Genetic diversity in candidate genes for fitness and production traits was explored in three populations of dairy cattle. The study focused on adipokines, including leptin (LEP), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), interleukin-8 (IL8) and interleukin-10 (IL10) as candidate genes. The three populations of interest included young Jersey and Holstein (modern Holstein) sires, and Holstein sires born prior to 1970 (traditional Holstein). Pools of DNA representing each sire group were used as template to generate PCR products for sequencing and identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). Sequences of PCR products were assembled and SNPs identified using Sequencher 4.5 software. One SNP representing each gene and a previously reported SNP in LEP were selected for genotyping across all bulls. A multiplexed genotyping assay was developed using the ABI PRISM SNaPshot Multiplex Kit. Allele and genotypic frequencies were determined for each sire group, and genotypic frequencies were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Allele frequencies were compared among sire groups using the chi-square test. A significant difference between Jersey and Holstein was observed for all genes, and modern and traditional Holstein groups differed for the previously described LEP and IL10 SNP. Although allele frequency differences between modern and traditional Holsteins may reflect the effect of selection pressure for production traits on these genomic regions, random genetic drift or sampling bias could also have contributed to the observed differences. Keywords : Fitness traits; genetic markers; adipokines; dairy cattle South African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 37 (3) 2007: pp.154-157


MAC protocol is the key technology in cognitive radio networks. Exchanging control messages and updating available channels are the important parts of the MAC protocols in cognitive radio networks. In this paper, we propose a novel MAC protocol supporting Dynamic Control Channel(DCC-MAC). DCC-MAC can adaptively choose a optimal channel from multiple available channels, which avoids to using a dedicated control channel that is difficult to maintain in cognitive networks. A model is built to analyze the throughput of DCC-MAC under the saturation condition. The analysis and simulation results show that DCC-MAC improves the spectrum utilization in cognitive networks.


: The protective effect of IgM-enriched immunoglobulin isolated by the caprylate-alcohol technique has been found to be more pronounced in comparison with that of the commercial preparation of gamma globulin in experiments on mice infected with P. aeruginosa live culture. The effectiveness of this protective action correlates with a higher content of antibodies to P. aeruginosa O-antigen in IgM-enriched immunoglobulin. In mice injected with P. aeruginosa toxin both preparations have shown equal intensity of their protective action.


Suicidal patients are common in family practice. Risk factors can alert the family physician to persons at unusual risk. Demographic factors, especially those revealing changing social status, recent loss, intentionality, lethality, past history, and high-risk groups, can be rapidly assessed. Viewing suicide as a final common pathway of system dysfunction at any or all major levels-biologic, psychologic, sociocultural-leads to an appreciation of the ubiquitous nature of passive or active "self murder" impulses. Persons depressed for any significant length of time for whatever reasons are potentially suicidal. Thus, the "typical" depression is suicidal but so are persons whose depression is related to drug side effects, primary illness effects, to living in a dysfunctional family system, or to normal grief. Diagnosis requires inquiry about the depth of the patient's depression pain. Treatment takes into account the aforementioned risk factors, plus interventions appropriate to the malfunctioning system.


We show that interlayer Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in combination with non-local Gilbert damping gives rise to unidirectional magnetic coupling. That is, the coupling between two magnetic layers -- say the left and right layer -- is such that dynamics of the left layer leads to dynamics of the right layer, but not vice versa. We discuss the implications of this result for the magnetic susceptibility of a magnetic bilayer, electrically-actuated spin-current transmission, and unidirectional spin-wave packet generation and propagation. Our results may enable a route towards spin-current and spin-wave diodes and further pave the way to design spintronic devices via reservoir engineering.


The authors demonstrated the capability of cell trapping with combination of dielectrophoresis (DEP) and 3D microstructures array in the prior work (Chen-Hsin Chuang, 2006). In the present study, in order to measure the variation of electric properties for a single cell under biochemical reactions, a novel design of multilayer electrodes is utilized to achieve both DEP positioning and impedance measurement with single-cell resolution. In this chip, three electrodes are separated by flow chamber and SU-8 holes array, respectively. Firstly, bioparticles can be trapped in SU-8 holes array by applying AC power on top ITO electrode and middle Au electrode on SU-8 surface. According to experimental results, the trapped bioparticles will be constrained in stationary due to microstructures for a long period of time without applying DEP force. Sequentially, the impedance measurement for bioparticles or cells can be performed by LCR meter. As the results shown, the resulting impedance can be varied by the size of trapped bioparticle. Therefore, this study not only provides an efficient way for trapping cell but also an alternative way to identify the size of particles by impedance measurement.


Nb2O5 nanosensors showing good sensing performances toward hydrogen and oxygen at high temperatures have been reported several times, but high-performance room-temperature Nb2O5 gas sensors have not been reported to date. Pd-Nb2O5 nanorods were synthesized by using thermal oxidation of a Nb foil, followed by wet chemical coating of Pd under UV illumination. The responses of multiple-networked Pd-Nb2O5 nanorod sensors to 10,000 ppm of hydrogen at room temperature were ∼218% and ∼496%, respectively. Responses obtained in this study were far higher than that to 2,000 ppm of H2 obtained previously at the same temperature by using Pt/Nb2O5 Schottky-diode sensors. These results suggest that multiple-networked 1D nanostructure sensors, which can be fabricated more easily, are superior in H2-gas-sensing properties to Schottky-diode-type nanostructure sensors, which require precise techniques to connect the nanostructures. The origin of the enhanced sensing properties of the Pd-decorated Nb2O5 nanorods toward hydrogen is also discussed.


Thermoluminescence kinetics has been discussed within the framework of a band model assuming an extensive retrapping of charge carriers in comparison with their recombination. Assuming that a luminophor has one type of recombination centre and an arbitrary number of trapping centres the authors succeeded in analysing complex thermoluminescence curves with an arbitrary number of peaks. It has been shown for an elementary peak that its form almost coincides with the Randall-Wilkins curve, and its intensity is proportional to the square of the absorbed dose. The effect of both the processes of localised charge carriers accumulation (irradiation and isothermal decay) and their redistribution on trapping centres during the thermoluminescence process have been dealt with taking into account the form and intensity of the thermoluminescence peaks.


Predicting IT infrastructure performance under varying conditions, e.g., the addition of a new server or increased transaction loads, has become a typical IT management exercise. However, within a service delivery context, enterprise clients are demanding predictive analytics that outline future "costs" associated with changing conditions. The service delivery staffing costs incurred in addressing problems and requests (arriving in the form of incident and other problem tickets) in the managed environment is especially of high importance. This paper describes an analytical study addressing such cost prediction. Specifically, a novel approach is described in which support vector regression is used to predict service delivery workloads (measured by ticket volumes) based on managed server characteristics Additionally, a proposed framework combining various analytical models is proposed to predict service delivery staffing requirements under changing IT infrastructure characteristics and conditions. Detailed descriptions of the workload prediction techniques, as well as an evaluation using data from an actual large service delivery engagement, are presented.


Purpose. This study examined important factors affecting activities and participation of persons with mobility impairments. Method. This mixed methods study employed grounded theory approaches and data conversion to quantify impact of environmental and personal factors on standard measures of activities and participation. Semi-structured interviews of participants with mobility impairments were conducted to identify key factors and the magnitude of their influence on activities of daily living and participation. Participants were individually scored on the Barthel index (BI) and the Participation scale (P-scale); BI scores that would have been obtained without associated factors were estimated. Average cumulative impact of factors on BI and P-scale scores were estimated to identify factors with the greatest numeric impact. Results. Twenty-four participants identified 258 factors that impacted activities. For the BI, adaptive equipment, gait aids, wheelchairs, scooters and home modifications were most influential. For the P-scale, personality, community and home accessibility, level of impairment, mobility aids and transportation were among the most influential. Conclusion. Convergent results through various methods suggest that reporting of contextual factors that may affect scores on standardised measures of activities and participation may assist in interpretation, and identification of interventional needs at the individual or system levels.


