We study the impact of reserve prices on the revenue of English auctions using a unique hand‐collected database of virtual football players from the online football management game Hattrick. As theoretically predicted, setting a reserve price entails a trade‐off between the cost of setting it too high and having the good go unsold, and the benefit associated with a higher revenue should the reserve price successfully extract surplus from the highest bidder. Overall, we find the net benefit of setting a higher reserve price to be negative, regardless of the value of the reserve price. This is a novel result insofar as previous literature has generally found an insignificant or positive effect of the reserve price on unconditional auction revenue.


The calculation model which we developed for the cost of stone therapy and metaphylaxis in Germany some years ago with a social health insurance company is based on estimates of stone incidence, types and recurrence rates, actual costs for stone removal, and metaphylaxis (based on data from a district of the social health care system). There are 200,000 stone recurrences per year in Germany. Costs for treatment of these stones amount to $687,000,000. Stone metaphylaxis reduces the recurrence rate by some 40%. The annual cost for stone removal could be lowered by $275,300,000. Metabolic evaluation/metaphylaxis amount to $70,100,000 per year, resulting in a net saving of $205,200,000. In 1997, there were 96 days off work per stone patient resulting in 5,800,000 days off work in Germany per year. Metaphylaxis is not only medically effective in stone formers but also can lower health care cost significantly. Although health care conditions may vary from country to country, in principle this calculation model is applicable also to other countries.


Statement of Problem: Pulpotomy is the most common pulp treatment in primary teeth. Final restoration of the pulpotomized primary molar can affect the success rate of treatment. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the success rate of formocresol pulpotomy in primary molars restored with stainless steel crowns as compared to those restored with amalgam. Materials and Method: In this randomized clinical trial study, 110 primary molars to be treated with pulpotomy were treated by a conventional pulpotomy technique. Then these teeth were randomly divided into 2 groups: amalgam and crown. 55 teeth were restored by stainless steel crown and 55 by amalgam. The clinical and radiographic evaluation was done at 6-12-24 months. The data were analyzed by Exact Fisher test. Results: During the 6 months of evaluation, no clinical and radiographic failure was seen. In the 12 months of follow up in the amalgam group, 1 case showed swelling and furcal radiolucency. During the 24 months of evaluation, mobility was seen in 2 teeth in the crown group, and in the amalgam group radiolucency was seen in 1 case, mobility in 1 case, and internal resorption in 1 tooth. Exact Fisher test showed that there was no significant difference in the success rate of pulpotomized molars restored by stainless steel crown and amalgam. Conclusion: If the tooth is selected correctly for pulpotomy, SSC and amalgam restoration can be used as the final restoration. Key words: Formocresol, Pulpotomy, Restoration, Stainless steel crowns


To address the emerging needs of access to and retrieval of multimedia objects in many applications, we have started a Multimedia Analysis and Retrieval Systems project at the University of Illinois. This project addresses three main aspects in Multimedia Information Retrieval, i.e. feature extraction, multimedia object description, and retrieval algorithm. Although MPEG-7 will concentrate only on multimedia object description, such a goal will be better accomplished if its interfaces to feature extraction and retrieval algorithm are appropriate defined. In this proposal, we will first give a brief overview of the MARS system. Then we propose a multimedia object model for MPEG-7's content description interface. The proposed model allows information abstraction at various semantic levels. To better model human perception subjectivity to multimedia data, relevance feedback is integrated into the retrieval process. Our experimental results show that the proposed multimedia object model and retrieval model are general enough for modeling and specific enough to adapt to user's information need.


We study an evolutionary version of the Prisoner's Dilemma game, played by agents placed in a small-world network. Agents are able to change their strategy, imitating that of the most successful neighbor. We observe that different topologies, ranging from regular lattices to random graphs, produce a variety of emergent behaviors. This is a contribution towards the study of social phenomena and transitions governed by the topology of the community.


The purpose of this study is to analyze learning effectiveness when students are in training to review the design of concrete structures. Two different course delivery methods for vocational engineering students are compared. The first delivery method begins with a traditional instructional approach followed by an active learning approach. The second delivery method utilizes the same approaches, but in reversed order. The difference in learning effectiveness of the two approaches is analyzed, based on a semi-quasi pre-test/post-test experiment design with an experimental group (first hands-on, then theory) and a control group (first theory, then hands-on). Based on 30 test questions and difference scores between pre-test and two post-tests, as well as statistical significance and effect size, the learning effectiveness is determined. It was found that the learning effectiveness for both experimental and control group was higher during the hands-on approaches. When comparing the second post-test with the first post-test, the experimental group had only 2 positive difference scores, whereas the control group had 13 positive difference scores. The findings indicate that students need sufficient initial theoretical background in order to benefit from a hands-on approach.


The objective of the Social Safety Net Project for Madagascar is to support the government in increasing the access of extremely poor households to safety net services and in laying the foundations for a social protection system. The purpose of this level two restructuring is to propose a reallocation of funds between disbursement categories. No components or sub-components are being dropped or substantially revised. Mechanisms for safeguards, institutional arrangements, procurement and financial management will remain the same. The restructuring will ensure continuity and completion of the delivery of cash transfers and livelihood recovery grants within the period of the project which requires additional resources given the better than expected performance to date on the front lines of the program. Components 1 and 2 require additional funding from the first quarter of 2019 to allow the Human Development Cash Transfer and the Productive Safety Net Program to close in August and June 2019, respectively. These needs can be covered by reallocation from the Project Preparation Facility (PPF) and from underutilized funds under component 3. This reallocation of funds focuses support to activities which have proven to be most relevant given the early project experience, and which can be fully implemented under the existing credit and in the remaining project time. An additional financing is under consideration, but would not be approved in time to address the current financial needs of the Social Safety Net cash transfer disbursements.


OBJECTIVE
The aim is to verify and describe the morphological substrate of renal impairment in HIV/HCV co-infection among patients receiving ART to assess and predict the morphogenesis of immunocomplex lesions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Materials and methods: To assess and predict the morphogenesis of immunocomplex renal disease, we examined retrospectively the kidney tissue samples of 15 patients, who died with HIV/HCV co-infection and received ART. Histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical research methods were used.

RESULTS
Results: Segmental and diffuse mesangial proliferation with extracellular matrix expansion with glomerular damage ≥50% in 9 (60%) cases, and involving <50% of glomeruli in 5 (33%), with CD68 expression as single cells were detected. In 12 (80%) cases, there was uneven swelling and focal proliferation of endothelial cells with the involvement of 20-50% of the glomeruli, as well as the presence of cellular infiltrates in the lumen of capillary loops in 3 (20%) cases with monomorphic intensity in "+". Sclerotic changes were present in various degrees of severity - from cases of complete glomerulosclerosis with obliteration of the Bowman's lumen to focal and microfocal depressions 8 (55%), sclerosis 10 (66%), hyalinosis 1 (6%), uneven thickening, focal cleft 8 (55%) and perihilar focal sclerosis. These areas were positive for IgG and C1q complement fractions within the "+", "++" intensity. Among the study group, no case of HIV-associated nephropathy was found that coincided with the predicted spectrum of kidney damage for patients in this sample. The described morphological changes were mainly verified as immuno-mediated by HCV.

CONCLUSION
Conclusions: A comprehensive morphological study revealed the morphological substrate of kidney damage and its morphogenesis in patients with HIV/HCV co-infection, receiving ART.


Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder which comprises of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Children diagnosed with ADHD often experience academic, social and behavioral inconsistencies. These problems create a negative stigma and rejection on the environment for children with ADHD that can make them feel inferior and negative subjective wellbeing. The purpose of this literature review is to summarize the small set of relevant literature about subjective well-being in children living with ADHD. Literature search is based on several databases (ProQuest, Pubmed and google scholar) in the form of journal articles from 2008-2018 for ADHD children aged 5-12 years. In conclusion, it is known that children with ADHD feel inferior about their well-being.


The use of genetic algorithms (GAs) and other evolutionary optimization methods to design fuzzy rules for systems modeling and data classification have received much attention in recent literature. Authors have focused on various aspects of these randomized techniques, and a whole scale of algorithms have been proposed. We comment on some recent work and describe a new and efficient two-step approach that leads to good results for function approximation, dynamic systems modeling and data classification problems. First, fuzzy clustering is applied to obtain a compact initial rule-based model. Then this model is optimized by a real-coded GA subjected to constraints that maintain the semantic properties of the rules. We consider four examples from the literature: a synthetic nonlinear dynamic systems model, the iris data classification problem, the wine data classification problem, and the dynamic modeling of a diesel engine turbocharger. The obtained results are compared to other recently proposed methods.


For heterogeneous media with piecewise constant complex permittivity on regular domains, we show that the dyadic Green's function has the same singular part as the corresponding free space dyadic Green's function on every domain of constant permittivity. We give two important applications of this property, namely the distorted-wave Born approximation for composite media and the calculation of the single photon decay rate in spontaneous emission.


In this paper, spatial neighboring pixels are used to deal with blocking and ringing artifacts while temporal neighboring pixels are utilized to remove mosquito and flickering artifacts. To avoid the blurring effect of linear filters, a fuzzy filter is implemented. Fuzzy filter is a specific case of bilateral filters [15], [16]. Fuzzy filters help denoising the artifacts while retaining the sharpness of real edges. In image and video compression, the artifacts such as blocking or ringing artifacts are spatially directional and flickering artifacts are temporally directional. For compressed video sequences, the motion compensated spatiotemporal filter (MCSTF) is applied to intraframe and interframe pixels to deal with both spatial and temporal artifacts. In this work, a novel fuzzy filter is proposed to adapt to the pixel's activity and directions between the pixel of interest and its surrounding pixels.


