The author describes the difficulties associated with the use of maps to represent census data. "A review of the problems associated with population mapping is followed by a discussion of [an alternative method known as] a raster method for handling census data, based on population-weighted centroids, and its implications for GIS "[geographic information systems]." The geographical scope is worldwide, with an example provided using data for Wales.


Instabilities of nanoparticle-laden non-isothermal flows in homogeneous porous media are investigated. The study is conducted for two representative systems; a hot fluid displacing a cold one (HDC) and a cold fluid displacing a hot one (CDH). The effects of Brownian diffusion and of thermophoresis, representing the average motion of the nanoparticles as a result of temperature gradients, are analysed. In the HDC case, the synergetic Brownian and thermophoretic effects induce a migration of nanoparticles towards the cold fluid and tend systematically to enhance the instability. In particular, because of these combined effects, an initially stable displacement can actually be destabilized. In the CDH case however, Brownian diffusion still acts towards the transport of nanoparticles downstream into the hot fluid while thermophoresis tends to resist such migration. These counteracting effects lead to the generation of local accumulations of nanoparticles at the front and engender the development of local stable regions in the flow. These stable regions hinder the growth of the instabilities, especially those of backward-developing fingers. It is concluded that, in this case, thermophoresis acts against Brownian diffusion and results in less unstable displacements compared to flows where thermophoresis is absent. This effect, exclusively associated with thermophoresis, will not be observed in nanoparticle-free non-isothermal displacements. Finally, it is found that the main effects of Brownian diffusion and thermophoresis arise mainly from their contributions to nanoparticle transport while their effects on the energy balance are negligible and can be disregarded.


Purpose: As information technologies and digital libraries have become mature, smart libraries will bring more convenient services to the public. Taking the National Library of China as a case study, the article reveals that the international exchange business of the library in the post-epidemic era has been transformed from traditional physical communication to online video communication as the major form supplemented by physical communication, and this transformation has in turn stimulated the development of virtual communication technology services, which has played a role in the construction and development of smart libraries.
Methodology: The research method of this paper is a case study which followed a questionnaire survey for collecting primary data. Part of the primary data involved in this paper comes from the author's work experience, and the other part comes from the questionnaire survey.
Findings: The demand for international exchanges has not declined due to the spread of the pandemic and the public is gradually adapting to online interaction. 95% of the people in this survey believe that the current overall experience of the NLC's online video international exchanges is far from expectations.
Originality/value:The analysis of the international exchange practice in the past two years has brought enlightenment to the development of library.


This paper describes a 32-Mb SRAM that has been designed and fabricated in a 65-nm low-power CMOS Technology. The 62-mm2 die features read-assist and write-assist circuit techniques that expand the operating voltage range and improve manufacturability across technology platforms. Hardware measurements demonstrate the fail-count improvements achieved by integrating these techniques. The decrease in fail-count provides a 100-mV improvement of VDDMIN during the read operation. Write operations are also improved, especially with weak NFET cell transistors. The circuit techniques have been replicated on a 72-Mb stand-alone standard SRAM product where the area overhead from the additional circuits is approximately 4%. The 32-Mb SRAM has also been successfully migrated to other yield-learning SRAMs in 45-nm bulk and SOI technologies with minimum circuit changes


We have measured the hyperfine fields of in and compounds using spin-echo NMR at 4.2 K. The results, together with complementary data obtained from other sources, are interpreted in terms of a simple model which involves hyperfine fields transferred from the lanthanide and iron ions. The effects of crystal-field quenching of the rare-earth moments in (R = heavy rare earth) and, where appropriate, magnetostriction, are estimated. We show that our simple model is satisfactory in the interpretation of hyperfine fields at lanthanide nuclei in the compounds. We obtain the coefficients = 9.4(1.4) T, = 3.5(0.9) T and = 15.8(1.6) T .


The major aim of this research paper was to investigate the present health condition of child laborers who were working in the hotel and restaurants of Nepalgunj. Socio-economic condition and family background were analyzed to find out the health condition, of labour children. The study is mainly based on primary data collected form Nepalgunj Sub-metropolitan using purposive sampling techniques. 150 people in total responded to the survey. It is now widely acknowledged that child exploitation is a serious socioeconomic issue. Children are among the demographic groups that are most frequently neglected, abused, and subjected to the worst types of child labor. Child labor is a widespread occurrence in Nepal, both in terms of general employment and population. The child labor in hotel and restaurant is common in the urban areas of Nepal who are not getting proper health care and treatment. It is concluded from the study that child laborers in hotel and restaurant is one of the visible, exploitative and hazardous forms of child labour whose health condition is vulnerable. Poverty is one of the cause and consequence of child labour. It is linked to the socio-economic, political and cultural realities of the county. The adoption of new laws and policies only cannot prevent the child labour problem unless society as a whole is aware on child right issue.


The true nature of sources of cosmic neutrinos recorded by the Antarctic IceCube Neutrino Detector is still an enigma of high-energy astrophysics. Time-integrated neutrino source searches with the 10 years of IceCube data unfolded neutrino hot-spots of the sky; among them, one is associated with the blazar PKS 1424+240, which is the third most significant neutrino source candidate in the Northern sky. In this paper, we analyze VLBI radio data of PKS 1424+240 taken with the Very Large Baseline Array at 15 GHz as part of the MOJAVE Survey. We generate the adaptively binned gamma-ray light curve of the source, employing Fermi-LAT data between 100 MeV and 300 GeV. We find that the VLBI jet components maintain quasi-stationary core separations at 15 GHz. We find a quiescence and a perturbed phase of the VLBI core of PKS 1424+240, based on that its Doppler factor increased tenfold after 2016 compared to the quiescence phase. We do not find elevated gamma-ray activity after 2016, while archive Swift-XRT measurements show a highly increased 0.3–10 keV X-ray flux in the beginning of 2017. Substantial increase of the activity of the radio core might help us to identify episodes of particle acceleration in lepto-hadronic blazar jets that eventually lead to the emission of high-energy neutrinos.


Local Government in Australia is responsible for the operational management and maintenance of over 20,000 bridges. More than 70% of these bridges comprise aging timber bridges, the load capacity and structural adequacy of many of which have been impaired over time. This is partly due to increased vehicular loads with little attention to consequence of such increases. It is now necessary to determine the load carrying capacity of these bridges using simple yet reliable methods to allow local authorities to upgrade, replace or sign post at-risk bridges. In this paper a novel dynamic based method is presented by which the in-service stiffness of the bridge is estimated first. From this stiffness the load carrying capacity of the bridge is estimated following a statistically based analysis.


We discuss and compare five measures of individual well-being, namely income, an objective composite well-being index, a measure of subjective well-being, equivalent income, and a well-being measure based on the von Neumann-Morgenstern utilities of the individuals. After examining the information requirements of these measures, we illustrate their implementation using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for 2010. We find sizeable differences in the characteristics of the individuals identified as worst off according to the different well-being measures. Less than 1% of the individuals belong to the bottom decile according to all five measures. Moreover, the measures lead to considerably different well-being rankings of the individuals. These findings highlight the importance of the choice of well-being measure for policy making.


Background and aims The modified radical mastectomy with axillary dissection is usually carried out under balanced general anesthesia using opiates, it is a source of moderate to severe postoperative acute pain. Opioid-free anesthesia (OFA) aims to reduce the undesirable effects of opioids while ensuring optimal anesthesia and analgesia perioperatively. We report 14 cases of ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block (ESPB) to perform surgery using OFA. Methods We recruited patients presenting no contraindications to the anesthetic technique. the OFA protocol included a general anesthesia with no opioids and an ultrasound-guided ESPB with bupivacaine at T4 level. Prior to incision, patients received a bolus of Ketamine, Ketoprofen, dexamethasone IV. Maintenance of anesthesia was performed by sevoflurane at 1 MAC. In case of haemodynamic repercussions related to nociception, a bolus of fentanyl at 1 μg/kg was administered. Results After the approval of the ethic committee, we included 14 consenting patients. Hemodynamic variations were all less than 20% of baseline. No patient had any intraoperative opiate injection. Upon waking, patients had a median visual analogical scale (VAS) less than 3. During the first 24 hours, the VAS was less than 3. Only one patient received a bolus of 3 mg morphine IV as part of the catch-up postoperative analgesia. After 24 h, all patients had no resting pain. Conclusions OFA is used to avoid short-term and long-term adverse effects of opioids, such as: nausea, postoperative hyperalgesia, chronic pain and tumor recurrence. the ESPB allows anesthesia and analgesia in a safe way.


As the causative agent of Anthrax, Bacillus anthracis causes an acute fatal disease in herbivores such as cattle, sheep, and horses as well as humans. The therapeutics and prevention of anthrax currently available are based on antibiotics and the live attenuated vaccine strains, which may be problematic due to the emergency of antibiotic resistant strains or residual virulence in those vaccine strains. Therefore, it has been required to develop novel therapeutics and vaccines which are safer and applicable to humans. Recently, the development of the multivalent vaccine targeting both spores and vegetative cells of B. anthracis along with anthrax toxin has been reported. In our attempts to screen potential candidates for those multivalent vaccines, the whole genomic expression library of B. anthracis was constructed in this study. To the end, the partial digests of the genomic DNA from B. anthracis (ATCC 14578) with Sau3AI were ligated with the inducible pET30abc expression vectors, resulting in approximately 1×10? clones in E. coli BL21(DE3). The redundancy test by DNA nucleotide sequencing was performed for the randomly selected 111 clones and found 56 (50.5%) B. anthracis genes, 17 (15.3%) vector sequences, and 38 (34.2%) unknown genes with no sequence homology by BLAST. An inducible expression of the recombinant proteins was confirmed by Western blot. Interestingly, some clones could react with the antiserum against B. anthracis. These results imply that the whole genomic library constructed in this study can be applied for analyzing the immunomes of B. anthracis.


