This paper quantitatively explains research trends in postwar administrative studies in Japan using statistical analyses of nearly 40 years of article titles from Public Administration Review Quarterly, from its first issue (1978) to the 165th issue (2019). Co-occurrence network analysis and correspondence analysis revealed changes in research interests. There was substantially more research on administrative reforms through the post-war Showa and Heisei eras.  The configuration figures of correspondence analysis can be interpreted to mean that the first dimension concerns administrative reforms; the second dimension concerns historical events/administrative systems; and the third dimension concerns evaluations and Kaizen. Co-occurrence network analysis showed that the studies during the Showa era (1978-1988) could be partly characterized by the two extracted compound words: the United States and the United Kingdom. Japan became a feature of studies of public administration during the Heisei era (1989–2018). These features are basically consistent with the previous quantitative studies.


3 The Global Burden of Disease Brain Summit Auckland, New Zealand, 27 November 2018 Guest Editors: Feigin, V.L. (Auckland); Vos, T. (Seattle, WA) available online only


Fourteen active dust devils were observed by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on Mars Express, which enable the first analysis of the forward speed of dust devils on Mars determined from orbit. Results show speeds on the order of 20 m/s, which compares favorably with values of the wind profiles estimated from the Martian Climate Database for higher altitudes. Smaller dust devils of 1 km height and very small diameters were found moving only at 1.5 to 6.0 m/s in agreement with surface wind speeds.


Recently published datasets have been increasingly comprehensive with respect to their variety of simultaneously used sensors, traffic scenarios, environmental conditions, and provided annotations. However, these datasets typically only consider data collected by one independent vehicle. Hence, there is currently a lack of comprehensive, real-world, multi-vehicle datasets fostering research on cooperative applications such as object detection, urban navigation, or multi-agent SLAM. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap by introducing the novel LUCOOP dataset, which provides time-synchronized multi-modal data collected by three interacting measurement vehicles. The driving scenario corresponds to a follow-up setup of multiple rounds in an inner city triangular trajectory. Each vehicle was equipped with a broad sensor suite including at least one LiDAR sensor, one GNSS antenna, and up to three IMUs. Additionally, Ultra-Wide-Band (UWB) sensors were mounted on each vehicle, as well as statically placed along the trajectory enabling both V2V and V2X range measurements. Furthermore, a part of the trajectory was monitored by a total station resulting in a highly accurate reference trajectory. The LUCOOP dataset also includes a precise, dense 3D map point cloud, acquired simultaneously by a mobile mapping system, as well as an LOD2 city model of the measurement area. We provide sensor measurements in a multi-vehicle setup for a trajectory of more than 4 km and a time interval of more than 26 minutes, respectively. Overall, our dataset includes more than 54,000 LiDAR frames, approximately 700,000 IMU measurements, and more than 2.5 hours of 10 Hz GNSS raw measurements along with 1 Hz data from a reference station. Furthermore, we provide more than 6,000 total station measurements over a trajectory of more than 1 km and 1,874 V2V and 267 V2X UWB measurements. Additionally, we offer 3D bounding box annotations for evaluating object detection approaches, as well as highly accurate ground truth poses for each vehicle throughout the measurement campaign.


According to the recent report, there are 870 million people suffer from ocular diseases worldwide. The present approaches for diagnosis are morphological examination, imaging examination and immunological examination, regrettably, they lack of sensitivity and difficult to make a definite diagnosis in the early stage. Systemic biology as an effective method has been used in clinical diagnosis and treatment for diseases, especially metabolomics which is more attractive with high sensitivity and accuracy. Although previous researches had been confirmed that endogenous metabolites in the ocular matrix play a crucial role in the progress of diseases related diseases, the standard protocols and systematic summary about the biomarker researches based on ocular matrix has not been established. This review article highlights the pretreatment for ocular matrix and the new biomarkers expressed by the eye diseases, expected to promote the application of biomarkers in the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases.


