Radiotherapy plays a major role as a curative treatment of various stages non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC): as an exclusive treatment in curative attempt for patients with unresectable stages I and II; as a preoperative treatment, which is often associated with chemotherapy, for patients with surgically stage IIIA NSCLC in clinical trials; in association with chemotherapy for unresectable stages IIIA and IIIB patients. Currently, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy allows for some dose escalation, increasing radiation quality. However, the high inherent conformality of this radiotherapy technique requires a rigorous approach and an optimal quality of the preparation throughout the treatment procedure and specifically of the accurate definition of the safety margins (GTV, CTV...). Different questions remain specific to lung cancers: 1) Despite the absence of randomized trials, the irradiated lymph nodes volume should be only, for the majority of the authors, the visible macroscopically involved lymph nodal regions. However, local control remains low and solid arguments suggest the poor local control is due to an insufficient delivered dose. Therefore the goal of radiotherapy, in this particular location, is to improve local control by increasing the dose until the maximum normal tissue tolerance is achieved, which essentially depends on the dose to the organs at risk (OAR) and specifically for the lung, the esophagus and the spinal cord. For this reason, the irradiated volume should be as tiny as possible, leading to not including the macroscopically uninvolved lymph nodes regions in prophylactic view in the target volume; 2) The lung is one of the rare organs with extensive motion within the body, making lung tumors difficult to treat. This particular point is not specifically considered in the GTV and CTV definitions but it is important enough to be noted; 3) When radiation therapy starts after a good response to chemotherapy, the residual tumoral volume should be defined as the target volume in place of the initial tumor volume. These different elements are discussed in this paper.


Electromagnetic formation flight is the process of using electromagnetic actuators (coils) on multiple spacecraft to produce relative (internal) forces in order to control the relative position and orientation of the spacecraft. This thesis demonstrates the ability to experimentally generate the relative internal electromagnetic forces in a short duration full 6DOF environment. Next the thesis limits itself to a two-satellite system and thus is able to perform a state reduction that constrains the motion to an arbitrary two-dimensional plane in 3-dimensional space showing that this is not actually a constraint on the real system for a two satellite formation. A feedback control law is propsed and simulated in this constrained space demonstrating position control of the underactuated system. Some theoretical guarantees are derived from contraction analysis. Finally time and energy optimal paths for a series of maneuvers are conceived by application of the GPOPS HI numerical optimzation software. The results show further that the underactuated system is capable of arbitrary position control with the limitation being that it is unable to simultaneously control attitude and position to desired states because the attitude is used to "steer" the magnetic dipole therefore the desired angle is set by the position controller rather than an external reference. Overall this thesis shows the viability from the controllability perspective of underactuated electromagnetic formation flight for future space missions. Thesis Supervisor: David W. Miller Title: Professor Thesis Supervisor: Alvar Saenz-Otero Title: Principal Research Scientist


Objectives : Since cosmetics have been one of the help of life, unlike medicine, natural products have been used for cosmetics, generally giving the image of safety and relief compared to synthetic products. Among them, Houttuynia cordata has been known as a useful herbal medicine with antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. In this study, we were to use Houttuynia cordata extract on formulation of cosmetic emulsions. Methods : The effects of Houttuynia cordata extract on emulsion stability and viscoelastic properties of emulsion were measured using turbiscan and rheometer. And we assessed the anti-oxidative and antibiotic activities of Houttuynia cordata extract. Results : 1. The results of this investigation for emulsion stability showed that the stability emulsion containing Houttuynia cordata extract was decreased depending on concentration of Houttuynia cordata extract. 2. Super oxide dismutase activity was strongly dependents on concentration of Houttuynia cordata extract. 3. Houttuynia cordata extract showed good anti-microbial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Conclusions : Houttuynia cordata extract can be effectively used in cosmetic emulsions when the relation between natural product extracts and formulation of cosmetics is elucidated.


The sequence-induced curvature of DNA fragments free in solution was characterized by measurements of the end-to-end distance using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). The 31 bp oligonucleotides were labeled at their 5' ends with fluorescein as the donor and rhodamine X as the acceptor. We compared a curved oligonucleotide with three phased A6 blocks and a control containing (AT)3 instead of the A6 blocks. The increased efficiency of energy transfer of the A6-containing DNA indicates the existence of a permanent sequence-induced curvature, the magnitude of which is in good agreement with estimates from theoretical curvature predictions. Energy transfer efficiency and correspondingly curvature increases with NaCl concentration.


Background As marijuana use is rising among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), so is interest in its potential use as a therapeutic agent. We sought to survey IBD patients regarding marijuana use, self-reported impact on IBD symptoms, and perceptions of safety. Methods A multicenter anonymous survey was administered to patients with IBD between October 2020 and June 2021. The 70-question survey collected demographic variables, clinical variables, attitudes about marijuana, and perceptions of its safety and efficacy in IBD. Participants were classified by their marijuana use: "rarely/never," "current," and "former". Percentage and chi-square tests were used to compare categorical variables between the 3 groups, and means and 2-group ANOVA were used for continuous variables. Results Of 181 patients surveyed, 166 were eligible for the study. Of these, 70 (42.2%) participants were rare/never marijuana users, 44 (26.5%) were current users, and 52 (31.3%) were former users. Fifty-three percent thought marijuana would help with IBD inflammation and 80% thought it would help with IBD pain. Over 70% of patients from all groups thought marijuana had a low-to-moderate risk of harm, and 69.6% of the participants who never or rarely used marijuana thought marijuana was addictive, compared to 20.5% of the current users and 44% of the former marijuana users. Conclusions While many patients thought marijuana use helps with IBD-related pain and inflammation, many expressed concerns about addiction to marijuana and a possible risk of harm. Further studies are needed to examine the benefit and harm of marijuana in IBD.


ABSTRACT The study investigates how daily fluctuations in leader self-rated empowering behaviour are related to employees' daily level job crafting behaviour. From an interactionist perspective, the authors propose and test two competing theoretical models investigating how supervisors' daily empowering behaviour and subordinates' proactive personality jointly affect subordinates' daily work engagement and daily job crafting. One hundred and six leader-follower dyads working in several companies completed a questionnaire and a diary booklet over five consecutive workdays. The results of multi-level analyses revealed a cross-level-moderated mediation model, of which the indirect effect of empowering behaviour on job crafting via work engagement was stronger for less proactive employees than for higher proactive employees. The findings reveal a compensatory relation between leader empowering behaviour and employee proactive personality, suggesting that empowering behaviour would be more effective for increasing the work engagement of less proactive workers. Future directions and human resource management implications are discussed.


Climate change represents one of the most serious threats to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. The current rate of temperature change, driven primarily by the human combus‐ tion of fossil fuels, far exceeds rates that have occurred in at least 10,000 years (lower Pleisto‐ cene) and perhaps much longer (IPCC, 2014). That last major climate change event precipitated a mass extinction that led to the sudden demise of many large quadrupeds, including such characteristic species as the woolly mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, mastodon, giant elk, sabertoothed tiger and dire wolf [1]. One of the major differences between landscapes at the time of previous climate change events and the current one is that the biosphere is now dominated by a single species, Homo sapiens sapiens, which has profoundly altered and simplified many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Thus, in addition to climate change, natural ecosystems have been altered by other human-induced changes including deforestation, eutrophication, over-harvesting, the introduction of non-native species and various types of pollution. Consequently, species and populations are being challenged by multiple stressors, making it more difficult for them to adapt to rapid shifts in climate regimes. One can strongly argue that we no longer live in the Holocene but in the Anthropocene [2,3].


The purpose of this study was to describe the influence of a one-time consultation of physiotherapists (PTs) by primary care physicians (PCPs) on utilization of physiotherapy services, functional outcomes, and number of treatment sessions per treatment episode. A 7-month observational study with 59 pairs of randomly selected PTs and PCPs was conducted, with a prospective follow-up study of patients being referred for physiotherapy (treatment) after the consultation. The main variables measured were: (1) characteristics of patients who were referred for physiotherapy after consultation compared to those who were not referred for physiotherapy after consultation; (2) number of sessions per treatment episode predicted by the consulting PT compared to the actual number; and (3) functional outcomes of physiotherapy. The primary study sample consisted of 352 patients referred for a one-time PT consultation. Of these patients 224 were referred for physiotherapy treatment after consultation. Patterns of referral for physiotherapy after consultation were positively related ( p <0.05) with increased age, lower levels of education, longer duration of complaints, and a decrease in physical functioning in terms and number of impairments and disabilities. Functional outcomes were better than data of the national reference database of patients directly referred by PCPs for physiotherapy treatment. The mean number of sessions per treatment episode, including the one-time consultation, was lower ( p <0.05).


