A Metropolitan University (MU) is deeply embedded in its local community, entwined in various economic, social, and professional networks over which creative and innovative ideas circulate. In keeping with its core mission of education, a MU can leverage these networks by implementing a research agenda designed to gain a better understanding of the propagation and exchange of ideas over the networks in which it operates. We refer to a university that has adopted such an agenda as a Dynamic Metropolitan University. Guided by a strategic plan that recognizes and supports the study of networks, a Dynamic MU is then positioned to effectively differentiate itself from online education, local community colleges, and less community-oriented universities.


A neoclassical transport model compatible with a system of two-fluid equations is proposed, with an emphasis on the heat flux contribution. The model is based on the moment approach and is capable of accurately reproducing important neoclassical properties through a simple expression of the neoclassical viscosity tensor, with the aid of the NCLASS module. Applying neoclassical transport theory in a fluid context, we confirm the reproducibility of first-order flows, poloidal flows, neoclassical resistivity, bootstrap current and particle flux. c


In this work, the Linear Ordering Problem (LOP) is approached. This is an NP-hard problem which has been solved with different metaheuristic algorithms. Particularly, it has been solved with a Scatter Search algorithm that applies the traditional approach which incorporates a single improvement method. In this paper, we propose a Scatter Search algorithm which uses multiple improvement methods to achieve a better balance of intensification and diversification. To validate our approach, a statistically-supported experimental study of its performance was carried out using the most challenging standard instances. The overall performance of the proposed Scatter Search algorithm was compared with the state-of-the-art algorithm solution for LOP. The experimental evidence shows that our algorithm outperforms the best algorithm solution for LOP, improving 2.89% the number of best-known solutions obtained, and 71% the average percentage error. It is worth noticing that it obtains 53 new best-known solutions for the instances used. We claim that the combination of multiple improvement methods (local searches) can be applied to improve the balance between intensification and diversification in other metaheuristics to solve LOP and problems in other domain.


SOMETHING amazing is happening in the religious life of America today and Dr. Braden tells us about it in "a study of modern American cults and minority religious movements." Here is a scholarly study of thirteen modern cults, all of which have either been born in America or have achieved their major development here. In the Appendix, very brief notice is given to some fifteen or twenty less influential groups. Particular attention is given in the main body of the book to Father Divine's Peace Mission, The I AM Movement, and Psychiana because the author feels these have not hitherto been seriously studied in an objective fashion. Now many have taken in hand to set forth the things believed and practiced by these groups and a rapidly growing literature has resulted. Most writers, however, have succumbed to one of two temptations; either they have capitalized on the queer and bizarre elements in a literature of exploitation, or they have presented the more seamy sides of these movements in exposé fashion. Here is a serious study of source materials, carefully documented, plus a sympathetic evaluation of the statements of founders, leaders, and individual members. It impresses one with its fairmindedness and inspires confidence. While Dr. Braden is often frank in his criticisms, if he has erred, it is on the side of the cults and their leaders. This reviewer regrets that the materials are not presented in the fascinating manner in which others have written in this field. The price of the book will also be a millstone about its neck. The book deserves wide reading and should be kept for reference by all those interested in present-day religious movements. It is undoubtedly the best book in its field and should be widely circulated. The cults are seriously attempting to bring the Kingdom of God to earth in our day and generation. They cannot do it alone. The churches have demonstrated that they cannot do it alone. Perhaps together? At any rate, each can learn from the other. Here is a good place for those in the "churches" to begin to inform themselves about religious groups that can no longer be overlooked.


Erosion of soils in river, lake, and seabeds is an important component for scour estimation and design of underwater structures. This is because the scour can cause severe structural damage to underwater foundations or embankments. The erosion function apparatus (EFA) method is widely used to estimate the erosion rate of soils in the laboratory, where a soil protrusion of 1 mm thick is exposed to water flow and the time taken to erode this protrusion is measured. However, determining this erosion time is a difficult task because it is only visually inspected, and this can cause considerable measurement errors. Therefore, this study explored the feasibility of using an ultrasonic P-wave reflection monitoring method to more quantitatively assess the erosion rate that otherwise has been measured by visual inspection. The erosion rates were monitored using ultrasonic transducers mounted above a soil surface during the EFA testing on the prepared soil samples containing different clay fractions. Via the P-wave monitoring results, several important semi-quantitative observations were made: an increase in erosion resistance with an increase in the clay fraction, a discontinuous erosion behavior of fine-grained soils with sudden removal of soil lumps by water flows, a continuous erosive action of coarse-grained soils, and inherent heterogeneous erosion even at a specimen scale (i.e., the scale of milli-to-centimeter). While both the P-wave monitoring method and the visual inspection showed similar estimation on the erosion rate, the former was found to provide overall better quantitative assessment, particularly in conditions of very slow or rapid erosion and in the conditions with high turbidity water, unevenly eroded sample surfaces, or limited control on the soil protruding thickness.


Background & objectives: Kangaroo mother care (KMC - early continuous skin-to-skin contact between mother and infants) has been recommended as an alternative care for low birth weight infants. There is limited evidence in our country on KMC initiated at home. The present study was undertaken to study acceptability of KMC in different community settings. Methods: A community-based pilot study was carried out at three sites in the States of Odisha, Gujarat and Maharashtra covering rural, urban and rural tribal population, respectively. Trained health workers provided IEC (information, education and communication) on KMC during antenatal period along with essential newborn care messages. These messages were reinforced during the postnatal period. Outcome measures were the proportion of women accepting KMC, duration of KMC/day and total number of days continuing KMC. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were also carried out. Results: KMC was provided to 101 infants weighing 1500-2000 g; 57.4 per cent were preterm. Overall, 80.2 per cent mothers received health education on KMC during antenatal period, family members (68.3%) also attended KMC sessions along with pregnant women and 55.4 per cent of the women initiated KMC within 72 h of birth. KMC was provided on an average for five hours per day. Qualitative survey data indicated that the method was acceptable to mothers and family members; living in nuclear family, household work, twin pregnancy, hot weather, etc., were cited as reasons for not being able to practice KMC for a longer duration. Interpretation & conclusions: It was feasible to provide KMC using existing infrastructure, and the method was acceptable to most mothers of low birth infants.


The objective of this study was to analyze the factor of COVID-19 and environmental factors that affect the delay of building construction. The construction of the BPKB Service Building for the Traffic Directorate of the Maluku Regional Police in T.A 2020 was a project that spends a very large budget with a planned time of 150 days. Building construction was delayed up to 4 weeks. This building construction experienced a delay of 27.895\% of the work that had to be done. The method used is principal component analysis, which is multivariate and transforms correlated original variables into new uncorrelated variables by reducing the number of these variables so that they have smaller dimensions but can explain most of the diversity of the original variables. The results of the analysis of 25 respondents and 3 variables, namely: building tents to anticipate rain, good and harmonious relationships to prevent unexpected things from happening, and checking the location before making soft drawings.


Stargardt disease (STGD1, OMIM 248200) is a common hereditary juvenile or early adult onset macular degeneration. It ultimately leads to progressive central vision loss. Here, we sought to identify gene mutations associated with STGD1 in a three-generation Han Chinese pedigree by whole exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing. Two novel potentially pathogenic variants in a compound heterozygous state, c.3607G>T (p.(Gly1203Trp)) and c.6722T>C (p.(Leu2241Pro)), in the ATP binding cassette subfamily A member 4 gene (ABCA4) were identified as contributing to the family's STGD1 phenotype. These variants may impact the ABCA4 protein structure and reduce the retinal-activated ATPase activity, leading to abnormal all-trans retinal accumulation in photoreceptor outer segments and in retinal pigment epithelium cells. The present study broadens the mutational spectrum of the ABCA4 responsible for STGD1. A combination of whole exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing is likely to be a time-saving and cost-efficient approach to screen pathogenic variants in genetic disorders caused by sizable genes, as well as avoiding misdiagnosis. These results perhaps refine genetic counseling and ABCA4-targetted treatments for families affected by STGD1.


This exploratory study examines the role that older black men's attitudes play in their willingness to offer job-linking assistance to younger black men. A series of in-depth interviews were conducted with ten black male business owners 35-years-old or older to determine their disposition towards younger black men, their ability to provide job-linking assistance, and their willingness to provide assistance. The study found that despite negative opinions towards their younger counterparts, the older black men in the sample were willing to offer job-linking assistance. However, the men's own problems with perceived discrimination, as well as a troubled economy provide barriers to their do so.


A novel, simple, rapid, sensitive and highly selective flow injection procedure for the spectrophotometric determination of chlorine dioxide in the presence of other chlorine species, viz, free chlorine, chlorite, chlorate and hypochlorite, is developed. The method is based on the discoloration reaction between chlorine dioxide and chlorophenol red and can overcome the shortcomings existed in direct spectrophotometric determination for chlorine dioxide owing to the serious interference of free and combined chlorine. The procedure gave a linear calibration graph over the range 0-0.71 mg/L of chlorine dioxide. With a detection limit of 0.024 mg/L and a sample throughput of 60 samples/h.


Nationwide food consumption and dietary surveys have been conducted about every 10 yr by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) since the mid-1930s to fulfill responsibilities for monitoring dietary patterns among the nation's population. Survey findings have implications for policies and programs related to food production and marketing, food safety, food assistance, and nutrition education. Until 1965, these surveys measured household food consumption only, but subsequent surveys were expanded to include food intakes by individuals in the sample households. Since 1985, small-scale continuing surveys of food intakes by individuals have been conducted during the years between the large decennial surveys. The 1-d recall was used in the first dietary intake survey. Then, to capture day-to-day variation in diets, 3 d of intake data, 1-d recall and 2-d records, were collected in 1977-1978, 1987-1988, and 1989. Prior to the 1977-1978 dietary intake survey, USDA embarked upon an intensive program of extramural research that was designed to improve methodologies for surveying individuals' dietary intakes. Since 1975, many major investigations have been completed and results have been incorporated in current survey procedures. Studies included testing of varied recall and diary methods, approaches for validating survey data, debriefings of survey respondents and interviewers, intersurvey comparisons, and testing of panel approaches with in-person, telephone, and mail contacts.