The article contains results obtained from realization of the Polish and Lithuanian Baltic case study within the EU – FP 7 SubCoast project, which one of the primary aims was analysis of vertical ground movements, potentially causing geohazards in the coastal areas. To reach this goal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data were obtained. For the Polish and Lithuanian Baltic coast ERS archive radar data were processed in order to provide Permanent Scatterer (PSInSAR, PSI) results that were then used to create the new innovative product – Dynamic DEM (DDEM). The deformation model defined by the SubCoast project normally needs to be created by merging InSAR, satellite navigation (GNSS), optical leveling and/or gravimetry measurements. Elaboration of DDEM enables more effective comparison between PS and tectonic features. Comparison of PS time series with groundwater changes shows a direct correlation, confirming impact of groundwater on subsidence or uplift of the ground surface. The results of the geological interpretation demonstrated that the examples of movements detected by PSI include subsidence linked to deformation of engineering constructions, compaction of organic or weak soils, and eolian accumulation or deflation processes of the sand dunes. For the Polish and Lithuanian coasts most of the area proved to be stable, nevertheless some local deviations up to –15 mm per year of movement were found.


Summary In natural and agricultural ecosystems, plants are exposed to a wide diversity of abiotic and biotic stresses such as drought, salinity, pathogens and insect herbivores. Under natural conditions, these stresses do not occur in isolation but commonly occur simultaneously. However, plants have developed sophisticated mechanisms to survive and reproduce under suboptimal conditions. Genetic screenings and molecular genetic assays have shed light on the molecular players that provide resistance to single biotic and abiotic stresses. Induced defenses are attacker specific and phytohormones play an essential role in tailoring these defense responses. Because phytohormones display antagonistic and synergistic interactions, the question emerges how plants elicit an effective defense response when exposed to conflicting signals under multiple attack. Recent studies have shed light on this issue by studying the effects of combinations of stresses at the phenotypic, transcriptomic and genetic level. These studies have concluded that the responses to combined stresses can often not be predicted based on information about responses to the single stress situations or the phytohormones involved. Thus, combined stresses are starting to be regarded as a different state of stress in the plant. Studying the effects of combinations of stresses is relevant since they are more representative of the type of stresses experienced by plants in natural conditions. In a coordinated effort, responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to a range of abiotic and biotic stresses and stress combinations have been explored at the genetic, phenotypic, and transcriptional level. For this purpose we used an ecogenomic approach in which we integrated the assessment of phenotypic variation and Genome-Wide Association (GWA) analysis for a large number of A. thaliana accessions with an in-depth transcriptional analysis. The focus of this thesis is especially on (but not limited to) three stresses, i.e. drought, herbivory by Pieris rapae caterpillars, and infection by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea. These stresses were chosen because the responses of A. thaliana to these three stresses are highly divergent but at the same time regulated by the plant hormones JA and/or ABA. Consequently, analysis of responses to combinatorial stresses is likely to yield information on signaling nodes that are involved in tailoring the plant's adaptive response to combinations of these stresses. Responses of A. thaliana to other biotic and abiotic stresses are included in an integrative study (Chapter 6). We first investigated (Chapter 2) the extent of natural variation in the response to one abiotic stress (drought), four biotic stresses (Pieris rapae caterpillars, Plutella xylostella caterpillars, Frankliniella occidentalis thrips, Myzus persicae aphids) and two combined stresses (drought plus P. rapae, and B. cinerea plus P. rapae). Using 308 A. thaliana accessions originating from Europe, the native range of the species, we focused on the eco-evolutionary context of stress responses. We analyzed how the response to stress is influenced by geographical origin, genetic relatedness and life-cycle strategy, i.e. summer versus winter annual. We identified heritable genetic variation for responses to the different stresses. We found that winter annuals are more resistant to drought, aphids and thrips and summer annuals are more resistant to P. rapae and P. xylostella caterpillars and to the combined stresses of drought followed by P. rapae and infection by the fungus B. cinerea followed by herbivory by P. rapae. Furthermore, we found differential responses to drought along a longitudinal gradient. We further investigated, using A. thaliana accession Col-0, how phenotypic and whole-genome transcriptional responses to one stress are altered by a preceding or co-occurring stress (Chapters 3 and 4). The whole-transcriptomic profile of A. thaliana triggered by single and combined abiotic (drought) and biotic (herbivory by caterpillars of P. rapae, infection