Association Rule Mining is a machine learning method for discovering the interesting relations between the attributes in a huge transaction database. Typically, algorithms for Association Rule Mining generate a huge number of association rules, from which it is hard to extract structured knowledge and present this automatically in a form that would be suitable for the user. Recently, an information cartography has been proposed for creating structured summaries of information and visualizing with methodology called "metro maps". This was applied to several problem domains, where pattern mining was necessary. The aim of this study is to develop a method for automatic creation of metro maps of information obtained by Association Rule Mining and, thus, spread its applicability to the other machine learning methods. Although the proposed method consists of multiple steps, its core presents metro map construction that is defined in the study as an optimization problem, which is solved using an evolutionary algorithm. Finally, this was applied to four well-known UCI Machine Learning datasets and one sport dataset. Visualizing the resulted metro maps not only justifies that this is a suitable tool for presenting structured knowledge hidden in data, but also that they can tell stories to users.


This special issue of Nanotechnology contains research papers contributed by the participants of the Fourth Topical Conference on Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), which was held in Austin, Texas, USA, 7–12 November, 2004. This conference saw 284 oral presentations from institutions around the world, which is the highest number for this topical conference series to date. These presentations were organized into 64 sessions, covering the range of nanotechnology subject areas in which chemical engineers are currently engaged. These sessions included the following areas. • Fundamentals: thermodynamics at the nanoscale; applications of nanostructured fluids; transport properties in nanophase and nanoscale systems; molecular modelling methods; self and directed assembly at the nanoscale; nanofabrication and nanoscale processing; manipulation of nanophases by external fields; nanoscale systems; adsorption and transport in carbon nanotubes; nanotribology; making the transition from materials and phenomena to new technologies; operation of micro-and nano-systems. • Materials: nanoparticle synthesis and stabilization; nanoscale structure in polymers; nanotemplating of polymers; synthesis of carbon nanotubes and nanotube-based materials; nanowires; nanoparticle assemblies and superlattices; nanoelectronic materials; self-assembly of templated inorganic materials; nanostructured hybrid organic/inorganic materials; gas phase synthesis of nanoparticles; multicomponent structured particles; nano energetic materials; liquid-phase synthesis of nanoparticles. • Energy: synthesis and characterization of nanostructured catalytic materials; nanomaterials and devices for energy applications. • Biotechnology: nanobiotechnology; nanotechnology for the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industries; nanotechnology and nanobiotechnology for sensors; advances in biomaterials, bionanotechnology, biomimetic systems and tissue engineering; nanotechnology for drug delivery and imaging; bionanotechnology in cancer and cardiovascular disease; nanostructured biomaterials; nanotechnology in bioengineering; nanofabrication of biosensing devices. We are pleased to present a selection of research papers in this special issue of Nanotechnology on behalf of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum (NSEF). NSEF was established in 2001 as a new division of AIChE to promote nanotechnology efforts in chemical engineering. The chemical engineering discipline deals with the production and processing of chemicals and materials, and does so through a fundamental understanding of the core issues of transport, thermodynamics, and kinetics that exist at multiple length scales. Thus, it should come as no surprise that chemical engineers have been pursuing nanotechnology research for the last fifty years. For example, fuel production has benefited immensely from improved catalysts in which their pore structure is controlled with nanoscale precision, and polymer properties have been improved by controlling the polymer supramolecular structure at the nanometre scale. Chemical engineering will continue to make important contributions to nanotechnology, and will play a critical role in the transition from basic science and engineering research to commercial applications. We would like to thank all of the authors who contributed to this special issue; the three NSEF poster presentation award winners for their papers (Sureshkumar, Sunkara, and Rinaldi groups); Dr Nina Couzin, Publisher of Nanotechnology, for her support and enthusiasm for this project; Drs Sharon Glotzer and Dan Coy who chaired the topical conference; and Drs Meyya Meyyappan and Brett Cruden (NASA Ames Research Center) for their assistance in the initial planning stages. We also take this opportunity to thank the many people and organizations who have supported the 2004 topical conference along the way, which include all the session chairs, Hyperion Catalysis International, Inc., Nanophase Technologies, Inc., and the executive board of the NSEF.


ABSTRACT The pentapeptide L-R5 has previously been shown to transiently increase the permeability of nasal epithelial cell layers in vitro, allowing paracellular transport of molecules of up to 4 kDa. Protein kinase C zeta (PKC ζ), a member of a family of serine/threonine kinases was shown to be involved in tight junction modulation induced by L-R5. We show here that the ability of L-R5 to modulate tight junctions is comparable to other permeability enhancers such as bilobalide, latrunculin A or C10. Interaction of the peptide with the target protein occurs via electrostatic interaction, with the presence of positive charges being essential for its functionality. L-R5 is myristoylated to allow quick cell entry and onset of activity. While no epithelial cytotoxicity was detected, the hydrophobic myristoyl rest was shown to cause haemolysis. Taken together, these data show that a structural optimization of L-R5 may be possible, both from a toxicological and an efficacy point of view.


Proponents have promoted XML as a revolutionary replacement for HTML that will add semantics to Web technology; let users, devices and applications on different platforms communicate across the Internet; and permit organizations to integrate different data types within their systems. Indeed, organizations have developed many XML-based applications, including the Chemical Markup Language, Commerce XML, MathML, VoiceXML and the Bioinformatic Sequence Markup Language. Meanwhile, users have widely adopted the language. However, XML still faces two significant challenges. First, users have developed so many flavors of XML that there is now concern that the diverse versions won't work together properly over the Web, thereby defeating one of the technology's purposes. Second, the characteristics that make the language effective also pose potentially significant security problems. Researchers and standards organizations are working to overcome these hurdles, but the challenges are significant.


Peer influence, which means that an individual can directly influence his friends to be similar with him, is very important in social network analysis. However, peer influence effects are often confounded with latent homophily caused by unobserved similar characteristics. Scholars have designed randomized experiments or established mathematical models to control the latent homophily to get a more accurate effect of peer influence. However, the randomized experiments cannot utilize the valuable second-hand data and the mathematical models are always complex and time-consuming. In this paper, we propose a novel approach based on machine learning to estimate the peer influence effect. First, we use machine learning or deep learning algorithms to get node embeddings which imply the structural information of the nodes in a social network. Then we use the embeddings to act as a proxy variable of unobserved homophily factors in OLS regression models. To verify the feasibility of our approach, we design a simulation experiment. Finally, we implement our method to an empirical study and find that peer influence exists in online game social networks and using node embeddings as a proxy variable in regression can help estimate a more accurate peer influence effect. key words: peer influence, network embedding, GraRep, node2vec, SDNE


Abstracts: Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research 2008

A66

Background Black raspberries represent a food-based chemopreventive agent rich in polyphenolics compounds, including anthocyanins, that have been shown to reduce inflammation. Numerous studies have demonstrated that inflammation plays a prominent role in tumor growth, progression, and metastasis. Common risk factors for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), such as tobacco use, also contribute to the inflammatory process.

Cell culture and animal studies have shown altered gene expression in tumor and diseased tissues following exposure to lyophilized black raspberries (LBR) or their extracts. Consistently, these chemopreventive studies show the ability of LBR to modulate the expression of genes prominently associated with inflammation, including members of the NFκB family. In OSCC cells exposed to LBR extract in culture, we have shown a down-regulation of inflammatory biomarkers, including NFkB1D, NFkB1 and NFkB2. To transition these in vitro findings into an in vivo setting, we have used the hamster cheek pouch (HCP) model of OSCC to demonstrate a striking suppression of oral tumor lesion incidence and multiplicity (Anticancer Res 22, 2002) following dietary LBR treatment.

Ultimately, the role of these essential pre-clinical studies is to translate into a human patient-based clinical investigation. Consequently, the aim of our ongoing Phase 1 Clinical Trial is to evaluate the molecular changes in oral cavity tissues following short-term, locoregional, oral exposure to LBR troches. According to protocols approved by the IRB of The Ohio State University, biopsy-confirmed OSCC patients were administered three LBR troches 4x/day (4.3g cumulative dose) between pre-surgical enrollment and their normally scheduled surgery. Tissue biopsies were obtained from tumor and distant normal tissues at enrollment and during surgical resection, after an exposure range of 2.5-34 days. Using a partial interim cohort of patients, NFκB1 was used as a surrogate endpoint biomarker for inflammation in order to assess LBR-dependent gene expression changes.

Methods TaqMan real-time PCR assays were used to examine NFkB1 gene expression in a partial interim cohort of 24 patients. Experimental gene expression levels were normalized to GAPDH, RPS18, B2M, HPRT, and ACTB "housekeeping" gene expression levels. The interim patient cohort was stratified into "young" (≤ 45 years of age) and "older" (> 45 years of age) groups for the purpose of this analysis.

Results When patients were grouped into young (n = 7) and older (n = 17) populations, statistically significant differences were seen between LBR-modulated NFκB1 expression in tumor tissue compared to pre-treated, patient matched tumor tissue, with regard to age. Patients in the older population showed a significant decrease in NFκB1 expression in tumor tissue following LBR exposure compared to the younger population (p = 0.003).

Conclusions These results suggest that inflammation can play a prominent role in the development of OSCC in older patients, and that LBR treatment may help alleviate the pathological effects of the inflammatory process in this population of patients. The lack of significant NFκB1 LBR-dependent modulation in the young OSCC population may signify that NFκB-independent or other functional pathways play an important role in tumorigenesis.

Support: NIH/NIDCR R21DE016361, ACS RSGT-06-126-01-CNE

Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):A66.


Microgrid is an effective means to integrate distributed generation (DG) resource. However, uncertain renewable DG such as wind turbine and photovoltaic outputs and load demands can introduce tremendous difficulties for energy management in microgrids. To mitigate such difficulties, price-based demand response (PBDR) can adjust the loads to adapt to the renewables. On the other hand, dispatchable DG such as microturbines can coordinate with the PBDR to further manage the power balance and achieve economic benefits. In this paper, a two-stage robust microgrid coordination strategy is proposed: a PBDR is scheduled a day ahead and microturbine outputs are modified hourly. A two-stage robust optimization model is proposed to address the coordination problem with guaranteed robustness against the uncertainties of renewable DG and load demands. Simulation results show PBDR and multiple DG units can coordinate effectively to accommodate the renewable and demand uncertainties while maximizing the microgrid benefits.


