Bagong is Punakawan figure. Bagong is one of the local wisdom that comes from Indonesia. Bagong have various characteristics sublime. The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of Bagong. Characteristics of Bagong can be referred to a counselor to develop the characteristics of an effective counselor. The identification results show the characteristics of an effective counselor based Bagong figure are (1) genuine; (2) has a sense of humor; (3) the wise in responding to the phenomenon; (4) simple and patient in serving the counselee; (5) honesty; (6) have the view that every individual has a deficiency; (7) has the ability to see a difference value; and (8) gives the freedom to counselee for decision making.


Background: Despite their high incidence, costs, and long lasting disability, whiplash associated disorders (WAD) lack an identifiable objective pathology that explains their acute or chronic symptoms. Objective: In view of previous suggestions of a possible effect of neck torsion on several electro-oculography (EOG) parameters, the main objective of this study was to examine their applicability in differentiating patients from uninvolved subjects. Methods: Smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements were assessed in 26 patients with chronic WAD and 23 healthy subjects. All tests were executed in three neck positions: neutral and rotations to left and right. Results: Neck torsion did not influence eye movement performance of either the WAD or healthy groups. However, compared with the healthy group, patients with WAD had significantly lower smooth pursuit velocity gain (SPVG) (p  =  0.01) and prolonged saccadic latency (p  =  0.001), irrespective of neck position. Conclusions: Despite scattered differences that reached significance, the electro-oculographic measures used in this study do not seem to offer a clinically relevant method for differentiating between patients with WAD and normal subjects.


Nonconformity of arterial pressure (AP) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) to the normal distribution necessitates the use of nonparametric criteria. Cerebroprotective doses of adenosine and cyclohexyladenosine significantly decrease AP and reduce (or virtually do not change) CBF. In conditions of following occlusion of carotid arteries AP is lower and CBF is somewhat better or the same as in the control (ischemia). Changes in CBF can be only an additional contribution to the high cerebroprotective effect of the A-receptor agonists.


Abstract Previous research showed that nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) devoted nearly all of their short active period to feeding. However, it remained unclear to what extent individual differences or environmental conditions might influence time allocation patterns. We collected time budget data during two summers from a wild population of armadillos in western Mississippi, USA. We found few significant differences in time budgets due to individual identity (age, sex, female lactational status), time (time of day, day-to-day, and year-to-year effects), or the environment (various weather conditions). What differences did occur seemed largely tied to the onset of the breeding season and emergence of juveniles from their natal burrows. Our results indicate that, while active, armadillos exhibit relatively uniform time budgets, although the possibility remains that variation resides primarily not in what armadillos do while active but rather in the duration of the active period.


From the Publisher:
Now you can manage IT projects quickly, easily, on time, and on budget!
IT project management has developed into a complex process with a broader scope of responsibilities than ever before. Here is the newest and most comprehensive book to offer winning insights and strategies on how to manage every step of the process. Written by two of this country's leading experts on IT Project Management, this extensive yet easy-to-use volume will give you the tools you need to successfully navigate your next IT project.

You'll learn how to avoid cost overruns and schedule delays, meet customer requirements, take control of budgets and resource allocation, build a successful team, and put to use many more tried-and-true methods of project management. The handbook includes a completely up-to-date overview of the best Internet services, current software, and repositories available via the Internet along with networking, e-commerce, reuse, prototype, modeling and simulations.

It's all contained in this user-friendly handbook that will soon become the foundation for every IT project you manage ... or take part in. Based on real-world practical experience and case studies, the Handbook will give you the framework to manage, improve, and build greater accuracy into every phase of your IT project management.

Here are just some of the systems, methods, tools, case studies, and techniques covered:

IT Project Planning and Development Life Cycle Phases
Identifying Users, Customers, and Stakeholders
Customer Requirements Management
Project Modeling and Simulation
Customer Acceptance Criteria
Project Control and Recovery Mechanisms
Project Budgeting, Staffing, and Scheduling
Function Point and Earned Value Methods
The Gantt Chart, PERT Chart, and CPM
Risk Management - Assessment, Mitigation, Monitoring, and Reporting Plan
System Management Standard
Project Measurement Schema
Project management Tools - Microsoft Project, Kidasa Software's Fast
Track Schedule
Project Management Quality Control Mechanism
IT Networks and Internet Taxonomy
Wireless Technology, E-Commerce, and M-Commerce
System Software LifeCycle Model
System Integration Techniques
System Testing and Evaluation
Customer Satisfaction

About the Author

Jag Sodhi, MS, is a professor associated with the Defense Acquisition University. He has 32 years of combined experience as a well-known author, software developer, consultant, instructor, and project manager for defense products and commercial business applications. He has been a computer specialist and project manager and a member of DOD's advanced technology team. He specializes in the best commercial practices and COTS tools for systems development and maintenance. Mr. Sodhi evaluated the Integrated Computer Aided Software Engineering (I-CASE) pilot project and is a member of the team for the DII COE project. He was the project leader for migration of his systems to the Joint Technical Architecture standard.

Prince Sodhi is a senior management consultant for Proxicom Int'l Corp. He is an expert in project management, several programming languages, and in distributed computing applications in a multiple-tier, client-server environments. He is co-author of the books Software Reuse: Domain Analysis and Design Process (1999) and Object-Oriented Methods for Software Development (1996), McGraw-Hill. He has a bachelor's degree in computer/mathematics from the University of Minnesota.


Summary The treatment of bleeds in Glanzmann's thrombasthenia is a challenging issue, especially when repeated platelet transfusions have induced anti-glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa or anti-HLA allo-immunisation. In an attempt to find an alternative treatment regimen, we used recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa, NovoSeven®, Novo Nordisk, Denmark) as first-line therapy in 3 patients with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia and anti-GPIIb-IIIa iso-antibodies who were scheduled for invasive procedures. The administration of an initial bolus dose of rFVIIa (70–110 µg/kg) was immediately followed by continuous infusion at the rate of 9-30 µg/kg/h for 3–15 days. The treatment resulted in an excellent clinical efficacy and tolerance in 2 cases. In the third patient, whereas efficacy was excellent at the surgical site, pharyngonasal bleeds of traumatic origin persisted for 10 days, and a severe thromboembolic complication occurred 5 days after discontinuation of rFVIIa. Complementary studies are needed for patients with congenital platelet disorders in order to evaluate the safety and the potential therapeutic place of rFVIIa treatment.


The last 12 years have seen an unprecedented growth in the scale and scope of the voluntary sector. In the ten years from 1996/97 to 2006/07, its income almost doubled, from £17bn to just over £33bn.(1) Meanwhile, more than half – 58 per cent – of the 2,705 people interviewed in England for Helping Out: a National Survey of Volunteering and Charitable Giving – commissioned by the Cabinet Office's third sector division and conducted by the National Centre for Social Research and the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) – had both volunteered and donated to charity in the last 12 months, and 81% had given to a charity within the last four weeks.(2) As a general election approaches, all three political parties are at pains to stress the importance of the so-called 'voluntary sector' to civil society, and to the effective delivery of welfare services.


The last stage of a supination-external rotation ankle fracture involves either transverse fracture of the medial malleolus or rupture of the deltoid ligament. When the deltoid ligament ruptures, a "bimalleolar equivalent" ankle fracture occurs, and the surgeon is presented with several diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. In the native ankle, the deltoid ligament provides restraint to eversion and external rotation of the talus on the tibia. In bimalleolar equivalent ankle fractures, there is often gross medial instability even after fibular reduction. Retraction of the deltoid with subsequent healing in a nonanatomic position theoretically may cause instability, persistent medial gutter pain, and loss of function with risk of early arthritis. In mild cases, deltoid injury may not be obvious, and potential diagnostic techniques include preoperative and intraoperative stress radiography, MRI, and ultrasonography. The most common injury pattern is avulsion from the medial malleolus, and most current repair techniques involve direct repair of the capsular and deltoid injuries involving suture anchors in the medial malleolus and imbrication of the superficial and deep deltoid fibers. To date, there is limited evidence of superior clinical outcomes with the addition of deltoid repair compared with open reduction and internal fixation of the fibula alone.


Abstract. The degradation of buildings, or rather the decline of their initial performances following external agents both natural (cold-thaw, earthquake, salt, etc.) and artificial (industrial field, urban setting, etc.), in the years lead to the necessity of developing Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) intended to give useful information for an explanation of a potential deterioration without damaging the state of buildings. An accurate examination of damages, of the repeat of cracks in condition of similar stress, indicate the existence of principles that control the creation of these events. There is no doubt that a precise visual analysis is at the bottom of a correct evaluation of the building. This paper deals with the creation of 3D models based on the capture of digital images, through autopilot flight UAV, for civil buildings situated on the area of Reggio Calabria. The following elaboration is done thanks to the use of commercial software, based on specific algorithms of the Structure from Motion (SfM) technique. SfM represents an important progress in the aerial and terrestrial survey field obtaining results, in terms of time and quality, comparable to those achievable through more traditional data capture methodologies.


The objectives of the present paper is to clarify the effect of yield ratio of material used on structural performance and to consider the possiblity of making low-yield-ratio HT80-class steel. Mechanical analyses on deformations of typical structural elements have been conducted to determine the appropriate condition of yield ratio of materials. Based on the analysis of plastic deformation of dual-phased structure steel, consideration has been carried out of the making process of low yield ratio HT80 by using the same kind of steel as the conventional QT-HT80.The decrease of yield ratio is effective procedure for increasing deformability of structural element. In HT80 steel, controlled rolling and on line accelerated cooling process followed by quenching from α+ γ phases is a proper treatment for obtaining low-yield-ratio steel with dual-phased structure in which martensite structure includes a certain fraction of lower strength ferrite.


