Natural killer (NK) cells of the immune system are the first line of defense against transformed and infected cells. NK cell action is determined through binding of killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) with specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I ligands on target cells. The KIR gene family is diverse and highly polymorphic, is poorly covered on GWAS platforms, and exhibits significant functional copy number variation. The KIR locus has been primarily studied in the context of HCV, HIV, and transplant outcomes. Here, we have tested the hypothesis that KIR genotypes are associated with Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (NMSC) etiology. These are among the most prevalent malignancies worldwide with rising incidence. In addition, they are highly antigenic tumors, with a possible viral etiology, making NMSC an ideal model to test KIR as a cancer susceptibility trait. A random subset of a population-based case-control study in New Hampshire was selected for the study: 422 basal cell carcinomas (BCC) (1 BCC=243, 2 BCC=131, ≥3 BCC=48), 132 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), and 222 controls. KIR genotyping was performed with Lifecodes KIR-SSO typing kit on Luminex using buffy coat derived genomic DNA, capturing KIR loci: 2DS1, 2DS2, 2DS3, 2DS4, 2DS5, 2DP1, 2DL1, 2DL2, 2DL3, 2DL4, 2DL5, 3DL1, 3DS1, and 3DL2. Cutaneous HPV status was assessed using serum samples and established Luminex detection assays covering 16 genus beta HPV types. The KIR2DL2/3 locus was associated with a significantly increased risk of BCC (OR=2.65, 95% CI: 1.08-6.48), which was particularly strong for cases with 3 or more tumors (OR=5.77, 95% CI: 1.30-25.66). For SCC, the KIR3DL1 gene was associated with a significantly increased risk of malignancy (OR=3.73, 95% CI: 1.51-9.22). Next we investigated the association of KIR and SCC within HPV strata. The KIR3DL1-SCC association was strongest among those with no evidence of HPV infection (OR=6.81, 95% CI: 1.78-26.12). In contrast, the non-functional KIR2DS4 variant related to an increased risk and the KIR2DL2 gene related to reduced risk of SCC among those with multiple β-HPV infections. Our results implicate a strong role for KIR in the etiology of NMSC. KIR2DL2/3 may be particularly important in the development of multiple BCC, and KIR3DL1 in the pathogenesis of SCC. Finally, we identified a pattern of KIR-SCC associations that supports a potential etiologic role of cutaneous HPV in SCC occurrence. Citation Format: Karin A. Vineretsky, Margaret R. Karagas, Michael Pawlita, Heather H. Nelson. Functional killer-immunoglobulin-like receptor variation and risk of non-melanoma skin cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1332. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1332


High energy physics (HEP) and other scientific communities have adopted service oriented architectures (SOA) as part of a larger grid computing effort. This effort involves the integration of many legacy applications and programming libraries into a SOA framework. The grid analysis environment (GAE) (Lingen et al., 2004) is such a service oriented architecture based on the Clarens grid services framework (Steenberg et al., 2004) and is being developed as part of the compact muon solenoid (CMS) experiment at the large hadron collider (LHC) at European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN). Clarens provides a set of authorization, access control, and discovery services, as well as XMLRPC and SOAP access to all deployed services. Two implementations of the Clarens Web services framework (Python and Java) offer integration possibilities for a wide range of programming languages. This paper describes the Java implementation of the Clarens Web services framework called 'JClarens' and several Web services of interest to the scientific and grid community that have been deployed using JClarens.


Abstract People's Poland in the 1970s is well-known for political rebellion, but the extent to which cinema aesthetics were radicalized following the death of revisionism in 1968 is still under-explored. In this paper, I show how late filmmakers Grzegorz Królikiewicz (1939–2017) and Piotr Szulkin (1950–2018) moved beyond the limitations of documentary realism and psychologized narrative that viewed political cinema as constituting a settled kind of knowledge to be transmitted to audiences. Instead, their early avant-docs embraced contingency in meaning and the viewer's role in assembling it, forging an embodied, theoretical, micro style of cinematic communication. Articulating alienation in People's Poland through the marginal and un-serious, the mess of labouring bodies and human feelings, they stand the biopolitics of the state on its head, opening the door to new possibilities and new ways of being together, much like the Solidarity movement itself. I read them in terms of what Oskar Negt and Alexander Kluge called the 'haptic sensorium,' the stirrings of feeling and sensation at the beginning of life from which human labour is drawn—and our irreducible ability to fight back.


An investigation of the geology and ground-water conditions in a part of southwestern Long Island, including the construction of 8 deep and 5 shallow test and observation wells, has been completed by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Nassau County Dept. of Public Works and the New York State Water Power and Control Com- mission. In this area are 4 main water-bearing units of Late Cretaceous and Pleistocene age. Ground water having a higher than normal salt content is encountered in some wells that penetrate the upper 3 units. Although the presence of this water constitutes a potential threat, existing fresh-water supplies apparently are in little immediate danger under present conditions. The "salty" ground water has chloride concentrations ranging from about 40 to 18,000 p. p. m. (parts per million), generally more than about 2,000 p. p. m. It occurs in several bodies, seaward of and beneath the fresh water in the respective aquifers, and is in contact with the fresh water through zones of diffusion. The largest salt-water body, confined under artesian pressure, is in the Jameco gravel and the Magothy(?) formation beneath extreme southwestern Nassau County and adjoining southeastern Queens County. This body is thought to have occupied a substantial part of its present extent since at least 1895. It probably has been and is now encroaching, very slowly, because of increased pumping from the fresh-water bodies and possibly as a result of a postglacial rise of sea level. The rate of encroachment under present conditions probably is less than 100 ft. per year. Application of the Ghyben-Herzberg principle to compute depths to the contact between salty and fresh ground water was found to give erroneous results. More accurate depths and a clearer understanding of the relation between heads in adjoining bodies of fresh and salty ground water are obtained by use of a formula adapted from one given by M. King Hubbert.


Between 1977 and 1981 hamstring release (n = 27) and posterior capsulotomy (n = 22) were performed on 27 haemophilic patients. The follow‐up of 19 patients is documented for at least 5 years after the operation. The mean age was 30 years (15–40 years), the mean follow‐up period was 12.5 years (5–20 years). Postoperatively 16 of 19 knee joints achieved immediate full extension, three patients showed 10° extension deficiency. In the long run the original good result could be demonstrated in just 11 patients. Using the Orthopedic Advisory Committee of the World Federation of Hemophilia (OAC) Scores there were three good, 12 satisfactory and four poor results. In minor forms of arthropathy a hamstring release with posterior capsulotomy is the only recommended operation. In severe forms we would actually recommend a combination with other procedures such as arthroscopic synovectomy or joint replacement.


OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to describe nurses' perceptions of nursing activities and analyze for consistency with top-of-license (TOL) practice. BACKGROUND The Advisory Board Company expert panel proposed 8 TOL core nursing responsibilities representing practice at its potential. Thus far, no empirical work has examined nursing practices relative to TOL, from staff nurses' points of view. METHODS This qualitative study used focus groups to explore perceptions of typical nursing activities. We analyzed activities for themes that described nurses' work during typical shifts. RESULTS Nurses' full scope of work included TOL-consistent categories, as well as categories that did not exemplify TOL practice, such as nonnursing care. A proposed model was developed, which depicts nurses' total scope of work, inclusive of all activity categories. In addition, hindrances to TOL practice were also identified. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study can inform leadership imperatives and the development of innovative, sustainable nursing practice models that support nursing practice at TOL.


PURPOSE
To report the demographics and clinical characteristics, therapy logarithm, and prognosis of children with pars planitis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The medical records were reviewed of all patients diagnosed with pars planitis between June 1995 and December 2005 in the Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology at Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain. A retrospective, descriptive, and longitudinal study of 30 eyes in 16 children was performed.

RESULTS
Pars planitis was bilateral in 87.5% and more frequent in males (68.8%). Average age at onset was 9.2 years. The main ophthalmologic findings recorded were snowballs (96.7%) and vitritis (93.3%). Cataract formation was the most prevalent complication (36.7%). Mean initial and final best-corrected visual acuities were 0.640 and 0.840, respectively. Periocular corticosteroids were used in 33.3% of cases and cryotherapy or laser photocoagulation in 16.7%. Complications requiring surgical management occurred in 4 eyes (13.3%).

CONCLUSION
Pars planitis treated with adequate medical and surgical procedures has a good prognosis in most cases.


In this paper we examined how participation in savings groups like the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) influence women's agency in rural Ghana, i.e. their ability to freely participate in group activities and act on other issues and matters that affect them. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from VSLA and nonVSLA members to compare the effect between participants and nonparticipants. We used three dimensions of agency adapted from the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) to assess female agency: women's participation and decision making in groups; women's comfort with public speaking; and women's decision making in their households. A significant finding of this study is that VSLA membership has enhanced the agency of female participants as they are more economically and socially active and can act on their own compared to women who did not use the savings group.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Background: PM02734 (Irvalec®) is a novel synthetic depsipeptide derived from kahalalide F currently in clinical trials with evidence of antitumor activity. This study aimed to evaluate the mechanisms yielding antiproliferative effects of PM02734 in human cancer cells.

Materials and Methods: Antiproliferative effects of Irvalec used MTT assay. Baseline and phosphorylated protein levels were assessed using Western blot. Relative level of mRNA expression was evaluated using quantitative qRT-PCR.

