The model species of social amoebae, Dictyostelium discoideum, has a compact genome consisting of about two thirds protein-coding regions, with intergenic regions that are rarely larger than 1,000 bp. We hypothesize that the haploid state of D. discoideum cells provides defense against the amplification of mobile elements whose transposition activities would otherwise lead to the accumulation of heterozygous, potentially lethal mutations in diploid populations. We further speculate that complex transposon clusters found on D. discoideum chromosomes do not a priori result from integration preferences of these transposons, but that the clusters instead result from negative selection against cells harboring insertional mutations in genes. D. discoideum cells contain a fraction of retrotransposons that are found in the close vicinity of tRNA genes. Growing evidence suggests that these retrotransposons use active recognition mechanisms to determine suitable integration sites. However, the question remains whether these retrotransposons also cause insertional mutagenesis of genes, resulting in their enrichment at tRNA genes, which are relatively safe sites in euchromatic regions. Recently developed in vivo retrotransposition assays will allow a detailed, genome-wide analysis of de novo integration events in the D. discoideum genome.


The declared long-term goal of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the stabilization of carbon concentration in the atmosphere. In this paper we impose a carbon target concentration on a partial equilibrium model of the global energy sector. Specifically, we ask whether nuclear power can provide carbon free energy as fossil fuel resources become costly due to scarcity and externality costs. We find that nuclear power can reduce the cost of generating clean energy significantly and relatively quickly. However, beyond a few decades the role of nuclear power may be considerably reduced as uranium becomes scarce and renewables become economical. The cost of carbon when nuclear power supplies a significant share of energy is much lower than that of other studies. A policy implication is that current political and regulatory impediments to the expansion of nuclear generation may prove to be costly if large volumes of clean energy need to be supplied over a relatively short period of time.


Capitalism, in order to reproduce itself, must allocate more and more resources to the enhancement of the wealth already produced, rather than to increasing productive investments. The strategies for absorbing the surplus range from the reduction of supply to the creation of waste, from public spending to financialization. With the prevalence of these strategies, capitalism renounces to the maximum possible economic expansion in favour of its maximum expansion on society. It is a change that has consequences for environmental issues. The model of pure capitalism, in which the entire surplus is directed towards growth, is ecologically unsustainable. In today's historical capitalism, the goal of economic growth remains important, but it falls within that of increasing social power. Whether this is good or bad news for our biosphere will be discussed in other Chapters. Here we analyze the novelty.


Many papers dealing with technical document analysis claim that the greatest problems come from the numerous and very different levels of representation required to finally interpret the pixel image of a document. These difficulties raise general questions like: what kind of information has to be extracted and at what stage of the process? How should we encode the information acquired after each stage? To solve these problems, we try to integrate natural techniques normally associated with human perception and have thus perfected a method of describing technical drawings using only one model of representation. It must allow us to depict all the shapes from the original document at the different levels of analysis as clearly as possible. We have chosen to accomplish this description with a limited number of simple primitives: from the pixels base, we first build vectors and then quadrilaterals. This shape polygonization method seems to be adapted to the different kinds of objects found in such technical drawing images and, actually computation time is minimised.


The high and very high resolution space images are often not available as original or near to original data but as geo-referenced rectified images. The geo-reference is based on the satellite position together with the known attitudes. In the case of IKONOS as lowest level product the CARTERRA Geo, a projection of the original image to a plane with constant height is distributed. For QuickBird the Basic Imagery which is just improved by the internal geometry, is available only as a full scene; less expensive subscenes are distributed as Standard Imagery rectified to the rough digital elevation model GTOPO30 or as Ortho Ready Standard Imagery rectified to a plane with constant height like CARTERRA Geo. Also SPOT images are sold as corresponding level 1Bproduct like also IRS-1C/1D, ASTER and KVR-1000 data. With additional cost for some products the relation between such rectified images and the ground coordinate system is available as rational polynomial coefficients (RPC). The direct geo-reference for the RPCs is not accurate enough and has to be improved at least by a shift to control points. Other solutions are approximations and don't use the direct sensor orientation like the 3D-affine transformation. In some orientation programs the original images are reconstructed based on the rectified images like described by SPOT Image. For the precise geo-referencing the datum shift or higher degree transformation in addition to the terrain depending improvement based on the height differences of the individual points against the reference plane has to be determined. This requires the knowledge of the imaging ray from the actual projection centre to the point in the rectified and geo-referenced image. The view direction from the scene centres to the satellite orbit is available in all cases. Based on this, together with the general known satellite orbit, the individual view directions can be reconstructed without additional information. This strict solution requires the smallest number of control points like also the RPCs, but without additional financial effort. In the area of Zonguldak, Turkey several very high and high resolution space images are available as rectified and geo-referenced products. The precise geo-referencing of these scenes has been made by GPS control points by means of the described method, reconstructing the direction of the imaging rays and requiring only a minimal number of control points.