Twenty-five short term hCG stimulation tests were performed in seven prepubertal girls, aged 3-11 yr, who were being evaluated for short stature. Provocative testing revealed GH deficiency in all patients, but reevaluation of one girl at a later date showed normal somatotropin levels. The study protocol lasted 18 months and included testing before, during, and after 1 yr of GH therapy. Delta 4-Androstenedione, testosterone, estrone, and estradiol were determined 0, 24, 48, and 72 h after initiation of a two-injection course of CG. Significant responses (approximately 2-fold over baseline) to the stimulation tests occurred for all steroids except testosterone, though no augmented effects were found in the presence of human GH. The results indicate functional capability of the prepubertal ovary when exposed acutely to a LH-like material, but no role for somatotropin in gonadal steroid production in the prepubertal female.


INTRODUCTION
Disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism during pregnancy may result in harmful fetal and neonatal consequences.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the fetal and neonatal complications of pregnancy in mothers with gestational and pregestational diabetes during a 10-year period in a county hospital in Hungary.

METHODS
Retrospective analysis of infants of diabetic mothers admitted to the neonatal unit between 2001 and 2010.

RESULTS
32% of the infants were transferred to the neonatal unit. Neonatal macrosomia (birth weight >90 centile) was observed in one quarter of the infants. 39% of the infants developed hypoglycemia (blood glucose <2.6 mmol/l), in the majority of the cases within the first 8 hours. Hypoglycaemia was symptomatic in 55% of the infants. Hypocalcemia was observed in 17%, hyperviscosity in 23%, hyperbilirubinaemia in 32%, respiratory distress syndrome and/or transient tachypnoe in 22% and cardiac complications in 13% of the infants. 10% of the inafnts were affected with birth injuries. Congenital anomalies were seen in 17% of the cases, and severe malformations were present in 4% of the infants.

CONCLUSIONS
Despite modern diabetes management, there is still a higher incidence of fetal macrosomia, adverse neonatal outcomes and a higher rate of severe congenital malformations in neonates of diabetic mothers.


This session focuses on organic and inorganic thin-film devices. Several papers on oxide thin-film TFTs will be presented, along with memory and flexible imaging applications. The first paper, by Kim of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, describes high-mobility oxide TFTs using double active layers of IZO (or ITO) and GIZO. The second paper, by Kawamura of Hitachi Ltd., reports an oxide TFT operating at 1.5 V with a sub-threshold slope of 63 mV/decade. The third paper, by Yin of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, demonstrates the highest performing oxide TFT-based ring oscillator with propagation delay below 1 ns/stage. The fourth paper, by Lee of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, demonstrates the feasibility of a completely oxide based memory using GIZO TFTs in the peripheral circuit with 1D-1R cell structure RRAM. The fifth paper, by Hekmatshoar of the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials, report amorphous silicon thin-film transistors with long DC lifetime for AMOLED applications. The sixth paper, by Steudel of IMEC, demonstrates rectification at 869 MHz using organic diodes. The last paper of this session, by Kato of the Quantum-Phase Electronics Center at the University of Tokyo, presents a large-area ultrasonic imaging system utilizing a two-dimensional polymeric transducer array and a printed organic TFT array.


Increased natriuresis is a frequent situation after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). It may be responsible for hyponatremia, which can be dangerous in case of severe hypo-osmolarity or hypovolemia. Inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone or cerebral salt wasting syndrome (CSWS) have been incriminated for hyponatremia after SAH, but it remains difficult to distinguish between both syndromes. There are many explanations for increased natriuresis after SAH, depending on the level of blood pressure, the volemia, and the presence or not of natriuretic peptides. The cerebral insult and the treatments, which are done to fight against elevated intracranial pressure or vasospasm, can modify any of these parameters. So it appears that the word "cerebral" in CSWS is probably not a good term and it would be better to talk about appropriate or non-appropriate natriuretic response. Corticoïds or urea can be useful for controlling hypernatriuresis.


Recently, it has become apparent that when the interactions between polar molecules in optical lattices become strong, the conventional description using the extended Hubbard model has to be modified by additional terms, in particular a density-dependent tunneling term. We investigate here the influence of this term on the ground-state phase diagrams of the two-dimensional extended Bose–Hubbard model. Using quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the changes of the superfluid, supersolid and phase-separated parameter regions in the phase diagram of the system. By studying the interplay of the density-dependent hopping with the usual on-site interaction U and nearest-neighbor repulsion V , we show that the ground-state phase diagrams differ significantly from those expected from the standard extended Bose–Hubbard model.


This paper introduces a framework for analysing intellectual capital statements. It is suggested that the three‐way model of intellectual capital (human, organisations and structural) can be developed in its descriptive and its prescriptive qualities. Another model is offered which relate intellectual capital indicators to the firm's knowledge strategy. This IC accounting system describes the transactions that allow the firm's knowledge strategy to be implemented and it prescribes an agenda from which it is possible to monitor the effects around intellectual resources, to qualify and upgrade them and to survey the portfolio of intellectual resources. An example of Systematic Software Engineering's two intellectual capital statements from 1999 and 2000 is used to illustrate how intellectual capital statements may be read from this perspective.


ABSTRACT New or long-standing public infrastructure such as highways, airports, and ports of entry (POE) can increase adjacent property values generating a value premium for private developers and adjacent property owners. States and local governments aim to determine the geographic footprint and anticipate the economic value created by transportation infrastructure proximity and accessibility since it represents an opportunity to capture some infrastructure costs. Hence, it is desirable to understand the degree of correlation between transportation infrastructure proximity and changes in real property values in a spatial context particularly when defining economic development zones where transportation investments are planned and where governments expect to recover some of the infrastructure cost from increases in real property values. This research applies geographically weighted regression (GWR) analysis to determine the geographic footprint and quantify the impacts of transportation infrastructure proximity and accessibility on real property values in El Paso, Texas using a 2013 cross-sectional data set. The presence of spatial nonstationarity and heterogeneity confirms that transportation infrastructure proximity and accessibility might generate premiums on real property values, but that such premiums are not always positive and are occasionally negative. GWR shows that benefits from a transportation facility can be capitalized by non-adjacent parcels. Finally, GWR maps can help better policy development by estimating how much value is added by infrastructure proximity and accessibility throughout particular locations.


Abstract: In this paper I make the case for a theory of accountability. Moreover, I will make the case for an *ethical theory* of accountability, one that centers our subject in human relationships rather than mechanisms and institutions. The foundation for this effort involves adapting a "second-personal standpoint" elaborated by moral theorist Stephen Darwall, with specific attention to the role of blameworthiness and trustworthiness is establishing an aspirational standard that informs efforts to enhance accountable governance. I contend that efforts to improve or enhance the quality (and integrity) of governance arrangements are driven by a collective ambition to achieve moral accountability in the Darwallian sense.


Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and oxidized high-density lipoprotein (oxHDL), known as risk factors for cardiovascular disease, have been observed in plasma and atheromatous plaques. In a previous study, the content of oxidized phosphatidylcholine (oxPC) and lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) species stayed constant in isolated in vivo oxLDL but increased in copper-induced oxLDL in vitro. In this study, we prepared synthetic deuterium-labeled 1-palmitoyl lysoPC and palmitoyl-glutaroyl PC (PGPC), a short chain-oxPC to elucidate the metabolic fate of oxPC and lysoPC in oxLDL in the presence of HDL. When LDL preloaded with d13-lysoPC was mixed with HDL, d13-lysoPC was recovered in both the LDL and HDL fractions equally. d13-LysoPC decreased by 50% after 4 h of incubation, while d13-PC increased in both fractions. Diacyl-PC production was abolished by an inhibitor of lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT). When d13-PGPC-preloaded LDL was incubated with HDL, d13-PGPC was transferred to HDL in a dose-dependent manner when both LCAT and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) were inhibited. Lp-PLA2 in both HDL and LDL was responsible for the hydrolysis of d13-PGPC. These results suggest that short chain-oxPC and lysoPC can transfer between lipoproteins quickly and can be enzymatically converted from oxPC to lysoPC and from lysoPC to diacyl-PC in the presence of HDL.


A short-term water deficit (WD) imposed during the pre-storage phase of lupin seed development [15-22 d after anthesis (DAA)] accelerated seed maturation and led to smaller and lighter seeds. During seed development, neutral invertase (EC 220.127.116.11) and sucrose synthase (EC 22.214.171.124) have a central role in carbohydrate metabolism. Neutral invertase is predominant during early seed development (up to 40 DAA) and sucrose synthase during the growing and storage phase (40-70 DAA). The contribution of acid invertase is marginal. WD decreased sucrose synthase activity by 2-fold and neutral invertase activity by 5-6-fold. These changes were linked to a large decrease in sucrose ( approximately 60%) and an increase of the hexose:sucrose ratio. Rewatering restored sucrose synthase activity to control levels while neutral invertase activity remained depressed (30-60%). A transient accumulation of starch observed in control seeds was abolished by WD. Despite the several metabolic changes the final seed composition was largely unaltered by WD except for approximately 60% increase in stachyose and raffinose (raffinose family oligosaccharides). This increase in raffinose family oligosaccharides appears as the WD imprinting on mature seeds.


Most studies and researches that deal with the effecting factors on wetting pattern under linear dripping source rely on tracing wetting front in two dimensions only. This does not describe the advance of the wetting front in the field by independent or overlapping wetting patterns with three orthogonal dimensions. The current study aims at estimating and observing the resulted wetting pattern from a single emitter on one hand, and the resulted wetting pattern from two neighbored emitters separated by a certain space in three orthogonal dimensions depending on the resulted wetting pattern from a single emitter on the other hand. Six experiments were executed using two water flow rates which are 2.8 and 4.8 let/hr for three cases namely; the single emitter, and two neighbored emitters spaced with 30 cm and 40 cm respectively. The study revealed that the vertical advance at the midpoint of the two emitters increases 100% when the volume of water flow is increased by 75%. It decreases 14% when the water flow rate is increased by 70%. It decreases by 70% when the emitter spacing is increased by 80%.