by B. cinerea) stresses was analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Comparative analysis of plant gene expression triggered by single and double stresses revealed a complex transcriptional reprogramming. Mathematical modelling of transcriptomic data, in combination with Gene Ontology analysis highlighted biological processes specifically affected by single and double stresses (Chapters 3). For example, ethylene (ET) biosynthetic genes were induced at 12 h by B. cinerea alone or drought followed by B. cinerea inoculation. This induction was delayed when plants were pretreated with P. rapae by inducing ET biosynthetic genes only 18 hours post inoculation. Other processes affected by combined stresses include wound response, systemic acquired resistance (SAR), water deprivation and ABA response, and camalexin biosynthesis. In Chapter 4, we focused on the stress imposed by P. rapae herbivory alone or in combination with prior exposure to drought or infection with B. cinerea. We found that pre-exposure to drought stress or B. cinerea infection resulted in a significantly different timing of the caterpillar-induced transcriptional changes. Additionally, the combination of drought and P. rapae induced an extensive downregulation of A. thaliana genes involved in defence against pathogens. Despite the larger reduction in plant biomass observed for plants exposed to drought plus P. rapae feeding compared to P. rapae feeding alone, this did not affect weight gain of this specialist caterpillar. In Chapter 5, we used univariate GWA to (1) understand the genetic architecture of resistance to the different stresses and (2) identify regions of the genome and possible candidate genes associated with variation in resistance to those stresses. In Chapter 5 a subset of the stresses addressed in Chapter 1 (i.e. drought, herbivory by P. rapae and P. xylostella, and the combined stresses drought plus P. rapae and B. cinerea plus P. rapae) were investigated. Results from GWA were integrated with expression data generated in Chapters 3 and 4 or available from the literature. We identified differences in genetic architecture and QTLs underlying variation in resistance to (1) P. rapae andP. xylostella and (2) resistance to P. rapae and combined stresses drought plus P. rapae and B. cinerea plus P. rapae. Furthermore, several of the QTLs identified contained genes that were differentially expressed in response to the relevant stress. For example, for P. xylostella one of the QTLs contained only two genes encoding cysteine proteases (CP1 and CP2). The expression data indicated that these genes were induced by P. rapae and P. xylostella herbivory. In Chapter 6, the genetic architecture underlying plant resistance to 11 single stresses and some of their combinations was investigated. First, the genetic commonality underlying responses to different stresses was investigated by means of genetic correlations,, revealing that stresses that share phytohormonal signaling pathways also share part of their genetic architecture. For instance, a strong negative genetic correlation was observed between SA and JA inducers. Furthermore, multi-trait GWA identified candidate genes influencing the response to more than one stress. For example, a functional RMG1 gene seems to be associated with susceptibility to herbivory by P. rapae and osmotic stress since loss of function mutants in RMG1 displayed higher resistance to both stresses. Finally, multi-trait GWA was used to identify QTLs with contrasting and with similar effects on the response to (a) biotic or abiotic stresses and (b) belowground or aboveground stresses. Finally, In Chapter 7, I discuss the feasibility of obtaining plants that are resistant to multiple stresses from the point of view of genetic trade-offs and experimental limitations. The ecogenomic approach for gene discovery taken in this thesis is discussed, and recommendations are especially given on the use of herbivorous insects in quantitative genetic studies of stress resistance. Furthermore, alternatives to the use of insects in quantitative genetic studies of stress resistance are discussed and proposed. Finally, I discuss the feasibility of using an ecogenomic approach to study stress responses in other plant species than the model plant of molecular genetics, A. thaliana. A wealth of candidate genes was generated by taking an ecogenomic approach, in particular transcriptome analysis and GWA analysis. Functional characterization of these genes is a next challenge, especially in the context of multiple stress situations. These genes constitute a rich source of potential factors important for resistance to abiotic, biotic and combined stresses that in the future may be applied for crop improvement.


BACKGROUND
To investigate the difference in efficacy of re-excision in synovial sarcoma patients with and without residual tumor following unplanned excision, and to compare the prognostic outcomes of immediate re-excision versus waiting for local recurrence.

METHOD
This study included synovial sarcoma patients who underwent re-excision at our center between 2009 and 2019, categorized into groups based on unplanned excision and local recurrence. Analyzed endpoints included overall survival (OS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and distant relapse-free survival (DRFS). Prognostic factors associated with these three different survival outcomes were analyzed through the use of Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression approaches.