In the past 10 years the incremental success of modulators of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) protein have improved outcomes for people with cystic fibrosis (CF) [1]. Ivacaftor for individuals with sequence variants associated with class III mutations (e.g. G551D) and some other residual function mutations of the CFTR gene followed by lumacaftor/ivacaftor or tezacaftor/ivacaftor combinations in individuals homozygous for the F508del have achieved improvements in quality of life reduction, pulmonary exacerbations and variable improvement in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Highly effective modulator treatment, a triple combination of tezacaftor/ivacaftor and elexacaftor (a second modulator with the CFTR potentiator), was granted market approval in October 2019 by the US Food and Drug Administration. This approval is "for patients 12 years and older with CF who have at least one F508del mutation in the CFTR gene, which is estimated to represent 90% of the CF population" [2]. As delivery of CF healthcare services evolves, it is important for respiratory clinical teams and the wider group of specialists in the MDT to understand how modulator drugs are used, the side-effects and potential for drug interactions http://bit.ly/3akQ0tK


Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is one of the most common motor neuron diseases with a crude annual incidence rate of ~2 cases per 100,000 in European countries, Japan, United States and Canada. The role of Carbonic Anhydrase 1 (CA1) in ALS pathogenesis is completely unknown. Previous unpublished results from Dr. Jian Liu have shown in the spinal cords of patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS) there is a significant increased expression of CA1 proteins. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of CA1 expression in mammalian cells, specifically, whether CA1 expression will affect cellular viability and induce apoptosis. To further understand whether such effect is dependent upon CA1 enzymatic activity, three CA1 mutants (Thr199Val, Glu106Ile and Glu106Gln) were generated using two-step PCR mutagenesis. Also, a fluorescence-based assay using the pH-sensitive fluorophore Pyranine (8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid) to measure the anhydrase activity was developed. The assay has been able to circumvent the requirement of the specialized equipment by utilizing a sensitive and fast microplate reader and demonstrated that three mutants are enzymatically inactive under the physiologically relevant HCO3- dehydration reaction which has not been tested before by others. The data show that transient expression of CA1 in Human Embryonic Kidney 293 (HEK293), African Green Monkey Kidney Fibroblast (COS7) and Human Breast Adenocarcinoma (MCF7) cell lines did not induce significant changes to the cell viability at 36hrs using the Water Soluble Tetrazolium-8 (WST8) assay. Wild-type CA1 significantly reduced cell viability in HEK293 using a virally transduced inducible stable expression system at 96hrs and 144hrs of protein induction whereas out of the two mutants used only Thr199Val induced significant toxicity at 144hrs. Wild-type CA1 has also been found to protect COS7 cells against doxycycline-induced toxicity at 96hrs and 144hrs of protein induction whereas no protective effect was seen by the mutants. Using flow cytometry analysis the results has shown wild-type CA1 expression significantly increased Caspase-3 activation and its downstream molecule Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase 1 (PARP-1) cleavage at 96hrs whereas Glu106Ile only significantly increased Caspase-3 activation. In conclusion, this study marks the first time where CA1 expression has shown to directly cause significant apoptotic toxicity in HEK293 cells and protect against doxycycline-induced toxicity in COS7 cells. Although the implication of this study in ALS requires further investigation, the results here suggest in healthy cells increased levels of CA1 expression may cause onset of toxicity, whereas when cells undergo stress, increased CA1 expression can be protective to prevent further loss in cell viabilities. Despite numerous previous studies that have examined CA1 as potential diseases marker, these results represent for the first time in understanding the effect of CA1 in mammalian cells.


The objective of this study is to determine whether violence in psychiatric patients is associated with brain dysfunction independent of substance abuse. Psychiatric inpatients with a history of violent behavior in the community were compared to nonviolent inpatients on several variables related to brain dysfunction. The two groups were similar in terms of demographics and psychiatric diagnosis. No significant differences were found in neuropsychological function, but violent patients were significantly more likely to have co-occurring substance abuse and nearly 4 times more likely to have a history of closed-head injury. Logistic regression revealed that the association between violence and head injury can be explained by comorbid substance abuse.


In electron-beam projection lithography (EPL), a variety of patterns is exposed at once and dose modification method can not be used for proximity effect correction. Pattern shape modification method is a strong candidate. It requires a special technique for large patterns since the back scattering energy can not be reduced by simple sizing. We have proposed a correction algorithm employing both shape modification and interior area removal method in which pattern densities at the middle parts of large patterns are reduced by utilizing lines and spaces patterns (L/S) or mesh patterns. In the process of interior area removal, a concrete method of pattern generation of L/S or mesh has not been proposed. In this paper, the authors discuss which patterns, L/S or mesh, should be used and how to determine the widths of line and space of these patterns.


Resource discovery systems are gaining in importance as the diversity and variability of shared resources in distributed networked systems increases. A dependable genuinely distributed ('peer-to-peer') system is proposed, that uses XML description files to construct overlay networks that exhibit small world properties (i.e., a small diameter and a regular structure) and in which similar resources are grouped together. The overlay network's structure, failure detection and recovery mechanisms, allow the system to converge to a degraded functionality in the advent of failures and to recover swiftly after the failed nodes are repaired or communication is restored.


OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study were to assess efficacy and toxicity of the combination of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP) in this Phase II trial as first-line therapy for ovarian stromal malignancies.

METHODS
Patients with incompletely resected Stages II-IV or recurrent cancer underwent surgical debulking. There were two bleomycin-related deaths early in the trial; thus, the initial schedule of bleomycin (20 units/m2 x 9 weeks for a maximum dose of </=30 units x 9) was changed, without subsequent mortality. The final dose schedule was 20 units/m2 bleomycin iv push day 1 every 3 weeks x 4, 75 mg/m2 etoposide days 1-5 every 3 weeks x 4 and 20 mg/m2 cisplatin days 1-5 every 3 weeks x 4. The frequency of negative second-look surgery was the primary outcome measure.

RESULTS
Seventy-five women were entered; 18 were excluded. Grade 4 myelotoxicity occurred in 61% of the patients. The end point used for response was negative second-look laparotomy. Thirty-seven percent (14/38) of the patients undergoing second-look laparotomy had negative findings. The six complete responders were of long median duration (24.4 months). Patients with measurable disease were at the highest risk of progression and death.

CONCLUSIONS
BEP appears to be an active combination regimen for first-line chemotherapy of malignant tumors of the ovarian stroma. Myelotoxicity was tolerable.


SUMMARY: Extracts made by crushing infected tobacco leaves in buffer solution containing sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DIECA), centrifuging at 8000g, and dialysing the supernatant fluids against dilute buffer, were used to study the inactivation of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Incubating such extracts with chlorogenic acid and copper inactivated them; inactivation was usually much less when they were incubated with chlorogenic acid alone. Inactivation did not occur in vacuo or when DIECA was added. DIECA did not reactivate inactivated virus. CMV was inactivated rapidly by incubating with caffeic acid and copper, and slowly with catechol and copper, but not with five other phenols. The end-products of oxidation formed when chlorogenic acid was incubated with extracts of uninfected leaved did not inactivate CMV. Some features of the CMV-inactivating system are explained by the properties of tobacco leaf polyphenoloxidase. The compounds most effective in preserving the infectivity of CMV during extraction from leaves, DIECA and potassium ethylxanthate, are those which most strongly inhibit the enzyme. Conversely, the polyphenols that inactivate CMV in vitro are those oxidized most rapidly. Inconsistent effects of copper on the in vitro inactivating system can be partly explained by the different copper requirement of the polyphenoloxidase in extracts from plants infected for different times. Iron salts also accelerate the inactivation of CMV by chlorogenic acid. The process requires air and is prevented by DIECA; iron did not reactivate the DIECA-inhibited polyphenoloxidase. This system seems different from the one stimulated by copper. The concentration of iron in leaf extracts is usually less than that needed by the inactivating system.


In this work, by using the Malliavin calculus, under H\"ormander's condition, we prove the existence of distributional densities for the solutions of stochastic differential equations driven by degenerate subordinated Brownian motions. Moreover, in a special degenerate case, we also obtain the smoothness of the density. In particular, we obtain the existence of smooth heat kernels for the following fractional kinetic Fokker-Planck (nonlocal) operator: \[\mathscr{L}^{(\alpha)}_b:=\Delta^{\alpha/2}_{\mathrm{v}}+\mathrm {v}\cdot \nabla_x+b(x,\mathrm{v})\cdot \nabla_{\mathrm{v}},\qquad x,\mathrm{v}\in\mathbb{R}^d,\] where $\alpha\in(0,2)$ and $b:\mathbb{R}^d\times\mathbb{R}^d\to \mathbb{R}^d$ is smooth and has bounded derivatives of all orders.


This is the second excellent volume in the American Medical Association's Adolescent Health Series. This series attempts to provide "references for planning, advocacy, teaching, and community education." As such, it succeeds marvelously. This slim reference is full of useful facts, tables, charts, and policy information. The first volume in the series addressed how healthy American youths are, and reviewed the physical, psychologic, and sociologic morbidity and mortality facing American teenagers. The volume goes beyond the epidemiology of health status and risky behavior to address use of health services, insurance status, problems of access due to inadequate insurance, and the nonfinancial barriers adolescents face in obtaining health care. The authors introduce each chapter by posing a set of questions that they answer later in the chapter. They have combined complex statistics from many sources in easily understood tables and graphs. The definitions used are explained well, making the text equally understandable


Energy infrastructure investments occur in a highly dynamic context, with many different risks. In project investment evaluation, governments, investors and financial intermediaries are interested in a methodology that include the risks and uncertainties in power sector (due to changing energy price in competitive energy markets, uncertain future carbon price, uncertain government policy on climate change, and uncertain international regime on climate change mechanism). The risk of political shocks associated with high uncertainties and volatility in the aftermath of global markets turbulences could dramatically change the investment conditions and technology selection in strategic energy sector. The analysis of the impact of these policies on power investment is based on Real Options Analysis (ROA) inspired from Dixit, Pindyck (1994) optimization and Yang, Blyth (2006) model combined with neural networks (NN).