The annually growing number of vehicles headed to the centre of large cities of Lithuania makes a negative impact on the operation of transport system, and on the quality of life of local inhabitants causing traffic congestions, air pollution and traffic-generated noise. In order to eliminate those negative effects essential measures are necessary to decrease the need of inhabitants for using private cars to travel to the city centre. Currently, in large Lithuanian cities, namely in the capital city Vilnius, park and ride scheme is still in a planning stage. A transport network of Vilnius City (540 000 inhabitants) has no park and ride scheme yet which would help to avoid traffic congestions and to increase the number of passengers in public transport. The level of car ownership in Vilnius is 570 cars/1000 inhabitants. The existing bus and trolleybus routes account for 40 percent of urban journeys, the private cars for 60 percent. The Vilnius Gediminas Technical University has developed a databank of public transport passenger flows, traffic loads on streets and intersections and road accidents. Comprehensive researches and analysis of Vilnius City transport system have showed that it is advisable to implement nine park and ride lots at the main suburban entrance roads to Vilnius City.


This independent study examines personal experiences of crime, fear of crime, and the relationship between the two across four different areas in the city of Portsmouth. The relationship between officially recorded crime figures and the actual experiences of residents is examined. Differences evident in the personal experiences of crime of those in each of the study locations, as well as the different demographic groups within them, are explored along with analysis of the potential reasons for these differences. Variance in the fear of crime of residents of the four locations and by the different demographic groups, and the extent to which this relates to actual experiences of crime, is investigated. Other potential influences on fear of crime such as the role of the media and experiences of an individual's housemates and acquaintances are explored. The study examines key theories in crime literature that relate to these subjects. Analysis is based on the results of primary research in the form of a quantitative survey, and a secondary source- the official crime figures for the areas being examined. The article concludes by discussing potential weaknesses in the research, and making suggestions on how investigation into these topics can be developed further.


UNLABELLED
The main objective of this study was the sensory characterization, by a taste and a consumers' panel, of fresh sausages from 140 culled goats and 140 culled ewes. Species and type of preparation effects were studied. All data were previously analyzed by analysis of variance. Taste panel data were analyzed by a Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA). Consumers' panel data were analyzed by Preference Mapping. The 1st 2 factors explained 88.22% of total variation in GPA. Different sausages samples were perfectly differentiated by assessors. Goat sausages have been considered harder, more fibrous, and less juicy than sheep sausages. The panelists observed that sheep sausages without paprika had greater intensity of flavor, tasted spicy, and had an off-odor, while goat sausages with paprika were considered sweeter. Consumers' panel did not show any preference for the different types of sausages. This means that all types of sausages can have market opportunity.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION
The present study was a result of a project in co-promotion between 2 breeder associations, an industry unit and a research center. Results indicated that the meat from animals out of quality commercial brands could be useful as processed meat in a product with consumer acceptability. Also these new meat products brought diversity to meat industry to reach new markets and originating 2 new meat brands recorded at INPI (Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial—Natl. Industrial Property Inst.) with the numbers of 489664 and 489662 of National Brands of sheep and goat meat, respectively.


ABSTRACT The atomic-level study of point defect evolution in nuclear graphite is essential for a deep understanding of irradiation-induced property changes. The evolution of helium ion irradiation-induced point defects and helium retention in nuclear graphite ETU-10 and ETU-15 were studied by positron annihilation Doppler broadening (PADB) experiments and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) measurements. The graphite samples were implanted with 1015, 1016 , and 1017 cm−2 of 200 keV He+ at operation temperatures below 373 K. Frenkel pairs were created during ion irradiation and they annihilated during annealing. Three stages of interstitial-monovacancy annihilation are suggested. At low temperatures, the initial annihilation would be refined only to the recombination of intimate metastable Frenkel pairs. When temperature increases, the annihilation would expand to a larger extent that isolate interstitials and vacancies annihilate with each other. In the case of high doses irradiation, vacancy clusters form at elevated temperatures. The retention and release of helium is tightly related to the evolution of the defects, especially the vacancies. The small over-pressured He-V clusters (He n V) are thought to be the most possible form of helium retention under irradiation.


We analyze the performance of Bluetooth piconets under bursty traffic and finite buffer sizes. We model the joint probability distributions of uplink and downlink queues using the M[x]/G/1/K model with vacations and derive buffer blocking probabilities at slaves and at the master. The results, which are confirmed through simulations, provide some practical guidelines as to the sizing of device buffers. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The paper presents EvolvingSpace, a data centric distributed system, which is intended to address the data and application integration problem in bioinformatics data centers. The system employs commodity PCs for data storage and computation. EvolvingSpace manages data in a decentralized manner, which is convenient for storing data annotations and can eliminate potential data-access bottlenecks. It indexes distributed data in multilevels to facilitate the construction of complex workflows that consist of applications running on different types of data. In addition, the paper proposes a data locality and workflow aware scheduling algorithm (ES-Scheduling) to balance the data distribution and computing performance as well as throughput and workflow response time. We run extensive experiments using the system with real bioinformatics applications. Our results show that the system is efficient for running integrated bioinformatics applications and has good scalability.


Successive perfusion of a heart with a Ca(2+)-free and Ca(2+)-containing solution results in irreversible myocardial cell damage: the calcium paradox. Experiments were undertaken to assess whether pretreatment of rats with the new calcium antagonist anipamil (5 mg/kg body weight, twice daily for 5 days) protects the isolated heart against a submaximal calcium paradox. A submaximal calcium paradox was induced by successive perfusion with a Ca(2+)-free solution and a solution containing 0.1 mM Ca2+. Hearts from rats pre-treated with anipamil did not show a negative inotropic effect during control perfusion. During reperfusion in the presence of 0.1 Ca2+, after 10 minutes of Ca(2+)-free perfusion, creatine kinase release in hearts from treated rats was significantly less than in hearts from untreated rats (p less than 0.001). It is suggested that anipamil makes the sarcolemma less sensitive to conformational changes upon Ca2+ repletion.


A 21-year-old woman was admitted at 35 +4 weeks due to disappearance of fetal movement for one day. The ultrasound from other hospital indicated fetal gastroschisis. Abdominal ultrasound in our hospital confirmed that the discontinuity of the fetal abdominal wall by 4.5 cm. The stomach and part of the intestine were herniating into the amniotic cavity. Considering the possibility of gastroschisis and fetal distress, electronic fetal monitoring was implemented continuously and consultations of relevant departments were called immediately, including anesthesiology, neonatology and general pediatric surgery. After Cesarean section under general anesthesia, pediatric surgeons performed an intrapartum surgery for the neonate. The tension of abdominal wall was slightly higher after the operation, but had no significant negative effect on ventilation. After surgery, the neonate was transferred to neonatal pediatrics for further treatments. The abdominal distention of the neonate relieved gradually. The patient was discharged after receiving full enteral nutrition without any discomfort. It was found in the follow-up that the patient had no discomforts such as infection, wound dehiscence, intestinal necrosis, abdominal hernia or other complications. The prenatal examinations should be completed and the pregnant mother of gastroschisis fetus should be transferred to the experienced center where the intrapartum surgery or early stage I repair surgery is possible for the neonate.


The use of exotic tree species and espe- cially fast-growing trees (acacias, pines or eucalypts) has been frequently rec- ommended to rehabilitate and restore in short term degraded areas resulting from natural events or human activities. The consequences on the environment of the introduction of these species, as the case invasive, are generally evalu- ated on their impact on plant biodiver-sity and soil physico-chemical charac- teristics but rarely on the composition of microbial communities. The soil microbiota, especially mycorhizal fungi, plays a key role vis-à-vis biological mechanisms governing the chemical soil fertility, productivity and stability of plant terrestrial ecosystems. Chosen approach was to describe the impact of exotic species on soil biological charac-teristics and the consequences of the recovering of vegetation cover com-posed of native species from the previ- ous stand. After pointing out impor-tance of the use of acacias worldwide, two case studies implemented in Senegal and Algeria, have shown that two Australian acacias, Acacia holosericea and Acacia mearnsii, induce deep changes in the functional diversity of soil microorganisms and in the struc- ture of symbiotic microorganisms com-munities (mycorhizal fungi and rhizo- bia). These acacias inhibit the growth of two native tree species, Quercus suber and Faidherbia albida . These results confirm the need to identify the biologi- cal processes related to the actions of introducing exotic species in order to modulate their use. And this knowledge will prevent risks and ensure the per- formance of afforestation including rehabilitation of degraded land.


Recent magisterial teaching suggests that Catholics should prefer COVID-19 vaccines in which immortalized cells derived from the remains of aborted fetuses did not play a role in production, even though all of them can be licitly used. Many scholars contest any distinction between the different vaccines, in part by arguing that these cell lines have become artifacts. This argument is inadequate on a number of levels. First, these scholars have not sufficiently proven the point that the cell lines become artifacts through biotechnological manipulation. Second, considering cell lines as mere artifacts commodifies them in a way that is rejected even by secular authors. Third, this mode of commodification reinforces the technocratic paradigm. Finally, embracing this commodification of cell lines will prevent moral theology from properly judging other aspects of the growing bioeconomy. These arguments suggest that distinguishing between different vaccines remains the most appropriate course.


