Quantum addition channels have been recently introduced in the context of deriving entropic power inequalities for finite dimensional quantum systems. We prove a reverse entropy power equality which can be used to analytically prove an inequality conjectured recently for arbitrary dimension and arbitrary addition weight. We show that the relative entropic difference between the output of such a quantum additon channel and the corresponding classical mixture quantitatively captures the amount of coherence present in a quantum system. This new coherence measure admits an upper bound in terms of the relative entropy of coherence and is utilized to formulate a state-dependent uncertainty relation for two observables. Our results may provide deep insights to the origin of quantum coherence for mixed states that truly come from the discrepancy between quantum addition and the classical mixture.


This paper presents an alternative procedure to solve the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP-HF) with homogeneous fleet. The paper proposes a two-phase metaheuristic algorithm: routes design and fleet scheduling. The first phase is based on heuristics and metaheuristics procedures in order to build an initial solution that is then improved using tabu search to obtain non-dominated solutions in polynomial computational time. For the second phase, corresponding to fleet scheduling, the problem is approached using an analogy with the identical parallel machine scheduling problem. This procedure looks for the minimization of the fixed cost of using installed capacity as the objective function. The proposed procedure was tested using both a random-generated instance and real data, giving competitive results in comparison with other heuristics tested.


Post-marketing safety surveillance of new vaccines aimed to be administered during pregnancy is crucial to orchestrate efficient adverse events evaluation. This is of special relevance in the current landscape of new vaccines being introduced in the pregnant women population, and particularly due to the recent administration of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women. This multi-center prospective cohort study, nested within the WHO-Global Vaccine Safety-MCC study, involved two hospitals in the Valencia region. Hereby, the incidence rates of seven perinatal and neonatal outcomes in the Valencia region are presented. The pooled data analysis of the two Valencian hospitals allowed the estimation of incidence rates in the Valencia Region (per 1000 live births): 86.7 for low birth weight, 78.2 for preterm birth, 58.8 for small for gestational age, 13 for congenital microcephaly, 0.4 for stillbirth, 1.2 for neonatal death and 6.5 for neonatal infection. These figures are in line with what is expected from a high-income country and the previously reported rates for Spain and Europe, except for the significantly increased rate for congenital microcephaly. Regarding the data for maternal immunization, the vaccination status was collected for 94.4% of the screened pregnant women, highlighting the high quality of the Valencian Vaccine Registry. The study also assessed the Valencian hospitals' capacity for identifying and collecting data on maternal immunization status, as well as the applicability of the GAIA definitions to the identified outcomes.


Single-crystal diamond (SCD) has the potential to boost microelectromechanical system (MEMS) with unprecedented performance in terms of its intrinsic mechanical, chemical, and electronic properties, especially in the applications under extreme conditions. On the basis of the analysis of the energy dissipation in diamond mechanical resonators, the authors report on the marked improvement of the quality factor of SCD-MEMS resonators. Ion implantation assisted lift-off technique (IAL) is utilized to fabricate the SCD resonators. The quality factor of the resonator fabricated from the ion-damaged SCD layer alone is as low as 100–300 owing to the bulk or surface defects. The growth of homoepitaxial layers on the ion-implanted SCD substrates significantly improves the quality factor by more than 100 times. Cantilevers made of SCD epilayers of different thicknesses are examined. It is found that the quality factor increases with increasing the epilayer thickness. The maximum quality factor of the SCD cantilevers fabricated by the IAL technique reaches 3.9 × 104. A bilayer model is proposed to describe the variation of the quality factor.


Individuals with HIV experience fluctuating levels of distress throughout the course of HIV infection. This study was conducted to examine the associations of depressive symptomatology with HIV disease in a cohort of individuals who are engaged in routine medical care. This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of depressive symptoms that were measured as part of a standard of care behavioral assessment among individuals at an urban HIV clinic in the Midwest. Demographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, and behavioral risk factors were collected. A total of 514 individuals participated in the study, the majority of whom was male and African American. One quarter of the sample endorsed symptoms of other depressive disorder, while 18% (n = 91) endorsed symptoms of major depressive disorder as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Among those on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), individuals who were unemployed (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.54, 3.97), had a minor dependent (AOR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.25, 3.77), or between the ages of 18 and 34 years (AOR = 1.37, CI = 1.03, 1.94) and detectable HIV viral load (AOR = 2.52, 95% CI = 1.22, 5.23) were more likely to report depressive disorder symptoms when controlling for age, gender, race, and education. Nearly 15% of the sample endorsed having suicidal thoughts at least once in the past two weeks. Regardless of HAART prescription, individuals who were unemployed had a higher likelihood of expressing suicidal ideation (AOR = 3.43, 95% CI = 1.66, 7.06). Given the association between depressive symptomatology and poor rates of HIV viral suppression, screening and appropriate interventions for depressive symptoms are warranted in the HIV outpatient setting to improve outcomes.