For the last two decades, water security has been in the spotlight as a key concept for sustainable development. However, due to its wide interpretation range, the understanding of what water security is and what it encompasses can change considerably with different perspectives. By means of a review of both academic and grey literature, this paper presents an in-depth global overview of what water security means and how assessment is being carried out. These aspects are put together in the present work with the aim to facilitate access to this complex concept for academics but also policymakers and other stakeholders involved in water management and governance. Aiming to provide a groundwork for water security understanding, we examine definitions, scales of application, frequent approaches and methodologies used to study water security. We also present indicators and aspects being included in water security frameworks. A summary of important actions towards water security improvement is also presented. As a dynamic and multi-faceted concept, water security requires an equally multi-dimensional and flexible interpretation. Understanding and measuring are key to improving water security levels. Bringing attention to how climate change, environmental needs, demographics, economics and governance are linked to water security can boost impact by prompting science, policies and innovation to come together.


The use of smartphones in the emergency department (ED) to capture images from patients' injuries has led to many trusts adopting strict guidance to restrict the use of patient identifiable data on devices such as these. Most EDs will keep a departmental digital camera in order to capture images such as compound fracture wounds before manipulation and plastering to assist the orthopaedic team in planning for surgery. Plastic surgery is another …


This Project Presents new control scheme (PI controller Based) Reactive Power compensation using Series Pulse Voltage Compensation for LCC HVDC at Offshore Wind Power work explains the concept of reactive power compensation for line commutated HVDC system by the use of PI control based series voltage injection strategy. The CIGRE benchmark model and the series compensated model have been simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. The simulation results suggest that the suggested compensating strategy gives encouraging results. The reactive power compensation is significant and also as small value of capacitance is used in this control strategy, it results in significant reduction in the size and cost of converter terminal.


[1] The vertical coupling of the stratosphere-mesosphere system through quasi-stationary and traveling planetary waves during the major sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in the Arctic winter of 2003/2004 has been studied using three types of data. The UK Met Office (UKMO) assimilated data set was used to examine the features of the global-scale planetary disturbances present in the winter stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere. Sounding the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) satellite measurements were used as well for extracting the stationary planetary waves in the zonal and meridional winds of the stratosphere and mesosphere. Radar measurements at eight stations, four of them situated at high latitudes (63–69N) and the other four at midlatitudes (52–55N) were used to determine planetary waves in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT). The basic results show that prior to the SSW, the stratospheremesosphere system was dominated by an upward and westward propagating � 16-day wave detected simultaneously in the UKMO and MLT zonal and meridional wind data. After the onset of the SSW, longer-period (� 22–24 days) oscillations were observed in the zonal and meridional MLT winds. These likely include the upward propagation of stationary planetary waves from below and in situ generation of disturbances by the dissipation and breaking of gravity waves filtered by stratospheric winds. Citation: Pancheva, D., et al. (2008), Planetary waves in coupling the stratosphere and mesosphere during the major stratospheric warming in 2003/2004, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D12105, doi:10.1029/2007JD009011.


ABSTRACT Multilevel structural equation models (MSEM) are typically evaluated on the basis of goodness of fit indices. A problem with these indices is that they pertain to the entire model, reflecting simultaneously the degree of fit for all levels in the model. Consequently, in cases that lack model fit, it is unclear which level model is misspecified. Although some researchers have suggested that model fit be assessed separately at all levels, this is not always ideal as it depends on the choice of fit indices, cutoff points, and magnitude of the intraclass correlation. Equivalence testing has recently been recommended as a superior way to evaluate the goodness of fit of models. The approach has also been heralded as a way to advance the inferential nature of structural equation modeling as a confirmatory tool. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the use of equivalence testing for assessing multilevel model fit in educational research. Although the described procedures can be easily generalized to models with more than two levels, for simplicity we explicitly consider only two-level models.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide new insights into the reactions and lessons learned with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of how logistics service providers (LSPs) managed to maintain supply chains resilience and what focus areas have been changed to keep operations functional and uphold financial stability.

Design/methodology/approach
Based on data-gathering techniques in interpretive research this study collected primary data via semi-structured interviews, interviewing informants from selected LSPs that operate on a global scale.

Findings
The results show that LSPs have built their reactions and actions to the COVID-19 outbreak around five main themes: "create revenue streams," "enhance operational transport flexibility," "enforce digitalization and data management," "optimize logistics infrastructure" and "optimize personnel capacity." These pillars build the foundation to LSP resilience that enables supply chains to stay resilient during an external shock of high impact and low probability.

Originality/value
The results of this study provide insights into how LSPs have managed the downsides and found innovative ways to overcome operational and financial challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak. As one of the first studies that specially focuses on the role of LSPs during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study categorizes the LSPs' reactions and provides a "lessons learned" framework from a managerial perspective. From a theoretical perspective, this paper discusses the strategic role of LSPs in supply chain management and thereby extends current supply chain literature with a focus on LSP resilience.


India is one of the major countries of raw silk production in the world. But Indian raw silk is not exported at all because of its poor quality, not because of strong domestic demand. The poor quality of raw silk is true for not only the product from multivoltine cocoons in the indigenous sector, but also the product even from unior bivoltine cocoons in the modern filature sector with highiy productive reeling machines. This fact implies that, to produce the quality raw silk, skilled labor under strict production control is more crucial than the quality of raw materials or the sophisticated machines. This paper aims to uncover the insuinciency of production management in modern filatures, which consequently fails to foster well-organized skilled labor. Since such micro data to prove the fact are not available, we conducted the structured interview survey at 16modern filatures. The results reveal the lack of quality consciousness among managerial staff as well as the shortage of skilled labor.


Background and Aims: Ankle joint is known as one of the most vulnerable joints of the body. The aim of the present study was to compare the impacts and sustainabilities of NASM and combined excersices (neuromuscular and core stability) on the functional charactristics and balance of individuals with unilateral chronic ankle injury. Materials and Methods: A total of 36 male athlete students suffering from chronic ankle instability voluntarily participated in the present study and were randomly divided into three groups of 12: NASM excersices, combined training, and the control group. All the participants' performance characteristics and dynamic balance were evaluated prior to, after, and four weeks after the exercises. To evaluate the functional characteristics, we used Side-to-Side Hop Test, Figure-eight Hop Test, Triple Hop Test, and questionnaires measuring the ability of the foot and ankle in sports and daily activities and to evaluate the dynamic balance, the balance test Y was used. Then, the NASM and combined groups performed the relevant exercises. Results: The results showed that both NASM and compound exercises caused improvement in the dependent variables. Also, NASM exercises had lasting impacts four weeks after the exercise protocol in indicators of figure-eight hop test and the ability of ankle and foot test. Also, combination exercise had lasting effects observed in side-to-side hop test, figure-eight hop test, and the ability of ankle and foot scale. The results also showed that compound exercises, as compared with NASM exercises, were more effective as observed in the ability of the ankle and foot test. Conclusion: Doing eight weeks of combined training (neuromuscular and core stability) was observed to be significantly more effective, compared with NASM training, in the performance and postural control in patients with chronic ankle instability.


Political and technological control had enabled the west to extend an empire in Africa during the Nineteenth Century. The underdevelopment of Africa can be explained in the terms of the socio-economic-political and cultural processes and their footprints are clear. European builder had adopted different strategies and policies in Africa to make money through exploration, colonisation, commercialisation, robbery and theft. The poor countries of Africa with the less developed technology are left with the limited possibilities of exploiting the raw material at cheap rates that keep them underdeveloped. Besides this, other contributing factors are colonial legacy, slave trade, wars, poverty, illiteracy, Structural Adjustment Program, large families, corruption and lack of accountability. The Dependency Theory analyses the internal changing scenario of underdevelopment and other various aspects of being dependent. In this, the contribution of Andre Gunder Frank, Wallerstein, Dos Santos, Celso Furtado, and Frantz Fanon is commendable and they all agree to the point that underdevelopment of the Third World countries are directly related to their neo-colonial existence, i.e., external dependence upon the developed countries. Hence, this paper will examine the nature of dependency that leads to underdevelopment of Africa. Key word: Colonization, Commercialization, Exploration, Colonial Legacy, SAP, Third World


Studies were conducted with rats to investigate whether exposure to CO at concentrations frequently found in the environment caused nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vessel wall changes. Exposure to CO at concentrations of 50 parts per million or higher for 1 h increased the concentration of nitrotyrosine in the aorta. Immunologically reactive nitrotyrosine was localized in a discrete fashion along the endothelial lining, and this was inhibited by pretreatment with the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor N ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME). The CO-induced elevations of aortic nitrotyrosine were not altered by neutropenia or thrombocytopenia, and CO caused no change in the concentration of endothelial NOS. Consequences from NO-derived stress on the vasculature included an enhanced transcapillary efflux of albumin within the first 3 h after CO exposure and leukocyte sequestration that became apparent 18 h after CO exposure. Oxidized plasma low-density lipoprotein was found immediately after CO exposure, but this was not inhibited byl-NAME pretreatment. We conclude that exposure to relatively low CO concentrations can alter vascular status by several mechanisms and that many changes are linked to NO-derived oxidants.