Prolactin and GH form reversible aggregates in the trans-Golgi lumen that become the dense cores of secretory granules. Aggregation is an economical means of sorting, because self-association removes the hormones from other possible pathways. Secretory granules containing different aggregates show different behavior, such as the reduction in stimulated release of granules containing R183H-GH compared with release of those containing wild-type hormone. Aggregates may facilitate localization of membrane proteins necessary for transport and exocytosis of secretory granules, and therefore understanding their properties is important. Three types of self-association have been characterized: dimers of human GH that form with Zn(2+), low-affinity self-association of human prolactin caused by acidic pH and Zn(2+) with macromolecular crowding, and amyloid fibers of prolactin. The best candidate for the form in most granules may be low-affinity self-association because it occurs rapidly at Zn(2+) concentrations that are likely to be in granules and reverses rapidly in neutral pH. Amyloid may form in older granules. Determining differences between aggregates of wild type and those of R183H-GH should help to understand why granules containing the mutant behave differently from those containing wild-type hormone. If reversible aggregation of other hormones, including those that are proteolytically processed, is the crucial act in forming granules, rather than use of a sorting signal, then prohormones should form reversible aggregates in solution in conditions that resemble those of the trans-Golgi lumen, including macromolecular crowding.


This paper presents a discrete design and control method of teleoperation systems. The design method is based on the state space formulation and it allows to obtain the control gains for any teleoperation system where the master and the slave manipulators would be represented by nth-order discrete linear transfer functions. The control method allows that the slave follows the master through the state convergence between the master and the slave. The method is able also to establish the desire dynamics of this convergence and the dynamics of the slave manipulator. The advantage of this method is that it can be applied to control a teleoperation system where the master and the slave are modeled by transfer functions of different order. In order to validate the control method, simulation results are shown considering a teleoperation system where the master and the slave are modeled by discrete transfer functions of different order


A cytogenetic study by Giemsa staining in three xerophytic regions (continental, peninsular and insular) in eastern Venezuela, showed a diploid number 2n=36, consisting of 6 pairs of metacentric and submetacentric macrochromosomes and 12 pairs of acrocentric microchromosomes maintained, this feature in males and females in the three populations studied. It was determined that the first pair of macrochromosomes is metacentric and the continental region represents 13% of total relative length (LRT) as the larger chromosome, with respect to the peninsular population with 9.4% and the insular population 7.1%, the latter population containing the smallest chromosomes. Whereas chromosomal differences and geographic isolation exists, these lizards have a process of vicariant allopatric speciation. Acta biol. Colomb., Vol. 16 N.o 2, 2011 121 134


This contribution portrays inexplicable AI in medicine as a form of epistemic exclusion, i.e., as the marginalization or complete elimination of important stakeholders from the knowledge generation process. To show this, I will first briefly characterize and exemplify the notion of explicability as per Floridi in the medical domain as being instrumental to support accountability through intelligible explanatory interfaces. I will then follow Dotson in delineating three different orders of epistemic oppression, the third being irreducible to either social or political oppression. I will continue to argue that inexplicable AI in medicine, in its tendency to severely hinder a decision-making process that is either shared interprofessionally and/or between patient and physician, may, under certain conditions, amount to third-order epistemic exclusion. I will discuss that it follows that the adoption of inexplicable AI in medicine may severely hamper progress to support health as conceived holistically along the lines of the WHO's constitution. Instead, the use of inexplicable AI in medicine may bring about short-term benefits, which may be tempting, but should not outweigh the long-term advantages promised by a patient-centered and individualized form of medicine. In summary, this contribution adds a novel conceptual take on the issues involved with adopting black-box AI in the medical domain that goes beyond a merely utility-based argumentation, but—in addition—depicts it as a form of epistemic exclusion, which is also wrong in itself.


This paper reports the application of pulse discharges along with catalysts in treating the exhaust gas at higher temperatures. In the present work a plasma reactor, filled with catalysts, called as plasma catalytic reactor, is studied for removal of oxides of nitrogen, total hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. The experiments are conducted on an actual diesel engine exhaust at no-load and at different temperatures starting from room temperature to 300°C. The removal efficiencies of these pollutants are studied. The experiments are carried out with both conventional and non-conventional catalysts. The idea is to explore the pollutant removal efficiency characteristics by non-conventional catalysts. The efficiency results are compared with that of conventional catalysts. The experiments are carried out at a constant pulse repetition rate of 120 pps. Both pellet and honeycomb type catalysts are used in the study.