This case study aims to understand the challenges in developing a new advertising service based on Big Data. Jamworks software from Casa Vaticano is able to measure the outcome of an advertising campaign, profile their consumers, and make personalized product announcements on digital media. As Casa Vaticano, the company who developed this software, is not an IT company, a large number of technical skills emerged as necessary for the development process. In this manner, it is necessary to analyze which choices can be made during the acquisition of new skills. The pedagogical objectives of this case seek to analyze the service development process and discuss the main difficulties of positioning an innovation in the market and obtaining new skills. Thus, this case can be used in technical, undergraduate, and both theoretical and applied graduate courses, as well as in professional education, in subjects related to innovation, service management, entrepreneurship, advertising production, and strategic capability development.


In this paper, we present our research on pricing window barrier options under a hybrid stochastic-local volatility (SLV) model in the foreign exchange (FX) market. Due to the hybrid effect of the local volatility and stochastic volatility components of the model, the SLV model can reproduce the market implied volatility surface, and can improve the pricing accuracy for exotic options at the same time. In this paper, numerical techniques such as Monte Carlo and finite difference methods for standard exotic barrier options under the SLV model are extended to pricing window barrier options and numerical results produced by the SLV model are used to examine the performance and accuracy of the model for pricing window barrier options.


The emission spectra of a high-temperature recombining laser plasma and of an X-pinch plasma were used in high-precision (± 0.03–0.05 pm) measurements of the wavelengths of the Al XII lines resulting from the 1snp1P1—1s2 1S0 (n = 6–12) transitions. The lines due to transitions from the 1s11p and 1s12p levels of the He-like Al XII ion were observed for the first time. The experimental results were compared with calculations carried out by several theoretical methods.


The role of the cerebellar cortex in eyeblink classical conditioning remains unclear. Experimental manipulations that disrupt the normal function impair learning to various degrees, and task parameters may be important factors in determining the severity of impairment. This study examined the role of cerebellar cortex in eyeblink conditioning under conditioned stimulus?unconditioned stimulus intervals known to be optimal or nonoptimal for learning. Using infusions of picrotoxin to the interpositus nucleus of the rabbit cerebellum, the authors pharmacologically disrupted input from the cerebellar cortex while training with an interstimulus interval (ISI)-switch procedure. One group of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) was 1st trained with a 250-ms ISI (optimal) and then switched to a 750-ms ISI (nonoptimal). A 2nd group was trained in the opposite order. The most striking effect was that picrotoxin-treated rabbits initially trained with a 250-ms ISI learned comparably to controls, but those initially trained with a 750-ms ISI were severely impaired. These results suggest that functional input from cerebellar cortex becomes increasingly important for the interpositus nucleus to learn delay eyeblink conditioning as the ISI departs from an optimal interval.


Abstract Objective Up to 60% of women discontinue using the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) within 5 years because of bleeding irregularities, pain and/or systemic progestogenic adverse effects. The aim of the study was to assess treatment options for bleeding irregularities in women using the 52 mg LNG-IUS. Methods Database searches of Medline, Embase/Ovid and the Cochrane Library were carried out, and journals were searched by hand, for relevant studies published from database inception to March 2020. Inclusion criteria were randomised controlled trials (RCTs), prospective cohort studies and case–control studies of premenopausal women using the LNG-IUS and receiving medical treatment for bleeding irregularities. Screening, data extraction and quality assessment of retrieved articles were carried out independently by two pairs of reviewers. The primary outcome was the reduction of bleeding/spotting days. Results Of the 3061 studies identified, eight met our inclusion criteria: six RCTs and two prospective cohort studies. The eight studies enrolled a total of 677 women who were treated with tamoxifen, mifepristone, ulipristal acetate, naproxen, oestradiol, mefenamic acid, tranexamic acid or the progesterone receptor modulator CDB 2914. The results of our analysis indicated that naproxen may be effective for the prophylactic treatment of bleeding immediately (<12 weeks) after LNG-IUS insertion (high level of evidence). Oestradiol may be effective in treating ongoing bleeding irregularities >6 months after insertion (low level of evidence). Conclusion Evidence for the medical treatment of (ongoing) bleeding irregularities during use of the LNG-IUS is lacking and more research is needed on the topic.


Over the past years many attempts have been made to develop means of monitoring possible leakage currents on polluted insulator surface in high voltage power systems, and warning against prospective flashovers. The literature offers a number of those detectors whose operation is based on measuring one of the following parameters: the maximum leakage current amplitude, the frequency of leakage current surges, and the conductance of the contaminating layer (usually assessed after deenergizing the system). A new principle of pollution assessment is introduced whereby the electromagnetic emission from the leakage current on insulator surface is received, amplified, processed and then used to activate an automatic alarm system. The advantages and limitations of the new detector are presented. Laboratory results of the detector output under various conditions of applied voltage and contaminants are given. A correlation between leakage current amplitudes and detected E. M. signals is established which allows a comparative evaluation of the detector.


Cerebral ischemia is one of the most common clinical diseases characterized by high morbidity and mortality. Neurocyte apoptosis and a cascade of inflammatory signals following cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) may contribute to secondary brain damage, resulting in severe neurological damage. It has been reported that dioscin, a natural steroid saponin, exerts anti-inflammatory properties against different diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the role of dioscin in oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) induction in hippocampal cells in vitro and in vivo. For the in vitro study, hippocampal cells were collected from rat embryos of gestational age of E18. The oxygen-glucose deprivation model in primary hippocampal neurons was used to mimic cerebral IRI in vitro. To select the optimum dioscin concentration and acting time, cell viability was evaluated by a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Neurons subjected to OGD/R were treated with dioscin and the inflammatory cytokines, high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 (HMGB-1)/receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) signaling molecules and apoptosis-associated genes were determined. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was detected. Furthermore, the effects of dioscin on the antioxidant defense mechanisms were evaluated by measuring the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and the glutathione (GSH)/glutathione disulphide (GSSG) ratio. In addition, OGD/R-induced cells were transfected with pcDNA3.1-HMGB-1 and treated with dioscin, and the neuronal cell apoptosis rate was determined using a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2-deoxyuridine 5-triphosphate-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The mRNA and protein expression levels of the inflammatory factors were measured using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis, respectively. For the in vivo investigation, the oxidation and anti-oxidation system in rat hippocampal tissue was evaluated by detecting the expression of the aforementioned oxidative stress-associated proteins, 3-NT as well as 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). In the hippocampal region, the apoptotic rate was determined using a TUNEL assay. The results demonstrated that dioscin at a dose of 400 ng/ml significantly reversed the increase in the expression levels of the inflammatory factors and attenuated those of apoptotic cytokines induced by OGD/R. Additionally, dioscin notably reversed the OGD/R-mediated activation of the HMGB-1/RAGE signaling pathway in vitro and in vivo. Cell treatment with dioscin significantly attenuated ROS production and increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes. Additionally, increasing the expression of HMGB-1 inhibited the protective effects of dioscin on cell apoptosis in the OGD/R-induced neurons. Furthermore, HMGB-1 overexpression reversed the antiapoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects of dioscin on neurons. The results of the present study indicated that dioscin exerted anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic and antioxidant effects via the HMGB-1/RAGE signaling pathway. These results suggest a novel perspective of the protective effects of dioscin as a prospective remedial factor for IRI.


The central dogma of female reproductive biology has long held that oogenesis ceases prior to birth in mammals. During the first half of the last century, there was much debate about whether this was the case or whether oogenesis continued in the postnatal ovary. A report in 1951 effectively put an end to this debate and laid the foundation for the dogma. A new paper by Johnson et al. (2004) resurrects the debate over whether postnatal oogenesis occurs in the mammalian ovary. If confirmed, this would have tremendous impact on issues related to female fertility and reproductive longevity.


Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (MCT) presents a varied but characteristic cytologic pattern in cellular samples obtained by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy. In our experience with 17 cases of MCT, ten were identified by cytologic examination. One was acellular. The remaining six were typed as undifferentiated carcinoma (three cases), follicular variant of papillary carcinoma (one case), and cellular adenoma (two cases). Four Hürthle cell tumors and four papillary carcinomas were incorrectly typed as MCT. There was one false positive. Careful consideration of the listed cytologic features should make the FNA biopsy diagnosis of MCT of satisfactory sensitivity for the evaluation of "cold" thyroid nodules. Specificity may be considerably improved by using immunoperoxidase stain for calcitonin granules and/or by large-needle biopsy.


This paper evaluates the use of different excitation waveforms to improve biomimetic-cilia-based mixing in microfluidic applications. A challenge in such studies is that, at high frequencies, vibrations in the piezoactuator can distort the achieved excitation waveform. An iterative approach is used in this work to account for the vibrational dynamics and avoid unwanted vibrations in the achieved excitation waveforms, and thereby enable the evaluation of different excitation waveforms on mixing. The main contribution of this study is to use these controlled, excitation waveforms for showing that: 1) mixing time is substantially reduced by more than an order of magnitude with the use of cilia when compared to the case without cilia, and 2) mixing time with cilia can be further reduced, by more than half, by using an asymmetric excitation waveform when compared to symmetric sinusoidal excitation.


abstract The earthquake which occurred south of Honshu, Japan, on February 18, 1956 is studied by means of Fourier analysis. The focal depth of the shock is about 450 km and the magnitude is 7 1 4 to 7 1 2 . Three theoretical models of the source mechanism, that is, Type Ia, Type Ib, and Type II, are examined by the observed amplitude spectra of S and ScS waves. It is found that the observed amplitude ratios of the Fourier components between two horizontal components of the S wave and of the ScS wave, respectively, agree well with the theoretical ratios for a Type II source. Under the assumption that spectral structures should be the same at all observing points, the scattering from the mean amplitude is calculated. The result shows that the Type II model is preferable to either of the Type I models. Assuming Honda9s volume model, whose radiation pattern corresponds to that of a Type II point source, the radius of the source region is estimated by making use of the amplitude ratio of the Fourier component of the S wave to that of the P wave. The radius of the source is found to be 11 km ± 2 km.


