The radiation exposure of the medical team involved in 35 consecutive cardiac catheterisation procedures performed at the Istituto di Malattie dell'Apparato Cardiovascolare, University of Bologna, was calculated. A mapping of the iso-exposure lines and the values of radiation exposure of each component of the team were determined for each procedure. With these parameters the total amount of radiation for a normal diagnostic activity coul be calculated. The mean values obtained (150-250 mR/week) were in the range of the maximal values permitted to medical teams professionally exposed to the risk of radiation (3R/13 weeks). Rotation of the components of the team granted a continuing diagnostic activity within the limits of radiation exposure imposed by the law. An evaluation of the different procedures and techniques indicated coronary arteriography as the procedure with a higher risk of radiation (M = 50 mR/procedure) and pointed out the mechanism involved in order to obtain a considerable reduction of radiation exposure.


Transition metal-based anticancer compounds, as an alternative to platinum derivatives, are raising scientific interest as they may present distinct although poorly understood mechanisms of action. We used a structure-activity relationship-based methodology to investigate the chemical and biological features of a series of ten (C^N)-chelated half-sandwich iridiumIII complexes of the general formula [IrCp*(phox)Cl], where (phox) is a 2-phenyloxazoline ligand forming a 5-membered metallacycle. This series of compounds undergoes a fast exchange of their chlorido ligand once solubilised in DMSO. They were cytotoxic to HeLa cells with IC50 values in the micromolar range and induced a rapid activation of caspase-3, an apoptosis marker. In vitro, the oxidative power of all the complexes towards NADH was highlighted but only the complexes bearing substituents on the oxazoline ring were able to produce H2O2 at the micromolar range. However, we demonstrated using a powerful HyPer protein redox sensor-based flow cytometry assay that most complexes rapidly raised intracellular levels of H2O2. Hence, this study shows that oxidative stress can partly explain the cytotoxicity of these complexes on the HeLa cell line and gives a first entry to their mechanism of action.


Adiponectin, an adipose tissue-derived hormone, plays integral roles in lipid and glucose metabolism in peripheral tissues, such as the skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and liver. Moreover, it has also been shown to have an impact on metabolic processes in the central nervous system. Astrocytes comprise the most abundant cell type in the central nervous system and actively participate in metabolic processes between blood vessels and neurons. However, the ability of adiponectin to control nutrient metabolism in astrocytes has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the effects of adiponectin on multiple metabolic processes in hypothalamic astrocytes. Adiponectin enhanced glucose uptake, glycolytic processes and fatty acid oxidation in cultured primary hypothalamic astrocytes. In line with these findings, we also found that adiponectin treatment effectively enhanced synthesis and release of monocarboxylates. Overall, these data suggested that adiponectin triggers catabolic processes in astrocytes, thereby enhancing nutrient availability in the hypothalamus.


The migration of unicellular organisms in the electrical field has been studied by many observers since Kiihne (1864) first noted the effect of an electrical current upon protozoa. The early work on this subject is well summarized by Dale (1900-01). Of the biologists who investigated the problem prior to 1900 only Lortet (1896) appears to have worked with bacteria and, curiously enough, he reports no influence of a direct current upon these organisms. The work of Hardy (1899, 1899-1900) upon the reaction of protein particles to electrical stimuli gave new impetus and direction to the study of this subject and in particular indicated the important effect of the reaction of the menstruum upon the direction of migration. Bechhold (1904) was the first to observe the phenomena of bacterial electrophoresis. Neisser and Friedemann (1904), Teague and Buxton (1906-07), Cernovodeanu and Henri (1906), Abbott (1908), and Russ (1909) worked on bacterial electrophoresis; while Thornton (1909-10) and Hardy and Harvey (1911-12) observed the migration of yeast cells. Hardy and Harvey (1911-12) first employed non-polarizable electrodes in work of this kind; and Ellis (1911-12) in studying oil emulsions introduced correction for electrical endosmose. Powis (1914-15),


BACKGROUND
We examined the quality and aggressiveness of care for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) on weekends vs weekdays. Acute ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States, and aggressive treatment must be provided within 3 hours for optimal patient outcomes. Because of this short treatment window for the administration of tissue plasminogen activator, patients need around-the-clock access to high-quality and aggressive care.

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether there is a difference in the quality or aggressiveness of care for patients experiencing AIS on weekends vs weekdays.

DESIGN
Retrospective study.

SETTING
Academic research. Patients We conducted a retrospective study of patients with AIS in Virginia. Two logistic regression analyses assessed the relationship between weekend admission and quality and aggressiveness of care, while controlling for appropriate patient-level and hospital-level control variables. A propensity score stratification approach controlled for selection bias.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Treatment with tissue plasminogen activator and in-hospital mortality.

RESULTS
Patients with AIS admitted on weekends are more likely to receive tissue plasminogen activator than those admitted on weekdays (P < .05). No statistically significant difference was noted in patient mortality based on day of admission (P >or= .05). We detected no difference in the likelihood to seek hospital care on weekends between patients with AIS vs patients with hemorrhagic stroke.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients experiencing AIS are more likely to receive tissue plasminogen activator on weekends than on weekdays. Patients experiencing AIS who are admitted on weekends are no more likely to die than those who are admitted on weekdays. Further research is necessary to understand differences in weekend vs weekday care.


abstract:Hester Pulter frequently mentions dunghills, often using the word as an adjective to describe the earth. The dunghill might not appear to require much glossing, but its seventeenth-century meanings were more nuanced—literally, layered—than we might expect. While some of Pulter's contemporaries used "dunghill" to describe what we might call a dump—the final destination of garbage—they most often used the words "dunghill" and "muckheap" to describe repositories where organic matter of various kinds was gathered and transformed into compost to enrich soil. In the seventeenth century, this kind of dunghill—a matrix as well as a grave—was revalued and promoted as part of a larger reconsideration of waste as resource. The generative dunghill models Pulter's poetic process (recombining, ruminating, and revising) as well as the accretive and collaborative process that is the online edition called The Pulter Project. Seeing the dunghill as a creative process challenges divisions between elite poetry and agricultural labor, figural and literal, and even this life and the next. This essay's inquiry into the material history and figural resonances of the dunghill aspires not just to deepen our understanding of one of Pulter's keywords but also to interrogate the principles behind glossing and assembling "curations" for the online Pulter Project.


BACKGROUND
little is known about demographic and clinical characteristics associated with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) or central sleep apnoea (CSA) in community-dwelling elderly. We also examined these (OSA and CSA) associations to all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality.

METHODS
a total of 331 community-dwelling elderly aged 71-87 years underwent a clinical examination and one-night polygraphic recordings in their homes. Mortality data were collected after seven years.

RESULTS
a total of 55% had SDB, 38% had OSA and 17% had CSA. Compared with those with no SDB and OSA, more participants with CSA had a left ventricular ejection fraction <50% (LVEF <50%) ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and transient ischaemic attack (TIA)/stroke. There was no difference in the rate of IHD and TIA/stroke between OSA and no SDB, but more LVEF <50% was found in those with OSA. CSA significantly increased the risk for all-cause (P=0.002) and CV mortality (P=0.018) by more than two times. After adjustments for CV disease, diabetes and the biomarker NT-pro-brain natriuretic peptide CSA associations to all-cause mortality and CV mortality lost significance.

CONCLUSION
OSA, in persons >75 years does not appear to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) disease or mortality, whereas CSA might be a pathological marker of CVD and impaired systolic function associated with higher mortality.


Frequency-dependent predation has been proposed as a general mechanism driving the phenotypic assortment of social groups via the 'oddity effect', which occurs when the presence of odd individuals in a group allows a predator to fixate on a single prey item, increasing the predator's attack-to-kill ratio. However, the generality of the oddity effect has been debated and, previously, there has not been an ecological assessment of the role of predation risk in driving the phenotypic assortment of social groups. Here, we compare the levels of body length assortment of social groups between populations of the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) that experience differences in predation risk. As predicted by the oddity effect hypothesis, we observe phenotypic assortment by body length to be greater under high predation risk. However, we found that a number of low-predation populations were also significantly assorted by body length, suggesting that other mechanisms may have a role to play.


Specific quantification of therapeutic tissue stem cells (TSCs) is a major challenge. We recently described a computational simulation method for accurate and specific counting of TSCs. The method quantifies TSCs based on their unique asymmetric cell kinetics, which is rate-limiting for TSCs' production of transiently-amplifying lineage-committed cells and terminally arrested cells during serial cell culture. Because of this basis, the new method is called kinetic stem cell (KSC) counting. Here, we report further validations of the specificity and clinical utility of KSC counting. First, we demonstrate its quantification of the expected increase in the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) fraction of CD34+-selected preparations of human-mobilized peripheral blood cells, an approved treatment product routinely used for HSC transplantation therapies. Previously, we also used the KSC counting technology to define new mathematical algorithms with the potential for rapid determination of TSC-specific fractions without the need for serial culture. A second important HSC transplantation treatment, CD34+-selected umbilical cord blood (UCB) cells, was used to investigate this prediction. We show that, with an input of only simple population doubling time (PDT) data, the KSC counting-derived "Rabbit algorithms" can be used to rapidly determine the specific HSC fraction of CD34+-selected UCB cell preparations with a high degree of statistical confidence. The algorithms define the stem cell fraction half-life (SCFHL), a new parameter that projects stem cell numbers during expansion culture. These findings further validate KSC counting's potential to meet the long-standing unmet need for a method to determine stem cell-specific dosage in stem cell medicine.