The Health Belief Model (HBM) has played a key role in describing, explaining, and
predicting health-related outcomes. As one of the major health behavior theories,
HBM has been well applied in numerous health-related studies. However, these
studies often ignore the original conception of HBM as a theoretical model because
they focus mainly on the predictive roles of risk perception variables – i.e., perceived
susceptibility, severity, benefit, and barrier. Within that process, cues to action has not
been comprehensively studied. The current study addresses these limitations in HBM
research in two ways: (1) following the original conception of HBM and the
recommendation by previous researchers, we did not use risk perception constructs as
separate predictors but rather used perceived threat (perceived severity×perceived
susceptibility) and perceived evaluation of action (perceived benefit-barrier); (2) we
explored both internal and external cues in predicting health-related outcome and
separated out interpersonal and media cues from external cues. Path analysis of 992
representative Korean adult samples in the context of tuberculosis (TB) revealed three
major findings: (1) Interpersonal and (2) media cues are related to TB screening
intention directly and indirectly through perceived threat; (3) perceived threat, but not
perceived evaluation of action, is significantly related to TB screening intention.
Theoretical and practical implications for our findings are discussed.


Geopolymers (GP) represent a fascinating alternative to typical structural ceramics, but all prior work has demonstrated substantial mesoporosity. This porosity is detrimental to mechanical properties as well as drying failure resistance. Here, mesoporosity in metakaolin Na-based GP has been reduced by an order of magnitude through the addition of acrylate-functional silane coupling agents, and the effect of this modification was extensively analyzed using a variety of characterization techniques. It was found that a critical concentration of approximately 0.06 mol methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane/mol GP was necessary for extensive property modification. Above this concentration, membranes and tubes of organic material could be observed, suggesting that only this surplus additive contributed to mesoporosity reduction. The source of this mesoporosity reduction is shown to be segregation of free water via hydrogel-like interaction caused by the formation of sodium acrylate groups.


Most people around the world eat meat and billions of animals are slaughtered each year to meet that demand. For many, eating meat is a biocultural activity steeped in tradition and formative in cuisines and identity. Eating meat, however, comes with a myriad of ethical and practical considerations. In tandem with animal rights and environmental sustainability concerns surrounding the impact of animal slaughter for meat, animal welfare science has identified numerous ways animals may suffer on an individual level during various methods of slaughter. Practices of slaughter differ around the world and the degree to which culture and regional interpretations of religion impact consumer expectations and perceptions of suffering at slaughter are relatively unknown. We begin to address some of these gaps by conducting a survey of 4,291 members of the general public to assess knowledge and attitudes around animal welfare at slaughter and religious slaughter, across 14 culturally and religiously diverse countries in local languages; Australia, Philippines, Nigeria, United Kingdom and United States (English), Bangladesh (Bengali), Brazil (Portuguese), Chile (Spanish), China (Traditional Chinese), India (Hindi and English), Malaysia (Bahasa Malay, Chinese and English), Pakistan (Urdu), Sudan (Arabic) and Thailand (Thai). Our results demonstrate that in highly developed countries where exposure to slaughter is low, comfort witnessing slaughter and knowledge about animal welfare at slaughter and the local application of stunning is also low. Cultural and religious differences exist by country, however in all countries except Bangladesh, the majority of participants stated that it mattered to them that animals do not suffer during slaughter, and in most countries, participants would prefer that animals be rendered unconscious before they are slaughtered (preslaughter stunning); including in countries where this practice is not currently widespread. These findings suggest that concern for the reduction of animal suffering during slaughter is a universal human tendency, rather than a cultural development, while opinion of how best to achieve this (i.e., to stun or not to stun) may be cultural and tied to local interpretations of religious slaughter requirements. The findings of this study serve as an indication for meat industries and governments that continual review and improvement of animal welfare processes at slaughter are required to continue to meet evolving general public sentiment.


As-grown NaBr:Mn2+ crystals have been investigated using photostimulated luminescence, EPR and optical absorption techniques in the 6 K-300 K temperature range. Through them the formation of a precipitated phase involving Mn2+, whose magnetic phase transition temperature is well below 6 K, is established. This conclusion then supports the presence of the Suzuki phase previously inferred from Raman data. The value Omega * (A1g)=130+or-7 cm-1 derived at 14 K from the vibrational progression in the 4T1(G) band concurs with the corresponding Raman value. It is shown that, only through the 4A1(G), 4E(G) peak, lying at 419.6 nm at 14 K for the present case, the presence of MnBr64- cannot be definitely established. This situation is however improved by looking at the Stokes shifts, the 10 Dq values and also the optical bandwidths. The analysis of 10 Dq and Omega (A1g) suggests that the Mn2+-Br- distance R is higher than for MnBr2 or Cd0.85Mn0.15Br2. However, an increase Delta R=4.8 pm with respect to MnBr2 does not fully account for the 'anomalous' 4A1(G), 4E(G) peak position in the present case where a value J=0.014 cm-1 has been derived for the exchange constant from the EPR bandwidth Delta Hpp=117 G. Attention has been paid to the influence of temperature changes on the optical peak positions as well as to the effects of a quenching at 600 degrees C. Although Delta Hpp becomes 2.5 times higher, no evidence is obtained on the formation of isolated Mn2+ ions after quenching.


