BACKGROUND
Insulin resistance (IR) contributes to the development of glucose intolerance (post-transplant diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance) following renal transplantation. Furthermore, endothelial dysfunction (ED) is associated with IR. Glucose intolerance, IR and ED are all independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, treatment with insulin sensitizers may benefit glucose-intolerant renal transplant recipients. The main objectives of the present study were to investigate the effect of 4 weeks' treatment with the PPAR-gamma agonist rosiglitazone on insulin sensitivity, plasma glucose and endothelial function in renal transplant recipients with glucose intolerance. Safety parameters were also addressed.

METHODS
A total of 10 glucose-intolerant renal transplant recipients were treated with rosiglitazone (initially 4 mg/day increasing to 8 mg/day after 1 week). A hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic glucose clamp, an oral glucose tolerance test and endothelial function assessment with laser Doppler flowmetry were performed both at baseline and at follow-up.

RESULTS
Treatment with rosiglitazone was followed by a significantly improved mean glucose disposal rate (from 6.5 to 9.1 g/kg/min; P = 0.02) and a significant decline in fasting and 2 h plasma glucose (from 6.4 to 5.8 mmol/l, P = 0.01 and from 14.2 to 10.6 mmol/l, P = 0.03, respectively). Furthermore, a significant improvement in endothelial function was demonstrated (AUC(ACh); from 389 to 832 AU x min, P = 0.04). No serious adverse events or hypoglycaemic episodes were observed.

CONCLUSIONS
Four weeks' treatment with rosiglitazone was associated with increased insulin sensitivity, lowered fasting and 2 h plasma glucose and improved endothelial function in renal transplant recipients with glucose intolerance. The drug was well tolerated and may be a good alternative for treating these patients.


The purpose of this research was to determine the rutting effect of asphalt mixture by adding wasted tires as a substitution of granular material. The study started with a description of granular material, asphalt and plastic wasted properties, followed by the result of the optimum asphalt binder content obtained in the Marshall test. It concludes with the Marshall tests performance and rutting adding wasted tires as a substitute of granular material. Wasted rubber was introduced in three different geometrical shapes: powder pieces of rubber of 1.5 centimeters long and a combination of powder and pieces. The results obtained showed that there is a reduction on permanent deformation of 13% by using powder of rubber and 23% by using pieces of rubber.


A field study was conducted in two Kharif seasons 1995 and 1996 on a sandy clay loam soil to see the effect of different NPK levels and N-application techniques on kernel dimensions of fine rice, Basmati-385. Maximum kernel length in primary and secondary branches of panicle was obtained with NPK level of 180-90-90 kg ha', whereas minimum was obtained with 60-0-0 kg ha". However, other kernel dimensions such as kernel width, kernel thickness and length/width ratio were not significantly influenced by different NPK levels. Nitrogen application technique N3( 1/3 N at transplanting + 1/3 at tillering + 1/3 at panicle initiation) resulted in maximum kernel length, kernel thickness and length/width ratio in primary branches and kernel length and kernel thickness in secondary branches of panicle during both the study years.


Infrastructure is an important driving force for economic growth. It reduces trade and transaction costs and stimulates the productivity of the economy. Africa has been lagging behind in the global manufacturing market. Among others, infrastructure is an important constraint in many African countries. Using firm-level data for East Africa, the paper reexamines the relationship between firm performance and infrastructure. It is shown that labor costs are by far the most important to stimulate firm production. Among the infrastructure sectors, electricity costs have the highest output elasticity, followed by transport costs. In addition, the paper shows that the quality of infrastructure is important to increase firm production. In particular, quality transport infrastructure seems to be essential. The paper also finds that agglomeration economies can reduce firm costs. The agglomeration elasticity is estimated at 0.03–0.04.


Background: Chromosomal aneuploidy has been identified as a prognostic factor in the majority of sporadic carcinomas. However, it is not known how chromosomal aneuploidy affects chromosome-specific protein expression in particular, and the cellular proteome equilibrium in general. Objective: The aim was to detect chromosomal aneuploidy-associated expression changes in cell clones carrying trisomies found in colorectal cancer. Methods: We used microcell-mediated chromosomal transfer to generate three artificial trisomic cell clones of the karyotypically stable, diploid, yet mismatch-deficient, colorectal cancer cell line DLD1 - each of them harboring one extra copy of either chromosome 3, 7 or 13. Protein expression differences were assessed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, compared to whole-genome gene expression data, and evaluated by PANTHER classification system and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). Results: In total, 79 differentially expressed proteins were identified between the trisomic clones and the parental cell line. Up-regulation of PCNA and HMGB1 as well as down-regulation of IDH3A and PSMB3 were revealed as trisomy-associated alterations involved in regulating genome stability. Conclusions: These results show that trisomies affect the expression of genes and proteins that are not necessarily located on the trisomic chromosome, but reflect a pathway-related alteration of the cellular equilibrium.


When people describe themselves by responding to personality questionnaires, typically they endorse some items and reject others. Further, most people endorse likable traits and reject unlikeable traits. In one case, people use previously stored information about themselves to judge that a particular trait--usually likable--describes them well, and in the other, they use previously stored information to judge that a particular trait--usually unlikeable--does not describe them well. Here we report evidence that these processes are neurally dissociable, with the former benefiting from engaging left-hemisphere processes and the latter benefiting from engaging right-hemisphere processes. Hemispheric asymmetries in self-description are not unidirectional and do not differ across different personality traits, but do differ between endorsing likable items and rejecting unlikeable items. Thus, we are not dispassionate observers of ourselves. Dissociable, basic motivational processes are involved in the neural architecture underlying self-description.


With Washington still embroiled in the debt ceiling debate and no momentum for a new transportation reauthorization bill, we get a glimpse this week at the potential cost of doing nothing to improve America's infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) issues a new report today entitled "Failure to Act: The Economic Impact of Current Investment Trends in Surface Transportation Infrastructure." [2] The report indicates that not only are American households and businesses absorbing enormous costs today as a result of deteriorating infrastructure, over the next 30 years these costs could further reduce America's productivity and competitiveness in the world, cause millions of Americans to forgo discretionary purchases in order to pay transportation costs that could have been avoided, cause the U.S. to lose out on creating jobs in high paying services and manufacturing industries, produce a significant drain on wages and productivity and result in the United States losing billions of dollars in foreign exports.


Serotonin has been implicated as a modulator of feeding behavior. This experiment was designed to alter brain serotonin levels through dietary means in hypothalamic ventromedial-lesioned and unlesioned rats. Daily food, water, and animal weights were measured. The purpose was to determine if VMH lesions altered the feeding pattern found in unlesioned rats. Although food intake for tryptophanenriched diets and tryptophan-deficient diets did not differ from their respective control groups, in some cases gross animal weights did differ significantly between experimental and control groups and between lesioned and unlesioned groups. A proposed model explains how a "low" energy signal and a "high" protein signal cycles amino acids through gluconeogenesis to comPensate for an energy deficit.


Three-dimensional computer codes have been used to develop quasisymmetric stellarators with modular coils that are promising candidates for a magnetic fusion reactor. The mathematics of plasma confinement raises serious questions about the numerical calculations. Convergence studies have been performed to assess the best configurations. Comparisons with recent data from large stellarator experiments serve to validate the theory.


The unipolar nature of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) combined with the capabilities of electronic and photonic bandstructure engineering leads to unprecedented design flexibility and functionality for a variety of applications. The author first reviews the state-of-the art performance across the mid-IR and far-IR spectrum and advances in commercial applications. Recent exciting developments on new coherent light sources with an active nonlinear medium that combines internal pumping with a giant resonant optical nonlinearity to achieve high conversion efficiency (second harmonic generators, Raman lasers, etc) will be presented. The talk concludes with a discussion of terahertz, ultrabroadband, and "holey"/photonic crystal QCLs along with potential applications


A simple nA/V CMOS transconductor for low-frequency gm-C filters is presented. To benefit from the lowest gm/ID ratio, input transistors operate in the triode region, with gm adjusted by their (W/L) and VDS, the latter a tuning-voltage replica. Since VDS surmounts the equivalent noise of the replica circuit, excellent control of gm is attained. Simulations support theoretical analysis. A 5Hz bandpass filter was designed, featuring SNR=59.2 dB for THD<1% at 150 mV and 17 nW consumption.


Partial nucleotide sequences of the citrate synthase and 17-kDa genes of Rickettsia helvetica were detected from peripheral blood samples of Sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) in Hokkaido, Japan. Results suggest the presence of a rickettsiemia associated with R. helvetica. This is the first evidence of R. helvetica infection in Sika deer and indicates that this species may represent a potential reservoir host of R. helvetica in Japan.


Obesity is a common disease over the world and is tightly associated with diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular and cancer disease. Although our previous study showed that the synthetic vanadium-protein (V-P) complex had a better effect on antioxidant and antidiabetic, the relative molecular mechanisms are still entirely unknown. Hence, we investigated the effect of the synthetic V-P complex on adipocyte differentiation (adipogenesis) using human preadipocytes to clarify its molecular mechanisms of action. The primary human preadipocytes were cultured with and without V-P complex during adipocyte differentiation. The cell proliferation, lipid accumulation, and the protein expression of transcription factors and related enzymes were determined for the differentiated human preadipocytes. In this study, the 20 μg/mL of V-P complex reduced the lipid and triglyceride (TG) content by 74.47 and 57.39% (p < 0.05), respectively, and down-regulated the protein expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPα), sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP-1) and fatty acid synthase (FAS). Additionally, the V-P complex significantly up-regulated the protein levels of total β-catenin (t-β-catenin), nuclear β-catenin (n-β-catenin), phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase alpha (p-AMPKα) and liver kinase B1 (p-LKB1). These showed that the inhibitory effect of V-P complex on human adipogenesis was mediated by activating Wnt/β-catenin and LKB1/AMPK-dependent signaling pathway. Therefore, the synthetic V-P complex could be considered as a candidate for prevention and treatment of obesity.