This study was aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) for patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) by the analytic approach of meta-analysis. We searched databases of PubMed, Emabse and Web of Science and included 6 studies with 3,469 patients in the meta-analysis. All included studies were from China. The association between NLR and four end-points events, Overall Survival (OS), Progression-Free Survival (PFS), Disease-Specific Survival (DSS) and Distant Metastasis-Free Survival (DMFS) was evaluated by using STATA version 12.0. Elevated NLR was associated with poor OS (HR=1.73, 95% CI: 1.37-2.13, p<0.001), PFS (Hazard Ratio (HR) =1.57, 95% CI: 1.19-2.09, p=0.002), DSS (HR=1.41, 95% CI: 1.19-1.66, p<0.001) and DMFS (HR=1.91 with 95% CI: 1.35-2.71, p<0.001). Furthermore, there was no significant heterogeneity and publication bias for all analyses in our study, indicating the robustness and credibility of this metaanalysis. Our study showed that elevated NLR was a significant biomarker for poor OS, PFS, DSS and DMFS in NPC. NLR was a potential valuable marker for NPC treatment.


A methylenediphenylphosphine substituted diazaborole was obtained in a two-step procedure in amounts around 4 g. This B-P ligand was coordinated at platinum and iridium and the structures of the boryl complexes are discussed. In the case of the iridium derivative an interesting boron-boron contact was found.


Wireless broadband networks are most vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks where attackers can disrupt legitimate communication between hosts in a network by flooding unwanted traffic between legitimate hosts. This paper proposes DDDOST, a novel approach for filtering flooding attack, the most severe denial-of-service attack that occurs at the transport layer of the internet. Flooding attack at the transport layer affects the transmission control protocol's three-way handshake process, thereby denying the services of TCP. It also denies the services of user datagram protocol. The main objective of this approach is to install local and global monitoring agents at various points in the network in order to monitor and filter real-time TCP traffic and UDP traffic thereby allowing legitimate traffic to flow in the network during attack traffic filtration process and to avoid buffer overflow at the monitoring agents. DDDOST consists of a novel agreement mechanism and a novel detection algorithm and it works taking the clock values of each node into account for effective detection of the attack which has not been used in the existing defense mechanisms. All nodes within a network are permitted to have a synchronized clock value. In the agreement mechanism, the IP address spoofing is prevented which forms the gateway for flooding attacks and once IP spoofing is prevented, the detection mechanism is carried out in detecting and filtering flooding attacks. This distributed defense mechanism reduces the burden on a single global monitoring agent thereby introducing local monitoring agents at various points in the network. The performance results show that this approach effectively and accurately detects and filters DOS attacks within a short period. The performance of this proposed mechanism has been measured in terms of time delay and false positive ratio and it is compared with existing defense mechanisms and it is found to be effective over existing defense mechanisms.


An interface agent with a life-like character on a personal mobile computer based guidance system is a plausible interface design approach for supporting and mediating communication between exhibitors and visitors of museums, laboratory tours and trade-shows. The guide agents should acquire their information ubiquitously and integrate this knowledge to provide context relevant assistant to visitors. C-MAP is a context-aware mobile assistant system that provides a mobile guide agent for assisting visitors during exhibitions. The system uses 30 portable computers, two servers, and an active badge location server. The portable computers are networked using a 1Mbit/sec wireless FM connection to the ethernet which the servers are connected to. Currently, the guide agent has a life-like animated character with four different behaviours, a physical map and a semantic map. The physical map tracks the visitor's location relative to the exhibits while the semantic map tracks the visitor's interests relative to the exhibitions. The guide agent uses the visitor's interest to plan a tour through the exhibition. A layered infrastructure is used to coordinate the guide agents and distribute their computation. This paper presents progress made towards the implementation of C-MAP.


Reduced expression of Erythrocyte Complement Receptor 1 (E-CR1) is envisaged to contribute significantly to the pathophysiology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We determined the levels of CR1 transcript in the neutrophils from 25 untreated patients with active SLE and 25 normal healthy individuals and, studied the effect of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and immune complexes (IC) on the same. The study revealed a marked decline in the levels of neutrophil CR1 (N-CR1) transcript in the patients with SLE, and differential pattern of IFN-gamma and IL-4 expression in the neutrophils from normals and patients. Opsonized immune complexes down regulated CR1 transcript in patients and IFN-gamma up regulated the same both in normals and patients. Immune complexes suppressed this effect of IFN-gamma. IL-4 also suppressed the effect of IFN-gamma but effect confined only to the normals. This is the first real-time RT-PCR data comparing the neutrophil CR1 expression in normals and patients with SLE and its modulation by IFN-gamma, IL-4 and immune complexes. IFN-gamma and immune complexes, respectively, emerged as the positive and negative modulators of neutrophil CR1 transcript in SLE.


Based on the theory of inverse problem, the optimization of open boundary conditions (OBCs) in a 3D internal tidal model is investigated with the adjoint method. Fourier coefficients of internal tide on four open boundaries, which are regarded as OBCs, are inverted simultaneously. During the optimization, the steepest descent method is used to minimize cost function. The reasonability and feasibility of the model are tested by twin experiments (TEs). In TE1, OBCs on four open boundaries are successfully inverted by using independent point (IP) strategy, suggesting that IP strategy is useful in parameter estimation. Results of TE2 indicate that the model is effective even by assimilating inaccurate "observations." Based on conclusions of TEs, the internal tide around Hawaii is simulated by assimilating T/P data in practical experiment. The simulated cochart shows good agreement with that obtained from the Oregon State University tidal model and T/P observations. Careful inspection shows that the major difference between simulated results and OSU model results is short-scale fluctuations superposed on coamplitude lines, which can be treated as the surface manifestation modulated by the internal tide. The computed surface manifestation along T/P tracks is comparable to the estimation in previous work.


In this paper we present some lessons learned from our experience of designing, implementing and assessing a student-centred course as part of the ActSHEN project. The human rights and visual arts course was run as a summer course for Edda Norden collaboration including the Nordic and Baltic teacher art education universities. The course started with an online discussion, readings and reflections in June, followed by a five-day workshop in August 2015 at the Iceland Academy of Arts (IAA).
The course  was framed by sustainability goals responsive to wicked problems understood as those "characterized by high levels of complexity, ambiguity, controversy and uncertainty both with respect to what is going on and with respect to what needs to be done" (Lotz-Sisitka, Wals, & Kronlid, 2015). We wanted to understand how transformative pedagogy within the arts is able to support struggles for justice and human rights. Drawing on data collected from the course evaluation process, we recognised emerging ethical dilemmas that students and educators face when engaging with pedagogies that aim to respond to wicked problems.


Most coronary arteriovenous fistula (CAVF) drain into the pulmonary artery or the right heart chamber. CAVF between the left coronary artery and left ventricle is very uncommon. Moreover, a case of CAVF from a diagonal branch of the LAD to the LV has not been reported so far. We report a case of a 79-year-old man, complaining of intermittent chest pain and dyspnea on exertion for apprioximately 2 months. CAVF from the diagonal branch of the LAD to the LV was confirmed by selective coronary angiography. (Korean Circulation J 2002; 32(5):438-441)


One- and three-dimensional models of crustal structure in the vicinity of the Ramapo fault zone are derived from P-wave arrival time data. We supplement earthquake and quarry blast arrivals recorded by regional network stations with data recorded by portable seismic instruments at former network sites. The portable array data provide a critical link between data recorded on the current and former network alignments. Station corrections derived along with the one-dimensional crustal model and the three-dimensional model both indicate significant lateral velocity variations, in the range of 10 to 15 per cent, across the Ramapo fault in southeastern New York.


The goal of the study was to verify if echographic fine needle biopsy (US-FNB) improved the diagnostic accuracy of thyroid nodules with respect to a "blind" technique (B-FNB). The study group involved 6,693 patients who underwent aspiration biopsies (989 males and 5,704 females; mean age 46.3 +/- 13.7; range 5-88 years). Total biopsies were 7,952 as some patients underwent two or more biopsies in different nodules. 7,324 nodules with B-FNB and 628 nodules with US-FNB were studied; in this latter cases 136 nodules were not palpable. The diagnosis of malignancy was higher in US- FNB than B-FNB. However, non-diagnostic samples were more prevalent in US-FNB with respect to B-FNB. A histological diagnosis was available in 27 patients with US-FNB and 379 with B-FNB. In US-FNB, accuracy was 81.8%, sensitivity 86.6% and specificity 77.7%. In B-FNB, accuracy was 80.6%, sensitivity 85.1% and specificity 78.1%. These data show that US-FNB diagnostic accuracy was not better than B-FNB. The higher incidence of malignancy found in US-FNB was not dependent on better accuracy, sensitivity or specificity of the US-FNB technique with respect to the B-FNB examination. It is possible that the higher number of malignancies in patients studied with US-FNB was due to the fact that the US-FNB technique aspirated smaller nodules and particular areas of echographic suspicion, thus increasing the possibility of finding a malignancy. Based on our data, we feel that US-FNB results in a greater number of diagnostically inadequate samples. This may depend in part on the smaller size of the biopsied nodules (which are relatively more vascular than larger nodules) and in part on the greater difficulty in carrying-out this technique which directed towards particular echographic areas of suspicion resulting in greater biopsy blood contamination. The authors feel that US-FNB should be carried-out in all cases of non-palpable nodes found incidentally so as to rule out malignancy.