The presence of biofilms in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) can affect both water quality and system integrity; yet these systems remain poorly studied due to lack of accessibility. We established two independent full-scale DWDS Testbeds (A and B) on two different campuses situated in a tropical urban environment and equipped them with online sensors. Testbed B experienced higher levels of monochloramine and lower water age than Testbed A within the campus. Based on long amplicon-sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes extracted from the mature biofilms (MPB) growing on pipes and young biofilms (YSB) growing on the sensors, a core community was identified in the two testbeds. The relative abundances of operational taxonomic units at the family level, including Mycobacteriaceae, Methylobacteriaceae, Rhodospirillaceae, Nitrosomonadaceae, and Moraxellaceae, were consistent for MPB and YSB on each campus. The MPB community was found to be influenced by conductivity, sample age, and pipe diameter as determined by both canonical correlation analysis and fuzzy set ordination. MPB displayed higher α-diversity based on Hill numbers than YSB; in general, second order Hill numbers correlated positively with conductivity and sample age, but negatively with ORP and nitrite. Pseudomonas spp. together with Bacillus spp. likely initiated biofilm formation of YSB on Testbed A under conditions of reduced monochloramine and high water age. Significant levels of orthophosphate were detected in YSB samples at two stations and associated with higher levels of stagnation based on long-term differential turbidity measurement (DTM). Orthophosphate and DTM may act as indicators of the biofilm growth potential within DWDS. Highlights - Established two testbeds to study biofilms in full-scale distribution system - Biofilms on pipes and sensors had core community - Temporal effect and higher α-diversity for biofilms on pipes - Water chemistry was related to biofilm community differences Graphical Abstract


In view of the problem that the enrichment and migration law of the Ti element in the slag of vanadium-titanium magnetite during the melting process is not clear, the phase transformation is not clear and the enrichment effect is not obvious, the single factor experiment and orthogonal experiment are used to optimize the melting conditions of Ti enrichment. Through XRD, SEM and EDS analysis, the effects of melting temperature, alkalinity and carbon content on the Ti phase in the slag are studied, and the occurrence form and migration law of the Ti element in the slag system under different melting conditions are clarified. The results demonstrate that increasing the basicity and melting temperature is beneficial to the enrichment of Ti, but it is too high it will lead to the formation of pyroxene, diopside and magnesia-alumina spinel, affecting the enrichment of Ti. The increase in carbon content can make Ti occur in slag in the form of titanium oxides such as TiO, TiO2, Ti2O3 and Ti3O5, but excessive carbon content leads to the excessive reduction of Ti compounds to TiCN and TiC. After optimization, under the melting conditions of alkalinity 1.2, the melting temperature 1500 °C and carbon content 15%, the content of Ti in slag can reach 18.84%, and the recovery rate is 93.54%. By detecting the content of Fe and V in molten iron, the recovery rates are 99.86% and 95.64%, respectively.


Background: breast cancer is the most common neoplasm in woman and the second cancer-related cause of death. About 70% of breast cancers are positive for estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptors. Tamoxifen is the main hormonal therapy for ER+ patients. However, one third of the patients that are initially responsive eventually develop resistance to this treatment. We previously showed that treatment with fibronectin or conditioned media from carcinoma associated fibroblasts conferred tamoxifen resistance to otherwise sensitive ER+ breast cancer cells (in particular MCF-7 and LM05-E cells). On the other hand we also found that in the case of conditioned media, the PI3K/AKT pathway was involved downstream of EGFR and ≥1 integrin, whereas for fibronectin both the MAPK/ERK1/2 and the PI3K/AKT pathways were involved downstream of ≥1. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the protective effect conferred by the stromal elements was reversible, or, if on the contrary, it was sustained over time even after they were removed from the culture. In order to do so we pre-treated LM05-E cells with DMEM/F12 containing 1% charcoal stripped serum (CSS) as a control or with the addition of fibronectin (10μg/ml) or conditioned media from the LM05-F carcinoma associated fibroblast cell line. Subsequently cells were trypsinized, washed and allowed to attach ON in 8 well chamber slides in the absence of the stromal factors. They were then treated for 48 hours with estradiol 10-8 M, or estradiol plus 4-OH-tamoxifen 10-6 M in the presence of 1% CSS. Cell death was measured by propidium iodide incorporation. The 48 hour pre-treatment with either conditioned media or fibronectin conferred resistance to tamoxifen induced cell death. This resistance was sustained for at least a week in both cases, as determined by culturing the cells for this period of time in the absence of the stromal factors before testing the effect of 4-OH-tamoxifen. Shorter pretreatments of 6 or 12 hours weren9t capable of conferring endocrine resistance. Inhibitors of the MAPK/ERK, PI3K/AKT or EGFR were added to the pre-treatments in order to study involvement of these pathways. Neither addition of the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (10 μM), the MAPK inhibitor PD98059 (10 μM) or the EGFR inhibitor AG1478 (6,4 μM) were able to reverse the sustained protection induced by either fibronectin or conditioned media. Conclusion: our results suggest that both of these stromal elements are able to induce sustained changes in the breast cancer cells that lead to tamoxifen resistance even after they have been removed from the culture. At least a 48 hour period is required to accomplish this protection and this effect is sustained for at least a week. These results have important clinical implications on the lasting effects that the tumor microenvironment may have on the long term response to endocrine treatment in breast cancer. This work is supported by a grant from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to MS (BCTR0600341). Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-02-11.


Chemical toxins and organic contaminants such as hydrocarbons and dyes are major global contaminants with countless tones of those chemicals are created yearly with a significant amount release to the environment. In this work we screen the ability of a molybdenum-reducing bacterium isolated from contaminated soil to decolorize various azo and triphenyl methane dyes independent of molybdenum reduction. Biochemical analysis resulted in a tentative identification of the bacterium as Enterobacter sp. strain Zeid-6. The bacterium was able to decolorize the azo dye Orange G. The bacterium reduces molybdate to Mo-blue optimally at pH between 5.5 and 8.0 and temperatures of between 30 and 37 oC. Other requirements include a phosphate concentration of 5 mM and a molybdate concentration of 20 mM. The absorption spectrum of the Mo-blue produced was similar to previous Mo-reducing bacterium, and closely resembles a reduced phosphomolybdate. Molybdenum reduction was inhibited by copper, lead, mercury and silver which showed 36.8, 16.9, 64.9 and 67.6% inhibition to Mo-reducing activity of Enterobacter sp. strain Zeid-6, respectively. The resultant molybdenum blue spectrum closely resembles the spectrum of molybdenum blue from the phosphate determination method. The ability of this bacterium to detoxify molybdenum and decolorize azo dye makes this bacterium an important tool for bioremediation.


Purpose. This article discusses the complex interrelation of elements of the physical, psychological, social, and environmental life context of women with physical disabilities and the association of these elements with significant disparities in rates of depression and access to mental health care for this population. Method. Literature and concept review. Results. High rates of depression in women with physical disabilities are well documented in the literature. Many elements that are disproportionately common in the lives of women with physical disabilities, including socio-economic disadvantage, functional limitations, pain and other chronic health conditions, poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking, violence, low self-esteem, sexuality problems, chronic stress, environmental barriers, and barriers to health care, have also been linked with higher rates of depression and depressive symptomatology. Depression self-management interventions tailored for women with disabilities have been developed and proven effective. Conclusions. Many women who must deal with the stresses surrounding an array of health problems may experience symptoms of depression without necessarily meeting the criteria for clinical depression. Psychologists, counselors, primary care physicians, specialists, and other medical and rehabilitation professionals are challenged to recognize the symptoms of depression in women with physical disabilities and assist them in obtaining appropriate psychological and pharmacological interventions.


Many plant species are sensitive to changes in the seasons, especially with regard to their reproductive behaviour. Sexual or vegetative reproductive structures are often only formed at times of the year when days are sufficiently long, or short. Plants perceive daylength in the leaves, but reproductive changes occur in shoot apices in response to the movement of signals throughout the plant. There is good evidence that phytochrome A is an essential component of the daylength-sensing mechanism in long-day plants, and preliminary evidence suggests a potential interaction between phytochrome C and daylength sensitivity in short-day plants. The sensitivity of reproductive processes to photoperiodic control is directly altered by photoreceptor action, particularly in the case of phytochrome B, which has a major influence on whether flowering or tuberization occurs under non-inductive conditions in both long- and short-day plants, but is not involved in daylength measurement. The signals which move from leaves to the sites of reproductive development are not known, but there is good evidence that gibberellins may be important and some preliminary indication that brassinosteroids might also be involved in photoperiodic signalling.


Background: Bacterial resistance to commonly used antimicrobials is an increasing problem in Asia but information concerning the antimicrobial susceptibility of bacteria causing urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children is limited. Methods: This was a 5-year retrospective study of children with suspected UTI attending a paediatric hospital in north-west Cambodia. Urines with a positive culture containing a single organism with a count of >105 colony-forming units (CFU)/ml were considered diagnostic of infection. The organism was identified and the resistance pattern (using CLSI guidelines) and presence of an extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) phenotype was determined. Results: In total, there were 217 episodes of infection, 210 (97%) with Gram-negative bacteria. Escherichia coli was the most common infecting isolate with high levels of resistance to most oral antibiotics, except nitrofurantoin. Nearly half of the E. coli (44%) were extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistant with the proportion increasing significantly over the 5-year period. ESC-resistant E. coli were more likely to be multi-drug-resistant and 91% demonstrated an ESBL phenotype. Conclusion: The data highlight the importance of microbiological surveillance of UTIs in children, particularly in areas where there are known to be multiply resistant organisms.


A variation artery was observed in a Japanese cadaver. The celiac and superior mesenteric arteries arose from a common trunk (also referred to as the celiacomesenteric trunk), but not from the abdominal aorta, respectively. From the common trunk, the common hepatic artery was distributed in the right part of the liver, and the left hepatic artery arose from the left gastric artery, which also arose from the common trunk. The left inferior phrenic artery arose from the common trunk, but the right inferior phrenic artery arose from the right middle suprarenal artery. This information regarding the branch pattern in this variation artery is useful for clinical examination and treatment.