In this chapter, we discuss the confluent hypergeometric equation and the related Bessel and Whittaker equations. The Bessel equation is important in mathematical physics because it arises from the Laplace equation when there is cylindrical symmetry. The confluent hypergeometric equation is obtained when we start with a second-order differential equation whose only singularities are regular singularities at 0, b , and ∞; we let b → ∞. The resulting equation has ∞ as an irregular singular point obtained from a confluence of two regular singularities. Thus, the confluent equation can be derived from the hypergeometric equation by changing the independent variable x to x/b and letting b → ∞. The solutions are 1 F 1 functions, and some properties of these functions are limits of properties of 2 F 1 functions. However, it is often easier to derive the results directly than to justify the limiting procedures. Whittaker transformed the confluent equation to one in which the coefficient of the first derivative is zero. Solutions of this equation are called Whittaker functions. We find their series and integral representations and their asymptotic behavior and then give some important examples such as the error function and the parabolic cylinder function. The Bessel equation can be derived from a particular Whittaker equation and can be solved to obtain the Bessel functions to which we devote a good portion of this chapter. These functions are also important for their role in Fourier transforms in several variables.


Histological studies of the teratogenic effects of camphor on the developing liver of the wistar rats. Annals Biomedical Sciences 2002;1:88-93.This study, carried out at the Anatomy Department of University of Ilorin between January 2002 and October 2002, involved the oral administration of varying concentrations of camphor solution in the first seven days of gestation to pregnant Wistar rats. They were randomly divided into four groups (A, B, C, D) of three females each with the D as control. The rats in group A received 0.001g in 1ml of camphor solution daily, those in group B received 0.002g/ml of camphor solution daily while those in group C got 0.003g/ml of camphor solution daily. After parturition, the liver sections were obtained from the neonates and processed for routine histologic investigation. Histological changes observed in the liver sections included dilatation of the central veins, which contained lysed red cells. Cyto-architectural distortions of the hepatocytes were also noted. This study highlights the possible abnormalities that could result in a newborn when a pregnant animal is exposed to camphor in the first trimester. The results of this experiment suggest that the functions of the liver could also have been affected due to the distortion of the cyto-architecture of the liver. It is recommended that further studies aimed at corroborating these observations be carried out. Keywords : Camphor, Teratogenic effects, Liver, Pregnant Wistar rats. Annals of Biomedical Science Vol. 1 (2) 2002: pp. 88-93


Media products, cultures and the arts have recently been transformed by migration, and these cultural and aesthetic transformations have contributed to re-shaping identities, ethnicities, distant societies, and minority groups. The growing interest in migratory aesthetics has brought into representation marginalized subjectivities in ways that depart from migrant depictions in the conventional media (e.g., the news bulletins) and the oversimplified and manipulated stories of marginalization in networked mainstream platforms. Against the backdrop of narrative theory and accessibility as a new terrain of human rights practice, this study examines the subtitling activity of what I identify as "emergency cinema", according to the perspective of the Abounaddara collective spread across the web. As audiovisual products are easily uploaded, posted, and screened on the Internet, subtitles have acquired the role of activist spaces, frames of re-narration, and self-translation, where marginalized stories are mediated and hegemonic practices contested. By focusing this scrutiny on the sphere of the aesthetics of migration for the purpose of dissemination of marginalized identities, namely, within a selected corpus of subtitles produced for the Abounaddara short films and The Mirror Project video interviews, subtitling is viewed as an instrument that stimulates the mediation of narratives of resistance and conflict recounted against the normative background of subtitles in English Lingua Franca (ELF).


Biohydrogen (bioH2) is a sustainable energy source that can produce carbon-free energy upon combustion. BioH2 can be generated from microalgae by photolytic and anaerobic digestion (AD) pathways. The AD pathway faces many challenges when scaling up using different bioreactors, particularly the continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and sequential flow batch reactor (SFBR). Therefore, the performance characteristics of SFBR were analysed in this study using Chlorella vulgaris and domestic wastewater activated sludge (WWAS) co-culture. An organic loading rate (OLR) of 4.7 g COD L−1 day−1 was fed to the SFBR with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of five days in the presence of light under anaerobic conditions. The pH of the medium was maintained at 6 using a pH controller for the incubation period of 15 days. The maximum bioH2 concentrations of 421.1 μmol L−1 and 56.6 μmol L−1 were observed in the exponential and steady-state phases, respectively. The effluent had an unusually high amount of acetate of 16.6 g L−1, which remained high with an average of 11.9 g L−1 during the steady state phase. The amount of bioH2 produced was found to be inadequate but consistent when operating the SFBR with a constant OLR. Because of the limitations in CSTR handling, operating a SFBR by optimizing OLR and HRT might be more feasible in operation for bioH2 yield in upscaling. A logistic function model was also found to be the best fit for the experimental data for the prediction of bioH2 generation using co-culture in the SFBR.


We give a detailed comparison of the hierarchical quantum master equation (HQME) method to a continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo (CT-QMC) approach, assessing the usability of these numerically exact schemes as impurity solvers in practical nonequilibrium calculations. We review the main characteristics of the methods and discuss the scaling of the associated numerical effort. We substantiate our discussion with explicit numerical results for the nonequilibrium transport properties of a single-site Anderson impurity. The numerical effort of the HQME scheme scales linearly with the simulation time but increases (at worst exponentially) with decreasing temperature. In contrast, CT-QMC is less restricted by temperature at short times, but in general the cost of going to longer times is also exponential. After establishing the numerical exactness of the HQME scheme, we use it to elucidate the influence of different ways to induce transport through the impurity on the initial dynamics, discuss the phenomenon of coherent current oscillations, known as current ringing, and explain the non-monotonic temperature dependence of the steady-state magnetization as a result of competing broadening effects. We also elucidate the pronounced non-linear magnetization dynamics, which appears on intermediate time scales in the presence of an asymmetric coupling to the electrodes.


The retrofit of a 35000 hp, two-case centrifugal, propylene refrigeration compressor with tandem dry gas seals in Du Pont's ethylene plant at Orange, Texas, is described. The installation of these dry gas seals is one of the first applications to propylene refrigeration service in the United States. The new seal design eliminated seal oil contamination of the compressor and downstream heat exchangers which led to de creased efficiency, effectiveness, and subsequent loss of ethylene production. The seals also reduced the capital investment for a flare system upgrade project $1.5MM, by decreasing propylene losses during system shutdowns caused by existing seal system shortcomings. This retrofit was unique in several ways. The original compres sor manufacturer had no experience with dry gas seals installed in their equipment. They were very willing to cooperate in this venture, but only to the point of providing dimensional data and engineering review. Due to the "sold-out" condition of the ethyl ene market, this installation had to be accomplished during a limited shutdown. In order to minimize downtime, an innovative installation method was developed which eliminated opening compressor casings even though the new design required remov ing-a shaft sleeve. To demonstrate the feasibility of this method, a mock up was built simulating working conditions to develop techniques and tooling to remove the shaft sleeve.


: Several intelligent tutoring systems and e-learning platforms developed in the last decade in engineering domains (such as automotive, industrial robotics, manufacturing, energy, electrical engineering, computer engineering, electronics, oil and gas engineering, chemical engineering) integrate various software tools that facilitate the student learning process by studying simulations of some real-world applications. Examples of such tools applied in the manufacturing education are: different types of Petri Nets (including coloured Petri Nets), different toolboxes from Matlab, AnyLogic and FlexSim. Moreover, artificial intelligence provides methods and techniques that can significantly improve the performance of developed simulations. The paper presents a simulator developed using Petri NET toolbox in scope of representing the process of a manufacturing line for better understanding of the correlation between the theoretical control and the behaviour of the system. It tackles in a different way the learning process addressed to students to a more practical view of the control algorithm.


Physical profile data (salinity, temperature, oxygen, and downwelling irradiance) and in situ incubations of light and dark bottles were used to characterize vertical structure and elucidate mechanisms controlling summertime hypoxia in western Long Island Sound. The period of oxygen depletion corresponded with the period of thermally-controlled stratification. Bulk density differences between surface and bottom waters were only 1.2 to 2.7 sigma-t units; but they were apparently sufficient to resist destratification by winds and tides. Thus oxygen depletion was a cumulative process through the summer. During the stratification period, net oxygen production (measured using light BOD bottles) was confined to a narrow surface zone of 1.8–4.5 m. Below this zone was an intermediate zone of high net oxygen uptake, beneath which was a subpycnoclinic zone where oxygen uptake was very low. Rates of total oxygen uptake (dark bottles) were greatest in the surface layer and diminished with depth. There was close coupling between physical conditions and metabolic structure. Vertical patterns of oxygen production and removal were strongest in calm weather. The location of the intermediate zone corresponded with that of the oxycline. The thickness of the zone and the steepness of the oxycline were determined by the depth and intensity of both physical stratification and biological production and respiration. The biological structure was weakened by physical mixing in the upper water column, and the intermediate zone disappeared with fall destratification. We hypothesize that biological uptake within the water column influences oxygen depletion through two mechanisms. (1) In bottom waters, uptake rates per unit volume are low, but bulk uptake is a significant factor in oxygen depletion because of the large volume of water involved. (2) The intermediate zone, where respiratory uptake is also significant, is strategically located between the surface zone of oxygen renewal and the bottom zone of depletion, where it constitutes an active filter which reinforces the pycnocline as a barrier to vertical oxygen dispersion. The magnitude of direct oxygen removal in the water column relative to removal by sediment oxygen demand and the potential effects of this biological filtering mechanism are important considerations for understanding eutrophication dynamics and managing Long Island Sound. Dynamic models which (1) underestimate the role of water column uptake and (2) incorporate only the two-zone characteristics of physical stratification will tend to (a) overestimate the contribution of sediments to summertime oxygen deficits and (b) overestimate rates of vertical dispersion and reventilation of bottom waters.