Cyrtophora moluccensis (Doleschall) in New Guinea and C. citricola Forskal in the Mediterranean and Africa form persistent aggregations of individuals of all ages. Characteristic of this "communal" organization (as defined by Wilson, 1971) in C. moluccensis are low level aggressive interactions during prey capture and during web repair and renewal. Such interactions may serve as a spacing mechanism, ensuring an adequate fool supply for each individual

Disadvantages resulting from conspicuousness and persistence of C. moluccensis colonies are a high incidence of parasitism and a large degree of colony avoidance by flying insects (potential prey). Advantages of communal organization postulated for C. moluccensis includes increased protection of egg-cases and young, greater web building efficiency, greater prey capture efficiency, and the ability to exploit habitats that are unavailable to solitary species. Evidence is presented for the first and last of these hypotheses.

It is suggested that due to its durable, 3-dimensional web Cyrtophora species could invade grassland habitats exposed to frequent and heavy wind and rain (Lubin, 1973). Colony formation then evolved in the larger species, C. moluccensis and C. citricola, as a means for exploiting large, open spaces that are rich in flying insects and poor in competing araneids. Under such optimal conditions, low level aggression occurring during prey capture and web construction may be interpreted as instances of reciprocal altruism among related colony members.


The digitalization and adoption of advanced technologies in supply chain and logistics not only change the business model but also transfer logistics infrastructure to a service-oriented architecture and introduce new avenues concerning supply chain 4.0 (SC4.0). Sharing logistic assets between various businesses leads to improving logistics work, enhancing work productivity, and reducing logistics expenses and environmental impact. However, due to the lack of a secure, trustworthy, and open sharing platform, the companies are not willing to rely on sharing economics. Aiming to improve trust-ability, openness, and interoperability in the SC4.0, this paper presents a blockchain-enabled hyperconnected logistics platform. Firstly, the Open Logistic platform (OL) is proposed, and the key characteristics of this platform are explained. Secondly, the concept of proof of delivery (PoD) based on smart contracts is defined and developed to explore its rule-based management and control among the dynamic assets sharing. Thirdly, the Blockchain asset sharing service is designed and discussed in the context of asset sharing. Fourthly to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed platform, a simulation environment is developed, and OL is implemented based on the case study.


We estimated long-term trends of ocean acidification in surface waters in latitudinal zones from 3°N to 33°N along the repeat hydrographic line at 137°E in the western North Pacific Ocean. Estimates were based on the observational records of oceanic CO2 partial pressure and related surface properties over the last two decades. The computed pH time series both for 25 yr in winter (late January.early February) and for 21 yr in summer (June.July) exhibited significant decreasing trends in the extensive subtropical to equatorial zones, with interannual variations that were larger in summer. The calculated rates of pH decrease ranged from 0.0015 to 0.0021 yr-1 (average, 0.0018 ± 0.0002 yr-1) in winter and from 0.0008 to 0.0019 yr-1 (average, 0.0013 ) 0.0005 yr-1) in summer. The thermodynamic effects of rising sea surface temperature (SST) accounted for up to 44% (average, 15%) of the trend of pH decrease in the subtropical region in winter, whereas a trend of decreasing SST slowed the pH decrease in the northern subtropical region (around 25°N) in summer. We used the results from recent trends to evaluate future possible thermodynamic changes in the upper ocean carbonate system.


Wireless power transfer (WPT) is a promising solution to provide convenient and perpetual energy supplies to electronics. Traditional WPT technologies face the challenge of providing Watt-level power over meter-level distance for Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile devices, such as sensors, controllers, smart-phones, laptops, etc. Distributed laser charging (DLC), a new WPT alternative, has the potential to solve these problems and enable WPT with the similar experience as WiFi communications. In this paper, we present a multimodule DLC system model, in order to illustrate its physical fundamentals and mathematical formula. This analytical modeling enables the evaluation of power conversion or transmission for each individual module, considering the impacts of laser wavelength, transmission attenuation, and photovoltaic-cell (PV-cell) temperature. Based on the linear approximation of electricity-to-laser and laser-to-electricity power conversion validated by measurement and simulation, we derive the maximum power transmission efficiency in closed-form. Thus, we demonstrate the variation of the maximum power transmission efficiency depending on the supply power at the transmitter, laser wavelength, transmission distance, and PV-cell temperature. Similar to the maximization of information transmission capacity in wireless information transfer (WIT), the maximization of the power transmission efficiency is equally important in WPT. Therefore, this paper not only provides the insight of DLC in theory, but also offers the guideline of DLC system design in practice.


We experimentally demonstrate broadband sub-wavelength focusing and a high sound intensity enhancement using an acoustic prison. The acoustic prison refers to a sub-wavelength metamaterial reflection cavity surrounded by rigid walls with some openings, which could provide a space regulation to the sound field. By employing a time-reversal method to focus the sound, and arranging an acoustic prison at the focal position during the convergence stage, broadband sub-wavelength focusing with a focal size equal to the inner size of the prison and much smaller than that of the operating wavelength was demonstrated. Theoretically, the time-reversal focusing process is equivalent to providing a time manipulation to the sound field, which constitutes a space-time synergetic manipulation system together with an acoustic prison for space manipulation. In such a system, most of the waves entering the prison were multi-reflected by the cavity walls and trapped in the cavity much like a prisoner, to form a high acoustic intensity region. The formation of such high sound intensity regions depended on the synergetic superposition of cavity resonance and multiple reflections, and the resonance sound field participated in the focus construction to enhance the sound intensity inside the prison and created subwavelengths outside at frequencies around the resonant frequency of the cavity. The multiple reflections of the prison walls determined both the characteristics of the broadband focusing effect in the prison and the stable focal size under frequency change. In addition, by using multi-level prison structures to increase the effective acoustic reflection area of the walls, the focused sound signals could be further improved.


DUPLICATION is the current clinical term for certain accessory structures, with smooth muscle walls and epithelial linings, which usually lie in the dorsal mesentery of the digestive tract. Although this appellation has the demerit of being undiscriminating, it has the merit of being convenient and descriptive, and I therefore propose to retain it. This paper is based on cases seen by my paediatric surgical colleagues and myself during the last ten years, three patients treated at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital by members of the Chest Unit, and some autopsy findings. Some of these cases have been included in various previous publications. It is proposed to describe the material under two headings:


A traveling-wave current distribution can be produced on a monopole over a ground plane by inserting a resistance of suitable magnitude one-quarter wave length from its end. It has been shown that the resistor can be replaced with a modified folded dipole which has a radiation resistance approximately equal to that of the resistor. Furthermore, it was found that when the folded element was about 0.1/spl lambda/ above the ground plane, near hemispherical coverage was obtained in the plane of the element. In this paper, the resistor is replaced with orthogonal folded elements. The main objective is to obtain an antenna which is circularly polarized and which has near hemispherical coverage. The input impedance, current distribution, and radiation patterns of this antenna were computed using the numerical electromagnetics code (NEC); the radiation patterns and input impedance were also measured. To produce a circularly polarized wave it is necessary to tilt the folded elements. After experimenting with a number of different configurations an antenna design having directional and polarization properties approaching those that were desired was obtained. All computations and measurements were conducted near 1.6 GHz, a frequency close to that of the proposed IRIDIUM communications system and the L1 band of the Global Positioning System (GPS). The double-folded monopole may prove to be a very low cost option as a ground antenna for these systems.


In this paper mode conversion processes in dielectric spherical resonators under the influence of conductor losses are discussed. Investigated are cavity modes, open sphere interior and exterior modes and newly detected "lost modes". Their physical connections and properties are discussed. It is shown that the multilayer spherical resonator is a very complex system with many unknown properties.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the response of the newest XR-QA2 GafChromic™ film model in terms of postexposure signal growth and energy response in comparison with the older XR-QA (Version 2) model.

METHODS
Pieces of film were irradiated to air kerma in air values up to 12 cGy with several beam qualities (5.3-8.25 mm Al) commonly used for CT scanning. Film response was scored in terms of net reflectance from scanned film images at various points in time postirradiation ranging from 1 to 7 days and 5 months postexposure. To reconstruct the measurement signal changes with postirradiation delay, we irradiated one film piece and then scanned it at different point times starting from 2" min and up to 3 days postexposure.

RESULTS
For all beam qualities and dose range investigated, it appears that the XR-QA2 film signal completely saturated after 15 h. Compared to 15 h postirradiation scanning time, the observed variation in net reflectance were 3%, 2%, and 1% for film scanned 2" min, 20 min, and 3 h after exposure, respectively, which is well within the measurement uncertainty of the XR-QA2 based reference radiochromic film dosimetry system. A comparison between the XR-QA (Version 2) and the XR-QA2 film response after several months (relative to their responses after 24 h) show differences in up to 8% and 1% for each film model respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
The replacement of cesium bromide in the older XR-QA (Version 2) film model with bismuth oxide in the newer XR-QA2 film, while keeping the same single sensitive layer structure, lead to a significantly more stable postexposure response.


ABSTRACT This article describes and evaluates the reforms that the authors (as course managers) introduced to enhance critical thinking in the compulsory course on private international law in the Master of Laws programme at Stockholm University. The reforms were made in response to a decision by the Stockholm University Law Faculty Board to develop the "Stockholm Model" in an effort to strengthen students' critical and scientific approach to law. The Stockholm Model aims to place law in a broader context so students can understand its relation to and impact on society. It also shifts the focus from an orthodox teaching of the doctrinal subject areas to facilitating the students' ability to apply legal and other social science methods to analyse and develop the law. The article evaluates the success of the measures and reflects on what more can be done to improve critical thinking.