SUMMARY An abattoir survey was undertaken to determine the prevalence of foodborne zoonotic organisms colonizing cattle, sheep and pigs at slaughter in Great Britain. The study ran for 12 months from January 2003, involved 93 abattoirs and collected 7703 intestinal samples. The design was similar to two previous abattoir surveys undertaken in 1999–2000 allowing comparisons. Samples were examined for VTEC O157, Salmonella, thermophilic Campylobacter and Yersinia enterocolitica. The prevalence of VTEC O157 faecal carriage was 4·7% in cattle, 0·7% in sheep and 0·3% in pigs. A significant decrease in sheep was detected from the previous survey (1·7%). Salmonella carriage was 1·4% in cattle, a significant increase from the previous survey of 0·2%. In sheep, faecal carriage was 1·1% a significant increase from the previous survey (0·1%). In pigs, carriage was 23·4%, consistent with the previous study. Thermophilic Campylobacter spp. were isolated from 54·6% of cattle, 43·8% of sheep and 69·3% of pigs. Y. enterocolitica was isolated from 4·5% of cattle, 8·0% of sheep and 10·2% of pigs.


Although gefitinib is known to possess an effect inducing apoptosis against lung cancer, it is not clear how clinically effective it is in this regard in patients with lung cancer. Therefore, we tried to reduce its administration from every to every other day in a 73-year-old woman in good condition over 5 years after the recurrence of lung cancer. As a result, her CEA serum level then commenced to increase to the abnormal range within a month. Apoptosis induced by gefitinib was thought not sufficient to kill all lung cancer cells even though well controlled by it for a long period.


Although magnetic compass orientation has been reported in a number of invertebrate and vertebrate taxa, including about a dozen migratory bird species, magnetic orientation capabilities in animals remain somewhat controversial. We have hand-raised a large number of Savannah sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) to study the ontogeny of orientation behavior. Young birds with a variety of early experience with visual and magnetic orientation cues have been tested for magnetic orientation during their first autumn migration. Here we present data from 80 hand-raised sparrows, each tested several times in both normal and shifted magnetic fields. Birds reared indoors with no experience with visual orientation cues showed axial north-south orientation that shifted by almost exactly the magnitude of 90° clockwise and counterclockwise shifts in the direction of magnetic north. Other groups of birds with varying early experience with visual orientation cues showed different preferred orientation directions, but all groups shifted orientation direction in response to shifts in the magnetic field. The data thus demonstrate a robust magnetic orientation ability in this species.


This is the first report about the antibacterial activity of Hyptis martiusii Benth. In this study the ethanol extract of H. martiusii was tested for its antimicrobial activity against strains of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The growth of all bacterial strains tested was inhibited by the extract. The diameter of inhibition zones varied from 13 to 20 mm for the extract. The MIC and MBC values ranged from 128 to > 1024mg/mL and 256 to > 1024 mg/mL, respectively. It is therefore suggested that extracts from H. martiusii could be used as an anti-Staphylococcus agent. Compared with methicillin and gentamicin, the extract was more effective, being a promising antibacterial agent.


A method is given that permits the calculation of the estimated person-years of life lost when groups of males or females are exposed to low linear energy transfer (LET) ionizing radiation. It is felt that this determination is informative in rating risks to populations from radiation exposures. For example, when 1,000,000 females have received an acute 10 mSv, the total number of radiation-induced fatal cancers is 835. The total number of person-years of life lost is 1.4 x 10(4) or an average of about 5 d. However, the 22 who die of leukemia suffer an average of about 34 y. Those who die of other forms of cancer lose an average of 16 y. Some examples have been reported by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (1990) report. In those cases where the Committee presented results, the method given here is in good agreement.


Abstract Objective To determine if accurate blood loss determination during cesarean delivery can improve the prediction of postoperative hemoglobin levels. Study Design This is a retrospective cohort study using visually estimated blood loss (traditional, n = 2,025) versus estimates using a mobile application that photographs sponges and canisters and calculates their hemoglobin content (device, n = 756). Results The correlation between the actual and predicted postoperative day 1 hemoglobin value (PPO1 Hgb) was better in the device group (R 2 = 0.519, correlation = 0.720) than in the traditional group (R 2 = 0.429, correlation = 0.655) (p = 0.005). For patients in the device group where the estimated blood loss was >1,000 mL (n = 53), the PPO1 Hgb was also better correlated with the actual value (R 2 = 0.319, correlation = 0.565) than the predictions using visually estimated blood loss for those patients in the device group whose visual estimation was >1,000 mL (n = 32) (R 2 = 0.035, correlation = 0.187) (p = 0.027). Conclusion Implementation of a device that accurately measures blood loss allows for a better prediction of postoperative day 1 hemoglobin concentration than is possible using visual blood loss estimation. This improvement was seen in the entire patient group and was particularly prominent in patients with blood losses of > 1,000 mL.


A set of GaN layers prepared by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy under different technological conditions (growth temperature carrier gas type and Ga precursor) were investigated using variable energy positron annihilation spectroscopy (VEPAS) to find a link between technological conditions, GaN layer properties, and the concentration of gallium vacancies (VGa). Different correlations between technological parameters and VGa concentration were observed for layers grown from triethyl gallium (TEGa) and trimethyl gallium (TMGa) precursors. In case of TEGa, the formation of VGa was significantly influenced by the type of reactor atmosphere (N2 or H2), while no similar behaviour was observed for growth from TMGa. VGa formation was suppressed with increasing temperature for growth from TEGa. On the contrary, enhancement of VGa concentration was observed for growth from TMGa, with cluster formation for the highest temperature of 1100 °C. From the correlation of photoluminescence results with VGa concentration determined by VEPAS, it can be concluded that yellow band luminescence in GaN is likely not connected with VGa; additionally, increased VGa concentration enhances excitonic luminescence. The probable explanation is that VGa prevent the formation of some other highly efficient nonradiative defects. Possible types of such defects are suggested.


In the 1990s, several liberal welfare regimes (LWRs) introduced child tax credits (CTCs) aimed at reducing child poverty. While in other countries these tax credits were refundable, the United States alone introduced a nonrefundable CTC. As a result, the United States was the only country in which poor and working-class families were paradoxically excluded from these new benefits. A comparative analysis of Canada and the United States shows that American exceptionalism resulted from the cultural legacy of distinct public policies. We argue that policy changes in the 1940s institutionalized different "logics of appropriateness" that later constrained policymakers in the 1990s. Specifically, the introduction of family allowances in Canada and other LWR countries naturalized a logic of income supplementation in which families could legitimately receive cash benefits without the stigma of "welfare." Lacking this policy legacy, American attempts to introduce a refundable CTC were quickly derailed by policymakers who saw it as equivalent to welfare. Instead, they introduced a narrow, nonrefundable CTC under the alternative logic of "tax relief," even though this meant excluding the lowest-income families. The cultural legacy of past policies can explain American exceptionalism not only with regard to CTCs but to other social policies as well.


In the ubiquitous computing environment (UCE), how to seamlessly provision the service or application to its occupant or its mobile user is an interesting research topic. This paper introduces our two UCEs called smart classroom (SCR) and intelligent meeting room (IMR) respectively. When a teacher gives his lesson in the SCR, different services will automatically be provisioned to him according to captured context information. When the users with various kinds of portable devices, such as PDA, mobile phone or laptop, attend a meeting in IMR, they can easily organize a meeting and unobtrusively access the services provided by IMR, for example, they could give presentation by "projector service". The paper also describes the software infrastructure of SCR and IMR - smart platform, a multi agents (MAs) system.


Purpose: There are documented ethnic disparities in cancer care access, use and clinical outcomes in North America; however, the role of ethnicity on different outcomes of unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as an established treatment for many hematological and non-hematological malignancies has not been studied for Canadian patients. Patients and Methods: We reviewed the registry data of 395 patients receiving first time unrelated donor HSCT for hematological malignancies at leukemia/BMT center of British Columbia (BC) between 1988 and 2008. They were reported to be white (N=340), Asian (N=32), native (N=8), Hispanic (N=3), black (N=2), mixed (N=9) and other- not specified (N=1) which were further categorized as white (N=340) and non-white (N=55). Different HSCT outcomes were compared by log-rank test and Cox proportional hazard regression adjusting for significant patient, disease and transplant related factors at 95% significance level. Results: Univariate and multivariate analysis didn9t show any statistically significant difference for overall survival, disease-free survival, relapse, acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) grade 2+ and chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) rates between whites and non-whites. We reanalyzed a subset of 115 cases (88 whites and 27 non-whites) who received their HSCT after June 2001 (start date for application of high resolution DNA-based HLA matching in the study center) and their underlying diagnosis was acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. The results showed a higher risk of cGVHD for non-whites in univariate analysis (HR1.82, 95% CI1.07-3.12, P=0.03), however; adjusting for covariates in the multivariate analysis resolved this difference (P = 0.09). Conclusion: According to our data, HSCT clinical outcomes are comparable between white and non-white ethnic minorities in BC. The contrasting result with that of US studies might be due to different ethnic composition of BC and using a heterogeneous non-white ethnic group as the comparator (to increase the power of study) which could mask any unsought differences in the subgroups. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2010;19(10 Suppl):B77.


This study examines the changing patterns of authority both within and between the local Christian communities at the end of the second century and during the third. Amid the general tightening of Church discipline, the most significant development is the expansion and consolidation of a "monarchical" episcopate rather than the monepiseopate. A monarchical bishop is distinguished from one of the latter type by a greater control over the local congregation, a universal acceptance within his community of his position as chief teacher, having the last word on questions of orthodoxy, and the ability to act without the approval of his clergy and laity. The activities and writings of the chief Christian writers during the period under review are considered separately, and there is a section devoted to the relationships between the local Churches. The period commences as the Church begins to emerge from the crisis tfce variegated and largely heretical movement called Gnosticism inflicted upon her. Among the Gnostics, only the Valentinians and the Marcionites formed Churches, as the remainder were gathered (around their teachers) in little groups, usually compared to the philosophical schools, tut also having some similarities with the mystery religion groupings. The general aim was the acquisition of saving knowledge, and the movement was generally characterised by rigid internal divisions, a passionate subjectivity and objection to community discipline, and a belief in secret traditions. Eventually the orthodox communities rejected this entire authority pattern, although the process took longer in Alexandria, where a more refined philosophical Gnosticism exerted considerable influence on Clement, and to some extent on Origen. The organization of the Marcionites was roughly the same as that in the orthodox community at Rome around the middle of the second century, and was quickly bypassed and rejected. [Please see pdf. for full abstract.]


