We investigate a recently proposed model for a full quantum description of two-dimensional black hole evaporation, in which a reflecting boundary condition is imposed in the strong coupling region. It is shown that in this model each initial state is mapped to a well-defined asymptotic out-state, provided one performs a certain projection in the gravitational zero mode sector. We find that for an incoming localized energy pulse, the corresponding outgoing state contains approximately thermal radiation, in accordance with semi-classical predictions. In addition, our model allows for certain acausal strong coupling effects near the singularity, that give rise to corrections to the Hawking spectrum and restore the coherence of the out-state. To an asymptotic observer these corrections appear to originate from behind the receding apparent horizon and start to influence the outgoing state long before the black hole has emitted most of its mass. Finally, by putting the system in a finite box, we are able to derive some algebraic properties of the scattering matrix and prove that the final state contains all initial information.


Abstract In underwater unmanned vehicles, complex acoustic transducer arrays are always used to transmitting sound waves to detect and position underwater targets. Two methods of obtaining low-sidelobe transmitting beampatterns for acoustic transmitting arrays of underwater vehicles are investigated. The first method is the boundary element model optimization method which used the boundary element theory together with the optimization method to calculate the driving voltage weighting vector of the array. The second method is the measured receiving array manifold vector optimization method which used the measured receiving array manifold vectors and optimization method to calculate the weighting vector. Both methods can take into account the baffle effect and mutual interactions among elements of complex acoustic arrays. Computer simulation together with experiments are carried out for typical complex arrays. The results agree well and show that the two methods are both able to obtain a lower sidelobe transmitting beampattern than the conventional beamforming method, and the source level for each transmitting beam is maximized in constraint of the maximum driving voltage of array elements being constant. The effect of the second method performs even better than that of the first method, which is more suitable for practical application. The methods are very useful for the improvement of detecting and positioning capability of underwater unmanned vehicles.


It is well established that people with hostile interpersonal styles are at increased risk for coronary heart disease. One mechanism thought to underlie such links is cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress. Despite the fact that laboratory studies have demonstrated links between hostility and CVR, questions remain as to the generalizability of such findings over time and to extra-laboratory settings. The present study sought to focus on the relationship between hostility and separate repeated measures of CVR, thereby capturing the potential for CVR to habituate. Ninety healthy adults (45 males, 45 females) underwent standardized CVR assessments. Participants were tested twice, allowing for scrutiny of habituation patterns. All participants provided assessments of hostility based on the Cook–Medley Hostility Scale, and were categorized as either high or low on hostility. As in previous research, hostility was found to exert significant influences on diastolic blood pressure but not on systolic blood pressure or heart rate. Revealing effects of hostility on CVR habituation were found. High-hostile participants exhibited substantial CVR habituation to stress, whereas low-hostile participants did not. The findings reveal influences of hostility on cardiovascular functioning that would not be captured in traditional laboratory research and may reveal psychosomatic pathways between hostility and disease not previously explored. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The Q&A series offers the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each chapter includes typical questions, diagram problem and essay answer plans, suggested answers, notes of caution, tips on obtaining extra marks, the key debates on each topic, and suggestions on further reading. This chapter considers the royal prerogative. The questions deal with issues such as the continued existence of prerogative power; the Queen's formal legal power; the UK government's exercise of royal prerogative powers; the use of the prerogative in foreign affairs; and judicial review of the prerogative. Many of the prerogative powers are now exercised by the Prime Minister in the name of the Queen.


Abstract We consider the adoption of biologically integrated agricultural practices from the perspective of farm management style. Adoption decisions for farming practices must fit into a broader farm decision-making context that incorporates economic, environmental, social, family and personal considerations, as well as use of agricultural information sources. Drawing from a study of California almond and winegrape growers, we demonstrate that management styles differ substantially among farmers, these differences affect use of information sources and adoption of biologically based practices on the farm, and such adoption does not negatively affect crop performance. We used Q-methodology, a method for eliciting qualitative data using a variant of factor analysis, to identify three distinct management styles among a purposive sample of 40 growers. The Environmental Stewards' management style places higher priority on conservation of natural resources than on getting the highest possible yields or profits. Production Maximizers, with a different style, prioritize more traditional goals of producing the highest possible yields and quality and focusing resources on the farm rather than on outside concerns. Networking Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, value learning about innovative techniques in social contexts such as informational field days, evaluate new information with a business-like attitude and enjoy off-farm interests. A two-season mail survey of farming practices and information sources demonstrated that differences in management styles affect the adoption of practices. Environmental Stewards were more likely to practice biological pest control and encourage wildlife and less likely to use the most toxic chemicals. Production Maximizers had a greater tendency to use prophylactic and broad-spectrum chemicals, while Networking Entrepreneurs preferred more innovative biological pest controls but tended to avoid time-consuming cultural practices. Production Maximizers were distinguished by less use of more social forms of communication, such as attending field days and talking with other growers. Crop health and quality indicators showed that almost all growers were managing their crops very successfully, regardless of management style or choice of practices. These results hold important implications for efforts to increase the adoption of sustainable agriculture, especially by showing that contents and methods of outreach efforts must vary to accommodate diverse farm management styles.


I consider different versions of a structuralist view of mathematical objects, according to which characteristic mathematical objects have no more of a 'nature' than is given by the basic relations of a structure in which they reside. My own version of such a view is non-eliminative in the sense that it does not lead to a programme for eliminating reference to mathematical objects. I reply to criticisms of non-eliminative structuralism recently advanced by Keranen and Hellman. In replying to the former, I rely on a distinction between 'basic' and 'constructed' structures. A conclusion is that ideas from the metaphysical tradition can be misleading when applied to the objects of modern mathematics.


Dog heart-lung preparations were studied to determine the relationship between the toxicity of elevated potassium and the blood pH and pCO2. During hyperkalemia, a ) a change from hypercapneic acidosis to hypocapneic alkalosis produced electrocardiographic deterioration after a delay of 3–5 minutes; cardiac function improved during alkalosis until ECG deterioration occurred; b ) increase of pH produced by hypertonic bicarbonate infusion during hypercapnia improved mechanical performance; ECG also improved, even when pCO2 was later decreased; c ) infusion of hypertonic NaCl during hypercapnia partially prevented ECG deterioration after reduction of pCO2. These experiments indicate that potassium toxicity is aggravated by acute reduction of pCO2. This may not be due solely to the change in pH, since similar pH increase from bicarbonate infusion did not make the ECG worse. Reduction of [Ca++] by pH increase is not the cause of ECG deterioration; if it were, ECG should be more affected in bicarbonate and NaCl infusion experiments than in the others. The cause of ECG deterioration with reduction of pCO2 remains unknown.


We propose a 3-D integral dip-moveout (DMO) approach based on constructing the DMO operator in the slant-stack domain. The kinematics of the operator is first computed in the ray parameter domain and described as three parametric functions for the zero-offset trace location x0-, y0-, and zero-offset traveltime t0. 3-D slant-stack transform is used to merge the three functions into one that defines the same operator in the slant-stack domain. Each input sample is smeared as a sinc function onto the output panel in the slant-stack domain, along the DMO operator trajectory. Then, an accurate and efficient inverse 3-D slant-stack transform reconstructs the data in the conventional timespace domain. Two significant advantages arise from this implementation. First, it can kinematically and dynamically handle triplications associated with v(z) media; second, this integral implementation has no constraint on the sampling or geometry of the input data.


Monitoring marine protected areas (MPAs) is critical for evaluating their effectiveness and for improving management. In this study, a single-camera baited remote underwater video system (mono-BRUVS) was deployed quarterly at four sites (10–30-m depths) to quantify the reef fish communities in protected (no-take) and adjacent exploited areas of the Pondoland MPA on the east coast of South Africa (Indian Ocean). To assess size (biomass) of the fish communities, we used 10 years of research linefishing data (2006–2016) from the same areas. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare abundance and biomass of the fish communities between protected and exploited areas. Significant differences were detected between fish communities in protected and exploited areas based on their abundance and biomass. These differences are primarily ascribed to linefishing and the removal of larger, predatory species such as yellowbelly rockcod Epinephelus marginatus, Scotsman Polysteganus praeorbitalis and black musselcracker Cymatoceps nasutus in the adjacent exploited areas. Removal of such predators may have caused trophic cascading or prey release, resulting in very different fish communities. These results highlight the importance of investigating the entire fish community and not only target fishery species when evaluating MPA effectiveness.


Recent studies of rates of evolution have revealed large systematic differences among organisms with different life histories, both within and among taxa. Here, we consider how life history may affect the rate of evolution via its influence on the fixation probability of slightly beneficial mutations. Our approach is based on diffusion modeling for a finite, stage‐structured population with stochastic population dynamics. The results, which are verified by computer simulations, demonstrate that even with complex population structure just two demographic parameters are sufficient to give an accurate approximation of the fixation probability of a slightly beneficial mutation. These are the reproductive value of the stage in which the mutation first occurs and the demographic variance of the population. The demographic variance also determines what influence population size has on the fixation probability. This model represents a substantial generalization of earlier models, covering a large range of life histories.


