CONTEXT
The contribution of autoimmunity to the multisystem dysregulation that characterizes the frailty syndrome in older adults is unknown.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between thyroid antibodies and frailty in older women.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
We conducted a cross-sectional study nested within the Women's Health and Aging Studies I and II. Thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAbs), thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAbs), and antinuclear antibodies were measured in the baseline sera of 641 community-dwelling older women.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Frailty was defined using a validated five-component measure.

RESULTS
The prevalence of prefrailty and frailty was lower in TgAb-positive than negative older women (37.1 vs. 47.8% and 6.7 vs.11.9%, respectively; P = 0.01 and 0.03). The prevalence of prefrailty, but not frailty, was lower in TPOAb-positive than negative women (38.9 vs. 48.0% and 10.1 vs. 11.3%; P = 0.04 and 0.34). After adjustment for covariates including serum thyroid stimulation hormone concentration and thyroid medication usage in multinomial regression models, TgAb-positive older women had lower odds of prefrailty and frailty compared with TgAb-negative women (odds ratio 0.57 and 0.30; 95% confidence interval 0.34-0.98 and 0.10-0.85, respectively). Similarly, TPOAb-positive older women had lower odds of frailty compared with TPOAb-negative women (odds ratio 0.44; 95% confidence interval 0.20-0.96). These trends were not observed with antinuclear antibodies.

CONCLUSION
Independent of thyroid function status, community-dwelling older women who are seropositive for TgAbs and TPOAbs are less likely to be frail than seronegative women.


Summary: The present paper analyzes the production of poly(methyl methacrylate) – PMMA – nanoparticles loaded with benzophenone-3 through miniemulsion polymerization. The obtained product is homogeneous and stable, allowing for preparation of photo-protective formulations. It is observed in particular that bezophenone-3 interacts with the reacting system, promoting the growth of the PMMA chains produced in miniemulsion.


![Figure][1]

There has been much discussion recently about ways to stimulate more "high-risk-high-payoff" research: projects that have the potential to make major leaps in scientific understanding. In the United States, the National Science Board, for example, has had a task force dedicated to this issue for over a year, and the National Institutes of Health's Roadmap includes efforts to transform fundamental and clinical biomedical research.

One approach to advancing these frontiers has proven quite successful over the years. It is the model used by the Gordon Research Conferences (GRCs), which this year celebrate their 75th anniversary; their 2006 program appears in this issue of Science . The GRCs, which began in 1931 as a chemistry meeting conceived and organized by Neil Gordon, now encompass some 180 conferences each year at 17 different sites in the United States and abroad. Over 20,000 international scientists will participate in these intense meetings that span the whole spectrum of science, science education, and science policy. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has had a close association with the GRCs since 1938, when it took over managing the conferences—an arrangement that lasted until 1956, when the GRCs became independent.

A fascinating compendium[*][2] of personal reminiscences about the conferences and their scientific impacts, contributed by a diverse group of 80 well-respected scientists, reveals why these conferences are so popular and successful and why they have persisted on a regular basis for so long. Reduced to its core, the success of these meetings amounts to the way in which their format has promoted transformative thinking and project development. Maxine Singer, for example, writes about the importance of the 1973 Nucleic Acids meeting in stimulating thinking about the implications of recombinant DNA (cloning) experiments. Other authors cite the central role of the GRCs in the emergence of such multidisciplinary fields as bioinorganic chemistry, organic electronics, and mammary gland biology.

![Figure][1]

CREDIT: GORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES

A core lesson from the GRCs is that even in this age of electronic communication technologies, there is no substitute for putting a small group of people together face to face and keeping them in close contact for a few days. The relatively isolated sites used for the GRCs and the fact that each conference is usually restricted to about 100 attendees encourages people to talk to each other with both informality and candor. And the conference agenda allows for plenty of unstructured discussion time and promotes long conversations about frontier science.

Many of the important unanswered scientific questions are multidisciplinary in character. This feature of contemporary research was amply demonstrated in Science 's 2005 list of the top 25 questions for the next 25 years.[†][3] To promote the kind of thinking needed for problem-based rather than discipline-based science, one needs to bring experts together from all potentially relevant fields and create an environment in which they may speak freely and frankly with one another. That is exactly the kind of conversation that GRC attendees are engaged in. All discussions are off the record, and all conference communications are considered private. This fosters safe spaces for posing "risky" ideas and engaging in creative and occasionally speculative communal thinking. As Norman Hackerman emphasizes in the GRC compendium, "The greatest advantage of these meetings was that attendees were able to participate without worrying about being proved wrong in publication …" On the nonhierarchical nature of the meetings, Roy Vagelos reflects, "There I was [at his first Lipid Metabolism conference], a pipsqueak only a few years out of a postdoctoral fellowship, speaking alongside these giants of biochemistry." Not surprisingly, some of the giants later became Vagelos' collaborators.

The GRCs are only one way to encourage transformative thinking and research, but their track record suggests that we may need more venues like them. Scientists sometimes lament that peer review may be biased in favor of cautious and "safe" research, unsupportive of departures from mainstream thinking. By creating a relatively unthreatening, unconstrained atmosphere, the GRCs provide a refreshing opportunity to try out new ideas on one's colleagues, brainstorm about difficult and complex issues, and think about possible solutions. Not a bad strategy at all.

 [1]: pending:yes
 [2]: #fn-1
 [3]: #fn-2


Abstract TRPV channels are a category of nonselective cation channels that are activated by heat and ligands and permeate monovalent and divalent ions. The mechanism of Ca2+ transfer through TRPV2 channel is not well known. Here, we investigated the reaction coordination and energy fluctuation of Ca2+ transition in TRPV2 channel by steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations and potential of mean force (PMF) calculation. Results showed that electrostatic interactions between Ca2+ and residues of the first and second gates had main roles in ions transfer through the channel. Also, we recognized important amino acids in this path. Moreover, results indicated that enter and exit of calcium ions need to overcome barrier energies in the first and second gates. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma


The use of emerging multimedia technologies in education will cause a major shift in the educational services paradigm that promises major advantages over present analog distance learning systems. However, the difficulties encountered with the simultaneous introduction of new services and new technologies often impede the accomplishment of set goals. A more prudent and feasible first step might well be to use the new technologies while following existing paradigms. Such a step will then facilitate the transition to new services that capitalize on the new technologies. Abiding by this principle, researchers at Stanford are developing a prototype on-line distance learning system based on recent advances in digital video compression, video servers, and multimedia networking to deliver live and stored video lectures and seminars to students at their desktops. For the sake of concreteness, we are designing this system with the Stanford University Instructional Television Network in mind, as a first step beyond existing video-based instructional services. The prototype system and extensions, however, are general enough to apply to other environments and application domains. >


Of the congenital coronary artery fistulae, the multiple coronary artery microfistulae, arising from the left and right coronary artery emptying into the left ventricle, are very rare. Little is known about their anatomic and clinical features, especially in apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The clinical findings are heterogeneous, but include, in most cases, a history of typical or atypical angina pectoris. A 67 year old woman was referred for evaluation of chest pain on exertion, and a shortness of breath. The electrocardiographic and echocardiographic findings were typical of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Coronary arteriography showed normal epicardial coronary arteries, but multiple coronary artery-left ventricular microfistulae arising from the left and right coronary arteries. Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography, using a high frequency transducer, with a low Nyquist limit, demonstrated multiple coronary artery-left ventricular microfistulae just beneath the apical impulse window. (Korean Circulation J 2003;33 (4):338-342)


A method of in situ hybridization with entire chromosome-specific DNA libraries for visualizing individual human chromosomes has been developed and applied to the detection of structural aberrations in both metaphase and interphase cells. Unlabeled human genomic DNA is used to inhibit the cross-hybridization of repetitive sequences in the library that bind to multiple chromosomes. The remaining single-stranded DNA is hybridized to specimens of interest and detected with fluorescent or enzyme labeled biotin conjugates following post-hybridization washes. This general approach is called "chromosome painting" or "chromosomal in situ suppression (CISS)" hybridization. In the present report, DNA inserts from recombinant libraries from chromosomes 1, 4, and 9 has been applied on controls and patients in order to decorate specifically their complementary chromosomes. Numerical changes, deletions and chromosomal translocations involving these chromosomes can be strikingly visualized.


[1] A climate model, coupled to a sophisticated land surface scheme, is used to explore the impact of land use induced land cover change (LULCC) on climate extremes indices recommended by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI). The impact from LULCC is contrasted with the impact of doubling atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Many of the extremes indices related to temperature are affected by LULCC and the resulting changes are locally and field significant. Some indices are systematically affected by LULCC in the same direction as increasing CO2 while for others LULCC opposes the impact of increasing CO2. We suggest that assumptions that anthropogenically induced changes in temperature extremes can be approximated just by increasing greenhouse gases are flawed, as LULCC may regionally mask or amplify the impact of increasing CO2 on climate extremes. In some regions, the scale of the LULCC forcing is of a magnitude similar to the impact of CO2 alone. We conclude that our results complicate detection and attribution studies, but also offer a way forward to a clearer and an even more robust attribution of the impact of increasing CO2 at regional scales.