Purpose This paper seeks to explore the question of how to investigate the contribution of the operational network (comprising sales service, logistics, planning, production, etc.) to operational performance. In doing so, the paper aims to link concepts from organisational and social psychology to production planning and control. Design/methodology/approach The paper introduces the concept "operational network", e.g. the network of people involved in customer and production order processing. Members of the operational network need some autonomy, but this autonomy may also lead to dysfunctional behaviour, due to conflicts of interest, ambiguities and individual preferences. The contribution of the operational network seems difficult to investigate. This is illustrated by an empirical study of the role of operational people in a semi-process industry. This study shows that concepts of organisational psychology are very applicable here. However, most results relate perceived behaviour to perceived performance; it appeared to be difficult to relate actual organisation characteristics to actual performance. This paper discusses the research approach that is necessary to be able to fill the gap between "perceived" and "actual". Findings - To fill the gap between "perceived" and "actual" behaviour, it is necessary to formalize the behaviour of the members of the operational network by adopting an adequate planning and control framework. In most situations such a planning and control framework is not available. Therefore, a study of the role of the operational network needs to be accompanied by a participative design of the planning and control framework. Originality/value - This paper conducts a convincing investigation into the contribution of the operational network to operational performance, a subject which hitherto has been only marginally addressed. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.


. The ecosystem-atmosphere flux of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) has important impacts on tropospheric oxidative capacity and the formation of secondary organic aerosols, influencing air quality and climate. Here 10 we present within-canopy measurements of a set of dominant BVOCs in a managed spruce- and pine-dominated boreal forest located at the ICOS station Norunda in Sweden, collected using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) during 2014-2016, and vertical emission profiles derived from these data. Ozone concentrations were simultaneously measured in conjunction with these PTR-MS measurements. The main BVOCs investigated with the PTR-MS were isoprene, monoterpenes, methanol, acetaldehyde, and acetone. The distribution of BVOC sources and sinks in the forest 15 canopy was explored using Lagrangian dispersion matrix methods, in particular continuous near-field theory. The forest canopy was found to contribute ca. 86% to the total monoterpene emission in summertime, whereas the below-canopy and canopy emission was comparable (ca. 42% and 58% respectively) during the autumn period. This result indicates that boreal forest litter and other below-canopy emitters are a principleprincipal source for total forest monoterpene emissions during autumn months. During night, our results for methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde seasonally present strong sinks in the 20 forest canopy, especially in the autumn, likely due to the nighttime formation of dew on vegetation surfaces.


We investigated the physicochemical properties and physiological activities of glasswort juice fermented naturally for different periods of time. Glasswort juice fermented for six years (LFGJ) showed higher crude fiber and lower NaCl content than glasswort juice fermented for two years (SFGJ). Fermented glasswort juice contained K, Mg, and Ca as the main minerals, and the mineral content in both SFGJ and LFGJ were similar. The main free amino acids of fermented glasswort juice were determined to be alanine, proline, aspartic acid, and lysine. The leucine and aspartic acid content in LFGJ was higher than that in SFGJ. SFGJ had higher 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2`-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical-scavenging activities than LFGJ. Fermented glasswort juice showed high ACE inhibition and -glucosidase inhibition activities regardless of how long it was fermented. An oral glucose tolerance test was carried out in rats fed diets containing 4% NaCl (control) or 4% NaCl+2% LFGJ (LFGJ). The LFGJ group showed enhanced glucose tolerance compared to the control group.


Abstract. Interactions between shallow groundwater and land surface processes play an important role in the ecohydrology of riparian zones. Some recent land surface models (LSMs) incorporate groundwater-land surface interactions using parameterizations at varying levels of detail. In this paper, we examine the sensitivity of land surface evapotranspiration (ET) to water table depth, soil texture, and two commonly used soil hydraulic parameter datasets using four models with varying levels of complexity. The selected models are Hydrus-1D, which solves the pressure-based Richards equation, the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS), which simulates interactions among multiple soil layers using a (water-content) variant of the Richards equation, and two forms of a steady-state capillary flux model coupled with a single-bucket soil moisture model. These models are first evaluated using field observations of climate, soil moisture, and groundwater levels at a semi-arid site in south-central Nebraska, USA. All four models are found to compare reasonably well with observations, particularly when the effects of groundwater are included. We then examine the sensitivity of modelled ET to water table depth for various model formulations, node spacings, and soil textures (using soil hydraulic parameter values from two different sources, namely Rawls and Clapp-Hornberger). The results indicate a strong influence of soil texture and water table depth on groundwater contributions to ET. Furthermore, differences in texture-specific, class-averaged soil parameters obtained from the two literature sources lead to large differences in the simulated depth and thickness of the "critical zone" (i.e., the zone within which variations in water table depth strongly impact surface ET). Depending on the depth-to-groundwater, this can also lead to large discrepancies in simulated ET (in some cases by more than a factor of two). When the Clapp-Hornberger soil parameter dataset is used, the critical zone becomes significantly deeper, and surface ET rates become much higher, resulting in a stronger influence of deep groundwater on the land surface energy and water balance. In general, we find that the simulated sensitivity of ET to the choice of soil hydraulic parameter dataset is greater than the sensitivity to soil texture defined within each dataset, or even to the choice of model formulation. Thus, our findings underscore the need for future modelling and field-based studies to improve the predictability of groundwater-land surface interactions in numerical models, particularly as it relates to the parameterization of soil hydraulic properties.


The matched interface and boundary method (MIB) and ghost fluid method (GFM) are two well-known methods for solving elliptic interface problems. Moreover, they can be coupled with efficient time advancing methods, such as the alternating direction implicit (ADI) methods, for solving time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs) with interfaces. However, to our best knowledge, all existing interface ADI methods for solving parabolic interface problems concern only constant coefficient PDEs, and no efficient and accurate ADI method has been developed for variable coefficient PDEs. In this work, we propose to incorporate the MIB and GFM in the framework of the ADI methods for generalized methods to solve two-dimensional parabolic interface problems with variable coefficients. Various numerical tests are conducted to investigate the accuracy, efficiency, and stability of the proposed methods. Both the semi-implicit MIB-ADI and fully-implicit GFM-ADI methods can recover the accuracy reduction near interfaces while maintaining the ADI efficiency. In summary, the GFM-ADI is found to be more stable as a fully-implicit time integration method, while the MIB-ADI is found to be more accurate with higher spatial and temporal convergence rates.


We use a nonlinear dynamics approach to study the deterministic behavior of ultrapure microwave generators referred to as optoelectronic oscillators. In conventional studies, the standard nonlinear effects are very strongly rejected because they generate harmonics of the microwave frequency that are definitely out of the selective oscillator bandwidth. However, we show that the nonlinearity still affects the slowly varying dynamics of microwave envelope, thereby inducing dynamical instabilities within the oscillator bandwidth. Starting from a full integro-differential model, we use the multiple timescales method to build a delay-differential equation for the slowly varying complex envelope of the microwave. Then, the corresponding stationary solutions are derived, and the stability of their amplitude and phase is investigated in detail as a function of the feedback gain. We evidence essential bifurcation phenomena, and, in particular, we demonstrate that the generated microwave may turn unstable if the gain is increased beyond a precise critical value. This nonlinear dynamics approach, therefore, demonstrates that the amplitude of the ultrapure microwave's amplitude does not monotonously increase with the gain. The theoretical study is confirmed by numerical simulations and experimental measurements.


Nitroxide radical formations of deferoxamine mesylate (DFX) that is used clinically to treat iron-overload patients was examined by a tyrosine-tyrosinase reaction system as models of the H-atom transfer or proton-coupled electron transfer. When DFX was exposed to the tyrosine-tyrosinase reaction, nine-line ESR spectrum (g = 2.0063, hfcc; aN = 0.78 mT, aH(2) = 0.63 mT) was detected, indicating that the oxidation of DFX leads to a nitroxide radical. The signal intensity of the DFX radical increased dependently on the concentrations of tyrosine and tyrosinase. The amounts of DMPO-OH spin adducts via the tyrosine-tyrosinase reaction declined with DFX. Furthermore, mass spectra of an extra removed from the tyrosine-tyrosinase reaction mixture showed that the enzyme reactions might not be degradations of DFX. Therefore, there might be two types of DFX reaction passways, which could be through an internal electron transfer from tyrosine and hydrogen absorptions by ·OH directly.


Different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains are simultaneously or in succession involved in spontaneous wine fermentations. In general, few strains occur at percentages higher than 50% of the total yeast isolates (predominant strains), while a variable number of other strains are present at percentages much lower (secondary strains). Since S. cerevisiae strains participating in alcoholic fermentations may differently affect the chemical and sensory qualities of resulting wines, it is of great importance to assess whether the predominant strains possess a "dominant character." Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether the predominance of some S. cerevisiae strains results from a better adaptation capability (fitness advantage) to the main stress factors of oenological interest: ethanol and temperature. Predominant and secondary S. cerevisiae strains from different wineries were used to evaluate the individual effect of increasing ethanol concentrations (0-3-5 and 7% v/v) as well as the combined effects of different ethanol concentrations (0-3-5 and 7% v/v) at different temperature (25–30 and 35°C) on yeast growth. For all the assays, the lag phase period, the maximum specific growth rate (μmax) and the maximum cell densities were estimated. In addition, the fitness advantage between the predominant and secondary strains was calculated. The findings pointed out that all the predominant strains showed significantly higher μmax and/or lower lag phase values at all tested conditions. Hence, S. cerevisiae strains that occur at higher percentages in spontaneous alcoholic fermentations are more competitive, possibly because of their higher capability to fit the progressively changing environmental conditions in terms of ethanol concentrations and temperature.