Chronic tinnitus is a disturbing condition that may affect different aspects of life. In this study, the therapeutic effect of electrical stimulation on chronic tinnitus was assessed. This was a clinical trial on 49 patients with persistent tinnitus for more than 6 months without a proper response to routine treatments. They were randomly allocated into two groups: the case group was treated with electrical stimulation for 6 sessions over 6 consecutive days, and the control group received a placebo. Before the intervention, one week and three months after the treatment sessions, patients were evaluated by comprehensive audiological assessments and hearing tests. The mean age of the participants was 40.37±9.32 and 41.35±9.24 in treatment and placebo groups, respectively. Tinnitus intensity was significantly decreased in the case group one week and three months after the treatment (P<0.05). Tinnitus handicap inventory score significantly decreased in the treatment group one week and three months after the treatment (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in tinnitus intensity after treatment, considering gender, age, tinnitus duration, and tinnitus type. Electrical stimulation could significantly reduce the severity of the tinnitus regardless of age, gender, duration, and type of tinnitus.


Efficiently extracting a module from a given ontology that captures all the ontology's knowledge about a set of specified terms is a well-understood task. This task can be based, for instance, on locality-based modules.

In contrast, extracting all modules of an ontology is computationally difficult because there can be exponentially many. However, it is reasonable to assume that, by revealing the modular structure of an ontology, we can obtain information about its topicality, connectedness, structure, superfluous parts, or agreement between actual and intended modeling. Furthermore, incremental reasoning makes use of a number of, although not all possible, modules of an ontology.

We report on experiments to estimate the number of modules of real-life ontologies. We also evaluate the modular structure of ontologies that we succeeded to fully modularise. In that evaluation, we look at the number and sizes of the modules, as well as the relation between module size and number and size of signatures that lead to the module. Chances are that the understanding we report about small ontologies can be applied to all ontologies.


An econometric model, based on the Romer-Rosenthal model of agenda control by budget-maximizing bureaucracies is used to analyze the budgetary and voting outcomes of referenda in a cross-section of Oregon school districts. In addition to estimates of the effects of agenda control, the model permits estimation of the spending effects of voter failure to perceive the .availability of lump-sum intergovernmental grants. Budgets are set via referenda. In the event of a failed referendum, a limited number of additional votes may be taken. The model permits estimation of the degree to which the agenda setter (e.g., the school superintendent) learns about voter preferences from the outcomes of failed referenda. The endogenous variables in the model are the budget proposals and voting outcomes of each referendum in the sequence of referenda held in each school district. The effects of proposals on voting behavior and the effects of learning appear via structural parameters in the error structure. The model is estimated by non-linear maximum likelihood. The results (1) support the theoretical model of agenda control and the effect of the setter's proposals on voting behavior; (2) indicate that voter failure to preceive state grants leads to important increases in spending; (3) fail to indicate any learning by the setter.


Objective Multichannel compression (MCC) processing can alter the speech spectrum, perhaps reducing spectral contrasts that are important for the discrimination of certain speech sounds. The effect of MCC processing on the discrimination of vowels and voiced stop consonants was studied. Design Vowels and voiced stop consonants were MCC-processed in two ways: 1) FLAT MCC having the same compression ratio in each channel, and 2) SHAPED MCC having compression ratios in each channel adjusted to the auditory area of the particular subject. The stimuli were processed both ways using 2, 4, 8, 16, and 31 independent compression channels. Unprocessed and linearly amplified stimuli were used as control conditions. Normal-hearing and hearing-impaired subjects were tested for changes in discrimination performance as a function of the MCC processing parameters. Results When the MCC processing was adjusted specifically for an individual hearing-impaired subject, no negative effect of increasing numbers of channels (2 to 31) was found. In the case of FLAT MCC processing, increasingly degraded discrimination performance was found for both subject groups as the compression ratio increased and as the number of channels increased. There was also a strong interaction between the effects of the number of channels and the compression ratio, with the negative effects of increasing numbers of channels being much greater at the highest compression ratio. Conclusions Negative effects of MCC were found only for very extreme MCC conditions. MCC processing with compression ratios adjusted in each channel for the individual subject, and having as many as 31 channels, revealed no negative effects on vowel or voiced stop-consonant discrimination. These results do not support the prevalent view that MCC with more than two or three channels will be detrimental and should encourage further research on MCC processing with larger numbers of channels.


Diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMSs) that possess both properties of semiconductors and ferromagnetism, have attracted a lot of attentions due to its potential applications for spin-sensitive electronic devices. Recently, a series of bulk form DMSs isostructural to iron-based superconductors have been reported, which can be readily investigated by microscopic experimental techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and muon spin rotation (μSR). The measurements have demonstrated that homogeneous ferromagnetism is achieved in these DMSs. In this review article, we summarize experimental evidences from both NMR and μSR measurements. NMR results have shown that carriers facilitate the interactions between distant Mn atoms, while μSR results indicate that these bulk form DMSs and (Ga,Mn)As share a common mechanism for the ferromagnetic exchange interactions.


This article presents an attitude observer that exploits both bearing and range measurements from landmarks, in addition to reference vectors such as magnetometer and accelerometer. It is a gyro bias observer in cascade with a simplified complementary filter, driven by a gyro measurement, in which the gyro bias is estimated by comparing the bearing dynamics with the gyro measurements. The observer is compared to a full complimentary filter, and it is shown that it is more robust to initial gyro bias estimation error compared to the complimentary filter. The article also reveals how this new observer handles magnetometer failure and can use landmarks as reference vectors.


The village Law No. 6 of 2014 concerning Villages emphasizes the principle of recognizing subsidiarity and recognition for villages based on the principles of diversity. The Village Law provides recognition and respect for the village, provides legal clarity and certainty regarding village status in the Indonesian state administration system. The authority granted in this Law provides a basis for villages to regulate and manage, and have rights to natural resources, including forestry at the village scale. Although normatively the village has the right to manage natural resources, in reality there is still a great effort for village stakeholders to be able to independently and comprehensively obtain the right to manage forestry natural resources. Legal protection for villages in natural resource management is an important factor because there are overlapping laws and village regulations with laws in the natural resources sector. This paper attempts to analyze the laws and regulations related to the village authority to manage natural forestry natural resources. Analysis of village rights is also compared with the regulations on forestry. The results of the study show that there are overlapping legal regulations in the forestry sector with laws and regulations in villages in the management of forestry natural resources. Accordingly, suggestions that can be raised by considering the conclusions are related to the three focus studies which are grouped into three problem identification as outlined in the conclusions can be stated in several recommendations. First, harmonization and synchronization of laws and regulations related to the forestry sector as stipulated in Law No. 41 of 1999 concerning Forestry and its derivative regulations with Law No. 6 of 2014 concerning Villages.


Mud deposition often has been attributed to slow fallout from suspension into low-energy, often anoxic, settings. In reality, sediment delivery and basinal oxygenation, plus the resultant organic content, grain size, and lithology, are quite variable. Understanding sedimentologic processes help us better describe mudrock cores and interpret stratigraphic and basinal variations in reservoir quality and mechanical properties. Compositional variability reflects the complex interaction of biologic productivity, detrital input, organic preservation vs. destruction, and diagenesis. Intrabasinal biogenic material includes calcareous and siliceous hard parts of zooplankton and phytoplankton; cellular matter from algae, bacteria, spores, and pollen; fecal pellets; and feeding nets. Much of this matter sinks rapidly as aggregates, not individual particles, removing it from shallow, oxidizing waters. At the sea floor, suspension and deposit feeders (e.g., polychaetes and nematodes) may ingest the organics, reducing carbon content. Biogenic influx is not constant. Extrabasinal carbonate and/or siliceous detritus vies with, and often overwhelms, intrabasinal input. Much extrabasinal material is delivered under the influence of storm waves or density flows. Storms suspend and mold bottom sediment, variably producing wave-enhanced sediment-gravity flows, graded tempestites, and hummocky and wave-rippled bedforms. Hyperpycnal deposits form as rivers transit through flood cycles. Ignitive events yield slides, slumps, debrites, and turbidites. Sedimentary structures produced by these various processes may be difficult to recognize or interpret. They typically are subtle, due to small variations in grain size and/or post-depositional bioturbation, or very thin. Thus, the paradigm of grain-by-grain settling of mud onto a deep, quiet, stagnant sea floor is being revised. The concomitant slow, continuous rain of organic matter is unlikely. Instead, mud accumulates under dynamic conditions. Active bottom currents are frequent. Persistent bottom-water anoxia is overestimated; diminutive, often "cryptic", bioturbation is common. These interacting processes produce deposits of varying reservoir quality and cycles of various frequencies - seasonal, climatic, tectonic, and eustatic – that can be interpreted in core, outcrop, and well logs. Consequently, the study of mudrock sedimentology is generating new concepts that can be applied to rock description and appraisal and mapping of drilling targets.


Roles of Rahul Sankrityayan in Nepalese Cultural Tourism are an analysis of Nepalese Cultural tourism potentialities and facilitation of great personality. The study has identified the points on Independent Movement, on Diplomacy, on Buddhist Religious Tourism, on Art, Literature, and Language, and on Theorizing Tourism. Therefore, Nepal has to make a park in the memory of Sankrityayan with a Vihar for meditation, museum and library for the researchers and Stupa with some sorts of relics pilgrims. The main objective of the study is to find out the contributions of Sankrityayan in Nepalese Tourism development and to identify the roles of Rahul in cultural tourism in between India and Nepal. Methodologically the study is a general literature review of secondary information to identify and describe the roles of Rahul on the development of Nepalese Cultural Tourism. Every Indian Buddhist, Vaishnava, Marxist, or Student visitors to Nepal are compelled to visit and homage the tribute to Rahul. This compulsion really takes place in the cultural tourism development of both the countries and strengthens the diplomatic tie in people to people connectivity.