Taxation convergence in the European Union has always been a heatedly debated issue, and it has constantly resurfaced to the limelight as more and more fiscal directive proposals are being discussed. The current study is an analysis of the evolution of taxation convergence tendencies within the European Union in recent years, using sigma-convergence and cluster analysis. Our goal is to analyze the fiscal convergence trends in the context of European Union enlargement over the last two decades.


The aim of this study is to analyse the efficiency of livestock operations in the Valencian Community, particularly for pig, which currently provides the greatest economic weight to the agricultural GDP of the community. By creating a production function representative of the existing allocations on farms, the farms that reach an optimal level of production in the absence of inefficiencies will be determined. The results will help determine standards that facilitate error correction to improve the competitiveness of the sector. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/ICBM.2015.1310


OBJECTIVES
To assess vaccination status in a cohort of children with rheumatic diseases followed at the University Children's Hospital Ljubljana and to evaluate the most common reasons for vaccination dropout.

METHODS
Patients with rheumatic diseases who were evaluated at the rheumatology outpatient clinic between January 2015 and January 2017 received a questionnaire about their vaccination status and reasons for potential vaccination dropout. Vaccination coverage for individual vaccines was determined at 5, 10, 18 years and at the time of their last clinic visit.

RESULTS
Data were received from 187 out of 424 enrolled patients (44.1%). Majority of included patients had juvenile idiopathic arthritis (n=165), followed by childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (n=6), juvenile dermatomyositis (n=5), mixed connective tissue disease (n=3), chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis, juvenile systemic sclerosis, Takayasu's arteritis (n=2 each), granulomatous polyangiitis and fibromyalgia (n=1 each). Vaccination coverage was complete in 91.9%, 70.3%, 66.7% and 64.7% of patients at 5, 10, 18 years and at their last clinic visit, respectively. Most commonly omitted vaccines were hepatitis B and second dose of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Most common additional vaccine was against rotavirus. Most common reason for vaccination dropout was suggestion of the treating rheumatologist.

CONCLUSIONS
Thirty-five percent of our patients remain incompletely vaccinated and thus susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases. Physicians play a crucial role in the decision to vaccinate.


The goal of the present questionnaire study was the exploration of the impact of individual, contextual and cultural value -related factors on Hungarian high school students' (N = 236; M = 96, F = 140) selfreported individual cheating behavior. The validity and reliability of the utilized scales were tested. According to the r esults (1) attitudes towards cheating, (2) guilt after cheating and (3) grade point average (GPA) had direct impact on self-reported cheating b ehavior. Indirect predictors were observed also. The results are disc us ed from the perspective of Hungarian cultural and educational c ontext.


Most discussions on the development effectiveness of aid tend to focus on aggregate flows and neglect the various categories of aid and different aid delivery mechanisms. We emphasise, however, that the key question is not whether aid works, but which aid works. The potential effects – both beneficial and adverse – of aid appear to be mainly the consequence of how aid is provided. This paper therefore addresses two questions: which aid works and how aid is delivered. These issues are becoming increasingly relevant given the declining societal trust in public aid and against the background of the growing interests in the new aid architecture.We discuss three basic, albeit usually underestimated aspects that critically influence development effectiveness: (a) resource complementarities between different programme components, (b) substitution effects between different activities, and (c) spillover effects that influence aid effectiveness at aggregate level. We present some empirical examples of these mechanisms and indicate their particular relevance for the new types of institutional arrangements that characterise upcoming reforms of the international aid architecture (public-private partnerships, multi-donor trust funds and civil society support funds).


Abstract We compared the in vitro activity of dalfopristin and quinupristin combined with five intravenous antibiotics in a 3-dimensional model. We tested six strains of Staphylococcus aureus selected with different patterns of resistance to methicillin and eryth-romycin. Dalfopristin and quinupristin displayed a very synergistic activity against all the strains with a mean 16- or 32-fold decrease of inhibitory concentrations in combination. That synergy was even better against erythromycin-resistant strains. In combination with tigecycline or fosfomycin, the antibacterial activity could be consistently enhanced with the same decrease of inhibitory concentrations. A synergy was also observed, less regularly and at a lower level, with rifampin, gentamicin or vancomycin. Combinations of dalfopristin and quinupristin with tigecycline or fosfomycin could be very interesting in clinical practice because the inhibitory effect could be achieved with very low oncentrations of each component, even when erythromycin-resistant strains are concerned.


Objective: The objective of this national survey of clinicians providing acute stroke care was to examine current practice patterns regarding the informed consent process for tPA as well as ERT. Background: Improvement in the consent process for stroke interventions has been a suggested target to further reduce delays in timely reperfusion. Currently there is no standard means of obtaining informed consent for acute stroke interventions. Methods: A survey instrument was distributed nationally to 809 neurologists, emergency medicine physicians, interventionists, internal medicine physicians, and nursing staff via email. Analysis was then performed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test for categorical comparisons, and multivariable logistic regression analyses to determine independent factors contributing to consent practices. Free-text entries were separately analyzed for thematic content. Results: The survey response rate was 33% (268/809). Respondents were in practice an average of 13.1 (+/- 9.5) years. Only 21% of respondents reported never requiring informed consent for tPA given within the 3-hour time window, whereas 37% always require informed consent. In multivariable models, practicing emergency medicine (OR 5.8, 95% CI [2.9-11.5]) and working at a non-academic medical center (OR 2.1, 95% CI [1.0-4.3]) were associated with always requiring informed consent. Over half of respondents (52%) reported experiencing delays because of informed consent for tPA. Waiting for a patient's family to reach consensus about treatment was the most often reported delay. Almost all providers (90.5%) identified the risk of intracranial hemorrhage as necessary content to disclose, and the majority (87.4%) reported a verbal description of risk and benefits as the preferred means of delivering information. Most respondents (56%) always obtain informed consent for ERT and most (59%) did not experience delays because of informed consent. Conclusions: Most respondents to a national survey typically obtain informed consent for acute stroke therapies and most have encountered delays in administering tPA because of the informed consent process. Decreasing the time to obtain informed consent may be a future target to improve stroke outcomes.


ABSTRACT In this study, a commercial magnetic ion exchange (MIEX) resin was used for the removal of clofibric acid (CA), one of the most persistent pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) in the environment, from aqueous solutions. As a result of batch experiments, optimum conditions were determined as pH = 4–7, equilibrium time = 240 min., and resin dosage = 26 mL/L for the removal of CA with MIEX resin. Freundlich isotherm model and pseudo-second order kinetic model showed the best fit for the sorption data with correlation coefficients higher than 0.99. Thermodynamic calculations indicated that the ion exchange process betweenMIEX resin and CA was a thermodynamically feasible and spontaneous process. Regeneration studies showed that the repeated use of MIEX resin is possible. The effect of all coexistent anions (chloride, carbonate and sulphate) was found to be close to each other for molar ratios of CA:coexisting anion = 1–3. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) images were used to examine the interactions of resins with CA and to see the changes that could occur in the resins after regeneration. The most obvious changes in MIEX resin due to CA sorption are found in the 1712 cm−1, 1480 cm−1, 1238 cm−1and 963 cm−1 bands. This study revealed that the mechanism of removal of the CA by MIEX resin is ion exchange and is reversible.


Traumatic events are a primary cause of local lesions of articular cartilage. Tissue engineered, cartilage-like structures represent an alternative to current treatment methods. The time necessary for tissue maturation and the mechanical quality of the regenerate at implantation are both critical factors for clinical success. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound has proven to accelerate chondrogenesis in vitro. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether low-intensity pulsed ultrasound is capable of accelerating the process of cartilage maturation and increasing regenerate stability. Hyaline-like cartilage specimens were generated in vitro and subcutaneously implanted in the backs of nude mice. Twenty-eight animals received 20 min of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound treatment daily, and 28 animals received a sham treatment. Specimens were explanted after 1, 3, 6, and 12 weeks, mechanically tested with the use of an indentation test, histologically examined, and processed for RT-PCR. The Young's moduli significantly increased from 3 to 12 weeks, and at 6 weeks were comparable to those of native articular cartilage. In histological examination, specimens showed neocartilage formation. There was no significant difference between ultrasound-treated and sham-treated groups. The mechanical stability of the neocartilage specimens increased with treatment time and reached values of native cartilage after 6 weeks in vivo. Low-intensity pulsed-ultrasound stimulation showed no stimulatory effect on tissue maturation. In contrast, ultrasound-treated specimens showed a reduced Col 2 expression at 1 week and were significantly less stiff compared to native cartilage at 6 and 12 weeks. An acceleration of the maturation of tissue-engineered neocartilage in a clinical setting by means of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therefore appears rather unrealistic.


