated robust hypotheses and advanced stakeholder communication and depth of understanding and engagement in this key issue. The CLD and GMB process detailed in this study provides a concrete example of how systems tools can be adopted and applied to a transportation safety topic.


Fetal alcohol exposure has been shown to produce long-term feminizing and demasculinizing effects on male rat behaviors which are organizationally dependent upon perinatal androgen levels. Such exposure has previously been shown to suppress the normal surge of testosterone during the critical prenatal period. Since defeminization of male rat behavior is dependent upon estrogen derived from the aromatization of testosterone in brain, brain aromatase activity was measured during the perinatal period in males and females exposed to alcohol beginning on Day 14 of gestation. Aromatase activity was measured in whole hypothalamus of fetuses from Day 16 through 20 of gestation and in the hypothalamic preoptic area and amygdala of animals 6-12 hr postparturition. Hypothalamic aromatase activity was elevated in fetal alcohol exposed males compared to controls on Days 18 and 19 of gestation and on postnatal Day 1. No effect of prenatal alcohol exposure was found in females. A sex effect in aromatase activity in the amygdala was evident on Day 1 when activity was found to be greater in males than females. Overall, these findings indicate that fetal alcohol exposure will elevate regional brain aromatase activity in males, but not females during the perinatal period of neurobehavioral sexual differentiation.


Plastic mulching is an important technology in agricultural production both in China and the rest of the world. In spite of its benefit of increasing crop yields, the booming expansion of the plastic mulching area has been changing the landscape patterns and affecting the environment. Accurate and effective mapping of Plastic-Mulched Farmland (PMF) can provide useful information for leveraging its advantages and disadvantages. However, mapping the PMF with remote sensing is still challenging owing to its varying spectral characteristics with the crop growth and geographic spatial division. In this paper, we investigated the potential of Radarsat-2 data for mapping PMF. We obtained the backscattering intensity of different polarizations and multiple polarimetric decomposition descriptors. These remotely-sensed information was used as input features for Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers. The results indicated that the features from Radarsat-2 data have great potential for mapping PMF. The overall accuracies of PMF mapping with Radarsat-2 data were close to 75%. Although the classification accuracy with the back-scattering intensity information alone was relatively lower owing to the inherent speckle noise in SAR data, it has been improved significantly by introducing the polarimetric decomposition descriptors. The accuracy was nearly 75%. In addition, the features derived from the Entropy/Anisotropy/Alpha (H/A/Alpha) polarimetric decomposition, such as Alpha, entropy, and so on, made a greater contribution to PMF mapping than the Freeman decomposition, Krogager decomposition and the Yamaguchi4 decomposition. The performances of different classifiers were also compared. In this study, the RF classifier performed better than the SVM classifier. However, it is expected that the classification accuracy of PMF with SAR remote sensing data can be improved by combining SAR remote sensing data with optical remote sensing data.


ABSTRACT In this Article, it is proposed a computer vision system, which can detect whether a coffee fruit is suitable for production or not. In order to achieve this detection two algorithms were developed, one to classify the coffee fruit in the ripe or unripe state; and the other to detect the presence of the 'coffee berry borer'. The first one uses a Bayesian Classifier to identify the colour of the fruit, and the second algorithm searches for the holes made by the coffee berry borer on the surface of the product. Moreover, a mechanical system was designed for the transportation and separation of the coffee fruits. In the first stage, coffees are transported as pictures of them are taken. At the end of this stage, the separation mechanism alters the path of the fruit based on the result of the classifier. The system proposed obtained an effectiveness of 87%. KEYWORDS:  Artificial neural networks, Binarization, Feature Extraction, Image classification, Image color analysis, Image segmentation, Machine vision, Selection process.


This article employs effort-shape analysis, a system for studying movement used in dance therapy and notation,
to explore Judy Garland9s star image in light of its frequent association with suffering and neurosis. It presents
a
detailed analysis of Garland9s physiognomy and the energy and shape of her movements and gestures through
space and time. In doing so, it suggests that Garland9s neurotic star image can be traced in no small part to the paradoxical
relationship of her body to the demands made upon it by the conventions of both Hollywood stardom and
the generic film musical and, concomitantly, to the insecurities and anxieties generated kinetically and somatically
by "failure" to meet those demands.


A late Pleistocene delta (Hainan palaeo river delta, HNPD hereafter) exceeding [Formula: see text] offshore Hainan Island, northwestern South China Sea (SCS), is investigated using high-resolution seismic and core data to understand the relationship between subaqueous delta development and climate drivers during the Last Glacial Period. The seismic data indicate general progradational configurations toward the southwest or southeast, indicating that the sediments from the eastern slope offshore southwestern Hainan Island were transported southwestward and southeastward. The average thickness of the delta sediment is approximately 35 m, and it has an arcuate shape surrounding the eastern slope. Therefore, the sediment provenances of the HNPD were mainly from the Red River drainage and Hainan Island. Comparison between the core dating results and the global sea-level curve indicates that the delta formed mainly during marine isotope stage 4 (65–56 ka). The topography of the basin, the sea-level change from low stand to high stand, and the southward oceanic currents driven by the glacial-period strong winter monsoon all contributed to the formation of the delta. Because the development of the delta required large riverine sediment input, we speculate that the main reason that the delta's development ceased was the migration of the river channel along the eastern slope. Based on a comparison between the palaeobathymetric scenarios derived from published sea-level curves and the delta stratigraphy identified from the seismic profiles and cores, we have determined a possible range of relative sea level between 65 and 56 ka for the southwestern coast of Hainan Island, which might also be applicable for a broader region, i.e., the northern SCS.