RESULT
In total, this study incorporated 109 synovial sarcoma patients, including 32 (29.4%) with no residual tumor tissue identified after re-excision, 31 (28.4%) with residual tumor tissue after re-excision, and 46 (42.2%) with local recurrence after initial excision. Patients were assessed over a median 52-month follow-up period. The respective 5-year OS, 5-year LRFS, and 5-year DRFS rates were 82.4%, 76.7%, and 74.2% for the nonresidual group, 80.6%, 80.4%, and 77.3% for the residual tumor tissue group, and 63.5%, 50.7%, and 46.3% for the local recurrence group. There was no significant difference in OS of nonresidual group and residual group patients after re-excision (p = 0.471). Concurrent or sequential treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy significantly reduced the risk of metastasis and mortality when compared with noncombined chemoradiotherapy, and was more effective in the local recurrence group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Prompt and adequate re-excision is crucial for patients with synovial sarcoma who undergo initial inadequate tumor excision, and their prognosis is significantly better compared with patients who delay re-excision until local recurrence.


Recruitment of fatty acids from adipose tissue is increased during fasting. However, the molecular mechanisms behind fasting-induced metabolic regulation in human adipose tissue and the potential impact of training state in this are unknown. Therefore the aim of the present study was to investigate 1) fasting-induced regulation of lipolysis and glyceroneogenesis in human adipose tissue as well as 2) the impact of training state on basal oxidative capacity and fasting-induced metabolic regulation in human adipose tissue. Untrained [maximal oxygen uptake (V̇o2max) < 45 ml·min-1·kg-1] and trained subjects (V̇o2max > 55 ml·min-1·kg-1) fasted for 36 h, and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies were obtained 2, 12, 24, and 36 h after a standardized meal. Adipose tissue oxidative phosphorylation complexes, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH)-E1α protein as well as PDH kinase (PDK) 2, PDK4, and PDH phosphatase 2 mRNA content were higher in trained subjects than in untrained subjects. In addition, trained subjects had higher adipose tissue hormone-sensitive lipase Ser660 phosphorylation and adipose triglyceride lipase protein content as well as higher plasma free fatty acid concentration than untrained subjects during fasting. Moreover, adipose tissue PDH phosphorylation increased with fasting only in trained subjects. Taken together, trained subjects seem to possess higher basal adipose tissue oxidative capacity as well as higher capacity for regulation of lipolysis and for providing substrate for glyceroneogenesis in adipose tissue during fasting than untrained subjects. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study shows for the first time higher protein content of lipolytic enzymes and higher oxidative phosphorylation protein in adipose tissue from trained subjects than from untrained subjects during fasting. Furthermore, trained subjects had higher capacity for adipose tissue glyceroneogenesis than untrained subjects.


The acute endometritis is a the most widespread pathology among women of reproductive age.The immune system plays a leading role in its development. However, there is no data concerning the most informative parameters of cell immunity. The purpose of study is to enhance diagnostic of acute endometritis using immunologic technique with objective evaluation of diagnostic value of indices of systemic cell immunity. The indices of cell immunity are analyzed on sampling of 78 patients with postnatal acute endometritis and 54 healthy women. The technique of flow cytometry was applied with subsequent calculation of index of informativeness and disintegration objectifying selection of diagnostically significant parameters. It is demonstrated that full-fledged diagnostic of acute endometritis requires detection of absolute and relative content of T-helpers and natural killers having high value of informativeness and disintegration. Hence an opportunity to reduce number of analyzed parameters of systemic cell immunity and financial costs of diagnostic of acute endometritis.


This paper presents results of a research study conducted at the University of Houston, in which a group of in-service elementary, middle, and high school teachers learned to use digital storytelling through a series of summer workshops conducted by university faculty and graduate students. The study investigated the teachers' use of digital storytelling in their classrooms, what effects this use had on students, and what problems arose that prevented implementation of digital storytelling in the classroom. The study results suggested that, even though almost all of the teachers' perceptions about using digital stories in the classroom were positive immediately after the workshops, in practice, more than half of the teachers did not continue to use digital storytelling during the implementation period. Teachers who did use digital storytelling reported positive effects on student performance, an increase in 21 st century skills, and increased motivation and engagement levels in their students.


