Effect of soil preparation and plant material provenances on Jatropha curcas productivity Jatropha curcas L. (JCL), an oleaginous species traditionally used as live fence, is massively planted in Africa to produce biofuel. However, the influence of many factors on its productivity remains scientifically unknown. This study aimed to assess the effect of subsoiling (factor 1: subsoiling and control) and plant material provenance (factor 2: Casamance and Diobass) on its development and productivity. The results have shown two years after planting that plant provenance had a significant effect on growth variables, plant above ground architecture and fruits number. The Casamance provenance has generally produced the highest values. Subsoiling did not have a significant effect on most of the studied variables, except for low primary branches number and fruiting branches number. Even more, subsoiling appeared to enhance JCL growth. These results have allowed to understand the importance of provenances but also of soil preparation on the performances of JCL and to identify priority areas for research.


The first in a series of articles by the author whose overall purpose is to explain why legal rights need not be restricted to human beings and why a handful of rights that protect fundamental interests of human beings should also protect the fundamental interests of such nonhuman animals as chimpanzees and bonobos. The second article in this series traces the development of the common law as it concerns the relationships between human and nonhuman animals from its beginnings in the Mesopotamian "law code" of the third and second millennia, B.C. until today.


Classical molecular force-field parameters describing the structure and motion of metal clusters in [NiFe] hydrogenase enzymes can be used to compare the dynamics and thermodynamics of [NiFe] under different oxidation, protonation, and ligation circumstances. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations of small model clusters representative of the active site and the proximal, medial, and distal Fe/S metal centers and their attached protein side chains, we have calculated classical force-field parameters for [NiFe] in reduced and oxidized states, including internal coordinates, force constants, and atom-centered charges. Derived force constants revealed that cysteinate ligands bound to the metal ions are more flexible in the Ni-B active site, which has a bridging hydroxide ligand, than in the Ni-C active site, which has a bridging hydride. Ten nanosecond all-atom, explicit-solvent MD simulations of [NiFe] hydrogenase in oxidized and reduced catalytic states established the stability of the derived force-field parameters in terms of Cα and metal cluster fluctuations. Average active site structures from the protein MD simulations are consistent with [NiFe] structures from the Protein Data Bank, suggesting that the derived force-field parameters are transferrable to other hydrogenases beyond the structure used for testing. A comparison of experimental H2-production rates demonstrated a relationship between cysteinate side chain rotation and activity, justifying the use of a fully dynamic model of [NiFe] metal cluster motion.


The surface protein ActA of the pathogenic bacterium Listeria monocytogenes induces actin-driven movement of bacteria in the cytoplasm of infected host cells and serves as a model for actin-based motility in general. We generated and purified soluble recombinant fragments of ActA and assessed their ability to interact with the acidic phospholipids phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate, both implicated in the regulation of actin polymerization. Purified ActA consisted of biologically active, elongated molecules with an α-helix and β-sheet content of 11 and 32%, respectively. In the presence of either phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate or phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate, but not phosphatidylcholine, ActA molecules underwent a structural change that raised the α-helix content to 19% and lowered the β-sheet content to 27%. Co-sedimentation experiments with phosphatidylcholine vesicles containing different acidic phospholipids demonstrated that ActA binds preferentially to D-3 phosphoinositides. The D-3 phosphoinositide binding activity was mapped to a small subregion in the N-terminal domain of ActA. This subregion comprised 19 amino acids and showed homology to cecropins. In addition, we found that amino acids 33 to 74 of ActA mediated actin binding by the whole, folded ActA molecule. These findings shed new light on ActA function.


Abstract The six species of the genus Andraca Walker hitherto known from China are reviewed, and a new species, Andraca gongshanensis, sp. n., described from Yunnan Province, China. Adults and male genitalia of all examined species are illustrated, together with a distributional map. A key to all seven Chinese Andraca species is provided. The types of the new species are deposited in SCAU (South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China) and HUNAU (Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China).


Few things in medical practice can cause as much rancor as the development of a new physician compensation plan. Divvying up limited revenue bruises egos and leads to charges of unfairness — especially in oncology, with its numerous subspecialists of varying income expectations. Better know how to do it right.


We herein report three cases of Parkinson's disease associated with difficulty in eyelid opening, referred to as apraxia of eyelid opening (AEO), which improved after aripiprazole treatment. In case 1, aripiprazole was administered as a psychiatric treatment. It proved to be effective in AEO with blepharospasm. In case 2 and case 3, the patients experienced AEO without blepharospasm, and a significant improvement was observed after aripiprazole treatment. In this study, the aripiprazole dosage ranged between 3 and 9 mg/day. This is the first report of aripiprazole as a potentially effective treatment for AEO in Parkinson's disease.


ntroduction: Regarding the high prevalence of sleep disorders in the general population and noting the effect of sleep disorders on people mental and physical function, this study was performed to assess the pattern of sleep, daytime sleepiness and risk factors in an urban Iranian population in Shahroud. Methods: 400 residents from Shahroud (Northern city in Iran) who were at least 15 years old were randomly selected via a two stage sampling procedure. A 48-item questionnaire was administered to the subjects. 377 questionnaires were returned. Epworth sleepiness scale and a 4-point scale were used for snoring and sleep apnea. Results: The mean age of subjects was 30 years old and females formed the majority of the subjects (62.3%). Based on Epworth sleepiness scale, 41.6% of the subjects had scores higher than 6, and 13.9% of the subjects had severe daytime sleepiness (ESS>10). The average score of sleepiness was 6.2 with a standard deviation of 3.8. According to clinical signs, 1.6% of the subjects had sleep apnea. 12 % subjects had less than 6 hours round the clock.  The mean and median waking time was 7 a.m. and more than 40% of the subjects slept after the midnight. Conclusion: Results show a high prevalence of sleep disorder among this population and more attention to them is required.


Abstract In this paper the authors present the first report concerning the biological effects of a diterpene isolated from Croton aff. argyrophylloides Muell. Arg (Euphorbiaceae). Some biological and physiochemical properties of the antibiotic, named argyrophillic acid, were appreciated in comparison with those presented by cunabic acid, an antibiotic isolated from Icthyothere cunabi. The authors still show the microbial action of the abietic acid and confront it with that of the argyrophilic acid, the new antibiotic here reported.


Fragile histidine triad (FHIT) is a tumor suppressor protein that regulates cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis. However, its exact mechanism of action is poorly understood. Phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase (PI3K)-Akt-survivin is an important signaling pathway that was regulated by FHIT in lung cancer cells. To determine whether FHIT can regulate this pathway in cholangiocarcinoma QBC939 cells, we constructed an FHIT expression plasmid and used it to transfect QBC939 cells. Protein and mRNA expression were measured by western blotting and qRT-PCR, respectively. The viability and apoptosis of QBC939 cells were then assessed using MTT assays and flow cytometry. Our results revealed that the expression of survivin and Bcl-2 was downregulated, and caspase 3 was upregulated, in cells overexpressing FHIT. In addition, FHIT suppressed the phosphorylation of Akt. The changes in cell proliferation and apoptosis were obvious in cells overexpressing FHIT which parallels that of treatment with LY294002, a potent inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinases. Treatment with LY294002 further decreased the expression of survivin and Bcl-2 and increased caspase-3 levels. These results suggest that FHIT can block the PI3K-Akt-survivin pathway by suppressing the phosphorylation of Akt and the expression of survivin and Bcl-2 and upregulating caspase 3.


The incidence of significant asymptomatic bacteriuria was found in 8,14 per cent of 614 nonselected pregnant women's. The method of taking the "clean" middle stream urine is well accepted and valid one, but in some cases it is useful to do the suprapubic puncture of urinary bladder in order to avoid the contamination of urine. It is discussed about the incidence, aetiology, pathogenesis and prevention of urinary infection in pregnancy.


Some examples are presented to illustrate how ecophysiology can contribute to pasture management. For that purpose, various experimental results obtained with typical pastures (i.e. tall fescue) growing on poor soils are presented to demonstrate the relevance of potential treatments to discriminate between genotypic and environmental effects, as well as the effect of nutritional limitations on the utilization of environmental resources (v.g. solar radiation, rainfall), and the association between forage quality and the dynamics of leaf growth and turnover. This information confirms the potential of well-managed perennial pastures in terms of herbage production and nutritive quality and animal performance. In practice, however, production systems fall short of the standards achievable by well-managed pastures. It is suggested that pasture management practices based on sound ecophysiological concepts could be key to bridge this gap.


We present a novel parallel implementation of Active Shape Model (ASM) on GPU for massive facial feature extractions in video or image sequence. With the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA)-enabled GPU, the acceleration is significant and reported a 48 times performance boost comparing to a CPU implementation. We adopt the hardware built-in bilinear interpolation of texture to shorten the time for a large number of image scale transform operations. Then, a GPU-based parallel mahalanobis distance calculation is introduced in the searching process, and this enables most of the computations to be performed simultanously. As a result, we can achieve real-time performance in our video-driven 3D facial animation system.


ABSTRACT In soil, plant roots grow in heterogeneous environments. Plant roots are always facing the difficulty of searching effectively the patchy natural resources, such as water, oxygen, ions and mineral nutrition. Numerous studies reported that root apex navigation enables roots to explore complex environments. In this short communication, we characterize how growing maize roots explore narrow space available with two experimental settings: tactile exploration of narrow glass tube and circumnutation in free space. We also discuss root growth in the soil in terms of foraging behavior guided by the sensory root apex.