Eukaryotic nucleoli contain a large family of box C/D small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein complexes (snoRNPs) that are involved in processing and site-specific methylation of pre-rRNA. Several proteins have been reported to be common factors of box C/D snoRNPs in lower and higher eukaryotes; nevertheless none of them has been clearly shown to directly interact with RNA. We previously identified in Xenopus laevis, by means of UV crosslinking in vivo, two proteins associated with box C/D snoRNAs, fibrillarin and p68. Here we show that fibrillarin interacts directly and specifically with the U16 box C/D snoRNA in a X. laevis oocyte nuclear extract and that it does not require p68 for binding. Specific binding is also obtained with a recombinant fibrillarin demonstrating that the protein is able to bind directly and specifically to U16 snoRNA by itself.


Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disorder characterized by irreversible, progressive airflow obstruction. It is diagnosed by spirometry which measures FEV1 and bronchoreversibility. Recent focus has been on COPD systemic effects like malnutrition, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, anxiety and depression. A composite index named BODE index (BMI, FEV1, dyspnea, 6MWT) has a better prediction of mortality than FEV1 alone in these patients. Relation between components of BODE like BMI, FEV1 and 6MWT has been an area of interest since it measures nutritional status (BMI), airway obstruction (FEV1) and exercise capacity (6MWT). We tried to evaluate the relation between lower BMI (˂21) and higher BMI groups (>21) with respect to FEV1 and 6MWT. Methods: A cross sectional observation study was conducted in a tertiary care centre. Stable patients of COPD were recruited from to outpatient department of respiratory medicine. BMI, FEV1 and 6MWT were calculated. Patients are made into 2 groups with BMI less than 21 and more than 21. Both FEV1 and 6MWT means were calculated and analyzed to find out any difference between these two groups. Results: There was no statistical difference of FEV1 and 6MWT between lower and higher BMI groups. Conclusions: In COPD patients, FEV1 and 6MWT values were not statistically different between lower and higher BMI groups. Further studies are needed to prove that other anthropometric measurement like fat free mass index can be a better substitute for more accurate assessment of exercise capacity.


Introduction Riociguat, an oral sGC stimulator, is under investigation for PH treatment. CYP-mediated oxidative metabolism is one of the major riociguat clearance pathways. Aims Riociguat PK studies with KC (multi-pathway CYP and P-gp/BRCP inhibitor), CM (CYP3A4 inhibitor), and MZ (CYP3A4 substrate) investigated any interactions. Methods Open-label, randomized, crossover studies in healthy males were: 1) 4–day KC 400 mg od then 1–day KC 400 mg od ± riociguat 0.5 mg (n=16); 2) 4–day CM 500 mg bid then 1–dose CM 500 mg ± riociguat 1 mg (n=14); 3) 3–day riociguat 2.5 mg tid then 1–day riociguat 2.5 mg tid ± MZ 7.5 mg (n=24). Results Riociguat PK data from the KC and CM studies are shown below. Riociguat pre- and co-treatment did not alter MZ AUC or C max (90% CIs for ratio riociguat + MZ / MZ within pre-specified 80–125% range). The most common AEs with riociguat +/- KC, CM, and MZ across the 3 studies were headache (17%) and dyspepsia (10%). 1 SAE occurred in the MZ study (elevated creatine phosphokinase; not drug-related). Conclusions Use of riociguat with strong multi-pathway CYP and P-gp/BCRP inhibitors (eg KC) is not recommended. CM moderately increased riociguat AUC without significant change in C max (not considered clinically relevant). No PK interaction was seen between riociguat and MZ.


This paper examined the application of nonlinear Smooth TransitionGeneralized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (ST-GARCH) model of Hagerud on prices of banks' shares in Nigeria. The methodology is informed by the failure of the conventional GARCH model to capture the asymmetric properties of the banks' daily share prices. The asymmetry and non-linearity in the model dynamics make it useful for generating nonlinear conditional variance series. From the empirical analysis, we obtained the conditional volatility of each bank's share price return. The highest volatility persistence was observed in Bank 6, while Bank 12 had the least volatility. Evidently, about 25% of the investigated banks exhibited linear volatility behaviour, while the remaining banks showed nonlinear volatility specifications. Given the level of risk associated with investment in stocks, investors and financial analysts could consider volatility modelling of bank share prices with variants of the ST-GARCH models. The impact of news is an important feature that relevant agencies could study so as to be guided while addressing underlying issues in the banking system.


A rare case of female pseudohermaphroditism with clitoral hypertrophy, phallic and vaginal urethra, abnormal vaginal introitus and infravesical obstruction of the urinary tract is reported.


Segmentation of brain tumors is a daunting process comprising the delineation of heterogeneous cancerous tissues and diffuse types in anatomical representations of the brain. Deep learning techniques have recently made important strides in the segmentation of brain tumors. However, owing to the irregularity of the tumor, most of the deep learning-based segmentation techniques are not used directly for tumor detection. Although recent studies are capable of addressing the irregularity issue and retaining permutation invariance, many approaches struggle to catch the valuable high-dimensional local features of finer resolution. Inspired by the fuzzy learning methods and an analysis of the shortcomings of existing methods, an automated fuzzy neighborhood learning-based 3D segmentation technique has been proposed for the detection of cerebrum tumors in 3D images. In this technique, the fuzzy neighborhood function is deeply integrated with the proposed network architecture. This technique has been evaluated on BRATS 2013dataset. The simulation results show that the proposed brain tumor detection technique is superior to other methods in the diagnosis of brain tumors with the dice coefficient of 0.85 and the Jaccard index of 0.74.


PURPOSE
To determine the temporal histopathologic findings associated with selective arterial injection of a 1:1 ethiodized oil-ethanol mixture (EEM) in normal rabbit kidney followed by administration of pure ethanol into the main renal artery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In five rabbits, the EEM was injected sequentially into each segmental renal artery of the right kidney until capillary stasis occurred. Pure ethanol was then injected into the main renal artery to achieve complete arterial stasis. Before sacrifice, the left kidney in each animal was acutely (ie, with a short follow-up period) embolized by using the same technique. The 10 kidneys of the five rabbits were evaluated microscopically at 1 (n = 3), 1(1/2) (n = 1), and 3 hours (n = 1) and 1 (n = 1), 3 (n = 1), 5 (n = 1), 7 (n = 1), and 14 days (n = 1) after embolization.

RESULTS
Injection of the EEM (mean volume, 0.46 mL +/- 0.14 [SD]) followed by ethanol alone (mean volume, 0.25 mL +/- 0.09) led to complete stasis in all kidneys. There was no recanalization in the chronically (ie, with a longer follow-up period) embolized kidneys. Microscopically, uniform distribution of the EEM was evident in all slices at all time points. From 1 to 3 hours, sloughing of endothelium, formation of thrombi, and deposition of eosinophilic material along the renal, interlobar, and arcuate arteries were observed, without evidence of parenchymal damage. Within 24 hours, complete coagulative necrosis of the entire kidney occurred as a result of an occluding thrombus in the main renal artery. Analysis at subsequent time points revealed liquefaction of necrotic tissue and replacement with granulation tissue.

CONCLUSION
In the rabbit, selective renal arterial injection of EEM followed by administration of ethanol produces vascular endothelial damage initiating thrombosis that results in renal infarction and ablation within 24 hours.


Small and medium sized companies (SMEs) represent the backbone of the European economy. SMEs were not prepared for the consequences of Covid-19 and the national lockdowns caused by it. Many aspects within SMEs were affected by the crisis: Rapidly, good solutions for work and learning therefore have to be found. E-Learning through its flexibility and ease of access is seen also as an enabler of lifelong learning with its potential to transform how and when employees learn, and to act as a catalyst of change and integration. SMEs need to find new ways of cooperation, for example technology-enabled Communities of Practice (CoP). Another form of cooperation are crossing sectors, especially between SMEs, research and higher education institutions, but this form needs to be improved. To be able to survive the pandemic, be innovative and play an important role. , SMEs have to tackle change and develop their learning processes on a far-reaching scale. This paper takes a closer look at the situation of European SMEs and presents findings from recent European projects identifying the ongoing problems in the adoption of digital forms of learning and methods like problem-based learning. Covid-19 should not be a barrier for SMEs to increase sales because the SMEs actors can promote their business through digital marketing. This paper will try to answer questions like: How do SMEs utilize digital methods for business, learning, reskilling the workforce for digital marketing? Which kind of cooperation should help in this context? The answer is based on literature research and the work of the authors within national and European projects.


A single-base substitution in the coding region of the androgen receptor (AR) gene caused complete androgen insensitivity in a patient with 46,XY karyotype. The mutation was a T-to-G transition in exon 6 and changed the codon 807 from ATG (methionine) to AGG (arginine) in the hormone-binding domain of the protein. The mutation was inserted into the wild-type human AR cDNA and the resulting cDNA expressed in CV-1 cells. Native and mutated AR proteins synthesized in recipient cells had identical molecular masses. Ligand-binding activity of the mutant receptor was less than 5% of that of the wild-type AR. The mutant's interaction with an androgen-response element in vitro was identical to that of the native aporeceptor; however, it did not transactivate a reporter gene construct in transfected CV-1 cells. Androgen insensitivity in our patient was thus due to altered structure of the receptor's steroid-binding region, which prevented the mutated AR from gaining a transcriptionally active form in vivo.


Background: Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is a rare subtype of posttransplantation lymphoproliferative disease, with only 29 cases reported in the literature to date, the majority of which are post-renal transplantation. Only a few were reported after pancreas, heart, and bone marrow transplantation. There have been no reports of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma following liver transplantation to date. Objective: We report a case of a 76-year-old male who developed generalized eczematous eruption 13 years after a liver transplantation. Investigations showed that it was Epstein-Barr virus-negative, CD3-positive, and CD4-positive cutaneous T-cell lymphoma with Sézary cells in the blood. Conclusion: This shows that cutaneous T-cell lymphoma/Sézary syndrome can also develop after liver transplantation. To our knowledge, there are no similar reports in the English literature.