In this paper, taking advantage of the openness of multimedia documents, we propose a paradigm for their storage and management, which employs DBMS sensibly. The paradigm results in low management overhead and high access efficiency. Our discussion focuses on the model and its integration with the World Wide Web (WWW) framework.


Background: Phyllodes tumor of breast is characterized by its tendency to recur locally and occasionally to metastasize. Local recurrence and distant metastasis are occasional, but consistent. The aim of this study was to determine factors that would predict local recurrence and distant metastasis in this uncommon neoplasm. Materials and Methods: Data from 57 patients treated for phyllodes tumors from January 2004 to December 2008 were reviewed retrospectively. Patient characteristics, pathologic variables and surgical procedures were investigated as predictors of local recurrence and distant metastasis. Results: The median age of the patients was 46 years. 24 patients were pre and 33 were post menopausal. Right breast was involved in 33 and left in 24 patients. Central quadrant was most commonly involved ( 24 patients). Simple mastectomy was done in 36 while 21 patients had wide local excision done. 6 cases were benign, 24 borderline and 27 of malignant histiotype. 18 patients completed adjuvant radiotherapy. Mean follow up was 10.3 months (1-48months). Local recurrence occurred in 9 cases while 6 cases had distant metastasis. The histiotype, cellular atypia, tumor necrosis, stromal overgrowth and mitotic count were predictive for both local recurrence and distant metastasis.Conclusion: The histiotype, cellular atypia, tumor necrosis, stromal overgrowth and mitotic count were the principal determinants of local recurrence and distant metastasis. The type of surgery and margin status were also important factors for local recurrence and distant metastasis respectively.


Among various rapid prototyping processes, stereo-lithography process which can manufacture transparent prototype is known to be the greatest in the form & dimensional accuracy and surface roughness. In this paper, bench mark tests of 4 stereo-lithography-type rapid prototyping apparatus were carried out using transparent materials. The test includes measurement of mechanical properties, form accuracy, building speed and manufacturing cost. It was observed that ViperPRO of 3D systems is advantageous in the mechanical properties and building speed, RM6000l/ of CMET in sub-milli scale form accuracy and manufacturing cost, and relatively economical Eden500V of Objet is great in tensile strength at room temperature.


Ed Susan Bewley, John Friend, Gillian Mezey

RCOG Press, £35, pp 355

ISBN 1 900364 03 4

The family is consistently presented as the moral foundation of our society, and yet, apart from the police and the military, the family is society's most violent grouping and the home its most violent setting. At some time in their lives, as many as one in four women suffer violence at the hands of the men with whom they have intimate relationships. The 1992 British crime survey showed that violence against women by partners, former partners, and relatives is the most common form of physical interpersonal crime. The total number of domestic assaults in the 12 months covered by the survey was estimated at just over 500 000. Domestic violence, occurring across all social classes and all ethnic groups, makes a huge contribution to the totality of violence and crime in society.

The evidence suggests that domestic violence usually escalates in frequency and severity. By the time a woman's injuries are visible, violence may be a long established pattern. On average, a woman has been assaulted by her partner or former partner 35 times before actually reporting it to the police. For some women, the escalation is fatal: one in five of all murder victims is a woman killed by a partner or former partner, and almost half of all murders of women are killings by a partner or former partner.

None of this is new, but over the past two decades feminist campaigning and scholarship have created a much greater awareness of the extent and prevalence of violence against women. This, in turn, has led to a gradual extension of the definitions of crime to recognise more of the reality of women's experience of violence, and to signal progress, albeit slow, towards zero tolerance.

The NHS and the medical establishment have been relatively slow to acknowledge these shifts of attitude, and the consequent obligation to provide a more substantive response to the pervasive effects of violence against women beyond the minimum treatment of obvious physical injuries.

Violence tends to worsen during pregnancy and has been associated with miscarriages, premature labour, low birth weight, and fetal injury and death. Responding to this particular challenge, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists convened a special study group last summer, bringing obstetricians and gynaecologists together with a range of other experts including midwives, lawyers, police, sociologists, and Women's Aid activists. The aim was to raise awareness of the size and nature of the problem, particularly among doctors, and to formulate recommendations covering clinical practice, education and training, and research.