In an urbanizing world, the inequalities of infrastructure are increasingly politicized in ways that reconstitute the urban political. A key site here is the politicization of human waste. The centrality of sanitation to urban life means that its politicization is always more than just service delivery. It is vital to the production of the urban political itself. The ways in which sanitation is seen by different actors is a basis for understanding its relation to the political. We chart Cape Town's contemporary sanitation syndrome, its condition of crisis, and the remarkable politicization of toilets and human waste in the city's townships and informal settlements in recent years. We identify four tactics—poolitical tactics—that politicize not just sanitation but Cape Town itself: poo protests, auditing, sabotage, and blockages. We evaluate these tactics, consider what is at stake, and chart possibilities for a more just urban future.


[1] In order to investigate the processes responsible for the attenuation of seismic shear waves in the Earth's upper mantle, four olivine polycrystals ranging in mean grain size d from 3 to 23 μm have been fabricated, characterized, and mechanically tested in torsion at high temperatures and seismic frequencies. Both the shear modulus, which governs the shear wave speed VS, and the dissipation of shear strain energy Q−1 have been measured as functions of oscillation period To, temperature T, and, for the first time, grain size. At sufficiently high T all four specimens display similar absorption band viscoelastic behavior, adequately represented for 1000 < T < 1200 or 1300°C and 1 < To < 100 s, by the expression Q−1 = A [Tod−1 exp (−E/RT)]α with A = 7.5 × 102 s−α μmα, α = 0.26 and E = 424 kJ mol−1. This mildly grain-size-sensitive viscoelastic behavior of melt-free polycrystalline olivine is attributed to a combination of elastically and diffusionally accommodated grain boundary sliding, the latter becoming progressively more important with increasing T and/or To. Extrapolation to the larger (mm-cm) grain sizes expected in the Earth's upper mantle yields levels of dissipation comparable with those observed seismologically, implying that the same grain-size-sensitive processes might be responsible for much of the observed seismic wave attenuation. The temperature sensitivity of VS is increased substantially by the viscoelastic relaxation allowing the lateral variability of wave speeds to be associated with relatively small temperature perturbations.


Background: A lot of cosmetic and Ayurvedic products containing unlabeled depigmenting agent and steroids are available readily over the counter sale. The side effects of these products are not documented and can lead to adverse effects of continuous usage. Objective: By this study, we aimed to find out the true nature of the above problem and it's implication in the Indian rural scenario. Methodology: All patients attending dermatology department during the period of 3 months from May to June 2013 for skin diseases were enquired about unsupervised use of any cosmetic product on their facial skin, duration of use, any side effect experienced through the prescribed questionnaire. Results: Total 50 patients were recruited for the study. Out of which, 48% were males and 52% were females. Seventy-four percent of people had applied topical products/steroids in an attempt of attainment of fair complexion, 14% for melasma, 8% for acne induced hyperpigmentation, and 4% for dark circles. About 80% people had obtained one or the other products over the counter sale, 8% had followed the attractive advertisements, 8% had started the application on the recommendation of friends/family while only 4% people had correctly gone through the proper channel to consult a dermatologist. Conclusion: The problem of topical products or steroids abuse is rampant and significant, and unless and until immediate steps are taken to root out this problem from our setup, the condition will become worse all the more.


Abstract Background/Aim: Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) with hydrocephalus is particularly difficult to treat, and its prognosis is extremely poor. The therapeutic outcomes of 14 patients with LMC-associated hydrocephalus who were treated with cerebrospinal fluid shunting are reported. Patients and Methods: The study subjects were 14 LMC patients with solid primary cancer who had developed hydrocephalus. Results: Postoperatively, both symptoms and Karnofsky performance status improved in 100% of patients. Postoperative therapy consisted of whole-brain radiotherapy in 4 cases and molecular targeted therapy in 4, with 6 patients not receiving any postoperative treatment. Median overall survival was 3.7 months, with no significant difference between those who underwent postoperative therapy and those who did not. However, two of those who received molecular targeted therapy survived for more than one year. Conclusion: Cerebrospinal fluid shunting for LMC-associated hydrocephalus is an effective therapeutic procedure from the palliative viewpoint. Patients for whom molecular targeted therapy is indicated may have better long-term survival.


What is consciousness? Is it possible to create consciousness mechanically? Various studies have been performed in the fields of psychology and cerebral science to answer these questions. As of yet, however, no researchers have proposed a model capable of explaining the mind-body problem described by Descartes or replicating a consciousness as advanced as that of human beings. Ancient people believed that the consciousness resided in a Homunculus, a human in miniature who lived in the brain. It is no mystery that the ancients came up with such an idea; for consciousness has always been veiled in mystery, beyond the reach of our explorative powers. We can assert, however, that consciousness does not "live" in us, but "exists" in us. Insofar as the processes occurring inside the human brain are a product of the physical activity of the neurons that reside there, we believe that it should be possible to define consciousness systematically.


Reexploration for hemorrhage after cardiac surgery is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Elderly cardiac surgical patients have an increased risk of excessive bleeding and reexploration. In the present study we investigated the perioperative hemostatic function in elderly patients compared with younger patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Twenty-five elderly (75 yr and older) and 25 younger (younger than 60 yr) patients were included in the study. Blood samples for the analysis of platelet counts, international normalized ratio, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen, d-dimer, antithrombin, prothrombin fragment 1 + 2, thrombin-antithrombin complex, plasmin inhibitor, neutrophil-activating peptide 2, and platelet-monocyte complexes were drawn preoperatively, 30 min, and 3 h postoperatively and approximately 20 h postoperatively. Elderly patients had an increased activation of the hemostatic system. In particular, elderly patients showed a more pronounced increase in fibrinolysis and platelet activation postoperatively compared with younger patients.


The decohesion of coatings, thin films, or layers used to protect or strengthen technological and structural components causes the loss of their functions. In this paper, analytical, computational, and semi-analytical 2D solutions are derived for the energy release rate and mode-mixity phase angle of an edge-delamination crack between a thin layer and an infinitely deep substrate. The thin layer is subjected to general edge loading: axial and shear forces and bending moment. The solutions are presented in terms of elementary crack tip loads and apply to a wide range of material combinations, with a large mismatch of the elastic constants (isotropic materials with Dundurs' parameters − 1 ≤ α ≤ 1 and − 0.4 ≤ β ≤ 0.4 ). Results show that for stiff layers over soft substrates ( α → 1 ), the effects of material compressibility are weak, and the assumption of substrate incompressibility is accurate; for other combinations, including soft layers over stiff substrates ( α → − 1 ), the effects may be relevant and problem specific. The solutions are applicable to edge- and buckling-delamination of thin layers bonded to thick substrates, to mixed-mode fracture characterization test methods, and as benchmark cases.


The large, late-stance energy generated by the ankle is believed to be critical during gait. However, the distal foot absorbs/dissipates a considerable amount of energy during the same phase. Thus, the energy generated by the combined ankle-foot system is more modest, which raises questions regarding the necessity of such a large ankle power and the interplay between foot and ankle energetics. This study aimed to evaluate our conservation of energy hypothesis, which predicted if distal foot energy absorption/dissipation was reduced, then less energy would be generated at the ankle and thus the same combined ankle-foot energetics would be achieved. Motion analysis data were collected as healthy subjects walked under 2 conditions (Shoes, Footplate). In the Footplate condition, the shoe was replaced with a customized, rigid footplate with a rocker profile. In support of the hypothesis, there was significantly less positive ankle and less negative distal foot work with footplate use, resulting in very similar combined ankle-foot work between conditions. These findings suggest that there is an interplay between the energy generated by the ankle and absorbed by the foot. This interplay should be considered when designing orthotic and prosthetic ankle-foot systems and rehabilitation programs for individuals with weakened ankle muscles.


Background: First-line surgical options for early-stage breast cancer include breast-conserving surgery (BCS) or mastectomy. We analyzed factors that influence the receipt of mastectomy and resultant trends over time. Methods: We analyzed the rates of mastectomy and BCS for 1634 women who underwent upfront surgical treatment for AJCC stage 0, I, or II breast cancer between 1995 and 2008 using data from the University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center Tumor Registry. We examined the trend of treatment over time and assessed the probability of receiving mastectomy using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Overall, 65.9% of women received BCS, and 34.1% received mastectomy over a 14-year period (annual BCS rate range, 38.6% to 77.7%). The mastectomy rate substantially decreased from 43.5% in 1995 to 22.5% in 2004 (P=0.0007) but then increased to 51.7% in 2008 (P<0.0001). During the years between 2004 and 2008 (vs. 1995 to 2003), there was a significant increase in the rates of mastectomy performed in conjunction with immediate reconstruction (IR: 35.7% vs. 8.4%; P<0.0001) and/or contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM: 22.9% vs. 3.3%; P<0.0001). On the basis of the multivariate analysis, the rate of receiving mastectomy was drastically higher for patients treated since 2004 (vs. before 2004), uninsured and government-insured (vs. privately insured) patients, patients with pT2 disease (vs. pTis or pT1), patients with pN1 disease (vs. pNX or pN0). Conclusions: In this longitudinal registry study, major independent determinants of mastectomy for early-stage breast cancer include year of diagnosis, insurance status, and stage. Mastectomy rates declined until 2004, but have since increased in conjunction with immediate reconstruction and contralateral prophylactic mastectomy. Additional study is needed to identify the underlying reasons for and unintended consequences of the reemergence of radical surgery for early-stage breast cancer in the era of multidisciplinary care.