More than any other case from the postwar period, Brown v. Board of Education has captured the attention of historians and the public alike. The case itself, and the NAACP's campaign that led to it, have been the subject of books and articles beyond counting. In many history textbooks it is the only court case mentioned between the end of World War II and the early 1960s. It is one of a handful of cases that is recognized by the public at large and is surely the only Supreme Court case that has its own National Historic Site.


[1] In this paper we report on a detailed analysis of the first clear observation of ozone import from North America in the free troposphere over central Europe in May 1996 and of two more recent cases of transatlantic transport. The analysis is based on calculations with the FLEXTRA trajectory model and the FLEXPART tracer model and data from Measurements of Ozone and Water Vapor by Airbus In-Service Aircraft (MOZAIC) flights and North American surface sites. Lidar measurements carried out under conditions of developing anticyclonicity at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, consistently yield peak ozone mixing ratios in the middle and upper troposphere between 80 and 110 ppb during the warm season. These layers are traced back to North America by FLEXTRA trajectories. The prevailing transport pathway involves a warm conveyor belt exporting high amounts of ozone, formed during a prefrontal high-ozone episode, from the central part of the eastern United States to the upper troposphere. The polluted air may enter central Europe above an airstream descending from the stratosphere, thus inverting the normal atmospheric stratification, with stratospheric air at low levels and boundary layer air in the upper troposphere. However, the first two cases studied in this paper show that the export from the eastern United States may arrive over Europe at times prior to the onset of the anticyclonic conditions. Analysis of these cases reveals the complexity of the air export from North America. The ozone maxima occurring during the observational periods are traced back to the planetary boundary layer (PBL) in other source areas in the United States. Some of them are related to entrainments even from source areas beyond North America, either in the stratosphere or in Asia. The third case is quite different in its advection pathway, with almost straight and horizontal advection at 6 to 8 km above sea level starting from the Great Lakes area. A positive correlation between ozone and aerosol in that layer verifies the presence of PBL air. However, the very high ozone mixing ratio (up to 130 ppb) and an anticorrelation of ozone and humidity suggest the entrainment of another component from long-range transport in the upper troposphere from beyond North America. In two of the case studies the export from the PBL was presumably influenced by large-scale convection.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of in-phase and opposed-phase gradient-recalled echo (GRE) pulse sequences in paramagnetic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) during the hepatic arterial phase.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Thirty-four patients with 84 lesions with known or suspected HCCs, nine of whom had a fatty liver, were examined with double-echo GRE techniques under 1.5T before and 30 s after injection of gadopentenate dimeglumine at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg. Echo times were 2.4 ms (opposed phase) and 5.0 ms (in phase). Contrast enhancement of the HCC detected in both in-phase and opposed-phase images was evaluated. The liver signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), lesion-liver contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and enhancement ratio (ER) were calculated for the largest lesion of each patient.

RESULTS
In dynamic gadolinium-enhanced images of the 84 HCCs, 81 (96.4%) were detected in both in-phase and opposed-phase images, two (2.4%) were detected in only in-phase images, and one (1.2%) was detected only in opposed-phase images. The liver SNR, CNR, and ER were 46.7+/-16.1, 15.2+/-10.3, and 0.637+/-0.268 for in-phase images, and 48.9+/-16.9, 16.3+/-11.8, and 0.647+/-0.309 for opposed-phase images, respectively. In patients with a fatty liver, the SNR, CNR, and ER were 46.0+/-18.1, 21.7+/-17.9, and 0.525+/-0.231 for in-phase images, and 44.3+/-18.7, 26.0+/-21.3, and 0.793+/-0.124 for opposed-phase images, respectively. No significant statistical differences were found between the in-phase and opposed-phase images.

CONCLUSION
Opposed-phase GRE imaging is equivalent to in-phase GRE sequences in patients with or without fatty liver for detection of HCC in dynamic gadolinium-enhanced images.


The predaceous mites of the families Phytoseiidae and Stigmaeidae are the most important natural enemies of Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes) on citrus. This mite causes serious damages to the yield due to the transmission of Citrus leprosis virus (CiLV). Despite the considerable amount of information on susceptibility of phytoseiids to pesticides, the effect of these compounds is not very known for stigmaeid mites in Brazil. This work was carried out to evaluate the effect of the main pesticides used in citrus orchards on the predaceous mite Agistemus brasiliensis Matioli, Ueckermann & Oliveira (Acari: Stigmaeidae) in laboratory conditions. Citrus leaf ("Pera" cultivar) arenas with 25 adult females of A. brasiliensis were sprayed in a Potter tower. The mortality of mites was assessed 72 hours after treatment. The effect of pesticides on the reproduction of mite and egg viability was also evaluated. According to the proposal of the Working Group of "International Organization for Biological Control" (IOBC), the pesticides were classified as: class 1 – harmless (E<30%), acrinathrin, bifenthrin, carbosulfan, deltamethrin; 2 – slightly harmful (30%99%), lime sulfur, cyhexatin, flufenoxuron, hexythiazox, fenbutatin oxide, propargite, pyridaben and spirodiclofen. Studies in the field conditions are still necessary for a better understanding of the effect of these chemicals on the predaceous mite.


Generally, the radioactivity from NPP(Nuclear Power Plants) operation can be released below 3% of DRLs(Derived Release Limits) to environment. It was tried to understand which plant was efficient for absorbing radioactivity in this study. Pinus thunbergii Parl. and Viburnum awabuki K. KOCH were analyzed for radioisotope absorption. The samples were collected at three different locations depending on the distance from NPP at the vicinity 10km away, and 30km away. Gamma radionuclide was not detected from the samples, which means that the direct transition into the plant was not significant. Meanwhile, the very low level of radioactive tritium was detected in the samples. One remark was that every plant has different ability for tritium absorption. These results are expected to be applied to propagation and transplanting in radioactively contaminated area or reducing radioactivity in the soil and water near the plants.


The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) emphasizes the importance of energy to all societies, which explains a longstanding tendency for governments to be closely involved in the energy sector. The nature and extent of this involvement – the degree and types of energy-related policies – depends on a government's ideological orientation, the particular energy resource endowment in its jurisdiction, the development level of its economy, and specific concerns of its society with respect to energy access, energy security, and the environmental and human health impacts of energy supply and use.

In every country, energy's critical role for the goal of sustainable development is widely acknowledged. This means that energy-related policies need to be assessed in terms of performance with respect to the social, economic, and environmental dimensions that are encompassed by the concept of sustainable development. Ideally, energyrelated policies will make advances with respect to all three of these critical sustainability dimensions. But frequently policymakers are faced with difficult trade-offs in which improvement in one dimension is at the cost of another. Thus, the first goal of energy-related policy design should be to seek win-win opportunities for simultaneously advancing social, economic, and environmental goals. When this is not possible, the goal should be to apply decision-support mechanisms that integrate diverse social objectives and values into the policy design process, such as the application of multi-criteria analysis as described by Munasinghe (1992; 2009).


Reported herein is the investigation of a unique cathode candidate for Li–S batteries, i.e. Ni3S2/(N, S)-RGO-type hybrid materials, which are expected to optimize battery performance by elevating the utilization of sulfur and chemically confining the adsorption/diffusion of polysulfide. Versatile structural and compositional characterizations confirmed the uniform growth and strong chemical coupling of nanostructured Ni3S2 on the N/S co-doped RGO matrix. Rich physical and chemical properties were revealed, namely, the large specific surface area and pore volume, which are beneficial for polysulfide capture, and the 3D conductive network supporting rapid charge transfer to the Ni3S2-polysulfide interface to improve the intrinsic equilibrium of the polysulfide. Specifically, the integration of ∼28.2 wt% of Ni3S2 produced a highly pleated composite with the largest BET specific surface area (618 m2 g−1) and pore volume (1.73 cm3 g−1) among the hybrids studied. This typical material also performed the best in the battery test, recording ultra-high cycling stability over 1000 cycles at the current density of 3C with the capacity decay of 0.023% per cycle. As the sulfur loading per unit area became as dense as 5.8 mg cm−2, the specific capacities were measured as 6.72 mA h cm−2 (at 0.05C), while the capacity retention for the 200-cycle test (at 1C) was still preserved above 72.5%.


Video transmission is a topic of major interest in our community. One of the most fundamental aspects behind many video transmission schemes is the bit allocation problem that occurs when variable bitrate video is transmitted under multiple rate constraints. Rate constraints are imposed by the channel capacity, buffer sizes in the server and/or client, and by the coding system. This work introduces a rate allocation method conceived from hill climbing techniques with steepest descent that requires very few computational resources. Experimental results achieved within the framework of JPEG2000 suggest that our approach commonly achieves a solution close to the global optimum.


The paper aims at presenting the results from a psychological research-intervention project regarding a counseling and guidance course addressed to university students, with a double-faceted aim: a) explore the main representations by which students anticipate their entry into the labor market and future career development; b) grasp some relevant issues to better develop exit guidance in university context. The Emotional Text Analysis (AET) carried out on the narrative reports of 36 students written after the intervention completion detected five main symbolicalcultural dynamics: the need for recognition and the fear for the devaluation of one's own competences (1), the loss of a reassuring belonging to university context and the acquisition of a professional identity (2), the desire to experience competences learned in previous training and invest on the labor market (3), the resistance to involvement and the tendency to conformism (4), the difficulty to negotiate and omnipotent reactions to the labor market (5). The paper proposes to overcome the main limitations of the current offer of university services and provides useful cues to rethink exit guidance in university context.


