Objective : Nurse practitioner (NP) students at our graduate school of nursing use WISE-MDTM simulation modules in the curriculum. This prospective randomized controlled pilot study was undertaken to evaluate critical-thinking outcomes associated with adding metacognitive deliberate-reflection guidance to the learning strategy with WISE-MD TM simulation modules. Methods : Of 33 NP students randomly assigned to intervention and control groups, 16 completed the study. The intervention group received WISE-MD TM learning modules with specific guidance or deliberate reflection. Controls used the modules with instructions for periodic free-thought reflections. Students' tape-recorded reflections were categorized according to author-developed critical-thinking categories. Data were analyzed using NVIVO TM . Students' feedback was collected by post-intervention anonymous survey. Results : Critical thinking outcomes (student responses to exercises after free-thinking or deliberate-reflection guidance) did not differ between groups. However, the intervention group demonstrated a higher level of critical thought after deliberate-reflection guidance. Post-intervention quantitative and qualitative feedback from both groups endorsed the value of the WISE-MD TM modules for NP education. Conclusions : Despite no difference in unprompted outcomes between groups, the intervention group often verbalized more thoughtful clinical decision-making. We speculate that the deliberate-reflection guidance intervention utilized with students throughout only two modules was insufficient for them to internalize the critical-thinking process. We propose using free-thought reflections with one or two WISE-MD TM modules to identify struggling students' clinical decision-making process. These students' remediation plan could include recording their deliberate-reflection process while viewing WISE-MD TM modules.  Students would be guided to verbalize and record their critical-thinking processes for faculty review until students sufficiently integrate the process into their clinical decision-making.


Software for Analyzing Municipal Water Data to Design Water Conservation Strategies by Adrian Welsh, Master of Science Utah State University, 2011 Co-Major Professors: Dr. Joanna Endter-Wada, Dr. Christopher M.U. Neale Department: Environment and Society Planning for drought and growth-induced water scarcity is a challenge confronting municipal water departments. When water shortages occur, demand management policies and programs are often implemented to encourage water conservation. Due to the nature of water resources and municipal water delivery systems, cities are concerned about meeting citizens' water needs. A city can review water billing records to see how much water people use, but how do they know how much water people need? Standards and guidelines have been established for indoor water use (gallons/person/day), but the amount of water needed to irrigate outdoor landscapes is more variable, highly contextualized, and harder to determine. To aid in answering that question, this project developed a custom software application, Landscape Water Use Software, which allows water billing data to be integrated with GIS and other types of municipal databases. Using GIS and remotely sensed images gives the software a strong spatial component for use of parcel, structure, and land cover data. The resulting output shows how actual landscape water use compares with estimated landscape water need, which is then used to determine capacity to conserve outdoor water. The software can display spatial patterns and 4 analyze factors contributing to water use variation. This project will help cities design landscape water conservation programs that have the greatest potential for water savings.


INTRODUCTION: Health promotion through lifestyle improvement is an important topic that has received considerable attention from the scientific community worldwide. This study aimed to determine the effect of Pender's health promotion model on self-efficacy and treatment adherence behaviors of hemodialysis patients in Shahrekord, Iran, in 2018–2019. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 70 hemodialysis patients who were attending routine hemodialysis sessions in Hajar hospital in Shahrekord. Individuals were selected by simple random sampling and randomly assigned to two groups of control and intervention. In the preintervention stage, all patients completed a questionnaire that was prepared to collect demographic information and measure health-promoting behaviors, self-efficacy, and treatment adherence. The intervention group participated in eight sessions of a health promotion model-based education program. Both groups were asked to complete the questionnaire again immediately after the intervention and also 2 months later. RESULTS: The repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the extent of change in mean scores over the three measurement stages (before the intervention, after the intervention, and 2 months after the intervention) (P < 0.001). A statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of self-efficacy scores in the postintervention and follow-up stages (P < 0.05). The repeated measures ANOVA also revealed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the extent of change in mean treatment adherence scores over the three measurement stages (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Considering the positive effects of the program on patients undergoing hemodialysis, it is recommended to use the program to promote the well-being of these patients without time restrictions.


The steady‐state is a fundamental aspect of biochemical pathways in cells; indeed, the concept of steady‐state is a definition of life itself. In a simple enzyme kinetic scheme, the steady‐state condition is easy to define analytically but experimentally often difficult to capture because of its evanescent quality; the initial, constant velocity condition that signifies the steady‐state of the Ef and ES system is often short‐lived. The recording of electrophysiologic events through a receptor channel is used here to illustrate the steady‐state and to introduce the single‐molecule approach to the quantification of biologic kinetic schemes. This article first briefly reviews the Michaelis‐Menten and Briggs‐Haldane formulations for the simple enzyme kinetic scheme. The salient structural features of the NMDA (N‐methyl‐D‐aspartic acid) receptor are introduced as is the single NMDA molecule patch‐clamp method; this is a high‐resolution method for recording charge (ion) transfer through this and other ionotropic (ion‐conducting) receptors. The concept of a time constant is related directly to a rate constant in showing that durations of channel opening and closing directly provide values for the rate constants that link the various conformation states adopted by the receptor when it is at a steady state. These rate constants provide the basis for illustrating the energy relationships between the multiple protein conformation states that the receptor populates during steady‐state ion conduction across the cell membrane. The article emphasizes the advantages of collecting the mean behavior of a single molecule over time in comparison to the mean behavior of a large collection of independent molecules at a single time point.


Today, experts agree that the level of cognitive development of modern young people affects the long-term life goals and outcomes that they set for themselves. During the course of numerous studies experts have identified such key competencies as problem solving, information literacy, and critical thinking. However, there are still many unanswered questions about what the components of these competencies are and how they should be evaluated. The aim of this article is to analyze the above competencies, to identify them within the context of different conceptual approaches, and to evaluate their significance for university graduates and the working population. In conclusion, we examine the basic difficulties encountered when developing tools for assessing the identified core competencies.


The SAP domain from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae THO1 protein contains a hydrophobic core and just two α-helices. It could provide a system for studying protein folding that bridges the gap between studies on isolated helices and those on larger protein domains. We have engineered the SAP domain for protein folding studies by inserting a tryptophan residue into the hydrophobic core (L31W) and solved its structure. The helical regions had a backbone root mean-squared deviation of 0.9 Å from those of wild type. The mutation L31W destabilised wild type by 0.8 ± 0.1 kcal mol−1. The mutant folded in a reversible, apparent two-state manner with a microscopic folding rate constant of around 3700 s−1 and is suitable for extended studies of folding.


The EDTA-enhanced remediation of copper contaminated sandy-loam soil of volcanic origin was investigated. The soil, from an orchard, was contaminated with about 250 mg/kg of copper due to the extensive use of copper sprays. Copper-contaminated soil was packed into 100-mm-long columns, and solutions of Na2H2EDTA with CaCl2, raised to a pH of 6.2, were applied at a flow rate of 24 mm/h. Application of an excess of 0.01 M EDTA leached about half the acid-extractable copper from the soil; most of it coming out in the first 3 liquid-filled pore volumes (PV). Also a 0.5 PV pulse of 0.001 M EDTA was applied to similar soil columns and then either leached immediately with 0.005 M CaCl2, or left for periods of up to 1 month before leaching. With immediate leaching, 70% of the EDTA applied was complexed with copper in the leachate, but after a month's delay only 24% was complexed with copper in the leachate, the rest being complexed with iron. There was no evidence of EDTA retardation or adsorption. The experimental results were simulated using the convection–dispersion equation, incorporating a source/sink term. This described the competing time-dependent reactions of copper and iron with EDTA, and the reversion of CuEDTA2– to adsorbed Cu2+ and Fe(III)EDTA– in solution. Reasonable simulations were achieved, mostly within errors of observation.


The proinflammatory interleukin 1 beta serum level is elevated in schizophrenic patients. Like other proinflammatory cytokine, it is in part dependant on genetic expression, so it may represent a candidate susceptibility gene for schizophrenia. It plays a crucial role in development of the Central Nervous System (CNS) and may, hence, influence brain morphology in schizophrenia. The theory that psychotic depression is a distinct syndrome that has to be differentiated from non psychotic depression, is supported by literature showing substantial difference between them in clinical manifestations, biological laboratory measures, family transmission, course, response to treatment and prognosis. Our work attempts to assess Interleukin 1 beta gene polymorphism in psychotic depression and schizophrenia, which may potentially represent a genetic differentiating biological marker, taking in consideration the diagnostic difficulty that rises when evaluating those two disorders, though of different management and outcome, but largely similar in terms of presenting symptoms.


: Effect of thymaline injections on peripheral blood natural killer cells in mice with p388 leukemia has been studied. The content of natural killers that have been identified as large granular lymphocytes decreased in blood of leukemia mice. Multiple thymaline injections (0.66 mg/kg) maintain the numbers of the lymphocytes at the level of control animals but did not increase the life span of leukemia mice.