We give a detailed study of dynamical properties of the Zhang model, including evaluation of topological entropy and estimates for the Lyapunov exponents and the dimension of the attractor. In the thermodynamic limit the entropy goes to zero and the Lyapunov spectrum collapses. 1


Objectives Assessment of fatigue in Moroccan patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its relationship with disease parameters. Methods 1089 Moroccan patients with rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) were included in the multicenter cross-sectional study QUEST-RA (Quantitative Patient Questionnaires in Standard Monitoring of Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis). The presence of fatigue was researched and its degree was assessed by a visual analogue scale (VAS) ranging from 0 to 100 mm. The presence and intensity of fatigue were correlated to the RA patient and disease parameters (sex, DAS 28, score of Health assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), corticosteroids intake, presence or absence of sleep disorders or psychological problems). Results The mean age of our patients was 49 ± 12.6 years with a female predominance of 80.3%. The average of disease duration was 6 (3, 12) years. The mean DAS28 was 4.9 ± 1.68. The average of HAQ was 1 (0.4, 1.6). Fatigue was present in 97.1% patients and the average of VAS fatigue was 43.2 ± 26.6 mm. A high level of fatigue was associated with female gender (44% versus 39%, p = 0.05), an important level of disease activity (r = 0.544, p <0.001), more functional disability (r = 0.660, p <0.001), corticosteroids intake (r = 0.510, p = 0.003), presence of sleep disorders (65.4% versus 36%, p <0.001), and the psychological problems caused by the disease (43.8% versus 21 9%, p <0.001). Conclusions Fatigue is a major problem in our patients with RA and must be included in their routine assessment. In our sample, fatigue appears to be related to female sex, high level of disease activity and greater functional disability. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


A Flexure Plate Wave (FPW) resonator using piezoelectric thin film is proposed for liquid sensing. FPW device is suitable for liquid sensing because of less scattering of the energy from the acoustic wave to the loading liquid due to its low phase velocity. The COM theory is used to simulate the response of a two-port SAW resonator, which is extended to the design of the FPW resonator. The possible applications and the constraints for the proposed device are discussed from the theoretical expression. The comparison between the mass effect and the stiffness effect for the cases of droplet and fill loading show the application strategy in liquid sensing. The sol-gel derived lead zirconate titanates (PZT) thin film is applied on the proposed device because of the cost advantage and the high electromechanical coupling effect over other thin piezoelectric thin films. The preliminary measurement results show that the resonant frequency and the relative liquid density have a good linear correlation, and demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed device.


The discipline of bioinformatics has developed rapidly since the complete sequencing of the first genomes in the 1990s. The development of many high-throughput techniques during the last decades has ensured that bioinformatics has grown into a discipline that overlaps with, and is required for, the modern practice of virtually every field in the life sciences. This has placed a scientific premium on the availability of skilled bioinformaticians, a qualification that is extremely scarce on the African continent. The reasons for this are numerous, although the absence of a skilled bioinformatician at academic institutions to initiate a training process and build sustained capacity seems to be a common African shortcoming. This dearth of bioinformatics expertise has had a knock-on effect on the establishment of many modern high-throughput projects at African institutes, including the comprehensive and systematic analysis of genomes from African populations, which are among the most genetically diverse anywhere on the planet. Recent funding initiatives from the National Institutes of Health and the Wellcome Trust are aimed at ameliorating this shortcoming. In this paper, we discuss the problems that have limited the establishment of the bioinformatics field in Africa, as well as propose specific actions that will help with the education and training of bioinformaticians on the continent. This is an absolute requirement in anticipation of a boom in high-throughput approaches to human health issues unique to data from African populations.


Working with substance misusers Edited by Trudi Petersen and Andrew McBride. Published by Routledge Falmer, London 2002. Paperback 393 pp. Price £18.99 ISBN 0-415-23568-5 This book is edited by two experienced practitioners and the contributing authors include well-known names and experienced professionals from a range of disciplines. It is aimed at giving students and new staff a user-friendly introduction to the sorts of problems and issues they will meet from day one in their work with substance misusers. It is divided into five parts: the introductory section includes a chapter on working effectively with substance misusers that has a useful Competency Assessment Tool which can be used to guide learning. The second part concentrates on the care and treatment of substance misusers. The third part deals with organisational and policy issues in the UK context. The fourth part looks at some specific populations for example, women and alcohol and young people. The final section consists of a number of case studies with questions at appropriate points for the reader to answer. Each chapter starts with learning objectives and ends with a reader input section which may include questions, points for discussion and suggestions for further activity. Chapters are well referenced. This book is an excellent comprehensive text for those workers new to substance misuse from a range of professional backgrounds including nursing and medical staff, social workers, psychologists, counsellors and volunteers. It is an excellent teaching resource and will be useful for teachers and trainers. Philip M Fleming Psychiatrist


Dietary flax oil (FO) retards disease progression in growing or adult animal models of kidney disease. To determine whether dietary flax oil during the perinatal period would alter renal disease progression in offspring, Han-SPRD-cy rats with inherited cystic kidney disease were given diets with either 7% FO or corn oil (CO), throughout pregnancy and lactation. At 3 wk of age, offspring were then given either the same or the alternate diet for 7 wk. Rats given FO during the maternal period had 15% less renal cyst growth compared with rats given FO only in the postweaning period. Dietary FO, compared with CO, in the maternal period also resulted in 12% lower cell proliferation and 15% less oxidant injury in diseased kidneys of offspring. Including FO in both the maternal and postweaning period resulted in 29–34% less renal interstitial fibrosis and 22–23% lower glomerular hypertrophy. Along with improved histology, these rats exhibited 13% less proteinuria and 30% lower creatinine clearance when dietary FO was given in the maternal period. The potential for dietary FO during pregnancy and lactation to positively modulate adult renal disease has significant implications for the 1 in 1000 individuals with congenital cystic kidney disease.


BACKGROUND
Chemotherapy for the treatment of early-stage breast cancer (ESBC) patients improves survival outcomes. However, its most common acute toxicity is myelosuppression, which can reduce the delivered dose and compromise the survival benefit. Because FEC100-docetaxel (FEC100-D) is a common protocol for ESBC, we evaluated its febrile neutropenia (FN) incidence and the role of its hematological toxicity on the individual relative dose-intensity (RDI).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
It is a French single-center, observational, retrospective study. Patients received adjuvant/neoadjuvant FEC100-D treatment, without primary prophylaxis by granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF). The neutrophil count the day before the planned chemotherapy cycle had to be over 1,500.mm(-3) for the treatment to be administered. Data collected included: date and dose of chemotherapy cycles, FN and high grade of hematological toxicity occurrence for each course, G-CSF prescription.

RESULTS
One thousand, seven hundred and fifty-seven cycles in 284 patients were delivered. FN was observed in 4.9% (n = 14) of the patients, without hospitalizations or deaths after. Grade 3-4 neutropenia occurred in 5.8% of the cycles, during the first cycle in 40% of cases. Seventeen percent of our patients received less than 85% of RDI.

CONCLUSION
The hematotoxicity of this treatment is acceptable. The risk of FN is low. No G-CSF primary prophylaxis is needed without additional risk factor.


In this thesis a novel edge detection technique is developed that employs compressed sensing image reconstruction techniques. The ability of compressed sensing noise reduction is combined with wavelet transforms, acting both as a sparsifying transform as well as an edge detection media. The proposed design was implemented and simulated on a brain phantom. The simulation results were provided for a variety of different sets of variables, and the differences were explained. The results obtained are compared with other edge detection techniques already in use. One important comparison criteria is the visual quality of images; according to which the proposed technique presents improved noise reduction and edge preservation. In addition to qualitative evaluation a method of quantitative measurement based on structural content is also utilized. It is found that the values for such a measure of the proposed method is 1.0755, 1.0174 and 0.5590 for Gaussian, Speckle, and Salt & Pepper noise types respectively. These results indicate that this novel method also improves edge preservation, while the visual quality inspection indicates how much noise has been suppressed.


A composite multimedia object (cmo) is comprised of different media components such as text, video, audio and image, with a variety of constraints that must be adhered to. These constraints include synchronization and spatial relationships between components, as well as the confidentiality and integrity requirements on each component. While spatial and synchronization constraints are to preserve the semantics of the cmo, the security (confidentiality and integrity) constraints are to represent the access control policies and fidelity requirements. A subject (user) requesting access for a cmo may not possess the required credentials to meet the confidentiality constraints, or his computer system the desired capabilities to meet the integrity constraints. This necessitates modification to the original cmo.In this paper, we present a self-manifestation approach in which composite multimedia objects automatically manifest themselves to cater to the subjects' credentials, and the capabilities of their computer systems. We accomplish this in two steps. First, we present a logical model which is an enhanced Petri Net model, called multimedia color-time Petri net (MMCTPN) to represent the components as well as the constraints of the cmo. We then demonstrate how MMCTPN lends itself to automatic manifestation of the cmo when subject's credentials and capabilities activate it. Second, we show how the Petri net behavior can be implemented using the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL): SMIL, which is an extension of XML, supports specification of synchronization of the multimedia components and facilitates automatic rendering. When credentials are specified with digital certificates in some XML format, our system automatically modifies the SMIL document to satisfy the security constraints. We avoid multiple certificate verifications at the component sources by generating a single security token, when multiple credentials are required to view a component.


The compound KdV-type equation with nonlinear terms of any order is reduced to the integral form. Using the complete discrimination system for polynomial, its all possible exact traveling wave solutions are obtained. Among those, a lot of solutions are new.


Although the success of the invention of printing is traditionally linked to the Reformation of the sixteenth century, it already affected religious culture in the late fifteenth century and the decades prior to the Reformation. The printing press played an important role in the emancipation of the vernacular Bible in the late Middle Ages. Vernacular religious texts were being produced on a large scale, and vernacular Bibles were printed widely by the end of the fifteenth century. The process of publishing, printing, shaping, and appropriating these Bibles entailed close negotiation and collaboration between printers and public, as well as between religious and lay people. It enabled the public to participate in the shaping of actual copies and resulted in a shared appropriation by religious as well as lay people. Using the first printed Bible in Dutch (1477) as a case-study demonstrates the important role the public played and the power they had over this process.


