Pulmonary diseases associated with a heightened risk of lung cancer, such as emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary fibrosis, show both increased and deregulated inflammation. Tobacco smoke exposure is associated with chronic airway inflammation and is the strongest risk factor for the development of lung cancer. Inflammatory mediators and inflammatory cells are overexpressed in the pulmonary microenvironment of both smokers and patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here we report that exposure to IL-1β, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, induces epithelial-mesenchymal tranisition (EMT) in a subset of NSCLC cell lines. An important feature of mesenchymal cells is their ability to migrate independently and invade locally - which is considered a prerequisite for metastasis. Following IL-1β exposure there are changes in cellular morphology, disruption of the cells9 ability to form spheroids in 3-D culture and increased motility. There is also an upregulation of Slug (SNAI1), N-cadherin and Vimentin and downregulation of E-cadherin. Slug, a transcriptional repressor of E-cadherin, is found via chromatin immunoprecipitation to be bound to the E-cadherin promoter following IL-1β exposure. Blocking Slug expression using siRNA inhibits this downregulation of E-cadherin. IL-1β has many well-characterized effects on signaling pathways and protein expression, including the upregulation of COX-2 which has been shown previously to decrease E-cadherin expression. However, the IL-1β-mediated downregulation of E-cadherin presented here is COX-2 independent. Blocking COX-2 activity with celecoxib or by use of cells expressing COX-2 antisense does not abrogate the IL-1β dependent E-cadherin downregulation. These effects are important due their possible impact on cancer therapy. E-cadherin expression is implicated as a marker of sensitivity to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), which are used as therapy for NSCLC. The loss of E-cadherin is associated with lack of response to EGFR TKIs. Factors which contribute to EMT therefore are important not only in terms of their impact on malignancy and tumor progression but also because they can influence drug sensitivity. Our work shows apoptosis, measured by an increase in cleaved PARP, is induced in A549 cells following 24 hours of erlotinib (10µM) treatment. However, pretreating these cells with IL-1β blocks erlotinib-induced apoptosis. This suggests that the chronic presence of IL-1β in the tumor microenvironment may negatively impact the efficacy of some drug therapies. In addition, in H1437 cells, treatment with IL-1β led to a large increase in the expression of survivin, an anti-apoptotic protein. In light of IL-1β9s multiple effects, its presence in the pulmonary microenvironment may play a specific role in setting the stage for metastasis and promoting resistance to targeted prevention and therapy. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2311.


TeO2–Pb3O4 (TPO) glasses codoped with Nd3+ and Yb3+ ions have been fabricated by conventional melting technique. The absorption, emission and excitation spectra of the samples have been recorded. The optical band gap in both the doped/codoped glasses is found to be ∼3.31 eV. Judd–Ofelt analysis has been carried out by using the absorption spectrum of 0.8 mol% Nd3+ doped glass to determine the radiative properties viz radiative transition probabilities, branching ratios, radiative lifetimes, quality factor and emission cross sections of some emitting levels for Nd3+ ions. The radiative transition probability for the 4G7/2 → 4I9/2 transition (∼1926 Hz) is found to be maximum compared to other 4G5/2 → 4I9/2 (∼1622 Hz) and 4F5/2 → 4I9/2 (∼865 Hz) transitions. Upconversion (UC) luminescence of the samples has been examined by the 980 nm CW diode laser excitation. Effect of addition of Yb3+ ions in the Nd3+ doped glasses on UC emission intensity has been discussed. The UC emission intensity corresponding to the green, red and NIR bands in the codoped glass has been enhanced by ∼17, ∼12 and ∼42 times as compared to that of the Nd3+ singly doped glass. The quantum efficiency for the 4G7/2 level is found to be ∼32%. The nephelauxetic ratio, bonding parameter and covalency of Nd3+ ions have been found positive which represents the covalent bonding between Nd3+ ion and oxygen atom. The colour tunability from yellowish-green to dominant green region has been obtained in the optimized codoped TPO glass.


We performed measurements of carbon dioxide fugacity (fCO2) in the surface water under Arctic sea ice from January to June 2015 during the Norwegian young sea ICE (N-ICE2015) expedition. Over this period, the ship drifted with four different ice floes and covered the deep Nansen Basin, the slopes north of Svalbard and the Yermak Plateau. This unique winter-to-spring dataset includes the first winter-time under-ice water fCO2 observations in this region. The observed under-ice fCO2 ranged between 315 µatm in winter and 153 µatm in spring, hence was undersaturated relative to the atmospheric fCO2. Although the sea ice partly prevented direct CO2 exchange between ocean and atmosphere, frequently occurring leads and breakup of the ice sheet promoted sea-air CO2 fluxes. The CO2 sink varied between 0.3 and 86 mmol C m−2 d−1, depending strongly on the open-water fractions (OW) and storm events. The maximum sea-air CO2 fluxes occurred during storm events in February and June. In winter, the main drivers of the change in under-ice water fCO2 were dissolution of CaCO3 (ikaite) and vertical mixing. In June, in addition to these processes, primary production and sea-air CO2 fluxes were important. The cumulative loss due to CaCO3 dissolution of 0.7 mol C m−2 in the upper 10 m played a major role in sustaining the undersaturation of fCO2 during the entire study. The relative effects of the total fCO2 change due to CaCO3 dissolution was 38%, primary production 26%, vertical mixing 16%, sea-air CO2 fluxes 16%, and temperature and salinity insignificant. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of Cu 2+ doped KHCO3 single crystals were studied at room temperature. The results indicate a substitutional entrance of the Cu 2+ ions in place of the magnetically inequivalent K + sites. The charge compensation is supposed to be fulfilled by proton vacancies. The hyperfine lines were well resolved and the Cu hyperfine coupling tensors were also found. The ground state of Cu 2+ indicates the dominance of the d x2 y2 orbital and, therefore, elongation of the polyhedron, similar to a lengthened octahedron.


Erythrapheresis was performed in 10 patients with polycythaemia secondary to hypoxic lung disease (mean PaO2, 6.8 kPa (51 mm Hg)). The mean packed cell volume decreased from 0.64 to 0.48 in men and from 0.56 to 0.42 in women, with significant decreases in blood viscosity at both high and low shear rates (p less than 0.001). Patients showed significant improvement in six-minute walking distances (p less than 0.001) and in tests of mental alertness (p less than 0.01) compared to control subjects. Visual analogue scales confirmed symptomatic improvement after erythrapheresis. Erythrapheresis significantly improved symptoms, mental function, and work performance in patients with polycythaemia secondary to hypoxic lung disease. The procedure was well tolerated by all patients and no complications occurred.


The effect of unintended titanium release around oral implants remains a biological concern. The current study was undertaken to evaluate a new detection system of element mapping in biological probes. A new scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy detection method was used to map the features of titanium contamination in peri-implant bone around implants with different surface structures. The amount of titanium wear was highest adjacent to titanium-plasma-sprayed surfaces, followed by sandblastered large grid acid-etched and smooth surfaces. A high sensitivity of titanium detection over large areas of bone tissue was observed. A high spatial resolution of titanium wear particles (20 nm) could be reached and correlated to the ultrastructural morphological features of peri-implant tissue. Cells adjacent to titanium wear revealed no signs of morphological alterations on a nanoscale level at early periods of implant/bone interaction. The new technique may serve as a fast and effective tool to evaluate titanium release effects in biological probes.


Previous research has demonstrated the improved target detection performance resulting from the coherent motion cues provided by a visually time-compressed radar display (Moll and Scanlan, 1972; Scanlan, Roscoe, and Williges, 1971). These studies indicate that, as the detection task becomes more difficult because of increased noise and clutter, the improvement due to time compression increases. The results of these studies further indicate that, if the spatial aspect of the target could also be enhanced, additional target detection improvement might be realized. The present study compared target detection performance on a standard time-compressed display with performance on two displays that provide both spatial and temporal target cues. A fourth display providing primarily spatial cues was also included in the comparison. The results indicate that the addition of spatial cues improves the detectability of a target under conditions of high noise and that at least five frames of storage are required for best performance.


Performance measurement and management (PM&M) poses daunting challenges to organizations in terms of meeting multiple stakeholders' objectives. Evaluation of these objectives, and hence performance is essential for many reasons such as monitoring and control, diagnosis, improvement, learning and decision-making. Performance measures as descriptors of performance are the key tools in this evaluation process. However, the multidimensionality of performance, the inter-dependencies among performance measures and the pursuit to manage many dimensions of performance complicate this process. The uncertainty regarding objectives satisfaction adds further complexity to the evaluation process. To deal with these issues, a value-risk based PMS is developed. The proposed system consists of a conceptual model and a methodological framework. The former integrates consistently the concepts relevant to objectives, activities and risks in one framework and conceptualizing the idea of value and risk based performance management, while the latter transforms the expectations and fears of stakeholders into value and risk indicators respectively for informed decision making.


In recent years, interest has been given to the relationship between dental occlusion and athletes' performance. A correct occlusion allows for a correct position of the mandible in space and could be reached by wearing a splint made by a dentist. Achieving this condition appears to be an advantage for all athletes, and especially for those who have TMJ dysfunction. The purpose of the study was to investigate the hypothesis and common belief that correcting the occlusion or the use of a splint could improve an athlete's performance. A search on electronic database has been performed and obtained 141 results; then, following the application of the inclusion criteria, only 11 articles were selected. A good occlusion seems to be an advantage for the athletes, but the use of an occlusal splint should be evaluated in different sports, because the occlusion and TMJ conditions of the athletes are different and the efforts in which they are subjected could not be generalized because the sports have various rules and characteristics that involves the stomatognathic system differently.


