\tan, Hamdi S.; and Klotz, Arthur P. (Dept. of Med., Univ. of Kansas Med. Center, Kansas City, Kan.; Med. Serv. & Radioisotope Lab., Vet. Admin. Hosp., Kansas City, Mo.) : FAT ABSORPTION AND PANCREATIC FUNCTION IN DIABETES MELLITUS. Ann. Int. Med. 49:820-28, October 1958. A study was conducted in ten normal adults and ten diabetic patients of fat absorption and pancreatic exocrine function. The former was studied by an I-iodotriolein absorption test and the latter by intravenous secretin. Fat absorption was normal in uncomplicated diabetes. It was abnormal in two patients with diabetic diarrhea while having the diarrhea but normal in one during remission. The secretin test was abnormal only in one diabetic patient complicated by chronic pancreatitis. S.B.B. Assevero, Victor L.; and Moss, James M. (Howard University and Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.) : DIABETES MELLITUS IN INFANCY: CASE REPORT. J. Pediat. .53:227-30, August 1958. The patient discussed was a one-month-old infant whose mother was not diabetic, who failed to gain weight, and entered hospital in dehydration. Glycosuria on one occasion was dismissed as due to clysis. Low sodium and high potassium initiated the incorrect diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency. Eventual management with NPH insulin 2 units twice daily was undertaken with gain in weight from 5 lb. to 8 lb. in two and a half months. R.L.J. Aszkanazy, C. L., Jenkins, L., and Simpson, W. W. (Dept. of Pathology, and Med., Univ. of British Columbia and Vancouver Gen. Hosp., Vancouver, B.C., Canada) : ADRENAL CORTICAL CARCINOMA ASSOCIATED WITH HYPOGLYCAEMIA. Canad. M. A. J. 79:482-84, Sept. 15, 1958. A case of chronic hypoglycemia with terminal fatal hypoglycemia is described in association with carcinoma of the adrenal cortex in a twenty-six-year-old woman. Classical clinical features of Cushing's syndrome were absent. The tumor showed no insulin on hormonal assay to explain the hypoglycemia. S.B.B. Barber, Donn J. (Greeley, Colorado) : THE NEUROLOGIC VXOMPLICATIONS IN DIABETIC CHILDREN. Rocky Mountain M. J. 54:809-13, August 1957. The author discusses the neurologic changes that occur in children with diabetes, classifying these changes into two general classifications, cerebral damage from hypoglycemia and neurologic disorders produced by prolonged hyperglycemia and ketonuria. The physiology of the cerebral damage from hypoglycemia is discussed and the importance of a liberal control in preventing hypoglycemic reactions is stressed. There is also a discussion of the peripheral, neurologic changes occurring from hyperglycemia and it is again stressed that these can be prevented by adequate control. R.C.C. Beck, John C; McGarry, E. E.; Dyrenfurth, I.; and Yenning, E. H. (McGill Univ. Clin., Royal Victoria Hosp., Montreal, Quebec, Canada): THE METABOLIC EFFECTS OF HUMAN AND MONKEY GROWTH HORMONE IN MAN. Ann. Int. Med. 49:1090-1105, November 1958. Metabolic studies of the effects of primate (human and monkey) growth hormone administration to six human subjects are described. One was normal, three had dwarfism, one had been hypophysectomized and one had postmenopausal osteoporosis. Both types of preparation resulted in metabolic effects (retention of nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium) and increased aldosterone excretion. However, the human (and porcine), but not the monkey, preparation caused decreased carbohydrate tolerance as measured by the glucose tolerance test. The results are discussed with reference to possible differences in chemical configuration of growth hormone derived from various species. S.B.B. Berson, Solomon A.; and Yalow, Rosalyn S. (Veterans Administration Hosp., New York 68, N. Y.): INSULIN ANTAGONISTS, INSULIN ANTIBODIES AND INSULIN RESISTANCE. Am. J. Med. 25:155-59, August 1958. This is a comprehensive review of insulin antagonists, insulin antibodies, and insulin resistance in which the authors attempt to unravel the confusion regarding the kinship of the various factors and the nature of the opposition of these factors to insulin. R.W.S. Bickford, A. F.; and Mottram, R. F. (Dept. of the Regius Professor of Medicine, The Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England) : GLUCOSE METABOLISM DURING PERIODS OF INDUCED HYPOTHERMIA. J. Physiol. 143:37-38, Sept. 23, 1958. Studies on the metabolism of glucose in hypothermic rabbits have been made using the intravenous glucose tolerance test, arteriovenous blood glucose differences and the respiratory quoMARCH-APRIL, 1959 157


Ceramics are commonly used as substrates in electrically insulated integrated circuit, printed circuit board, and lightemitting diode industries because of their excellent dielectric and thermal properties. However, brittle materials (e.q., ceramic alumina, sapphire, glass, and silicon wafer) are difficult to fabricate using wheel tools. Laser material processes are preferred over traditional methods because they allow noncontact processing, avoid tool wear problems, and achieve high speed, high accuracy, and high resolution. Laser material processes also exhibit minimal residual thermal effects and residual stress. This study investigated the laser drilling of Al2O3 ceramic material (with a thickness of 380 μm and hole diameters of 200, 300, and 500 μm, respectively) by using a laser milling method. The macro- and micro-hole milling performance depended on various parameters including the galvanometric scan speed and milling time. A 3D confocal laser scanning microscope and a field-emission scanning electron microscope were used to measure the surface morphology, taper angle, and melted residual height of the machined surface after laser milling. The edge quality and roundness of laser milling were also observed using image-processing edge-detection technology.


This work presents the 2nd Cross-Spectrum Iris/Periocular Recognition Competition (Cross-Eyed2017). The main goal of the competition is to promote and evaluate advances in cross-spectrum iris and periocular recognition. This second edition registered an increase in the participation numbers ranging from academia to industry: five teams submitted twelve methods for the periocular task and five for the iris task. The benchmark dataset is an enlarged version of the dual-spectrum database containing both iris and periocular images synchronously captured from a distance and within a realistic indoor environment. The evaluation was performed on an undisclosed test-set. Methodology, tested algorithms, and obtained results are reported in this paper identifying the remaining challenges in path forward.


The problem of food security is de facto and global. While we look at the financial crisis we cannot ignore the almost forgotten food crisis. India has revolutionised its agriculture but there is the phenomenon of food mountains and lakes alongside poverty, malnutrition and ill-health. For an emerging economy of India food insecurity is both an immediate tragedy and a threat to long-term well-being. Eradicating hunger and ensuring higher quality foods is not going to be easy even as agriculture is affected by climate change. However, agriculture forms part of the solution to climate change also. While we expect 'more' from agriculture we also need to accept the fact that agriculture by itself is unlikely to be able to eradicate hunger completely. Alternative strategies need to be (re)searched and adopted, quickly and safely. People should be able to buy enough food, not necessarily that they become self-sufficient. Need for a new matrix of food economics is apparent. Security also means safety for the consumers and the environment, now and in the future. Questions of ecological fallout cannot be brushed aside in futuristic strategies for the country's food security. Food security has implications also for people who are producers of food both at the farm and non-farm levels. Agriprenuers and all connected with the food, nutrition and heath sectors are vital actors in the field game. This paper tries to analyse the problem of food security from a multi-dimensional perspective with emphasis on the aspects of poverty and sustainability. Besides looking at the varied dimensions of food security, the paper also evaluates the present polices and possible options.


Introduction: Diabetes is the most common cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). For patients with diabetes and CKD, the underlying cause of their kidney disease is often assumed to be a consequence of their diabetes. Without histopathological confirmation, however, the underlying cause of their disease is unclear. Recent studies have shown that next-generation sequencing (NGS) provides a promising avenue toward uncovering and establishing precise genetic diagnoses in various forms of kidney disease. Methods: Here, we set out to investigate the genetic basis of disease in nondiabetic kidney disease (NDKD) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD) patients by performing targeted NGS using a custom panel comprising 345 kidney disease-related genes. Results: Our analysis identified rare diagnostic variants based on ACMG-AMP guidelines that were consistent with the clinical diagnosis of 19% of the NDKD patients included in this study. Similarly, 22% of DKD patients were found to carry rare pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in kidney disease-related genes included on our panel. Genetic variants suggestive of NDKD were detected in 3% of the diabetic patients included in this study. Discussion/Conclusion: Our findings suggest that rare variants in kidney disease-related genes in a diabetic background may play a role in the pathogenesis of DKD and NDKD in patients with diabetes.


The results of optical studies of the effect of pulsed magnetic field (B = 60 mT, τ = 1.2 ms, t = 5 min) on the structural perfection and recombination properties of epitaxial GaN films grown on sapphire are presented. Nonmonotonic changes in the spectral dependence of transmittance and photoluminescence were detected for GaN films after exposure to magnetic field. They occurred during several days, with a maximum deviation from the initial values on the 12th day. The observed effect is presumably related to the magnetic field-induced changes in parameters of the surfaces and interfaces of epitaxial films.