Abstract. Although Freud launches a devastating critique of religion, he makes significant contributions to religious maturity. On the "manifest" level, he attacks religion as illusion; on the "latent" level, however, he is preoccupied with religion as mystery deep in the psyche. This difference is between religion as "critical" or as "postcritical" (Polanyi)—as dualistically split from, or emergent within, the psyche. Postcritical religion appears in Freud as mystery, unity, feeling, meaning, and creative agency. We see why, for Freud, the mother as matrix keeps disappearing and what religious maturity is for "honest smallholders on this earth" who live within matrix as mystery.


We recently demonstrated a role for altered mitochondrial bioenergetics and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in mitochondrial Ca(2+)-sensitive K(+) (mtK(Ca)) channel opening-induced preconditioning in isolated hearts. However, the underlying mitochondrial mechanism by which mtK(Ca) channel opening causes ROS production to trigger preconditioning is unknown. We hypothesized that submaximal mitochondrial K(+) influx causes ROS production as a result of enhanced electron flow at a fully charged membrane potential (DeltaPsi(m)). To test this hypothesis, we measured effects of NS-1619, a putative mtK(Ca) channel opener, and valinomycin, a K(+) ionophore, on mitochondrial respiration, DeltaPsi(m), and ROS generation in guinea pig heart mitochondria. NS-1619 (30 microM) increased state 2 and 4 respiration by 5.2 +/- 0.9 and 7.3 +/- 0.9 nmol O(2).min(-1).mg protein(-1), respectively, with the NADH-linked substrate pyruvate and by 7.5 +/- 1.4 and 11.6 +/- 2.9 nmol O(2).min(-1).mg protein(-1), respectively, with the FADH(2)-linked substrate succinate (+ rotenone); these effects were abolished by the mtK(Ca) channel blocker paxilline. DeltaPsi(m) was not decreased by 10-30 microM NS-1619 with either substrate, but H(2)O(2) release was increased by 44.8% (65.9 +/- 2.7% by 30 muM NS-1619 vs. 21.1 +/- 3.8% for time controls) with succinate + rotenone. In contrast, NS-1619 did not increase H(2)O(2) release with pyruvate. Similar results were found for lower concentrations of valinomycin. The increase in ROS production in succinate + rotenone-supported mitochondria resulted from a fully maintained DeltaPsi(m), despite increased respiration, a condition that is capable of allowing increased electron leak. We propose that mild matrix K(+) influx during states 2 and 4 increases mitochondrial respiration while maintaining DeltaPsi(m); this allows singlet electron uptake by O(2) and ROS generation.


The impact of atmospheric feedbacks on the multiple equilibria (ME) regime of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is investigated using a fully implicit hybrid coupled model (HCM). The HCM consists of a global ocean model coupled to an empirical atmosphere model that is based on linear regressions of the heat, net evaporative, and momentum fluxes generated by a fully coupled climate model onto local as well as Northern Hemisphere averaged sea surface temperatures. Using numerical continuation techniques, bifurcation diagrams are constructed for the HCM with the strength of an anomalous freshwater flux as the bifurcation parameter, which allows for an efficient first-order estimation of the effect of interactive surface fluxes on the MOC stability. The different components of the atmospheric fluxes are first considered individually and then combined. Heat feedbacks act to destabilize the present-day state of the MOC and to stabilize the collapsed state, thus leaving the size of the ME regime almost unaffected. In contrast, interactive freshwater fluxes cause a destabilization of both the present-day and collapsed states of the MOC. Wind feedbacks are found to have a minor impact. The joint effect of the three interactive fluxes is to narrow the range of ME. The shift of the saddle-node bifurcation that terminates the present-day state of the ocean is further investigated by adjoint sensitivity analysis of the overturning rate to surface fluxes. It is found that heat feedbacks primarily affect the MOC stability when they change the heat fluxes over the North Atlantic subpolar gyre, whereas interactive freshwater fluxes have an effect everywhere in the Atlantic basin.


Measurements of the time dependence of the magnetization are reported for ceramic samples from the different classes of high Tc superconductors. The obtained variation in the activation energies for the different classes points to pinning mechanisms characteristic for each structure type.


BACKGROUND
Thrombospondin-1 (TSP) is a 430-kd glycoprotein that is an important component of the extracellular matrix and is known to be a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis (i.e., formation of new blood vessels) both in vitro and in vivo. Several reports suggest that TSP possesses tumor suppressor function, possibly through its ability to inhibit tumor neovascularization. It has recently been shown that TSP expression is enhanced by the product of the p53 gene (also known as TP53).

PURPOSE
We examined the role of TSP expression in tumor recurrence and overall survival in patients with invasive bladder cancer. We also examined the relationship between alterations in p53 protein expression, TSP expression, and tumor angiogenesis.

METHODS
Tumors from 163 patients (with a median follow-up of 7.7 years) who underwent radical cystectomy for invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (63 patients with organ-confined disease and no lymph node involvement, 48 patients with extravesical extension of the disease and no lymph node involvement, and 52 patients with metastasis to regional lymph nodes) were examined for TSP expression by immunohistochemistry, utilizing monoclonal antibody MA-II, which recognizes an epitope in the amino-terminal region of TSP. For each tumor, microvessel density counts and p53 protein expression status (via immunohistochemistry) were also determined. TSP expression was graded as low, moderate, or high without knowledge of clinical outcome, p53 status, and microvessel density count; tumors with moderate and high TSP levels were considered as one group. Groups of patients were compared by Kaplan-Meier product limit estimates of overall survival, the complement of cumulative incidence curves for recurrence-free survival, and the stratified logrank test. Reported P values are two-sided.

RESULTS
TSP expression was significantly associated with disease recurrence (P = .009) and overall survival (P = .023). Patients with low TSP expression exhibited increased recurrence rates and decreased overall survival. TSP expression was an independent predictor of disease recurrence (P = .002) and overall survival (P = .01) after stratifying for tumor stage, lymph node status, and histologic grade, but it was not independent of p53 status. TSP expression was significantly associated with p53 expression status (P = .001) and microvessel density counts (P = .001). Tumors with p53 alterations were significantly more likely to demonstrate low TSP expression, and tumors with low TSP expression were significantly more likely to demonstrate high microvessel density counts. Results of an analysis of variance were compatible with the hypothesis that p53 affects tumor angiogenesis by regulating the level of TSP expression.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
These data support the concept that TSP may possess a tumor-inhibitory function. TSP may act, in part, through the regulation of tumor neovascularity. These results may also provide insight into one mechanism by which p53 exerts its tumor suppressor effects, i.e., through the control of tumor angiogenesis.


In this paper we are concerned with a nonlocal problem of a stochastic differential equation that contains a Brownian motion. The solution contains both of mean square Riemann and mean square Riemann-Steltjes integrals, so we study an existence theorem for unique mean square continuous solution and its continuous dependence of the random data X0 and the (non-random data) coefficients of the nonlocal condition ak. Also, a stochastic differential equation with the integral condition will be considered.


Abstract Tropical savannas cover over 20% of land surface. They sustain a high diversity of mammalian herbivores and promote frequent fires, both of which are dependent on the underlying grass composition. These habitats are typically dominated by relatively few taxa, and the evolutionary origins of the dominant grass species are largely unknown. Here, we trace the origins of the genus Themeda, which contains a number of widespread grass species dominating tropical savannas. Complete chloroplast genomes were assembled for seven samples and supplemented with chloroplast and nuclear ITS markers for 71 samples representing 18 of the 27 Themeda species. Phylogenetic analysis supports a South Asian origin for both the genus and the widespread dominant T. triandra. This species emerged ~1.5 Ma from a group that had lived in the savannas of Asia for several million years. It migrated to Australia ~1.3 Ma and to mainland Africa ~0.5 Ma, where it rapidly spread in pre-existing savannas and displaced other species. Themeda quadrivalvis, the second most widespread Themeda species, is nested within T. triandra based on whole chloroplast genomes, and may represent a recent evolution of an annual growth form that is otherwise almost indistinguishable from T. triandra. The recent spread and modern-day dominance of T. triandra highlight the dynamism of tropical grassy biomes over millennial time-scales that has not been appreciated, with dramatic shifts in species dominance in recent evolutionary times. The ensuing species replacements likely had profound effects on fire and herbivore regimes across tropical savannas.


Long-term bone marrow cultures provide a model for the study of hematopoiesis. Both an intact, adherent stromal layer and hematopoietic stem cells are necessary components in these cultures. Mycophenolic acid treatment of mouse long-term bone marrow cultures depletes them of all assayable hematopoietic precursors. The residual stromal cells are functional and support hematopoiesis if new progenitor cells are supplied. We now show that these mycophenolic acid-treated stromal cell cultures contain cells capable of hematopoietic differentiation without the addition of new progenitors. When treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha (20-200 units/ml), the apparently pure stromal cultures undergo an intense burst of hematopoietic activity. After 4 days such cultures contain approximately 2 x 10(6) hematopoietic cells and, by 1 week, they are indistinguishable from control long-term cultures that were not treated with mycophenolic acid. These results suggest that the stromal cultures either contain hematopoietic stem cells that are maintained quiescent and mycophenolic acid-resistant, perhaps by intimate contact with the stroma, or contain adherent cells that can be induced to differentiate into hematopoietic stem cells. These stem cells are primitive, in that they are capable of multilineage development in the long-term cultures, but are unable to form spleen colonies or myeloid colonies in semisolid medium. These data demonstrate that the adherent fraction of cultured bone marrow contains very primitive hematopoietic cells and that tumor necrosis factor alpha activates their proliferation and differentiation. They also suggest a strategy for obtaining the earliest progenitors free of other, more mature cell types.