In this paper, we outline a new objective dust source detection method for the central and western Sahara (CWS), based on the automated tracking of individual dust plumes in data from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager, available every 15 mins. at ~0.03° spatial resolution. The method is used to map the origin of summertime dust storms in the CWS for June – August 2004 – 2010. It reveals the sources of these events in unprecedented detail, allowing for the identification of specific, highly active source areas. The study of collocated surface features reveals that many of the dominant sources are likely associated with paleolakes and outwash plains, many in close proximity to the Saharan mountains. Extensive nonsource areas are associated with low albedo and elevated terrain, pointing to the mountainous regions of the Sahara. Additionally, sand seas are not identified as important source areas, but their margins sometimes are. The automated tracking method also facilitates analysis of the transport direction of dust plumes from key source regions and the inference of emission mechanisms. It is found that there are two broad domains within the CWS: one in southwest Algeria and northwest Mali, characterized primarily by transport toward the southwest and very likely dominated by low‐level jets embedded in the northeasterly Harmattan winds; and a second in southern Algeria, northwest Niger, and northeast Mali where there is no preferred transport direction and a strong potential association between dust events and deep convection, pointing toward cold pool outflows as the likely deflation mechanism.


The authors report their first experiments in integrating the connection machine into VLSI CAD (computer-aided design) software systems. A parallel channel router was implemented using an incremental analysis technique as a case to illustrate the applicability of the architecture. A routing channel implemented in a grid system is discretized, with each layer defining a net segmented into a finite number of unit segments and analyzed during each step in the algorithm. The set comprising the tips of all nets forms the domain elements operated upon. An optimum solution is found by concurrently minimizing the distance to the other end of each net. The tip moves from one live processor to another selected as the best move at each step. The authors study the special case of channel routing in VLSI and show how the parallel aspect of such a problem is used efficiently to route pairs of networks concurrently.<<ETX>>


Peen forming is a stretchy sheet metal forming method and its usage area is increasing and the application method is developing gradually. Process procedure constitutes dimple on the surface to attain intended free form shaped plate. The basic principle of the peen forming process is to obtain a free-formed sheet metal by utilizing residual stress on the material after impact. In this study, needle peen forming is analyzed by using finite element method. Owing to the workpiece is fixed and the impacting needle is movable, the process can obtain any desired free form. In FE simulation, the needle is controlled to form dimples' indentation that causes bending on sheet metal. The study guideline is to adjust the indentation of punch to form sheet metal as the concave and convex with improving an existing random dynamic model. A 1,6mm AA2024-T351 strip is used as the workpiece and a carbon tungsten punch to create dimples is simulated. The concavity effect of the indentation of the needle peen forming process is discussed. Keyword: Forming, Peen, Needle, Residual Stress, Finite Element, Sheet Metal, Dimple, Concavity


Background and Objectives. Multiple antibacterial agents have been mixed and used as an intracanal medicament-like modified triple antibiotic paste (MTAP) to eliminate Enterococcus faecalis (EF), which has been most frequently identified in the cases of failed root canal treatment and periapical lesions. This study is aimed at using a single antibacterial agent, nitrofurantoin (Nit), as an experimental intracanal medicament paste against different clinical isolates of EF), which has been most frequently identified in the cases of failed root canal treatment and periapical lesions. This study is aimed at using a single antibacterial agent, nitrofurantoin (Nit), as an experimental intracanal medicament paste against different clinical isolates of Materials and Methods. Three strains of EF), which has been most frequently identified in the cases of failed root canal treatment and periapical lesions. This study is aimed at using a single antibacterial agent, nitrofurantoin (Nit), as an experimental intracanal medicament paste against different clinical isolates of n = 90), group M (MTAP) (n = 90), group M (MTAP) (n = 90), group M (MTAP) (EF), which has been most frequently identified in the cases of failed root canal treatment and periapical lesions. This study is aimed at using a single antibacterial agent, nitrofurantoin (Nit), as an experimental intracanal medicament paste against different clinical isolates of n = 90), group M (MTAP) (n = 90), group M (MTAP) (n = 90), group M (MTAP) (EF), which has been most frequently identified in the cases of failed root canal treatment and periapical lesions. This study is aimed at using a single antibacterial agent, nitrofurantoin (Nit), as an experimental intracanal medicament paste against different clinical isolates of Results Nit could eradicate S1, S2, and S3 completely with concentrations of 6.25, 12.5, and 25 mg/mL, respectively, while MTAP showed complete eradication of the three strains only at 25 mg/mL. In all the groups, it was found that the CFU counts of EF), which has been most frequently identified in the cases of failed root canal treatment and periapical lesions. This study is aimed at using a single antibacterial agent, nitrofurantoin (Nit), as an experimental intracanal medicament paste against different clinical isolates of Conclusion At the concentration of 25 mg/mL, the Nit paste is effective in eradicating EF completely when it is used as an intracanal medicament.EF), which has been most frequently identified in the cases of failed root canal treatment and periapical lesions. This study is aimed at using a single antibacterial agent, nitrofurantoin (Nit), as an experimental intracanal medicament paste against different clinical isolates of


The article focuse is on the landscape understanding from the perspective of semiotics and critical social theory in Anglo-American cultural geography and the method of landscape visual/textual analysis. The history of approaches to landscape understanding and research in Anglo-American cultural geography from the beginning of the XX century to this day is analyzed, as well as the consideration of the landscape in the European Landscape Convention. It was found that the use of the concept of landscape in human geography primarily implies the emphasis on the visual aspect of the built environment. It was found that from the perspective of semiotics, landscapes, in addition to the material (physical) dimension, carry a semantic load, convey meaning, are a system of signs and can be read as text.

The axioms for reading the landscape of American geographers P. Lewis and D. Mitchell, and ideas of structuralist semiotics are presented. These theoretical and methodological approaches are applied to study the architectural styles of administrative, residential and commercial buildings, monuments and advertisement in public space, place names and other ways of symbolic marking of space as well as landscapes representation in the media (movies, news, advertisements, paintings, literature). The article also examines the understanding of the landscape from the perspective of critical social theory, according to which they are involved in the construction, maintenance, legitimization and resіstence of social structures (systems of relations), such as national, political, economic, class or gender.

The approaches to landscape research discussed in the article are central to the analysis of visual changes of built environment in urban and rural settings, including the process of "decommunization" in Ukraine, landscape involvement in capitalist relations and consumption practices, it commodification and commercialization. It was found that landscapes visual/textual analysis also allows to reveal the values and identities of people expressed in the architectural styles of single-family houses. The application of the considered approaches is important for the improvement of urban planning and architectural regulations in order to create a socially just environment, taking into account the historical, social and cultural context, and the needs of different residents.


Due to the availability of sequence data from large-scale EST (expressed sequence tag) projects, it has become feasible to develop microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from genes. A set of 111 090 barley ESTs (corresponding to 55.9 Mb of sequence) was employed for the identification of microsatellites with the help of a PERL5 script called MISA. As a result, a total of 9 564 microsatellites were identified in 8 766 ESTs (SSR-ESTs). Cluster analysis revealed the presence of 2 823 non-redundant SSR-ESTs in this set. From these 754 primer pairs were designed and analysed in a set of seven genotypes including the parents of three mapping populations. Finally, 185 microsatellite (EST-SSRs) loci were placed onto the barley genetic map. These markers show a uniform distribution on all the linkage groups ranging from 21 markers (on 7H) to 35 markers (3H). The polymorphism information content (PIC) for the developed markers ranged from 0.24 to 0.78 with an average of 0.48. For the assignment of these markers to BAC clones, a PCR-based strategy was established to screen the "Morex"-BAC library. By using this strategy BAC addresses were obtained for a total of 127 mapped EST-SSRs, which may provide at least two markers located on a single BAC. This observation is indicative of an uneven distribution of genes and may lead to the identification of gene-rich regions in the barley genome.


Opponents of a massive laser fusion project in California say they have evidence that the National Research Council (NRC) compromised its independence when it reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Ignition Facility project. In a report due for release this week--a draft of which was obtained by Science --the Natural Resources Defense Council says members of an NRC panel briefed DOE officials on their preliminary conclusions about the technical feasibility of the project before the panel had even completed its review. A senior NRC official acknowledges that such a briefing violates NRC policies, but he insists the review was fair and impartial.


Abstract The endostyle is a pharyngeal organ of Urochordata, Cephalochordata and larval Cyclostomata. This organ secretes mucus-proteins for internal filter feeding, a feeding system that must have developed in the common ancestor of these subphyla. Therefore, the endostyle is a key structure to understanding the origin and evolution of chordates. A previous study of the overall gene expression in Ciona intestinalis young adults yielded several candidates for ascidian endostyle-specific genes. In the present study, we determined in detail the expression profiles of six novel endostyle-specific genes. Ci-VWFL1 and CiVWFL2 encode related proteins similar to vertebrate von Willebrand factor, and were continuously expressed in zones 4 and 2 of the developing endostyle, respectively. The expression of Ci-Ends8 was observed in the entire region of zone 6 in young adults; however, the expression of this gene was restricted to the dorsal- and ventral-regions of zone 6 in the adult endostyle. The expression of Ci-Ends9 and Ci-Ends10 was observed in zones 6 and 4 in young adults, respectively, and was downregulated in the adult endostyle. Ci-Ends11 showed an expression pattern similar to that of Ciona TTF-1, which encodes a thyroid-related transcription factor. The predicted amino acid sequence of Ci-Ends10 showed similarity to Trip230, and that of Ci-Ends11 resembled Ptp4E. These molecules might be useful for further analysis of the development, function and evolution of the endostyle.


The electronic devices have such impact on our lives that it is impossible to imagine our present society without them. Nowadays, the spatial dimensions and working times of the commercial electronic devices are arraying at nanometer and picoseconds scales, so that their performance has to be understood with quantum mechanics. Quantum electron transport theories and their application to electron device modeling have matured into a well-established field with active research, intensive software development, and vast commercial applications. On the other hand, Bohmian mechanics is a well established theory for computing quantum phenomena. Based on this formalism, in this book, a general versatile and time-dependent 3D electron transport simulator for nanoelectronic devices named BITLLES is developed (http://europe.uab.es/bitlles). In particular, the simulator takes advantage of the use of (Bohmian) conditional wavefunctions to tackle, both, the quantum many-body and the quantum sequential measurement problems, which become of fundamental importance to understand the noise and high-frequency behavior of state-of-the-art nanoelectronic devices.