There have been several recent studies of the dynamics of waves in the Gulf Stream (Warren, 1963; Niiler and Robinson, 1967), attributing these waves to the influence of bottom topography. Observed meanders are very complicated and may also exhibit features controlled by other influences. This report describes a rather elementary idea that may find some application in future studies of Gulf Stream meanders. Let us consider a current flowing in a broad reach of an open sea in which the motion is confined to the upper density layers. We label the bottom layer with numeral 0, and upper layers by numerals in ascending order. Let us suppose that the current flows mostly toward the east, that it is confined to a fairly narrow range of latitude with no change of Coriolis parameter, and that on both sides to the north and to the south it is bounded by large expanses of ocean in which the density layers are level. Furthermore, suppose the velocity of the deep water vanishes everywhere. The total geostrophic mass transport of the current is uniquely determined, independently of details of the current's structure. However, the geostrophic mass transport of individual layers is not determined but does depend upon details of the current structure. Perhaps the best way to make this clear is to begin by considering a very special simple example. In the three cases of Figure 1, the layers 0, 1, and 2 all have the same thickness far to the right and left of the current, which is confined to the region where interfaces slope. Suppose the density difference of layers 0 and 1 is the same as that between layers 1 and 2. The mass transport per unit width of a water mass will depend upon the number of sloping interfaces beneath it and the cross-sectional area. To make things simple, units of depth and width are chosen to make one small square a unit of area. A single sloping interface has one unit of velocity shear across it. Thus in Figure 1 (top), in the center where both slopes are one above the other, the velocity in layer 1 is 1; that in layer 2 is 2. Inasmuch as there is 1 unit area of type-1 water, moving at 1 velocity unit, the mass transport is 1 unit. On the other hand, the type-2 water is moving at velocity 2, over an area of 3/2, so that its transport is 3 units. Now let us consider the situation shown in Figure 1 (center), where the sloping portions of the interfaces are not one over another, but in which the region where the upper interface slopes is displaced to the left of that where the lower interface slopes. In this figure, there are two streams of layer-2 water and only one of layer-1 water. On the left, there is a transport of 3/2 units of layer-2 water; on the right, the lower layer 1 has a transport of only '/2 unit but, directly above it, layer 2 is carried along with 2 units of transport. The total transport of the upper layer-2 water is therefore 7/2. The other extreme is shown in Figure 1 (bottom), where the slope of the upper interface is displaced to the right. Here the transport of layer-2 water is 5/2, and that of layer-1 water is 3/2. In all these


Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading infectious diseases that is highly transmissible. It is reported to cause approximately 10 million infections and 1.4 million deaths globally in the year of 2019.¹ Prompt detection and treatment of TB are essential to intercept the proliferation of the disease. In the case of drug- resistant TB, failure to detect the resistance of anti TB drugs may give rise to extensively drug- resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). Thus, the rapid detection of drug resistance is vital;, however, the current standard drug susceptibility tests (DST) may take up to 12 weeks raising an alarming concern.² A study was done in China by Li Wan et al, on the accuracy of the reverse dot blot hybridization assay (RDBH) for rapidly detecting the resistance of four anti TB drugs (rifampicin (RIF), isoniazid (INH), streptomycin (SM) and ethambutol (EMB)) in mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates.³
Continuous...


In this article I suggest that 'literary texts' have the potential to respond to the contours of inclusion and exclusion developed and administered by the law. By applying the theory and methodologies of 'law as literature' studies to a quasi-judicial text (the 1997 Bringing Them Home Report1), I will show that there is a demonstrated body of criticism which argues that law is made human when studied as story. I will call on 'critical race theory' and suggest an 'alternative voice' methodology to highlight the way that the Indigenous people of Australia have historically occupied the subject position of 'outgroup'. By referring to the potentials of constitutive rhetoric, I will show that Bringing Them Home operates as a legal story that attempts to interpellate Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Australia through narrative and rhetorical strategy. Finally, I will contend that the constitutive rhetoric of Bringing Them Home offers new possibilities for Aboriginal subjectivity – that is, it offers a new space for discursive practice, one that redefines and remodels the concept of community and reconfigures the parameters of inclusion and exclusion.


BackgroundIt is known that peripheral nerve injury induces time-dependent changes in dorsal horn function. The current study investigated the time dependency of the effects of intrathecal morphine and MK-801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist, on the thermal hyperesthesia evoked by unilateral constriction injury to the sciatic nerve in the rat. MethodsIn rats with a unilateral constriction injury to the sciatic nerve, paw withdrawal latency against thermal stimulation for the injured paw was typically 3 s less than that for the uninjured paw during the first 5 weeks after the injury. Drugs were administered intrathecally 1 or 5 weeks after the nerve injury. ResultsIntrathecal morphine increased the paw withdrawal latencies of both the injured paw and the uninjured paw in an equally dose dependent manner in the 1-week study. In the 5-week study, morphine increased the paw withdrawal latency of the uninjured paw in a dose-dependent manner, but not that of the injured paw. Intrathecal MK-801 increased the paw withdrawal latency of the injured paw to the level of the uninjured paw in a dose-dependent manner in both the 1− and 5-week studies. ConclusionsThese data indicate that (1) an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated spinal facilitation may be the common mechanism maintaining the thermal hyperesthesia evoked by the constriction injury, and (2) the effects of intrathecal morphine on this thermal hyperesthesia are time-dependent.


Greenhouse facilitates precise monitoring and con-trolling of various parameters, so as to cultivate quality con-science crops without slaying resources. The cabling laid for the sensors, deployed inside the Greenhouse is not feasible. Hence the need for an automated system employing wireless communication and remote sensing is imperative. This paper proposes a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) based embedded system and deals with the implementation of ZigBee network (over IEEE 802.15.4) for remote controlling of the Greenhouse parameters. The detailed information regarding establishment of ZigBee network in Star topology as well as in Mesh Topology, inside the Greenhouse is illustrated. It also demonstrates the real time monitoring of parameters such as temperature, humidity, as well as the total power consumption of the system, with the help of a PC based GUI application developed on Java platform.


Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), including the monoterpene limonene, are a major source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). While gas-phase oxidation initiates the dominant pathway for BVOC conversion to SOA, recent studies have demonstrated that biogenic hydrocarbons can also directly react with acidic droplets. To investigate whether mineral dust may facilitate similar reactive uptake of biogenic hydrocarbons, we studied the heterogeneous reaction of limonene with mineral substrates using condensed-phase infrared spectroscopy and identified the formation of irreversibly adsorbed organic products. For kaolinite, Arizona Test Dust, and silica at 30% relative humidity, GC-MS identified limonene-1,2-diol as the dominant product with total organic surface concentrations on the order of (3-5) × 1018 molecules m-2. Experiments with 18O-labeled water support a mechanism initiated by oxidation of limonene by surface redox sites forming limonene oxide followed by water addition to the epoxide to form limonenediol. Limonene uptake on α-alumina, γ-alumina, and montmorillonite formed additional products in high yield, including carveol, carvone, limonene oxide, and α-terpineol. To model tropospheric processing of mineral aerosol, we also exposed each mineral substrate to gaseous nitric acid prior to limonene uptake and identified similar surface adsorbed products that were formed at rates 2 to 5 times faster than without nitrate coatings. The initial rate of reaction was linearly dependent on gaseous limonene concentration between 5 × 1012 and 5 × 1014 molecules cm-3 (0.22-20.5 ppm) consistent with an Eley-Rideal-type mechanism in which gaseous limonene reacts directly with reactive surface sites. Increasing relative humidity decreased the amount of surface adsorbed products indicating competitive adsorption of surface adsorbed water. Using a laminar flow tube reactor we measured the uptake coefficient for limonene on kaolinite at 25% RH to range from γ = 5.1 × 10-6 to 9.7 × 10-7. After adjusting for reactive surface areas, we estimate uptake coefficients for limonene on HNO3-processed mineral aerosol on the order of (1-6) × 10-6. Although this heterogeneous reaction will not impact the atmospheric lifetime of gaseous limonene, it does provide a new pathway for mineral aerosol to acquire secondary organic matter from biogenic hydrocarbons, which in turn will alter the physical properties of mineral dust.


Despite an improving overall survival rate for children with Wilms' tumour, four out of seven patients with bilateral tumours died in the period from 1952 to 1960 and five out of eight died in the period from 1971 to 1989, at St Bartholomew's Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children. More aggressive chemotherapy with both adriamycin and actinomycin D and concern over young age being predisposed to late radiation morbidity prompted us to keep radiotherapy dose prescriptions to the surviving kidney below the quoted renal radiation tolerance dose equivalent. In three long-term survivors treated with daily fractions up to 167 cGy and total doses of 1000-1200 cGy, we have found renal function and growth to be within the "normal" range at follow-up and the patients to be normotensive 6-8 years later. As four of the eight patients reported here died from local disease progression within the kidney (albeit despite slightly larger dose prescriptions), we discuss the potential for larger total doses to be delivered in this situation.


Background: In lung cancer, the MAPK pathway is activated mainly by KRAS and EGFR mutations in smokers and non-smokers, respectively. It is relatively unknown how smoking affects MAPK and PI3K pathways across multiple cancers. Methods: Mutation data and smoking status were available from 854 solid tumor patients whose tumors were profiled by NGS with Illumina MiSeq TruSeq Amplicon Cancer Panel (48 genes, 212 amplicons) in the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Integrated Molecular Profiling in Advanced Cancer Trial (IMPACT). The panel included hotspot exons of EGFR, ERBB2, KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, PTEN and AKT1. Mutation frequencies between smokers and non-smokers (never smoker + former light smoker [ Results: Lung cancers (N=101) from smokers contained more KRAS mutations (38% vs.12%, P=0.004) while those from non-smokers had more EGFR mutations (34% vs. 10%, P=0.003). In contrast, non-lung cancers (N=753) had no difference in KRAS mutation frequencies between smokers and non-smokers (19% vs.17%, P=0.47). Too few EGFR and NRAS mutations were found in this cohort for meaningful analysis. Across the cohorts, there was no difference in BRAF, PIK3CA, or PTEN mutation frequency between smokers and non-smokers (BRAF, 5% vs. 4.5%, P=0.6; PIK3CA, 14% vs.15%, P=0.8; PTEN, 4.5% vs. 3.6%, P=0.6). Five non-lung cancers (4 non-smokers, 1 smoker) had AKT1 mutations. All nine cases with ERBB2 mutations (2 lung and 7 non-lung cancers) were non-smokers. No difference in KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA and PTEN mutation frequencies between smokers and non-smokers was observed within specific cancers; breast, cervix, colorectal, endometrium, ovarian, pancreatobiliary and upper aerodigestive (P values>0.05, N= 107, 36, 126, 55, 167, 70, 81 respectively). Conclusions: Our data suggest that, with the exception of lung cancer, there is no difference in frequencies of hotspot mutations in critical genes encoding MAPK and PI3K pathways members between smokers and non-smokers across multiple cancers analysed. ERBB2 hotspot mutations (N=9) were exclusively found in non-smokers. Citation Format: Kyaw L. Aung, Trevor J. Pugh, Tracy Stockley, Lisa Wang, Greg Korpanty, Stefano Serra, Patricia Shaw, Ming S. Tsao, Neesha Dhani, Helen Mackay, Frances A. Shepherd, Suzanne Kamel-Reid, Lillian L. Siu, Philippe L. Bedard. Pan-cancer analysis of hotspot mutations in genes encoding the members of mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinosidtide-3 kinase (PI3K) pathways among smokers and non-smokers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Integrating Clinical Genomics and Cancer Therapy; Jun 13-16, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2016;22(1_Suppl):Abstract nr 02.