Virtual environment (VE) is a system used to create and enhance communication between human and computers/machines. As such human-related principles and issues need to be examined and accomplished to make VE well received by its users. This paper will generally delve into the human-related challenges faced by VE. The four challenges identified are students' characteristics; educators' and guardians' characteristics; students' health and social consequences from misuse and abuse of VE. These challenges will present to a more effective design of VE that will encompass the nature of the challenges as well.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

A. BACKGROUND/AIMS Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal diseases, which is difficult to diagnose and resistant to conventional treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Cancer stem cells are involved in carcinogenesis, cancer progression and recurrence. We tried to find secretory biomarkers associated with pancreatic cancer stem cells using proteomic analysis. B. METHODS Pancreatic cancer stem like cells were enriched using sphere culture method. Proteomic analysis was done with secreted protein in culture medium of sphere and adherent cells. Identified proteins were confirmed with Western blot and immunohistochemical staining. ELISA was done to detect blood levels of validated proteins in pancreatic cancer patients. shRNA for GLRX3 was used to study the function of GLRX3 in pancreatic cancer. C. RESULTS Proteomic analysis showed that total of 55 protein spots from sphere cells were increased compared to adherent cells. Among them, 41 spots were identified using MALDI-TOF. Proteins known to be associated with cancer stem cells such as HSP90AB1, ALDH, and vimentin were expressed in sphere cells. The overexpression of 5 proteins including GLRX3 was confirmed by western blot in sphere cells and patient serum. Immunohistochemical staining in TMA of human pancreatic cancer tissue revealed that GLRX3 was detected in 15 (57.7%) out of 25 pancreatic cancer tissues regardless of cancer stages. To examine GLRX3 involvement in pancreatic carcinogenesis, we used shRNA to generate GLRX3-knockdown cells. Compared to the mock, knockdown of GLRX3 in human pancreatic cancer cell lines decreased in vitro proliferation, clonogenecity, and sphere formation. GLRX3 knockdown reverses epithelial-mesenchymal transition in pancreatic cancer cells. ELISA showed patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer and high blood GLRX3 levels had poor survival compared to those with low blood GLRX3 levels (155 days vs 463 days, p-value <0.000). D. CONCLUSION This study shows that secretory protein GLRX3 may be a useful prognostic marker in pancreatic cancer. More researches are needed to find their roles in cancer stem cells and clinical implication.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 713. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-713


In south Louisiana, 391 recently diagnosed gastric cancer patients and an equal number of controls were interviewed. Questions asked covered residential and occupational histories, environmental exposures, tobacco use, diet, alcohol consumption, and pertinent demographic characteristics. Elevated relative risks were found for use of tobacco and alcohol products. Diet was found to be the main determinant of gastric cancer risk in south Louisiana. Both dietary patterns and dietary risk factors differed for blacks and whites, although fruits as a group and dietary vitamin C were found to exert strong protective effects for both blacks and whites. Consumption of smoked foods and homemade or home-cured meats increased risk of gastric cancer for blacks but not for whites. The findings are discussed in the light of the prevailing etiologic hypotheses.


The rocky shore ecosystem can be very complex and, usually, the greater the complexity, the greater the diversity of organisms in a particular environment. The Rocky coastal ecosystems are easily accessible, that have made possible important experimental studies in ecology. This study was conducted on Sustainable Development Reserve Barra do Una, where it was featured a preliminary survey of vegetation present in the rocky shore, located in Barra do Una RDS through a transect in two points. It can be seen that the canopy is present comprises 14 families, Bromeliaceae and Araceae being the most frequent.


Genetic differentiation of populations has been traditionally quantified by Wright's F‐statistics, typically assuming mutation–migration–drift equilibrium. However, the equilibrium perspective can be unrealistic as many natural populations are likely not yet in equilibrium. Therefore, understanding the behaviors, robustness, and power of the differentiation indexes under non‐equilibrium conditions has important implications. Here, we report an extensive examination of the properties of two major indexes GST and D under non‐equilibrium conditions by theoretical deduction under the infinite allele model (IAM) and simulation under the stepwise mutation model (SMM). Several properties of GST and D valid under both SMM and IAM, which have not been recognized under the equilibrium perspective, were unveiled. First, if gene flow is very weak (e.g., m < 10−4), GST, like D, also takes a fairly long time to reach equilibrium if mutation rate is not very large. When GST (D) is in equilibrium depends on when HS and HT are both in equilibrium. Under IAM and complete isolation, this is determined by the product of µ and t: GST will not approach equilibrium as long as µt ≪ 1. Under SMM, 10−4 appears to be the rough threshold migration rate; when m < 10−4, GST approaches equilibrium much slower and later than HS, whereas the opposite is true when m > 10−4. Second, contrary to the popular belief, µ ≪ m is neither an obligatory request for GST to be an effective differentiation measure nor a sufficient condition for using GST to estimate gene flow level (Nm), if GST is not yet approaching equilibrium. Third, under SMM (but not IAM) and complete isolation, when population size is large (e.g., ≥1000), mutation rate shows a great impact on GST but only a mild influence on D; hence D can be much less sensitive to mutation rate heterogeneity than GST in certain situations. Fourth, whatever the level of gene flow, drift plays a dominant role on GST, whereas gene flow appears to have a stronger influence on D when subpopulations exchange individuals (even only infrequently). Moreover, GST appears to have a larger power to detect recent population genetic events than D. Finally, it is the migration rate (m), not the absolute number of migrants (Nm), that determines the speed at which GST or D approaches equilibrium. These results suggest that GST and D bear unique revealing powers under non‐equilibrium conditions.


The practice of physical activity during adolescence is essential for the proper development of the population. In recent decades, the relevance of physical activity has been increasing, due to the development of the "fat but fit" paradigm. This paradigm shows that adolescents with a high level of physical fitness are healthier than adolescents with poorer physical fitness, regardless of their weight, giving importance to sports practice over other aspects. However, few previous studies have analyzed the differences in physical and body composition between active and sedentary adolescents in this paradigm. For this reason, the objectives of the present study were to establish the differences in body composition, physical performance, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet between active and sedentary adolescents; and to analyze the differences between active and sedentary adolescents according to the "fat but fit" paradigm. The sample consisted of 791 adolescent whose body composition, level of physical activity, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and physical fitness were measured. It was found significant between active and sedentary adolescents in most of the anthropometric, AMD, and physical fitness variables, with a significant effect of the covariates gender, age, BMI, and biological maturation on the model. The binary logistic regression analysis performed shows that anthropometric variables, AMD, and VO2 max can be considered as primary outcomes to distinguish between active and sedentary groups of adolescents. Furthermore, the results showed that the active adolescents, regardless of their weight status, had lower fat mass and greater muscle mass, as well as a higher performance in the physical fitness tests, and greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet than the sedentary adolescents. To conclude, the practice of physical activity is a determinant for the improvement of body composition, physical performance, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet of the adolescent population, regardless of their gender, age, weight, or maturity status.


One-dimensional arrays having the general formula {(DMF)(10)Ln(2)[M(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity) [Ln = Sm, Eu, Er, Yb and M = Ni, Pd, Pt] were prepared from the reactions of 2:3 molar ratios of LnCl(3) with K(2)[M(CN)(4)] in DMF (DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide). Under similar conditions using 1:1 molar ratios of SmCl(3) and K(2)[Ni(CN)(4)] in DMF or YbCl(3) and K(2)[Ni(CN)(4)] in DMA (DMA = N,N-dimethylacetamide), the one-dimensional arrays {(DMF)(5)Sm[Ni(CN)(4)]Cl}(infinity), 8, and {(DMA)(4)Yb[Ni(CN)(4)]Cl}(infinity), 9, were prepared. An earlier study of {(DMF)(10)Yb[Ni(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity), 3, and {(DMF)(10)Yb(2)[Pt(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity), 7, showed that two different yet related one-dimensional arrays can be adopted. In the present study, X-ray crystal structures of {(DMF)(10)Sm(2)[Ni(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity), 1, and {(DMF)(10)Er(2)[Ni(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity), 2, are shown to be isomorphous with {(DMF)(10)Yb(2)[Ni(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity), 3, while {(DMF)(10)Sm(2)[Pd(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity), 4, {(DMF)(10)Eu(2)[Pd(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity), 5, and {(DMF)(10)Yb(2)[Pd(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity), 6, are isomorphous with {(DMF)(10)Yb(2)[Pt(CN)(4)](3)}(infinity), 7. Single-crystal X-ray crystal structure determinations reveal that arrays 1, 2, and 3 consist of cyanide-bridged "diamond"-shaped Ln(2)Ni(2) metal cores. These metal cores are linked together in an infinite array through cyanide bridges by [Ni(CN)(4)](2)(-) anions generating a single-strand chain. Crystal data for 1: triclinic space group P&onemacr;, a = 10.442(5) Å, b = 10.923(2) Å, c = 15.168(3) Å, alpha = 74.02(2) degrees, beta = 83.81(3) degrees, gamma = 82.91(2) degrees, Z = 2. Crystal data for 2: triclinic space group P&onemacr;, a = 10.172(1) Å, b = 11.111(3) Å, c = 15.369(2) Å, alpha = 73.17(2) degrees, beta = 85.15(1) degrees, gamma = 83.48(2) degrees, Z = 2. Arrays 4, 5, 6, and 7 consist of two parallel zigzag chains that are linked together through bridging [M(CN)(4)](2)(-) anions. Crystal data for 4: triclinic space group P&onemacr;, a = 9.304(2) Å, b = 11.351(3) Å, c = 16.257(5) Å, alpha = 81.62(2) degrees, beta = 77.51(2) degrees, gamma = 82.47(2) degrees, Z = 2. Crystal data for 5: triclinic space group P&onemacr;, a = 9.300(3) Å, b = 11.353(4) Å, c = 16.279(3) Å, alpha = 81.58(2) degrees, beta = 77.37(2) degrees, gamma = 81.58(2) degrees, Z = 2. Crystal data for 6: triclinic space group P&onemacr;, a = 9.164(2) Å, b = 11.718(3) Å, c = 16.122(3) Å, alpha = 79.88(2) degrees, beta = 74.43(2) degrees, gamma = 80.50(2) degrees, Z = 2. Electrical conductance, NMR, and infrared studies of DMF solutions of 1-7 reveal that these arrays are partially ionized in solution. Single-crystal X-ray analyses of the one-dimensional arrays 8 and 9 show that these complexes adopt the commonly observed zigzag chain structure. Crystal data for 8: monoclinic space group P2(1)/n, a =7.783(2) Å, b = 17.748(8) Å, c = 21.236(5) Å, beta = 92.87(2) degrees, Z = 4. Crystal data for 9: monoclinic space group P2(1)/n, a = 10.022(2) Å, b = 19.505(4) Å, c = 15.742(3) Å, beta = 105.94(2) degrees, Z = 4. Studies of 8 and 9 in DMF and DMA, respectively, indicate that 8 is partially ionized and 9 is almost completely ionized.