ABSTRACT Streptococcus salivarius 20P3 produces a 22-amino-acid residue lantibiotic, designated salivaricin A (SalA), that inhibits the growth of a range of streptococci, including all strains ofStreptococcus pyogenes. Lantibiotic production is associated with the sal genetic locus comprisingsalA, the lantibiotic structural gene; salBCTXgenes encoding peptide modification and export machinery proteins; andsalYKR genes encoding a putative immunity protein and two-component sensor-regulator system. Insertional inactivation ofsalB in S. salivarius 20P3 resulted in abrogation of SalA peptide production, of immunity to SalA, and ofsalA transcription. Addition of exogenous SalA peptide tosalB mutant cultures induced dose-dependent expression ofsalA mRNA (0.2 kb), demonstrating that SalA production was normally autoregulated. Inactivation of salR encoding the response regulator of the SalKR two-component system led to reduced production of, and immunity to, SalA. The sal genetic locus was also present in S. pyogenes SF370 (M type 1), but because of a deletion across the salBCT genes, the corresponding lantibiotic peptide, designated SalA1, was not produced. However, in S. pyogenes T11 (M type 4) the sallocus gene complement was apparently complete, and active SalA1 peptide was synthesized. Exogenously added SalA1 peptide from S. pyogenes T11 induced salA1 transcription in S. pyogenes SF370 and in an isogenic S. pyogenes T11salB mutant and salA transcription in S. salivarius 20P3 salB. Thus, SalA and SalA1 are examples of streptococcal lantibiotics whose production is autoregulated. These peptides act as intra- and interspecies signaling molecules, modulating lantibiotic production and possibly influencing streptococcal population ecology in the oral cavity.


ABSTRACT This study aims to determine the relationship between recreational drug use in HIV-positive males in the past year and socio-economic factors and/or social support networks in Japan. A national online survey in a cross-sectional study was conducted by HIV Futures Japan project from July 2013 to February 2014. Of the 1095 HIV-positive individuals who responded, 913 responses were determined to be valid; responses from the 875 males were analysed. A total of 282 participants used addictive drugs (32.2%) in past year. New psychoactive substances were used by 121 participants (13.8%), methamphetamine or amphetamine by 47 (5.4%), air dusters/sprays/gas by 31 (3.5%), 5-methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5MeO-DIPT) by 16 (1.8%) and cannabis (1.0%) by 9. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed with the use of alkyl nitrites, addictive drugs, air dusters and thinners, which are low illegality, as dependent variables. We found that the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for use among participants with full-time and temp/contracted/part-time employees compared to management/administration professions were 2.59 (0.99–6.77) and 2.61 (0.91–7.51). Also, a correlation was observed between alkyl nitrites and new psychoactive substances and usage rates in people engaged in few HIV-positive networks. It is necessary to develop targeted policies for drug use prevention and user support among HIV-positive men and to support and provide care for drug users who are isolated or have a narrow HIV/AIDS support network.


Summary

Species distribution models are an important tool to predict potential spread of weeds. While recent progress has improved model performance, there is still concern about the validity of such models, especially when applied to novel geographical regions or climates. This study investigates how different sets of variables influence predicted distributions, considering several measures of model performance and how extrapolation to novel geographical regions may affect results. Potential distributions of three new weeds in New Zealand (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Psidium guajava and Schefflera actinophylla) are modelled, by training a model based on global data from native and introduced ranges and projecting it to New Zealand, using Maxent. For each species, four models were calibrated: first with a full set of 19 bioclimatic variables, then with a customised set with selection based on analysis of response curves and finally with two reduced sets of uncorrelated variables. Although AUC across all models was very high (AUC ≥ 0.9), correlations between models ranged between 0.27 and 0.98. Inclusion of all variables predicted larger areas to be suitable in the projected region, with highly unlikely predictions in some areas, especially where bioclimatic variables showed values outside the range of the training data (new environments). Conversely, minimal extrapolation and more realistic predictions of weed distributions were obtained from models including a customised set of variables, and even more so from models including only a reduced set of variables. This study shows that careful selection of variables and investigation into extrapolation are vital in generating more realistic predictions of weed distributions.


The bronchial microcirculation is organized as a network of interconnected superficial and deep small blood vessels that extend throughout the bronchial tree. The close proximity of the bronchial venules to the origin of the pulmonary lymphatics suggests a role in fluid balance in the lung. The responsiveness of the venous segment of this network to agents influencing permeability clearly indicates a role in the genesis of certain types of noncardiogenic interstitial edema. The responsiveness of the venous segment of the bronchial circulation to neural and humoral stimuli raises the possibility of a significant role in the distribution of blood flow between the mucosa and peribronchial space. Such control may play a significant role in heat and water exchange between blood and air. Thus, these observations indicate that the bronchial microcirculation is involved with aspects of pulmonary function other than the nutrition of the bronchi, nerves, pleura, and large pulmonary blood vessels.


Mathematical models in imaging science attempt to understand and analyze the underlying quantitative structure of images. The most popular mathematical techniques tend to center around a variational principle. In general, variational methods are formulated by specifying an energy whose minimizers contain properties associated with an ideal image. Thus far, variational models have been successful in addressing the classical problems in imaging, namely the problems of denoising, deblurring, segmentation, and inpainting. Most work has concentrated around reconstructing homogeneous intensity regions with jump discontinuities (i.e. edges) -- one type of fine structure. More recent work has included models which incorporate tools for texture recovery. In practice, the most challenging components to recover from images are those which reside on fine-scales, namely the jumps and textures. This thesis focuses on the recovery and understanding of fine-scale information.In many image segmentation methods, the edge set is regularized by the Hausdorff measure (i.e. length). It is known that minimizers of models containing length regularizers have segments whose endpoints either terminate perpendicularly to the boundary of the domain, terminate at a triple junction where three segments connect, or terminate at a free endpoint where the segment does not connect to any other edges or the boundary of the domain. However, standard segmentation methods (those that are based on the level set method) are only able to capture edge structures which contain the first two types of segments. Part I generalizes the level set based image segmentation methods to be able to detect free endpoint structures. This results in the ability to capture a larger class of edge structures using the length regularizer while recovering homogeneous regions.Aside from edge recovery, cartoon-texture regularization applied to ill-posed imaging problems allows for the reconstruction of many small-scale (patterned) details. The cartoon component is typically modeled by functions of bounded variation and has been shown to be a successful descriptor of the large geometric structures in images. However, current texture models are not universal and may depend on the problem or the particular class of images. In general, texture is defined by its highly oscillatory nature and its well patterned structure. Exploiting each of these properties, two texture models are provided, one using weak functional spaces to promote oscillations and the other using matrix theory to define patterns.The first texture regularization is measured by duality with a space of functions which approximates W^(1, infinity), thereby encouraging oscillations. In order to provide a differentiable approximation to the L^infinity norm, a concentration of measures approach is taken. This model works well for reconstructing texture in highly degraded blurry images.The second texture model is defined by the nuclear norm applied to patches in the image, interpreting the texture patches to be low-rank. This provides a mathematical description for highly patterned texture as well as an easy to implement numerical method. This particular texture model has the advantage of separating noise from texture and has been shown to better reconstruct texture for other applications such as denoising, known deblurring, sparse reconstruction, and pattern regularization.


Tetranectin (TN), a plasminogen-binding protein originally involved in fibrinolysis and bone formation, was later identified as a secreted adipokine from human and rat adipocytes and positively correlated with adipogenesis and lipid metabolism in adipocytes. To elucidate the nutritional regulation of adipogenic TN from diets containing different sources of fatty acids (saturated, n-6, n-3) in adipocytes, we cloned the coding region of porcine TN from a cDNA library and analyzed tissue expressions in weaned piglets fed with 2% soybean oil (SB, enriched in n-6 fatty acids), docosahexaenoic acid oil (DHA, an n-3 fatty acid) or beef tallow (BT, enriched in saturated and n-9 fatty acids) for 30 d. Compared with tissues in the BT- or SB-fed group, expression of TN was reduced in the adipose, liver and lung tissues from the DHA-fed group, accompanied with lowered plasma levels of triglycerides and cholesterols. This in vivo reduction was also confirmed in porcine primary differentiated adipocytes supplemented with DHA in vitro. Then, promoter analysis was performed. A 1956-bp putative porcine TN promoter was cloned and transcription binding sites for sterol regulatory-element binding protein (SREBP)-1c or forkhead box O proteins (FoxO) were predicted on the TN promoter. Mutating binding sites on porcine TN promoters showed that transcriptional suppression of TN by DHA on promoter activity was dependent on specific response elements for SREBP-1c or FoxO. The inhibited luciferase promoter activity by DHA on the TN promoter coincides with reduced gene expression of TN, SREBP-1c, and FoxO1 in human embryonic kidney HEK293T cells supplemented with DHA. To conclude, our current study demonstrated that the adipogenic TN was negatively regulated by nutritional modulation of DHA both in pigs in vivo and in humans/pigs in vitro. The transcriptional suppression by DHA on TN expression was partly through SREBP-1c or FoxO. Therefore, down-regulation of adipogenic tetranectin associated with fibrinolysis and adipogenesis may contribute to the beneficial effects of DHA on ameliorating obesity-induced metabolic syndromes such as atherosclerosis and adipose dysfunctions.


Introduction: Patients with thalassemia major often present with a hypercoagulable state, the pathogenesis of which is still not understood. Materials and Methods: This study evaluates the risk factors for hypercoagulability in 50 β-thalassemia major patients and 50 healthy controls. Fasting total homocysteine, protein C (PC), protein S (PS), antithrombin (AT), activated protein C resistance (APCR) and lupus anticoagulant (LA) were assessed. MTHFR C677T mutation was determined. Results: Significant reductions in PC, PS and AT were noted in patients. Only 4% of the patients had hyperhomocysteinemia. Thirty-two percent of the patients were heterozygous and 4% were homozygous for MTHFR C677T mutation. Conclusion: The natural coagulation inhibitors PC, PS and AT were significantly reduced in patients with β-thalassemia major and were thus important risk factors for the hypercoagulable state, but hyperhomocysteinemia and MTHFR mutation do not seem to be significant risk factors for thromboembolic events.