Results: PM02734 displayed antiproliferative effects in a panel of 20 cancer cell lines with IC50s ranging 0.4-9µM in breast (ZR-75-1, SKBR3 and MDA-MB-361) and colon (Colo205 and HCC2998) cancer cell lines. Unspecific changes were observed in MAPK and AKT intracellular signaling under exposure to PM02734 despite a decreased Erb-B3 mRNA expression and Erb-B3 phosphorylation at 24h. To study mechanisms associated with resistance to PM02734, we developed DU-PM cells using stepwise exposures to increasing concentrations of PM02734 in DU145. After >6 months exposure to PM02734, DU-PM cells were 4-fold more resistant to PM02734 than parental DU145 cells. Resistance was associated with decreased mRNA expressions of Erb-B3/Erb-B4 and vimentin. Conversely, the mRNA expressions of anti-apoptotic genes such as CDKN1A/p21 and BCL2 were significantly increased in PM02734-resistant cells. Interestingly, DU-PM cells were more sensitive to EGFR inhibitors such as erlotinib, gefitinib and lapatinib than parental DU145 cells. These results provide a rational basis for for further exploring PM02734 in combination with EGFR inhibitors in solid tumors.

Conclusions: PM02734 displays antiproliferative effects against a large variety of cancer cell lines at pharmacological concentrations. Acquired resistance to PM02734 associated with low Erb-B3 expression that may be regarded as predictive factor of sensitivity. The cells with acquired resistance to PM02734 display increased sensitivity to EGFR inhibitors.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1542.


The staggering amount of fiction written on food lately has brought kitchen activity out of the undercover of domesticity and, as a result. food and fiction on food is becoming a high art form. We propose to intervene critically and probe into the politics of representation governing this literary genre. We have two propositions in the paper; first' fictionalising food is a part of feminist narrative, wherein essentially women's experiences (physical, psychological and social life within the domestic domain allotted to them by patriarchal/matriarchal conventions) acquire their due literary space. Second, depiction of food in contemporary women's writings serves a number of purposes, the most crucial being self– referentiality. Writers consciously bestow upon food images the dual role of underscoring their indigenous cultural ethos as well as of validating their identity as creative writers. The written text becomes analogous to the food prepared through culinary endeavours within the text. Thus, food gains I metonymic dimension and cookery is exalted to the echelon of creative writing. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's The Mistress of Spices (1997), Amulya Malladi's Serving Crazy with Curry (2004) and Esther David's Book of Rachel (2006) are fictions on food that interrogate and negotiate the ethnic, sexual and creative identities of the protagonists and their creators.


The accuracy of different subtest combinations in predicting Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ, scores on the revised edition of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R) was examined. A best subset multiple regression technique with sample sizes ranging from 1,062 to 1,084 individuals was used. All possible subtest combinations were analyzed to determine the ones that showed the three best and the single worst multiple Rs with IQ scores from the complete WAIS-R. All short forms provided accurate estimates of Full Scale scores, and predictive accuracy increased slightly as more subtests were used. The data suggest that statistically searching for a "best" short form is largely futile. Short forms should be selected on the basis of their efficiency to provide the information required.


In a paper 1 on certain clinical features of sudden obstruction of the coronary arteries, read six years ago before the Association of American Physicians, I called attention to the fact that while such obstruction as by a thrombus was very often suddenly fatal, it was not necessarily so; for the coronary arteries were not in the strictest sense terminal arteries; there were often anastomoses capable of reestablishing circulation in the infarcted area to such an extent as to enable the heart to functionate for a time at least. This had been shown by anatomic study of the coronaries, by necropsy observations by the pathologists, by experimental ligation of these vessels, and by clinical experience controlled by postmortem examinations. A tentative grouping of the cases of coronary thrombosis based on clinical symptoms was made: Cases of instantaneous death, a group graphically described by Krehl, in which there is no death


Based on statistical amount of traffic and weather data sets from three weigh-in-motion sites for the study period of from 2005 to 2009, permanent traffic counters and weather stations in Alberta, Canada, an investigation is carried out to study impacts of winter weather on volume of passenger car and truck traffic. Multiple regression models are developed to relate truck and passenger car traffic variations to winter weather conditions. Statistical validity of study results are confirmed by using statistical tests of significance. Considerable reductions in passenger car and truck volumes can be expected with decrease in cold temperatures. Such reductions are higher for passenger cars as compared to trucks. Due to cold and snow interactions, the reduction in car and truck traffic volume due to cold temperature could intensify with a rise in the amount of snowfall. For passenger cars, weekends experience higher traffic reductions as compared to weekdays. However, the impact of weather on truck traffic is generally similar for weekdays and weekends. Interestingly, an increase in truck traffic during severe weather conditions is noticed at one of the study sites. Such phenomenon is found statistically significant. None of the past studies in the literature have presented the possibility of traffic volume increases on highways during adverse weather conditions; which could happen due to shift of traffic from parallel roads with inadequate winter maintenance programs. It is believed that the findings of this study can benefit highway agencies in developing such programs and policies as efficient monitoring of passenger car and truck traffic, and plan for efficient winter roadway maintenance programs.


The authors report on a detailed investigation of the gain, fluorescence and energy extraction characteristics of photopreionisation-stabilised atmospheric pressure UV nitrogen lasers excited at pump powers of up to approximately 5*109 W cm-3. The lasers provide specific power outputs of approximately 6 MW cm-3.


The purpose of this research was to examine the psychometric properties of a Spanish translation of the Flow State Scale (FSS; Jackson & Marsh, 1996). This instrument is used to assess the Flow State in participants of physical activity, although it can be adapted to other contexts (such as work, educational contexts, etc.). This construct can be considered the optimal psychological state to carry out an activity, being closely related to motivation and personal enjoyment (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). A sample of 2036 athletes was recruited from diverse sports activities. The results revealed satisfactory validity and internal consistency of the instrument, obtaining a factor model made up of a main factor and nine subscales. The correlations between motivational orientations and the flow state are highlighted. The Spanish translation of this instrument is found to be acceptable, with similar psychometric properties as the original scale, although future research in other contexts is needed to support these outcomes.


Building on recent empowerment perspectives on data literacy, we examine how students and working adults talk about their understanding of data and report on their own personal-data-related practices. Through a deductive and inductive analysis of interviews with 19 subjects ranging from middle school to middle age, we find that awareness and action with respect to data consumption and production do not necessarily increase in tandem. For example, being more aware of the data that can be used to track them does not make individuals more likely to take action to manage their personal data. While some feel anxiety about the gap between knowledge and action, others resolve the tension by choosing not to care. These findings are synthesized in a typology of personas in the space of data awareness and action. We investigate the relationship between age and educational attainment with location in this awareness-action space and discuss implications for data literacy education.


A key element to the success of any organization is the ability to continuously improve its business process performance. Efficient Business Process Redesign (BPR) methodologies are needed to allow organizations to face the changing business conditions. For a long time, practices for BPR were done case-by-case and were based on the insights and knowledge of an expert to the organization. It can be argued that efficiency, however, can further be achieved with the support of automatic process redesign tools which are few at the moment. Process mining as a recent approach allows for the extraction of information from event logs recorded in different information systems. In this paper we argue that results driven by process mining techniques can be used to capture the various types of inefficiencies in the organization and hence propose efficient redesigns of its business model. We first give an outline on the current directions towards automatic BPR followed by a review on the different process mining techniques and its usage in different applications. Then, a specific framework of a Software tool that uses process mining to support automatic BPR is presented.


Geochemical mole‐balance models are sets of chemical reactions that quantitatively account for changes in the chemical and isotopic composition of water along a flow path. A revised mole‐balance formulation that includes an uncertainty term for each chemical and isotopic datum is derived. The revised formulation is comprised of mole‐balance equations for each element or element redox state, alkalinity, electrons, solvent water, and each isotope; a charge‐balance equation and an equation that relates the uncertainty terms for pH, alkalinity, and total dissolved inorganic carbon for each aqueous solution; inequality constraints on the size of the uncertainty terms; and inequality constraints on the sign of the mole transfer of reactants. The equations and inequality constraints are solved by a modification of the simplex algorithm combined with an exhaustive search for unique combinations of aqueous solutions and reactants for which the equations and inequality constraints can be solved and the uncertainty terms minimized. Additional algorithms find only the simplest mole‐balance models and determine the ranges of mixing fractions for each solution and mole transfers for each reactant that are consistent with specified limits on the uncertainty terms. The revised formulation produces simpler and more robust mole‐balance models and allows the significance of mixing fractions and mole transfers to be evaluated. In an example from the central Oklahoma aquifer, inclusion of up to 5% uncertainty in the chemical data can reduce the number of reactants in mole‐balance models from seven or more to as few as three, these being cation exchange, dolomite dissolution, and silica precipitation. In another example from the Madison aquifer, inclusion of the charge‐balance constraint requires significant increases in the mole transfers of calcite, dolomite, and organic matter, which reduce the estimated maximum carbon 14 age of the sample by about 10,000 years, from 22,700 years to 12,600 years.


ABSTRACT This text assumes an investigative role within the tradition of studies on the acts of creation in teaching. To this end, it has engendered aspects of the works of Roland Barthes to share the viewpoint of the need to uphold teaching composed of the poetic word – one which conveys knowledge as a complement to writing and never as a term of an ambiguity of the world. Thus, moving away from the law of meaning, it here claims the right to practice a specific pedagogical poetics: that of writing in the lineage of writing mutations operated by Sandra Corazza under the portmanteau writreading.


The advent of Milky Way high-resolution spectroscopic surveys has brought our attention to the importance of precise chemical abundance measurements to disentangle the stellar population puzzle of the Galaxy. Moreover, automated stellar parameters are the bedrock of Galactic spectroscopic surveys science. They allow a rapid and homogeneous processing of extensive data sets, necessary for an efficient scientific return. In this review, I discuss the different parametrization techniques, focusing on the automated determination of individual element abundances. Each of them has its optimal application conditions that mainly depend on the computation time constraints, the spectral resolution, the wavelength domain, the data signal-to-noise ratio and parameter degeneracy problems. The main algorithms in the literature are also reviewed.