We present a model for electron injection from thermal reservoirs, which is applied to particle simulations of one-dimensional mesoscopic conductors. The statistics of injected carriers is correctly described from non-degenerate to completely degenerate conditions. The model is validated by comparing Monte Carlo simulations with existing analytical results for the case of ballistic conductors. An excellent agreement is found for the average and noise characteristics, in particular, the fundamental unities of electrical and thermal conductances are exactly reproduced.


The cultural model of food was applied to 112 adult patients with eating disorders (PG) and 36 healthy adult women (CG) of similar age. The Free List and Ranking of Foods was used to group foods and verify consensus and cultural aspects. Calories, health, and taste were the dimensions used by the participants to group the foods, and strong consensus was achieved in regard to calories and health. There were, however, inter- and intra-group divergences in regard to these ideas, especially in the PG. The CG used distinct criteria, showing a more complex model.


Abstract We present a new corpus-based resource and methodology for the annotation of Latin lexical semantics, consisting of 2,399 annotated passages of 40 lemmas from the Latin diachronic corpus LatinISE. We also describe how the annotation was designed, analyse annotators' styles, and present the preliminary results of a study on the lexical semantics and diachronic change of the 40 lemmas. We complement this analysis with a case study on semantic vagueness. As the availability of digital corpora of ancient languages increases, and as computational research develops new methods for large-scale analysis of diachronic lexical semantics, building lexical semantic annotation resources can shed new light on large-scale patterns in the semantic development of lexical items over time. We share recommendations for designing the annotation task that will hopefully help similar research on other less-resourced or historical languages.


We present a calculation of the fully differential cross section for Higgs-boson production in the gluon fusion channel through next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in perturbative QCD. We apply the method introduced in Phys. Rev. D 69, 076010 (2004)] to compute double real emission corrections. Our calculation permits arbitrary cuts on the final state in the reaction hh-->H+X. It can easily be extended to include decays of the Higgs boson into observable final states. In this Letter, we discuss the most important features of the calculation, and present some examples of physical applications that illustrate the range of observables that can be studied using our result. We compute the NNLO rapidity distribution of the Higgs boson, and also calculate the NNLO rapidity distribution with a veto on jet activity.


The aim of this study is to compare the effects of composted tobacco waste (CTW) with farmyard manure (FYM) on soil physical and chemical properties and yield of lettuce. This research was performed in the experimental fields of the Agriculture Faculty's research farm at Ege University in Menemen, Izmir, Turkey in 2005 and 2006. Tobacco wastes gathered from the cigarette industry were composted and applied to lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata) with manure. Mineral fertilizers or pesticides were not applied in the experiment. The treatments were (1) control, (2) 12.5 t ha–1 FYM + 37.5 t ha–1 CTW, (3) 25 t ha–1 FYM + 25 t ha–1 CTW, (4) 50 t ha–1 FYM, (5) 50 t ha–1 CTW, and (6) 37.5 t ha–1 FYM + 12.5 t ha–1 CTW. During the experiment, soil samples were taken three times in two different periods (I, 7 September 2005; II, 11 November 2005; and III, 14 April 2006). The effects of CTW and FYM on soil physical and chemical properties and the yield were investigated. All application rates increased bulk density, field capacity, available water content, and structure stability index of soil when compared with the control. In addition, similar effects were also determined for chemical properties of soil (pH, lime content, organic matter, total soluble salt, and cation exchange capacity). Increasing rates of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium provided a rise in the yield. Maximum lettuce yield was 102.7 t ha–1 at the plots where 50 t ha–1 CTW was applied. The results show that CTW can be used as an effective soil conditioner.


Access control is one of the imperative defense frontlines for digital computing environments especially for pervasive computing environments such as cloud computing and the internet of things (IoT) characterized by heterogeneous and distributed services and resources. Although, numerous access control models (ACM) have been implemented and used to prevent unauthorized access to cloud services and resources, these models may not prove efficacious to prevent overexposure and underexposure of data. More granular access control models or fine-grained access control therefore are developed to enable more itemized authorization policies. This paper presents a comparative analysis of different ACM used in the cloud with a focus on fine-grained access control models. First, we discuss the existing ACMs then and present the state-of-the-art research efforts carried out in the domain. Finally, we provide our analysis of the existing cloud-based access control methods and identify the gaps in the field for future work. This survey aims to improve the understanding and application of ACMs in the cloud and pave the road for future works in this area.


Since 2005 the surgical department of Roskilde County Hospital has treated selected patients with colovesical fistulas laparoscopically. We describe two patients with symptoms of pneumaturia and urinary tract infections. CT scanning, cystoscopy and sigmoideoscopy showed colovesical fistula and laparoscopic operation was performed. The operating times were 280 and 285 minutes and the length of their hospital stays was four and three days without complications. We suggest that laparoscopic operation for colovesical fistula can be a good alternative to open operation on selected patients.


This article describes a soft, solution-phase approach to the large-scale synthesis of uniform nanowires of trigonal selenium (t-Se) with lateral dimensions controllable in the range of ∼10 to ∼800 nm, and lengths up to hundreds of micrometers. These highly anisotropic, one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures were directly nucleated and grown from aqueous solutions without the help of any physical templates, such as channel-like structures etched in porous materials, or scaffolds assembled from surfactants or block-copolymers. The 1D morphology of the product was solely determined by the linear characteristics of the building blocks—i.e., the extended, helical chains of atoms contained in the crystalline lattice of t-Se. A blue shift was observed for the bandgap and interchain transition of these nanowires when their diameters were reduced from ∼32 to ∼10 nm. The photoconductivity of individual nanowires has also been measured using the four-probe method, and an increase by ∼150 times was found when the sample was taken from the dark and exposed with ∼3 μW μm–2 tungsten light. Since no exotic seeds were involved in this synthetic process, every nanowire (including both ends) should be made entirely of pure selenium, crystallized in the trigonal phase. We believe the protocol described here can be scaled up for the high-volume production of t-Se nanowires that can subsequently serve as the physical or chemical templates to generate 1D nanostructures of various kinds of functional materials. The synthetic strategy itself, may also be extendable to other systems containing chain-like building blocks. The single crystallinity and absence of kinks and other related defects in these nanowires should make them particularly useful in fabricating nanoscale electronic, optical, or mechanical nanodevices.


When Congress enacted new restrictions on alien access to public benefits in 1996, it also authorized the states to restrict alien access to designated federal benefits and to state benefits. Some commentators have argued that state laws that discriminate against aliens should be subject to strict scrutiny, even if authorized by federal legislation, despite the deferential review applied to federal discrimination against aliens. Based on such a theory, the Court of Appeals of New York in Aliessa v. Novello recently struck down a state law despite the federal authorization for that law in the 1996 welfare legislation. This essay raises some questions regarding the policy rationales commonly advanced in favor of strict scrutiny in this context. In particular, the need for a uniform rule of naturalization, the right of interstate travel, antidiscrimination principles, the interests of aliens, and nondelegation concerns fail to provide convincing reasons to apply strict scrutiny to alienage discrimination authorized by federal law.


The first observation of the Coulomb blockade effect in the smallest possible system with a single atom as the central island of a double-barrier tunnel junction is reported. Our system consists of a single tungsten atom as the central island and a tungsten STM tip and a silicon reconstructed surface as the two electrodes. The use of a single atom as the central island makes the change in the electrostatic potential due to a variation of number of electrons in the island of the order of 1 eV and thus the Coulomb blockade effect is made more controllable and stable even at room temperature. A specific shape of the tip apex forms a tunnel junction between an apex atom and the rest of the tip with the energy-level broadening of the apex atom smaller than the change in the charging energy due to the change in the number of electrons in the single tungsten atom. This theoretical prediction was confirmed by the experimental results of I-V measurements with an STM tip made from a W(111) single-crystal wire where the change in the charging energy is 1.1 eV.


Trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, is an ancient human disease. Its existence in China can be traced back to as early as the twenty-seventh century BC. In modern China, the overall prevalence of trachoma has dramatically reduced, but trachoma is still endemic in many areas of the country. Here, we report that 26 (8%) of 322 students from two rural boarding schools of Qinghai province, west China, were identified as having ocular C. trachomatis infection; and 15 ocular C. trachomatis strains were isolated from these trachoma patients. Chlamydiae in 37 clinical samples were genotyped as type B based on ompA gene analyses. Three ompA variants with one or two in-between SNP differences in the second or fourth variable domain were found. C. trachomatis strains QH111L and QH111R were from the same patient's left and right conjunctival swabs, respectively, but their ompA genes have a non-synonymous base difference in the second variable domain. Moreover, this SNP only exists in this single sample, suggesting QH111L is a newly emerged ompA variant. Interestingly, chromosomal phylogeny analysis found QH111L clusters between a branch of two type B strains and a branch of both A and C strains, but is significantly divergent from both branches. Comparative chromosome analysis found that compared to sequences of reference B/TZ1A828/OT strain, 12 of 22 QH111L's chromosomal genes exhibiting more than nine SNPs have the best homology with reciprocal genes of UGT strains while 9 of 22 genes are closest to those of type C strains. Consistent with findings of UGT-type genetic features in the chromosome, the QH111L plasmid appears to be intermediate between UGT and classical ocular plasmids due to the existence of UGT-type SNPs in the QH111L plasmid. Moreover, the QH111L strain has a unique evolutionarily older cytotoxin region compared to cytotoxin regions of other C. trachomatis strains. The genome analyses suggest that the QH111L strain is derived from recombinations between UGT and classical ocular ancestors. This is the first study of culture and characterization of ocular C. trachomatis in Qinghai Tibetan areas.


A voltammetry method for the determination of pyrogallol (PY) was developed employing a carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with CdS nanoparticle that was synthesized by microwave. The effect of different parameters i.e. time and irradiation power on the morphology and the sample's particle size have been investigated. The synthesized nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The optimized condition for time and power consumption to prepare CdS nanoparticles was obtained 4 min and 360 W. Cyclic voltammetry study of the modified electrode indicated that the oxidation potential shifted towards a lower potential by approximately 106 mV and the peak current was enhanced by 2 fold in comparison to the bare CPE. The effect of pH and interferences from some inorganic salts and organic compounds were studied. The usability of this method for the quantification of pyrogallol was investigated with differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Under the optimal conditions, the peak current was proportional to pyrogallol concentration in the range of 7.0 ×10-7 to 3.0 × 10-4 mol L-1 with a LOD of 4.8 × 10-7 mol L-1. These values are satisfactory for application to real samples. Finally, the developed method was successfully used for the analysis of  samples.


: There's no formula for making the right clinical decision in the face of competing factors of personal values, cost-quality trade-offs, insufficient information, and social environments that lie beyond the clinician's reach.


This paper presents a global dynamic scheduling approach for file transfer, which incorporates the two optimizations of multi-hop path splitting and multi-pathing, This algorithm makes use of information from past GridFTP transfers to estimate network bandwidths and resource availability. the paper also describe the designing and implementing a service-oriented architecture that incorporates the two key optimizations within the GridFTP file transfer protocol. The experimental results show that this algorithm and architecture achieve significant performance improvement.


A construction of a reversible extension of irreversible dynamical systems is presented. It is based on calculating the maximal ideal spaces of the C*-algebras generated by these systems and the corresponding reversible extensions of endomorphisms. Connections between the objects that arise and dynamical systems of Smale horseshoe and other types are revealed. Bibliography: 20 titles.


To the Editor.— Lidocaine hydrochloride has been recommended as an antiarrhythmic agent for patients with acute myocardial infarction even before they show development of arrhythmias.1There have been several studies attempting to show the value of prophylactic lidocaine.2While the routine administration of lidocaine will reduce the incidence of ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation, these arrhythmias can be treated as they appear, and no study has shown that prophylactic lidocaine leads to a significant reduction in mortality.3Furthermore, major toxic reactions, including seizures, arrhythmias, and myocardial depression, are associated with lidocaine use. We report a case of fatal lidocaine toxic reaction caused by accidental administration of a bolus overdose that had been intended as a prophylactic loading dose. Report of a Case.— A man in his 60s with a history of angina and previous myocardial infarction came to the emergency room complaining of left infrascapular chest pain of


Recently, quantitative study on complex systems has become an attractive research area for physicists. Human scientific activity, including scientific paper publication, is an important complex system and therefore deserves an investigation. We present a simple model to describe the interaction between journals, authors and editorial board members. In the model the probabilities, with which a journal accepts papers from an author or invites him as an editorial board member, obey normal distributions. However, the most probable value of the latter distribution shifts such that the journal can have higher level authors being its editorial board members. The analytic derivation by the model is in rather good agreement with the empirical observation from the selected fifteen worldwide journals with different impact factors.


Kindergartners were employed to examine the effect of dimensional preference and discrimination sets on consecutive intradimensional (ID), and extradimensional (ED) shifts. Following dimensional preference assessment, discrimination shift problems were given to only form-preferd subjects. ID became gradually easier from the original learning to the step 2 problem, whereas ED became more difficult from the original learning to the step 1 problem and then easier from step 1 to step 2. The difference between ID and ED shifts was significant both on step 1 and step 2. ID shifts on their preferred dimension became easier from the original to step 1, whereas ID shifts on their nonpreferred dimension became gradually easier from the original to step 2, and the difference between the former and the latter was not significant except for the step 2 problem. From these findings, it was suggested that dimensional preference plays an important role as a mediator in kindergartners and dimensional preference may be important before the acquisition of general discrimination sets.


Typically, magic takes no stance against the socialized beliefs that determine it, in contrast with both science and modern religion, which, in the face of doubt, assert the truth-value of their propositions against such determination. In other words, science and religion engage in 'believed belief'. Their aversion to magical belief is the one thing they can agree on. Believed beliefs produce convictions of truth sufficiently intense to base actions on, such as the killing of someone identified as a witch. Ethnography on Sukuma healing allows us to distinguish this experience of the witch from that of oracles and magical remedies. While research in terms of belief(s) tends to oppose cultures, an approach based on experiential structures links up seemingly distinct practices from different cultures, while differentiating seemingly similar practices within a culture.


In the past two decades, in the context of internationalization of higher education, the formation of a digital society in Russia and overseas the requirements for higher education have changed significantly. Digital skills and competencies should be acquired by a person in the education system, so the role of higher education and learning in general is growing. The Chinese students' influx to the Russian universities is increasing, which presents a challenge for the Russian universities to develop the digital skills of the Chinese students demanded on the global labor market. The main objectives of the study were to determine the basic digital competencies that Chinese students need to form in the process of training at the Russian higher school. The study was conducted at three universities in Yekaterinburg. The research methodology combined both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The primary data was collected using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. 500 Russian and 500 Chinese students were questioned on the basis of quota sampling. In-depth interviews with 50 experts were conducted. The study has revealed the basic digital competencies required by Chinese students. They include: the ability to quickly respond to the intensification of ICT development, the ability to independently master and create innovations, the ability to work in network organizations with a decentralized management system (including Russian-Chinese), the skill of continuous self-education, the skill of self-study situation analysis and the skills of operational decision making. The research has found that in modern Russia there is a need to coordinate interstate, regional and university levels of innovative educational cooperation between Russia and China, to train Russian highly qualified specialists for the implementation of bilateral digital educational cooperation and to increase the financial component of the innovative development of the Russian-Chinese educational cooperation.
Keywords: digitalization of higher education, digital competencies, Chinese students, the educational space of the Russian university, the interaction of the Russian and the Chinese higher schools


Drug-metabolizing enzymes found primarily in the liver (CYP450) are a major determinant of therapeutic drug response. Polymorphism dependent upon race/ethnic origin for CYP2D6 is now well-established. Despite consistent reports of ethnic differences in pharmacologic response to antidepressants and neuroleptics, there is a paucity of data on controlled clinical trials and studies determining polymorphic characteristics of CYP2D6 enzymes in African-Americans. There is little and conflicting information available on black populations (Africans, bushmen, Australian Aborigines or African Americans). The prevalence of poor metabolizers in Black populations has been estimated from 0 to 19%, compared with consistent reports of poor metabolizer status in Caucasians (5-10%) and Asians (0-2%). Within the extensive metabolizer category, Asians have higher metabolic ratios (that is, slower metabolism) than Caucasian extensive metabolizers. A high frequency of a mutant gene, CYP2D6*10 has been associated with the slower metabolic rate in Asians. Previous research suggests that slower metabolic rates compared with Caucasians may also be characteristic of Black populations. Recent reports suggest that a novel gene mutant in Black populations, CYP2D6*17, associated with a slower metabolic rate, may occur in a high frequency in these populations. Common clinical practice, supported by controlled clinical studies in Asians, have led to a reduction in dosage recommendations for many antidepressants and neuroleptics for this ethnic group. It is imperative that the determinants of bioavailability be established in African-Americans in order to establish rational drug therapy guidelines for this population.


The asymptotic symmetries of the near-horizon geometry of a lifted (near-extremal) Reissner–Nordstrom black hole, obtained by inverting the Kaluza–Klein reduction, explain the deviation of the Bekenstein–Hawking entropy from extremality. We point out the fact that the extra dimension allows us to justify the use of a Virasoro mode decomposition along the time-like boundary of the near-horizon geometry, AdS2 × Sn, of the lower-dimensional (Reissner–Nordstrom) spacetime.


Background: In Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of toxoplasmosis is high. However, to date, few studies have evaluated the degree of knowledge on toxoplasmosis among females in Saudi Arabia. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and preventive behavior regarding toxoplasmosis among female students at Jazan University, Jazan, southwest Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of 440 female students at Jazan University using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire. Data with numerical/qualitative variables were expressed as frequency and percentage. Chi-square test was used to analyze categorical variables. P < 0.05 was used to indicate statistical significance. Results: This study found that more than three-quarters (79.1%) of the students had insufficient knowledge about toxoplasmosis. Students from healthcare faculties had higher knowledge scores (28.5%) than students from arts and humanities (20.6%) and science (18.9%) faculties; however, the differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.77). The majority of the studied sample (92.3%) was found to eat fast food on a regular basis. About 42%, 54% and 4% of the respondents reported that they never, occasionally and always ate improperly washed vegetables, respectively. Conclusions: This study found that a substantial proportion of Jazan University's female students have insufficient knowledge on toxoplasmosis. Health educational programs are necessary to increase the awareness and knowledge about toxoplasmosis and its clinical manifestations.