D virtual worlds can and have been used as a meeting place for distance education courses. Virtual worlds allow for group learning of the kind enjoyed by students gathered in a virtual classroom, where they know they are in a communal space, they are aware of the social process of learning and are affected by the presence and behaviour of their fellow students and tutor.Traditional ethnography has been adjusted to virtual environments and much research on this issue has been carried out under the umbrella of virtual ethnography. The increase in diverse Internet applications can be pointed out as the cause of this inclination and increase. In this study, the authors explain the method of virtual ethnography in detail, inform about data gathering instruments such as participatory virtual observation, online and offline (face to face) interviews touch upon ethical questions related to field studies and highlight the elements that call for attention in the use of virtual ethnography in distance education studies.


OBJECTIVEAlthough it is known that intersurgeon variability in offering elective surgery can have major consequences for patient morbidity and healthcare spending, data addressing variability within neurosurgery are scarce. The authors performed a prospective peer review study of randomly selected neurosurgery cases in order to assess the extent of consensus regarding the decision to offer elective surgery among attending neurosurgeons across one large academic institution.METHODSAll consecutive patients who had undergone standard inpatient surgical interventions of 1 of 4 types (craniotomy for tumor [CFT], nonacute redo CFT, first-time spine surgery with/without instrumentation, and nonacute redo spine surgery with/without instrumentation) during the period 2015-2017 were retrospectively enrolled (n = 9156 patient surgeries, n = 80 randomly selected individual cases, n = 20 index cases of each type randomly selected for review). The selected cases were scored by attending neurosurgeons using a need for surgery (NFS) score based on clinical data (patient demographics, preoperative notes, radiology reports, and operative notes; n = 616 independent case reviews). Attending neurosurgeon reviewers were blinded as to performing provider and surgical outcome. Aggregate NFS scores across various categories were measured. The authors employed a repeated-measures mixed ANOVA model with autoregressive variance structure to compute omnibus statistical tests across the various surgery types. Interrater reliability (IRR) was measured using Cohen's kappa based on binary NFS scores.RESULTSOverall, the authors found that most of the neurosurgical procedures studied were rated as "indicated" by blinded attending neurosurgeons (mean NFS = 88.3, all p values < 0.001) with greater agreement among neurosurgeon raters than expected by chance (IRR = 81.78%, p = 0.016). Redo surgery had lower NFS scores and IRR scores than first-time surgery, both for craniotomy and spine surgery (ANOVA, all p values < 0.01). Spine surgeries with fusion had lower NFS scores than spine surgeries without fusion procedures (p < 0.01).CONCLUSIONSThere was general agreement among neurosurgeons in terms of indication for surgery; however, revision surgery of all types and spine surgery with fusion procedures had the lowest amount of decision consensus. These results should guide efforts aimed at reducing unnecessary variability in surgical practice with the goal of effective allocation of healthcare resources to advance the value paradigm in neurosurgery.


A solution-processed method is developed to fabricate fully transparent resistive random access memory (RRAM) devices with a configuration of FTO/ZrO2/ITO, where the zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) layer was firstly deposited on fluorine tin oxide (FTO) substrate by sol-gel and then indium tin oxide (ITO) films were deposited on ZrO2 layer by sol-gel as the top electrodes.The solution processed FTO/ZrO2/ITO based RRAM devices show the fully transparency and excellent bipolar resistance switching behaviors. The resistance ratio between high and low resistance states was more than 10, and more than 100 switching cycles and good data retention and multilevel resistive switching have been demonstrated.


The 3-dimensional excursion characteristics of the glenohumeral joint were measured using a single-videocamera method. A 2-dimensional method of reporting glenohumeral mobility preserves all the data and subjects itself easily to mathematical manipulation and analyses. It was found that the human glenohumeral joint, characterized by a large humeral head, larger humeral articular surface and small glenoid fossa, all previously proposed to increase glenohumeral mobility, actually has lower mobility than that of the baboon, which lacks ail the above-mentioned anatomical features.


The ongoing coronavirus pandemic led to a rapid and dramatic increase in the use of telehealth for diabetes care. In the wake of this transition, we examine new opportunities and ongoing challenges for using telehealth within diabetes management, based on data and experiences from the pre-pandemic and pandemic time frames.


OBJECTIVES
To consider the biologic behaviors of keratocystic odontogenic tumors (KCOTs) and ameloblastomas and dentigerous cysts.

METHODS
A 63-year-old Japanese man presented with swelling and discomfort in the left cheek during jaw movement. Examination revealed a multilocular lesion within the mandible extending from the left second premolar to the left mandibular ramus and coronoid process; the lesion contained a deviated impacted tooth. The tumor had expanded beyond the bone and was invading the masseter and medial pterygoid muscles. Marginal mandibulectomy with a free iliac bone graft was performed.

RESULTS
No recurrence was observed during a 7-year follow-up.

DISCUSSION
The histopathological diagnosis of the lesion showed it was a KCOT. These tumors usually grow within the bone, causing bone expansion. However, this tumor had expanded beyond the bone and invaded surrounding muscles. Thus, KCOTs can, in rare cases, manifest themselves as described here. Evaluating preoperative images and histopathological findings is important to determine the optimal treatment strategy.


Hard rock formations consisting of granite and metasedimentary rocks in Peninsular Malaysia, have been considered to be of poor aquifers. The map of shows the area underlain by hard rock as having poor to moderate potential for groundwater production (<230m 3 /well/day). This paper presents a finding of productive hard rock aquifers in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Data from tubewell drillings carried out for industrial water supply were analyzed. It was found that the hard rocks could yield fresh water up to a maximum of 890m 3 /well/day. The wells were between 50 m and 200 m deep. High discharge rates of groundwater above 300m 3 /well/day were encountered from wells that penetrate major fracture zones. The hard rocks are generally fractured at various depths. Groundwater in interconnected fractures has a steady flow that sustains production during pumping tests and actual usage of the wells. This phenomenon indicates that the groundwater is being recharged by infiltration of rainwater through the overlying weathered rocks and soils. Tubewells in hardrock of West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia were found to have an average discharge rates of 343m 3 /well/day. However, deep tubewells penetrated only weathered granite, are generally non productive (<70m 3 /well/day). Limited fracture openings and restricted recharge areas are likely to be the reason for the low discharge. Clay particles in fractures were observed to be the factor for the low success rate and poor quality of the water particularly in metasedimentary areas.


We are investigating the changes in hepatic lipid catabolism that contribute to alcohol-induced fatty liver. Following chronic ethanol (EtOH) exposure, abstinence from alcohol resolves steatosis. Here, we investigated the hepatocellular events that lead to this resolution by quantifying specific catabolic parameters that returned to control levels after EtOH was withdrawn. We hypothesized that, after its chronic consumption, EtOH withdrawal reactivates lipid catabolic processes that restore lipostasis. Male Wistar rats were fed control and EtOH liquid diets for 6 wk. Randomly chosen EtOH-fed rats were then fed control diet for 7 days. Liver triglycerides (TG), lipid peroxides, key markers of fatty acid (FA) metabolism, lipophagy, and autophagy were quantified. Compared with controls, EtOH-fed rats had higher hepatic triglycerides, lipid peroxides, and serum free fatty acids (FFA). The latter findings were associated with higher levels of FA transporters (FATP 2, 4, and 5) but lower quantities of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α), which governs FA oxidation. EtOH-fed animals also had lower nuclear levels of the autophagy-regulating transcription factor EB (TFEB), associated with lower hepatic lipophagy and autophagy. After EtOH-fed rats were refed control diet for 7 days, their serum FFA levels and those of FATPs fell to control (normal) levels, whereas PPAR-α levels rose to normal. Hepatic TG and malondialdehyde levels in EtOH-withdrawn rats declined to near control levels. EtOH withdrawal restored nuclear TFEB content, hepatic lipophagy, and autophagy activity to control levels. EtOH withdrawal reversed aberrant FA metabolism and restored lysosomal function to promote resolution of alcohol-induced fatty liver. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here, using an animal model, we show mechanisms of reversal of fatty liver and injury following EtOH withdrawal. Our data indicate that reactivation of autophagy and lysosome function through the restoration of transcription factor EB contribute to reversal of fatty liver and injury following EtOH withdrawal.


In this work clustering performance has been increased by proposes an algorithm called constrained informationtheoretic co-clustering (CITCC). In this work mainly focus on co-clustering and constrained clustering. Co-clustering method is differing from clustering methods it examine both document and word at a same time. A novel constrained coclustering approach proposed that automatically incorporates various word and document constraints into informationtheoretic co-clustering. The constraints are modeled with two-sided hidden Markov random field (HMRF) regularizations. An alternating Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm has developed to optimize the model. NE extractor and WordNet methods are proposed to automatically construct and incorporate document and word constraints to support unsupervised constrained clustering. NE extractor is used to construct document automatically based on the overlapping named entities. WordNet is used to construct word constraints automatically based on their semantic distance inferred from WordNet. It can simultaneously cluster two sets of discrete random variables such as words and documents under the constraints extracted from both sides. With this work contains add visual text summarization to increase more clustering performance.