The efficient conversion of up to eight vibrational quanta into translational energy is found to occur during O+2 –O2 collisions. The high efficiency and low deflection angle which are observed in the experiment reported are explained by the occurrence of multiple crossings of the O+2 –O2 system interaction potentials, specifically the attractive and repulsive symmetry potentials. The energy and charge transfer model evolved from the experimental data proposes that energy transfer in symmetric molecule–ion collisions takes place at very large intermolecular separations. It differs in an important way from previous concepts which suggest that impulsive momentum transfer at relatively short distances is necessary to the exchange of vibrational energy. To explain the data, a distortion of the electron cloud surrounding the colliding systems is conceived to produce charge‐transfer oscillations whose frequencies at the crossing points are multiples of molecular vibration frequencies. Such resonances are simila...


Methane hydrates are encountered in a plethora of industrial and geological or environmental applications. In the current study, we present a novel methodology which is based on molecular dynamics simulations for the calculation of the enthalpy of enclathration of sI methane hydrates. Simulations are performed along the three-phase (Hydrate – Liquid water – Vapour; H–Lw–V) equilibrium line in the temperature range 274–310 K. The methodology takes into account the two different types of cages that are present in the sI methane hydrate and provides results for the enthalpy of enclathration for both types of cages, while it avoids performing calculations with the metastable, completely empty hydrate lattice. The formulation proposed is general and can be also applied to sII hydrates, while it can be modified/extended appropriately for use in the case of sH hydrates. Comparison is provided with available data from the literature and good agreement is observed. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


In layered semiconductors with spin-orbit interaction (SOI) a persistent spin helix (PSH) state with suppressed spin relaxation is expected if the strengths of the Rashba and Dresselhaus SOI terms, α and β, are equal. Here we demonstrate gate control and detection of the PSH in two-dimensional electron systems with strong SOI including terms cubic in momentum. We consider strain-free InGaAs/InAlAs quantum wells and first determine a ratio α/β≃1 for nongated structures by measuring the spin-galvanic and circular photogalvanic effects. Upon gate tuning the Rashba SOI strength in a complementary magnetotransport experiment, we monitor the complete crossover from weak antilocalization via weak localization to weak antilocalization, where the emergence of weak localization reflects a PSH-type state. A corresponding numerical analysis reveals that such a PSH-type state indeed prevails even in presence of strong cubic SOI, however no longer at α=β.


There continues to be debate about eating patterns, glucose, and weight control in people with type 2 diabetes. Recently, very low carbohydrate diets (VLCD) have had success in clinical trials. Intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating (TRE) has gained community popularity. In this pilot study, we report follow-up data from a study that randomized participants to VLCD and TRE. A total of 32 participants completed the initial protocol (16 VLCD, 16 TRE). Participants were invited to participate in a 1-year observational follow-up period with phone assessment every 3 months to assess the long-term impacts of the protocol on HbA1c, lipid profile, anthropometrics, and medication regime. Twelve participants (8 VLCD, 5TRE) agreed to follow up. The mean HbA1c in the VLCD was 8.04% at baseline (N=5), mean HbA1c of 8.6% at 6 months (N=3), 8.2% at 9 months (N=1), and 8.63% at 12 months (N=3). For the VLCD group, mean weight was 262lbs at baseline (N=5), 259lbs at 3 months (N=1), 232.5lbs at 6 months (N=2), and 229.4lbs at 12 months (N=5). For the TRE group, the mean A1c was 8.65% at baseline (N=8), 8.5% at 3 months (N=2), 7.8% at 6 months (N=3), 9.4% at 9 months (N=4), and 8.25% at 12 months (N=2). The TRE mean weight was 231.25lbs at baseline (N=8), 237.4lbs at 6 months (N=2), 199.1lbs at 9 months (N=5), and 230.1lbs at 12 months (N=2). While the sample size was small, this study followed participants for 1-year after a 1-month nutritional intervention and illustrated that these dietary plans resulted in different success parameters.

 A. Nijjar: None. R. Kiwan: None. T. L. Calinawan: None. J. H. Shubrook: Advisory Panel; AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, Nevro Corp., Consultant; Abbott Diabetes, Bayer Inc., Novo Nordisk.


Usability defects can be found either by formal usability evaluation methods or indirectly during system testing or usage. No matter how they are discovered, these defects must be tracked and reported. However, empirical studies indicate that usability defects are often not clearly and fully described. This study aims to identify the state of the art in reporting of usability defects in the software engineering and usability engineering literature. We conducted a systematic literature review of usability defect reporting drawing from both the usability and software engineering literature from January 2000 until March 2016. As a result, a total of 57 studies were identified, in which we classified the studies into three categories: reporting usability defect information, analysing usability defect data and key challenges. Out of these, 20 were software engineering studies and 37 were usability studies. The results of this systematic literature review show that usability defect reporting processes suffer from a number of limitations, including: mixed data, inconsistency of terms and values of usability defect data, and insufficient attributes to classify usability defects. We make a number of recommendations to improve usability defect reporting and management in software engineering.


This article explores how young Europeans (12–19) describe how they discuss political issues with their friends, their parents, and teachers in their schools, and the ways in which these appears to impact on their political understanding and identities. Based on 324 group discussions with 2000 young people, in 104 locations in 29 different European states, the findings suggest that many young people see parents as the people with whom they most often talk about politics. They describe a range of situations – from intense discussion and support from parents to antagonistic arguments about their parents' political views. Discussion with teachers was relatively less common, and more often dependant on individual personalities than as part of a pedagogic programme. Instances of citing citizenship education as locations for political discussions were rare. The article discusses the methodology that gathered this data, and suggests that this might contribute to an effective pedagogy to discuss political identities with young people.


Adiponectin is an adipokine multipeptide hormone with insulin-sensitizing; anti-atherosclerotic; and anti-inflammatory properties. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be associated with low adiponectin. The adiponectin gene ADIPOQ is thought to be the only major gene responsible for plasma adiponectin levels; which are associated with diabetes and diabetic nephropathy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between ADIPOQ polymorphism and CKD. In addition; the combined effects of ADIPOQ polymorphism and diabetes and levels of total urinary arsenic and blood cadmium on CKD were also explored. This study included 215 CKD patients and 423 age–sex matched controls. The ADIPOQ polymorphisms were determined using the Agena Bioscience Mass ARRAY System. The levels of blood cadmium and urinary arsenic species were measured. The ADIPOQ rs182052 GA/AA genotype had a marginally lower odds ratio (OR) for CKD than the GG genotype. The OR (95% confidence interval; CI) was 16.33 (5.72–46.66) of CKD in subjects carrying the ADIPOQ rs182052 GG genotype and diabetes compared to non-diabetes subjects carrying the ADIPOQ rs182052 GA/AA genotype; the interaction term had p = 0.015; and the synergy index was 6.64 (1.81–24.36) after multivariate adjustment. A significant interaction of diabetes and ADIPOQ rs1501299 risk genotype increased the OR of CKD after multivariate adjustment with a synergy index of 0.31 (0.11–0.86) and a multiplicative interaction with p = 0.001. These results suggest that ADIPOQ rs182052 and rs1501299 risk genotypes may significantly modify the association between diabetes and CKD but not the association between total urinary arsenic and blood cadmium and CKD.


In this paper, we propose a new adaptive physical layer network coding (APLNC) protocol for two-way relay channels where bidirectional information flow between two terminals is simultaneously achieved with the help of one or two relays when N relays are available. The adaptive protocol consists of a selection between all possible realizations of the two-way transmission based on a criterion which maximizes the instantaneous achievable sum rate. Outage probability analysis as well as bit error rate performance results obtained by computer simulations show that significant performance improvement is provided by the proposed adaptive protocol compared to the classical straightforward network coding (SNC) and PLNC. Moreover APLNC offers a solution to the poor error performance of the classical cooperative communication protocols at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) region.


ABSTRACT The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, or IARPA, develops research and technology to serve the US intelligence community. In this interview, IARPA Director Jason Matheny explains how the 10-year-old agency does its work. With a modus operandi similar to the one used by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, IARPA comes up with specific problems to solve, then signs up university labs, private companies, and other institutions to carry out the research. Best known for its research programs in quantum computing and machine learning, IARPA has recently increased the amount it invests in biotechnology research. Biotechnology, cybertechnology, and artificial intelligence are the three areas of defense technology that concern Matheny most as potential threats. In this wide-ranging interview with Bulletin contributing editor Elisabeth Eaves, he also talks about the latest research on whistle-blowers, how to get the world's best scientists working on a problem, how to predict a cyber attack, and why IARPA seems surprisingly transparent compared to intelligence agencies of yore.


In most textbooks in regards to determining the age of a bovine animal, there is a wide variation in the tooth eruption schedule in relation to age. After many years of experience in examining the teeth of young beef cattle by the author in collaboration with other veterinarians* who have spent considerable time and effort in determining age, it is their consensus of opinion that stress from nutrition, environment, or disease cause 97% of the variation of eruption and growth of young beef cattle teeth. If conditions of (1) no stress from nutritional deficiencies, (2 ) optimum weather conditions, and (3) freedom from all disease and illness are available, the maximum normal development of teeth is very uniform and can be utilized as a standard for determining "over-age" of beef cattle in the show ring with a high degree of accuracy under thirty-eight months of age.


The idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome is associated with expansion of an IL-5-producing T-cell subset in a subgroup of patients. Identification of such patients is critical to adequate management because there is some evidence that they present an increased risk for development of T-cell lymphoma. Although the T(H)2-like cells often bear an aberrant surface phenotype and can readily be detected with flow cytometry, we now show that lymphocyte phenotyping might be normal in some cases. In contrast, serum thymus and activation-regulated chemokine levels are consistently increased in such patients compared with others with persistent idiopathic hyper-eosinophilia and could therefore represent a useful diagnostic tool.