Abstract: The clinical manifestations of human glioma are known to be diverse, ranging from aggressive growth and invasion to apparent dormancy; however, the molecular mechanism underlying this diversity has been largely unexplored. In the present study, we characterized four human glioma cell lines, T98G, A172, U251, and NAC6, each of which has distinct growth properties. A172 and U251 cells continue to grow after confluency, whereas the growth of T98G and NAC6 cells is contact inhibited. Northern and western blot analyses revealed that at high cell density, the expression of p27Kip 1 cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor was dramatically enhanced at both the RNA and the protein levels in T98G and NAC6 cells but not in A172 or U251. These facts together with the finding that overexpression of p27Kip 1 caused G1 arrest in A172 and T98G cells suggest that the induction of p27Kip 1 represents an important determinant of growth at high cell density. Immunohistochemical analyses of 42 primary gliomas revealed an inverse correlation between the level of p27 protein and the Ki‐67 proliferative index. Kaplan‐Meier plots demonstrated that a low level of p27 in tumors is associated with decreased overall survival. Thus, disrupted regulation of p27 expression at high cell density may play an important role in determining the clinical behavior of human gliomas as well as the prognosis for glioma patients.


A novel single camera combined with Risley prisms is proposed to achieve a super-resolution (SR) imaging and field-of-view extension (FOV) imaging method. We develop a mathematical model to consider the imaging aberrations caused by large-angle beam deflection and propose an SR reconstruction scheme that uses a beam backtracking method for image correction combined with a sub-pixel shift alignment technique. For the FOV extension, we provide a new scheme for the scanning position path of the Risley prisms and the number of image acquisitions, which improves the acquisition efficiency and reduces the complexity of image stitching. Simulation results show that the method can increase the image resolution to the diffraction limit of the optical system for imaging systems where the resolution is limited by the pixel size. Experimental results and analytical verification yield that the resolution of the image can be improved by a factor of 2.5, and the FOV extended by a factor of 3 at a reconstruction factor of 5. The FOV extension is in general agreement with the simulation results. Risley prisms can provide a more general, low-cost, and efficient method for SR reconstruction, FOV expansion, central concave imaging, and various scanning imaging.


TOWARD AN INTEGRATIVE MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AND IDENTITY: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF A MODEL LINKING THESE CONSTRUCTS Jordan Mathew Robbins, Ph.D. George Mason University, 2011 Dissertation Director: Dr. Lois E. Tetrick The organizational commitment and social identity literature present two important frameworks for understanding employee's behaviors and attitudes at work. Both have been used to explain similar outcomes, however, there is relatively little work examining how the two are related and how the two frameworks can be integrated. This paper represents the first formal attempt at empirically testing a model that integrates these two important literatures, as some important antecedents (i.e. dispositional factors such as need for organizational identification, positive and negative affectivity, and achievement orientation) and outcomes (i.e. satisfaction, performance, intent to stay in the organization, and psychological contract breach committed by the employee). Notably, this study incorporates the notion of psychological contract breach committed by the employee within the model. This aspect of the employee-employer relationship is generally overlooked by psychological contract literature. Results suggest that deepstructured organizational identity and organizational commitment are distinct constructs that can influence one another over time. This work also shows that dispositions can impact the types of identities formed early in employees careers suggesting that researchers should look beyond the situational factors generally examined in identity research. Deep-structured organizational identity and organizational commitment differentially predicted important organizational outcomes suggesting that identity may be more predictive of attitudinal outcomes in certain circumstances. Furthermore, psychological contract breach committed by the employee appeared to act similarly to a retaliatory or counterproductive work behavior.


We consider internal contextual grammars (with finite and with regular selection sets) with the derivation restricted in the following way: when a word is used as a selector, then no subword/superword of it can be used as a selector. This can be considered both locally (with respect to the choosen selection set) or globally (with respect to all selection sets). The generative capacity of such grammars is investigated (comparing each other the above mentioned variants and with the class of unrestricted internal contextual gr~.mmars). Finally , grammars with selectors checked as scattered subwords of the derived words are considered.


Abstract Elatostema stewardii is an important medicinal plant endemic to China. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of E. stewardii was sequenced and assembled using next-generation sequencing technology. The complete chloroplast genome length of E. stewardii was 150,263 bp, including two inverted repeats (IRs) of 24,681 bp, which are separated by LSC and SSC of 83,791 bp and 17,110 bp, respectively. A total of 129 genes were included in the genome, consisting 85 protein-coding genes, eight rRNA genes, and 36 tRNA genes, the overall GC content of this genome was 36.3%. There are few studies on the genus Elatostema of Urticaceae, this chloroplast genome sequence will provide useful data for further research on solving the generic and familial relationships in Urticaceae.


Differentiation of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) into functional neural cells has been widely investigated for treating neural diseases. However, the limited neural differentiation of BMSCs remains a big challenge to overcome. Herein, for the first time, ginseng-derived exosomes (G-Exos) were demonstrated to have excellent efficiency in stimulating the neural differentiation of BMSCs by transferring the incorporated miRNAs to BMSCs efficiently. In vivo, a photo-cross-linkable hydrogel with chemokine and G-Exos loaded shows strong efficacy in recruiting and directing the neural differentiation of BMSCs in the program. G-Exos were demonstrated to be promising nanoplatforms in transferring plant-derived miRNAs to mammalian stem cells for neural differentiation both in vitro and in vivo, possessing great potential in neural regenerative medicine.


The intervertebral disc's ability to resist load and facilitate motion arises largely from osmotic swelling pressures that develop within the tissue. Changes in the disc's osmotic environment, diurnally and with disease, have been suggested to regulate cellular activity, yet knowledge of in vivo osmotic environments is limited. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to demonstrate proof-of-concept for a method to measure intra-tissue swelling pressure and osmolality, modeling micro-osmometer fluid flux using Darcy's law. The second objective was to compare flux-based measurements of the swelling pressure within nucleus pulposus (NP) tissue against ionic swelling pressures predicted by Gibbs-Donnan theory. Pressures (0.03–0.57 MPa) were applied to NP tissue (n = 25) using equilibrium dialysis, and intra-tissue swelling pressures were measured using flux. Ionic swelling pressures were determined from inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry measurements of intra-tissue sodium using Gibbs-Donnan calculations of fixed charge density and intra-tissue chloride. Concordance of 0.93 was observed between applied pressures and flux-based measurements of swelling pressure. Equilibrium bounds for effective tissue osmolalities engendered by a simulated diurnal loading cycle (0.2–0.6 MPa) were 376 and 522 mOsm/kg H2O. Significant differences between flux and Gibbs-Donnan measures of swelling pressure indicated that total tissue water normalization and non-ionic contributions to swelling pressure were significant, which suggested that standard constitutive models may underestimate intra-tissue swelling pressure. Overall, this micro-osmometer technique may facilitate future validations for constitutive models and measurements of variation in the diurnal osmotic cycle, which may inform studies to identify diurnal- and disease-associated changes in mechanotransduction.


High radiance LED's are being exploited in lightwave applications where their low cost, wide temperature range of operation, and outstanding reliability outweigh the power and modulation advantages of injection laser diodes. Development activity and commercial offerings of LED's have been rapidly moving toward InGaAsP LED's to take advantage of the low attenuation and chromatic dispersion minimum at the 1.3-µm emission wavelength. This paper reviews recent advances in the performance, reliability, and system application of InGaAsP LED's.


Different types of organizations based on requirements commonly and widely used cloud-computing frameworks. Many companies are sharing very important data on daily basis over the different cloud server. Hence it is required to have efficient data confidentiality and security method to protect against different security threats like insider attacks. The recent works proposed on cloud computing security has mainly worked either on cloud computing platform protection from malicious users or cloud client's protection from each other's unwanted activities. However, the issues of cloud client's protection from the other malicious cloud client's attacks (this attack is called insider attacks are still remaining research problem. In this project, a novel approach is presenting in order to ensure the client data confidentiality and integrity during computation over the cloud platform. The goal of proposed approach is to ensure that cloud user private data not be exposed to other internal cloud users like other cloud clients and administrator. The proposed designed method makes use of remote attestation and late launch based method called Flicker in order to verify the integrity of the cloud platform. This is a practical approach designing for securing the confidentiality and integrity of client data and computation from cloud clients and from the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) based cloud system administrator himself. For data security, we are using newly designed hybrid cryptography method to deliver the best efficiency performance.


The empirical validity of Altman's typology of human territories was assessed using a modified Kelly "Rep Grid" procedure. Urban and suburban subjects, matched on several variables, were interviewed in their homes. It was expected that suburban subjects, as compared to urban subjects, would perceive more control over secondary and public territories. Results confirmed the validity of Altman's typology and the importance of the dimensions of centrality and temporal duration. The expected urban versus suburban differences were obtained. Results also indicated that primary and secondary territories, by providing the setting for interaction at varying levels of formality and exclusion, possessed role-structuring properties. Future research on human territoriality should take a multimethod approach and explore the covariation of territorial cognitions and behaviors.