The task of event detection and classification is central to most information retrieval applications. We show that a Transformer based architecture can effectively model event extraction as a sequence labeling task. We propose a combination of sentence level and token level training objectives that significantly boosts the performance of a BERT based event extraction model. Our approach achieves a new state-of-the-art performance on ACE 2005 data for English and Chinese. We also test our model on ERE Spanish, achieving an average gain of 2 absolute F1 points over prior best performing model.


This paper presents a machine learning-based approach for detection of malicious users in the largest Russian online social network VKontakte. An exploratory data analysis was conducted to determine the insights and anomalies in a dataset consisted of 42394 malicious and 241035 genuine accounts. Furthermore, a tool for automated collection of the information about malicious accounts in the VKontakte online social network was developed and used for the dataset collection, described in this research. A baseline feature engineering was conducted and the CatBoost classifier was used to build a classification model. The results showed that this model can identify malicious users with an overall 0.91 AUC-score validated with 4-folds cross-validation approach.


We evaluated the regional pharmacokinetics of doxorubicin after hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) and portal venous infusion (PVI) using a novel system for hepatic venous isolation and charcoal hemoperfusion (HVI-CHP). The HVI-CHP system was used to determine directly the doxorubicin plasma concentration in the hepatic vein and the hepatic venous flow rate, and simultaneously, to eliminate hepatic re-entry of the drug. Beagles received doxorubicin (1 mg/kg) through either the hepatic artery (HAI group, n = 6) or the portal vein (PVI group, n = 6). In both groups, hepatic venous blood was completely isolated and directed to the CHP filter. The filtered blood was returned through the left jugular vein. During HVI-CHP, the hepatic venous flow rate was monitored and plasma doxorubicin concentrations were serially measured in prefilter (= hepatic venous), postfilter, and systemic blood. The hepatic tissue uptake of doxorubicin was determined based on the blood flow rate and doxorubicin level in the hepatic vein. The hepatic extraction ratio of doxorubicin was defined as the percentage hepatic tissue uptake to the amount of drug administered. During drug infusion, similarly in either group, HVI-CHP produced a 66-87% reduction of the postfilter doxorubicin level as compared with the prefilter level. The prefilter drug level was significantly lower in HAI group than in PVI group (P < 0.01). Thus, the area under the time concentration curve for the prefilter drug level in the HAI group (6.90+/-0.96 microg min/ml) was significantly lower than that in the PVI group (18.10+/-2.90 microg min/ml, P < 0.01). Conversely, the hepatic extraction ratio in the HAI group (84.6+/-2.9%) was significantly higher than that in the PVI group (58.1+/-3.4%, P < 0.01). We conclude that in the beagle, doxorubicin is more effectively extracted by the liver when administered via the hepatic artery than when administered via the portal vein. These results indicate that HAI of doxorubicin is superior to PVI in terms of reduction of systemic drug exposure and systemic toxicity.


Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are abundant innate-like T cells important in antimicrobial immunity. These cells express a semi-invariant T cell receptor that recognizes the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I-related protein 1 (MR1) in complex with small metabolite antigens derived from a range of commensal and pathogenic bacteria and yeasts, but not other pathogens such as viruses. Thus, MR1 stimulation of MAIT cells was thought to act as a sensor of bacterial infection and was not directly involved in anti-viral immunity. Surprisingly, viruses have recently been shown to directly impair MR1 antigen presentation by targeting the intracellular pool of MR1 for degradation. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of viral evasion of MR1 presentation pathway, and contrast this to evasion of other related MHC molecules. We examine MAIT cell activity in viral infection with a focus on the role of TCR-mediated activation of these innate-like cells and speculate on the selective pressure for viral evasion of MR1 antigen presentation. Overall, viral evasion of MR1 presentation uncovers a new avenue of research and implies that the MR1-MAIT cell axis is more important in viral immunity than was previously appreciated.


In order to evaluate the effect of pointing error on space chaos laser communication system, we conduct bit error rate (BER) analysis with external mismatch and internal mismatch caused by pointing error. Based on BER formulae, numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the effect of external and internal mismatches on performance of the system under different boresight and jitter. Our results indicate that jitter will affect BER more than boresight and internal mismatch will affect the performance of system more than external mismatch. These results are significant for optimizing space chaos laser communication system design.