ABSTRACT. A thematic and critical literature review was conducted to determine what is known about adolescents' experiences with online sex education. Four major themes could be discerned from the literature, revealing that: (a) adolescents report engaging with sex information online; (b) adolescents are interested in a number of topics, including sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy; (c) the quality of adolescent-targeted sex information online can be lacking, but adolescents can evaluate these sources; and (d) Internet-based interventions can increase adolescents' sexual health knowledge. Inconsistencies in the literature are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.


Simulating large scale complex real-time systems requires enabling infrastructure for real-time co-simulation of various subsystems with complex behaviors and interfaces. AVES (Air Vehicle Simulator) is a reconfigurable flight simulator of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luftund Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) for research into rotorcraft and fixed-wing aircraft behavior. Complex models of aircraft subsystems in AVES required a distributed real-time simulation framework. This paper presents 2Simulate, the enabling simulation infrastructure of the AVES facility that facilitates integrating a wide range of models and simulation hardware and software components. 2 Simulate is a unique simulation infrastructure being domain independent and methodology neutral. Its three components, 2SimCC, 2SimRT and 2SimMC, provide various capabilities including simulation control, task scheduling, model integration and hardware/software interfacing.


Aims. Following the advent of increasingly sensitive X-ray observatories, deep observations of early-type stars became possible. However, the results for only a few objects or clusters have until now been reported and there has been no large survey comparable to that based upon the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS). Methods. A limited survey of X-ray sources, consisting of all public XMM-Newton observations (2XMMi) and slew survey data (XMMSL1), is now available. The X-ray counterparts to hot, massive stars have been searched for in these catalogs. Results. About 300 OB stars were detected with XMM-Newton. Half of them were bright enough for a spectral analysis to be possible, and we make available the detailed spectral properties that were derived. The X-ray spectra of O stars are represented well by low (<1keV) temperature components and seem to indicate that an absorption column is present in addition to the interstellar c ontribution. The X-ray fluxes are well correlated with the bolometric fluxe s, with a scatter comparable to that of the RASS studies and thus larger than found previously with XMM-Newton for some individual clusters. These results contrast with t hose of B stars that exhibit a large scatter in the LX− LBOL relation, no additional absorption being found, and the fits indicate a plasma at higher temperatures. Variability (either within one exposure or between multiple exposures) was also investigated whenever possible: short-term variations are far more rare than long-term ones (the former affects a few percent of the sample, while the latter concerns between one third and two thirds of the sources). Conclusions. This paper presents the results of the first high-sensitivit y investigation of the overall high-energy properties of a s izable sample of hot stars.


A two-frequency microchip laser based on highly doped ceramic Nd:YAG and twisted polarization modes is presented. The frequency difference between modes was tunable continuously over a frequency range of 150 GHz, from radio frequency to terahertz frequencies. This tuning is limited by the gain bandwidth of the neodymium-doped YAG laser medium. The long-term frequency stability of the resulting narrow-linewidth beat-note signal is very good. This offers a simple, yet widely tunable terahertz source with potential for portable frequency reference applications.


Introduction: Palbociclib (PD‑0332991) is an oral cyclin‑dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor currently in Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials in multiple oncology indications. In vitro, palbociclib and its active lactam metabolite (PF‑05089326) caused time‑dependent inhibition of CYP3A-mediated midazolam 1'‑hydroxylase and testosterone 6β‑hydroxylase activities. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the effect of multiple doses of palbociclib on the pharmacokinetics of a single oral dose of the sensitive CYP3A4/5 probe substrate midazolam in healthy women of non-childbearing potential. Methods: This was an open label, randomized, 2‑period 2‑sequence study of the effect of multiple oral doses of palbociclib on midazolam pharmacokinetics in 26 healthy female volunteers of non-childbearing potential. Simulations were performed with SimCYP, using the in vitro CYP inhibition data and human pharmacokinetic data for palbociclib from Study A5481001 as inputs, to optimize the duration of dosing and washout periods. Each subject received two treatments (Treatment A = 2 mg oral dose of midazolam alone, Treatment B = 2 mg oral dose of midazolam on Day 7 of an 8-day 125 mg QD palbociclib dose regimen) in a crossover scheme. Subjects were randomized to one of two sequences (Sequence 1 = A→B, Sequence 2 = B→A). In Sequence 2 there was a washout period of no less than 14 days after the last administered dose of palbociclib to ensure that there was no carryover effect of CYP3A inhibition into Period 2. Serial blood sampling for midazolam pharmacokinetics was performed up to 36 hours post-midazolam dose in both periods. Palbociclib pre-dose blood sampling was performed on specified visits to document achievement of steady-state concentrations. Plasma concentrations of midazolam and palbociclib were each measured using validated LC/MS/MS (liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry) methods. Midazolam plasma pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters were estimated using standard non-compartmental methods. Discussion:In general, palbociclib reached steady-state levels prior to co-administration of midazolam, allowing for a worst case assessment of the potential palbociclib-mediated time-dependent CYP3A inhibition. Midazolam geometric mean Cmax and AUCinf values increased 37% and 61%, respectively, when midazolam was co-administered with multiple doses of palbociclib as compared to its administration alone. These results indicate that palbociclib is a weak CYP3A inhibitor following daily 125 mg dosing at steady-state according to the FDA classification. In general, the combination of palbociclib and midazolam were well tolerated with no reported serious adverse events or treatment discontinuations. Reversible neutropenia was reported in 15 out of the 26 subjects. Citation Format: Justin T. Hoffman, Anna Plotka, Melissa O9Gorman, Cho-Ming Loi, Leonid Kirkovsky, Corrado Gallo-Stampino, Diane Wang. A phase 1 randomized, open-label, 2-sequence, 2-period crossover study of the effect of multiple doses of palbociclib (PD-0332991) on midazolam pharmacokinetics in healthy women of non-childbearing potential. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr CT419. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-CT419


Hospital volume is a key predictor of survival for patients with urothelial bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy and has a greater impact than surgeon volume, findings from a retrospective analysis suggest.


We numerically calculated ac losses in a parallel conductor composed of three Bi-2223 tapes exposed to an external transverse magnetic field by means of a previously proposed two-dimensional finite element method that directly analyses the magnetic field distribution around the conductor. In this analysis, we can set a transport current in each Bi-2223 tape individually. Assuming no transport current in each tape, we estimated the ac losses in the parallel conductor with perfect transposition. We also calculated the ac losses in the parallel conductor without transposition under the condition that the total transport current is zero. It was found in the parallel field configuration that the ac losses are drastically decreased due to the transposition in a range of higher amplitude. In the case of perpendicular field, on the other hand, the ac losses are scarcely dependent on the transposition. Furthermore we numerically estimated the dependence of the ac loss on the field angle to the flat surface of the tapes in the transposed parallel conductor. The obtained results well explain the experimental ones especially in the higher amplitude of applied field.


The paper suggests the frequency of enteropathogenic agents detected by different lab methods in feces of 262 adult acute diarrhea cases. The compared is the frequency results of Shigella spp. and Salmonella spp.detection by standard methods (culture and specific sera antibody finding) and PCR method. The calculated is some operational characteristics of PCR test (compared to culture test). The shown is that the frequency results of Salmonella spp. detected by standard and PCR methods are comparable, with high figures of all operational characteristics of PCR method. As to Shigella spp. detection the positive result by PCR method were obtained in 2,5 times more cases than that by standard method. However such PCR test characteristic as "positive predictive value" was quite low with the lowest figures in cases without colitis syndrome.


Factor VIII:C, epsilon amino-caproic acid or tranexamic acid are prophylactic agents used in preventing hemorrhage pre-operatively in patients with hemophilia A. Although hemophilia A seems to be a factor that avoids the development of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) as it tends to be associated with increased bleeding, it should be kept in mind that prothrombotic agents used pre-operatively for prophylaxis may increase the risk for AMI in the presence of the factor V Leiden mutation. In this report, we discuss the development of AMI following the use of recombinant factor VIII and tranexamic acid for prophylaxis in a patient with known hemophilia before a tooth extraction in conjunction with the relevant literature.


Increasing the number of environments for phenotyping of crop lines in earlier stages of breeding programs can improve selection accuracy. However, this is often not feasible due to cost. In our study, we investigated a partial phenotyping strategy that does not test all entries in all environments, but instead capitalizes on genomic prediction to predict missing phenotypes in additional environments without extra phenotyping expenditure. The breeders' main interest – response to selection – was directly simulated to evaluate the effectiveness of the partial genomic phenotyping strategy in a wheat dataset. Whether the partial phenotyping strategy resulted in more selection response depended on the correlations of phenotypes between environments. The partial phenotyping strategy consistently showed statistically significant higher simulated responses to selection, compared to complete phenotyping, when the majority of completely phenotyped environments were negatively correlated and any extension environment was highly positively correlated with any of the completely phenotyped environments. Our results indicate that genomics-based partial phenotyping can improve selection response at middle stages of crop breeding programs.


Malnutrition may decrease in human resources work capacity which is lead to regional economic lost. The study was aimed to find the relationship between severe underweight, GDRP and poverty level and to estimate economic lost due to severe Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) among underfive children in various districs/cities at Java and Bali Islands. A descriptive study designed was implemented and a set of secondary data was used in the study. The data uses are prevalence of PEM among underfive children from 2007 Riskesdas, Gross Domestic Regional Product (GDRP), population by sex and age group, and poverty level. Data processing and analysis were conducted in Bogor, from April to July 2010. The result showed that economic lost due to PEM was highest in Bekasi Regency, West Java and lowest in Kepulauan Seribu Regency, DKI Jakarta. Higher GDRP per capita means lower severe PEM prevalence and higher poverty level means higher severe PEM prevalence. Percentage of total economic lost due to severe PEM among under five children was ranged from 0,039% GDRP - 0,177% GDRP .