Introduction: The modified Rankin scale (mRS) is a reliable objective measure of disability and is widely applied in clinical trials. Health-related quality of life (QOL) measurements using Neuro-QOL provide validated measures of patient-reported outcomes. In a matched case-control study, we hypothesized that differences in QOL in favor of tPA would be readily detectable compared to the dichotomous mRS outcome traditionally applied in acute stroke research. Methods: From a single-center prospective cohort study, we identified ischemic stroke patients who received intravenous tPA, admitted between August 1, 2012 and July 31, 2014, and who had 3-month QOL and mRS outcomes. Using a propensity score matching algorithm based on age and stroke severity, ischemic stroke patients who did not receive tPA were selected as controls. The mRS was assessed by structured telephone interviews and Neuro-QOL using short forms analyzing domains of upper extremity (UE), lower extremity (LE), executive function (EF), and general cognition (GC). T-scores for Neuro-QOL domains are referenced to the general population (mean 50, SD 10). We assessed differences in mRS (dichotomized 0-1 vs. 2-5) and QOL T-scores (continuous) in each domain using appropriate tests. Results: A total of 90 patients were analyzed (45 tPA and 45 controls; median NIHSS score 7). There was no statistical difference between the two groups by age (p=0.967) and NIHSS score (p=0.855). When comparing Neuro-QOL T-scores, higher scores were reported for domains of EF (tPA: 52 vs. controls: 46; p=0.032) and LE function (tPA: 46 vs. controls: 41; p=0.008) among tPA patients compared to controls. No differences were noted for UE or GC QOL T-scores. Using the mRS, the results were not statistically significant (dichotomous: 0-1, tPA: 75.6% vs. controls: 57.8%, p=0.117). Conclusion: Neuro-QOL offers a complementary tool for assessment of neurological function and may help identify finer grades of functional change and outcomes for stroke patients undergoing a specific therapy. The mRS requires a greater number of patients to show statistical significance while utilization of a continuous measurement of function from the patient perspective may improve statistical power in future clinical trials.


Metaheuristic optimization algorithms have been popular band selection methods in hyperspectral imaging (HSI) over the years due to their ability to find good solutions in reasonable time frames. Nature-inspired metaheuristics imitate processes in nature to determine solutions and should be investigated in detail stochastically. In this research, the authors propose to use moth-flame optimization (MFO), inspired by the flight of moths around artificial light sources for HSI band selection. The MFO algorithm explores a search space with moths as search agents that circle inwards logarithmically to a flame or artificial light. At every step, the best solution is updated until the exploration is complete. In this paper, a pilot study of MFO based band selection for Indian Pines HSI benchmark dataset is presented. The results of MFO are compared with particle swarm optimization (PSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). Preliminary results show that MFO is a promising strategy for HSI band selection when compared to PSO and GA.


Both positive selection and negative selection have been shown to drive the evolution of coding regions. It is of interest to know if the corresponding 5' regions of genes may be subjected to selection of comparable intensities. For such a comparison, we chose the Accessory gland protein (Acp) genes as our test case. About 700 bp and 600 bp for the 5' and coding regions, respectively, of eight previously unstudied genes were sequenced from 21 isogenic lines of D. melanogaster and one line from D. simulans. The ratio of divergence at the amino-acid replacement sites (A) over that at the synonymous sites (S) was twice the ratio for common polymorphism. Interestingly, the 5' region shows the same trend, with the 5'/S divergence ratio being 1.8 times higher than the 5'/S ratio for common polymorphism. There are several possible explanations for the 5'/S ratios, including demography, negative selection, and positive selection. Under normal conditions, positive selection is the most likely explanation. If that is true, about 45 to 50 percent of all fixed differences at both the replacement and 5' sites were adaptive, even though the substitution rate in the former is only half that of the latter (K(A)/K(S) approximately 0.3 vs. K(5')/K(S) approximately 0.6). As previous analyses have indicated, the inclusion of slightly deleterious polymorphism confounds the inference of positive selection. The analysis of published polymorphism data covering 97 verified 5' regions of Drosophila suggests more pronounced selective constraint on the 5' untranslated region and the core promoter (together corresponding to approximately 200 bp in this data set) when compared to the more distal portion of the 5' region of genes.


The paper presents the results obtained with the use of two chiral stationary phases (CSP) based on a macromolecular antibiotic agent--teikoplanin containing saccharide parts (CHIROBIOTIC T) and teikoplanin without saccharide parts (CHIROBIOTIC TAG). Racemic mixtures of 1-methyl-2-piperidinoethyl esters of 2-, 3-, and 4-alkoxyphenylcarbamic acids were examined. The investigation included interactions between separated substances and CSP, and the effect of separation of the enantiomers under study on the value of the differentiation factor (Rij) under identical chromatographic conditions with the use of the method of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). On the basis of the obtained results, it is possible to report that CSP-CHIROBIOTIC TAG is more advantageous for the substances of the type of 1-methyl-2-piperidinoethyl esters of 2-, 3-, and 4-alkoxyphenylcarbamic acids, because it does not contain a saccharide part, which decreases the possibility of non-polar interactions which exert a negative effect on the Rij value.