A variety of topics that bear directly upon the use of molecular-beam spectroscopic methods for precise frequency determination with the use of alkali-halide molecules are discussed. The rotational-energy spectrum, including resolvable hyperfine structure arising from quadripole and magnetic interactions, is calculated. An analysis of integrated line strength, or intensities, is presented. State selection is discussed in terms of the appropriate high-field Stark effect, for which new calculations are given. State selection with both axial and transverse-rod configurations is discussed, and trajectories for sodium chloride with the use of a transverse-rod state selector are indicated. The limitations of any state selector which arise from nonadiabatic losses are analyzed. The design parameters of a microwave spectroscope, including signal-to-noise ratio and ultimate precision, are related to its geometric configuration, and a description of an apparatus that is adequate for high-resolution work is given. Related topics, such as the concept of efficiency of frequency measurements and frequency pulling, are discussed in generalized fashion. Conclusions that can be derived from this work, as to both present limitations and necessary future development, are drawn.


Vehicular accidents are increasingly contributing towards loss of lives across the world. Timely detection of physiological and psychological parameters of the vehicular driver, which could cause various levels of physical and mental fatigue that lead to slower reflexes is therefore extremely important. As part of an ambitious research initiative, India is developing a pervasive computing solution for eliminating / reducing such accidents. As one of the component of such solution, a wearable computing system has been envisioned to be worn by the driver. A complex set of noninvasive and nonintrusive sensor-compute element integrated with appropriate e-textile would form the primary part of this wearable computer.
 Out of the initial set of physiological parameters such as Skin Conductance, Oximetry Pulse, Respiration, SPO2, the current work focuses on the first two parameters to detect and monitor the mental fatigue / drowsiness of a driver. Using Neural Network approach, Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks (MLP NN) have been designed to classify Pre and Posting driving fatigue levels. The performance of single hidden layer and two hidden layers based MLP NN have been discussed using the performance measures such as, Percentage Classification Accuracy (PCLA), Mean Square Error (MSE), Normalized Mean Square Error (NMSE), Area under Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AROC), Area under Convex Hull of ROC (AHROC). It was discovered that the performance of one hidden layer based MLP NN is comparable to the two hidden layers based MLP NN and there is slight rise in PCLA from One hidden layer to two hidden layer.


Interleukin 1 (IL 1), IL 6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) are typical examples of multifunctional cytokines involved in the regulation of the immune response, hematopoiesis, and inflammation. Their functions are widely overlapping but each shows its own characteristic properties. IL 6 was originally identified as a B cell differentiation factor, and thus one of the major functions of IL 6 is antibody induction. Transgenic mice have provided much needed information on the pathophysiological role of cytokines. With IL 6 transgenic mice, deregulation of the IL 6 expression was suggested to be involved in the generation of plasmacytoma/myeloma and mesangium proliferative glomerulonephritis. The cis‐regulatory elements and transacting nuclear factor (or factors) for the IL 6 expression (NF‐IL 6) have been identified. NF‐IL 6 was shown to be a member of a C/EBP family, and the possible involvement of NF‐IL 6 not only in the IL 6 regulation but also in the induction of various acute phase proteins was also observed. The findings suggest the presence of a positive regulatory loop in acute‐phase reaction. IL 1 receptor belongs to an Ig superfamily, but the IL 6 receptor is a member of a newly identified cytokine receptor family. The IL 6 receptor system was shown to be composed of a ligand binding chain and a signal‐transducing molecule. IL 6 was found to trigger the association of these two polypeptide chains. This unique mechanism may be applied to other cytokine receptor systems.— Akira, S.; Hirano, T.; Taga, T.; Kishimoto, T. Biology of multifunctional cytokines: IL 6 and related molecules (IL 1 and TNF). FASEB J. 4: 2860‐2867; 1990.


The open stack communication protocol of the internet of things always in security threats. The vulnerability of protocol faces a problem of man in middle attacks and loss of integrity of communication. Cryptography plays a vital role in security authentication on IoT based enable communication system.  IoT devices' limited resource constraints cannot offer any security mechanism on the physical level and network level. The key generation methods uplift the security provision in IoT enables communication model. The process of key generation applied three types of cryptography algorithm, symmetric, asymmetric and hybrid algorithm. The complexity of key generation methods needs more computational time and memory; this is the limitation of IoT devices. So various authors proposed a lightweight key generation algorithm for security and authentication. This paper analyzed the performance of key generation methods based on different cryptography approaches and measured their security strength. For the analysis process, use MATLAB software and sample text data file for the communication of two parties. Some ADHOC methods apply to measure protocol weakness during the communication network compromised with a man in the middle attack.  The variable key size also reflects the security strength of IoTs enable devices.


What does it take to implement a server that provides access to records in a large database, in a way that ensures that this access is completely private—even to the operator of this server? In this paper, we abstract this problem to a real world computer security application, and examine the question: using current commercially available technology, is it practical to build such a server, for real databases of realistic size, that offers reasonable performance—scaling well, parallelizing well, working with the current client infrastructure, and enabling server operators of otherwise unknown credibility to prove their service has these privacy properties? We consider this problem in the light of commercially available secure coprocessors—whose internal memory is still much, much smaller than the typical database size—and construct an algorithm that both provides asymptotically optimal performance, and also promises reasonable performance in real implementations. Preliminary prototypes support this analysis (but leave many areas for further work).


Behavioral economics discussion of light or libertarian paternalism advocates it is possible to improve decision making without attempting to freedom of choice. In the present paper we scrutinize arguments in favor and against light paternalistic interventions in savings and retirement domains in order to weight costs and benefits outlined in the debate. We move forward with the notion that boundedly rational agents do not make an indisputable case for intervention and argue that further debate and research has yet to be developed so as to prevent policies from being mistakenly calibrated. Key-words: Light Paternalism; bounded rationality; freedom; welfare; behavioral economics.


This study analyzed traumatic injuries in the primary and permanent dentition in children treated from 1990 to 1992 at the Children's Dental Traumatology Service in Valparaiso, Chile. A total of 227 records from patients 2 to 21 years old was studied with regard to the cause of injury, location of injury, time elapsed before treatment, history of previous trauma, type of injury, number of injured teeth, and how patients seek treatment. A total of 73 patients had injuries to the primary dentition (pD) and 154 to the permanent dentition (PD) with a total of 357 injured teeth (115 primary, 242 permanent). Ten to 12-year-old children had the highest number of injuries (33%). Falling was the most common cause of injury in both groups (82% pD, 58% PD), followed by striking against objects (13% pD, 19% PD) and bicycle accidents (9% PD). Most injuries in children with primary dentition (68%) occurred at home, while children with permanent dentition had most accidents at school (38%). Most children (61%) sought treatment after 24 h (52% pD, 65% PD), 61 children had suffered previous trauma (36% pD, 23% PD). The most common injuries in primary teeth were luxation (26%), intrusion (21%) and subluxation (18%). Uncomplicated crown fracture (34%), followed by complicated crown fracture (21%), were the main injuries in permanent teeth. There was no difference in the number of teeth involved for either dentition. A single tooth injury was found in 54%. Two teeth were involved in 35%, and three or more teeth in 11%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The asphalt antistripping agents were synthesized from ethylenediamine (ED) or N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine (HEED) with three different fatty acids. The formation of amide bonds were successfully performed and confirmed by FT-IR and 1H-NMR data. The adhesive properties of antistripping agents were compared in terms of contact angle and BBS test. The reaction product of ED with waste animal fat exhibited the most hydrophobic by the contact angle measurement, and the strongest water resistance of 94 % by BBS test. However, the reaction product of ED with waste vegetable oil showed the strongest absolute bond strength of ca. 3610 and 3227 kPa for before and after water conditioning, respectively. For the bond strength in general, the reaction products of ED were superior to HEED reaction products, and the reaction products of animal fat and waste vegetable oil were superior to those of pure soybean oil.


INTRODUCTION There is clear evidence that the use of cessation aids significantly increases the likelihood of successful smoking cessation. The aim of this study was to examine quitting activity and use of cessation aids among smokers from various European countries. Subgroup differences were also examined for sex, income, education, and age in each country. METHODS Cross-sectional data were collected in 2016 from 10683 smokers in eight European countries participating in the ITC Project: England (n=3536), Germany (n=1003), Greece (n=1000), Hungary (n=1000), the Netherlands (n=1136), Poland (n=1006), Romania (n=1001), and Spain (n=1001). We measured quitting activity, including quit attempts in the previous 12 months and intention to quit, use of cessation aids (i.e. medication, quitlines, internet, local services, e-cigarettes), and whether respondents had received advice from health professionals about quitting and e-cigarettes. RESULTS Quit attempts were most common in England (46.3%) and least common in Hungary (10.4%). Quit intention was highest in England and lowest in Greece. Use of e-cigarettes to quit was highest in England (51.6%) and lowest in Spain (5.0%). Use of cessation aids was generally low across all countries; in particular this was true for quitlines, internet-based support, and local services. Receiving health professional advice to quit was highest in Romania (56.5%), and lowest in Poland (20.8%); few smokers received advice about e-cigarettes from health professionals. No clear differences were found for sex and income groups. Across countries, smokers with lower education reported less quitting activity. CONCLUSIONS Quitting activity and use of cessation methods were low in most countries. Greater quit attempts and use of cessation aids were found in England, where large investments in tobacco control and smoking cessation have been made. Health professionals are important for motivating smokers to quit and promoting the effectiveness of various methods, but overall, few smokers get advice to quit.

https://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/pdf-98912-33893?filename=Quitting activity and use.pdf


This paper investigates the problem of global chaos anti-synchronization of identical hyperchaotic Lorenz systems (Jia, 2007) by sliding mode control. The stability results derived in this paper for the anti-synchronization of identical hyperchaotic Lorenz systems are established using Lyapunov stability theory. Since the Lyapunov exponents are not required for these calculations, the sliding mode control method is very effective and convenient to achieve global chaos synchronization of the identical hyperchaotic Lorenz systems. Numerical simulations are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of the synchronization schemes derived in this paper. Keywords-nonlinear control systems; chaos; anti-synchronization; sliding mode control; hyperchaotic Lorenz system.