One of the new methods to evaluate the sensitivity of the baroreceptor-heart rate (HR) reflex involves the use of power spectral analysis to calculate the transfer function between blood pressure and HR. We assess the applicability and reproducibility of the baroreflex gain estimated by this method with traditional invasive techniques that induce ramp changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) in conscious rabbits. Renal sympathetic nerve activity recordings are used to identify the mid-frequency band, and we also identify coherent fluctuations of MAP and HR with a 1.8 s phase delay, consistent with a baroreflex relationship and therefore appropriate to estimate the cross spectral transfer function.


The data on the synthesis, physicochemical and catalytic properties of mesoporous titanium silicate materials published to date are surveyed. The relationship between the structure of these materials and their catalytic properties in the liquid-phase selective oxidation of organic compounds with peroxides is considered. The emphasis is placed on the problems of stability of mesoporous titanium silicate catalysts and the possibility of their recycling.


A general methodology, based on a hierarchical model of interpreters, is presented for formally verifying RISC cores. The abstraction levels used by a designer in the implementation of RISC cores, namely the instruction set level, the pipeline stage level, the phase level and the hardware implementation, are mirrored by this hierarchical model. The use of this model allows us to successively prove the correctness between two neighboring levels of abstractions, so that the verification process is simplified. The parallelism in the execution of the instructions, resulting from the pipelined architecture of RISCs is handled by splitting the proof into simplified steps. The first step shows that, under certain assumptions, no conflicts can occur between simultaneously executed instructions, and the second step shows that each instruction is implemented correctly by the sequential execution of its pipeline steps.<<ETX>>


Fasting and postprandial plasma concentrations of glycine and taurine conjugates of cholic, chenodeoxycholic, and deoxycholic acid were measured by a high pressure liquid chromatography-enzymatic assay in nine healthy subjects. The mean value of each bile acid concentration increased significantly (2.4-4.7 times) in the postprandial period. The total glycine taurine ratio of 2.5 in the fasting state increased significantly to a maximum value of 3.3 at one to 1 1/2 hours postprandially and then declined. This shift in glycine taurine ratio shows, that the relative increase in concentrations of glycine conjugates exceeds the relative increase in concentrations of taurine conjugates in the early postprandial period, and supports the view that there is significant absorption of glycine conjugated bile acids from the proximal small intestine.


Automatic facial action detection is important, but no previous studies have evaluated pre-trained models on the accuracy of facial action detection as the angle of the face changes from frontal to profile. Using static facial images obtained at various angles (0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°), we investigated the performance of three automated facial action detection systems (FaceReader, OpenFace, and Py-feat). The overall performance was best for OpenFace, followed by FaceReader and Py-Feat. The performance of FaceReader significantly decreased at 45° compared to that at other angles, while the performance of Py-Feat did not differ among the four angles. The performance of OpenFace decreased as the target face turned sideways. Prediction accuracy and robustness to angle changes varied with the target facial components and action detection system.


The use of a Research Standard for human parathyroid hormone (PTH) in a collaborative study of 17 laboratories in ten countries is described. Results of the study showed that the Research Standard was not distinguishable by immunoreactive criteria from the other preparations and laboratory working standards of human PTH included in the study. It was, however, shown to be distinguishable from the International Reference Preparation for Parathyroid Hormone, Bovine, for Immunoassay by immunoreactive criteria and by heterogeneity of estimates in terms of bovine PTH. The Research Standard had appropriate biological activities in three different in-vitro bioassay systems and appeared to be stable under conditions of accelerated degradation. This material in ampoules coded 75/549 is now available internationally as N.I.B.S.C. Research Standard for human PTH for immunoassay.


In the pathophysiology of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC), scleral changes inducing increased venous outflow resistance are hypothesized to be involved. This work aims to investigate anterior scleral thickness (AST) as a risk factor for pachychoroid disorders. A randomized prospective case-control study was performed at the Ludwig Maximilians University, Department of Ophthalmology. In patients with CSC or pachychoroid neovasculopathy (PNV) and in an age- and refraction-matched control group, swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) was used to measure anterior scleral thickness (AST). Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) was assessed using enhanced depth imaging OCT (EDI-OCT). In total, 46 eyes of 46 patients were included in this study, with 23 eyes in the CSC/PNV and 23 eyes in the control group. A significantly higher AST was found in the CSC/PNV compared with the control group (403.5 ± 68.6 (278 to 619) vs. 362.5 ± 62.6 (218 to 498) µm; p = 0.028). Moreover, the CSC/PNV group showed a higher SFCT (392.8 ± 92.8 (191–523) vs. 330.95 ± 116.5 (167–609) µm, p = 0.004). Compared with the age- and refraction-matched controls, patients with CSC and PNV showed a significantly thicker anterior sclera. Scleral thickness might contribute to the venous overload hypothesized to induce pachychoroid phenotypes.


This one-stop reference source on the most frequently requested, read and studied authors is uniquely structured. Volume One, "Authors", lists 2,800 writers throughout history: it provides the basic information of name, pseudonyms, birth and death dates and places, and a listing of his or her major publications arranged by genre. Volumes Two and Three, "Titles", lists tens of thousands of published works in alphabetical order. Entries provide the title as it is best known in English, the original title (if the work was originally published in a language other than English), author, date of first publication (and date of first English translation if the work was not written in English), genre, and any relevant notes--for purposes of identification (e.g., that the work is part of a series). The three volumes of the Fitzroy Dearborn Directory of Books and Authors are designed specifically for the reference librarian and provide an easy-to-use listing of virtually all the authors and works that librarians may be called to identify.


This work reports a universal influenza B virus vaccination strategy based on focusing antibody responses to conserved head and stalk epitopes of the hemagglutinin. Recombinant mosaic influenza B hemagglutinin proteins and recombinant viruses have been generated as novel vaccine candidates. This vaccine strategy provided broad cross-protection in the mouse model. Our findings will inform and drive development toward a more effective influenza B virus vaccine. ABSTRACT Influenza B viruses cause seasonal epidemics and are a considerable burden to public health. However, protection by current seasonal vaccines is suboptimal due to the antigenic changes of the circulating strains. In this study, we report a novel universal influenza B virus vaccination strategy based on "mosaic" hemagglutinins. We generated mosaic B hemagglutinins by replacing the major antigenic sites of the type B hemagglutinin with corresponding sequences from exotic influenza A hemagglutinins and expressed them as soluble trimeric proteins. Sequential vaccination with recombinant mosaic B hemagglutinin proteins conferred cross-protection against both homologous and heterologous influenza B virus strains in the mouse model. Of note, we rescued recombinant influenza B viruses expressing mosaic B hemagglutinins, which could serve as the basis for a universal influenza B virus vaccine. IMPORTANCE This work reports a universal influenza B virus vaccination strategy based on focusing antibody responses to conserved head and stalk epitopes of the hemagglutinin. Recombinant mosaic influenza B hemagglutinin proteins and recombinant viruses have been generated as novel vaccine candidates. This vaccine strategy provided broad cross-protection in the mouse model. Our findings will inform and drive development toward a more effective influenza B virus vaccine.


Introduction Human-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models of brain promise to advance our understanding of neurotoxic consequences of drug use. However, how well these models recapitulate the actual genomic landscape and cell function, as well as the drug-induced alterations, remains to be established. New in vitro models of drug exposure are needed to advance our understanding of how to protect or reverse molecular changes related to substance use disorders. Methods We engineered a novel induced pluripotent stem cell-derived model of neural progenitor cells and neurons from cultured postmortem human skin fibroblasts, and directly compared these to isogenic brain tissue from the donor source. We assessed the maturity of the cell models across differentiation from stem cells to neurons using RNA cell type and maturity deconvolution analyses as well as DNA methylation epigenetic clocks trained on adult and fetal human tissue. As proof-of-concept of this model's utility for substance use disorder studies, we compared morphine- and cocaine-treated neurons to gene expression signatures in postmortem Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD) brains, respectively. Results Within each human subject (N = 2, 2 clones each), brain frontal cortex epigenetic age parallels that of skin fibroblasts and closely approximates the donor's chronological age; stem cell induction from fibroblast cells effectively sets the epigenetic clock to an embryonic age; and differentiation of stem cells to neural progenitor cells and then to neurons progressively matures the cells via DNA methylation and RNA gene expression readouts. In neurons derived from an individual who died of opioid overdose, morphine treatment induced alterations in gene expression similar to those previously observed in OUD ex-vivo brain tissue, including differential expression of the immediate early gene EGR1, which is known to be dysregulated by opioid use. Discussion In summary, we introduce an iPSC model generated from human postmortem fibroblasts that can be directly compared to corresponding isogenic brain tissue and can be used to model perturbagen exposure such as that seen in opioid use disorder. Future studies with this and other postmortem-derived brain cellular models, including cerebral organoids, can be an invaluable tool for understanding mechanisms of drug-induced brain alterations.


The teaching and learning process requires a realistic assessment plan to establish the level of knowledge and skills acquisition basing on teaching and learning objectives. The language used for instruction and assessment is important in achieving the objectives. This is a study on Makerere University Luganda student teachers whose classroom lectures and theory examinations are conducted in Luganda as the language of instruction (LOI) while their teaching practice (TP) is on the contrary assessed using English as the language of assessment (LOA). This paper advocates the use of Luganda as the language of instruction as well as the language of assessment during TP. Using multi-modal instruments in qualitative paradigm, data was collected from Luganda teacher trainees and supervisors to explore effects of the above TP assessment arrangement and propose remedies for effective and fair assessment. The findings indicated that the use of English to assess students teaching using Luganda was not right. The student teachers felt that the practice of being assessment using English as LOA with supervisors some of whom cannot even speak Luganda was unfair and unrealistic. To improve the TP exercise and future assessment of Luganda teacher trainees, it was recommended that Luganda should be used as LOA for Luganda language teacher trainees on TP.