This excellent book is the product of the group's deliberations. It includes a series of papers offered by a comprehensive range of experts, interspersed with a record of the discussions that took place within the group. In this way, it provides an inspiring account of a profession, sometimes regarded as insular, in the process of opening itself to knowledge and expertise from beyond its traditional boundaries. Only time will tell whether this imported learning will lead to a more sensitive and effective response from ordinary obstetricians and gynaecologists to the needs of women who have been subject to violence. The book deserves such an outcome.


In 2003, Kenya introduced a nationwide Free Primary Education (FPE) reform, abolishing school fees in all public primary schools. As a result, enrolment rates in public primary schools rose by 15 percent, putting significant pressure on the educational system. Overcrowding and lack of school material caused many parents to turn to private school alternatives. Using a nationally representative cross- sectional household survey, I exploit intra-household variation in terms of school enrolment to measure private versus public school effectiveness in terms of math, English and Swahili test scores. My findings suggest that, on average, private school students score 18, 23 and 21 percentage points of a standard deviation higher than public school students, respectively. As my results are likely to be exposed to a selection bias stemming from high-achieving students being sorted into fee-charging private schools, I include household fixed effects and an extensive set of household-related controls. Moreover, I prove that when attempting to control for such sorting effects, half of the effect disappears. I thus argue that the remaining effect can be interpreted as evidence of private schools being more effective than public schools. (Less)


A new species of amphilochid amphipod, Gitanopsis iseebi, is described, based on both female and male specimens which were collected from the branchial chamber of a spiny lobster, Panulirusjaponicus (von Siebold), at Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan. This new species is sexually dimorphic in the gnathopods l and 2; their palmar corners are distinctly produced in the male. This new species is similar to Afrogitanopsis pagwi (Myers, 1974), from a pagurid, Dardanus megistos (Herbst) in Kenya, but distingmshable by the antenna 1 and epimeral plates. Taxonomic problems of the family Amphilochidae and the genus Afrogitanopsis are briefly discussed.


Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is particularly suitable for large-scale mapping of inundations, as this tool allows data acquisition regardless of illumination and weather conditions. Precise information about the flood extent is an essential foundation for local relief workers, decision-makers from crisis management authorities or insurance companies. In order to capture the full extent of the flood, open water and especially temporary flooded vegetation (TFV) areas have to be considered. The Sentinel-1 (S-1) satellite constellation enables the continuous monitoring of the earths surface with a short revisit time. In particular, the ability of S-1 data to penetrate the vegetation provides information about water areas underneath the vegetation. Different TFV types, such as high grassland/reed and forested areas, from independent study areas were analyzed to show both the potential and limitations of a developed SAR time series classification approach using S-1 data. In particular, the time series feature that would be most suitable for the extraction of the TFV for all study areas was investigated in order to demonstrate the potential of the time series approaches for transferability and thus for operational use. It is shown that the result is strongly influenced by the TFV type and by other environmental conditions. A quantitative evaluation of the generated inundation maps for the individual study areas is carried out by optical imagery. It shows that analyzed study areas have obtained Producer's/User's accuracy values for TFV between 28% and 90%/77% and 97% for pixel-based classification and between 6% and 91%/74% and 92% for object-based classification depending on the time series feature used. The analysis of the transferability for the time series approach showed that the time series feature based on VV (vertical/vertical) polarization is particularly suitable for deriving TFV types for different study areas and based on pixel elements is recommended for operational use.


A bidirectional full-bridge LLC resonant converter with a new symmetric LLC-type resonant network using a digital control scheme is proposed for a 380V dc power distribution system. This converter can operate under high power conversion efficiency since the symmetric LLC resonant network has zero voltage switching capability for primary power switches and soft commutation capability for output rectifiers. In addition, the proposed topology does not require any clamp circuits to reduce the voltage stress of the switches because the switch voltage of the primary inverting stage is confined by the input voltage, and that of the secondary rectifying stage is limited by the output voltage. Therefore, the power conversion efficiency of any directions is exactly the same as each other. In addition, intelligent digital control schemes such as dead-band control and switch transition control are proposed to regulate output voltage for any power flow directions. A prototype converter designed for a high-frequency galvanic isolation of 380V dc buses was developed with a rated power rating of 5kW using a digital signal processor to verify the performance of the proposed topology and algorithms. The maximum power conversion efficiency was 97.8% during bidirectional operations.