A method of using fish vertebrae in scats of otters and mink in order to estimate prey size is described. Significant positive correlations between fish fork length and length of abdominal and caudal vertebrae respectively were demonstrated and described for a series of reference fish of different species. Comparison of direct length measurements of fish fed to captive mink with length estimates obtained from vertebrae recovered in then scats and derived using the appropriate regression lines determined from the reference fish revealed a close measure of agreement and indicated that the method achieves a high level of accuracy. Use of vertebrae from scats for estimating fish length is considered to have several advantages over use of scales, and the method greatly extends the range, accuracy and value of the information that can be obtained from scat analysis.


This study investigated how individuals interpret the overall meaning of two Japanese statements of verbal probability reporting the likelihood of an event's occurrence, and what kinds of factors affect these interpretations. Previous research has focused mainly on the interpretation of verbal probability expressed in a single statement regarding the occurrence of a single event. Although we are often given multiple statements about the likelihood of a single event's occurrence in our daily conversation, few studies have examined such instances of multiple information presentation. In this experiment, participants answered a series of choice questions presented in booklets. From their answers, certainty equivalents of single verbal probability statements and of two statements were calculated. The data show that interpretations of the overall meaning of the two probability statements were affected by the following factors: factors of the type of outcome (gain or loss), presentation order, and degree of inconsistency between the statements. Interpretations of the overall meanings were less than the simple average of two statements, and were not interpreted as larger (or smaller) than the likelihood of each statement.


The interfacial area transport equation dynamically models the two-phase flow regime transitions and predicts continuous change of the interfacial area concentration along the flow field.Hence, when employed in the numerical thermal-hydraulic system analysis codes, it eliminates artificial bifurcations stemming from the use of the static flow regime transition criteria. Accounting for the substantial differences in the transport phenomena of various sizes of bubbles, the two-group interfacial area transport equations have been developed.The group 1 equation describes the transport of small-dispersed bubbles that are either distorted or spherical in shapes, and the group 2 equation describes the transport of large cap, slug or churn-turbulent bubbles.The source and sink terms in the right-hand-side of the transport equations have been established by mechanistically modeling the creation and destruction of bubbles due to major bubble interaction mechanisms. In the present paper, the interfacial area transport equations currently available are reviewed to address the feasibility and reliability of the model along with extensive experimental results.These include the data from adiabatic upward air-water two-phase flow in round tubes of various sizes, from a rectangular duct, and from adiabatic co-current downward air-water two-phase flow in round pipes of two sizes.


The contemporary art market was booming in the period 2002-2008. The first primary art markets were visible in the 15th century and the first auctions took place in the 17th century. In the beginning of the 20th century the art auction market also focused on art by living artists. When an artist is still alive he can have art works sold in the primary as well as in the secondary art market. How does this influence the career of an artist? The contemporary art market in the period 2002-2008 was analyzed by looking at the number of art works made by Dutch living artists offered at auction. 453 different Dutch artists had at least one art work offered art auction. For comparison the period 1995-2001 was also analyzed. In that period the top 10 artists with art works offered at auction was all male. In the period 2002-2008 the top 10 included two female artists. These two artists were found in place 3 and 5. To research how the primary and secondary art market can influence the career of one artist case studies were done. The choice was made to analyze Marlene Dumas and Rineke Dijkstra, the numbers 3 and 5 in the top 10 of 2002-2008. The number of gallery exhibitions was analyzed as well as the number of museum exhibitions. Further more the art prices at auction were taken into account. The numbers of exhibitions for Dumas and Dijkstra hardly differ. Both artists had a large number of museum exhibitions. In the number of lots brought to auction differences can be seen. Dumas has had 235 lots put up for auction, while Dijkstra only had 134. When it comes to the highest price, a Dumas reached 6.4 million and a Dijkstra 360.000 dollars. Dumas seems to be the more successful artist at auction. Comparing gallery and museum exhibitions with auction figures drawing conclusions is difficult. Looking at the data in a more qualitative way some conclusions can be drawn. Marlene Dumas had two high prices. The first was for a painting called The Teacher (sub a), which sold for 3 million dollars. This can be explained by the two highly important exhibitions opening days before auction. The other high price for The Visitor can be explained by the size of the work and the rarity within the oeuvre. For Rineke Dijkstra it can be said that her highest price was not really so remarkable. All photographs reached prices around 50.000 dollars. The 360.000 dollars was actually paid for an edition of six photographs. The second highest price of 160.000 dollars was for a single photograph. This price can be explained by the high number of museum exhibitions in general in that year. In the year previous to the auction Dijkstra had works displayed at the Guggenheim in New York and in Tate Liverpool and Tate Modern. This could have contributed to the reputation of the artist. Without a reputation an artist will not be successful.


Optimizing the hydrogen value chain is essential to ensure hydrogen market uptake in replacing traditional fossil fuel energy and to achieve energy system decarbonization in the next years. The design of new plants and infrastructures will be the first step. However, wrong decisions would result in temporal, economic losses and, in the worst case, failures. Because huge investments are expected, decision makers have to be assisted for its success. Because no tools are available for the optimum design and geographical location of power to gas (P2G) and power to hydrogen (P2H) plants, the geographic information system (GIS) and mathematical optimization approaches were combined into a new tool developed by CNR-ITAE and the University of Bologna in the SuperP2G project, aiming to support the interested stakeholders in the investigation and selection of the optimum size, location, and operations of P2H and P2G industrial plants while minimizing the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH). In the present study, the tool has been applied to hydrogen mobility, specifically to investigate the conversion of the existing refuelling stations on Italian highways to hydrogen refuelling stations (HRSs). Middle-term (2030) and long-term (2050) scenarios were investigated. In 2030, a potential demand of between 7000 and 10,000 tons/year was estimated in Italy, increasing to between 32,600 and 72,500 tons/year in 2050. The optimum P2H plant configuration to supply the HRS was calculated in different scenarios. Despite the optimization, even if the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) reduces from 7.0–7.5 €/kg in 2030 to 5.6–6.2 €/kg in 2050, the results demonstrate that the replacement of the traditional fuels, i.e., gasoline, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs), will be disadvantaged without incentives or any other economic supporting schemes.


Pyridoxol, one of the forms of vitamin B6, is derived from three glycerol units. One of these is incorporated by way of pyruvate as a two-carbon fragment at the oxidation level of acetaldehyde. The other two glycerol units are incorporated intact, possibly by way of triose phosphate.


Amniotic band sequence (ABS) is common birth defect of incompletely understood origin. Here we describe a case of ABS in a child with paternally inherited Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, vascular type (vEDS). This is the third reported instance of ABS associated with paternally inherited vEDS in the medical literature. The two main theories of ABS formation are the extrinsic and intrinsic. The extrinsic theory states that placental tears form fibrous cords that wrap around the fetus; the intrinsic states that poor vascularisation in the fetus leads to necrosis of distal extremities. We believe this case supports extrinsic theory as it shows that as an amnion weakened by vEDS in fetal components is associated with ABS.


Many applications of ultrasound test phantoms require that the acoustical properties of the phantom should closely match those of soft tissue. Numerous commercial test phantoms of this type are available for use with clinical ultrasound scanners, which use frequencies up to 20 MHz. However, scanners designed for imaging small animals in preclinical studies, typically operate at much higher frequencies. No commercially available test phantoms exist for use at frequencies above 20 MHz. The aim of this work was to develop a tissue-mimicking-material (TMM) that closely matches the acoustic properties of small animal tissues at high frequencies (HF). Such a material would, therefore, be suitable for ultrasound test phantoms for application with HF ultrasound scanners (20 MHz to 50 MHz). A three-step approach was adopted to address this lack of a suitable HF-TMM. Firstly, verify the acoustic characteristics of the existing IEC agar-based TMM. Secondly, establish the acoustic properties (speed of sound and attenuation coefficient) of small animal tissue at high frequencies. Thirdly, develop a TMM which exhibits, as closely as possible, these small animal tissue acoustic characteristics. A pulse-echo substitution method was used throughout to characterise the materials and the tissue samples. The speed of sound and attenuation coefficient of an IEC agar-based TMM were measured using two different techniques. Initially, a widely used method was tried, where samples are wrapped in film and placed in degassed, deionised water for assessment. The second technique was developed and validated for use in this work. In this method, TMM samples were uncovered (without film) and were both stored and assessed in a TMM preserving fluid. The second method provided up to four times more consistent results. The acoustical properties of the individual components of the IEC agar-based TMM were then measured in order to determine whether the overall attenuation coefficient of the agar TMM was a linear sum of the attenuation coefficients of its component parts. Within experimental uncertainties, this was found to be the case. This is a key


AIM
To construct a novel Ag85B DNA vaccine based on the genetic adjuvant of T-bet known as Th1 transcription factor and to research the immunoregulation function of the DNA complex vaccine.

METHODS
Ag85B gene and T-bet gene were amplified by RT-PCR, and cloned into pcDNA3.1 plasmid to construct recombinant plasmids pcDNA3-Ag85B and pcDNA3-T-bet, respectively. The recombinant plasmids were transfected into RAW264.7 cells using Lipofectamine(TM); 2000 reagent to detect the expressions of Ag85B and T-bet proteins by Western blotting. BALB/c mice were immunized by three intramuscular inoculations with pcDNA3.1-FLAG-T-bet in combination with pcDNA3.1-FLAG-Ag85B. Two weeks after the last immunization, the anti-Ag85B antibody titres in sera were tested by ELISA. Meanwhile, spleen lymphocyte suspension was cultured in the context of Ag85B, and then the secretion of cytokines in the culture fluid was tested by ELISA.