The subject of a cogeneration plant modeling has already been discussed in the past, but mostly from the thermal and energy point of view. There are several aspects to be considered for assuring that the plant will operate satisfactorily. Furthermore, the increasing number of energy producers poses more and more attention to these types of plants and to their regulation mode. Among these aspects, particular care is devoted in this paper to the modeling and setting-up of gas turbine regulators, also because it is not generally such a trivial work to adapt existing software for large power systems' dynamic analysis to the requirements of combined-cycle power plants. On the basis of the specialized literature, a detailed model for the regulator of a gas turbine unit is adopted, which includes speed, acceleration and temperature controls as well as inlet guide vanes' control. The proposed regulator is tested on a realistic industrial power plant with particular attention to parallel and isolated operation.


Polycrystalline aggregates formed in the glomerulus or other components of the urinary system represent the most critical step in kidney stone formation. The most common form of these crystals is calcium oxalate monohydrate (CaC2O4·H2O). Rutin is a potent antioxidant phytochemical, however, hydrophobicity and limited bioavailability restrain it from clinical applications. We developed a biocompatible amphiphilic triblock copolymer, PLGA-PEG-PLGA-loaded rutin nanorods, by simple and efficient self-assembly. Incorporation of polymer changed the topology of crystalline rutin into nanorods with non-Fickian sustained drug release kinetics by the Korsmeyer-Peppas model and thermodynamically non-spontaneous release of rutin. Rutin nanorods changed the growth and morphology of CaC2O4 crystals from the monohydrate to dihydrate form by increased adsorption and specific surface area from 0.8027 to 5.4233 m2 g-1, respectively. Rutin nanorods restored cell viability and oxidative stress in MDCK cells by modulating OPN expression and counteracts the proinflammatory signaling in THP-1 macrophages triggered by CaC2O4 crystals (80 μg cm-2). Rutin nanorods resulted in significant protection in serum and urinary biochemistry with reduced calcifications and increased tissue viability of kidneys without any toxicity and achieved high bioavailability. Our data provide a facile strategy for the use of rutin nanorods as a targeted drug system to treat and prevent renal stone formations.


Stable high flux is a big challenge for oil/water separation membranes due to the adhesivity and spreadability of oil droplets. Membranes with hydrophilic modification usually have high basic flux, but suffer from a serious flux decline. Membranes with synergic hydrophilic and low-surface-energy (LSE) modification show a remarkably relieved flux decline, but at the expense of low basic flux. The LSE domains on membrane surfaces promote oil fouling release but hinder water permeation. In order to relieve the adverse side effects of LSE domains, this study focuses on the distribution of hydrophilic and LSE domains on membrane surfaces. Membranes with a fluorine island structure are prepared, in which LSE domains are discrete in sub-microscaled distribution, while hydrophilic domains are consecutive in a wide area. The diameters of oil droplets are much larger than those of water molecules; therefore, water molecules quickly permeate at consecutive hydrophilic domains, and oil droplets are still released by discrete LSE domains. The stable flux of the membranes is improved from 280 to 770 Lm−2 h−1 bar−1 just by the manipulation of domain distribution.


The process of layered additive manufacturing (AM) limits manufactured parts, which leads to the stair-step error, support structures and the anisotropy. Curved layer fused deposition modeling (CLFDM) has been proposed by researchers to alleviate these problems. However, to the best of our knowledge, available CLFDM mainly focuses on filling with the uniform extruded filament in the same layer. While intricate parts usually possess small and critical features, as well as manufacturing error and assembling error. Geometry accuracy and mechanical property of fused deposition modeling (FDM) parts are closely related to interlayer and interroad bonding. Therefore, inspired by nonuniform layers of the onion, this paper pays attention to CLFDM with variable extruded filament (VEF) in the layer and between adjacent layers innovatively, whereby the direction and the dimension of the extruded filament are variable. The literature review of slicing and path planning is given first to make readers better understand the current status and the research gap to highlight the innovation of this paper. Then, flat layer FDM and CLFDM with VEF are modeled, respectively, from the aspect of interlayer and interroad bonding. After that, the relationships among key process parameters are analyzed. Finally, the simulation is provided to verify the effectiveness and advantages of our method from a theoretical point of view. Generally, this research can be a foundation for CLFDM with VEF, and the preliminary research has shown broad applications.


Twenty-five patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) were studied in order to define the clinical, biological, electrophysiological and pathological features of this disease. There were 11 men and 14 women ranging in age from 15 to 82 years. The average follow-up was 43 months. Patients fulfilled the criteria laid down by Dyck et al. (1975), except that progression of weakness was at least 2 months and not 6. Fourteen patients had a progressive course and 11 a relapsing one. Weakness was almost constant (24/25), sensory impairment was present in 22/25 with deep sensation predominantly impaired. Areflexia was observed in all patients. A history of previous infection or other possible precipitating event was given by 7 patients. Cerebrospinal fluid examination showed a raised total protein count in 22 cases. Electrophysiological examination revealed a slowing down of nerve conduction velocities to an extent compatible with a demyelinating process in 23 cases; 2 patients only had prolongation of F-waves. Sural nerve biopsy was less informative: inflammatory process--the most specific finding--was observed in only 3 out of 20 biopsies. Six patients had benign forms or spontaneous remission, the others were treated with corticosteroids or with immunosuppressive drugs. Most patients (64%) recovered very well. Only one died during the time of study. Eight other patients were treated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulins and 4 of them improved with administrations at regular intervals to maintain the benefits observed. The occurrence of CIDP in association with other conditions is reviewed and we discuss its nosological position among the acquired demyelinating neuropathies.


This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 202996, "An Efficient Treatment Technique for Remediation of Phase-Trapping Damage in Tight Carbonate Gas Reservoirs," by Rasoul Nazari Moghaddam, SPE, Marcel Van Doorn, and Auribel Dos Santos, SPE, Nouryon, prepared for the 2020 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, held virtually 9–12 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
 Aqueous- and hydrocarbon-phase trapping are among the few formation-damage mechanisms capable of significant reduction in effective permeability (sometimes near 100%). In this study, a new chemical treatment is proposed for efficient remediation of water- or hydrocarbon-phase-trapping damage in low-permeability porous media. The method proposed here is cost-effective and experimentally proved to be efficient and long-lasting. Such a chemical treatment is recommended to alleviate gas flow in tight gas with aqueous-trapping-damaged zones or in gas condensate reservoirs with condensate-banking challenges.

 Remediation techniques for existing aqueous- or hydrocarbon-phase-trapping damage can be categorized into two approaches: bypassing the damaged region by direct penetration techniques and trapping-phase removal. In the former category, the damaged zone is bypassed by creation of high-conductance flow paths through hydraulic fracturing or acidizing. However, for tight and ultratight formations, conventional acidizing may not be feasible (mostly because of injectivity difficulties). In the second category, direct removal and indirect removal have been used, but usually are seen as short-term solutions.
 The fluid used in the proposed treatment is comprised of a nonacidic chelating agent. The treatment fluid can be injected safely into the damaged region, while a slow reaction rate allows it to penetrate deep into the formation. In the proposed treatment, the mechanism is the permanent enlargement of pore throats where the nonwetting phase has the most restriction (to overcome the capillary forces) to pass through. In fact, phase trapping or capillary trapping occurs inside the pore structure when viscous forces are not strong enough to overcome the capillary pressure.
 The experimental setup and method are detailed in the complete paper.

 Treatment of Outcrop Samples: Lueder Carbonate. The performance of the proposed treatment fluid initially was investigated on two outcrop core samples from the Lueder carbonate formation. The first treatment was conducted on the Le1 core sample with an absolute permeability of 1.46 md. To establish trapped water in the core, 10 pore volumes (PV) of 5 wt% potassium chloride brine were injected followed by nitrogen (N2) gas displacement. Then, to achieve irreducible water saturation, N2 was injected at a rate of 2 cm3/min for at least 100 PVs until no further water was produced.
 Next, the effective gas permeability was measured while N2 was injected at approximately 0.2 cm3/min. The effective gas permeability was obtained as 0.042 md. The trapped water saturation was also calculated (from the core weight) as 77.7%. After all pretreatment measurements, the core was loaded into the core holder for the treatment. The treatment injections with preflush and post-flush were performed at 130°C. In this test, 0.5 PV of treatment fluid was injected.


Background- Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic pathogen. The mucoid strains of this organism produce a hyperviscous glycocalyx (alginate) that provides a barrier against antimicrobial agents and the immune system, thereby increasing its virulence and antibiotic resistance. Methods- The in vitro activities of gentamicin, tobramycin and amikacin against 133 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were tested by a disk diffusion method. The Muir method was used for capsule staining and identifying mucoid and non-mucoid strains. Results- The mucoid strains (n = 43) were statistically significantly more resistant to amikacin, gentamicin and tobramycin than the non-mucoid strains (n = 90) (p = 0.001, 0.0002 and 0.009, respectively). Conclusion- Mucoid strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were more resistant to gentamicin, amikacin and tobramycin than non-mucoid strains. Therefore, these antimicrobial agents should be avoided in the treatment of mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.