A formula using the contrast profile method is proposed to predict the brightness of even complicated luminance distribution in the real scene. The appropriateness of using the contrast profile method is first explained based on the multi-channel model of the visual system. Then, the previous formula using target size as a parameter is transformed into a formula using detected spatial wavelength as a parameter. Finally, the formula is checked experimentally using complicated luminance images as stimuli.


The heart is potentially a highly secured biometric modality. Although many templates have been proposed to be extracted from heart-signal for biometric authentication, they have yet to reach a single digit equal error rate (EER) of false matches and false non-matches when applied on large across-session data sets, where gallery and probe data are taken from different sessions. However, since different templates possess different strengths, the fusion of them has a great potential to improve the authentication performance. We propose an efficient template selection algorithm to select a suitable subset of templates from a given set to obtain a minimal EER. The fusion of the subset of templates selected by this algorithm from a set of seven state-of-the-art templates has obtained a significant 5% reduction of EER in authentication in our experiments on a large database of finger-based ECG signals captured in two different sessions.


The parallel developments of a variety of spark-chamber schemes have produced many workable systems with success in experimental applications. Major efforts have developed several methods for direct electrical readout of spark-chamber data. These include the use of magnetic cores for direct digitizing of information from wire spark chambers, as well as the use of Vidicon cameras to observe sparks, and of current division and acoustic transit time in analogue devices to measure spark position. For such systems the on-line use of computers, and (or) the construction of significant electrical interfacing circuitry, are important considerations in efforts to maximize the event rate. Conventional spark-chamber systems using film to record data have benefited from the continued development of automatic off-line scanning and measuring systems. There are also many experiments that will use the unique capabilities of wide-gap spark and streamer chambers.


This work presents a deterministic dynamic element matching (DDEM) approach which is applied to low precision DACs to generate stimulus signals for ADC testing. Both simulation results and experimental results from a fabricated DDEM DAC are presented to verify the performance. The ADC testing performance of an 8-bit DDEM DAC (linearity less than 5 bits without DDEM) is comparable to or better than the best results reported in the literature using on-chip linear ramp generators. The DDEM technique offers great potential for use in both production test and built-in-self-test(BIST) environments.


OBJECTIVE
We examined the feasibility of regimen selection for first-line irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin or oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin in Japanese patients with advanced colorectal cancer based on UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 genotype as well as physical status of patients related to diarrhea.

METHODS
As first-line irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin is a little bit superior to oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin with respect to efficacy and toxicity, patients without risk factors of irinotecan-induced toxicity were first assigned to irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin. Patients with UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 28/ 28, 6/ 6, 28/ 6 or 28/ 27 and those with ascites, peritoneal dissemination or diarrhea first received oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin to avoid the irinotecan-induced neutropenia and diarrhea, respectively. We retrospectively evaluated the feasibility of this strategy by assessing toxicity and total progression-free survival in first- and subsequent second-line therapies in all patients studied.

RESULTS
In the first-line irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (n = 61), Grade 4 neutropenia, febrile neutropenia and Grade 3 diarrhea occurred in 8.2, 3.3 and 3.3% of patients, respectively. In the first-line oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (n = 26), Grade 4 neutropenia, febrile neutropenia, Grade 3 thrombocytopenia and Grade 3 neuropathy were observed in 11.5, 3.8, 3.8 and 7.7% of patients, respectively. In the second-line oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin (n = 38), Grade 3 diarrhea occurred in 2.6% of patients. In the second-line irinotecan monotherapy (n = 11), Grade 4 or febrile neutropenia occurred in 18% of patients and Grade 3 diarrhea in 9.1% of patients. In second-line S-1 (n = 9), Grade 3 anemia occurred in 2 patients. Median total progression-free survival in all 87 patients was 11.5 months.

CONCLUSIONS
Present regimen selection strategy would be feasible, since it causes less toxicity and similar efficacy comparing to previous studies. Determination of appropriate reduced dose in the second-line irinotecan monotherapy or other standard second-line therapy for patients with high-risk to irinotecan-induced toxicity might make this strategy more effective.


PURPOSE OF REVIEW
The disruption to people's lives, including financial impacts, morbidity and loss of life caused by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic requires a dramatic transformation of cancer care delivery, including supportive care. This paper focuses on issues of supportive care in the context of the pandemic, and the extent to which these issues will impact supportive cancer care post-COVID-19.

