The re-emergence of tuberculosis as a significant public health threat has led to greatly renewed activity in tuberculin skin testing to identify infected persons. However, even use of the preferred skin test technique (intradermal injection of purified protein derivative via the Mantoux method) can lead to either false positive or false negative results. Interpretation of a Mantoux test can be influenced by cross reactions with other mycobacteria, intertester variation, host-response variation, and product related problems. At least 25 apparent false positive purified protein derivative skin test reactions in New York State in 1992 appeared to be associated with lots of the derivative produced by one manufacturer. These unexpected skin test results led to examination of a product with an altered appearance that may have caused the unanticipated responses. After announcement of these false positive results to the press, the company removed the product from the market. Food and Drug Administration analysis later revealed particulate matter in vials of the suspected lots of purified protein derivative.


Training of speech enhancement systems often does not incorporate knowledge of human perception and thus can lead to unnatural sounding results. Incorporating psychoacoustically motivated speech perception metrics as part of model training via a predictor network has recently gained interest. However, the performance of such predictors is limited by the distribution of metric scores that appear in the training data. In this work, we propose MetricGAN+/- (an extension of Metric-GAN+, one such metric-motivated system) which introduces an additional network - a "de-generator" to improve the robustness of the prediction network (and by extension of the generator) by ensuring observation of a wider range of metric scores in training. Experimental results on the VoiceBank-DEMAND dataset show relative improvement in PESQ score of 3.8% (3.05 vs. 3.22 PESQ score), as well as better generalisation to unseen noise and speech signals.


Triangle counting is a fundamental technique in network analysis, that has received much attention in various input models. The vast majority of triangle counting algorithms are targeted to static graphs. Yet, many real-world graphs are directed and temporal, where edges come with timestamps. Temporal triangles yield much more information, since they account for both the graph topology and the timestamps. Temporal triangle counting has seen a few recent results, but there are varying definitions of temporal triangles. In all cases, temporal triangle patterns enforce constraints on the time interval between edges (in the triangle). We define a general notion (δ1,3, δ1,2, δ2,3)-temporal triangles that allows for separate time constraints for all pairs of edges. Our main result is a new algorithm, DOTTT (Degeneracy Oriented Temporal Triangle Totaler), that exactly counts all directed variants of (δ1,3, δ1,2, δ2,3)-temporal triangles. Using the classic idea of degeneracy ordering with careful combinatorial arguments, we can prove that DOTTT runs in O(mκłog m) time, where m is the number of (temporal) edges and κ is the graph degeneracy (max core number). Up to log factors, this matches the running time of the best static triangle counters. Moreover, this running time is better than existing. DOTTT has excellent practical behavior and runs twice as fast as existing state-of-the-art temporal triangle counters (and is also more general). For example, DOTTT computes all types of temporal queries in Bitcoin temporal network with half a billion edges in less than an hour on a commodity machine.


In this study, the fundamental mass and heat transfer properties of the membrane separation process called pervaporation were investigated. The suitability of pervaporation for aroma compound recovery was especially evaluated.

The mass transfer in pervaporation is affected by an external mass transfer resistance in the liquid feed boundary layer, i.e. the concentration polarization phenomenon. The fluxes of the selectively permeated compounds can often be reduced by several tens of percent if the feed flow characteristics are unfavourable. The presence of a certain aroma compound in the pervaporated mixture does not seem to affect the mass transfer of other compounds in the mixture. This behaviour is mainly due to the normally very low concentrations of aroma compounds in beverages. The presence of other compounds, e.g. ethanol, at high concentrations in the separated mixture seems, in some cases, to affect the mass transfer of the aroma compounds. The temperature at which the pervaporation process is carried out strongly affects the performance of the process. The most important effect of the process temperature is, however, that mass fluxes increase exponentially as the temperature increases, a fact which is important for process economics. However, some aroma compounds are heat sensitive and the actual process temperature is therefore a trade-off between process economics and the heat sensitivity of aroma compounds. The membrane material used in pervaporation determines, to a large extent, the performance of the process. A number of commercially available membranes exist, and three appear to be suitable for aroma recovery.

The basis of the heat transfer in pervaporation is the change in state that permeants are subjected to as they are transported from the liquid feed to the vapour permeate. The pervaporation process consequently consumes heat, and the heat transfer in the process can be described in a similar way as for the mass transfer.

Computer simulations of the behaviour of large-scale pervaporation units for aroma recovery indicate that pervaporation could be used as a technique for aroma recovery. For four of the five aroma compounds investigated the recovery degrees are very high. Both the investment and running costs for a pervaporative aroma recovery unit are extremely dependent on the choice of membrane material. High-flux membranes give lower costs but poorer process performance.


On 8th February 2018, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a fine of INR 135.86 Crores (approximately $ 1.36 Billion) on Google, for abusing its dominant position striking the…


This last decade has yielded more robust development of cancer treatments and first-in-class agents than ever before. Since 2006, nearly one hundred new drugs have received regulatory approval for the treatment of hematological and solid organ neoplasms. Moreover, older conventional therapies have received approval for new clinical indications and are being used in combination with these newer small-molecule targeted treatments. The nervous system is vulnerable to many of the traditional cancer therapies, manifesting both already well-described acute and chronic toxicities. However, newer agents may produce toxicities that may seem indistinguishable from the underlying cancer. Early recognition of neurotoxicities from new therapeutics is vital to avoid irreversible neurological injury. This review focuses on cancer therapies in use in the last 10 years and approved by the FDA from January 2006 through January 1, 2017.


There has been recent excitement surrounding the theoretical possibility of an artificial 'metamaterial' which would exhibit a repulsive Casimir force but the design of such a metamaterial as well as the practical feasibility of its fabrication are not trivial. The implications of a repulsive Casimir force for the MEMS industry could be significant with potential applications including stiction prevention in sensors, contactless bearings and contactless power transmission. The repulsion would need to be present for a wide range of frequencies including those in the UV range corresponding with separations which would exhibit a sufficiently large Casimir effect. Previous work has shown split-ring resonator (SRR) arrays fabricated using lithography to give a response in the high infrared range. This work uses focussed ion beam (FIB) technology to mill away areas of gold film leaving an SRR array which according to theoretical predictions and spectroscopic ellipsometry results exhibits a response within the optical range.


Obtaining adequate exposure is key to optimising outcomes in revision total knee arthroplasty. Goals of the exposure include protecting the extensor mechanism, safe removal of the components that are in place and implantation of the revision components. Challenges to these goals include prior skin incisions, arthrofibrosis, and patella baja. Choosing a skin incision is the first important step. The blood supply to the skin is predominantly derived MEDIALLY and thus the most LATERAL skin incision that works for obtaining exposure is selected. If skin flaps are required, they MUST be full thickness as the blood supply to the skin runs deep just over the fascial layer and partial thickness flaps risk skin necrosis. Avoid acute angles between old skin incisions of The work-horse of revision TKA is the medial parapatellar approach. It includes a generous medial release that allows the surgeon to externally rotate and deliver the tibia by pivoting on the extensor mechanism. An anterior synovectomy is then performed to re-establish the medial and lateral gutters followed by re-establishment of the space behind the patellar tendon to free it from the proximal tibia and finally subluxation of the patella (preferable to formal eversion). A lateral release (or peel of the soft tissue off of the lateral side of the patella) is a final step to mobilise the extensor mechanism (if required). After the components are removed, a posterior capsulectomy is performed followed by re-establishment of the flexion space behind the femur further enhances tibial exposure for both bony preparation and revision component implantation. If the above maneuvers are performed, and exposure is still inadequate, the easiest way to improve exposure is by performing a quadriceps snip. This is an oblique, apical extension of the arthrotomy ACROSS THE PATELLAR TENDON (NOT in the muscle; it is hard to repair if performed in the muscle). It is repaired side to side with no need to alter post-operative physical therapy and heals reliably. The V-Y Quadricepsplasty is a proximal release of the extensor mechanism; essentially perform by connecting the apical extension of the medial parapatellar arthrotomy with a lateral release across the quadriceps tendon. It is classically indicated for patients with extensor mechanism contracture where the surgeon wishes to lengthen it. It usually results in increased flexion at the expense of an extensor lag and is used rarely in contemporary practice. Tibial Tubercle Osteotomy is a distal release of the extensor mechanism that is most useful for accessing the canal to remove long-stemmed cemented tibial components. It is a coronal osteotomy made from the medial side of the tubercle that is usually made 5–8 cm in length, tapering from approximately 1cm thick proximally to 5mm distally.


Primary human immunodeficiency virus infection (PHI) may take place without symptoms or may be associated with mononucleosislike illness. Sometimes, the clinical presentation includes aseptic meningitis, mucocutaneous ulcers, oropharyngeal candidiasis and elevated aminotransferases. We describe the case of a 25-year-old male, who had sex with other men, and presented to the emergency department with elevated aminotransferases levels and esophageal candidiasis. Acute hepatitis markers (hepatitis A, B, C, Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus) were performed and all were negative. Repeated testes revealed 3 consecutive negative HIV antibody tests with a strongly high HIV-1 RNA plasma concentration ( > 500,000 copies / mL) and a loss of CD4 + T cells (347 cells /µ L), characterizing an acute hepatitis occurring during a course of an acute retroviral syndrome. Antiretroviral therapy was started while waiting a genotyping test performed to assess the presence of potential drug resistance mutations, and the patient recovered uneventfully, with normalization of aminotransferases, CD4 restoration and viral load become undetectable. Genotyping test indicated primary antiretroviral mutations, and appropriate changes in antiretroviral therapy were performed. Our case like other reports suggested that a diagnosis of PHI needs to be considered in patients who presented with acute hepatitis. doi:10.4021/jmc489w


Excitation of Na(3p) and K(4p) states by a high velocity non-transferred direct current plasma jet was studied. A turbulent nitrogen plasma jet was discharged into an atmosphere consisting of nitrogen and oxygen, laden with trace amounts of alkali. The line reversal temperatures of Na and K depend on the molar fraction of oxygen and may deviate considerably from the gas temperature. The reaction pressure was 0.1 MPa. The measured line reversal temperatures were reproduced by a simple chemical model. At temperatures near 2000 K non-equilibrium is caused by association of nitrogen atoms by the Zeldovich mechanism, which affects the vibrational temperature of nitrogen molecules. Near 1000 K excitation may also take place due to a chemiluminescent mechanism between alkali metals and ozone.