In the early 2000s, ASME adopted Code Cases N-629 and N-631 [1–2], both of which permit the use of the Master Curve reference temperature (To) to define an reference temperature RTTo, as follows (in SI units, as are used throughout the paper):Display FormulaRTTo=To+19.4℃ The Code Cases state that "this reference temperature … may be used as an alternative to [the] indexing reference temperature RTNDTfor the KIcand KIatoughness curves, as applicable, in Appendix A and Appendix G [of Section XI of the ASME Code]." KIa is now only used in Appendix A. The functional form of the ASME KIc and KIa curves dictate that the temperature separation between them remains constant irrespective of the degree of neutron radiation embrittlement, as quantified by ΔRTNDT or ΔRTTo. However, data collected from the literature and new data reported by Hein et al. show that radiation embrittlement brings the KIc and KIa curves closer together as embrittlement increases. As a result, current Code guidance will not produce a bounding KIa curve in all situations when RTTo is used as an reference temperature. To reconcile this issue, this paper summarizes available data and, on that basis, concludes that use of the following reference temperature will ensure that the ASME KIa curve bounds currently available KIa data:Display FormulaRTKIa=RTTo-19.4+44.97×exp−0.00613×RTTo-19.4Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Background: Very significant improvements in survival have been observed in the past decade in multiple myeloma (MM). This improvement is mainly due to the availability of new effective drugs, that also improved the response rate. With such combinations, the CR rate increased from a few percent to up to 80%. Thus, CR rate cannot be anymore a realistic endpoint for trials, and more sensitive techniques are mandatory to try to monitor the real remaining disease burden. We used a very sensitive technique, Immunoglobulin gene next generation sequencing, in a prospective trial to quantitate minimal residual disease (MRD), and to correlate with PFS and OS Methods: The IFM2009 trial randomized 700 patients to received high-dose melphalan or not following a RVD induction. All the patients did then receive a 12-month lenalidomide maintenance. MRD was assessed before and after maintenance using the ClonoSeq kit (Adaptive Biotechnologies, Seattle, WA). This kit enables to detect 1 tumor cell in 1,000,000 bone marrow cells. Findings: MRD was evaluated in 269 patients who achieved at least VGPR. Patients who did not achieve VGPR were considered MRD positive. First, we found that sensitivity is very important, patients with a MRD level below 10-6 presenting a significant better PFS than patients not achieving this level. We thus defined MRD negativity as patients with a MRD lower than 10-6. Using this cutoff, at a median follow-up of 55 months, the median PFS for patients achieving MRD negativity was not reached, versus 29 months for patients who did not reach MRD negativity (Figure). Second, we analyzed the results according to treatment arm. If more patients in the transplant arm achieved MRD negativity, we did not observe any difference in PFS in patients with MRD negativity, meaning that patients able to achieve MRD negativity without transplant present a similar outcome than those transplanted. Third, we looked at the role of high risk cytogenetics. HR patients who achieved MRD negativity presented a significantly better outcome than standard risk patients who did not achieve MRD negativity, meaning that HR is a dynamic concept that should be reevaluated during treatment. Fourth, we did also observe a significantly longer OS in patients who achieve MRD negativity. Conclusions: We showed that MRD could (should?) be considered as a novel surrogate biomarker for trial evaluation. This study showed that the best sensitivity is associated with the best discrimination in PFS and OS, and suggested that 10-6 should be the optimal cutoff. Disclosures Avet-Loiseau: Celgene, Janssen, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen, Sanofi, Celgene, Amgen: Consultancy; Celgene, Janssen: Research Funding. Moreau: Celgene, Janssen, Takeda, Novartis, Amgen, Roche: Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Millennium: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Onyx Pharmaceutical: Consultancy, Honoraria. Attal: Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; JANSSEN: Consultancy, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy.


This project concerns the present role of Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs) in matters of social exclusion in cities. Participating countries are: Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, UK, Turkey, Spain and Sweden. A FBO is any organisation that refers directly or indirectly to religion or religious values, and functions as a welfare provider or as a political actor. The central assumption is that FBOs tend to fill the gap left after the supposed withdrawal of the welfare state in several domains of public life, particularly in social welfare and in social protection. At first sight, this looks like a return to the charity of former times, when such associations occupied the fore of social help in many countries. But we might as well witness the beginning of a new type of welfare regime with a stronger focus on local policies and strategies and new interplays between local authorities and civil society organisations.


This work presents the thermochemical analysis of a packed-bed reactor via multi-dimensional CFD modeling using FlexPDE and COMSOL Multiphysics. The temperature, concentration, and reaction rate profiles for methane production following the Fischer–Tropsch (F-T) synthesis were studied. To this end, stationary and dynamic differential equations for mass and heat transfer were solved via the finite element technique. The transport equations for 1-D and 2-D models using FlexPDE consider dispersion models, where the fluid and the catalyst can be treated as either homogeneous or heterogenous systems depending on the gradient extents. On the other hand, the 3-D model obtained in COMSOL deems the transport equations incorporated in the Porous Media module. The aim was to compare the FlexPDE and COMSOL models, and to validate them with experimental data from literature. As a result, all models were in good agreement with experimental data, especially for the 2-D and 3-D dynamic models. In terms of kinetics, the predicted reaction rate profiles from the COMSOL model and the 2-D dynamic model followed the temperature trend, thus reflecting the temperature dependence of the reaction. Based on these findings, it was demonstrated that applying different approaches for the CFD modeling of F-T processes conducts reliable results.


A 56-year-old man with diabetes and staphylococcal endocarditis received intermittent, brief courses of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Fungal superinfection with Rhodotorula resulted. Rhodotorula was cultured repeatedly from the blood and urine during a period of high fever, while the patient was on adequate antibiotic therapy for staphylococcus. During and after treatment with amphotericin B and massive doses of penicillin, repeated blood cultures were sterile, and the patient recovered from this infection and superinfection. Amphotericin B was given intravenously in gradually increasing amounts until a daily dosage of 1.0 mg. per kilogram was achieved for 3 weeks. One can only speculate whether the fungus actually invaded the heart valves, but therapy was continued for this period because of this possibility. Fourteen months after discharge from the hospital, the patient was well except for a residual right hemiparesis.


Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of serum levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), pro-gastrin releasing peptide (ProGRP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) with clinical response and survival in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients receiving first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. One hundred thirty-six patients with SCLC were recruited in this study. All the patients received first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Clinical efficacy was assessed according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.1 criteria. Serum samples were collected from SCLC patients before chemotherapy. NSE, ProGRP, and LDH levels were measured by commercial electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay, and kinetic spectrophotometric method, respectively. Overall response rate was 71.3% with 97 patients who achieved complete response (CR) +  partial response (PR). NSE and LDH level declined in patients who achieved CR + PR compared with patients in stable disease (SD) and progress disease (PD). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that NSE > 50.324 ng/mL, stage ED, and distant metastases were independent risk factors for patients achieving CR + PR, and chemotherapy > 4 cycles was an independent protective factor in predicting CR + PR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves presented that expression of NSE, ProGRP, and LDH are of good predicting value for patients achieving CR + PR. Patients with a higher level of NSE and LDH presented worse progression-free survival and overall survival. In addition, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that NSE level > 50.324 ng/mL and distant metastasis were independently correlated with worse OS. Serum NSE and LDH could be promising biomarkers for predicting therapy response and survival of SCLC patients receiving first-line platinum-based chemotherapy.


In this paper, the concept of ultrasound image-based force enhancement is introduced. It consists of a robotic comanipulation system that assists a surgeon performing an ultrasound exam through a minimally invasive access. The robot is programmed in such a way that the surgeon's feeling of the distal contact between the probe and the organ is enhanced, despite disturbances raising from interactions with the trocar or the natural orifice through which the probe is inserted. Contrarily to existing approaches for force enhancement, the proposed method does not require any distal, nor proximal force sensor. Rather, forces to be applied by the comanipulator are computed from the measurement of the organ deformations in the ultrasound image. In the paper, an example application to computer-assisted prostate biopsy procedures is given. A first implementation of the concept is then presented, involving an endorectal ultrasound probe and a one degree of freedom robot. In vitro experiments validate that the proposed mode of assistance significantly helps the detection of contacts between the probe and a balloon simulating a prostate despite large friction disturbances.


This study was motivated by limited information about an approach the top 50 global brands apply to their public relations strategies in areas considered smaller developing markets in Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Malaysia. Along World Wide Web technology and a concept of globalization, the Internet brings information to targeted publics faster than the past. Therefore, a purpose of this study was to examine which approach, convergence or divergence, the top 50 global brands commonly took to communicate with their target audiences in these two countries through their local web sites. An answer to a question does not always have to be either yes or no. Thus, it was not a surprise that the findings found two common strategies used by the top 50 global brands to support the idea of international public relations regarding web content. One was the diverged approach in which organizations localized their strategies to match the locals' needs. The other was glocalization, which combines both the converged and the diverged approaches together.


To the Editor: —Regarding the requirements for medical education, as it appears from the standpoint of a young man preparing to enter the study of medicine, a little personal experience I have had lately has much impressed me, and I think it worth while to tell the readers of The Journal of it. Rev. A. B. is pastor of a flourishing congregation in a small village. He is an educated man, highly respected in his community, and he is married and has four children. His salary is $1,600 yearly. His eldest child, a son aged 19, has finished his freshman year in one of the small colleges of Pennsylvania, and has a strong desire to study medicine and thereafter do laboratory work. His father consulted the dean of one of our best medical schools, and was informed that the boy must finish his college course before he can enter the


Based on the effective-mass approximation and variational procedure, the ground-state donor binding energy in a cylindrical zincblende InxGa1−xN/GaN symmetric coupled quantum dots (SCQDs) is investigated in the presence of the external electric field. Numerical results show that the donor binding energy increases firstly until a maximum value, and then it begins to drop quickly in all the cases with decreasing the dot radius. As the thickness of left dot and right dot decreases, the donor binding energy increases monotonically at first, reaches a maximum value, and then drops rapidly for an impurity ion located at the right dot center and the middle barrier center. Moreover, the donor binding energy for an impurity ion located at the center of the left dot is insensitive to the variation of dot thickness for large dot thickness due to the Stark effect. Meanwhile, the impurity position plays an important role on the change of the donor binding energy under the external electric field. In particular, the impurity position corresponding to the peak value of the donor binding energy is shifted toward the left QD with increasing the external electric field strength.


The availability of large scale streaming network data has reinforced the ubiquity of power-law distributions in observations and enabled precision measurements of the distribution parameters. The increased accuracy of these measurements allows new underlying generative network models to be explored. The preferential attachment model is a natural starting point for these models. This work adds additional model components to account for observed phenomena in the distributions. In this model, preferential attachment is supplemented to provide a more accurate theoretical model of network traffic. Specifically, a probabilistic complex network model is proposed using preferential attachment as well as additional parameters to describe the newly observed prevalence of leaves and unattached nodes. Example distributions from this model are generated by considering random sampling of the networks created by the model in such a way that replicates the current data collection methods.