The estimation of (n-1) 2 interdiffusion coefficients in an n component system requires (n-1) diffusion paths to intersect or pass closely in the (n-1) dimensional space according to the body diagonal diffusion couple method. These interdiffusion coefficients are related to n(n-1) intrinsic (or n tracer diffusion coefficients), which cannot be estimated easily following the Kirkendall marker experiment in a multicomponent system despite their importance for understanding the atomic mechanism of diffusion and the physico-mechanical properties of materials. In this study, the estimation of tracer diffusion coefficients from only two diffusion profiles following the concept of the body diagonal diffusion couple method in a multicomponent system is demonstrated. Subsequently, one can estimate the intrinsic and interdiffusion coefficients. This reduces the overall effort up to a great extent since it needs only two instead of (n-1) diffusion profiles irrespective of the number of components, with an additional benefit of enabling the estimation of all types of diffusion coefficients. The available tracer diffusion coefficients estimated following the radiotracer method are compared to the data estimated in this study following this method. This method can also be extended to the systems in which the radiotracer method is not feasible.


In the present study, the authors use the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort of 1998-1999, to examine the extent to which family, school, and neighborhood factors account for the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on children's early reading. Through the use of hierarchical linear modeling techniques, growth curve models were estimated to depict children's reading trajectories from kindergarten to 3rd grade. Family characteristics made the largest contribution to the prediction of initial kindergarten reading disparities. This included home literacy environment, parental involvement in school, and parental role strain. However, school and neighborhood conditions contributed more than family characteristics to SES differences in learning rates in reading. The association between school characteristics and reading outcomes suggests that makeup of the student population, as indexed by poverty concentration and number of children with reading deficits in the school, is related to reading outcomes. The findings imply that multiple contexts combine and are associated with young children's reading achievement and growth and help account for the robust relation of SES to reading outcomes.


Monitoring for synthetic pyrethroids in surface water at the sub-parts per billion level requires reproducible sampling and analytical methods. We studied the recovery of bifenthrin, permethrin, and deltamethrin in water during storage in glass containers and extraction using solid-phase membranes. In solid-free water, the concentration of all compounds quickly decreased and then remained constant at 58-72% of the initial concentration, likely due to adsorption to the glass surface. The recovery was enhanced in runoff samples that contained suspended solids, which was attributed to the association of pesticides to the suspended solids. However, the greatest loss occurred when runoff samples were not agitated before extraction, and the loss was largely caused by the exclusion of the suspended solids from the aqueous phase. Nearly 100% extraction recoveries were obtained when C(8) or C(18) membranes were used for extracting runoff samples. Adsorption to glass surfaces and suspended solids can result in substantial underestimation of pyrethroid concentrations or biological activity and therefore should be considered when designing monitoring protocols.


During the last decade, magnesium and its alloys have been extensively studied to develop a new generation of biodegradable medical implants. The fast degradation rate of pure magnesium and related alloys in the physiological environment poses significant challenges to devices made of these materials for biomedical applications. In this study we have designed and fabricated biodegradable helical stents made of AZ31 magnesium alloy, and have explored their in vitro corrosion behavior in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM). The corrosion rate was significantly reduced by surface modifications of the helical stent, achieved through applying a biocompatible Parylene C polymer coating, or via appropriate chemical etching of the devices in inorganic solutions. The corrosion rates of the coated AZ31 Mg helical stents were compared with uncoated samples used as a control. The results achieved indicated that all tested surface modifications successfully inhibited metal corrosion rates in vitro. Materials coated with Parylene C coating revealed a maximum corrosion rate reduction of 70% to 85% in DMEM solution.


This study investigates the influence of blood flow on temperature distribution during high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation of liver tumors. A three-dimensional acoustic-thermal-hydrodynamic coupling model is developed to compute the temperature field in the hepatic cancerous region. The model is based on the nonlinear Westervelt equation, bioheat equations for the perfused tissue and blood flow domains. The nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations are employed to describe the flow in large blood vessels. The effect of acoustic streaming is also taken into account in the present HIFU simulation study. A simulation of the Westervelt equation requires a prohibitively large amount of computer resources. Therefore a sixth-order accurate acoustic scheme in three-point stencil was developed for effectively solving the nonlinear wave equation. Results show that focused ultrasound beam with the peak intensity 2470 W/cm(2) can induce acoustic streaming velocities up to 75 cm/s in the vessel with a diameter of 3 mm. The predicted temperature difference for the cases considered with and without acoustic streaming effect is 13.5 °C or 81% on the blood vessel wall for the vein. Tumor necrosis was studied in a region close to major vessels. The theoretical feasibility to safely necrotize the tumors close to major hepatic arteries and veins was shown.


Under mild Markov assumptions, sufficient conditions for strict minimax optimality of sequential tests for multiple hypotheses under distributional uncertainty are derived. First, the design of optimal sequential tests for simple hypotheses is revisited and it is shown that the partial derivatives of the corresponding cost function are closely related to the performance metrics of the underlying sequential test. Second, an implicit characterization of the least favorable distributions for a given testing policy is stated. By combining the results on optimal sequential tests and least favorable distributions, sufficient conditions for a sequential test to be minimax optimal under general distributional uncertainties are obtained. The cost function of the minimax optimal test is further identified as a generalized $f$-dissimilarity and the least favorable distributions as those that are most similar with respect to this dissimilarity. Numerical examples for minimax optimal sequential tests under different uncertainties illustrate the theoretical results.


Clopidogrel, a well known P2Y12 (purinergic receptor) inhibitor is widely used for its role in preventing thrombosis by platelet aggregation inhibition. Tumor vasculature is critically dependent on platelet mediated hemostasis and disruption of the same can promote its leakiness. This can increase the intra-tumoral delivery of chemotherapeutic nanoformulations, which depend on the Endothelial permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Also, Expression of P2Y12 receptors has been documented in some cancer cell lines like C6 glioma, kidney carcinoma and colon carcinoma. However, its direct role in altering response to chemotherapeutics has not been studied. In this project we evaluated the role of P2Y12 receptor inhibitors (Clopidogrel and 2-Methylthioadenosine 5-Monophosphate) in potentiating the tumor cytotoxicity of cisplatin based chemotherapeutics in vitro and in vivo. Western blot studies in 4T1 breast cancer cell lines showed a low basal expression of P2Y12 receptors with significant up regulation by cisplatin treatment in a time and dose dependent fashion. Co-administration of P2Y12 inhibitor (MeSAMP) with cisplatin resulted in significantly increased upregulation of caspase dependent apoptotic pathway when compared to cisplatin alone. This was mediated by downstream inhibition of PI3K-pAKT-mTOR pathway by the P2Y12 inhibitor. In-vitro cell proliferation assay showed that co-administration of 2-MeSAMP significantly reduced the IC-50 of cisplatin from 3.9 μM to 1.8μM. In-vivo studies in murine syngenic 4T1 breast cancer model showed significantly decreased tumour growth and increased survival in treatment groups using combination of clopidogrel and cisplatin (free and nanoformulation forms). This was more pronounced with cisplatin nano-formulation combination therapy. Further analysis of tumour tissue using Inductive Coupled Plasma-spectrophotometry confirmed that co-treatment with clopidogrel increased the delivery of free and nanoformulation form of cisplatin to tumor tissue by 1.8 and 4 folds respectively. Taken together our study findings suggest that clopidogrel can enhance therapeutic efficiency of cytotoxic agents by increasing delivery and by direct receptor level effects. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B221.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the feasibility of using optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs) for in-vivo dosimetry of patients undergoing Total Body and Total Marrow Irradiations (TBI and TMI).

METHODS
TBI treatments of 12 Gy were delivered in 6 BID fractions with the patient on a moving couch under a static 10 MV beam (Synergy, Elekta). TMI treatments of 18 Gy in 9 BID fractions were planned and delivered using a 6 MV TomoTherapy unit (Accuray). To provide a uniform dose to the entire patient length, the treatment was split into 2 adjacent fields junctioned in the thigh region. Our standard clinical practice involves in vivo dosimetry with MOSFETs for each TBI fraction and TLDs for at least one fraction of the TMI treatment for dose verification. In this study we also used OSLDs. Individual calibration coefficients were obtained for the OSLDs based on irradiations in a solid water phantom to the dose of 50 cGy from Elekta Synergy 10 MV (TBI) and 6 MV (TMI) beams. Calibration coefficients were calculated based on the OSLDs readings taken 2 hrs post-irradiation. For in vivo dosimetry OSLDs were placed alongside MOSFETs for TBI patients and in approximately the same locations as the TLDs for TMI patients. OSLDs were read 2 hours post treatment and compared to the MOSFET and TLD results.

RESULTS
OSLD measured doses agreed within 5% with MOSFET and TLD results, with the exception of the junction region in the TMI patient due to very high dose gradient and difficulty of precise and reproducible detector placement.

CONCLUSION
OSLDs are useful for in vivo dosimetry of TBI and TMI patients. The quick post-treatment readout is an advantage over TLDs, allowing the results to be obtained between BID fractions, while wireless detectors are advantageous over MOSFETs for treatments involving a moving couch.