RECENT FINDINGS
Cancer care, including supportive care delivery, has had to be dramatically altered during the COVID-19 pandemic, including reallocation of human resources, repurposing of existing physical space, amplified use of telehealth and other remote patient monitoring technologies, changes to treatment and follow-up care patient schedules, among others. These changes have resulted in psychosocial sequelae for cancer patients (including anxiety, stress, loss of control), financial toxicity, and risk of disengagement from treatment and follow-up care.

SUMMARY
COVID-19 has seriously disrupted cancer treatment and supportive care for patients and survivors. This paper highlights implications for clinical practice during and post-COVID-19, including the durability of practice adaptations and opportunities for research into mechanisms to support supportive care post the pandemic, including the advancement of eHealth technologies and alternative models of care that integrate community resources, primary care and allied health disciplines.


AIM
This article describes the Clinical Nurse Leader role in implementing person-centred care bundles to improve patient outcomes through an innovative culture of caring.

BACKGROUND
Demonstrating the financial value of introducing the Clinical Nurse Leader role into an organisation is essential for sustainability. Previous authors have established the Clinical Nurse Leaders' influence on patient satisfaction and have suggested that Clinical Nurse Leaders improve the continuity of care after discharge.

EVALUATION
Descriptive data are shared to illustrate the effectiveness of implementing the patient care bundles and a Clinical Nurse Leader-driven discharge phone call process.

KEY ISSUES
Clinical Nurse Leaders who practise from a caring lens are uniquely situated to lead initiatives that drive person-centred care with the goal of reducing readmission rates. Patients who receive person-centred care have an improved perception of the hospital experience and are more likely to return to the facility.

CONCLUSIONS
Clinical Nurse Leaders establish relationships with patients that increase the likelihood of successful outcomes from the discharge phone call process. Further evaluation of the Clinical Nurse Leader's role and potential impact on patient outcomes is warranted.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
Clinical Nurse Leaders are uniquely prepared to lead transformational change within an organisation. Clinical Nurse Leader interventions that are developed at the microsystem level in response to problems may have system-wide implications.


Studies to assess water intake have been undertaken in many countries around the world. Some of these have been large-scale studies, whereas others have used a small number of subjects. These studies provide an emerging picture of water and/or fluid consumption in different populations around the world. Studies of this nature have also formed the basis of a number of recommendations published by different organizations, including the US Institute of Medicine and the European Food Safety Authority. The results of these intake studies indicate substantial differences in water and/or fluid intake in different populations, which have translated into different intake recommendations.


data of the metabolite indicated that it most probably had the 2-oxo structure 2, by analogy with similar metabolites from IQ (3) and Me1Q (4). Confirmation of the structure of the metabolite 2 was achieved by total synthesis. Treatment of the key intermediate 3 with pyruvyl chloride yielded the oxoquinoxaline derivative 4, which was converted by standard methods to 2, identical with the natural metabolite. On the other hand, treatment of 3 with pyruvic acid gave a mixture of the products 5 and 6; compound 5 was converted to compound 7, isomeric with 2.


An eight year old female had laparotomy for general peritonitis due to acute appendicitis. Postoperative course was uneventful until the seventh day when abdominal pain, and distension and vomiting ensued which did not respond to conservative management. At repeat laparotomy, an ileoileal intussusception was found and reduced without difficulty. Intussusception is an uncommon but important cause of postoperative intestinal obstruction. Since the typical features of intussusception are usually absent and radiology frequently unhelpful, a high index of clinical suspicion is necessary for early diagnosis and treatment to avoid strangulation and perforation.


The development of transportation infrastructure plays a pivotal role in the regional economy from multiple dimensions. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between transportation infrastructure development and income inequality in urban and rural areas of China. The study utilizes panel data from 30 provinces, spanning the years 2010 to 2020, and employs the spatial Dubin model to measure and test the impact of transportation infrastructure on the urban-rural income gap. Furthermore, an intermediary effect test method is used to investigate the potential mediating effect of urbanization in this relationship. The results indicate that transportation infrastructure has a significantly negative direct, indirect, and total effect on the urban-rural income gap, with the indirect effect being greater than the direct effect. This suggests that transportation infrastructure can effectively reduce income disparities, with a noticeable spatial spillover effect. The level of urbanization plays a significant intermediary effect on the effect of transportation infrastructure on the urban-rural income gap, highlighting the role of transportation infrastructure in improving urbanization and narrowing income disparities. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing both the level of urbanization and cooperation between neighbouring regions in order to maximize the benefits of transportation infrastructure development for reducing income disparities and promoting regional balance in China.


Software product lines (SPLs) developed using annotative approaches such as conditional compilation come with an inherent risk of constructing erroneous products. For this reason, it is essential to be able to analyze such SPLs. However, as dataflow analysis techniques are not able to deal with SPLs, developers must generate and analyze all valid products individually, which is expensive for non-trivial SPLs. In this paper, we demonstrate how to take any standard intraproce- dural dataflow analysis and automatically turn it into a feature-sensitive dataflow analysis in five different ways where the last is a combination of the other four. All analyses are capable of analyzing all valid products of an SPL without having to generate all of them explicitly. We have implemented all analyses using SOOT's intraprocedural dataflow analysis framework and experimentally evaluated four of them according to their performance and memory characteristics on five quali- tatively different SPLs. On our benchmarks, the combined analysis strat- egy is up to almost eight times faster than the brute-force approach.