Sesamol (SM), a nutritional phenolic antioxidant compound present in sesame seeds, protected pBR 322 DNA from gamma radiation-induced damages. SM prevented gamma radiation-induced degradation of covalently closed circular form of plasmid DNA in a concentration-dependent manner. Also SM protected cellular DNA of mouse blood leukocytes exposed to 4 Gy gamma radiation, ex vivo, as revealed by the data from alkaline comet assay studies. SM (5 mM) showed a faster time-dependant decrease of the radiation-induced DNA damage in mouse blood leukocytes following postirradiation incubation ex vivo, which could be attributed to enhanced DNA repair. SM protected the biomembranes from radiation-induced lipid peroxidation. Thus, SM could act as a radioprotector for the biomembranes and cellular DNA against the deleterious effects of ionizing radiation.


In this work presented, the effects of the multi-beam directional antennas on the performance of a new wireless TDMA/FDD system have been studied. Directional antennas (DA) inherently have the ability to enable development of the SDMA systems, and to allow transmitting and receiving signals simultaneously at the same time slot. Employing a dynamic slot allocation table at the base station with 4 or 8 sector directional antennas and holding the wireless terminals location information, a new SDMA/TDMA/FDD frame structure has been developed for wireless communications. The preliminary simulation results obtained using OPNET Modeler show that the proposed SDMA/TDMA/FDD system has substantially increased the traditional TDMA/FDD system capacity and provides 1.37 to 4 times better mean delay results when the number of users is increased from 4 to 32 under the same load in the wireless network models.


This research aimed to develope squash sikhye containing retrograded rice flour using response surface methodology. For this, nonlinear regression equation was calculated with the setting of independent variables as retrograded rice flour containing resistant starch and squash, and dependent variables as viscosity, sugar content, pH, color, and sensory attributes. Under the experimental condition, the quality characteristics of squash sikhye were found as 6.20~6.25 for pH, 14.00~17.33°Brix for sweetness, 2.64~4.45 cP for viscosity, 57.51~60.18 for lightness, 4.94~7.52 for redness, and 50.98~60.29 for yellowness. It also was revealed overall acceptability in sensory evaluation rated as 9.67~10.83 out of 15 point. These results showed statistically significant differences in quality attributes with the increase of retrograded rice flour and squash(p<0.05). Thus, optimal mixing quantity of squash and retrograded rice flour for squash sikhye was identified as 114 g and 65 g, respectively. Comparison of sensory qualities of four samples, namely squash sikhye with and without retrograded rice, and two commercial products, showed that squash sikhye including retrograded rice flour had the best quality in terms of color, taste, mouth feeling, flavor and overall acceptability (p<0.05). Thus the squash sikhye with retrograded rice flour can be the potential products as a health benefit beverage for the old adult and the young generation.


Male courtship behavior in Drosophila melanogaster is controlled by two main regulators, fruitless (fru) and doublesex (dsx). Their sex-specific expression in brain neurons has been characterized in detail, but little is known about the downstream targets of the sex-specific FRU and DSX proteins and how they specify the function of these neurons. While sexual dimorphism in the number and connections of fru and dsx expressing neurons has been observed, a majority of the neurons that express the two regulators are present in both sexes. This poses the question which molecules define the sex-specific function of these neurons. Signaling molecules are likely to play a significant role. We have identified a predicted G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR), CG4395, that is required for male courtship behavior. The courtship defect in the mutants can be rescued by expression of the wildtype protein in fru neurons of adult males. The GPCR is expressed in a subset of fru-positive antennal glomeruli that have previously been shown to be essential for male courtship. Expression of 4395-RNAi in GH146 projection neurons lowers courtship. This suggests that signaling through the CG4395 GPCR in this subset of fru neurons is critical for male courtship behavior.


Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) were recently proposed in [18] as an alternative way to solve partial differential equations (PDEs). A neural network (NN) represents the solution, while a PDE-induced NN is coupled to the solution NN, and all differential operators are treated using automatic differentiation. Here, we first employ the standard PINN and a stochastic version, sPINN, to solve forward and inverse problems governed by a non-linear advection–diffusion–reaction (ADR) equation, assuming we have some sparse measurements of the concentration field at random or pre-selected locations. Subsequently, we attempt to optimise the hyper-parameters of sPINN by using the Bayesian optimisation method (meta-learning) and compare the results with the empirically selected hyper-parameters of sPINN. In particular, for the first part in solving the inverse deterministic ADR, we assume that we only have a few high-fidelity measurements, whereas the rest of the data is of lower fidelity. Hence, the PINN is trained using a composite multi-fidelity network, first introduced in [12], that learns the correlations between the multi-fidelity data and predicts the unknown values of diffusivity, transport velocity and two reaction constants as well as the concentration field. For the stochastic ADR, we employ a Karhunen–Loève (KL) expansion to represent the stochastic diffusivity, and arbitrary polynomial chaos (aPC) to represent the stochastic solution. Correspondingly, we design multiple NNs to represent the mean of the solution and learn each aPC mode separately, whereas we employ a separate NN to represent the mean of diffusivity and another NN to learn all modes of the KL expansion. For the inverse problem, in addition to stochastic diffusivity and concentration fields, we also aim to obtain the (unknown) deterministic values of transport velocity and reaction constants. The available data correspond to 7spatial points for the diffusivity and 20 space–time points for the solution, both sampled 2000 times. We obtain good accuracy for the deterministic parameters of the order of 1–2% and excellent accuracy for the mean and variance of the stochastic fields, better than three digits of accuracy. In the second part, we consider the previous stochastic inverse problem, and we use Bayesian optimisation to find five hyper-parameters of sPINN, namely the width, depth and learning rate of two NNs for learning the modes. We obtain much deeper and wider optimal NNs compared to the manual tuning, leading to even better accuracy, i.e., errors less than 1% for the deterministic values, and about an order of magnitude less for the stochastic fields.


The ninety-ninth US Congress commissioned a six-state food irradiation research and development program to evaluate the commercial potential of this technology. Hawaii, Washington, Iowa, Oklahoma and Florida as well as Alaska have participated in the national program; various food products including fishery products, red meats, tropical and citrus fruits and vegetables have been studied. The purpose of the Alaskan study was to review and evaluate those factors related to the technical and economic feasibility of an irradiator in Alaska. This options analysis study will serve as a basis for determining the state's further involvement in the development of food irradiation technology.


Article history: Received on: 29/08/2017 Accepted on: 14/10/2017 Available online: 30/11/2017 The objective of our study was to identify Web document characteristics affecting quality of drug information websites using principal component analysis (PCA) technique in order to assist consumers, patients, and Web developers for observing good designing aspects to achieve information quality. Internet websites were collected by using the 8 search terms and 3 mostly utilized search engines in Thailand. Thirty five drug information websites were assessed with two independent raters to find out the quality in drug information providing using DISCERN criteria. Sixteen characteristics of Web document were investigated. PCA was applied to the data and the principal components were plotted and visualized structurally for detection the most important characteristics which related to the quality of drug information websites. The six PCs accounted for 73.39% of the total variance. The overall mean of DISCERN score for quality was "fair" at 52.5 (range, 21–72; SD = 11.1). Four attributes then were chosen to be the factors which mostly influence quality status of drug information websites. These findings provide consumers and patients to observe the quality of sites that provide drug information as well as to support Web authors for improving the quality of drug information websites.


Mast cells (MCs) are hematopoietic immune cells commonly found in adjacent to blood vessels in the lamina propria of airway mucosa. They are important in allergic reactions since the cross-linking of their surface high affinity receptor FceRI induces activation of these cells, and provokes the synthesis, degranulation and release of inflammatory mediators including arachidonic acid-derived eicosanoids (de novo synthesized), stored enzyme mediators, and inflammatory TH1 and TH2 cytokines, and chemokines. Interleukin (IL)-33 participates in innate and adaptive immunity and inflammation and, acting on CD34+ cells, causes MC differentiation and maturation. IL-33 is generated by activated immune cells, and activates MCs which degranulate and release pro-inflammatory mediators. IL-33 is very important in mediating allergic inflammation and can be induced by IL-1 beta. It is also called "alarmin" and is an inflammatory cytokine IL-1 family member, expressed from mocytes and MCs, which binds its receptor ST2, provoking its release after cell damage. MC-derived allergic compounds in response to IL-33 is critical to innate type 2 immunity. IL-37 is expressed by immune and non-immune cells after pro-inflammatory stimulus. IL-37, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, binds IL-18Ra and suppresses pro-inflammatory IL-1 beta released by activated immune cells such as macrophages. Here, we hypothesize that pro-inflammatory IL-1 family member cytokines released by activated MCs, mediating inflammatory allergic phenomenon, can be suppressed by IL-37.


Experimental work with mice designed to explore the interference phenomenon noted in human rabies prophylaxis is described. It was demonstrated quantitatively that when passive antibody from antiserum administration is present, active antibody response is reduced and the production of immunity to virus challenge is affected. The work appeared to confirm that the practice of giving "booster" doses of vaccine after the 10th day of treatment may overcome this interference.


Embedded sensors of smartphone provides a unique opportunity to recognize the micro-context of sedentary behaviour. In this paper, we present our research findings on how to recognize micro-contexts by utilizing on board sensors of smartphone. Our proposed approach consists of two stages process. First, we recognize the situation of a person to be either stationery or moving. If stationary, then high probability to be sedentary, in which we can then find micro details about the current context. Second, we process environmental sound and recognize the person's micro-context such as watching television, working on computers or relaxing. Furthermore, we also provide the lifestyle analytics over cloud computing infrastructure to make it available anywhere and anytime for self-management purpose. We developed an initial working prototype to evaluate the applicability of our approach in a real-world scenario.