The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a blueprint for global peace and prosperity, while conserving natural ecosystems and resources for the planet. However, factors such as climate-induced weather extremes and other High-Impact Low-Probability (HILP) events on their own can devastate lives and livelihoods. When a pandemic affects us, as COVID-19 has, any concurrent hazards interacting with it highlight additional challenges to disaster and emergency management worldwide. Such amplified effects contribute to greater societal and environmental risks, with cross-cutting impacts and exposing inequities. Hence, understanding how a pandemic affects the management of concurrent hazards and HILP is vital in disaster risk reduction practice. This study reviews the contemporary literature and utilizes data from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) to unpack how multiple extreme events have interacted with the coronavirus pandemic and affected the progress in achieving the SDGs. This study is especially urgent, given the multidimensional societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic amidst climate change. Results indicate that mainstreaming risk management into development planning can mitigate the adverse effects of disasters. Successes in addressing compound risks have helped us understand the value of new technologies, such as the use of drones and robots to limit human exposure. Enhancing data collection efforts to enable inclusive sentinel systems can improve surveillance and effective response to future risk challenges. Stay-at-home policies put in place during the pandemic for virus containment have highlighted the need to holistically consider the built environment and socio-economic exigencies when addressing the pandemic's physical and mental health impacts, and could also aid in the context of increasing climate-induced extreme events. As we have seen, such policies, services, and technologies, along with good nutrition, can significantly help safeguard health and well-being in pandemic times, especially when simultaneously faced with ubiquitous climate-induced extreme events. In the final decade of SDG actions, these measures may help in efforts to "Leave No One Behind", enhance human–environment relations, and propel society to embrace sustainable policies and lifestyles that facilitate building back better in a post-pandemic world. Concerted actions that directly target the compounding effects of different interacting hazards should be a critical priority of the Sendai Framework by 2030.


In order to certify the significance of the bedside culture in acute bacterial meningitis (ABM), the results of CSF cultures performed at the bedside and in the laboratory were compared in 66 children with ABM. The etiologic agents were isolated in 83% of bedside cultures and in 62% of laboratory cultures. N. meningitidis was isolated from bedside cultures in 30 patients, 14 of these have failed to grow in laboratory cultures. There was no difference between the two methods for the isolation of bacteria other than N. meningitidis. Consequently, it can be said that the bedside culture is the most reliable culture method in ABM especially due to N. meningitidis.


The effects of humidity and ultraviolet radiation aging on fatigue properties of carbon/ bismaleimide composites and coating protection action were presented. Specimens with central hole are made of carbon/bismaleimide laminates. Compression-compression (C-C) fatigue tests under normal lab environment were operated respectively for four groups of specimen, (1) specimen under normal lab environment, (2) specimen under UV radiation aging with dryness, (3) specimen under UV radiation aging with moisture, and (4) specimen with coating under UV radiation aging with moisture. Variance analysis of experimental outcomes gave significances of the environment effects on C-C fatigue life of specimens. The results reveal that UV radiation have remarkable effects on the C-C fatigue life of the composite laminates under the same humidity, whereas combined action of UV radiation (300MJ/ m2) and humidity have no significant effects on the C-C fatigue life. Coating can provide effective protect the specimen from UV radiation aging.


OBJECTIVE
Many women continue drinking alcohol during pregnancy. This study aimed to describe educational differences in continued drinking in early and late pregnancy and to examine the contribution of psychological and physical factors to the explanation of educational differences.

METHOD
We examined 4,885 women enrolled in the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development study. Information on alcohol intake during pregnancy was based on self-reports at the 16th week of gestation and at 3 months postpartum. Only women who reported alcohol intake before pregnancy were included. Explanatory factors were alcohol intake before pregnancy, psychological problems, and physical problems.

RESULTS
The risk of continued drinking in early pregnancy was increased in higher educated women (odds ratio [OR] = 1.41, 95% CI [1.25, 1.60]); in addition, in late pregnancy, higher educated women had an increased risk of restarting (OR = 1.67, 95% CI [1.37, 2.04]) and continuing drinking (OR = 1.77, 95% CI [1.36, 2.30]). The intensity of alcohol intake before pregnancy and all physical and psychological problems together explained 17.1% and 8.8% of the educational differences in continued drinking in early pregnancy, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Higher educated women are more likely to continue drinking during pregnancy. The intensity of alcohol intake before pregnancy and physical and psychological problems contributed to the explanation of continued drinking. However, other factors may play a greater role, such as cultural factors and social norms.


The topic of this paper is of interest to the HESS readers and has the potential to add to the large body of research on this important topic. However I, too, have some concerns that the authors have not yet responded to the thorough and thoughtful review from Referee 1. In addition to the comments from Referees 1 and 2, I have additional comments related to the methodology and the presentation quality of the paper. These additional comments are described below.


Paul Horwich (1998), following a number of others, proposes a schematic compositional format for the specification of the meanings of complex expressions. The format is schematic in the sense that it identifies grammatical schemata that do not presuppose any particular account of primitive word meanings: whatever the nature of meanings, the application of the schemata to them will serve to explain compositionality. This signals, for Horwich, that compositionality is a non-substantive constraint on theories of meaning. Drawing on a range of linguistic data, the present paper argues that while the bare idea of compositionality indeed does not presuppose any account of meaning, Horwich's format is empirically inadequate. The argument here goes back to Chomsky's early position on the descriptive inadequacy of rewrite grammars and the consequent need for transformations. It will also be seen that the data militates for a general claim that meaning relevant structure is projected from words rather than imposed on them schematically. Finally, it will be indicated how this reasoning from syntactic considerations is flush with a more traditional philosophical understanding of compositionality.