The CRS LASIK Study is a surgeon-sponsored collaborative project to evaluate LASIK outcomes with the Summit and VISX lasers. The current report includes 3-month outcomes in the first group of patients who underwent spherocylindrical corrections of 1 to 10 diopters of myopia and 1 to 4 diopters of astigmatism with the Summit Apex Plus and VISX Star lasers. Cohort selection criteria were applied to select 911 eyes that underwent surgery between April 1, 1996 and October 1, 1997 in the range of study. Eyes with preoperative best spectacle-corrected visual acuity of worse than 20/40 (0.5) were excluded. Outcomes were stratified according to myopic treatment range. One day uncorrected visual acuity was 20/40 or better in 83% of eyes with both lasers. At 3 months, 20/40 uncorrected acuity was found in 93% of Summit and 90% of VISX eyes in the -1.00 to -4.00 D group, in 88% of Summit and 84% of VISX eyes in the -4.01 to -7.00 D group, and in 67% of Summit and 70% of VISX eyes in the -7.01 to -10 D group. Three-month manifest refractive outcomes in the -1.00 to -4. 00 D group were within +/- 1 D of target in 91% of the Summit eyes, and 89% of the VISX Eyes. In the -4.01 to -7.00 D range, 72% of the Summit eyes and 74% of the VISX eyes fell within +/- 1 D, and in the -7.01 to -10 D range, the rates were 53% for Summit and 56% for VISX. No eyes lost two lines or more acuity with either laser. Three-month visual and refractive outcomes in LASIK are comparable with the Summit Apex Plus and VISX Star lasers. Loss of BSCVA of two lines or more was not seen. CRS LASIK Study protocols are ongoing to provide longer follow-up and to study other refractive indications.


This study aims to look at the effect of using interactive course lab teaching materials on students' ability to understand concepts in historysubject. The problem of this study is the low level of students' knowledge of the concept material which is indicated by the low learning outcomes of IPS X grade students of high school in Padang Panjang are still many under the KKM (75). The teacher still does not use interactive teaching materials in learning. For this reason, we need an interactive teaching material that has not been used in Padang Panjang High School which is expected to improve learning outcomes. In connection with that Alvani Maizal Asri (2018) has made an interactive teaching material in his research entitled "Development of interactive teaching materials using the course lab application on Indonesian History subjects. The solutions offered in this study introduce the use of interactive teaching materials in historical learning and also as a follow-up to Alvani Maizal Asri's research to continue the next phase of Development. This type of research is experimental research. The population of this study was class X IPS with a sample of 181 people taken by random sampling. Data retrieval is done by pretest and posttest by using multiple choice questions as many as 40 questions. Data analysis using normality test, homogeneity test and hypothesis test (t test) and effectiveness test. The findings of the study at SMAN 1 Padang Panjang showed the average value of the difference between the experimental class students' learning outcomes 11,14 and SD 2,75 while the average difference in learning outcomes of the control class students was 10.14 with SD 2.25. Analysis of the normality test showed that the two samples were normally distributed, namely Lhit <Ltab which was 0.814 <0.886. The omogenicity test results show that the smapel has a homogeneous variant, the Fhit was 1.58 <Ftab was 1.701. The results of the t test show Thit 3.96> Ttab 2.05 so that it can be stated H1 is accepted H0 is rejected. While the results of research at SMAN 2 Padang Panjang showed the average value of the difference in learning outcomes of experimental class 12 students with SD 3.03 while the average difference in learning outcomes of control class students was 10.7 with SD 2.54. Analysis of the normality test showed that the two samples were normally distributed, namely Lhit <Ltab which was 0.821 <0.886. The omogenicity test results showed that the sample had a homogeneous variant, namely Fhit 1.58 <Ftab 1.69. The results of the t test show Thit 2.197> Ttab 2.03 so that it can be declared H1 accepted H0 rejected The results of the study show that there is an influence of the use of interactive teaching materials on the results of history learning of high school students in Padang Panjang. This interactive teaching material is effective to use because the average N-gain value at SMAN 1 Padang Panjang is 0.42 with moderate criteria, as well as in SMAN 2 Padang Panjang, the average N-gain value is 0.33 with the medium category.


In micromechanics the handling and positioning of microparts involves sophisticated assembly procedures and a good understanding of microtribological phenomena. Due to the very low object mass, adhesion between the micropart and the handling tool (usually a mechanical gripper) becomes a performance-limiting factor. Adhesion effects can be even larger than the force that frees the micropart from the handling tool thus making correct positioning impossible. Many useful design principles for optimized adhesion properties can be found in biological systems. In this paper adhesion between the foot of an insect and a surface was evaluated. The attachment pads of the great green bush cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) - used to attach the insect safely to a variety of different surfaces - were investigated to draw conclusions that could be implemented in future technical microsystems. It is shown that the attachment pads are flexible micromechanical units capable of self-adjusting to different scales of roughness. The erratic influence of capillary action due to adsorbed water is presumably suppressed by a hydrophobic layer on the pads. Attaching and releasing mechanisms as well as accurate measurement of the adhesion force are discussed in detail.


Deep neural networks (DNNs) are state-of-the-art techniques for solving most computer vision problems. DNNs require billions of parameters and operations to achieve state-of-the-art results. This requirement makes DNNs extremely compute, memory, and energy-hungry, and consequently difficult to deploy on small battery-powered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices with limited computing resources. Deployment of DNNs on Internet-of-Things devices, such as traffic cameras, can improve public safety by enabling applications such as automatic accident detection and emergency response. Through this paper, we survey the recent advances in low-power and energy-efficient DNN implementations that improve the deployability of DNNs without significantly sacrificing accuracy. In general, these techniques either reduce the memory requirements, the number of arithmetic operations, or both. The techniques can be divided into three major categories: (1) neural network compression, (2) network architecture search and design, and (3) compiler and graph optimizations. In this paper, we survey both low-power techniques for both convolutional and transformer DNNs, and summarize the advantages, disadvantages, and open research problems.


We present time-resolved Kerr rotation measurements, showing spin lifetimes of over 100 ns at room temperature in monolayer MoSe2. These long lifetimes are accompanied by an intriguing temperature-dependence of the Kerr amplitude, which increases with temperature up to 50 K and then abruptly switches sign. Using ab initio simulations, we explain the latter behavior in terms of the intrinsic electron-phonon coupling and the activation of transitions to secondary valleys. The phonon-assisted scattering of the photoexcited electron-hole pairs prepares a valley spin polarization within the first few ps after laser excitation. The sign of the total valley magnetization, and thus the Kerr amplitude, switches as a function of temperature, as conduction and valence band states exhibit different phonon-mediated intervalley scattering rates. However, the electron-phonon scattering on the ps time scale does not provide an explanation for the long spin lifetimes. Hence, we deduce that the initial spin polarization must be transferred into spin states, which are protected from the intrinsic electron-phonon coupling, and are most likely resident charge carriers, which are not part of the itinerant valence or conduction band states.


An investigation was carried out into the effect of an additive called "fortifier" on curing, morphology, and thermomechanical properties of epoxy resins. Differential scanning calorimetry, electron microscopy, and a series of mechanical measurements were performed on bifunctional and tetrafunctional formulations. It was found that the addition of fortifier resulted in an increase in the fracture surface roughness, the size of morphological inhomogeneities observed in the fractographs, and the ultimate tensile strength. At the same time, the glass transition temperature was found to decrease by at least 25°C in going from 0 to 15 phr of the fortifier in a formulation. The presence of fortifier had little effect on the rate of cure and on the strain energy release rate.


China is well known for its determination on large-scale vehicle electrification, which currently is mainly driven by fuel economy and electric vehicle policies mixed with the extensive charging infrastructure support and monetary incentives from the government. This study adopted the New Energy and Oil Consumption Credits (NEOCC) model 2020 version, a vehicle policy analysis tool developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in order to systematically quantify the potential impacts of the "Passenger Cars Corporate Average Fuel Consumption and New Energy Vehicle Credit Regulation", which is a revised version released in June 2020 for the timeframe 2021–2023, the so-called dual credit policy (2021–2023). It was found that, under the dual credit policy (2021–2023), the sales of hybrid electric vehicles could reach 0.91 million by the end of 2023, which would increase much faster than they did in 2018–2020. The annual sales share of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) could reach 11.7%, and the PEV stocks could achieve 11.70 million by the end of 2023 if it keeps the expansion to the level of how it was in 2017. In addition, the BEVs with long electric range (such as 400 km) and the plug-in hybrid electric SUVs could be the most popular PEV types.


This paper describes the introduction of management accounting change in the form of local financial management in a police force, West Mercia Constabulary, using an ethnographic study. The study applies institutional theory to understand the context, process and consequences of the introduction of devolved budgeting systems to the organization. The field study explains how the devolution of budgets in West Mercia was accompanied by a shift in power that helped to reconcile the interests of those pursuing a legitimating accountability with those who prioritized operational policing. This paper makes two contributions to institutional theory. First, is the development of understanding of relations of power, particularly where interests coincide and shifts in power are a by-product of legitimating processes. Second, is an explanation of how loose coupling can take place through accounting, in which a devolved budget can satisfy both institutional and technical demands.


Decision tree models have earned a special status in predictive modeling since these are considered comprehensible for human analysis and insight. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) algorithm is one of the renowned decision tree induction algorithms to address the classification as well as regression problems. Finding optimal values for the hyper parameters of a decision tree construction algorithm is a challenging issue. While making an effective decision tree classifier with high accuracy and comprehensibility, we need to address the question of setting optimal values for its hyper parameters like the maximum size of the tree, the minimum number of instances required in a node for inducing a split, node splitting criterion and the amount of pruning. The hyper parameter setting influences the performance of the decision tree model. As researchers, we know that no single setting of hyper parameters works equally well for different datasets. A particular setting that gives an optimal decision tree for one dataset may produce a sub-optimal decision tree model for another dataset. In this paper, we present a hyper heuristic approach for tuning the hyper parameters of Recursive and Partition Trees (rpart), which is a typical implementation of CART in statistical and data analytics package R. We employ an evolutionary algorithm as hyper heuristic for tuning the hyper parameters of the decision tree classifier. The approach is named as Hyper heuristic Evolutionary Approach with Recursive and Partition Trees (HEARpart). The proposed approach is validated on 30 datasets. It is statistically proved that HEARpart performs significantly better than WEKA's J48 algorithm in terms of error rate, F-measure, and tree size. Further, the suggested hyper heuristic algorithm constructs significantly comprehensible models as compared to WEKA's J48, CART and other similar decision tree construction strategies. The results show that the accuracy achieved by the hyper heuristic approach is slightly less as compared to the other comparative approaches.