Lipids are the primary form of energy storage and a major component of plasma membranes, which form the interface between the cell and the extracellular environment. Several lipids-including phosphoinositide, phosphatidic acid, sphingolipids, lysophospholipids, oxylipins, and free fatty acids-also serve as substrates for the generation of signaling molecules. Abiotic stresses such as drought and temperature stress are known to affect plant growth. In addition, abiotic stresses can activate certain lipid-dependent signaling pathways that control the expression of stress-responsive genes and contribute to plant stress adaptation. Many studies have focused either on the enzymatic production and metabolism of lipids, or on the mechanisms of abiotic stress response. However, there is little information regarding the roles of plant lipids in plant responses to abiotic stress. In this review, we describe the metabolism of plant lipids and discuss their involvement in plant responses to abiotic stress. As such, this review provides crucial background for further research on the interactions between plant lipids and abiotic stress.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of political image and the phenomenon of fashion politics on the style of women presidents, with focus on the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. The results of the study were as follows. First, the political image of President Cristina Fernandez is identified with the second image of Eva Peron and Kirchnerismo, in terms of political issues. Second, fashion style includes the power and sexy images of glamour style that emphasizes the body line of suits and dress form. Vivid colors and black fashion reflects the Kirchner government``s charisma and identity. Fernandez``s iconic Rolex watches, expensive jewelry, and luxury accessories such as brooches that replicate Eva Peron's brooch were instrumental in forming a second image of Eva Peron. Third, the phenomenon of fashion politics appeared to equate the phenomenon of recreating the image of Eva Peron with displays of power and wealth for the successor to Kirchnerismo.


AIM
The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between echocardiographic indexes of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy with LV mass (LVM) obtained at cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in a population of patients with hypertrophic cardiomiopathy (HCM).

METHODS
Thirty-nine patients with HCM underwent echocardiography and CMR. By echocardiography maximal wall thickness (MWT), Spirito' and Maron's hypertrophy index and the Wigle's score were obtained. Absolute LVM was measured through CMR and indexed to body surface area (LVMi). Data were analysed using linear regression analysis.

RESULTS
In 31% of patients there was an incomplete echocardiographic LV anatomic characterization. However, there was a good correlation between MWT measured at echocardiography and at CMR (P<0.001; r=0.755). Overall echocardiographic indexes of LV hypertrophy correlate with either LVM and LVMi: MWT (P=0.008, r=0.420 and P=0.003, r=0.467, respectively); Spirito' and Maron's hypertrophy index (P=0.003, r=0.551 and P=0.001, r=0.606, respectively) and Wigle's score (P=0.004, r=0.522 and P=0.004, r=0.522, respectively).

CONCLUSION
In our HCM population, although a complete anatomic LV anatomic characterization was not obtained by echocardiography in all patients, echocardiographic hypertrophic indexes showed a good correlation with LVM obtained by CMR.


The purpose of this document is to record the technical evaluation of the Operational Safety Requirements described in the Plutonium Finishing Plant Final (PFP) Operational Safety Requirements, WHC-SD-CP-OSR-010, Rev. 0-N, Section 3.1.1, ''Criticality Prevention System.'' This document, with its appendices, provides the following: (1) The results of a review of Criticality Safety Analysis Reports (CSAR), later called Criticality Safety Evaluation Reports (CSER), and Criticality Prevention Specifications (CPS) to determine which equipment or components analyzed in the CSER or CPS are considered as one of the two unlikely, independent, and concurrent changes before a criticality accident is possible. (2) Evaluations of equipment or components to determine the safety boundary for the system (Section 4). (3) A list of essential drawings that show the safety system or component (Appendix A). (4) A list of the safety envelope (SE) equipment (Appendix B). (5) Functional requirements for the individual safety envelope equipment (Sections 3 and 4). (6) A list of the operational and surveillance procedures necessary to maintain the system equipment within the safety envelope (Section 5).


Purpose: This article examines factors that affect school board policy making about student diversity within two southern urban-suburban school districts experiencing changing demographics: Jefferson County Public Schools and the Wake County Public School System. Both districts have a history of voluntary integration efforts, and research shows that racially diverse countywide districts can make integration more feasible. However, as courts constrain mechanisms used in policies to establish/maintain racial integration, it is crucial to examine how school boards make policy decisions while navigating the politics of their communities and competing conceptions surrounding racial diversity. Research Method/Approach: This study employed qualitative case study methods to understand under what circumstances school boards are creating policy, paying particular attention to the local sociopolitical and geographic contexts. Data collected consisted of 37 interviews with school district officials and community stakeholders. Mainstream and specialty media articles, legal documents, and policy documents from the districts or other governmental bodies also helped frame the local contexts. Findings and Lessons Learned: The two districts in our study illustrate political and legal factors that create complex environments to pursue school-level diversity even in districts with a long history of diversity policies. Our study also illustrates the difficult role of the superintendent and school boards in leading diverse communities with different histories and experiences as they navigate the local politics of diversity amid a variety of competing policy goals. We conclude with implications including the importance of remaining vigilant about student diversity efforts and perfecting technical details to minimize politicization about diversity policies.


Buccal bioadhesive films, releasing topical drugs in the oral cavity at a slow and predetermined rate, provide distinct advantages over traditional dosage forms. The aim of present study was to prepare and evaluate buccal bioadhesive films of clotrimazole for oral candidiasis. The film was designed to release the drug at a concentration above the minimum inhibitory concentration for a prolonged period of time so as to reduce the frequency of administration of the available conventional dosage forms. The different proportions of sodium carboxymethylcellulose and carbopol 974P (CP 974P) were used for the preparation of films. Carbopol was used to incorporate the desired bioadhesiveness in the films. The films were prepared by solvent casting method and evaluated for bioadhesion, in vitro drug release and effectiveness against Candida albicans. In vitro drug release from the film was determined using a modified Franz diffusion cell while bioadhesiveness was evaluated with a modified two-arm balance using rabbit intestinal mucosa as a model tissue. Films containing 5% CP 974P of the total polymer were found to be the best with moderate swelling along with favorable bioadhesion force, residence time and in vitro drug release. The microbiological studies revealed that drug released from the film could inhibit the growth of C. albicans for 6 h. The drug release mechanism was found to follow non-Fickian diffusion.


We have demonstrated a methodology to generate large area graphdiyne films with 3.61 cm(2) on the surface of copper via a cross-coupling reaction using hexaethynylbenzene. The device based on graphdiyne films for measurement of electrical property is fabricated and shows conductivity of 2.516 x 10(-4) S m(-1) indicating a semiconductor property.


This article is a brief review of research in the Kamchatka geothermal region initiated by David Deamer and the author in 1999. Results obtained over the last 20 years are described, including a seminal experiment in which biologically important organic compounds were dispersed in a hot spring to determine their fate. Other investigations include ionic and organic composition of hydrothermal water, the source of hydrothermally generated oil, and pressure–temperature oscillations in hydrothermal systems. The relation of these results to research on the origin of life is discussed.


The microsurgical transsphenoidal approach is the authors' procedure of choice in the operative management of pituitary tumors. The literature supports their recommendation.


Test suites, just like the applications they are testing, evolve throughout their lifetime. One of the main reasons for test-suite evolution is test obsolescence: test cases cease to work because of changes in the code and must be suitably repaired. There are several reasons why it is important to achieve a thorough understanding of how test cases evolve in practice. In particular, researchers who investigate automated test repair - an increasingly active research area - can use such understanding to develop more effective repair techniques that can be successfully applied in real-world scenarios. More generally, analyzing testsuite evolution can help testers better understand how test cases are modified during maintenance and improve the test evolution process, an extremely time consuming activity for any nontrivial test suite. Unfortunately, there are no existing tools that facilitate investigation of test evolution. To tackle this problem, we developed TestEvol, a tool that enables the systematic study of test-suite evolution for Java programs and JUnit test cases. This demonstration presents TestEvol and illustrates its usefulness and practical applicability by showing how TestEvol can be successfully used on real-world software and test suites. Demo video at http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~orso/software/testevol/.


Determining the timing and impact of anthropogenic climate change in data-sparse regions is a considerable challenge. Arguably, nowhere is this more difficult than the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic South Atlantic where observational records are relatively short but where high rates of warming have been experienced since records began. Here we interrogate recently developed monthly-resolved observational datasets from the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, and extend the records back using climate-sensitive peat growth over the past 6000 years. Investigating the subantarctic climate data with ERA-Interim and Twentieth Century Reanalysis, we find that a stepped increase in precipitation across the 1940s is related to a change in synoptic atmospheric circulation: a westward migration of quasi-permanent positive pressure anomalies in the South Atlantic has brought the subantarctic islands under the increased influence of meridional airflow associated with the Amundsen Sea Low. Analysis of three comprehensively multi-dated (using 14C and 137Cs) peat sequences across the two islands demonstrates unprecedented growth rates since the mid-twentieth century relative to the last 6000 years. Comparison to observational and reconstructed sea surface temperatures suggests this change is linked to a warming tropical Pacific Ocean. Our results imply 'modern' South Atlantic atmospheric circulation has not been under this configuration for millennia.


To cope with the ever-growing information overload, an increasing number of digital libraries employ content-based recommender systems. These systems traditionally recommend related documents with the help of similarity measures. However, current document similarity measures simply distinguish between similar and dissimilar documents. This simplification is especially crucial for extensive documents, which cover various facets of a topic and are often found in digital libraries. Still, these similarity measures neglect to what facet the similarity relates. Therefore, the context of the similarity remains ill-defined. In this doctoral thesis, we explore contextual document similarity measures, i.e., methods that determine document similarity as a triple of two documents and the context of their similarity. The context is here a further specification of the similarity. For example, in the scientific domain, research papers can be similar with respect to their background, methodology, or findings. The measurement of similarity in regards to one or more given contexts will enhance recommender systems. Namely, users will be able to explore document collections by formulating queries in terms of documents and their contextual similarities. Thus, our research objective is the development and evaluation of a recommender system based on contextual similarity. The underlying techniques will apply established similarity measures and as well as neural approaches while utilizing semantic features obtained from links between documents and their text.