Discriminative linear models are a popular tool in machine learning. These can be generally divided into two types: The first is linear classifiers, such as support vector machines, which are well studied and provide state-of-the-art results. One shortcoming of these models is that their output (known as the 'margin') is not calibrated, and cannot be translated naturally into a distribution over the labels. Thus, it is difficult to incorporate such models as components of larger systems, unlike probabilistic based approaches. The second type of approach constructs class conditional distributions using a nonlinearity (e.g. log-linear models), but is occasionally worse in terms of classification error. We propose a supervised learning method which combines the best of both approaches. Specifically, our method provides a distribution over the labels, which is a linear function of the model parameters. As a consequence, differences between probabilities are linear functions, a property which most probabilistic models (e.g. log-linear) do not have.
Our model assumes that classes correspond to linear subspaces (rather than to half spaces). Using a relaxed projection operator, we construct a measure which evaluates the degree to which a given vector 'belongs' to a subspace, resulting in a distribution over labels. Interestingly, this view is closely related to similar concepts in quantum detection theory. The resulting models can be trained either to maximize the margin or to optimize average likelihood measures. The corresponding optimization problems are semidefinite programs which can be solved efficiently. We illustrate the performance of our algorithm on real world datasets, and show that it outperforms 2nd order kernel methods.


Stochastic load flow is a method for calculation of the effects of inaccuracies in input data on all output quantities through the load flow calculations. This gives a range of values (confidence limit) for each output quantity, which represent the operative condition of the system, to a high degree of probability or confidence. This paper presents a new method for stochastic load flow analysis using artificial neural networks. It is desirable to know the state of the power system in a range with certain confidence, with consideration of input data uncertainties and inaccuracies, on instant-to-instant basis in the fastest possible way. Present method using artificial neural networks to stochastic load flow problem is an effort in that direction and will be a very useful technique in effectively dealing with demand side uncertainties for power system planning and operation. The proposed artificial neural network model has been tested on a sample power system using two different training algorithms and simulation results are presented


CONTEXT
The association of body mass index (BMI) with cause-specific mortality has not been reported for the US population.

OBJECTIVE
To estimate cause-specific excess deaths associated with underweight (BMI <18.5), overweight (BMI 25-<30), and obesity (BMI > or =30).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Cause-specific relative risks of mortality from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) I, 1971-1975; II, 1976-1980; and III, 1988-1994, with mortality follow-up through 2000 (571,042 person-years of follow-up) were combined with data on BMI and other covariates from NHANES 1999-2002 with underlying cause of death information for 2.3 million adults 25 years and older from 2004 vital statistics data for the United States.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Cause-specific excess deaths in 2004 by BMI levels for categories of cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and all other causes (noncancer, non-CVD causes).

RESULTS
Based on total follow-up, underweight was associated with significantly increased mortality from noncancer, non-CVD causes (23,455 excess deaths; 95% confidence interval [CI], 11,848 to 35,061) but not associated with cancer or CVD mortality. Overweight was associated with significantly decreased mortality from noncancer, non-CVD causes (-69 299 excess deaths; 95% CI, -100 702 to -37 897) but not associated with cancer or CVD mortality. Obesity was associated with significantly increased CVD mortality (112,159 excess deaths; 95% CI, 87,842 to 136,476) but not associated with cancer mortality or with noncancer, non-CVD mortality. In further analyses, overweight and obesity combined were associated with increased mortality from diabetes and kidney disease (61 248 excess deaths; 95% CI, 49 685 to 72,811) and decreased mortality from other noncancer, non-CVD causes (-105,572 excess deaths; 95% CI, -161 816 to -49,328). Obesity was associated with increased mortality from cancers considered obesity-related (13,839 excess deaths; 95% CI, 1920 to 25,758) but not associated with mortality from other cancers. Comparisons across surveys suggested a decrease in the association of obesity with CVD mortality over time.

CONCLUSIONS
The BMI-mortality association varies by cause of death. These results help to clarify the associations of BMI with all-cause mortality.


Objectives: This study aims to understand the concentration, diversity, and antibiotic characteristics of oxytetracycline resistant bacteria present in a surface water environment. Methods: Water sampling was performed in Cheongmi Stream in Gyeonggi-do, Korea in February and August 2014. Water samples collected from two sites were plated in triplicate on tryptic soy agar plates with 30 mg/L of oxytetracycline. Oxytetracycline resistant bacteria were selected from surface water in Cheongmi Stream and were subjected to 16S rDNA analysis for oxytetracycline resistant species determination. Identified resistant strains were tested for resistance to various antibiotics. Results: Results from this study indicate that the dominant resistant organisms in this aquatic environment are from family Acinetobacter and family Aeromonas . As to culturable heterotrophic bacteria, Oxytetracycline resistant bacteria were present 0.45-0.93% during winter and 0.08-0.38% during summer. Most oxytetracycline resistant bacteria exhibited resistance to more than ten of the antibiotics studied. The diversity of oxytetracycline resistant bacteria in winter was higher than in summer. Conclusion: Most of these resistant bacteria are Gram negative and are closely related to pathogenic species. These results suggest that increasing multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria in the surface water environment has a close relation to the reckless use of antibiotics in livestock.