A short history of the physics of strongly interacting particles is presented. Events leading to the discovery, and eventual acceptance, of concrete quarks are described.


Abstract The new genus and species Bicoloromyces kyffinensis is described as new to science from a sterile crustose lichen, perhaps Lecanora fuscobrunnea or Lecidella sp. from Ebony Ridge of Mount Kyffin, Antarctica. The fungus recalls superficially the lichenicolous species referred to Taeniolella, but differs in having semi-macronematous conidiophores, tissues encrusted with calcium oxalate, aeruginose to blue-black colouration under the microscope, and conidia which are distoseptate and formed in basipetal chains. Energy dispersive spectroscopy established that the encrustations were of calcium oxalate. Differences from genera of rock-inhabiting fungi described from the Antarctic are discussed. This appears to be the furthest south any lichen-inhabiting fungus has been reported.


Background: Stroke recovery is a long and complex process. Successful stroke recovery seems to be strongly associated with patients' high motivation and committed participation. Patients' motivation is a key determinant of successful rehabilitation outcomes, but it is difficult in defining and measuring. Patients' participation is defined as the degree or extent to which subjects take part in rehabilitation activities and can be measured by observable behavior.
Objects: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of patients' level of participation in rehabilitation on functional outcomes in patients with stroke.
Methods: Forty post-stroke inpatients participated in this study. The level of rehabilitation participation was measured by the Hopkins Rehabilitation Engagement Rating Scale (HRERS). Other measures used for the evaluation were the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) and Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI). Overall measurements were made at early intervention and late intervention. Spearman correlation and multiple regression were used to measure the relationships between HRERS, RMI, and K-MBI.
Results: The correlation found between HRERS total scores at early intervention and RMI total scores of late intervention was above moderate (r = 0.607, p < 0.01). RMI total scores at early intervention (p < 0.000), HRERS total scores at early intervention (p < 0.001), and disease duration (p < 0.003) were significant predictors of RMI total scores at late intervention.
Conclusion: The level of participation at early intervention was associated with improvement in mobility. The level of mobility at early intervention, disease duration, and patients' participation at early intervention were important determinants of functional outcome. These findings suggest that patients' participation should be encouraged in order to achieve successful stroke recovery.


A mild, general, and efficient method for the synthesis of 2-monosubstituted and 2,5-disubstituted furans via the CuI-catalyzed cycloisomerization of alkynyl ketones was developed. It was demonstrated that furans containing both acid- and base-labile groups could be easily synthesized using this methodology. A plausible mechanism for this transformation is proposed.


Chest pain is a common symptom of acute coronary syndrome, including myocardial infarction (MI). Treatment with antiplatelet agents, such as aspirin, improves survival, although the ideal dose is uncertain. It is unknown if outcomes can be improved by giving aspirin early in the course of MI as part of the first-aid management as opposed to late or in-hospital administration. We searched the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases and used Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) and Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) for determining the certainty of evidence. We included studies in adults with non-traumatic chest pain, where aspirin was administered early (within two hours) following the onset of chest pain as part of first-aid management as compared with late or in-hospital administration (The International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) registration number: CDR153316). From 1470 references, we included three studies (one randomized controlled trial (RCT) and two non-RCTs). Early administration (median 1.6 hours or pre-hospital) was associated with increased survival as compared with late administration (median 3.5 hours or in-hospital) at seven days; risk ratio (RR) 1.04 (95% CI 1.03-1.06), 30 days RR 1.05 (95% 1.02-1.07), and one-year RR 1.06 (95% CI1.03-1.10). The evidence is of very low certainty due to limitations in study design and the imprecision of the evidence. This systematic review would suggest that the early or first-aid administration of aspirin to adults with non-traumatic chest pain improves survival as compared with late or in-hospital administration.


This essay seeks to re-elaborate Derrida's own account of the other's heterogeneity, notably in light of critiques of deconstruction's thinking of difference, alterity, and the unconditional. At stake here is the precise meaning of what may be termed wholly other; or, better still, the specific nature of the arguments about the question of the other from among Derrida's writings, which must be recalled amidst any appeal to absolute alterity, especially of the kind frequently found in Derrida commentary today. Beginning with the argument that deconstruction's discourse of the other opens onto the wholly other not simply as the 'beyond' or the 'outside' of phenomenology's limits, but only at the point where the phenomenological gives way in something like a double sense, the essay wants to speak of the mark and touch of the other, the ethics and politics of the other, indeed love of the other, in ways that disorganise and yet transform the very grammars of relationality.


Mechanical VTE prophylaxis forms part of NICE guidance in general surgical patients. Locally, thromboembolic deterrent (TED) stockings are used but not available as a prescription item on the electronic system. They are often prescribed verbally or via noted plans but do not appear on the medication administration record. Importantly, multiple incidents of patient harm through pressure damage have been seen due to poorly checked TEDs. Our aim was to audit and improve safe mechanical VTE prophylaxis prescribing.

 At each cycle, we retrospectively collected data from two weeks of admissions. Data relating to VTE assessment completion, VTE score, TEDs in use, TEDs prescription and LMWH prescription was collected. Our initial intervention consisted of departmental education regarding a work around enabling TEDs to be prescribed as a freehand extra-formulary item. This was reaudited at 12 months.

 All patients in both cycles had VTE assessments completed. TED stocking use increased significantly from 5.1% to 26.4% and prescription of TEDs, when used, increased from 0% to 61.1%. However, documentation regarding daily checks was non-existent.

 Our QIP showed a significant improvement in TEDs use and prescription. However, the intervention is difficult and time consuming. Subsequently from this project, a TEDs stocking item is in the final approval phase for integration into the online prescribing system and will come with associated safety checks built into the nursing medication administration system. Once this is live, we will complete a third cycle to assess uptake and again at 6 months to assess for lasting change.


Measurement of the heart rate variability enables to assess the activity of the autonomous nervous system. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible relationship between clinical status, serum sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium concentrations and HRV in children with mitral valve prolapse. The study group consisted of 151 children with MVP (age +/- SD: 12.2 +/- 3.1 years). Thirty patients out of the MVP group were symptomatic and 121 were asymptomatic. The total number of 165 healthy children (age +/- SD: 12.3 +/- 3.7 years) were included into the control group. We assessed power spectrum of HRV (low frequency component--LF, high frequency component--HF, and LF/HF ratio) from 5-minute recording during daytime and night. Serum Mg (p < 0.00001) and K (p < 0.03) concentrations were significantly lower in MVP group as compared to healthy children. A marked decrease in Mg concentration was observed in symptomatic children with MVP as compared to asymptomatic patients (p < 0.0001). A significant positive correlation was found between Mg concentration and HF and HF n.u. components (daytime and night) and significant negative correlation was observed between Mg concentration and LF and LF n.u. (daytime and night) parameters and LF/HF ratio (daytime and night). Symptomatic children with MVP had significantly higher LF n.u. and LF/HF ratio and a lower HF n.u. as compared to asymptomatic patients. The autonomic changes in MVP children (reduction in parasympathetic tone with sympathetic predominance) were associated with decreased serum Mg concentration and higher prevalence of clinical symptoms. Mg supplementation seems to be a prudent approach in symptomatic children with MVP.


Samples of CoFe2-xCrxO4 where x varies from 0.0 to 0.5 were prepared by co-precipitation route. These samples were sintered at 750°C for 2 hours. These particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) at room temperature. The FCC spinel structure was confirmed by XRD patterns of the samples. The crystallite sizes of these particles were calculated from the most intense peak by Scherrer formula. The crystallite sizes lie in the range of 37-60 nm. The lattice parameter was found decreasing upon substitution of Cr. DC electrical resistivity was measured as a function of temperature. The room temperature thermoelectric power was measured for the prepared samples. The magnitude of Seebeck coefficient depends on the composition and resistivity of the samples. Keywords—Ferrites, Crystallite size, Drift mobility, Seebeck coefficient, Thermopower


For original paper by R. Li and L. Zhu, see ibid., vol. 17, no. 1, p. 40-42, (2007). An unloaded MMR must have a sufficiently large impedance ratio (R >5) so that the leading three resonances have a relatively close proximity to form a broad passband. Therefore, at least two points are worth investigating from circuit design point of view. One is that the B value of the unloaded MMR is only 1.5, and the other is where the fourth resonance and the zero come from.


Background The annotation of genomes from next-generation sequencing platforms needs to be rapid, high-throughput, and fully integrated and automated. Although a few Web-based annotation services have recently become available, they may not be the best solution for researchers that need to annotate a large number of genomes, possibly including proprietary data, and store them locally for further analysis. To address this need, we developed a standalone software application, the Annotation of microbial Genome Sequences (AGeS) system, which incorporates publicly available and in-house-developed bioinformatics tools and databases, many of which are parallelized for high-throughput performance. Methodology The AGeS system supports three main capabilities. The first is the storage of input contig sequences and the resulting annotation data in a central, customized database. The second is the annotation of microbial genomes using an integrated software pipeline, which first analyzes contigs from high-throughput sequencing by locating genomic regions that code for proteins, RNA, and other genomic elements through the Do-It-Yourself Annotation (DIYA) framework. The identified protein-coding regions are then functionally annotated using the in-house-developed Pipeline for Protein Annotation (PIPA). The third capability is the visualization of annotated sequences using GBrowse. To date, we have implemented these capabilities for bacterial genomes. AGeS was evaluated by comparing its genome annotations with those provided by three other methods. Our results indicate that the software tools integrated into AGeS provide annotations that are in general agreement with those provided by the compared methods. This is demonstrated by a >94% overlap in the number of identified genes, a significant number of identical annotated features, and a >90% agreement in enzyme function predictions.