Summary We address the scattering and transmission of a plane flexural wave through a semi-infinite array of point scatterers/resonators, which take a variety of physically interesting forms.


With the advent of web 2.0 and anonymous free Internet services available to almost everyone, social media has gained immense popularity in disseminating information. It has become an effective channel for advertising and viral marketing. People rely on social networks for news, communication and it has become an integral part of our daily lives. But due to the limited accountability of users, it is often misused for the spread of rumors. Such rumor diffusion hampers the credibility of social media and may spread social panic. Analyzing rumors in social media has gained immense attention from the researchers in the past decade. In this paper the authors provide a survey of work in rumor analysis, which will serve as a stepping-stone for new researchers. They organized the study of rumors into four categories and discussed state of the art papers in each with an in-depth analysis of results of different models used and a comparative analysis between approaches used by different authors.


A point bar along the Petit Buech in southern France was studied for the effect of the interaction between groundwater and surface water. This so-called hyporheic exchange was clearly visible at multiple locations on the point bar. Residence time increases when water from the river infiltrates into the subsurface, influencing the transportation of nutrients and pollutants. A fieldwork was performed to do measurements on elevation, porosity and hydraulic conductivity. Grain size measurements were performed to calculate a porosity of 0.18 to 0.35. Hydraulic conductivity was calculated using porosity and groundwater velocity, resulting in an average hydraulic conductivity of 0.16 m/s. In ArcGIS the measurements were interpolated. Interpolations showed locations of large hydraulic conductivity in the inland part of the study area. In groundwater flow model MODFLOW, random fields of hydraulic conductivity were imported for particle tracing experiments in PMPATH. These resulted in residence time distributions having an average residence time of ~20 days. Fluxes were calculated along the river boundary, indicating a surplus of water infiltrating into the area of 1.6 m/s. Either the water exfiltrates into gullies on the point bar or elsewhere beyond the study area.


Abstract Building on world-systems theory, simulation models of 5-line intersocietal networks were generated in an effort to understand systemic power hierarchies. The societal nodes were exclusively connected by three types of interaction: migration, warfare, and unequal trade. These networks can be considered "mixed relation" networks due to the ways in which these types of ties combine positive and negative sanction flows. Insights from elementary theory were employed to understand how exclusion from these different types of ties might influence the resulting power distributions. Additionally, the resource carrying capacity of the nodes was varied by structural position in an effort to differentiate the influence of structural position and individual attributes on location in the hierarchy. It was determined that exclusion from interaction is likely a structural, scale invariant mechanism that helps to determine power distributions above and beyond the inherent attributes of network actors.


Client influence on property valuation has been an emerging theme of behavioural research in the real estate discipline. Studies on valuers' decision-making behaviour imply that client influence is an important source of judgemental bias. Academic interest in client influence research has evolved from identifying the existence of client pressure to studies that explain the mechanism of client influence. A questionnaire survey was administered to valuers to measure their perception with regard to factors affecting client influence in Malaysia. The effect of client size and size of value adjustment requested by clients on valuation were also tested in a behavioural experiment. The survey revealed that valuers in Malaysia perceived client characteristics and valuer characteristics as some of the most important factors affecting client influence on valuations. It was found that factors such as type of client, size of client, integrity of valuer and experience of valuer could potentially impact on the amount and type of influence exerted on valuations. The results of the logistic regression model indicated that neither the client size nor magnitude of value adjustment requested by client affected the decisions of valuers to alter valuation outcome.


CO2 emission certificates internalise effects of fossil fuel consumption on global climate and sea levels. If they are only implemented in some countries, then their effectiveness is limited; Consumption, production and investment decisions do not reach the optimal allocation, production with inefficient technologies in non-participating countries can even be increased. Furthermore industry lobbying might result in limited application of CO2 emission certificates or less ambitious reduction targets. Border tax adjustment at the level of additional costs incurred for procurement of CO2 emission permits during production of processed materials using best available technology limits the distortions. We show that it can be compatible with WTO constraints. Crucial features of a practicable implementation are simplicity achieved by a focus on the CO2 emissions caused by processed materials and a separate treatment of electric energy input to take account of regionally varying fuel mixes.


X-prolyl-dipeptidyl aminopeptidase, which hydrolyzed Gly-Pro-p-nitroanilide (relative activity [RA] = 100%) and Arg-Pro-p-nitroanilide (RA, 130%), was purified to homogeneity from the cell extract of Lactobacillus helveticus CNRZ 32. The enzyme also hydrolyzed Ala-Pro-Gly (RA, 11%) and Ala-Ala-p-nitroanilide (RA, 2%) but was not active on Ala-Leu-Ala, dipeptides, and endopeptidase and carboxypeptidase substrates. The enzyme was purified 145-fold by streptomycin sulfate precipitation, ammonium sulfate fractionation, and a series of column chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose, arginine-Sepharose 4B, and glycyl-prolyl-AH-Sepharose 4B. The purified enzyme appeared as a single band on native polyacrylamide gel and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoreses and had a molecular weight of 72,000. Optima for activity by the purified enzyme were pH 7.0 and 40�C. The enzyme was incubated at 40�C for 15 min with various metal ions. It was activated by Mg2+ (2.5 mM), Ca2+ (0.1 to 2.5 mM), Na+ (10 to 50 mM), and K+ (10 to 50 mM) and was inhibited by Hg2+ (0.1 to 2.5 mM), Cu2+ (0.1 to 2.5 mM), and Zn2+ (0.1 to 2.5 mM). Enzyme activity was partially inhibited by EDTA (1.0 mM, 20 h at 40�C), 1,10-phenanthroline (1.0 mM, 15 min at 40�C), phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (1.0 mM), N-ethylmaleimide (1.0 mM), and iodoacetate (1.0 mM). It was completely inhibited by diisopropyl fluorophosphate (1.0 mM, 2 h at 40�C) and p-chloromercuribenzoate (1.0 mM, 15 min at 40�C). The enzyme was not affected by dithioerythritol (1.0 to 10 mM).


A case study of a young deaf child's conversation development is used to explore the relationship between mode of inquiry and findings resulting from the use of qualitative research methodology. Data were collected through participant observation, videotaping, and interviews in the participants' natural settings. The breadth of findings from thematic analysis of descriptive data and discourse analysis of language samples led to the discovery of the child's language competencies in a field where research usually focuses on language deficits. Additionally, data revealed the contextual features that contributed to the child's conversation development. Scope of findings and implications for educators and researchers provide evidence of the value of qualitative methodology as a mode of inquiry in the field of education of the Deaf.


Fuel for the High Temperature Reactor (HTR) consists of 1 mm diameter coated particles uniformly distributed in a graphite matrix within a cold-molded 60 mm diameter spherical fuel element. Fuel performance demonstrations under simulated normal operation conditions are conducted in accelerated neutron environments available in Material Test Reactors and in real-time environments such as the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor (AVR) Juelich. Postirradiation examinations are then used to assess fuel element behavior and the detailed performance of the coated particles. The emphasis in postirradiation examination and accident testing is on assessment of the capability for fuel elements and individual coated particles to retain fission products and actinide fuel materials. To accomplish this task, techniques have been developed which measures fission product and fuel material distributions within or exterior to the particle: Hot Gas Chlorination - provides an accurate method to measure total fuel material concentration outside intact particles; Profile Electrolytic Deconsolidation - permits determination of fission product distribution along fuel element diameter and retrieval of fuel particles from positions within element; Gamma Spectrometry - provides nondestructive method to measure defect particle fractions based on retention of volatile metallic fission products; Particle Cracking - permits a measure of the partitioning of fission products betweenmore » fuel kernel and particle coatings, and the derivation of diffusion parameters in fuel materials; Micro Gas Analysis - provides gaseous fission product and reactive gas inventory within free volume of single particles; and Mass-spectrometric Burnup Determination - utilizes isotope dilution for the measurement of heavy metal isotope abundances.« less


Background—MDMA (±3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 'ecstasy') users report that the drug produces unusual psychological effects, including increased empathy and prosocial feelings. These 'empathogenic' effects are cited as reasons for recreational ecstasy use, and also form the basis for the proposed use of MDMA in psychotherapy. However, they have yet to be characterized in controlled studies. Here, we investigate effects of MDMA on an important social cognitive capacity, the identification of emotional expression in others, and on socially-relevant mood states. Methods—Over four sessions, healthy ecstasy-using volunteers (N=21) received MDMA (0.75mg/kg; 1.5mg/kg), methamphetamine (20mg; METH), and placebo (PBO) under doubleblind, randomized conditions. They completed self-report ratings of relevant affective states, and undertook tasks in which they identified emotions from images of faces, pictures of eyes, and vocal cues. Results—MDMA (1.5mg/kg) significantly increased ratings of feeling 'loving' and 'friendly', and MDMA (0.75mg/kg) increased 'loneliness'. Both MDMA (1.5mg/kg) and METH increased 'playfulness'; only METH increased 'sociability'. MDMA (1.5mg/kg) robustly decreased accuracy of facial fear recognition relative to PBO. Conclusions—MDMA increased 'empathogenic' feelings, but it reduced accurate identification of threat-related facial emotional signals in others, findings consistent with increased social approach behavior, rather than empathy. This effect of MDMA on social cognition has implications for both recreational and therapeutic use. In recreational users, acute drug effects may alter social risk-taking while intoxicated. Socioemotional processing alterations such as those documented here may underlie possible psychotherapeutic benefits of this drug; further investigation of such mechanisms may inform treatment design to maximize active components of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.