A Scrapheap as Joint Enterprise: Intercultural Empathy in Tom Lanoye's Het derde huwelijk

 So far, within the field of Dutch studies few have employed empathy to study texts on contemporary multiculturalism. Studying empathy as a cognitive and an affective phenomenon, this article combines insights from cognitive, affective and postcolonial research to establish several guidelines on how empathy functions between novel characters in an intercultural context. Rather than focussing on the empathic relations between reader and text, the article investigates empathy between fictional characters. As an example, an analysis of Tom Lanoye's novel Het derde huwelijk [The Third Marriage] is offered. The analysis concentrates on the way in which the narrative uses a highly prejudiced author as an indictment against the West's emotional inability with regard to migrants.


Optical fiber transport is the key technology to enable the delivery of fast and affordable bandwidth for all services, such as 5G/mobile, business and residential broadband, cloud computing, and video transport. Coherent optics, a game-changer optical fiber transport technology, has completely transformed optical transmission systems and enabled a widespread upgrade and new deployment of DWDM networks to speeds of 100 Gb/s, 200 Gb/s, and 400 Gb/s per wavelength. Over the past decade, coherent optics has moved beyond its long-haul application origins and is now firmly entrenched in metro networks. 2020 marked the 10th anniversary of digital coherent optical technology being officially deployed in service providers' networks. Further development in CMOS processing, design simplification, and cost reduction of opto-electronic components, and the need for more efficient optical transport technologies have been factors driving coherent solutions into new market applications, specifically short-haul applications in edge and access networks. This migration model has been demonstrated in the optical industry before: the DWDM system technology started in long haul and subsequently migrating to metro and edge access; forward error correction encoding and decoding followed the same pattern. Benefiting from initial long-haul technology development, coherent optics for access networks is poised to follow the same natural progression.


Background: An evolutionary-based analysis of the CC chemokine receptor 5 gene (CCR5) promoter region has identified nine stable human haplogroups, within which certain haplogroups appear to influence HIV-1 disease progression differentially among Caucasians and African-Americans. Objective: To assess the influence of CCR5 haplogroups on HIV-1 disease progression in a Thai population. Design: Haplogroup analysis of HIV-1-seropositive injection drug users (IDU) participating in a prospective cohort study in Bangkok. All were documented seroconverters with a median follow-up time of 3.5 years (range, 0.2–7.0). Methods: From a cohort of 130 IDU, 106 (81.5%) were genotyped for the CCR2b-64I, CCR5-Δ32 and seven CCR5 promoter alleles constituting the CCR5 haplogroups. Survival curves and adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the effect of haplogroups on the time from HIV-1 infection until CD4 count < 200 × 106 cells/l. Results: The most common CCR5 haplogroups were HHC (61.8%), followed by HHE (15.6%) and HHF*2 (14.6%). HHE was associated with an accelerated CD4 count decline to < 200 × 106 cells/l (adjusted relative hazard, 1.88; 95% confidence interval, 1.05–3.36; P = 0.02). Conclusions: This is the first evidence that the CCR5 haplogroup E speeds the decline of the CD4 cell count and may lead to accelerated disease progression among HIV-infected Thais. These new observations highlight the need for additional studies involving populations in Asia.


The longitudinal CoCrPt thin films have been prepared on CrW underlayer at room temperature. The dependence of CoCrPt's structure and magnetic properties on the Pt content was investigated. The addition of platinum element in the CoCrPt magnetic layer increases the lattice constant and longitudinal coercivity of the CoCrPt thin films. The coercivity mechanism of the CoCrPt thin film is analyzed by using the micromagnetic models, with careful discussions of the uniaxial crystalline anisotropy and the magnetostriction. It is found that the magnetostriction effects play an important role on the coercivity mechanisms when the Pt content is more than 15 at. % Pt concentrate.


About sixty authentic A. polyacantha gum samples were analyzed to evaluate existing quality control parameters and to assess the potential of new parameters such as moisture content, total ash, nitrogen and protein content, specific optical rotation, intrinsic viscosity, pH value, equivalent weight, total uronic acid content, average molecular weight and minerals . The data obtained indicate the following mean values; moisture (8.2%) ash (2.9%), nitrogen (0.35%) protein (2.3%), specific rotation (-16.6), intrinsic viscosity (10.3ml/g), pH (4.9), equivalent weight (1361.5), total uronic acid content (14.5%), and average molecular weight (2.85X10 5 ), respectively. 13 Cn.m.r spectrum of dialyzed polyacantha gum allows unambiguous characterization of all the C-1 resonance. These results indicate gum polyacantha to consist mainly of4,6-a-rhamnopyranose,4,5-a-L-arabinofuranose,1,5-a- Larabinofuranose, 1,2,5-b-D-galactopyranose and 1,6,-b-D-glucopyr-anuronic acid . The results of all parameters studied showed a wide variation. Accordingly, these parameters therefore, cannot be recommended as quality indices. These data confirms the heterogene-ity of A .polyacantha gum .


AIM
To systematically review the literature for in vitro studies that evaluated the immediate or after ageing bond strength of etch-and-rinse and self-etch adhesive systems to enamel and dentin of primary teeth.

DESIGN
The search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane, SciELO, Lilacs, and Scopus databases with no publication year or language limits, following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. From 459 potentially eligible studies, 39 were selected for full-text analysis, and 5 were identified in reference lists, with 36 considered in the meta-analysis. Two reviewers independently selected the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the risk of bias. Pooling bond strength data was calculated using random effects analysis method, comparing two categories of adhesives (etch-and-rinse versus self-etch systems) when applied in different types and conditions of substrate (α  =  0.05).

RESULTS
No statistical significant difference in bond strength between both categories was observed in caries-affected dentin at immediate evaluation and in sound dentin after ageing. Etch-and-rinse adhesives, however, performed better in sound enamel and dentin substrates considering immediate bond strength. None study assessed the long-term adhesive effectiveness to sound or demineralized enamel.

CONCLUSION
Although the articles included in this meta-analysis showed high heterogeneity and high risk of bias, the in vitro literature suggests superior performance of etch-and-rinse adhesives in primary teeth in comparison with self-etch systems.


The authors demonstrate the use of qualitative modelling techniques for the fault diagnosis of continuous dynamic systems. In addition, they examine the various classes of models of physical systems and their usages within a functional perspective of 'model-based' diagnosis. They outline a scheme for fault diagnosis which integrates the application of multiple models, qualitative and numeric, of the correctly operating and the faulty system. A simulation model of an industrial heat exchanger has been developed and used as a platform to validate the proposed diagnosis scheme. This is briefly described. The results of the model-based diagnosis scheme are presented. Finally, the paper concludes with remarks on the effectiveness of the use of qualitative models in model-based diagnosis and its future extensions. >


15and 9-channel FM/FM physiological/force-field telemetry data acquisition systems utilizing microminiaturized signal conditioning modules, IRIG subcarrier oscillators and 220 or 1485.5 MHz transmitters have been utilized to monitor the responses of military test parachutists throughout intentional free-fall parachuting and continuously during highspeed (110-150 KIAS) through-the-air-tow by C-130 aircraft. No in-depth physiological studies of parachutists have previously been conducted and no reference to intentional aerial tow of humans was found in the literature. The objective is to provide better human engineered egress and retardation equipment for the aircrewmember, to describe parachutists physiologically, and to assess biomedical response to aerial tow so that mid-air retrieval systems can be developed for rescuing ejectees over enemy territory. Mean heart rate profile to parachuting exhibits a double peaked curve with the highest values near parachute deployment (157.7 BPM) and second highest rates near landing (155.7 BPM) compared with baseline values of 77.4 BPM one hour pre-jump. Respiratory rate more than doubles during the jump (32.1 BrPM) at deployment when compared with baseline conditions (15.6 BrPM). Total riser forces at parachute deployment average 1632 lbs (8.34 +Gz), Preliminary air tow data indicate that heart rate increases linearly with speed to 150 KIAS. One subject, who averaged 131.5 BPM at landing during nine parachute descents, had heart rates of 128 BPM at egress during tow, 171 BPM at 110 KIAS, and 182 BPM at 150 KIAS. Thermistors and subjective data indicated no significant chilling after 14 minutes in the air-stream.


To find the optimum dose of cefetamet pivoxil (CEMT-PI, Ro 15-8075), a new oral cephem, in the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, we performed a randomized trial using cefaclor (CCL) as the control drug. The subjects were patients with complicated urinary tract infections associated with underlying urinary tract diseases. Patients with indwelling catheter were excluded from the analysis, as were patients with infection due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Patients were treated with 250 mg of CEMT-PI (CEMT-PI-L) 2 times a day, 500 mg of CEMT-PI (CEMT-PI-H)2 times a day or 500 mg of CCL 3 times a day for 7 days. The overall clinical efficacy was evaluated on the basis of the criteria proposed by the Japanese UTI Committee. Of the 103 patients evaluated for clinical efficacy, 36 patients received CEMT-PI-L, 37 patients received CEMT-PI-H and 30 patients received CCL. No significant difference in background characteristics was observed among the three treatment groups. The overall clinical efficacies at day 3 judgement were 67.9% in 28 patients treated with CEMT-PI-L, 60.0% in 30 patients treated with CEMT-PI-H and 72.0% in 25 patients treated with CCL, with no statistically significant difference. Those at day 7 judgement was 63.6% in 33 patients treated with CEMT-PI-L, 66.7% in 36 patients treated with CEMT-PI-H and 72.4% in 29 patients treated with CCL, with no statistically significant difference. The bacteriological eradication rates at day 3 judgement were 79.5% of 39 strains in the CEMT-PI-L group, 73.2% of 41 strains in the CEMT-PI-H group and 84.4% of 32 strains in the CCL group, with no statistically significant difference. Those at day 7 judgement was 78.7% of 47 strains in the CEMT-PI-L group, 85.5% of 55 strains in the CEMT-PI-H group and 94.9% of 39 strains in the CCL group, with no statistically significant difference. The overall clinical efficacy and bacteriological eradication rate at day 7 judgement for CEMT-PI-H were higher than those for CEMT-PI-L. Clinical adverse reactions were observed in one patient in each of the 3 groups, but no statistically significant difference was found. We have concluded that the optimum daily dose of CEMT-PI in the treatment of complicated urinary tract infection is 1,000 mg.