The success or failure of artificial insemination starts with the quality status of semen used, hence, this study aimed to investigate the effects of breed, season and year on bovine semen quality of the National Bull Stud of Rwanda kept at Masaka bull station, Rwanda. A total of 1475 semen samples were collected bi-weekly from nine bulls of Holstein Friesian (n = 3), Inyambo (n = 3) and Jersey (n = 3) breed using an artificial vagina. Semen volume, colour, concentration, mass motility, live sperm percentage and post-freeze motility were evaluated. Libido of the bulls at the time of semen collection was scored. Ejaculate volume, mass motility, individual motility, density and post freeze motility significantly differed (p < 0.05) among seasons of the year, bull breeds and age/year of collection. Friesian bulls had superior (p < 0.05) semen volume (5.76±0.08 ml) to that of Jersey (4.29±0.09 ml) and Inyambo (3.37±0.1 ml). However, Friesians had an inferior (p < 0.05) lighter coloured semen, with only 52.7% of Friesian samples having the preferred cream colour, as compared to 65.2% of Jersey and 64.9% of the Inyambo semen samples. Year of collection (2011 or 2012) and in essence age of the bull negatively affected (p < 0.05) all the parameters studied, with semen volume dropping from 5.16 to 5.10 ml, colour lightened from 62.8 to 54% of the samples being cream; mass motility fell from 2.98 to 2.65, while live sperm percentage in ejaculates dropped from 65 to 63%. Of the eight parameters studied, only post-freeze motility was not affected by passage of time. Semen collected during the October to December period had the best quality characteristics, though collections in the long rains (March to May) had comparable mass motility and post-freeze motility. Semen volume (4.61 ml per bull ejaculate) and post-freeze motility (39%) were poorest in the long dry season (January to February). In conclusion, the Friesian breed should be promoted at the bull station. Most semen should be collected during the rain season, particularly the short rains (October to November). Bulls below three years of age should be of focus.

 Key words: Cattle, mortality, seasonality, semen evaluation, pedigree bulls.


In this letter, we report that a commonly used 0.35-/spl mu/m, 60-GHz-F/sub MAX/ BiCMOS SiGe monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology is able to provide very low phase noise signal generation in the X-band frequency range. This statement has been demonstrated using a differential LC voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) in which varactors are realized with metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors and inductors with a patterned ground shield technology. This VCO features an output power signal in the range of -5 dBm and exhibits a phase noise of -96 dBc/Hz at a frequency offset of 100kHz from carrier and -120 dBc/Hz at a frequency offset of 1 MHz. The VCO features a tuning range of 430 MHz or 4.3% of its operating frequency. Its power consumption is in the range of 70 mW (200 mW with buffers circuits) for a chip size of 800/spl times/1000 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ (including RF probe pads).


With the increasing awareness of protein folding disorders, the explosion of genomic information, and the need for efficient ways to predict protein structure, protein folding and unfolding has become a central issue in molecular sciences research. Molecular dynamics computer simulations are increasingly employed to understand the folding and unfolding of proteins. Running protein unfolding simulations is computationally expensive and finding ways to enhance performance is a grid issue on its own. However, more and more groups run such simulations and generate a myriad of data, which raises new challenges in managing and analyzing these data. Because the vast range of proteins researchers want to study and simulate, the computational effort needed to generate data, the large data volumes involved, and the different types of analyses scientists need to perform, it is desirable to provide a public repository allowing researchers to pool and share protein unfolding data. This paper describes efforts to provide a grid-enabled data warehouse for protein unfolding data. We outline the challenge and present first results in the design and implementation ofthe data warehouse.


The first chemically bonded phosphate ceramics (zinc phosphate dental cements) were developed over a century ago. However it has only been in the last 30 years that a new breed of materials has been discovered. This book brings together latest developments in this field including several novel ceramics, from Argonne and Brookhaven National Laboratories. Coupled with further advances in their use as biomaterials, these materials have found uses in diverse fields in recent years. Applications range from advanced structural materials to oil-well cements and stabilization and encapsulation of hazardous and radioactive waste. Such developments call a single source for their science and applications. This book provides the first comprehensive account to fulfil this need. Providing a foundation into the latest developments in chemically bonded phosphate ceramics. Explores new CBPC's with a wide range of practical applications. Over 30 years worth of developments and applications in the field available in a single source


Vues analytiques sur la vie des abeilles et des termites (Analytical perspectives on the life of bees and termites) is a letter from L. R. Delves Broughton to Freud dated the 7th of August, 1927. The letter was translated into French by Marie Bonaparte (1882-1962) for the Revue Française de Psychanalyse (French Review of Psychoanalysis) in 1927. A German translation of the letter was done for the review Imago in 1928. In his letter Delves Broughton develops a captivating connection between Man's libidinal economy and that of certain social insects. His main argument is based on the readings of several works by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949). He proposes, as in the bioanalysis project of Sándor Ferenczi (1873-1933), the application of psychoanalytic knowledge on a specific area of the natural sciences: entomology.


Published by the Harvard-Yenching Institute HJAS 77.2 (2017): 528–536 of simply being told what a third party is said to have "shown" or "demonstrated"—two words which in my view are best avoided in cultural history as opposed to geometry. Instead, she follows the excellent practice of putting the evidence on the page whenever possible, so that the reader can see why she draws the conclusions that she does. That makes a good book even more useful than it otherwise would be. And like all good historical studies, this book points to larger questions than the ones it sets out to answer. How did we come to have this research field called (in English) "the history of medicine"? When and why was it created? What functions has it been made to serve, both inside and outside academic life? How do we decide what kind of questions and evidence are relevant to it? It is hard to read Miranda Brown's book without feeling that such questions may turn out to have intriguing, even disturbing answers. All students and scholars in the relevant fields have reason to be grateful to her for giving us an excellent and extremely interesting piece of work.


OBJECTIVES
Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable disease despite advances in treatment options. Recently, selinexor has shown promising efficacy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), whereas its optimal timing and drug combination remain unclear. In order to assess the various regimens that incorporate selinexor, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted.

METHODS
Clinical trials and real-world studies involving MM patients treated with selinexor were included. Pooled risk ratio (RR) was calculated to compare the rates, along with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and concurrent p-value assessment. A random-effects model was employed to provide a more conservative evaluation.

RESULTS
A total of 16 studies enrolling 817 patients were reviewed. The usage of selinexor as the fifth-line or prior therapy achieved a higher objective response rate (ORR) (65.9% versus 23.4%, p < 0.01) and longer pooled progression-free survival (PFS) (median: 12.5 months versus 2.9 months, p < 0.01) than those after the fifth-line usage. In addition, early usage also resulted in a consistent trend of pooled overall survival (median: 22.7 months versus 8.9 months, p = 0.26), compared with post-fifth-line usage. Selinexor and dexamethasone (Xd) plus either protease inhibitors (PIs) or immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) achieved better ORRs than the Xd-only regimen for RRMM, with ORRs of 56.1%, 52.5% and 24.6%, respectively (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, using selinexor as the fifth-line or prior therapy had a beneficial impact on RRMM. The regimen of Xd plus PIs or IMiDs was recommended.


Fe-doped TiO 2 (Fe/TiO 2 ) film photocatalyst was prepared by sol-gel and dip-coating process to respond to the visible spectrum. Netlike glass fiber and Cu disc that are base materials used for coating Fe/TiO 2 were investigated to promote the CO 2 reduction performance of the photocatalyst. The prepared Fe/TiO 2 film coated on netlike glass fiber and Cu disc was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA). Additionally, the CO 2 reduction experiment using Fe/TiO 2 film coated on netlike glass disc, Cu disc, and their overlap was carried out by illuminating an Xe lamp or without ultraviolet (UV) light, respectively. As a result, the concentration of produced CO increases by Fe doping irrespective of base material used under the illumination condition with UV light as well as without UV light. The peak concentration of CO for the Fe/TiO 2 double overlapping is approximately 1.5 times as large as the Fe/TiO 2 single overlapping under the illumination condition with UV light due to the promotion of electron transfer between the two overlapped photocatalysts. However, the promotion ratio is approximately 1.1 times under the illumination condition without UV light.


The impact of initial body condition scores on net returns from retaining beef cull cows for delayed marketing was investigated in a three-year experiment. Cows were retained either on native grass pasture or in a low-input dry lot setting. Net returns are examined across five alternative marketing periods, including culling. Sensitivity of net returns to changes in retention cost is also examined. Although a native grass pasture system was generally more profitable than a low-input dry lot system, thin and medium cows were typically more profitable than cows with higher initial body condition score regardless of the feeding system.


Forty-six postmenopausal women with either locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer were treated with the aromatase inhibitor CGS 16949A in three different daily doses (0.3 mg, 0.6 mg and 0.9 mg total daily dose). 41 patients (89%) were pretreated by endocrine treatment for metastatic disease; 30 of these 41 were also pretreated with chemotherapy. Of the remaining 5 patients (11%) 3 were previously treated with chemotherapy alone and 2 were not pretreated. Evaluable sites of disease were: skin and soft tissue (including local recurrence) in 34, bone in 31, lung in 14 and viscera in 13 instances, respectively. 1 PR (3%) and 9 stable diseases (24%) were observed in the 37 patients assessable for response. All but two of these results were observed in the 0.9 mg group. Time to progression was 14 months for the patient showing a PR, and the median time to progression for those with stable disease was 6 months (range 6 to 23 months). Plasma estradiol and estrone levels were measured in patients receiving the daily dose of 0.6 mg (n = 4) and 0.9 mg (n = 15). The estrone levels decreased from a mean of 23.1 pg/mL (SD 17.1) to 10.5 pg/mL (SD 6.6) in the 0.6 mg-group and from 21.2 pg/mL (SD 18.9) to 9.1 pg/mL (SD 5.5) in the 0.9 mg-group within 4 days of drug administration (p less than 0.0001 from baseline in both groups, with no significant difference between doses).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo are actively monitoring the sky and collecting gravitational-wave strain data with sufficient sensitivity to detect signals routinely. In this paper we describe the data recorded by these instruments during their first and second observing runs. The main data products are the gravitational-wave strain arrays, released as time series sampled at 16384 Hz. The datasets that include this strain measurement can be freely accessed through the Gravitational Wave Open Science Center at http://gw-openscience.org, together with data-quality information essential for the analysis of LIGO and Virgo data, documentation, tutorials, and supporting software.