The production of volatile fatty acids (VFA) by anaerobic fermentation of municipal solid wastes was studied at pilot-plant level. A plug-flow reactor (80 1 total volume) without solid or liquid recirculation was employed to digest a mixture of two types of organic fraction of the municipal solid waste (OFMSW): OFMSW mechanically selected and OFMSW coming from a market of fruit and vegetables. The acidogenic process was studied at different retention times (between 2 and 6 days) in the mesophilic (37° ± 2°C) range of temperature. The VFA concentration obtained in the first valve of the tubular reactor ranged from 9.1 to 13.4 g 1−1 and in the outlet sludge oscillated between 11.8 and 23.1 g 1−1, increasing when increasing retention time from 2 to 6 days. A mathematical model of a continuous steady state plug-flow reactor proposed in a previous paper was used to represent the VFA production obtained experimentally. The results obtained when fitting the mathematical model with the experimental results were not sufficiently good. Some modifications of the initial model were considered. The best fitting of the results was obtained when the inhibition effect of the fermentation product on microorganisms growth was taken into account. The errors of this fitting, calculated by least squares, can be considered optimal for retention times between 4 and 6 days, while at shorter retention times the inhibition effect of pH and product makes the volatile acid production lower than the values obtained experimentally.


Oil removal (scavenge) from aeroengine bearing chambers is an ongoing challenge for aeroengine designers. Effective scavenging of oil is necessary to avoid excessive heat generation, degradation of oil properties and deterioration in heat transfer functionality. However the task of oil removal is not trivial. Oil is entrained in a highly rotating environment induced by the rotating shafts. Simply removing a larger volume of fluid from the chamber with the scavenge pump can create higher air flowrates but lead to oil becoming trapped in the chamber and so no reduction in residence volume (the amount of oil present in the chamber during operation).The University of Nottingham Technology Centre in Gas Turbine Transmissions Systems has been conducting experiments investigating two phase behaviour within a simplified aeroengine bearing chamber operating at ambient pressures with water as the working liquid. The rig is constructed from polycarbonate enabling good visual access. In the chamber offtake region a number of behaviours can be observed relating to the hydraulic uplift and general flow behaviour as gas and liquid exit the chamber. Chandra et al [1] reports a parametric study using a design of experiments approach into geometrical variants of a shallow offtake region defined by curved approaches and a small offtake volume. Phenomenlogical factors were quantified and used to identify the best performing geometry. Previous work at the UTC [2, 3] has used residence volume as the primary comparative performance parameter.In this paper residence volume data is obtained for two sumps for which phenomenological data exists. The paper compares performance on the basis of these visual factors with performance on the basis of residence volume and concludes that although both frameworks have value, they do not lead to identical conclusions for all operating conditions. In film dominated cases significant hydraulic uplift usually corresponds to larger residence volume but for droplet dominated cases this is not necessarily so.Copyright © 2014 by Rolls-Royce plc


Developing countries have, for more than two decades, emphasised the adverse impact of prices and export revenue fluctuations on their economies. Despite the considerable effort that has gone into the study of the causes and effects of primary commodities' price instability, progress in devising practical solutions and implementing them has been slow. The present article looks at commodity price stabilisation - defined as an operation intended to smooth out price fluctuations around the trend set by market forces - in terms of specific objectives and defines criteria for determining the primary commodities whose price stabilisation at the international level would benefit most the developing countries as producers or consumers.


The speed at which water flows through the ground depends on a number of physical parameters, including the density of the soil and the number and sizes of open pores, with the cumulative effect of these parameters dictating the soil's permeability. When exposed to an electric field, sediment grains within the soil get polarized because of an extremely thin structure that surrounds each grain known as the electrical double layer. The electrical double layer consists of a thin layer of adsorbed ions and a diffuse layer of ions that encircle each soil particle. Researchers are able to measure the polarization of the soil to nonintrusively estimate the soil's textural properties, and hence its permeability, with the polarization of the soil being controlled by the polarization of the electrical double layer.


We investigated the effects of the hepatitis B virus X gene (HBV X) on the activation of human hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and the possible mechanisms underlying the pathway. Recombinant plasmid pHBV-X-IRES2-EGFP was constructed and transfected into HL-7702 cells using a lipid-mediated method. Transfected cells were screened by G418, which detected stable expression of the X gene by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and Western blot analysis, and named L02/x. Cells not subjected to G418-selection were analyzed to confirm the transient expression of the X gene and named L02/48x. Subsequently, L02/x and L02/48x, together with non-HBx-expressing cells, were co-cultured with HSCs in a non-contact transwell system. After 36 h of co-culture, the proliferation and migration of HSCs was detected using different cell counting methods. Finally, the mRNA and protein levels of α-SMA, Col I, and TGFβ1 in HSCs were detected by real-time PCR and western blot analysis. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis showed that L02/x and L02/48x cells can express HBV X gene mRNA and protein. Additionally, HSCs co-cultured with L02/x or L02/48x cells showed significantly higher proliferation and migration levels than control groups. Real-time PCR and Western blot analysis showed that the mRNA and protein expressions of α-SMA, Col I, and TGFβ1 in HSCs co-cultured with HBx-expressing liver cells were higher than those in control groups. HBx protein activated HSCs in vitro, leading to increased proliferation and migration of HSCs and upregulation of α-SMA and Col I. The TGFβ1 gene may be involved in this pathway.


Without harbours, good road and rail infrastructure and airports, there will be no sustainable economic development. That is our stark reality. Fortunately, we are moving in the right direction.


Nickel sulfide fire assay neutron activation analysis and lead fire assay direct current plasma spectroscopy were used to determine platinum-group elements (PGE) and gold in 30 channel samples and 23 fault-related samples from the Blakeburn opencast mine, south-central British Columbia, Canada. In the majority of the channel samples concentrations of Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pd, and Re were below detection. Pt in the coal ranged from below detection to 170 ppb, and Au from below detection to 38 ppb. Concentrations of all the PGE, with the exception of Ru, were on average higher in the coals than in the sediments. In the deformed coal samples Os, Ru, Rh, and Re were typically below detection. Anomalous values of Pt, up to >10,000 ppb, were determined in three deformed coal samples, and Pd and Ir were comparatively enriched in the majority of deformed coal samples (up to 6,100 and 22 ppb, respectively) compared with channel samples. On the basis of SEM-EDX, and comparisons with ash and organic matter contents, it is likely that Pt and Au are present in the coal as discrete particles, precipitated from circulating ground waters on contact with the organic-rich, reducing, and low pH environment of the coal. Pt and Au distributions appear to be related to sources of the elements in ground water, i.e., interbedded volcanic units and the Tulameen Ultramafic Complex for Pt, and interbedded clastic sedimentary units for Au. Enhanced concentrations of Pt and Pd occur in coal samples associated with two faults.


Background: Pulp stones are discrete calcifications in the pulp space. A single tooth may have from 1 to 12 pulpstones of varying sizes and shapes. Pulp stones have been noted in patients with systemic/genetic disease such as dentin dysplasia, dentinogenesis imperfect. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the incidence of pulp stones and to evaluate the frequency of pulp stones in the posterior tooth group of adult population in Chennai by using Orthopantomograph. Materials And Method: Orthopantamograph from 100 patients between the age group of 20 to 60 years were collected and evaluated for pulp stones in the posterior tooth group of both male and female patients visiting Saveetha dental college, Chennai.


"Literature and the Marketplace" addresses one of the great ironies of nineteenth-century British and American literature: the fact that authors of that era, in voicing their alienation from middle-class readers, paradoxically gave expression to feelings of alienation felt by those same readers. As William G. Rowland Jr. points out, romantic writers 'thought of the market as conspiring against 'imagination' (Blake) or 'telling the truth' (Melville)' and consequently felt frustrated with literary institutions. Yet their 'frustrations', writes Rowland, 'helped to energize romantic work and explain its subsequent and continuing appeal'. The book opens with a survey of reading publics in Great Britain and the United States in the early years of the nineteenth century. Rowland then presents individual writers - including Wordsworth, Shelley, Hawthorne, Poe, and Emerson - and their relations to their readers.Finally, Rowland shows how the idea of genius was developed by writers as different as Coleridge, Blake, Whitman, and Dickinson and how that idea evolved as an antidote to the commercial literary marketplace of the nineteenth century. A wide-ranging and provocative book, "Literature and the Marketplace" describes the relations between important British and American authors and the audiences and publishing industries of their era - relations that were troubled, uncertain, and remarkably productive of literature. William G. Rowland Jr. is the Director of Studies at Hereford Residential College, University of Virginia. This is his first book.


A self-consistent density-functional theory (DFT) was applied to investigate the phase behavior and interfacial properties of non-polar fluids. For the bulk phases, the theory was reduced to the statistical associating fluid theory(SAFF) that provides accurate descriptions of vapor-liquid phase diagrams below the critical region. The phase diagrams in the critical region were corrected by the renormalization group theory (RGT). The density profile in the surface was obtained by minimizing the grand potential. With the same set of molecular parameters, both the phase equilibria and the interfacial properties of non-polar fluids were investigated satisfactorily.