A five year old female child presented to the Department of Orthopaedics, BPS Government Medical College, Sonepat, Haryana, India in June 2012, with deformity of left hand since birth. The left hand had a large median cleft with an absent middle finger and flexion deformity of the index and ring finger (Fig. 1). The right hand and bilateral feet were also normal. Radiograph of hand showed transversely oriented bone between third and fourth metacarpal, third metacarpal was present but phalanges of middle finger were absent except for rudimentary proximal phalanx (Fig. 2). Other than this, no other congenital anomalies were present. The child was born out of a non-consanguineous marriage with a normal perinatal and family history. Surgery involved complete excision of transverse bone with partial excision of the third metacarpal plus apposition of the second and fourth metacarpal by absorbable sutures leading to a decreased cleft (Fig. (Fig.3a3a and and3b).3b). Flexion contracture of index and ring finger was helpful in pinch and grasp and would be corrected later, if required.

Fig. 1

Left hand (dorsal view) shows a median cleft and flexion deformity at proximal inter-phalangeal joints in the index and ring finger.

Fig. 2

Radiograph of left hand shows a transversely oriented bone between third and fourth metacarpal, third metacarpal was present but phalanges of middle finger were absent except for rudimentary proximal phalanx, carpals were normal.

Fig. 3

a. Postoperative photograph of left hand (dorsal view) showing a decreased cleft. b. Postoperative radiograph of left hand with an excised transverse bone and third metacarpal (partial).

Cleft hand, lobster claw hand and ectrodactyly are different names given to central deficiencies of the hand due to longitudinal failure of formation of 2nd, 3rd or 4th ray. It has an incidence of 1 to 4 in 100000 live births1. Associated anomalies include tibial aplasia, mental retardation, ectodermal defects, orofacial clefting and deafness2. Treatment is surgical correction for function and/or cosmoses.


We present and analyze a new iterative solver for implicit discretizations of a simplified Boltzmann-Poisson system. The algorithm builds on recent work that incorporated a sweeping algorithm for the Vlasov-Poisson equations as part of nested inner-outer iterative solvers for the Boltzmann-Poisson equations. The new method eliminates the need for nesting and requires only one transport sweep per iteration. It arises as a new fixed-point formulation of the discretized system which we prove to be contractive for a given electric potential. We also derive an accelerator to improve the convergence rate for systems in the drift-diffusion regime. We numerically compare the efficiency of the new solver, with and without acceleration, with a recently developed nested iterative solver.


The focal article (Hyland, Lee, & Mills, 2015) has reviewed the literature and has generally concluded that research on mindfulness training has been supportive and suggestive of the potential of these interventions to benefit organizations and people in the workplace. We generally agree with this conclusion but have some suggestions regarding future research and the implementation of mindfulness interventions. Our first suggestion is that organizations exercise caution about simply jumping on the mindfulness bandwagon without thinking through the decision to implement mindfulness interventions. The wide variety of mindfulness techniques can be very different in terms of the techniques used, the potential to be perceived as intrusive, and the outcomes associated with the different mindfulness interventions. We suggest that, when mindfulness interventions are implemented in organizations, the fit of the intervention with the specific goals of the organization be considered as well as alternative interventions. In addition, we suggest that the benefits to employees and employers be clearly articulated, as there may be possible conflicts between these constituencies.


Developed in this paper is a model-based procedure for the design and analysis of a subsea High Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPPS). Offering an alternative to the conventional design requiring the use of pipelines rated to the well shut-in pressure, the installation of HIPPS with low pressure-rated pipelines downstream of its location enables considerable savings in the project CAPEX making the development of high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) wells with a long tieback cost-effective without compromising the safety. The proposed design procedure is based on a low-dimensional two-phase flow transient model to evaluate the effect of the HIPPS on the subsea architecture. A case study demonstrates that the installation of HIPPS can result in savings up to 42% of the total pipelines procurement cost if compared to the conventional approach.


In this study, hybrid pigments based on carminic acid (CA) were synthesized and applied in polymer materials. Modification of aluminum-magnesium hydroxycarbonate (LH) with CA transformed the soluble chromophore into an organic-inorganic hybrid colorant. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-Vis spectroscopy were used to study the structure, composition, and morphology of the insoluble LH/CA colorant. Successful modification of the LH was confirmed by the presence of interactions between the LH matrix and molecules of CA. XPS analysis corroborated the presence of CA complexes with Mg2+ ions in the LH host. The batochromic shift in UV-Vis spectra of the organic-inorganic hybrid colorant was attributed to metal-dye interactions in the organic-inorganic hybrid colorants. Strong metal-dye interactions may also be responsible for the improved solvent resistance and chromostability of the modified LH. In comparison to uncolored ethylene-norbornene copolymer (EN), a modified EN sample containing LH/CA pigment showed lower heat release rate (HRR) and reduced total heat release (THR), providing the material with enhanced flame retardancy.


Globalisation intensifies global interconnectedness; reorders time and space; and stretches social, political, and economic practices across boundaries. However, globalisation is not a linear process; it takes place in discrete phases of short and concentrated bursts. The COVID-19 pandemic is one such time-space burst, or 'eruption'. In this paper, we focus on COVID-19 as an 'emerging epidemic' from the perspective of citizens in Bobo-Dioulasso, the second-largest city in Burkina Faso. We explore how these citizens experience ruptures of their everyday life due to COVID-19 and how their understandings and responses to the pandemic were shaped in a context of instability and political turbulence. We are inspired by Giddens's notion of 'time-space distanciation', which refers to 'the condition under which time and space are organized so as to connect presence and absence'. We focus on the temporality of the pandemic by looking at a specific period during the pandemic, during which the government of Burkina Faso introduced a number of restrictions as preventive measures at a time when COVID-19 as a disease was still an absent phenomenon for most people. The pandemic had not (yet) infected large numbers of people in the country and most people did not yet have any experiences of the disease. We argue that the local responses to the pandemic and the various control measures during this period must be understood in the wider context of Burkina Faso's specific socio-economic, political, and security situations, which are distinctly fragile.


SURE (Stein's Unbiased Risk Estimator) guided Piecewise Linear Estimation (S-PLE) is a recently introduced patch-based state-of-the-art denoising algorithm. In this article, we focus on its implementation and show its performance by comparing it with several other acclaimed algorithms. Source Code ANSI C source code for both S-PLE and PLE is accessible on the article web page. A live demo for S-PLE can be found at the IPOL web page of this article1.


The focus of this paper is to determine the profitability of technical trading rules by evaluating their ability to outperform the naive buy-and-hold trading strategy. Moving average cross-over rules, filter rules, Bollinger Bands, and trading range break-out rules are tested on the S&P/TSX 300 Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index, NASDAQ Composite Index, and the Canada/U.S. spot exchange rate . After accounting for transaction costs, excess returns are generated by the moving average cross-over rules and trading range break-out rules for the S&P/TSX 300 Index , NASDAQ Composite Index and the Canada/U.S. spot exchange rate . Filter rules also earn excess returns when applied on the Canada/U.S. spot exchange rate. The bootstrap methodology is used to determine the statistical significance of the results. The profitability of the technical trading rules is further enhanced with a combined signal approach.


Using extended finite state machines for test data generation can be a difficult process because we need to generate paths that are feasible and we also need to find input data that traverse a given path. This paper presents a test suite generation algorithm for extended finite state machines. The algorithm produces a set of feasible transition paths that cover all transitions using a modified multi-objective genetic algorithm (deleting redundant paths and shortening the solutions). The multi-objective problem aims to optimize the transitions coverage and the path feasibility, based on dataflow dependencies. Having a set of paths resulted from this algorithm, we can easily find input parameters for each path.


The continuing trend towards the deinstitutionalization of the psychiatrically disabled population and the treatment of this population from an outpatient or community-based perspective has led to increasing numbers of psychiatrically disabled individuals seeking services in the community. This situation, combined with the growing acknowledgement by mental health and rehabilitation professionals of the importance of vocational or career counseling, makes it inevitable that agencies engaged in vocational counseling will be seeing increasing numbers of these clients. As these clients present symptoms and concerns which are outside of the usual range of ex ;ertise of many ',ocational counselors, difficulties can be anticipated unless the counseling service and the individual counselors are prepared to deal with this particular population. If the counseling experience is to be beneficial to both counselor and client, then it is essential that the vocational or career counselor be knowledgeable about the issues and difficulties that face the psychiatrically disabled client. There are no hard and fast rules applying to the psychiatrically disabled client. The critical factor remains the willingness of counselor and client to believe that psychiatrically disabled individuals can and should develop the skills to move beyond mere job seeking to participate in more global career planning activities. (Author/ABL) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * Career Counselling Issues with Psychiatrically Disabled Clients


We give a detailed description of the installation and operation of a double-station meteor detection system which formed part of a research & education project between Korea Astronomy Space Science Institute and Daejeon Science Highschool. A total of six light-sensitive CCD cameras were installed with three cameras at SOAO and three cameras at BOAO observatory. A double-station observation of a meteor event enables the determination of the three-dimensional orbit in space. This project was initiated in response to the Jinju fireball event in March 2014. The cameras were installed in October/November 2014. The two stations are identical in hardware as well as software. Each station employes sensitive Watec-902H2 cameras in combination with relatively fast f/1.2 lenses. Various fields of views were used for measuring differences in detection rates of meteor events. We employed the SonotaCo UFO software suite for meteor detection and their subsequent analysis. The system setup as well as installation/operation experience is described and first results are presented. We also give a brief overview of historic as well as recent meteor (fall) detections in South Korea. For more information please consult this http URL .


. The evolution of the particle distribution functions inside a relativistic jet containing an e − - e + pair plasma and of the resulting γ -ray and X-ray spectra is investigated. The first phase of this evolution is governed by heavy radiative energy losses. For this phase, approximative expres-sions for the energy-loss rates due to inverse-Compton scattering, using the full Klein-Nishina cross section, are given as one-dimensional integrals for both cooling by inverse-Compton scattering of synchrotron photons (SSC) and of accretion disk photons (EIC). We calculate instantaneous and time-integrated γ -ray spectra emitted by such a jet for various sets of parameters, de-ducing some general implications on the observable broadband radiation. Finally, we present model fits to the broadband spectrum of Mrk 421. We find that the most plausible way to ex-plain both the quiescent and the flaring state of Mrk 421 con-sists of a model where EIC and SSC dominate the observed spectrum in different frequency bands. In our model the flaring state is primarily related to an increase of the maximum Lorentz factor of the injected pairs.