A noise-shaped synchronous buck converter using a 3rd-order continuous-time (CT) active-passive sigma-delta modulator (SDM) is presented. Detailed system modeling and loop design methodology for the SDM based DC-DC are discussed. The proposed circuit has been designed with Chartered 0.35 µm CMOS process. The system operates with a clock of 8 MHz. Compared with the traditional PWM mode converter, simulation results show that the proposed converter suppresses the switching tones by more than 25 dB over a wide frequency range with a peak efficiency of 96%.


The identity and biology of stem cells and progenitors in the adult brain are of considerable interest, because these cells hold great promise for the development of novel therapies for damaged brain tissue in human diseases. This research field critically needs biological markers that specifically identify the resident precursors in the germinal zones of the adult central nervous system so that the discovery of regulatory influences for adult neurogenesis may be facilitated. In this study, by using a combination of in situ hybridization, bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, immunocolocalization, and ultrastructural studies, we show that in rodents Tctex‐1, a cytoplasmic dynein light chain, is selectively enriched in almost all cycling progenitors and young neuronal progeny, but not in mature granular cells and astrocytes, in the subgranular zone of the adult dentate gyrus. Tctex‐1 is also selectively abundant in cells closely resembling previously described immature progenitors and migrating neuroblasts at the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle. Our results suggest that Tctex‐1 serves as a novel marker for the identification of neural progenitors of the adult brain. J. Comp. Neurol. 496:773–786, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In this paper we propose a No-Reference Image Quality Assessment (NR-IQA) method on High Dynamic Range (HDR) images by combining deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) with saliency maps. The proposed method utilises the power of deep CNN architectures to extract quality features which can be applied cross HDR and Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) domains. To introduce human visual system to CNNs, a saliency map algorithm is used to select a subset of salient image patches to evaluate on. Our CNN-based method delivers a state-of-the-art performance in HDR NR-IQA experiment, competitive with full reference IQA methods.


Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) constitute an important source of livelihood for millions of people from forest fringe communities across the world. This study was conducted to identify main NTFPs used by local communities around Nyanganje Forest Reserve (NFR) which is within the Eastern Arc Mountains in Kilombero district, Tanzania. Furthermore, the study aimed at determining socio-economic factors influencing extraction of NTFPs in the study area. The study involved questionnaire survey in Signali, Sagamaganga and Lungongole villages which surround NFR. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) whereby inferential analysis was applied to show the relationship between NTFPs collected and socio-economic factors while Chi square test (c2) was used to determine the significance in dependency of certain socio-economic factors on extraction and use of NTFPs in the study area. It was observed that, socio-economic factors such as income level, education level, age distribution, household size, occupation, distance, and residence duration influenced the extraction and use of NTFPs by local communities in the study area. It was however recommended that, for sustainability of the NTFPs in NFR, the government has to initiate and emphasize the extraction and utilization of NTFPs resources in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

 Key words: Extraction, Nyanganje Forest Reserve, socio-economic factors.


Gentamicin serum levels were measured and elimination half-life was calculated in a group of neonates with postconceptual ages ranging between 25-42 weeks. Infants were receiving intravenous gentamicin (2.5 mg/Kg/dose) at various dosage intervals and t 1/2e was calculated using a one-compartment open model. Evidence of gentamicin accumulation was present in 82% of infants 34 weeks. T 1/2e was 8.8 +/- .7 hours in infants 30 weeks, 7.8 +/- 1.1 hour in infants between 30-34 weeks and 6.2 +/- .5 in infants greater than 34 weeks. The results of the study suggest that gentamicin elimination is related to postconceptual age and that infants treated with recommended dosage regimens may have possible gentamicin tissue accumulation and nephrotoxicity. Therefore, the dosage interval may have to be lengthened to 18 hours in infants less than 34 weeks with close gentamicin plasma level monitoring.


swizzling at page fault time: EEciently and compatibly supporting huge addresses on standard hardware. A performance study of alternative object faulting and pointer swizzling strategies. 18 performance between normal (non-compressed) RAM and disk 26]. 24 We are developing adaptive compression techniques that exploit the typical low information content and word-wise alignment of heap data elds, and the strong alignment and grouping regularities imposed by typical heap allocation schemes. In our initial tests, we have gotten compression factors for C++ heap data that vary between 30 and 90 percent with fast single-pass algorithms, which can compress a 4 KB page in a very few milliseconds on a relatively slow (Sun SPARC ELC) processor. We are optimistic that for typical programs we will achieve compression factors of two to four, with compression taking a fraction of a millisecond on next-generation processors. 9 Conclusions Texas provides persistence with good performance for C++ programs running on stock hardware and stock operating systems. It is surprisingly simple and exible, however, and requires little or no change to existing compilers. The current version of our persistent store, excluding the log-structured storage module, is less than four thousand lines of C++ code. Log-structured storage adds less than two thousand lines. While we expect these gures to grow somewhat, and we expect to add more modules (e.g., for concurrency control), this is a gratifyingly small amount of code for a persistent storage mechanism with high-performance address translation and checkpointing. This simplicity and exibility is largely due to the use of pointer swizzling at page fault time, which lets us treat address translation, caching, and recovery as nearly orthogonal features. Address translation can be performed by access protection trap handlers, with a conventional virtual memory performing data caching. Write protection handlers support logging writes to a modular log-structured storage subsystem. Page fault-time address translation has essentially zero overhead for programs with good locality, and appears to be competitive with other schemes in general. Likewise, pagewise logging performs very well when write locality is good, and sub-page logging promises to keep it competitive when write locality is poor. Our modular approach appears to work well, allowing us to easily change storage management schemes. Texas and its log-structured storage system are promising both as an easy-to-use, high-performance persistence mechanism and as a exible testbed for basic research in locality, distributed systems, and storage techniques. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the …


OBJECT
The authors evaluated the accuracy of the automatic image coregistration function implemented in the Leksell GammaPlan treatment planning software (Version 4C with MultiView Extension and Version 8.0).

METHODS
The authors used a phantom with 9 landmarks (tips of thin cylindrical acrylic rods) evenly distributed in the treatment space. Two sets of images of the phantom were taken with both CT and MR imaging systems. The first image was obtained with the phantom aligned with the scanner's axis and the second scan was made by intentionally shifting and rotating the phantom relative to the scanner's axis. The authors attempted image registration of 2 CT image sets, CT and MR image sets, and 2 MR image sets. The accuracy of image registration was evaluated by measuring the x, y, and z coordinate values of the landmarks on each image set after 2 image sets were coregistered. The authors calculated the differences of the x, y, and z values and the distance, d, between corresponding landmarks in 2 image sets. To minimize interobserver dependence of coordinate measurements, 2 physicists did measurements independently.

RESULTS
The distances, d, averaged over the 9 landmarks, were 2.63 +/- 1.64 and 0.95 +/- 0.25 mm for CT-CT and MR-MR image registrations, respectively. When the CT images of the air-filled phantom and MR images were coregistered, however, the algorithm performed poorly: d = 13.8 +/- 1.23 mm. To remedy this, the authors undertook a 2-step process by first performing landmark-based registration of the 2 image sets and subsequently applying the automatic registration. With this approach, the mean distance drastically improved: d = 0.74 +/- 0.31 mm. When the water-filled phantom was used for CT scans, the registration accuracy of CT and MR image sets was acceptable without the 2-step registration process: d = 1.18 +/- 0.36 mm.

CONCLUSIONS
The accuracy of automatic registration of image sets from the same modality was within the voxel size of the scanned images. The accuracy of CT-MR image registration strongly depended on whether the phantom for CT scans was filled with air or water. This indicates the significant effect of the amount of common data available for a mutual information-based algorithm on the accuracy.


Using high-resolution spot-profile-analysis low-energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED) we have investigated low-coverage phases of Pb on Si(111) in the temperature range between 25 °C and 600 °C. After the annealing of 1/3 of a monolayer (ML) of Pb on Si(111) at 500 °C and cooling the sample down to room temperature, we observe a 3 × 3 phase beside the well known Pb/Si(111)(3)1/2 × (3)1/2R30° structure. The 3 × 3 phase is poorly ordered (domain size 20 A-40 A) compared to the (3)1/2 × (3)1/2 phase (domain size 1000 A) as we conclude from profile analysis of the diffraction spots. The development of the 3 × 3 superstructure with increase of the annealing temperature was monitored and we observe a change of the domain size from 20 A up to 40 A upon annealing at 500 °C and 540 °C, respectively. After annealing at 580 °C the 3 × 3 phase has vanished and we detect only the (3)1/2 × (3)1/2 mosaic phase.


Cloud computing is the innovative and leading information technology model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort. In this paper, we aim at the development of workflow management system for cloud computing platforms based on our previous research on the dynamic allocation of the cloud computing resources and its workflow process. We took advantage of the HTML5 technology and developed web-based workflow interface. In order to enable the combination of many tasks running on the cloud platform in sequence, we designed a mechanism and developed an execution engine for workflow management on clouds. We also established a prediction model which was integrated with job queuing system to estimate the waiting time and cost of the individual tasks on different computing nodes, therefore helping users achieve maximum performance at lowest payment. This proposed effort has the potential to positively provide an efficient, resilience and elastic environment for cloud computing platform. This development also helps boost user productivity by promoting a flexible workflow interface that lets users design and control their tasks' flow from anywhere. Keywords—Web-based, workflow, HTML5, Cloud Computing, Queuing System.