Feed cost is a major impediment to commercial poultry production in the South Pacific region because traditional feed ingredients (grains and oilseeds) are not grown in the region and imported at high price. As a result, meat has to be imported, which in Fiji increased by 69% between 2010 and 2011 (Diarra, 2017). Samoa was valued at about US$ 17 million or 87% of total cost of meat import in the country in 2012 and 2013. Several ingredients, which are available locally, could be included to reduce feed cost in the region. By-products of root/tuber harvest (peels and leaves), low value crops, fruits and by-products (peels and pulps), oil cakes (copra and palm kernel), by-products from the brewery, livestock/poultry slaughter, hatchery and fish processing and insect meal are readily available in most countries of the region. With adequate processing and correct diet formulation, these materials could replace reasonable proportions of the conventional energy and protein ingredients and reduce feed cost. Several factors including the type and source of material, processing method, diet composition, species, age and class of poultry affect the dietary recommendations of alternative ingredients. Currently however, the use of these resources in feed production in the region is limited due to lack of processing and analytical facilities, likely presence of antinutritional substances and poor knowledge on their nutritive value. Continued research into processing technology, regular training for farmers and extension staff and establishment of community owned feed processing units for optimum utilisation of locally available resources will benefits the poultry industry in the region.


Abstract The performance of gaseous air cleaners for commercial and residential buildings has typically been evaluated using test protocols developed for a controlled laboratory chamber or a test duct. It is currently unknown how laboratory measurements relate to the actual performance of an air cleaner installed in a real building. However, to date, there are no air cleaner field test protocols available, thereby limiting the existing field data. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has conducted a series of experiments to support test procedure development for evaluating the installed performance of gaseous air cleaning equipment, as well as metrics for characterizing field performance. To date, over 100 experiments have been completed, of which 23 portable air cleaner experiments and 6 in-duct air cleaner experiments are described in this paper. Tests were conducted in a finished three-bedroom/two-bathroom manufactured house equipped with several gas chromatographs to semi-continuously measure air change rates and volatile organic compound concentrations. Experimental variables included air cleaner location, isolation of zones by closing doors, and contaminant source location. For each experiment, air cleaner removal of decane was directly measured using the air cleaner inlet and outlet concentrations, as well as with mass balance analyses using measured room concentrations. With a verified mass balance model, a field performance metric was developed to compare installed whole-building performance to the performance predicted by a laboratory result. The results provide insight into the protocols and metrics that might prove useful for characterizing the field performance of air cleaners as well as the impact of air cleaner removal on zonal concentration levels in a variety of situations.


Currently, the world is experiencing great challenges in public health, but it is also experiencing these challenges in finding new formulas for an economic development. The political systems of diverse nations are challenged to find sustainable solutions that meet the expectations of the nations (Zamorano Farias, 2010.) In this issue of the magazine "Politics, Globality and Citizenship", the reader will have access to eleven articles that delve into topics that are essential to find the institutional mechanisms that allow to have a better social coexistence among individuals who are part of a plural society, and also among the nations. They correspond to studies that have been carried out rigorously and with an examination of cases that contribute to a necessary debate in the current Academy. Thereon, it is important to reflect on the concept of a "quality" democracy in which O'Donnell, Vargas and Iazzetta (2004) established that there are some essential elements that allow us to speak of a democracy with content. This concept is made up, among other things, by the conduct of free elections, by a true independence of the media, by having acceptable indices in matters of equity, by the fact that the population has access to extensive social security and because the majorities and minorities are represented. For that very reason, it is important that institutions can become an effective mechanism that can enable those ideals for a quality democracy to become an everyday reality. According to a study made by Tusell (2015), some of the factors that are inherently related to the quality of democracy are accountability and the rule of law. In general terms, this is one of the main concepts that concern us in this issue: the correct functioning of public powers is key in the consolidation of any democratic regime and, in particular, in preserving fundamental freedoms (Barreda, 2010.) Regarding mediation, there is a qualitative study by Roberto Guerrero Vega, from the Polytechnic University of Nicaragua, who proposes a model for evaluating the quality of the mediation service in Mexico. It is necessary to highlight that these investigations like the ones made by Guerrero Vega are the ones that contribute to establish the bases for an improvement in the resolution of controversies, the same ones that contribute to generate a better social coexistence. Precisely on the topic of well-being, is that Francisco Gorjon Gomez, from the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (Mexico), presents us a study that corroborates the presence of mediation as an instrument to achieve collective well-being. Regarding the legal analysis, the inquiries of Yahaira Berenice Martinez-Perez, Brenda Judith Sauceda-Villeda and Maria Salome Moreno-Rodriguez from the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (Mexico) are presented, who argue in favor of a legal reform that could protect the most vulnerable sectors. In addition, there is the participation of Jose Luis Leal Espinosa, from the Autonomous University of Coahuila (Mexico), who also argues strongly about the need to specify institutional mechanisms that guarantee the entitlement to information. In educational matters, we have the outstanding participations of Fabio Orlando Cruz Paez and Oswaldo Vanegas Florez from the University of Cundinamarca (Colombia) and the case of Fernando Cardenas Cabello from the CIFE University Center (Mexico), who explain to us about the technological surveillance process and its impact on the organizational culture of a prestigious Colombian university in the first case, while in the second case, it is examined the adequacy of industrial policy 4.0 in the transition from one government to another, based on the analysis of the National Development Plan. Also, the researchers from the Universidad de la Costa, Grays Nunez Rios, Kadry Garcia Mendoza, Judith Castillo Martelo and Nevis Nino-Jimenez carry out a study on a community intervention on how citizens can be motivated to participate in activities that contribute to the peace. In geopolitical matters, this issue has two notable products: The analysis of the relationship of the Pacific Alliance, which is made up by Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia, with the People's Republic of China, carried out by Flavio Rafael Gonzalez-Ayala, a researcher from the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi (Mexico.) The reader can also consult the inter-institutional research made by Jose Maria Ramos Garcia (El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Mexico), Carlos Barrachina Lison (Anahuac University, Mexico) and Jimmy Emmanuel Ramos (Autonomous University of Baja California), who ponder the challenges from the southern border of Mexico, regarding its importance in its relationship with the United States. Finally, this issue has notable international contributions on current issues and also an introspection of the evolution of a political party that has been fundamental to Spanish democracy: The commitment to disseminate research projects on current issues of the magazine Politics, Globality and Citizenship is reflected in them, as well as those that contain a timely historical review. In relation to the subject, and with validity, we can find the work of Juan Sebastian Sanchez Gomez (University if Los Andes, Colombia), who has exposed the case of the state of exception decreed in Colombia from the coronavirus pandemic. In the case of Borja Garcia-Vazquez (Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon), an extensive tour of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) is made, from a year before the death of Francisco Franco, up to the year of his first electoral defeat at ta national level, after holding power for 14 consecutive years. In summary, Fascicle 6 (12) has articles written by prestigious researchers, from also outstanding educational centers, which reflect on fundamental topics that reinforce the current lines of research in the field of geopolitics, mediation, the rule of law and educational policy. Therefore, our intention is to contribute to the permanent exchange in quality research, which is why we hope that the scholars who have consulted this edition can find information that is useful to them in their own investigations.


The possible inhibition of Neisseria gonorrhoeae on modified Thayer-Martin (VCNT) medium was investigated by inoculation of multiple media with specimens from 3,490 patients. N. gonorrhoeae was recovered from 461 patients, and in 24 cases (5.2%) it was isolated on drug-free medium only; 18% of the recoveries were on VCNT medium only. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of benzylpenicillin was determined for 411 of the strains, and 175 were examined for responses to 12 other antibiotics and for auxotype. Of the 24 strains isolated on drug-free medium only, one was inhibited by trimethoprim at a concentration of 2.0 micrograms/ml and four others had MICs of vancomycin of less than or equal to 2.0 micrograms/ml. The remainder were resistant to vancomycin, trimethoprim, and colistin at the concentrations present in VCNT medium. Unexpectedly, four strains isolated on both VCNT and drug-free medium had MICs of vancomycin of less than or equal to 3.0 micrograms/ml and were defined as hypersusceptible. Genetic tests showed that gonococci resistant to less than or equal to 0.5 microgram of vancomycin/ml differed genotypically from those resistant to 1.0 microgram/ml. The eight strains hypersusceptible to vancomycin were highly susceptible to various other antibiotics. Their nutritional requirements included hypoxanthine (Hyx-) and uracil (Ura-), and all but one also required arginine (Arg-), which for two strains could not be replaced by ornithine (Arg0-). Pro-,Arg0-,Ura- (5.7%) and Arg0-,Ura- (1.1%) auxotypes were found at this time but not in earlier studies of gonococci isolated in the same clinic.


We define new special curves in Euclidean 3-space which we call slant helices and conical geodesic curves. Those notions are generalizations of the notion of cylindrical helices. One of the results in this paper gives a classification of special developable surfaces under the condition of the existence of such a special curve as a geodesic. As a result, we consider geometric invariants of space curves. By using these invariants, we can estimate the order of contact with those special curves for general space curves. All arguments in this paper are straight forward and classical. However, there have been no papers which have investigated slant helices and conical geodesic curves so far as we know.