This study was carried out to investigate the attachment capabilities of Listeria monocytogenes strain Scott A to stainless steel, glass, polypropylene, and rubber surfaces after short contact times at ambient (20°C) and cold storage temperatures (4°C) using scanning electron microscopy technique. Surface energy value of each surface was estimated by contact angle measurements. All surfaces displayed many possible harborages for L. monocytogenes attachment. Our results indicated that L. monocytogenes cells could attach to all surface types at both temperatures after contact times as short as 20 min or 1 h. Extracellular materials could be observed on the surfaces especially polypropylene and glass incubated at 4 and 20°C for 1 h respectively.


A new class of database management systems (DBMSs) called NewSQL tout their ability to scale modern on-line transaction processing (OLTP) workloads in a way that is not possible with legacy systems. The term NewSQL was first used by one of the authors of this article in a 2011 business analysis report discussing the rise of new database systems as challengers to these established vendors (Oracle, IBM, Microsoft). The other author was working on what became one of the first examples of a NewSQL DBMS. Since then several companies and research projects have used this term (rightly and wrongly) to describe their systems.
 Given that relational DBMSs have been around for over four decades, it is justifiable to ask whether the claim of NewSQL's superiority is actually true or whether it is simply marketing. If they are indeed able to get better performance, then the next question is whether there is anything scientifically new about them that enables them to achieve these gains or is it just that hardware has advanced so much that now the bottlenecks from earlier years are no longer a problem.
 To do this, we first discuss the history of databases to understand how NewSQL systems came about. We then provide a detailed explanation of what the term NewSQL means and the different categories of systems that fall under this definition.


The degree of regulation to be expected from several types of current stabilizers is considered. Regulation equations are derived and a graphical-design method is presented. The regulation produced by a single pentode is much better than that of a single triode. Two cascode-connected pentodes give a better regulation but the tube drop is greater and the circuit is more complex. The regulation may be improved by using nonlinear resistors in the control circuit.


The cancers most often associated with Li-Fraumeni syndrome include breast cancer, a form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma, and cancers of soft tissues (such as muscle) called soft tissue sarcomas. Other cancers commonly seen in this syndrome include brain tumors, cancers of blood-forming tissues (leukemias), and a cancer called adrenocortical carcinoma that affects the outer layer of the adrenal glands (small hormone-producing glands on top of each kidney). Several other types of cancer also occur more frequently in people with Li-Fraumeni syndrome.


Quantifying the contribution of causal variables to a targeted effect variable directly and indirectly through other variables has always being the layer that researchers seldom examine. Path analysis method may be a natural extension to regression analysis where researchers may be able to quantitatively examine the direct contributions to the effect variable and the indirect effects through other variable to the effect variable. Researchers are sometimes forced to stop their investigation at regression analysis level even when their model reports highly positive fit but could not find or explain any direct positive significant contribution from any of the causal variables in the system. It is a decision support tool that helps researchers determine the contribution of each variable to the effect and each variable via other variables to that effect. This paper gives us a step by step approach to doing path analysis using the Microsoft office Excel software. A tool most common to PCs based on Microsoft windows operating systems and its users.


A novel series of benzimidazole analogues possessing substituted piperazine were synthesized for their antimicrobial activity. The structures of the compounds were elucidated using elemental analysis, IR, 1H-NMR and mass spectral data. The synthesized compounds were tested for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, the Gram negative bacteria Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the fungal strain Aspergillus niger and the yeast like pathogenic fungus Candida albicans, by disk diffusion method. Some of compounds displayed significant activities against all the pathogenic microorganisms tested including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans responsible for nosocomial infection. Structure activity relationship among the synthesized compounds was also studied.


The issue of racial profiling has finally begun to attract the attention of the Canadian media; courts; human rights commission; the Canadian Bar Association; and, the academy. The focus has been on racial profiling defined as the use of racialized stereotypes of the usual suspect as the basis for suspect selection. Less attention,however, has been given to cases where race forms part of the description of a suspect provided by the victim or witness. Through the use of narrative, the article examines how race-based suspect descriptions have been misused by the police in Canada. The narratives also reveal the devastating collateral damage when the police use race in any manner in suspect selection. This damage includes widespread harassment, intimidation, false arrests, violence, death, stigmatization and an engendering of mistrust. Given the misuse, the article recommends including suspect descriptions in the racial profiling prohibition where race is used as the dominant characteristic. After considering whether there should be a complete prohibition on using race in suspect descriptions, the article examines current constitutional standards to protect against misuse and proposes a new dominant feature constitutional test.


Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are a life-threatening complication of solid organ transplantation or, more rarely, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The majority of PTLD is of B-cell origin and associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection. PTLD generally display involvement of extranodal sites, aggressive histology and aggressive clinical behavior. The molecular pathogenesis of PTLD involves infection by oncogenic viruses, namely EBV, as well as genetic or epigenetic alterations of several cellular genes. At variance with lymphoma arising in immunocompetent hosts, whose genome is relatively stable, a fraction of PTLD are characterized by microsatellite instability as a consequence of defects in the DNA mismatch repair mechanism. Apart from microsatellite instability, molecular alterations of cellular genes recognized in PTLD include alterations of cMYC, BCL6, TP53, DNA hypermethylation, and aberrant somatic hypermutation of protooncogenes. The occurrence of IGV mutations in the overwhelming majority of PTLD documents that malignant transformation targets germinal centre (GC) B-cells and their descendants both in EBV–positive and EBV–negative cases. Analysis of phenotypic markers of B-cell histogenesis, namely BCL6, MUM1 and CD138, allows further distinction of PTLD histogenetic categories. PTLD expressing the BCL6+/MUM1+/-/CD138− profile reflect B-cells actively experiencing the GC reaction, and comprise diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) centroblastic and Burkitt lymphoma. PTLD expressing the BCL6−/MUM1+/CD138− phenotype putatively derive from B-cells that have concluded the GC reaction, and comprise the majority of polymorphic PTLD and a fraction of DLBCL immunoblastic. A third group of PTLD is reminiscent of post-GC and preterminally differentiated B-cells that show the BCL6−/MUM1+/CD138+ phenotype, and are morphologically represented by either polymorphic PTLD or DLBCL immunoblastic.


Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major risk factors for COVID-19 complications as it is one of the chronic immune-compromising conditions especially if patients have uncontrolled diabetes, poor HbA1c &/or irregular blood glucose levels. Diabetic patient's mortality rates with COVID-19 are higher than cardiovascular or cancer patients. Recently Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) has shown successful results in reversing diabetes in both rats and clinical trials based on different mechanisms from aerobic glycolysis to Beta cells regeneration. BCG is a multi-face vaccine that has been used extensively in protection from TB and leprosy and has been repositioned for treatment of bladder cancer, diabetes & multiple sclerosis. Recently, the COVID-19 epidemiological study confirmed that universal BCG vaccination reduced morbidity and mortality in certain geographical areas. Countries without universal policies of BCG vaccination (Italy, Nederland, USA) have been more severely affected compared to countries with universal and long-standing BCG policies that have shown low numbers of reported COVID-19 cases. Some countries have started clinical trials that included a single dose BCG vaccine as prophylaxis from COVID19 or an attempt to minimize its side effects. This proposed research aims to use BCG vaccine as a double-edged weapon countering both COVID-19 & diabetes, not only as protection but also as therapeutic vaccination. The work includes a case study of regenerated pancreatic beta cells based on improved C-peptide & PCPRI laboratory findings after BCG vaccination for a 9 years' patient. The patient was re-vaccinated based on a negative tuberculin test & no scar at the site of injection of the 1 BCG vaccination at birth. Furthermore, the authors in the present article described a prospective BCG multidose clinical study in full details that they will apply in case of acceptance of their submitted grant & the ethical committee approval. The aim of the clinical study is to check if double dose BCG (4 weeks apart) will show a significant difference in the protection of health care professionals in Egypt. The authors suggest and invite the scientific community to take into consideration the concept of direct BCG re-vaccination (after 4 weeks) because of the reported gene expressions & exaggerated innate immunity consequently. As the diabetic MODY-5 patient (mutation of HNF1B, Val2Leu) was on low dose Riomet while eliminating insulin gradually, a simple analytical method for metformin assay was recommended to ensure its concentration before use as it is not approved yet by the Egyptian QC labs.


A very efficient and practical procedure for preparation of ( S)-( - )-ofloxacin has been developed (10 steps, overall yield ≥ 45 % ) . The key step of this approach is the regioselective nucleophilic substitution of 2-position fluorine atom of 2,3,4-tirfluoronitrobenzene by (S)-glycerol acetonide.


Bluetongue (BT) is an arthropod-borne viral disease of ruminants. In August 2006, domestic ruminant populations in Northern Europe became infected with BT virus serotype 8 (BTV-8). The first BTV-8-case of the year 2007 in Belgium was notified in July. This case was the starting point of a second wave of BT outbreaks. The main objective of this study was to describe the evolution and the clinical impact of the second episode of BT in Belgium. In addition, the main differences with the previous episode (August-December 2006) are reported. Both outbreak and rendering plant data were analysed. Overall cumulative incidence at herd level was estimated at 11.5 (11.2-11.8) and 7.5 (7.3-7.8) per cent in cattle and sheep populations respectively. The findings went in favour of a negative association between within-herd prevalence in 2006 and the risk of showing clinical signs of BT in 2007 (via protective immunity). A high level of correlation was demonstrated between BT incidence and small ruminant mortality data when shifting the latter of 1-week backwards. This result supports the hypothesis that the high increase in small ruminant mortality observed in 2007 was the consequence of the presence of BT. For cattle, the correlation was not as high. An increase in cattle foetal mortality was also observed during the year 2007 and a fair correlation was found between BT incidence and foetal mortality.