Objective: To investigate the neurotoxicity of crotonaldehyde exposure in male rats and its possible mechanism of action. Methods: From July to October 2019, 24 specific pathogen-free male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group and 2.5, 4.5, and 8.5 mg/kg exposure groups, with 6 rats in each group, and the rats in these groups were given oral administration of crotonaldehyde solution at doses of 0.0, 2.5, 4.5, and 8.5 mg/kg, respectively, 5 times a week for 90 consecutive days. Body weight was measured after exposure, and brain tissue and liver tissue were collected. The activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in brain tissue and the level of acetylcholine (ACh) in liver tissue were measured; The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in brain tissue were measured; ELISA was used to measure the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) , interleukin-1β (IL-1β) , and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in brain tissue. Results: Compared with the control group, the 2.5, 4.5, and 8.5 mg/kg exposure groups had a significant reduction in the activity of AChE in brain tissue, and the 8.5 mg/kg exposure group had a significant increase in the level of ACh in liver tissue (P<0.05) . Compared with the control group, the 4.5 and 8.5 mg/kg exposure groups had a significant increase in the level of MDA and significant reductions in the level of GSH and the activities of SOD and GSH-Px in brain tissue (P<0.05) . Compared with the control group, the 2.5, 4.5, and 8.5 mg/kg exposure groups had significant increases in the levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in brain tissue, and the 4.5 and 8.5 mg/kg exposure groups had a significant increase in the level of IL-1β (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Crotonaldehyde exposure can induce nervous system injury in rats, possibly by altering oxidative balance and upregulating the expression of inflammatory factors in brain tissue.


Introduction: Varied reasons existed for not offering reperfusion therapy in ST elevation myocardial infarction and results in poor outcomes, and if related factors could be delineated, corrective measures can be attempted. Method: We compared variables between participants not receiving reperfusion therapy and those receiving single reperfusion therapy. Multivariate analysis examined the contribution of non-reperfusion therapy to death and factors related to it. Results: Non-reperfusion therapy was older and had a lower frequency of typical chest pain, but more dyspnea, and post cardiac resuscitation. They had more heart failure and death. Non-reperfusion therapy was an independent factor related to cardiac death, and factors related to non-reperfusion therapy were age, type of hospital, presenting features on admission (dyspnea and post cardiac resuscitation), lack of typical chest pain, and not being referred to. Conclusion: Non-reperfusion therapy had 2 to 3 times higher in-hospital mortality. Factors related to not offering reperfusion therapy, aside from age, appeared to be amendable to better management.


The decision to target leaders of groups like ISIS to hamper their effectiveness has served as a longstanding principle of counterterrorism efforts. Yet, previous research suggests that any results may simply be temporary. Using insights from confiscated ISIS documents from Afghanistan to define the media leader roles that qualified for each level of the cascade, CTC (Combating Terrorism Center) records to identify media leaders who died, and a content analysis of all ISIS images displayed in the group's Arabic weekly newsletter to identify the group's visual framing strategies, this study assesses whether and how leader loss helps explain changes in the level and nature of the group's visual output over time. ISIS's quantity of output and visual framing strategies displayed significant changes before, during, and after media leader losses. The level of the killed leader within the group's organizational hierarchy also corresponded to different changes in ISIS's media framing.


Background Nurses' clinical competence (CC) is critical in providing high-quality and safe nursing care. Assessment of nurses' CC and its predictors is a key step to improve their CC and the quality of their services. The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of CC among hospital nurses in Iran. Methods This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2020 to May 2021. Participants were purposively selected from four university hospitals in Hamadan, west of Iran. A demographic questionnaire and the 73-item Nurse Competence Scale were used for data collection. A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed and 270 questionnaires (response rate: 90%) were completed and returned to the researcher. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (v. 16.0) and the one-way analysis of variance, the independent-sample t, the Mann-Whitney U, and the Kruskal-Wallis tests, the Pearson and the Spearman correlation analyses, and the linear regression analysis. Results The mean score of CC was 40.28±8.6 (in the possible range of 0–100) and the highest and the lowest dimensional mean scores were for the situation management (56.13±11) and the ensuring quality (25.3±8.1) dimensions, respectively. The mean score of CC had significant relationship with age, work experience, and ward of working and these variables significantly predicted 77% of the variance of CC (adjusted R = 0.778, P<0.05). Conclusions According to the results of this study, age, work experience and ward of working weresignificant predictors of CC in hospital nurses. Nursing managers should employ strategies such as reducing nurses' workload, improving their employment status, and providing them with quality in-service education in order to improve their CC and the quality of their services.


Peripheral inflammatory diseases are often associated with behavioral comorbidities including anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction, but the mechanism for these is not well understood. Changes in the neuronal and synaptic functions associated with neuroinflammation may underlie these behavioral abnormalities. We have used a model of colonic inflammation induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid in Sprague Dawley rats to identify inflammation-induced changes in hippocampal synaptic transmission. Hippocampal slices obtained 4 d after the induction of inflammation revealed enhanced Schaffer collateral-induced excitatory field potentials in CA1 stratum radiatum. This was associated with larger-amplitude mEPSCs, but unchanged mEPSC frequencies and paired-pulse ratios, suggesting altered postsynaptic effects. Both AMPA- and NMDA-mediated synaptic currents were enhanced, and analysis of AMPA-mediated currents revealed increased contributions of GluR2-lacking receptors. In keeping with this, both transcripts and protein levels of the GluR2 subunit were reduced in hippocampus. Both long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD) were significantly reduced in hippocampal slices taken from inflamed animals. Chronic administration of the microglial/macrophage activation inhibitor minocycline to the inflamed animals both lowered the level of the cytokine tumor necrosis factor α in the hippocampus and completely abolished the effect of peripheral inflammation on the field potentials and synaptic plasticity (LTP and LTD). Our results reveal profound synaptic changes caused by a mirror microglia-mediated inflammatory response in hippocampus during peripheral organ inflammation. These synaptic changes may underlie the behavioral comorbidities seen in patients.


Recently, there is a great deal of attention for natural products due to its possible medicinal values. Its effectiveness has been proved through a sever-al studies in defeating some diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal activities of Urtica urens from Western Algeria. Leaves and roots were extracted with 80 % Ethanol and water. The 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and β-carotene bleaching tests were used to assess the antioxidant activity in addition to polyphenols analysis, while the agar well diffusion were used to screen the antimicrobial activity against some Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and the fungi. Among the studied extracts, hydroalcoholic extracts of leaves and roots pre-sented the highest total phenolic values (26.2 and 20.9 mg GAE/g), flavo-noids with (15.7 and 12.2 mg quercetin/g) and condensed tannins with (56.4 and 30.1 mg GAE/g), compared to the water extracts. Once again, the 80 % ETOH leaves exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity with an IC50 of 2.59 mg/ml, followed by the water leaves with an IC50 of 6 mg/ml. On the other hand, the hydroalcoholic extracts exhibited the highest inhibition of β-carotene bleaching with 42.6 % to the roots and 37.9 % to the leaves. The ETOH leaves and ETOH roots of U. urens were the most effective extracts being able to repress the growth of the pathological tested strains including fungi. Therefore, it is recommended the use of U. urens that has been poorly recognized for a long time by the population of the selected region.


Background Assisted electronic prescribing system (EPS) is a tool with enormous potential for improving the safety of hospitalised patients. But it can also lead to medication errors (ME). Purpose To assess the ME generated by an EPS during the medical prescription process. Materials and methods Prospective study of two clinical inpatient units (internal medicine and haematology) in a general hospital, 4 months after an EPS was implemented (May and July 2010). ME detected during pharmacist validation: ▶ Omission of allergies. ▶ Medication related errors (MRE): A) inadequate medication, B) inadequate pharmaceutical form (IPF), C) inadequate selection of medication (ISM) (drug not included in hospital formulary, when a formulary alternative existed), D) contraindicated drug (interaction), E) therapeutic duplication, F) omitted medication, G) not clear medication (NCM). ▶ Wrong dose. ▶ Wrong frequency of administration. ▶ Wrong way or route of administration (WRA). ▶ Wrong length of treatment. Analysis of results: Excel database. Results Average number of admitted patients was 25 patients/day (20–29). 177 ME were detected in 111 different patients, which mean an average of 4.4 errors/day and 1.5 errors/patient. Most of ME were due to discrepancies found between the prescription and observations stated by the doctor. Conclusions Increasing medication safety and improving efficiency using EPS needs a culture change through a complex process, which involves physicians, pharmacists and nurses working as a team, as well as proper training of the EPS users of the EPS. GRP025 Table 1 ME detected ME distribution Number Omitted allergies 2 MRE Inadequate medication 1 IPF 35 ISM 7 Interaction 2 Duplication 4 Omitted medication 11 NCM 12 Dose 27 Frequency 36 Time 11 WRA 14 Length treatment 15


The pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes has been attributed to the classic triad of decreased insulin secretion, increased insulin resistance, and elevated hepatic glucose production. Research has shown additional mechanisms, including incretin deficiency or resistance in the gastrointestinal tract. Liraglutide is a modified form of human glucagon-like peptide-1. Liraglutide was obtained by substitution of lysine 34 for arginine near the NH2 terminus, and by addition of a C16 fatty acid at the ɛ-amino group of lysine (at position 26) using a γ-glutamic acid spacer. Liraglutide has demonstrated glucose-dependent insulin secretion, improvements in β-cell function, deceleration of gastric emptying, and promotion of early satiety leading to weight loss. Liraglutide has the potential to acquire an important role, not only in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but also in preservation of β-cell function, weight loss, and prevention of chronic diabetic complications.