Commercial aquaponics systems remain a challenge independent of the country, fish, plant species, or system design type. Most aquaponics systems are made by hobbyists, with aquaponics not being the main source of income. As such, scholars and practitioners have long debated the real profitability of aquaponics systems. With the growth of the aquaponics industry and commercial businesses, sustainable economic viability is necessary. Recently, considerable literature has been published around the theme of aquaponics systems design but there is a gap in the literature regarding the business aspect of this. Moreover, only by acquiring the enterprise knowledge of planning a business case, obtaining funds, and running and maintaining a business will this industry be able to grow. This paper intends to create a directory of possible considerations to plan for a viable commercial aquaponics system by uniting already established business frameworks and adapting them to the aquaponics industry. This framework proposes a guide to evaluate the economic feasibility of the enterprise depending on the revenues, costs and investments needed for the chosen system within its operations, market, and environment.


An emerging body of participatory media work aims to access children's subjective experiences. One such medium, children's radio, has increasingly become a significant means of motivating and mobilising vulnerable children in many environments, including hospitals, by creating a space in which they can express their lived experiences. The present study describes stakeholders' perceptions and experiences of a children's hospital-based radio, drawing on interviews with child patients, family members, health providers, and hospital administrators. Seven healthcare workers or hospital administrators, 10 parents or guardians, 10 child presenters, and 12 child listeners were interviewed, and their interviews analysed using thematic analysis. The children's caregivers and healthcare professionals felt that the children's involvement in the radio resulted in significant intrapersonal development. Some benefits of their involvement were pride and increases in confidence. A particularly valuable finding in the present work pertains to the questions of "speaking back" and "voicing": the radio platform allowed children to voice their feelings and opinions in settings in which they are disadvantaged in terms of the power differential between healthcare providers and those who receive medical care. The children found value in the usual power differentials characterising hospitals, being reversed, as ownership of the radio platform inverted their position as the passive recipients of medical questions and treatment and allowed them the power to voice their questions and concerns.


The recovering effect of betaine (derivative of choline) on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-injured liver was investigated by oral and intraperitoneal administration of betaine at 24 h after acute CCl4 intoxication. The effect of betaine was estimated by the activity of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) released into the serum, histological score, and the incorporation of S-phase indicator (5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine/5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine; BrdU/FdU). A significant decrease in the activity of serum ALT was observed by the intraperitoneal (3 mg/kg body) or oral (15 mg/kg body) administration of betaine. Furthermore, an increase in the uptake of BrdU into the hepatocyte nuclear DNA and a reduction in liver necrosis after the oral treatment of betaine (15 mg/kg body) was observed. From these results, the administration of betaine showed a significant effect in recovering CCl4-injured liver.


Trajectory piecewise-linear macromodeling (TPWL) technique has been widely employed to characterize strong nonlinear circuits, and makes the reduction of the strong nonlinear circuits possible. The trajectory piecewise-linear macromodeling technique linearizes nonlinear circuits around multiple expansion points which are extracted from state trajectories driven by training inputs. However, the accuracy of the trajectory piecewise-linear macromodeling technique heavily relies on the extracted expansion points and the training inputs. It will lead to large error in simulation if state vector reaches regions far away from the extracted expansion points. In this paper, we propose an efficient transistor-level piecewise linearization scheme for macromodeling of nonlinear circuits. Piecewise linear models are first built for each transistor. The macromodel of the whole nonlinear circuit is then constructed by combining all the piecewise-linear models of the transistors together with appropriate weight functions. The proposed approach can cover remarkably larger state space than the TPWL method. By using the complete piecewise-linear models of the transistors, the constructed piecewise-linear models of the nonlinear circuits are capable of covering the whole state space of the nonlinear circuits. More importantly, model order reduction of the proposed transistor-level piecewise linearization macromodel is also possible, which makes the proposed method a potentially good macromodeling approach for model order reduction of nonlinear circuits.


ABSTRACT Foreign policies of landlocked states have been a topic of interest for scholarship on international relations but the landlocked states in South Asia have received negligible attention. Due to their geographical realities, South Asian landlocked states that include Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal, depend on their neighbours for trade with the outside world. A range of factors place landlocked states in an unequal relationship with their coastal neighbours. While these factors include the superiority of coastal neighbours in terms of economy, population size, and military strength, we argue that their landlockedness plays a crucial role. To further investigate the role of landlockedness, this study compares the foreign policy decisions that guide India-Nepal and Afghanistan–Pakistan relations. Based on the assessment of historical, economic and geopolitical factors, we argue that India and Pakistan exploit their landlocked neighbours to achieve their national interests. Frustrated by the treatment of their coastal neighbours and the presence of new trade opportunities have compelled Afghanistan to use its closeness with India to counter over-dependence on Pakistan and Nepal has enhanced cooperation with China to overcome its reliance on India, thereby creating a new geopolitical dynamic within South Asia.


Chronic elevation of plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels has been reported in several pathological conditions. To investigate the consequences of increased circulating ET-1 on vascular responsiveness, Sprague-Dawley rats (n=16) were chronically instrumented with a minipump delivering ET-1 at a constant dose for 7 days. Plasma ET-1 levels were more than doubled in treated (0.98+/-0.09 pmol/L; P<.05) versus untreated sham-operated rats (0.43+/-0.04 pmol/L), whereas systolic arterial blood pressure increased (139+/-5 versus 128+/-4 mm Hg in untreated rats; P<.05). After rats were killed, segments of middle cerebral (MCA) and mesenteric (MES) arteries were mounted on an isometric myograph. ET-induced contraction was shifted to the right in ET-1-treated animals and not modified by BQ123 (an ET(A) receptor antagonist); bosentan (ET(A/B) receptor antagonist) prevented ET-1-induced contraction in both groups. After inhibition of nitric oxide synthase with N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), both phenylephrine and oxymetazoline (an alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist) induced MCA contraction. The sensitivity to phenylephrine was decreased in ET-1-treated compared with control rats (P<.05). Sensitivity to phenylephrine-induced contraction was decreased by BQ123 in control rats only. In contrast, L-NNA revealed greater oxymetazoline-induced contractions in treated compared with control MCA rings (P<.05); this potentiation was blunted by bosentan but unaffected by BQ123. Removal of the endothelium revealed a direct constrictor effect of oxymetazoline that was insensitive to L-NNA alone or combined with bosentan; however, oxymetazoline induced significantly lower constriction in treated rat MCA segments. Responses to oxymetazoline were also blunted in treated compared with untreated denuded MES arteries. In conclusion, chronic elevated plasmatic ET-1 decreases smooth muscle cell sensitivity to contractile agonists both in MCA and MES rings. In cerebral vessels, endothelial alpha2-adrenoceptor-dependent stimulation induced greater contractile responses in treated rats which were sensitive to bosentan, suggesting that oxymetazoline stimulates ET-1 release from the endothelium. This may represent a compensatory mechanism for the loss of smooth muscle sensitivity.


The preemergence herbicide cinmethylin is a benzyl ether derivative of the monoterpene 1,4-cineole. Other oxygenated monoterpenes (carvone, citronellol, fenchone, geraniol, and pulegone) were previously found to inhibit the germination and growth of several weed species while exhibiting low phytotoxicity to soybean. Benzyl ether derivatives of these oxygenated monoterpenes were synthesized and examined for preemergence and postemergence activity towards corn, soybean, wheat, and velvetleaf. Benzyl pulegyl ether exhibited the most preemergence activity when applied directly to the soil, completely inhibiting wheat and velvetleaf emergence at 1.0 kg ha−1 while reducing soybean emergence 80%. Several of the benzyl ethers were more inhibitory to velvetleaf radicle elongation relative to cinmethylin but less inhibitory to corn and wheat radicle elongation in petri dish bioassays. Several of the benzyl ethers exhibited limited postemergence activity when applied at 1.0 kg ha−1 to seedlings of the test species 10 d after emergence. The benzyl ether derivatives demonstrated altered selectivity and sensitivity as compared to the parent compounds and cinmethylin.


Literature is reviewed on the mechanisms of differentiation in mammalian melanoma cells and normal melanocytes. Pigment cells are particularly useful for studies requiring the observation of differentiation in living cells, for example, studies of commitment. Topics discussed include melanin synthesis and other markers of pigment cell differentiation; stochastic models of differentiation and commitment; the lability of early stages of differentiation; extracellular factors affecting pigment cell differentiation, with implications for intracellular controls; the role of proliferation and the cell cycle in differentiation, and the relative roles of changes in transcription, translation, and posttranslational processes. ImagesFIGURE 1.