Purpose of review The purpose of this review is to update and summarize information concerning the epidemiology of infections due to Streptococcus pneumoniae and the early results of effectiveness studies of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. This vaccine was licensed in the US in 2000, and has been used increasingly since that time. Recent findings Several studies have documented a dramatic decline in the rate of invasive infections due to S. pneumoniae in children under 5 years of age. There has been a simultaneous decrease in serious infections in persons over 20 years of age, presumably because of a decrease in transmission of S. pneumoniae to unvaccinated individuals. Three different studies have shown a modest reduction in the overall number of cases of acute otitis media in children who have received the vaccine. Although the overall number of cases has decreased there has been an increase in the number of cases of acute otitis media caused by serotypes of S. pneumoniae not contained in the vaccine. Worldwide, many studies have appeared that examine the prevalence of different pneumococcal serotypes/serogroups as a cause of invasive and respiratory disease, to assess the likelihood that the vaccine will be effective in particular geographic areas. Summary Use of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has led to a major decline in the prevalence of invasive pneumococcal disease (bacteremia, meningitis) and a more modest decrease in respiratory tract infections (acute otitis media, pneumonia). Continued surveillance is essential to document future trends in the occurrence of pneumococcal infections and the enduring protectiveness of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.


The novel design of an all-optical XOR gate by using cross-gain modulation of semiconductor optical amplifiers has been suggested and demonstrated successfully at 10 Gb/s. Boolean AB~ and A~B of the two input signals A and B have been obtained and combined to achieve the all-optical XOR gate. No additional input beam such as a clock signal or continuous wave light is used in this new design, which is required in other all-optical XOR gates.


Lignans and their in vivo metabolites, especially enterolactone (ENL), have attracted substantial interest as potential chemopreventive agents for prostate cancer. Preclinical and clinical interventions performed with lignan-rich flaxseed that use surrogate biomarkers as endpoints suggest that lignans may attenuate prostate carcinogenesis in individuals with increased risk or with diagnosed cancer. No unequivocal prostate cancer risk reduction has been found for lignans in epidemiological studies, suggesting that lignan concentrations found in populations consuming a regular non-supplemented diet are not chemopreventive in prostate cancer. Presumably, the main obstacles in assessing the efficacy of food lignans is limited knowledge of the serum and tissue lignan concentrations required for the putative prevention. Further clinical studies performed with the purified compounds are required to substantiate a health claim.


These conversion kits are designed for a 2ZRP7 Dayton Generator to enable the engine to run on gasoline, natural gas or propane.


Due to the constant evolution of the technologies related to the Internet of Things and the great expansion of the protocols and devices that possibilitate their use, there is a need to enforce and to approach the study of its concepts and applications to the students of electronic engineering and technical university careers. In this work, a weather station is designed and built based on low-cost technologies, whose data can be visible through an online platform designed for this purpose. The weather station is oriented to be used in laboratory practices and for teaching of subjects related to IoT, sensing platforms, communication platforms, etc. The general objective of the low-cost weather station platform is to provide a didactic, portable and simple design for replication in classroom in order to provide a whole system from the beginning to the students. Thanks to the use of this low cost platform it was possible to perform better approach to this technology obtaining great improvements in the learning process of the students.


Unfractionated heparin and LMMH were substituted with different lipophilic organic compounds. Specifically endpoint attached (LMMH-tyramine and LMMH-tyramine-FITC) and nonspecifically substituted heparins (acylated heparins, and LMMH-biotin and LMMH-cholesterol hemisuccinate) were obtained. The lipophilically substituted heparins were analysed by HPSEC and showed different retention times, high peak purity, different UV/VIS absorbances, and areas under the absorbance time curve. The determination of the average molecular mass Mn, Mm, and Mz and the polydispersity P was performed by PAGE. The substituted heparins showed an increase in their molecular mass Mm, ranging from 2.9 to 129.7% unfractionated heparin and 3.9 to 224.0% (LMMH) compared with the parent compounds (unfractionated heparin and LMMH). The anticoagulant activity was measured by anti-Factor Xa. Lipophilically modified heparin had an aXa activity ranging from 52 to 168 U/mg (unfractionated) and 60 to 108 U/mg (LMMH) and antithrombin activity ranging from 31 to 270 U/mg (unfractionated) and 5 to 15 U/mg (LMMH). The thrombin generation inhibition assay demonstrated an effective anticoagulant potency of the modified compounds. They were neutralized by different amounts (1.1 to 4.1, w/w) of protamin. 1H NMR spectroscopy revealed the specific endpoint attachment of tyramine to LMMH and FITC to LMMH-tyramine. The lipophilically modified heparins showed intact anticoagulant properties and are now used for pharmacokinetic investigations.


A novel carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were successfully synthesized by one-step hydrothermal reaction using Rosa roxburghii as a biomass-based precursor. The CQDs have an average size of 2.5 nm and a narrow size distribution. They display strong blue fluorescence with a quantum yield of 24.8% and good biocompatibility. Notably, these CQDs were capable of detecting trace o-nitrophenol in surface water and sewage with high sensitivity and specificity. The linear range is 0.08–40 μmol/L, and the limit of detection is 15.2 nmol/L. Furthermore, this CQDs was successfully applied for o-nitrophenol analysis in river water and sewage samples. Additionally, Hep3B cells, a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, can be easily imaged with high resolution using the as-prepared CQDs as nanoprobes. These results reveal that the as-prepared CQDs have potential applications for detecting o-nitrophenol and cell imaging.


OBJECTIVE
1) Determine tumor control, symptomatic control, and complication rates of primary radiosurgery (PRS) for treatment of glomus jugulare tumors (GJTs) via systematic review and meta-analysis. 2) Identify risk factors for these outcomes.

DATA SOURCES
1) Search of English articles in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and EBSCOhost databases from January 1950 to August 2017.

STUDY SELECTION
Inclusion criteria: 1) treated GJT patients who had no previous treatment with radiosurgery, 2) follow-up with magnetic resonance imaging for at least 12 months, 3) reported pre and posttreatment symptoms, tumor control, or complications for individual PRS patients or for PRS patients as a cohort.

DATA EXTRACTION
The following were extracted: number of patients, level of evidence, mean age, mean pretreatment tumor volume, tumor control rate, criteria for change in tumor size, symptom control rate, and complications. At the individual patient level the following were extracted: age, number of treatment fractions, total radiation dose to tumor margin, pretreatment tumor volume, Fisch or Glasscock-Jackson stage, pre- and posttreatment symptoms, tumor control, symptom control/improvement, length of follow-up, and complications.

DATA SYNTHESIS
Fifteen studies encompassing 91 patients met criteria. Tumor control was achieved in 92% of patients, symptom control in 93%, and complications occurred in 8%. There was one major complication. Smaller tumor volume predicted improvement in symptoms with PRS.

CONCLUSIONS
In the short term, PRS is safe and effective at controlling growth and clinical symptoms for patients with GJTs, though there exists significant selection bias, inconsistent reporting, and clinical heterogeneity among existing studies.


(1) Background: Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with millions of people exposed to severe air pollution. Surface ozone, mostly produced photochemically from anthropogenic precursor gases, is harmful to both humans and vegetation. The phytotoxicity of ozone has been shown to damage plant photosynthesis, induce early leaf death, and retard growth. (2) Methods: We use genotypes of bush bean Phaseolus vulgaris with various degrees of sensitivity to ozone to investigate the impacts of ambient ozone on the morphology and development of the beans. We use ozone-induced foliar injury index and measure the flowering and fruit production to quantify the ozone stress on the plants. (3) Results: We expected that the ozone-sensitive genotype would suffer from a reduction of yield. Results, however, show that the ozone-sensitive genotype suffers higher ozone-induced foliar damage as expected but produces more pods and beans and heavier beans than the ozone-resistant genotype. (4) Conclusions: It is postulated that the high ozone sensitivity of the sensitive genotype causes stress-induced flowering, and therefore results in higher bean yield. A higher than ambient concentration of ozone is needed to negatively impact the yield production of the ozone-sensitive genotype. Meanwhile, ozone-induced foliar damage shows a graduated scale of damage pattern that can be useful for indicating ozone levels. This study demonstrates the usefulness of bioindicators to monitor the phytotoxic effects of ozone pollution in a subtropical city such as Hong Kong.


Introduction Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) is the best curative option for many patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and related malignancies, mostly due to the antileukemic activity of immune cells contained in the graft. Although in most of the cases HSCT can accomplish apparent disease eradication, frequently residual leukemic cells are able to evade elimination, eventually outgrowing and resulting in clinical relapse. Apparently indistinguishable from disease at diagnosis, relapses commonly display a more aggressive behavior, and most of the available therapeutic options are ineffective. Next-generation sequencing provides the opportunity to track specific alterations and disease subclones during the clinical history of patients, and from this information to identify mechanisms by which leukemic cells evade elimination.

Methods Serial disease samples collected longitudinally during the complex clinical history of a patient with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome were analyzed by genomic HLA typing and by high-depth exome sequencing (minimum depth of coverage 70x). Patient fibroblasts and mononucleated peripheral blood cells harvested at remission served as reference for germline HLA typing and exome sequence. Whenever possible, leukemic blast were FACS-purified. Sequencing data were aligned to the reference genome using the BWA aligner and analyzed using the tools developed from the Cancer Genome Analysis group at the Broad institute to identify newly acquired mutations, clonal segregation of novel and pre-existing mutations and quantitative clonal dynamics.