Three nitrogen-fixing bacteria, Azotobacter vinelandii, Beijerinckia indica and Beijerinckia mobilis, were shown to contain large amounts of triterpenoids of the hopane series. In A. vinelandii, the major compound was a novel bacteriohopanepentol ether accompanied by a similar bacteriohopanetetrol derivative: in both compounds, the hopanoids are linked via an ether bond to a carbapseudopentose moiety often found in bacterial hopanoids. In the two Beijerinckia species, diplopterol and 2β-methyldiplopterol were accumulated in much larger amounts than those usually recorded in hopanoid-producing eubacteria, while 2β-methyldiploptene was isolated for the first time from B. mobilis. Whereas in B. mobilis aminobacteriohopanetriol was the only C35 hopanoid, the simultaneous presence of bacteriohopanetetrol and aminobacteriohopanetriol in B. indica is a rather unusual feature.


To relax DNA supercoiling, topoisomerase I (TOP1) induces DNA cleavage complexes (TOP1cc). These TOP1cc can be trapped by camptothecin, leading to replication induced DNA double-strand breaks (DSB). Widely used, camptothecin derivatives have known limitations. It is now possible to overcome these limitations with the non-camptothecin indenoisoquinolines currently in clinical trials (LMP400, LMP776 and LMP744). Homologous recombination (HR) and its key components BRCA1, BRCA2 and PALB2 are needed to repair DSB induced by TOP1 inhibitors (Maede, Y et al. 2014). It has been shown that BRCA1 is a determinant of response to camptothecins in addition to Olaparib. Also, Schlafen11 (SLFN11) expression has been demonstrated to be a highly penetrant determinant of response to camptothecin derivatives (Zoppoli, G et al. 2012). To rationally select patients for phase 2 clinical trials based on cancer-specific genomic alterations, we have determined whether HR components deficiency or SLFN11 expression are determinants of LMPs response. Using isogenic cell lines, we assessed the survival after treatment with the LMPs. We found that SLFN11-positives cells are 10-times hypersensitive to LMPs compare to WT cells. Also, BRCA1-, BRCA2- and PALB2-deficient cells are 3- to 5- times hypersensitive to the LMPs. Adding Olaparib led to a greater cell death, especially in HR-deficient (HRD) cells. Our results show that the indenoisoquinolines are active at nanomolar concentrations and that HR deficiency and SLFN11 expression are strong drug response determinants. They also demonstrate that the LMPs synergize with Olaparib. These findings provide a rationale for personalized treatment and further clinical trials with the indenoisoquinolines in HR-deficient cancers. Citation Format: Yves Pommier, Laetitia Marzi, Zoe Waever Ohler, Ludmila Szabova, Shyam Sharan, Junko Murai, Mark Cushman. Indotecan (LMP400), Imidotecan (LMP776) and LMP744: A new class of non-camptothecin TOP1 inhibitors selective for cancer cells with homologous recombination deficiencies and high SLFN11 expression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4855.


The Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) was found to harbor a vast repertoire of genes encoding for enzymes with potential antibiotic resistance activity. Among these, as many as 3349 genes were predicted in silico to contain a metallo-beta-lactamase-like (MBL-like) fold. These proteins were subject to an in silico functional characterization by comparing their protein profiles (presence/absence of conserved protein domains) to other MBLs, including 24 already expressed in vitro, along with those of the beta-lactamase database (BLDB) (n = 761). The sequence similarity network (SSN) was then used to predict the functional clusters of CPR MBL-like sequences. Our findings showed that CPR MBL-like sequences were longer and more diverse than bacterial MBL sequences, with a high content of functional domains. Most CPR MBL-like sequences did not show any SSN connectivity with expressed MBLs, indicating the presence of many potential, yet unidentified, functions in CPR. In conclusion, CPR was shown to have many protein functions and a large sequence variability of MBL-like folds, exceeding all known MBLs. Further experimental and evolutionary studies of this superfamily of hydrolyzing enzymes are necessary to illustrate their functional annotation, origin, and expansion for adaptation or specialization within a given niche or compared to a specific substrate.


OBJECTIVE
To discuss the relationship between corneal lymphangiogenesis and inflammation index (IF) in alkali burned corneas.

METHODS
Experimental research. Rat corneal hemangiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis were examined by 5'-nase-alkaline phosphatase (5'-NA-ALP) double enzyme-histochemistry and whole mount immunofluorescence at 1 day, 3 days, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 weeks after alkaline burns, and the blood vessel counting (BVC) and the lymphatic vessel counting (LVC) were recorded. The state of corneal inflammation was observed under the slit lamp and evaluated by inflammation index (IF) grading at the same time. Then, the association of LVC with IF was examined. In addition, eleven human alkali burned corneas were obtained from 11 patients undergoing corneal transplantation in Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center from January 2005 to June 2008. Corneal lymphangiogenesis was examined by lymphatic vessel endothelial receptor (LYVE-1) immunohistochemistry. The significance of the differences in IF, inflammatory cells counting, burn history, and age between two groups was analyzed by using paired student's t-test.

RESULTS
New lymphatic vessels were present in rat alkali burned corneas. Corneal lymphangiogenesis developed 3 days after alkaline burns, reached the top 2 weeks after the injury, then decreased gradually, and disappeared at the end of the 5th week. Corneal lymphatics occurred behind corneal inflammation, but disappeared before corneal inflammation and hemangiogenesis. LVC was strongly and positively correlated with IF (r = 0.572, P < 0.01) after corneal alkaline burns. Among eleven human alkali burned corneas, corneal lymphatic vessels were present in 3 corneas. Compared with the other 8 cases without corneal lymphangiogenesis, the scores of IF was significantly higher (t = 3.28, P < 0.05), the inflammatory cells counting dramatically increased (t = 2.42, P < 0.05), but the age decreased significantly (t = 2.62, P < 0.05). However, the difference in burn history between two groups was not significant (t = 1.28, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Corneal lymphangiogenesis develops after alkaline-burns and correlates closely with inflammation index.


In order to satisfy the requirement of high efficiency description for power system model and data exchange, the model description language E is developed, It adopts object-oriented technology, is compatible with relation-oriented technology, and inherits the advantages from XML. For 100 nodes CIM model description, the efficiency of E language is 13. 6 times higher than that of XML. The E language has been successfully applied in electric power system of China.


Hyponatraemia (serum sodium arbitrarily defined as less than 135 mmol/L) is an increasingly recognised adverse effect of selective serotonin re‐uptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Its precise prevalence and incidence in the elderly are hard to determine because of confounding factors including other prescribed medications and medical conditions. Although hyponatraemia has been reported with all SSRIs and venlafaxine, most studies are small, restrospective, limited by confounding variables or are individual case reports. The risk of developing hyponatraemia while on an SSRI seems to increase with age, female, sex, previous history of hyponatraemia and the concomitant use of other medications known to include hyponatraemia. The sodium concentrations of most patients with SSRI associated hyponatraemia return to normal within days to weeks of SSRI withdrawal. A few cases of SSRI rechallenge indicate that hyponatraemia may sometimes be a transient effect with tolerance developing over time. There is an urgent need for controlled, rigorous studies to confirm the extent of the association between SSRIs and hyponatraemia. Older drugs such as tricyclic antidepressants also need systematic study. It remains quite unclear whether any specific SSRI or venlafaxine has a stronger association with hyponatraemia than any other antidepressant drug. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd


OBJECTIVE: With the use of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) immunization recommendations as the gold standard, our objectives were to measure the accuracy ("is this child up-to-date on immunizations?") and usefulness ("is this child due for catch-up immunizations?") of the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) childhood immunization measures. METHODS: For children aged 24 to 35 months from the 2009 National Immunization Survey, we assessed the accuracy and usefulness of the HEDIS childhood immunization measures for 6 individual immunizations and a composite. RESULTS: A total of 12 096 children met all inclusion criteria and composed the study sample. The HEDIS measures had >90% accuracy when compared with the CDC gold standard for each of the 6 immunizations (range, 94.3%–99.7%) and the composite (93.8%). The HEDIS measure was least accurate for hepatitis B and pneumococcal conjugate immunizations. The proportion of children for which the HEDIS measure yielded a nonuseful result (ie, an incorrect answer to the question, "is this child due for catch-up immunization?") ranged from 0.33% (varicella) to 5.96% (pneumococcal conjugate). The most important predictor of HEDIS measure accuracy and usefulness was the CDC-recommended number of immunizations due at age 2 years; children with zero or all immunizations due were the most likely to be correctly classified. CONCLUSIONS: HEDIS childhood immunization measures are, on the whole, accurate and useful. Certain immunizations (eg, hepatitis B, pneumococcal conjugate) and children (eg, those with a single overdue immunization), however, are more prone to HEDIS misclassification.


In this paper, we propose a method for retrieving promising candidate solutions in case-based problem solving. Our method, referred to as credible case-based inference, makes use of so-called similarity profiles as a formal model of the key hypothesis underlying case-based reasoning (CBR), namely, the assumption that similar problems have similar solutions. Proceeding from this formalization, it becomes possible to derive theoretical properties of the corresponding inference scheme in a rigorous way. In particular, it can be shown that, under mild technical conditions, a set of candidates covers the true solution with high probability. Thus, the approach supports an important subtask in CBR, namely, to generate potential solutions for a new target problem in a sound manner and hence contributes to the methodical foundations of CBR. Due to its generality, it can be employed for different types of performance tasks and can easily be integrated in existing CBR systems.


Bioinformatics analysis of a whole genome sequence coupled with HPLC-DAD analysis revealed that Streptomyces sp. Hu103 has the capacity to produce skyllamycin analogues. A subsequent chemical investigation of this strain yielded four new cinnamoyl-containing cyclopeptides, anulamycins A-D (1-4), two new cinnamoyl-containing linear peptides, anulamycins E and F (5 and 6), and two known cyclopeptides, skyllamycins A (7) and B (8). Their structures including absolute configurations were elucidated by detailed analysis of NMR and HRESIMS/MS spectroscopic data and the advanced Marfey's method. Compounds 1-4 exhibited antibacterial activity comparable to those of skyllamycins A and B.