Background Excrement containing antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) is discharged from the hospital sewage through wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) into rivers, increasing the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) burden on the environment. Purpose We illustrate the contamination of hospital sewage tanks with ARB harboring antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) using comprehensive metagenomic sequencing. During the study period, we moved to a new hospital building constructed for renovation. Therefore, we investigated the difference in bacterial flora in the sewage tanks for each building with different departments, and the change in bacterial flora over time in new sewage tanks. Furthermore, we performed a comparative genome analysis of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing organisms (EPOs) from hospital sewage and clinical samples. Residual antibiotics in the sewage tank were also measured. Methods Metagenomic analysis was performed on the hospital sewage samples, followed by whole genome sequencing of EPOs. Results The bacterial composition of new sewage tanks was comparable with that of old tanks within 1 month after relocation and was instantly affected by excrement. The bacterial composition of sewage tanks in the old and new buildings, containing rooms where seriously ill patients were treated, was similar. Selection on CHROMagar ESBL allowed detection of EPOs harboring blaCTX-M and carbapenemase genes in all sewage tanks. One of the sewage Escherichia coli strain comprising ST393 harboring blaCTX-M-27 corresponded to the clinical isolates based on core genome analysis. Moreover, the levels of levofloxacin and clarithromycin in the hospital sewage were 0.0325 and 0.0135 µg/mL, respectively. Conclusion Hospital sewage was contaminated with many ARB species, ARGs and residual antibiotics, which can cause a burden on WWTP sewage treatment. The bacterial flora in the sewage tank was rapidly affected, especially by the ward with seriously ill patients. AMR monitoring of hospital sewage may help detect carriers prior to nosocomial ARB-associated outbreaks and control the outbreaks.


The XMI format is not Model-Management friendly. A Model-Management task must load the complete model even if it is only interested in a small subset of elements or the model statistics. JSOI is a JSON-based interchange format for MOF and EMF models, that allows to efficiently retrieve elements per type (model management friendly), facilitates lazy loading, can store partial models and provides basic element type demographics. If existing Model-Management frameworks adopted JSOI, they could improve their performance and expand into new domains such as Model-Management as a service.


We show, for a class of discrete Fleming-Viot (or Moran) type particle systems, that the convergence to the equilibrium is exponential for a suitable Wassertein coupling distance. The approach provides an explicit quantitative estimate on the rate of convergence. As a consequence, we show that the conditioned process converges exponentially fast to a unique quasi-stationary distribution. Moreover, by estimating the two-particle correlations, we prove that the Fleming-Viot process converges, uniformly in time, to the conditioned process with an explicit rate of convergence. We illustrate our results on the examples of the complete graph and of N particles jumping on two points.


At the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, the Executive Director Jim Gulliford announced a new Position Statement on Climate Change and Soil and Water Conservation: "The Soil and Water Conservation Society finds that soil and water conservation practices can play a major role in the mitigation of agriculture's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to changes in seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns" (SWCS 2011). The National Wildlife Federation agreed with this position in the recent publication, Future Friendly Farming: Seven Agricultural Practices to Sustain People and the Environment (Stockwell and Bitan 2011). We found that the seven practices discussed in this publication also improve farmer profitability thanks to modern tools and knowledge (Stockwell and Bitan 2011). Adoption of these and other soil and water conservation practices is in relatively early phases. Early innovators have begun incorporating these practices, but going from minimal adoption rates to broad or diffuse implementation will require additional information to not only answer farmers' questions, but to give them the information and encouragement to implement these practices. This article shares the experience of four early adopters of innovative practices. We hope these stories will help answer every farmer's first question…


Similar to personal wisdom, which is believed to be beneficial for individuals, others, and the larger community, wise organizations are likely to have a positive impact on employee well-being if their ultimate goal is to promote the common good. To test this hypothesis and create a wise organization index, the cognitive, reflective, and compassionate dimensions of the Three-Dimensional Wisdom Model were integrated with the psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness of Self-Determination Theory. The wise organization index consisted of the average ratings of ten scales by forty-seven to 1,930 employees in twenty-four organizations. Analyses of two-level hierarchical linear models showed that the positive association between the wisdom scores of twenty-four organizations and the well-being scores of 9130 employees was mediated by supervisor support and job fulfillment. The study suggests that employees who are treated well, feel well and fulfilled at work, which likely benefits the organization's long-term success.


N-Propargyltetramethylpiperidine reacts with a series of trans-alkenyl-B(C6F5)2 compounds to give the substituted alkenyl-bridged frustrated N/B Lewis pairs 5. Their structures and spectroscopic features indicate a pronounced participation of the mesomeric s-trans-iminium/borata-alkene resonance form. The compounds are thought to be formed in a stepwise addition/rearrangement process which is initiated by a trans-1,2-amine/borane FLP addition to the carbon-carbon triple bond to generate a reactive zwitterionic aziridinium/alkenylborate intermediate. Subsequent alkenylborate attack leads to opening of the activated three-membered heterocycle with clean formation of the products 5a-c. Treatment of the propargyl-TMP substrate with B(C6F5)3 gave a stable example of such an aziridinium/borate betaine, which was isolated and amply characterized. The products 5a-c are active N/B FLPs. They split dihydrogen heterolytically under mild conditions to give the respective NH+/BH- products 9a-c. These contain Z-configurated core C═C double bonds, which indicates rotational equilibration around the central C-C bond of 5a-c during this reaction. Structural and chemical features of the 5c system were analyzed by DFT calculations.