This paper discusses the technique of 'yarning' as an action research process relevant for policy development work with Aboriginal peoples. Through a case study of an Aboriginal community-based smoking project in the Australian State of Victoria, the paper demonstrates how the Aboriginal concept of 'yarning' can be used to empower people to create policy change that not only impacts on their own health, but also impacts on the health of others and the Aboriginal organisation for which they work. The paper presents yarning within the context of models of empowerment and a methodological approach of participatory action research. The method is based on respect and inclusivity, with the final policy developed by staff for staff. Yarning is likely to be successful for action researchers working within a variety of Indigenous contexts.


Upgrading furan and small oxygenates obtained from the decomposition of cellulosic materials via formation of carbon-carbon bonds is critical to effective conversion of biomass to liquid transportation fuels. Simulation-driven molecular level understanding of carbon-carbon bond formation is required to design efficient catalysts and processes. Accurate quantum chemical methods are utilized here to predict the reaction energetics for conversion of furan (C4H4O) to C5-C8 ethers and the transformation of furfural (C5H6O2) to C13-C26 alkanes. Furan can be coupled with various C1 to C4 low molecular weight carbohydrates obtained from the pyrolysis via Diels-Alder type reactions in the gas phase to produce C5-C8 cyclic ethers. The computed reaction barriers for these reactions (∼25 kcal/mol) are lower than the cellulose activation or decomposition reactions (∼50 kcal/mol). Cycloaddition of C5-C8 cyclo ethers with furans can also occur in the gas phase, and the computed activation energy is similar to that of the first Diels-Alder reaction. Furfural, obtained from biomass, can be coupled with aldehydes or ketones with α-hydrogen atoms to form longer chain aldol products, and these aldol products can undergo vapor phase hydrocycloaddition (activation barrier of ∼20 kcal/mol) to form the precursors of C26 cyclic hydrocarbons. These thermochemical studies provide the basis for further vapor phase catalytic studies required for upgrading of furans/furfurals to longer chain hydrocarbons.


This guide provides information about open access and new models of scholarly publishing, funding policies and compliance, and issues associated with copyright.


Introduction SMA1 is a neurodegenerative disease caused by bi-allelic survival motor neuron 1 gene (SMN1) deletion/mutation. In the phase 1 study, SMN GRT onasemnogene abeparvovec (AVXS-101) improved outcomes of symptomatic SMA1 patients. We report preliminary data of STR1VE, a pivotal study (NCT03306277) evaluating efficacy and safety of a one-time intravenous AVXS-101 infusion. Methods STR1VE is a phase 3, multicenter, open-label, single-arm study in SMA1 patients aged <6 months (bi-allelic SMN1 loss, 2xSMN2). Primary outcomes: independent sitting for ≥30 seconds (18 months) and survival (14 months). Secondary outcomes: ability to thrive and ventilatory support (18 months). Exploratory outcomes: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Infant Test of Neuromuscular Disorders (CHOP-INTEND) and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development scores. Results Enrollment is complete with 22 patients dosed. Mean age at symptom onset, genetic diagnosis, and enrollment was 1.9 (0–4.0), 2.1 (0.5–4.0), and 3.7 (0.5–5.9) months. At baseline, no patient required ventilatory/nutritional support, and all exclusively fed by mouth. Mean baseline CHOP-INTEND score was 32.6 (17.0–52.0), which increased 6.9 (-4.0–16.0, n=20), 10.4 (2.0–18.0, n=12), and 11.6 (-3.0–23.0, n=9) points at 1, 2, and 3 months. Updates will be provided at the congress. Conclusions Preliminary data from STR1VE show rapid motor function improvements in SMA1 patients, paralleling phase 1 findings.


To ensure widespread deployment and popularity, next generation wireless services will require a Quality of Service (QoS), and particularly a reliability, that is independent of the radio transmission medium. However, because of the failure-prone nature of wireless networks, providing a reliable communication link and guaranteeing a consistent QoS to users become key issues. In this tutorial, we describe the most common source of failures in wireless networks and provide a systematic failure classification procedure. Drawing from the vast literature on reliability in wireline networks, we then explain how cognitive radios can use their inherent capabilities to implement efficient prevention and recovery mechanisms to combat failures and thereby provide reliable communications and consistent QoS under all circumstances.


When calculating the cost of a service, the focus is often extensively on the price, and, to a lesser extent, to the related costs. Previous research has introduced the concept of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), as a comprehensive approach to include all components of the cost, even the qualitative values. The previous studies have although focused more on products than services, and furthermore towards developed markets than developing. This study is a multiple case study at manufacturing companies in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which aims to examine if the previous literature findings are applicable for the selection and evaluation of logistics providers in Brazil. The results show that TCO is utilisable for services with some minor modifications. The findings also point out that the need for a deviation management system when developing a TCO model is greater in Brazil compared to more developed markets. We conclude that there is no single best way to manage TCO for services. Moreover, there is a set of approaches and models with common components, which are applicable and provide good results.


Reproduction health is a biological process where a new individual is born. Wheres, anesthesia is a whole or partial loss of taste sesation caused by pathology in the neuron system of individual; anesthesia can also be defined as a technique in a medicine delivery (inhalation intravenous, or local) causing numbs partially or bodily for a certain period of time. This research aims at finding out wathers there is a correlation (correlations) between anesthesia and reproduction health disorders of health workers in operating room. This study belonges to analytic studi with cross sectional approach. This studi was done at roman catholic charitas hospital. The research samples were 52 health workers in a operating room at the hospital. The primary an secondary data were taken from questionnaires. Chi-Square (ɑ=0,05) and logistic regression werw used for data analysis technique. This research was done on June 22-30, 2015. At the end of the research, the univariate analysis results showed than there 63,5% of the respondens (Age>35), 88,5% (Highly Educated), 63,5% (Work Period ≥1 years), and 59,6% (Anasthesia Exposure) who did not suffer from the health reproduction disorders. Meanwhile, the bivariate analysis results indicated p values of the variables, i.e. Age (p value=0.021). work period (p value=1.000), education (p value=1.000, Work period (p value=0-020),  and anesthesia Exposure (p value = 0.003). the multivariate analysis results showed that age (p value=0.45) became the best predictor that can make the health workers suffer from reproduction disorders. It can be concluded that there were correlation between Age, work period and Anathesia Exposure with reproduction health Disorders. However, there was no correlation between Education and Health History with Reproduction Heath Disorders. As suggestions, the hospital should conduct any innovative program in order to avoid any secondary effect of the usage of anesthesia to the health works. Keywords : Reproduction Health disorders, Anesthesia Exposure


Background and Purpose Territorial cerebellar infarcts have mainly a thromboembolic mechanism. Cerebellar infarcts less than 2 cm in diameter have recently been reported as nonterritorial infarcts, but it is not clear whether they are low-flow or embolic infarcts. The aim of the present study was to compare the characteristics and causes of territorial and nonterritorial infarcts in a prospective series of 115 patients. Methods We collected data from 115 consecutive patients with cerebellar infarcts (79 territorial and 36 nonterritorial [ie, less than 2 cm]), using magnetic resonance imaging (88 patients) and computed tomography. Results Patients with territorial infarcts and those with nonterritorial infarcts had similar vascular risk factors and clinical presentations and an equal frequency of cardiac source of embolism (32% versus 42%; P=NS) and of large artery occlusive disease (23% versus 19%; P=NS). Occlusive lesions of large arteries at angiography occurred at the level of one cerebellar artery (5% versus 0%; P=NS) and proximal to the ostia of the cerebellar arteries (18% versus 19%; P=NS). Infarcts distal to occlusive lesions were subdivided into unilateral vertebral artery occlusive disease (presumed artery-to-artery embolic mechanism; 18% versus 5%; P=NS) and low-flow state distal to bilateral vertebral or basilar artery occlusion (presumed hemodynamic mechanism; 0% versus 14%; P=.004). Patients with nonterritorial infarcts had more frequent hypercoagulable state (17% versus 1.25%; odds ratio, 15.6 [95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 135]). For the remaining patients, the mechanism of the infarct was unknown (34% versus 22%; P=NS). Conclusions Cerebellar infarcts less than 2 cm in diameter (ie, nonterritorial) have the same high rate of embolic mechanism as territorial infarcts (47% versus 49%; P=NS), have more frequent hypercoagulable state, and sometimes have a hemodynamic mechanism.


For service researchers, contributing to academic advancement through academic publications is a raison d'être. Moreover, demand is increasing for service researchers to make a difference beyond academia. Thus, service researchers face the formidable challenge of writing in a manner that resonates with not just service academics but also practitioners, policy makers, and other stakeholders. In this article, the authors examine how service research articles' lexical variations might influence their academic citations and public media coverage. Drawing on the complete corpus of Journal of Service Research (JSR) articles published between 1998 and 2020, they use text analytics and thereby determine that variations in language intensity, immediacy, and diversity relate to article impact. The appropriate use of these lexical variants and other stylistic conventions depends on the audience (academic or the public), the subsection of this article in which they appear (e.g., introduction, implications), and article innovativeness. This article concludes with an actionable "how-to" guide for ways to increase article impacts in relation to different JSR audiences.