Antiinflammatory effect of statins mediated by the reduction of cytokine IL-6 in hepatocytes have been reported. Contrary to beneficial effect, statins can increase susceptibility to mitochondrial dysfunction. Extrahepatic biliary obstruction is associated with oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory response and hepatocyte mitochondrial dysfunction. The aim of our study was to verify the effect of fluvastatin on cholestatic liver injury. Cholestasis was induced in Wistar rats by bile duct ligation. Fluvastatin (1 or 5 mg/kg) was administered after surgery and then daily for 7 days. The dose of 5 mg/kg led to the deterioration of hepatocellular injury. Despite lower production of IL-6, decrease in GSH content, rise of TGFß and inhibition of respiratory complex I in mitochondria were determined. The mRNA expressions of canalicular transporter Mdr1b and basolateral transporter Mrp3 increased in cholestatic liver. Fluvastatin administration then led to the attenuation of this change. Analogously, mRNA expression of conjugative enzyme Ugt1a1 was diminished by fluvastatin administration to cholestatic rats. We can conclude that decrease in the antioxidative status and mitochondrial dysfunction could at least in part participate on the deteriorating effect of fluvastatin. Whether these processes can be a consequence of the alteration in metabolism and transport of potentially toxic substances remains to verify.


Myriad viruses use positive-strand RNA molecules as their genomes. Far from being only a repository of genetic material, viral RNA performs numerous other functions mediated by its physical structure and chemical properties. In this chapter, we focus on its structure and discuss how long RNA molecules can be treated as branched polymers through planar graphs. We describe the major results that can be obtained by this approach, in particular the observation that viral RNA genomes have a characteristic compactness that sets them aside from similar random RNAs. We also discuss how different parameters used in the current RNA folding software influence the resulting structures and how they can be related to experimentally observable quantities. Finally, we show how the connection to branched polymers can be extended to take advantage of known results from polymer physics and can be further moulded to include additional interactions, such as excluded volume or electrostatics.


Abstract Typhoid, and its extra drug resistant form which is highly prevalent Pakistan, is increasing the burden on healthcare through multiple factors. These range from lack of sanitation, the collapsing economy, and poor access to clean drinking water which have made it arduous for the government and various other organizations in containing it. With the COVID-19 pandemic, treatment of typhoid became a challenge as focus was driven towards limiting the COVID-19 spread, and hence preferential use of antibiotics such as azithromycin may limit future empirical antibiotic therapy for typhoid. Socioeconomic disparities and geographical as well as demographic barriers further limit access to appropriate typhoid management. Lastly, illiteracy and self-medication with antibiotics may predispose Pakistan to another outbreak of typhoid. These concerns, although largely unaddressed effectively, need immediate action. Previously, the government and international organizations have made efforts to control the spread through the introduction of TCV as a part of EPI and awareness, additional improvements are needed. These include: improving access to telemedicine in rural areas, extensive vaccination programs, and routine awareness programs especially in schools.


Although hypoxia has been shown to reprogram cancer cells toward glycolytic shift, the identity of extrinsic stimuli that induce metabolic reprogramming independent of hypoxia, especially in ovarian cancer, is largely unknown. In this study, we use patient-derived ovarian cancer cells and high-grade serous ovarian cancer cell lines to demonstrate that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a lipid growth factor and GPCR ligand whose levels are substantially increased in ovarian cancer patients, triggers glycolytic shift in ovarian cancer cells. Inhibition of the G protein α-subunit Gαi2 disrupted LPA-stimulated aerobic glycolysis. LPA stimulated a pseudohypoxic response via Rac-mediated activation of NADPH oxidase and generation of reactive oxygen species, resulting in activation of HIF1α. HIF1α in turn induced expression of glucose transporter-1 and the glycolytic enzyme hexokinase-2 (HKII). Treatment of mice bearing ovarian cancer xenografts with an HKII inhibitor, 3-bromopyruvate, attenuated tumor growth and conferred a concomitant survival advantage. These studies reveal a critical role for LPA in metabolic reprogramming of ovarian cancer cells and identify this node as a promising therapeutic target in ovarian cancer.Significance: These findings establish LPA as a potential therapeutic target in ovarian cancer, revealing its role in the activation of HIF1α-mediated metabolic reprogramming in this disease. Cancer Res; 78(8); 1923-34. ©2018 AACR.


Somatostatin is widely used to inhibit insulin and glucagon release by the pancreas in studies of metabolic regulation in vivo. To determine whether the peptide can directly modify the metabolic effects of an increment in glucagon in overnight-fasted conscious dogs, glucagon was increased in the presence (+S) or absence (-S) of somatostatin. Either somatostatin (+S; 0.8 microgram . kg-1 . min-1) or a two-stage pancreatectomy (-S) was used to inhibit the endocrine pancreas, and at the same time replacement infusions of insulin (285-300 microU . kg-1 .min-1) and glucagon (0.65 ng . kg-1 . min-1) were given. After a 40-min control period the plasma glucagon level was raised fourfold in the presence of fixed basal insulin. Plasma insulin in both groups were similar [11 +/- 2 (+S) and 9 +/- 1 (-S) microU/ml]. Glucagon rose from 64 +/- 11 to 225 +/- 19 and 92 +/- 11 to 219 +/- 20 pg/ml in the +S and -S groups, respectively. Tracer-determined ([3-3H]glucose) glucose production rose by 5.28 +/- 1.02 (+S) and 4.25 +/- 1.12 (-S) mg . kg-1 . min-1 at 15 min and fell similarly over 3 h in both groups. Plasma glucose rose similarly in both groups peaking at 195 +/- 15 (+S) and 174 +/- 8 (-S) mg/dl. Plasma alanine fell similarly over 3 h [133 +/- 35 (+S) and 138 +/- 42 (-S) mumol/liter]. Conversion of [14C]alanine and [14C]-lactate to [14C]glucose rose progressively over 3 h in both groups, eventually being elevated by 210 +/- 58 (+S) and 148 +/- 48% (-S). We conclude that in the dog somatostatin at the dose used does not alter the effect of an increment in glucagon on carbohydrate metabolism.


This article is an investigation of the acoustic properties of the so-called level stress prosody still found in some varieties of North Germanic. Level stress occurs in disyllabic words where a light root syllable has been preserved from Old North Germanic, and is described as having stress more or less evenly distributed across the two syllables. It is argued that level stress is the result of a perceptual ambiguity caused by the delayed synchronization of the accent 2 melody in level stress words, due to the shorter duration of the light root syllable. Due to this delay, both syllables may be interpreted as independent tonal and thereby stressed accent 1 domains, competing with the "normal" interpretation of the two syllables as an accent 2 domain with initial stress.*


Enamelin is an extracellular enamel matrix protein essential for normal amelogenesis. After secretion, porcine enamelin is processed to generate several enamelin-degradation products. The cumulative 32-kDa enamelin is the most abundant enamelin present, and various roles for this molecule have been suggested. However, the proteolytic cleavage sites in porcine enamelin that generate the 32-kDa enamelin are not conserved across species, and the 32-kDa enamelin analogue may not be present in all species. To explore this we studied rat enamelin biochemistry using western blotting with anti-peptide IgGs to porcine 32-kDa enamelin and to the putative rat 32-kDa enamelin analogue. The dominant enamelins in secretory-stage rat enamel migrated at around 60–70 kDa. In contrast, the dominant enamelins in secretory-stage porcine enamel migrated at around 32 kDa. In contrast, secretory-stage porcine-enamel enamelins were dominated by the 32-kDa enamelin. Rat enamelin was completely removed from maturation-stage enamel without any accumulation of 32-kDa enamelin. We suggest that a discrete 32-kDa enamelin is not essential for normal amelogenesis in all species, and in pig it may be a processing product of a larger functional enamelin molecule. The pig may be an atypical model in terms of enamelin biochemistry and function, and caution should be exercised when assigning functional roles to the 32-kDa enamelin as a discrete enamel matrix entity.


Abstract : Information superiority is a critical element of warfare. The commander who makes good decisions and executes these decisions at a superior tempo in the face of uncertainty and constrained time, most often leads his forces to victory. The research presented in this thesis seeks to provide superior information to the Commander in a visual form. This thesis explores, analyzes, and performs a proof-of-concept implementation for a real-time digital video reconnaissance system from forward locations to the rear using wireless communication. This thesis defines the requirements behind the implementation of the system and identifies a prototype suite of equipment. It investigates emergent Commercial-Off-the-Shelf components to identify the equipment that satisfies the system requirements and takes full advantage of current technological advances. Design selection is based on an evaluation of each component against criteria of minimum requirements and selects the most compatible device. It performs an analysis of the prototype by evaluating system throughput used to transmit audio and real-time video imagery. Results of this analysis suggest implementation of the prototype is feasible and that it satisfies the information gathering process.


Despite several studies in the literature, the detailed quantum state-to-state level mechanism of the astrophysically important exoergic barrierless H + LiH+ → H2 + Li+ reaction is yet to be understood. In this work, we have investigated the energy disposal mechanism of the reaction in terms of integral reaction cross section, product internal state distributions, differential cross section, and rate constant. Fully converged and Coriolis coupled quantum mechanical calculations based on a time-dependent wave packet method have been performed at the state-to-state level on the ab initio electronic ground state potential energy surface (PES) constructed by Martinazzo et al. (J. Chem. Phys. 2003, 119, 11241-11248). The agreement between the present quantum mechanical and previous quasi-classical results is found even at very low relative translational energies of reagents. A non-statistical inverse Boltzmann vibrational distribution for the product is found. This is attributed to the "attractive" nature of the underlying PES, which facilitates the excess energy release mostly as product vibration (60-80%). The energy disposal in products is found to be unaffected by the rovibrational excitation of the reagent diatom due to the weak coupling between the vibrational modes of the reagent and the product. The mild effect of collision energy on the product energy disposal is ascribed to the effective coupling between the translational modes of the reagent and the product. It is found that the collisions lead to the formation of the product H2 in its rovibrationally excited levels.


Hosoya and Merrifield-Simmons index were the two valuable topological indices in chemical graph theory. The Hosoya and Merrifield-Simmons index of the class of unicyclic graphs G(k) were investigated, according to the distance between u and v on Cm, their orderings with respect to these two topological indices were obtained.