Here we present detailed balance efficiency limit for a novel two-terminal dual and triple junction "step-cell" under AM 1.5G and AM 0 incident spectrums. The step-cell is a multi-junction (MJ) solar cell in which part of the top cell is removed, exposing some of the bottom cell area to unfiltered incident light, thus increasing bottom cell's photogenerated current. Optical generation of the bottom cell is modeled in two parts: step part, limited by the bottom cell bandgap, and conventional part, additionally limited by the top cell absorption. Our results show that conventionally designed MJ cell with optimized bandgap combination of 1.64 eV/0.96 eV for dual junction and 1.91 eV/1.37 eV/0.93 eV for triple junction has the highest theoretical efficiency limit. However, the step-cell design provides significant efficiency improvement for cells with non-optimum bandgap values. For example, for 1.41 eV ( ∼GaAs)/Si dual junction under AM 1.5G, efficiency limit increases from ∼21% in a conventional design to 38.7% for optimized step-cell. Similar benefits are observed for three-junction step-cell and for AM 0 spectrum studied here. Step-cell relaxes bandgap requirements for efficient MJ solar cells, providing an opportunity for a wider selection of materials and cost reduction.


The widespread of fake news on social media has resulted with serious real-world impacts, mounting concerns among the global net users in the last few years. This has also drawn interest from researchers around the globe to work on deception detection mechanisms to mitigate the problem. The goal is to realize a mechanism that is automatic, robust, reliable and efficient, despite various challenges that might hamper the efforts. In this paper, we present the review on the state-of-the-art of fake news detection mechanisms on social media. We first discuss the background of the problems that are surrounding fake news and the impacts it has on the users. We further describe the definition of fake news and discuss on different deception detection approaches presented in categories such as the content-based, social context-based and hybrid-based methods. We conclude the paper with four keys of open research challenges that may guide the future research.


The corporate governance regulations and rules make companies more transparent, credible and improve their standard of governance and make them attractive for investors to get lower cost funds to fund the companies.Bebchuk and Roe (2000) argue that the direction of legal reforms is typically pre-determined by the initial institutional structures in a country. In particular, ownership and control concentration is an important factor that affects the role and function of corporate legislation and hence the direction of its reforms. This is because the degree of ownership and control concentration plays a key role in the relationships between the different corporate stakeholders. In countries where widely-held companies prevail, the main function of corporate governance regulation is to protect shareholders from being expropriated by the management. In countries where a vast majority of companies have a concentrated ownership and control structure, the function of corporate governance regulation is to minimize the extent of agency problems between majority and minority shareholders and that between shareholders and creditors.


Abstract Online political discussions are thought to lead to more political engagement and empowerment of peripheral groups in society and thereby contributing to deliberative citizenship. Because people have increased opportunities to voice their political opinions and publish these for a potentially large audience to read, the involved level of interactivity can mobilise people who would otherwise not have been in political life. Since Web 2.0 applications (i.e. blogs, social networking sites) have become popular, online discussions have taken a great flight on the web. This article discusses the advantages and difficulties of studying online discussions applying a mixed method approach of content analysis, social network analysis and longitudinal analysis. The additional value of using a combination of research methods simultaneously is that it does justice to the complex object of study because a more in-depth and triangulated measurement of political communications can be established. The methodological implications will be illustrated on data from the online political discussion group, nl.politiek, one of the most active discussion groups during the Dutch national elections in 2006.


We comp~lte xplicit orthonormal bases for functions invariant under the rotational symmetries of a Platonic solid. Each function in the basis is a linear combination of spherical harmonics. For each symmetry (icosahedral, octahedral, tetrahedral) the calculation has three steps: First derive a bilinear equation for the coefficients by comparing the expansion of a symmetrized delta functioii in both spherical harmonics and the symmetric harmonics. The equation is parameterized by the location ((lo, $0) of the delta function and must be ~at~isfied for all locations. Second, express t,he dependence on the delta function location in a Fourier ($0) and Taylor (00) series and thereby derive a new system of bilinear equations by comparing selected coefficients. Third, derive a recursive solution of the new system and explicitly solve the recursion with the aid of symbolic computation. The results for the icosahedral case are important for structural studies of small spherical viruses.


Nutritional research has recently shifted from alleviating nutrient deficiencies to chronic disease prevention. In this study activity of cactus pear fruit extract (CPFE) from Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. has been investigated in carrageenin-induced pleurisy, a rat model of acute inflammation. In our experimental design rat pleurisy was achieved by the injection of 0.2 ml of I»-carrageenin in the pleural cavity. At selected time points, rats were sacrificed; cells recruited in pleura were counted and exudates collected to analyse inflammatory parameters such as NO, PGE2, IL-1I², TNF-I±. CPFE (in the range between 5 and 20 g fresh fruit equivalent/kg), orally given 30 min before the injection, time- and dose-dependently reduced the exudate volume (up to 72%) and the number of leukocytes recruited in the pleural cavity (up to 96%), at 24 h. These anti-inflammatory effects were accompanied by an inhibited release of inflammatory mediators (PGE2, NO, IL-1I², TNF-I±). Our in vivo findings unveil for the first time an anti-inflammatory potential for cactus pear fruit and suggest further investigations to propose cactus pear fruit as a functional food able to improve health, possibly by preventing inflammation-based disorders.


In 1779, a campaign emerged in Ireland to protest English restrictions imposed on Irish trade. This article outlines the emergence of this market for patriotic goods and the increased commercialization of politics in Ireland in the 1770s. Through the examination of advertisements, prints, and other ephemera, this essay examines the way in which this campaign for a "free trade" facilitated the growth of an increasingly commercialized extra-parliamentary political culture. It argues that the quotidian world of consumption was as important to Irish patriot politics as the more exalted realms of parliamentary debate or the expressions of Protestant patriotism articulated in pamphlet literature. It also examines the gendered nature of this campaign. As acts of consumption became politicized, women gained a prominent place in the discourse and the practice this movement, while a sphere patriotic of consumption specific to men was also identified, based around forms of sociability and voluntary association.


Phylogenetic Systematics (PS) is a biological field that investigates how organisms relate to one another, being phylogenetic trees the most direct visual representations of evolution. Currently, PS plays a central position in evolutionary studies. However, there is still a limited comprehension of such subject by people in general and scientists; that limitation is not only related to its own interpretation, but also to its meaning. Skills to visualize evolutionary kinship in a phylogenetic tree abstraction are collectively called 'tree-thinking', which is still a critical educational component. Biological Sciences undergraduate students from two Brazilian institutions were asked to evaluate PS, and we could verify that students were already able to recognize common ancestry and point out features of organisms from the tree. Students have shown greater difficulty, though, in recognizing kinship degrees amongst taxa, perceiving similar trees with different node rotations, and mapping time. Participants have demonstrated the acquisition of these skills as PS is taught in introductory curricular subjects. Such acquisition was not the same with both groups, as very different profiles, including formal knowledge of phylogeny and evolution contents, have been noted.


We introduce LeapfrogLayers, an invertible neural network architecture that can be trained to efficiently sample the topology of a 2D $U(1)$ lattice gauge theory. We show an improvement in the integrated autocorrelation time of the topological charge when compared with traditional HMC, and look at how different quantities transform under our model. Our implementation is open source, and is publicly available on github at https://github.com/saforem2/l2hmc-qcd.


Recently, the PDLC(Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal) is being developed lively to make a large display device using a liquid crystal. Because of low light loss, high brightness, and simple fabrication process, it is made easily to large display device, In this study, the response time and light transmittance by the applied voltage is measured to analyze the electro-optical characteristics of PDLC. The He-Ne laser is applied to the PDLC cell, the light transmittance is measured using the photodiode and the result is analyzed and displayed graphically by the digital oscilloscope. The result of comparison between the PDLC and the present LCD is used to study the potential as a display device.


Manoalogue, a synthetic analogue of the sea sponge-derived manoalide, has been previously shown to partially inactivate the phospholipase A2 from cobra venom (Reynolds, L. J., Morgan, B. P., Hite, E. D., Mihelich, E. D., & Dennis, E. A. (1988) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 110, 5172) by reacting with enzyme lysine residues. In the present study, the inactivation of the phospholipases A2 from pig pancreas, bee venom, and cobra (Naja naja naja) venom by manoalogue was studied in detail. Manoalogue-treated enzymes were examined in the scooting mode on vesicles of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphomethanol. Here the native enzymes bound irreversibly to the vesicles and hydrolyzed all of the phospholipids in the outer monolayer without leaving the surface of the interface. All three manoalogue-treated enzymes showed reduced catalytic turnover for substrate hydrolysis in the scooting mode, and the modified enzymes did not hop from one vesicle to another. Thus, inactivation by manoalogue is not due to the decrease in the fraction of enzyme bound to the substrate interface. This result was also confirmed by fluorescence studies that directly monitored the binding of phospholipase A2 to vesicles. A chemically modified form of the pig pancreatic phospholipase A2 in which all of the lysine epsilon-amino groups have been amidinated was not inactivated by manoalogue, indicating that the modification of lysine residues and not the amino-terminus is required for the inactivation. Several studies indicated that the manoalogue-modified enzymes contain a functional active site. For example, studies that monitored the protection by ligands of the active site from attack by a alkylating agent showed that manoalogue-modified pig phospholipase A2 was capable of binding calcium, a substrate analogue, lipolysis products, and a competitive inhibitor. Furthermore, relative to native enzymes, manoalogue-modified enzymes retained significantly higher catalytic activities when acting on water-soluble substrates than when acting on vesicles in the scooting mode. Intact manoalogue had no affinity for the catalytic site on the enzyme as it did not inhibit the enzyme in the scooting mode and it did not protect the active site from alkylation. Pig pancreatic phospholipase A2 bound to micelles of 2-hexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine was resistant to inactivation by manoalogue, suggesting that the modification of lysine residues on the interfacial recognition surface of the enzyme was required for inactivation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


This paper investigates and applies a novel large disturbance attenuation method to two kinds of nonlinear power system models. The proposed method is devised by linking the backstepping technique and minimax optimal control theory. The power system models are considered as subjecting to the influences of certain transient disturbances, such as mechanical power fluctuation and short circuit fault. Applicability of the scheme is illustrated via simulation; meanwhile, the control performances of the two models are analyzed and compared. The simulation results reveal that the proposed controller is strong robust and insensitive to the internal and external disturbances.