In the third edition of Storr's The Art of Psychotherapy, Jeremy Holmes seeks to bring this 1979 classic up to date for the modern practitioner. Included in several additional chapters are a revised section on the classification of personality types and a chapter on the science of psychotherapy. Despite some sizeable additions to the text, Holmes manages to retain the original spirit of the book and his admiration for Anthony Storr's work is clear from the beginning. The Art of Psychotherapy sets out to de-mystify the process of psychodynamic psychotherapy and takes a very practical approach to answering the question 'What does a psychotherapist actually do?' The initial few chapters focus on the beginnings of therapy and I was delighted to see the book address a list of nervously posed questions that I once asked myself when starting my first psychodynamic case: 'Am I supposed to make ''interpretations''? If so, what exactly is ''an interpretation'', and how does one make one?' One of the strengths of this book is the way in which it meets with the reader's everyday concerns. The middle section deals with important areas such as transference and counter-transference, interpretation and the therapeutic relationship. These chapters are punctuated with case material which allows the reader to visualise something of therapeutic process taking place within the consulting room. In a welcomed chapter on dreams, Holmes correctly asserts that it can be rather 'alarming' for psychotherapists in training when a client discusses a dream. This chapter does much to assuage these fears in setting out some very clear advice. The revised sections on depression, anxiety and patterns of personality, although certainly interesting and readable, felt perhaps a little less practical than the previous chapters. That said, one of the final chapters, 'The end of therapy', does provide useful insights on what a 'good' client outcome may look like and offers strategies for meeting with issues that can sometimes arise in the 'ending'. This book is concise, practical and written in an accessible and dynamic way. As such, it would appeal to anyone interested in psychotherapy, but may be especially useful as an introductory text to core trainees and higher trainees undertaking psychodynamic cases.


Cloud migration has attracted a lot of attention in both industry and academia due to the on-demand, high availability, dynamic scalable nature. Organizations choose to move their on-premise applications to adapt to the virtualized environment of the cloud where the services are accessed remotely over the internet. These applications need to be re-engineered to completely exploit the cloud infrastructure such as performance and scalability improvements over the on-premise infrastructure. This paper proposes a re-engineering approach called architectural refactoring for restructuring on-premise application components to adopt to the cloud environment with the aim of achieving significant increase in non-functional quality attributes such as performance, scalability and maintainability of the cloud architectures. This paper proposes, when needed to migrate to cloud, the application is divided into smaller components, converted into services and deployed to cloud. The paper discusses existing issues faced by software developers and engineers during cloud migration, introduces architectural refactoring as a solution and explains the generic refactoring process at an architectural level.


Purpose: This paper aims to explore how resilience is evident in healthcare supply chains in the public sector when faced with pandemic disruption and to identify any learnings to inform recovery and future-readiness phases. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory case study was conducted, consisting of seven semi-structured interviews with public sector supply chain actors in the healthcare personal protective equipment supply chain. The data included document analysis. Findings: Key findings show how specific resilience strategies such as agility, collaboration, flexibility and redundancy, contributed to supply chain resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Collaboration is identified as a key mechanism for resilience with public sector networks viewed as facilitating this. Established collaborative relationships with suppliers pre-pandemic did not support increased visibility of tiers within the supply chain. Originality/value: This is one of the first papers to provide in-depth resilience insights through an example of healthcare supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.


Eight patients, 7 renal and 1 combined renal and pancreas allograft recipients with generalized cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection were treated with continuous intravenous foscarnet infusion (0.15 mg/kg/min) for 10-14 days. Antiviral effect was studied by immune scanning electron microscopy for detection of CMV antigen in serum and urine, by virus isolation in tissue culture in samples from buffy coat, broncholavage and urine and by serology. CMV antigen was detected in serum samples in 8 patients and 5 had positive virus isolation from buffy coat, before institution of therapy. The 3 patients with negative virus isolation in tissue culture had serological evidence of a reactivated CMV infection. Virus replication was inhibited by foscarnet treatment in 7 patients within a week (p less than 0.01) (Wilcoxon log rank test). 7/8 patients had no detectable CMV antigen in serum or urine after 7-10 days of treatment (p less than 0.01) (Wilcoxon log rank test).


Differences among tropical tree species in survival and growth to light play a key role in plant competition and community composition. Two canopy species with contrasting functional traits dominating early and late successional stages, respectively, in a tropical montane rain forest of Hainan Island, China, were selected in a pot experiment under 4 levels of light intensity (full, 50%, 30%, and 10%) in order to explore the adaptive strategies of tropical trees to light conditions. Under each light intensity level, the pioneer species, Endospermum chinense (Euphorbiaceae), had higher relative growth rate (RGR), stem mass ratio (SMR), specific leaf area (SLA), and morphological plasticity while the shade tolerant climax species, Parakmeria lotungensis (Magnoliaceae), had higher root mass ratio (RMR) and leaf mass ratio (LMR). RGR of both species was positively related to SMR and SLA under each light level but was negatively correlated with RMR under lower light (30% and 10% full light). The climax species increased its survival by a conservative resource use strategy through increasing leaf defense and root biomass investment at the expense of growth rate in low light. In contrast, the pioneer increased its growth by an exploitative resource use strategy through increasing leaf photosynthetic capacity and stem biomass investment at the expense of survival under low light. There was a trade-off between growth and survival for species under different light conditions. Our study suggests that tree species in the tropical rainforest adopt different strategies in stands of different successional stages. Species in the earlier successional stages have functional traits more advantageous to grow faster in the high light conditions, whereas species in the late successional stages have traits more favorable to survive in the low light conditions.


The proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene is expressed predominantly in corticotrophs of the pituitary anterior lobe, melanotrophs of the intermediate lobe and neurons of the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus. The different ontogeny of POMC mRNA as well as the complicated hormonal regulation of POMC gene expression in the three different cell types suggests a concerted interaction between several cis-acting elements in the POMC gene and transcription factors located in each of the three cell types. To investigate cell-specific elements in the POMC gene we tested two different constructs in transgenic mice. The construct -4000rPOMCLacZ, carrying 4 kb of the rat POMC promoter fused to the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene, showed appropriate expression in melanotrophs in 50% of the mice analyzed. beta-Galactosidase activity was less evident in corticotrophs under basal environmental conditions. In brain, 7 out of 15 independently derived transgenic founders had ectopic expression of the transgene in different areas; however, none of the animals analyzed expressed beta-galactosidase in neurons of the arcuate nucleus. The construct HAL*, a 'tagged' 10.2-kb mouse genomic fragment, was more efficiently targeted to the pituitary. Using in situ hybridization, we detected uniform expression of HAL* in melanotrophs in 100% of the 6 pedigrees analyzed and transgenic mRNA levels paralleled those of the endogenous POMC mRNA. In corticotrophs, basal expression was low but after adrenalectomy HAL* mRNA levels were comparable to those of POMC. None of the 6 pedigrees had appropriate expression of HAL* in the brain; however, 2 lines had ectopic expression in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


BACKGROUND
Triple-positive breast cancer (TPBC) is highly invasive and lacks well-established treatment strategies, especially in patients with advanced stage disease. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of everolimus in patients with metastatic TPBC (mTPBC) in a multicenter real-world setting.

METHODS
A total of 2518 cancer patients who received everolimus-based therapy were enrolled from three cancer institutes in China from 2014 to 2022. Their clinicopathological characteristics were collected from medical records. The indicators for the efficacy of everolimus were progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR) and clinical benefit rate (CBR).

RESULTS
We collected 79 HER2-enriched patients that were treated with everolimus-based therapy, 43 of whom were mTPBC. The most commonly used therapeutic combinations was everolimus plus endocrine therapy (18/43, 41.9%). Among all combinations, everolimus plus chemotherapy plus trastuzumab developed the longest PFS of 10.9 months (95% CI: 1.5-20.3). Seventeen patients (32.6%) with mTPBC received everolimus as frontline treatment (1 L/2 L/3 L, FL), and 26 patients (67.4%) as backline treatment (>3 L, BL). Among all the population, the median PFS for everolimus was 4.5 months (range: 3.0-6.0), ORR was 30.2%, and CBR was 48.8%. PFSFL of 10.9 months was significantly longer than 4.0 months for PFSBL (p = 0.003, HR = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.14-0.67). ORRFL was 41.2%, showing no significance compared to ORRBL of 23.1% (one-sided p = 0.11). CBRFL was observed better of 76.5% versus CBRBL of 46.2% (one-sided p = 0.026).

CONCLUSION
Everolimus as frontline treatment achieves clinical benefits for Chinese patients with mTPBC, which may provide some references for the management of Chinese mTPBC patients.