Fast fashion retailing is leading consumers towards an increased rate of purchasing and the trend to keep clothing for an ever shorter time with the resulting rise in clothing disposal. The aim of this paper is to empirically explore antecedents of two methods of sustainable clothing disposal behaviour in two countries: donating to charities and giving away to family and friends. Using data from females located in Australia and Chile, the authors test the proposed model with structural equation modelling (SEM). The results of this study show that consumer recycling behaviour is a strong and direct driver of donating to charity. In addition, results find that consumer awareness of the environment and consumer age affect donating behaviour. The findings have value for fast fashion retailers, marketers, environmental activists, ecological researchers, charity institutions and public policy makers.


Advanced airway practitioners in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, and prehospital care can suddenly and unexpectedly face difficult airway situations that can surface without warning during mask ventilation or tracheal intubation. Although tracheal intubation remains the "gold standard" in airway management, it is not always achievable, and, when it proves impossible, appropriate alternative interventions must be used rapidly to avoid serious morbidity or mortality. The SLAM Emergency Airway Flowchart (SEAF) is intended to prevent the 3 reported primary causes of adverse respiratory events (ie, inadequate ventilation, undetected esophageal intubation, and difficult intubation). The 5 pathways of the SEAF include primary ventilation, rapid-sequence intubation, difficult intubation, rescue ventilation, and cricothyrotomy. It is intended for use with adult patients by advanced airway practitioners competent in direct laryngoscopy, tracheal intubation, administration of airway drugs, rescue ventilation, and cricothyrotomy. The SEAF has limitations (eg, suitable only for use with adult patients, cannot be used by certain categories of rescue personnel, and depends heavily on assessment of Spo2). A unique benefit is provision of simple alternative techniques that can be used when another technique fails.


Background Numerous studies have been conducted on species richness patterns along elevation gradients in temperate, tropical and sub-tropical mountains. However, few studies have been done to evaluate the combined effect of area and environmental heterogeneity (abiotic and biotic) on species richness. Numerous ecological studies have also failed to quantify environmental heterogeneity which we have done in this research. In this research, we studied the impact of area on environmental heterogeneity on species richness by considering the climate factors, annual mean temperature (AMT), annual mean precipitation (AMP), annual total solar radiation (ATSR), and Soil factors, soil organic carbon (SOC), Soil total nitrogen (STN), Soil extractable phosphorous (SEP), and Soil extractable potassium (SEK).Results Our analysis showed that species richness had a skewed hump-shaped pattern, with the highest species richness being at mid-elevation. The results also showed that climate factors had a strong positive correlation with species richness in relation to area as compared to soil factors. We also found that soil factors could be used to explain the species richness when combined rather than being interpreted individually. This study has showed that area could have profound effect on environmental heterogeneity therefore shaping species richness pattern along the elevation gradient in Mount Kenya.Conclusion The hump shaped species richness pattern can be due to the Ecophysiological constraints for example, low temperatures as elevation increases. The high species richness at the mid-elevation is because this zone has a large land area and also acts as transition zone between the extremes of the upper elevation range and lower elevation and species from either side can coexist since the environmental conditions are on the lower and higher limits for the existence of these plant species.


The guidelines of the current national environmental policy emphasise the promotion and sustainable use of environmental goods and services. At the international level this issue has been discussed in the World Trade Organization due to the Doha Ministerial Declaration (2001). Furthermore, the topic is implicit in the present development agenda. The debate has revolved around reaching an agreement about the criterion and definitions of environmental goods and services for trade purposes. A restricted perspective about these items have prevailed the current discussion that excludes holistic approaches of the environmental economy. Goods and services related to biodiversity and ecosystems that may interest 'megadiverse' countries such as Colombia are not at the centre of the discussion. The absence of or a passive role in this debate entails the loss of benefits and opportunities for the sustainable use of natural resources which in turn is contradictory with the present environmental policy. In addition, the outcomes achieved at the WTO will have repercussions in other bilateral or regional trade agreements accorded by the country and the degree of autonomy over the control of strategic natural resources.


The revolutionary of technology in this modern era is explicitly giving significant impacts to hotel industry and hotel website is use as part of for marketing and business purposes. Various attributes and dimensions have developed through the hotel website. This study is empirically investigates the most important hotel website dimensions to be considered in relation to the international tourists' preferences. The hotel website dimensions are measured through two categories of variables which are website interactivity and website information. Sample of 400 foreign tourists at Kuala Lumpur International Airport were selected. The most important dimension that attracts online purchasing was selected throughout the study. The study also concluded that website information was the most important variables in hotel website dimension. Practically, this research has shown the importance of understanding in choosing the best and appropriate website dimension to encourage customer to purchase via online.