Contemporary scholarship does not pay enough attention to stigma in relation to its temporal status; i.e. whether the stigma is temporary and changeable, or is it permanent? The present article links the study of sociology of time, of de-stigmatization strategies and of narrative resistance, through a case study of individuals who are stigmatized on the basis of an attribute perceived as temporary and changeable – fatness. Conducting a comparative analysis of Before-and-After weight-loss articles appearing in an Israeli online health magazine, I examine how these narratives marginalize fat people by presenting fatness as temporary and changeable. I then compare these narratives to life narratives produced by Israeli-Jewish women, who self-identify as fat. Participants subvert mainstream narratives in two ways: (1) assigning the fat body to "After," thereby challenging the temporary and transient status of fatness and (2) subverting other discursive characteristics of Before-and-After Weight-Loss Narratives. As a result, participants produce valid knowledge and social criticism from a stable fat subject position.


The shedding profile of Marek's disease virus serotype 1 (MDV1, virulent), serotype 2 (MDV2, vaccinal) and herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT, vaccinal) in commercial broiler chickens was determined by measuring the daily rate of production of feather dander from chickens housed in isolators and by quantifying the viral load of each of these serotypes in the dander using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). MDV1 and HVT viruses were detectable in dander filtered from isolator exhaust air from day 7 and MDV2 from day 12 after infection and thereafter until the end of the experiment at 61 days of age of the chickens. There was no difference in shedding rate among the three MDV1 isolates. Daily shedding of MDV1 increased sharply between days 7 and 28 and stabilized thereafter at about 10(9) virus copies per chicken per day, irrespective of vaccination status. Challenge with the three different MDV1 isolates markedly increased shedding of the vaccinal viruses HVT and MDV2 in dander by 38- and 75-fold, respectively. These results demonstrate the utility of qPCR for the differentiation and quantification of different MDV serotypes in feather dander and have significant implications for the routine monitoring of Marek's disease using qPCR assays of dust, for epidemiological modelling of the behaviour and spread of MDVs in chicken populations and for studies into the evolution of virulence in MDV1 in the face of blanket vaccination with imperfect vaccines that ameliorate disease but do not prevent infection and replication of virulent virus.


[1] The Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique (LMD) Mesoscale Model is a new versatile simulator of the Martian atmosphere and environment at horizontal scales ranging from hundreds of kilometers to tens of meters. The model combines the National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP)-National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) fully compressible nonhydrostatic Advanced Research Weather Research and Forecasting (ARW-WRF) dynamical core, adapted to Mars, with the LMD-general circulation model (GCM) comprehensive set of physical parameterizations for the Martian dust, CO2, water, and photochemistry cycles. Since LMD-GCM large-scale simulations are also used to drive the mesoscale model at the boundaries of the chosen domain of interest, a high level of downscaling consistency is reached. To define the initial state and the atmosphere at the domain boundaries, a specific "hybrid" vertical interpolation from the coarse-resolution GCM fields to the high-resolution mesoscale domain is used to ensure the stability and the physical relevancy of the simulations. Used in synoptic-scale mode with a cyclic domain wrapped around the planet, the mesoscale model correctly replicates the main large-scale thermal structure and the zonally propagating waves. The model diagnostics of the near-surface pressure, wind, and temperature daily cycles in Chryse Planitia are in accordance with the Viking and Pathfinder measurements. Afternoon gustiness at the respective landing sites is adequately accounted for on the condition that convective adjustment is turned off in the mesoscale simulations. On the rims of Valles Marineris, intense daytime anabatic (∼30 m s−1) and nighttime katabatic (∼40 m s−1) winds are predicted. Within the canyon corridors, topographical channeling can amplify the wind a few kilometers above the ground, especially during the night. Through large-eddy simulations in Gusev Crater, the model describes the mixing layer growth during the afternoon, and the associated dynamics: convective motions, overlying gravity waves, and dust devil–like vortices. Modeled temperature profiles are in satisfactory agreement with the Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES) measurements. The ability of the model to transport tracers at regional scales is exemplified by the model's prediction for the altitude of the Tharsis topographical water ice clouds in the afternoon. Finally, a nighttime "warm ring" at the base of Olympus Mons is identified in the simulations, resulting from adiabatic warming by the intense downslope winds along the flanks of the volcano. The surface temperature enhancement reaches +20 K throughout the night. Such a phenomenon may have adversely affected the thermal inertia derivations in the region.


expected based on the work of Kraemer et al and similar work by others (3,4). Meta-analysis is an important technique that increasingly informs health care policy and clinical practice guidelines and recommendations. Researchers and clinicians need to be aware of the important pitfalls that can lead to significant biases in reported results. Hall et al would have done well by concluding that the literature on Tai Chi for chronic pain was not yet ready for meta-analysis. Ms Schieir has received funding from a Fonds de la Recherche en Santé de Québec (FRSQ) Bourse de Formation, Formation Maı̂trise (2008–2010) and a Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Studentship (Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CIHR] Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research grant, 2002–2009). Dr. Thombs is supported by a New Investigator Award from the CIHR and an Établissement de Jeunes Chercheurs Award from the FRSQ.


We present a theoretical investigation of the spectral properties of spontaneous emission in semiconductor optical amplifiers. We use an extended (3/spl times/3) transfer matrix formalism to derive in the spectral domain an expression for the total longitudinally averaged internal field, which is valid regardless of the levels of optical input and bias current. The material parameters are saturated not only by the monochromatic signal, but also by the amplified spontaneous emission, filtered into the resonance modes of the structure, and integrated over its whole spectral range.


A great deal of effort has been spent on both trying to specify software requirements and on ensuring that software actually matches these requirements. A wide range of techniques that includes theorem proving, model checking, type-based analysis, static analysis, runtime monitoring, and the like have been proposed. However, in many areas adoption of these techniques remains spotty. In fact, obtaining a specification or a precise notion of correctness is in many cases quite elusive. In this paper we investigate an approach we call program boosting, which involves crowd-sourcing imperfect solutions to a difficult programming problem from developers and then blending these programs together in a way that improves their correctness. We show how interesting and highly non-trivial tasks such as writing regular exepressions for URLs or email addresses can be effectively crowd-sourced. We demonstrate that carefully blending the crowd-sourced results together consistently produces a boost, yielding results that are better than any of the starting programs. Our experiments on 465 programs show consistent boosts in accuracy and demonstrate that program boosting can be performed at a relatively modest monetary cost.


Few environmental risk factors for Alzheimer's disease have been identified. This lack of information may reflect the fact that salient factors affect most of the population in developed countries. Furthermore, the critical period of exposure may be earlier than hitherto suspected, during the first years of life, as the brain differentiates and develops. Exposure to lead at levels lower than those associated with evident toxicity causes mild intellectual impairment in childhood. I hypothesize that this may be one of the childhood exposures that also confers an additional risk for the onset of Alzheimer's disease. (Epidemiology 1998; 9:618–621)


The contemporary approach to dental caries management in children focuses on prevention than treatment. Pediatricians, general dentists and pediatric dentists must be involved in a detailed preventive program, which includes prenatal counselling, treatment of expectant mothers at risk for dental caries, infant oral health care and the establishment of the dental home, so that dental disease can be prevented in infants, starting at a young age. Various health care system and organizations in India must join together to promote oral health care for all the children and specially focused toward children from disadvantaged background and children with special health care needs. How to cite this article Suresh KS, Kumar P, Javanaiah N, Shantappa S, Srivastava P. Primary Oral Health Care in India: Vision or Dream? Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2016;9(3):228-232.


Abstract. The modelling of small-scale processes is a major source of error in weather and climate models, hindering the accuracy of low-cost models which must approximate such processes through parameterization. Red noise is essential to many operational parameterization schemes, helping model temporal correlations. We show how to build on the successes of red noise by combining the known benefits of stochasticity with machine learning. This is done using a recurrent neural network within a probabilistic framework (L96-RNN). Our model is competitive and often superior to both a bespoke baseline and an existing probabilistic machine learning approach (GAN, generative adversarial network) when applied to the Lorenz 96 atmospheric simulation. This is due to its superior ability to model temporal patterns compared to standard first-order autoregressive schemes. It also generalizes to unseen scenarios. We evaluate it across a number of metrics from the literature and also discuss the benefits of using the probabilistic metric of hold-out likelihood.


The fabrication of a thick oxide layer onto an aluminum surface via anodization has been a subject of intense research activity for more than a century, largely due to protective and decorative applications. The capability to create well-defined pores via a cost-effective electrochemical oxidation technique onto the surface has made a major renaissance in the field, as the porous surfaces exhibit remarkably different properties compared to a bulk oxide layer. Amongst the various nanoporous structures being investigated, nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) with well-organized and highly ordered hexagonal honeycomb-like pores has emerged as the most popular nanomaterial due to its wide range of applications, ranging from corrosion resistance to bacterial repelling surfaces. As compared to conventional nanostructure fabrication, the electrochemical anodization route of NAA with well-controlled pore parameters offers an economical route for fabricating nanoscale materials. The review comprehensively reflects the progress made in the fabrication route of NAA to obtain the material with desired pore properties, with a special emphasis on self-organization and pore growth kinetics. Detailed accounts of the various conditions that can play an important role in pore growth kinetics and pore parameters are presented. Further, recent developments in the field of controlling optical properties of NAA are discussed. A critical outlook on the future trends of the fabrication of NAA and its optical properties on the emerging nanomaterials, sensors, and devices are also outlined.