Polymer electrolytes containing ionic liquid (IL), 2-methyl-1,3-dipropylimidazolium dihydrogenphosphate (MDPImH2PO4) have been studied by (1)H solid state NMR and differential thermal analysis (DTA) simultaneously by using a specially designed probe. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of its kind for IL based polymer electrolytes. The variation of NMR line width with temperature for the IL and polymer electrolytes shows line narrowing at the glass transition and melting temperature. The onset of long-range ion diffusional motion also takes place at these temperatures and is accompanied by a sudden increase in ionic conductivity value by 2-3 orders of magnitude. The presence of amorphous and crystalline phases in IL-based polymer electrolytes has been observed from X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies, and the amorphous phase is the high conducting phase in these polymer electrolytes. The IL-based polymer electrolytes have been observed to be thermally stable up to 200 °C. The results obtained from ion transport studies have also been supported by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), XRD, and cyclic voltammetry (CV) studies.


Among runners, there is a high drop-out rate due to injuries and loss of motivation. These runners often lack personalized guidance and support. While there is much potential for sports apps to act as (e-)coaches to help these runners to avoid injuries, set goals, and maintain good intentions, most available running apps primarily focus on persuasive design features like monitoring, they offer few or no features that support personalized guidance (e.g., personalized training schemes). Therefore, we give a detailed description of the working mechanism of Inspirun e-Coach app and on how this app uses a personalized coaching approach with automatic adaptation of training schemes based on biofeedback and GPS-data. We also share insights into how end-users experience this working mechanism. The primary conclusion of this study is that the working mechanism (if provided with accurate data) automatically adapts training sessions to the runners' physical workload and stimulates runners' goal perception, motivation, and experienced personalization. With this mechanism, we attempted to make optimal use of the potential of wearable technology to support the large group of novice or less experienced runners and that by providing insight in our working mechanisms, it can be applied in other technologies, wearables, and types of sports.


This collection of articles arises from a conference held in Tel Aviv in 2009 at the Concord Research Centre for the Integration of International Law in Israel, School of Law, College of Management Academic Studies. Delegates to the conference came from a variety of professions and areas of expertise and included academics and legal and welfare practitioners. What was common among us, however, was our interest in the international dimensions of both understandings of the family and of the normative systems that define and regulate it. We all believed that understandings of family are situated in and across cultural and economic manifestations of reproduction, dependency and care relations in a global context and that they are regulated in international and regional as much as in domestic law.


This paper considers the problem of using a smooth controller to globally stabilize a class of upper-triangular systems with uncontrollable linearization. The nonlinearities of the systems do not satisfy the conditions imposed in the existing literature. Based on a new constructive Lyapunov function and a generalized homogeneous design, a small controller is recursively designed in a bottom-to-up fashion to globally stabilize the upper-triangular systems.


In the past decade successive UK governments have placed a strong emphasis on and renewed interest in the role of higher education in skills development. In the light of recent skills policy developments in England and drawing upon the findings of an empirical qualitative study of specific workforce development initiatives and previous research, this paper identifies and analyses key factors that facilitate and/or hinder effective higher education-employer engagement activities. The lessons learned and suggested recommendations will be of interest and value to both higher education institutions and employers in establishing and, more importantly, sustaining, effective workforce development partnerships.


Background Long-term effects of lamivudine treatment on chronic hepatitis B patients without advanced disease remain unknown. Our aim was to investigate the effects of long-term lamivudine treatment and lamivudine-resistant virus (YMDD) on the development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in asymptomatic patients without advanced disease. Methods One hundred and forty-two hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients (median age: 33.9 years) on long-term lamivudine (median treatment duration: 89.9 months) and 124 HBeAg-positive controls (median age: 33.4 years) were prospectively followed up. Patients were monitored for the development of cirrhosis and HCC, liver biochemistry, hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels, HBeAg seroconversion and hepatitis flares. YMDD mutations (YMDD-MT) were determined annually. Results Lamivudine-treated patients had a significantly lower cumulative rate of development of cirrhosis and/or HCC compared with controls (P=0.005). YMDD-MT occurred in 76.3% of patients after 8 years of lamivudine treatment. When compared with controls and patients with YMDD-MT, patients without YMDD-MT had the greatest reduction of HBV DNA and bilirubin levels, slowest decline of albumin level, highest rate of HBeAg seroconversion and lowest risk of hepatitis flare. Patients with YMDD-MT still had a lower risk for developing cirrhosis and/or HCC (P=0.024) and a greater HBV DNA reduction (P=0.001) in comparison with controls. Patients with YMDD-MT and controls had a similar chance of hepatitis flares and hepatic decompensation. Conclusions Long-term lamivudine treatment was associated with a reduced chance of developing cirrhosis and HCC in patients without advanced disease. Although YMDD-MT reduced the benefits from lamivudine therapy, the outcome of these patients was still better than untreated patients.


The operation described in this paper is related an ultra-deep-water exploration well drilled in the Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and the first drilled by the operator in the area. From the onset of planning, the base case was to integrate a Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) system into the drilling program to assist with pore pressure uncertainty, pressure ramp increase, and narrow Pore Pressure/Fracture Gradient (PP/FG) window operations including drilling, tripping, running casing and cementing, with the latter being a procedure that was not included in the initial stages of the project but discussed and implemented during the execution phase (Moghazy et al. 2018, Gradishar et al. 2017).
 The well is located in a water depth of 3,276 m (10,748 ft). Given the exploratory nature of the well, there was an assumed pressure ramp that would demand an excessive number of casing strings with a conventional approach using an overbalanced Mud Weight (MW). During the drilling phase and taking advantage of the ability to adjust the bottom hole pressure instantaneously, dynamic pore pressure tests were performed to conclude that the pressure ramp was not as aggressive but lead to a narrow window that would not allow conventional cementing of the 13-3/8-in. casing.
 Strong planning was required between the operator's engineering and operations teams, cementing services provider, MPD consultant, and MPD service provider team. The uncertainty about the actual size of the hole yielded an even more challenging Managed Pressure Cementing (MPC) engineering analysis (Valecillos and Craigh 2016). This cementing job was a success with no fluid losses, a hazard that had been assigned a high probability.
 The specific objective for the MPC application was to set 13-3/8-in. casing to isolate the critical formation and to safely continue drilling further stages of the well with an improved Leak-off Test (LOT) at the shoe.
 This job represents the deepest water, and first from a drillship, for a managed pressure cementing job performed by both operator and MPD service provider. Additionally, a critical cementing operation was successfully performed using the Managed Pressure (MP) approach. The well construction objectives using MPD were also achieved while avoiding the use of a contingency liner which saved an additional USD3.5 MM from the planned AFE (Hernandez and Valecillos 2018).


Objectives: To explore how the cost effectiveness of a behaviour-change prevention programme for sexually transmitted infection (STI) varies with the phase of an STI epidemic. Methods: A model of STI transmission and standard methods of cost-effectiveness analysis was used to examine the cost effectiveness of a hypothetical, behaviour-change intervention initiated at various phases of an STI epidemic. Results: The intervention was more cost effective when initiated in earlier phases of the epidemic rather than later phases, under a range of scenarios. However, the relative impact of the timing of the initiation of the STI prevention intervention on the cost effectiveness was quite small compared with other important factors, such as the cost and impact of the intervention and the lifetime medical cost of the STI. Conclusions: Earlier initiation of an intervention can improve the cost effectiveness of the intervention, although this result does not hold for all possible scenarios.


Popular music, as it is generally defined in its commercial existence, originated in the West and has been widely discussed in Anglophone academia. One of the key means of approaching it is in terms of political economy, by viewing the culture industry essentially as a model of capitalism, with the purpose of maximizing profit [Bumett, 1996; Frith, Straw and Street, 2001]. The debates between political economists and other popular music scholars have predominantly taken as their subject Western popular music. Yet it is important to point out that whilst studies focused upon cultural industries outside of Western contexts have been few and far between, many have proved extremely fruitful and enlightening, exploring issues not considered in Western-centered accounts.
This dissertation will attempt to examine and describe the causes and effects of corporate control over the major labels, which have been influential in the Thai popular music industry since 1982, when the first major label was established. Furthermore, this dissertation will argue that the popular music industry in Thailand presents something of a variation on Adorno's theme of mass culture, replicating certain aspects of his description while also diverging in important ways. The study of the development of Thai popular music in this dissertation can be divided into five important periods: the Pre-pop Era (from the emergence of The Impossible to 1982) and the Pop Era (1982-1994), the Indie Phenomenon (1994-1997), the Major Retum (1997-2002) and the present day (2002 to today). These terms were used to emphasis the most prominent event happened in each period.


The role of the cellist has changed rapidly and significantly over the past 60 years. It has moved in tandem with compositional trends which have seen the extension of genres, techniques, and performance practices – changes which have an increasingly demanding palette of extended techniques. Present-day cello pedagogy has not matched these demands; in this paper, I address this deficit.

My main research question examines these extensions. I addressed it through practice-led research, using three primary research methods. First, qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, namely formal and informal interviews, and observations at concerts and various music events. Secondly, via the search for, and analysis of, recent additions to the repertoire. Thirdly, autobiographical research, which was made possible due to the performance-based nature of my research and my unique position and experiences as a performer. The combination of these research methods revealed that a cellist's role has been extended in three main ways: the extension of technique, the extension of participation, and, the extension of knowledge.

In the first chapter, I explore these extensions using a selected sample of works to investigate and highlight specific changes to technique and performance practices since the 1950s, looking specifically at new approaches to performance and the practical application of techniques from non-Western and electro-acoustic musics.