The methylated metallocenes (MeCp)2M with M = V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni (1–5) were investigated by 1H and 2H NMR spectroscopy at natural abundance. The 2H NMR signals are narrower by a factor of up to 30 compared with the corresponding 1H NMR signals, thus establishing an inexpensive method and a general improvement of the NMR spectra of paramagnetic π‐complexes. This has allowed the resolution of the signal splitting of Cp deuterons of 1 and 5 which could not be observed earlier in the 1H NMR spectra. The origin of the small (1 and 5) and large (2–4) signal splittings is discussed and related to an extended Hückel calculation. The relative magnitude of the signal splitting is reproduced, but the signal assignment had to be deduced from 13C NMR results. Primary isotope shifts of up to 4.0 ppm were found for 1, 2, 4 and 5. The much higher values for 3 (up to 16.6 ppm) reflect the combined influence of the intrinsic isotope shift and the isotope effect on the spin crossover.


The use of indicators to measure urban sustainability is highlighted in Agenda 21 and has been emphasised as an important instrument at many of the European Conferences on Sustainable Cities and Towns. This study is an explorative analysis of eight European cities to determine what aspects of sustainable development are measured, what reasons are given for using indicators to measure urban sustainability, and to what extent uniformity has been included in indicator design. The most striking findings may be that the indicators were not equally distributed across aspects of sustainability and that almost all of the 332 identified indicators were differently defined. Further, a pressure–state–response (PSR) analysis revealed that most indicators focused on the state aspect.


Research has shown that overskilling—where workers are not fully using their skills in their jobs—can lead to reduced wages and job satisfaction. This report builds on that previous research and investigates the persistence of overskilling mismatch and the effect of past mismatch on wages. The research finds that persistence of overskilling mismatch is common among those who have been overskilled in the past and is highest among those who did not finish high school and VET diploma graduates. It was lowest among university graduates. However, the wages of university graduates are significantly reduced by past overskilling, more so than for those in any other education level. Note: To access this report you must register with NCVER. This is free and can be done by clicking on the link above.


A porphyrin-tetraviologen supramolecule P-V{sub 4}, in which a viologen molecule is appended to each of the porphyrin meso positions via a 1,3-propanoxy-4-phenyl chain, has been studied by picosecond and nanosecond laser flash photolysis techniques. In DMSO solution, rapid charge separation (CS) occurs from the first excited singlet state of the porphyrin, giving rise to long-lived redox products. These products recombine via first-order kinetics ({tau} = 6.4 {plus minus} 0.7 {mu}s) to restore the ground-state reactants. Similar, but much slower, CS takes place from the porphyrin triplet excited state, which is formed in competition to CS from the singlet state. Quantum yields for formation of redox products and rates of both CS and charge recombination (CR) are solvent dependent, protic solvents favoring rapid CR.


For pt.I, see ibid., vol.18, p.1371-86 (1988). An electron microscopic study has revealed the presence of a strong deformation of the triangular IAPD pattern in gamma -brass. Using the free-energy functional associated with the phase variables of the pattern, the authors demonstrate the invariance of the topology of the pattern. They can regard the pattern system to be a medium, which they call the 'phase medium', and they can also obtain the effective elastic constants of the medium. The observed deformation of the pattern has been qualitatively reproduced by calculating the strain field of the phase medium under a proper boundary condition.


Preface. 1.Introduction. 1.1 Favorable Betting Scenarios. 1.2 Gambling Shocks. 1.3 The Dark Side of Sports: The Fixes. 2. Market Perspectives: Through a Glass Darkly. 2.1 Changing Paradigms. 2.2 Modeling Commentaries. 2.3 Sports Hedge Funds. 2.4 Gambling Markets: Prohibition, Repeal and Taxation. 2.5 Quantifying the Madness of Crowds in Sports Gambling Markets. 2.6 Statistical Shocks: Alias Variables. 3. Opacity and Present Day Variables. 3.1 Dilemmas between Social and Economic Efficiency. 3.2 Towards a More Visible Hidden Hand. 3.3 Hedge Funds and Galapagos. 3.4 Lotteries: Market for Losers. 4. Adaptive Modeling Concepts in Dynamic Markets. 4.1 Quant Funds and Algorithmic Trading. 4.2 Market Volatility and Fat-Trailed Distributions. 4.3 Adaptive ARMA(1,1) Drift Processes. 4.4 Time Varying Volatility. 5. Studies in Japanese Candlestick Charts. 5.1 Bullish and Bearish Patterns from Chartist Perspectives. 5.2 Black Monday. 5.3 A Matter of Alleged Insider Trading. 5.4 Commodity Bubbles and Volatility. 5.5 Short Selling. 5.6 Terrorist Attacks and the Markets. 5.7 A Hollywood Romance: Spiderman and Tinkerbell. 5.8 Copenhagen and Climate Change: Exxon Mobile Buys XTO Energy. 6. Pseudo Candlestick Graphics for Major League Baseball. 6.1 The 2008 World Series: Philadelphia Versus Tampa Bay. 6.2 The 2008 Chicago Cubs: Visions of 1908 Heroics. 6.3 A Strange Set of Coincidences: A Plate Umpire's Affinity for a Pitcher. 7. Single Equation Adaptive Drift Modeling. 7.1 Adaptive ARMA Processes. 7.2 Variable Selection: Identifying the Reduced Model. 7.3 Reduced Model Estimation: Single Equations. 7.4 Reduced Model Empirical Bayesian Estimation: Single Equations. 7.5 Single Equation Volatility Modeling: Adaptive GARCH Processes. 7.6 Modeling Monetary Growth Data. 7.7 Modeling GNP Deflator Growth. 8. Single Equation Modeling: Sports Gambling Markets. 8.1 Effects of Interactive Gambling Shocks. 8.2 End of an Era: Modeling Profile of the 1988-89 Los Angeles Lakers. 8.3 Spread Betting. 8.4 Modeling Profile of a Dream Team: The 1989-90 San Francisco 49ers. 8.5 Major League Baseball: A Data Intensive Game. 8.6 While Still Under the Curse: Modeling Profile of the 1990 Red Sox. 8.7 Portrait of Controversy: Modeling Profile of Roger Clemens with the 1990 Red Sox. 8.8 Pitcher of the Year in 1990: Modeling Profile of the Oakland's Bob Gibson. 9. Simultaneous Financial Time Series. 9.1 The Cruse of Higher Dimensionality. 9.2 From Candlesticks to Cointegration. 9.3 Cointegration in Terms of Autoregressive Processes. 9.4 Estimating Disequilibria through Factor Analysis. 9.5 Simultaneous Time Series: Adaptive Drift Modeling. 9.6 Simultaneous Time Series: Adaptive Volatility Modeling. 9.7 Exploratory Modeling: Marathon Oil Company. 9.8 The High Tech Bubble of 2000. 9.9 Twenty-Five Standard Deviation Moves. 9.10 The March 2009 Nadir. 10. Modeling Cointegrated Time Series Associated with NBA and NFL Games. 10.1 Modeling Transitions. 10.2 The 2007-08 NY Giants: As Unexpected as Katrina. 10.3 Misery for the Patriot Faithful. 10.4 The Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 2005. 10.6 Miami's First NBA Title: 2005-06. 10.7 The 2006-07 San Antonio Spurs: Unexpected Titlists. 10.8 Monitoring MBA Referee Performances. 11. Categorical Forecasting. 11.1 Fisher's Discriminant Function. 11.2 Bayesian Discriminant Analysis. 11.3 Logistic Regression Analysis. 11.4 Allocating Betting Monies in the Sports Gambling Markets. 12. Financial/Mathematical Illiteracy and Adolescent Problem Gambling: Epidemics More Damaging Than the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. 12.1 The Call for Financial/Mathematical Literacy in 21st Century America. 12.2 Data, Information and the Information Age. 12.3 The Companion Epidemic of Adolescent Problem Gambling. 12.4 Results of a Pilot Study on Adolescent Problem Gambling and Financial /Mathematical Literacy. 13. The Influenza Futures Markets. 13.1 Markets for Expert Information Retrieval. 13.2 Adaptive Seasonal Time Series Modeling. 13.3 Forecasting Weekly Influenza/Pneumonia Deaths. Index. List of Figures.


Heterogeneous blood vessels are created by angiogenesis and vasculogenesis in colorectal cancer (CRC). Assessing endothelial activities had promising applications. However no marker has translated to clinical care. Hence a multifactorial assessment or 'endotheliome', including angiogenic activity, the 'angiome', was proposed. I tested that circulating cellular and plasma biomarkers determined outcome(s).

Flow cytometry quantified circulating endothelial cells (CECs, displaced from blood vessels) and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs, for vasculogenesis). Plasma markers measured by ELISA were: von Willebrand factor (vWf, for endothelial damage/turnover), soluble E-selectin (adhesion in tumour migration), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiogenin (for the 'angiogenic switch'). All markers were prospectively quantified in 154 CRC participants before treatment and compared to non-cancer controls. They were tested against the tumour's histopathology and repeated after surgery +/- adjuvant therapy.

CECs and EPCs were highest in CRC and correlated to VEGF only. Angiogenin was diagnostic of CRC and vWf predicted metastasis. All markers fell after surgery but inconsistently after adjuvant treatment. Lower CD34+CD45- cells identified responders to anti-angiogenic therapy. Models incorporating CEC, EPC, angiogenin and CRC stage predicted progression within 2 years better than CRC stage alone.

In summary, the endotheliome and angiome are determinants of outcomes and may aid decisions on therapeutic strategies.