RESULTS
Plasmid proteins were successfully expressed in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, T-bet/Ag85B complex not only induced obviously higher IgG2a titre with the lower IgG1, but also stimulated the increased secretion of IFN-γ and IL-2 with the concomitant repression of IL-4 and IL-10.

CONCLUSION
T-bet can enhance Ag85B-specific IgG2a antibody response and convert T cell subsets to a Th1-predominant immune response.


Alcohol dependence causes multiple problems not only for the person suffering dependence but also for others. In this study, the contingent valuation method is proposed to measure the intangible effects of alcohol dependence from the perspective of the persons directly involved: the patients and their relatives. Interviews were conducted with 145 patients and 61 relatives. Intangible effects of alcohol dependence were determined based on willingness to pay for a hypothetical treatment for dependence, with different success scenarios (100% and 50%). The mean monthly willingness to pay among the alcohol-dependent population was €129 and €168, respectively, for the treatments with 100% and 50% success. The willingness to pay of relatives was greater in both scenarios (€307 and €420, respectively), which could be explained by their greater perception of the family, labour, and health problems resulting from alcohol dependence. Regression analysis showed that patients' willingness to pay is positively related to treatment efficacy, personal income and moderate health deterioration, and negatively related to feeling discouraged and depressed. The results from this study can be applied to economic valuation studies that aim to measure the benefits of programs intended to reduce the prevalence of alcohol dependence. The intangible costs estimated can be added to the direct and indirect costs commonly used.


Wooden spears are amongst the earliest weapons known from the archaeological record, with broken and complete examples known from Middle and Late Pleistocene Eurasian, Australian and South American sites. They were manufactured and used by multiple species of Homo, including H. sapiens. This paper comprises the first systematic review of ethnographic data on the recent use of wooden spears for hunting and human violence. It confronts the historical racism underpinning the abuse of ethnographic data on wooden spears, including associations between the technology and the development of cognitive abilities in human evolution. The review demonstrates that wooden spears were used as thrusting and throwing weapons by recent societies in North America, South America, Africa, and Oceania, and continue to be used today by children as training tools in hunter-gatherer societies. Their use is recorded in a wide range of climates and environments, using a variety of different hunting strategies to target terrestrial and aquatic prey. Whilst acknowledging limitations of ethnographic datasets, Middle and early Late Pleistocene hominin hunting is reconsidered, briefly overviewing wooden spears in relation to the variety of climate and ecological settings in which Pleistocene hominins hunted, targeted prey, and the potential for delivery methods and hunting strategies. The results underscore the importance of systematic reviews when utilising ethnography in interpreting archaeological evidence: selective references in relation to the use of wooden spears have overlooked additional examples that point to a richness and variability of technology and behaviour that is invisible in the Pleistocene archaeological record.


We describe here the draft genome sequence of AY1MRC, a Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain belonging to lineage 1 (Indo-Oceanic) and the East African Indian spoligotype, isolated from a patient with tuberculosis in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. ABSTRACT We describe here the draft genome sequence of AY1MRC, a Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain belonging to lineage 1 (Indo-Oceanic) and the East African Indian spoligotype, isolated from a patient with tuberculosis in Jazan, Saudi Arabia.


Starting from ecological environment of inland river in arid area, the distribution of ecological security pattern of Ganzhou District was obtained by using the theory of landscape ecology, spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) and GIS techniques. Ten factors such as altitude, slope, soil erosion, vegetation coverage, and distance from road, were selected as the constraint conditions. According to the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model of landscape, the ecological corridor and nodes were established to optimize the structure and function of ecological function network. The results showed that the comprehensive ecological security situation of the research area was on the average. Area of moderate level of security was 1318.7 km2, being the largest and accounting for 36.7% of the research area. The area of low level of security was mainly located in the northern part and accounted for 19.9% of the study area. With points, lines and surfaces being interlaced, a regional ecological network was constructed, which was consisted of six ecological corridor, 14 ecological nodes, a large ecological source region and a plurality of small area source region, and could effectively improve ecological security level of the study area.


Australia's superannuation system has transformed the way Australians think about their retirement. But as the size of the funds increase there is additional scrutiny surrounding the governance structures in place to administer the savings of members. The new Federal Government has kick-started the debate with its discussion paper: Better regulation and governance, enhanced transparency and improved competition in superannuation. It has been simultaneously welcomed and condemned, and while its motivations have been questioned there is now more than ever a focus on the governance on these massive pools of savings.


In the last two decades embedded Flash technologies took over a dominating role in several IC market segments. Two key application areas driving leading edge embedded Flash technologies and forming the majority of the corresponding market volume are automotive microcontrollers (µCs) and smartcards. This paper gives an overview of these technologies, their applications, requirements, key challenges as well as future outlook.


Despite technological advances, smart home concepts are not receiving widespread adoption. Small businesses that install and maintain heating, security and energy-saving systems could play a major role in bringing advanced technologies to home owners. However, the role of such small installer businesses in the smart living industry is generally overlooked in practice as well as academic literature. This paper studies challenges small installer businesses face when offering smart home and smart living services. A survey, as well as in-depth interviews, are conducted. A main pattern across the findings is that small installers, despite their potential role, are reluctant to be involved in the smart living industry. Lack of knowledge and entrepreneurial skills, limited sharing of knowledge and lack of cooperation hinder small installer businesses to offer smart living services.


Abstract: It has been hypothesized that ischemia, followed by reperfusion, facilitates peroxidative free‐radical chain processes in brain. To resolve this question, rats were subjected to reversible global ischemia. From coronal sections of brains frozen in situ, small (ca. 2 mg) amounts of tissue were sampled from neocortex, hippocampus, and thalamus of both cerebral hemispheres of four groups of rats exposed to 30 min cerebral ischemia followed by 0, 30, 60, and 240 min of reperfusion, and from a control group subjected to the same operative procedures, except for the induction of ischemia. Heptane‐solubilized total lipid extracts from these samples were analyzed spectroscopically in the 190–330 nm range for content of isolated (nonconjugated) double bonds and of conjugated diene structures; the latter are formed from isolated double bonds during peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. Spectra derived from tissue regions of rats subjected to ischemia, or ischemia followed by reperfusion, were compared to averaged, region‐specific control spectra and were normalized to the original content of isolated double bonds in the peroxidized samples. The resultant difference spectra were analyzed in terms of ratios of conjugated diene concentration to the concentration of isolated double bonds originally at risk in the specific tissue zones considered. The peak representing conjugated diene formation was centered at 238 ± 1 nm and was usually well resolved when the molar ratio [conjugated diene]/[isolated double bonds], expressed as a percentage ([CD]/[IDB]), was greater than 0.25%. The incidence of resolvable conjugated diene peaks was much greater in the reperfused groups (18 of 124 samples total; 0.25% [CD]/[IDB] 1.34%), compared to the nonreperfused group (1 of 38 samples; [CD]/[IDB] = 0.62%). No specific regional susceptibility to conjugated diene formation was observed. It also was shown by computer averaging over all the tissue zones sampled that, if one had used large samples consisting of pooled brain tissue for analysis of lipid peroxides and/or their reaction products, the conjugated diene peak would have been attenuated below distinctly resolvable levels. These results constitute the first demonstration of lipid peroxidation induced by reversible global ischemia. The observation that the effect is highly focal and not generalized throughout the brain suggests that special conditions of reperfusibility and reoxygenation must be satisfied for lipid peroxidation to be detectable in an ischemic milieu.


Today's nursing students feel pressured to complete research-based professional papers. Reasons that these assignments cause feelings of anxiety may be due to learners' poor writing/thinking skills, low literacy levels, lack of attention when traditional strategies are used, or expectations of entertaining teaching methods. Creative teaching strategies, using a story-telling and personification approach, may assist nurse educators to improve students' attention, retention and comprehension of primary concepts in their nursing courses.


OBJECTIVE To examine the antagonistic interactions between Schistosoma japonicum and Exorchis ovariolobularis in the snail host, Oncomelania hupensis. METHODS The infection rate and average number of cercariae of S. japonicum were examined in O. hupensis which had been superinfected with S. japonicum and E. ovariolobularis. The experimental snails were histologically observed by paraffin section. RESULTS When snails were fed with eggs of E. ovariolobularis 37 days later than S. japonicum infection, the infection rate of S. japonicum (52.9%) was significantly lower than that of the single S. japonicum infected control (75.9%). When E. ovariolobularis infected snails were exposed to S. japonicum miracidia at different intervals, the infection rates of S. japonicum were 64%, 66.7%, 65.2%, 56.4% and 57.1%, respectively. On the other hand, the infection rate of S. japonicum in the single infected control was 90.5%. There existed significant differences. Furthermore, the average number of S. japonicum cercariae shed from superinfected snails were significantly less than that of single S. japonicum infected control. The histological observation showed that the larvae of S. japonicum in superinfected snails were sluggish in development, irregular, shrunken, deformed, relatively small in number as compared with the control. The sporocysts contained few germ balls or immature cercariae and most of the digestive glands of superinfected snails were atrophied. CONCLUSION There is antagonism between E. ovariolobularis and S. japonicum in O. hupensis, and E. ovariolobularis is dominant in this situation.


Recently, the mechanism of resistive random access memory (RRAM) has been partly clarified and determined to be controlled by the forming and erasing of conducting filaments (CF). However, the size of the CF may restrict the application and development as devices are scaled down. In this work, we synthesized CuO nanowires (NW) (∼150 nm in diameter) to fabricate a CuO NW RRAM nanodevice that was much smaller than the filament (∼2 μm) observed in a bulk CuO RRAM device in a previous study. HRTEM indicated that the Cu2O phase was generated after operation, which demonstrated that the filament could be minimize to as small as 3.8 nm when the device is scaled down. In addition, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) show the resistive switching of the dielectric layer resulted from the aggregated oxygen vacancies, which also match with the I-V fitting results. Those results not only verify the switching mechanism of CuO RRAM but also show RRAM has the potential to shr...