Gastroscopy plays an important role in the diagnosis of gastric disease. In this paper, we develop an image panoramic system to assist endoscopists in improving lesion surveillance and reducing many of the tedious operations associated with gastroscopy. The constructed panoramic view has two categories: 1) the local view broadens the endoscopist's field of view in real time. Combining with the original gastroscopic video, this mosaicking view enables the endoscopist to diagnose the lesion comprehensively; 2) the global view constructs a large-area panoramic scene of the internal gastric surface, which can be used for intraoperative surgical navigation and postoperative scene review. Due to the irregular texture and inconsistent reflection of the gastric internal surface, common registration methods cannot accurately stitch this surface. Thereby, a six degree of freedom position tracking endoscope is devised to accommodate for the accumulated mosaicking error and provide efficient mosaicking results. For the global view, a dual-cube constraint model and a Bundle Adjustment algorithm are incorporated to deal with the mosaicking error caused by the irregular inflation and nonrigid deformation of the stomach. Moreover, texture blending and frame selection schemes are developed to make the mosaicking results feasible in real-clinical applications. The experimental results demonstrate that our system performs with a speed of 7.12 frames/s in a standard computer environment, and the mosaicking mean error is 0.43 mm for local panoramic view and 3.71 mm for global panoramic view.


Prostate cancer is second only to lung cancer among killers of men in the United States. Researchers continue to develop tests that are more sensitive for diagnosing prostate cancer. At present, primary care assessment and evaluation of the disease are determined by physical evidence that may not be apparent and by laboratory values that may not be truly reflective of the underlying disease process. Men over the age of 40 need an annual evaluation for increased prostate-specific antigen (PSA) along with a digital rectal examination. Some data suggest that the digital rectal exam and PSA levels may be insensitive indicators of prostate cancer in men with low total or free testosterone levels. The synergistic effect of testosterone on PSA could mask indicators for evaluation of prostate cancer.


Cellulosic ethanol is one of the most important biotechnological products to mitigate the consumption of fossil fuels and to increase the use of renewable resources for fuels and chemicals. By performing this process at high total solids (TS) and low enzyme loadings (EL), one can achieve significant improvements in the overall cellulosic ethanol production process. In this work, steam-exploded materials were obtained from Eucalyptus urograndis chips and sugarcane bagasse to be subsequently used for enzymatic hydrolysis at high TS (20 wt%) and relatively low EL (13.3 FPU g−1 TS of Cellic CTec3 from Novozymes). Also, the fermentability of their corresponding hydrolysates was tested using an industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Thermosacc Dry from Lallemand). Enzymatic hydrolysis of steam-treated E. urograndis reached 125 g L−1 of glucose in 72 h, while steam-treated bagasse gave yields 25 % lower. Both substrate hydrolysates were easily converted to ethanol, giving yields above 25 g L−1 and productivities of 2.3 g L−1 h−1 for eucalypt and 2.2 g L−1 h−1 for bagasse after only 12 h of fermentation. Under the conditions used in this study, sugarcane bagasse glucans showed the potential to boost the ethanol production from sugarcane culms by 31 %, from the 80 L t−1 of first generation to a total production of 105 L t−1. On the other hand, E. urograndis plantations are able to achieve cellulosic ethanol productivities of 2832.2 L ha−1 year−1, which was 57.8 % higher than the projected value of 1794.5 L ha−1 year−1 that was obtained for sugarcane bagasse.


Solving business problems increasingly requires going beyond the limits of a single data processing platform (platform for short), such as Hadoop or a DBMS. As a result, organizations typically perform tedious and costly tasks to juggle their code and data across different platforms. Addressing this pain and achieving automatic cross-platform data processing is quite challenging: finding the most efficient platform for a given task requires quite good expertise for all the available platforms. We present R
 heem
 , a general-purpose cross-platform data processing system that decouples applications from the underlying platforms. It not only determines the best platform to run an incoming task, but also splits the task into subtasks and assigns each subtask to a specific platform to minimize the overall cost (e.g., runtime or monetary cost). It features (i) an interface to easily compose data analytic tasks; (ii) a novel cost-based optimizer able to find the most efficient platform in almost all cases; and (iii) an executor to efficiently orchestrate tasks over different platforms. As a result, it allows users to focus on the business logic of their applications rather than on the mechanics of how to compose and execute them. Using different real-world applications with R
 heem
 , we demonstrate how cross-platform data processing can accelerate performance by more than one order of magnitude compared to single-platform data processing.