4 Blackman JA, Selzer SL, Patil S, Van Dyke DC. Autistic disorder associated with an isodicentric Y chromosome. DevMed ChildNeurol 199 1;33:162-6. 5 Lin CC, Meyne J, Ramakrishnan S, et al. Determining the origins and the structural aberrations of small marker chromosomes in two cases of 45,X/46,X+mar by use of chromosome-specific DNA probes. Am Jf Med Genet 1990;37:71-8. 6 Bernstein R, Steinhaus KA, Cain MJ. Prenatal application of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) for identification of a mosaic Y-chromosome marker, idic (Yp). Prenat Diagn 1992; 12:706-16. 7 Page DC. Hypothesis. An Y chromosomal gene causes gonadoblastoma in dysgenetic gonads. Development 1987;101:151-5. 8 Fernindez JL, Pereira S, Campos A, Goyanes V. Pseudoisodicentric nature of a normal length non-fluorescent Y chromosome. Ann Genet (Paris) 1994;37:215-7. 9 Haaf T, Warburton PE, Willard HF. Integration of human os-satellite DNA into simian chromosomes: centromere protein binding and disruption of normal chromosome segregation. Cell 1992;70:681-96. 10 Vogt P. Code domains in tandem repetitive DNA sequence structures. Chromosoma 1992;101: 585-9. 11 Peretti D, Maraschio P, Lambiase S, et al. Indirect immunofluorescence of inactive centromeres as indicator of centromeric function. Hum Genet 1986;73:12-6. 12 Haaf T, Schmid M. Y isochromosome associated with a mosaic karyotype and inactivation ofthe centromere. Hum Genet 1990; 85:486-90. 13 Maraschio P, Zuffardi 0, Caiulo A, et al. Deletion of specific sequences or modification of centromeric chromatin are responsible for Y chromosome centromere inactivation. Hum Genet 1990;85:491-4. 14 Tyler-Smith C, Willard HF. Mammalian chromosome structure. Curr Opin Genet Dev 1993; 3:390-7.


In the rubber hand illusion (RHI), the subject recognizes a fake hand as his or her own. We recently found that the observation of embodied fake hand movement elicited mu-rhythm (8–13 Hz) desynchronization on electroencephalography (EEG), suggesting brain activation in the sensorimotor regions. However, it is known that mu-rhythm desynchronization during action observation is confounded with occipital alpha-rhythm desynchronization, which is modulated by attention. This study examined the independence of brain activities in the sensorimotor and occipital regions relating to the movement observation under the RHI. The invisible participant's left and fake right hands were stroked simultaneously, which was interrupted by unexpected fake hand movements. A mirror-reversed image of the fake hand was shown on a monitor in front of the participant with a delay of 80, 280, or 480 ms. Illusion strength decreased as a function of the delay. EEG independent component analysis (ICA) and ICA clustering revealed six clusters with observation-induced desynchronization of 8–13 Hz frequency band. In the right sensorimotor cluster, mu-rhythm desynchronization was the greatest under the 80-ms delay, while alpha-rhythm desynchronization of the occipital clusters did not show delay-dependence. These results suggest that brain activation in the sensorimotor areas (i.e., mu-rhythm desynchronization) induced by embodied fake hand movement is independent of that in the occipital areas (alpha-rhythm desynchronization).


As a rule, curative operations require the patient's consent. Determined by the expansion of surgical possibilities, the kind and frequency of specific complications are subjected to constant changes. The physician is encouraged to explain therapeutic methods as well as the probability of complications within the patient's grasp. It has been investigated to what extent methods of artificial intelligence (AI) are suited for assisting the physician in this task. For this purpose, a comprehensive list of surgical complications as reported in research literature has been compiled. The list has been transferred into a hierarchical structure which can be depicted as a rule tree classified according to topographic aspects. In each otolaryngological operation, the reported complications can be classed with these rules. By employing an expert system (Fig. 1), the physician is capable of compiling an individualized document of agreement (Fig. 2) which serves as a basis for the explanatory talk with the patient.


We propose new rate-flexible low-density parity-check (LDPC) coding schemes for secrecy over a compound channel with L parallel links. These codes, called anti-root LDPC codes, have good performance at both finite and asymptotic code length while all links are jointly encoded. Firstly, an algebraic security scheme is developed based on the anti-root LDPC ensemble and a source splitter. Secondly, an information theoretic security scheme is built from the same splitter with the adjunction of a random sequence. Then, we present a new diversity-security tradeoff for channels exhibiting block fading or block erasure. Finally, we describe anti-root LDPC ensembles with higher diversity or security orders to attain the aforementioned tradeoff.


Catastrophic structural failures are very harmful to humans' lives. Theses failures can be created by minor damages, such as cracks, which can be propagated due to external loading and lead to the loss of structural integrity and stability. It is, therefore, worthwhile to have a reliable non-destructive damage detection (NDD) technique capable of detecting early-age damages on structures. Once the damages are discovered, repair or replacement can be made before their enlargement. In this thesis, investigations of the power flow in the plates containing single open crack are firstly performed. It is shown that the pattern and magnitude of the power flow are significantly changed only at the crack location. This trend also happens in the cases of the double- and triple-cracked plates. An NDD technique for plate structures based on these local changes of the power flow due to damages is introduced. The technique can effectively reveal damage location and severity using three power flow data measured from the tested plate as inputs for the reverse step. The characteristics of the nonlinear power flow induced by single and multiple breathing fatigue cracks on the cracked cantilever beam, namely super-harmonic resonance, are studied. The degree of nonlinearity of the power flow is shown to be dependent on the crack location, crack severity and amount of crack on the beam. This degree is used in conjunction with the surface fitting to determine the approximate location and severity of a crack on the beam. An NDD technique that can detect multiple-cracked cantilever beams is also proposed. This technique employs the power flow damage indices (DIs) obtained from the time-domain power flow plot to pinpoint the crack locations. The application capabilities of above three NDD techniques are presented through several numerical case studies. Effects of noise on each technique are also discussed.


A preemptive multi-hop contact tracing scheme that tracks not only the direct contacts of those who tested positive for COVID-19, but also secondary or tertiary contacts has been proposed and deployed in practice with some success. We propose a mathematical methodology for evaluating this preemptive contact tracing strategy that combines the contact tracing dynamics and the virus transmission mechanism in a single framework using microscopic Markov Chain approach (MMCA). We perform Monte Carlo (MC) simulations to validate our model and show that the output of our model provides a reasonable match with the result of MC simulations. Utilizing the formulation under a human contact network generated from real-world data, we show that the cost-benefit tradeoff can be significantly enhanced through an implementation of the multi-hop contact tracing as compared to traditional contact tracing. We further shed light on the mechanisms behind the effectiveness of the multi-hop testing strategy using the framework. We show that our mathematical framework allows significantly faster computation of key attributes for multi-hop contact tracing as compared to MC simulations. This in turn enables the investigation of these attributes for large contact networks, and constitutes a significant strength of our approach as the contact networks that arise in practice are typically large.


In the eighteenth century, the writing of case histories, incorporating findings at post-mortem, was central to how the study of disease was practised. The use of this epistemic genre reflected the work of medical practitioners with their patients. By contrast, Matthew Baillie's Morbid Anatomy (1793) was a work of anatomy on the subject of disease that promoted an anatomical approach to the study of disease and stemmed from his own, different practice, which was anatomical. This was criticized by contemporaries who were sceptical that such an approach would prove useful to the physician's practice. Baillie's work took on the features of anatomy books, and omitted many of the features central to the writing of case histories, such as patient narratives. Instead he focused on describing, in generalized terms, the changes in structure caused by disease. These descriptions were valued by contemporaries, who incorporated his descriptions into their own works, changing the way that cases included anatomical findings. At the same time, Baillie's later editions contained more features of cases, such as descriptions of symptoms. Thus, individual books worked to integrate epistemic genres, and change practice in the study of disease.


【The organic Rankine cycle has been widely used to convert the renewable energy such as the solar energy, the geothermal energy, or the waste energy etc., to the electric power. Some previous studies focused to find what kind of refrigerant would be a best working fluid for the organic Rankine cycle. In this study, R245fa was chosen to the working fluid, and the cycle analysis was conducted for the output power of 30kW or less. In addition, properties (temperature, pressure, entropy, and enthalpy etc.) of the working fluid on the cycle were predicted when the turbine output power was controlled by adjusting the mass flowrate. The configuration of the turbine was a radial-type and the supersonic nozzles were applied as the stator. So, the turbine was operated in partial admission. The turbine efficiency and the optimum velocity ratio were considered in the cycle analysis for the low partial admission rate. The computed results show that the system efficiency is affected by the partial admission rate more than the temperature of the evaporator.】


Introduction From 2005 to 2011 two large UK studies recruited 6,327 evaluable patients with Barrett's Oesophagus attending hospital clinics. Baseline clinical, patient history and quality of life data was collected prior to randomisation and this rich dataset is the basis for this abstract. Methods Patients were recruited to AspECT and BOSS at local centres through normal endoscopy clinics and surveillance lists including those newly diagnosed or with an existing diagnosis of Barrett's oesophagus. Baseline information was collected on age, gender, ethnicity, length of Barrett's, presence of hiatus hernia, intestinal metaplasia and low grade dysplasia, concomitant medications, comorbidities, duration and severity of symptoms and patients' self-reported Quality of Life data. Results The sample was mainly male (75%, n = 6,327) with median age of 64 years (range 18–92 years, n = 6,327). Median Barrett's length was 4 cm (range 1–24 cm, n = 6,029) and median time since diagnosis of Barrett's was 2 years (range 0–41 years, n = 5,805). At least one symptom of reflux was experienced by 60% of patients and 46% of patients experienced at least one symptom at least once per week (n = 1,072). Length of Barrett's was associated with age (n = 6,029), gender (n = 6,029), presence of low grade dysplasia (n = 5,955), presence of intestinal metaplasia (n = 6,026) and time since diagnosis (n = 5,913). Conclusion This is our first release of data from AspECT and BOSS with more to follow. It is a large set of data on Barrett's patients which we expect to be typical of Barrett's patients attending hospital clinics in the UK. The average person was a male age 62 with 4 cm Barrett's having had a Barrett's diagnosis for 2 years. Acknowledgements Our thanks to the patients and the sites. AspECT is sponsored by the University of Oxford with grant funding from CR-UK (A4584) and support from the Investigator-Sponsored Study Program of AstraZeneca with trial management provided by OCTO. BOSS is funded by the HTA grant number HTA 05/12/01 with trial management provided by BOSS trial office Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust. The Centre for Statistics in Medicine provides statistical input to both AspECT and BOSS. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


A prototype X-ray pixel area detector (XPAD3.1) has been used for X-ray diffraction experiments with synchrotron radiation. The characteristics of this detector are very attractive in terms of fast readout time, high dynamic range and high signal-to-noise ratio. The prototype XPAD3.1 enabled various diffraction experiments to be performed at different energies, sample-to-detector distances and detector angles with respect to the direct beam, yet it was necessary to perform corrections on the diffraction images according to the type of experiment. This paper is focused on calibration and correction procedures to obtain high-quality scientific results specifically developed in the context of three different experiments, namely mechanical characterization of nanostructured multilayers, elastic-plastic deformation of duplex steel and growth of carbon nanotubes.