Collagen is the most abundant human protein, with the canonical sequence (Gly-Pro-Hyp)n in its triple helix region. Cis-trans isomerization of the Xaa-Pro amide has made two of these amide bonds the target of alkene replacement: the Gly-Pro and the Pro-Hyp positions. The conformations of Gly-Pro and Pro-Pro (as a Pro-Hyp model) fluoro-, chloro-, and proteo-alkene mimic models were investigated computationally to determine whether these alkenes can stabilize the polyproline type II (PPII) conformation of collagen. Second-order Møller-Plesset (MP2) calculations with various basis sets were used to perform the conformational analyses and locate stationary points. The calculation results predict that fluoro- and chloro-alkene mimics of Gly-Pro and Pro-Pro can participate in n→π* donation to stabilize PPII conformations, yet they are poor n→π* acceptors, shifting the global minima away from PPII conformations. For the proteo-alkene mimics, the lack of significant n→π* interactions and unstable PPII-like geometries explains their known destabilization of the triple helix in collagen-like peptides.


The paper considers a time-adaptive method for determination of drug efficacy in a parameter identification problem (PIP) for system of ordinary differential equations (ODE) which describe dynamics of the primary HIV infection. Optimization approach to solve this problem is presented and a posteriori error estimates in the Tikhonov functional and Lagrangian are formulated. Based on these estimates a time adaptive algorithm is formulated and numerically tested for different scenarios of noisy observations of virus population function. Numerical results show significant improvement of reconstruction of drug efficacy parameter when using time adaptive mesh refinement compared to usual gradient method applied on a uniform time mesh.


According to a 2016 Time Magazine article, over 14 million people currently work in the "gig," "on demand," or "sharing" economy. In the past 10 years, 94% of net new jobs have appeared outside of traditional employment. The gig economy presents a paradox for workers in the United States. On its face, the "gig" economy represents the height of liberty. Part-time, temporary and platform workers are not tied to any single employer, and can theoretically choose when to work, and whom they want to work for. However, while workers in the gig economy enjoy nominal autonomy, they also lack many protections to which employees are legally entitled. Gig economy workers lack job security and must constantly search for new work. Most gig economy workers do not receive health insurance, pensions, or other benefits from their employers. The reality of the gig economy is greater economic inequality, insecurity, and precarity. The recent COVID crisis has exposed this reality and heightened the vulnerability of gig economy workers. Despite the promise of liberty in the gig economy, workers are increasingly subject to a new form of peonage, exploitative practices reminiscent of slavery and involuntary servitude.

This article starts from first-hand accounts and empirical research and applies an inter-disciplinary approach to understanding what liberty of contract means, and can mean, to workers in the gig economy. It explores the ideology of liberty of contract and presents an alternative approach, the freedom from undue coercion promised by the Thirteenth Amendment. This is the first to article to consider what the Thirteenth Amendment could mean for gig economy workers. It draws on the work of labor scholars who have largely focused on the question of whether gig economy workers should be classified as employees, and constitutional scholars exploring what the promise of liberty in the Thirteenth Amendment means for United States workers. The Thirteenth Amendment offers a promise to these workers, a promise of freedom from undue coercion. However, that promise has yet to be enforced.


The war in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has cost millions of lives. Hundreds of thousands of people have been shot dead. Millions have died from the indirect consequences of war. What the figures do not reveal is the personal suffering of individual people, families, and villages. That is why in November 2005 the Control Arms campaign interviewed some of those who have suffered. The proliferation of conventional arms is too severe to be ignored any longer. Arms transfers still fuel atrocities in the DRC and many other countries. Responsible arms exporters and arms-affected states must not be held back by the few states that want to impede progress. In 2006, they must begin negotiations to agree an Arms Trade Treaty.


Background: Malocclusion is considered to be a Dental public health problem. It is the second most common dental disorder in children and young adults next to dental caries. The major benefits of orthodontic treatment include improvement of physical function, prevention of tissue damage, and correction of aesthetic components. Aim & Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment needs among 12-15 year old school children according to Dental Aesthetic Index in Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Material And Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted by the Department of Public Health Dentistry, I.T.S-Dental college, Muradnagar among 1012 school children aged 12 to 15 year of Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh. A survey proforma was prepared with the help of WHO Oral Health Assessment Form. The components of the form that were used were:General information, Dentofacial which were analysed through Dental aesthetic Index.Significance is assessed at 5% level of significance.The Statistical software namely SPSS 16.0 was used for the analysis of data. Results: The overall prevalence of malocclusion according to DAI score came out to be 33.1%, 66.1% of participants didn't required any treatment or had minor malocclusion, out of 33.1% - 22.2% required elective treatment, for 6.5% treatment was highly desirable and 4.4% required mandatory treatment.The mean DAI score for the study was 23.1. In the present study males had slightly higher mean DAI scores (23.11) than females (22.82). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate a high prevalence of malocclusion in 12-15 year old school going children in Muradnagar.


This article outlines many existing and forthcoming methods that can be used alone, or in various combinations, to accelerate the solutions of the transcendental stiffness matrix eigenproblems that arise when the stiffness matrix is assembled from exact member stiffnesses, which are obtained by solving the member differential equations exactly. Thus distributed member mass and/or the flexural effect of axial loading are incorporated exactly, and the solutions are the natural frequencies for vibration problems or the critical load factors for buckling problems. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Posterior cruciate ligament avulsion fracture from its tibial insertion is a rare pathology in children. It is usually caused by high-energy traumas and its diagnosis is not always easy. Late diagnosis leads to late treatment, which can result in suboptimal results. We present a case of a 13-year-old boy hit by a car, who had a delay in diagnosis and treatment because of severe head trauma. The patient was treated 4 months after the trauma with open reduction and internal fixation of the avulsion fracture. After 4 years of follow-up, he has no complaints and has achieved good functional outcome.


This paper is concerned with analyzing stability of Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy systems with timevarying delay. A Lyapunov functional with triple integral terms is constructed. The Wirtinger-based integral inequality in conjunction with the improved reciprocally convex combination technique is applied to obtain some sufficient conditions that ensure asymptotic stability of TS fuzzy time-varying delayed systems. It is demonstrated that the new stability condition is less conservative than the existing results for such fuzzy systems. The theoretical findings are substantiated with a numerical example.


The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is a small New World monkey that has gained significant recent interest in neuroscience research, not only because of its compatibility with gene editing techniques, but also due to its tremendous versatility as an experimental animal model. Neuroimaging modalities, including anatomical (MRI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), complemented by two‐photon laser scanning microscopy and electrophysiology, have been at the forefront of unraveling the anatomical and functional organization of the marmoset brain. High‐resolution anatomical MRI of the marmoset brain can be obtained with remarkable cytoarchitectonic detail. Functional MRI of the marmoset brain has been used to study various sensory systems, including somatosensory, auditory, and visual pathways, while resting‐state fMRI studies have unraveled functional brain networks that bear great correspondence to those previously described in humans. Two‐photon laser scanning microscopy of the marmoset brain has enabled the simultaneous recording of neuronal activity from thousands of neurons with single cell spatial resolution. In this article, we aim to review the main results obtained by our group and by our colleagues in applying neuroimaging techniques to study the marmoset brain. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 373–389, 2017


Abstract. The Rif is among the areas of Morocco most susceptible to landslides, because of the existence of relatively young reliefs marked by a very important dynamics compared to other regions. These landslides are one of the most serious problems on many levels: social, economic and environmental. The increase in the frequency and impact of landslides over the past decade has demonstrated the need for an in-depth study of these phenomena, allowing the identification of areas susceptible to landslides. The main objective of this study is to identify the optimal method for the mapping of the area susceptible to landslides in municipality of Oudka. This area has been marked by the largest landslide in the region, caused by heavy rainfall in 2013. Two Statistical Methods i) Regression Logistics (LR) ii) Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), were used to create a landslide susceptibility map. The realization of this susceptibility map required, first, the mapping of old landslides by the aerial photography, the data of the geological map and by the data obtained using field surveys using GPS. A total of 105 landslides were mapped from these various sources. 50% of this database was used for model building and 50% for validation. Eight independent landslide factors are exploited to detect the most sensitive areas: altitude, slope, aspect, distance of faults, distance streams, distance from roads, lithology and vegetation index (NDVI). The results of the landslide susceptibility analysis were verified using success and prediction rates. The success rate (AUC = 0.918) and the prediction rate (AUC = 0.901) of the LR model is higher than that of the ANN model (success rate (AUC = 0.886) and prediction rate (AUC = 0.877). These results indicate that the Regression Logistic (LR) model is the best model for determining landslide susceptibility in the study area.


The blossoming of sexual subcultures in the last hundred years has seen the development of a vast new sexual terminology. And as academic research has grasped the challenge of understanding sexuality in the modern world, it has generated its own analytical vocabulary to accompany it. For readers uncertain about some or all of this field, or who want precise definitions of contested terms, A 'Sexuality: The Essential Glossary A' guides its reader through this maze. The glossary covers: key academic concepts - including performance, heteropatriarchy, scripting, and male lesbians. the central debates in sexual politics - including pornography, bisexuality, and the Aids crisis. an analysis of everyday sexual culture - including honeymoon, sex manuals, date rape, cosmetic surgery. slang from a range of sexual subcultures - from daisy chain and switch to lesbian boy and heteroflexible. Glossary entries give the necessary background to understand the key political and academic debates around each term, including selected references and suggested further reading. This book offers clear and thoughtful explanations for the curious enquirer and the new student, while also offering suggestive lines of thought for postgraduates, academics, and activists established in the field.


A 49-year-old man was concerned about a right flexor forearm lesion that had been increasing in size for 6 weeks. The light pink, well-demarcated, 5-cm, circular lesion featured slight peripheral elevation with ulceration, crusting, and a relatively clear central area. A culture of material from the lesion was negative for fungi. A potassium hydroxide evaluation was not performed.