The authors reviewed seven randomised controlled trials that have investigated the effect of nutritional supplementation on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), including the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS; The AREDS Research Group, 2001). The primary results in AREDS emphasise the beneficial effect of the AREDS supplementation among persons at some risk of progressing to advanced AMD, namely persons in AMD categories 3 and 4. The authors criticise this emphasis as 'subgroup' analysis, including prominently and somewhat surprisingly in the abstract. This criticism appears perfunctory and unnecessarily discredits the AREDS results. It could have been avoided if the authors had observed that the published results for the full group (categories 2, 3, and 4) were similarly beneficial and significant. It is the misuse of subgroup analysis, rather than subgroup analysis itself, that is the proper expressed concern of people who conduct clinical trials and reviewers. Analyses of categories of participants predefined at study onset and in which randomisation is preserved are not pejoratively subgroup analyses, especially without evidence of bias. Further, the information on treatment effect on what turned out to be the very infrequent occurrence of advanced AMD in category 2 participants is statistically and ethically insufficient to recommend use of the AREDS supplement for such persons. One of the goals of a trial should be to determine which patients can benefit from the treatment, including identifying patients at very low risk of disease for whom treatment cannot be clearly recommended, and AREDS did just that.


Background: The oncogenic drivers and progression factors in multiple myeloma (MM) are heterogeneous and difficult to target therapeutically. As a result, personalized medicine approaches have not yet been realized. However, clinical availability of numerous anti-myeloma drugs and readily obtainable bone marrow (BM) aspirates raises the possibility to benefit patients by profiling the drug sensitivity of their MM. Despite newly available drugs, resistance inevitably develops and there is no defined rationale for sequencing therapy. Treatments now consist of >15 agents, including IMiDs, protease inhibitors (PIs), alkylator chemotherapies, steroids, monoclonal antibodies, and options are still expanding. To profile sensitivity to the wide array of options, we developed a rapid functional assay of primary MM cells, distinct from prior assays by forgoing CD138+ cell selection to optimize MM cell viability and allow measurement of monoclonal antibody activity.
 Methods: Myeloma drug sensitivity testing (My-DST) was performed on patient BM aspirates to measure the MM sensitivity in heterogeneous mononuclear cell (MNC) mixtures. My-DST is performed by culturing samples with a 7-drug panel consisting of bortezomib (Bor), carfilzomib (Car), lenalidomide (Len), pomalidomide (Pom), dexamethasone (Dex), cyclophosphamide (Cy, metabolite 4HC), and daratumumab (Dara) for 48h, followed by multiparameter, high-throughput flow cytometry to measure the surviving MM population. All conditions are performed in triplicate and in parallel, clonality verified by kappa/lambda staining.
 Results: MM cell viability was substantially better in unselected MNC cultures than CD138-selected cultures (data not shown). Dose-response was evaluated for each agent in MNC cultures to select single active concentrations for high throughput screening (data not shown). Single concentration profiling was completed on 55 patient samples from diagnosis (n = 24), first relapse (n = 11) and after multiple relapses (n = 20) with 2.5 nM PIs, 10 µM IMiDs, 1 µM Dex, 3.75 µM Cy and 20 nM Dara. Each was scored as sensitive or resistant using a cutoff of 80% surviving MM cells normalized to untreated controls (Fig 1A). Mild inherent resistance to varied tested agents was evident at diagnosis and progressively increased with lines of therapy (LOT) until multidrug resistance predominated (Fig 1B). My-DST displayed significant correlation for LOT with increasing resistance to Bor (r = 0.27, P = 0.046), Car (r = 0.27, P = 0.044), Len (r = 0.44, P = 0.0006) and Pom (r = 0.43, P = 0.0009), but not Dara (r = 0.27, P = 0.10), Cy (r = 0.17, P = 0.24) and Dex (r = 0.032, P = 0.82) (Fig 1C). The ex vivo sensitivity for Bor and Car were highly correlated (r = 0.67, P < 0.0001) from sensitive to both to resistant to both, but still differential results favoring Bor or Car were observed (Fig 1D). The ex vivo results for the tested IMiDs were even more highly correlated (r = 0.79, P < 0.0001), with fewer samples showing greater sensitivity differentially to Len or Pom (data not shown). In patients at diagnosis, the ex vivo sensitivity to all drugs given during treatment led to significantly deeper clinical responses than those with resistance to ≥1 drugs received (Fig 1E). As an example of potential clinical utility of My-DST, the test for #847 at diagnosis identified sensitivity to PIs and resistance to IMiDs, which correlated with inadequate response to Len/Dex, followed by complete response (CR) after change to Bor/Dex (Fig 1F). Dara had ex vivo activity in most naïve patients, but patients already exposed showed significant acquired resistance (Fig 1G). We also found that CD38 expression was significantly lower in patients that showed ex vivo Dara resistance (Fig 1H). The ex vivo Dara activity was partially blocked by inhibiting macrophages with clodronate-liposomes (CL) (Fig 1I).
 Conclusion: My-DST on unselected MM BM aspirates with minimal perturbations ex vivo was clinically predictive of resistance to IMiDs and PIs. For the first time, this approach is able to measure the antibody-mediated cytotoxicity of daratumumab in clinical MM samples. Our data indicate that personalized regimens based on rapidly obtained ex vivo sensitivity may lead to optimized depth of clinical response. We next plan to translate this approach into clinical use in an effort to improve patient outcomes and avoid wasted time, money and complications that may arise from the use of ineffective drugs.