Methemoglobin is hemoglobin with iron in a ferric state instead of a ferrous state, thus unable to carry oxygen causing cyanosis and a left shift of the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve. Methemoglobinemia, either congenital or acquired, is a rare clinical occurrence and can be life threatening for individuals with levels greater than 20%. Acquired methemoglobinemia has multiple etiologies and is commonly caused by topical anesthetic drugs such as benzocaine, prilocaine, and lidocaine. Nitrates, both topical and intravenous, can also precipitate clinically significant levels. The inherited form of methemoglobinemia is rare and generally presents early in life. Until recently, the only method for measuring methemoglobin levels was to send a blood sample for co-oximetry analysis. Conventional dual-wavelength pulse oximetry does not detect methemoglobin levels and its mearsurement of oxygen saturation becomes unreliable in the setting of even small levels of methemoglobin in the blood. Recently, a new mutiwavelength pulse co-oximeter was developed that enables the detection of methemoglobin and carboxyhemoglobin (Masimo RAD 57 pulse co-oximeter, Irvine, CA). After institutional review board approval, we performed a prospective study to determine the incidence of elevated methemoglobin levels in 500 patients on medications known to cause elevations in methemoglobin levels. All patients were screened using the new pulse co-oximeter to determine the methemoglobin levels. Patients with clinically significant elevations in methemoglobin levels were referred to clinicians for further evaluation and treatment. Of the patients screened, 498 patients had clinically insignificant methemoglobin levels. Two patients exposed to benzocaine, a topical anesthetic, were found to have serious elevations in methemoglobin levels. One patient with benzocaine toxicity was found to have initial methemoglobin levels of 38.9 to 45.8% using the pulse co-oximeter. This level was confirmed with co-oximetry analysis. The second patient was discovered just after the initiation of methylene blue therapy for a methemoglobin level of 24%. The results of this study demonstrate the need to monitor patients exposed to triggering medications. Both patients with elevated methemoglobin levels were successfully treated. Of these patients with benzocaine toxicity only one of them was recognized by clinicians prior to diagnosis using the pulse co-oximeter. The pulse co-oximeter is portable and small; it provides an opprtunity for early noninvasive diagnosis of high methemoglobin level at a low cost.


Using plant-level data on Chilean manufacturing firms for the 1980-99 period, we estimate and characterize disaggregate total factor productivity. We show that idiosyncratic productivity shocks are a quantitatively relevant source of the observed heterogeneity in the behavior of plants. Both exit and input demand decisions are correlated with our estimates of plant level productivity. We then use these estimates to study the microeconomic sources of aggregate growth. We decompose productivity dynamics into production reallocation and within plant efficiency changes. We find that both sources of productivity growth have significantly contributed to efficiency gains in Chile during the last two decades. Although reallocation effects are always positive, the magnitude of their contribution is larger during periods of negative or low growth. Within-plant productivity growth contributes positively only during the 1990s, consistently with the existence of a lag between the implementation of major market oriented structural reforms -- mostly undertaken during the late 1970s and early 1980s -- and their complete effect on the economy. Once reforms were consolidated, unbounded within-plants efficiency gains driven by technology adoption and innovation occurred.


The first section of the theoretical part of the thesis points to the significance of environmental education in kindergarten; environmental education is increasingly important in the modern world and functions as a strategy for the preservation of the environment. Unfortunately, environmental education seems to remain quite overlooked or left to teachers' sensitivity about the environment and their personal opinion regarding environmental education in preschool.

The second section of the theoretical part touches on the importance of waste, both positive and negative characteristics of packaging and the area of design, which we find particularly important, even though it may not be an independent educational area. Moreover, the thesis focuses on the development and learning of children in the preschool period and the significance of active learning in that period.

The practical part of the thesis displays some of the most creative activities we conducted and products/ad-hoc toys we made from waste materials throughout the year.

In the thesis we underline the aspect of technical creativity of children when dealing with packaging waste that raises endless possibilities for play and creativity; with a little imagination and inventiveness it is easy to meet the children's need for play and creativity.

The final analysis suggests that those materials that children can handle themselves, explore, put together and manipulate are the best because they ignite the children's imagination. In addition, the children proved to be extremely good in observing and planning as they could imagine their creations based on the materials they were offered.


Federally endangered interior least terns (Sternula antillarum) nest on bare or sparsely vegetated sandbars on midcontinent river systems. Loss of nesting habitat has been implicated as a cause of population declines, and managing these habitats is a major initiative in population recovery. One such initiative involves construction of mid-channel sandbars on the Missouri River, where natural sandbar habitat has declined in quantity and quality since the late 1990s. We evaluated nest-site habitat selection by least terns on constructed and natural sandbars by comparing vegetation, substrate, and debris variables at nest sites (n = 798) and random points (n = 1,113) in bare or sparsely vegetated habitats. Our logistic regression models revealed that a broader suite of habitat features was important in nest-site selection on constructed than on natural sandbars. Odds ratios for habitat variables indicated that avoidance of habitat features was the dominant nest-site selection process on both sandbar types, with nesting terns being attracted to nest-site habitat features (gravel and debris) and avoiding vegetation only on constructed sandbars, and avoiding silt and leaf litter on both sandbar types. Despite the seemingly uniform nature of these habitats, our results suggest that a complex suite of habitat features influences nest-site choice by least terns. However, nest-site selection in this social, colonially nesting species may be influenced by other factors, including spatial arrangement of bare sand habitat, proximity to other least terns, and prior habitat occupancy by piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). We found that nest-site selection was sensitive to subtle variation in habitat features, suggesting that rigor in maintaining habitat condition will be necessary in managing sandbars for the benefit of least terns. Further, management strategies that reduce habitat features that are avoided by least terns may be the most beneficial to nesting least terns. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.


Knowledge in the field of inherited thrombocytopenias (ITs) has greatly improved over the last 15 years. Several new genes responsible for thrombocytopenia have been identified leading to the definition of novel nosographic entities and to a much better characterization of the phenotypes of these diseases. To date, ITs encompass 22 disorders caused by mutations in 24 genes and characterized by different degrees of complexity and great variability in prognosis. Making a definite diagnosis is important for setting an appropriate follow‐up, choosing the best treatments and providing proper counseling. Despite the abovementioned progress, diagnosis of ITs remains difficult and these disorders are still underdiagnosed. The purpose of this review is to provide an updated guide to the diagnosis of ITs based on simple procedures. Moreover, the currently available therapeutic options for these conditions are recapitulated and discussed.


Prerogative rights can be interpreted as privileges or privileges, The Indonesian constitutional history that has used several constitutions indirectly has implications for the practice of the use of prerogative rights in Indonesia. This study research on the preogrative rights of the President in the Constitutions of Indonesia. The approach used in this study is normative juridical with the law approach model. It is concluded that the use of prerogative rights has ups and downs influenced by the concept of checks and balances and distribution of power. Therefore, the use of prerogative rights as in the previous constitution is more directed to heavy executives who do not require confirmation to other state institutions, now it has begun to be restricted so the use of the term prerogative privileges is no longer pure as before. Keyword: President, Prerogative Rights, Indonesia Constitution


A new positioning method for large objects by cooperation of three position-controlled manipulators is proposed. To realize the cooperative positioning system by position-controlled manipulators, it is necessary to avoid excessive inner forces among manipulators caused by mutual positioning errors. To solve this problem, two wires with independent directions are installed between each manipulator tip and the positioned object. As a result, the object is suspended by six wires those directions are linearly independent of each other. Then, if the tensions of all wires are positive during the execution of the positioning tasks, the excessive inner forces don't generate by positioning errors of the manipulator tips and sway motion of the object doesn't occur against external forces in some extent. On the other hand, this system has 12 kinematical redundant degrees of freedom. Therefore, we propose a positioning control algorithm to keep all wire tensions positive and to avoid the concentration of tension on any one wire by utilizing kinematical redundancy. The effectiveness of the proposed method and the developed system are verified by a fundamental experiment and simulations.


The in vitro cytotoxic properties of acetaldoifosphamide, a new chemically stable bis-acetate analogue of aldoifosphamide that requires enzymatic activation by cellular carboxylate esterases, has been compared with that of 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4-HC). On a molar basis, acetaldoifosphamide was 8-10 times more potent than 4-HC against two different human leukemic myeloid cell lines, but only twice as potent as 4-HC against normal bone marrow granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming cells (GM-CFC). Acetaldoifosphamide retained its activity against leukemic cell lines that were highly resistant to the antileukemic drugs doxorubicin and m-AMSA. GM-CFC doubling times after exposure of bone marrow to high concentrations of acetaldoifosphamide in suspension cultures were 6-12 hours. Similar doubling times were obtained after incubation of marrow with 4-HC. Acetaldoifosphamide has a sparing effect on hematopoietic stem cells that is similar to that found for 4-HC; however, it is considerably more potent than 4-HC. Acetaldoifosphamide is different from 4-HC in its chemical stability and its unique requirement for carboxylate esterase activation. We conclude that acetaldoifosphamide may have advantages over 4-HC for in vitro purging of leukemic cells from human bone marrow.


The Stephen F. Austin State University Center for Digital Scholarship and Center for Regional Heritage Research engaged in a collaborative project to design and implement a database collection in a digital archive that would accommodate images, data and text related to archaeological artifacts located in East Texas. There were challenges in creating metadata profiles that could effectively manage, retrieve and display the disparate data in multiple discovery platforms.

The poster illustrates the steps that were taken to map field notes into useful archival metadata. Using original notes and field record information a preliminary data dictionary was created. After collaborative edits and revisions were made, a comprehensive data dictionary was designed to represent the materials in the collection. From this, a profile was configured in the digital archive platform to allow for upload of the metadata and images, and for discovery and display of the archaeological artifacts and related works.