Clinical evaluation for a successful root canal treatment is assessed by various criteria, which are clinical, histopathological, and radiographical criteria. Therefore, failure of endodontic treatment can be described as a recurrence of clinical symptoms, with the presence of a periapical radiolucency or both. Failure factors in the treatment are frequently related to persistent infection. Conventional endodontic retreatment is indicated for symptomatic previously treated teeth or asymptomatic teeth with inadequately done initial endodontic treatment to avoid potential recurrence. Endodontic retreatment in elderly patients is a great challenge because the clinician has to reassure both the physical and psychological factors of the patient to determine whether to save a tooth or perform an extraction. Some difficulties may also be found in root canal retreatment, including finding the root canal hole or root canal blockage found in parts of the root canal that have not been repaired in the previous treatment.
A 60-year-old female patient came with the chief complaint of recurrent pain, and subjective discomfort in the maxillary left central incisor. The patient had anxiety about the dental treatment. The tooth had a history of root canal treatment four months ago.
The clinical examination showed a positive response to the percussion test. The radiographical analysis showed a root canal underfilling, 2-3 mm short of length from the apex. The tooth was diagnosed as a previously treated tooth with symptomatic apical periodontitis. Endodontic retreatment was performed based on the patient's clinical condition and consent, followed by composite restoration.
The clinical and radiographic re-evaluation after four weeks of follow-up revealed an excellent condition. This favorable result showed that a conventional retreatment plan of persistent pain on the previously treated tooth in an elderly patient led to progressive healing, and a longer follow-up was advised.


The chemistry of magnesium organocuprates, including their synthesis, structures, and reactions, remains underexplored. In this work, by taking advantage of the high reactivity and ready availability of magnesiacyclopentadienes, a series of magnesiacyclopentadiene-based organocuprates were synthesized and structurally characterized. A variety of CuX salts (X=Cl, Br, I, or alkynyl) were successfully applied to react with magnesiacyclopentadienes. Besides CuX salts, AgX salts (X=Cl, alkynyl) also undergwent the above reaction to afford the corresponding magnesium organoargentates. Single-crystal X-ray structural analysis and DFT calculations of these butadienyl magnesium organocuprates revealed unique structural characteristics and bonding modes. These results are also very useful to understand the transmetalation process, since the product can be viewed as the resting-state intermediate of a transmetalation reaction between organomagnesium compounds and coinage-metal salts. Preliminary information on the reaction chemistry of these magnesium organocuprates is provided by their reactions with allyl bromide, benzoyl chloride, and CO2 .


The methods of treatment used in the cure of simple and complicated lower extremity varices are described. These conditions are found in about 10% of the population throughout the civilised world and their social and economic repercussions are by no means negligible. The lines of surgical management dictated by the latest view of the pathogenesis and physio-pathology of these varices are explained. Treatment is by no means simples or of secondary importance with respect to the surgery of other vascular sectors. Emphasis is placed on the high percentage of recurrences. These are the result of mistakes in surgical technique or inadequate sclerosing management, as shown in the literature. Postoperative cure and the absence of local inflammation or infection come from the employment of non-reabsorbable, inert and very thin threads, rational in addition to the methodical use of widely diffusible antibiotics, fibrinolytics, and modern platelect anti-clumping agents.


The point of centration for refractive surgery is a theme of great importance that generates considerable discussion among specialists and surgeons in the field. Notably, any changes in light can alter the size of the pupil, and the visual axis of the fixation line to the fovea is unique in each patient. A variety of options have been described in the literature with respect to centration in refractive surgery, and the results differ among these methods. No consensus has been established regarding the ideal refractive surgery technique for evaluation of centration in each patient that will yield a satisfactory surgical result.


Abstract : Oceanic applications of fiber optics are rapidly advancing, following on the heels of the more mature land-based telecommunication systems. While many features of each arena are similar, undersea fiber systems demand unique capabilities. Components capable of withstanding brutal hydrostatic pressures and near freezing temperatures had to be developed. This paper highlights undersea fiber optic systems and their features. It focuses on long distance telecommunications and remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) links. Also addressed is the emerging technology of fiber optic sensors. These designs use the fiber as a sensing element to detect such variables as displacement, pressure, temperature, strain, and rotation. (Author)


In order to explain the mechanism of high voltage interrupter, a particle in cell method is used in our work to simulate the breakdown process before arc formation of vacuum and SF6 circuit breaker. The electrons and ions which play vital roles in this process are traced by Newton equation. The electrons from field emission, impact ionization and secondary electron emission are all considered in our simulation. The effect of space charge on the motion of charged particles is considered here. Constant time step method of Monte Carlo is used to cope with the collisions between the particles. For vacuum breaker, the exciting, elastic and ionizing collisions between electrons and metallic vapor atoms have been considered here and for SF6, momentum transfer, excitation, dissociative ionization and attachment are considered. The simulation results explore the breaking mechanisms of different circuit breaker and have some values on arc quenching research.


STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to correlate the level of education to childbearing pattern and previous use of oral contraceptives in middle aged women. DESIGN AND SETTING--The study was a cross sectional survey of 3608 women aged 40-42 years in a county in northern Norway and involved 72% of all women in the age bracket living in the county. Information about childbearing and use of oral contraceptives was obtained from a self administered questionnaire. MAIN RESULTS--Level of education was inversely associated with parity and positively related to age at first and last birth, to the use of oral contraceptives at any time, and particularly to the use of oral contraceptives before the first birth. CONCLUSIONS--Women with high level of education have relatively low parity and postpone childbearing by using oral contraceptives.


Based on the PID control and adaptive fuzzy PID control, the paper establishes semi-active suspension model of engineering vehicle and compares vibration control and suspension performance among the semi-active suspensions, taking engineering vehicle as the study object. Through the further simulation research, from the comparative analysis performance indexes of riding comfort and handling safety, we can reach the conclusion that the control effect of adaptive fuzzy PID control improves by different degrees than the passive suspension and PID control suspension. The results show that adaptive fuzzy PID control suspension can reduce the vehicle vibration commendably during operation


All Danish surgical departments were asked whether they would recommend removal of the appendix if this seemed normal at operation for suspected appendicitis. 14.0% recommended removal of a normal appendix only if there were no other pathological findings. 84.6% would remove the appendix under certain circumstances bearing risk factors in mind.


This paper addresses the worst-case parameter identification problem for uncertain single-input/single-output (SISO) and multi-input/multi-output (MIMO) linear systems under partial state measurements and derives worst-case identifiers using the cost-to-come function method. In the SISO case, the worst-case identifier obtained subsumes the Kreisselmeier observer as part of its structure with parameters set at some optimal values. Its structure is different from the common least-squares (LS) identifier, however, in the sense that there is additional dynamics for the state estimate, coupled with the dynamics of the parameter estimate in a nontrivial way. In the MIMO case as well, the worst-case identifier has additional dynamics for the state estimate which do not appear in the conventional LS-based schemes. Also for both SISO and MIMO problems, approximate identifiers are obtained which are numerically much better conditioned when the disturbances in the measurement equations are "small". The theoretical results are then illustrated on an extensive numerical example to demonstrate the effectiveness of the identification schemes developed.


Introduction: Given the importance of enhancing the teaching ability of faculty members and the influential factors and considering the limited resources in this regard, the present study was conducted to evaluate the spiritual intelligence and its association with teaching ability in the faculty members of the dentistry school at Islamic Azad University in 2015. Materials and Methods: In this analytical-correlational study, the spiritual intelligence of the faculty members was assessed using the Persian version of the standard King's health questionnaire (KHQ), the validity and reliability of which were confirmed. Moreover, the teaching ability of the participants was evaluated using the Persian version of the Alabama standard questionnaire with proper validity and reliability. In the KHQ, spiritual intelligence was scored based on a five-point Likert scale, and teaching ability in the Alabama inventory scale was scored based on a four-point Likert scale. Influential factors, such as age and gender, were also reviewed. Data analysis was performed using the Chi-square and Spearman tests. Results: In total, 132 questionnaires were distributed among the faculty members of the Dentistry Unit at Islamic Azad University, 96 of which were collected. Mean scores of spiritual intelligence and teaching ability were 58.8±15.4 and 92.1±17.3, respectively. The correlation between the spiritual intelligence and teaching ability of the faculty members was estimated at 0.301. Spiritual intelligence was observed to be higher in the female participants (P<0.005) with more teaching experience (P<0.05) and stable employment (P<0.01). In addition, teaching ability increased significantly in the married women (P<0.005) with stable employment (P<0.01). Conclusion:According to the results, spiritual intelligence and teaching ability had low correlation in the field of dentistry. Women with a broad teaching background and stable employment were observed to have higher spiritual intelligence, while teaching ability was higher in the married faculty members with stable employment.