 Mark: Janssen, Takeda, Celgene, Amgen: Consultancy; BMS, Celgene: Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria.


During the past about thirty-five years, many automata on a two- or three-dimensional input tape have been proposed and a lot of properties of such automata have been obtained. On the other hand, we think that recently, due to the advances in computer animation, motion image processing, and so forth, it is very useful for analyzing computational complexity of multi-dimensional information processing to explicate the properties of four-dimensional automata, i.e., three-dimensional automata with the time axis. In this paper, we propose a four-dimensional multi-inkdot finite automaton and mainly investigate its recognizability of four-dimensional connected pictures.


We describe a case of myopic traction maculopathy (MTM) in a patient with low myopia that resolved with surgical intervention. Our patient demonstrated no other features of myopic degeneration and none of the typical tractional elements that cause MTM, such as vitreomacular traction due to partial posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) with vitreomacular adhesion, epiretinal membrane, or a remnant cortical vitreous layer following PVD. Possible pathogenic mechanisms in our patient include reduced compliance of the aging internal limiting membrane and/or traction from elasticity within the thin cortical vitreous layer that forms the posterior wall of the premacular liquefied pocket. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2023;54:xxx-xxx.].


The article comparatively analyzes the historical frameworks within which the 1968 and 1999 student movements in Mexico developed. The text focuses on the economic, political and cultural conditions present during the decades of the 1960s and 1990s to explain the rise and characteristics of each movement and emphasizes the notions of future existing in each of the frameworks analyzed


Current genome walking methods are cumbersome to perform and can result in non-specific products. Here, we demonstrate the use of partially overlapping primer-based PCR (POP-PCR), a direct genome walking technique for the isolation of unknown flanking regions. This method exploits the partially overlapping characteristic at the 3' ends of a set of POP primers (walking primers), which guarantees that the POP primer only anneals to the POP site of the preceding PCR product at relatively low temperatures. POP primer adaptation priming at the genomic DNA/POP site occurs only once due to one low-/reduced-stringency cycle in each nested PCR, resulting in the synthesis of a pool of single-stranded DNA molecules. Of this pool, the target single-stranded DNA is replicated to the double-stranded form bound by the specific primer and the POP primer in the subsequent high-stringency cycle due to the presence of the specific primer-binding site. The non-target single stranded DNA does not become double stranded due to the absence of a binding site for any of the primers. Therefore, the POP-PCR enriches target DNA while suppressing non-target products. We successfully used POP-PCR to retrieve flanking regions bordering the gadA locus in Lactobacillus brevis NCL912, malQ in Pichia pastoris GS115, the human aldolase A gene, and hyg in rice.


AEDS is a chronic, relapsing, highly pruritic inflammatory skin disease that commonly begins in childhood. Two forms of this disorder exist, i.e. an allergic (extrinsic) form and a nonallergic (intrinsic) form. There are clear genetic, humoral and cellular differences between the allergic and nonallergic forms of AEDS. The allergic variants express local IgE production in affected tissue and both allergic and nonallergic triggers play a major role in the expression of disease. The role of allergens is very important in the immunopathogenesis of AEDS. Nonimmunological triggers play a secondary modulatory role often hampering treatment effort and optimal response to therapeutic efforts.


Over the past years the role of judges has been expanding worldwide, even on constitutional and political issues. This development is highly debatable, but the paper considers it as inevitable in any jurisdiction: national, supranational and international. Judicialization is also the main consequence of a new cosmopolitan legalism. However, there remain some relevant peculiarities of the different judges, and ambiguities of the international courts. In any case, it is excessive to speak of a 'Rule of Judges' or of a 'Juristocrocacy'. The paper concludes that the judges should use their wide powers with a wise moderation.


The metals Cd, Pb, and Zn occurring in Haplorthods and Haplum-brepts of both sandy and loamy textures in the vicinity of Tarnowskie Gory in southwest Poland, an area that has been subjected to severe metal contamination, were studied according to a procedure based on sequential extraction analysis. Concentrations of the metals ranged from background levels to levels well in excess of the maximum tolerable limits in agricultural soils. Thus, Cd, Pb, and Zn ranged from 0.2 to 103, 14 to 7100 and 20 to 10 000 mg kg -1 soil, respectively. Soil type, texture, organic matter, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) did not influence the relative proportions of heavy metal forms in any consistent manner. However, the influence of soil pH was clear. Soil samples of pH 5.6. The most consistent distribution patterns were found when the soil samples were grouped according to their total metal contents. The inferred relative mobility of the metals and their redistribution among the different fractions are generally consistent with the findings of previous studies of contaminated soils and support the view that metals from anthropogenic sources are more mobile than those from soil parent materials.