Biological systems for the expression of recombinant proteins have evolved from microorganisms, such as bacteria and yeast, to animal and plant cells. This evolution has been driven mainly by the specific post-translational modifications required for many recombinant proteins to display full biological activity. In this review we discuss the main advantages and drawbacks of the currently available expression systems, stressing the potential of the mammary gland as a biofactory. Several methods for the genetic modification of this organ have been developed; the choice of the method depends on the specific characteristics of the molecule to be expressed, and the time taken to secrete the final product. However, the mammary gland glycosylation machinery is limited to the synthesis of biantennary monosialylated complex oligosaccharides.


SUMMARY Seriously mentally ill adults frequently require assistance from their parents over many years. As parents age, they confront the dual challenge of caregiver demands and the need to cope with their own aging. Support groups for aging parents are a key component of social support for families that care for a mentally ill family member. This paper presents evidence of the value of support groups for elderly care-givers, through both current literature and a case example that provides a window into the strength of group work to help this vulnerable population of caregivers.


We study the Bayesian problem of sequential testing of two simple hypotheses about the drift rate of an observable diffusion process. The optimal stopping time is found as the first time at which the posterior probability of one of the hypotheses exits a region restricted by two stochastic boundaries depending on the current observations. The proof is based on an embedding of the initial problem into a two-dimensional optimal stopping problem and the analysis of the associated parabolic-type free-boundary problem. We also show that the problem admits a closed-form solution under certain non-trivial relations between the coefficients of the observable diffusion.


With more and more protein sequences generated, one of the most pressing tasks in bioinformatics has become to interpret these data. This thesis concerns how to predict the 3D structure of a protein relying on its sequence only, which is a long-standing problem in computational biology. A commonly adopted intermediate step for this task is to predict pairwise amino acid contacts based on the query sequence. Due to the simplicity of the current algorithms, which include statistical models and machine learning techniques, the accuracy of contact prediction is still low for many proteins. Also, these available algorithms are unable to predict amino acid distances (distance longer than contact). Thus, the lack of high quality and enough geometry constraints make it difficult for 3D structure prediction for many proteins. To deal with the current limitations of amino acid constraint and structure prediction, a state-of-the-art deep neural network based amino acid contact & distance prediction algorithm, DeepCDpred, is proposed in this thesis. For a given query protein sequence, the geometry constraints predicted by DeepCDpred are fed into a Rosetta ab initio modelling protocol for protein structure prediction. In addition, a neural network-based method is proposed to evaluate the quality of predicted structures.
The accuracies of amino acid contact and distance predictions, the quality of structure predictions and the accuracy of confidence score predictions were evaluated by a test set of 108 protein chains whose experimental structures are known. Any sequence in the test set shares no greater than 25% sequence identity with any sequence in the training set, which was used to train DeepCDpred. The accuracy of amino acid contact predictions of DeepCDpred is just slightly worse than a newly published method, RaptorX; but exceeds all others mentioned in this thesis. Thanks to the predicted extra distance constraints and the Rosetta ab initio modelling protocol, the structure prediction quality based on the algorithms proposed in this study is better than that from the RaptorX server. A blind test, which was done with a yet to be released protein, was also used to validate the effectiveness of DeepCDpred. The protein classes of structures predicted with amino acid contact constraints from MetaPSICOV (the amino acid contact predictor, which DeepCDpred is most often compared within this thesis), are analysed and compared to the predictions based on contact constraints from DeepCDpred, and also to the predictions based on both contact and distance constraints from DeepCDpred. An online server, http://proteincoevolution.bham.ac.uk, is programmed and released to make the proposed methods for amino acid contact and distance predictions, structure prediction and structure confidence prediction accessible to average users, and it is expected beneficial to the research community.


The connection of distributed generation (DG) to weak distribution networks is likely to cause voltage rise problems. At present, the voltage rise is usually mitigated by reinforcing the network but as the penetration level of DG increases also active voltage control methods need to be taken into use. Active voltage control has been a subject of extensive research in the past decade but the number of real implementations is still very low. One reason for this is that only few demonstrations have been conducted in real distribution networks. In this paper, the operation of one coordinated voltage control (CVC) algorithm is successfully demonstrated in a real Finnish distribution network. The main objective of the paper is to identify the problems that may arise when academic smart grid methods are implemented in real electricity networks. The second objective is to verify the operation of the studied CVC algorithm.


A field experiment was conducted at the research farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka. During the period from October, 2018 to March, 2019 to find out the growth and yield of onion as influenced by Sulphur and Boron with mulch materials. The experiment consisted of two factors: Factor A: Four doses of Sulphurand Boron fertilizer viz. F0 = S0kgB0kg/ha (Control), F1 = S20kgB1kg/ha, F2 = S40kgB2kg/ha, F3 = S60kgB3kg/ha and Factor B: Four types of mulch viz. M0 = No mulch and no irrigation, M1 = Black polythene, M2 = Water hyacinth and M3 = Rice straw. There were 16 treatment combinations and experiment was setup in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. In case of Sulphur and Boron treatments at 60 days after transplanting (DAT), the highest plant height 53.38 cm, maximum leaf number 10.48, highest bulb Original Research Article Bappy et al.; APRJ, 7(3): 1-14, 2021; Article no.APRJ.65621 2 length 4.83 cm,, maximum neck diameter (1.31 cm), highest dry matter content (15.98%), dry matter content of leaf (24.74%), single bulb weight (39.93 g), yield per plot (0.80 kg) and yield per hectare (9.98 t) were obtained from F3 treatment. Among the mulch materials, highest plant height at 60 DAT (52.51 cm), maximum leaf number (10.19), highest bulb length (4.52 cm), highest bulb diameter (5.74 cm), maximum neck diameter (1.26 cm), dry matter content of leaf (23.35%), single bulb weight (39.05 g), yield per plot (0.78 kg) and yield per hectare (9.76 t) were obtained from M1 treatment. In combined effect, the highest plant height at 60 DAT (55.54 cm), maximum leaf number (11.47), longest bulb length (5.51 cm), highest bulb diameter (6.68 cm), maximum diameter of neck (1.42 cm), dry matter content of leaf (27.48%), single bulb weight (42.40 g), yield per plot (0.85 kg) and yield per hectare (11.21 t) were obtained from F3M1 treatment (S60kg/ha + B3kg/ha with black polythene mulch). The highest gross return (Tk. 3, 36, 300/ha), net return (Tk. 1, 88, 934/ha) and benefit cost ration (2.28) was obtained from the treatment combination (F3M1). Accordingly, for high growth, high yield, and economic point of view, F3M1 treatment is recommended in onion cultivation.


This paper reports on the evaluation of high-speed signaling performance of multilevel metallic interconnects on glass substrates. The wafer fabrication, transfer process, and passive electrical characterization of interconnects are addressed. Measurement results demonstrate less than 5 dB/cm insertion loss below 20 GHz. Moreover, 2-level wiring on glass with inter-level vias is utilized to implement 3.6-mm long transmission lines that connect high-speed transceivers and optoelectronic devices in a VCSEL-based optoelectronic fiber link. The relative performances of diverse configurations with and without wiring on glass are compared. Error-free link operation at a bit-error-rate (BER) of 10-12 is demonstrated up to 30 Gb/s with ~3 dB sensitivity penalty for the link with glass carrier transmission lines.


708 Generating an efficient T cell anti-tumor response resulting in clearance of tumor is the goal of immunotherapy strategies. For this to occur, tumor antigen-specific T cells need to become activated, traffic to the tumor site, recognize the tumor, and perform their effector function. We have studied an unusual patient with metastatic melanoma who developed large volume ascites after anti-CTLA-4 antibody therapy. By cytologic analysis and real-time RT-PCR for melanoma antigens, it was clear that the ascites contained tumor cells. In addition, large numbers of lymphocytes were present in the fluid, which by flow cytometric analysis were predominantly T cells and NK cells. A substantially greater percentage of activated T cells was present in the ascites compared to peripheral blood, and these cells produced high levels of effector cytokines after short-term activation with PMA + ionomycin in vitro. Peptide/HLA-A2 tetramer staining revealed significant numbers of CD8+ T cells specific for peptides derived from melanoma antigens Melan-A and NA17-A, but also from EBV, arguing that activated T cells regardless of specificity were preferentially recruited into the peritoneal space. Upon in vitro restimulation of ascites cells with Melan-A, NA17-A and EBV peptides, only EBV peptide resulted in IFN-γ production as measured by ELISpot. The discrepancy between tetramer staining and ELISpot data might suggest induction of a hyporesponsive state among the tumor antigen-specific T cells in the patient. To infer the mechanism of vast lymphocyte recruitment into the ascites, a cytokine protein array that detects 79 independent factors was utilized. Multiple chemokines were detected, including IP-10, MIP-1β, MCP-1, IL-8, CCL18, and eotaxin-2. Of note, no T cell-specific cytokines were detected, and IL-10 was present. Our results suggest that malignant melanoma cells in the peritoneum of this patient established an environment rich in chemokines that recruited large number of lymphocytes yet failed to support productive activation of anti-tumor T cells.


Summary: Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) discharges were recorded with multichannel superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) gradiometers in 13 young candidates for epilepsy surgery. The sources of epileptic activity were related to generators of somatosensory and auditory evoked cortical responses and projected on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Seven subjects had restricted or regional MEG foci, located in the frontoopercular (1), sensorimotor (3), perisylvian (1), mesiotemporal (1), or temporooccipital cortex (1). The MEG foci in the 3 patients who underwent operation agreed with the intracranial findings. Findings in the other patients emphasize the need to collect further data to define the ultimate role of MEG in preoperative evaluation of epilepsy.