The quality of food we eat affects our mind and body. Food choices are influenced by taste, habits, advertising, time, convenience and economics. Nutrition affects cognitive possibilities, including alertness and the production or release of neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that carry information from one nerve cell to another. The brain is an organ with high metabolic and nutrient demands. Onaverage, the brain consumes 20% of a person's daily caloric intake, approximately 400 calories per day.It is important to know properties of foods especially regarding amino acid composition because amino acids are components of neurotransmitters, molecules needed for brain transmission and function. Foods are made up of more than one nutrient, and their interaction is going to affect the production and release of neurotransmitters. Neural impulses are mainly from sodium-potassium exchange, others such as complex carbohydrates, amino acids (tryptophan and tyrosine),fatty acids,particularly omega -3 fatty acids.Gut hormones that can enter the brain, or that are produced in the brain itself, influence cognitive ability. Production of monoamine neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine,adrenaline, serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, important in the pathophysiology of mental illness,depends on adequate building blocks of amino acids, and mineral dependent co-factors.A healthy diet and regular physical activity can protect from diseases, avoiding the risks incurred during aging. Cognitive performance and maintenance of mental health, especially among elderly may be improved with proper healthy balanced diet


The authors thank Referee #1 for the thoughtful and helpful comments and for the fact that the Referee acknowledges the manuscript as being a comprehensive collection of data, very useful for modelers and the whole scientific community and for quantifying the progresses towards mitigation target assessed through the global stocktake. Below we provide answers to the general and specific comments posted by Referee #1.


Bed nets can prevent malaria, antiretroviral drugs extend life for HIV-infected people, and hand-washing reduces rates of diarrhea. Scientific studies have proven the worth of each of these. But there9s a world of difference between what works in a tightly monitored small study and what works in the far messier real world. As global health budgets have surged, increasing scrutiny has come to programs designed to roll out health interventions to communities or even entire countries. Building on the randomized, controlled study design used in clinical trials of experimental medicines, a field known as impact evaluation has developed a suite of methods to evaluate how well health programs designed for communities or entire countries actually work at preventing disease and saving lives. This story examines what evidence makes a compelling case that a large-scale intervention worked—or did not—and the surrounding debates about the strengths and limitations of impact evaluation.


This study used a post-test-only control group experimental design to determine the effects of prelecture online quizzes on the students' perceived preparation and academic performance. The participants included 54 pre-service Turkish teachers of English enrolled at a state university in Turkey. The participants were randomly selected from a list and were assigned to two sections: control and experimental groups. The students in the control group were not required to take the online quizzes, while the ones in the experimental group were asked to complete the pre-lecture online quizzes. The results showed that the participants in the experimental group scored higher on the final examination at the end of the semester than those in the experimental group and that a significant positive correlation existed between the scores on the quizzes and the scores on the final examination. Moreover, the participants in the experimental group reported that they prepared for the classroom discussions having learnt the key terms and concepts since the online quizzes urged them to do the required readings. 60 | PASAA Vol. 53 January June 2017


Conditional Value-at-Risk is widely applied in finance, which can measure the expected profit that is below mean profit of quantile η(0 <; η ≤ 1). The paper uses an extended newsvendor model in this framework to study the retailer's choice in the event of the retailer who charges underage loss or overage penalty cost, discusses the impact brought by overage penalty and examines how the degree of risk aversion affects retailer's order quantity under this situation.


This study was conducted to determine the effects of different mowing dates of plant top on tuber yield of Jerusalem artichoke ( Helianthus tuberosus L) during 2005 and 2006 growing seasons. The experiment was designed according to the "split plots on randomized complete block" experimental design with three replications. Three different mowing dates [a: August 18 (before flowering), b: September 21 (beginning of flowering), c: October 20 (full flowering) and k: control (not-mowing)] and two varieties [red (K) and white (A) skin local Jerusalem artichoke] were taken as factors. Tuber yield and yield components were higher in the first mowing date and control than in the second and third mowing dates in 2005, 2006 and in the average of 2005 to 2006. Two years average maximum tuber yields per decare were 5149.78 kg in the control plots and 3327.27 kg in the plots of red skin of Jerusalem artichoke. The results suggest that first mowing date and control are suitable mowing times for tuber yield.


A complete series of biomimetic [2Fe-2S] clusters, [(L(Dep) Fe)2 (μ-S)2 ] (3, L(Dep) =CH[CMeN(2,6-Et2 C6 H3 )]2 ), [(L(Dep) Fe)2 (μ-S)2 K] (4), [(L(Dep) Fe)2 (μ-S)2 ][Bu4 N] (5, Bu=n-butyl), and [(L(Dep) Fe)2 (μ-S)2 K2 ] (6), could be synthesized and characterized. The all-ferric [2Fe-2S] cluster 3 is readily accessible through the reaction of [(L(Dep) Fe)2 (μ-H)2 ] (2) with elemental sulfur. The chemical reduction of 3 with one molar equivalent of elemental potassium affords the contact ion pair K(+) [2Fe-2S](-) (4) as a one-dimensional coordination polymer, which in turn reacts with [Bu4 N]Cl to afford the separate ion pair [Bu4 N](+) [2Fe-2S](-) (5). Further reduction of 4 with potassium furnishes the super-reduced all-ferrous [2Fe-2S] cluster 6. Remarkably, complexes 4 and 5 are [2Fe-2S] clusters with extensively delocalized Fe(2+) Fe(3+) pairs as evidenced by (57) Fe Mössbauer, X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopy (XAS, XES) and in accordance with DFT calculations.


Significance: The Nagorny group reports an ionic [4+2] cycloaddition between α,β-unsaturated acetal dienophiles 1 and dienes 2 to afford Diels–Alder adducts 3 in moderate to excellent yields. The reaction is promoted by a cooperative catalytic system involving a strong Brønsted acid [PTSA (p-toluenesulfonic acid)] and a triple hydrogen bond donor thiophosphoramide (A). NMR and computational studies suggest that the key feature of the catalytic system is the strong interaction between A and the sulfonate anion. Comment: Ionic [4+2] cycloadditions (Gassman's cycloadditions) have proven to be efficient complements to traditional Diels–Alder reactions when challenging unactivated substrates are involved. The authors report a variety of these reactions, which interestingly do neither require a Lewis acid nor a highly ionic medium for the generation of the reactive separated ion pair. The same objective is achieved by a cooperative catalytic system in which the sulfonic acid generates the oxocarbenium species and in which the thiophosphoramide co-catalyst ensures the formation of separated, highly reactive counterions via three hydrogen bonds to the sulfonate anion. PhMe, 0 °C


Abstract Ocean warming is leading to more frequent coral bleaching events. However, cold stress can also induce bleaching in corals. Here, we report observations of a boreal winter bleaching event in January 2020 in the central Red Sea, mainly within a population of the branching coral Stylophora pistillata on an offshore reef flat. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) rarely fall below 24°C in this region, but data loggers deployed on several nearby reef flats recorded overnight seawater temperatures as low as 18°C just 3 days before the observations. The low temperatures coincided with an extremely low tide and cool air temperatures, likely resulting in the aerial exposure of the corals during the night time low‐tide event. The risk of aerial exposure is rare in winter months, as the Red Sea exhibits seasonal fluctuations in sea level with winter values typically 0.3–0.4 m higher than in summer. These observations are notable for a region typically characterized as a high‐temperature sea, and highlight the need for long‐term monitoring programs as this rare event may have gone unnoticed.


Trend following plays an important role in technical analysis for trading financial instruments. In this paper, we propose a model based on Float-encoding Genetic Algorithm (FGA) to determine the best thresholds for trend following in financial time series. Trend following is based on the thresholds called P&Q which is calculated from the amount of an uptrend and downtrend to determine when to buy and sell at a particular time point. In our model, we first smooth the closing price by Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and partition the sample data into two parts respectively for training and testing. During the training session, FGA is used to find the best P&Q values which optimizes the average return based on a chosen EMA. The resulted P&Q is then evaluated against the testing data. Experiments conducted on Hang Sang Index (HSI) from Hong Kong shows promising results.


This study examines interim financial reporting in Jordan, and it involves two main phases. First, the study undertook a questionnaire survey to seek the perceptions of users regarding the use, usefulness, the information deemed necessary to be disclosed in the interim financial reports, and other issues surrounding interim financial reporting. Second, this study analyzed the contents of half-yearly financial reports to assess their quality in terms of the extent of disclosure and timeliness. These qualities are subsequently tested for association with board of directors characteristics (namely board composition, board size, and board leadership structure), ownership structure (namely foreign ownership, government ownership, and the number of shareholders), and attributes of companies (namely size,
profitability, growth, age, leverage, audit firm size, and market listing status).
The findings reveal that interim financial reports are used, usell, and the second most important source of information for investors, after annual reports. Because of this, investors express their desire for improved interim financial report in terms of disclosure and timeliness. In addition, the introduction of quarterly financial report is welcomed by investors. Although compliance with mandatory disclosures and reporting deadlines is high, more improvements could be made. As far as the quality of disclosure is concerned, companies appear to provide a moderate level of disclosure. With respect to timeliness, there are tendencies for companies to take as long as they are allowed to issue the interim financial reports. Consistent with most studies, this study reveals that: (i) the extent of disclosure is positively associated with company growth and board size; (ii) compliance with allowable financial reporting lag is positively related to the foreign ownership and profitability, and (iii) financial reporting lag is negatively related to profitability and age, but positively related to the
leverage of a company. This implies that companies with a relatively higher percentage of shares owned by foreigners and are more profitable are more likely to comply with the requirement to publish within one month. The findings also indicate that companies that are more profitable, older, and
have lower leverage are more likely take a shorter time to publish their half-yearly financial reports. The findings provide some input to users, preparers, and policy makers into the current practice of reporting, and for future regulations on interim financial reporting. In addition, the present study opens up avenues for more studies on interim frnancial reporting not only in Jordan, but also in other countries where this area of study is lacking. Furthermore, it opens up opportunities and provides avenues for more in-depth research related to interim financial reporting.