Diabetic angiopathy is a serious problem in antidiabetic therapy. We wanted to investigate whether treatment with the endothelin(A) receptor antagonist LU 135252 or with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor trandolapril might prevent angiopathy in long-term type I diabetes mellitus. Six groups of male Wistar rats were investigated: untreated age-matched control rats, healthy controls treated with trandolapril (0.3 mg/kg), healthy controls treated with LU 135252 (100 mg/kg), untreated diabetic rats, and diabetic rats treated with either trandolapril or LU 135252. Rats were rendered diabetic by injection of streptozotozin. Duration of the disease was 6 months. Thereafter, rats were sacrificed, and hearts, kidneys, and a mesenterial loop were removed. Hearts and kidneys were processed histologically; the mesenterial loop was perfused with saline at constant pressure for investigation of microvessels using microvideoangiometry while treated with either 30 mM KCl, 1 microM acetylcholine, or 1 microM sodium nitroprusside. All diabetic rats developed hyperglycemia without differences among these three groups. Diabetic rats exhibited marked anemia, which was significantly antagonized by both treatments. The heart capillaries/muscle fibers ratio was decreased significantly in diabetic animals, which was prevented fully by both treatments. Renal glomerular diameter was increased in diabetic rats. This was significantly antagonized by LU 135252 but not by trandolapril. Deposition of homogeneous eosinophilic material within the glomeruli was nearly completely prevented by LU 135252. The acetylcholine-induced vasodilation in mesenteric microvessels was significantly attenuated in diabetic rats, which was significantly antagonized by both treatments. We conclude that both angiotensin and endothelin seem to contribute to the development of diabetic angiopathy and that, in addition to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition, blockade of endothelin(A) receptors may be an interesting new approach to antiangiopathic therapy.


ABSTRACT
 Much research has been undertaken on gender bias in student evaluations of teaching (SETs) in universities, with inconsistent findings. We undertake a qualitative analysis of the comments in four years of SETs in a school of political science and international relations in a highly regarded Australian university. We ask, can the same evaluations produce different results when analysed qualitatively rather than quantitatively? And do students evaluate male-identified and female-identified teachers differently, and if so what are the differences? We show that qualitative analysis can reveal gender bias that is invisible in quantitative analysis. We find that female-identified staff are evaluated more positively than their male counterparts for undertaking time-intensive, stereotypically feminine, emotional labour. Male-identified staff are evaluated more positively for their technical expertise and teaching style. This suggests SETs evaluate gender-stereotypical behaviour rather than only teaching quality, and has significant implications for their use in universities.


We examined the performance on a spatial, verbal and numerical memory task of HIV infected children, ages 3 through 15, in South Africa, and the correlation between these memory tasks. 60 HIV positive children (Mean age 8.9) participated in this study. The main task used, was a location learning task that measures visuo-spatial learning and recall. For this task, no standard scores for children were available. Further, the verbal and numerical memory tasks of the McCarthy Scales (MSCA) (McCarthy, 1972) were used, including the means and standard deviations of the McCarthy norm group. The results showed, that the children performed significant lower on the verbal and numerical memory tasks compared to the norm group of the McCarthy Scales. Furthermore the children performed significantly lower on the verbal task compare to the numerical tasks. Finally, the scores on the memory tasks correlated highly significantly. This correlation can not be explained by age. Apparently there must be another factor which creates a strong correlation between performance on the memory tasks, despite the fact that the neural basis for these memory areas is totally different. Possibly this might argue for a HIV associated decline in memory performance, or an influence of the HIV infection causing cognitive stagnation.


This paper makes an attempt to investigate the determinants of women empowerment at domestic and non-domestic issues in Bangladesh by examining the situation prevailing in one particular area of Chapai Nawabganj district using the information from 500 ever married women within the reproductive span (15-49 years). Our study documented that, although a large percentage of women were enjoying empowerment at various domestic and non domestic related issues still it is not in a satisfactory level. Only 4.5% women could take decision for child health care activities and 51.6% could caste vote with their own decision and 59.0% respondents could handled the daily expenditure for the family. Findings revealed that 79.7% respondent's expressed their opinion having freedom of movement outside the home without husband's permission and 83.0% respondents gave their opinion for equal right in education of son and daughter which seem to be a good indication regarding women's empowerment. From the logistic regression model considering decision-making power for household affairs as the dependent variable we saw that urban respondents, respondents living in combined family, having mass media facility have more decision making power regarding household affairs. The model also shows that as the level of education of the respondents increases their decision making power also rises From the logistic regression model concerning decision-making power about casting vote the main contributing factors that have significant impact on women's decisions making power towards vote were found to be respondent's education, type of family, mass media exposure, age at marriage , daily household expenditure, freedom of movement, decision for household affairs and women's participation as representative. Key words: household affairs; freedom of movement; caste of vote; daily expenditure; logistic regression analysis. DOI: 10.3126/dsaj.v3i0.2784 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol.3 2009 143-162


This article presents the design for a sustainable reverse supply chain network for remanufacturing the proton-exchange membrane fuel cell used in hydrogen vehicles. An optimization model with multiple objectives is proposed. In this article, a multi-objective optimization model is proposed and used to design a near-optimal reverse supply chain network that satisfies economic, environmental, and societal objectives, which are combined into one multi-objective function. An end-of-life proton-exchange membrane fuel cell battery collection in Riyadh city is the subject of the designed network. This model is found to be capable of choosing collection centers (drop-off) from a set of available centers and selecting a facility location for the remanufacturing plant. The model also serves as a tool to carry out analyses under different scenarios, as well as future changes in the factors that influence the designed reverse supply chain network, such as the hydrogen tax credit and the CO2 emissions cap. The output of this research facilitates the transition from oil-dependent to renewable energy transportation by providing a solution for its end-of-life products. The output of this article is considered as preparedness plan to help countries who seek transition from oil-dependent transportation to a system that uses renewable energy.


Objective: This study examines the differences between individual culture (American sample) and collective cultures (Egyptian and Saudi Arabian samples) in Reflection- impulsivity (RI) categories and Big Five of personality traits. The relative contribution of Big Five of personality traits and culture are predicted with RI categories.
Method: Computerized MFFT and NEO PI R administrated on 53 male and female Egyptian, 51 female Saudi, and 35 male and females Americans students.
Results: Using (Z) ratio, results showed no differences among three cultures in MFFT categories except Saudi who were more slow- inaccurate than Egyptian students. Using ANOVA to know significant differences among three cultures on NEO- PI R facets and dimensions. Egyptian were more (O1), (N2), and (E5) than were the Saudi students; Saudi students were more (A3) (A4), (A6), (C4), and agreeableness than were the Egyptian, and more (C2) than American; American who were more (O1), and (E6) than were the Egyptian students, and more (O1), (E5) and (E6) than were the Saudi students.
Conclusions: The culture variable was not predicted with MFFT' categories, except the Egyptian students who were more inefficient than were the American students as a reference group, and with multinomial regression analysis, only extraversion dimension expected to impulsivity.


Purpose There are many types of intraoperative consultations by vascular surgeons during non-vascular surgery. Therefore, we examined the current state of intraoperative consultations during non-vascular surgery in a single center. Materials and Methods From January 2014 to December 2015, we reviewed records of 40 patients (0.3%) who received an intraoperative consultation from a vascular surgeon for 10,734 non-vascular surgeries in Inha University Hospital. We examined patient characteristics, operative details, and clinical results. Results There were 40 intraoperative vascular surgical consultations relating to bleeding (n=14, 35.0%), dissection from the vessel (n=13, 32.5%), arterial occlusion (n=10, 25.0%), and retroperitoneal approach (n=3, 7.5%). The locations of surgery were lower extremity (n=10, 25.0%), kidney (n=8, 20.0%), spine (n=6, 15.0%), pelvis (n=6, 15.0%), head and neck (n=4, 10.0%), abdomen (n=4, 10.0%), and upper extremity (n=2, 5.0%). The methods of surgery included primary closure or ligation (n=17, 42.5%), end-to-end anastomosis (n=12, 30.0%), bypass (n=10, 25.0%), thrombectomy (n=4, 10.0%), retroperitoneal approach (n=3, 7.5%), and embolization (n=2, 5.0%). Postoperative treatment was performed in the intensive care unit for 13 patients (32.5%), while 3 patients (7.5%) died following surgery. Conclusion Intraoperative consultation by vascular surgeons during non-vascular surgery occurred in approximately 0.3% of non-vascular surgeries. The region undergoing operation and type of surgery were variable. Therefore, it is necessary for vascular surgeons to have a comprehensive knowledge of vascular anatomy and to make rapid surgical decisions.


Write custom scripts to monitor, analyze, and optimize any device in your network Overview Learn something new in an Instant! A short, fast, focused guide delivering immediate results. Write custom plugins to monitor servers, printers, routers, and other devices. Pinpoint server performance issues with ease. Improve server performance by finding the root of the problem. In Detail The real challenge of performance issues comes from trying to get to the root of the problem. Having a monitoring system set up makes your life, as a system administrator, a lot easier. The Instant Munin Plugin Starter is a practical, hands-on guide that teaches you how to set up and monitor your network. Through a simple step-by-step process you will learn how to monitor other devices in your network and learn to write your own plugins. By the end of the book you will have the skills and the confidence to write plugins for any day-to-day task. This book breaks down monitoring with Munin into small, easy-to-follow steps. It starts by setting up a webserver to act as a Munin master and ends by teaching you how to write a custom plugin by yourself. Learn how to configure Munin nodes to monitor servers and other devices in your network. This will make it easy to monitor switches, printers, or any other device attached to the network. If you want to learn how monitoring gives you insight into your network, the Munin Plugin Starter is the book for you. What you will learn from this book Configure a Munin master. Set up a Munin node. Instal plugins. Monitoring hardware. Setting up the Munin master webserver. Writing a plugin in Bash and Perl. Finding plugins to monitor specifics in your network. Approach Get to grips with a new technology, understand what it is and what it can do for you, and then get to work with the most important features and tasks.This hands-on Starter guide will get you up and running with Munin and Munin plugins, giving you the power to monitor, fix, and optimize your networks. Who this book is written for This book is great for system administrators who want to improve the monitoring level of their systems. It's assumed that you have some experience with Linux-based systems and know your way around them.