We present MOMENTS, a newly developed software library lbr Monte Carlo simulation of semiconductor devices. This library uses object-oriented design principles to provide a flexible, extensible toolset that allows rapid development of a wide variety of Monte Carlo simulation applications. It allows concurrent simulation of multiple particle species (e.g. electrons and holes) with arbitrary user-defined interactions between species (e.g. generation- recombination and carrier carrier scattering) in arbitrary geometries using either analytic or numerical bandstructure representations. The modular design allows virtually all simulation parameters to be freely varied across the simulation domain. MOMENTS also takes advantage of the parallelism inherent in the ensemble Monte Carlo approach, employing a scheme that can support a wide variety of parallel architectures with active load balancing. To demonstrate some of the library's capabilities, we also present preliminary results from a GaAs avalanche photodiode (APD) simulator based on MOMENTS.


In real acoustic environments, humans communicate with each other through speech by focusing on the target speech among environmental sounds. We can easily identify the target sound from other environmental sounds. For hands-free speech recognition, the identification of the target speech from environmental sounds is imperative. This mechanism may also be important for a self-moving robot to sense the acoustic environments and communicate with humans. Therefore, this paper first proposes Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based environmental sound source identification. Environmental sounds are modeled by three states of HMMs and evaluated using 92 kinds of environmental sounds. The identification accuracy was 95.4%. This paper also proposes a new HMM composition method that composes speech HMMs and an HMM of categorized environmental sounds for robust environmental sound-added speech recognition. As a result of the evaluation experiments, we confirmed that the proposed HMM composition outperforms the conventional HMM composition with speech HMMs and a noise (environmental sound) HMM trained using noise periods prior to the target speech in a captured signal.


ALL is a challenging target for immunotherapy due to its poor antigen presentation, lack of costimulatory molecule expression, and resistance to cytotoxic killing by immune effector cells. We previously described a model in which we transfected B cell precursor ALL cell lines derived from leukemic Eμ-ret transgenic BALB/c mice with a lentiviral construct encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) and firefly luciferase (luc) in tandem. The luciferase protein serves a dual purpose as a potent neoantigen capable of stimulating leukemia-specific immune responses and as a bioluminescent reporter for highly sensitive detection of minimal residual disease (MRD). Intravenous injection of wild type Eμ-ret leukemia is consistently lethal in wild type BALB/c mice within 3-5 weeks. However, we previously showed that adoptive transfer of GFP/luc-expressing leukemia cells into BALB/c mice leads to detectable disease in bone marrow by bioluminescent imaging but not by peripheral blood flow cytometry that increases until day 7-10, followed by a spontaneous reduction of leukemia burden to levels undetectable by imaging. Mice lacking T cells, either constitutively or following antibody depletion, are unable to control the leukemia, as are mice transgenic for GFP/luc, suggesting immune tolerance may undermine host responses against ALL. While most mice go into long-term remissions both by imaging and peripheral blood sampling, a subset have evidence of MRD detectable by bioluminescent imaging that waxes and wanes in luminosity but may not break through to a fulminant relapse. Of the 14% of mice who developed lethal leukemia before day 60 (range: day 27-51), 8/8 had GFP/luc-expressing leukemia. In the 31% of mice who develop lethal leukemia beyond 60 days (range: day 65-562), only 6% (1/18) had leukemia expressing GFP/luc (Fisher9s exact test, p Mice who undergo NK and T cell depletion beginning at day 28 from adoptive transfer of leukemia are more likely to develop overt disease than immunocompetent mice or mice with single lineage depletions (logrank for survival, p=0.0005), suggesting both cell types cooperate to provide durable immune control of disease. Finally, mice who clear their GFP/luc leukemia upfront are able to reject a day 28-rechallenge with wild type leukemia (median survival of leukemia-naive mice 27 days versus 70% survival at day 324 in mice with previous GFP/luc-ALL exposure and clearance; p Overall, these results reveal that both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system are required for prolonged control of overt leukemic cells in the setting of persistent MRD. The finding that mice who clear the neoantigen-bearing leukemia have immune memory for wild type leukemia suggests that, with adequate immunostimulatory signaling, additional tumor antigens may be recognized and serve as targets for immune control of ALL. We are currently evaluating the cytokine milieu induced by this neoantigen, as well as additional immunostimulatory approaches such as adding Toll-like receptor agonists to break immune tolerance, thereby driving down MRD and prolonging relapse-free survival. Citation Format: Alix E. Seif, David M. Barrett, Stephan A. Grupp, Gregor SD Reid. Innate and adaptive immune control of neoantigen-bearing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) enhanced by epitope spread. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pediatric Cancer at the Crossroads: Translating Discovery into Improved Outcomes; Nov 3-6, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;74(20 Suppl):Abstract nr B20.


Current neurobiology has evolved to accept an active role of non-neuronal components of the nervous system, glial cells in particular, in neuronal activities including synaptic transmission. The two major glial cell subtypes microglia and astrocytes express some neurotransmitter receptors and can secrete a variety of chemical mediators that either facilitate or suppress neuronal activity. Of particular interest is that glial cells convert their functional phenotype from a relatively quiescent to a hyperactive or activated state in response to central or peripheral injury, so called glial activation. Cumulating evidence indicates that activated glial cells contribute to neurological disorders including the development of chronic pain conditions [1–3].

Elucidating cellular mechanisms underlying the involvement of glia in pain hypersensitivity presents new challenges to pain research. Apparently, there are reciprocal relationships between neurons and glial cells (Fig. 1). Nociceptive inputs related to injury are carried by primary afferent nerves and excite postsynaptic neurons. The same nociceptive inputs may also be read by glial cells and trigger cellular events that lead to neuronal sensitization and increased pain. Chemical mediators such as ATP and chemokines fractalkine and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2) can be released from neurons and bind to respective receptors on microglia and astrocytes. Reciprocally, glial cells release brain-derived neurotrophic factors and cytokines such as IL-1β and TNF-α to act on their receptors on neurons. There are also interactions between glial cells. Microglia may influence astrocytes by secrete cytokine IL-18. These events alter the function of the pain processing circuitry and may have fundamental significance in our understanding of chronic pain mechanisms.

Fig. 1

Schematic diagram illustrating interactions between neuron, microglia and astrocytes. Arrows indicate action of one cell type on other through release of chemical mediators and their binding with respective receptors. Dashed arrows show pathways to be ...

Three laboratories have contributed to this special issue of The Open Pain Journal on neuron-glial interactions in the mechanisms of persistent pain. These mini-reviews are timely and offer creative thoughts for future research in this area. Durham and Garrett utilize trigeminal models to emphasize that neuron-glial interactions also occur in peripheral sensory ganglia. Satellite glial cells in trigeminal ganglion affect excitability of nociceptors through paracrine signaling as well as hemichannels formed by gap junction proteins. Davies, Kim and Oh conduct in depth discussion on microglia biology and pain processing. They analyze a variety of chemicals involved in reciprocal neuron-glial signaling and review function of potassium channels in microglia. Luongo, Palazzo, de Novellis and Maione focus on the role of endocannabinoids, which are present in microglia at very high levels, in neuron-glial crosstalk. They also correctly point out the potential protective role of glial activation in the event of injury [also see 2]. It is hoped that the focus discussion presented here will provoke studies towards a better understanding of the mechanisms of chronic pain.


Extractive distillation is a highly effective process for the separation of compound pairs having low relative volatility values, such as ethylbenzene (EB) and p-xylene (PX) mixtures. Many solvents or solvent mixtures have been screened experimentally to identify a suitable extraction agent for EB/PX mixtures. Because the number of possible solvent and solvent mixture candidates is high, it is necessary to introduce a computer-aided extraction performance prediction technique. In this study, a knowledge-based quantitative structure relative volatility relationship (QSRVR) model was developed using multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) models, with each model having five descriptors. The root-mean-square errors (RMSE) of the training and test sets for the MLR model were calculated as 0.01486 and 0.00905, while their squared correlation coefficients (R2) were 0.867 and 0.941, respectively. The R2 and RMSE values of the total data set for the MLR model were 0.878 and 0.01408, a...


Finite element analysis using modern constitutive equation is one of the most general tools to simulate the deformation behavior and to predict the life of the structure. Constitutive equation becomes complicated so as to predict the material behavior more accurately than the classical models. Because of the complexity of constitutive model, numerical treatment becomes so difficult that the calculation should be verified carefully. One-element tests, simple tension or simple shear, are usually used to verify the accuracy of finite element analysis using complicated constitutive model. Since this test is mainly focused on the time integration scheme, it is also necessary to verify the equilibrium iteration using material stiffness matrix and to compare FE results with solution of structures. In this investigation, viscoplastic solution of thick walled cylinder was derived considering axial constraints and was compared with the finite element analysis. All the numerical solutions showed a good coincidence with FE results. This numerical solution can be used as a verification tool for newly developed FE code with complicated constitutive model.


We investigate the factor structure, concurrent validity, internal consistency, measurement invariance (sex and parents' geographical/cultural background), and practical scoring practices of the Strengths and Weaknesses of Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-Symptoms and Normal Behavior scale (SWAN) in junior high school students. With a sample of 650 parents of Mexican junior high school students (55.84% girls; mean age of 13.15 and SD = 0.97 years) who completed the SWAN scale, a bidirectional instrument, and the Barrios and Matute Questionnaire of ADHD symptoms (BMQ-ADHD), a traditional Mexican unidirectional instrument, we obtained SWAN' psychometric properties by a series of confirmatory factor analyses. Two and three-correlated factors of the SWAN and bifactor models fitted well to the data. The bifactor model with one general dimension and two specific dimensions (BF 2S) showed most favorable psychometric properties and was invariant regarding sex and cultural background. The analyses of the BF 2S revealed that only the general factor was sufficiently reliable for scoring. Percentiles divided by sex better approximated SWAN averaged-based scores to the general factor derived from the SWAN bifactor model, measuring the trait with acceptable precision for norms development. The study provides evidence that SWAN measures a trait best represented by a reliable general domain, that the average-based SWAN score is closer to the general SWAN trait when the score is segregated by sex, and that it is invariant with respect to sex and cultural background to be reliable in a culturally diverse population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).