The influence of halothane‐oxygen mixtures on three different transcutaneous oxygen electrodes was investigated. The influence of hypotension caused by halothane and halothane‐nitroprusside on transcutaneous oxygen tension measurement (tcPo2) in halothane‐anaesthetized patients was examined as well. The electrodes differed with respect to polarization voltages (630 mV or 500 mV) and electrolyte composition (silver chloride or silver bromide).


LibertyWorks®, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Corporation, first studied CMC (ceramic matrix composite) exhaust mixers for potential weight benefits in 2008. Oxide CMC potentially offered weight reduction, higher temperature capability, and the ability to fabricate complex-shapes for increased mixing and noise suppression.In 2010, NASA was pursuing the reduction of NOx emissions, fuel burn, and noise from turbine engines in Phase I of the Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project (within the Integrated Systems Research Program). ERA subtasks, including those focused on CMC components, were being formulated with the goal of maturing technology from Proof of Concept Validation (Technology Readiness Level 3 (TRL 3)) to System/Subsystem or Prototype Demonstration in a Relevant Environment (TRL 6).In April 2010, the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) and Rolls-Royce (RR) jointly initiated a CMC Exhaust System Validation Program within the ERA Project, teaming on CMC exhaust mixers for subsonic jet engines. The initial objective was to fabricate and characterize the performance of a 0.25 scale low bypass exhaust system that was based on a RR advanced design, with a 16-lobe oxide/oxide CMC mixer and tail cone (center body). Support Services, LLC (Allendale, MI) and COI Ceramics, Inc. (COIC) supported the design of a mixer assembly that consisted of the following oxide/oxide CMC components mounted on separate metallic attachment flanges: a) a lobed mixer and outer fan shrouds, and b) a tail cone. TRL 4 (Component/Subscale Component Validation in a Laboratory Environment) was achieved in a cost-effective manner through subscale rig validation of the aerodynamic and acoustic performance via testing at ASE FluiDyne (Plymouth, MN) and at NASA GRC, respectively. This encouraged the NASA/ RR/COIC team to move to the next phase of component development; full scale CMC mixer design for a RR AE3007 engine. COIC fabricated the full scale CMC mixer, which was vibration tested at GRC under conditions simulating the structural and dynamic environment of a mixer. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB)) provided test support by assisting with instrumentation and performing 3D laser vibrometry to identify the mixer mode shapes and modal frequencies over the engine operating range.Successful vibration testing demonstrated COIC's new process for fabricating full scale CMC mixers and the durability of the Oxide CMC component at both room and elevated temperatures. A TRL≈5 (Component Validation in a Relevant Environment) was attained and the CMC mixer was cleared for ground testing on a Rolls-Royce AE3007 engine for performance evaluation to achieve TRL 6.Copyright © 2015 by ASME and Rolls-Royce Corporation


This paper provides general considerations for determining working clearances required to carry out live line barehand insulator change out work on energized power lines operating at 345 kV and above. It is intended to focus on a limited number of procedures and will only address one common structure configuration. This paper is intended to be used in conjunction with IEEE 516 Guide for Maintenance Methods on Energized Power Lines.


Embryonic production of oestrogen is thought to play an important role in conceptus-maternal signalling during early pregnancy in mares, and may be regulated in an autocrine or paracrine fashion by insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). In this study, the hypothesis that IGF-I stimulates embryonic oestrogen synthesis, which in turn stimulates uterine IGF-I secretion was tested. Specific sources of IGF-I in the uterine lumen were characterized. Preimplantation embryos, uterine biopsies, and uterine flush fluids were collected on day 13 of pregnancy. Embryos were cultured whole for 24 h, or dispersed and incubated in serum-free culture medium supplemented with androstenedione or testosterone (0-10 microg ml(-1)) and IGF-I (0-100 microg ml(-1)). Oestrogen synthesis was increased by addition of androgen, but there was no dose-dependent effect of IGF-I. Endometrial explants were cultured for 24, 48 and 72 h in serum-free medium supplemented with oestradiol. IGF-I was measured by radioimmunoassay in embryo-conditioned medium, explant culture medium, blastocoelic fluid, concentrated (x 100) uterine flush fluid and endometrial-tissue homogenate. Both the embryo and endometrium produced significant quantities of IGF-I, indicating a role for this growth factor in autocrine-paracrine signalling during early pregnancy. However, secretion of IGF-I by endometrial explants was not modulated by oestrogen.


Since mineral nutrition is a major factor in maximizing yield of high-quality fruit, understanding the functions of mineral elements, diagnosing nutrient deficiencies, and providing needed fertilizers are essential. This publication describes and discusses iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) deficiencies, functions, and recommended practices to alleviate nutritional problems. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Mongi Zekri and Tom Obreza, and published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, March 2014.
SL404/SS617: Iron (Fe) and Copper (Cu) for Citrus Trees (ufl.edu)


AbstractThis thesis is presented in two parts. The first part, Dreamriser, is a verse-novel in two books, the second part a critical essay, ?Writing the Postcolonial Body? in Les Murray?s 1997 verse-novel Fredy Neptune.Dreamriser is split into two books. In ?The Runner? Felix Morning wakes on a backstreet of a strange city with no memory of who he is. Flick shows him the way to The Bunker, an underground club where he meets the Dreamriser, a mysterious woman he half remembers. She gives him a parcel he must deliver to the place of the lost things. In ?Pinky? Iain and Esther meet on a train and they start a love affair. Damaged by her experience with men, Esther has been sent by the Dreamriser cult to take her revenge. When she falls in love with Iain she must make a choice between destruction and union.Dreamriser was inspired by the idea of the verse-novel, its possibilities and parameters. But where Fredy Neptune is an extended narrative through Twentieth Century history, Dreamriser messes with time frames and layers of reality and is located within the lost interior ?history? of the protagonists. I was interested in finding out how far I could push the lyric under the pressure of narrative, and play with the idea of linear narrative under the pressure of the lyric. I hoped to achieve a sense of the lyric poem across the whole structure of the ?verse-novel? as much as within each stanza, section or chapter. In this way Dreamriser mimics rather than attempts to emulate the conventional idea of the novel. Fredy Neptune moves towards and is constantly seeking that resolution and return to wholeness for its protagonist; Dreamriser refuses and actively undermines expectations of resolution and conclusion. Where Dreamriser and Fredy Neptune meet is in their treatment of the body as subject and material for the poem, in the location of the mind and the myriad layers of identity within the body, and in its consideration of gender and gender relations. In the following critical essay, ?Writing the Postcolonial Body in Les Murray?s Fredy Neptune? I look at how Murray addresses postcolonial identity in Australia in his verse novel through the medium of the body. History, gender, national identity and the poem itself are embodied in the very act of writing and in the physical experience of reading the poem. I argue that Murray writes identity through the body in the poem of Fredy Neptune.?


Based around the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence", these three stories expand the stories of the king, the queen and the maid in amusing and modern ways! Walker Stories support beginner readers making the transition from picture books in an engaging, entertaining and accessible way. Each title features three highly-illustrated, individual short stories linked by one character, so readers can build familiarity and confidence.


In spite of a constant development of various diagnostic methods, in many cases of "peripheral shades" the exploratory opening of the chest appears to be the only way leading to a correct diagnosis. In this study, 143 patients were examined. These patients were referred to the Thoracic Surgery Department because of peripheral shades in the lung areas observed, often accidentally; on regular checkup X rays. Our paper assessed the usefulness of endoscopic examinations in diagnosing the changes situated peripherally in the lungs. 83.2% of those shades were recognized as neoplasms on the basis of histopathological examinations. Moreover , we evaluated the concordance of histopathological diagnosis before and after the operation.


Mankind is faced with three interconnected problems, those of rising population, the provision of adequate food and the increasing level of waste carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The ocean plays an important role at present by annually providing c. 90 Mt of high protein food and absorbing about 1000 Mt of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. By the year 2100 it is predicted by the United Nations (1992) that the world population will have more than doubled its 1990 level of 5.2 thousand million people and will approach 11.5 thousand million. Most of this population increase will occur in the developing countries.


Cretaceous marine rocks of the western Cordillera Oriental of Colombia are exposed in stratigraphic sections which reveal multiple source terrains and variable diagenetic histories that were imposed by later thrusting XRD and petrographic analyses indicate that earliest Cretaceous rocks were derived from a nearly plutonic source (Triassic-Jurassic Ibague Batholith of the Cordillera Central) which provided feldspathic lithic fragments and clay-sized illite. High smectite concentrations in the overlying Hauterivian-Barremian strata reflect contemporaneous volcanism, possibly in the Cordillera Central. This signal decreased upsection to the upper Aptian, where detrital clays (kaolinite, chlorite, feldspar, amphibole) indicate a shift to a cratonic source, probably the Guayana Shield. Cratonic detrital input continues into the Turonian-Coniacian and is accompanies by high concentrations of smectite representing another period of volcanic activity. Later tectonic activity divided the area into two regions, each with unique diagenetic signatures. Three primary clastic sources are inferred for the section east of the thrust belt, however, the mineral assemblage is masked by later diagenesis. Sediments within the thrust belt show greater variability in the relative abundance of mineral assemblages and more poorly crystallized illite than occurs to the east of the thrust section. The preservation of much of the original mineralogic components within more » the thrust section indicates that these sediments have experienced only limited diagenetic overprinting as a result of a relatively short burial history. These contrasting signatures have important implications for hydrocarbon maturation within Cretaceous source rocks in a structurally complex region. « less


In this thesis we deal with the analysis and measurement of dispersive surface forces, specifically the Casimir force. Applying Lifshitz theory makes it possible to take into account the material optical property and consequently the obtained results are more realistic. We used contact mode atomic force microscopy for measuring the force experimentally. We show how we can tailor the Casimir force with changing optical property by using different materials including gold (Au), Phase-Change-Materials (PCMs) in amorphous and crystalline state, and Silicon Carbide (SiC). The research presented in this thesis is essential for studying the dynamical behavior of MEMS/NEMS and its design, where surface forces are playing a key role. The combined experimental and theoretical progress has allowed researchers to design geometries and materials that may lead to new regimes of operation for nano/micromechanical devices and may also provide new ways to combat unwanted interactions such as 'stiction' between moving parts.