Picture-object correspondence provides an alternate method of investigating delayed matching by providing a cue (picture) which may be spontaneously perceived as similar but different from a corresponding target. Memory for, and corresponding choice of, a target corresponding to a cue could be facilitated by the use of a picture. Bumblebees have been found to both easily differentiate images from corresponding objects but also spontaneously perceive a similarity between the two. Herein, an approach was designed to test the possible use of picture cues to signal reward in a delayed matching task. Target choice preference corresponding to picture cues was tested among three bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) colonies using photograph cues (presented prior to target stimuli) corresponding to one of four target stimuli. Photograph cues were the only predictor of corresponding target reward, presented in stable locations. Rewarded and unrewarded tests show a choice preference significantly higher than chance for targets matching the cue. Results suggest that bumblebees can learn to use picture cues in a delayed matching task. Furthermore, experience, conditions of reward inconsistency and location, are discussed as possible contributing factors to learning in a delayed matching task.


Background Biological agents against tumor necrosis factor (Anti-TNF) have revolutionized the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Recent studies assess the possibility of reducing the dose or increase the interval of administration of biologics (optimization strategy: OS) in patients with at least sustained low disease activity (LDA) without relevant clinical worsening. One of the questions raised is whether the use of OS could increase the incidence of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) appearance with the consequent loss of efficacy. Objectives To evaluate the influence of the OS in a cohort of RA patients at least in LDA on the clinical activity (DAS28), incidence of flares, serum drug levels and ADA appearance. Methods A retrospective observational study of a cohort of RA patients in LDA or remission (measured by DAS28<3.2 or<2.6, respectively) for at least 6 months. Of the 283 RA patients treated in our Unit with Infliximab (Ifx), Adalimumab (Ada) and Etanercept (Etn), 54 patients treated with the 1st Anti-TNF fulfilled the previous criteria to be included and were under an OS. DAS28, C reactive protein (CRP) values and drug and ADA levels were evaluated at baseline before OS (pre-visit) and in the last available visit during the first 2 years of follow-up (pos-visit). Flares were monitored between pre and pos-visits. Results Of the 54 patients, 77.8% were women. Mean age was 60.2±12 years. The 79.6% (43) were antiCCP and FR positive. Regarding concomitant treatment 35 patients (64.8%) received methotrexate at baseline, 25 (46.3%) other DMARDs and 23 (42.6%) prednisone. Twenty-seven (50%) were treated with Ada, 16 (29.6%) with Etn and 11 (20.4%) with Ifx. No significant differences were observed in the control of DAS28 between the pre-visit and pos-visit in every Anti-TNF (Ada: 2,13±0,12 pre-visit vs 2,42±0,18 pos-visit, p=0,064; Ifx: 2,32±0,11 pre-visit vs 2,19±0,18 pos-visit, p=0,799; Etn: 2,36±0,12 pre-visit vs 2,93±0,20 pos-visit, p=0,056). There was no statistically a significant increase in CRP levels between pre and post visits in any Anti-TNF (Ada: p=0,629; Ifx: p=0,799; Etn: p=0,796). Nineteen (35.2%) developed flares during the follow-up (14 patients had one flare and 5 had 2 flares). All patients were negative for ADA at the pre-visit, 5 (9.25%) were positive at pos-visit associated with flares. Sixteen (29.6%) out of the 19 patients with flare required to shorten the interval or increase the dose to control DAS28. A statistically significant decrease was observed in drug levels between the pre-visit and post-visit in patients treated with Ada and Etn (Ada: 5127.88±1542.65 pre-visit vs 1200.29±276.52 pos-visit, p=0.003; Etn: 2794.46±367.07 pre-visit vs 1359.38±375.121 pos-visit, p=0.023). Conclusions OS seems to be feasible in RA patients in LDA treated with Anti-TNF, reducing the amount of drug administered with low incidence of ADA and without impact on clinical and serological markers such as CRP. In most patients with flares, the clinical activity appears to be controlled by shortening the interval of administration without increasing the therapy discontinuation. Disclosure of Interest B. Paredes Grant/research support from: This study has received unrestricted grants from Pfizer


To improve the quality of urban life, it is necessary to increase a chance of coming in touch with natural environment as well as urban environment. Accessibilities to various natural environments, therefore, are very important factors on making a environmental plan of a wider urban area. The purpose of the study is to find out determinant factors in the residents' evaluation of accessibilities to natural environment and to estimate the accessibilities at any point of a wider urban area.The authors conducted a questionnaire sheet survey in Utsunomiya City which composes an independent urban area in 1989. The number of respondents of this survey is 6, 939, with collecting ratio of 52.1 percent. Using the data, the authors tried to explain residents' evaluation of accessibilities with such physical data, as distance to destination, scale and quality of destination, and such personal attributes data as age, sex, occupation, type of housing, the will of setting in one's place, and land use type around residence. The following three kinds of accessibilities were selected for the examination; to parks and open spaces, to water fronts, and to mountains.The results of the analysis are as follows: (1) Evaluation functions for "to parks and open spaces", "to water fronts", and "to mountains" which use residents' evaluation and air distance were developed. They however were not proper. (2) To enhance the evaluation functions to parks and open spaces, air distance to parks which was assumed from traveling time as a explanatory variable improved the evaluation function. (3) To enhance the evaluation functions to water fronts, air distance to water fronts, distance to the center of city and water quality are effective factors in the evaluation of accessibilities to water fronts. Using this evaluation function, evaluation values at whole points of Utsunomiya City were acquired. (4) In the case of "to mountains", there are little relationship between residents' evaluation and air distance. Therefore route distance or traveling time will be required instead of air distance to estimate an evaluation function. (5) Residents' location from the center of city effect their evaluation. In the case "to parks and open spaces", the distance become farther, the evaluation becomes lower. And others cases "to water fronts" and "to mountains", the distance become farther, the evaluations become higher.Evaluation functions using air distance with other factors instead of traveling time is useful. The other hand there is limit to enhance these functions without traveling time. Therefore to use traveling time or route distance also will be required even the estimation is difficult.


Signi cant perceptual improvements can be gained in the coding of stereoscopic videos, as is illustrated here by modifying the adaptive quantization of an MPEG-2 codec. Applying human visual properties to MPEG-2's temporal scalability framework, a perceptual adaptive quantization approach to stereoscopic video coding is presented. To optimize the perceived picture quality of the reconstructed stereo images, binocular visibility of stereo coding artifacts is investigated, including image fusion and visual masking. Four normalized indicators are introduced to account for 3D visual artifacts, and are incorporated to determine the quantization parameters. They are (1) prediction accuracy, (2) prediction correlation, (3) fusion indicator, and (4) texture intensity. Simulations indicate the importance of perceptual stereo coding, with improvements in overall stereo quality and reductions in binocular artifacts.


A million times more bandwidth; a billion people conducting global transactions through a trillion Internet-connected devices, a secure, reliable and self-managing computing infrastructure; unprecedented processing power for solving previously incalculable problems; new and profitable digital relationships. All are coming, and soon, What will they mean for enterprises, institutions and individuals? What will they do for content, communities and commerce? In the 21st century business environment, advanced technology will be integrated seamlessly into the core of every operation, both within the organisation and in its dealings with other enterprises. To succeed, constant technology innovation will need to be matched by an in-depth knowledge of industries and their challenges.


BACKGROUND
Postoperative spinal infections are relatively rare. They can become life-threatening.

CASE REPORT
A 56-year-old man developed multisegmental spinal infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus after discectomy at L3/4. A staged ventrodorsoventral intervention was needed for radical debridement and stabilization. After femoral head necrosis developed as a result of the infection, a Girdlestone hip was maintained until the joint was aseptic and a hip prosthesis could be implanted. Two years postoperatively, the patient remained free of infection recurrence.

CONCLUSION
Radical debridement and a tightly controlled antibiotic regimen are necessary for the management of postoperative spinal infections. This should include staged interventions until recovery from infection is possible. Early intervention can prevent systemic sepsis caused by widespread bacterial dissemination.


ABSTRACT In the event of another influenza virus pandemic, strategies for effective mass vaccination will urgently be needed. We used a novel transdermal patch delivery technology, known as the PassPort system, to vaccinate mice with recombinant H5 hemagglutinin with or without immunomodulators. This needle-free form of vaccine delivery induced robust serum antibody responses that were augmented by different immunomodulators that stimulated the innate immune system and protected mice against lethal challenge with a highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza virus.


Neuweiler's Textbook of Gynaecological Diagnosis must, without doubt, be regarded as one of the most important contributions to gynaecological literature in the last twenty years. Neuweiler has been able to condense into some four hundred and fifty pages a description of most of the modern methods of gynaecological investigation and diagnosis. The volume is well illustrated with some excellent photographs. The modern methods of investigation are described in detail and great stress is placed on hysterosalpingography. The danger of insufflation is emphasized, and Neuweiler maintains that only carbon dioxide should be used. An excellent photograph of the space between the liver and diaphragm after successful insufflation is included. A good account is given of the different types of vaginitis, some of which are not well known in this country. The classification and description of irregular uterine haemorrhage follow the German system, with no mention of chronic subinvolution and little attention paid to chronic metritis. The sections on carcinoma of the uterus are extremely good, with some pertinent illustrations of the metastases. An illustration is given of the histology of psoriasis uteri. Dysmenorrhoea is considered in some detail and by an approach rather different from that in this country. The section on ovarian tumours is of very great value. The most disappointing section is that on sterility, which is too condensed. It is hoped that the book will receive attention from gynaecologists over here, for there is much to be said for being familiar with the Continental method of approach to the practice of gynaecology.