This study examines the importance of digital education about vaccination in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in the Tawangrejo Village community with social media Facebook. This study examines public acceptance of social media as a means of education as a result of the acceleration of culture. The purpose of this study is to describe the importance of digital education regarding vaccination in preventing the spread of covid-19 in the Tawangrejo Village community with social media facebook. The research method used is qualitative using a phenomenological approach. Informants were taken by purposive sampling method. The theory used in this study is Paul Virilio's dromology theory, This theory is used to study how everything is measured by speed, including the speed of information. This affects the individual in responding to something that happens. The results of this study are: 1) during a pandemic, people use social media more often, 2) social media provides instant and efficient education about vaccination, 3) digital education plays an important role in people's attitudes in deciding to use vaccination.


The marsupial frog Gastrotheca helenae is a not very well known species, as it has a limited distribution that is restricted to the Tama massif complex shared by Colombia and Venezuela. We assessed the current status of their populations, by means of a search in new locations and we describe aspects of the species natural history, in order to generate future conservation plans for the amphibians in the highlands of the North Eastern Cordillera.


Host multihoming allows individual hosts to be multiply connected to the network, e.g. by concurrent use of two network prefixes, each network prefix tied to a separate network interface. Such multihoming capability improves the host's ability to implement such features as load-balancing, fail-over and multi-path transport protocols. However, IP does not directly support host multihoming today. The Identifier / Locator split solution space is seen as one way for reducing such negative impact. We present an evaluation of host-multihoming as a prototype implementation of the Identifier Locator Network Protocol (ILNP) on FreeBSD, as a superset of IPv6 - called ILNPv6. We demonstrate load-balancing using ILNPv6 multihoming and compare performance with IPv6 forwarding at the end host.


The article by Drill and Calhoun (219: 583, 1972) and subsequent comments (220: 416, 1972, and 221: 194, 1972) on the problem of thromboembolic episodes and oral contraceptives consider at length the problems of retrospective and prospective studies. If the critical standards presented had been applied to the articles cited by Drill and Calhoun, there would not have been much left to discuss. The citations of Goldzieher and of Tyler, for example, are not to research reports but to short sections of articles of a very general nature. Tyler's comments are not even quantitative. 10 of the 15 articles cited by Drill and Calhoun in their principle tabulation (Table 3) were readily available to me. When I arranged these articles in order of scientific merit as regards the embolism problem, it became apparent that the better the quality of the scientific effort, the higher was the reported incidence of thromboembolism and the lower the number of subjects. It is very possible that the inclusion of a few casual reports with large numbers of subjects is producing an erroneous, low, overall incidence of thromboembolic episodes.


Embodiment and affect are understudied in information science work to date. Literature that engages with embodied information interactions typically focuses on physical bodies, while work on affect largely centers people's emotional experiences in formal knowledge institutions like libraries. Room therefore exists to grow in our understanding of embodiment and affect, particularly in terms of theorizing how bodies and feelings factor into a wide range of information experiences from non‐dominant standpoints. This panel centers queer experiences and queer theory in order to expand conceptions of and connections between embodied and affective dimensions of information interactions. Panelists will present a range of research that examines queer people's practices and experiences with information in historical, archival, creative, and health‐related domains. Bodies and emotions are essential components of critical queer theoretical perspectives, meaning that scholarship which centers queerness and its intersections with constructs like race has great potential to expand many branches of information science further beyond their normative bents. In concert, topics discussed should spark conversation among attendees about the theoretical and practical benefits of deeply studying embodiment and affect and further utilizing critical theory in multiple domains within the information science discipline.


Ten days after extradural axotomy, partial spikes are found in greater than 20% of cat L7 motoneurons, while 15-21 days after axotomy the incidence increases to 60%. These responses are produced in excitable (hot) spots in the dendrites by synaptic excitation. Intracellular injection of QX-314, a lidocaine derivative and effective blocker of Na+ channels from within neurons, results in elimination of partial spikes before blocking somadendritic spikes. The action of QX-314 does not depend on changes in passive membrane properties or on changes in synaptic properties. Injections of Cs+ and Cl- ions rule out any major role for calcium, potassium, or chloride currents in the production of partial spikes. The partial spikes represent an unusual Na+-dependent dendritic phenomenon induced by axotomy when carried out relatively near the soma. It is reasonable to postulate that the partial spikes result from a higher concentration of Na+ channels in the dendrites. This may be the consequence of a high rate of production of Na+-channel proteins that are intended for the cut end of the axon; alternatively, they may result from the reflection from the cut end of such proteins produced at either a normal or an increased rate. These aberrant channels are inserted into somatic and dendritic membranes in higher concentrations than normal and, as well as producing local dendritic regions of low safety factor responsible for the partial spikes, also produce somadendritic spikes of unusually fast rise time and lower than usual threshold, which are relatively resistant to QX-314.


ABSTRACT Acute lung injury (ALI) is a major leading cause of death in sepsis patients. Hederagenin (HG), derived from Hedera helix Linné, has anti-inflammatory effects, while its role in sepsis-induced ALI has not been elucidated. In vivo, rats were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture to induce ALI and then treated with HG (12.5, 25, or 50 mg/kg) by gavage. Administration of HG raised survival rate, ameliorated lung injury, and decreased lung wet/dry ratio and inflammatory cell accumulation in bronchoalveloar lavage fluid (BALF) of ALI rats. HG inhibited macrophage polarization toward the M1 phenotype as evidenced by decreased CD86 expression in rat lung tissues. Moreover, HG decreased the secretion of TNF-α, IL-6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in BALF and the levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in lung tissues. In vitro, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-differentiated THP-1 macrophages were stimulated with 100 ng/mL lipopolysaccharide. HG treatment inhibited M1 macrophage polarization and the production of M1-related pro-inflammatory mediators (IL-6, MCP-1, iNOS, and COX-2). Mechanistically, HG inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation and subsequent release of IL-18 and IL-1β, and suppressed NF-κB signaling pathway both in vivo and in vitro. Notably, HG treatment further emphasized the inhibitory effect of NF-κB inhibitor BAY11-7082 on NLRP3 inflammasome activation and macrophage M1 polarization. Taken together, HG exerts a protective effect against sepsis-induced ALI by reducing the inflammatory response and macrophage M1 polarization, which may involve NF-κB pathway-modulated NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Graphical abstract


Hair samples of 26 workers involved in small scale gold mining, popularly called "Galamsee," have been analysed using thermal NAA for mercury and other elements including As and Sb, all considered as toxic. The following elements have been found in these hair samples Hg. As, Sb, Sm, Ho, Zn, La, Na, K, Au and Br. Similarly, hair analysis of 10 non-galamsee workers, for control and comparison, using the same NAA technique yielded the following elements: Ho, Zn, Na, K and Br. JOURNAL OF THE GHANA SCIENCE ASSOCIATION Volume 2 No. 1 (2000) pp. 39-44


further. According to them, all human tuimours, simple as wellas malignant, are due to the syphlilitic virus. Cancers are quaterniary manifestations of syphilis. Early syphilis, which is caused by the ordinary Trepoiierna palliadurn-a visible, nioni-sporing organism, sensitive to certain treponemicieles-is not productive of cancer, butt the older the syphilis becomes the more it develops the power of generating cancer. The o0l( svphills and congenital syphilis are due to inv-isible sporulating treponemata (an infra-virus or an ultra-microscopic virus) which are not affected by the variouis chemotherapeutic drugs. This invisible fo-rm infects the cells, and by provoking repeated karyokineses brinigs about neoplastic formation. Syphilis explains cancer families, cancer houses, cancer districts, anid cancer epidemices. Those races wlhich hav-e nio syphilis or veiry little syphilis have very little or no cancer, anid the camnpaign against cancer resolves itself inito a fight against syphilis. The authors have arrived at these interesting conclusions from a careful study of the cases of cancer that have come unleder tlheir personal observation, but such a study, to be caarefuil en-ouighi, entails a meticulous examiiniation not onily of each indii-iduial lpatient but of his ancestry, collaterals, and progeniy. The results of the Wassermann test, supposing them to be niegative, shouldl not blind one, because it is well known that such a test is not always successful. One muist bo familiar with every sign and symptom that indicates a syphilitic taint. Here is a case at ranidom: a woman has canicer of the breast; her daughter had a malformation of the vagina, which was treated surgically; and a child of this daughter was " un type d'h6redo." The proof of the thesis, thins, is quite e1asv. As the auithors put it: " 11 n'y a la aucun mystere c est dune1 simiplicite impressionante; mais c'est e6videmment tro) slimple lpour etre admis." But it is niot merelv the clinical evidence that is relied oni; more thani half of the monograph consists of long qutotationis from-i var ious wise men (whose names are not infrequently misspelt) cunninglv interpreted in support of the main or suibsi(liary contention. Several common sites of cancer are conisidered. The sceptic may ask,for example, what coinnexion exists between syphilis and such a common condition as cancer of the stomach. He receives this answer: Svphilitic lesions of the stomachl have been found, a nid some of the fin(lers hav-e suggested that they are (onmnioner than is generally supposed; a gastric cancer alwavs succeeds a gastric ulcer; a gastric ulcer is caused by ani obliterative arteritis which is due to syphilis; and the best treatment for gastric ulcer is bismuth, which, as everyone kinows, is an excellent remedy for syphilis. It is admitted that all gastric ulcers do not become malignant, fol tIme patient may die before this development occurs. The auithors maintain that the circumscribed ulcers of the stomachi anld duiodenuim are always of syphilitic origin, but thes are silent abouit the fate of duodenial ulcers, for duodeial ceancers are pathological curiosities. Again, one might ask why syphilitic affections of the oesophagus scarcely exist outside textbooks, whilst carcinoma of the oesophagus is fairly common; and the answer is that tlhe active functions of the oesophagus anid its irritation by mechaniical agents allow the treponema to act so quickly that cancer results before a syp)hilitic lesion is appreciated. The theory can explaini many thinigs that were obscure oIr uncertain. An instance is reported of a relatively large number of deaths from cancer in a part of a smalil town while the rest of tho place was free. This was not inere coincidence. " Une jolie femme sp6cifique dans ce coin de village et tout s'explique le lplus sim)lemnent dlu monde." Of coU1rse, syphilis does not affect the lower animals and yet they miay develop canicer. Buit to each beast of the field there is its besetting lparasite. The rabbit is subject to coccidiosis, but it is ani invisible filter able form of the parasite that lproduces the cancer. Cancer may be lproduced in mice by applying coal tar to tlheir skin. Tar is an exceedingly complex mixture; tar contains dyes; dyes are capable of staining nuclei; hence the tar chunages the cell nuleus and( allows a filterable maicro-para.site to enter, andt cancer results. But with it all one detects a nlOte of desjcair in the authlors' remark: " Manis tOult le mlonlde n'est pas enlcore do notre avris." NOTES ON BOOKS. THE textbook of gonorrhoea,5 edited by BUSCHKE and LANGER of Berlin in collaboration with twelve other Berlin professors and physicians, is a comprehensive treatise dealing with every aspect of the disease innmen, women, and children, witi separate sections on the pathology and bacteriology, the affectionsof themale adnexa, eye, and skin, and -on genieral gonorrhoeal inifections, togethler with a full and practical account of moderin methods of treatment. -both surgical anid other. Chapters are appended on the related subjects of sterility and prostitution. The work is intended to emnbody the known facts relatiing to every branclh of the subject and in every detail.