The problem of localization of attractor of "solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere" (WINDMI) threedimensional model has stimulated further development of method of conical nets. In the paper the development of this method is carried out and analytical localization of the attractor of WINDMI model is performed.


It is often necessary to combine multiple scores into a joint decision in many real-world applications. To that end, an essential challenge is to build a proper weighted scoring rule, which assigns more weight to the more important scores and derives a final scoring value. In this paper, we first introduce some desirable properties of weighted scoring rules, and then propose a scheme that can incorporate weights into scores in a natural way. In addition, we show our method has overcome some drawbacks of a classic weighted scoring method. Finally, as a case study, we apply these weighted scoring methods to outlier detection to evaluate how much they help solve the ultimate ranking problem.


Thirty-two Holstein cows were used in two 2×2 Latin squares with 28-day periods to evaluate the effect of including wet corn gluten feed in diets for lactating dairy cows. Wet corn gluten feed (WCGF) was fed to cows housed in freestalls at 20% of the diet dry matter. Cows fed WCGF consumed more dry matter, and produced more milk and more energy-corrected milk than cows fed the control diet. Production efficiency was not different between diets. The percentages of fat and protein in milk were not different between diets, but yields of all milk components were improved by including WCGF in the diet. Body weight and condition score were not affected by treatment. Plasma glucose, total amino acids, and urea nitrogen were similar between cows fed the control and WCGF diets. WCGF is an excellent feed for lactating dairy cows when included in the diet at 20% of the dry matter. Further studies are warranted to determine the upper limits of its dietary inclusion.


We have obtained the EGFP (enhanced green fluorescence protein) gene transgenic porcine fetuses before. The aims of this study were (i) to determine whether stem cells could be isolated from amniotic fluid of the transgenic porcine fetuses, and (ii) to determine if these stem cells could express EGFP and differentiate in vitro. The results demonstrated that stem cells could be isolated from amniotic fluid of the EGFP gene transgenic porcine fetuses and could express EGFP and differentiate in vitro. Undifferentiated AFSs (amniotic fluid‐derived stem cells) expressed POU5F1, THY1 and SOX2, while the following differentiation cells expressed markers for chondrogenic (COL2A1), osteogenic (osteocalcin and osteonectin) and neurogenic cells such as astrocyte (GFAP), oligodendrocyte (GALC) and neuron (NF, ENO2 and MAP).


Mobile application has become an increasingly popular way for individuals to communicate, allowing for the initiation and maintenance of various relationship types.   WhatsApp can be viewed as a mobile application that allows people to access a great deal of information rapidly with one another.  In this study presents the association between WhatsApp acceptance and behavioral intention to use among non-nursing staff in selected hospital in Melaka that currently used WhatsApp as the tools for office communication.  The Theory Acceptance Model (TAM) which include two variables; Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use are used to measure the association of WhatsApp Acceptance and Behavioral Intention to Use.  The questionnaires were distributed and 70 of valid questionnaires were returned.  The data collected were then analyzes using Pearson Correlation to test the research hypothesis and the findings indicate the positive association among two variables towards behavioral intention to use.  Implications of the study are discussed.


There is growing evidence that members of the extended Hsp70 family of molecular chaperones, including the Hsp110 and Grp170 subgroups, collaborate in vivo to carry out essential cellular processes. However, relatively little is known regarding the interactions and cellular functions of Sse1, the yeast Hsp110 homolog. Through co-immunoprecipitation analysis, we found that Sse1 forms heterodimeric complexes with the abundant cytosolic Hsp70s Ssa and Ssb in vivo. Furthermore, these complexes can be efficiently reconstituted in vitro using purified proteins. Binding of Ssa or Ssb to Sse1 was mutually exclusive. The ATPase domain of Sse1 was found to be critical for interaction as inactivating point mutations severely reduced interaction with Ssa and Ssb. Sse1 stimulated Ssa1 ATPase activity synergistically with the co-chaperone Ydj1, and stimulation required complex formation. Ssa1 is required for post-translational translocation of the yeast mating pheromone α-factor into the endoplasmic reticulum. Like ssa mutants, we demonstrate that sse1Δ cells accumulate prepro-α-factor, but not the co-translationally imported protein Kar2, indicating that interaction between Sse1 and Ssa is functionally significant in vivo. These data suggest that the Hsp110 chaperone operates in concert with Hsp70 in yeast and that this collaboration is required for cellular Hsp70 functions.