Recurrent neural networks (RNN) provide a solution for low cost speech recognition systems (SRS) in mass products or in products with energetic constraints if their inherent parallelism could be exploited in a hardware realization. Actually, the computational complexity of SRS based on fully recurrent neural networks (FRNN), e.g. the large number of connections, prevents a hardware realization. We introduce locally recurrent neural networks (LRNN) in order to keep the properties of RNN on the one hand and to reduce the connectivity density of the network on the other hand. By simulation experiments it is shown that the recognition capability of LRNN is equivalent to that of FRNN and superior to other proposed network architectures. Furthermore, it is shown that with an appropriate representation of the network parameters and a retraining of the network 5 Bit quantization of the weights and activities is possible without significant loss in recognition performance.


sAn indirect method to map the burned gases in SI engine has been developed. It is based on visualisation by Laser Induced Fluorescence of the unburned mixture seeded with biacetyl. Both internally and externally recirculated burned gases are monitored. This diagnostic is complementary to the LIF technique applied to measure the gasoline distribution. These LIF gasoline and burned gases measurements are applied in a 4-valve optical access SI engine for a large range of operating conditions. These include variations of both fuel injection and burned gas recirculation modes causing different types of stratification leading to very distinct heat release and exhaust emissions characteristics. Tumble level and spark location are also modified. The observation of the actual stratification in the engine forms a sound basis explanation of the engine performance. Parameters allowing an optimisation of NOx and HC levels can be inferred, and in particular the effectiveness of recirculation and fuel injection strategies. The conclusions are confirmed by measurements in a single engine cylinder conventional head with the same geometry.


Background: Nonunions of the distal tibia in close proximity to the ankle joint can be a challenge to treat. The purpose of this study was to evaluate radiographic and clinical outcomes of patients who underwent ankle-sparing bone transport for periarticular distal tibial nonunions. Methods: Twenty-one patients underwent ankle-sparing bone transport between January 2006 and July 2016. The mean age of the patients was 48.6 years, and 71% (15/21) were male. Patients were followed for an average of 14.6 months (range, 10.6-17.7 months), with an average of 8.6 months in-frame. Thirteen of 21 patients had infected nonunions. Primary endpoints included time to union and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) score. Results: All fractures achieved union. Mean time to union was 37.4 weeks. Mean AOFAS score was 86.3 points (range, 37-100). A score of 37 was observed in 1 patient with preexisting Charcot foot. Radiographic evaluation at 6 months revealed a mean lateral distal tibial angle of 89.2 degrees and a mean anterior distal tibial angle of 76 degrees. Leg length discrepancy was less than 1.2 cm in all patients. Superficial pin infection was observed in 7 patients, and operative wound infection at the level of bone resection was observed in 3 patients. Conclusion: The ankle-sparing bone transport technique was an effective alternative to bone graft and arthrodesis for the treatment of periarticular nonunions of the distal tibia and was safe for use in patients with infected nonunions in close proximity to the ankle joint. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case series.


The subsequent biochemical and structural investigations of the purified recombinant α-l-rhamnosidase from Aspergillus oryzae expressed in Pichia pastoris, designated as rAoRhaA, were performed. The specific activity of the rAoRhaA wild-type was higher toward hesperidin and narirutin, where the l-rhamnose residue was α-1,6-linked to β-d-glucoside, than toward neohesperidin and naringin with an α-1,2-linkage to β-d-glucoside. However, no activity was detected toward quercitrin, myricitrin, and epimedin C. rAoRhaA kinetic analysis indicated that Km values for neohesperidin, naringin, and rutin were lower compared to those for hesperidin and narirutin. kcat values for hesperidin and narirutin were higher than those for neohesperidin, naringin, and rutin. High catalytic efficiency (kcat /Km ) toward hesperidin and narirutin was a result of a considerably high kcat value, while Km values for hesperidin and narirutin were higher than those for naringin, neohesperidin, and rutin. The crystal structure of rAoRhaA revealed that the catalytic domain was represented by an (α/α)6 -barrel with the active site located in a deep cleft and two β-sheet domains were also present in the N- and C-terminal sites of the catalytic domain. Additionally, five asparagine-attached N-acetylglucosamine molecules were observed. The catalytic residues of AoRhaA were suggested to be Asp254 and Glu524, and their catalytic roles were confirmed by mutational studies of D254N and E524Q variants, which lost their activity completely. Notably, three aspartic acids (Asp117, Asp249, and Asp261) located at the catalytic pocket were replaced with asparagine. D117N variant showed reduced activity. D249N and D261N variants activities drastically decreased.


Abstract. Despite being one of the richest Neogene deposits of marine fossil vertebrates along the Pacific coast of South America, no detailed study of bony fishes from the Bahía Inglesa Formation has been carried out. Through the revision of historical collections of the Caldera Paleontological Museum, we describe 27 fossil remains of bony fishes. Fossils described here are distributed in 13 taxa. Among these, Sardinops sp. cf. S. sagax (Clupeidae) represents the first fossil record of the genus for Chile, Labrodon sp. (Labridae) and Stelliferinae (Sciaenidae) are the first respective records for the southeast Pacific Ocean, Sarda sp. (Scombridae) represents the first fossil record for South America, Semicossyphus sp. (Labridae) and Anisotremus sp. (Haemulidae) are the first respective records for the Southern Hemisphere. Gymnosarda sp. (Scombridae) is described for the first time for the Neogene. We performed a paleobathymetric analysis of fossil fishes, including elasmobranchs, to understand the paleoenvironment followed by a similarity analysis that compares the faunal composition of the Bahía Inglesa Fm. with other fossil assemblages for the Pacific of South America. Our results show that the fish fauna from the Bahía Inglesa Fm. likely represents a depth range of 98 to 382 m with a mean depth range of 252 m in an uppermost bathyal environment. The assemblage from the Bahía Inglesa Fm. shows low taxonomic similarity levels with other Neogene geological units from the southeast Pacific Ocean. The study represents the first paleoecological and paleobiogeographic analysis of the fossil fish fauna from the Southeast Pacific.


The dependences of the depth and mass resolutions of analysis using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) on some experimental conditions (such as the beam energy, the target tilting angle, etc.) have been investigated. A computer program for simulating the RBS spectra and for calculating the depth and mass resolution under different experimental conditions was developed. The results of calculation were experimentally checked by using some reference samples. The good agreements between calculated and experimental values have been found. The optimum analysis conditions over a wide range of RBS applications based on our calculation can be chosen. This investigation was conducted by using the RBS system at HUS 5SDH-2 Tandem accelerator at the Hanoi University of Science.


This study was aimed to investigate the influence of TIEG1 on apoptosis of HL-60 cells and the expression of Bcl-2/Bax. Different concentration of TIEG1 were used to treat HL-60 cells, the cell growth inhibition rate was detected by MTT method. After treating HL-60 cells with 12.03 ng/ml TIEG1, cell apoptosis was detected with flow cytometry. Bcl-2 and Bax was detected with RT-PCR. The results showed that TIEG1 had inhibitory effect on HL-60 cell proliferation, and in time-and dose-dependent manners. The more obvious inhibitory effect was observed in HL-60 cells treated with TIEG1 of 12.03 ng/ml. During the course of cell apoptosis, Bax expression increased, but Bcl-2 expression decreased (P < 0.05). It is concluded that TIEG1 inhibits HL-60 cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in time and dose-dependent manners. During the course of HL-60 cells apoptosis induced by TIEG1, Bcl-2/Bax are associated with HL-60 cell apoptosis induced by TIEG1.


The melanocytoma located on the macula without involving the papilla represents an extremely rare clinical feature of this specific variant of nevus. This melanocytic neoplasm with its specific microscopic characteristics has also been found in the papilla, iris, ciliary body, choroid, and conjuntiva,1,2but melanocytomas of the macula are the most rarely observed. Report of a Case. In 1970, a 52-year-old man presented at our outpatient clinic complaining of low visual acuity in his right eye since childhood. Ocular examination showed a visual acuity of hand movements and a central scotoma without an afferent pupillary defect. Ophthalmoscopically, there was a nearly homogeneous, heavily pigmented, round lesion on the macular area, which was slightly elevated with a feathery, fibrillated margin. Its size was four optic disc diameters. There were two small satellite lesions at the inferior margin. Results of the examination of the left eye were normal. Perimetry confirmed the


Introduction Adolescent exposure to neurotoxic metals adversely impacts cognitive, motor, and behavioral development. Few studies have addressed the underlying brain mechanisms of these metal–associated developmental outcomes. Furthermore, metal exposure occurs as a mixture, yet previous studies most often consider impacts of each metal individually. In this cross–sectional study, we investigated the relationship between exposure to neurotoxic metals and topological brain metrics in adolescents. Methods In 193 participants (53% females, ages: 15–25 years) enrolled in the Public Health Impact of Metals Exposure (PHIME) study, we measured concentrations of four metals (manganese, lead, copper, and chromium) in multiple biological media (blood, urine, hair, and saliva) and acquired resting–state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Using graph theory metrics, we computed global and local efficiency (global:GE; local:LE) in 111 brain areas (Harvard Oxford Atlas). We used weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression models to examine association between metal mixtures and each graph metric (GE or LE), adjusted for sex and age. Results We observed significant negative associations between the metal mixture and GE and LE [βGE = −0.076, 95% CI (−0.122, −0.031); βLE= −0.051, 95% CI (−0.095, −0.006)]. Lead and chromium measured in blood contributed most to this association for GE, while chromium measured in hair contributed the most for LE. Discussion Our results suggest that exposure to this metal mixture during adolescence reduces the efficiency of integrating information in brain networks at both local and global levels, informing potential neural mechanisms underlying the developmental toxicity of metals. Results further suggest these associations are due to combined joint effects to different metals, rather than to a single metal.