Background and objective : According to the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment. Quality of education is to be assessed in accordance with the National Education Act of 1991. The Office of the Higher Education Commission set the standard criteria for bachelor's curriculum in 2005 requiring quality assurance for all courses. Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University has a policy of continuous quality assurance focusing on updating and developing curriculum based on the teaching and learning assessment process from the students. This study was to assess the process of teaching and learning in basic knowledge for  medical educational technology subject of the first year medical educational technology students, Faculty of Medicine, Khon kaen University. Methods : Descriptive study design was used. Self administered on questionnaires Likert scale (1–5 score) and quality controlled by expert content validity consultation and reliability testing  (alpha = 0.96)  were distributed to all of 30 medical educational technology students. The interpretation of the criteria of assessment covers most (4.51-5.00), very much (3.51-4.50), moderate (2.51-3.50), low (1.51-2.50), and least (1.00-1.50).The return questionnaires was analyzed statistically, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Results : The result was  100 % response rate were analyzed. Subjects were composed of 10 male (33.3 %) and 20 female (66.7 %). The study reveal that the teaching and learning assessment  process of 6 parts in high level. There were ; (1) content (4.14±0.50), (2) course management (4.33 ±0.49), (3) lecturers (4.29±0.53), (4) learners (4.04±0.52), (5) measurement and evaluation (4.26±0.59) and (6) instructional media and facility materials (3.94±0.77). Conclusions: The first year medical educational technology students had judged at high score in all part of teaching and learning assessment process of basic knowledge for medical educational technology subject  and in the total (4.16±0.45). Some minor  items should be considered  by staffs. Keywords: assessment, basic knowledge for  medical educational technology subject, medical educational technology students , Ranking Scale of 5.


Low-temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) technology is a versatile fabrication technique used to construct microflow systems. It permits the integration of several unitary operations (pretreatment, separation, (bio)chemical reaction, and detection stage) of an analytical process in a modular or monolithic way. Moreover, because of its compatibility with biological material, LTCC is adequate for analytical applications based on enzymatic reactions. Here we present the design, construction, and evaluation of a LTCC microfluidic system that integrates a microreactor (internal volume, 24.28 microL) with an immobilized beta-galactosidase from Escherichia coli (0.479 activity units) and an optical flow cell to measure the product of the enzymatic reaction. The enzyme was immobilized on a glyoxal-agarose support, maintaining its activity along the time of the study. As a proof of concept, the LTCC-beta-galactosidase system was tested by measuring the conversion of ortho-nitrophenyl beta-D-galactopyranoside, the substrate usually employed for activity determinations. Once packed in a monolithically integrated microcolumn, the miniaturized flow system was characterized, the operational conditions optimized (flow rate and injection volume), and its performance successfully evaluated by determining the beta-galactosidase substrate concentration at the millimolar level.


Introduction: Pain is a large and growing medical need that is not currently being fully met, primarily due to the shortcomings of existing analgesics (insufficient efficacy or limiting side-effects). Better outcomes might be achieved using a combination of analgesics. The ratio of the combinations matters and should therefore be evaluated using rigorous quantitative and well-documented analysis. Areas covered: Advances have been made in understanding the normal physiology of pain processing, including the pathways and neurotransmitters involved. Insight has also been gained about physiological processes that can lead to different 'types' of pain and the transition from acute to chronic pain conditions. This 'multimechanistic' nature of most pains is better matched using a 'multimechanistic' rather than 'monomechanistic' analgesic approach. Such an approach – and the experimental design and data analysis to assess optimal combinations – is described and discussed. Expert opinion: There are sound pharmacologic, as well as practical, reasons for using combinations of drugs to treat pain. Compared with single agents, they offer a potential better match to the underlying pain physiology and thus greater efficacy or reduced side effects. The optimal efficacy and side-effect ratio must be determined in a scientifically rigorous manner.


The paper used secondary data in which newspapers, Journal articles, textbooks, documents, etc. are reviewed and analyzed in identifying the factors responsible for the crises of integration in the Nigeria federal system. These are with the intention of providing information on the crises of integration in Nigeria.
DOI: 10.5958/2347-6869.2018.00016.X


Yoga, meditation, and use of chiropractors are types of complementary health approaches developed outside of mainstream Western medicine (1-2). Although complementary health approaches as a whole are not widely used among children, previous work has established a rise in the use of selected approaches over time (3). This report presents the most recent national estimates of use of the three most prevalent approaches during the past 12 months, among children aged 4-17 years in the United States. Comparable estimates from 2012 are also included to examine changes over time.


In this paper we report the findings of a laboratory experiment in which global virtual teams used IBM's Lotus Same time to work on decision-making tasks. We restricted our study to short-duration virtual teams. We find that national cultural diversity adversely affects interaction among team members. We also find that interaction among team members has a curvilinear (an inverted U) relationship with intra-group conflict in these teams. Our statistical analyses reveal a curvilinear relationship between the use of polling and ranking tools of collaboration technology and intra-group conflict. The findings of the study provide motivation for future research on the use of collaboration technology support and social interaction in short duration virtual teams.


Any system which contains some form of cryptographic authentication, confidentiality and/or identification requires the provisioning of a secure key generation and distribution capability. The key distribution mechanism for wireless cellular systems, such as IS-95 CDMA, IS-136 TDMA and IS-91 Analog, has recently been investigated by the Telephone Industry Association's standards working groups. There are several requirements that a cellular key provisioning system must satisfy; however, the current approaches for such generation and distribution are in general inadequate. As with any commercial application, the system must satisfy cost (e.g., efficiency by all parties, minimal specialized equipment, etc.), convenience and most of all security requirements. The cellular system requirements, however, are much more constraining than most environments since the customers' cellular phones have minimal computational capabilities and the authenticated setup protocol is generally performed with the user and carrier never meeting face to face. Moreover, the cellular phone companies are also insisting, for business competition needs, that the key distribution and generation mechanism is as convenient and transparent to the user (customer) as possible. We propose a cryptographically secure approach for such generation and distribution which will satisfy the phone industries' needs as well as the needs of other applications using slow devices.


Stimulation of human blood platelets with Ca2+-ionophore A23187 at the concentrations of 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 micromol/ litre increased the total platelet histamine content from 25 ng (resting platelets) to 35, 40, 42 and 47 ng/10(8) platelets, respectively. The maximum rise was 90% , while in the presence of thrombin (0.01-1 NIH U/ml) or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) (10-100 nmol/l) histamine content rose maximally by 40%. Ionophore induced a histamine increase in the same concentration range as that needed to induce platelet aggregation and liberation of [3H]-arachidonic acid. Decrease of temperature from 37 to 0 degrees C or inhibitors of platelet functions, such as acetylsalicylic acid (1 mmol/litre) or [H1]-histamine receptor antagonist Dithiaden (0.1 mmol/litre), 1 inhibited histamine liberation from A23187- stimulated platelets, but did not affect the total rise in histamine content. The presented results indicate that, similarly as with other stimuli, Ca2+-ionophore A23187 activation of human blood platelets is accompanied by histamine synthesis.


Free radicals were first mentioned by Healey about the hematoma under skin flaps, trying to explain the blood itself has different effect beyond its space-occupying effect or infection. The aim of this study was to determine whether hematoma would have any effect on neutrophil behavior in muscle flap microcirculation. Rat cremaster muscle flap model was used for measuring intravital different parameters. We used the rat cremaster muscle flap model for direct observation and measurement of rolling and adhesion. The rats were randomized into 6 groups. Groups I and IV: only the cremaster muscle was turned to the abdominal wall (n = 4 and n = 4). Groups II and V: saline was injected under the muscle flap (n = 3 and n = 4). Group III and VI: blood was injected under the muscle flap (n = 4 and n = 5). Two sets of microcirculatory measurements were taken in each group. For the comparisons of the groups, the measurements that were taken at the second hour and at the sixth hour were standardized according to the baseline values of the same groups in the same postcapillary venules. Comparisons within the groups were made by Student t test. Between the groups, analysis of variance (ANOVA) independent test was used. Within groups, the number of adherent neutrophils in the second and sixth hour in hematoma groups were found significantly increased according to the baseline measurements, and the number of rolling neutrophils in the second hour in hematoma group was found increased according to the baseline measurements. Between groups, the number of rolling neutrophils in the second hour was found significantly increased between hematoma and sham/hematoma and control groups and the number of adherent neutrophils in the second and sixth hour was found significantly increased between hematoma and sham/hematoma and control groups.