One of the key questions facing e-tailers centres on how to keep customers loyal when competitors are only a 'click away'. In addressing this question the reciprocal behaviour of customers is investigated in response to retailer investments online. This paper puts forward the argument that online retailer investments or 'efforts' perceived to have been made by the consumer will positively affect the strength of the relationship between retailers and consumers through relationship quality and so in turn e-loyalty. This paper further proposes that the strength of the relationship will vary amongst the individual dimensions of relationship quality (online ongoing trust, online relationship satisfaction and online affective commitment). Empirical data is collected from four significant retail e-commerce markets; China, India, UK and US to provide an international perspective. The apparel and consumer electrical sectors have been chosen due to their popularity as online product categories and competitive market structures. Findings show strong support for this argument across China, India, UK and the US. Positive relationships are found between investments retailers make online and the individual dimensions of; online trust, satisfaction, and commitment. The weakest relationship across all four countries is found between online retailer investments and online relationship satisfaction. Slight variations have been found between the product sectors suggesting affective commitment is more significant in the apparel sector. The strongest relationships are found between online retailer investments and trust in China, India and the US, and with affective commitment in the UK. Data was collected from 1011 usable online surveys.


The impact of rice and maize production on food security in Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized. The aim of this research was to characterize, classify and evaluate the suitability of soils formed in fluvial deposits within eastern part of Kogi State in Nigeria for rice and maize production. This was supported by the fact that the knowledge of the characteristics and soil groups of fluvial deposits in soils is an integral part in soil suitability evaluation as well as management. Four (4) soil profile pits were sunk within the research area. The pedonswere located within the 19a mapping unit of the soil map of Nigeria which has the fluvial deposits. Pedons were adequately described as soil samples were collected from pedogenic horizons, and preserved in well-labelled polyethylene bags, transported to the Laboratory for analyses. The findings revealed that the soils were characterized by dominant gray (10YR4/1) and dark reddish gray (10R4/1) in the surface soils and dominance of various shades of gray in the subsurface soils. Most of the soil structures were single-grained and subangular blocky at the surface and subsurface soils respectively. The soil texture was sandy clay loam and sandy loam in the A horizons. The soil reaction showed mean values of 6.1 and 5.5 at the surface and subsurface horizons with base saturation highest (91%) at C1 horizon of 19a3 pedon. The pedons were classified as inceptisols, and were currently not suitable (N1) for rice cultivation but marginally suitable (S3) for maize cultivation.


Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC) is one of the oldest but still most widely used clustering methods. However, HAC is notoriously hard to scale to large data sets as the underlying complexity is at least quadratic in the number of data points and many algorithms to solve HAC are inherently sequential. In this paper, we propose {Reciprocal Agglomerative Clustering (RAC)}, a distributed algorithm for HAC, that uses a novel strategy to efficiently merge clusters in parallel. We prove theoretically that RAC recovers the exact solution of HAC. Furthermore, under clusterability and balancedness assumption we show provable speedups in total runtime due to the parallelism. We also show that these speedups are achievable for certain probabilistic data models. In extensive experiments, we show that this parallelism is achieved on real world data sets and that the proposed RAC algorithm can recover the HAC hierarchy on billions of data points connected by trillions of edges in less than an hour.


The multibillion-dollar family history industry is booming in popularity as millions of people around the world are seeking to connect with their ancestral pasts. This article presents some of the findings of a recent Australian study that explored the research practices and historical thinking of family historians. The data presented and discussed here are drawn from 1,406 survey responses and present a demographic and social overview of the survey respondents. It categorizes the cited motivations of family historians in Australia for commencing their familial research, which are much more intrinsic and personal than other studies in this field suggest.


Peach allergy is emerging as a common type of fresh-fruit allergy in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean area. The clinical manifestations of peach allergy tend to have a peculiar geographical distribution and can range from mild oral symptoms to anaphylaxis, depending on the allergic sensitization profile. The peach allergen Pru p 7, also known as peamaclein, has recently been identified as a marker of peach allergy severity and as being responsible for peculiar clinical features in areas with high exposure to cypress pollen. This review addresses the latest findings on molecular allergens for the diagnosis of peach allergy, the clinical phenotypes and endotypes of peach allergy in adults and children, and management strategies, including immunotherapy, for peach allergy.


ABSTRACT Two studies examined young children's comprehension and production of representational drawings across and within 2 socioeconomic strata (SES). Participants were 130 middle-SES (MSES) and low-SES (LSES) Argentine children, from 30 to 60 months old, given a task with 2 phases, production and comprehension. The production phase assessed free drawing and drawings from simple 3-dimensional objects (model drawing); the comprehension phase assessed children's understanding of an adult's line drawings of the objects. MSES children solved the comprehension phase of the task within the studied age range; representational production emerged first in model drawing (42 months) and later in free drawing (48 months). The same developmental pathway was observed in LSES children but with a clear asynchrony in the age of onset of comprehension and production: Children understood the symbolic nature of drawings at 42 months old and the first representational drawings were found at 60 months old. These results provide empirical evidence that support the crucial influence of social experiences by organizing and constraining graphic development.


A link between mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer's disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), has long been suspected. Shared clinical symptomology - most notably the prominent role of central auditory dysfunction and sleep-wake disturbances in both disease states - and similar findings on postmortem pathological examination has further reinforced suspected commonality between these seemingly disparate entities. However, conventional imaging techniques, including computed tomography and anatomic magnetic resonance, are unable to detect the symptomatic injuries in mTBI patients and therefore detection of neurodegenerative changes in vivo has previously not been reported. Recent research using diffusion tensor imaging, a novel imaging technique, and focused on patient-reported symptoms has for the first time demonstrated imaging findings in mTBI patients in vivo that are strikingly similar to Alzheimer's dementia and CTE. Moving forward, research will focus on identifying what renders certain patients with mTBI susceptible to developing full-fledged Alzheimer's disease and CTE later in life.


This study ascertained dental students' perceived educational experiences and attitudes toward patients with special needs at an English-speaking dental school in the Caribbean. A modified paper-based version of a previously validated survey instrument was used – Dental Students Attitudes' Towards the Handicapped Scale – on a convenience sample of all clinical students at the dental school. The instrument was composed of three parts. Part 1 collected demographic information detailing age, gender, and year of study. Part 2 collected perceived educational experiences, and part 3 collected information regarding student attitudes. Data were presented descriptively, and likelihood ratios were used on cross-tabulated data to examine attitudes between different year groups at an alpha level of 0.05. Student attitudes were generally good regarding patients with special needs. Only 41% of students felt confident treating special needs patients upon graduation. The curriculum which already includes robust didactic teaching in special needs dentistry should be supplemented with increased clinical exposure to patients with special needs during undergraduate dental education. This can lead to improvements in the attitude of dental students as well as their confidence in treatment. Earlier clinical exposure of students to patients with special needs in the clinical curriculum is required. Students should also be encouraged to comprehensively manage special needs patients, where possible within the framework of the competency-based training model.


OBJECTIVE
Acupuncture and moxibustion are categories of Japanese traditional medicine (Kampo). Precise teaching of Kampo is one of the important issues in medical education, and therefore acupuncture and moxibustion education has been applied to students in Tokai University School of Medicine. To investigate and compare the awareness the medical students have of acupuncture and moxibustion before and after the education, we conducted questionnaire surveys.

METHODS
The questionnaires were distributed to 117 fourth-year students before and after the education.

RESULTS
Of the 117 students issued surveys, 111 responded before, 115 after, and 109 both before and after the education program. Before the education, 79% of the respondents were interested in acupuncture and moxibustion, and 67%, 73%, and 80% thought they were effective, necessary, and worth learning. These results were increased to 92%, 95%, 94% and 97% after the education, respectively (p<0.001 in all four comparisons). Although 9% said they would perform acupuncture and moxibustion in their routines proactively before the education, after the education this increased to 24% (p<0.001), and 43% supposed that they would definitely introduce patients to acupuncturists.

CONCLUSION
Medical students' awareness improved after the education, which demonstrated importance of the acupuncture and moxibustion education in medical school.


Objectives CAREX (CARcinogen EXposure) is a carcinogen surveillance system employed in many countries. To initiate Korean CAREX, we focused on estimating the exposure intensity of lead across industries, which is a suspected carcinogen. Methods We extracted airborne lead measurements from the work environment measurement database (WEMD) which is the Korean nationwide measurement database. In addition, we elicited the experts' opinion about lead exposure intensity across industries by conducting a questionnaire. Experts provided estimates of lead exposure levels as the boundary of the 5th and 95th percentiles. We assumed that experts provided their estimates based on the assumption of log-normal distributions of exposure. First, for each industry, estimates of log-transformed geometric means (logGM) and log-transformed geometric standard deviations (logGSD) were extracted from the experts' responses, followed by combining them to quantify the experts' prior Normal-Inverse-Gamma prior distribution. Then, the corresponding logGM and logGSD from lead measurement data for each industry were updated with the experts' prior distribution through a Bayesian framework, yielding posterior distributions of logGM and logGSD. Results WEMD contains 83 035 airborne lead measurements collected between 2002–2007. Total 17 occupational hygiene professionals with more than 20 year experience provided lead exposure estimates. In industries where measurement data is abundant, the measurement data dominate the posterior exposure estimates, while in industries with a limited number of measurements, experts' opinion played an important role in determining posterior exposure estimates. For example, rubber manufacturing industry with 246 measurements (GM 1.72; GSD 1.94) and 6 experts' responses (GM 0.79; GSD 6.73) showed posterior exposure estimates of GM 1.60 and GSD 2.34. Conclusions Our method of estimating the exposure intensity of CAREX may introduce an unbiased approach to the development process by utilising both prior knowledge of experts and measurement data simultaneously. In addition, it will supply a framework for future updates.


Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy in end‐stage liver disease is currently characterized by blunted contractile systolic response to stress with or without diastolic dysfunction in the absence of known heart disease. Since the establishment of the diagnostic criteria of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy in 2005, there have been multiple studies regarding its pathophysiology and pretransplant clinical course. The data regarding the post‐transplant course of this entity are sparse. This review addresses the course and prognosis of the elements of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy after liver transplantation (LT). To this end, there is limited compelling evidence demonstrating the reversibility of this entity post‐LT. Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy may, in fact, increase the risk of post‐transplant complications. This review reveals a need to refine the diagnostic criteria of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy in view of the remarkable progress in the sphere of echocardiographic evaluation of systolic and diastolic dysfunction. The post‐transplant course and outcomes related to cirrhotic cardiomyopathy may be better evaluated in the setting of updated diagnostic criteria.


Objectives It is a truth universally acknowledged that some areas of science suffer from a surfeit of false positives. It is still widely beiieved that the p-value is the probability that your results occurred by chance. This is simply wrong. It confuses the p-value with the false positive risk (FPR). By a false positive, I mean that you claim that an effect exists when in fact the results could easily have occurred by chance. The false positive risk (FPR) is the probability that a 'significant' result is nothing more than chance. The aim of this work is investigate what can be said about the FPR in order to provide a better method of expressing the strength of of the evidence than is provided by p values. Method The aim is to answer the following question. If you observe a 'significant' p-value after doing a single unbiased experiment, what is the probability that your result is a false positive? It is assumed that we wish to test a null hypothesis that the ture effect size is zero against the alternative that it is not zero. Student's t test for two independent samples are used as an example. Both simulations and exact calculations are used to assess false positive risks. In order to calculate the false positive risk, you need Bayes' theorem. That involves the prior probability that your hypothesis is true, i.e. the probability that there is a real effect there before the experiment is done. You hardly ever have a value for this, so what can be done? There are two possibilities. Results First, you can say that a prior probability bigger than 0.5 is hardly ever justified, so you can calculate a minimum FPR based on the assumption of a prior of 0.5. If you observe p=0.05 then the FPR is at least 26%. If the hypothesis was implausible, with a prior of 0.1, then then the FPR would be a disastrous 76%. Second, since you don't know the prior, you can calculate it as the value that would be needed to reduce the FPR to 0.05 (that is what most people still think that the p value tells you). If you observe p=0.05 in a well-powered experiment then you would need to assume a prior of 0.87 in order to achieve an FPR of 0.05. You would have to assume that you were almost (87%) certain that there was a real effect before you did the experiment. Conclusions Evidently the evidence provided by the usual standard for 'statistical significance' is weak. Even observing p=0.005 would not be strong evidence for an implausible hypothesis: for a prior probability of 0.1 it would give a minimum FPR of 24%. It's suggested that FPR, or the prior needed to achieve an FPR of 0.05, are a better measures of evidence than p-values. In practice, decisions depend on the relative costs (in money and in reputation) that result from wrongly claiming a real effect when there is none, and by failing to detect a real effect when there is one.


Two new diketopiperazines, bisdethiodi(methylthio)-1-demethylhyalodendrin and 1-demethylhyalodendrin tetrasulfide, together with two known cyclodepsipeptides, enniatins B and B4, and two known pyrones, pyrenocines A and B, were isolated from a culture broth of the entomopathogenic fungus Verticillium hemipterigenum BCC 1449. These structures were elucidated using spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography. Antimalarial and cytotoxic activities of these compounds were evaluated.


The article presents possibilities of analyzing image-forming texts by means of specialized software. Restrictions related to automated information processing are separately articulated. The author concludes that it is preferable to use a mixed version of the study of media messages, involving a combination of manual and machine-based analysis of their main parameters.


The aim of this study was to study the effect of the sugar dosage, improver dosage, type of bread making methods and the amylolytic activity of five different types of wheat flours on the sugar content and the bread quality. The sugar content in the bread crumb was determined using the Bertrand's method and was counted for sucrose. When the dough was prepared using accelerated technology, the improver affected the sugar content in the bread due to the starch enzymatic hydrolysis. The effect of improver dosages and sugar dosages on the sugar content in the bread was established. When using the improver, the sugar content exceeded the permitted amount in 1.25 times. No correlation was found between sugar dosage in recipe and bread quality when accelerated bread making way was used because of short fermentation time. The influence of wheat flour amylolytic activity (falling number) on the sugar content in bread was established, including when sugar was absent in the formulation. When sugar presented at bread formulation, the flour amylolytic activity did not significantly affect the bread quality, except the acidity. The bread making way had a greater influence on bread quality than falling number of flour. When sugar absent at bread recipe, the higher was the flour amylolytic activity, the higher was the sugar content in bread made by traditional way due to the starch deterioration. Obtained data have shown that when a baking method is selected, the flour amylolytic activity must be taken into account.


Large scale systems such as the grid need scalable and efficient resource allocation mechanisms to fulfil the requirements of its participants and applications while the whole system is regulated to work efficiently. Economics inspired models have shown ability to handle efficiently the allocation of resources and services, scaling up well as they are decentralized. Our model considers the arbitration of decisions at the local scope and short term, the regulation of the system at global scope, and the sharing of information between global and local environments. This paper presents a scalable model and evaluates by simulation a system where global market information circulates in aggregated and scalable form, the rate of demand by participants is globally regulated by a currency mechanism, preference is regulated by a reputation mechanism, and local regulation among competing participants is resolved by auction mechanisms. The paper shows how scalable systems benefit from distributed marketplaces supporting global information flow to regulate and optimize local and global behavior.


BACKGROUND
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has recently been shown to be equivalent to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in intermediate-risk patients. As TAVR expands towards the traditionally SAVR population, TAVR versus SAVR durability becomes increasingly important. While the durability of TAVR is unknown, valve design - particularly with regards to leaflet stress - impacts on valve durability. Although leaflet stress cannot be measured directly, it can be determined using finite element modeling, with such models requiring the mechanical properties of the leaflets. Balloon-expandable TAVR involves the use of bovine pericardial leaflets treated in the same manner as surgical bioprosthetic leaflets. The study aim was to determine the leaflet mechanical properties of Carpentier-Edwards bioprostheses for future TAVR and SAVR computational models.

METHODS
A total of 35 leaflets were excised from 12 Carpentier-Edwards Model 3000TFX Perimount Magna aortic bioprostheses (21 mm, 23 mm, and 25 mm) and subjected to displacement-controlled equibiaxial stretch testing. The stress-strain data acquired were fitted to a Fung constitutive model to describe the material properties in circumferential and radial directions. Leaflet stiffness was calculated at specified physiological stress, corresponding to zero pressure, systemic pressure, and between zero and systemic pressure.

RESULTS
The 21-mm bioprostheses had significantly thinner leaflets than the larger bioprostheses. A non-linear stress-strain relationship was observed in all leaflets along the circumferential and radial directions. No significant difference in leaflet stiffness at systemic pressure, or between zero and systemic pressure, was found among the three bioprosthesis sizes. However, the leaflets from the 23 mm bioprosthesis were significantly more compliant than those of the 21 mm and 25 mm bioprostheses at zero pressure in the circumferential direction. No differences were observed in leaflet stiffness in circumferential versus radial directions.

CONCLUSIONS
The bovine pericardial leaflets from Carpentier-Edwards Perimount Magna bioprostheses showed no differences in material properties among different valve sizes at systemic pressure. The thinner 21 mm leaflets did not show any corresponding differences in leaflet stiffness, which suggests that the thinner TAV leaflets may have a similar stiffness to their thicker SAV counterparts.


Rather than China versus Islam, the overarching theme of this special issue is "Islam in China/China in Islam." In thinking through "Islam in China," we argue that the relationship between China and Islam is not one of opposition, but rather one of cultural, linguistic, and economic imbrication. Indeed, it is difficult to describe Islam and China as two separate or essentialized entities. For some Muslim minorities in certain regions of China, there is no distinction between neo-Confucianism and Islam or between the nation-state and the global umma (community of Muslims). Through intellectual labor, modes of prayer and worship, art, calligraphy, architecture, cuisine, linguistic creoles, and legal pluralism, these Muslims embody multiple cultural referents. For other Muslim minorities in other regions in China, political and economic circumstances present challenges to living in accordance with Islam while also being a citizen of the PRC. In other words, the Muslim experience in China encompasses a complex mosaic of accommodation, adjustment, preservation, and, at times, resistance. Thus, generalizations about this incredibly diverse population are unhelpful, and careful attention must be paid to history, politics, and place.