A two-phase material system of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) embedded in a dielectric matrix of silicon suboxide (SiOx) is fundamentally and technologically significant for the photonic and photovoltaic device such as light emission diode and solar cells. nc-Si in amorphous SiOx has been synthesized by means of the low-frequency (460 kHz) inductively coupled plasma (LFICP) of SiH4  +  CO2  +  H2 without the common route of high hydrogen dilution. The chemical composition, microstructures and optical properties of the complex material system are tuned by the reactive gas flow rate ratio of CO2/SiH4. nc-Si embedded in amorphous SiOx due to the phase separation are observed by means of SEM and TEM characterization tools. The crystalline volume fraction in nc-SiOx:H is determined by the density of the embedded nc-Si particles and the occurrence of the a-SiOx encapsulating shell layer. The bond configuration analysis shows the concurrent oxygenation and dehydrogenation process with the incorporation of oxygen. The underlying mechanism in forming the two-phase complex material system and the phase evolution with the reactive gas flow rate ratio are discussed in terms of the unique features of the utilized high-density LFICP.


This article addresses the centuries old but recently revived topic of human autonomy and its relation to people's functioning: physiological, psychological, and socio-cultural. It provides a review of current debates about status, nature, and perspectives of studying autonomy, agency, free will and self-determination in neuro- and cognitive sciences, motivation, personality and cultural psychology. This review starts with the theoretical definitions of the concepts and differentiates personal, intrapsychic, and motivational autonomy as well as behavioral freedom; delineates the distinction between autonomous and controlled forms of human agency; and relates all these concepts to the notion of human happiness and optimal functioning. It supports the idea of the universality of psychological autonomy as a fundamental capability of human species and argues that this capability is a real natural power that does not contradict the principle of determinism. Special attention is paid to the debates about the role culture plays in enabling and regulating human autonomy. The idea of dialectical relations between culture and human autonomy is presented and defended.


Introduction: Plate wastage in hospital contributes to malnutrition-related complications including longer hospitalization among cancer patients. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between patients' experiences of access to food hospital and plate wastage among hospitalized cancer patients. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-one cancer patients in the National Cancer Institute, Malaysia were recruited for this study. All eligible patients were undergoing cancer treatments and provided with informed consent. Data obtained included socio-demographic characteristics and patients' experiences of access to food hospital which will contribute to plate wastage. Plate wastage was determined by weighing the unwanted food left on the plate. Results: Prevalence of plate wastage among cancer patients was high at approximately 54%. The appearance of food served was associated with higher plate wastage (p<0.01). Conclusion: This finding shows that the prevalence of plate wastage was high which may inhibit food consumption and affecting nutritional status among cancer patients with oncologic treatment. Effective strategies that address factors associated with plate wastage should be taken among hospitalized cancer patients.


The apparatus described is a small-scale sealed ecological system capable of confining the rare gases without significant loss. Biological test chambers suitable for a variety of biological specimens are illustrated. A "canned" pump provides gas circulation; a K2CO3 scrubber column removes CO2. Metabolized oxygen is replenished automatically from an O2 cylinder which is controlled by an ultrasensitive pressure switch. Provision is made for recording oxygen uptake. The equipment provides a constant temperature within 0.5 C over the range of 5–50 C and is capable of maintaining uninterrupted operation for periods of up to 14 days.

small scale sealed ecological system; biological test chambers

Submitted on February 4, 1963


Nowadays, flexible electronic cooperation paradigms are required for core business processes to meet the speed and flexibility requirements dictated by fast-changing markets. These paradigms should include the functionality to establish the formal business relationship required by the importance of these core processes. The business relationship should be established in an automated, electronic way in order to match the speed and flexibility requirements mentioned above. As such, it should considerably improve on the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of traditional contracting in this context. The result of the establishment should be a detailed electronic contract that contains a complete specification of the intended cooperation between organizations. Electronic contracts should contain a precise and unambiguous specification of the collaboration at both the conceptual and technological level. Existing commercial software solutions for business-to-business contracting provide low level of automation and concentrate solely on the automated management of the contract enactment. However, in the modern, dynamic, business settings, an econtracting system has to support high automation of the e-contract establishment, enactment, and management. In the thesis, the business, legal, and technological requirements for the development of a highly automated e-contracting system are investigated. Models that satisfy these requirements and that can be used as a foundation for the implementation of an electronic contracting system are defined. First, the thesis presents the business benefits introduced to companies by highly automated electronic contracting. Next, a data and process analysis of electronic contracting is presented. The specification of electronic contracts and the required process support for electronic contract establishment and enactment are investigated. The business benefits and data and process models defined in the thesis are validated on the basis of two business cases from on-line advertising, namely the cases of online advertising in "De Telegraaf" and "Google". Finally, the thesis presents a specification of the functionalities that must be provided by an e-contracting system. A conceptual reference architecture that can be used as a starting point in the design and implementation of an electronic contracting system is defined. The work in the thesis is conducted on the intersection of the scientific areas of conceptual information and process modeling and specification on the one hand and distributed information system architecture modeling on the other hand.


In this paper, the first transport triggered architecture (TTA) customized for the decoding of polar codes is proposed. A first version of this programmable processor is optimized for the successive cancellation (SC) decoding of polar codes while a second architecture is further specialized to also support Soft CANcellation (SCAN) decoding. Both architectures were fully validated on FPGA device by prototyping. The first architecture was also synthesized in 28nm ASIC technology. It runs at a frequency of 800 MHz and reaches a throughput of 352 Mbps for a (1024, 512) polar code decoded with the SC algorithm. Compared to previous work, the energy consumption is reduced by one order of magnitude (0.14 nJ / bit) and the throughput is increased fivefold. Compared to an optimized software implementation on a general purpose processor (x86 architecture), the throughput is 37 % higher and the energy consumption is two orders of magnitude lower. TTA can be seen as a way to reduce the gap between programmable and dedicated polar decoders.


While spine surgery has historically been performed in the inpatient setting, in recent years there has been growing interest in performing certain cervical and lumbar spine procedures on an outpatient basis. While conducting these procedures in the outpatient setting may be preferable for both the surgeon and the patient, appropriate patient selection is crucial. The employment of machine learning techniques for data analysis and outcome prediction has grown in recent years within spine surgery literature. Machine learning is a form of statistics often applied to large datasets that creates predictive models, with minimal to no human intervention, that can be applied to previously unseen data. Machine learning techniques may outperform traditional logistic regression with regards to predictive accuracy when analyzing complex datasets. Researchers have applied machine learning to develop algorithms to aid in patient selection for spinal surgery and to predict postoperative outcomes. Furthermore, there has been increasing interest in using machine learning to assist in the selection of patients who may be appropriate candidates for outpatient cervical and lumbar spine surgery. The goal of this review is to discuss the current literature utilizing machine learning to predict appropriate patients for cervical and lumbar spine surgery, candidates for outpatient spine surgery, and outcomes following these procedures.


SUMMARY Despite a gradual decrease in prevalence, clonorchiasis is still prevalent in East Asia. A large and compelling body of evidence links clonorchiasis and cholangiocarcinoma, although the mechanisms involved are not completely understood. Clonorchiasis induces biliary epithelial hyperplasia and metaplasia, and this could facilitate at least one stage of the carcinogenesis, which is promoting effect. In areas of endemic infection, more clonorchiasis cases are now diagnosed incidentally during radiological examinations such as cholangiography, ultrasonography, and computed tomography. Radiological findings are regarded as pathognomonic for clonorchiasis since they reflect the unique pathological changes of this disorder. These radiological examinations currently play important roles in the diagnosis, staging, and decision-making process involved in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma. The morphological features and radiological findings of clonorchiasis-associated cholangiocarcinoma are essentially combinations of the findings for the two diseases. The morphological features of clonorchiasis- associated cholangiocarcinoma, observed in radiological examinations, do not differ from those of the usual cholangiocarcinoma. In patients diagnosed with or suspected to have clonorchiasis, radiological findings should be carefully scrutinized for occult cholangiocarcinoma.