The current regulations, as set forth by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), to insure that light-water nuclear reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) maintain their structural integrity when subjected to planned startup (heat-up) and shutdown (cool-down) transients are specified in Appendix G to 10 CFR Part 50, which incorporates by reference Appendix G to Section XI of the ASME Code. The technical basis for these regulations contains many aspects that are now broadly recognized by the technical community as being unnecessarily conservative. During the past decade, the NRC conducted the interdisciplinary Pressurized Thermal Shock (PTS) Re-evaluation Project that established a technical basis to support a risk-informed revision to current PTS regulations (10CFR Part 50.61). Once the results of the PTS reevaluation are incorporated into a revision of the 10 CFR 50 guidance on PTS, it is anticipated that the regulatory requirements for the fracture toughness of the RPV required to withstand a PTS event (accidental loading) will in some cases be less restrictive than the current requirements of Appendix G to 10 CFR Part 50, which apply to normal operating conditions. This logical inconsistency occurs because the new PTS guidelines will be based on realistic models and inputs whereas existing Appendix G requirements contain known and substantial conservatisms. Consequently, a goal of current NRC research is to derive a technical basis for a risk-informed revision to the current requirements of Appendix G to 10 CFR Part 50 in a manner that is consistent with that used to develop the risk-informed revision to the PTS regulations. Scoping probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) analyses have been performed for several hundred parameterized cool-down transients to (1) obtain insights regarding the interaction of operating temperature and pressure parameters on the conditional probability of crack initiation and vessel failure and (2) determine the limits on the permissible combinations of operating temperature and pressure within which the reactor may be brought into or out of an operational condition that remains below the acceptance criteria adopted for PTS of 1 × 10−6 failed RPVs per reactor operating year. This paper discusses the modeling assumptions, results, and implications of these scoping analyses.


The harmful somatic and genetic effects of diagnostic radiation on germ cells and the fetus are discussed. There is acceptable evidence, based on animal experimentation, that regardless of where radiation beams are directed, the ovaries are affected to some extent by scatter. A rational approach to the use of diagnostic x-ray technics should imply that where one cannot avoid a certain amount of necessary exposure, such exposure should be kept to a minimum. The increasingly prevalent idea of delaying routine chest x-ray films of pregnant women until at least the second, and preferably the third, trimester is a step in the right direction. This is true also of the use of lower dosage technics, utilizing full-size radiographs rather than the miniature film technic, which use fluoroscopic principles. Very little, if any, somatic harm should result from diagnostic procedures performed in an adequate fashion; however, all types of x- ray procedures carry a potential risk of some minimal damage. (H.H.D.)


The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of level and sources of stress in students of two baccalaureate nursing programs, to compare these groups in their perceived stress and to compare the nursing groups to those enrolled in other health-related disciplines: Medicine, Pharmacy and Social Work. The study was descriptive correlational in design. The sample consisted of 552 full-time university students enrolled in years 2, 3 and 4 of their programs in selected disciplines. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire consisting of three main instruments: the Beck-Srivastava Stress Inventory (BSSI), the General Health Questionnaire 30-item version (GHQ-30) and a demographic profile. Data were analyzed using the SPSSx Statistical Package and included analysis of variance, frequency distribution, measures of correlation, item analysis and factor analysis. The results revealed that baccalaureate nursing students, regardless of year in program or university of attendance, experienced higher levels of stress and higher levels of physiological and psychological symptoms than students in other health-related disciplines. Identified stressors among the disciplines are also reported in the article.


The cytotoxic activity of a series of 23 new isoerianin derivatives with modifications on both the A and B rings was studied. Several compounds exhibited excellent antiproliferative activity at nanomolar concentrations against a panel of human cancer cell lines. The most cytotoxic compound, isoerianin (3), strongly inhibits tubulin polymerization in the micromolar range. Moreover, isoerianin leads to G2/M phase cell‐cycle arrest in H1299 and K562 cancer cells, and strongly induces apoptosis. Isoerianin also disrupts the vessel‐like structures formed by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro, suggesting that this compound may act as a vascular disrupting agent. It clearly appears that in this compound series, the 1,1‐ethane bridge encountered in isoerianin derivatives can replace the 1,2‐ethane bridge of natural erianin with no loss of activity. This reinforces the bioisosteric replacement approach in the combretastatin series previously reported by our research group.


BACKGROUND
KL-6 is a biomarker of the severity of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). We noticed a significant difference in the mean serum KL-6 level between Japanese and Caucasian patients. To assess the clinical value of serum KL-6 in Chinese PAP patients, and to compare the differences in serum KL-6 levels in Chinese patients and patients of other ethnicities.

METHODS
From 2014-2016, we prospectively examined 37 Chinese Han patients with PAP, measured their serum KL-6 levels, evaluated the correlation between initial KL-6 levels and clinical variables, and compared our results with studies from Japan and Germany (similar methods were used). We searched dbSNP for the MUC1 568 (rs4072037) genotype or allele frequency distributions in China, Japan, and Germany.

RESULTS
Initial serum KL-6 levels were significantly correlated with baseline PaO2, A-aDO2, DLCO, FVC, and LDH levels (all P<0.001). Compared with Chinese PAP patients, the mean serum KL-6 level was significantly lower in German PAP patients (P<0.001) but not in Japanese PAP patients (P>0.4). In the rs4072037 allele frequency distributions, the frequency of the A/A genotype was significantly higher while that of the G/G genotype was significantly lower in Chinese and Japanese cohorts than in Caucasian cohorts (both P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Serum KL-6 can be used as a biological indicator for disease monitoring in Chinese patients. The difference in serum KL-6 level among Chinese, German, and Japanese PAP patients may be associated with the distribution of the rs4072037 genotype.


Apoptosis is critical for embryonic development, tissue homeostasis, and the removal of infected or otherwise dangerous cells. It is controlled by three subgroups of the BCL-2 protein family—the BH3-only proteins that initiate cell death; the effectors of cell killing, BAX and BAK; and the antiapoptotic guardians, including MCL-1 and BCL-2. Defects in apoptosis can promote tumorigenesis and render malignant cells refractory to anticancer therapeutics. Activation of cell death by inhibiting antiapoptotic BCL-2 family members has emerged as an attractive strategy for cancer therapy, with the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax leading the way. Large-scale cancer genome analyses have revealed frequent amplification of the locus encoding antiapoptotic MCL-1 in human cancers, and functional studies have shown that MCL-1 is essential for the sustained survival and expansion of many types of tumor cells. Structural analysis and medicinal chemistry have led to the development of three distinct small-molecule inhibitors of MCL-1 that are currently undergoing clinical testing.


Reverse transcriptase (rt) fragments from LINE retrotransposons in the mulberry genome were analyzed in terms of heterogeneity, phylogeny, and chromosomal distribution. We amplified and characterized conserved domains of the rt using degenerate primer pairs. Sequence analyses indicated that the rt fragments were highly heterogeneous and rich in A/T bases. The sequence identity ranged from 31.8% to 99.4%. Based on sequence similarities, the rt fragments were categorized into eight groups. Furthermore, similar stop codon distribution patterns among a series of clones in the same group indicated that they underwent a similar evolutionary process. Interestingly, phylogenetic analyses of the rt fragments isolated from mulberry and 13 other plant species revealed that two distantly related taxa (mulberry and Paeonia suffruticosa) grouped together. It does not appear that this phenomenon resulted from horizontal transposable element transfer. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis revealed that most of the rt fragments were concentrated in the subtelomeric and pericentromeric regions of the mulberry chromosomes, but that these elements were not abundant in the mulberry genome. Future studies will focus on the potential roles of these elements in the subtelomeric and pericentromeric regions of the mulberry genome.


With the advent of lots of multimedia instruments in today's world peoples are clicking lots of Picture of theirs and also trying to preserve their past pictures. As the time goes on those pictures got damaged. Image inpainting is technique which tries to recover such images which are damaged. Inpainting is an art of modifying the digital image in such a way that the modifications/alterations are undetectable to an observer who has no idea about the original image. Image Inpainting is used to filling the region which are damaged and want to recover from unwanted object by collecting the information from the more promising neighbouring pixels which will add details to the image such that image have close resemblance to the original image and we are not able to differentiate between original image and the inpainted image. In this paper we are trying to study various technique of image inpainting, where the authors used the multiresoultion technique, wavelet transform, counterlet transform, fragment based image completition etc. to complete the image. We also discuss about the advantages and disadvantages of that technique with respect to efficiency and time limit.


Background: Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) occurs up to 75% of adult SLE patients, and is one of the major causes of death in SLE patients. Cognitive dysfunction is a typical clinical feature of NPSLE, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Dyslipidemia and thyroid disease, which were prevalent in SLE patients, both related to the neuropsychiatric disturbances, including significant psychiatric and cognitive disturbance. This study aimed to investigate whether cognitive dysfunction in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was related to the expression of serum thyroid hormone and lipoproteins.Methods: A total of 121 patients with SLE and 65 healthy controls (HCs) at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital completed a cognitive function test, then 81 SLE patients were divided into high cognition (n=33) group and low cognition group (n=48). The differences in clinical and laboratory tests and the correlations between IgG, IgM, albumin, T3, and T4 levels and cognitive function were analyzed. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the serum levels of 4 lipoproteins (APOE, APOA1, IGF-1, and IGFBP7) in 81 patients.Results: Patients with SLE were less educated with abnormal cognitive function compared with HCs. The levels of albumin, T3 (P < 0.05), and T4 decreased in low-cognition patients, while D-dimer, anti-dsDNA antibody, and IgM levels increased. The serum IgG and IgM levels showed a significant negative correlation with partial cognitive function. The serum T3 and T4 levels positively correlated with cognition. The expression of APOE, APOA1, IGF-1, and IGFBP7 showed no difference between the high- and low-cognition groups. However, the serum APOE level negatively correlated with Line Orientation, APOA1 positively correlated with Coding, and IGFBP7 negatively correlated with Graphic copy (P < 0.05), and IGF-1 had no correlation with any cognitive functions.Conclusions: Thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) and lipoproteins (APOE, APOA1, and IGFBP7) were associated with cognitive dysfunction in SLE. Whether T3 and T4 can be used in clinical practice as the biomarkers of cognitive dysfunction in SLE needs further exploration.