Background/introduction Clinical coding in England provides monitoring data for Public Health England via the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Dataset (GUMCAD) and Sexual and Reproductive Health Activity (SRHAD) returns. In London, this data is also used to reflect activity for the Integrated Sexual Health Tariff (ISHT) which may form the basis for payment in future. Integration of contraception and GUM services presents a challenge in maintaining accuracy of clinical coding. Aim(s)/objectives To audit the accuracy of SHAPPT, SRHAD and SRH coding in a multi-site integrated sexual health service, comparing sites traditionally providing GUM services vs contraception. Methods Local standards were agreed; 95% of patients should have accurate SHAPPT, SRHAD and SRH codes. 229 records from 2 GUM sites and 53 from 1 contraception site were audited from attendances between May and July 2014. Results Traditional GUM(% correct) Traditional contraception (% correct) "T" codes 140/142 (99%) 22/25 (88%) P1A, P1B, P1C codes 209/229 (91%) 7/34 (21%) A-C codes 58/67 (86.5%) 3/11 (27%) SRHAD 31/46 (67%) 29/31 (94%) SRH 2/20 (10%) 5/9 (55%) Discussion/conclusion As expected, the accuracy of coding reflected the traditional nature of the sites. The locally set standard of 95% was only reached on one occasion. Missing SRH codes alone would equate to lost income of £1259 from 77 visits if the ISHT was in place. Staff training and weekly capture and correction of missing HIV codes through targeted email reminders has resulted in an improvement in coding.


In this article, I describe my career as a pracademic. Over several decades, I have been able to maintain a substantial private practice in public dispute resolution and also meet the teaching, advising, and research demands of an academic career. I have achieved this by engaging primarily in action research: I begin with "problems" in the field and work collaboratively with stakeholders to generate "solutions" that meet their interests. I then document and analyze these interventions to build prescriptive theory through systematic reflection on my own involvement.

In this article, I discuss how I have been able to achieve success as a "pracademic," but also consider the challenges that young scholars who seek to engage in practice confront today. I further describe some possible strategies for successfully integrating a substantial practice component into an academic career in conflict resolution.


Aflatoxin-B1 (AFB1) is one of secondary metabolite which is produced byAspergillussuch as Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. This mycotoxin is commonly found in agricultural products such as corn and beans. Nowadays, the detection method of AFB1is still expensive for daily routines; therefore it requires an alternative approach for reducing the cost. Through synthetic biology approach, recombinant E. coli is currently used as biosensor for detection of AFB1. In this study, construction of Aflatoxin-Whole Cell Biosensor was obtained by co-transformation of Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) using plasmid pKCYP and plasmid pSOSGFP. Plasmid pKCYP contains CYP 3A4 which is regulated by constitutive promoter, while pSOSGFP contains Green Flourescent Protein (GFP) which is regulated by SOS promoter. The oxidation process of AFB1 by CYP 3A4 becomes AFB1-8,9-epoxideleads to the damage of DNA. This will activate SOS promoter to produce GFP. The first experiment is to test the response of SOS promoter when DNA damage occur. The damaged can be simulated using UV light exposed to recombinant E. coli. pSOSGFPtransformed Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) was exposed by UV light in various range of time; 0 minute, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 90 minutes. Result shows that the GFP intensity was increased significantly as longer as the exposure to UV light was performed. Co-transformation of Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) by pKCYP and pSOSGFP using multiple-antibiotic resistant's selection (Chloramphenicol and Kanamycin) showed the colony formation on the LB agar medium. These co-transformed colonies were characterized by standard-curve and growth-curve formulation in order to Febryana et al., RDNI, Vol. 2, No.2, 2015, pp. 80-90 81 | CAS – Center for Advanced Sciences determine the exponential phase of recombinant E.coli. Based on the growth-curve equation, maximum exponential phase is in the range of OD600 0.896-1.314. During this phase, biosensor was exposed by AFB1 with the concentration of2 ppb and 20 ppb in various range of time; 0 minute, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 120 minutes. Biosensors treated by 20 ppb of Aflatoxin-B1 showedhigher GFP intensity than the biosensors treated by 2 ppb of Aflatoxin-B1. In addition, biosensors treated by AFB1 showedlower growth rate in comparison with non-recombinant E. colias control.


Excretion of mercapturic acids of a xenobiotic is a good indicator for the formation of electrophilic intermediates. However, the route of excretion, urine or feces, is important for usage of a given mercapturic acid as a biomarker in humans. In the present study we investigated the excretion routes of 1-methylpyrenyl mercapturic acid (MPMA) and 1,8-dimethylpyrenyl mercapturic acid (DMPMA) formed from the corresponding benzylic alcohols in rats. Whereas MPMA was primarily excreted in urine (72% of the total urinary and fecal level), DMPMA clearly preferred the fecal route (88%). We then examined interactions of these mercapturic acids with renal basolateral organic anion transporters (OATs) using HEK293 cells stably expressing human OAT1 and OAT3. The uptake rates of MPMA by OAT1- and OAT3-expressing cells were 2.8- and 1.7-fold, respectively, higher than that by control cells. MPMA was a competitive inhibitor of p-aminohippurate uptake by OAT1 and estrone sulfate uptake by OAT3 with Ki values of 14.5 μM and 1.5 μM, respectively. In contrast, DMPMA was not transported by OAT1 and only modestly transported by OAT3 (1.25-fold over control). Thus, we suspect that the substrate specificities, alone or together with other factors, played a directing role in the excretion of MPMA and DMPMA. Although the mechanistic link requires verification, our results clearly show that a minute structural difference (the presence or absence of an additional methyl group in an alkylated four-ring polycyclic hydrocarbon) can strongly affect the interaction with transporter proteins and direct the excretion route of mercapturic acids.


Importance
Cognitive behavioral therapy is recommended for anxiety-related disorders, but evidence for its long-term outcome is limited.

Objective
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the long-term outcomes after cognitive behavioral therapy (compared with care as usual, relaxation, psychoeducation, pill placebo, supportive therapy, or waiting list) for anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Data Sources
English-language publications were identified from PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Cochrane, OpenGrey (1980 to January 2019), and recent reviews. The search strategy included a combination of terms associated with anxiety disorders (eg, panic or phobi*) and study design (eg, clinical trial or randomized controlled trial).

Study Selection
Randomized clinical trials on posttreatment and at least 1-month follow-up effects of cognitive behavioral therapy compared with control conditions among adults with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, PTSD, or OCD.

Data Extraction and Synthesis
Researchers independently screened records, extracted statistics, and assessed study quality. Data were pooled using a random-effects model.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Hedges g was calculated for anxiety symptoms immediately after treatment and at 1 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months, and more than 12 months after treatment completion.

Results
Of 69 randomized clinical trials (4118 outpatients) that were mainly of low quality, cognitive behavioral therapy compared with control conditions was associated with improved outcomes after treatment completion and at 1 to 6 months and at 6 to 12 months of follow-up for a generalized anxiety disorder (Hedges g, 0.07-0.40), panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (Hedges g, 0.22-0.35), social anxiety disorder (Hedges g, 0.34-0.60), specific phobia (Hedges g, 0.49-0.72), PTSD (Hedges g, 0.59-0.72), and OCD (Hedges g, 0.70-0.85). After 12-month follow-up, these associations were still significant for generalized anxiety disorder (Hedges g, 0.22; number of studies [k] = 10), social anxiety disorder (Hedges g, 0.42; k = 3), and PTSD (Hedges g, 0.84; k = 5), but not for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (k = 5) and could not be calculated for specific phobia (k = 1) and OCD (k = 0). Relapse rates after 3 to 12 months were 0% to 14% but were reported in only 6 randomized clinical trials (predominantly for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia).

Conclusions and Relevance
The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety-related disorders is associated with improved outcomes compared with control conditions until 12 months after treatment completion. After 12 months, effects were small to medium for generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder, large for PTSD, and not significant or not available for other disorders. High-quality randomized clinical trials with more than 12 months of follow-up and reported relapse rates are needed.


What makes some lawmakers more effective than others is a central question in American politics. Recent research has emphasized the role of informal, persuasive leadership, but this research has focused almost exclusively on Congress, so it is unclear whether this approach to lawmaking is generally effective. Analysis of state legislatures is hampered by the lack of a theoretically sound and practically feasible measure of legislative effectiveness. I offer a solution to the primary problem with traditional hit rates. I apply this approach to North Carolina legislators and show my effectiveness estimates correspond with expert evaluations. I then examine recent terms of the Michigan, Georgia, and North Carolina legislatures to evaluate the relative importance of formal and informal powers at the state level. I hypothesize and find that informal, persuasive leadership is not effective in state legislatures where lawmaking is better explained by formal, hierarchical authority.