Results A 54 year old patient with high-risk refractory anemia with excess blasts (pancytopenia, blasts 19%, adverse cytogenetics) underwent unmanipulated T cell-repleted HLA-haploidentical HSCT in the presence of active disease. After one year of remission a first relapse occurred. HLA typing of the leukemic blasts harvested at relapse demonstrated the selective genomic loss of the mismatched HLA haplotype targeted by donor T cells, a frequent mechanism of leukemia immune evasion after haploidentical HSCT, first described by our group ( Vago et al, N Engl J Med, 2009 ). The patient was re-transplanted from a different haploidentical donor mismatched for the HLA alleles retained by the mutated variants; accordingly, T cells from this donor were expectedly alloreactive against the relapsed leukemia. The patient re-obtained complete remission, which was maintained for five years, before the occurrence of a second relapse. Unexpectedly, at this relapse leukemic cells had lost the HLA molecules mismatched with the second donor, and expressed those that had gone amiss at first relapse. Since at both relapses HLA haplotype loss was due to a stable genomic alteration, chromosome 6p acquired uniparental disomy (aUPD), any linear relation between the first and second relapse could be ruled out (Figure 1). Leukemic samples at diagnosis, first relapse and second relapse were further characterized by high-depth exome sequencing, revealing that most of the mutations present in each of the three samples were not found in the other two: only a minute fraction of the mutations could be identified in all three disease presentations, possibly comprising the "driver mutations" harbored by the original leukemic stem cell clone. Amongst these shared mutations we are currently validating the functional and epidemiological relevance of missense alterations in the TP53 tumor suppressor gene, in the NHEJ1 gene (related to chromosomal instability), and in the BTNL8 gene, encoding the costimulatory receptor B7-H5, which may putatively play a role in leukemia recognition by T cells.

Conclusions Our results demonstrate that antileukemic immunity has a profound impact on leukemia clonal evolution, driving the selection of immuno-privileged subclones. Importantly, the genetic alterations shared between the leukemic variants that emerged at years of distance during the clinical history of our patient suggest the long-term persistence of a reservoir of leukemic stem cells which are resistant to, or in stable equilibrium with, the immune pressure that sculpted their progeny. Finally, the longitudinal approach adopted in this study holds promise for the identification of leukemia "driver" mutations, to provide new insights into leukemogenesis and new rationales for targeted eradicating therapies.

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Disclosures: Bordignon: MolMed SpA: Employment. Bonini: MolMed SpA: Consultancy.

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When TCP is carried over 3G cellular links, the characteristics of wireless channel and error recovery mechanisms cause overbuffering and buffer overflow at the RLC layer, degrading end-to-end performance. We propose and evaluate an algorithm that improves TCP goodput while reducing the delay. This algorithm is implemented at the RLC layer of the network side and consists of adjusting the inder-departure time of the acknowledgements (ACK) in the uplink direction, according to the congestion state of the downlink buffer. Our proposal does not require changes in the end user's protocol stack nor in 3GPP specifications. Additionally, it does not break TCP end-to- end semantics. In this paper we also address the parameter setting of the protocol, highlighting the importance of the radio bearer bandwidth in this aspect. We illustrate how automatic reconfiguration of ACK rate control parameters avoids the degradation caused by abrupt changes in the radio bearer rate.


In this technical note, I describe an in silico model of multiparameter fluorescence measurements that takes into account intrinsic cellular autofluorescence and stained dye fluorescence distributions, fluorescence spectrum spillovers, and photon counting statistics. Using this model, it is easy to manipulate spectral variables as well as error terms to understand the impact of each on the distributions of estimated cell‐associated dyes (e.g., conjugated monoclonal antibodies in immunophenotyping). An application of this model was to understand the genesis of "unusual" autofluorescence distributions that occasionally happen in multi‐color immunophenotyping. These unusual distributions show striking correlated patterns (diagonals) for graphs of certain pairs of parameters. Here I show that these arise from combinations of spillover‐spreading from unviewed parameters. While disconcerting to researchers taught to look for diagonals in distributions as heralding improper compensation, these distributions are in fact appropriate. In general, one can ignore the characteristics of cell distributions within the same limits as background (e.g., as proscribed by a fluorescence‐minus‐one, or FMO, control), as there is essentially no information content in that region. Published 2016 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry. This article is a US Government work, and as such, is in the public domain in the USA.


Between 1830 and 1870, French army officers serving in the colonial Offices of Arab Affairs profoundly altered the course of political decision-making in Algeria. Guided by the modernizing ideologies of the Saint-Simonian school in their development and implementation of colonial policy, the officers articulated a new doctrine and framework for governing the Muslim and European populations of Algeria. Apostles of Modernity shows the evolution of this civilizing mission in Algeria, and illustrates how these 40 years were decisive in shaping the principal ideological tenets in French colonization of the region. This book offers a rethinking of 19th-century French colonial history. It reveals not only what the rise of Europe implied for the cultural identities of non-elite Middle Easterners and North Africans, but also what dynamics were involved in the imposition or local adoptions of European cultural norms and how the colonial encounter impacted the cultural identities of the colonizers themselves.


The World Bank Group (WBG), in collaboration with the Government of Bihar, is implementing a government-to-person (G2P) health payments project with co-funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The timeliness and integrity of these monetary incentives are key to their effectiveness. In late 2009, WBG began discussions with the State Health Society of Bihar (SHSB) and BMGF about delays and inefficiencies related to conditional incentive payments to health program beneficiaries and health workers. On the basis of those initial discussions, WBG conducted a diagnostic with SHSB on health payments in Bihar in 2010-11. WBG found that health programs in Bihar experienced significant delays (ranging from two months to two years) in making incentive payments and that health officials spent nearly 30 percent of their time administering payments instead of providing health care services. To address those challenges, WBG recommended that SHSB modernize its health payment system by: (a) automating the calculation, verification, and recording of payments; (b) enabling centralized payment processing; and (c) making payments using electronic funds transfers directly into beneficiary bank accounts.


In September 2000, Amnesty International reported that nine transvestite sex workers were detained by police in Guayaquil, Ecuador on 5 July 2000 for over three weeks on charges of crimes against decency and violating "public morals." AI believes they were detained solely because of their identity as transvestites, and notes that these are not isolated cases.


The imposition in Australia of stricter regulatory conditions onto initial teacher education (ITE) institutions
raises questions about the structures and procedures necessary to ensure effective, ongoing generation
of valid evidence of graduate classroom competencies to meet both student certification and program
accreditation. This paper presents the benefits from combining a digital curriculum design tool (CDT),
that ensures alignment and structural calibration of graduate competency requirements at the design
stage, with the artefact management and evidentiary output capabilities of eportfolios. Combined,
they can stimulate new pedagogies where an improved collaborative and transparent course design
and evaluation cycle assures quality, and guarantees the progressive, efficient production of authentic
relevant evidence for accreditation and student certification. In addition to suggesting a point for
effective eportfolio integration into course planning, the paper proposes an eportfolio integration
model adaptable to other highly regulated professional studies programs.


The present study was performed to clarify of training-related modulations of the cardiopulmonary system (CPS) response sensitivity to a hypoxic and hypercapnia stimulus in young endurance athletes. The practical objective was to estimate a possible association between the reduction in sensitivity to respiratory homeostasis shifts and young athletes' early sports specialization. Twenty-eight young male athletes aged 12.4–17.5 years with experience of strenuous endurance training in kayaking served as the subjects. The impact of strenuous endurance training was estimated in three parts of studies with athletes divided into age groups. Studies have demonstrated that endurance training in kayaking results in a distinct decrease in the CPS response sensitivity to hypoxia in young athletes. The responses to hypoxia in elite 16-year-old athletes do not significantly differ vs. elite adult athletes. Respiratory responses to hypercapnia also decreased (although to a lesser extent). Hypercapnic sensitivity in 16.3 yrs. do not significantly differ vs. elite adult athletes. When the responses were normalized to body mass, body surface and vital capacity, such differences were reliable. Chemo sensitivity CPS of young elite kayakers in 16.3 yrs. was significantly lower than in 14.9 yrs. The most expressed changes of respiratory responsiveness were noted in the response output during standard levels of hypercapnia and hypoxia. The greatest differences between young and adult elite athletes were revealed in hypercapnic ventilatory response. It is possible to believe that monitoring sensitivity and kinetic features of CPS responses in long-lasting high intensity of endurance training may be a prerequisite of best stimulation of its morphological and functional improvement. It can be assumed that the decrease in the CPS response sensitivity to the combined hypoxic and hypercapnic stimuli at long-lasting heavy kayaking training may deviate from the optimal one. In young kayakers it may be linked with trainability decline. But special studies need to confirm this assumption.


An experiment was conducted during March–June 2018 with the sprinkler irrigation system covered in an area of 39×42 m2. Proper design and management of sprinkler irrigation systems improves the uniformity of moisture distribution and reduces wind drift and evaporation losses (WDEL) for effective crop growth. Uniformity coefficient, wind drift and evaporation loss of the sprinkler system at a different pressure head of 2 kg cm-2, 2.5 kg cm-2 and 3 kg cm-2 were studied. Wind speed was observed by using handheld anemometer. The wind speed ranged between 0.9 to 4.5 m s-1. The highest uniformity coefficient of 88.19% and wind drift and evaporation loss of 3.5% were obtained at the pressure head of 3 kg cm-2 and the wind speed of 0.9 m s-1. Soil samples were collected at different depths of 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm and at a radial distance from 0 m, 3 m, 6 m, 9 m, 12 m respectively to determine the soil moisture distribution pattern. The soil moisture content values were plotted by using the computer software, surfer 10 of the windows version and contour maps were drawn. The moisture content was found to be more at 0–10 cm depth, as compared to 10–20 cm and 20–30 cm depth. The percentage of moisture was found to be highest at a 6 m distance, which was due to overlapping of the sprinkler system.