OF DISSERTATION POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYL LIGANDS OF THE ARYL HYDROCARBON RECEPTOR PROMOTE ADIPOCYTE-MEDIATED DIABETES Numerous epidemiology studies suggest a correlation between exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the development and severity of type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, mechanisms remain largely unknown. Previous studies demonstrated that PCBs that are ligands of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) promote the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), that are linked to insulin resistance in adipocytes. To explore potential mechanisms linking PCB exposures to diabetes, we developed a mouse model of glucose and insulin intolerance induced by acute and chronic exposures to PCB-77. We hypothesized that PCB ligands of AhR result in adipocyte-specific elevations in TNF-α and dysregulated glucose homeostasis. Results demonstrated that PCB77 resulted in rapid and sustained glucose and insulin intolerance in low fat (LF)-fed mice, and that these effects were associated with adipose-specific elevations in TNF-α. When mice were made obese from consumption of a high fat (HF) diet, effects of PCB77 were lost presumably due to concentration of the toxin in adipose lipids. However, upon weight loss, mice exposed to PCB77 exhibit impaired glucose homeostasis. These results suggest that lipophilic PCBs redistribute from adipose lipids with weight loss and mitigate beneficial effects to improve glucose homeostasis. To define the role of adipocyte AhR in PCB-induced diabetes, we created a mouse model of adipocyte AhR deficiency using the Cre/LoxP system. Adipocyte-AhR deficiency conferred protection from the development of PCB-77-induced impairments in glucose and insulin tolerance in obese mice undergoing weight loss. Unexpectedly, adipocyte-AhR deficient mice fed the HF diet exhibited adipocyte hypertrophy, increased adipose mass and elevated body weight. These results suggest that (1) adipocyte AhRs are responsible for effects of PCB77 to impair glucose homeostasis during weight loss and (2) adipocyte AhRs respond to the HF diet to regulate adipose mass and body weight. We used resveratrol as a putative AhR antagonist to determine if the polyphenol confers protection against PCB-77-induced diabetes. Resveratrol abolished acute effects of PCB77 to impair glucose and insulin tolerance in LF-fed mice. Notably, PCB77 administration abolished insulin-induced phosphorylation of Akt in adipose tissue and these effects were abolished by resveratrol. Resveratrol also abolished marked suppressions in glucose uptake in adipocytes exposed to PCB77. These studies suggest the adipocyte AhR plays a potentially significant role in the development of diabetes and obesity, and that resveratrol may represent a novel therapeutic for PCB exposed populations.


Inflammatory responses contribute to the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia and stroke. Activated caspase-1 cleaves the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18, initiating a cascade of detrimental inflammatory events. Cell culture studies of macrophages have reported that activation of caspase-1 involves the formation of a macromolecular complex termed the inflammasome. Whether this complex is present after cerebral ischemia is unknown. Here, we utilized a clinically relevant model of thromboembolic stroke in mice to investigate the formation of the inflammasome and subsequent activation of inflammatory responses. Our results demonstrate for the first time that cerebral ischemia triggered the formation of a high molecular weight complex comprised of caspase-1, caspase-11, the adaptor protein ASC (apoptosis-associated speck-like protein with CARD) and NALP1 (NACHT/LRR/pyrin domain-containing protein 1) in the cerebral cortex, 24 hr after ischemia. Formation of the inflammasome complex resulted in activation of caspase-1 and cleavage of IL-1β and IL-18. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed the presence of inflammasome proteins in cortical neurons and inflammatory cells. Finally, the therapeutic potential of targeting the inflammasome after ischemia was demonstrated by reduced cytokine activation in mice treated with a neutralizing antibody against NALP1.


Cadmium (Cd(2+)) is a major environmental pollutant that induces cytotoxicity by heavy-metal accumulation. Prolonged Cd(2+) exposure leads to cell damage by oxidative stress mainly in the kidneys, a critical organ for detoxification. To identify reliable on invasive protein biomarkers for Cd(2+)-induced nephrotoxicity, we performed 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis/matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectra and stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture/liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses using conditioned media (CM) of HK-2 human kidney epithelial cells treated with CdCl2. Here, we identified heat shock cognate 71 kDa protein isoform1 (HSPA8) and α-enolase (ENO1) as potential biomarker candidates for the evaluation of Cd(2+)-induced nephrotoxicity. Treatment with CdCl2 increased the protein level of HSPA8 in CM and lysates of HK-2 cells. The mRNA level of HSPA8 was also increased by CdCl2 treatment, indicating transcriptional regulation. The level of ENO1 was increased in CM, but not in lysates of CdCl2-treated HK-2 cells. CdCl2 did not affect the mRNA level of ENO1. We provide evidence that the increases of HSPA8 and ENO1 in CM were due to Cd(2+)-induced cell death through oxidative stress. The increases of HSPA8 and ENO1 levels were also detected in CM of HK-2 cells treated with other nephrotoxic agents, such as HgCl2, NaAsO2, cisplatin, amphotericin B, and cyclosporine A. Urine and kidney tissues of CdCl2-treated rats showed increased levels of HSPA8. Taken together, this study identified HSPA8 and ENO1 as noninvasive biomarker candidates by 2 comparative proteomic analyses. These new biomarker candidates may have potential as alternatives to traditional biomarkers for the efficient and sensitive assessment of nephrotoxicity.


The process of nano-droplet formation is crucial to the development of 3D nano-inkjet printing. In this thesis, nano-droplet formation is numerically characterized using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD). Due to size constraints and challenges in the development and optimization of 3D nano-inkjet printer nozzles, experimental means to characterize the nano-droplet formation process is currently impractical. Hence, numerical method becomes a valuable tool to characterize this process effectively. Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) and many-body DPD (MDPD) are employed in this work to study nano-droplet formation process. Such mesoscale particle-based Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation techniques provide cost effective means to study such systems.
 This project starts by investigating agglomeration, which is a process that leads to nozzle clogging in 3D nano-inkjet printing. Nozzle clogging is one of the major hurdle in the development of 3D nano-inkjet printing today. Using DPD, a UV ink system, which comprises of oligomers and monomers of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polystyrene (PS) with benzophenone (BZP) as the photo-initiator, is modelled. The results show that a 3:1 ratio of PEG to PS provides the best morphology in terms of particle uniformity, agglomerate size, and particulate dispersion. A surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), is added to the model to improve these agglomeration behaviors. It is found that SDS can help to prevent further agglomeration while reducing the average size of the agglomerates from 520 A to 440 A and improving their distribution from 7 clusters to 14 smaller clusters.
 Next, a nano-nozzle together with UV ink system is modelled using MDPD to simulate the process of nano-droplet formation through a 3D nano-inkjet nozzle. Comparison with microscale experiment confirms that the model gives good agreement and consistency within 10% range of error. The validated model is subjected to varying temperature and pressure in order to predict the influence of these external parameters on nano-droplet formation. It is found that higher temperatures and applied pressures increase droplet velocity and reduce droplet break-up time. In addition, higher temperatures increase the droplets' diameter while higher effective pressures reduce it. The MDPD simulation also revealed that apart from ink agglomeration, ink deposition on the nozzle's wall is another potential source of nozzle clogging. Simulation results show the addition of surfactant can effectively reduce such ink deposition. Only a small amount of surfactant between the interval of 0.2-3.0 wt% is sufficient to reduce ink deposition by 60%. Increasing the amount of surfactant beyond 3.0 wt% does not give better improvements. To further reduce ink deposition, other de-agglomeration techniques are suggested to modify the interaction between ink and wall of nozzle. This can be achieved via physical or chemical techniques such as electric field or application of a non-wetting coat. By combining these de-agglomeration techniques, it is…


The present study was conducted according to the Freudian subdivisions on human psychosexuality. The study on sexuality can be subdivided and directed to several themes, walking through several areas of knowledge, where each theoretical field contributes significantly to such study. This work was part of the studies of the discipline Human Sexuality of the Course of Psychology of the Federal University of Rondonia in the second semester of 2017 and reports an observation made with four children, having as subjects children in the age group of 3 to 8 years, whose names used in this Freud's contributions to human sexuality, with emphasis on the phallic phase and latency period, are fictitious and based on theory. To assist in the field observations on the phases, a plan of observations was made with a script of aspects to be observed considering the literature that already indicates some characteristics attributed to this stage of human life. As a result, it was observed that there are clear correspondences between the literature and the practice, however, there is a need to broaden the means and resources of observation to deepen the research, producing, in turn, a better analytical apparatus.


In psychiatry, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is an established procedure for most psychotropic drugs. However, as its use in everyday clinical practice is far from optimal, the AGNP-TDM group has worked out consensus guidelines to assist psychiatrists and laboratories involved in drug analysis. Based on a thorough analysis of available literature, 5 levels of recommendation were defined with regard to TDM of psychoactive drugs, from 1) (strongly recommended) to 5) (not recommended). A list of indications for TDM, alone or in combination with pharmacogenetic tests is presented. Instructions are given with regard to preparation of TDM, analytical procedures, reporting and interpretation of results and the use of information for patient treatment. Using the consensus guideline will help to ensure optimal clinical benefit of TDM.


According to received opinion, the case of the Home Bldg. & Loan Ass'n v. Blaisdell, decided in 1934, laid to rest any force the Contracts Clause of the United States Constitution had to limit state legislation that affected existing contracts. But the Supreme Court's subsequent decisions belies that claim. In fact, a few months later, the Court unanimously decided Worthen v. Thomas, which reaffirmed the vitality of the Contract Clause. Over the next few years, in twenty cases, the Court limited the reach of Blaisdell and confirmed the limiting force of the Contract Clause on state legislation. Only after World War II did the Court abandon the Contract Clause by interpreting Blaisdell well beyond its original intention. The Court in the 1930s had devised a workable formula that could be still workable today.


Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by an expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) tract in the huntingtin (htt) protein. Mutant htt toxicity is exposed after htt cleavage by caspases and other proteases release NH2-terminal fragments containing the polyQ expansion. Here, we show htt interacts and colocalizes with cdk5 in cellular membrane fractions. Cdk5 phosphorylates htt at Ser434, and this phosphorylation reduces caspase-mediated htt cleavage at residue 513. Reduced mutant htt cleavage resulting from cdk5 phosphorylation attenuated aggregate formation and toxicity in cells expressing the NH2-terminal 588 amino acids (htt588) of mutant htt. Cdk5 activity is reduced in the brains of HD transgenic mice compared with controls. This result can be accounted for by the polyQ-expanded htt fragments reducing the interaction between cdk5 and its activator p35. These data predict that the ability of cdk5 phosphorylation to protect against htt cleavage, aggregation, and toxicity is compromised in cells expressing toxic fragments of htt.