All colonial policies are likely to contain some degree of assimilation in so far as the colonial power is bound to impose some of its own values and standards. French governments, however, frequently explained their policy to be one which implied the political and cultural integration of colonial peoples with metropolitan France. In reality this policy was not strictly followed, but Senegal is a territory of particular interest, since it was here, or at least in part of Senegal, that the policy was applied most consistently. It is this which forms the subject of this short but informative study. Mr Crowder pays particular attention to the cultural field when he tries to estimate Senegalese reaction to assimilation. As he sees things, it was the very Africans who had achieved the greatest distinction within the French cultural framework who were the first to champion a return to the African past in search of their own essential personality. It is in this way that he explains the development of the idea of 'nigritude'. The corresponding 'e'volue'' in British West Africa was, until recently, rarely concerned with his identity as an African and more preoccupied with the achievement of political independence. Such a distinction between French-speaking and English-speaking West Africa may have some truth in it, but it is surely an oversimplification. A consideration of the role of the intellectual within French society, and of the role of the intellectual in developing countries, might lead Mr Crowder to modify his opinion. The idea of assimilation cannot always be seen as the affirmation of European superiority. A number of Frenchmen (such as Robert Delavignette) hoped to create a 'Eurafrique franchise' which would exist as the confluence of three civilizations—European, Arabo-Berber, and Negro-African. They thought that the Fourth Republic, une et indivisible, was the starting-point of this programme. Many of the reasons why this failed to happen are discussed by Mr Crowder. Nevertheless he concludes his book by suggesting that Senegal may yet provide a bridge between the cultures of Africa and Europe. University of Birmingham DOUGLAS JOHNSON


Objective To identify predictors of postnatal catch›up growth from birth to two years and its relation to size and obesity at five years. Design Regional prospective cohort study. Setting Avon longitudinal study of pregnancy and childhood, United Kingdom. Subjects 848 full term singletons from a 10% random sample of the Avon longitudinal study of pregnancy and childhood. Main outcome measures Maternal birth weight,


In my thesis I analyze Walter J. Freeman's neurobiologic theory, focusing on the concept of intentionality, which is the conceptual tool that Freeman uses to explain how the brain works and how it interacts with the body, the environment and the other brains.
According to Freeman, intentionality is the process of creation of meanings, developed in a cyclic dynamic of hypothesis, actions and tests that allows the adaptation of the subjects to the world. This interpretation, supported by specific theories about consciousness, causality, meanings and representations, clearly differs from the most common use of the term, that describes intentionality as the mind property of referring thoughts to objects. In this work I try to determine the consequences of this distinction, not only in the matter of neurodynamics but also about the mind-body problem and other topics of philosophy of mind.


Introduction: Retroperitoneal hematoma are an important factor for hospitalization in patients with trauma and proper treatment is still under discussion and Controversial. We describe a successful case of conservative treatment of huge hematoma after cesarean section. Case presentation: An Iranian 34-year-old multigravida(G4L3) woman with three previous cesarean sections from Urmia province presented to our hospital with amniotic fluid leak. She had full-term pregnancy. Caesarean section was done. One day after caesarean section, she became dyspnea and had chest pain in left side. Embolism is suspected and enoxaparin was administered. According, hemoglobin decreased (HB:6.2) after administered the second dose of enoxaparin and a clear dullness percussion led tosuspected to hemorrhage and retroperitoneal hematoma was discontinued enoxaparin. After the patient is stable, the patient was discharged and retroperitoneal hematoma was followed up by ultrasonography and conservative treatment. Conclusion: Conservative treatment of retroperitoneal hematoma postpartum with good clinical evolution, depends on status of the patient, cause of injury and its evolution.


Most research on creativity describes it as a net positive: producing new products for the organization and satisfaction and positive affect for creative workers. However, a host of anecdotal and h...


The results of calculations employing twelve different combinations of exchange and correlation functionals are compared with results of ab initio calculations for two different configurations of the water dimer and three different configurations of the thymine-adenine complex. None of the density functional theory (DFT) treatments could properly reproduce the results of coupled-cluster calculations for all configurations examined. The DFT approaches perform well when the interaction energy is dominated by the electrostatic component and the dispersion energy is less important. Two mechanisms that compensate for the missing dispersion component were identified. The first one is the decrease of the magnitude of the intermolecular exchange-repulsion and the second one is the increase of the magnitude of the attractive deformation energy. For some functionals both effects are observed together, but for some other ones only the second effect occurs. The three correlation functionals that were examined were found to make only very small contributions to the deformation energy. The examination of angular and distance dependence of the interactions shows that the currently available DFT approaches are not suitable for developing intermolecular potential energy surfaces. They could however be used to find global minima on potential energy surfaces governed by intermolecular electrostatic interactions. Additional single point ab initio calculations are recommended as the means of validating optimized structures.


Cystinosis is a rare autosomal recessive hereditary enzymopathy which leads to accumulation of cystine in the reticuloendothelial system of the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, etc. The pathognomonic alterations of the cornea are characterized by multiple crystalline deposits, chiefly in the limbus area and in the anterior corneal stroma. The retinal changes are seldom described in the literature; they are characterized by a fine-grained pigment shift which intensifies from the macula toward the preequator area and which gives the fundus a 'salt and pepper' appearance.


In the year 2005 were in Japan continuously published textbooks presenting distorted views on various historical issues. Among those raising the most disputes were books published by the Fusosha Publishing Company, which are covering up, or providing justification for Japanese occupation of Korea, exploitation of Korean people and violent enforcement of Japanese colonial administration. Remarkable is also their negative approach toward universal peace values and appraisal of warfare as such. These interpretations of Japanese history are gaining their influence among the right-leaning part of Japanese population and are providing ideological support for many of the neo-colonialists sentiments. Compare to the past situation before 2001 is also obvious the change to more nationalistic, but at the same time more sophisticated arguments. Question of course is, what should Republic of Korea in this situation do. What we can see now is the lack of direct approach toward these question on governmental, but not less on non-governmental level. So what is probably the most necessary for reaching any agreement in the disputes is practical and unbiased approach focusing on the core of the problem, well aware of the fact that the issue of historical textbooks is long-term process requiring good will on both sides. The Japanese opposition toward settling those issues is also influenced by the fact that Japan, relying in foreign policy mainly on United States, feels no urging need for improving her relations with other neighbouring asian countries, especially with Republic of Korea and China, so unless like the european case of german historical reconciliation with victims of nazism, Japanese foreign policy is trying to avoid moral issues be related to international relations.


The existing research of the integrated chassis control mainly focuses on the different evaluation indexes and control strategy. Among the different evaluation indexes, the comprehensive properties are usually not considered based on the non-linear superposition principle. But, the control strategy has some shortages on tyre model with side-slip angle, road adhesion coefficient, vertical load and velocity. In this paper, based on belief, desire and intention(BDI)-agent model framework, the TYRE agent, electric power steering(EPS) agent and active suspension system(ASS) agent are proposed. In the system(SYS) agent, the coordination mechanism is employed to manage interdependences and conflicts among other agents, so as to improve the flexibility, adaptability, and robustness of the global control system. Due to the existence of the simulation demand of dynamic performance, the vehicle multi-body dynamics model is established by SIMPACK. And then the co-simulation analysis is conducted to evaluate the proposed multi-agent system(MAS) controller. The simulation results demonstrate that the MAS has good effect on the performance of EPS and ASS. Meantime, the better road feeling for the driver is provided considering the multiple and complex driving traffic. Finally, the MAS rapid control prototyping is built to conduct the real vehicle test. The test results are consistent to the simulation results, which verifies the correctness of simulation. The proposed research ensures the driving safety, enhances the handling stability, and improves the ride comfort.


Observations of black hole binaries (BHBs) have established a rich phenomenology of X-ray states. The soft states range from the low variability, accretion disc dominated thermal (TD) state to the higher variability, non-thermal steep power law (SPL) state. The disc component in all states is typically modelled with standard thin disc accretion theory. However, this theory is inconsistent with optical/UV spectral, variability and gravitational microlensing observations of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), the supermassive analogues of BHBs. An inhomogeneous disc (ID) model with large (� 0.4 dex) temperature fluctuations in each radial annulus can qualitatively explain all of these AGN observations. The inhomogeneity may be a consequence of instabilities in radiation-dominated discs, and therefore may be present in BHBs as well. We show that ID models can explain many features of the TD and SPL states of BHBs. The observed relationships between spectral hardness, disc fraction and rms variability amplitude in BHBs are reproduced with temperature fluctuations similar to those inferred in AGNs, suggesting a unified picture of luminous accretion discs across orders of magnitude in black hole mass. This picture can be tested with spectral fitting of ID models, X-ray polarization observations and radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations. If BHB accretion discs are indeed inhomogeneous, only the most disc-dominated states (disc fraction 0.95) can be used to robustly infer black hole spin using current continuum fitting methods.


5-exo-dig is a versatile Baldwin tool to predict and make useful heterocyclic compounds from nucleophiles and electrophiles. In order to aid this, a novel metal-free method is proposed to produce [1,3]-oxathiole-2-thiones from a readily synthesized propargyl alcohols and easily accessible carbon disulfide, where both secondary and primary propargyl alcohols are compatible to this methodology. This procedure is simple, versatile, atom economy and functional group tolerance resulting in moderate to excellent yields. Finally, the process was screened on different mode of reaction operation.


Water hardness is a property depending on the presence of alkaline earth metals, mainly calcium and magnesium. Among the strategies for water quality monitoring, ecotoxicological assays are performed to minimize impacts and classify water bodies. For these laboratory evaluations parameters are previously defined in the guidelines, including water hardness for both cultivation and testing medium. The present work was performed to evaluate the effects of different levels of water hardness on the survival and reproduction of the freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata and discuss the influence of natural water hardness on the results of ecotoxicological tests with these environmental samples. Comparing the groups it was possible to observe that those maintained in waters with least hardness had lower reproductive success, while the groups maintained in highest hardness showed better reproduction. These data show that waters with low hardness make the reproduction of the snail B. glabrata unfeasible, and this reveal a problem for ecotoxicity assays using natural water samples.


Policy formation involves the interaction of two systems, the environmental system and the human cognitive system which attempts to form a judgment about it. At present, the interaction between these two systems is not under rational control. That is, although a) interactive computer models of environmental systems have been constructed and are in increasing use, and b) interactive computer models of human judgment have been constructed and have been found to be of practical use, c) links between the two until recently have not been considered. The specific aim of this article is to describe such a link for the purpose of developing an aid for planners and policy makers.