Welding has been used for the direct fabrication of metallic prototypes and prototype tools by several research institutes. Since welding alone is not able to deliver the accuracy and the surface quality needed for prototype tools, especially for injection molds, a combination with conventional machining is necessary. In this paper, welding and 5-axis milling are combined together for the direct fabrication of metallic parts. For welding, conventional CO2 arc welding is used. Test parts with conformal cooling channels an~ undercuts demonstrate the technological potential of this process combination for rapid tooling applications.


In order to improve our knowledge about the structure of the winds of the Herbig Ae/Be stars and the mechanisms that drive them, we performed a NLTE analysis of the formation of helium lines in the wind of AB Aur, the prototype of the whole class. These lines are indeed expected to form in the densest layers of the envelope, at the very base of the wind, and therefore to provide constraints on these regions where the wind originates. A large observational data set is now available which we have extensively used to deduce strong constraints on the physics that prevail in the inner part of the wind. Among these data, we particularly used those from the MUSICOS 1996 campaign, which show that the He I D3 ( λ5876 Å) line is made of two distincts components: a blue-shifted emission component, and a redshifted component alternatively seen as an absorption or an emission. The classical model for AB Aur's wind (Bouret & Catala 1998; Catala & Kunasz 1987) fails to reproduce the observed profile. We find that the observations can be explained by a two component model in which the base of the wind includes dense and hot clumps of outflowing material, while the bulk of the wind is still described by the model by Bouret & Catala (1998). This clumpy structure can result from the presence of co-rotating interaction regions which form where fast streams in the wind overtake slow streams. Our results show that a blue-shifted emission is formed in such conditions, and can be rotationally modulated as observed, due to fast and slow streams alternating on the line of sight as the star rotates. Our model can also explain the occasional presence of an absorption component near rest wavelength, as formed in the bulk of the extended chromosphere. Concerning the red emission component, which is occasionally observed instead of the absorption one, we argue that it may arise from polar downflows.


The electron-transfer kinetics from the soluble cytochrome (cyt) c2 to the photooxidized reaction center (RC) was studied with proteins isolated from Rhodobacter (R.) sphaeroides. In addition to wild-type (WT) RC, RCs harboring site-directed mutations at residue L162 (L162F, -M, -L, -S, or -G) wree analyzed. The disappearance of the absorption band of the photooxidized primary donor P+ (at 1250 nm) and the alpha-band of cyt c2 (at 550 nm) were monitored. Under conditions of high equimolar RC and cyt c2 concentrations, the kinetics were very similar to those measured in intact cells (Farchaus et al., 1993). The fast component of the kinetics normally seen in WT was not observed in any of the mutants; the overall rereduction rates for the mutants depended on the amino acid substitution. Light intensity, viscosity, ionic strength, and RC/cyt c2 stoichiometry of the reaction mixture were varied to distinguish the contributions of association, reorientation, and electron-transfer reactions to the observed kinetics. In competition experiments, WTRC (L162Y) and the mutant RCL162L showed similar affinity for cyt c2, with a dissociation constant of kD = 10(-6) M. Mutants with an aliphatic substitution at position L162 displayed slower cyt c2-RC association and dissociation rates. Comparison of the major kinetic component of the P+ rereduction rates for the aliphatic substitutions to the aromatic substitution, L162F, revealed that the former were less affected by ionic strength and viscosity than the latter. The viscosity and ionic strength dependences noted for L162F were comparable to those seen for the slow kinetic component observed for the WT RC. The redox midpoint potential of the P/P+ couple was increased by 30 mV (L162F) to 50 mV (L162L, G) over the WT value, leading to differences in delta G not large enough to account for the drastic kinetic effects. Rather, the results suggested that the state(s) where cyt c2 is nonproductively bound to the RC dominated in the mutants. In the L162F mutant, it appeared that only the distribution between the bound cyt c2 states was affected, whereas for the mutants with aliphatic substitutions, a decreased reorientation rate had to be additionally assumed in order to explain the observations.


This chapter focuses on the applicability of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques in the field of cultural heritage (CH), from the methods to characterize the elemental composition of materials to the procedures to analyse the CH objects at different scales. The main restriction on XRF techniques is the impossibility of measuring elements with atomic numbers lower than 10, but their great advantage is the capability to perform analyses in a non-destructive manner. This important characteristic of XRF techniques has led it to have the highest number and variety of instrumental devices not only at the laboratory level but also at the portable and handheld level. The capacity to transport the spectrometer to the field has promoted the widespread use of XRF as an essential technique for artwork analysis outside the laboratory. This chapter reviews such XRF techniques and devices, alone or working together with other analytical techniques, showing also the importance of chemometrics to extract as much information as possible from the XRF spectra or from the quantitative data obtained from them.


Introduction. Burnout is a symptom that is often experienced by nurses, especially in the operating room, intensive unit and emergency room. Burnout is characterized by fatigue of heavy workloads, lack of control and appreciation, unfair treatment as employees, lack of social support at work, and conflict of value values that cause Emotional Exhausting, Depersonalization, Personal Accreditation. Coaching implementation by mentors to the implementing nurses is expected to reduce burnout. Methods. This study aims to analyze the description of the differences and influence of coaching implementation by mentor to the executor nurse burnout at Siloam Hospitals Group. Research uses quantitative methods with quasi experimental designs, pretest-posttest control group and causal research. The sample in the study was chosen by consecutve sampling in all respondents included in the inclusion criteria. The sample in this study amounted to 117 nurses, who were divided into 2 groups ie inetrvensi group with 88 respondents and control group with 29 respondents. Coaching implementation is given within 12 weeks with the frequency of meetings 3-4 times. Results. The results of this study showed that there was a decrease in burnout before and after intervention with paired t test in the intervention group and control group, with value (p = 0.002). Conclusion. The results of the intervention analysis on the implementation of coaching training simultaneously have an effect on motivation, workplace, age, gender, education and work experience simultaneously with a contribution of F 3,316 with a significance number of 0.005 <0.05. This study recommends the need for further research.


In this paper, optimization methods for hierarchical systems are dealt with. We consider a problem in which the upper level objective function includes the lower level optimal value function.First, we review several useful results in sensitivity analysis which are already obtained by many resarchers. Moreover we point out that information on sensitivity analysis for optimal value function (i.e. gradient, generalized gradient or directional derivative) depends on the uniqueness of the optimal solution and of the Lagrange multiplier vector.Next, under the uniqueness of optimal solution and Cottle constraint qualification, we consider a problem for finding the upper level descent direction. This problem is formulated as a quadratic programming problem. Therefore, we may apply a proper solution method to the problem to obtain the upper level descent direction.Finally, we construct an optimization algorithm for the two-level hierarchical system based on the above results.


The retrieval of land surface emissivity from satellite passive microwave measurements often requires the knowledge of various radiative components (e.g., atmospheric upwelling and downwelling radiation) contributed to the measurements. Under a cloud-free condition, atmospheric and surface radiative components can be derived from atmospheric temperature and water vapor, and surface temperature data. Thus, the quality of these auxiliary data sets directly affects the emissivity accuracy. From an emission-based radiative transfer equation, a set of relationships is derived to study the sensitivity of surface emissivity to the errors of brightness temperature, atmospheric transmittance, and surface temperature. As an example, the uncertainties in the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System emissivity at 23 and 89 GHz may be much larger than the uncertainties of emissivity at lower frequencies due to the higher uncertainties in computing the water vapor absorption. The error in the land surface temperature is a main source of error in emissivity at the frequencies less than 19 GHz.


Introduction Arrhythmias and conduction disorders are common among patients with scleroderma. Their early identification is important, since scleroderma patients with arrhythmias have a higher mortality risk compared with scleroderma patients without arrhythmias. The aim of this study was to characterize the cardiovascular profiles of scleroderma patients with different types of arrhythmias and conduction disorders. Methods One hundred and ten consecutive patients with a diagnosis of systemic sclerosis according to the ACR criteria were included in the study. Patients underwent a 12-lead ECG and a 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring for arrhythmias and conduction disorders identification. Blood sample testing, echocardiography, spirometry, chest X-ray and, when considered appropriate, high resolution chest CT were also performed. A subgroup of 21 patients underwent NT-pro BNP level measurements. Patients' clinical and para-clinical characteristics were compared according to the presence or absence of arrhythmias and conduction disorders. Results The prevalence of arrhythmia and conduction disturbances was 60.9%. Patients with such disorders were older (54.4 ± 13.3 vs. 49.7 ± 10.1 years, p=0.05), had a higher prevalence of pulmonary hypertension (p=0.008), valve disease (p < 0.001), especially mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, chamber enlargement on echocardiography (left atrial and right ventricular, p = 0.012 and 0.005, respectively) as well as higher NT-pro BNP levels: 265.5 ± 399.7 vs. 163 ± 264.3 pg/ml, p=0.04. Conclusion Arrhythmias and conduction disorders are common in patients with scleroderma. Patients with such disorders are older, have a higher prevalence of pulmonary hypertension, more severe mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, left atrial and right ventricular dilation on echocardiography.


Background Early diagnosis of cognitive disorders is becoming increasingly important. Limited resources for specialist assessment and an increasing demographical challenge warrants the need for efficient methods of evaluation. In response, CoGNIT, a tablet app for automatic, standardized, and efficient assessment of cognitive function, was developed. Included tests span the cognitive domains regarded as important for assessment in a general memory clinic (memory, language, psychomotor speed, executive function, attention, visuospatial ability, manual dexterity, and symptoms of depression). Objective The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of automatic cognitive testing with CoGNIT in older patients with symptoms of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods Patients older than 55 years with symptoms of MCI (n=36) were recruited at the research clinic at the Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Karlskrona, Sweden. A research nurse administered the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) and the CoGNIT app on a tablet computer. Technical and testing issues were documented. Results The test battery was completed by all 36 patients. One test, the four-finger–tapping test, was performed incorrectly by 42% of the patients. Issues regarding clarity of instructions were found in 2 tests (block design test and the one finger-tapping test). Minor software bugs were identified. Conclusions The overall feasibility of automatic cognitive testing with the CoGNIT app in patients with symptoms of MCI was good. The study highlighted tests that did not function optimally. The four-finger–tapping test will be discarded, and minor improvements to the software will be added before further studies and deployment in the clinic.