We examined circulating plasma prolactin (PRL) levels in incubating Mountain Plovers, a shorebird of conservation concern with an uncommon parental care system where males and females tend to separate nests. We modeled PRL related to the sex of the incubating bird and examined how it varied throughout incubation and the nesting season. PRL levels were similar for incubating male and female Mountain Plovers. The mean circulating plasma PRL concentration for incubating female plovers was 32.40 ng/ml (n = 33) and ranged from 7.33 to 78.04 ng/ml. The mean for males was 29.36 ng/ml (n = 36) and there was greater variation in the samples with the lowest measured at 5.18 ng/ml and highest at 140.86 ng/ml. There was no relationship between day of incubation and the concentration of circulating PRL for either incubating female plovers or male plovers and day of incubation did not explain a significant proportion of the variance in PRL concentration for either sex (R2 = 0.002 and 0.034 respectively). There was no relationship between the Julian day of nesting season and concentration of circulating PRL for either sex and day of season did not explain a significant proportion of the variance for either females (R2 = 0.047) or males (R2 = 0.001). This study provides further information about the relationship between parental care and circulating PRL and the breeding biology of a shorebird of conservation concern.


The notion of the Yau sequence was introduced by Tomaru, as an attempt to extend Yau's elliptic sequence for (weakly) elliptic singularities to normal surface singularities of higher fundamental genera. We show some fundamental properties of the sequence. Among other things, it is shown that its length gives us the arithmetic genus for singular points of fundamental genus two. Furthermore, an upper bound on the geometric genus is given for certain surface singularities of degree one. The relation between the canonical cycle and the Yau cycle is also discussed.


Tax legislation included in the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 made large-scale investments in equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) more desirable to institutional investors. Other studies have observed an increased level of institutional ownership in REITs during the timeframe following passage of the act. Based on an analysis of equity REITs before and after passage of the Act, the present study finds that its passage coincided with a significant change in the role of unsystematic risk in the pricing of equity REITs.


Biotechnology is turning a traditionally low-tech industry (food) into a high-tech industry (functional food/nutraceuticals). There is a real need to enhance managerial understanding by clarifying the nature of innovation processes in the functional food industry, including the role of R&D and collaboration. The present investigation focuses on a particular segment of the functional food industry, viz. marine-based nutraceuticals. We find that various hurdles thwart the fullest realization of the business potential of marine bio-actives in the pharmaceutical space. However, the innovation of commercially viable marine-based nutraceuticals/ cosmeceuticals is yet possible if the extraction route for supply is a feasible fallback option, should industrial-scale synthesis prove elusive. Effectiveness in innovation is facilitated by the collaboration of various disciplines including epidemiology, traditional/folkloric medicine, aquaculture/ fermentation, natural products chemistry, and relevant strands of medical, pharmacological, and clinical research. In this regard, the inter-disciplinary field of ethno-pharmacology rises to prominence. Universities and government research institutes may be well-positioned to drive such collaboration and reap the benefits from problem definition in addition to problem solving. Towards this end, the findings from the present study are integrated into a phased approach towards the innovation of commercially viable marine-based nutraceuticals that is targeted at entrepreneurs in this field.


The relationship between abnormality in blood coagulation and Burn Index (B.I.) were examined in 174 patients treated in our department for trauma during past 7 years. Platelet counts decreased rapidly and became minimal at 3rd or 4th hospital day, but PT, APTT, fibrinogen and FDP were abnormal in many cases over 30% BSA only within 24 hours after thermal injury. The platelet counts at 3rd hospital day and PT within 24 hours were well correlated with Burn Index (platelet vs. B.I. r = 0.665, p less than 0.01; PT vs. B.I., r = 0.587, p less than 0.01). And PT was also well correlated with plasma total protein (r = 0.686, p less than 0.01). AT-III, plasminogen and alpha 2 PI had also a tendency of interrelation to plasma protein level. These data suggest that systemic intravascular coagulation does not commonly complicate immediately after thermal injury, although consumption of coagulation factors are mainly occurred at the site of burn and correlated with the loss of plasma protein.


ABSTRACT Introduction: The respiratory tract is constantly exposed to various environmental and endogenous microbes; however, unlike other similar mucosal surfaces, there has been limited investigation of the microbiome of the respiratory tract. Areas covered: In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge of the bacterial, fungal, and viral respiratory microbiomes during HIV infection and how the microbiome might relate to HIV-associated lung disease. Expert commentary: HIV infection is associated with alterations in the respiratory microbiome. The clinical implications of lung microbial dysbiosis are however currently unknown. Mechanistic studies are needed to establish causality between shifts in the respiratory microbiome and pulmonary complications in HIV-infected individuals.


We examined the effects of the phorbol ester phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on the rate of hexose transport into 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Exposure of adipocytes to PMA (1 microM) for 60 min results in a 1.7-2.5-fold increase in the rate of hexose transport. This effect was mediated by translocation of two isoforms of glucose transporters to the plasma membrane, as determined by labelling in situ, photoaffinity labelling with a membrane-impermeant glucose analogue, and by immunoblotting of subcellular fractions. The PMA-induced stimulation of both transport and transporter translocation was substantially less than that induced by insulin in this cell line; the PMA-induced increase in plasma-membrane GLUT 1 and GLUT 4 transporter isoforms was only about 40% and 10% respectively of that induced by insulin. We suggest that the stimulation of transport by insulin and PMA occurs via different mechanisms, which is manifested by the ability of insulin to induce a much greater increase in the plasma-membrane content of GLUT 4 compared with the phorbol ester.


In the heat-set printing drying process, the paper is exposed to oven drier temperatures of about 120-150 °C, so that the solvent in the printed ink film can evaporate. The printed paper is coated with a polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) emulsion by means of silicone rollers after drying. In this study, the influence of oven drying of the wet ink film and polydimethyl siloxane emulsion coating on the heat-set print quality parameters were investigated. For this purpose, CMYK printed coated papers were passed through a heat-set oven, where the wet ink film was dried, and then coated with PDMS emulsion. Tone value increase (TVI), color CIE L*a*b* and print gloss measurements were made and recorded by taking test print samples from each of the printing, drying and silicone emulsion coating processes. The results were discussed in terms of printability and print quality, and recommendations were made. It has been determined that oven drying reduces half-tone dot values in printed areas on coated papers. In addition, oven drying caused a significant change in black color. PDMS emulsion coating reduced print gloss, similarly to oven drying.


The possibility of using temporal analysis to find the relation between chromatic properties of probe radiation and coherent properties of the optical images of rough non-planar objects is substantiated. The analysis is based on the use of the time correlation function and on the study of the speckle pattern contrast in the optical images. The conditions are determined under which the different parts of the optical image of an object are coherent, partially coherent and incoherent, while probe radiation is manifested as monochromatic, quasi-monochromatic, and polychromatic. It is shown that these conditions depend considerably on the object surface shape. The use of the temporal analysis for three-dimensional imaging of an object by its planar images and improving the optical image quality by removing its speckle pattern is illustrated by examples.


Background : Supracondylar fractures are the most common elbow fractures in children and account for 3 to 7% of all fractures..

Objectives : The purpose of the study was to review and analyze the treatment pattern of supracondylar humerus fractures in children.

Methods : 112 children with supracondylar fractures were treated in the orthopaedic department of Rustaq Hospital, Oman between February 1998 and September 2003. 110 fractures were extension type while two were flexion type injuries and were not included in our study. Fractures were classified according to Gartland classification.

Results : Type I fractures were seen in 25 patients, Type II fractures in 50 patients and 35 patients had type III fractures. Indications for treatment were determined according to fracture type. Patients were divided into two groups Group A patients (Type I) were treated by external immobolisation with posterior cast slab application. Group B (Type II / III) patients underwent closed reduction with percutaneous Kirschner wire fixation. Two patients in group B where closed reduction was unsatisfactory underwent open reduction and internal fixation. In group A patients, 4 (16%) had neurapraxias whereas in group B patients transient neurologic complications were seen in 20% cases and iatrogenic nerve injury in 1.1% cases. All neurologic complications in group A and B resolved over a period of 4 months. Vascular compromise was noted in three cases in group B patients. Two cases recovered and one patient had Volkmann's Ischemia with subsequent sequelae. None of the patients in group A had any vascular injuries. 90% of operated patients had good functional outcome.

Conclusion : From our study we concluded that all manipulations should be performed immediately in order to avoid severe swelling, neurological or vascular complications. Indication for open reduction and internal fixation includes open fractures, unsatisfactory closed reduction and fractures associated with vascular injury.
 Keywords : Humerus, Supracondylar Fracture, Vascular Compromise Nigerian Journal of Orthopaedics and Trauma Vol. 6 (2) 2007: pp. 58-60


Forty-five SA Mutton Merino ewes, 2 to 5 years of age, were divided into three groups. Although all ewes received the same basic diet, the diet of one group (group M) was supplemented with molybdenum and that of another group (MS) with molybdenum and sulphate to induce a secondary copper deficiency. The third group (C) served as a control, and received the basic diet supplemented with copper. At the onset of the breeding season (October), oestrus was suppressed by the induced copper deficiency in groups M and MS. Progesterone concentrations in groups M and MS were lower (P ~ 0,05) than that in group C during the oestrous cycle and late pregnancy. Concentration of plasma cholesterol was not affected by the copper deficiency. Concentrations of total plasma copper in both groups M and MS declined during pregnancy whereas that of group C remained constant. Lambs born from ewes in groups M and MS were found to have low concentrations of copper in the plasma (12 f-LgCu/dl) and liver (2-20 f-LgCu/g DM), which resulted in poor growth and a high pre-weaning mortality rate.