The concept of Capture the Flag (CTF) games for practicing cybersecurity skills is widespread in informal educational settings and leisure-time competitions. However, it is not much used in university courses. This paper summarizes our experience from using jeopardy CTF games as homework assignments in an introductory undergraduate course. Our analysis of data describing students' in-game actions and course performance revealed four aspects that should be addressed in the design of CTF tasks: scoring, scaffolding, plagiarism, and learning analytics capabilities of the used CTF platform. The paper addresses these aspects by sharing our recommendations. We believe that these recommendations are useful for cybersecurity instructors who consider using CTF games for assessment in university courses and developers of CTF game frameworks.


Photonic crystal (PhC) waveguides are used for a wide range of applications with diverse performance metrics. A waveguide optimised for one application may not be suitable for others and no one-size-fits-all solution exists. Therefore each application requires a specialised waveguide design, a computationally and time intensive process. Here, we present a hybrid, multi-objective optimisation routine for PhC waveguides, to efficiently guide the device design. The algorithm can be configured to optimise for a wide range of performance metrics and applications. We demonstrate optimisations for three different applications: slow light performance, propagation loss due to fabrication disorder and delay line applications. For each optimisation target, our routine quickly finds practical waveguide designs (<48 h, on a laptop computer) that match or exceed the performance of state-of-the-art devices designed by the community over the last 10 years. This is also the first time that scattering loss from fabrication disorder has been incorporated into an optimisation algorithm, ensuring realistic predictions of a PhC waveguide design's practical performance.


Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating condition, which leads to a permanent loss of functions below the injury site. The events which take place after SCI are characterized by cellular death, release of inhibitory factors, and inflammation. Many therapies have been studied to cure SCI, among them magnetic stimulation aims to reduce the secondary damages in particular by decreasing apoptosis, while, cellular transplantation promotes neuroregeneration by enhancing axonal regrowth. In the present study, we compared individually primary olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation and repetitive trans‐spinal magnetic stimulation (rTSMS) and then, we combined these two therapeutic approaches on tissue repair and functional recovery after SCI. To do so, SCIs were performed at Th10 level on female C57BL/6 mice, which were randomized into four groups: SCI, SCI + primary bOECs, SCI + STM, SCI + primary bulbar olfactory ensheathing cells (bOECs) + stimulation (STM). On these animals bioluminescence, immunohistological, and behavioral experiments were performed after SCI. Our results show that rTSMS has beneficial effect on the modulation of spinal scar by reducing fibrosis, demyelination, and microglial cell activation and by increasing the astroglial component of the scar, while, primary bOEC transplantation decreases microglial reactivity. At the opposite, locotronic experiments show that both treatments induce functional recovery. We did not observed any additional effect by combining the two therapeutic approaches. Taken together, the present study indicates that primary bOEC transplantation and rTSMS treatment act through different mechanisms after SCI to induce functional recovery. In our experimental paradigm, the combination of the two therapies does not induce any additional benefit.


Research on the use of digital technologies in workplace has primarily focused on the uses of technology for nonwork-related activities that are considered misuses by employees. Such activities have been argued to influence employees' performance, productivity and satisfaction negatively, while some studies highlight how the use of digital technologies for nonwork purposes can buffer employees from work stress and boredom. Rather than focusing on such negative or positive outcomes, in this paper we aim to unpack the dynamics of employees using digital technologies in certain ways. In doing so, we examine how they perceive technological affordances by considering the role of organisational context including Internet use policies, norms, and the nature of jobs and work. Through a qualitative analysis of knowledge workers' use of digital technologies at work, we show that job flexibility and organisational IT use policies influence their perceptions of technology affordances. We also show how knowledge workers are managing such flexibilities through technologies and the interruptions they experience can lead to certain reactions to digital technologies that we categorise as attentive or preventive.


Donor-acceptor (D-A) alignment that integrates D-A pairs into the modular and versatile crystalline metal-organic frameworks is a powerful strategy to precisely fabricate multifunctional materials with unique optoelectronic properties and applications at the molecular level. Herein, we reported an unprecedented threefold interpenetrating D-A hybrid framework by incorporating an electron-deficient linear viologen zwitterion into the lead-halide systems. The 1D iodoplumbate nanoribbon and interpenetrating close-packed D-A structure endowed this hitherto unknown semiconductive alignment with the anisotropic conductivity and high stability. When used in a thermal sensor, it presented exceptional electrical properties with a high sensitivity (high thermal index B of 4671 K) and decent temperature coefficient of resistivity (0.72% °C-1) in wide operational temperature ranges (40-220 °C), which are among the best of the related thermistors. This work develops a pathway to bridge the gaps between hybrid materials and electron devices.


In this paper, a simple yet reliable algorithm to detect the presence of nonaligned double JPEG compression (NA-JPEG) in compressed images is proposed. The method evaluates a single feature based on the integer periodicity of the blockwise discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients when the DCT is computed according to the grid of the previous JPEG compression. Even if the proposed feature is computed relying only on DC coefficient statistics, a simple threshold detector can classify NA-JPEG images with improved accuracy with respect to existing methods and on smaller image sizes, without resorting to a properly trained classifier. Moreover, the proposed scheme is able to accurately estimate the grid shift and the quantization step of the DC coefficient of the primary JPEG compression, allowing one to perform a more detailed analysis of possibly forged images.


The fabrication of micron-sized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer optical fibers doped with rhodamine B as an organic dye is demonstrated. Highly aligned and defect-free fibers are fabricated by using the stable jet electrospinning (SJES) method and systematically varying critical parameters such as solvent type and polymer concentration. At optimal conditions, for example, a polymer concentration of 35 wt% of PMMA in butanone, ribbon-shaped fibers with a smooth surface and diameter of about 20 μ m could be spun using SJES mode and deposited on a rotating drum as target in a highly aligned manner. Photoluminescence spectra of the doped fibers excited longitudinally and transversely with a laser show an excitation peak with full-width-at-half-maximum of only 5.05 nm and a low lasing threshold at a pump energy of 0.55 μ J, indicating that SJES could become a new source of amplified optics components or organic solid-state fiber lasers

https://leopard.tu-braunschweig.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/dbbs_derivate_00049191/Menzel - Production of highly aligned microfiber bundles from polymethyl methacrylate.pdf


Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have increased cancer risks. The authors reported nonlinear associations of cancer with triglyceride and other lipids in T2DM. Crosstalk between lipid metabolism and the renin‐angiotensin system may increase cancer risk via activation of insulin‐like growth factor‐1 pathway in T2DM. In this analysis, the authors explored associations of cancer risk with high/low triglyceride in T2DM and possible modifying effects of statins on this risk association, if any.


Well-planned, new initiatives are required to preserve fluoride uses, especially water fluoridation. Discussed are barriers to fluoride promotion, evidence about public and health-care providers' knowledge and opinions about fluoride use and decision making, implications of sources of public information on fluorides, consequences to professionals and the public of being misinformed about fluorides, and four general strategies for promoting fluorides under varying conditions. Educational and political initiatives must be appropriate to state needs and conditions. Four broad categories of actions include: diagnosis and planning for education/promotion; public and professional education under both noncontroversial and controversial conditions, political persuasion where required, and changing the context of fluoridation decision making to prevent public referenda on public health measures.


Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a frontier subject in the field of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which means the environmental assessment process for strategic actions: policies, plans or programs (PPPs). At present, Plan Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIA), the plan level of SEA, is legally required in China and the government has published a recommended technical guideline for it. This paper introduces the progress of PEIA in China and summarizes three developing phases and introduces their characteristics. According to Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China (EIALPRC), the article describes the current PEIA system in China, mainly focusing on assessor, assessment targets, assessment requirements, assessment contents, assessment methods and working procedure of PEIA etc. Finally, some recommendations are proposed by the authors in order to improve PEIA in China as follows: conforming to the principle of "intervening in early stage", achieving synchronous EIA of all plans; implementing classification management on PEIA according to the degree of environmental impacts of plans; and enhancing efficiency of alternative schemes in the process of planning.


It is now 20 years since the publication of the paper that launched Benefits Management (BM), by Prof.
John Ward and colleagues, and the launch of an open course on BM at Cranfield. This paper draws on
recent work reflecting on the translation of BM into practice as well as a 10+ year programme of
research seeking to understand how to develop the Benefits Realisation Capability of an organisation.
In particular it draws on two longitudinal studies exploring the adoption of benefits-driven approaches.
An important lesson is that BM needs to reflect a new mindset and is not simply another technique to
add to our project management toolbox. Without a shift in mindset, BM becomes another technical,
rational, approach that brings a new bureaucracy to the management of Information Technology (IT)
investments when the need is speed to benefit. BM is primarily about people – about vision,
engagement and motivation. It can contribute to the craft of leading change and help build an
organisational change capability.


A premature infant who had vascularized only Zone I developed bilateral progressive hemorrhaging in the posterior poles. Subsequently, vitreous hemorrhages and retinal detachments occurred without any progression through Stages I, II, or III of retinopathy of prematurity. This clinical presentation has not been reported previously. These findings suggest profound underlying abnormalities of funduscopically normal Zone I retinal vasculature. Pathologic findings were consistent with end-stage retinopathy of prematurity.