Cytochrome P450s (P450s) are attractive for biotechnology applications because P450s can catalyze regio‐ and stereo‐selective oxidations of non‐activated hydrocarbons. Many bacterial P450s require electron transfer from ferredoxins, which are in turn reduced by specific ferredoxin reductases and NAD(P)H. Stoichiometric consumption of NADH, an expensive reagent, is a major challenge for practical applications. A phosphite dehydrogenase (PTDH) that catalyzes the oxidation of phosphite to phosphate using NAD+, is an attractive choice of enzyme for NADH regeneration. In this study, we incorporated PTDH into an artificial heterotrimeric complex of Pseudomonas putida P450, putidaredoxin and putidaredoxin reductase, and the resulting complex almost completely hydroxylated 1 mm d‐camphor using 10 mM phosphite in the presence of 20 μM NAD+. This phosphite‐driven self‐sufficient P450 complex could provide a useful prototype for industry‐scale oxidizing biocatalysts.


The DNA of the granulosis virus of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella, was characterized by physical chemical and electron microscopic techniques. Twenty-five percent of the DNA extracted from purified virus was isolated as supercoiled circular molecules. The remaining 75% consisted of relaxed circular molecules. These molecular forms were indicated by the production of two radioactive bands during sedimentation of (3)H-labeled granulosis virus DNA in alkaline sucrose gradients or in equilibrium density gradients of neutral cesium chloride/propidium iodide. Electron microscopic visualization of the DNA that banded at the higher density in the latter gradients revealed supercoiled structures whereas that of DNA that banded at the lower density demonstrated relaxed circular molecules. The superhelical molecules were converted to relaxed circles by treatment with pancreatic DNase. The molecular weight of the viral DNA was calculated to be 81 x 10(6) by sedimentation in neutral sucrose and 78 x 10(6) by sedimentation in alkaline sucrose. The molecular weight estimated from length measurements in electron micrographs was 76 x 10(6). The buoyant density of the granulosis virus DNA was 1.703 g/cm(3) and that of its insect host DNA was 1.697 g/cm(3). Equilibrium sedimentation in cesium chloride and thermal denaturation indicated G + C contents of 44% and 39% for the viral and host DNA, respectively.


A series of mononuclear pseudomacrocyclic cobalt complexes have been investigated as catalysts for O2 reduction. Each of these complexes, with CoIII/II reduction potentials that span nearly 400 mV, mediate highly selective two-electron reduction of O2 to H2O2 (93-99%) using decamethylferrocene (Fc*) as the reductant and acetic acid as the proton source. Kinetic studies reveal that the rate exhibits a first-order dependence on [Co] and [AcOH], but no dependence on [O2] or [Fc*]. A linear correlation is observed between log(TOF) vs E1/2(CoIII/II) for the different cobalt complexes (TOF = turnover frequency). The thermodynamic potential for O2 reduction to H2O2 was estimated by measuring the H+/H2 open-circuit potential under the reaction conditions. This value provides the basis for direct assessment of the thermodynamic efficiency of the different catalysts and shows that H2O2 is formed with overpotentials as low as 90 mV. These results are compared with a recently reported series of Fe-porphyrin complexes, which catalyze four-electron reduction of O2 to H2O. The data show that the TOFs of the Co complexes exhibit a shallower dependence on E1/2(MIII/II) than the Fe complexes. This behavior, which underlies the low overpotential, is rationalized on the basis of the catalytic rate law.


It is important in any gravity separator to provide uniform flow conditions between the inlet and the outlets. In this study, two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling was used to reveal the problems of a conventional primary gravity separator at the bulk liquid flow zone particularly. Internal device in the form of simple perforated baffle was incorporated to the separator and its effect on improving the uniformity of flow was investigated. A CFD commercial package, ANSYS was used as the simulation tool. The modelling effort concentrated on the inlet and momentum breaker zone and the bulk liquid flow zone. The problem was first simulated in its simplest form, leaving out baffle in order to understand its underlying transport phenomena. The observed results were then discussed and interpreted according to the law of physics. After the fundamental model was successfully developed, it facilitated the optimisation of hole spacing and diameter of a baffle on a separator's performance. Derived Standard Deviation (SD) for the horizontal velocity along the locations at specific position was used as an indicator to the uniformity of flow and the relative severity of recirculation.


In this effort, a new approach in aerodynamic modeling that accounts for unsteady wake effects as well as viscous friction drag, Leading edge suction effect and post stall behavior for rotary wings in forward flight is proposed. The adopted approach commingles the unsteadiness with the problem of helicopter rotor blade in forward flight. The results of the local normal force coefficients were compared with experimental results of the 7A rotor case study in high speed test point 312 at five non-dimensional radial positions. A CFD solver, HOST/elsA, results are compared with the obtained results at five radii locations. The results show a good agreement between the experimental results and the proposed model preserving the same pattern of variation along the azimuth angle with a slight discrepancy for amplitude and phase angle. Of particular interest, the presented model showed better agreement with the experimental for higher radii locations.


In this paper, we present a method for aligning words based on a statistical model of word distribution similarity. The basis underlying our method is that there is a correlation between the patterns of word co-occurrences in texts of different languages. Using automatically downloaded pages from different medical web sites and a combined bilingual lexicon of general and medical terms as language sources, a similarity score is assigned to each proposed translated pair of words, based on the distributional contexts of these two words. We vary several parameters of the method. Experimental results confirm a positive effect of frequency, show that medical words are better handled than less specialized words, and do not evidence a clear influence of context window size. Future directions for improvement include working with very large, part-of-speech tagged corpora.


Patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU) experience constant changes in their general condition. Therefore, the determination of Apache score within the first 24 hours of admission may not be a reliable index of severity. The aim of this study was to measure daily Apache scores in ICU patients, and to determine if the maximum score (Maximum Apache) attained during hospitalization had a better prognostic value than that of admission. We measured daily Apache scores to 314 patients admitted to Hospital Clínico UC ICU. Mean admission score was 17.5 +/- 9.3 (range: 1-47) and mean maximum score was 18.6 +/- 9.7 (range: 1-47), p < 0.001. Mortality during ICU stay was 17.2%, and 8.6% during hospitalization after ICU discharge. Only 78.3% of patients attained their maximum apache score during the first 24 hours of admission, whereas 21.7% attained it during the rest of ICU hospitalization. Excluding subjects with less than one day of ICU stay, 33% of patients attained maximum Apache score after 24 hours of ICU admission. Statistical analysis showed that maximum Apache score was a better predictor of mortality than that of admission.


In this series of three papers the author rigorously formulates and proves a number of the main conjectures associated with renormalization of golden-mean quasi-periodic dynamical systems. In particular, in this paper, he proves the existence of an open set of families of analytic mappings of the circle with the universal properties described in previous papers. In the two sequels, he extends this to dissipative annulus mappings and their invariant circles, formulates and proves general results about when convergence of renormalization implies existence of an invariant circle and then describes part of the boundary of the set of dissipative diffeomorphisms of the annulus and its universal structure.


We address the problem of parameter estimation of signals in noise of unknown distribution and propose a semiparametric estimator. Classical parametric estimators, such as the least-squares or Huber's minimax methods, are limited in terms of robustness and generally suboptimal in practice. Alternative methods which are based on nonparametric probability density function (pdf) estimation have been proposed recently. They automatically adapt to the measurements and thus outperform classical techniques. The semiparametric technique we suggest, which also automatically adapts to the data and relies on transformation pdf estimation, provides a further improvement and overcomes the computational weaknesses of the previous methods. The power of the technique is highlighted in an example of amplitude estimation of sinusoidal signals in impulsive noise.


With dismal survival rate pancreatic cancer remains one of the most aggressive and devastating malignancy. Predominantly, due to the absence of a dependable methodology for early identification and limited therapeutic options for advanced disease. However, it takes over 17 years to develop pancreatic cancer from initiation of mutation to metastatic cancer; therefore, if diagnosed early; it may increase overall survival dramatically, thus, providing a window of opportunity for early detection. Recently, genomic expression analysis defined 4 subtypes of pancreatic cancer based on mutated genes. Hence, we need simple and standard, minimally invasive test that can monitor those altered genes or their associated pathways in time for the success of precision medicine, and liquid biopsy seems to be one answer to all these questions. Again, liquid biopsy has an ability to pair with genomic tests. Additionally, liquid biopsy based development of circulating tumor cells derived xenografts, 3D organoids system, real-time monitoring of genetic mutations by circulating tumor DNA and exosome as the targeted drug delivery vehicle holds lots of potential for the treatment and cure of pancreatic cancer. At present, diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is frantically done on the premise of CA19-9 and radiological features only, which doesn't give a picture of genetic mutations and epigenetic alteration involved. In this manner, the current diagnostic paradigm for pancreatic cancer diagnosis experiences low diagnostic accuracy. This review article discusses the current state of liquid biopsy in pancreatic cancer as diagnostic and therapeutic tools and future perspectives of research in the light of circulating tumor cells, circulating tumor DNA and exosomes.


The authors describe a singular case of fatal impalement due to penetration of a metal tube at the level of the neck in a victim of a road traffic accident. The man was traveling in the passenger seat ("death seat") of a car that hit the parapet of a bridge head on; death was attributed to hemorrhagic shock, which was brought on virtually instantly at the moment of impact.


In this paper a hybrid intelligent algorithm combining particle swarm algorithm with natural selection mechanism is proposed and applied to the distributed generation planning. Based on the need of load and cost, a model for distributed generation planning is developed, in which the constraint condition is introduced by the penalty function. Experimental results show the feasibility and efficiency of the hybrid particle swarm algorithm and the performances of the proposed method and the basic particle swarm algorithm are compared in the example.


Erectile dysfunction is not the only cause of impotence in the male; impotencia coeundi may result from various disorders, although cavernosal erectile function is normal. The present study reviews the congenital and acquired penile disorders, as well as the cutaneous disorders that may cause penile morphological changes.