How Likert type measurement scales should be appropriately used and analysed has been debated for over 50 years, often to the great confusion of students, practitioners, allied health researchers and educators. Basically, there are two major competing views that have evolved somewhat independently of one another and of the associated empirical research literature on this 'great debate'. Most recently in this journal, Jamieson outlined the view that 'Likert scales' are ordinal in character (i.e., produce rank order data) and that they, therefore, must be analysed using non-parametric statistics. Non-parametric statistics, however, are less sensitive and less powerful than parametric statistics and are, therefore, more likely to miss weaker or emerging findings.


The implementation of a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) free, optical fibre phase conjugator by use of only 1 m length of fabricated bismuth oxide-based nonlinear fibre (Bi-NLF), has been experimentally demonstrated. A high OSNR phase-conjugated signal was readily achieved owing to the unique properties of the Bi-NLF such as an ultra-high /spl chi//sup (3)/ nonlinearity and a high SBS threshold although no SBS suppression scheme was employed. Using the phase conjugator, error-free transmission of the signal is readily achieved over a 150 km SMF link.


Ovarian tumors associated with hypercalcemia due to ectopic secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) are extremely rare. A 33-year-old woman presented with a pelvic mass and profound hypercalcemia accompanied by an elevated serum level of PTH. Laparotomy demonstrated a left ovarian tumor that on histological examination was a neuroendocrine carcinoma of non-small cell type admixed with a component of endometrioid adenocarcinoma. After left salpingo-oophorectomy, the serum calcium and PTH levels normalized. The cells of the neuroendocrine carcinoma were positive for neuron-specific enolase, synaptophysin, chromogranin A, and PTH. Hypercalcemia and elevated serum PTH levels recurred during tumor relapse, and the patient died of disease 6 months postoperatively. This is the eleventh case of neuroendocrine carcinoma of non-small cell type associated with surface epithelial neoplasm of the ovary, and the first such tumor to be associated with hypercalcemia.


Since 2007, CPI in our country has reached new high repeatedly, causes attention closely in society. Using data published by State Statistical Bureau, this article, after process, applies RBF neural network with momentum item to forecast separately CPI in 2008 and in 2009 will be respectively 109.4733 and 106.4275, and also puts forward some corresponding policy proposals.


Background Duodenal villous atrophy is due not only to coeliac disease and its complications but also to other rare enteropathies unrelated to gluten consumption, defined as noncoeliac enteropathies. The diagnosis of noncoeliac enteropathies remains challenging, and HLA typing has been widely used to exclude coeliac disease if DQ2 and DQ8 alleles are absent. However, the frequency of the various HLA alleles in noncoeliac enteropathies is still unknown. Aims To describe the HLA genetic profile of patients affected by noncoeliac enteropathies who have been evaluated at our centres between 2000 and 2021, and to investigate the diagnostic role of HLA typing. Methods Genomic DNA was collected from 44 Italian and 19 British adult patients with noncoeliac enteropathies. Patient genotypes were compared with those of healthy Italian and British populations obtained from HLA bone marrow donors' banks. In addition, genotypes were also compared with those of patients with coeliac disease and complicated coeliac disease. Results Both in the Italian and in the British group, the DQA1*0102 DQB1*0602 haplotype and related alleles occurred significantly more frequently in patients with noncoeliac enteropathies compared to coeliac disease and complicated coeliac disease. Conclusions Together with negative HLA-DQ2 and DQ8 haplotypes, the DQA1*0102 DQB1*0602 haplotype can be used to guide the differential diagnosis between coeliac disease and noncoeliac enteropathies.


The proposed EU company law package, which was published in April 2018 by the European Commission, seeks to encourage cross-border company mobility while at the same time protecting stakeholder interests. The ETUI's GOODCORP network of company law experts has identified three areas where the package needs to be revised in the interests of protecting workers' rights and discouraging corporate abuse and makes thirteen specific recommendations for amendment. These areas include: improving worker involvement rights; strengthening procedures for discouraging abusive behaviour such as tax evasion; and reducing the potential for fraud through online company foundations.


Rydberg atoms and superconducting cavities are remarkable tools for the exploration of basic quantum phenomena and quantum information processing. These giant atoms are blessed with unique properties. They undergo a strong distance-Dependent dipole-Dipole interaction that gives rise to the dipole blockade mechanism: in the Van der Waals regime, this energy shift scales as n11, where n is the principal quantum number. If we shine an excitation laser tuned at the frequency of the isolated atomic transition on an atomic cloud, we expect to excite at most one atom within a blockade volume of ⇠ 8(μm)3. We have set up an experiment to prepare deterministically one Rydberg atom. It uses a small cloud of ground-State Rubidium 87 atoms, magnetically trapped on a superconducting atom chip at 4 K, and laser-Excited to the Rydberg states. The dipole blockade effect is sensitive to the line broadening due to the stray electric fields. Once an atom has been excited to our target state HH 60S1/2↵, we explore the narrow millimeter-Wave transitions between Rydberg states in order to assess these stray fields . With a gold-Coated front surface for the chip, we observe as other groups large field gradients due to slowly deposited Rubidium atoms. We circumvent this problem by coating the chip with a metallic Rubidium layer. This way the gradients are reduced by an order of magnitude. This improvement allows us to observe extremely high coherence times, in the millisecond range, for Rydberg atoms near a superconducting atom-Chip. Theoretically, we present a simple scheme for the fast and efficient generation of quantum superpositions of two coherent fields with different classical amplitudes in a cavity. It relies on the simultaneous interaction of two two-Level atoms with the field. Their final detection with a high probability in the proper state projects the field onto the desired mesoscopic field state superposition (MFSS). We show that the scheme is notably more efficient than those using a single atom. This work is done in the context of cavity QED, where the two-Level systems are circular Rydberg atoms whose lifetime may reach milliseconds, interacting with the field of a superconducting microwave cavity. But this scheme is also highly relevant for the thriving field of circuit-QED. In both contexts, it may lead to interesting experimental studies of decoherence at the quantum-Classical boundary.


Introduction Evaluating design students requires inherently different methods than existing models available in other disciplines; as such incoming students are required to adjust. The primary difference between design education and education in other disciplines is that design is not often achieved with a single correct solution (Roberts, 2006). The purpose of design studios is to aid students in exploring creative solutions, as opposed to finding the single correct answer. This type of process-based teaching often creates confusion for beginning design students who may not be exposed to this method at the secondary education level. Research suggests that a beginning design student's confusion associated with process-based critiques causes learning difficulties (Roberts, 2006). Beginning design students enter studios, are told by their instructors that in design studios there is not a single correct solution, there may be several solutions to fulfill design requirements—what matters is the process. After all, designing is more than an activity—if it were not instruction would be enough (Uluoglu, 2000). But instruction is not enough. As any student knows, in nearly every level of education, instruction and evaluation go hand-in-hand. Even the most elementary educational models require evaluation techniques as an indication of learning. So in design studios, critiques must be tailored to indicate the student's process-based learning. Not only are beginning design students asked to think creatively and intuitively throughout the design process, they are also evaluated with methods that are, in many cases, foreign. To further complicate the matter, for beginning design instructors, the evaluation techniques that most accurately reflect students' learning, like the design process, is not subject to a single correct method. While several recent studies have indicated the pros and cons of traditional design juries generally, few have analyzed design students' perception of the effectiveness of alternative or supplementary critique approaches available to design instructors. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate commonly used design critique methods based on student's perception, with particular attention paid to students' perception of the design jury as means of evaluation.


The widespread and endemic circulation of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) cause persistent financial losses to the swine industry worldwide. In 2017, NADC34-like PRRSV-2 emerged in northeastern China and spread rapidly. The dynamics analysis of immune perturbations associated with novel PRRSV lineage is still incomplete. This study performed a time-course transcriptome sequencing of NADC34-like PRRSV strain YC-2020-infected porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) and compared them with JXA1-infected PAMs. The results illustrated dramatic changes in the host's differentially expressed genes (DEGs) presented at different timepoints after PRRSV infection, and the expression profile of YC-2020 group is distinct from that of JXA1 group. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the expression of many inflammatory cytokines was up-regulated following YC-2020 infection but at a significantly lower magnitude than JXA1 group, in line with the trends for most interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) and their regulators. Meanwhile, numerous components of histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and phagosome presented a stronger transcription suppression after the YC-2020 infection. All results imply that YC-2020 may induce milder inflammatory responses, weaker antiviral processes, and more severe disturbance of antigen processing and presentation compared with HP-PRRSV. Additionally, LAPTM4A, GLMP, and LITAF, which were selected from weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), could significantly inhibit PRRSV proliferation. This study provides fundamental data for understanding the biological characteristics of NADC34-like PRRSV and new insights into PRRSV evolution and prevention.


Background: A fifth of the global population is made up of adolescents. Sexual reproductive health needs for young people is largely ignored by existing health, education and other social programs. In Rwanda, there is still an increase in teen pregnancies, HIV/ STIs as well as reports on the lack of access to accurate SRH information. The study aimed to explore the perceptions and barriers toward sexual reproductive health services accessibility, availability and quality among adolescents in the second cities of Rwanda.Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in six selected cities of Rwanda. In-depth interviews were conducted using semi-structured questionnaires among 121 adolescents aged 10-19 years old living in six selected cities.Results : Majority of the participants were female 62.8% and aged between 15-17 years old 32.8%. Females adolescents were more aware, and adolescents with primary school level 62.5% were not aware about SRH services provision at health facilities. Adolescents were mostly aware about the availability of HIV testing and circumcision services at 102 ( 86.4%). Results indicate that utilization of SRH services remains low (34.7%) among adolescents. A recent utilization of a particular service was linked to a use in the past: "I am aware of my HIV status because I was tested when I was going to receive a transfusion at a hospital" (Female participant, Rwamagana). Family, socio-cultural, religious influences and lack of privacy, high costs for the services, unavailability of some services at private facilities as well as lack of comfortable separated rooms, were the barriers reported by adolescents that prevented them from utilising SRH services.Conclusion : Accessibility to SRH services for adolescents remains low and SRH services provision doesn't offer confidentiality to adolescents who seek services at health facilities. Family influences, socio-cultural stigma and religious barriers remain a burden to adolescents' SRH services utilization. Increasing community outreach and adolescent's engagement is needed to enable access to accurate SRH information. Multidisciplinary stakeholders should collaborate and cooperate to address the stigma associated with access to SRH services for adolescents.