Within the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the CONSORTIS project will design and fabricate a stand-off system for the detection of objects concealed on people. This system operating in the sub-millimetre wave part of the spectrum will scan people as they walk by the sensor. The aim of the project is to produce a system which has a high probability of detection, low false alarm rates, is non-invasive and respects privacy. The top level system design for CONSORTIS brings together both passive and active sensors and the simulation tools developed to evaluate the design are described. The passive system will operate in two or three bands between 100 and 600GHz and will be based on a cryogen free cooled focal plane array sensor whilst the active system will be a solid-state 340GHz radar. This will maximize the probability of detection and reduce false alarms. A 'systems engineering' approach was adopted with performance modeling being used to develop the system specifications. A modified version of OpenFx is used to model the passive system and SE-RAY-EM for the active system. Both of these tools are capable of rendering imagery which is electromagnetically correct and account for the properties of the sensor. Furthermore this imagery can be animated to give moving images similar to those observed in the real system. Targets can be embedded under clothing so that performance can be estimated. False alarms can be introduced in a similar way to understand if their signatures can be rejected.


Pictorial and verbal encoding in short-term memory of geometric figures and their names was studied in preschool children, using reaction time to a same-different judgment task. Children, like adults, were able to encode either pictures or names in either a pictorial or verbal fashion, as appropriate and with equal facility, although responses to second pictures were faster than responses to second words. Children's latencies were far longer than adults in a comparable task, and children were relatively much slower in switching encoding modalities when so required.


Using a complete record of U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) secondary trades in corporate bonds, we estimate average transaction costs as a function of trade size for each bond that traded more than nine times between January 2003 and January 2005. We find that transaction costs decrease significantly with trade size. Highly rated bonds, recently issued bonds, and bonds close to maturity have lower transaction costs than do other bonds. Costs are lower for bonds with transparent trade prices, and they drop when the TRACE system starts to publicly disseminate their prices. The results suggest that public traders benefit significantly from price transparency.


GRB 111209A is the longest ever recorded burst. This burst was detected by Swift and Konus-Wind, and we obtained TOO time from XMM-Newton as well as prompt data from TAROT. We made a common reduction using data from these instruments together with other ones. This allows for the first time a precise study at high signal-to-noise ratio of the prompt to afterglow transition. We show that several mechanisms are responsible of this phase. In its prompt phase, we show that its duration is longer than 20 000 seconds. This, combined with the fact that the burst fluence is among the top 5% of what is observed for other events, makes this event extremely energetic. We discuss the possible progenitors that could explain the extreme duration properties of this burst as well as its spectral properties. We present evidences that this burst belong to a new, previously unidentified, class of GRBs. The most probable progenitor of this new class is a low metalicity blue super-giant star. We show that selection effects could prevent the detection of other bursts at larger redshift and conclude that this kind of event is intrinsically rare in the local Universe. The afterglow presents similar features to other normal long GRBs and a late rebrightening in the optical wavelengths, as observed in other long GRBs. A broad band SED from radio to X-rays at late times does not show significant deviations from the expected standard fireball afterglow synchrotron emission.


Extended pluripotent stem cells (EPS cells) have unlimited self-renewal ability and the potential to differentiate into mesodermal, ectodermal, and endodermal cells. Notably, in addition to developing the embryonic (Em) lineages, it can also make an effective contribution to extraembryonic (ExEm) lineages both in vitro and in vivo. However, multiple mysteries still remain about the underlying molecular mechanism of EPS cells' maintenance and developmental potential. WDR36 (WD Repeat Domain 36), a protein of 105 kDa with 14 WD40 repeats, which may fold into two β-propellers, participates in 18sRNA synthesis and P53 stress response. Though WDR36 safeguards mouse early embryonic development, that is, homozygous knockout of WDR36 can result in embryonic lethality, what role does WDR36 plays in self-renewal and differentiation developmental potential of human EPS cells is still a subject of concern. Here, our findings suggested that the expression of WDR36 was downregulated during human hEPS cells lost self-renewal. Through constructing inducible knockdown or overexpressing WDR36-human EPS cell lines, we found that WDR36 knockdown disrupted self-renewal but promoted the mesodermal differentiation of human EPS cells; however, overexpressing of WDR36 had little effect. Additionally, P53 inhibition could reverse the effects of WDR36 knockdown, on both self-renewal maintenance and differentiation potential of human EPS cells. These data implied that WDR36 safeguards self-renewal and pluripotency of human EPS cells, which would extend our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of human EPS cells' self-renewal and differentiation.


This article explores two talented, controversial writers. One Portuguese, the other Brazilian, both fueled by irreverence and provocation in the way they focus on themselves and the world. Natália Correia, a poet, novelist and Azorean playwright (1923-93), whose work emerged in the midst of the Salazar regime, and with a militant political-literary performance with other leading figures in Portuguese culture and literature during the 1950s and 1960s. Her poetry maintains affinities with aesthetic tendencies of Surrealism, although she was not a strict follower of any literary movement. Hilda Hilst, a poet, prose and playwright from São Paulo (1930-2004), was a militant of different nature. She was not linked to any aesthetic programs or literary trends, a singularity that even today defies critics.


For a large class of reaction-diffusion systems on the plane, we show rigorously that m-armed spiral waves bifurcate from a homogeneous equilibrium when the latter undergoes a Hopf bifurcation. In particular, we construct a finite-dimensional manifold which contains the set of small rotating waves close to the homogeneous equilibrium. Examining the flow on this center-manifold in a very general example, we find different types of spiral waves, distinguished by their speed of rotation and their asymptotic shape at large distances of the tip. The relation to the special class of $\lambda$-$\omega$ systems and the validity of these systems as an approximation is discussed.


We treated a 75-year-old man who had non-B and non-C, and Child's class C liver cirrhosis and acute hepatic encephalopathy with neostigmine and polyethylene glycol electrolyte solution. He received repeated transcatheter artrial embolization and percutaneous ethanol injection combination therapy for multiple hepatocellular carcinomas, which controlled his disease for 25 months from the first treatment. He was admitted in a state of hepatic coma after being found unresponsive at his home. With the consent of the patient's family, we gave him 1.0 mg of neostigmine intramuscularly to improve his peristaltic movement, and 2 L of polyethylene glycol electrolyte solution through a nasogastric tube for 4 hours to reduce the production and absorption of gut-derived toxins of nitrogenous compounds. Using these treatments, the blood ammonia level decreased to the normal range within 8 hours, and the coma disappeared after 2 days. We suggest that a combination approach of neostigmime and polyethylene glycol electrolyte solution may be one of the most effective treatments for acute hepatic encephalopathy associated with liver cirrhosis and ascites.


A basic telephone service is used to establish a communication session between two users. A telephone feature, such as call waiting, call forwarding, and three way calling, is defined as an added functionality of the basic telephone service. A feature interaction is the interference of the functionality of one telephone feature with the functionality of another telephone feature, meaning that the invocation of the first feature modifies the functionality of the other active feature, or even prevents its functionality altogether. This problem has become a major obstacle for the extension of telephone systems with new services. Our contributions in this thesis are the following: (1) define a model for specifying telephone systems and their services; (2) formalize the notion of feature interaction; and (3) develop a design methodology for detecting feature interactions at the specification level.
In the first part of the thesis, we define a model for structuring the components of telephone specifications. In this model, a specification is expressed as a set of communicating processes representing three types of constraints: local constraints, end-to-end constraints, and global constraints. Each of these constraints is defined and used in our specifications.
In the second part of the thesis, we develop a methodology for detecting feature interactions. Central to our methodology is the formalization of the notion of feature interaction. Intuitively, we say that an interaction exists between n features if one of the features cannot exhibit its behaviour when integrated into POTS in combination with other features. We formalize this concept by defining the composition and integration of features. Composition expresses the synchronization of features on their common actions with POTS and their interleaving on their independent actions. Integration expresses the extension of POTS with the n features, such that each feature is able to execute all of its actions which are allowed in the context of POTS, when the other features are disabled. Then, we reason about interactions in terms of the conformance relation studied in testing theory, in the following way. An interaction exists between n features if their integration does not conform to their composition. A set of concrete telephony examples is used to show the applicability of the methodology.
The specification language used is LOTOS, which turns out to be ideally suited to express our methodology. However, our method is general enough to be adapted to other specification languages with similar constructs.


The performance of a-Si:H p-i-n solar cells with different p-layer thicknesses, front contact barrier heights, and front contact/p-layer hole transport mechanisms were modeled. The authors examined how p-layer material and contact quality influenced the results obtained, and they also explored the role that tunneling of holes across the barrier near the front contact can play in determining cell performance. It was found that, for active p-layer cells with the optimistic p-layer activation energy of 0.27 eV, cell performance is maximum for a p-layer thickness of about 100 AA. However, this maximum depends on the quality of the p-layer. Surprisingly, it was found that, for front contact barrier height values less than some critical value, cell performance, in the absence of tunneling, depends on the front contact barrier height regardless of the thickness or quality of the p-layer.<<ETX>>


AIM
To investigate the efficacy and safety of propofol sedation for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).

METHODS
Databases including PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials updated as of October 2010 were searched. Main outcome measures were ERCP procedure duration, recovery time, incidence of hypotension and hypoxia.

RESULTS
Six trials with a total of 663 patients were included. The pooled mean difference in ERCP procedure duration between the propofol and traditional sedative agents was -8.05 (95% CI: -16.74 to 0.63), with no significant difference between the groups. The pooled mean difference in the recovery time was -18.69 (95% CI: -25.44 to -11.93), which showed a significant reduction with use of propofol sedation. Compared with traditional sedative agents, the pooled OR with propofol sedation for ERCP causing hypotension or hypoxia was 1.69 (95% CI: 0.82-3.50) and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.55-1.49), respectively, which indicated no significant difference between the groups.