The brain is the most complex organ of our body. Such a complexity spans from the single-cell morphology up to the intricate connections that hundreds of thousands of neurons establish to create dense neuronal networks. All these components are involved in the genesis of the rich patterns of electrophysiological activity that characterize the brain. Over the years, researchers coming from different disciplines developed in vitro simplified experimental models to investigate in a more controllable and observable way how neuronal ensembles generate peculiar firing rhythms, code external stimulations, or respond to chemical drugs. Nowadays, such in vitro models are named brain-on-a-chip pointing out the relevance of the technological counterpart as artificial tool to interact with the brain: multi-electrode arrays are well-used devices to record and stimulate large-scale developing neuronal networks originated from dissociated cultures, brain slices, up to brain organoids. In this review, we will discuss the state of the art of the brain-on-a-chip, highlighting which structural and biological features a realistic in vitro brain should embed (and how to achieve them). In particular, we identified two topological features, namely modular and three-dimensional connectivity, and a biological one (heterogeneity) that takes into account the huge number of neuronal types existing in the brain. At the end of this travel, we will show how 'far' we are from the goal and how interconnected-brain-regions-on-a-chip is the most appropriate wording to indicate the current state of the art.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to (1) explore differences in vestibular ocular motor screening (VOMS) symptoms between healthy adults and adults with persistent symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), and (2) explore the relationships between VOMS symptoms and other measures (self-reported vestibular symptoms, clinical measures of balance and gait, and higher-level motor ability tasks). Setting: Research laboratory setting. Participants: Fifty-three persons with persistent symptoms (>3 weeks) following mTBI and 57 healthy controls were recruited. Eligibility for participation included being 18 to 50 years of age and free of medical conditions that may affect balance, with the exception of recent mTBI for the mTBI group. Design: Cross-sectional. Main Measures: The primary outcomes were the VOMS symptom scores and near point of convergence (NPC) distance. Secondary outcomes included the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) total and subdomain scores, sway area, Functional Gait Analysis total score, gait speed, and modified Illinois Agility Task completion time, and Revised High-Level Mobility Assessment Tool total score. Results: The mTBI group reported more VOMS symptoms (z range, −7.28 to −7.89) and a further NPC (t = −4.16) than healthy controls (all Ps < .001). DHI self-reported symptoms (total and all subdomain scores) were strongly associated with the VOMS symptom scores (rho range, 0.53-0.68; all Ps < .001). No significant relationships existed between VOMS symptoms and other measures. Conclusion: Significant group differences support the relevance of the VOMS for mTBI in an age-diverse sample with persistent symptoms. Furthermore, strong association with DHI symptoms supports the ability of the VOMS to capture vestibular complaints in this population.


Neuropathic pain encompasses a category of chronic pain conditions that are caused by disease or lesion of the somatosensory nervous system. Depending on the location of the lesion or disease, neuropathic pain can be categorized as peripheral, central, or mixed. Peripheral neuropathic pain includes such common pain conditions as painful diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, radiculopathies, post-amputation stump pain, various nerve entrapment syndromes, and neuropathies due to immune, hereditary, metabolic, and toxic factors. Central neuropathic pain is pain caused by stroke, spinal cord injury, spinal infarction, syringomyelia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, and phantom limb pain. In contrast, some conditions may cause pain through both central and peripheral mechanisms, such spinal stenosis, complex regional pain syndrome type II, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, fibromyalgia, and cancer pain. Classification of neuropathic may not only help guide the diagnosis and treatment of these chronic pain conditions but may also provide the framework for research of the mechanisms of generation of neuropathic pain.


Ased on the National Education Ministry's "Main Courses Teaching Guidance Outline For College Physical Education Undergraduate Course", this study analyzes some main issues in the football tactic teaching in sports education professional. Combining the present high normal colleges and universities physical education teaching, the study designs and develops the football tactic teaching system with modern multimedia technology. At last, the author implements a comparative experiment in order to form a high efficiency tactics teaching process in the limited teaching hours and to improve students' tactical ability to lay a good foundation for future for students in football teaching and training work.


While most law enforcement agencies recognize the importance of physical fitness for their officers and encourage them to maintain an adequate level of fitness, many find it difficult to implement a fitness program successfully. Prior studies and literature support the implementation of community-centered fitness initiatives. The purpose of this study was to (1) describe participant outcomes from the service- learning project Officer Charlie Get Fit Project and (2) delineate Kolb's experiential learning model implemented by undergraduate kinesiology majors when applied in an exercise setting. Students were charged with working directly with police officers over an 8-week program with the goal of lowering health-risk factors for the participants. Additionally, the project provided an opportunity for students to assess their own learning style and infuse it in a real-world professional application. Participants included 16 police officers (M = 44.6, SD = 10.7 years of age) and one elected city administrative official. Paired sample t tests revealed nonsignificant differences between the pretest and posttest scores on the 10 fitness measures. Descriptive statistics revealed improvements in categories of body weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, resting heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, sum of skinfolds, and overall body fat percentage. Participant exit interviews indicated positive qualitative results. The student reflection piece indicated that the frequent writing helped with (1) the myriad of planning and preparation issues, (2) selecting a community partner and recruiting participants, and (3) data collection and analysis. This study was an important assessment of immersive learning opportunities provided through classroom lecture and development of community partnerships. Subscribe to TPE


The continuous flow synthesis of the key building block 2,2′-diselenobis(benzoic acid) (DSBA) is herein reported. Water was used as a solvent in a reaction time as short as 90 s. This provided a successful strategy for the synthesis of DSBA which was obtained in excellent yield. The optimized procedure has been extended to DSBA derivatives.


Raman scattering of individual hydrogen-terminated zigzag-edged graphene nanoribbons (Z-GNRs) was studied with focus on the G-peak. In addition to the bulk graphene G-peak appearing at ∼1594 cm(-1) (G(+)), an edge-related G-peak at ∼1583 cm(-1) (G(-)) was observed for Z-GNRs. This additional Raman vibrational mode originates from the zigzag edges where localized metallic edge states are present. The relative intensity ratio G(-)/G(+) displays a strong dependence on the ribbon width (W). It increases gradually with decreasing W, and the G(+) finally vanishes at W = 5(±3) nm. Polarized Raman scattering was also employed to confirm the four-fold symmetry of the split TO modes, and the results are in good agreement with previous theoretical predictions. Our work offers the first direct experimental evidence to confirm the validity of predicted Raman scattering of GNRs.


A series of physical and numerical modeling runs were completed to support the development of a design procedure for characterizing the variation in velocity within non-embedded and embedded culverts. Physical modeling of symmetrical half-section circular culverts was conducted to provide data against which computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling could be validated. The initial CFD modeling featured two-phase numerical computations that successfully reproduced the physical modeling results. To further simplify, single-phase modeling and truncated single-phase modeling were evaluated with good results. For the embedded culvert runs, a successful strategy for representing natural bed material within the culvert was developed. Once the CFD modeling was validated by the physical modeling, the CFD modeling was used to analyze the full culvert cross-sections. Test matrices included CFD runs scaled up to larger culvert sizes. One series of runs maintained Froude number based scaling and one series tested larger sizes without the scaling constraint. The CFD runs and a velocity distribution model formed the basis of a proposed design methodology for determining the velocity distribution within a culvert cross-section. Using the 42 CFD runs for a 3-ft diameter culvert, the 5 parameters necessary for the velocity model were estimated. Then, based on geometric and hydraulic parameters available to a designer, relations were developed to estimate those parameters. The approach was successfully validated on CFD runs for 6-ft and 8-ft diameter culvert models. The proposed design procedure allows a designer to estimate the velocity throughout a cross-section. These data may be depth-averaged to provide a distribution of velocity and depth across the culvert cross-section that may be used to evaluate fish passage. Although developed for circular culverts, the parameters used in the method are such that the procedure should be applicable to rectangular and other shapes. Two design examples and an application guide are provided to illustrate the method and the required computations.


Research work can support the development of methods and practices and increase the appreciation of the field. Research work in the community health center requires support from the management as well as collaborative networks with the university, primary health care unit and specialized care. It is wise to select the topic so that localinterest and support will be available. Multicenter studies and collaboration between communityhealth centers ensure the collection of adequate material. At its best, research work brings enthusiasm into the functioning of community health centers, makes the personnel more committedand provides training, and promotes the adoption of evidence-based practices.


Due to the controversy surrounding incipient avian parental care, ancestral parental care systems were reconstructed in a phylogeny including major extant amniote lineages. Using two different resolutions for the basal avian branches, transitions between the states no care, female care, biparental care and male care were inferred for the most basal branches of the tree. Uniparental female care was inferred for the lineage to birds and crocodiles. Using a phylogeny where ratites and tinamous branch off early and an ordered character-state assumption, a transition to biparental care was inferred for the ancestor of birds. This ancestor could be any organism along the lineage leading from the crocodile-bird split up to modern birds, not necessarily the original bird. We discuss the support for alternative avian phylogenies and the homology in parental care between crocodiles and birds. We suggest that the phylogenetic pattern should be used as a starting point for a more detailed analysis of parental care systems in birds and their relatives.


Abstract : An annual snow-soil simulator for Arctic tundra was developed using coupled models of surface equilibrium temperature and substrate thermal diffusion. Snow ripening, melt and accumulation are modeled in the simulator which is forced with daily weather data. The simulator predicts that a snow fence array capable of producing drift deeper than 4.2 meters will initiate a permanent snowfield at Barrow, AK. Such a man-induced snowfield could serve as a reliable source of fresh water for Barrow and similar villages in the North Slope region of Alaska. Further analysis indicated that albedo reduction due to dust fall, snow removal, etc., is dominant over aerodynamic effects in producing the early spring meltout observed at Barrow Village.


Hydrocarbon Molecules with Novel Structure: a Dehydroannulene with Silver(I)-Complexing Ability and a Double C60 Adduct of Pentacene (ORGANIC MATERIALS CHEMISTRY-High-Pressure Organic Chemistry) Author(s) Komatsu, Koichi; Nishinaga, Tohru; Murata, Yasujiro; Kawamura, Tetsu; Kato, Noriyuki Citation ICR annual report (1999), 5: 32-33 Issue Date 1999-03 URL http://hdl.handle.net/2433/65192 Right Type Article Textversion publisher


Network comparison is a widely-used tool for analyzing complex systems, with applications in varied domains including comparison of protein interactions or highlighting changes in structure of trade networks. In recent years, a number of network comparison methodologies based on the distribution of graphlets (small connected network subgraphs) have been introduced. In particular, NetEmd has recently achieved state of the art performance in undirected networks. In this work, we propose an extension of NetEmd to directed networks and deal with the significant increase in complexity of graphlet structure in the directed case by denoising through linear projections. Simulation results show that our framework is able to improve on the performance of a simple translation of the undirected NetEmd algorithm to the directed case, especially when networks differ in size and density.