This article assumes that the so called misery that Midian brought to Israel (Jdg 6:1–6) refers to the activities of deported Arabs who were settled in Samaria by the Assyrian king Sargon II in 715 BCE, in order to pacify the Arabs. Assyrian texts show that the Assyrian empire had to struggle both with raids by Arabs against cities and their inhabitants and with difficulties caused by deported people. A probably multilayered pre-deuteronomistic redaction (ca. 700) that formed a cycle of narratives (Ehud, Deborah and Baraq, Gideon) transfered a local problem to the whole country of Israel and called the Arabs Midianites because of their common origin in Northern Arabia. It is possible that the Assyrians tolerated the raids by the Arabs in order to suppress the defeated Samarian population and to garner some profit from the Arabs.


Many of the recent advances in optical lithography have been driven by the utilization of complex photomasks using optical proximity correction (OPC) or phase-shifting technologies. These masks are difficult and expensive to manufacture so the ability to test and characterize the mask making process is very important. This paper examines the issues involved in the use of relatively low-cost electrical critical dimension (ECD) measurement of mask features. Modified cross-bridge test structures have been designed to allow the on-mask measurement of dense and isolated, binary and phase-shifted layouts. The results of electrical and critical dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) testing of these structures are presented and indicate the lower variability associated with ECD measurements. In particular the adverse effect of phase-shifting elements on the accuracy of SEM measurements is highlighted.


SCOPE
The growing world population requires the exploration of new sustainable protein sources to ensure food security. Insects such as mealworm are promising candidates. For safety reasons, a risk assessment, including allergy risks, is needed. Since allergenicity can be influenced by thermal processing, it is highly important to take this into account.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Fresh mealworm was heat processed and extracted by a sequential extraction method using in succession Tris, urea, and a combined SDS/DTT buffer. Extracts were tested using immunoblot, basophil activation test and skin prick test in 15 shrimp allergic patients, previously indicated as population at risk for mealworm allergy. Immunoblots showed a difference in IgE binding between processed and unprocessed mealworm extracts. However, this was due to change in solubility. Some allergens were soluble in urea buffer, but became more soluble in Tris buffer and vice versa. IgE binding was seen for all extracts in blot and basophil activation test. The results from 13 skin prick tests showed a skin reaction similar between processed and unprocessed mealworm.

CONCLUSION
Thermal processing did not lower allergenicity but clearly changed solubility of mealworm allergens. A sequential extraction method allowed for assessment of a broader protein panel.


The analysis of Os VI has for the even system resulted in the determination of all levels (19) in the 5d3 ground configuration and of 14 levels out of 16 theoretically possible levles in the 5d26s configuration. In the odd system all levels (45) of the 5d26p configuration have been found. In the 435-765 A wavelength region 290 lines belonging to the 5d3-5d26p transition array have been classified, while in the 940-1510 A wavelength region 87 lines belonging to the 5d26s-5d26p transition array were classified. The analysis was guided by predicted energy level values and transition probabilities calculated by means of a complete set of orthogonal operators. Calculated energy values, LS-compositions and gA-values, obtained from the final fitted parameter values using the orthogonal operator approach are given.


In 2007 the first brand new Vet School built in over fifty years in the UK, opened at the University of Nottingham. Innovative evidence-based approaches were taken to each aspect of the new Vet School from the ICT infrastructure, staff recruitment through to curriculum design. This is a relatively rare scenario which offers a unique opportunity for research into this set of innovations and their cumulative effect on the student experience.
Research into the student experience is timely and relevant. The world knowledge base is rapidly expanding, in part due to digitality, especially in relation to medical and professional learning. This, with the accompanying disappearance of the 'job for life', has led to increased emphasis within education to develop transferable skills and lifelong learning. As the Higher Education (HE) market becomes more competitive, the student role in the market develops towards consumerism. These factors give impetus for studies into new and developing student learning experiences.
The author is an educationalist with no veterinary expertise. Due to this outsider perspective, an emergent ethnographic approach was taken to the research.
Data sources are wide ranging from participation observation and field notes to recurring interviews with ten key informant students. Analysis was undertaken through thematising data and iterative ethnographic writing, simultaneously with literature review. Data is presented firstly in a series of descriptive vignettes which highlight key findings. Further to this, analysis is presented and underpinned by examples from primary and secondary data. Key issues are described from a majority rule position but also highlighting negative cases. This approach is useful to represent experiences of a community from a combination of participant perspectives.
The research is undertaken in the socio-cultural paradigm where learning is not an individual pursuit but one undertaken in a social context. Wenger's (1999) 'Communities of practice' model describes learning as activity through participation in a community during which individuals construct meaning and identity. This model is most often reported in the literature in relation to informal work-based learning as it is argued that distance between context and classroom creates an artificial learning environment. This thesis takes a novel approach to apply the "Communities of Practice" model to a formal learning environment and considers Higher Education to operate at the 'legitimate periphery of participation' of workplace professionalism. By using Wenger's model as a broad framework, the research highlights the importance of both curriculum and relationships to the student learning experience.
Evidence-based educational approaches such as integrated curriculum and early reflective learning were shown to be beneficial to student learning, although the student understanding of the benefits of these approaches on their learning developed longitudinally across the early part of the course. Students participate in learning through the important relationships which exist between peers, students and teachers, and those within the experienced veterinary community of practice.
Data showed that talk in both formal and informal relationships is a method used by students in constructing conceptual meaning, and is one way that learners understand their construction of a professional identity during the early part of the course. Cognitive, social and experiential congruence between students and others is shown to have impact on the student learning experience. Specific case examples show that the student experience of a wide range of relationships covering each type of congruence has maximum benefit. Peer learning has significant benefits, and talk and discussion are key to developing both meaning and identity. Professional identity is constructed during both formal and informal, planned and emergent contexts. Significant others act as role models or anti-role models in the student learning journey. SVMS learners develop a professional learning identity related to the nature of knowledge and lifelong learning.
A brief summary of the most recent British Veterinary Association (BVA) and Association of Veterinary Students (AVS) student satisfaction survey (2008) concludes that Nottingham has the highest levels of satisfaction and perceived readiness for practice amongst its students of any UK Vet School. This research shows the way that students in the new Vet School learn to both 'talk the walk' and 'walk the walk'.


This paper presents a method of genotypic stability analysis for regional variety trials. Based on the principle of structural relationship analysis, the genotype-environment interaction effect of a variety is partitioned into two components. They are the linear response to environmental effects, which is measured by a statistic α, and the deviation from the linear response, which is measured by another statistic λ A perfectly stable variety has (α, λ)=(-1, 1) and a variety with average stability has (α, λ) = (0, 1).

Seedlings in three series of potato maincrop regional trials were analyzed for the genotypic stability of their marketable tuber yields. The results showed that the highest yielders were unstable, while the seedlings with average stability had about the same yielding ability as the check varieties.


Current guidelines for vaccination in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) recipients recommend initiation of pneumococcal vaccination series three to six months post-HCT, with most data supporting initiation at six months due to a more robust immune response. This single-center, retrospective, observational chart review aimed to evaluate the impact of initiating the pneumococcal vaccine series at three months post-HCT compared to six months post-HCT. The primary endpoints were defined as a percentage of patients with a serologic response of >1 and >1.3 µg/mL for over 50% of the defined serotypes. Outcomes showed no difference in immunologic response between the two groups.


Denaturing Isoelectric Focusing Free-Flow Electrophoresis (IEF-FFE) Fractionation of Crude Protein Mixtures Peter J.A. Weber, Gerhard Weber, and Christoph Eckerskorn This protocol was adapted from "Denaturing IEF-FFE Fractionation of Crude Protein Mixtures," contributed by Peter J.A. Weber, Gerhard Weber, and Christoph Eckerskorn, Chapter 19, in Purifying Proteins for Proteomics (ed. Simpson). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2004.


Transformers have demonstrated tremendous success not only in the natural language processing (NLP) domain but also the field of computer vision, igniting various creative approaches and applications. Yet, the superior performance and modeling flexibility of transformers came with a severe increase in computation costs, and hence several works have proposed methods to reduce this burden. Inspired by a cost-cutting method originally proposed for language models, Data Multiplexing (DataMUX), we propose a novel approach for efficient visual recognition that employs additional dim1 batching (i.e., concatenation) that greatly improves the throughput with little compromise in the accuracy. We first introduce a naive adaptation of DataMux for vision models, Image Multiplexer, and devise novel components to overcome its weaknesses, rendering our final model, ConcatPlexer, at the sweet spot between inference speed and accuracy. The ConcatPlexer was trained on ImageNet1K and CIFAR100 dataset and it achieved 23.5% less GFLOPs than ViT-B/16 with 69.5% and 83.4% validation accuracy, respectively.


Hydrogeophysical investigation of groundwater systems in Otukpo, Benue State, Nigeria has been carried out using vertical electrical sounding (VES) technique to delineate the groundwater potentials across the study area. Ten (10) vertical electrical soundings were carried out during the geophysical survey using the Schlumberger configuration of electrical resistivity method with maximum current and potential electrode spacing of 600 meters and 80 meters respectively. The VES data was qualitatively and quantitatively interpreted using the conventional curve matching and computer iteration methods. The result of qualitative interpretation depicts that the VES curves obtained within the study area are mainly the QH and KQH which are typically indicative of a sedimentary terrain. The results of the quantitative interpretation reveal that the resistivity values from shallow subsurface to the depth of about 500 m of the VES stations ranges from 3 Ωm to 1250 Ωm. The VES results also show that the study is characterized by seven (7) different inferred lithological layers namely; topsoil, sand/silt, laterite, clay, shale, sandstone and the basement rock. The result also reveals that the depth to water-saturated unit ranges from 450 to 500 meters within the study area. Two distinguished aquifer types were obtained within the area namely; unconfined and confined aquifers. The findings reveal that the future borehole drillers should target the confined aquifers situated between the depths of 450meters to 500 meters beneath the surface for sustainable groundwater yield across the study area.