The high affinity of 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (CPX) for the A1 adenosine receptor (A1AR) provides a good lead for developing radioligands suitable for positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission tomography (SPET). This study tested the hypothesis that the kinds of chemical modifications made in the synthesis of CPX analogues containing carbon-11, fluorine-18, or radioiodine will not alter affinity for the A1AR. This report describes the synthesis and radioligand binding assays of unlabeled CPX analogues having methyl, 2-methoxyethyl, 2-fluoropropyl, or 3-fluoropropyl substituents, respectively, at either N-1 (13a-d) or N-3 (8a-d) or an (E)-3-iodoprop-2-en-1-yl substituent at N-3 (8f). Compounds 8d,f and 13b,d antagonized the binding of [3H]CPX to the A1AR of rat brain with affinities similar to those of CPX; compound 8c was twice as potent as CPX. Analogues 8a,b and 13a were less potent than CPX, but for each the Ki of antagonism was > or = 0.5 nM. Attempts to iodinate the 8-(4-hydroxyphenyl) analogue of CPX failed, probably because the xanthine substituent strongly deactivated the phenol toward electrophilic iodination. In summary, several of the modifications of the propyl groups of CPX needed to produce ligands for imaging by PET and SPET preserve or enhance affinity for the A1AR.


Because automobile bodies are so large and complicated, in the analyses of film thickness of electrodeposition coating undertaken to date, only the portion with thin coating film was calculable. Therefore, to study matters such as the electrode arrangement, bath structure, body size, coating voltage, coating time, and so on, analyses of the whole body structure are necessary. In this report of our study, a virtual surface with a simplified shape is introduced and analyses of the whole body are described. The area ratio of the actual coating surface and the virtual surface are defined as a surface coefficient, that is used in the governing equation of thickness analyses of coating by electrodeposition. A computer experiment based on the virtual surface was conducted. The calculated results showed good agreement with those from the asperity surface model. Results demonstrated that analyses of the whole body, including the solution of the thickness distribution of the side sill with a bad coating film distribution, are obtainable using the virtual surface model. Results show that the study of bath structure, operating conditions, and so on can be realized through analyses of the whole body using a virtual surface.


Invasive fungal infections have increased in importance, largely because of the increasing size of the population at risk. Candida species remain the fourth most important cause of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections. Infections with Candida species other than C. albicans appear to have become more common, but significant geographic variation has been reported. Invasive aspergillosis and other mould infections are a leading cause of infection-related death in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Although Aspergillus fumigatus remains the most frequent cause of infection, A. terreus has emerged as an important pathogen, at least among certain populations. Despite marked reductions in the rates of AIDS-associated fungal infections, such as cryptococcosis, in the United States and other developed countries, the burden of these diseases in developing countries is large and increasing. Enhanced surveillance and reporting will be critical to improve our understanding of the importance of invasive fungal infections, to enable prioritization of research and prevention efforts, and to evaluate prevention strategies.


The objective of this study is to provide evidence on the accuracy of merger simulation methods, which have become common instruments to evaluate ex-ante the effects of complex transactions. In particular, I study the price effects of one of the most important mergers in the U.S. airline industry, namely the 2013 American Airlines – US Airways merger. Drawing from the theoretical background of the Empirical Industrial Organization, I perform an empirical investigation in three steps. In the first place, I estimate a nested logit demand system. Secondly, I use the retrieved parameters to predict the effects of the merger under scrutiny. Lastly, the forecast is evaluated ex post using data from the period following the transaction, by means of difference-in-differences techniques. Results show that, in this case, simulation methods underpredicted - although not substantially - the increases in prices.


Results of a diffuse neutron scattering experiment on powder under pressure are presented. A sapphire anvil pressure cell was used and pressures up to 1.6 GPa were applied. The results confirm that an orientational order - disorder transition occurs at room temperature under high pressure. The data indicate a 70% occupancy of the orientational variant in under high pressure. The presence of elastic diffuse scattering shows that static orientational disorder persists at least up to 1.3 GPa which is the highest pressure up to which the diffuse scattering was investigated. The compressibility at room temperature was determined to be in agreement with results of Duclos et al.


According to the pedagogue and scholar of the school textbooks, the textbook is a basic and mandatory school book, which serves as a basic tool and source of knowledge in the given field of study. Created in support of the education curriculum and didactically shaped, taking into account the psychophysical skills of the students, the subject matter of the course, the type of school, the degree and the profile of education. Students use it in all stages of the learning process and in everyday self-education. It is known that the existence of the scripture is mentioned by the old Babylonia when tile plates were used to write the textual content, as early as four thousand years ago. In addition to that, in ancient Egypt, the texts were written in papyrus, which was used even in old Greece and later in Rome. The parchment was used in the middle Ages, whereby it is believed that the texts were written two thousand years ago. The story of the proper text begins with the discovery of Jan Gutenberg's printing press in 1438. This is where the textbook as a massive book of education derives from. It was an epochal discovery. Meanwhile, while it is known that although Albanian is one of the oldest languages in Europe, it is however documented late. The first documents of the Albanian language are considered from the 15th century (Formula e Pagëzimit, Fjalorthi i A.Von Harfit dhe Perikopeja e Shen Matineut). Meanwhile, Buzuku (Meshari 1555), for us Albanians, is the starting point for text design. It was the time when the didactic reformer Czech pedagogue Jan Amos Komenski (1592-1670), with the first text in Latin, illustrated Orbis sensualium pictus (The Sensual World in Photography), arrived as the founder of the textbook theory. However, it can be concluded that the ABC book, the literature and grammar texts in particular, and the textbook in general, in Kosovo were of multiple importance to Albanians who were deprived of the right to education in Albanian language. The history of textbook design in Albanian language in Kosovo is very new. After the Renaissance, which was marked as a bright epoch in the effort to draft textbooks for Albanian schools, "The Literary Commission" (Komisia Letrare), established in Shkodra in 1916 would join to serve in the name of this cause. The aim of this body was to gather and publish the visions of Albanian folk literature such as: poetry and songs, tales, traditions, lessons, etc. Recently, efforts have been made to compile literary bibliographies in Albanian language. Nevertheless, it would be useful to continue with a bibliography of Albanian Language reading comprehension books in the school tradition in Albania, Kosovo and other areas where Albanians live and are educated in Albanian language. In Kosovo, Mati Logoreci is a pedagogue, is considered to be among the first textbook writers. This patriot and intellectual is a treasure of Albanian tradition in many fields, especially of education and school, as didactic, text analyst, organizer, controversial to highlight scientific, educational, social values. Mati Logoreci has an indisputable value in the history of the Albanian didactic thinking, in particular, the current educational values, adding to these values also some features of contemporary personality traits, traditional learning, within the learning methods. Logoreci was among the first Albanian educators in Kosovo. The path to development of the book in Albanian language in Kosovo was difficult, which at the same time is the best indicator of the situation of this group of the Albanians.


A simple continuously wavelength-tunable fiber ring laser pulse source is demonstrated. Such a source employs a gain-switched multiple quantum-well Fabry-Perot laser diode in a self-seeding scheme and the output pulse wavelength can be tuned continuously via a tunable optical filter. The optical pulses generated exhibit a pulsewidth of 92 ps at the frequency of 2.6 GHz. Within a wide wavelength tuning range of 46 nm, the side-mode suppression ratio and the average power of the output optical pulses obtained are higher than 50.1 dB and 3.3 dBm, respectively, and the pulse spectral stability can be maintained in the whole wavelength tuning range


Background: Minimizing blood transfusions following elective orthopedic procedures is desirable given the risks associated with transfusion, including cost, infection, and allergic reactions. Anti-fibrinolytic agents may reduce perioperative blood loss but are used infrequently possibly due to a lack of data supporting their efficacy and concerns about increased risks for venous thromboembolism (VTE). We performed a meta-analysis to determine whether anti-fibrinolytic agents reduce perioperative blood loss in patients undergoing total hip replacement (THR) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Data sources: MEDLINE (1966 to May Week 3 2006), EMBASE (1980 to 2006 Week 21), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, ACP Journal Club, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (the latter four databases to May 29, 2006) were searched. Additional trials were identified by manual searches. Authors and/or pharmaceutical companies were contacted if required. Study selection was based on the following criteria: prospective randomized clinical trials in which tranexamic acid, epsilon-aminocaproic acid, or aprotinin were administered. Two independent reviewers abstracted transfusion requirements, total blood loss, and venous thromboembolism. Study quality was assessed using the Jadad Quality Assessment scale. Data was pooled using the Mantel-Haenszel method and a random effects model. Results: In 25 studies involving 1332 patients, the weighted mean difference (WMD) in total blood loss in patients treated with anti-fibrinolytic agents compared to patients receiving placebo was −409.50 mL (95%CI, −548.17 to −270.82; P 2 = 89.6%). In 1557 patients, the relative risk (RR) for transfusion was 0.52 (95%CI, 0.42 to 0.64; P 2 = 58.0% ) . VTE did not appear to be increased in patients who received anti-fibrinolytic agents (RR 0.972 (95%CI, 0.885 to 1.06). Conclusions: Patients undergoing TKR or THA who receive anti-fibrinolytic agents appear to have reductions in blood loss and need for transfusion. Whether these medications increase VTE risk cannot be determined due to limited data. Study characteristics were heterogeneous and the optimal timing, dose, and type of anti-fibrinolytic therapy have yet to be determined. Further studies in this area are warranted.


I argue that a defense of deontological restrictions need not resort to what I call the 'Good/Bad asymmetry', according to which it is morally more important to avoid harming others than to prevent just such harm. I replace this paradoxical asymmetry with two non-paradoxical (if also non-obvious) ones. These are the following: (a) We ought to treat an act of preventing harm to persons precisely as such (as a harm prevention), rather than as the causing of a benefit; but we ought to treat an act that causes harm precisely as such (as a harm causing), rather than as the prevention of a benefit. (b) It is morally more important not to cause harm than to cause benefit. I show how we can use those asymmetries, together with certain other assumptions, to defend restrictions. I also offer a partial defense of the first of the two asymmetries.