Abstract—The traction behavior of lubricants with the linear pressure-viscosity response in EHL line contacts is investigated numerically for smooth as well as rough surfaces. The analysis involves the simultaneous solution of Reynolds, elasticity and energy equations along with the computation of lubricant properties and surface temperatures. The temperature modified Doolittle-Tait equations are used to calculate viscosity and density as functions of fluid pressure and temperature, while Carreau model is used to describe the lubricant rheology. The surface roughness is assumed to be sinusoidal and it is present on the nearly stationary surface in near-pure sliding EHL conjunction. The linear P-V oil is found to yield much lower traction coefficients and slightly thicker EHL films as compared to the synthetic oil for a given set of dimensionless speed and load parameters. Besides, the increase in traction coefficient attributed to surface roughness is much lower for the former case. The present analysis emphasizes the importance of employing realistic pressure-viscosity response for accurate prediction of EHL traction.


The development of theories of the mechanism of the stereospecific polymerisation of α-alkenes and dienes on Ziegler–Natta catalysts has been examined. Theories of the formation and structure of the active centres, the role of the heterogeneous component of the catalyst, the mechanism of chain initiation and growth, and the mechanism of stereoregulation in the polymerisation of alkenes and dienes have been discussed. The bibliography contains 115 references.


This paper highlights the role that school, family and society play in the improvement of educational programs aiming the well-being and good health of children. These factors have a key role to support the formation of children in their personal development and to seek positive and constructive values of living together. The family is a microcosm where children initially create affective ties and interactions. It is a step before the external macrocosm. It is a source of information, it is the model for a wider structure. It is the basic connection with the outside world. The school is a place where children spend a considerable part of their time and get knowledge and learn to know themselves and those around them. The society plays a decisive role, as the acceptance and integration in it contributes to their positive emotions and confidence to fulfill themselves. The relationship between the individual and the environment activates the cognitive processes and continuous assessment of the reality, which are attached to different forms of adaptation. Health and well-being are therefore the result of human interaction that has certain biological particularity with his environment, in a social context that enables the activation and enhancement of individual competencies.  Key Words: Well-being, children, family, school, society


A planar monopole having a small size yet providing two wide bands for covering the eight-band LTE/GSM/UMTS operation in the mobile phone is presented. The small-size yet wideband operation is achieved by exciting the antenna's wide radiating plate using a coupling feed and short-circuiting it to the system ground plane of the mobile phone through a long meandered strip as an inductive shorting strip. The coupling feed leads to a wide operating band to cover the frequency range of 1710-2690 MHz for the GSM1800/1900/UMTS/LTE2300/2500 operation. The inductive shorting strip results in the generation of a wide operating band to cover the frequency range of 698-960 MHz for the LTE700/GSM850/900 operation. The planar monopole can be directly printed on the no-ground portion of the system circuit board of the mobile phone and is promising to be integrated with a practical loudspeaker. The antenna's radiating plate can also be folded into a thin structure (3 mm only) to occupy a small volume of 3 × 6 × 40 mm3 (0.72 cm3) for the eight-band LTE/GSM/UMTS operation; in this case, including the 8-mm feed gap, the antenna shows a low profile of 14 mm to the ground plane of the mobile phone. The proposed antenna, including its planar and folded structures, are suitable for slim mobile phone applications.


The structure of the myelin sheath in peripheral nerves requires the expression of a specific set of proteins. In the present study, we report that myocilin, a member of the olfactomedin protein family, is a component of the myelin sheath in peripheral nerves. Myocilin is a secreted glycoprotein that forms multimers and contains a leucine zipper and an olfactomedin domain. Mutations in myocilin are responsible for some forms of glaucoma, a neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by a continuous loss of optic nerve axons. Myocilin mRNA was detected by Northern blotting in RNA from the rat sciatic and ophthalmic nerves. By one‐ and two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis of proteins from the rat and human sciatic nerves, myocilin was found to migrate at an isoelectric point (pI) of 5.2–5.3 and a molecular weight of 55–57 kDa. Immunohistochemistry showed immunoreactivity for myocilin in paranodal terminal loops of the nodes of Ranvier and outer mesaxons and basal/abaxonal regions of the myelin sheath. Double‐labeling experiments with antibodies against myelin basic protein showed no overlapping, while overlapping immunoreactivity was observed with antibodies against myelin‐associated glycoprotein. The expression of myocilin in the sciatic nerve became detectable at postnatal day (P) 15 and reached adult levels at P20. No or minor expression of myocilin mRNA was found in brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve. mRNA of myocilin was detected in schwannoma cells in situ, but at considerably lower levels than in myelinated nerves. Myocilin might significantly contribute to the structure of the myelin sheath in peripheral nerves. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Transformed fibroblasts have been recently shown to be sensitive for induction of apoptosis by TGF-beta-treated neighbouring untransformed cells. Cells transformed by a variety of different transformation principles were regularly sensitive for intercellular induction of apoptosis, but fibroblasts transformed by bovine papillomavirus (BPV) represented a striking exception. In contrast to chemically transformed C127 cells, BPV-transformed C127 cells showed resistance against intercellular induction of apoptosis. In addition, BPV-transformed cells were resistant against induction of apoptosis by ROS in glutathione depleted cells. The antiapoptotic function of papillomaviruses may be of central importance for papillomavirus-induced tumor formation as it can protect transformed cells from intercellular control of oncogenesis.


Background Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumour in adults. VSIG4 has been identified to be associated with GBM. We aimed to determine the downstream regulatory mechanisms of VSIG4 in GBM. Methods Differential expression of VSIG4 was analysed using GEPIA. The expression of VSIG4 was assessed by RT-qPCR and its downstream genes were screened by transcriptome sequencing. The expression of pyroptosis-related proteins and the JAK2/STAT3 pathway was measured by Western blotting. GBM cell viability, migration, and invasion were detected using CCK-8, scratch, and Transwell assays. The levels of pyroptosis-related factors were measured using ELISA. The effect of VSIG4 on GBM tumour growth in vivo was explored by constructing a xenograft tumour model. Results VSIG4 expression was upregulated in GBM. Functionally, silencing of VSIG4 inhibited proliferation, invasion, and migration of U251 and LN229 cells, and promoted pyroptosis. Mechanically, transcriptome sequencing revealed that the JAK2/STAT3 pathway might be a downstream regulator of VSIG4. Further studies proved that silencing of VSIG4 enhanced the expression of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3, and the JAK2/STAT3 pathway inhibitor relieved the suppression of VSIG4 silencing on GBM cell viability, invasion, and migration. Furthermore, in vivo experiments further validated that knockdown of VSIG4 inhibited the growth of GBM tumors. Conclusion In GBM, silencing VSIG4 promoted pyroptosis and inhibited tumor progression by regulating the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.


The environmental status of two polluted marine sites in Norway was investigated by a combination of target chemical analysis and effect-directed analysis (EDA). The two selected sites, the Grenland area and Oslo harbor, in addition to two reference sites, were classified according to the Norwegian environmental classification system based upon results of the target chemical analyses. The polluted sites were characterized by high levels of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). High levels of organotin compounds were also detected in Oslo harbor. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist activity in extracts of sediments from marine sites close to Oslo, Oslo harbor, and Grenland were investigated using the CALUX (chemical-activated luciferase expression) assay, which showed elevated levels of activity. As expected from the history of dioxin release into the Grenland area, the results were highest in this area. The presence of estrogen receptor (ER) and androgen receptor (AR) antagonists was also detected in the sediment extracts. Following fractionation of the sediment extracts, EDA was used to tentatively identify the AhR agonists. The compounds responsible for AhR agonist activity in samples from Oslo harbor were isolated in fraction 13, and to a lesser extent in fractions 9–11. In Grenland, the main activity was found in the more polar fractions, namely fractions 14–18. The AhR agonists identified in Oslo harbor were mainly PAH, while in the Grenland area the compounds identified were mainly nitrogen/oxygen-containing polyaromatic compounds (N/O-PAC).


Background Absence of data on Advanced Care Directive (ACD) completion makes evaluation of Advance Care Planning (ACP) implementation challenging. This study reports the prevalence, accessibility and characteristics of ACDs for people with cancer aged 3 65 years from Australian hospital, primary care and aged care facilities. Methods Prospective cross-jurisdictional study consisting of health record audit and self-report survey. Result 51 sites and 2285 participants were included; 458 of whom had cancer. Of these, 27% had an ACD located in their record; 3% statutory stated preferences for care, 10% appointed substitute decision-maker, and 19% were non-statutory document. Most (83%) treatment plans were consistent with ACD preferences. More participants with cancer were receiving palliative care (11%) compared to the overall sample (4%). 97 participants with cancer completed the survey, 58% reported they had completed ACP documentation; 30% indicated trusting their children to make medical decisions; 26% trusted their partners, and 19% their doctors. Conclusion(s) This study is the first to examine ACP documentation prevalence in an Australian cancer population, at the point of care, and across jurisdictions. Whilst 27% of participants had an ACD located during the audit, more people self-reported having completed ACP documentation, which is encouraging as documentation available at point of care is likely to influence care. Only a low percentage of people were recorded as receiving palliative care. Recommendations to improve ACP uptake include: workforce education, care pathway inclusive of ACP and accessibility should be supported by national systems such as "My Health Record".