Background—Cellular cardiomyoplasty has been proposed as an alternative strategy for augmenting the function of diseased myocardium. We investigated the potential of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) from adult bone marrow to undergo myogenic differentiation once transplanted into the adult murine myocardium. Methods and Results—A small bone marrow aspirate was taken from the iliac crest of healthy human volunteers, and hMSCs were isolated as previously described. The stem cells, labeled with lacZ, were injected into the left ventricle of CB17 SCID/ beige adult mice. At 4 days after injection, none of the engrafted hMSCs expressed myogenic markers. A limited number of cells survived past 1 week and over time morphologically resembled the surrounding host cardiomyocytes. Immunohistochemistry revealed de novo expression of desmin, &bgr;-myosin heavy chain, &agr;-actinin, cardiac troponin T, and phospholamban at levels comparable to those of the host cardiomyocytes; sarcomeric organization of the contractile proteins was observed. In comparison, neither cardiac troponin T nor phospholamban was detected in the myotubes formed in vitro by MyoD-transduced hMSCs. Conclusions—The purified hMSCs from adult bone marrow engrafted in the myocardium appeared to differentiate into cardiomyocytes. The persistence of the engrafted hMSCs and their in situ differentiation in the heart may represent the basis for using these adult stem cells for cellular cardiomyoplasty.


In this study, the radiation generated in the diagnosis of scoliosis, to solve the problems by using an infrared camera and an optical marker system that can diagnose scoliosis developed. System developed by the infrared camera attached to the optical spinal curvature is recognized as a marker to shoot the angle between the two optical markers are measured. Measurement of angle, we used the Cobb's Angle method used in the diagnosis of spinal scoliosis. We developed a software to be able to output to the screen using an infrared camera to diagnose spinal scoliosis. Software is composed of camera output unit was manufactured in Labview, angle measurement unit, in Cobb's Angle measurement unit. In the future, kyphosis, Hallux Valgus, such as the diagnosis of orthopedic disorders that require the use of a diagnostic system is expected case.


Sustained intestinal inflammation has been implicated in the development and progression of numerous diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Identifying mechanisms that regulate intestinal immune responses can provide insight into the pathogenesis of these disorders and present new therapeutic targets.
 Regulator of G protein Signaling 10 (RGS10) is a GTPase-activating protein that alters proinflammatory activity in microglia, macrophages, and T cells and also regulates immune cell chemotaxis. Furthermore, RGS10 is protective in animal models of PD pathology and potentially deficient in human PD patients. These findings and the known involvement of the intestine in PD prompted an investigation of the function of RGS10 in the gut, a system in which it had not previously been examined.
 This study determined that RGS10 is expressed in intestinal epithelial cells and at higher levels in intestinal immune cells where it acts as an anti-inflammatory regulator. RGS10-null mice exhibit greater baseline intestinal inflammation, compromised tight junction integrity, and altered microbiota composition with greater abundances of pathobionts compared to WT mice. These changes are physiologically relevant, as RGS10-deficient animals exhibit more severe pathology in response to intestinal injury and inflammation than do their WT counterparts. Levels of α-synuclein – the protein that aggregates in brains and colons of PD patients – are also higher in the intestine of RGS10-null mice, likely as a result of chronic inflammation. This study identifies RGS10 as a novel regulator of mucosal immune function and suggests that reduced levels of this protein may contribute to pathology in human disease.


DNA cytophotometry was used to obtain the relative DNA content of mitotic chromosomes of Orytolagus cuniculus. DNA ranking of the rabbit chromosomes is presented, and related to the quinacrine and Giemsa-banded karyotype. In addition, the relative DNA content of the short and long arms of each chromosome was calculated and the DNA-based centromeric index, (i.e., the ratio of long-arm DNA to total chromosomal DNA) determined. The Y chromosome is clearly a submetacentric chromosome on the basis of the DNA measurements.


Background Although the various groups of people living with HIV (PLWHIV) considerably differ regarding socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics, their specificities regarding tobacco smoking have been poorly investigated. We aimed to assess patterns of tobacco consumption across the various groups of PLWHIV and to compare them to the general population, accounting for the specific socioeconomic profile of PLWHIV. Methods We used data of the ANRS-Vespa2 study, a national representative survey on PLWHIV conducted in France in 2011. Prevalence of past and current tobacco consumption, heavy smoking and strong nicotine dependence were assessed among the various groups of PLWHIV as defined by transmission category, gender and geographic origin, and compared to the French general population using direct standardization and multivariate Poisson regression models, accounting for gender, age, education and geographic origin. Results Among the 3,019 participants aged 18–85 years (median time since HIV diagnosis: 12 years), 37.5% were current smokers and 22.1% were past smokers, with marked differences across the various groups of PLWHIV. Compared to the general population, the prevalence of regular smoking was increased among HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) (adjusted prevalence rate ratio (aPRR): 1.19, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.07–1.32), French-native women (aPRR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.10–1.57), and heterosexual French-native men (although not significantly, aPRR: 1.19, 95% CI: 0.98–1.45). Additionally, HIV-infected MSM were significantly less likely to be ex-smokers (aPRR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.64–0.82) than the general population and similar trends were observed among heterosexual French-native men (aPRR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.78–1.02) and women (aPRR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.70–1.01). HIV-infected sub-Saharan African migrants were less likely to be regular smokers than the general population. Conclusions Smoking constitutes a major concern in various groups of PLWHIV in France including MSM and heterosexual French-natives, probably resulting from PLWHIV being less likely to quit smoking than their counterparts in the general population.