In the paper the sequential nonlinear mapping has been investigated in order to reveal its features. The method was investigated by a plenty of experiments using various sorts of data. For illustrations there are presented results using "marginal" data: the first data gives the smallest mapping error, and the other data gives the largest one. The sequential nonlinear mapping has been investigated according ability to differ the data groups (clustering) when at the beginning the number of groups is taken to be less than really exists. It was showed that the sequential nonlinear mapping differs the groups of data well even though the number of them is taken to be less by one than really exists. The experiments show that the factor for correction co-ordinates on the plane for the sequential nonlinear mapping can be taken in the range from 0.25 to 0.75. Mapping errors depend on both the sort of initial conditions and the nature of data.


We propose to replace the rectangular select pulses in all the conventional addressing techniques with either trapezoidal or triangular select waveforms to reduce the power dissipated in rms responding liquid crystal displays. A realistic analysis that includes the distortion in the addressing waveforms is presented for trapezoidal, triangular profiles, as well as their equivalents in discrete domain viz. the multi-step profiles and the results are compared. Good brightness uniformity among pixels that are driven to same state is achieved as a spinoff of the analysis and application of a correction voltage at the end of the select pulses. Increase in hardware complexity and the cost is minimal because just the voltage level generator circuit is modified to achieve reduction in power dissipation with new waveform profiles.


The PRESENCE of a malabsorption syndrome in patients with cirrhosis has long been suspected. Mulnutrition, 1,2 portal hypertension, 3 lack of secretion of bile acids, 4-6 pancreatic disease 7-10 and mucosal changes of small intestine 3 have been listed as possible causes for malabsorption in patients with cirrhosis. A comprehensive evaluation of each of these aspects in the same patient is indeed wanting. The aim of this study is to detect the incidence of malabsorption in patients with Laennec's cirrhosis, and the possible cause of this defect. Materials and Methods Twenty patients with cirrhosis of the liver were studied. The diagnosis of Laennec's cirrhosis was established by needle biopsy of the liver. The clinical features of each patient were carefully recorded; presence of muscle wasting, ascites, portal hypertension, precoma and other signs of physical stigmata were noted. A complete liver function profile was done at fortnightly intervals. This included the determination of serum bilirubin, cephalin-cholesterol


We describe two projects currently underway at National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). The first is an inexpensive yet high-performance image acquisition system utilizing a low-cost firewire camera, a PMC firewire controller, EPICS [1] and the in-house written real-time RTEMS-mvme5500 Board Support Package. The BSP, EPICS, and RTEMS[2] software and firewire drivers demonstrate a high throughput of image display for the 1024x768x8bit mode of 30 frames per second (fps) of data transfer, while triggering EPICS display at 30 Hz simultaneously. The second is the readout system for the LCLS X-ray Active Matrix Pixel Sensor (XAMPS) detector. The specification of the detector readout requires a 1024x1024x14bit image to be stored to disk at 120 Hz, an average data rate of 252 Mega Bytes/sec. A faster SBC was chosen to be interfaced with a FPGA based PMC card and Fiber Channel storage system. This costeffective prototype will function efficiently and reliably as a data acquisition system for the implementation of the XAMPS detector developed at the NSLS. Modern software and the use of commercial hardware technology has cut our cost of both systems, and delivered excellent performance.


: Both planning and design of integrated municipal solid waste management systems require accurate prediction of waste generation. This research predicted the quantity and distribution of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) generation within a diverse "landscape" of residential areas, as well as from a variety of commercial establishments (restaurants, hotels, hospitals, etc .) in the Dublin (Ireland) region. Socio-economic variables, housing types, and the sizes and main activities of commercial establishments were hypothesized as the key determinants contributing to the spatial variability of BMW generation. A geographical information system (GIS) "model" of BMW generation was created using ArcMap, a component of ArcGIS 9. Statistical data including socio-economic status and household size were mapped on an electoral district basis. Historical research and data from the scientific literature were used to assign BMW generation rates to residential and commercial establishments. These predictions were combined to give overall BMW estimates for the region, which can aid waste planning and policy decisions. This technique will also aid the design of future waste management strategies as a function of demographic changes and development. By changing the input data, this estimation tool can be adapted for use in other locations.


Surveillance equipment, especially cameras and access-control devices, are increasingly introduced into homes and other private dwellings. Residents use the equipment in their daily lives in places where they are both operators and targets of these systems. Thus far, the concrete practices of these systems' use or the users' feelings towards them have not been investigated. This article sets out to examine the surveillance produced with home surveillance systems and the meanings and implications of that surveillance to the resident. The data consist of 13 interviews conducted in Finland with people who have installed surveillance systems in their homes. Through qualitative content analysis of the interviews, this article argues that five types of surveillance are produced with these systems. The first two types are comparable to traditional understanding of surveillance motivated by control and care. Besides these two, the equipment is used for recreational and communicational surveillance which are motivated by more playful purposes. The fifth type of surveillance analyzed here is 'sincere' surveillance. Domestic surveillance is sincere in the sense that the residents consider it, along with their motives for conducting it, innocent. The users as overseers wish to separate themselves from voyeurs. This article offers important insight into the everyday life practices of surveillance and expands our previous understanding of domestic surveillance. The surveillance produced with home surveillance systems needs to be understood more broadly than in mere control-care-setting. The playful and entertaining usages of the systems, however, do not remove the ambiguities of domestic surveillance.


A new description of the hexadecapole degree of freedom in the medium and heavy mass region in the framework of the fermion dynamical symmetry model is proposed. In this letter, the k-active case is discussed in detail, in which the pairing and multipole operators generate Sp10 group. The energy spectra are derived for two limiting cases. The results show that these limits and those in the s.d.g IBM have one to one correspondence when N1 (=N boson number in the s.d.g IBM) ≤ Ω1/5.


This Report seeks to contribute to the success of the Summit for Democracy process by drawing lessons from the Year of Action and Second Summit, and presenting opportunities for shaping an inclusive and effective Third Summit for Democracy. It examines the setup of the Second Summit, the state of implementation of past democracy commitments, the new commitments made by participating countries, and the level of inclusion of civil society and Democracy Cohorts at the summit. The Report also presents recommendations which could pave the way for stronger connectivity, better structures, and more inclusion and representation for future summits.


In order to characterize molecular structures we introduce configurational fingerprint vectors which are counterparts of quantities used experimentally to identify structures. The Euclidean distance between the configurational fingerprint vectors satisfies the properties of a metric and can therefore safely be used to measure dissimilarities between configurations in the high dimensional configuration space. In particular we show that these metrics are a perfect and computationally cheap replacement for the root-mean-square distance (RMSD) when one has to decide whether two noise contaminated configurations are identical or not. We introduce a Monte Carlo approach to obtain the global minimum of the RMSD between configurations, which is obtained from a global minimization over all translations, rotations, and permutations of atomic indices.


BACKGROUND/AIMS
The aim of this study is, therefore, to classify appendiceal serrated polyps in a large case series with respect to the recent World Health Organization classification using diagnostic criteria provided for colorectal serrated polyps.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 960 appendix specimens diagnosed between 2005 and 2010 were reviewed retrospectively, and cases presenting with a polyp with serrated morphology were classified with reference to the recent World Health Organization criteria. Histologic criteria comprised architectural features of the crypts, including serration, branching, basal dilatation, inverted T- or L-shaped crypts together with cytologic features comprising a mucin pattern, dysplasia, in terms of pseudostratification and nuclear atypia, mitoses in the upper crypts, and cytoplasmic eosinophilia.

RESULTS
A total of 71 cases (7.39%) were diagnosed as serrated polyps, including 36 (50.7%) hyperplastic polyps, 33 (46.48%) sessile serrated adenoma/polyps, and 2 (2.81%) traditional serrated adenomas. There were 32 males and 39 females with an age range of 2 to 82 years. Histology revealed that the majority of both hyperplastic polyps (63.9%) and sessile serrated adenomas/polyps (74.3%) involved the entire appendiceal circumference. Basal dilatation (94.3%), basal serration (94.3%), T-/L-shaped crypts (94.3%), and ectopic crypts (68.6%) were significantly more commonly observed in sessile serrated adenomas/polyps compared to hyperplastic polyps. Dysplasia was observed in 31.4% of sessile serrated adenomas/polyps, while hyperplastic polyps did not show dysplasia.

CONCLUSION
The results of the present study suggest that appendiceal serrated polyps, despite bearing many similarities with their colorectal counterparts, may have some special features due to the anatomic uniqueness of the organ itself and also the polyps arising from its mucosal lining.


One factor which may be important for determining proper lesion creation during atrial ablation is catheter-endocardial contact. Little information is available that relates geometric contact, depth and angle, to ablation lesion formation. We present an electrothermal computer model of ablation that calculated lesion volume and temperature development over time. The Pennes bioheat equation was coupled to a quasistatic electrical problem to investigate the effect of catheter penetration depth, as well as incident catheter angle as may occur in practice. Biological experiments were performed to verify the modelling of electrical phenomena. Results show that for deeply penetrating tips, acute catheter angles reduced the rate of temperature buildup, allowing larger lesions to form before temperatures elevated excessively. It was also found that greater penetration did not lead to greater transmurality of lesions. We conclude that catheter contact angle plays a significant role in lesion formation, and the time course must be considered. This is clinically relevant because proper identification and prediction of geometric contact variables could improve ablation efficacy.


Introduction: Industrial workers are a captive group and can be considered ideal for increasing awareness, adopting preventive strategies and thus to the control of cardiovascular diseases. However, there are limited numbers of studies which are carried out to estimate the coronary heart disease risk burden in factory settings of India. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of coronary heart disease risk factors among the workers of a nylon yarn manufacturing factory in South India. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among all employees aged 20 -59 years employing a clinical examination and biochemical estimation. Body Mass Index, Blood Pressure, Fasting Blood sugar and Lipid profile were measured. Patients known to have coronary heart disease, those aged less than 20 years and those aged more than 59 years were excluded. Results: 320 workers were evaluated. Their mean age was 32 years. Among the study population, 6.25% were obese and 21.8% were current smokers. 14.7% of them were found to be hypertensives and 61.87% were pre-hypertensives. 5.9% of the workers were diabetic and 14.6% had impaired fasting glucose. 55.93% of them had an increased Total cholesterol / High Density Lipoprotein ratio. Conclusion: This study demonstrates a high prevalence of risk factors for coronary heart disease among a comparatively young population in a South Indian industrial setting.