BACKGROUND
As transfusion in the elderly patients has increased over the last decades, and with the aim of improving blood policy, post-transfusion red blood cell alloimmunisation, a delayed serological transfusion reaction, was investigated in patients 80 years old or over.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
For every adverse reaction to a transfusion, a report is sent to the French haemovigilance database. All cases of red blood cell alloimmunisation reported in the haemovigilance database were collected, and an analysis was performed on those cases in transfused patients 80 years old or over.

RESULTS
There were 11,625 reports of red blood cell alloimmunisation from 1 January, 2008 to 31 December, 2013, of which 3,617 (31.1%) occurred in patients 80 years old or over. Among this subgroup, red blood cell concentrates were the most frequently involved blood component (3,482 reports, 96.3%). Red blood cell alloimmunisation after transfusion of platelet concentrates was also notified (132 reports, 3.7%). Anti-KEL1 was the most frequent antibody (874 reports, 24.2%). The imputability of the blood component was certain in 2,340 cases (64.7%) and probable in 1,078 (29.8%). In 2013, the incidence of red blood cell alloimmunisation was 4.14 per 1,000 transfused patients aged 80 years old or over.

DISCUSSION
In a 6-year national survey in which 40,570 reports were made, there were 3,617 cases of red blood cell alloimmunisation in transfused recipients of 80 years old or over. This delayed serological transfusion reaction is not rare. Red blood cell concentrates were predominantly involved, but cases caused by platelet concentrates were also described. In order to prevent alloimmunisation in the elderly, several factors must be evaluated before transfusing matched red blood cell concentrates: the patient's age, pathology and its outcome, the type of transfusion support (chronic or not), life expectancy, and blood product availability.


The purpose of this study is to analyse a sample of immigrant forensic psychiatric patients and to compare them with Danish patients. Of the 326 forensic patients in Copenhagen, 111 were immigrants or descendants of immigrants. The sample was broken down according to area of origin, age, gender and ethnic status. The data have been analysed by Poisson regression with the background population as an offset variable. Of the patients of non-Danish ethnicity, a significantly higher ratio was diagnosed with schizophrenia and a lower ratio was diagnosed with personality disorders compared with Danes. Iranians accounted for a higher ratio than did other minority groups, whereas patients from Western Europe/USA were not different from Danes. The higher ratio of forensic schizophrenic patients of non-Danish ethnicity cannot be explained by social factors or substance abuse. Migration increases the age-adjusted risk (ARR) of becoming schizophrenic (ARR=2.7). We found the ARR of becoming a male forensic schizophrenic patient among immigrants/descendants to be 2.8, i.e. the same as that caused by migration as such. Violence and schizophrenia are associated, and this explains the fact that the ratio of immigrants/descendants having committed violence exceeds that of Danes. Non-violent crimes are more equally distributed among ethnic groups and seem to be associated with common criminogenic factors. Arson is mainly committed by older schizophrenic patients of Danish ethnicity. The risk of an individual immigrant and Danish schizophrenic patient exhibiting criminal behaviour is the same. Schizophrenia is a crimonogenic factor in violence, but not in non-violent crimes. The differences between the various ethnic groups could be related to selection caused by both immigration and emigration.


A summary is given of plans developed by four different groups for the construction of small superconducting linacs to boost the energy of heavy ions from existing tandem electrostatic accelerators. The projects considered are the linac under construction at Argonne and the design efforts at Karlsruhe, at Stanford, and by a Cal Tech-Stony Brook collaboration. The intended uses of the accelerator systems are stated. Beam dynamics of linacs formed of short independently-phased resonators are reviewed, and the implications for performance are discussed. The main parameters of the four linacs are compared, and a brief analysis of accelerating structures is given.


A methodology of the scalar-based direct algorithm mapping (SBDAM) is defined and presented. The methodology uses direct mapping of the arithmetic expressions on to a field-programmable logic device (FPLD). A Kalman filter used in multiple target tracking (MTT) applications has been implemented in FPLD via SBDAM and via the other matrix-based systolic algorithm engineering (MBSAE) approach. The comparison between SBDAM and MBSAE drawn from this example is given in terms of various performance measures such as speed of the resulting circuit, required space (resource) requirements, ease of development, and others.


A bulk amorphous NiTiZrSiSn produced using an inert gas atomization was sprayed onto the Cu substrate. As the oxygen to hydrogen gas fraction was increased, oxide phase fraction was increased at the expenditure of amorphous phase fraction. The phase evolution was mainly due to the in-flight particle oxidation according to flame gas composition. Tribological behaviors were investigated in view of friction coefficient and weight loss by a pin-on-disc dry sliding test. Both friction coefficient and weight loss were largely dependent on the phase composition of the coating. As the amorphous phase fraction was increased, the friction coefficient was decreased with the increase of the transfer film formation. On the other hands, major weight loss mechanism was changed from transfer film formation to pull-out of coat material as the amorphous phase fraction was decreased.


In the last decade, conflicts over the installation of classic wind-farm technology have created challenges for visual impact assessment in landscape architecture. Concerns regarding landscape aesthetics have been raised in advanced societies. Among these concerns, high-altitude wind power technology aims to not only sweep much higher zones and benefit from greater wind speeds but also to solve the negative visual impacts on landscape. Several research groups and industrial institutions around the world have been developing a new class of airborne wind energy technologies, including the usage of flexible power kites and balloons. This study examines a number of the issues surrounding landscape assessment of wind farms, particularly in light of the emphasis on flying concepts, and their potential effects on visual landscapes.


This paper provides an analysis of optimum offered load that maximizes the throughput of IEEE 802.11 Media Access Control (MAC) protocol for the multihop network. We extend Ping Chung Ng analysis in presence of hidden terminal and capture effect, with some modifications in the derivation of throughput. The analytical throughput results are validated against simulation using Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) MAC layer. Simulation result shows that analytical results are valid under assumed conditions. This approach analyses the resulting tradeoffs between the performance of the network is hidden node limited and spatial reuse limited. In this paper, we provide a throughput analysis of the IEEE 802.11 based multihop network for various distances between the two successive nodes.


Microcystin-LR (MCLR), a potent hepatotoxin, is causing increased risks to public health. Although the liver is the main target organ of MCLR, the metabolic profiling of liver in response to MCLR in vivo remains unknown. Here, we comprehensively analyzed the metabolic change of liver and ileal flushes in rat orally gavaged with MCLR by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Quantification of hepatic MCLR and its glutathione and cysteine conjugates by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) was conducted. Metabonomics results revealed significant associations of MCLR-induced disruption of hepatic metabolisms with inhibition of nutrient absorption, as evidenced by a severe decrease of 12 amino acids in the liver and their corresponding elevation in ileal flushes. The hepatic metabolism signature of MCLR was characterized by significant inhibition of tyrosine anabolism and catabolism, three disrupted pathways of choline metabolism, glutathione exhaustion, and disturbed nucleotide synthesis. Notably, substantial alterations of hepatic metabolism were observable even at the low MCLR-treated group (0.04 mg/kg MCLR), although no apparent histological changes in liver were observed in the low- and medium-dosed groups. These observations offered novel insights into the microcystin hepatotoxic mechanism at a functional level, thereby facilitating further assessment and clarification of human health risk from MCs exposure.


An application of Bayesian Model Averaging, BMA, is implemented to construct combined forecasts for the colombian inflation for the short and medium run. A model selection algorithm is applied over a set of linear models with a large dataset of potencial predictors using marginal as well as predictive likelihood. The forecasts obtained when using predictive likelihood outperformed the ones obtained when using marginal likelihood. BMA forecasts reduce forecasting error compared to the individual forecasts, equal weighted average, dynamic factors model and random walk forecasts for most horizons. Additionally, the BMA outperformed for some horizons the frequentist Information theoretic model average, ITMA, when the weights of both methodologies are build based on the predictive ability of the models.


The aim of the present study was to investigate the distribution of Langerhans cells and T cells in the lesions and also the phenotypic expression of markers of activation on lesional T cells and keratinocytes, before and after 2 weeks of topical treatment of 7 psoriatic patients with calcipotriol. Before treatment, the infiltrate was composed mainly of T cells and there was decreased expression of CD1 on the intra-epidermal Langerhans cells. ICAM-1 and EGF receptor were present throughout the epidermis, but keratinocytes expressing Transferrin receptor were detected only in the basal layer. After 14 days of calcipotriol therapy, there were significantly fewer CD4T cells in the dermis and an increased number of intraepidermal CD1 + Langerhans cells. ICAM-1 expression on lesional keratinocytes was reduced in all patients, but the expression of EGF receptor was decreased in 3 patients only, and Transferrin receptor expression on keratinocytes had not changed. All these changes were concurrent with moderate clinical improvement of the lesions. The results suggest that in the early stages of the clinical response to calcipotriol there is an immunomodulating effect of the drug associated with variable decreases in keratinocyte expression of markers of activation.