The pharmacokinetic profile of the herbicide 2,4,5-T PGBE ester (propylene glycol butyl ether esters of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid) 14C-labeled in the ring was examined in rats given a single dermal application of 5 mg/kg. The rate of absorption of the ester through the skin was lower than the rate of hydrolysis to 2,4,5-T acid and the rate of excretion of 2,4,5-T in the urine. Urinary excretion of radioactivity was apparently first order with a half-life of approximately 24 h. Clearance of radioactivity from blood plasma, liver kidneys, and the remaining carcass was also apparently first order with half-life values ranging from 25 to 37 h. Six days (144 h) after application of the dose, an average of 98.7 +/- 5.1% of the applied radioactivity was recovered in he urine, and approximately 97% of the urinary radioactivity was identified as 2,4,5-T acid. The tissue-to-plasma ratios of 14C activity in liver and kidney were similar to those observed previously in rats given a single iv dose of 5 mg/kg 2,4,5-T acid. The results of this study indicate that the pharmacokinetic model for 2,4,5-T PGBE ester in rats is similar to that for 2,4,5-T acid. This similarity suggests the chronic exposures to 2,4,5-T acid and its PGBE ester would be toxicologically comparable. The low rate of absorption of the ester through the skin suggests that removal of the ester from the skin by washing after exposure might substantially reduce the dose of 2,4,5-T received by this route. Since the urinary excretion rate of 2,4,5-T in humans is known, a similar pharmacokinetic model for humans may be developed to calculate the absorbed dose of 2,4,5-T based on urinary excretion data.


The as-deposited Au/Ti/p-diamond contacts prepared by rf sputtering are ohmic. The ohmic characteristics of the contacts are improved after annealing. As for the as-deposited and annealed contacts, the specific contact resistivities of 2.886 ? 10-3 and 2.040 ? 10-4 ??cm2 are obtained, respectively. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicates that the titanium carbide formation occurs at the interface between titanium and the diamond substrate in the as-deposited state, and no TiO2 is observed.


Audio Video coding Standard (AVS) is China's second-generation source coding/decoding standard with fully Intellectual Properties. As the sixth part of AVS standard, AVS-DRM aims to offer the universal and open interoperable standard for various requirements of digital rights management (DRM) in digital media industry. In its first version, AVS DRM committee document (CD) did not take into account the encryption modes on AVS audio. However, audio content protection also plays an important role in many digital media applications. Therefore, this paper proposes a perception-based scalable encryption approach for AVS audio, which specifies different audio encryption modes by utilizing the perception classification of the audio bitstream and provides multiple security levels by encrypting different audio coding layers. Moreover, the paper incorporates the proposed scalable encryption method in AVS audio fine-granularity scalable codec technique and then implements an AVS audio trusted coder/decoder. Several objective and subjective tests were performed on a set of 12 critical stereo excerpts provided by AVS audio group. The experimental results show that the proposed scalable encryption approach is able to provide a feasible and effective audio protection scheme for a wide range of applications with different DRM requirements. Currently, the scalable encryption scheme has been partly accepted by AVS-DRM final committee document (FCD).


The synthesis and structural and magnetic characterization of 16 compounds AM(II)Fe(III)(C(2)O(4))(3) (A = N(n-C(3)H(7))(4), N(n-C(4)H(9))(4), N(n-C(5)H(11))(4), P(n-C(4)H(9))(4), P(C(6)H(5))(4), N(n-C(4)H(9))(3)(C(6)H(5)CH(2)), (C(6)H(5))(3)PNP(C(6)H(5))(3), As(C(6)H(5))(4); M(II) = Mn, Fe) are reported. X-ray powder diffraction profiles are indexed in R3c or its subgroup P6(5)22 or P6/mmm to derive unit cell constants. The structures of all the compounds consist of two-dimensional honeycomb networks [M(II)Fe(III)(C(2)O(4))(3)(-)](infinity). The M(II) = Fe compounds behave as ferrimagnets with T(c) between 33 and 48 K, but five exhibit a crossover from positive to negative magnetization near 30 K when cooled in a field of 10 mT. The compounds exhibiting this unusual magnetic behavior are those that have the highest T(c). Within the set N(n-C(n)()H(2)(n)()(+1))(4)Fe(II)Fe(III)(C(2)O(4))(3) (n = 3-5), T(c) increases with interlayer separation and the low-temperature magnetization changes from positive (n = 3) to negative (n = 4, 5). In the M = Mn(II) compounds, the in-plane cell parameter a(0) is approximately 0.03 Å greater than in the corresponding M = Fe(II) ones while the interlayer separation (c(0)/6) is on average 0.08 Å smaller. All members of the M(II) = Mn series have magnetic susceptibilities showing broad maxima at 55 K characteristic of two-dimensional antiferromagnetism, but the magnetization of several of the salts increases sharply below 27 K due to the onset of spin canting, the magnitude of which varies significantly with A.


This paper proposes an enhanced load-balancing approach considering the on-going traffic sessions as well as new traffic sessions. In our scheme a congested node tries to escape from the congestion caused by the on-going traffic session by requesting phased detour to adjacent nodes. Like legacy load-balancing schemes, a potentially congested node avoids entering congestion state by dropping incoming RREQs for new traffic sessions. For efficient operation of the proposed load-balancing, each node monitors all the paths for ongoing traffic sessions continuously and uses congestion recognition mechanism. On this way, the proposed approach resolves congestion on the already configured path. We evaluate the performance in comparison with legacy schemes. According to simulation results, our scheme shows lowest packet latency and loss ratio with negligible increase of control overhead.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
To establish if serum IL-18 concentration depends on presence of HCV-RNA in serum or in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. To relate serum levels of IL-18 to histological parameters of chronic hepatitis C.

METHODOLOGY
IL-18 serum concentration was measured by ELISA in 92 patients with chronic hepatitis C (43 serum HCV-RNA positive and 49 serum HCV-RNA negative after treatment). In 13 patients from the latter group HCV-RNA persisted in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, while in 34 it was negative. Thirty-five healthy individuals were the control.

RESULTS
IL-18 level was higher in 92 patients than in the control (77+/-31pg/mL us. 58+/-34pg/mL; p=0.002). Significant difference was found between the control and HCV-RNA positive (80+/-29pg/mL, p=0.002), HCV-RNA negative (75+/-32pg/mL, p=0.019), patients who eliminated HCV-RNA from serum and from PBMC (85+/-36pg/mL, p=0.002). IL-18 concentration was higher in serum HCV-RNA positive than in serum HCV-RNA negative patients (p=0.019) and it was related to histological inflammatory activity (p=0.008).

CONCLUSIONS
Serum IL-18 concentration is related to presence of HCV-RNA in serum, in PBMC and liver inflammation. Increased level of this cytokine in patients with undetectable HCV-RNA may result from occluded persistence of the virus in the liver.


ADVERTISING NOWADAYS IS NOT ABOUT LIES AND TRUTHFULNESS BUT IN-JOKES, STUNTS AND A SENSE OF BELONGING. CRITICISM ONLY MAKES IT WORK HARDER


With the increasing interest in expressive ontologies for the Semantic
Web, it is critical to develop scalable and efficient ontology reasoning techniques
that can properly cope with very high data volumes. For certain application domains,
approximate reasoning solutions, which trade soundness or completeness
for increased reasoning speed, will help to deal with the high computational complexities
which state of the art ontology reasoning tools have to face. In this paper,
we present a comprehensive overview of the SCREECH approach to approximate
instance retrieval with OWL ontologies, which is based on the KAON2 algorithms,
facilitating a compilation of OWL DL TBoxes into Datalog, which is
tractable in terms of data complexity. We present three different instantiations
of the Screech approach, and report on experiments which show that the gain in
efficiency outweighs the number of introduced mistakes in the reasoning process.


Enterprise application integration (EAI) is one of the most current topics in information technology today. Applying Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a fair headway in EAI, but involving the productive enterprise systems (ES) into such integration scenarios still raises a lot of open issues: the data representation probably differs in participating ESs, which indicates the need for detection of semantically related concepts between them, the appropriate services of the SOA architecture must be found to the right place of the chain of the collaborative business process and the composed process containing semantic services must be prepared for the process run-time, etc. In this paper we present an approach which extends SOA standards by attaching semantic metainformation to the services of ESs. The main part of our work is the adaptation of the services from legacy systems into our semantically enriched SOA environment. The focus is set on automatic finding of semantic related pairs between global schema concepts and the concepts of services. Furthermore a method for generation of transformation rules between the service's data schema and our semantic global schema is also introduced.


The surgical extraction of lower wisdom tooth like any surgical procedure is usually associated with postoperative sequelae (pain, swelling and trismus).Different drugs and surgical techniques were used to decrease these inflammatory responses. Steroids have been used commonly for this purposes particularly methylprednisolone (MP). The aim of this study was evaluating the efficacy of preoperative systemic and local administration of MP (10 mg) on the post operative sequelae following surgical removal of lower third molar. Patients included in the study were (60) divided into 3 groups each group consist from (20) persons. The first group was the control one while the second group received (10mg) of MP orally and the third group injected with (10mg) of MP locally around the site of surgery one hour preoperatively. The postoperative sequelae were assessed on the 2 nd ,5 th , and 7 th days following the operation. The result showed significant reduction in pain and oedema with the use of systemic MP and there was no effect on trismus. The local injection of (10mg) of MP was significantly affecting the oedema formation on the 5 th , and 7 th days. The administration of oral methylprednisolone (10mg) played a good role in reducing pain and oedema following lower third molar surgery. The method used was simple, applicable and easily accepted by the patients.