Abstract Background: Atomoxetine (ATX) is used as a first-line, non-stimulant treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), although no studies have systematically examined the relationship between plasma concentration and clinical efficacy. We conducted this non-randomized prospective interventional study to examine the relationship between plasma concentration of ATX and clinical efficacy. Methods: Forty-three ADHD pediatric patients received ATX, and the steady-state through plasma concentration of the last daily dose that was maintained for at least 4 weeks were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: The receiver operating characteristic curve suggested that when plasma concentration exceeded 64.60 ng/mL, scores on the ADHD-Rating Scale improved by 50% or more (P = .14). Although 6 of the 8 final responders were unresponsive at the initial dose (.72 ± .04 mg/kg [mean ± standard deviation]), they responded after increasing the ATX dose to the final dose (1.52 ± .31 mg/kg). Excluding 7 outlier participants, the concentration was 83.3 ± 32.3 ng/mL in 7 responders and was significantly higher than 29.5 ± 23.9 ng/mL (P < .01) for the 29 non-responders. Conclusions: These results suggest that a minimum effective plasma concentration of ATX is required to achieve sufficient clinical efficacy. We hypothesized a mechanism that results in the realization of a clinical effect when the plasma concentration exceeds a certain threshold in the potential response group, whereas will not improve even if the plasma concentration is increased in the unqualified non-responder group.


The excess risk of cardiovascular disease in Type 1 diabetes mellitus compared to non diabetic subjects is only partially explained by standard risk factors. Several studies suggest that Lp(a) concentrations are increased in Type 1 diabetes mellitus, but data are still controversial. Moreover, a high cardiovascular risk has been reported in diabetic patients with persistent proteinuria. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the Lp(a) particle levels in insulin-dependent diabetic patients with or without increased urinary albumin excretion. Cross-sectional study of Lp(a) plasma levels in a population of 140 insulin-dependent diabetic patients: 83 without increased proteinuria, 14 with borderline elevation of urinary albumin excretion, 27 with micro- and 16 with macro-proteinuria. Simultaneous determination of plasma lipids, fasting blood glucose and HbA1c was performed. The mean plasma Lp(a) concentrations and the distribution of the levels were comparable in all of the diabetic patient groups. No relationship existed between Lp(a) and HbA1c, fasting blood glucose or any lipid plasma levels. No influence of albumin excretion rate on Lp(a) levels was observed. These data provide no evidence of a specific contribution of Lp(a) particles to the increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease observed among patients with nephropathy.


In Cistercian Architecture and Medieval Society Max Sternberg offers an account of the social functions of the built environment in medieval monasticism, focusing in particular on the white order of the Languedoc in the 13th century.


Objectives To study the coronary angiographic features of patients with cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods One hundred and fifty-two consecutive patients with AMI were included in this study. The characteristics, coronary angiographic features of patients were compared between patients with cardiogenic shock (group A 42 cases) and without cardiogenic shock (group A 110 cases). Results There was no difference in the age, proportion of women, hypertension. the diabetics were significantly higher in group A (42.9%) contrast group B (24.5%) (p < 0.05). LAD occlusion (66.7%) was higher than RCA occlusion (33.3%) in group A (p < 0.05); LAD occlusion was higher in group A than in group B (46.4%)(p < 0.05). Multivessel disease (81.0%) was higher in group A than in group B (65.5%)(p < 0.05). Conclusions There are the relationship between cardiogenic shock complicated with AMI and vessel coronary artery disease. Initiation PCI supported intra-aortic balloon counter pulsation can improve the outcomes.


The effect that exercise has on the HDL concentration in women has not been well investigated. Therefore, it was the purpose of this study to determine the different effects of exercise on HDL levels, percent body fat, and body weight between female collegiate varsity athletes and college age females enrolled in physical education service courses. The study was conducted during the spring of 1982. The subjects were all volunteers (N = 27) with an X age of 19.89. Eleven of the 27 subjects were varsity athletes; four were from the varsity track team and seven were from the varsity softball team. The remaining 16 subjects were non-varsity athletes, eight from a slimnastics class and eight others served as controls. The training program for the varsity consisted of a five day per week period of exercise for approximately 90 minutes of varying intensity. The slimnastics group had a moderate exercise period of 40 minutes twice a week. Duration of the experiment was eight weeks. Replicated pre- and post-test measurements involved high density lipoprotein concentration, percent body fat, and land weight. Blood samples were analyzed utilizing an ABA-l00 procedure for determining HDL concentration. Percent fat was measured by hydrostatic weighing and land weight was measured on certified scales. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and t-test for matched pairs. There were no significant differences between groups for any variables measured (p >0.05). Within group significance for HDL was found for the track group (p > 0.05). It is concluded from the results of this study that: 1) there was no significant difference between varsity and non-varsity females HDL following an eight week period of exercise, 2) there was no significant increase of HDL concentration following an eight week period of exercise, 3) there was a significant decrease of HDL concentration in the track group, 4) there was a significant decrease of percent body fat in the softball and slimnastics groups.


The GnRH gene is transcribed in both the brain and gonads. GnRH in the brain is critical for reproduction, but the function and importance of GnRH in the ovary and testis is not clear. In this study we examine whether regulation of the GnRH gene is distinct in the brain and gonads, whether the regulation of the GnRH gene in the gonads is altered after genome duplication, and whether the regulatory region of the GnRH gene is tightly conserved in vertebrates. From ovary and testis, we isolated and sequenced for the first time two different genes and their complementary DNAs that encode the identical peptide known as salmon GnRH. Rainbow trout were selected because they are tetraploid due to genome duplication. A downstream promoter is used in the brain and gonads by salmon GnRH messenger RNA1 (mRNA1) and mRNA2, but mRNA2 also uses an upstream promoter only in the gonads. Two types of long mRNA2 transcripts in ovary and testis both use an alternative start site at position 323; one of these types also retains intron 1. This long 5'-untranslated region is a likely site for distinct regulation of mRNA in the gonad. Additional evidence for separate regulation is that a different expression pattern exists in brain and gonads for GnRH mRNAs during development and maturation. Gene duplication did not alter the encoded peptide, but changed the expression pattern and resulted in complete divergence of the promoter sequence from position -215. A comparison of the mammalian and trout GnRH genes reveals that the promoters are without sequence identity except for a few consensus sites in both regulatory regions. The duplicated trout genes provide a model to study a critical gene whose product controls reproduction in all vertebrates.


We consider a fully implicit formulation for two-phase flow in a porous medium with capillarity, gravity, and compressibility in three dimensions. The method is implicit in time and uses the multiscale mortar mixed finite element method for a spatial discretization in a nonoverlapping domain decomposition context. The interface conditions between subdomains are enforced in terms of Lagrange multiplier variables defined on a mortar space. The novel approach in this work is to linearize the coupled system of subdomain and mortar variables simultaneously to form a global Jacobian. This algorithm is shown to be more efficient and robust compared to previous algorithms that relied on two separate nested linearizations of subdomain and interface variables. We also examine various upwinding methods for accurate integration of phase mobility terms near subdomain interfaces. Numerical tests illustrate the computational benefits of this scheme.


High-security network transactions require the checking of the revocation status of public key certificates. On mobile systems this may lead to excessive delays and unacceptable performance. This paper examines small system requirements and options, with a view to improving performance. It is shown that the use of keyed hash functions (message authentication codes) with a pre-registration option reduces network latency and allows stateless servers.


Population and community ecology traditionally has a very strong theoretical foundation with well-known dynamical models, such as the logistic and its variations, and many modification of the classical Lotka-Volterra predator-prey and interspecific competition models. More and more, these classical models are being confronted with data via fitting to empirical time series for purposes of projections or for estimating model parameters of interest. However, using statistical models to fit theoretical models to data is far from trivial, especially for time series data where subsequent measurements are not independent. This raises the question of whether statistical inferences using pure observation error models, such as simple (non-)linear regressions, are biased, and whether more elaborate process error models or state-space models have to be used to address this complexity. In order to help empiricists, especially researchers working with experimental laboratory populations in micro- and mesocosms, make informed decisions about the statistical formalism to use, we here compare different error structures one could use when fitting classical deterministic ODE models to empirical data. We consider a large range of biological scenarios and theoretical models, from single species to community dynamics and trophic interactions. In order to compare the performance of different error structure models, we use both realistically simulated data and empirical data from microcosms in a Bayesian framework. We find that many model parameters can be estimated precisely with an appropriate choice of error structure using pure observation error or state-space models, if observation errors are not too high. However, Allee effect models are typically hard to identify and state-space models should be preferred when model complexity increases. Our work shows that, at least in the context of low environmental stochasticity and high quality observations, deterministic models can be used to describe stochastic population dynamics that include process variability and observation error. We discuss when more complex state-space model formulations may be required for obtaining accurate parameter estimates. Finally, we provide a comprehensive tutorial for fitting these models in R. Open research Code for stochastic individual-based simulations is available from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5500442. A tutorial for fitting ODE models to time series data in R is presented in the Supplementary Information and is also available online https://github.com/benjamin-rosenbaum/fitting deterministic population models. Data (Fronhofer et al., 2020) will be provided via GitHub and Zenodo.