Counseling students report a lack of competence in spiritual and religious integration (SRI). As such, counselor educators and supervisors (CES) and students want to understand how to develop SRI competence. Although past research highlights SRI dialogue in training, there exists no clear understanding about the role of faculty supervisor SRI on perceived student competence. The supervision models used to inform the study included (a) the integrated developmental model, (b) the discrimination model, and (c) the spirituality in supervision model (SACRED). The purpose of this study is to determine if master's-level graduate counseling student perceptions of faculty supervisor SRI practices predicts student perceived spiritual competence when considering attendance in faith-based and non-faith-based institutions accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP). A review of existing literature supports the use of a quantitative, cross-sectional design. An online survey was distributed to students (n = 59) in master's-level CACREP counseling programs, currently in field experience, to measure perceived SRI in supervision and perceived SRI competence. A multiple linear regression reveals a statistically significant predictive relationship between supervisor SRI and perceived student competence as measured by the Spiritual and Religious Competence Assessment and the Spiritual Issues in Supervision Scale. These results inform CES about the importance of SRI and student ability to work with the spiritual and religious beliefs of clients. On this basis, it is recommended that supervisors focus on SRI in supervision. Future research should focus on additional factors related to SRI competence during counselor training.


Accidents at industrial facilities that use phosgene as a feedstock for the synthesis of chemical compounds can become a source of formation of a persistent focus of chemical contamination. Phosgene has an acylating effect on the macromolecules of the components of the aerogematic barrier, which leads to the development of toxic pulmonary edema. To date, it is not known which component of the aerogematic barrier (surfactant layer, alveolocytes or endotheliocytes) serves as the primary target for this toxicant. It has been found in vitro that the action of phosgene on the surfactant (Biosurf Ltd., Russian Federation) did not lead to a decrease in the content of main phospholipids (dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine), but contributed to an increase in the content of compounds from the group of lysophosphatidylethanolamines (proinflammatory agents). In in vivo study with intraperitoneal administration of phosgene to laboratory animals (rats), there were no signs of an inflammatory reaction of the components of the mesentery of the small intestine. Pathological changes in the lungs and liver of animals that received phosgene intraperitoneal were also not detected. The results of the study indicate that endotheliocytes located in the aerogematic barrier do not play a leading role in the initiation of a proinflammatory cascade in lung tissues after inhaled exposure to phosgene. The primary sources of proinflammatory mediators that lead to the development of toxic pulmonary edema may be alveolocytes and/or surfactant components.


Observations of pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae have been conducted during the last two years using the MAGIC Imaging Cerenkov Telescope. In addition to the stu dy of the nebula emission, the low energy threshold of MAGIC offers the opportunity to search for th e pulsed emission with very high sensitivity. The selection of the objects was based on their spin-down lu mi osity and the probability of emission given by various models of VHE γ-ray production above 100 GeV. We present the results of these observations and their implications for models of VHE emission.


Abstract. Bio-EMD, a biologically inspired fusion of visible and infrared (IR) images based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and color opponent processing, is introduced. First, registered visible and IR captures of the same scene are decomposed into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) through EMD. The fused image is then generated by an intuitive opponent processing the source IMFs. The resulting image is evaluated based on the amount of information transferred from the two input images, the clarity of details, the vividness of depictions, and range of meaningful differences in lightness and chromaticity. We show that this opponent processing-based technique outperformed other algorithms based on pixel intensity and multiscale techniques. Additionally, Bio-EMD transferred twice the information to the fused image compared to other methods, providing a higher level of sharpness, more natural-looking colors, and similar contrast levels. These results were obtained prior to optimization of color opponent processing filters. The Bio-EMD algorithm has potential applicability in multisensor fusion covering visible bands, forensics, medical imaging, remote sensing, natural resources management, etc.


The seam figure was defined in this paper as a number of ridges ending on the same line in right-angled relation to a part of the system. This characteristic occurs in various types of hallucal patterns and most frequently in whorls. In Japanese material, the frequency of the seam figure on the left sole (16.7%) is significantly higher than on the right sole (8.2%), but no sex difference was found. It is revealed from twin material that the presence of this trait is genetically controlled. Similar phenomena in areas other than the hallucal and in the 'ridges-off-the-end' syndrome were discussed.


: Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease and environmental risk factors such as UV radiation, drugs, chemicals and infections, especially Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are the main causes of the disease. This study aimed to evaluate EBV viral load in serum of patients with SLE. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 40 patients with SLE diagnosed based on American college of rheumatology criteria were selected using purposive sampling. After collecting patients' demographic data and obtaining the patients' consent to participate in the study, 10 ml blood samples were taken from patients and Buffy coat was isolated to determine viral load using the real-time polymerase chain reaction method. Results: From a total of 40 patients, 37 cases (92.5%) were woman and 3 (7.5%) were men. Fifty percent of the cases had active and 50% inactive disease. The EBV test was positive in 67.5% of the patients and negative in 32.5% of them. Mean viral load was 5396 ± 1891.9 copy/ml. Mean values of EBV viral load in patients with active and inactive SLE were 6798 and 28.25 copy/ml, respectively ( P =0.003). Viral loads in women with active and inactive SLE were 5803.3 and 29.73 copy/ml, respectively ( P =0.003). Conclusion: Epstein-Barr virus infection is high in SLE patients and the viral load in the active disease is higher than inactive one. Thus, EBV virus may have an important role in the pathogenesis and activity of SLE.


A 52 year old man presented with primary thyroid plasmacytoma. The patient was initially followed up for thyroid dysfunction. The histological examination of the removed thyroid revealed a proliferation of mature and immature plasma cells indicative of plasmacytoma with Hashimoto's disease. After radiotherapy (40 Gy) to the neck following right hemi‐thyroidectomy, the patient is currently alive and well 3 years after diagnosis without any evidence of tumor. The immunohistological examination of the removed thyroid showed monoclonality for immunoglobulin G‐Kapa light chains. Sixty‐six literature cases of primary thyroid plasmacytoma were reviewed and comparison of the clinical and histological characteristics between Japanese and Western cases noted. The incidence of the patients with antithyroid antibody was significantly lower (P < 0.01) in Western patients (42.9%) than in Japanese patients (87.5%). The higher incidence of thyroid dysfunction and Hashimoto's disease in Japan in comparison with Western nations was well reflected in the incidence of antithyroid antibody.


Half of the European population still lives outside major urban areas. However, the quality of life and employment opportunities in the remote areas of Europe are under threat. The social role of companies is manifested by the improvement of the living standards. In some cases the lack of the provision of financial services becomes unjustified having in mind the opportunities provided by information technology. This piece of research reveals the correlation between the geographical and financial exclusion concerning two isolated areas in Greece and identifies the banking attitudes of an excluded customer segment. Companies have to be repositioned in order to create a profile, in tune with the needs of regional and local communities and in line with their well-being evolution. It seems necessary, a certain re-thinking of some basic marketing concepts like segmentation and targeting, according to a more socially responsible strategic view.


This study aims at highlighting the experience of Islamic Banking Industry in Thailand in terms of the history, development, and its role in serving the community as well and the Muslim minority. The study also aims at identifying the Law of the Islamic Bank in Thailand, whether it is relevant to what is being applied in the reality. Finally, some products of leasing and acquisition applied in the Islamic Bank of Thailand were focused to find out whether it conformed with the Islamic jurisprudence and the decision taken by the International Islamic Fiqh  Academy as well as the legal standards issued by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions. The methodology used in this research is inductive, analytic and applied methods, Moreover, the data of research were collected from various references including personal interview with the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Islamic Bank of Thailand. The study find out that there were some prohibitions by the Shariah behind the product of leasing and acquisition. Some of these prohibitions are: the combination between the two contracts i.e. leasing and acquisition, without separating them, the imposition of responsibility for the maintenance of non-operational, warranty of partial loss and insurance on the renter. Another prohibition is the issue of the imposition of compensation for the damage to the tenant in the event of late payment of premiums rental.


The pars tuberalis has been generally understood as a simple forward elongation of the glandular pituitary that develops into an architecturally similar structure. In rats, it is also believed that the pars tuberalis completely encircles the infundibular stalk at the ventral portion of hypothalamus. Intact Wistar-Imamichi rats were used in the present study, and frontal and sagittal serial sections of the pituitary gland/brain complex were prepared. Serial sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and with antibodies to LH-RH, S-100 protein or LH-RH receptor. Electron microscopic analyses were also conducted. The anatomical end of the epithelial structure of the pars tuberalis was observed at approximately 1 mm behind the optic chiasm. At this point, both the capillaries and the pars tuberalis spread and interdigitated over the median eminence. The pars tuberalis did not, however, completely encircle the pituitary stalk. Electron microscopic observations revealed some profiles of neuroendocrine nerve elements that were also present between the agranular cells of the pars tuberalis. A few LH-RH-positive nerve fibers were initially found just behind the optic chiasm, while the number of LH-RH-positive reactions increased around the capillary vessels. These reactions then decreased significantly and were sparsely distributed both in the diencephalon and in the area near the pituitary stalk where the two separated. LH-RH receptors were observed on S-100 protein-positive cells in the pars tuberalis. The present observations show the significance of the pars tuberalis and its relationship between the anterior pituitary gland and the hypothalamus as organs that possibly form another collaborating mechanism for the regulation of hormone secretion of the anterior pituitary gland.


The new constitutionalism is giving the village new stance within Indonesia
state relation. This is creating the new relation between the state and village and open wide possibility for village development. As one of the authority of the village, the authority for the formulation the village regulation maybe the key to open those possibility. Thus, The need for good regulations is very urgent in this new development
since village regulation is become the foundation of village autonomy. Within the
analysis above, this research test the possibility of the development through the
formulation of the village regulation on two village in Lampung namely Way Empulau
Ulu di West Lampung and Tanjung Setia Village in West Coast. In other side,
government has enacted many regulations to govern the management of village and has
made possibility to halt the development of village. This is based on the assumption that more regulation means more barrier for village formulation as Indonesia is using the model of hierarchy of law. This paper found that village regulation formulation success is
depend on the political will of the people and the collaboration with legal drafter is needed to achieve the goal of village development using the formulation of village regulation.