Background: Non-covalent Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors (ncBTKi) are in clinical development for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and Richter Transformation (RT). These agents (pirtobrutinib, ARQ-531, SNS-062) reversibly bind BTK and overcome acquired resistance to covalent BTKis (cBTKi). In the phase I/II trial of pirtobrutinib, clinical activity was observed in a heavily pre-treated patient (pt) population including CLL pts with acquired mutations in BTK and pts with RT. Given the efficacy of ncBTKis, these agents hold promise to address an unmet need for pts with CLL. As an increasing number of pts are treated with ncBTKis, data on the sequential use of each therapy are critical to guide clinical decision-making following their discontinuation and where ncBTKi may ultimately fit into the CLL sequencing paradigm. Currently, there are no available data on treatment of CLL or RT following discontinuation of ncBTKis. Therefore, we sought to report outcomes for CLL and RT pts following discontinuation of ncBTKis.
 Methods: We conducted a retrospective, multicenter, international study of pts treated with any ncBTKi for a diagnosis CLL or RT who have discontinued ncBTKi. Data was collected using a standardized data template which included pt and disease characteristics, prior therapies, demographics, response to ncBTKi and subsequent therapies and outcomes. Data on up to two lines of therapies following ncBTKi were collected. The primary study endpoint was investigator-assessed overall response rate (ORR) for therapies following ncBTKi discontinuation. Analyses were descriptive and were performed using STATA 17.0.
 Results: 42 pts with CLL (n=33) or RT (n=9) were identified who were treated with and subsequently discontinued a ncBTKi. Baseline characteristics at start of ncBTKi are presented in Table 1. Pts were treated with a median of 3.5 (range 1-10) prior therapies including: cBTKi (95%), chemo+/-immunotherapy (CIT, 76%), venetoclax (50%), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors (PI3Ki, 33%) and cellular therapies (14%). Baseline disease characteristics included unmutated IGHV (74%), del17p (49%) and TP53 mutation (45%).
 Best ORR to ncBTKi was 48.5% in CLL pts and 44.4% in RT pts. Median duration of treatment exposure was 5.5 months (range 1-18). The six most common reasons for discontinuation were progressive CLL 38.1%, progression of existing RT 14.3%, CLL progression to RT 9.5%, allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo SCT) 9.5%, death not secondary to progression or toxicity 7.1%, and adverse events 7.1%.
 Presently, 32 pts (76.2%) received another line of therapy following discontinuation of ncBTKi. Therapies and ORR following ncBTKi discontinuation are presented in Table 2. The 3 most common treatment strategies included: cellular therapy (11 pts), venetoclax-based therapy (10 pts) and CIT for RT (9 pts). ORR to any first line of therapy post ncBTKi was 46.7% (n=30 pts with response data). ORR to any second line of therapy following ncBTKi was 45.4% (n=11 pts with response data).
 Focusing on specific treatment strategies, ORR to cellular therapy (allo SCT or chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy) for RT or CLL was 81.8% (complete response (CR): 6, partial response (PR): 3, stable disease (SD): 1, progression of disease (PD):1, n=11) with an ORR of 80.0% (n=5) after CAR T-cell therapy and an of ORR 75.0% after allo SCT (n=4). ORR to venetoclax-based therapy was 60.0% (CR: 0, PR: 6, SD: 3, PD: 1, n=10, all CLL pts, 9 venetoclax naïve pts). Additionally, two pts received alternative ncBTKis (PR: 1, SD: 1). CIT was ineffective for either RT or CLL (ORR: 12.5% and 33.3%, respectively). At the time of data cut, 15 of 42 (35.7%) pts had died with 9 deaths due to CLL or RT.
 Conclusion: In this first study to report outcomes of CLL and RT pts who have discontinued a ncBTKi, several important themes have emerged. For venetoclax naive CLL pts, venetoclax appears to be a promising strategy following ncBTKi discontinuation supporting the ability to stay within the BTKi class prior to switching to venetoclax. Cellular therapies including CAR T-cell therapy and allo SCT had a high ORR and warrant further investigation (80% of pts had prior cBTKi, ncBTKi and venetoclax and 100% had prior cBTKi and ncBTKi). CIT was associated with very low response rates and poor outcomes for both RT and CLL. Data to be updated with additional pts and survival outcomes.
 Figure 1 Figure 1.

 Thompson: MJH Life Sciences: Honoraria; Curio Science: Honoraria; VJHemOnc: Honoraria. Coombs: LOXO: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria; AstraZeneca: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria; Genentech: Honoraria; MEI Pharma: Honoraria. Roeker: Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Abbot Laboratories: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen, LOXO, Pharmacyclics, TG Therapeutics, Vaniam Group, Verastem: Consultancy; Loxo Oncology: Consultancy. Pagel: Gilead: Consultancy; Epizyme: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics/AbbVie: Consultancy; MEI Pharma: Consultancy; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy; Actinium Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Incyte/MorphoSys: Consultancy; BeiGene: Consultancy. Battiato: Janssen: Honoraria; Abbvie: Honoraria. Rhodes: Conquer Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award: Other: Grant/Research Support; AbbVie, Genentech, Pharmacyclics, TG Therapeutics: Other: Consultant. Fakhri: Loxo/Lilly: Research Funding. Eyre: Secura Bio: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Incyte: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Research Funding; Loxo Oncology: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Beigene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel to conferences; Gilead/KITE: Honoraria, Other: Travel support for conferences, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Mato: TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: DSMB, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Acerta/AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Johnson and Johnson: Consultancy, Research Funding; DTRM BioPharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genmab: Research Funding; Nurix: Research Funding; MSKCC: Current Employment; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Sunesis: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; LOXO: Consultancy, Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Research Funding.


We test whether quantitative easing (QE), in addition to boosting aggregate demand and inflation via portfolio rebalancing channels, operated through a bank lending channel (BLC) in the UK. Using Bank of England data together with an instrumental variables approach, we find no evidence of a traditional BLC associated with QE. We show, in a simple framework, that the traditional BLC is diminished if the bank receives `flighty' deposits (deposits that are likely to quickly leave the bank). We show that QE gave rise to such flighty deposits which may explain why we find no evidence of a BLC. T H E A U S T R A L I A N N A T I O N A L U N I V E R S I T Y


Fingerprint images are usually worsened by various kinds of noise causing cracks, scratches and bridges in the ridges as well as ink blurs. These cause matching errors in fingerprint recognition. For effective recognition the correct ridge pattern is essential, requiring the enhancement of fingerprint images. A fingerprint pattern consists of ridges. Segment by segment analysis of the pattern yields various ridge directions and frequencies. By selecting a directional filter with correct filter parameters to match ridge features at each point, we can effectively enhance fingerprint ridges. This paper proposes fingerprint image enhancement based on CNN Gabor-type filters.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this article is to review the common pitfalls in MRI of the knee and pearls on how to avoid them.

CONCLUSION
MRI of the knee is highly accurate in evaluation of internal derangements of the knee. However, a variety of potential pitfalls in interpretation of abnormalities related to the knee have been identified, particularly in evaluation of the menisci, ligaments, and articular cartilage.


Using generations to implement random linear network coding garners benefits such as reduced decoding complexity. However, these benefits can come at the expense of throughput. In this paper, we seek to understand and maximize throughput for generation-based network coding (GBNC). Motivated by the application of network coding to scalable multicast, we consider schemes which result in high probability of decoding success with minimal feedback. We show that the throughput performance of GBNC is highly dependent on the choice of coding parameters and that GBNC becomes advantageous only when the number of source packet exceeds a network-dependent threshold. Results for various network topologies lead to the formulation of throughput-motivated guidelines for the adoption of GBNC.


The development and management of an inoculum through various stages has a definite effect on subsequent performance and economics of a microbial process. To achieve this, application of response surface modeling in the optimization of the primary and secondary inoculum build-up of Pseudomonas nitroreducens for enhanced rhamnolipid production was presented in this study. This involved systematic studies to understand the individual, cumulative and mutual interactive effects of the two parameters, inoculum age and size on rhamnolipid production. The optimal combination of factors was as follows: primary inoculum age = 61 h, primary inoculum size = 1% (v/v), secondary inoculum age = 28 h and secondary inoculum size = 20% (v/v). The model predicted a maximum rhamnolipid yield of 7.944 g/L. This was as a result of strong interaction between secondary inoculum age and size. The subsequent experiments with the optimized conditions yielded 6.97 g/L of rhamnolipid, which is very consistent with the prediction made by the model used. Keywords : Biosurfactants, inoculum age, inoculum size, Pseudomonas nitroreducens , response surface design, rhamnolipid African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(19), pp. 2611-2617


The twelve-hour shift system, first introduced in the U.S. in 1967 to address a nursing shortage, is now the main system of shift rotation used in numerous countries. In recent years, several hospitals in Taiwan have implemented the 12-hour shift model as one initiative to improve the problems of overtime and high turnover rate among nursing staff. Under this model, nurses work only three to four days per week for 12-hour shifts per day. Despite the increase in numbers of days off, there is growing concern that long shift hours may harm both the safety of patients and the well being of the nurses. The aim of the present article is to explain the application of the 12-hour shift system and to review the potential impacts of this model. Benefits of the 12-hour shift system include improving quality of life for nursing staff, reducing the turnover rate, and increasing job satisfaction. Primary concerns regarding this system include patient safety, nurse fatigue, and the potential negative effects on the sleep quality of nurses. These findings may be referenced by policymakers considering the development / implementation of flexible work schedules in Taiwan. The government must set a ceiling on work hours allowed per week and impose limits on overtime in order to prevent burnout in nursing staff.


We present some improvements of Zenon Modulo and the application of this tool to sets of problems coming from set theory. Zenon Modulo is an extension of the tableau-based first order automated theorem prover Zenon to deduction modulo. Deduction modulo is an ex-tension of predicate calculus, which allows us to rewrite terms as well as propositions, and which is well-suited for proof-search in axiomatic theories, as it turns axioms into rewrite rules. The improvements dis-cussed here consist in a better heuristic to automatically build rewrite systems given a set of axioms, and some optimizations in the rewrit-ing process used during the proof search. We also present some updated results obtained on benchmarks provided by the TPTP library for set theory categories. Finally, we discuss some recent work about the appli-cation of our tool to the B method set theory, in particular the way we treat equality and the comprehension scheme.