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease, and the inflammatory response during its development can lead to joint cartilage and bone damage up to disability. Dexamethasone (DEX) can effectively alleviate the inflammatory response in RA, but the severe adverse effects that occur after its long-term administration limit its clinical development. Herein, we propose a Ca-DEX biomineralization-inducing nut (CaCO3-DEX) with controlled release properties for mitigating the toxic side effects of DEX in RA treatment, especially the damage to cartilage and bone. CaCO3-DEX releases the drug and Ca2+ preferentially in an inflammatory environment. Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate that CaCO3-DEX significantly reduces the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors and inhibits ROS production in vitro, as well as demonstrates superior pro-biomineralization and osteogenic differentiation potential. In the collagen-induced rheumatoid arthritis model (CIA model), CaCO3-DEX significantly reduces the clinical score of arthritis in mice, and the imaging results show a noticeable relief of edema and bone erosion in CIA model mice treated with CaCO3-DEX, while inflammatory factors at the injury areas are significantly reduced, which provides favorable protection to cartilage and bone.


PURPOSE
Mouse models of cardiac diseases have proven to be a valuable tool in preclinical research. The high cardiac and respiratory rates of free breathing mice prohibit conventional in vivo cardiac perfusion studies using computed tomography even if gating methods are applied. This makes a sacrification of the animals unavoidable and only allows for the application of ex vivo methods.

METHODS
To overcome this issue the authors propose a low dose scan protocol and an associated reconstruction algorithm that allows for in vivo imaging of cardiac perfusion and associated processes that are retrospectively synchronized to the respiratory and cardiac motion of the animal. The scan protocol consists of repetitive injections of contrast media within several consecutive scans while the ECG, respiratory motion, and timestamp of contrast injection are recorded and synchronized to the acquired projections. The iterative reconstruction algorithm employs a six-dimensional edge-preserving filter to provide low-noise, motion artifact-free images of the animal examined using the authors' low dose scan protocol.

RESULTS
The reconstructions obtained show that the complete temporal bolus evolution can be visualized and quantified in any desired combination of cardiac and respiratory phase including reperfusion phases. The proposed reconstruction method thereby keeps the administered radiation dose at a minimum and thus reduces metabolic inference to the animal allowing for longitudinal studies.

CONCLUSIONS
The authors' low dose scan protocol and phase-correlated dynamic reconstruction algorithm allow for an easy and effective way to visualize phase-correlated perfusion processes in routine laboratory studies using free-breathing mice.


BACKGROUND
Due to its reported antimicrobial effects, hypertonic citrate (46.7%) is a widely used catheter lock solution, but following instillation, citrate inevitably spills into the systemic circulation. This process is mainly driven by hydraulic effects during instillation and density differences between blood and lock solution. Hence, in haemodialysis catheters, intra-luminal citrate concentration ranges from 0% (at the tip in catheters with side holes), 3% (between the side holes and the highest point of the catheter) to 46.7% (at the Luer end) with possible differences in antimicrobial effects. We investigated in vitro the antimicrobial effect of pure citrate 46.7%, citrate 46.7% diluted with saline and blood to a net concentration of 3% (=citrate 3%), and of citrate-free blood, simulating in vivo conditions in different catheter sections.

METHODS
Time-kill studies measuring the antimicrobial effect of citrate 46.7%, citrate 3% and citrate-free blood were performed with overnight cultures of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

RESULTS
Citrate 46.7% reduced the number of E. coli by 2 log units but after 24 h, 10(6) CFU/mL were still present. Citrate 3% and citrate-free blood had no antimicrobial effect on E. coli. Citrate 46.7%, citrate 3% and citrate-free blood had scarce antimicrobial effect on S. aureus within 24 h.

CONCLUSIONS
Spillage of catheter lock solution leading to reduced intra-luminal citrate concentrations considerably reduces the antimicrobial effect of citrate 46.7% on E. coli. As none of the solutions tested had relevant antimicrobial effect on S. aureus, the antimicrobial effect of 46.7% citrate lock solution in vivo has to be seriously questioned.


Diabetes Mellitus or diabetes is an aggregation of metabolic diseases distinguished as a condition occurring when the body can't utilize glucose from the foods eaten. In 2011, 366 million were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus with 4.6 million deaths and 50% among which are undiagnosed. According to the International Diabetes Federation in 2011, diabetes is expected to rise by about 552 million by the year 2030. Patient nonadherence can be a pervasive threat to health and well-being and carries an appreciable economic burden as well, yet, only few studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between adherence to therapeutic regimen and well-being among type 2 diabetic individuals The main intention of this study is to provide an in–depth review of the relationship between the adherence to therapeutic regimen and well–being among type 2 diabetic individuals in Iligan City. Descriptive Correlational design was utilized to describe the relationship between the variables under investigation. Modified standardized questionnaires were given to 133 respondents who were chosen using a simple random sampling. Results showed that among the therapeutic regimen adherence investigated, most of the respondents have an average level of adherence to diet compared to medication, exercise, and stress reduction techniques in which their level of adherence scored good. For their well–being status, only mental scored good, while physical, emotional and spiritual scored average. Furthermore, findings showed a significant inverse relationship between age of respondents and their level of adherence to diet, the respondents' work status and their level of adherence to diet and stress reduction techniques. Positive significant relationship was found between the respondents' educational attainment and their level of adherence to therapeutic regimen, economic status and medication adherence, and educational attainment and mental well–being. Therefore, therapeutic regimen adherence was found to have a positive impact on the well–being of the respondents. Collaborative team consisting of endocrinologists, nurses, nutritionists, dieticians, exercise physiologists, and spiritual leaders is highly recommended for the intensive management of diabetes patients, thus, improving adherence and well–being


Fludarabine-based chemotherapy combinations are highly effective in patients (pts) with low-grade follicular lymphoma (FL), but cause severe and long-lasting immunosuppression due to depletion of normal CD4 T-cells. Aside from increasing the risk of serious infections, this toxicity may limit the ability of the immune system to eliminate minimal residual disease. Adoptive immunotherapy using autologous CD25-depleted, CD3/CD28-costimulated T-cells expanded ex vivo (ACTC) may enhance immune reconstitution and improve disease control. We initiated a phase I study in pts with purine analog-naive relapsed/refractory FL (grades 1 and 2). After leukapheresis, pts receive 4 cycles of fludarabine (25 mg/m 2 ) days 1 – 3 and cyclophosphamide (250 mg/m 2 ) days 1 – 3. Four weeks after last chemotherapy, responding patients (CR, CRu, PR) receive escalating doses of ACTC prepared from autologous T-cells collected prior to chemotherapy. Thirteen pts have been enrolled to date. Median age is 49 y (range: 32 – 68). Median number of prior therapies is 2 (range: 1 – 3). Two pts were withdrawn from the study due to hematologic toxicity related to chemotherapy, one patient was withdrawn for progressive disease during chemotherapy, and one patient has not completed first response assessment after ACTC infusion. For 9 assessable pts completing chemotherapy and ACTC infusion, 7 pts achieved a CR and 2 pts achieved a PR; 5 pts received 1 – 5 x 10 9 and 4 patients received 5 – 10 x 10 9 CD3+ ACTC. There have been no adverse events related to T-cell infusions. Median follow-up after ACTC infusion is 20 months (range: 2 – 42 months). CD4 counts increased in all patients by 1 month after T-cell infusion, with a median increase of 3.8 fold (n = 8; range: 1.5 – 71). For patients at dose level 1, the median increase was 2.2 fold (n = 4; range: 1.5 – 21); at dose level 2, it was 4.2 fold (n = 4; range: 3.8 – 71). CD8 counts also increased, with a median increase of 8.1 fold (range: 1.0 – 30). All 9 pts receiving ACTC were anergic to candida antigen by delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin testing before chemotherapy; 5 pts developed a positive DTH response to candida antigen 60 days after ACTC infusion. From the start of therapy for patients receiving T-cells, median follow-up is 24 months (range: 6 – 47) with median progression-free survival of 18 months, which is significantly longer than the time to progression from last therapy (median 11 months) (p = 0.01, log-rank test). Thus, ACTC results in more rapid CD4+ lymphocyte recovery in pts after cyclophosphamide-fludarabine chemotherapy compared to historical controls and results in reconstitution of recall immunity. These encouraging clinical responses provide the rationale for clinical trials to test ACTC as a way to enhance cellular immunity to tumor-specific antigens after chemotherapy.


This paper summarizes three presentations on the global and Latin American perspectives on the health significance of fat quality in the diet given at the 16th Congress of the Society of Latin American Nutrition in Havana, Cuba, November 11-16, 2012. Dietary fat quality contributes to the risk of the leading chronic diseases and is more important than fat quantity in reducing the risk of chronic disease mortality, especially from cardiovascular disease (CVD). In many countries, the consumption of saturated fats exceeds the recommended limit of 10% energy (%E) and intakes of polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) are often below the recommended range of 6-11%E. Consumption of long-chain ω-3 PUFAs is especially low. In many Latin American countries, high consumption of carbohydrates, especially sugars, contributes to obesity, diabetes, hypertension and CVD, while intakes of total fat and PUFAs may be low. Thus, dietary fat recommendations must consider the dietary fat patterns of each country. Nutrition counseling can be effective in teaching individuals and families to modify their food intake patterns and control the major risk factors for chronic disease.