A rabbit showing natural centrosphere-immunoreactivity was immunized with streptococcus pyogenes type 24 (S 24). During the immunization, an additional NOR-immunoreactivity appeared. This reactivity was not inhibited after the serum absorption by S 24 and seems fortuitous. The simultaneous immunoperoxidase technique staining centrosphere and NOR is described and illustrated during successive phases of mitosis. Unique as of this date, this serum may serve as a useful tool to study the centrosphere and NOR.


Listeria monocytogenes does not produce siderophores for iron acquisition. We demonstrate that a number of microbial siderophores and natural iron-binding compounds are able to promote the growth of iron-starved L. monocytogenes. We suggest that the ability of L. monocytogenes to use a variety of exogenous siderophores and natural catechols accounts for its ubiquitous character.


Recently, textured microstructure has received particular interest in the processing of advanced Si3N4 ceramics because of significant improvement in the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity. This work will report a highly textured β-Si3N4 ceramic by aqueous slip casting in a magnetic field and subsequent pressureless sintering, using commercial α-Si3N4 raw powder and a mixture of Y2O3 and Al2O3 as sintering aids. To obtain the well-dispersed Si3N4- Y2O3-Al2O3 slurries, polyethylenimine (PEI) was chosen as a dispersant. Effects of the sintering aids, PEI amount, pH and stirring time on the stability of the Si3N4 slurries were studied. It is shown that PEI is an effective dispersant for stabilizing the Si3N4-Y2O3-Al2O3 slurries that does not show a time-dependent behavior at an optimum pH ≈ 10, compared to the case in the absence of PEI. Using the 30 vol% Si3N4-Y2O3-Al2O3 slurries stabilized with 1.5 dwb% PEI at pH 10, the highly textured β-Si3N4 with 97 % relative density could be obtained by slip casting in a magnetic field of 12 T and subsequent sintering at 1800 oC for 1 h. The textured microstructure is featured by the alignment of c-axis of β-Si3N4 crystals perpendicular to the magnetic field, and the Lotgering orientation factor, f, is determined to be 0.8.


Abstract:This article discusses a six-part à clef secret history, The Amours of Messalina, alongside Peter Belon's The Court Secret and the pamphlet play The Abdicated Prince. These texts narrate a series of allegations surrounding the contested birth of James Francis Edward Stuart in June 1688, the most notorious of which was that he was not the issue of the queen but an impostor born in an adjacent convent and delivered into the birthing chamber inside a warming pan. The pamphlets and broadsides which work together to construct this narrative and other fictions of illegitimacy have been well studied; this article asks what difference it makes when those allegations are translated into sequential narratives, and what this specific case might tell us about the political uses of early novelistic forms like secret history. It argues that rather than revelation and disclosure, these secret histories prioritise displacement and containment, liberating English readers from the need to take the deposed Stuarts seriously.


Objective: To review the rationale, clinical practice guideline recommendations, and clinical trial data describing bleeding and clinical outcomes associated with the use of the combination of aspirin, a thienopyridine, and warfarin. Data Sources: An English-language literature search was conducted using MEDLINE (1966–March 2008) and the search terms aspirin, clopidogrel, ticlopidine, thienopyridine, warfarin, antiplatelet, anticoagulant, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Additional references were identified by reviewing reference citations of articles retrieved. Study Selection and Data Extraction: Applicable data were extracted from published reports and studies that included either clinical outcomes or adverse events. Data Synthesis: Clinical guidelines recommend the combination of antiplatelets and anticoagulants based largely on writing committee consensus. To date, only one randomized clinical trial has evaluated the safety and efficacy of adding warfarin to dual antiplatelet therapy (ie, triple antithrombotic therapy). Other published data are from case series, observational studies, and case-controlled studies primarily of patients undergoing PCI with intracoronary stent placement. Four of 12 studies reported no increased risk of major bleeding events. In the other 8 studies, a 3- to 6-fold increase in bleeding events was reported with triple antithrombotic therapy. Ischemic events were reported in only 6 of the studies. Only 2 studies observed an additional benefit in the reduction of ischemic events, and 1 study reported worsened ischemic outcomes with the triple antithrombotic regimen compared with dual antithrombotic therapy. Conclusions: Available guidelines pertaining to the concomitant administration of aspirin, a thienopyridine, and warfarin are based on limited trial data and consensus judgment. Overall, selection of triple antithrombotic therapy for patients with vascular disease is considered a matter of clinical judgment for an individual patient based on the prescriber's perceived balance between the patient's risk for recurrent ischemic events, expected duration of treatment, and patient's risk for bleeding.


Stat6 transcription factor is a critical mediator of IL-4-specific gene responses. Tyrosine phosphorylation is required for nuclear localization and DNA binding of Stat6. The authors investigated whether Stat6-dependent transcriptional responses are regulated through IL-4-induced serine/threonine phosphorylation. In Ramos B cells, the serine/threonine kinase inhibitor H7 inhibited IL-4-induced expression of CD23. Treatment with H7 did not affect IL-4R-mediated immediate signaling events such as tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak1, Jak3, insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and IRS-2, or tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA binding of Stat6. To analyze whether the H7-sensitive pathway was regulating Stat6-activated transcription, we used reporter constructs containing different IL-4 responsive elements. H7 abrogated Stat6-, as well as Stat5-, mediated reporter gene activation and partially reduced C/EBP-dependent reporter activity. By contrast, IL-4-induced transcription was not affected by wortmannin, an inhibitor of the phosphatidyl-inositol 3'-kinase pathway. Phospho-amino acid analysis and tryptic phosphopeptide maps revealed that IL-4 induced phosphorylation of Stat6 on serine and tyrosine residues in Ramos cells and in 32D cells lacking endogenous IRS proteins. However, H7 treatment did not inhibit the phosphorylation of Stat6. Instead, H7 inhibited the IL-4-induced phosphorylation of RNA polymerase II. These results indicate that Stat6-induced transcription is dependent on phosphorylation events mediated by H7-sensitive kinase(s) but that it also involves serine phosphorylation of Stat6 by an H7-insensitive kinase independent of the IRS pathway. (Blood. 2000;95:494-502)


Glucocorticoids (a subclass of the steroid family) have a broad range of therapeutic uses in human and veterinary medicine. Glucocorticoids are widely used to treat sport related/induced injury due to their anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects that allow athletes to resume physical activity, whether competitive sports or personal exercise, in a shorter time after injury. They can also be used to aid recovery after traumatic surgery such as repairing torn ligaments or ruptured tendons. Their route of administration varies from subcutaneous injections to inhalation to injections into intra-articular spaces between bones. New studies have pointed to their possible duel benefits of anti-inflammatory as well as promotion of weight loss through gluconeogenesis. The negative consequences of their use can be controversial due to their widespread popularity as a treatment option in both athletes and routine patients. This paper will discuss the mechanism of action, clinical uses and possible side effects associated with glucocorticoid use in the sport and exercise setting.


Wastewater-derived dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) accounts for up to 80% of dissolved nitrogen in nitrified-denitrified effluent. The sturdiness of DON measurements hindered the characterization of DON, especially in wastewater matrix, leading to an unsatisfying knowledge level. Measurement of DON and DON species is imortant not only as a measure of treatibility of wastewater in treatment plants, but also for the possible algal growth-stimulating effects after their discharge into receiving waters. In addition, wastewater-derived DON compounds may act as precursors to several disinfection by-products during intentional or unintentional reuse of wastewater. A review of DON compounds in wastewater and wastewater effluents is given.


AIM
To conduct a pragmatic, randomized controlled trial to assess whether thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) genotyping prior to azathioprine reduces adverse drug reactions (ADRs).

METHODS
A total of 333 participants were randomized 1:1 to undergo TPMT genotyping prior to azathioprine or to commence treatment without genotyping.

RESULTS
There was no difference in the primary outcome of stopping azathioprine due to an adverse reaction (ADR, p = 0.59) between the two study arms. ADRs were more common in older patients (p = 0.01). There was no increase in stopping azathioprine due to ADRs in TPMT heterozygotes compared with wild-type individuals. The single individual with TPMT variant homozygosity experienced severe neutropenia.

CONCLUSION
Our work supports the strong evidence that individuals with TPMT variant homozygosity are at high risk of severe neutropenia, whereas TPMT heterozygotes are not at increased risk of ADRs at standard doses of azathioprine.


Simple models that manifest input impedances of arterial systems are compared. An improvement upon documented two-, three-, and five-element models is presented. The classical two-element model (the windkessel) accounts for the lowest frequency components, and the three-element model (the modified windkessel) accounts for both low-and high-frequency components of the spectrum of interest. Five-element models, however, by allowing for reflection, can account for principal features over the entire frequency range of interest.


12 The effect of cooling rate after solution treatment on the initial structure of concentrated binary 13 Fe-Cr alloys and the effect of the initial structure on phase separation during subsequent aging 14 has been investigated. The nano-scale compositional fluctuations in the bulk of the alloys are 15 studied using small-angle neutron scattering and the results are compared with simulations using 16 the Cahn-Hilliard-Cook (CHC) model. The alloys investigated represent different mechanisms of 17 phase separation and at higher Cr content, when spinodal decomposition (SD) is favored, the 18 initial Cr compositional fluctuations due to slow cooling after solution treatment reduce the 19 kinetics of phase decomposition, whereas, at lower Cr composition when nucleation and growth 20 is favored, the kinetics of phase decomposition is more rapid. Regardless of the nominal Cr 21 composition of the alloy, the phase decomposition after extended aging up to 300 h at 748 K is 22 always larger for the more non-random initial structure. The CHC modeling of the cooling 23 process and subsequent initial aging (below 10 h) is in reasonable qualitative agreement with the 24 experimental results for the Fe-40 wt.% Cr alloy decomposing via SD. However, the modeling 25 approach must be refined for accurate quantitative modeling of the full SD process, including 26 coarsening. 27