CONCLUSION
Propofol sedation during ERCP leads to shorter recovery time without an increase of cardiopulmonary side effects. Propofol sedation can provide adequate sedation during ERCP.


The localization of the primary auditory cortex in man was studied by direct recordings in 150 different sites in the superior transverse gyrus, especially in Heschl's gyrus and the planum temporale. The distribution of the primary evoked responses (N13/P17/N26) was studied in 15 epileptic patients who were candidates for surgical treatment. Precise topography of recording sites was determined stereotactically. Our results provide evidence for considering only a restricted portion of Heschl's gyrus (its posteromedial part) as the primary auditory area.


Three types of olfactory cells: rod-like and cone-like (flagellar olfactory cells) and filamentous (microvillar olfactory cells), which have been described previously in adult Acipenseridae were found in the olfactory organ of the ten-days larval sturgeons (Acipenser güldenstädti), sevrugas (Acipenser stellatus) and sterlets (Acipenser ruthenus). The flagellar olfactory receptors appeared to predominate in both ten-days larvae and adults of the anadromous sturgeons and sevrugas, while the microvillar olfactory receptors predominate in freshwater sterlets in ten-days larvae as well in adults. The facts obtained confirm the idea that the rod-like, cone-like and filamentous olfactory cells are independent types of olfactory receptors. The different ratios of these cells in the olfactory organs of anadromous and fresh-water Acipenseridae may be a result of their ecological adaptations.


The path to the discovery of anticancer drugs and investigating their potential activity has remained a quest for several decades. Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), also known as "Vorinostat", is a well-known histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) and has the potential to act as a therapeutic agent against tumorigenesis. Herein, we have fabricated SAHA incorporated into biocompatible and biodegradable poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) PLGA nanoparticles (NPs) using a facile method of ultrasonic atomization and evaluated their anticancer property. We have explored their characteristics using dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro drug release and have investigated their efficacy on U87 glioblastoma (GBM) cells. SAHA-PLGA NPs synthesized were of average mean size of 80 ± 23 and 105 ± 6.0 nm observed through cryo-field-emission gun SEM and HR-TEM with a polydispersity index of 0.068 and a ζ-potential value of -13.26 mV. The encapsulation efficiency was 53%, with a sustained in vitro release up to 48 h. The in vitro assessment of SAHA-PLGA NPs for their anticancer activity on U87 GBM cells showed cellular cytotoxicity with an IC50 of 19.91 μM. SAHA-PLGA NP-treated cells also showed suppression in migration with 8.77 μM concentration, and cell growth inhibition was observed in the wound scratch assay for up to 24 h. The cellular uptake studies have been utilized by time-dependent experiments, revealing their cellular internalization. Taking this into account, our present experimental findings indicate that SAHA-PLGA NPs could play a significant role in enhancing the effectiveness and bioavailability and reducing adverse effects of cancer chemotherapy. It also highlights the inherent potential of these biocompatible entities for chemotherapeutic applications in biomedical and pharmaceutics.


OBJECTIVE: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a recently identified risk factor for hypopituitarism, particularly growth hormone (GH) and corticotrophins deficiencies. The aim of our study was to identify possible predictor(s) for neuroendocrine dysfunction in SAH survivors. DESIGN: Pituitary function was evaluated in 93 patients (30 males, 63 females), aged 48.0±1.1 years (mean±SE), and with a Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 4.6±0.6 (mean±SE) more than one year following SAH. In the acute phase, SAH was complicated by vasospasm (VS) in 18 and by hydrocephalus (HDC) in 9 patients. Baseline serum values of Insulin Growth Factor 1 (IGF-I), cortisol, Thyroxine (T4), Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), testosterone (in males), estradiol (in females) and prolactin were determined. RESULTS: According to the results of baseline hormonal evaluation, 47 patients (50.5%) had no hormonal abnormalities. Seven patients (7.5%) had multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies: Four patients (4.3%) had two (GH and cortisol), one patient had three (gonadal, adrenal and GH) and two patients had deficiency of all pituitary axes. Thirty-nine patients (42%) had one abnormal axis (13 adrenal, 2 thyroid, 4 gonadal and 20 GH). None of the subjects was treated with desmopressin or exhibited symptomatic polyuria. The VS and HDC during the acute phase of SAH were related to abnormal pituitary status (VS with low IGF-I levels and HDC with low cortisol levels). CONCLUSION: Through a screening procedure, neuroendocrine dysfunction was identified in a substantial number of asymptomatic patients with previous SAH. Cerebral VS and HDC at the time of SAH emerged as risk factors possibly predicting development of pituitary dysfunction. Low basal levels of IGF 1 and cortisol may help in selecting patients requiring further evaluation of pituitary function.


We introduce the no-core full configuration (NCFC) approach and present results for $^4$He, $^{12}$C and $^{14}$F with the realistic NN interaction, JISP16. We obtain ground state energies and their uncertainties through exponential extrapolations that we demonstrate are reliable in $^4$He where fully converged results are obtained. We find $^{12}$C is overbound by 1.7 MeV and we predict the yet-to-be-measured binding energy of $^{14}$F to be $68.1 \pm 2.7$ MeV. The extrapolated spectrum of $^{14}$F is in reasonable agreement with known features of the $^{14}$B spectrum.


A major cytogenetic subgroup among human lipomas is characterized by translocations involving the HMGIC gene at 12q15. In the context of an ongoing research program aiming at the elucidation of the functional consequences of HMGIC translocations in the etiology of lipomas, we have isolated a novel human gene, LHFP (lipoma HMGIC fusion partner), that acts as a translocation partner of HMGIC in a lipoma with t(12;13). The LHFP gene was mapped to the long arm of chromosome 13, a region recurrently targeted by chromosomal aberrations in lipomas. By Northern blot analysis, a transcript of 2. 4 kb was detected in a variety of human tissues. We assembled a cDNA contig containing the entire coding region of LHFP. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the composite LHFP cDNA revealed an open reading frame encoding a protein of 200 amino acids. The predicted human LHFP protein is almost identical to a translated mouse EST that covers almost the entire LHFP coding region. In addition, BLAST searches revealed that the LHFP protein belongs to a new protein family consisting of at least four or five members. In the lipoma studied, the expressed HMGIC/LHFP fusion transcript encodes the three DNA binding domains of HMGIC followed by 69 amino acids encoded by frame-shifted LHFP sequences. LHFP is the second translocation partner of HMGIC identified in lipomas and represents a candidate target gene for lipomas with 13q aberrations.


We present a novel distribution-free approach, the data-driven threshold machine (DTM), for a fundamental problem at the core of many learning tasks: choose a threshold for a given pre-specified level that bounds the tail probability of the maximum of a (possibly dependent but stationary) random sequence. We do not assume data distribution, but rather relying on the asymptotic distribution of extremal values, and reduce the problem to estimate three parameters of the extreme value distributions and the extremal index. We specially take care of data dependence via estimating extremal index since in many settings, such as scan statistics, change-point detection, and extreme bandits, where dependence in the sequence of statistics can be significant. Key features of our DTM also include robustness and the computational efficiency, and it only requires one sample path to form a reliable estimate of the threshold, in contrast to the Monte Carlo sampling approach which requires drawing a large number of sample paths. We demonstrate the good performance of DTM via numerical examples in various dependent settings.


A series of 2- and 3-aminobenzanilides derived from ring-alkylated anilines were prepared and evaluated for anticonvulsant activity. These benzanilides were prepared in the course of studies designed to determine the relationship between the benzamide structure and anticonvulsant effects. The compounds were tested in mice against seizures induced by maximal electroshock (MES) and pentylenetetrazole and in the rotorod assay for neurologic deficit. The 3-aminobenzanilide derived from 2,6-dimethylaniline, 21, was the most potent anti-MES compound, with an ED50 of 13.48 mg/kg and a protective index of 21.11 (PI = TD50/ED50). The activity profile for 21 compares favorably with that for phenobarbital and phenytoin.


Time evolution of modes of density contrast, in particular the growing modes, dictate the structure formation in Universe. In this paper we explicitly show how (spatial) Non-Commutativity (NC) can affect the behavior of the modes, that is we compute NC corrected power law profiles of the density contrast modes. We develop a generalized fluid model that lives in NC space. The dynamical equations of fluid, namely the continuity and Euler equations receive NC contributions. When mapped to comoving coordinates these generate the NC extended versions of continuity and Friedmann equations for cosmology. Introducing cosmological perturbations finally yield the NC corrected evolution of density contrast modes. The construction of the NC fluid model from first principles and development of the formal aspects of its Hamiltonian formulation have been presented in the first part.


To ameliorate the climate change which caused by environmental problems and achieve the carbon neutrality proposed by Chinese government in 2020, renewable energy like photovoltaic and wind power play an increasingly important role in energy consumption. To address the random fluctuation and insufficient consumption brought by renewable energy, integrated energy system (IES) is one of the solutions to cope with these problems. This study focuses on the planning problem of IES and proposes a planning model, which takes both minimum total costs and CO2 emission as the objectives. To further reduce the carbon emission, fuel cells (FC) which uses hydrogen as fuel to provide both electricity and heat, as well as multi-energy storage systems (ESS) are considered as options in IES planning. A real multi-energy office building in Shanghai, in which photovoltaic, multi-energy storage equipment, fuel cell, electric vehicle (EV) and other equipment are included as planning options, is used as numerical example to verify the effectiveness of proposed planning method for building-level IES. Moreover, the operation scenarios and functions of ESS in IES are analyzed.