Stock liquidity is a frequent consideration for primary or secondary issuance, stock splits, share repurchases and special dividends. However, there has been very little literature or rigorous guidance around what constitutes liquidity, its impact, and potential remedies. * How To Measure Stock Liquidity * The 'Liquidity Discount' * Policy Implications of Illiquidity * How To Improve Liquidity * Equity Issuance Among Illiquid Stocks * Stock Split Study


Introduction: Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke (PAIS) underlies approximately 10% of infantile spasms (IS). We aim to identify patterns of brain injury in ischemic stroke that may predispose infants to infantile spasms. Methods: Sixty-four perinatal arterial ischemic stroke patients were identified meeting the following inclusion criteria: term birth, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showing ischemic stroke or encephalomalacia in an arterial distribution, and follow-up records. Patients who developed infantile spasms (PAIS-IS) were analyzed descriptively for ischemic stroke injury patterns and were compared to a seizure-free control group (PAIS-only). Stroke injury was scored using the modified pediatric ASPECTS (modASPECTS). Results: The PAIS-IS (n = 9) group had significantly higher modASPECTS than the PAIS-only (n = 16) group (P = .002, Mann-Whitney). A greater proportion of PAIS-IS patients had injury to deep cerebral structures (67%) than PAIS-only (25%). Conclusion: Infarct size was significantly associated with infantile spasms development. Results support theories implicating deep cerebral structures in infantile spasms pathogenesis. This may help identify perinatal arterial ischemic stroke patients at risk of infantile spasms, facilitating more timely diagnosis.


Background

We examined B-mode and en face images of swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) from patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO), and investigated associations between their characteristics and prognosis for visual acuity.

Methods

We retrospectively investigated 11 eyes in 11 patients with CRAO who underwent swept-source OCTA (PLEX Elite 9000®; Carl Zeiss, Dublin, California, USA) and SS-OCT (DRI OCT-1 Atlantis, Topcon, Tokyo, Japan) at the acute phase and 1 month after onset.

Results

Fern-like hyporeflective patterns aligned with the superficial arterioles were observed in acute-phase deep-layer en face images from 4 patients. Patients who exhibited these hyporeflective fern-like patterns were categorized as Group A, and all other patients as Group B. No significant difference in best-corrected visual acuity at initial examination was seen between the groups. At one month after onset, best-corrected visual acuity was significantly better in Group A, and retinal thinning also tended to be milder.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that a hyporeflective fern-like pattern in acute CRAO may suggest good prognosis.


Background Chemotherapy prescriptions validation by the oncology pharmacist often require interventions to optimise some aspects of the treatment, usually related to the safety and effectiveness of antineoplastic agents. Purpose Our pharmacy department has developed an initiative to register these interventions, in order to characterise possible areas of improvement in the prescription validation process. Material and methods During a period of 2 months, we created a database collecting data from the interventions made, which included the following information: date of intervention, medical record number, drug involved, reason/type of intervention and result of the intervention (accepted/not accepted). Sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory data were obtained from medical records. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using Microsoft Excel. Results 44 interventions (43 accepted) were recorded. The department in which more interventions were recorded was medical oncology (64%), followed by haematology (29%), paediatrics (4.8%) and radiotherapy oncology (2.4%). Median age of the patients included in the database was 58.5 years (2–87), and 72% of patients were women. The most common reasons for intervention were due to 'prescribing errors' (47.7%), 'pharmacotherapeutic recommendations' (22.7%), 'consultations/requests for information' (15.9%), 'adverse events' (6.8%) and some minor reasons grouped into the category 'others' (6.8%). The most common types of intervention were 'dose modification due to an adverse event (AE)' (34%) and 'resolution of consultations regarding prescription/medication administration' (18%). The next types of interventions by frequency were 'treatment recommendations' (9.1%) and dose adjustments based on renal function' (6.81%). Less common intervention types (4.5%) were: 'changes in prescription', 'dose adjustments based on an AE', 'dose adjustments based on pharmacotherapeutic recommendations', 'changes in route of administration' and 'changes in dosing schedule'. Finally, type of interventions such as 'changes in the regimen of administration', 'treatment interruption' or 'pharmaceutical compounding' were reported in 2.3% of cases. Conclusion Oncology pharmacist participation in the patient care multidisciplinary team is essential, as is clear from the high rate of acceptance of our interventions. One of the most important aspects of pharmaceutical validation is to identify errors in the prescription and medication administration process, as well as participation in the individualisation of patient therapy through pharmacotherapeutic recommendations, ensuring the effectiveness and safety of the treatment. No conflict of interest.


Phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) regulation of the GnRH gene was studied in two mouse GnRH neuronal cell lines, Gn11 and NLT. TPA treatment of NLT cells grown in low serum conditions did not alter endogenous mouse GnRH mRNA levels, indicating that the endogenous mouse gene is not regulated by phorbol esters under these conditions. This result is confirmed in transfection studies in which TPA treatment did not change expression of a mouse GnRH-luciferase reporter gene construct. In contrast, TPA treatment stimulated expression of a human GnRH-luciferase reporter construct, correlating with the expression of the protoon-cogenes c-fos and c-jun. TPA stimulation of the human GnRH gene is mediated by a consensus AP-1 site located at -402 to -396 bp, TGACTCA, which specifically binds c-fos and c-jun in Gn11 and NLT cells and recombinant c-jun in gel mobility shift studies. In contrast, the rodent GnRH genes, when aligned for maximum homology, contain a DNA sequence with a 1-bp difference, TGTCTCA from the human gene. In gel mobility shift studies, this DNA sequence does not form a complex with Gn11 or NLT nuclear extract or with recombinant c-jun. This is the first demonstration of species-specific differences in phorbol ester regulation of GnRH gene transcription and could, in part, explain differences in reproductive function among mammals.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Introduction:

Optical molecular imaging is a novel strategy in diagnosis and therapy of breast cancer. Essential for succesful implementation of this technology is a high tumor-to-normal tissue ratio (TNR), which requires tumor-specific probes/tracers. However, most tumor markers are expressed in a minority of tumors only. Therefore, we have developed a novel probe binding to the membrane-bound protein carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), which is commonly expressed in solid tumors as a result of hypoxic conditions. The probe is based on nanobodies (15 kDa, variable domains obtained from heavy-chain antibodies present in animals from the Camelidae family), that has a faster tumor uptake and body clearance than conventional (monoclonal) antibodies, and can be applied for molecular imaging of pre-invasive breast cancer.

Methods:

High affinity CAIX-specific nanobodies were selected using a modified phage display technology and site-directed conjugated to IRDye800CW. Mice bearing orthotopically transplanted MCF10DCIS (DCIS) and CAIX-overexpressing MCF10DCIS (DCIS+CAIX) xenografts were injected with fluorescent CAIX-specific nanobody (B9-IR), or non-specific control nanobody (R2-IR) and imaged up to 48 hours non-invasively. Tumors were resected under image-guidance. Nanobody uptake was assessed in tissue sections and quantified using a biodistribution assay.

Results:

A highly specific nanobody for CAIX was obtained. In DCIS+CAIX xenografts, mean TNR was 4.3±0.6 (8 mice) already two hours after injection. In DCIS tumors, mean TNR was 1.8±0.1 (8 mice), which was higher than TNR obtained after injection with R2-IR (1.4±0.2, 4 mice). After three hours, probe accumulation was sufficient to allow imag-guided tumor resection. Biodistribution studies showed that B9-IR uptake was 4.6±0.8% of injected dose per gram in DCIS tumor tissue (%I.D./g), while 2.0±0.2 %I.D./g was found with R2-IR. Upon fluorescence imaging of tissue sections, B9-IR was present in perinecrotic areas, while R2-IR showed no accumulation in these regions.

Conclusion:

We have developed a novel IRDye800CW-labeled anti-CAIX-nanobody that can be used for rapid optical molecular imaging of (pre-)invasive breast cancer before and during surgery. Furthermore, the stability of the conjugate allowed for 'molecular fluorescence pathology', which might results in better contrast than conventional chromagen based immunohistochemistry at the pathology department.

Acknowledgement:

This research was supported by the Center for Translational Molecular Medicine (MAMMOTH).

Citation Format: Aram SA van Brussel, Arthur Adams, Sabrina Oliveira, Mohamed El Khatabbi, Jeroen F. Vermeulen, Elsken Van der Wall, Willem PThM Mali, Patrick WB Derksen, Paul J. Van Diest, Paul MP Van Bergen en Henegouwen. Hypoxia targeting fluorescent nanobodies for optical molecular imaging of preinvasive breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4935. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4935


Methods In this study, SymMap was used to screen the 50 bioactive scored components and 65 putative targets of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge., and their targets were standardized using the UniProt platform. The disease targets related to stroke were collected by comparative toxicogenomics database (CTD), GeneCards, and quantitative structure-activity relationships-TargetNet (QSAR-TargetNet). Thereafter, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING platform and visualized by Cytoscape (3.8.2) software. Then, the Metascape platform was used to analyze the Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway. Cytoscape (3.7.2) software was also used to construct the network of the "herb-component-target-pathway." We found that Tanshinol B, Tanshinol A, Przewaquinone C, Tanshinone II, and other main components of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. may regulate neurotransmitters and neurological function. Therefore, we speculate Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. has a neuroprotective effect. For further verification, potential core targets (STAT3, MMP2, ESR1, TERT, and MMP9 proteins) for ischemic stroke and core active ingredients (Tanshinol A, Tanshinol B, Tanshinone II A, and Przewaquinone C) for Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. were further verified by molecular docking. Results Our findings revealed that Tanshinol A, Tanshinol B, Tanshinone II A, and Przewaquinone C as the main component of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. may have a neuroprotective effect against ischemic stroke, which provides a new understanding for the development of therapies for the prevention and treatment of ischemic stroke.


In this paper the issues of modern engineer's training in physics, based on information technologies and new point of view to modular training in physics, were discussed. The definitions of training module were analyzed. The relation between training process and pedagogical system was shown. The modern pedagogical system was described in this paper. The psychology basis of steps in module was performed. The new definition of concept of training module as a unit of pedagogical system was proposed. This study helps to optimize the future engineers' learning process of the module teaching, which based on the information technologies.