This paper presents a driver performance map of braking and steering in response to three driving scenarios that lead to rear-end crashes. This map encompasses low risk, conflict, near-crash, and crash imminent driving states that correspond to advisory warning, crash imminent warning, and crash mitigation functionalities for intelligent vehicle rear-end crash countermeasures. Specifically, this paper models driver response to a lead vehicle decelerating by building upon prior research that estimated the state boundaries for driver response to lead vehicle stopped or moving at slower constant speed. In addition, this paper compares braking performance to steering performance in the lead vehicle-decelerating scenario using plots of range and range-rate that roughly quantify the boundaries between the driving conflict states. Driver performance is also discussed among the three rear-end crash scenarios.


Fertility 2008 BFS Summer College 2008 OC1: Do patients receiving donor sperm need evaluation of their uterine cavity and fallopian tubes? Tulay Karasu, Ben Lavender, Anne Hemingway, Geoffrey Trew, & Stuart Lavery IVF Unit, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom, and Imaging, Imperial College Healthcare, London, United Kingdom Introduction. In cases of infertility requiring the use of donor sperm, there is a debate about whether investigations for uterine and tubal pathology are routinely necessary, and if so which is the investigation of choice. We wanted to find out whether assessment of the uterine cavity and fallopian tubes with hysterosalpingogram (HSG) detects a significant amount of pathology which could affect treatment outcome. Material & Methods. This is a retrospective study in a London teaching hospital-assisted conception programme looking into the investigations of women prior to their treatment with Donor sperm. In the time period from January 2003 to November 2007, 162 women underwent assisted conception (IUI/IVF) Donor treatment in our unit. The patients were identified from the embryology database and data were collected from their case notes. Results. One hundred and forty-nine women (92%) had an HSG performed before starting their treatment. The HSG was normal in 92 women (56.8%) and showed abnormalities in 57 women (35.2%). Uterine pathology only was detected in 31 women (20.8%) and tubal pathology only was described in six patients (4%). Nineteen patients (12.8%) had uterine as well as tubal pathology on HSG examination. HSG was abandoned in one patient due to technical difficulties. Seventeen women (11.9%) underwent laparoscopic surgery, and 10 of these women had confirmed tubal pathology (7% in total), mainly hydrosalpinx. Hysteroscopy was performed in 35 women (24.5%) with 25 women showing uterine abnormalities (17.5% in total). The main findings were polyps in the uterine cavity. Conclusions. 17.5% of the patients had confirmed uterine abnormalities and 7% of the women demonstrated tubal pathology. The findings of the HSG did influence further management such as the decision to perform surgery or to proceed with IUI or IVF. We therefore believe that evaluation of the uterine cavity and tubes is justified in women before treatment with Donor sperm, and in our own practice we use the HSG. OC2: Correlation between number of eggs predicted and actual eggs collected during IVF/ICSI stimulated cycles: a prospective observational pilot study Koli Chandra Reddy, Arianna D'angelo, Grace Jose, Bebbie Jefferies, Lorraine Goucher, & Janet Evans IVF Wales University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom Background. It is always difficult to predict accurately the number of eggs to collect during an ART cycle only looking at the follicular size and numbers on transvaginal scan on the day of hCG injection. The accurate prediction is extremely important for patients' expectation and for the laboratory to prepare the culture dishes for the day of the egg collection. The aim is to assess the correlation between number and size of follicles reported by the scan and actual number of oocytes collected. Material & Method. Prospective observational data collection between December 2007 and February 2008 (6 weeks) at the IVF Wales Unit, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. On the day of the oocyte retrieval, patients' details including demographic factors, stimulation regime, size and number of the follicles on day 11, and when appropriate, day 14 of monitoring were collected. The number of oocytes was predicted on the basis of follicular mean size of 16 mm around the time of the trigger injection. The actual number of eggs was collected on the day of the procedure for each patient. Any difficulties encountered during the procedure (i.e. high ovaries) were noted. Statistical analysis performed using Microsoft Excel software. Results. Twenty-six (26) women data were collected. Mean age was 34 years (25–42), mean BMI was 26 (19–40), 92.4% were nonsmokers, 65.3% were primary subfertile, 65.3% had no previous ART, 23% were PCO, 19.2% had endometriosis, 80.8% used urinary hMG. According to the number of follicles plotted during the scan, 57.6% had good response (6–14 follicles 16 mm), 30.7% had poor response (56 follicles 16 mm) and 11.5% had hyper response (415 follicles 16 mm). On day of hCG injection, 35 follicles were between 12 and 13 mm, 47 follicles were between 14 and 15 mm and 151 were 16 mm (total 233). The total number of eggs predicted was 231, and the actual total number of eggs collected was 217. 69.3% of the procedures were not difficult. Conclusions. The mean follicular size measured by ultrasound on the day of hCG of 12 mm over-estimates the number of eggs collected by 7.3% (þ16 eggs). However, considering only 14 mm on same day underestimates by 8.7% (719 eggs). This can be useful when counselling the patients and for the laboratory organization before the egg collection. OC3: Effect of pituitary desensitization on the early growing follicular cohort estimated using Anti-Mullerian Hormone Kannamannadiar Jayaprakasan, Bruce Campbell, James Hopkisson, Jeanette Clewes, Ian Johnson, & Nick Raine-Fenning NURTURE, School of Human Development, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom Background. Although the decrease in FSH secondary to shortterm administration of GnRH agonist during IVF does not affect the number of ultrasonographically detected antral follicles, its effect on the early growing follicle population, not evident on even highresolution ultrasound, is not known. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pituitary desensitization on the early growing Human Fertility, August 2008; 11(S1): 3–13 ISSN 1464-7273 print/ISSN 1742-8149 online British Fertility Society DOI: 10.1080/14647270802336171 H um F er til ( C am b) D ow nl oa de d fr om in fo rm ah ea lth ca re .c om b y 41 .2 15 .7 0. 21 4 on 0 3/ 14 /1 1 Fo r pe rs on al u se o nl y. follicle population through assessment of serum anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) concentration. Other markers of ovarian reserve, basal FSH, LH, oestradiol, Inhibin-B and three-dimensional ultrasound ovarian parameters have also been assessed for comparison. Methods. One-hundred and two subjects aged5 40 years with FSH levels512 IU/l underwent venepuncture and transvaginal ultrasound in the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle and after 14 days of downregulation using GnRH agonists. Serum levels of AMH and other markers of ovarian reserve measured during the early follicular phase and those measured following down-regulation were compared using a paired students' t-test for normally distributed or Wilcoxon signed rank test and skewed data, respectively. The study was approved by the National Health Service research ethics committee, and written consent was obtained prior to the enrolment of each subject. Results. Although mean (+SD) AMH levels increased significantly (P5 0.01) by about 28% (1.3+ 0.7–1.6+0.9 ng/ml), there was a significant decline (P50.01) of about 40–50% in levels of Inhibin-B (47.9+26.5 to 15.0+16.0 pg/ml), FSH (7.1+1.9 to 4.2+1.5 IU/l), LH (5.3+3.0 to 2.6+ 1.6 IU/l) and oestradiol (156.5+ 66.3 to 64.3+45.3 pmol/l). Down-regulation treatment was also associated with a decrease (P50.01) in mean ovarian volume (6.5+ 2.0 to 5.6+ 2.2 cm) and in ovarian blood flow indices (vascularisation index: 7.5+ 4.3 to 6.1+5.0; flow index: 36.3+4.7 to 34.1+7.9 and vascular flow index: 2.9+ 1.8 to 2.3+1.8), but no difference was seen in the antral follicle count (14.9+ 4.4 to 14.6+ 6.0). Conclusion. Pituitary desensitization results in a significant increase in AMH levels, which implies that either the secretion of AMH by early growing follicles is enhanced or that the size of this follicle cohort is increased. The number of antral follicles visualised on ultrasound in the early follicular phase and at down-regulation appears unchanged suggesting any effect is restricted to the smaller 'selectable' follicles. OC4: Endometrial expression of follistatin and inhibin/ activin in women with implantation failure after IVF Alka Prakash, Elizabeth M. Tuckerman, Susan Laird, Bolarinde Ola, Tin C. Li, & William L. Ledger Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom, Biomedical Research Unit, Sheffield, United Kingdom, BRMC, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom, Academic Unit of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom, and Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom Introduction. The aim of the study was to assess the expression of beta A and beta B subunit of inhibin/activin molecule and follistatin in the endometrium of women with history of implantation failure after IVF and compare it with a fertile control group. Methods. This was a case–control study. Eleven women with history of implantation failure were recruited from the implantation failure clinic whereas seven women with history of proven fertility were recruited as a control group. All women had daily measurements of luteinising hormone (LH) until an LH surge was identified. An endometrial biopsy sample was then taken at day LHþ 7. The tissue obtained was dated using Noyes criteria and immunocytochemistry using the ABC method was performed on paraffin embedded sections to assess expression of beta A subunit, beta B subunit and follistatin molecule expression in the endometrium. Results. There was a trend for lower beta A stromal score in women with implantation failure although this was not statistically significant. The mean H score for glandular epithelial follistatin expression was significantly lower in women with repeated IVF failure as compared with the control group (P1⁄40.03). Conclusion. The reduced expression of follistatin in the endometrial glandular compartment in women with implantation failure did not translate into increased activin expression from the endometrium