This paper describes the usage of specific web application designed for the Electronic Commerce of Digital Still Images using some of the state-of-the-art technologies in the field of digital imaging, namely copy right protection. Still images are not only traded using this platform but also value is added to the images through the means of cataloguing, metadata and watermark insertion. This work is performed using some auxiliary tools, which are also referred in the present paper. This paper also proposes and discusses a methodology for streamlining the production of still digital image content. The methodology proposed and described here, called DIGIPIPE, encompasses several steps which range from the simple image digitalization until the image trading, without omitting the image copy rights protection procedures.


Article abstract—MRI techniques, including conventional T2-weighted and gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced T1-weighted images, have provided important insights into the pathophysiology of MS. Although the correlation of MRI measures with clinical disability and outcome continues to be investigated, MRI measures are routinely used both in clinical practice and in MS research. In addition to its use as a diagnostic tool, MRI is used as a surrogate marker to monitor disease progression and response to therapy. A variety of MRI measures are used in drug development studies and have aided our understanding of the potential benefits and possible mechanisms of action of drug therapies. Advances in MRI techniques may further elucidate the pathology of MS, thus providing opportunities for new treatment strategies.


Legal judgment prediction (LJP) usually consists in a text classification task aimed at predicting the verdict on the basis of the fact description. The literature shows that the use of articles as input features helps improve the classification performance. In this work, we designed a verdict prediction task based on landlord-tenant disputes and we applied BERT-based models to which we fed different article-based features. Although the results obtained are consistent with the literature, the improvements with the articles are mostly obtained with the most frequent labels, suggesting that pre-trained and fine-tuned transformer-based models are not scalable as is for legal reasoning in real life scenarios as they would only excel in accurately predicting the most recurrent verdicts to the detriment of other legal outcomes.


Steroid myopathy is usually a slowly progressive disease, which causes weakness primarily to the proximal muscles of the upper and lower extremities. The monitoring of this problem is difficult in situations in which the primary disease itself produces muscle weakness. The distinguishing feature in steroid myopathy is the occurrence of creatinuria in the presence of normal muscle enzymes including creatine kinase and aldolase. To evaluate the usefulness of percent creatinuria {urinary excretion of creatine/(urinary excretion of creatine + urinary excretion of creatinine)} in the diagnosis of steroid myopathy, we measured percent creatinuria in 26 patients (14 male and 12 female) without muscle diseases before the initiation of steroid treatment We found that the median values of percent creatinuria of the male and female patients were 2.5% and 17.1%, and that the ratios of the male and female patients presenting with an elevated percent creatinuria (more than 10%) were 3 out of 14 patients (21.4%) and 8 out of 12 patients (66.7%), respectively. We also found one patient with mild renal dysfunction presenting with an elevated percent creatinuria but without muscle weakness or myalgia. These findings suggest that the measurement of percent creatinuria is of little value in the diagnosis of steroid myopathy with a cutoff value of 10%. Furthermore, it is important to measure percent creatinuria before the steroid treatment, while paying close attention to the measurement method, sex, renal function and protein level of the diet.


Streptozotocin-induced diabetes leads to the development of endothelial dysfunction, as evidenced by decreased expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and increased expression of endothelin-1 as specific markers of endothelial disorders. All test substances showed endotelioprotective activity by increasing the concentration of eNOS and reducing the level of endothelin-1. With respect to the degree of impact on the eNOS and endothelin-1 levels, the compounds studied can be rated as follows: sulodexide > meksidol.


We herein report a smart amphiphilic supramolecular complex ([MimA-EDA-MimA]@[DBS]2) with stimuli-responsive self-assembly, constructed by 3-(3-formyl-4-hydroxybenzyl)-1-methylimidazolium chloride (MimACl), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), and ethylenediamine (EDA). The self-assembly of [MimA-EDA-MimA]@[DBS]2 shows triple-sensitivities in response to pH, concentration, and salt. At a low pH, only micelles are formed, which can transform into vesicles spontaneously when the pH increases to 11.8. Vesicles can gradually fuse into vesicle clusters and elongated assemblies with increasing concentration of [MimA-EDA-MimA]@[DBS]2. Chainlike aggregates, ringlike aggregates, or giant vesicles can be formed by adding inorganic salts (i.e., NaCl and NaNO3), which could be derived from the membrane fusion of vesicles. The noncovalent interactions, including π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interactions, were found to be responsible for the topology evolution of assemblies. Thus, it provides an opportunity to construct smart materials through the regulation of the role of noncovalent interactions in self-assembly.


AIM
The aim of the investigation was to assess the effects of the resistive inspiratory muscle training (IMT) in elite male rowers.

METHODS
Fifteen senior rowers were assayed for the maximal inspiratory mouth pressure (PImax) and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), and then randomized into two groups: the control and the experimental group. The latter athletes, in addition to basic training, were subjected to the 11-week IMT consisting of a series of 30 inspiratory efforts performed twice a day. Athletes from the control group did only the basic training.

RESULTS
No significant relations were detected between the initial values of PImax and the VO2max value. After 6 weeks of IMT the PImax values increased by 20+/-10% (P < 0.05), whereas the final improvement (after 11 weeks of IMT) equaled to 34+/-19% (P < 0.05). In the control group, the final increase equaled to 4+/-9% and was statistically insignificant. Compared to the values obtained at the end of IMT, 14 weeks after cessation of the training PImax insignificantly decreased in the experimental group by 10+/-9%, but the measured values were still significantly higher than before the commencement of IMT.

CONCLUSION
The data obtained corroborate the observations that in well-trained athletes the introduction of the principle of incremental inspiratory resistance allows to improve methodically the inspiratory muscles' strength. Once the essential period of IMT has been completed, the training volume should be reduced in order to secure the attained level of the inspiratory muscles' strength.


Computed torques for pointing and tracking require compensation for slew-induced structural, forebody/aftbody, or optical train alignment deformations. Thus even if only line-of-sight variables are to be commanded yet full state feedback is needed, with consequent high bandwidth control requirements. The solution investigated here is to decouple the unwanted deformation state by feedforward of the line-of-sight slew dynamics into the deformation control forces or moments, for an apparatus consisting of a mirror mounted on an optical bench, that is itself mounted on a rotating table. Adjustable elastic interfaces are used to model slew-induced deformations as angular differences between mirror mounting, optical bench and rate table. Low bandwidth control with fewer actuators than degrees of freedom is shown to be possible, by correcting the computed torques so as to force the interstage angular differences (standing for slew-induced deformations) to evolve in a "slow" integral manifold wherein they are modeled as functions of the mirror pointing angle. Simultaneous mirror pointing and independent rate table pointing is also shown to be possible, which represents the situation of pointing an instrument elastically mounted on a maneuvering platform.


Hospices across the UK are having to re-examine the way their services are run as pressure on funding is becoming increasingly problematic in a nation that has fiscal uncertainty. In Wales statutory funding for hospices is arrived at by a formula and St Kentigern Hospice receives 18% of its funding from the Welsh Office. The hospice hit financial crisis in 2010 and took drastic measures with swingeing cuts to services, including the decision to make the medical director and sole doctor redundant. A decision was made that St Kentigern Hospice would become a nurse- led unit in the faint hope that this would save the hospice. This was entirely a reactive decision and could only be made because the hospice had a prescribing Advanced Clinical Practitioner, who had been practising for 18 months in that role. One year later in 2011, the hospice was fully operational in both its inpatient and day therapies services and £1,000,000 credit in the bank. This is the story of innovation in practice where the advanced nurse practitioner role in palliative care has been extended to an autonomous level not practised anywhere else in the UK. From adversity this eight- bedded IPU and day therapies hospice now has a service that is economically robust and has been approved and recognised by the Welsh peer review process. Such is the success of the model that the hospice is undergoing a major new build, and expansion of services, funded entirely from its own resources, responding further to our communities' palliative care needs. The model and its sustainability along with challenges will be discussed. Change in practice, innovation and leadership for nursing within a hospice setting will be explored.


This case report illustrates the nonsurgical endodontic management of a seven-canaled mandibular second molar. The root canal configuration presented as four mesial and three distal canals. Identification of the canal system was made with the aid of magnification, ultrasonics, and multiple angulated radiographs. Postoperative examination at 18 months showed a clinically asymptomatic tooth with resolution of the periapical pathology.


ABSTRACT The small GTPase Ras, which transmits extracellular signals to the cell, and the kinase Aurora-A, which promotes proper mitosis, can both be inappropriately activated in human tumors. Here, we show that Aurora-A in conjunction with oncogenic Ras enhances transformed cell growth. Furthermore, such transformation and in some cases also tumorigenesis depend upon S194 of RalA, a known Aurora-A phosphorylation site. Aurora-A promotes not only RalA activation but also translocation from the plasma membrane and activation of the effector protein RalBP1. Taken together, these data suggest that Aurora-A may converge upon oncogenic Ras signaling through RalA.


Despite the fact that much of the global microbial biosphere is believed to exist in high pressure environments, the effects of hydrostatic pressure on microbial physiology remain poorly understood. We use a genome-wide screening approach, combined with a novel high-throughput high-pressure cell culture method, to investigate the effects of hydrostatic pressure on microbial physiology in vivo. The Keio collection of single-gene deletion mutants in Escherichia coli K-12 was screened for growth at a range of pressures from 0.1 MPa to 60 MPa. This led to the identification of 6 genes, rodZ, holC, priA, dnaT, dedD and tatC, whose products were required for growth at 30 MPa and a further 3 genes, tolB, rffT and iscS, whose products were required for growth at 40 MPa. Our results support the view that the effects of pressure on cell physiology are pleiotropic, with DNA replication, cell division, the cytoskeleton and cell envelope physiology all being potential failure points for cell physiology during growth at elevated pressure.