Photodynamic techniques such as photodynamic diagnosis (PDD), fluorescence guided tumor resection (FGR) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are currently undergoing intensive clinical investigations as adjunctive treatment for malignant brain tumours. This review provides an overview on the current clinical data and trials as well as on photosensitisers, technical developments and indications for photodynamic application in Neurosurgery. Furthermore new developments and clinical significance of FGR for neurosurgery will be discussed. Over 1000 patients were enrolled in various clinical phase I/II trials for PDT for malignant brain tumours. Despite various treatment protocols, variation of photosensitisers and light dose there is a clear trend towards prolonging median survival after one single PDT as compared to conventional therapeutic modalities. The median survival after PDT for primary glioblastoma multiforme WHO IV was 19 months and for recurrent GBM 9 months as compared to standard convential treatment which is 15 months and 3 months, respectively. FGR in combination with adjunctive radiation was significantly superior to standard surgical resection followed by radiation. The combination of FGR/PDD and intraoperative PDT increased significantly survival in recurrent glioblastoma patients. The combination of PDD/ FGR and PDT offers an exciting approach to the treatment of malignant brain tumours "to see and to treat." PDT was generally well tolerated and side effects consisted of occasionally increased intracranial pressure and prolonged skin sensitivity against direct sunlight. This review covers the current available data and draws the future potential of PDD and PDT for its application in neurosurgery.


In order to improve the reliability, security and validity of such type Missile Launcher, The faults prediction theory is introduced based on fuzzy neural network. The faults prediction analysis model is built, and an advanced training algorithm is proposed. Such algorithm is tested by using in the fault prediction of the missile launcher. The Experiment results illustrate that by using the proposed model, the faults prediction speed is faster 80% than ever, the prediction veracity is advanced, and the cost is reduced to 50%. Keywords-fuzzy neural network; fault prediction; arithmetic; fuzzy control; missile launcher.


Diltiazem(DZ) is widely used for the treatment of chronic anginapectoris, hypertension and arrythmia. In order to increase therapeutic efficiency, skin permeation of DZ was investigated employing 2-chamber diffusion cells in which Wistar rat abdominal skin was mounted. DZ suspended solution was used as donor solution. The receiver cell was filled with water. Ethanol(EtOH), isopropanol(IpOH), propyleneglycol(PG) were used as solvent in donor solution. The flux of DZ was increased by the addition of 30% EtOH or 30% IpOH to the donor solution. Further increase of solvent concentration from 30% to 50% led to a slight increase of the flux. To improve the skin permeation of DZ, menthol and O-ethylmenthol (MET) were selected as absorption enhancers. The flux of DZ markedly increased by the addition of these enhancers. Irrespective of kind of enhancers, the concentration of ethanol accumulated in the skin was increased by co-administration of enhancers. The concentration of menthol in the skin increased significantly with an increase of menthol in the donor phase, although the concentration of MET in the skin was very low. Therefore, the solvent dragging in the skin is an important factor to exhibit enhancement action. A little amount of MET can induce the accumulation of ethanol in the skin, however, much greater amount of menthol was required to obtain a similar efficiency. The microviscosity of the stratum corneum lipid was determined by using an electron spin resonance(ESR) spectrometer. In use of menthol, the microviscosity of stratum corneum lipid decreased gradually as an increase of menthol amount in the donor phase. On the other hand, a little amount of MET was sufficient to exhibit such decreasing efficiency. These findings suggest that menthol and MET act directly to the skin to fluidize dense barrier structure of stratum corneum under the co-existence of ethanol.


Focused crawlers attempt to crawl web pages that are relevant to a specific topic or user interest. Although these kinds of crawlers have been proven to be effective, they need to improve their efficiency. Focused crawlers usually use a Frontier of non-visited URLs to visit the web pages and gather relavant ones. In this work, we define and evaluate a queueing policy of non-visited URLs, based on link context, to improve the efficiency of a genre-aware focused crawler. Our experimental evaluation shows, in some situations, an improvement around 100% in efficiency terms.


Symposium on the Quest for Social Cohesion in Greater China : Challenges for Social Policy and Governance (2008 : University of Hong Kong)


A theory of noncoherent decision feedback multiuser detection for nonorthogonal binary modulation is developed that parallels that of coherent decision feedback multiuser detection for single-pulse modulation. In particular, an optimum noncoherent decision feedback detector is obtained that maximizes symmetric energy over a newly defined class of decision feedback detectors. Unlike the usual per-user performance metrics such as asymptotic efficiency or near-far resistance, the symmetric energy measure captures, with a single number, the asymptotic (high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)) bit-error performance of all users at once. Several properties of the optimum decision feedback detector are established, one of which is that it outperforms the decision feedback generalized-likelihood ratio (GLR) detector in symmetric energy. It is also shown that, regardless of the order in which users are detected, the optimum noncoherent decision feedback detector outperforms its non-decision feedback counterpart in symmetric energy. Furthermore, two simple rules are obtained for determining the order in which users must be detected to guarantee that the optimum decision feedback detector outperforms its non-decision feedback counterpart (which in turn, is superior to the decorrelative GLR detector presented earlier) in terms of asymptotic effective energy for every user. In fact, one of the two (greedy) ordering rules also maximizes symmetric energy among all possible orderings. Such ordering rules are not available for the noncoherent decision feedback GLR detector in earlier work of the authors. Feasible sets of received energies are characterized in which it is possible, with power control, to achieve quality-of-service objectives for each user. None of the results in this paper make simplifying assumptions about the effects of error propagation. The term "noncoherent" in this work is used to denote that the receiver has no knowledge of the carrier phases and received signal energies of any of the users.


The complete amino acid sequences of rat opioid receptors (designated as ROR-A and ROR-B) have been deduced by cloning and sequencing the cDNAs. The ligand-binding properties of ROR-A and ROR-B expressed from the cloned cDNAs in Chinese hamster ovary cells correspond most closely to those of the pharmacologically defined delta- and mu-opioid receptor subtypes, respectively. RNA blot hybridization analysis revealed that cerebrum and brainstem contain both ROR-A and ROR-B mRNAs, whereas neither ROR-A nor ROR-B mRNAs can be detected in cerebellum.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effects of lycopene with and without concurrent chemotherapeutic treatment on growth and apoptosis of canine osteosarcoma cells.

SAMPLE POPULATION
Cell cultures of 3 established canine osteosarcoma cell lines (D17, OS 2.4, and HMPOS).

PROCEDURES
Growth curve kinetics and cell cytotoxicosis for various treatment combinations were assessed by use of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. Additionally, cell cycle kinetics and colony-forming soft agar assays were performed to determine the influences of lycopene on the cell cycle and anchorage-independent growth. Western immunoblotting of HMPOS cells was performed to examine signaling and apoptotic pathways implicated in lycopene-induced apoptosis.

RESULTS
Lycopene alone caused mild to pronounced attenuation of cell proliferation of all 3 cell lines as well as apoptosis in HMPOS cells but did not interfere with cell death in response to doxorubicin. Soft agar anchorage-independent growth assays revealed complete inhibition of cell proliferation in 2 of 3 osteosarcoma cell lines. Further investigation into the apoptotic response revealed activation of mitochondrial-induced apoptosis primarily through expression of truncated Bid and a decrease in protein kinase B (ie, AKT) phosphorylation.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results suggested that lycopene may be beneficial during treatment of osteosarcomas. Lycopene did not negatively or positively affect survival of osteosarcoma cells during doxorubicin treatment and independently induced apoptosis in the HMPOS cell line. These findings warrant further in vitro and in vivo studies into the use of this natural compound as an adjuvant antiproliferative, proapoptotic treatment in dogs with osteosarcoma.


Abstract:  Harvesting of wild plants for nontimber uses is widespread in the tropics, but its impact is usually quantified only for one or a few species at a time. Thus, forest managers are never clear about how well their efforts are protecting such plants. We quantified abundance and edge‐related variation in 91 species of useful wild plants commonly harvested by communities around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), Uganda, to evaluate the effect of their harvest. Forty percent of these species were harvested exclusively for medicines, 22% for weaving, and 24% for other uses. Fourteen percent were harvested for combinations of uses. Plants were surveyed around the entire periphery of the park transects that extended out 1 km into the forest interior from the edge. Analyses of edge and interior distribution were controlled for effects of topography. Individually, nine (10%) species were very rare, occurring in <0.5% of the plots searched. Of the remaining 82 species, most (50%) decreased significantly away from the park boundary, whereas 4.9% increased and 45.1% showed no pronounced edge‐related distributions. Rarer species were no more likely to be less abundant near the edge than commoner species. These results suggest that most plants used for nontimber purposes in BINP are not currently being harvested unsustainably. In this respect many of the species of useful wild plants we examined resembled animals commonly hunted in tropical forests for bushmeat because they increased in abundance in disturbed habitat. Conservation action should initially aim to understand what influences distributions of very rare species. Edge‐based assessments of distributions may be valuable for revealing harvest impact on species of useful wild plants commonly harvested by people living around forest islands in the tropics.