Cubic boron nitride (C–BN)' powders admixed with graphite-structured boron nitride powder (g-DN), silicon carbide whisker (SCW), or silicon nitride whisker (SNW) were shock compacted to pressures up to 22 GPa. Unlike previous work with diamond and graphite [D. K. Potter and T. J. Ahrens, J. Appl. Phys. 63, 910 (1987) it was found that the addition of g-BN inhibited dynamic consolidation. Good consolidation was achieved with a 4–8 μm particle size C–BN powder admixed with 15 wt.% SNW or 20 wt.% SCW whereas a 37–44 μm particle size C–BN mixture was only poorly consolidated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis demonstrates that SCW and SNW in the mixtures were highly deformed and indicated melt textures. A skin heating model was used to describe the physics of consolidation. Model calculations are consistent with SEM analysis images that indicate plastic deformation of SCW and SNW. Micro-Vickers hardness values as high as 50 GPa were obtained for consolidated C–BN and SNW mixtures. This compares to 21 GPa for single-crystal Al_2O_3 and 120 GPa for diamond.


In this paper, make use of finite state machine by way to control intelligence style NPC's action in game. It has many states innumerably that is UT game which is using to experiment environment. This state variable sea bream nation point, other part, me by standard state express and this states because do grouping mode make out and expressed this by hierarchic finite state machine. Action did, and did so that achieve little more soft action giving precedence than outside action so that interior action allows purpose and check state that is consisted of outside state and pair of interior state and select mode in mode conversion allowed interior action and outside action, and is part that achieve actual action in the case of outside action. Also, auction type that is supporting in most online auction system present is not supporting superior multiplex auction the speed and efficiency and auction newcomers' single auction. Paper that see to solve these problems designs and embodied HFSM


In the early 1900's, Americans had a life expectancy of about 50 years. Childhood mortality was very high and an adult who lived into their sixties was considered to be doing pretty well. Prior to the advent of different types of antibiotics, people would die quickly of infectious disease or accidents and medicine only really focused on caring and comfort. Since then, there has been a shift in medicines focus. New science, technology and communications have shifted the way Americans treat incurable diseases and have promoted the idea of aggressive fighting as well as to keep patients alive at any costs. The internet has allowed easy access for patients to do on-line research and to know the treatments for diseases and the availability of trials. This has promoted the idea that every disease or cancer is curable if the patient does exactly as the internet says. It has hindered the idea of compassionate care and dying with dignity so that a patient can stay alive at all costs, even in a vegetative state. In the last two decades, there has been a significant expansion of palliative and supportive care services in the United States. This has including the development of a specialty for palliative care medicine with a board certification in hospice and palliative medicine. A challenge to the field has been the reluctance of physicians to request palliative care consults in a very timely manner as well as relinquish care of their patients. A common occurrence in the United States, at many cancer centers, is the treatment of chemotherapy and radiation up until the day before a patient dies. At this point, the physician ends up throwing up his or her hands with nothing left to offer the patient or its family. However, what we have been finding is that presently there are now many oncologists who are willing to refer patients to palliative care for specific management of difficult pain control issues. At the Moffitt Cancer Center, we have a Palliative Care consulting service along with a Palliative Care Fellowship program where we work with cancer teams to provide resources to them when they are running into difficulties with their patients. Typically, we step in when first line treatments have failed, symptoms have shown no signs of decrease, or when the primary teams have exhausted their standard management options. Our hope is for the primary care teams to be able to manage basic symptoms themselves and only call on the Palliative Care team when they have surpassed their comfort zone. For example, the Palliative Care team would step in if a patients dosage of medication was out of a primary teams spectrum. Other uses of the Palliative Care team include having the end of life discussion with the patients to find out what their expectations are of their treatment, what their concerns are and what their requests are. Normally treating primary teams are very uncomfortable in having this discussion with their patients due to the feeling that they are giving up hope or the fact that they are letting patients know that the end of the road is near. The Palliative Care team can then be called upon to come in and transfer the care from the primary team to the "death team". At Moffitt we have instituted a number of strategies to make this transition acceptable and more beneficial for the patients. One of the strategies that we used is an Advanced Care Plan. By having a consultation at the time when the patient is diagnosed, we are able to speak with them about what it is that they see in terms of what would be acceptable to them. We use the Project Grace Advance Care Plan which was developed by a physician and is very simple to understand. With this tool, we are able to bring up the discussion while trying to focus in on the patients spirituality and the coping mechanism as the cancer patient. This allows the conversation of end of life treatment preferences and what the patients typical desire is for life sustaining measures.


The rapid growth of social media has resulted in digital information and communications technology (ICT) channels for individuals, especially the youth, to connect with each other and the rest of their world. Consequently, instant messaging (IM), social network sites (SNS) and other mobile applications have become an integral part of life, as well as a daily destination for billions of young individuals, offering them a novel and instant means of communication in this interactive ICT space. The increase of social media adoption has captured the attention of marketers and consumers alike on a global scale, and with the fast changing communication environments, marketers now confront new challenges in terms of understanding consumer behavior, attitudinal responses and consumption patterns in the new millennium. However, there is a lack of research into young consumers' attitudes towards advertising on IM platforms in emerging nations. Mxit is the largest locally founded IM channel in South Africa (SA) and, hence, this inquiry examines the effect of IM (Mxit) advertising on the hierarchy‐of‐effect model attitude stages among teenagers in SA. The results of the investigations found favorable attitudes towards IM advertising among teenagers, which makes an important contribution to the deficiency of IM inquiry in developing economies. This study should also aid organizations and their brands to comprehend what makes teenagers develop positive attitudes as a result of IM advertising, thereby assisting with the improvement of promotion strategies on this expansive and predominantly mobile IM platform landscape in SA.


This paper presents the design of energy generation based on the national grid, solar photovoltaic (PV), and diesel-based supply systems for a commercial building in Obanikoro, Lagos with a total demand and peak load of ~56,000 kWh/yr and 13.5 kW, respectively. The grid is simulated based on the average daily supply of 6 hours being experienced in the study location, indicating that the building is not served for an average of 18 hours/day. The paper considers three design configurations: grid, grid + PV, and grid + PV + generator systems in HOMER Microgrid tool and their performances are compared in terms of the annual generation, load not served, and the emissions. A load demand of ~14,000 kWh/yr meaning that 75 % of total demand is not met. A 35.2 kW PV was added to the grid, with both supplying 49,687 and 13,826 kWh/yr, respectively. However, a 6.98% of the load is not served. A 15 kW generator is then added to form the grid + PV+ diesel generator configuration, and the participating energy sources supply 15,818, 49,723 and 4,834 kWh/yr, respectively. This configuration is able to meet the demand without any deficit. The CO2, CO, unburned hydrocarbons, particulate matter and SO2 and nitrogen oxides emissions for the three configurations are 8.824, 0, 0, 0, 0.0383 and 0.0187 tonnes/yr; 8.192, 0, 0, 0, 0.0355 and 0.0174 tonnes/yr, and 11.833, 0.0259, 0.00113, 0.000157, 0.0435 and 0.0407 tonnes/yr, respectively. The study can help to mitigate the energy shortage in commercial buildings.


It is a review of research advance around the world about Marek′s Disease including the update data of etology、pathogenesis、epizootiology、diagnosis、prevention and control measures.


Available toxicological testing in animals and in vitro test, supported by limited human data, provide
evidence linking Diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) and its metabolites to a wide range of adverse effects in
the reproductive tracts, liver, skeletal muscle, lungs, kidney and fetus. Recently there has been growing
concern for the impact of plastic; polyvinylchloride (PVC) based endocrine disruptors like DEHP affects
the function of endocrines and other organs in human beings and animals. Previous studies have shown
that exposure to DEHP results in elevated level of blood glucose, decrease in serum insulin and
testosterone level. However, specific effects of DEHP on insulin signaling molecules in triceps muscle;
an organ involved in the regulation of glucose homeostasis has received only little attention. Healthy
adult male albino rats of Wistar strain (Rattus norvegicus) were divided into four groups: Group I:
Control; Groups II and III: DEHP treated (dissolved in olive oil at a dose of 10 and 100 mg/kg body
weight, respectively, once daily through oral intubation for 30 days); and Group IV: DEHP (100 mg/kg
body weight) plus vitamins E (50 mg/kg body weight) and C (100 mg/kg body weight) dissolved in olive
oil and distilled water, respectively, once daily through oral intubation for 30 days. After the completion
of treatments, animals were euthanized and perfused (whole body); triceps was dissected out and
subjected to assessment of various parameters. Our results demonstrate that DEHP treatment induces
ROS and lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, DEHP treatment significantly decreased the levels of insulin
receptor, membrane GLUT4 protein as well as it reduces glucose uptake, oxidation and glycogen in
skeletal muscle due to decreased serum insulin level. Antioxidant vitamins (C & E) have significant
protective role against the adverse effect of DEHP on these tissues of adult male albino rat. All together,
these results suggest that DEHP exposure induces lipid peroxidation which disrupts the membrane
integrity and thus the insulin receptor and membrane GLUT4 proteins leading to reduced glucose
oxidation in triceps muscle. Supplementation of vitamins (C & E) prevented the DEHP-induced changes.


In this paper, we investigate the asymptotic properties of Le Cam's one-step estimator for weak Fractionally AutoRegressive Integrated Moving-Average (FARIMA) models. For these models, noises are uncorrelated but neither necessarily independent nor martingale differences errors. We show under some regularity assumptions that the one-step estimator is strongly consistent and asymptotically normal with the same asymptotic variance as the least squares estimator. We show through simulations that the proposed estimator reduces computational time compared with the least squares estimator. An application for providing remotely computed indicators for time series is proposed.


Imacis-1 is a combination of F (ab')2 antibody fragments, of two monoclonal antibodies, anti-CEA and 19.9, radiolabelled with Iodine-131. Thirteen patients with 14 tumours (eight pancreatic, six colorectal) were imaged to evaluate the ability of this radiopharmaceutical to detect both pancreatic and colorectal cancer. Positive tumour uptake was demonstrated by external gamma camera imaging in six patients with pancreatic cancer and in three with colorectal cancer. The results of this preliminary study confirm the ability of this antibody cocktail to localise in colorectal cancer and suggest that it may be of value in the detection of pancreatic cancer.