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Background and Objective: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in both developing and industrialized countries, especially among young children and in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. It is implicated in both invasive (e.g. meningitis and septicemia) as well as noninvasive disease (community-acquired pneumonia and otitis media). The objective of the current study was to describe the overall epidemiology of both invasive and noninvasive pneumococcal disease in Abu Dhabi over a 5-year period. Design and Setting: Retrospective review of all pediatric (≤ 5 year old) pneumococcal disease admissions to Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) and Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi from 1 January 2001 till 31 December 2005.th Methods: We retrieved computerized data from the health information management systems (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD9) diagnosis codes) as well as manual surveillance in the laboratory record of pneumococcal isolates. Results: The incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease was 13.6/100 000 per year (95% CI, 6.5-24.9) and the incidence of noninvasive pneumococcal disease was 172.5/100 000 per year (95% CI, 143.8-205.2). The total incidence rate was 186.0/100 000 per year (95% CI, 156.2-219.9). Conclusion: This epidemiological survey indicates that the incidence rates in the United Arab Emiratea are higher than in Western countries where conjugate pneumococcal vaccine has been introduced. This study is important as it documents the incidence of pneumococcal disease in the era before introduction of the conjugate pneumococcal vaccine and allows for future research to document the impact of a new vaccine considering the geographic variation of pneumococcal serotypes.


The new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes enhanced requirements on digital data collection. This article reports from a 2018 German nationwide population-based probability app study in which participants were asked through a GDPR compliant consent process to share a series of digital trace data, including geolocation, accelerometer data, phone and text messaging logs, app usage, and access to their address books. With about 4,300 invitees and about 650 participants, we demonstrate (1) people were just as willing to share such extensive digital trace data as they were in studies with far more limited requests; (2) despite being provided more decision-related information, participants hardly differentiated between the different data requests made; and (3) once participants gave consent, they did not tend to revoke it. We also show (4) evidence for a widely-held belief that explanations regarding data collection and data usage are often not read carefully, at least not within the app itself, indicating the need for research and user experience improvement to adequately inform and protect participants. We close with suggestions to the field for creating a seal of approval from professional organizations to help the research community promote the safe use of data.


Visually impaired people can possibly feel stress and anxiety while walking at pedestrian crossing and vehicle doorway at train stations. We propose a walking assistance system in order to (1) provide accurate information (existence and the type of braille blocks) via a cane and (2) inform them the place's information via the cane while they are at the places where they can possibly feel stress and anxiety. In contrast to the previous works of using electronic devices (RFID (Radio Frequency IDentifier) tags), we take an approach of using chemical substance (phosphors) as guiding object. In our elementary experiments, we made samples with 5% of phosphor powder by using resin material and could observe the existence of it. This result indicates the potential feasibility of our system.


Summary. Two rams were injected intratesticularly with [1-14C]palmitic acid, and the amounts and distributions of radiolabel in the sperm and seminal plasma lipids of ejaculates were monitored for 63 days. The residual label remaining in the epididymal spermatozoa and fluid and the testicular tissue of one animal was also examined. After Day 17, two broad areas of high specific activity were observed in sperm lipids, with maxima occurring on Days 28 and 42. The pattern of labelling of seminal plasma lipids was similar, but the major peaks of activity occurred on Days 31 and 45. By Day 63, both sperm and plasma activities were low. In spermatozoa, the radioactivity was largely confined to phospholipid fractions, with phosphatidylinositol showing high specific activity relative to other lipids in each ejaculate. The only neutral lipids to have measurable activity were 1,2-diglycerides, but the distribution of label among the various lipid classes altered considerably with time. A detailed analysis of the distributions of label in ejaculates on Days 28 and 42 revealed that 10 to 12% of the 14C in sperm lipids on each day was present in mono-unsaturated components. The labelling of plasmalogenic aldehydes accounted for 19\m=.\3%and 25\m=.\8% of the radioactivity in sperm phospholipids on Day 28, but only 9\m=.\9%and 9\m=.\8% on Day 42 in ejaculates from the two rams. Testicular tissue differed markedly from epididymal and ejaculated spermatozoa on Day 63, in that triglycerides and 1,3-diglycerides showed high specific activity. These findings have been discussed in relation to the processes of spermatogenesis in the ram.


programme. Results A Total of 55 patients attended 161 session out of a potential 275, resulting in combined total of 44 separate goals been set using the GAS Light template. All goals were reviewed and were categorized from 3 options namely, 'a little better'; 'same' or 'worse'. 30 Goals were achieved with patients identifying them as 'a little better'. 15 goals were not achieved of those 11 remained the 'same' and 4 had got 'worse'. 23 patients did not set or complete goal setting activity due to not completing the course, declining to participate in goal setting or not returning/recording data. This is reflective of both the attendance figures and the challenges of implementing a new outcome measure in a MDT. Conclusions Following a 5 week breathlessness programme some participants achieved and partially achieved goals important to them. Further evaluation is required.


We propose a scheme for teleportation of an unknown two-qubit entangled state via trapped ions. In this scheme, we use the GHZ state as a quantum channel and the success probability can reach 1. The distinct advantage of our scheme is insensitive to the heating of the vibrational mode. In addition, Bell-state measurement is not required.


Abstract OX40 ligand (OX40L) is a member of tumor necrosis factors (TNF)/TNFR superfamily and is mainly expressed in activated T cells and participates in various inflammatory reactions. However, it remains unclear about the role of serum OX40L as a biomarker of cerebral infarction (CI). This study aimed to explore the possibility of serum OX40L as a meaningful predictor in mortality of CI. Severe CI patients were included to collect clinicopathological and laboratory data and measure serum OX40L level. Patients were followed up after discharge and 60-day survival rate was used as the study endpoint. The results showed that of all 294 patients, 123 (41.8%) died within 60 days after admission. Serum OX40L levels were significantly higher in patients with severe CI compared to healthy controls, and were significantly higher in nonsurvivors compared to survivors (P < .05). The levels of OX40L were correlated with Glasgow Coma Scale score, serum creatinine and high-sensitive C-reactive protein. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum OX40L level was an independent prognostic factor for 60-day mortality, after control of pulmonary infection, glasgow coma scale score and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (odds ratio = 1.089; 95% confidence interval = 1.053–1.126; P < .001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to predict the best cut-off of serum OX40L for 60-day survival as 35.5 ng/mL. Patients with high serum OX40L levels (>35.5 ng/mL) had a significantly higher mortality within 60 days (hazard ratio = 2.885; 95% confidence interval = 1.901–4.378). In conclusion, OX40L is a serum biomarker of patients with CI and associated with severity and mortality of this disease.


A decomposition of the learning gap between indigenous and non-indigenous 6th grade Mexican students is carried out, in order to identify which factors, explain it. Four groups of factors are contrasted: socioeconomic (student and his/her family), school resources, cultural relevance of the educational model and discrimination at the school level, and test language. Multi-level regression models and Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions are estimated for Spanish and Mathematics results. Hypotheses are developed in order to allow indirect estimation of the incidence of the last two. The results show greater effects of socioeconomic factors than school factors; a significant reduction of the gaps in both knowledge areas (55-70%) as a consequence of these factors; A greater proportion of the gap explained in mathematics than in Spanish; practically nonexistent interaction effects between school type and the student's ethnic condition. Explanations that emphasize the relevance of the socioeconomic marginalization of indigenous students are strengthened, against the role of school resources, the irrelevance of the educational model or discrimination mechanisms. A lower proportion of unexplained gaps in mathematics strengthens an alternative, more parsimonious hypothesis: a significant part of the gap derives from the fact that indigenous students are not evaluated in their first language.


Of 332 consecutive patients attending the female venereal disease clinic, Auckland Hospital, 74 patients had gonorrhoea confirmed by culture, but gram stained slides were positive in only 36 of these patients. Five other patients had positive gram stained smears but were culture negative. The study showed the value of gram stained smear in the rapid diagnosis of gonorrhoea in the female.


The objective of this tutorial is to introduce the Java platform from a design rather then from a programming perspective. It provides an exploration of key issues of the Java technology necessary to create high quality and novel web technology based application environments. Based on the experience of several Java based user interface projects the specific needs of usability engineers will be addressed. User interface potentials embedded in the Java platform will be uncovered.


Stimulation of human CD4+ T cell clones with appropriate specific peptides or with lectins in the absence of APC induces a substantial degree of cell death. We have investigated the mechanisms of induction of this cell death and show that it occurs by apoptosis, identified by morphology and the characteristic pattern of DNA degradation. We also investigated whether this T cell death was a result of a suicide process activated in the T cell after "inappropriate" recognition of Ag on the surface of another T cell clone (and in the absence of other accessory signals), or was due to a conventional lethal hit delivered by one cytolytic T cell to another "target" T cell. Our results strongly suggest that peptide-induced cell death of human CD4+ CTL is due to active killing of Ag-presenting target T cells by effector T cells of the same clone. The cell death that is induced in the target T cell occurs via apoptosis that requires de novo RNA transcription and translation in the effector T cell.