BACKGROUND
Information is scarce about the presence of molecular alterations related to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in squamous cell carcinomas of the genital skin and about the effect of this infection in the number of Langerhans cells present in these tumors.

AIMS
To determine the presence of HPV in genital skin squamous cell carcinomas and to see the relationship between HPV infection and changes in the expression of Ki-67 antigen (Ki-67), p53 protein (p53), retinoblastoma protein (pRb) and E-cadherin and to alterations in Langerhans cell density, if any.

METHODS
A descriptive, comparative, retrospective and cross-sectional study was performed with all the cases diagnosed as squamous cell carcinomas of the genital skin at the Dermatopathology Service from 2001 to 2011. The diagnosis was verified by histopathological examination. The presence of HPV was examined using chromogenic in situ hybridization, and protein expression was studied via immunohistochemical analysis.

RESULTS
The 34 cases studied were verified as squamous cell carcinomas and 44.1% were HPV positive. The degree of expression of pRb was 17.50% ±14.11% (mean ± SD) in HPV-positive cases and 29.74% ±20.38% in HPV-negative cases (P = 0.0236). The degree of expression of Ki-67 was 47.67% ±30.64% in HPV-positive cases and 29.87% ±15.95% in HPV-negative cases (P = 0.0273).

CONCLUSION
HPV infection was related to lower pRb expression and higher Ki-67 expression in comparison with HPV negative samples. We could not find a relationship between HPV infection and the degree of expression of p53 and E-cadherin or with Langerhans cell density.


The follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and its receptor regulate the quantity and quality of spermatozoa production. Several studies have analyzed the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in exon 10 of the FSH receptor (FSHR) on basic semen parameters without yet reaching a firm consensus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of p.Thr307Ala and p.Asn680Ser polymorphisms in exon 10 of the FSHR gene, in infertile men, on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcomes. This study was conducted between March 2019 and February 2020 on infertile couples undergoing ICSI at Al Hadi Laboratory and Medical Center, Lebanon. Couples with severe infertility factors that may impair gametogenesis/embryogenesis (e.g. advanced maternal age, premature ovarian failure, underwent gonadotoxic treatments, etc.) were excluded from the study. Semen and blood samples were collected from infertile men on the day of oocyte collection. Infertile men (n = 173) were screened for FSHR variants using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Moreover, fertilization rates, embryo quality, and pregnancy outcomes were evaluated. Higher sperm concentrations were found in the p.Thr307Ala group than the p.Thr307Thr (P < 0.01) and p.Ala307Ala (P < 0.05) groups. Furthermore, fertilization rate was significantly lower in the p.Ala307Ala genotype than in the p.Thr307Thr genotype (P < 0.05). We showed that FSHR variants in infertile men undergoing ICSI could affect sperm concentration, motility, and fertilization rates. Therefore, it will be important to confirm these results in further studies using a larger sample size.


This paper focuses on the integration of geodetic monitoring and geotechnical modeling for the analyses of subsidence induced settlements in historic structures. The aim is the assessment of the behavior over time of the monuments, with particular attention to differential settlements, in order to evaluate the potential risk scenarios in a preventive strategy. The methodology is applied to the UNESCO site of Modena where the Cathedral and the Ghirlandina Tower are characterized by strong visible deformations due to a complex construction history, the peculiar subsoil conditions and the effects of both natural and man induced subsidence. A 3D finite element numerical model has been developed taking into account the soil characteristics gained by laboratory and in situ tests. The model takes into account the influence of previously existing structures, as well as the subsidence phenomena and provides a settlements profile in agreement with the real dataset collected by high‐precision leveling. The geodetic monitoring, carried out since 1984, allows to optimize and then to validate the numerical model giving the Conservation Authority a useful tool to manage the safety of the heritage.