East Calcutta Wetlands (ECW), lying east of the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), West Bengal in India, demonstrates the usage of city sewage for traditional practices of fisheries and agriculture. As a Ramsar Site, the wetland demands exploration of its bioresources for better understanding and management of the ecosystem operating therein. Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) being potent pollinators and ecological indicators, are examined in the present study. The diversity study, conducted for two consecutive years (Jan. 2007-Nov. 2009) in all the three seasons (pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon), revealed seventy-four species. As butterflies depend on preferred host and nectar plants during their larval and adult stages respectively, the lack of these sources in some parts of ECW indicate degraded habitats with low species richness. Ongoing unplanned anthropogenic activities like habitat modifications (conversion of wetlands to agricultural lands) are resulting in the loss of wetland biodiversity and hence ecosystem integrity in ECW.


Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the most efficacious and widely used cytotoxic anticancer drugs used for the treatment of numerous types of cancer. However, its efficacy is limited as a result of acquired drug resistance. AKT overexpression may provide a potential mechanism leading to the resistance of human gastric cancer cells; however, the precise mechanism of the development of CDDP drug resistance remains uncertain. In the present study, we demonstrate that CDDP resistance is associated with AKT overexpression at the cellular and molecular level. We also observed that increased expression levels of AKT were sufficient to inhibit the resistance of gastric cancer cells to CDDP and that overexpressed AKT interacted with reactive oxygen species which were generated by CDDP. These results indicate that AKT activity is essential for the regulation of CDDP resistance in gastric cancer cells. Our results further demonstrate that AKT induces gastric cancer cells to become resistant to CDDP through the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway. Taken together, these data support a potential role for AKT overexpression and the JAK2/STAT3 pathway in the development of CDDP drug resistance in human gastric cancer cells. We hypothesize that AKT may represent a future pharmacological target for the inhibition of CDDP resistance in human cancer.


This paper describes the construction of the Brazilian Health Information Policy. The Introduction gives an overview of the health informatics scenario in the country and the motivation for the definition of a national policy for the area. The process adopted and the strategies to reach consensus among the different players of the healthcare arena are discussed. The interface with the national health card project and the standards already established are also depicted. The current document and the strategies so far proposed are presented with their respective time table and goals. At the end, a comparison with other national initiatives is drawn.


A new series of hPPARα agonists containing a 2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (triazolone) core is described leading to the discovery of 5 (LY518674), a highly potent and selective PPARα agonist.


Mature osteoclasts have an increased citric acid cycle and mitochondrial respiration to generate high ATP production and ultimately lead to bone resorption. However, changes in metabolic pathways during osteoclast differentiation have not been fully illustrated. We report that glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation characterized by glucose and oxygen consumption as well as lactate production were increased during receptor activator of nuclear factor-ĸB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis from RAW264.7 and bone marrow-derived macrophage cells. Cell proliferation and differentiation varied according to glucose concentrations (0 to 100 mM). Maximal cell growth occurred at 20 mM glucose concentration and differentiation occurred at 5 mM concentration. Despite the similar growth rates exhibited when cultured cells were exposed to either 5 mM or 40 mM glucose, their differentiation was markedly decreased in high glucose concentrations. This finding suggests the possibility that osteoclastogenesis could be regulated by changes in metabolic substrate concentrations. To further address the effect of metabolic shift on osteoclastogenesis, we exposed cultured cells to pyruvate, which is capable of promoting mitochondrial respiration. Treatment of pyruvate synergistically increased osteoclastogenesis through the activation of RANKL-stimulated signals (ERK and JNK). We also found that osteoclastogenesis was retarded by blocking ATP production with either the inhibitors of mitochondrial complexes, such as rotenone and antimycin A, or the inhibitor of ATP synthase, oligomycin. Taken together, these results indicate that glucose metabolism during osteoclast differentiation is accelerated and that a metabolic shift towards mitochondrial respiration allows high ATP production and induces enhanced osteoclast differentiation.


Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major clinical obstacle in the successful treatment of patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Results from previous studies suggest that microRNAs (miRNA) may be involved in promoting MDR in multiple cancer types. However, the role of miR‑125b in modulating the MDR of NPC is elusive. In the present study, miR‑125b expression in cisplatin (DDP) ‑resistant CNE2 cells (CNE2/DDP) was compared with parental counterparts, using reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. A >3‑fold reduction in miR‑125b expression levels was observed in CNE2/DDP cells compared with parental CNE2 cells. Ectopic expression of miR‑125b by transfecting CNE2/DDP cells with miR-125b mimics, increased DDP‑induced cytotoxicity, apoptosis and chemosensitivity. By contrast, suppression of miR-125b by transfecting CNE2 cells with miR‑125b inhibitors, reduced DDP‑induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis, and facilitated cisplatin resistance. The results suggest that miR‑125b may regulate the sensitivity of NPC cells to DDP by modulating the expression levels of antiapoptotic factor B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2. Collectively, the results of the present study highlight miR‑125b as a potential therapeutic target for reversing MDR in NPC.


Abstract 3CLpro is the main protease of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for their intracellular duplication. Based on virtual screening technology and molecular dynamics simulation, we found 23 approved clinical drugs such as Viomycin, Capastat, Carfilzomib and Saquinavir, which showed high affinity with the 3CLpro active sites. These findings showed that there were potential drugs that inhibit SARS-Cov-2's 3CLpro in the current clinical drug library, and these drugs can be further tested or chemically modified for the treatment of COVID-19. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma


Advances in molecular biology now permit complex biological systems to be tracked at an exquisite level of detail. The information flow is so great, however, that using intuition alone to draw connections is unrealistic. Thus, the need to integrate mathematical biology with experimental biology is greater than ever. To achieve this integration, obstacles that have traditionally prevented effective communication between theoreticians and experimentalists must be overcome, so that experimentalists learn the language of mathematics and dynamical modeling and theorists learn the language of biology. Fifty years ago Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley published their quantitative model of the nerve action potential; in the same year, Alan Turing published his work on pattern formation in activator‐inhibitor systems. These classic studies illustrate two ends of the spectrum in mathematical biology: the detailed model approach and the minimal model approach. When combined, they are highly synergistic in analyzing the mechanisms underlying the behavior of complex biological systems. Their effective integration will be essential for unraveling the physical basis of the mysteries of life.—Weiss, J. N., Qu, Z., Garfinkel, A. Understanding biological complexity: lessons from the past. FASEB J. 17, 1–6 (2003)


Fibrillar collagens in connective tissues are organized into complex and diverse hierarchical networks. In dermis, bone, and tendon, one common phenomenon at the micrometer scale is the organization of fibrils into bundles. Previously, we have reported that collagen fibrils in these tissues exhibit a 10 nm width distribution of D-spacing values. This study expands the observation to a higher hierarchical level by examining fibril D-spacing distribution in relation to the bundle organization. We used atomic force microscopy imaging and two-dimensional fast Fourier transform analysis to investigate dermis, tendon, and bone tissues. We found that, in each tissue type, collagen fibril D-spacings within a single bundle were nearly identical and frequently differ by less than 1 nm. The full 10 nm range in D-spacing values arises from different values found in different bundles. The similarity in D-spacing was observed to persist for up to 40 μm in bundle length and width. A nested mixed model analysis of variance examining 107 bundles and 1710 fibrils from dermis, tendon, and bone indicated that fibril D-spacing differences arise primarily at the bundle level (∼76%), independent of species or tissue types.


The Long-term Care Insurance programs Korea were implemented in July 2008 and Japan in April 2000. Though the Korean LTCI has been influenced by the Japanese LTCI, they have dissimilar as well as similar features. The most noticeable difference between the Korean LTCI and the Japanese LTCI is that the former does not have care managers who can perform case management for care users unlike the latter. The Japanese LTCI care managers, however, are hired by care providers. Therefore, care managers may not work for care users' best interests when the interests of care providers conflict with the interests of care users. Poor working conditions such as low benefits and wages, job instability, and heavy workload have led to quality problems in both programs. Thus, measures to improve working conditions of care workers need to be implemented.


Thirty-two nutritionally anestrous cows were used to determine the effect of the frequency of exogenous GnRH pulses on ovarian follicular growth, serum concentrations of LH and FSH, and concentrations of LH, FSH, GnRH receptors (GnRH-R), messenger RNA (mRNA) for GnRH-R, and mRNA for gonadotropin subunits in the pituitary. Cows were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: 2 micrograms GnRH infused (i.v.) continuously during 1 h, 2 micrograms GnRH infused during 5 min once every hour, 2 micrograms GnRH infused during 5 min once every fourth hour, or saline (control) for 13 days. Infusion of GnRH every hour increased LH concentrations in serum (P < 0.05), but FSH concentrations were not affected by GnRH infusion. Luteal activity (LA) was assessed by the presence of corpora lutea and/or serum progesterone greater than 1 ng/ml. Six of eight cows infused with GnRH every hour had LA by day 13, whereas only 25% of cows infused either continuously or with a pulse every fourth hour had LA by day 13. None of the control cows had LA during the experiment (P < 0.01). Concentrations of LH and FSH in the pituitary were significantly reduced when GnRH was infused hourly or continuously. Concentrations of common alpha and FSH beta mRNA were not influenced by treatment. However, continuous infusion of GnRH decreased (P < 0.05) LH beta mRNA subunit. Concentrations of GnRH-R (P < 0.1) and GnRH-R mRNA (P < 0.05) were reduced when GnRH was infused continuously. We concluded that pulsatile secretion of LH is necessary for follicular growth and LA in beef cattle, and GnRH treatment differentially regulates LH and FSH gene transcription and serum concentrations of LH and FSH in cattle.