The next two chapters explore these issues in more depth and apply the findings, presenting two case studies on works that demonstrate how combining traditional cello playing with another music tradition can result in extended techniques: first, the cello and non-Western music, and secondly, the cello and electronics. This study concluded that recent compositional trends in cello writing have ultimately reinvented traditional cello playing. These trends push cellists to adapt and change their approach to the instrument and their understanding of their role as a cellist.


The compressibility, the temperature dependence of bulk modulus, the pressure dependence of normalized volume V/V0, thermal expansion coefficient and Debye temperature of LaNi5-x Alx compounds are successfully obtained using the first-principles plane-wave pseudopotential (PW-PP) method, the EOSFIT6.0 software and the quasiharmonic Debye model. The rapid decrease of relative lattice constant a/a0 shows that the deformation is easier in directions normal to the c-axis than that along it. The relationships between bulk modulus B and pressure at different temperatures are also analysed. It is found that the bulk modulus B increases monotonically with increasing pressure. Moreover, the pressure dependences of thermal expansion and Debye temperature are also successfully obtained. The calculated results are in agreement with the experimental data.


The increasing energy demand has led shale unconventional reservoirs to become a focal point for operators worldwide. Over the past decades, several technological advances were conveyed to drilling and completing horizontal geometry wells in which massive hydraulic fracture treatments are deployed to improve production of these reservoirs.
 Argentina has one of the largest shale-stored hydrocarbon reserves in the world and has become one of the leading countries in the exploration, appraisal, and development of unconventional reservoirs. The number of horizontal shale wells drilled in the country increased over the past decade, generating the need to find solutions to cement horizontal laterals and achieve the required zonal isolation for the normal completion and production of these wells, preserving well integrity.
 Based on the difficulties encountered to cement these horizontal wells, such as channeling and differential fluid velocities, among others, the need to implement casing rotation while cementing was considered. This mechanical method has remained locally as one of the least accepted solutions because of the fear that the high torques during the operations would cause casing failures.
 In a recent unconventional campaign, casing rotation was applied during well conditioning and along the cementing operation. A sensitivity study to rotational speed was performed, and the cementing design was optimized with a new 3D annular displacement simulator (3D-ADS) that predicts annular flow in complex geometries, accounting for pipe movement. The well was cemented successfully, obtaining congruent results from comparing bond logs and fluid placement simulations.
 This study defines some of the factors contributing to a successful cementing job in a horizontal geometry, the aspects to be analyzed from the cementing perspective when rotating casing to aid in mud displacement, and the evaluation of the wells cemented under these circumstances compared to the simulated results predicted during the design phase of the well.


The interactions between organics and sand particles at different moisture contents are important in understanding the general mechanical behavior of rootzone sand mixtures. Towards this end, eight rootzone sand mixtures (4 shapes 2 2 moisture contents) used in golf green construction were tested using the cubical triaxial tester (CTT). These eight mixtures consist of sphagnum peat as the organic source and four sands of varying particle shape (round, subround, subangular, and angular). The sand-peat mixtures were tested at two moisture contents (air-dried and 30 cm tension). Of all the test samples, air-dried round sand with peat had the highest initial bulk density (IBD) value (1.49 g/cc), while moist angular sand with peat had the lowest IBD value (1.23 g/cc). These values influenced the compression behavior of samples, for example, the air-dried round sand with peat was least compressible while moist angular sand with peat was most compressible. Generally, moisture enhanced the compressibility of test specimens. At an isotropic pressure of 100 kPa, the volumetric strain value of moist round sand with peat was 47% higher than the volumetric strain value of the air-dried round sand with peat. Consequently, moisture and peat in bulk sand samples act as lubricants and assist in the compression process. In addition, bulk modulus values decreased with moisture. Due to the dominant effect of peat, there were no large differences between bulk modulus values of different particle shapes. The shear and failure responses of the above-mentioned eight compositions were also analyzed, compared, and modeled. Of all sand mixtures tested, air-dried angular sands with peat had the highest brittle-type failure stress value, 181 kPa at 34.5 kPa confining pressure, and moist subangular sand with peat had the lowest ductile-type failure stress value, 141 kPa at the same confining pressure. Shear modulus values increased with the increase of mean pressure, but in the case of sands containing both moisture and peat, shear modulus values increased gradually. Overall, peat and moisture content have a dominant effect on the compression and failure behavior of the rootzone sands. rootzone sand mixtures moisture effect particle shape effect organics effect mechanical behavior compression response shear/failure response prediction models


Nowadays, demands of data security are increasing, especially after introduction of wireless communications to the masses. Cryptographic algorithms are mainly used to obtain confidentiality and integrity of data in communication. There are a variety of encryption algorithms have been developed. This paper provides quantitative analysis and comparison of some symmetric key cryptographic ciphers (DES, 3DES, AES, Blowfish, RC5, and RC6).  The quantitative analysis approach is a step towards optimizing the security operations for an efficient next generation family of network processors with enhanced speed and power performance. A framework will be proposed as a reference model for quantitative analysis of security algorithm mathematical and logical operations. This paper also provides a dynamic crypto processor used for selected symmetric key cryptographic ciphers   and  provides an implementation of 16bit cryptographic processor that performs logical operations and arithmetic operations like rotate shift left, modular addition 2^16, S_box operation, and key expansion operation  on spartan6 lower power, xc6slx150L-1lfgg676 FPGA. Simulation results show that developed processor working with high Speed, low power, and low delay time.


Available evidence on the proliferation-promoting effect of HE4 remains controversial, and few studies have been carried out on the molecular mechanism of chemoresistance mediated by HE4. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of exogenous recombinant HE4 protein on proliferation and resistance to carboplatin in ovarian cancer cells. The human ovarian cancer cell line (SKOV-3) was exposed to recombinant HE4 protein (0-1 µg/ml) for different durations based on the schemes. Cell viability was evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays. Cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Markers of apoptosis (Bax and Bcl-2) were assessed by western blotting. Furthermore, Affymetrix microarray analysis was performed to investigate transcriptome profiling. The differential expression of four genes was verified by quantitative real-time PCR. The HE4 protein enhanced cell viability, promoted accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase and attenuated carboplatin-induced apoptosis. HE4 markedly decreased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. Candidate genes (387) (236 upregulated and 151 downregulated) were obtained by microarray analysis. Among those upregulated, several Gene Ontology (GO) terms related to cell cycle regulation and proliferation were significantly overrepresented and those within the downregulated dataset included genes involved in several aspects of the DNA damage response such as positive regulation of apoptosis. No information concerning the EGFR-MAPK pathways in a recent report on HE4 was acquired. The mRNA expression of the candidate genes determined by quantitative real-time PCR was significantly correlated with the microarray data. The present study indicates that the HE4 protein plays a promotive role in the proliferation and resistance to carboplatin in ovarian cancer cells, implicating the value of HE4 to predict tumor growth potential and resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).


Mentalization is the ability to keep mind in mind, both one's own and another person's mind. Without mentalization ability, man is unable to anticipate personal and other person's reactions in different situations and to control his/her own emotional states. Insufficient mentalization ability makes life erratic and uncontrollable. It is associated with emotionally unstable personality and other psychic and neuropsychiatric disorders. At least five evidence-based forms of psychotherapy have been developed for the treatment of emotionally unstable personality disorder, all promoting the patient's mentalization ability.


Croissed renal ectopia is a very rare congenital anomaly. It designates a transposition of the two kidneys on the same side of the midine with one of the ureters, of length adapted to the seat of the ectopic kidney, which croisses the midiline to implant in the bladder on the opposite side.It is due to an anomaly in the embryonic development of the metanephretic blastema between the fourth and eighth week of management. Renal fusion between the two parenchyma is frequent and this anomaly is most often asymptomatic and discovered by chance.During this anomaly the treatments is linked to the existence of symptoms and/or complications. We report the observation of a 27-year-old patient,mother of two children with a history of two caesarean sections in 2008 and in 2013 for basin limit, presentint with crossed renal ectopia without fusion of the extremities, discovered fortuitously durind an abdomino-pelvic ultrasound for pain in the right flank radiating into the right iliac fossa,collected in the radiology and medical imaging department of University Hospital Center point G, whose purpose of this work was to bring the place of ultrasound in the diagnosis of renal ectopia croissed without fusion with a review ohe literature.


Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy has been a powerful technique in the structural analysis of various chiral supramolecular systems. In order to obtain correct structural information it is essential to understand the basic concepts of CD, to optimize the measurement condition, and to properly interpret the data. This chapter addresses the following topics in order for the readers to use CD spectroscopy more efficiently: (i) the fundamental principles of CD spectroscopy and the technical point of the measurements; (ii) the exciton chirality method and its use in the configurational and conformational analysis of supermolecules; (iii) the introduction of basic concepts of induced CD; and (iv) the recent developments of computational simulation of CD spectra. We show that these basic concepts are applicable to the interpretation of CD data of further complicated supramolecular systems, by showing examples of a broad range of chiral supermolecules such as host-guest systems, mechanically interlocked molecules, molecular machines, foldamer, polymers, and self-assembled molecules. This chapter also briefly introduces the applications of a newly emerged CD (vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy) to supermolecules.

Keywords:

circular dichroism;
chirality;
exciton chirality method;
induced CD;
VCD;
supermolecules


This paper presents a new optical surface technology known as COUNTERFOIL. The COUNTERFOIL technology provides a means of covert information storage and is used as the basis for a range of security seals and labels. The technology has obtained Australian Government Endorsement (SCEC Endorsement) for use in high security applications. It provides a convenient, low cost means to determine authenticity and detect tampering or surreptitious access.