Background: Vascular tumors of the female genital tract (FGT) are very rare. The aim of this study was to analyze the spectrum of vascular tumors in FGT and to correlate their clinicopathological features. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of 15years, including clinical features, imaging studies, gross and microscopic features of 24 cases of benign vascular tumors of FGT were reviewed. The age range was 20-95 years. Presenting complaints were abdominal pain/mass, postcoital bleeding, and vaginal and vulval mass. The duration of symptoms varied from 3months to 10years. A diagnosis of vascular tumor was not considered in any of these on clinical grounds. Results: The most common benign vascular tumor was hemangioma (7cases), followed by chorangioma (5cases). The most common sites of occurrence of these benign tumors were ovary and vulva (8cases each), the rarest site was cervix (1case). The clinical symptom of ovarian vascular tumors was abdominal pain and lump. Among the vascular tumors of ovary, the most common was lymphangioma (4cases) followed by hemangioma (3cases). The least common tumor was angiomyolipoma. The most common vulval tumors were hemangioma and lymphangioma circumscriptum. An unusual case of multiplicity and complexity was observed with 3 neoplasms, one malignant and two benign with additional caseating tuberculous lymphadenitis. Conclusion: Benign vascular tumors in the FGT can present with symptoms similar to gynecological tumors and epithelial malignancies leading to unwarranted radical surgery. The pathological examination is necessary in all such cases to exclude the possibility of malignancy. Angiomyofibroblastoma and aggressive angiomyxoma of the vulva are very rare and both share similar clinical and histopathologic features causing diagnostic problems.


Secretory vesicles dock at the plasma membrane before they undergo fusion. Molecular docking mechanisms are poorly defined but believed to be independent of SNARE proteins. Here, we challenged this hypothesis by acute deletion of the target SNARE, syntaxin, in vertebrate neurons and neuroendocrine cells. Deletion resulted in fusion arrest in both systems. No docking defects were observed in synapses, in line with previous observations. However, a drastic reduction in morphologically docked secretory vesicles was observed in chromaffin cells. Syntaxin-deficient chromaffin cells showed a small reduction in total and plasma membrane staining for the docking factor Munc18-1, which appears insufficient to explain the drastic reduction in docking. The sub-membrane cortical actin network was unaffected by syntaxin deletion. These observations expose a docking role for syntaxin in the neuroendocrine system. Additional layers of regulation may have evolved to make syntaxin redundant for docking in highly specialized systems like synaptic active zones.


Adenocarcinomas of the larynx are an unusual type of lesion that arise in the minor salivary glands. An acinous cell carcinoma that arose in a supraglottic minor salivary gland closely resembled an oncocytic adenocarcinoma on light microscopy; but on electron microscopy, the neoplasm clearly was serous in origin. Contrary to the behavior of most acinous cell carcinomas, but similar to the majority of laryngeal adenocarcinomas, the neoplasm herein discussed was extremely aggressive and developed widespread metastases, which led to the patient's death.


The proposed research will result in a fully automated robotic system for on-demand and batch scanning of print materials ("CAPM") and an open-source software framework for document analysis that can be trained and calibrated by humanists ("GAMERA"). The resulting system will include an inter-linked mechanism between CAPM and GAMERA. To evaluate different techniques for document analysis, including GAMERA, we will build a testbed of digital images. The project team features an international multidisciplinary team of humanities faculty and post-docs, librarians, a usability specialist, and interdisciplinary digital library researchers. The personnel represent JHU, Tufts University, Edinburgh University, and the University of Oxford. Additionally, the British Library has agreed to provide resources for this project.


The researchers aimed to evaluate a school-based self-esteem intervention program. The program's focus was to implement a culturally appropriate selfesteem intervention tool for school-going adolescents through selfhood, affiliation, competence, mission, and security activities. This study randomly recruited 183 nine-grade students aged 13 - 16 years. A pre-post design and two distinct measures were utilized to measure the intervention's social efficacy validity. The target skills' specific measures (Self-esteem, self-concept, selfconfidence) and effect measures (nature of friend connections, the suitability of intervention for youths) were introduced. Comparisons of scores using ANOVA's and t-tests discovered that the intervention had the most substantial effect on girls' self-confidence (p = 0.001) and changes in the self-concept, disruptive behavior, self-confidence, and social competence. The study's results provided satisfactory evidence of intervention effectiveness, and the post-test result showed little change across the study period.
Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 30(2): 197-205, 2021 (July)