A perylenedimiide (PDI) derivative functionalized at the perylene core (bay region) to carry phenyl boronic acid groups was shown to interact with fluoride with changes in the emission and absorption spectrum. These changes are most likely due to fluoride-induced aggregation and/or quenching of the perylenediimide dye. The dye is also selective; among halide ions, fluoride anions generate a significant response. Thus, this class of PDI derivatives is likely to be useful in practical fluoride sensing.


Since the malignant potential of solitary pulmonary nodules was first emphasized, 1-3 a number of papers have inferred the same dismal prognosis for bronchogenic carcinoma presenting as a solitary nodule as for bronchogenic carcinoma in general. 4-7 Thereby the value of roentgen survey in the early detection of pulmonary carcinoma has been questioned as well. Recently survival rates much better than those usually attributed to bronchogenic carcinoma 8-15 have been recorded 16-26 for the malignant solitary nodule. During the period of January, 1952, to January, 1957, a total of 46 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma manifested as a solitary pulmonary nodule were treated by us. The results of the experience with this small group of patients emphasizes several facets in the management of this form of carcinoma. In this group of patients there was the usual sex ratio and age distribution. There were 38 males and 8 females ranging in age


LED is expected as an environmentally friendly next generation light source with its good reliability and long lifetime. The light sources for illumination have a variety of applications in the indoor and outdoor, and the variation of optical power and color rendering of the light source limits their applications. Therefore, it is necessary to research the LED lamp and its luminaire to minimize the variation of dynamic characteristics and to improve the color rendering due to that illuminating environment. Daylight is very good light source to human and can be used as primary or a secondary light source with benefits of energy, productivity and health.This paper presents the design method of LED lighting system to improve poor property in terms of CR(color redering) characteristic to use daylight effectively.


Abstract:This essay details the efforts of William Henry Trescot, "executive agent" for South Carolina, to secure pardons for the state's lowcountry elite class after the Civil War. As state executive agent, Trescot held job responsibilities extending well beyond inducing Andrew Johnson's administration to issue individual pardons. Trescot also used those pardons to facilitate the restoration of land the federal government had seized from lowcountry planters during the war. The seizures were primarily rooted in the land's legal classification as Captured and Abandoned Property. At the time of the war's conclusion, this land was in the hands of Freedmen's Bureau, and it provided the foundation for the tentative plans for land redistribution in the former Confederacy. Trescot's maneuvering in the Johnson White House and with Freedmen's Bureau officials throughout 1865 and 1866 was a primary reason for the failure of Reconstruction-era land redistribution in the United States.


Objective: Recent studies suggested that the prevalence of primary aldosteronism (PA) in hypertensive population may be as high as 5–15%, using the aldosterone-renin-ratio (ARR) as a screening test. In a separate study, Ito et al systemically screened adult subjects who agreed to a general health screening of PA and found that 18.5% of the subjects had an ARR>20, suggesting "probable PA". The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of raised ARR in Malaysia. Design and Method: This was a cross sectional study using the World Health Survey Kish tables to select eligible subjects (≥18 years old) from each household. Their social demography, past medical history, anthropometric measurement and blood pressure were recorded. Blood was withdrawn for Aldosterone, Renin, Creatinine and potassium. Raised ARR is defined as ARR≥20. Hypertension is defined as blood pressure consistently ≥140/90 mmHg and/or when anti-hypertensive drugs were initiated. Data was analysed using SPSS 23, using Pearson's Test with significant value of 0.05. Results: A total of 1349 subjects (age 51 ± 16.1) were recruited. 549 (40.7%) were hypertensive, and 800 (59.3%) were non-hypertensive. 368 (67%) were known hypertensive while 181 (33%) were newly diagnosed hypertension. From the known hypertensive, 309 (84%) were on treatment while 59 (16%) were not on treatment. There were a total of 175 (13%) subjects with raised ARR, 92 (52.6%) were hypertensive while 83 (47.4%) were normotensive. Only 9 (5.1%) subjects had hypokalaemia. The main clinical characteristics of subjects with raised ARR are shown in Table 1. Subjects with raised ARR were significantly older, have hypertension with higher systolic blood pressure and have suppressed renin. Conclusions: The prevalence of raised ARR in Malaysia was 13% with minority of them were hypokalaemic. This is in concordance with previous report. These individuals were older, with higher systolic blood pressure and have suppressed renin.


Concerning the characterisation or classification of municipalities a wide range of different approaches exists. Usually some historical, functional, and/or political indicators are used for such a classification. These indicators are usually structured simple, referring to inhabitant size, political importance, configuration of available infrastructure like hospitals and schools, places of work, or the like. However, an application field, where a quite specific, meaningful, and comprehensible classification for each municipality is of fundamental interest, is the local financial adjustment between communities on the same hierarchical administrative level. Which municipality delivers gladly more money than it is forced to do by law, or which community renounces voluntarily external support? Therefore, well elaborated indicators are needed to define the amount of money which has to be transferred, generally spoken, from rich communities to the poorer ones. However, it is obvious that a pure redistribution of revenues between financially strong and financially weak communities, which would lead in principle to a more or less equal financial configuration of the communities, is not sufficient for a fair system of financial adjustment. Such a redistribution system would not consider the different financial loads of the budgets of different types of communes. These varying financial loads for varying types of commues can be characterised by the following two concepts: 'costs of width' and 'costs of density'. The 'costs of width' are explained mainly by geographical reasons for peripheral and/or mountainous communities with low population density, which implies specific financial load for the particular community. By contrast, 'costs of density' are explained by disproportional high socio-demographic burdens and high costs of infrastructure in central and urban communities. Meaningful indicators for such a financially oriented classification of municipalities need detailed investigations, to be silent completely of that these indicators also need political acceptance, in the end. This paper presents a study carried out for the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, which made part of the cantonal revision of the system of inter-communal financial adjustment. The aim was to provide means for a cantonal regulation on how the financial adjustment between the communities should be regulated. Therefore, socio-demographic and geographic indicators have been evaluated in order to find rules to reflect the financial load of the municipal budgets. The heuristically driven statistical modelling has been carried out using multiple regression. Besides the presentation of the technical approach, this paper discusses the analysed indicators in the perspective of regional policy and territorial justice.


The aim of the present study was to use a model of simulated human childbirth in rats to determine the damage to genitourinary structures and behavioral signs of urinary dysfunction induced by vaginal distension (VD) in female rats. In experiment 1, the length of the genitourinary tract and the nerves associated with it were measured immediately after simulated human delivery induced by VD or sham (SH) procedures. Electroneurograms of the dorsal nerve of the clitoris (DNC) were also recorded. In experiment 2, histological characteristics of the bladder and major pelvic ganglion of VD and SH rats were evaluated. In experiment 3, urinary parameters were determined in conscious animals during 6 h of dark and 6 h of light before and 3 days after VD or SH procedures. VD significantly increased distal vagina width (P < 0.001) and the length of the motor branch of the sacral plexus (P < 0.05), DNC (P < 0.05), and vesical nerves (P < 0.01) and decreased DNC frequency and amplitude of firing. VD occluded the pelvic urethra, inducing urinary retention, hematomas in the bladder, and thinness of the epithelial (P < 0.05) and detrusor (P < 0.01) layers of the bladder. Major pelvic ganglion parameters were not modified after VD. Rats dripped urine in unusual places to void, without the stereotyped behavior of micturition after VD. The neuroanatomic injuries after VD occur alongside behavioral signs of urinary incontinence as determined by a new behavioral tool for assessing micturition in conscious animals.


Mandibular asymmetries called the longitudinal differences of right and left sides of the jaw with respect to midline, in three spatial planes. Objective: To determine the frequency of mandibular asymmetries in the three planes of space by Cone Beam Volumetric Tomographic Scanner (TCCB). Methods: We analized 40 records by Cone beam scans (New Tom 3G Cone beam Volumetric Tomographic Scanner) by simple random sampling of patients between 18 and 70 years obtained since 2011 to 2013 and taken with a large window that would display the complete mandibular bone. Axial slices were obtained from the lingula in cranio-caudal direction every 5 mm until the gonial angle. Results: 2.5% of the records showed moderate differences in the length of the mandibular body predominantly right. In amplitude was found the left branch predominantly. In the length of the ramus, 10% had moderate predominance of the right side. Conclusions: 1) Frequently asymmetries are at the thickness of the mandibular branches. 2) The degrees of Moderate to High differences occur more frequently at the thickness of the mandibular branches. 3) It is not possible to determinate proportionally the thickness of the mandibular branches only obtaining a 2D image.


Both IEEE 802.15.4 and 802.15.4a standards allow for dynamic channel allocation and use of multiple channels available at their physical layers but its MAC protocols are designed only for single channel. Also, sensor's transceivers such as CC2420 provide multiple channels and as shown in [1], [2] and [3] channel switch latency of CC2420 transceiver is just about 200µs. In order to enhance both energy efficiency and to shorten end to end delay, we propose, in this report, a spectrum-efficient frequency allocation schemes that are able to statically assign control channels and dynamically reuse data channels for Personal Area Networks (PANs) inside a Large-Scale WSN based on UWB technology.