Given the enormous social and economic costs of alcohol-related violence, understanding the causal processes that give rise to the relationship between alcohol and violence is of paramount importance. McMurran provides a valuable contribution to this literature by offering a conceptually coherent, empirically grounded, and plausible model of the relationship between anxiety, alcohol intoxication, and aggression (McMurran, 2011, pp. 357-371). In this commentary, I first look more narrowly at the proposed causal relationships that link anxiety problems with aggression via alcohol use, suggesting that although they are largely consistent with McMurran's thesis there may be scope to build yet more complexity into the model. In the second part of the commentary, I consider the nature of both anxiety and aggression within the broader framework of our evolutionary history and argue that considering the adaptive functions of anxiety and aggression may contribute to our understanding of the proposed links with alcohol use. In particular, I highlight the potential value of disaggregating the links between anxiety, alcohol use, and aggression by gender, and type of violence. Language: en


FAN1 nuclease is a modifier of repeat expansion diseases, including Huntington's disease (HD), fragile X syndrome, and autism. The age of HD onset correlates with ongoing 'inchworm-like' repeat expansions (1-3 CAG units/event) in HD brains, and is regulated by three modifiers: The first two, repeat tract length and purity exert their effects by enhancing and slowing CAG expansions, respectively, by affecting the formation of slipped-DNAs — mutagenic intermediates of instability; which are processed to expansions by the third modifiers, DNA repair proteins. FAN1 protects against hyper-expansions of repeats, by unknown mechanisms. We show FAN1, through iterative cycles bound, dimerized and cleaved slipped-DNAs, yielding striking patterns of distinct exo-nuclease pauses along slip-outs; 5′-C↓A↓GC↓A↓G-3′ and 5′-C↓T↓G↓C↓T↓G-3′. The transcriptionally-displaced CAG strand was excised slower than its complementary CTG strand, required A•A and T•T mismatches, as fully-paired hairpins arrested excision progression, while disease-delaying CAA interruptions further slowed FAN1 excision. In contrast, endo-nucleolytic cleavage was insensitive to slip-outs. Rare FAN1 variants were found in autism individuals with CGG/CCG repeat expansions. Excision of CGG/CCG slip-outs were similarly excised, with CGG being slower than CCG. The slip-out specific ligand, Naphthyridine-Azaquinolone, shown to induce contractions of expanded repeats in cells, required FAN1 for its effect, and protected slip-outs from FAN1's exo- but not endo-nucleolytic digestion. FAN1's 'inchworm' pausing of slip-out excision is suited to minimize incremental expansions and modulating disease onset.


This conceptual paper considers aspects of a highly neglected topic: that of Islamic perspectives in social work education and practice. The paper seeks to illuminate both religiously informed values, together with those of practice, in addition to considering types of professional intervention that complement the generalised characteristics of Muslim families. The scale of problems that impact upon Muslim communities in Britain are closely considered, specifically in relation to deprivation, social alienation and domestic violence. In addition, health issues are reviewed in terms of mental health and disability.


The clinicopathologic features of a case of cardiac tamponade as the initial presentation of extracardiac malignancy is reported and compared with those of previously reported cases. The lung was the site of the primary tumor in 58% of the cases. Irrespective of the sites of the primary tumor, mediastinal involvement or intrapulmonary metastases or both were documented in 88% of the cases. Examinations of the pericardial fluid and pericardiectomy specimen were negative in a considerable number of cases. Therefore, careful examination of the mediastinum and the accessible lung tissue at the time of pericardiectomy may reveal the malignant nature of the disease which may otherwise remain undiagnosed.


CO2 capture and storage(CCS) are required for coal‐fired power plants, which are major sources of anthropogenic CO2 emission. In this study, energy, exergy, environment, and economic (4E) analyses were performed for a 500‐MWe oxy‐coal ultra‐supercritical circulating fluidized‐bed (CFB) power plant with CO2 capture. The effect of the location of flue‐gas recirculation (FGR) on the 4E values was investigated for wet FGR (wFGR) at 170°C, dry FGR (dFGR) at 68°C, and 80% wet and 20% dry FGR (wdFGR). The net electricity efficiencies of the wFGR and dFGR power plants were 37% and 36%, respectively. The exergy loss was the largest in the combustor and boiler area, where process improvement was possible. The levelized cost of electricity was approximately 60 $/MWh. The return on investment was 6.7% and 6.1%/y for the wFGR and dFGR plants, respectively. The CO2 emission rate decreased by 90% (from 690 to 76 kg‐CO2/MWh) in the oxy‐coal power plants with CO2 capture. Relative to the wFGR, the dFGR was advantageous for preventing material corrosion because of the lower sulfur content in the FGR stream. For the wdFGR power plant, the process performance was intermediate, that is, between that of the wFGR plant and that of the dFGR plant. The study provided an effective tool for identifying the technological and economic effects of the FGR location for the oxy‐coal power plant with CCS via 4E analyses.