Anthropogenic pollution of the marine areas during the last years continuously increased to the extent of ecological catastrophes. The aim is to present the main methods for detecting marine pollution. A systematic review of the publications on the problem in the last years has been made. The study of the literature established that by remote aerospace methods and tools chemical, mechanical, biological and radioactive contamination of the water areas can be tested. Most of the chemical contaminants are oil and oil products spills. Passive and active methods to detect oil pollution are used. Passive methods are based on radiation from the electromagnetic spectrum: gamma - radiation to radio range, including in the areas of ultraviolet (UV), violet (B) and infrared (IR). Active methods aimed at measuring and registration of the reflected laser radiation. Mechanical marine pollution is registered by the turbidity of the water. This is best registered in color photographs. For biological contamination is most important remote monitoring of photosynthetic organisms. Conclusion: The methods for detecting marine pollution depend on his character as the accuracy varies.


To improve fuel consumption, safety and comfort, which are very important themes for automobiles, powertrain control technologies can play a very important role. This paper discusses recent developments and future trends of powertrain control technologies especially in the area of automatic transmission, continuously variable transmission and four wheel drive.


Abstract Background Telemedicine has shown promising results in the follow up of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. This study compared quality of life and disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease monitored using a telemedicine platform versus standard care. Methods In this prospective multicenter study, patients with active inflammatory bowel disease were randomized to EasyMICI–MaMICI® telemedicine platform or standard care. The main objective was to assess the efficacy of the software platform, as measured by quality of life and quality of care. Secondary outcomes were changes in the use of healthcare resources, and patient satisfaction in the MaMICI group. Results Fifty-four patients were enrolled (November 2017–June 2018); 59.3% had Crohn's disease and 40.7% ulcerative colitis. Forty-two patients received biologics at inclusion. After 12 months, a significant improvement in quality of life was observed with MaMICI versus standard care, with mean (standard deviation) changes from baseline of 14.8 (11.8) vs 6.3 (9.7) in the SIBDQ scores and 18.5 (18.7) vs 2.4 (8.3) in the EuroQol 5 D-3L questionnaire scores (both p ≤ .02). Disease activity was similar in both treatment groups. Use of MaMICI slightly reduced healthcare utilization versus controls (mean gastroenterologist consultations 2.2 vs 4.1; p = .1308). Overall satisfaction with MaMICI was high (mean score 7/10), and 46.2% of remaining patients in the MaMICI group continued to use the platform until 12 months. Conclusion Significant improvement in quality of life and overall satisfaction with this telemedicine platform, indicates that further evaluation of EasyMICI–MaMICI in larger numbers of patients with inflammatory bowel disease is warranted.


Background China adopted family doctor (FD) to help achieve "Healthy China 2030" through providing continuous, comprehensive, and life-cycle contract services. However, there is a disparity between actual and targeted FD use, as residents continue to visit specialists in large hospitals. The government implemented initiatives to improve residents' willingness to sign up with and visit their FDs. Factors that influence contract behavior are therefore significant for frontier policy research. Methods Two survey waves were conducted in Shanghai (2013 and 2016). The first wave included 2754 people and the second 1995 people. Exploratory factor analysis was used to synthesize "satisfaction" as a predictor of contract behavior. Pearson's chi-square, pooled and logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between influencing factors and contract behavior, and clarify variations in factors across the two waves. Results Four factors were extracted from 15 satisfaction items: "Treatment Environment," "Medical Technology," "Service Specification" and "Service Attitude". Consistent with descriptive analysis, longitudinal analysis showed sociodemographic characteristics (age, education, marital status, and hukou) were significant predictors of contract behavior. The odds ratio of non-communicable diseases (NCD) patients for contract behavior was 2.218 times that of residents without NCD. Contract behavior was positively correlated with awareness of FD services (OR = 21.674, 95%CI = 15.043–31.229), satisfaction with Service Attitude (OR = 1.210, 95%CI = 1.009–1.451), and visit compliance (OR = 1.959, 95%CI = 1.564–2.452). Over time, the odds ratios of the married, Shanghai hukou, NCD, and awareness of FD services declined from 0.456, 1.795, 2.492, 28.690 to 0.443, 1.678, 1.910 and 14.031 respectively, while those of age, and visit compliance increased from 1.027, 1.521 to 1.041 and 2.305 respectively. In 2016, an education-contract gradient had formed (the higher the education level, the higher probability of signing with a FD), whereas high school education had the highest odds ratio (OR = 1.163,95%CI = 0.740–1.827) in 2013. Service Attitude was the only significant satisfaction-related predictor (OR = 1.358, 95%CI = 1.001–1.842) in 2016, compared with "Treatment Environment" (OR = 1.224, 95%CI = 1.001–1.496) and "Service Specification" in 2013(OR = 1.270, 95%CI = 1.040–1.552). Conclusions Except for the socio-demographic variables, NCD, awareness of FD services, satisfaction and visit compliance were significant predictors of contract behavior with FDs. The effect of visit compliance had increased over time while NCD and awareness of FD services were losing impact over time. Significant satisfaction factors had also changed from "Treatment Environment" and "Service Specification" to "Service Attitude".


We have characterized the behavior and genetics of the Drosophila mutant radish (rsh gene). Initial learning of radish flies in two olfactory discrimination tests is high, but subsequent memory decays rapidly at both early and late times after training. Anesthesia-resistant memory (consolidated memory) is undetectable in radish flies 3 hr after training. The mutant shows normal locomotor activity and normal sensitivity to the odor cues and electric-shock reinforcement used in the learning tests. The radish gene maps within a 180-kb interval in the 11D-E region of the X chromosome.


Homogenious leucine aminopeptidase is purified from "oryzine"--mixture of enzymes produced by surface culture of Asperigillus oryzae using treatment with activated characoal, followed by DEAE-cellulose and hydroxylapatite chromatographies, Biogel P-100 gel-filtration and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The enzyme has pH optimum 9.0 and the molecular weight 37500 as estimated by gil-filtration through Sephadex G-100 (superfine) and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Leucine aminopeptidase from Asp. oryzae has a broad substrate specificity, therefore, cleaving with the highest rate the peptides carrying N-terminal leucine. The enzyme is completely inhibited with EDTA and beta-mercaptoethanol, and it is a metalloenzyme.


This paper presents a short-term economic/environmental hydro-thermal-wind complementary scheduling (HTWCS) system considering uncertainty of wind power, as well as various complicated non-linear constraints. HTWCS system is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem to optimize conflictive objectives, i.e., economic and environmental criteria. Then an enhanced multi-objective bee colony optimization algorithm (EMOBCO) is proposed to solve this problem, which adopts Elite archive set, adaptive mutation/selection mechanism and local searching strategy to improve global searching ability of standard bee colony optimization (BCO). Especially, a novel constraints-repairing strategy with compressing decision space and a violation-adjustment method are used to handle various hydraulic and electric constraints. Finally, a daily scheduling simulation case of hydro-thermal-wind system is conducted to verify feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed EMOBCO in solving HTWCS problem. The simulation results indicate that the proposed EMOBCO can provide lower economic cost and smaller pollutant emission than other method established recently while considering various complex constraints in HTWCS problem. 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


A numerical procedure to evaluate the rotordynamic performance of thin-walled filamentary wound laminated composite circular cylindrical shafts of any layup is presented. The rotordynamic formulation follows Ruhl's approach modified to include a beam-type stiffness matrix that is numerically constructed from the solution of two-point boundary value problems of composite circular cylinders. Numerical results for the critical speeds and the unbalance response of a sample composite shaft are obtained and compared with predictions based on classical methods of analysis and experimental results found in the literature. It was observed that for certain layups the classical methods of analysis tend to mask fundamental characteristics that govern the rotordynamic response of composite shafts.


We prove coherence theorems for Frobenius pseudomonoids and snakeorators in monoidal bicategories. As a consequence we obtain a 3d notation for proofs in nonsymmetric multiplicative linear logic, with a geometrical notion of equivalence, and without the need for a global correctness criterion or thinning links. We argue that traditional proof nets are the 2d projections of these 3d diagrams.


There is evidence that children with neurodevelopmental disorders may exhibit atypical responses to stress and alterations in concentrations and diurnal secretion of stress hormones. We assessed diurnal profiles and stress responses of salivary cortisol and α-amylase (sAA) in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and specific learning disorder (SLD) compared to typically developing children (TD). A total of 157 children of both sexes, aged between 6 and 12 years old, took part in the study distributed into four groups: ADHD (N=34), ASD (N=56), SLD (N=43), TD (N=24). Salivary samples were collected at three time points during a day, as well as before and 5 min after an academic performance test and a moral cognition task. ADHD children had lower evening and diurnal sAA levels, adjusted for age. Also, ASD children showed lower diurnal sAA secretion, adjusted for age. The mean percentage change for salivary cortisol and sAA after both tests did not differ between the groups. In conclusion, we demonstrated alterations in diurnal autonomic functioning in children with ADHD and ASD, while HPA axis functioning did not differ between the clinical and the comparison groups. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Abstract CASE HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: Two White Dorper lambs from the North Island of New Zealand, 2 and 4 weeks of age, were presented with large skin flaps hanging from the flanks, separation of skin from the subcutis over mobile joints, and de-gloving injuries of the limbs and tail. The lambs were subject to euthanasia on humane grounds. PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: Large skin tears with associated haemorrhage, periarticular S/C oedema and generalised skin fragility were observed in both lambs at post-mortem examination. Histology of the affected skin revealed diffuse hyalinisation of dermal collagen compared with control lambs, protein-filled peri-adnexal clefts and areas of deep dermal and S/C granulation tissue consistent with previous separation of skin from the subcutis. Analysis of hair follicles, collected from one of the lambs, using a commercially available genetic test in Australia was consistent with the lamb being homozygous for the mutation responsible for ovine dermatosparaxis. DIAGNOSIS: Likely dermatosparaxis. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings strongly suggest that the mutation responsible for dermatosparaxis in White Dorper sheep is present in New Zealand. Dermatosparaxis should be considered when investigating skin fragility in lambs with White Dorper genetics. Confirmation of the disorder is possible through genetic analysis of hair follicles.