: Wireless communications is a type of data communication that is performed and delivered wirelessly. This is a broad term that incorporates all procedures and forms of connecting and communicating between two or more devices using a wireless signal through wireless communication technologies and devices.Now-a-days the requirements of wireless communication are to have high voice quality, high data rates, multimedia features, lightweight communication devices etc. But the wireless communication channel suffers from much impairment. One of them is fading which is due to the effect of multiple propagation paths, and the rapid movement of mobile communication devices. In a typical wireless communication environment, multiple propagation paths often exist from a transmitter to a receiver due to scattering by different objects. Signal copies following different paths can undergo different attenuation, distortions, delays and phase shifts. So, this is necessary to reduce the problem of fading, but not at the cost of additional bandwidth. This paper deals with the performance enhancement of Rayleigh flat fading channel by reduction of Bit Error Rate.


Buerger's disease is a chronic disorder, also known as ThromboAngitisObliterance (TAO). It is a nonatherosclerotic, segmental inflammatory disease that most commonly affects the smalland medium-sized arteries and veins in the upper and lower extremities. It frequently occurs in cigarette smokers. Poor hygiene, genetic factors, autonomic over-activity are other factors for this disease. Buerger's disease presents with rest pain, intermittent claudication, discoloration and gangrene formation. Clinical features andangiographic finding are the basis of early diagnosis of TAO.Medical management in form of aspirin, pentoxyfyllineand verapamil increase pain-free walkingdistance in intermittent claudication, but long term usage fails to prevent disease progression in patients who continue to smoke.Surgical treatment in form of lumbar sympathectomy andomentopexy help reduce pain andpromote healing of trophic changes. Ayurveda the great science of life has elaborately described leech therapy (Jalaukavcharan) to remove vitiated doshas from affected organ. Leech therapy has its excellence by improving blood circulation through vasodilatation effect.


Abstract Imatinib mesylate is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor used in the treatment of oncological conditions, including chronic myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. The most frequent dermatological side effect reported is pigmentary abnormalities. We report a case series of three Asian Chinese females with preexisting acquired dermal melanocytosis that progressed after initiation of imatinib treatment, and concurrently developed generalized hypopigmentation of the skin. All three patients had similar histological findings on skin biopsy. It is postulated that the KIT/SCF pathway has a central role in the pathogenetic mechanism. Therefore, it is important for physicians to be aware of this potential side effect of paradoxical pigmentation in patients treated with imatinib.


The tumour suppressor p53 inhibits cell growth through activation of cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis, and most cancers have either mutation within the p53 gene or defects in the ability to induce p53. Activation or re-introduction of p53 induces apoptosis in many tumour cells and may provide effective cancer therapy. One of the key proteins that modulates the apoptotic response is NF-kappaB, a transcription factor that can protect or contribute to apoptosis. Here we show that induction of p53 causes an activation of NF-kappaB that correlates with the ability of p53 to induce apoptosis. Inhibition or loss of NF-kappaB activity abrogated p53-induced apoptosis, indicating that NF-kappaB is essential in p53-mediated cell death. Activation of NF-kappaB by p53 was distinct from that mediated by tumour-necrosis factor-alpha and involved MEK1 and the activation of pp90rsk. Inhibition of MEK1 blocked activation of NF-kappaB by p53 and completely abrogated p53-induced cell death. We conclude that inhibition of NF-kappaB in tumours that retain wild-type p53 may diminish, rather than augment, a therapeutic response.


Historical studies, using Northern blot hybridization, RT-PCR and cDNA library construction have demonstrated the presence of a variety of mRNA molecules in platelets. The development of microarray technology has allowed further characterization of the transcripts represented in the platelet transcriptome. In this review, these studies will be summarized and their findings in relation to the study of platelet function and the identification of disease risk genes discussed.


Mobile WiMAX is one of the most promising technologies for broadband wireless communication based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard. Mobile WiMAX brings wireless broadband to a new dimension providing the support of nomadism.IEEE 802.16e standard for 4G Cellular Technology-Mobile WiMAX is proposed to support mobility. As a result,handover has become one of the most important QoS factors. Lack of clarification in the conventional algorithm for handover process leads to significant wastage of channel resource along with undesired delay.It also causes substantial degradation in the overall system performance. Existing standard for handover includes scanning as one of the most vital processes.Scanning requests without proper response and delayed initiation of scanning only deteriorate the scenario.This threatening handover delay is a huge obstacle for the optimum performance of mobile WiMAX. In this book,various problematic scenarios of handover procedure have been shown and from that an optimized handover scheme is proposed associated with suitable pre-scanning algorithm, fast dedicated ranging and pre-registration process.


We investigate the use of partially spatial coherent illuminations for digital holographic microscopes (DHM) working in transmission. The major advantage is reduction of the speckle noise making it possible high image quality for biomedical applications.


This paper presents a procedure to calculate the added value of a process, through a pull manufacturing approach. The procedure allows calculating the selling price, the added value for each operation and the capital required to purchase the raw material. Additionally, the procedure sets the added value of the product for each operation, analyzing its increase or decrease based on the difference between the raw material cost and the purchasing budget. Finally, the results of its application in a medium-voltage fuse industry in the Cuban Republic are shown.


Many synthetic organic substances, including surfactants, tend to be sorbed on suspended solids and to accumulate finally on bottom sediments, where benthic communities may be exposed to them. Concentrations of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulphonates (LAS) have been detected in estuarine and coastal sediments, presenting wide concentration ranges depending on the presence of treatment facilities, hydrodynamic conditions, organic matter content etc. Senegal sole, Solea senegalensis, larvae (40 days posthatching; dph) were exposed to increasing concentrations of LAS spiked sediments, comprised between 0.37 and 880.78 mg LAS x kg(-1) during 30 days. The obtained results showed that survival of exposed larvae was not significantly affected at environmentally relevant concentrations, the LC50 value being obtained after 30 days 876.46 mg x kg(-1). However, the histological and histopathological analyses carried out in target organs revealed, that first alterations from the normal pattern were observed at concentrations of 222.66 mg x kg(-1), presenting effects such as blood extravasation and hyperplasy of the lamellar epithelium in gills, increase of inter-myotomal spaces of the skeletal musculature and edematous separation of the skin from epidermis. At the highest exposure concentrations (755.27 and 880.78 mg LAS x kg(-1)), shrinkage of hepatocytes, nuclear pycnosis and blood stagnation are observed in the liver, degeneration of pancreatic cells, reduction of hemocytopoietic tissue in the kidney and vacuolisation of intestinal enterocytes was observed at histological level, as well as severe separation of the epidermis from the underlying tissues. Simultaneously, a significant increase of the wet weight with exposure concentration was observed in the test organisms.


Recent research in semiotics has foreseen analyzable units on the basis of the context instead of the text. In addition to language-based and psychologically-based semiotics (Saussure 1959), today semiotics has introduced the epistemological grounds on visual signs as well. My aim in this paper shall be to introduce the acting subject into such a context, which in my opinion can transform the states of visual expressions, as shown in their various shapes, from one to another. In such a context I shall exemplify the applicability of the subjectivized objects for the purpose of interpreting images (exemplifying thus concrete works of art ) which can produce passions as semantic results (A. J. Greimas and Fontanille 1993). The questions which I advance shall be the following: how can such passionate taxonomies, transformed into feelings and seen as feedback information, interact socially? And due to the openness of the work of art, as Eco (1962) claims, where do the limits of visual artistic expressions' interpretability lie?


The increased anatomical resolution of the Computed Tomography allows the localized excision of tissue malformation even less than 5 mm in diameter. Within difficult areas of the body, e.g. the spine, it is possible to reach intra- as well as extraosseous lesions with high accuracy. Results and technique of puncture are reported in 31 patients with unclear diagnosis or therapy (Neurolysis). In 24 cases diagnosis was established or therapy was successful, in 2 cases the result was false negative. In 5 cases the tissue was non diagnostic. According to the low number of complications (n = 1) a repeated study would have been possible.


Two cobalt complexes, the α-diimine complex 1,2-bis[(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino]acenaphthene-cobalt(II) dibromide (A) and the β-diimine complex 2,4-bis[(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino]pentane-cobalt(II) dibromide (B) were synthesized and fully characterized by elemental analysis, electrospray MS and single crystal X-ray diffraction. These complexes were then assessed as pre-catalysts of the polymerization of isoprene in chlorobenzene using diethylaluminiumchloride (DEAC) as co-catalyst at 35 °C. While the aryl substituents were identical in each case, the β-diimine complex B was over 100-fold more active (Rp = 1.17 × 10−3 M s−1) than α-diimine complex A (Rp = 1.07 × 10−5 M s−1). A produced polyisoprene with molecular weight (Mn = 2.1 × 105 g mol−1) double that achieved with B. The polymers produced by both A and B were predominantly cis-1,4 enchained (80%) with 3,4 regioerrors (20%). For B, this 1,4 : 3,4 selectivity ratio was not influenced by aluminium alkyl reagent (ethylaluminiumsesquichloride (EASC), or DEAC) whereas for A, where EASC co-catalyst was used, a 1,4-trans-rich (61%) polyisoprene was obtained. Moreover, increasing Al mole ratio decreased the activity for B but increased it for A.