Introduction: Asthma and COPD contribute significantly to morbidity, mortality, and social-economic burden. Integrative Pulmonary Care center (IPCC) is a specialized program that has an integrative approach to respiratory care. Notably, eligible patients may receive a novel plant based therapeutic option (Jeeva®) in addition to standard of care. Jeeva® integrates several nutraceuticals known to have immune-modulatory, anti-inflammatory andantioxidantproperties. Methods: An evaluation of patient records was performed for all asthma/COPD patients enrolled in the IPCC program who had consented to consume Jeeva®. Demographic data, past medical history, and spirometry data (FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEV1% predicted, FVC% predicted, FEV1/FVC% predicted) were collected along with a survey-based assessment of quality-of-life. The primary endpoint was the maximum change in FEV1 and FVC pre-bronchodilator after Jeeva® initiation. A paired students' t-test was utilized to compare the maximum change post- Jeeva® from baseline. Intent-to-treat analysis was performed using the last-observation carried forward methodology. Results: A total of 26 patients were included for analyses. Median duration of Jeeva® consumption was approximately 6 months (range 1–12 months). There was a statistically significant change in FEV1 and FVC from baseline [1.64 ± 0.72 L to 1.80 ± 0.72 L; (p=0.019) and 2.26 ± 0.80L to 2.50 ± 0.74 L (p=0.004) respectively]. Quality-oflife improved statistically significantly and there was a notable decrease in medication burden. Conclusion: Patients receiving Jeeva® as part of the IPCC significantly improved pre-bronchodilator FEV1 and FVC from baseline. A small improvement in quality-of-life and medication burden was evident. Further studies looking at Jeeva® in a randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical-trial is warranted.


This text is an interpretation of the concept of genealogy in Nietzsche through an internal lecture of his On Genealogy of Morality . We have found two main meanings of this concept: 1) genealogy is a method of historical investigatio n which establishes some principles of interpretation ; 2) but it is also a philosophy of history since it admits the plurality of meanings.


A test generation tool for combinational circuits called FATGEN has been developed based on the notion of fault tuples. FATGEN can be used to simultaneously generate tests for many types of misbehavior that occur in digital systems. Individual experiments involving SSL, transistor stuck-open, path delay and bridging faults for the ISCAS85 benchmark circuits reveal an average speedup of nearly 32% and test set compaction of 60% when faults of all types are analyzed simultaneously. In addition, there is an average reduction of approximately 34% in the number of aborted faults.


Abstract : This thesis will contribute to the on-going debate over whether China's rise as a regional and potential global power will be benign or disruptive for Southeast Asia. The central argument is that China is creating mechanisms that can exert influence on Vietnam by developing infrastructure links and creating regional economic dependencies. These mechanisms are being formed as a consequence of economic development programs associated with bilateral and regional initiatives. These infrastructure developments create the mechanisms for future exploitation by expanding China's economic and military power projection capabilities. The thesis will argue that the newly developed, cross-border infrastructure links can be used to exert Chinese influence over Vietnam in the event of a regional contingency involving territorial disputes in the South China Sea or broader geopolitical affairs in the region. To demonstrate how infrastructure development creates a mechanism for Chinese influence in Vietnam, the study will attempt to apply Hirschman's theory of national power through trade to the cross-border overland transportation links and electric power grid. Hirschman's approach allows for the influence effect of trade, stating that the more immediate effects of a stoppage of trade from China will have on the Vietnamese economy, the more influence Beijing will have in Hanoi. Two case studies will be utilized, an analysis of the overland transportation links and the electric power grid. The overland transportation links will be discussed from both bilateral and regional perspectives, focusing on the cross-border trade in goods. The electric power grid also will be discussed from both bilateral and regional perspectives. In each case, the study will argue that the interruption of trade will be more disruptive to Vietnam than China, thereby providing two distinct mechanisms for China to exert influence over Vietnam.


Background/Aim : Upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy now assumes a prominent role in the diagnosis and therapy of upper GI diseases. Some indications for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy include dyspepsia, dysphagia, peptic ulcer disease (PUD) and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. This study aimed to review the diagnostic indications for upper GI endoscopy in University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Edo state. Methods : A review of the diagnostic indications for upper GI endoscopy was undertaken to cover a six-year period from February 2006 to December 2011. The biodata of the patients who had diagnostic upper GI endoscopy during this period and the diagnostic indications for which they had the procedure were obtained from the endoscopy register of the endoscopy unit. Results : A total of 744 patients were reviewed during the study period. The mean age of the patients was 50.87 years and most of the patients were in the sixth (20.2%) and seventh (19.6%) decades of life. There were 342 (46.0%) males and 402 (54.0%) females giving a male to female ratio of 1:1.2. The major diagnostic indications for upper GI endoscopy were dyspepsia (33.1%), upper GI bleeding (29.3%), and peptic ulcer disease (20.0%). Other diagnostic indications were gastro-oesophageal reflux disease - GERD (3.6%), gastric cancer (3.5%), dysphagia (2.3%), gastric outlet obstruction (2.2%) and chronic anaemia (1.2%). Persistent vomiting, gastritis, rectal bleeding, globus, early satiety, unexplained weight loss, chronic liver disease, epigastric mass, odynophagia, gastric polyp and oesophageal cancer occurred in less than 1% of patients each. Conclusion : This study clearly identified dyspepsia as the commonest diagnostic indication for upper GI endoscopy. The indications were similar to findings from other centers.


In this study, we demonstrate improved photovoltaic properties in inverted organic thin-film solar cells by simultaneous excitation of grating-coupled surface plasmons and grating-coupled waveguide modes on gold grating surfaces. The cell consists of a glass-ITO substrate/titanium dioxide/poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)/gold structure. The grating structures were fabricated on P3HT:PCBM layers using a nanoimprinting technique with a PDMS stamp. The grating-structured PDMS stamps were fabricated using a DVD-R grating template with a grating pitch, Λ, of 740 nm. Reflectivity measurements made using p-polarized light clearly indicate 2 types of excitation modes, i.e., surface plasmons and waveguide modes, while s-polarized light produces only waveguide modes. Incident photon-to-current efficiency measurements exhibited increased photocurrent wavelengths corresponding to the wavelengths of surface plasmon excitations and waveguide mode excitations. Through the simultaneous excitation of surface plasmons and waveguide modes, short-circuit photocurrents in the grating-structured cells exhibited an improvement of up to 11% in the solar cells, leading to an efficiency increase of 16%.


Aesthetic has become a clear barometer to measure the beauty value of an artwork. It has been going from the classical era with a realistic style until the modern era which more directed to the applied art. Despite the advancement of the nowadays digital age, an artwork will taste bland when it ignoring these universal basic principles. Those principles are increasingly needed when an artwork turned into a message medium from communicator to communicant. Advertising design is an applied art, where on one hand it should consider the value of beauty of the ad to attract and seize people's attention. But on the other hand, advertising is a medium of visual communication. If the message is submitted by the advertiser and the media is received differently by the target goal, then the communication will failed. Thus the role of art theory as a universal principle need to be applied in ad designing. The application of the art theory must be tailored to the conveyed message and adapted to the present approach.


We study how gradualism -increasing required levels ("thresholds") of contributions slowly over time rather than requiring a high level of contribution immediately -affects individuals' decisions to contribute to a public project. Using a laboratory binary choice minimum-effort coordination game, we randomly assign participants to three treatments: starting and continuing at a high threshold, starting at a low threshold but jumping to a high threshold after a few periods, and starting at a low threshold and gradually increasing the threshold over time (the "gradualism" treatment). We find that individuals coordinate most successfully at the high threshold in the gradualism treatment relative to the other two groups. We propose a theory based on belief updating to explain why gradualism works. We also discuss alternative explanations such as reinforcement learning, conditional cooperation, inertia, preference for consistency, and limited attention. Our findings point to a simple, voluntary mechanism to promote successful coordination when the capacity to impose sanctions is limited. JEL Classifications: C91; C92; D03; D71; D81; H41


Adipose tissue, in addition to storing energy, secretes numerous factors implicated in modulating insulin, sensitivity and energy balance, such as leptin, adiponectin, TNFand resistin. Resistin, is a hormone that is produced by fatty cells, a recently described adipokine belonging to the cysteine-rich secretory protein family, was originally described as an adipocyte-derived polypeptide that links obesity and insulin resistance in mice. However, in humans, resistin is expressed at very low concentrations in adipose cells, but at high levels in mononuclear leukocytes, macrophages, spleen cells and bone marrow cells. In recent years, several studies have showed that resistin may play a role in cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and also inflammation and process of inflammation – related diseases. This review will summarize the results of studies related with resistin.


This paper introduces a novel conceptual framework to support the creation of knowledge representations based on enriched semantic vectors, using the classical vector space model approach extended with ontological support. This work is focused on collaborative engineering projects where knowledge plays a key role in the process. Collaboration is the arena, engineering projects are the target and knowledge is the currency used to provide harmony into the arena since it can potentially support innovation and, hence, a successful collaboration. The test bed for the assessment of the approach comes from the Building and Construction sector, which is challenged with significant problems for exchanging, sharing and integrating information among actors. Semantic gaps or lack of meaning definition at the conceptual and technical levels, for example, are problems fundamentally originated through the employment of representations to map the 'world' into models in an endeavour to anticipate other actors' views, vocabulary and even motivations. One of the primary research challenges addressed in this work relates to the process of formalization and representation of document contents, where most existing approaches are limited and only take into account the explicit, word-based information in the document. The research described in this paper explores how traditional knowledge representations can be enriched through incorporation of implicit information derived from the complex relationships semantic associations modelled by domain ontologies with the addition of information presented in documents, by providing a baseline for facilitating knowledge interpretation and sharing between humans and machines. Preliminary results were collected using a clustering algorithm for document classification, which indicates that the proposed approach does improve the precision and recall of classifications. Future work and open issues are also discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.