The surface appendages of bacteria determine the initial contact with host cells. Characterisation of functional organisation and spatial distribution of adhesive traits of outer membrane components of Gram-negative bacteria is a key issue in studies of the parasite-host cell interaction.With focus on the enteropathogenic Helicobacter pylori, evidenced to cause chronic gastric infections in humans, detergent-digested freeze fracture replica labelling was applied for ultrastructural analyses of envelope distribution of the virulence factors blood group antigen binding adhesin (BabA), and the carbonic anhydrases (α-CA, s-CA). In a preliminary study the methodology was also used to study the bacteria-host contact between phagocytosing human neutrophils and wild-type H. pylori.In parallel, bacterial traits were analysed from a molecular and biochemical perspective. This included the specific roles of the BabA and the sialic acid-binding adhesin (SabA), and the neutrophil activating protein (HP-NAP) in neutrophilic stimulation and subsequent inflammatory process. It was concluded that SabA is crucial in the initiation of a neutrophilic response in the mediated inflammation.This thesis has demonstrated the synergistic application of ultrastructural, molecular and cellular microbiology tools for delineating complex patterns in bacteria-host interactions, thus utilising the well-characterised and clinically important human pathogen H. pylori. This approach could be applicable to other Gram-negative species to clarify known and discern new virulence mechanisms in the multifaceted field of bacterial pathogenesis and bacterial interactions with human host cells.


Synopsis A machaeridian sclerite from a thrombolite bed in the Sangomore Formation (Durness Group: Tremadoc) is the first to be described from NW Scotland. The large size, thickness and coarsely spaced rugae indicate the sclerite is that of a turrilepadid, but its morphology is distinct from any taxon described previously. Lacking a longitudinal fold and with three major inflections present along the accreting margin, it is interpreted as an outer right sclerite. It is the oldest turrilepadid yet recorded and shows that all three major groups of the problematical Machaeridia were present in the early Ordovician.


L, M and N electron binding energies in Pm have been determined by the ESCA method. The electron spectra were excited by Mo, Cu and A1 X-radiation. The Pm specimens were made by molecular plating of 14761Pm.


Aim: Glomerulonephritis remains the most probable underlying cause of end stage renal disease of uncertain aetiology in many developing countries, including Bangladesh. The pattern of glomerular disease varies widely from country to country. In Bangladesh, the incidence and histological pattern of glomerulonephritis is inadequately described. We performed a study, aiming to determine pattern of primary glomerulonephritis in a tertiary care hospital of our country. Material & Methods: It was a cross-sectional hospital based prospective study conducted at BIRDEM general hospital starting from from July 2013 to June 2015. It included all patients with primary glomerulonephritis and who underwent native kidney biopsy. Result: Total 67 biopsy were performed and among them primary glomerulonephritis was 42. Female and male ratio was 1.3:1 and mean age was 42.73±14 (14-75) years. Indications of biopsy were proteinuria (>1gm/day) and unexplained acute kidney injury. The commonest histopathological pattern in primary glomerulonephritis was membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis 33.33% (14/ 42) followed by mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis 30.95% (13/42). Only three (7%) patient required blood transfusion for post biopsy bleeding. No one required nephrectomy. Conclusion: In conclusion, mesangial proliferative and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis are the two most common causes of primary glomerulonephritis. Nephrotic range proteinuria was the main indication of biopsy. Post biopsy complication was negligible. Creation of a national renal registry is essential for obtaining more specific epidemiological data. Bangladesh J Medicine Jul 2016; 27(2) : 68-70


Low-pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation is one of the most promising technologies for improving fuel efficiency of turbocharged gasoline direct injection engines. To realize the beneficial effects of the low-pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation, the accurate estimation of the low-pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation rate is essential for precise low-pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation control. In this respect, previous studies have suggested in-cylinder pressure-based low-pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation models to obtain the low-pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation rate into the cylinders with fast response. However, these methods require considerable manual process of feature engineering to extract and analyze the combustion characteristics from the cylinder pressure traces. Furthermore, the performance of the entire model is limited solely to certain hand-crafted characteristics and their mathematical formulations. To resolve these limitations, we propose an in-cylinder pressure-based convolutional neural network for low-pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation estimation. Because the convolutional neural network model automatically learns the complex function between the raw input of the high-dimensional cylinder pressure traces and the low-pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation rate through an end-to-end deep learning framework, this convolutional neural network model provides a more effective and precise modeling process compared to the conventional combustion characteristics-based regression models. The proposed convolutional neural network model consists of the input layer with the previous consecutive cycles of the pressure traces to resolve the model uncertainty from cycle-to-cycle variations. This input layer is connected to one convolutional layer, two fully connected layers, and the final output layer that is the target low-pressure cooled exhaust gas recirculation rate. The proposed model was trained, validated, and tested using a total of 50,000 cycles of engine experimental data under various transient driving conditions. The remarkable accuracy of the proposed model was evaluated with R2 values over 0.99 and root mean square error values of less than 1.5% under the transient conditions. Moreover, the real-time performance and low memory requirement were also verified on the target embedded platform.


A single-mode fiber-optic ring resonator is used as a multipath reference for multiplexing white light interferometric sensors. The theory of applying the resonator for multiplexing Michelson-type interferometer sensor is presented. The capacity of the technique in terms of maximum sensor number is evaluated for both a linear array and a M x N sensor matrix. Experimental results for a three-sensor linear array and 2 x 1 sensor matrix are also presented.


This paper considers the question whether the human thought process is uniform or whether there exist qualitatively distinct thought processes differentially used by different cultures, or in different situations. Whereas early positions on both sides of this debate (in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) rested upon a questionable evidential basis, recent decades of research in social and cognitive psychologies have produced a plethora of controlled experimental findings seemingly supportive of the notion of multiple thinking modes. We consider this body of evidence and the general issues that underlie it in terms of a novel theoretical perspective referred to as the unimodel (Erb et al. 2003; Kruglanski, Erb et al. 2003). The unimodel reinterprets diverse differences in reasoning outcomes in terms of several thought parameters that have not been controlled for in former research. New evidence in a number of content domains supports the view that human reasoning can be characterized as uniform...


The Toll signaling pathway plays an important role in the innate immunity of Drosophila melanogaster and mammals. The activation and termination of Toll signaling are finely regulated in these animals. Although the primary components of the Toll pathway were identified in shrimp, the functions and regulation of the pathway are seldom studied. We first demonstrated that the Toll signaling pathway plays a central role in host defense against Staphylococcus aureus by regulating expression of antimicrobial peptides in shrimp. We then found that β-arrestins negatively regulate Toll signaling in two different ways. β-Arrestins interact with the C-terminal PEST domain of Cactus through the arrestin-N domain, and Cactus interacts with the RHD domain of Dorsal via the ankyrin repeats domain, forming a heterotrimeric complex of β-arrestin·Cactus·Dorsal, with Cactus as the bridge. This complex prevents Cactus phosphorylation and degradation, as well as Dorsal translocation into the nucleus, thus inhibiting activation of the Toll signaling pathway. β-Arrestins also interact with non-phosphorylated ERK (extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase) through the arrestin-C domain to inhibit ERK phosphorylation, which affects Dorsal translocation into the nucleus and phosphorylation of Dorsal at Ser276 that impairs Dorsal transcriptional activity. Our study suggests that β-arrestins negatively regulate the Toll signaling pathway by preventing Dorsal translocation and inhibiting Dorsal phosphorylation and transcriptional activity.


In recent years significant progress has been made in the field of visual search, mostly due to the introduction of powerful local image features. At the same time, a rapid development of mobile platforms enabled deployment of image retrieval systems on mobile devices. Various mobile applications of the visual search have been proposed, one of the most interesting being geo-localization service based on image recognition and other positioning information. This thesis attempts to advance the existing visual search system developed at Telefonica I+D Barcelona so it could be used for high precision geo-localization. In order to do so, this dissertation tackles two significant challenges of image retrieval: improvement in robustness of the detection of similarities between images and increase of discriminatory power. The work advances the state-of-the-art with three main contributions. The first contribution consists of the development of an evaluation framework for visual search engine. Since the assessment of any complex system is crucial for its development and analysis, an exhaustive set of evaluation measures is selected from the relevant literature and implemented. Furthermore, several datasets along with the corresponding information about correct correspondences between the images have been gathered and unified. The second contribution considers the representation of image features describing salient regions and attempts to alleviate the quantization effects introduced during its creation. A mechanism that in the literature is commonly referred to as soft assignment is adapted to a visual search engine of Telefonica I+D with several extensions. The third and final contribution consists of a post-processing stage that increases discriminative power by verification of local correspondences' spatial layout. The performance and generality of the proposed solutions has been analyzed based on extensive evaluation using the framework proposed in this work.


Lattice dynamics calculations of the lattice modes (phonons) and the internal modes (vibrons) and Raman spectra at liquid helium temperatures are presented for the beta -, alpha - and gamma -phase of 1,4-dichlorobenzene (DCB). It follows from the calculations and it is confirmed by the Raman spectra that these three phases are characteristically different with respect to the following properties: vibron band dispersion, Davydov splitting, 35Cl/37Cl isotopic effects on the band structure and vibron-phonon mixing. Only the low temperature gamma -phase shows a nice one-dimensional band structure for some vibrations. The vibron band dispersion in all phases of DCB is caused by the repulsive exponential terms in the intermolecular potential. This is in contrast to 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene, where the electrostatic interactions are responsible for the dispersion. Some of the ungerade vibron modes become visible in the Raman spectra of DCB due to the (random) occurrence of molecules with different distributions of 35Cl/37Cl isotopes. A few of the Raman lines observed could not be uniquely assigned; they are probably caused by Fermi resonances.