This study characterizes the experiences and coping strategies of 23 alcohol-dependent persons who maintained abstinence from alcohol use up to three years post-treatment. Interview, journal, and mail questionnaire data were collected at 12, 18 and 36 months post-treatment. The results support and extend the theoretical model of change proposed by Prochaska and DiClemente (1984). Hallmarks of successful change included factors that can be learned, practiced, perfected and are transferable to other alcohol-dependent persons who decide to break the addictive cycle.


Background Renal failure is common among patients undergoing liver transplantation. Liver allocation based on the model for end-stage liver disease score has increased the number of recipients who require perioperative renal replacement therapy (RRT). Although RRT can be continued intraoperatively, the risks and benefits of intraoperative RRT are not well defined. The aim of this study is to report the intraoperative management of patients with pretransplant renal failure at a transplant center with extremely infrequent utilization of intraoperative RRT. Materials and Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of all adult patients undergoing orthotopic liver or simultaneous liver-kidney (SLK) transplantation between June 2009 and December 2015. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on their need for pretransplant RRT. Results A total of 785 patients underwent liver or SLK transplant during the study period. One hundred and seventy-four patients (22.2%) required preoperative dialysis. Only 2 patients required intraoperative RRT. There was no difference in the incidence of acidosis or hyperkalemia between patients who required preoperative dialysis and those who did not. Conclusions We describe the successful management of patients undergoing liver or SLK transplantation almost entirely without the need for intraoperative RRT.


Preamble 1. General considerations 2. Frequency of monitoring and sample size 3. Viral infections 3.1 Mice 3.2 Rats 3.3 Hamsters 3.4 Guineapigs 3.5 Rabbits 4. Bacterial, mycoplasmas and fungal infections 4.1 Methodology 4.2 Samples to be investigated 4.3 Mice and rats 4.4 Hamsters 4.5 Guineapigs 4.6 Rabbits 5. Parasitology 5.1 Methodology 5.2 Report of results 5.3 Test schedule in mouse, rat, hamster and guineapig breeding units 5.4 Test schedule in rabbit breeding units 6. Pathology 7. Appendix I-Necropsy procedures 8. Appendix II-Guidelines for the Use of the FELASAApproved Health Monitoring Report 9. Appendix IIIAbbreviations 2 2 3 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 7 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10


A breeding colony consisting of 250 different strains of mice was treated with the topical acaricide selamectin for the mouse fur mite Myocoptes musculinus, with no apparent ill effect, suggesting that this drug is safe for use in mice. To further evaluate their efficacy in treating Myocoptes spp., we compared selamectin with another acaricide, moxidectin, in a controlled manner. Infested mice were treated with selamectin or moxidectin at the time of cage change, and a subset of mice was retreated 10 d later. Mice underwent routine cellophane tape examination of the pelage for 1 y. Although no adult mites were found in any group at 1 mo after treatment, egg casings were found in the selamectin treatment group as late as 6 mo after treatment, prompting concern about its effectiveness. Moxidectin used in combination with cage changing was effective in eradicating mites, with mice negative for traces of mites on cellophane tape examination of the pelage from months 2 through 12 after treatment.


Abstract This study relates surface fluxes to remotely sensed variables over well-defined variations of surface wetness and vegetation. The surface fluxes are estimated from repeated Twin Otter aircraft flights at 33 m above the surface after correcting for advection and local storage between the aircraft level and the surface. An extensive analysis of flux errors due to finite sample size over heterogeneous terrain is performed. The resulting surface energy budget seems to balance only if mesoscale fluxes are included. The spatial variation of the surface fluxes and atmospheric temperature and moisture are well predicted for these specific surface conditions by a model based on the normalized difference of vegetation index and brightness temperatures of channels 4 and 5 from the NOAA-11 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer.


Everyone knows what paying attention is, yet not everybody knows what this means in cognitive and brain function terms. The attentive state can be defined as a state of optimal activation that allows selecting the sources of information and courses of action in order to optimize our interaction with the environment in accordance with either the saliency of the stimulation or internal goals and intentions. In this article we argue that paying attention consists in tuning the mind with the environment in a conscious and controlled mode in order to enable the strategic and flexible adaptation of responses in accordance with internal motivations and goals. We discuss the anatomy and neural mechanisms involved in attention functions and present a brief overview of the neurocognitive development of this seminal cognitive function on the grounds of self-regulated behavior. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Attention (BEAB) Brain Function and Dysfunction (BEAC) Cognitive Development (BAAD).


Active queue control aims to improve the overall communication network throughput while providing lower delay and small packet loss rate. The basic idea is to actively trigger packet dropping (or marking provided by explicit congestion notification (ECN)) before buffer overflow. In this paper, two artificial neural networks (ANN)-based control schemes are proposed for adaptive queue control in TCP communication networks. The structure of these controllers is optimized using genetic algorithm (GA) and the output weights of ANNs are optimized using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The controllers are radial bias function (RBF)-based, but to improve the robustness of RBF controller, an error-integral term is added to RBF equation in the second scheme. Experimental results show that GA- PSO-optimized improved RBF (I-RBF) model controls network congestion effectively in terms of link utilization with a low packet loss rate and outperform Drop Tail, proportional-integral (PI), random exponential marking (REM), and adaptive random early detection (ARED) controllers.