Multifocal lung parenchymal cavities containing multiple aspergillomas are not well‐recognized features of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA). We identified five patients with multiple cavities containing fungal balls from our accumulated cohort of ∼300 patients with CPA. Corticosteroid exposure and radiological and serological characteristics were assessed. The patients, aged 19–55 years, developed 3–11 cavities (or nodules in one case) with thin walls, usually within the lung parenchyma, with very limited pleural involvement. Four had asthma (severe in three) and one had cystic fibrosis; three had allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. All patients had received corticosteroids orally or by inhalation. Four patients had elevated Aspergillus IgG antibodies; one had elevated Aspergillus‐specific IgE. Three patients developed azole resistance on antifungal therapy, after benefit, one of whom underwent a successful bilateral lung transplant, later complicated by a fatal mycotic cerebral aneurysm. Multiple aspergillomas is a new distinct manifestation of CPA. The lack of inflammatory response and the distribution of the cavities in the lungs are remarkable. Aspergillus nodules could evolve into cavities with aspergillomas. The management and development of azole resistance in these patients is problematic.


existence at an opportLine time. In view of the far-reaching social and economic changes which the war would produce, the moment was ripe for increased co-operation between local authorities and voluntary hospitals, and the community would gain immeasurably from the increased efficiency which would follow a co-ordinated hospital service. The meeting approved a proposal that a committee be appointed to confer with local authorities and to formulate a constitution for a West Midlands Regional Council, the committee to consist of the chairman of the Birmingham Hospitals Council (Mr. Sydney Vernon), the chairman of the Royal Hospital, Wolverhampton, and the house governors of the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital, the Royal Infirmary, Stoke-on-Trent, and the Royal Hospital, Wolverhampton. The proposals of the committee will be submitted to a conference representing hospitals in the region.


Abstract. Confidence intervals for the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) have been proposed under the assumption of multivariate normality. We propose confidence intervals which do not require distributional assumptions. We performed a simulation study to assess the coverage rates of normal theory (NT) and asymptotically distribution free (ADF) intervals. We found that the ADF intervals performed better than the NT intervals when kurtosis was greater than 4. When violations of distributional assumptions were not too severe, both the intervals performed about the same. The point estimate of the ICC was robust to distributional violations. We provide R code for computing the ADF confidence intervals for the ICC.


We agree with Dr Lakhani's assessment that people with advanced progressive disease who are admitted to hospital are not always identified as being at the end of life and in need of palliative care. Marie Curie in partnership with St Mungo's, a charity working with homeless people, recently undertook work to try to improve care for homeless people around the time that they were dying. The work was funded by a 3 year grant from the Department of Health (http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/Documents/HEALTHCARE-PROFESSIONALS/Innovation/st-mungos-supporting-homeless-May-11.pdf). Advanced liver disease was identified as one of the most common conditions amongst hostel residents that existed with other co-morbidities in conjunction with substance abuse. Residents had multiple physical symptoms in the last 6 months of life alongside psychological distress. Admissions to hospital were frequent and lengthy and a number of sudden deaths occurred in hospital and hostels. The average age was 55 years. Despite increasing admissions to secondary care in the last 6 months of life for management of acute episodes lasting an average of 18 days, no evidence was found of any referrals to palliative care. Communication between secondary care and hostel staff was limited due to issues of disclosure, despite some residents regarding hostel staff as their next of kin in the absence of family or alternative supportive networks. This lack of sharing of information meant that hostel staff were often ill informed or unaware of the severity of a resident's medical condition when they were discharged from hospital. Consequently staff working with residents in hostels found difficulties linking the signs and behaviours associated with advanced liver disease with possibilities for palliative care interventions such as exploring choices, future needs and wishes, or agreeing a suitable plan for care. This also prevented opportunities for residents to reconnect with estranged family members. Symptoms at the end of life were frequently distressing for residents with the majority dying in hospital, an environment that they had previously resisted and in which many did not feel comfortable. Deaths that occurred suddenly had not usually been anticipated and were therefore perceived to be unexpected. This resulted in some distress to other residents and staff as well as to family members that were still in contact - no one was prepared. People who are homeless have a right to be informed about their medical condition and prognosis and offered a chance to express their wishes for care at the end of life. Recommendations following this work include training for hostel staff in palliative care issues to enable them to recognise and therefore act on key signs and symptoms and offer psychological support as a resident's condition deteriorates. The palliative care coordinator at St Mungo's has started to involve staff in end of life care training and encouraged them to adopt an advocacy role on behalf of residents when interacting with health professionals and planning services. Improvements in communication between hostel staff and health professionals are necessary to provide residents with the relevant information to facilitate discussions about the choices available to them for care. Communication materials have also been developed in partnership with the National Council for Palliative Care as part of their Dying Matters series to help people who are homeless inform others of what matters to them as they approach the end of life, and for hostel staff and healthcare professional when initiating conversations about their end of life care (http://www.dyingmatters.org/page/homeless-people). Future in-depth qualitative work with hostel residents will help us to explore their wishes and needs for care at the end of life and will provide information on the environment and services they find most acceptable.


The relevance of C. glabrata as a human pathogen is linked with its poor susceptibility to azoles as well as its extreme genomic plasticity that allows the rapid acquisition of resistance. Extensive characterization of azole-resistant C. glabrata strains unveiled the central role of the transcriptional regulator CgPdr1 in the resistance phenotype, with many strains encoding hyperactive (or gain-of-function; GOF) CgPdr1 alleles. Large scale profiling of a collection of clinical C. glabrata isolates recovered in hospitals of the Lisbon area, in Portugal, led to the identification of 11 strains exhibiting resistance to fluconazole and voriconazole, while 2 were only resistant to fluconazole. Among these strains, 10 were found to encode alleles of the CgPDR1 gene harbouring multiple non-synonymous SNPs that were not found in the alleles encoded by susceptible strains, including K274Q, I392M and I803T not previously described as GOF mutations. The isolates encoding these alleles were found to over-express several CgPdr1 target genes including the azole efflux pump CgCDR1 sustaining the idea that these represent new gain-of-function CgPdr1 alleles. Only one of the identified azole-resistant strains was found to encode a CgPDR1 allele fully identical to the one encoded by susceptible strains. To better understand the resistance phenotype of this strain, its transcriptome was compared with the one of a susceptible strain and of strains encoding CgPdr1 GOF alleles. The results of this comparative transcriptomic analysis will be discussed shedding light into the different azole-resistance mechanisms evolved by C. glabrata, including those independent of CgPdr1 GOF strains.


Silicon carbide is an important structural ceramic and finds applications as abrasives, as a refractory and in automotive engine components. This material can attain high densities during liquid phase sintering if suitable additives are used. Silicon carbides containing silica, alumina and rare earth oxides have suitable characteristics to promote liquid phase sintering. In this paper, the sintering behavior of silicon carbide ceramics with additives based on the (SiO2-RE2O3-Al2O3) system (RE = Y, Dy) has been studied. Samples with different compositions and containing 90 vol.% SiC were sintered in a dilatometer at 1950 °C/1h and in a graphite resistance furnace from 1500 °C/1h up to 1950 °C/1h. The shrinkage behavior as a function of rare earth oxide used and additive composition was also studied. The sintered materials were characterized by density and weight loss measurements. The crystalline phases were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis. The sintering kinetics of these materials can be related to the formation of secondary crystalline phases.


On 22 October 2003, Michael Khodorkovsky, the richest man in Russia and the director of Yukos, one of the largest Russian companies, was arrested at gun point in Novosibirsk airport and transferred to Moscow. A few months earlier, one of his deputies, Platon Lebedev, had been arrested on 3 July 2003. In the months that followed the arrest of Lebedev, the general prosecutor raided the offices of Yukos and Menatep, a major shareholder of Yukos.1 On 17 October 2003, Vasily Shakhnovsky, a Yukos shareholder, was detained for tax evasion. Another major shareholder, Leonid Nevzlin, was accused of conspiracy to commit murder and fled to Israel. One of Yukos's security guards was also accused as a culprit in this conspiracy and was imprisoned. The general pros ecutor subjected the company to a series of raids and restrictions that led to the decline of the value of its shares and brought it to the verge of bankruptcy by the middle of August 2004. Officially, all of these actions occurred because of Yukos's illegal economic dealings and tax frauds, but the real reasons were that Khodorkovsky had dared to criticize publicly the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin; that he had funded rival political parties; and that he had also toyed with the idea of entering politics himself and becoming a presidential candidate. Since the conflict between Yukos and the state is a good illustration of the contradictory relation between state and capital in Russia, let me give a brief description of Yukos's history.


The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), like many other state transportation agencies, is experiencing growing congestion and traffic delays in work zones on rural interstate highways. The congestion has resulted from unprecedented growth in traffic on rural segments of Iowa interstates. Traffic volumes have reached levels that are unlike those experienced in the past. The congestion on rural interstates is particularly problematic because in rural areas there are few, if any, parallel diversion routes and through traffic, traveling long distances, may be relatively unfamiliar with local conditions and alternative routes. In addition, drivers are generally unaware of the work zone and do not expect heavy congestion in rural Iowa. The congestion results in unproductive and wasteful delays for both motorists and commercial vehicles. It also results in hazardous conditions where vehicles, stopped in queues on rural interstate highways, are being approached by vehicles upstream at very high speeds. The delay also results in driver frustration, making some drivers willing to take unsafe risks in an effort to bypass delays. To reduce the safety hazards and unproductive delays of congested rural interstate work zones, the Iowa DOT would like to improve its traffic management strategies at these locations in the future. During the summer of 1998 the Center for Transportation Research and Education (CTRE) at Iowa State University observed a work zone on a rural Iowa interstate highway to measure the volume of vehicles that can pass through a work zone lane closure prior to and during congested operations and to better understand related driver behaviors. This paper reports on the part of the research that was done by CTRE for the Iowa DOT to evaluate the capacity of lane closures and driver behavior.