In this paper we present a novel approach to music analysis, in which a grammar is automatically generated explaining a musical work's structure. The proposed method is predicated on the hypothesis that the shortest possible grammar provides a model of the musical structure which is a good representation of the composer's intent. The effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated by comparison of the results with previously-published expert analysis; our automated approach produces results comparable to human annotation. We also illustrate the power of our approach by showing that it is able to locate errors in scores, such as introduced by OMR or human transcription. Further, our approach provides a novel mechanism for intuitive high-level editing and creative transformation of music. A wide range of other possible applications exists, including automatic summarization and simplification; estimation of musical complexity and similarity, and plagiarism detection.


Data structures and algorithms are important foundation topics in computer science education. However, they are often complex and hard to understand. Therefore, this chapter introduces a new learning strategy that benefits from computer games' popularity and engagement to help students understand algorithms better by designing computer games that visualize algorithms. To teach an algorithm, an educational computer game, namely an Algorithm Game must have a game-play that simulates the behavior of the visualized algorithm and graphics depict the features of its data structure. Algorithm games attract students to learn algorithm using active engagement, enjoyment, and internal motivation. Algorithm Games attributes and genres that make them suitable to visualize algorithms have been specified. Various concepts in computer game design have been applied in the development of several algorithm games prototypes for algorithms, such as Binary Search, Bubble Sort, Insertion Sort, Selection Sort, Linked List, and Binary Search Tree Operations. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-495-0.ch048


Metastatic involvement of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract secondary to breast cancer (BC) is rare and usually occurs in patients with lobular BC. We report 2 cases with GI presentations of metastatic BC. In the first case endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasonography because of abdominal discomfort, tenesmus and rectal bleeding demonstrated liver, gastric and rectal metastases with histological and immunohistological patterns of metastatic lobular BC. In the second case gastric involvement, endoscopically presented as a solid nodular lesion in the gastric body and fundus with involvement of the gastro-esophageal junction, was established with clinical symptoms of solid food dysphagia and dyspepsia; the metastatic infiltration from ductal BC was proven histologically and immunohistochemically. The GI metastases were presented 5 and 7 years after radical mastectomy because of lobular and ductal BC respectively. The cases are of interest with a feature of liver and GI metastases in double sites (stomach and rectum) from lobular BC, as well as solid gastric metastasis from ductal BC. They illustrate the need for special attention to GI metastatic disease in patients with invasive BC who present with non-specific GI symptoms.


Income inequality undesirably affects the living standards of the people in the different parts of the world. The main objective of the paper is to find out the intensity of income inequality in capitalistic and socialistic economies in the world. The study helps to explore the empirical evidence that how income inequality impacts the life of the people under the umbrella of concurrent economic systems. The study is based on the panel data set. The Generalized Method of Movements (GMM) is applied and the results depict that Government revenues are inversely associated with income inequality in both economic systems. It happens because government expenditures in an account of social safety nets result in a decline in income inequality. On the other side, economic growth, and employment ratio hold a positive connection with income inequality under the parasol of socialism and capitalism. This research reveals that both systems are deficient to mitigate income inequality and leave the space for a new and balanced economic system.


A process to effect random color variation in multi-color molded articles includes feeding individual colors to molding equipment in a pre-established sequence and manner that prevents substantial mixing of the colors, and at pre-established ratios in relation to a non-integer multiple of the volume associated with the molded article.


PURPOSE
To validate a machine learning approach to Virtual IMRT QA for accurately predicting gamma passing rates using different QA devices at different institutions.

METHODS
A Virtual IMRT QA was constructed using a machine learning algorithm based on 416 IMRT plans, in which QA measurements were performed using diode-array detectors and a 3%local/3mm with 10% threshold. An independent set of 139 IMRT measurements from a different institution, with QA data based on portal dosimetry using the same gamma index and 10% threshold, was used to further test the algorithm. Plans were characterized by 90 different complexity metrics. A weighted poison regression with Lasso regularization was trained to predict passing rates using the complexity metrics as input.

RESULTS
In addition to predicting passing rates with 3% accuracy for all composite plans using diode-array detectors, passing rates for portal dosimetry on per-beam basis were predicted with an error <3.5% for 120 IMRT measurements. The remaining measurements (19) had large areas of low CU, where portal dosimetry has larger disagreement with the calculated dose and, as such, large errors were expected. These beams need to be further modeled to correct the under-response in low dose regions. Important features selected by Lasso to predict gamma passing rates were: complete irradiated area outline (CIAO) area, jaw position, fraction of MLC leafs with gaps smaller than 20 mm or 5mm, fraction of area receiving less than 50% of the total CU, fraction of the area receiving dose from penumbra, weighted Average Irregularity Factor, duty cycle among others.

CONCLUSION
We have demonstrated that the Virtual IMRT QA can predict passing rates using different QA devices and across multiple institutions. Prediction of QA passing rates could have profound implications on the current IMRT process.


Multivariable bilinear state-space systems can be identified by optimizing an output-error cost function. In this paper a full parameterization of the bilinear system is used. An iterative local gradient search method is used to solve the nonlinear optimization problem. It takes care of the nonuniqueness of the fully parameterized state-space model by restricting the update of the parameters to directions that change the input-output behavior of the model. Colored noise at the output of the bilinear system can be taken into account by a suitable weighting of the cost function; it results in a maximum likelihood identification procedure.


This paper reports potentially valuable data of nutrient elements in 18 rivers emptying into the Chinese marginal seas; it also reports nutrient data in coastal embayment and adjacent marginal seas. Based on these data sets, calculations of nutrient budgets are made with the LOICZ-type steady-state box models constrained by salinity balance. It is evident that the authors spent much effort to compile the large dataset and even more effort to make box-model calculations for each of the 7 estuarine and 8 embayment systems receiving discharges from these Chinese and Korean rivers. However, the authors did little more than listing the data as they are without interpreting the meaning of the rich data; they also present the model output without justifying the fluxes they derive from box models. The conclusions reached by the authors are either well known


The paper examines tourist information search effort prior to the visit to a selected destination. The focus was on identifying the key variables that influence the information search effort of Ghana's international visitors from the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Germany. The Dummy Multiple Regression Statistic (DMR) was employed to examine the nature relationships between tourist information search effort and a set of socio-demographic and trip variables. The results indicated that there is a pattern of stable behaviour in tourist information search effort. It was noted that on the average tourists visiting Ghana from the three countries depend on two information sources to plan their trip. Next, "age", "income", "distance" and purpose of visit were positively correlated with visitors information search effort whilst " "educational level", "marital status" "number of previous visits" and outcome of previous visit had negative relationship with visitors information search effort. Generally, it was observed that irrespective tourist country of origin; information search behaviour was better explained by socio-demographic variables ("age", "marital status", "educational level" and "income") than trip specific variables ("number of visits", "purpose of visit", and "outcome of previous visit")
 Given the findings, it was concluded that when\n developing strategies for international marketing and promotion of Ghana's tourism, especially in segmenting potential tourists by the information search effort, emphasise must be placed on visitors socio-demographic characteristics than their trip characteristics.
 IFE Psychologia (2003) 11(2), 160-177


Abstract:In the Late Middle Ages, an inward piety oriented toward the suffering of Christ, had become a central theme of spiritual and theological reflection. Famously, Johann Staupitz transmitted it to his spiritual advisee Martin Luther. Using the mystical language of bridal encounter, he depicted Christ as an effective example for his disciples. Luther took part in this Christocentric piety and theology, as can already be observed in his early lectures. Framed by the humanist Lefèvre's hermeneutics, the Wittenberg monk claimed, that the entire scripture was to be understood through the perspective of Christ. Already in his interpretation of Romans, Luther began to develop this Christocentrism in contrast to human works. More and more, he spread his ideas through the vernacular, starting with The Seven Penitential Psalms of 1517. A highlight of his passion devotion can be found in his Sermon on the Contemplation of Christ's Holy Passion. While these writings still resonate with medieval spirituality, we can track an increasing juxtaposition of Christ over against work and merit related forms of medieval piety. A famous example for this is the confrontation in the Heidelberg Disputation between the theologus gloriae and the theologus crucis which points directly to the passion-Christology background. This formation of solus Christus as the clarion call for Luther's fight against the medieval church was reached a good year earlier than that of sola scriptura, which only emerged in its full form in the Leipzig Disputation in 1519. Here, hermeneutics, spirituality and ecclesiology merged to a basis for a full-fledged reformational theology, which still shows its roots in the Middle Ages.


We present a theoretical investigation of the titratable charge of clays with various structural charge (sigma(b)): pyrophyllite (sigma(b) = 0 e x nm(-2)), montmorillonite (sigma(b) = -0.7 e x nm(-2)) and illite (sigma(b) = -1.2 e x nm(-2)). The calculations were carried out using a Monte Carlo method in the Grand Canonical ensemble and in the framework of the primitive model. The clay particle was modeled as a perfect hexagonal platelet, with an "ideal" crystal structure. The only fitting parameters used are the intrinsic equilibrium constants (pK(0)) for the protonation/deprotonation reactions of the broken-bond sites on the lateral faces of the clay particles, silanol, =SiO(-) + H(+) --> =SiOH, and aluminol, =AlO(-1/2) + H(+) --> =AlOH(+1/2). Simulations are found to give a satisfactory description of the acid-base titration of montmorillonite without any additional fitting parameter. In particular, combining the electrostatics from the crystal substitutions with ionization constants, the simulations satisfactorily catch the shift in the titration curve of montmorillonite according to the ionic strength. Change in the ionic strength modulates the screening of the electrostatic interactions which results in this shift. Accordingly, the PZNPC is found to shift toward alkaline pH upon increasing the permanent basal charge. Unlike previous mean field model results, a significant decrease in PZNPC values is predicted in response to stack formation. Finally, the mean field approach is shown to be inappropriate to study the acid-base properties of clays.