— Online social networks (OSNs) are popular collaboration and communication tools for millions of users and their friends. Unfortunately, in the wrong hands, they are also effective tools for executing spam campaigns and spreading malware. Intuitively, a user is more likely to respond to a message from a Facebook friend than from a stranger, thus making social spam a more effective distribution mechanism than traditional email. In fact, existing evidence shows malicious entities are already attempting to compromise OSN account credentials to support these "high - return" spam campaigns. Recently, there has been much excitement in the research community over using social networks to mitigate multiple identity, or Sybil, attacks. A number of schemes have been proposed, but they differ greatly in the algorithms they use and in the networks upon which they are evaluated. As a result, the research community lacks a clear


Marine species live in a wide diversity of environments and yet, because of their pelagic life stages, are thought to be well-connected: they have high migration rates that inhibit significant population structure. Recent innovations in sequencing technologies now provide information on nucleotide polymorphisms at thousands to tens of thousands of loci based on whole genomes, reduced representative portions of genomes (0.1-1%) or a majority of expressed mRNAs. Data from these genomic approaches are used to define and quantify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These SNP data tend to agree with data from older technologies (allozymes or microsatellites), which support well-connected populations with few genetic differences among populations. However, these studies also find few percentages of SNPs (1-5%) that readily distinguish genetic differences among populations on relatively small geographic scales. The magnitudes of the genetic differences (FST values) suggest that hundreds of loci with significant differences are due to positive selective pressures. Thus, these data suggest that natural selection is effectively altering allele frequencies at 100s of loci in marine populations. In this manuscript, we provide examples of these studies, the strengths and weaknesses of different genomic approaches as well as important technical aspects associated with genomic approaches.


Biporous wicks are an effective means for facilitating evaporation in heat pipes used for electronics cooling. They facilitate boiling within the wick by having two distinct size distributions of pores; the smaller pores provide high capillary pressure to pump liquid to the surface while the larger pores maintain high vapor permeability. The wicks investigated in this study were sintered copper biporous material. The authors previously presented a validated statistical model, based on work by Kovalev, which could predict the performance of biporous wicks tested at UCLA with reasonable accuracy [1]. Using this model, the author was able to gain new insight into the effect that the numerical estimate of liquid saturation of the wick has on dry out. The pore size distribution allows the determination of the capillary pressure available inside the wick and the Kovalev model provides the required pressure drop to supply liquid water to the heater surface. This led to a method of predicting dry out by comparing the capillary pressure in the wick to the required pressure drop from the model to estimate when the wick was dried out.When the required pressure drop determined by code exceeds the peak effective capillary pressure provided by the wick, the large pores of the wick are considered to be dry. These values are correlated to the input heat flux to determine what at what input power the wick begins to dry out. While the wick will not fail in this mode, the overall heat transfer coefficient will have peaked. In this work, this method of determining dry out will be validated against wicks tested at UCLA by comparing the input powers at which this dry out phenomenon occurs. Accurate predictions of dry out and the role of the pore size distribution are critical in developing methods to delay dry out of biporous wicks. By comparing the relative dry out points of various wick geometries to each other, augmented wick geometries can be suggested for future work. This modeling tool can lay the foundation for future tailoring of biporous evaporator wicks to specific tasks.© 2013 ASME


HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS
Floor-of-the-mouth cancer had been diagnosed and surgically treated in a 55-year-old man 4 years before the latest admission. For the last 3 years he had been fed through a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). Since then he had experienced reflux oesophagitis which was being treated with aluminium-containing antacids. He was hospitalized for the surgical treatment of bilateral fractures of the neck of the femur. A surgical biopsy revealed osteomalacia but no metastasis.

INVESTIGATIONS
The serum phosphate level was significantly reduced (0.21 mmol/l) and there was no detectable phosphate excretion in the 24-hour urine. Serum calcium concentration was unremarkable, but there was hypercalciuria (34.4 mmol/d). Alkaline phosphate activity was significantly raised (393 U/l) and parathormone level reduced (7 ng/l). Vitamin D concentration was unremarkable.

TREATMENT AND COURSE
The phosphate content in the parenteral feed was at first increased and additional phosphate was given by mouth. The calcium and phosphate levels slowly became normal only after medication had been changed from antacids to H2-blockers.

CONCLUSIONS
In this case osteomalacia was caused not by vitamin D deficiency but by a lack of phosphate. The reduced intestinal phosphate absorption by the antacids only partially explains the pronounced clinical signs. If antacids are taken over long periods the phosphate balance should be carefully monitored to avoid osteomalacia.


Feral: one of four stories published in Current Narratives, 4, 2014. This journal article is available in Current Narratives: http://ro.uow.edu.au/currentnarratives/vol1/iss4/10