Purpose - The purpose of the article is to show that the liability system established by Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is unfit for purpose because its mixture of joint and several liability and proportionate liability makes it impossible to implement and enforce effectively or efficiently as well as making it expensive to administer. The article analyses the liability system and its effect on the implementation and enforcement of Part 2A.

Design/methodology/approach - A research approach was taken to examine and analyse Part 2A and the accompanying statutory guidance, and its implementation and enforcement. This approach included researching the liability system of Part 2A in depth, liability systems in other jurisdictions to compare and contrast with the liability system in Part 2A, publications by the UK Government on the progress of Part 2A, and commentaries on Part 2A and its progress.

Findings - The paper found that the liability system introduced by Part 2A is too complex to enforce effectively or efficiently. The article concludes that the result is a contaminated land regime that has failed to achieve its purpose in identifying land that poses a risk to human health and the environment and in remediating it.

Originality/value - The paper is the first paper to examine and critique the liability system in Part 2A and its implementation in depth and to suggest issues to consider in its revision so as to replace the regime with a regime that is fit for purpose.


Diabetes Mellitus (DM) causes various complications if it is not controlled properly. International Diabetes Federation (IDF, 2015) stated that the prevalence DM in 2014 were 8, 3% or equals to 387 million in the world. The objective of this research was to identify the influence of Sago (Metroxylon spp) on blood glucose levels of male white mouse (Mus musculus) with Diabetes Mellitus. This research was an experimental research with pre-test and post-test only group design, conducted from October to December 2016. The samples were twentyfive male white mice (Mus musculus) what were divided into five groups such as : negative control group was given standard diet, the positive control group was given induction of alloxan, three treatment groups (P1) 65mg/20g BW/day was given rice flour, groups (P2) 65mg/20g BW/day was given sago and P3 group was given sago 130mg/20g BW/day. The data were analyzed by Anova testing and Post Host Test testing with trust degree of 95%. The result was the blood glucose level of the mice showed that there was a significant difference with p value 0,012 on group (P2) with treatment, while in group treatment (P3), there was also significant difference with p value 0,019. It could be concluded that there was a significant difference in the average blood glucose level after the rice flour and sago treatment towards various groups.  Keyword : Sago, Rice Flour, Blood Glucose Level, and Diabetes Mellitus


Ovarian cancer (OC) is the third commonest gynecological malignancy worldwide. The long non-coding (lnc)RNA microRNA (miR)155HG functions as an oncogene in different human cancers. However, the function and molecular mechanism of miR155HG in OC remain elusive. The present study indicated that the expression levels of miR155HG and tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1) were significantly increased, whereas that of miR155-5p was decreased in OC tissues and cells, as detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. It was demonstrated that knockdown of miR155HG markedly inhibited OC cell viability, migration and invasion while promoting apoptosis, as indicated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, wound healing, Transwell and western blot assays. Mechanistically, it was revealed that miR155HG and TYRP1 were both targeted by miR-155-5p with complementary binding sites in the 3' untranslated region. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm the targeting relationship between miR155HG, miR-155-5p and TYRP1. In addition, the interaction between miR155HG and miR-155-5p was further demonstrated by radioimmunoprecipitation and pull-down assays. In addition, feedback approaches determined that miR-155-5p inhibition or TYRP1 overexpression markedly reversed the inhibitory effects of miR155HG knockdown on OC cell viability, migration and invasion as well as weakened the promotive effect of miR155HG knockdown on OC cell apoptosis. Thus, miR155HG silencing inhibited the malignant biological behavior of OC cells by targeting the miR-155-5p/TYRP1 axis. The present study provides novel insights into the underlying mechanism of OC progression.


After eight winters of the extensive monitoring program for the interaction between ice features and the piers of the PEI Confederation Bridge, a detailed video has been done. This paper introduces the results of this video analysis which mainly concentrates on revealing different failure mechanisms that take place for the first year ice ridges, whether they occur simultaneously or progressively, which mechanisms always occur together, which mechanisms are the dominant and which of them are rare. Also the paper presents the relation between the load and velocity with different failure mechanisms.


Review: After Eden: The Evolution of Human Domination By Kirkpatrick Sale Reviewed by Bram Buscher Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands Kirkpatrick Sale. After Eden. The Evolution of Human Domination. Durham: Duke University Press. 186 pp. ISBN: 0-8223-3938-2. (paperback; acid free paper). US$19.95. In the last decade, several books have come out trying to develop an overview of recent, archaeological, paleontological and historical anthropological evidence on human evolution. One of my favourites so far is John Reader's magnificent Africa, A Biography of the Continent. Although less broad in scope, Kirkpatrick Sale's After Eden now competes for first place. Like Reader, Sale provides a bird's eye view of recent global archaeological and paleontological findings and guides the reader in a mere 138 pages through 65.000 years of modern human evolution. Not being a palaeontologist or archaeologist but rather an interested social scientist, I am not in place to comment on Sale's use of the evidence, although the breadth of material he presents seems extensive. However, what sets After Eden apart from other similar works and what excites me as a social scientist, is Sale's social and critical emancipatory point of departure and the explicit lessons he tries to draw from the ancient past for the present. The central argument of the book revolves around its subtitle: The Evolution of Human Domination. According to Sale, the extraordinary dominance by one single bipedal species [...] has brought us to the present imperilment of the earth, including the extinction of species, the destruction of ecosystems, the alteration of climate, the pollution of waters and soils, the exhaustion of fisheries, the elimination of forests, the spread of deserts, and the disruption of the atmosphere (p.3). The consequence of this dominance of Homo Sapiens and its associated reckless policies and practices towards the earth is unavoidable ecocide (p.3). Our main predicament, so argues the book, is that human dominance is little recognised as a problem because the psychological processes leading up to it have been in the making for many millennia, so becoming accepted wisdom and even religion. In three main chapters, the book outlines how Homo Sapiens started innovating in hunting techniques (chapter one: 70.000 - 50.000 years ago), developed cultural and religious symbols to aid them in their survival (chapter two: 55.000 - 20.000 years ago) and intensified their land use through agriculture (chapter three: 20.000 - 5.000 years ago). Sale


DR. C. DUGUID, D.S.O., exhibited a doctor'saccount,dated 1821. He had receivedthis accountfor one or his patients. The items for which chargeswere made, were given in detail. The commonest item was a purge, for which a charge of one shilling was made. Dr. Duguid's patient's grandfather's birth was also on the account; the fee chargedwas fifteen shillings. This was the largestcharge made. Sumsof sixpenceand one shilling were the charges for visits and dressings.


Rotationplasty, a limb-saving procedure involving a 180-degree ankle rotation to function as a knee joint, is now standard for treating distal femur osteosarcoma. However, challenges related to self-identification persist within the Asian population. This study presents a case involving the successful application of temporary ectopic implantation followed by staged rotationplasty after a severe traumatic amputation, resulting in a favorable outcome. Additionally, a systematic review is conducted to summarize the various difficulties and complications encountered in different studies. This approach improves the feasibility of rotationplasty in traumatic cases and enhances patient and family comprehension.


Downy mildew of broccoli, caused by the fungus Peronospora parasitica, is a perennial disease problem affecting winter broccoli production in Arizona. During 1985 -87, potential systemic fungicides were evaluated in the field for disease control. In the 1985 -86 season, a period of high disease incidence, ,lesion development was significantly reduced by fosetyl -Al (44 %), phosphorous acid (42 %), oxadixyl + mancozeb (35 %), chlorothalonil (33 %), metalaxyl + mancozeb (30 %) and metalaxyl + chlorothalonil (28 %). During the 1986 -87 growing season, disease incidence was low and lesion development was significantly reduced by phosphorous acid (82 %), fosetyl -Al or oxadixyl + chlorothalonil (77 %), metalaxyl + chlorothalonil (68 %) and chlorothalonil (54 %). Fosetyl-Al, phosphorous acid and oxadixyl were as effective as currently available fungicides ( metalaxyl and chlorothalonil) for control of downy mildew of broccoli in Arizona.


Bi-isotropic media, which include isotropic chiral media and Tellegen media as special cases, are the most general form of linear isotropic media where the electric displacement and the magnetic induction are related to both the electric field and the magnetic intensity. In inhomogeneous bi-isotropic media, electromagnetic waves of two different polarizations are coupled to each other. In this paper, we develop a generalized version of the invariant imbedding method for the study of wave propagation in arbitrarily inhomogeneous stratified bi-isotropic media, which can be used to solve the coupled wave propagation problem accurately and efficiently. We verify the validity and usefulness of the method by applying it to several examples, including the wave propagation in a uniform chiral slab, the surface wave excitation in a bilayer system made of a layer of Tellegen medium and a metal layer, and the mode conversion of transverse electromagnetic waves into longitudinal plasma oscillations in inhomogeneous Tellegen media. In contrast to the case of ordinary isotropic media, we find that the surface wave excitation and the mode conversion occur for both s and p waves in bi-isotropic media.