Recent advances in machine learning (ML) and computer vision tools have enabled applications in a wide variety of arenas such as financial analytics, medical diagnostics, and even within the Department of Defense. However, their widespread implementation in real-world use cases poses several challenges: (1) many applications are highly specialized, and hence operate in a \emph{sparse data} domain; (2) ML tools are sensitive to their training sets and typically require cumbersome, labor-intensive data collection and data labelling processes; and (3) ML tools can be extremely "black box," offering users little to no insight into the decision-making process or how new data might affect prediction performance. To address these challenges, we have designed and developed Data Augmentation from Proficient Pre-Training of Robust Generative Adversarial Networks (DAPPER GAN), an ML analytics support tool that automatically generates novel views of training images in order to improve downstream classifier performance. DAPPER GAN leverages high-fidelity embeddings generated by a StyleGAN2 model (trained on the LSUN cars dataset) to create novel imagery for previously unseen classes. We experimentally evaluate this technique on the Stanford Cars dataset, demonstrating improved vehicle make and model classification accuracy and reduced requirements for real data using our GAN based data augmentation framework. The method's validity was supported through an analysis of classifier performance on both augmented and non-augmented datasets, achieving comparable or better accuracy with up to 30\% less real data across visually similar classes. To support this method, we developed a novel augmentation method that can manipulate semantically meaningful dimensions (e.g., orientation) of the target object in the embedding space.


The paper compares a theory for immiscible displacement based on distinguishing percolating and nonpercolating fluid parts with experimental observations from multistep outflow experiments. The theory was published in 2006 in Physica A, volume 371, pages 209–225; the experiments were published in 1991 in Water Resources Research, volume 27, pages 2113. The present paper focuses on hysteretic phenomena resulting from repeated cycling between drainage and imbibition processes in multistep pressure experiments. Taking into account, the hydraulic differences between percolating and nonpercolating fluid parts provides a physical basis to predict quantitatively the hysteretic phenomena observed in the experiment. While standard hysteretic extensions of the traditional theory are nonlocal in time the theory used in this paper is local in time. Instead of storing the pressure and saturation history, it requires only the current state of the system to reach the same quantitative agreement.


Background
Several devices have been described for fixation of displaced medial malleolar fractures. Fully threaded cancellous screws engaging the bone may provide advantages compared to partially threaded screws. This study was designed to compare the clinical results of fully and partially threaded 4 millimeter cancellous screws in fixation of medial malleolar fractures.

Methods
In a randomized clinical trial study 44 patients with displaced closed medial malleolar fractures were randomly divided into two groups. Two fully threaded four millimeter cancellous screws were used for fracture stabilization (FT group) in the first group, while, the second group was operated by use of two partially threaded four millimeter cancellous screws (PT group). The clinical outcomes and complications were compared in two groups at one year follow up.

Results
Nineteen patients in FT group and 21 in PT group were present at final follow up. Nonunion was not developed in either group but two cases (9%) of delayed union occurred in PT group. The rate of postoperative infection and symptomatic hardware were not statistically different. Functional assessment using AOFAS, MOXFQ and VAS scores showed no significant difference between the two groups.

Conclusion
Both fully and partially threaded 4 mm cancellous screws can be considered as acceptable devices for the fixation of medial malleolar fractures with good and comparable clinical results.


Abstract Objective To determine if secondary school students in New Zealand who report greater health concerns (e.g. significant depressive symptoms) are more likely to use the Internet to access health-related information. Methods A nationally representative health and wellbeing survey was undertaken in 2012 (n = 8500). Multiple regression models were used to examine the associations between students' use of the Internet to access health-related information and selected outcomes or indicators. Results Over 90% of students used the Internet on a daily basis, with 15.4% of students reporting that they had used the Internet to access health-related information. Students experiencing household poverty were more likely to report not using the Internet daily (17.4% compared to 4.2%). Odds ratios (ORs) for accessing the Internet for this sort of information were highest for students who reported self-harm [OR 2.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.3–3.3], disordered eating (OR 2.7, 95% CI 2.4–3.2), or a suicide attempt (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.9–3.3). Conclusion Our findings suggest that Internet-based health interventions may be a viable way to reach young people with high health needs, but consideration needs to be given to those with limited Internet access.


Purpose: The aim of this research was to determine the influence of effective advertisement (emotional response and environmental response), extrinsic cues (brand image, packaging, and price) toward the consumer buying attitude, and to analyze the influence of extrinsic cues on consumer buying attitude of Wardah through income as the moderating variable. Methodology: The sample was taken by female university students who used the product of Wardah. The sampling technique used was a non-probability sample that is convenience sampling or accidental sampling. The analytical tool used multiple linear regression analysis with SPSS version 20. Findings : The results of multiple regression analysis showed a positive and significant influence on the effective advertisement (emotional response and environmental response), and extrinsic cues (brand image, packaging, and price) toward the consumer buying attitude, and income was positively moderated the extrinsic cues toward the consumer buying attitude. Originality/Contributions : This is the first study to find out, the researcher focused on female university students in Yogyakarta who were using Wardah cosmetic. There were five parts of questions based on the effectiveness of advertising variables, brand image variables, packaging variables, pricing variables, income variables and buying attitude variables


Natural gas hydrates (NGHs), sometimes referred to as "flammable ice", are crystalline solids, consisting of hydrocarbon gases with low molecular weight, such as methane, ethane and propane, bound with water molecules within cage-like lattices. The water molecules and low molecular weight NGH lattices are stable within a specific range of temperatures and pressures, and the source of the gases can be biogenic or thermogenic in origin. NGHs are common in the upper hundreds of metres of sub-seafloor sediments on the continental margins at water depths greater than about 500 m. Seismic reflection profiles and wireline well logs are common indicators used to identify the presence of NGHs, which are often encountered during offshore deepwater exploration drilling. They may cause geohazards such as slope instability, expulsion of the seafloor, shallow water flows and shallow gas if the stability of penetrated NGHs is disturbed and starts to dissociate. Methane gas hydrates represent a significant potential energy resource, as illustrated in this case study from offshore NW Sabah and may represent one of the world's largest reservoirs of carbon-based fuel, with some estimates suggest that the hydrocarbons bound in the form of NGHs may rival the total energy resources contained in other conventional hydrocarbon sources. Methane can be extracted from NGHs through three methods: depressurization, inhibitor injection and thermal stimulation. However, risk associated with NGHs extraction can contribute to environmental concerns such as global warming and a decrease in microbial communities associated with methane hydrate ecosystem. Presently, in many countries, national programs exist for the research and production of natural gas from NGH deposits. As a result, hundreds of deposits have been discovered, with a few hundred wells drilled and kilometres of NGH cores studied. Hence, in the future (pending improved gas price and extraction technology), methane gas hydrates could be a vast source of natural gas supply.


Author(s): Green, Evan Michael | Advisor(s): Cheng, Yifan | Abstract: Proteins are the macromolecular complexes responsible for carrying out the majority of cellular processes ranging from signal transduction to catalyzing metabolic reactions and DNA replication. Proteins are polymers made up of amino acids that adopt complex three-dimensional shapes which are critical for their function. To better understand the structure and function of proteins structural biologist use a wide variety of experimental tools including NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and electron microscopy (EM). Until recently, the majority of our understanding of protein structure was derived from X-ray crystallography but recent technological advances in electron microscopy have made it possible to determine the structure of a wide range of proteins to near-atomic resolution. During my Ph.D. I have primarily been focused on studying the structure and function of membrane proteins and antibody-antigen complexes using both negative stain EM and cryogenic EM (cryoEM).The first chapter of this dissertation focuses on the utility of recombinant antibodies and their ability to probe protein structure and function in a wide variety of contexts. In particular, recombinantly expressed antibodies have a number of distinct advantages over those derived from the hybridoma approach. Of particular relevance to my thesis work I highlight the use of recombinant antibodies to study the structure of protein complexes with for single particle cryoEM. In the second chapter I describe the structural characterization of the two-pore channel TPC1 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtTPC1). AtTPC1 is a voltage- and ligand-gated ion channel. Previous structures of this channel revealed the first resting state of a voltage sensor in an intact ion channel. The work in this chapter expands on the previous research by mutating the luminal Ca2+ binding site shifting the open probably of the channel at 0 mV in order to chapter an activated voltage senor. Using single particle cryoEM, and a high-affinity recombinantly expressed antibody fragment, we determined two new structures of the voltage sensor. This information provided critical information about the voltage activation mechanism for ion channels and represented one of the first examples of a single voltage gated ion channel trapped in multiple conformations. In the third chapter I present some unpublished work on a new immunoprecipitation-based method to rapidly characterize recombinant antibodies identified from phage display libraries. This method takes advantage of the minimal sample requirements of negative stain EM in order to give information about the epitope that the Fab binds as well as an estimate for the relative affinity. The technique greatly increases the rate at which it is possible to go from a panning to selecting the most useful Fabs to be used for structure determination using single particle cryoEM.


Epigonus okamotoi Fricke, 2017 was originally described on the basis of a single specimen collected from New Britain, Papua New Guinea during one of the exploratory cruises (campaign: MADEEP) in 2014 organized under the Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos program. However, there are no clear differences in the meristic and morphometric characters between the holotype of the new species and specimens of E. draco Okamoto, 2015, including two additional specimens of the species found in the ichthyological collections in the NTUM. The genetic distance (p-distance) between the two "species" at the COI locus was negligible. Accordingly, the holotype of E. okamotoi is considered to be a specimen of E. draco, and the former nominal species is reduced to a junior synonym of E. draco. In addition, we rediagnose and report new distributional records for E. atherinoides (Gilbert, 1905) and E. lifouensis Okamoto Motomura, 2013 in the West Pacific.