The following paper presents breakthrough experimental results for a new hermetic squeeze film damper (HSFD) concept that is integrally designed within an externally pressurized tilting-pad radial gas bearing support. The flexibly damped gas bearing module was designed for a 7.2" (183 mm) diameter shaft and fabricated using direct metal laser melting (DMLM); also known as additive manufacturing. The bearing and HSFD were sized based on ongoing studies for oil-free super-critical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power turbines in the 8.5MW-10MW power range. The development of the new damper concept was motivated by past dynamic testing on HSFD, which generated frequency dependent stiffness and damping force coefficients. In efforts to eliminate the frequency dependency, a new HSFD architecture was conceived that adds accumulator volumes and a pass-through channel to previously conceived HSFD flow network designs. The other motivation of the work is the need for developing a cost-effective and reliable oil-free bearing technology that is scalable to large power turbomachinery applications. There were several objectives to the following work. The first objective was to successfully design and fabricate a single piece bearing-damper using additive manufacturing, while dimensionally controlling critical design features. The paper discusses the manufacturing steps and shows cut-ups that reveal adequate clearance control capability with internal damper clearances. The second objective was to perform experimental testing with the new HSFD design in efforts to extract stiffness and damping coefficients for excitation frequencies within 20–160 Hz and peak vibration amplitudes between 0.25 mils (6.35 microns) to 1mil (25.4 microns). The test results for a single HSFD bearing module indicated that the design modifications to the HSFD architecture were successful in eliminating nearly all the frequency dependency for the stiffness force coefficient. The dynamic tests yielded a stiffness coefficient that varied between 112 klb/in (19.6 MN/m) and 96 klb/in (16.8 MN/m). The damping force coefficient however, exhibited relatively more variation with frequency with values residing between 175 lb-s/in (31 kN-s/m) to 214 lb-s/in (37 kNs/m). Finally, the paper advances a three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model using transient finite element analysis (FEA) coupled to a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The FSI analysis performed between 20Hz-80Hz was used to predict the stiffness and damping of the HSFD using a quarter section model of the damper. The FSI analysis was able to support test results by showing only a 6–7.4% change in the magnitude of force coefficients. Stiffness predictions agree reasonably well with experiments whereas damping is underpredicted.


Branchio-oto-renal syndrome (Melnick-Fraser syndrome) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by syndromic association of branchial cysts or fistulae along with external, middle & inner ear malformations and renal anomalies. Authors are reporting a 19 year male patient, who presented with profound deafness & low set "lop-ear" with right sided preauricular pit. USG abdomen revealed agenesis of the left kidney.


The choked back pressure characteristic of the steam turbine unit with air cooled condenser is very different with the unit with wet cooling technology, and the understanding of the choked back pressure performance change with operation load is important to guide the economic operation of the unit. One simplified Variable Operation Condition Analysis Method was put forward for calculation of the unit output-turbine back pressure characteristics. Based on this method, the choked back pressure for each operation load can be determined. An example was given for a super-critical, regenerative single-shaft, 2-casing with 2-exhaust steam turbine generation unit with air cooled condenser. The calculation result was provided and compared with the result of the unit with wet cooling technology.


For concrete structures exposed to salt environment, the microstructure and cracks play a crucial role in the ingress of chloride ions into concrete. In this study, concrete is simulated on the meso scale as a three-phase composite, i.e., aggregate particles, mortar and the interfacial transition zone (ITZ). Because of the advantages in predicting cracks behavior in concrete, Rigid Body Spring Model (RBSM) is employed to carry out the mechanical analysis to simulate the distribution and width of microcracks. And then, the truss network model is adopted to evaluate the chloride diffusivity of the cracked concrete. On the basis of the statistics analysis of diffusion coefficients of concrete and mortar determined experimentally, the diffusivity of ITZ is analytically clarified. The range of diffusion coefficient of ITZ estimated in this paper is approximately 3-16 times of that of mortar depending on the different assumed thickness, which agrees well with that of the previous experimental results. With the aim to validate the effect of microcracks on the diffusivity of concrete, a series of the chloride ions penetrating analysis is numerically carried out on the concrete specimen under different stress levels. The axial compressive and tensile loading conditions are investigated respectively and the effects of stress level on chloride diffusivity of cracked concrete are examined. Results indicate that the chloride diffusivity is significantly dependent on the stress level, but only considering the effect of cracks predicted by RBSM is not sufficient. So an empirical equation which can account for the microstructure variation of concrete under loading is proposed. With it, a reasonable estimation for chloride diffusivity of cracked concrete is achieved.


Fluctuating asymmetry theory can be useful in predicting the mode of selection acting on morphological traits, in particular the patterns that emerge when fluctuating asymmetry is regressed against trait length. Flat, U-shaped and positive slopes that are associated with high levels of fluctuating asymmetry are thought to be indicative of traits under sexual selection as arbitrary traits, whereas negative slopes, again with high fluctuating asymmetries, are thought to arise in traits whose expression is dependent on condition. By measuring asymmetries in the forceps and elytra of 30 earwig (Dermaptera, Forficulina) genera, we find that, although fluctuating asymmetry values are not greater in the forceps than the elytra as predicted, across species fluctuating asymmetry does increase with increasing forceps exaggeration as expected for sexually selected traits. The overall relation between forceps length and fluctuating asymmetry is flat, suggesting that in general forceps are not condition-dependent traits.


As we move into the 21st century, there are increasing demands placed on occupational therapists to ensure their practice is based on sound evidence. Evidence-based practice is an approach to clinical decision making that has gained considerable interest and influence during the last decade. This article describes and explains the process of evidence-based practice and its application to clinical occupational therapy practice. Directions for resources that may assist therapists' self-directed learning are also provided. As health care becomes more evidence-based, awareness of the principles, skills, and resources for evidence-based practice is of relevance to all occupational therapists.