Exposure to potentially traumatic events experienced in military combat can often lead to psychological illness such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However the stigma of suffering a mental illness prevents many within the military from seeking help. Currently operating within the Royal Marines is Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) a peer-support system embedded within the operational units, promoting recognition of psychological illness. This current research aims to evaluate the effects of TRiM on two individual units, one from the British Royal Marines and one from the Coldstream Guards, at different stages of TRiM incorporation. Levels of distress and attitudes towards suffering psychological distress have been evaluated prior to, and upon return from six months deployment to Afghanistan, by quantitative analysis using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 12), the PTSD Checklist Civilian Version (PCL C), and an Attitude to Mental Health Questionnaire. Participants numbered 180 pre-deployment and 137 post-deployment. Findings show that in comparison the TRiM group were found to have lower psychological distress and less negative attitudes towards suffering from psychological distress. However, both groups showed concern at perceived views of others and the impact of disclosing a psychological illness. Elevated psychological distress for both the Marines and Coldstream Guards was found pre-deployment, suggesting anticipatory anxiety, as compared with reduced levels post-deployment, suggesting subsequent relief at being back from tour and that combat experiences do not necessarily lead to psychological distress.


Multi-view feature learning aims at improving the performances of learning tasks, by fusing various kinds of features (views), such as heterogeneous features and/or homogeneous features. Current leading multi-view feature learning approaches usually learn features in each view separately while not uncovering shared information from multiple views. In this paper, we propose a multi-view feature learning framework, which can simultaneously learn separate subspace for each view and shared subspace for all the views, respectively; specifically, the separate subspace for each view can preserve the particular information within this view, meanwhile, the shared subspace can capture feature correlation among multiple views. Both the particularity and communality are essential for classification. Furthermore, we relax the labels of training samples within the concatenated subspaces, thus resulting in the retargeted least square regression (LSR) classifier. The transformation matrices tailored for each subspace within the corresponding view and the label relaxed LSR classifier are jointly learned in a unified framework, based on an efficient alternative optimization manner. Extensive experiments on four benchmark data sets well demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method, which has led to better performances than compared counterpart methods.


Nitrogen is an important and costly input for corn (Zea mays L.) production. With rising prices and environmental concerns, producers are looking for ways to better manage N fertilization. A project designed to evaluate in-season N management strategies for adjusting N rate was conducted in 30 Iowa cornfields from 2004 to 2006. Nitrogen rates applied preplant or early sidedress (PRE-N) and corn plant sensing with a chlorophyll meter (CM) to detect N stress was used to determine as-needed in-season post sensing nitrogen application (POST-N). Field-length strips were replicated three times with six N treatments: zero-N control, 67 kg N ha -1 (reduced PRE-N rate), 67+ (reduced PRE-N rate plus POST-N), 134 kg N ha -1 (agronomic PRE-N rate), 134+ (agronomic PRE-N rate plus POST-N), and 268 kg N ha -1 (PRE-N non-N limiting reference rate). Nitrogen deficiency stress sensing was partially successful, with 70 to 80% correct N deficiency detection. Mean yield increased 0.5 Mg ha -1 across all sites with the POST-N applied to the 67 kg N ha -1 PRE-N rate. The 67+ POST-N strategy had a similar total N applied as the agronomic 134 kg N ha -1 PRE-N rate, but the yield was 0.5 Mg ha -1 lower. This indicates yield potential loss and poor recovery from the POST-N applications. Economic return comparisons indicated that the agronomic 134 PRE-N rate and 134+ POST-N in-season strategy were similar and had higher return than the 67+ POST-N strategy. The agronomic PRE-N rate, with confirmation ofN stress and determination of additional N need through plant sensing, was a more cost effective in-season strategy than starting with the reduced PRE-N rate.


Observations by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) of nearby interstellar clouds have shown that the 𝛾 -ray emissivities measured per gas atom are fairly uniform within half a kiloparsec of the Sun, except in the Eridu cloud which exhibits a puzzling 30 − 50% drop in emissivity, hence in cosmic-ray flux. The magnetic field along this atomic filamentary cloud is largely ordered and points towards the halo, so cosmic rays may stream out towards high altitudes below the Galactic plane. To compare with the Eridu cloud, we have studied the 𝛾 -ray flux recorded in another nearby, highly-inclined, magnetically ordered, atomic filament named the Reticulum cloud. We find a 𝛾 -ray emissivity in the Reticulum cloud that is fully consistent with the local average and that is 40-60% larger than in the similar Eridu cloud. We have studied the gas and magnetic-field states of these two clouds and we have derived estimates of the 𝜅 ∥ diffusion coefficient parallel to the magnetic field in the self-confinement scenario where cosmic rays grow Alfvén waves via the streaming instability and those waves are damped by ion-neutral interactions. The smaller 𝜅 ∥ values we find in the Eridu cloud challenge its loss of cosmic rays compared to the less diffusive environment of Reticulum.


Abstract : As a result of steadily rising energy costs, construction practice for light-frame wood structure has changed over the past few years. The use of 6-inch-thick walls and application of high-'R'-value, low-permeance sheathings to 4-inch walls has caused concern for the changing moisture patterns that may occur in walls. To observe actual moisture patterns and the potential for condensation, a test structure was constructed near Madison, Wis., for exposure of eight types of insulated wall panels at controlled indoor conditions and typical outdoor weather conditions. Panels were instrumented with moisture sensors and tested without (Phase 1) and with (Phase 2) penetrations (electrical outlets) in the indoor surface. Continuous vapor retarders effectively prevented condensation; asphalted paper stapled between studs was inadequate. The installation of an electrical outlet changed the moisture profile and resulted in some condensation in most panels. Moisture levels on the back of siding in most Phase 2 panels have been known to produce buckling in long sections of hardboard siding. Although streaking occurred on the siding of two types of Phase 1 panels and three Phase 2 types, and some condensation occurred in all types of Phase 2 panels, there was no long-term accumulation of free water in the structure. The moisture content of framing remained below 12 percent throughout the 2-year study. There was no apparent increase in condensation potential with the addition of low-permeance foam sheathing in this study with controlled indoor conditions.


The adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) from sodium chloride solution and Hanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS) onto TiO2-silicon surfaces is studied by reflectometry in stagnation point flow. The results are compared with those obtained by dynamic contact-angle (DCA) analysis of titanium substrates. The adsorption isotherms show that the adsorbed amount of protein always is lower in HBSS, that is, in the presence of calcium and phosphate ions. This may be related to the increase in surface hydrophilicity caused by these ions, as suggested by the authors in previous works. The rate of adsorption also is lower in HBSS solutions. Comparison of the initial adsorption rates with the rate of mass transfer to the surface reveals that in both solvents only a small fraction of the protein that arrives at the surface adsorbs onto it. Electrostatic and/or conformational effects can explain the energy barrier to adsorption. The DCA analysis of high concentration (4 mg/mL) protein solutions shows a strong reduction of the contact-angle hysteresis, both in HBSS and in NaCl solutions, which confirms that the immediate adsorption of the protein to the surface forms a stable, hydrophilic film.


Although an important role of inflammation in the development of lung cancer has been recognized, how inflammation promotes lung epithelial cell transformation and lung cancer development has not been well elucidated. Cigarette smoke (CS), the major cause of lung cancers, potently elicits chronic pulmonary inflammation. Our recent studies have found that CS significantly induces Muc1 (MUC1 for human and Muc1 for nonhuman species) expression in mouse bronchial epithelial cells and macrophages, and MUC1 facilitates Benzo(a)pyrene diolepoxide (BPDE)-induced human lung epithelial cell transformation. In this study, we investigated the role of inflammatory cells in regulating CS carcinogen-induced MUC1 expression in bronchial epithelial cells. BPDE and N-Nitroso-N-methylurea (MNU), an active CS carcinogen and a mimic, strongly induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) secretion from human macrophages. The TNF-α induction was effectively blocked when ERK, JNK, and NF-κB were blocked, suggesting these pathways are involved in the induction of TNF-α from macrophages by BPDE and MNU. Interestingly, knockdown of MUC1 in macrophages suppressed BPDE- or MNU-induced TNF-α secretion, suggesting MUC1 plays a role in modulating carcinogen-induced and macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses. Conditioned media from BPDE- or MNU-treated macrophages potently induced MUC1 expression in human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs), which was inhibited by a TNF-α neutralizing antibody, suggesting that TNF-α derived from macrophages contributes to CS carcinogen-induced MUC1 expression in HBECs. Thus, our results establish a dual role of MUC1 in CS-induced and inflammation-associated lung cancer development: to facilitate TNF-α secretion from macrophages and to potentiate transformation of HBECs. Note: This work is supported by NIH/NIEHS grant 1R01ES017328. 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 385. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-385


Thymus schimperi Ronninger (Lamiaceae) locally known as Tosign, is a multipurpose endemic plant that has been used for various remedies as constituents of traditional medicine in Ethiopia. The objective of this study is to evaluate antibacterial activity of water, ethanol, methanol and chloroform extracts of T. schimperi using agar well diffusion and broth dilution methods against human pathogenic bacterial strains. Amongst the solvents used for this study, chloroform extract possess the highest potential of inhibiting the growth of all bacteria under study at concentrations of 50 mg/ml while ethanol and methanol extract fail to inhibit three gram negative bacteria, namely: Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Klebsiella pneumoniae (clinical isolate) and Shigella flexneri (ATCC 12022) at the same concentration. Water extract did not show any zone of inhibition on all test bacteria as compared to other solvents. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were performed only for chloroform extracts that showed inhibition against all test organisms. This study revealed that, the highest inhibition with chloroform extract was exhibited against Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus (MRSA)  with mean zones of inhibition of 22.6+2.5 mm whilst the minimum inhibition zone was observed for E. coli with mean zone of inhibition of 14.6+2.3 mm. The MIC value ranged from 6.25 to 12.5 mg/ml while the MBC value ranged from 6.25 mm to 25 mg/ml. This study clearly indicates that the crude chloroform extract of T. schimperi showed highest antibacterial activity against all studied bacterial strains as compared to the three solvents used in this study. Thus, further study and characterization of active compounds of chloroform extract of this plant is required.

 Key words: Antibacterial activity, MBC, MIC, Thymus schimperi, Tosign, zone of inhibition.