In recent years, considerable attention has been given to the interrelationship between the outbreak of a systemic process of reduction in the bone mass and the possibility of a significant resorption of the alveolar bone. The degree of alveolar bone loss increases with age, and this may be related, at least in part, to the systemic conditions that also encourage the development of osteoporosis. Although numerous studies have documented the possible role of osteoporosis as a deteriorating factor in both tooth loss and mandibular bone resorption, this article underlines how the morphostructural evolution of the edentulous mandible is primarily correlated to mechanical factors as a result of modifications to its function. We will also take into consideration the therapeutic advantages provided by prosthetic rehabilitation on osseointegrated implants, in terms of reinstatement of the loading conditions through patterns of propagation of mechanical forces that are similar to physiologic ones.


Field experiments were conducted to evaluate weed control and cotton response to glyphosate or glufosinate applied alone or with residual herbicides applied in the last POST-directed application (LAYBY) in glyphosate- and glufosinate-resistant cotton. Glyphosate (0.86 kg ae/ha) or glufosinate (0.47 kg ai/ha) were applied alone over the top of glyphosate- or glufosinate-resistant cotton early POST (EPOST) followed by (fb) late POST (LPOST) fb one of the herbicides applied either alone or with a residual herbicide at LAYBY. Glyphosate- and glufosinate-based treatments were applied only to glyphosate- and glufosinate-resistant cotton, respectively. Residual herbicides evaluated included prometryn (1.12 kg ai/ha), fluometuron (1.12 kg ai/ha), diuron (1.12 kg ai/ha), oxyfluorfen (1.12 kg ai/ha), pendimethalin (1.0 kg ai/ha), prometryn + trifloxysulfuron (1.33 kg ai/ha + 12 g ai/ha), or linuron + diuron (0.56 + 0.56 kg ai/ha). Glyphosate-and glufosinate-based weed management systems with and without residual LAYBY herbicides resulted in little to no injury to cotton. Three applications of glyphosate or glufosinate alone provided better full-season control of most species when compared to two applications of either herbicide. The addition of a residual herbicide to glyphosate or glufosinate at LAYBY did not improve cotton yields, but did improve overall control of barnyardgrass and yellow nutsedge and reduced weed dry biomass present at time of cotton harvest when compared to three applications of glyphosate or glufosinate alone. Nomenclature: Diuron; fluometuron; glufosinate; glyphosate; linuron; oxyfluorfen; pendimethalin; prometryn; trifloxysulfuron; barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. ECHCG; yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus L. CYPES; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. 'DPL 555BG/RR', 'Fibermax 958LL, 966LL, and 989RR'.


Numerous parameters related to the patients and the conditions of the sample collection can affect the properties of a biological sample. The pre-analytical parameters are especially important to deal with in the setting of multicenter clinical trials. Here, we report the preliminary results of a trial conducted by the cooperative group GOELAMS (Groupe Ouest-Est des Leucémies aiguës et Autres Maladies du Sang) to define the pre-analytical parameters that affect the proteomic analysis of serum samples in patients with B-cell non Hodgkin lymphoma included in clinical trials.


The development of warm-gas cleanup (WGCU) systems for synthesis gas (syngas) cleanup in in- tegrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants has the potential to lower the costs of generating power. WGCU includes the removal of mercury (Hg), present in coal, from the syngas. Carbon-based sorbents used for Hg removal are not suitable for high-temperature Hg removal in conjunction with the WGCU. The US Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory's (DOE/NETL) Office of Research & Development (ORD) has been developing various sorbent alternatives to address the problem of high-temperature Hg removal. This study presents analysis of the capture of Hg from syngas streams as a polishing step to attain US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) requirements for Hg (0.003 lb/GWhgross for new IGCC plants) using palladium (Pd) adsorbent being tested by DOE/NETL in association with Johnson Matthey (JM). For the present study, it was assumed that syngas is already cleaned to 5 parts per billion by weight (ppbw) Hg, and the Pd sorbent technology is used as a polishing step to achieve the EPA MATS requirements (0.003 lb/GWhgross, equivalent to 2 ppbw given representative process configuration and material flows). The incremental cost of Hg polishing and the additional capital cost needed were estimated for several scenarios/cases. These cases were differentiated by variance in the following parameters, which are important because they have direct im- pacts on additional capital costs ($/kW), and in turn impacts on the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE): 1) Pd cost (varied from $4,000 to $12,000/lb Pd); 2) Gas hourly space velocity (SV) (varied from 500 to 13,500 h-1); 3) Pd loading (varied between 2 w/w% Pd and 5 w/w% Pd); 4) Sorbent make-up rate (varied between 3%, 1%). The ranges were chosen in order to reasonably reflect, in the cases that are analyzed, the actual fluctuations that have been observed in past *Corresponding author. experience in these important parameters that affect cost (e.g., the Pd cost has kept to within the $4 to 12 k/lb range in recent years). In the case of SV, the high and low points of the range are extremes beyond which costs would either be unreasonable, or increase in cost benefit would be negligible. For a typical case (i.e., using mid-range values of the parameters, including SV of 8000 h-1, 2% Pd loading, 3% make-up rate, $9500/lb Pd cost), the increase in LCOE due to the Pd-polishing system is approximately 0.4% and the additional capital cost is ~$10/kW. As a comparison, the incremental capital cost of conventional Hg removal in an IGCC plant is ~$4 to 8/kW, and the increase in the LCOE is less than 0.4%. Results indicate that in the range of SVs from 3500 h-1 to 10,000 h-1, the Hg-polishing step is expected to function adequately and with increase of LCOE limited to about 1% - 2%. The use of a Pd sorbent-based polishing system to reduce trace Hg levels to the EPA MATS requirements for new IGCC power generation appears to be feasible and reasonably cost-effective.


The basic approach to computer analysis of the CICC in superconducting Tokamak HT-7U is given and discussed. We will apply a 1-D mathematical model (Gandalf) to investigate the stability of CICC at real operating modes of Tokamak. 1-D model can be directly adopted to follow the evolution of the zone when the energy input is large enough and the coil quenches. In this report, we will analyze the stability of typical CICC (including pure copper) and discuss effect of copper on the stability of CICC.


Cavernous malformations are uncommon vascular lesions with an estimated prevalence of 0.5% in the general population. Intramedullary cavernous malformations (ICM) represent a rare subset of lesions, which account for approximately 5% of all cavernous malformations. The annual risk of hemorrhage in ICMs has been reported to range from 1.4 to 6.8%. Most patients are diagnosed with neurological dysfunction secondary to ICM hemorrhage and little is known about the inciting events that lead to hemorrhage. A few studies have suggested that minor and major trauma or even intense exertion may increase the risk of hemorrhage. We report the case of a 62-year-old male who developed progressive neurological deterioration following a motor vehicle accident. During work-up, an ICM was found at T4 and was surgically removed. At his 10-month follow-up, the patient had partially recovered, regaining motor strength in his right lower extremity, but had a persistent decrease in temperature and pinprick sensation on the left side starting at the T6 dermatome. We hypothesize that ICMs can rupture after high-energy impacts, such as the motor vehicle accident in our patient, and mechanical factors, such as trauma and stretching maneuvers, can play a role in the pathogenesis of ICM hemorrhage.


Eighteen patients with recurrent episodes of life-threatening anaphylaxis of unknown cause were studied. Each patient had repeated detailed histories taken and had repeated physical examinations, hypersensitivity skin tests to foods, and complete blood cell counts. In addition, each patient underwent stringent dietary manipulation. Seventeen of the 18 patients underwent a series of studies. Three patients were hospitalized for study. Results of all tests were essentially normal except for an elevated plasma histamine level during attacks in two patients. Episodes could not be prevented with antihistamine therapy. Attacks were treated successfully by instructing the patients in the self-administration of epinephrine. It thus appears that recurrent episodes of anaphylaxis due to nonimmunologic histamine release of anaphylaxis due to nonimmunologic histamine release can occur without discernible cause and can be lifethreatening.


CD244 (2B4) is a member of the signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) family of receptors and is expressed on all murine NK cells and a subset of CD8+ T cells. The SLAM family of receptors exists as one of two stable haplotypes (b and z haplotype) in common laboratory strains of mice. The b haplotype is associated with C57-derived mouse strains while the z haplotype is found in most other inbred strains. Previous studies have shown that CD244 exhibits inhibitory function in NK cells from C57BL/6 (B6) mice. Here we employ a congenic mouse strain (B6.Sle1b) that differs from the parental solely at a region of chromosome 1 containing the SLAM family of genes to characterize the function of the z haplotype of CD244. We show that the more common haplotype of CD244 exhibits activating function in an SH2D1a dependent manner as evidenced by enhanced lytic activity towards targets expressing the ligand for CD244, CD48. The activating function of the z version of CD244 is due to polymorphic differences that appear to be clustered in the ligand-binding region of the receptor. In addition, we observed differential baseline phosphorylation and adaptor association for each of the CD244 haplotypes in cultured NK cells accounting for their functional differences.


Contents: Child labour and economic development : emerging issues in developing Asia / Gamini Herath and Kishor Sharma Child labour in developing countries : review of theoretical and : empirical issues / Gamini Herath Cumulative causation as explanation and policy base for child labour / G. Bamberry Child labour : an integrated approach / Manohar Pawar Trade, growth and child labour practices in South Asia / Kishor Sharma An overview of child labour laws, prevention strategies and assessment of their effectiveness in Bangladesh / Jesmul Hasan An overview of child labour in India / Subhashini Subbaraman and Harald von Witzke Child labour in India : a critical evaluation of four issues / Anna Pinto Prevention of child labour in Nepal : an overview of strategy and effectiveness Chiranjibi nepal Prevention of child labour in Pakistan : analysis of strategy and effectiveness / Shafqat Munir and Hassan Mangi Issues relating to prevention of child labour in Sri Lanka / Nisha Arunatilake and Roshani de Silva.