Xylanases are hydrolases which depolymerize the xylan components present in plants cell wall. Commercial applications for these enzymes include its use in the pulp bleaching, food and animal feed industries, among others. Recently, there is a great interest on the exploitation of agro-industrial wastes as low-cost raw materials for value-added compounds production, as xylanolytic enzymes for industrial applications. This is the first report about the xylanase production using pineapple peel as substrate. The xylanase production by Trichoderma viride was optimized and the enzymes produced were biochemically characterized. Additionally, the effect of these enzymes on pulp biobleaching process was evaluated. High xylanase production was obtained with pineapple peel at 2% concentration, for seven days, in stationary cultivation at 28°C, in pH 7.5. Xylanases were more active at 50°C, pH 6.0-6.5 remaining stable at pH 5.0-5.5. T. viride xylanase was stable at 40°C, showing the half-life (T 1/2 ) value of 255 min. The enzyme was remarkably stimulated by Mg 2+ and Zn 2+ , while Pb 3+ and Hg 2+ were strong inhibitors of the xylanase activity. This work shows the ability of the filamentous fungus T. viride to produce high levels of xylanases using pineapple peel as substrate, an inexpensive and abundant agro-industrial waste. Therefore, the reduction on kappa number achieved in this investigation revealed the application potential of these enzymes in biobleaching process. Keywords: Agro-industrial wastes, filamentous fungi, submerged fermentation, pulp pretreatment, xylanolytic enzymes African Journal of Biotechnology, Vol 13(22)  2248-2259


Rates of venous thromboembolism have increased in the adolescent population over the last two decades, likely due to advanced diagnostics, increased use of central venous catheters, chronic medical conditions, obesity, and oral contraceptive use. Of these factors, a modifiable risk factor for adolescents is obesity. Sedentary lifestyle and prolonged immobilization are additional prothrombotic risk factors that are often associated with obesity. With ever‐increasing screen time, sedentary behavior has risen accordingly, especially among gamers. We present four cases of adolescents who developed life‐threatening venous thromboembolic events in the setting of obesity, sedentary lifestyle and/or immobilization, and prolonged video game use.


Damage after X-irradiation includes lateral villous collapse, progressing after 3 - 5 days to villi which sometimes show signs of vertical collapse. After neutron irradiation vertical villous collapse is established earlier, with less swelling of villous tips. It seems, therefore, that at radiobiologically equivalent doses, neutron and X-irradiation produce different levels of surface damage, with neutron irradiation being the more destructive. Early villous tip damage may perhaps be due to disruption of susceptible cells already at the extrusion zone, or to stromal damage.


This short presentation was a contribution to artist, dancer and scholar Susan Sentler's workshop entitled 'Expanding the Image,' a concept she enlarged upon through a series of practical, exploratory looking/sensing/drawing/folding exercises and a discussion of her own work. The aim of my contribution to the workshop was to encourage students to explore the intellectual benefits of attending to Sentler's work and ideas 'pre-critically' in the first instance - to expand their engagement with the work in this way - instead of moving directly on to a more conventional post-presentation question and answer slot.

Thus my short intervention made a case for the importance of precritical, descriptive research methods in contexts of first encounter (or indeed fresh encounter). At issue here, in the words of the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty, is to value what might feel like a counter-productively ambiguous and insecure procedure in which we purposefully lay our immediate tendencies to seek clarification or explanation to one side and to enter into a deeper layer of exploration in which, inevitably, it will be unclear where such exploration might lead. The philosophical (or phenomenological) basis for such an approach - to provide just one example - as Merleau-Ponty put it in The Visible and the Invisible, was his understanding that "the words most charged with philosophy are not necessarily those that contain what they say, but rather those that most energetically open upon Being, because they more closely convey the life of the whole and make our habitual evidences vibrate until they disjoin." I then presented a series of descriptive strategies for engaging with Sentler's work which we put into practice.


This paper deals with a numerical study of the transient effect of tendon disconnection on global performance of ETLP for harsh environmental condition in GoM (Gulf of Mexico). Twelve tendons support the platform with twelve production TTRs and one drilling riser attached by hydro-pneumatic tensioner. Charm3D, a program for global motion analysis of multiple floating hulls coupled with risers/mooring lines, is made to be capable of modeling the tendon disconnection at both top and bottom connection. The study includes the break due to high tension at the top and the unlatch due to negative tension at the bottom. A sudden disconnection of one or more tendons causes the unbalance of force and moment of the total system, only to cause the transient motion and tension as well as the mean offset. The breakage and the unlatch also make the different effects. The transient responses and the mean offsets are compared and discussed in the viewpoint of the safety of the system.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


The contributions of a polar solvent in thermodynamic equilibrium to the solvation free energy of a dipole and of an ion are estimated analytically as functions of distance within the framework of the mean-spherical approximation theory and compared to the analogous results derived from simple electrostatical arguments. For equal-sized solute and solvent molecules, accumulating 90% of the total energy in media of moderate polarity involves and solvent shells for dipole and ion solvation, respectively. For solvents characterized by high values of only upper bounds for the energy relevant to the solvent range can be stated. Relative to the continuum picture, the MSA calculation predicts an increase of the coupling range by , without a significant dependence on the dielectric constant .


Purpose: 3D image registration is a key component in image‐guided adaptive radiotherapy. It is imperative that the accuracy of a registration method is assured prior to clinical implementation. However, registration validation is scarcely covered in the literature. In this work, we validated and compared seven registration methods for CT/MRI and MRI/MRI fusion in adaptive radiotherapytreatment planning of head‐and‐neck tumors.Method and Materials: A planning CTimage and an MRIimage were acquired before the treatment and seven weekly MRIs acquired during an IMRT head‐and neck cancer treatment. Seven methods including intensity‐based, surface‐based, landmark‐based, manual, and non‐rigid registrations were applied to align 2 pairs of CT/MRI, and 8 pairs of MRI/MRI datasets. For each registration, eight anatomic landmarks were identified in each image. The distance between the transformed landmark position and the manually determined position was calculated. The registration accuracy was estimated by the mean distance. Results: The mean distances between CT/MRI and MRI/MRI landmarks were approximately 2.0 mm. For CT/MRI registration, intensity‐based registration plus manual adjustment performed the best with the smallest registration error of 1.2 mm. Non‐rigid and manual methods both had small errors of 1.5 mm. Surface‐based and landmark‐based methods had larger errors of 3.3 mm and 2.4 mm, respectively. For MRI/MRI registration, non‐rigid methods had the smallest registration error of 1.3 mm. Similarly, surface‐based and landmark‐based methods had larger errors of 2.8 mm and 2.9 mm, respectively. Non‐rigid method and landmark‐based methods had the greatest registration error variances. Conclusion: We qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated seven methods on CT‐MRI and MRI‐MRI registration for head‐and‐neck patient. Careful and quantitative evaluation of the registration accuracy is important for the identification of the optimized registration method, the application of multimodality imaging in treatment planning, and the daily image guidance in treatment delivery.


On the eve of his fortieth birthday, scientist Gary Marcus decided to fulfil a lifelong dream and learn to play the guitar, investigating how humans 'make' music and how anyone of any age might master a new skill. In a quest that takes him from Suzuki classes to guitar gods, Marcus discovers the best ways to train your brain and your body. He also brings insight into the question, What counts as a life well lived? A groundbreaking look at the origins and allure of music, Marcus's journey is also an empowering tale of the mind's plasticity and its ability to grow throughout life.


Blood stored in a blood bank undergoes a series of chemical changes and storage lesions. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of ozone on the rheological and electrical properties of stored human blood. Venous blood samples, obtained from three healthy humans, were treated with different concentrations of ozone (30, 50, 70 and 80 µg/mL) for three weeks in vitro. Ozone was generated from portable medical-grade oxygen using electrical corona arc discharge. The ultraviolet-visible absorption of hemoglobin in the wavelength of 300-700 nm showed that ozone in this range did not interact with iron ions and it was not toxic below the concentration of 80 µg/mL. The changes of blood viscosity were also measured. The electrical conductivity and permittivity, in the frequency range from 5 to 50 MHz, were measured in the control and treated samples subjected to different concentrations of ozone at different stored periods. The results showed that the conductivity and permittivity measurements may serve as a useful indicator in the quality assessment of blood samples stored in the blood bank.


Background Traditionally, testing for syphilis has consisted of initial screening with a non-treponemal test, then retesting reactive specimens with a treponemal test. Recent availability of a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay for detecting antibodies against Treponema pallidum has led several laboratories in China to adopt chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay for screening of syphilis, with subsequent testing of reactive serum samples with non-treponemal tests. We evaluated the utility of chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay for routine screening of syphilis. Methods Antibodies against Treponema pallidum were screened in 20,550 serum samples using chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay-positive samples were reflexively tested with rapid plasma reagin tests and Treponema pallidum particle agglutination assays. Dot-immunoblot assays were used to confirm results of chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay-positive and Treponema pallidum particle agglutination-negative serum samples. Results Overall, 267 samples (1.3%) were chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay-positive, and 185 (69.3%) of those chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay-positive serum samples were also Treponema pallidum particle agglutination-positive. Samples' signal to cut-off ratio for chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay correlated with diagnostic reliability, as greater samples' signal to cut-off ratio corresponded with greater concordance between chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay and Treponema pallidum particle agglutination results. Dot-immunoblot testing of 82 chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay-positive and Treponema pallidum particle agglutination-negative serum samples showed that 16 samples (19.5%) were Dot-immunoblot-positive, 28 (34.2%) were indeterminate and 38 (46.3%) were negative. Conclusions Because there is a certain percentage of false-positive results using chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay for routine screening of syphilis, further analysis by Treponema pallidum particle agglutination is recommended to confirm diagnostic results. While in screening populations discrepancies between chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay and Treponema pallidum particle agglutination results are quite prevalent, confirmation by immunoblot assay may be useful.