IGR J16351?5806 has been associated with the Seyfert 2 galaxy ESO 137?G34, having been first reported as a high energy emitter in the third INTEGRAL / Imager on Board the INTEGRAL Satellite survey. Using a new diagnostic tool based on X-ray column density measurements versus softness ratios (F2-10 keV/F20-100 keV) , we have previously identified this source as a candidate Compton-thick active galactic nuclei (AGN). In the present work, we have analysed combined XMM–Newton and INTEGRAL data of IGR J16351?5806 in order to study its broad-band spectrum and investigate its Compton-thick nature. The prominent K? fluorescence line around 6.4 keV (EW > 1 keV) together with a flat 2–10 keV spectrum immediately point to a highly obscured source. The overall spectrum can be interpreted in terms of a transmission scenario where some of the high energy radiation is able to penetrate through the thick absorption and be observed together with its reflection from the surface of the torus. A good fit is also obtained using a pure reflection spectrum; in this case, the primary continuum is totally depressed and only its reflection is observed. An alternative possibility is that of a complex absorption, where two layers of absorbing matter each partially covering the central nucleus are present in IGR J16351?5806. All three scenarios are compatible from a statistical viewpoint and provide reasonable AGN spectral parameters; more importantly all point to a source with an absorbing column greater than 1.5 × 1024 cm?2 , that is to a Compton-thick AGN. Because of this heavy obscuration, some extra components which would otherwise be hidden are able to emerge at low energies and can be studied; a thermal component with kT in the range 0.6–0.7 keV and free metal abundance is statistically required in all three scenarios while a scattered power law is only present in the pure reflection model. By providing strong evidence for the Compton-thick nature of IGR J16351?5806, we indirectly confirm the validity of the Malizia et al. diagnostic diagram.


Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) have high end-to-end latency, which is often faces disconnection, and unreliable wireless connections. It does not mean a delay service instead DTNs provides a service where network imposes disruption or delay. It operates in challenged networks with extremely limited resources such as memory size, CPU processing power etc. This paper presents an efficient trust managing mechanism for providing secure environment. The proposed dynamic trust management protocol uses a dynamic threshold updating which overcomes the problems with time changing dynamic characteristics by dynamically updating the criteria in response to changing network conditions. This reduces overheads and increases the efficient use of routing network even in conditions change. Also the dynamic threshold update reduces the false detection probability of the malicious nodes. To show the effectiveness of the proposed system, a detailed simulation in the presence of selfish and malicious nodes is performed with ONE simulator. Finally a comparative analysis of our proposed routing with previous routing protocols is also performed. The results demonstrate that presented algorithm deals effectively with selfish behavior with providing significant gain on effective delivery ratio in trade off with message overhead and delay.


Blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes (BPMN) have been shown to mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against HSV-infected cells. Although HSV infections are frequently found in the oral cavity, the ADCC capacity of salivary PMN (SPMN) has not been studied, mainly because methods to isolate SPMN were not available. We have recently developed a method to isolate SPMN, and in this study have evaluated their ADCC activity against HSV-infected cells. SPMN were obtained by repeated washings of the oral cavity, and separated from epithelial cells by nylon mesh filtration. ADCC was quantitatively determined by 51Cr release from HSV-infected Chang liver cells. SPMN in the presence of antibody were able to destroy HSV-infected cells, but SPMN were much less effective in mediating ADCC than BPMN (3.4% vs 40.7%, p less than 0.0001). In the presence of antiviral antibody, SPMN were able to adhere to HSV-infected cells, but less so than BPMN (34% vs 67%), and specific antibody-induced adherence was significantly lower in SPMN (p less than 0.04). The spontaneous adherence to HSV-infected cells was higher for SPMN than BPMN. SPMN demonstrated up-regulation of the adhesion glycoprotein CD18, but down-regulation of the FcRIII receptor. Incubation with saliva decreased ADCC capacity of BPMN, up-regulated CD18 expression, and down-regulated FcRIII expression.


Despite the introduction of childcare subsidies in many countries, the cost of childcare is still thought to hinder parental employment. Many governments are considering increasing the generosity of their childcare subsidies, but the a priori effect of such a policy is ambiguous and little is known empirically about its likely impact. This paper compares the effects on parents' labour supply of offering free part-time childcare and of expanding this offer to the whole school day in England using an empirical strategy which, unlike previous studies, exploits both date of birth discontinuities and panel data. We find that the provision of free part-time childcare has little, if any, causal impact on the labour market outcomes of mothers or fathers. Increasing the number of hours of free childcare to cover a full school day, however, leads to significant increases in the labour supply of mothers whose youngest child is eligible, with impacts emerging immediately and increasing over the months following entitlement.