In this work we propose a graph-based model that, utilizing relations between groups of System-calls, distinguishes malicious from benign software samples and classifies the detected malicious samples to one of a set of known malware families. More precisely, given a System-call Dependency Graph (ScDG) that depicts the malware's behavior, we first transform it to a more abstract representation, utilizing the indexing of System-calls to a set of groups of similar functionality, constructing thus an abstract and mutation-tolerant graph that we call Group Relation Graph (GrG); then, we construct another graph representation, which we call Coverage Graph (CvG), that depicts the dominating relations between the nodes of a GrG graph. Based on the research so far in the field, we pointed out that behavior-based graph representations had not leveraged the aspect of the temporal evolution of the graph. Hence, the novelty of our work is that, preserving the initial representations of GrG and CvG graphs, we focus on augmenting the potentials of theses graphs by adding further features that enhance its abilities on detecting and further classifying to a known malware family an unknown malware sample. To that end, we construct periodical instances of the graph that represent its temporal evolution concerning its structural modifications, creating another graph representation that we call Temporal Graphs. In this paper, we present the theoretical background behind our approach, discuss the current technological status on malware detection and classification and demonstrate the overall architecture of our proposed detection and classification model alongside with its underlying main principles and its structural key-components.


In recent years, cloud computing has gained lots of importance and is being used in almost all applications in terms of various services. One of the most widely used service is storage as a service. Even though the stored data can be accessed from anytime and at any place, security of such data remains a prime concern of storage server as well as data owner. It may possible that the stored data can be altered or deleted. Therefore, it is essential to verify the correctness of data (auditing) and an agent termed as Third Party Auditor (TPA) can be utilised to do so. Existing auditing approaches have their own strengths and weakness. Hence, it is essential to propose auditing scheme which eliminates limitations of existing auditing mechanisms. Here we are proposing public auditing scheme which supports data dynamics as well as preserves privacy. Data owner, TPA, and cloud server are integral part of any auditing mechanism. Data in the form of various blocks are encoded, hashed, concatenated and then signature is calculated on it. This scheme also supports data dynamics in terms of addition, modification and deletion of data. TPA reads encoded data from cloud server and perform hashing, merging and signature calculation for checking correctness of data. In this paper, we have proposed efficient privacy preserving and dynamic public auditing by utilizing Merkle Hash Tree (MHT) for indexing of encoded data. It allows updating of data dynamically while preserving data integrity. It supports data dynamics operations like insert, modify and deletion. Several users can request for storage correctness simultaneously and it will be efficiently handled in the proposed scheme. It also minimizes the communication and computing cost. The proposed auditing scheme is experimented and results are evaluated considering various block size and file size parameters.


We present a case of trisomy for the whole short arm of chromosome 6 in a 3‐year‐old girl with moderate mental retardation, mild facial dysmorphism, short stature, failure to thrive, and no abnormalities of the visceral organs. Cytogenetic and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis revealed a 46, X, der(X)t(X;6)(q22; p11.1) karyotype. The derived X was late replicating with variable spreading of X chromosome inactivation onto the translocated 6p. A normal karyotype was observed in the father, while the mother presented 46,XX/46,XX, der(10)t(6;10)(p11;p11). The mother is a mosaic with unbalanced t(6;10) in 4.7% of cells. To the best of our knowledge, this unusual mosaicism has not yet been reported. In this family the short arm of chromosome 6 was involved in an unbalanced rearrangement with chromosome X in the proband and with chromosome 10 in the mother. In order to study the mechanism of the formation of t(X;6) in the girl we performed DNA polymorphism analysis. These investigations revealed that chromosomes X and 6 involved in the rearrangement are of paternal origin. Our patient exhibits only discrete facial features characteristic of partial trisomy 6p. We suggest that mild phenotypic expression be probably due to X chromosome inactivation spreading onto the translocated 6p. This report show that combined cytogenetic, FISH, and molecular analysis of chromosomal aberrations are necessary for the understanding of the mechanism of formation, parental origin, and genetic counseling. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


: As the situation of population aging becomes increasingly severe, the intertemporal choice of older adults has attracted increasing attention. However, previous studies on age-related intertemporal choice have reached inconsistent conclusions. Some studies have found that older adults are more willing to wait for future gains than the young, while others suggest that older adults have the same choice preference as the young or are even more eager for short-term gains. This review attempts to explore the effects of age differences on intertemporal choice from the perspective of the processing of time representation and value representation of the elderly. It further elaborates on the impact of cognitive, motivational and emotional factors on this processing so as to clarify the discrepancies in current studies of age-related changes in intertemporal choice.


A NOTE ON RECENT WORK The importance of the carotid sinus in the regulation of circulatory phenomena is becoming clearer as the exam.ination of its function occupies a more and more prominent place in the routine examination of the circulation. Situated at the origin of the internal carotid artery and possessed of a nerve (carotid sinus nerve) which sends one branch to join the vagus and another to the medulla via the glossopharyngeal nerve, the carotid sinus is singularly well adapted anatomically to exercise a powerful control on the rate of the heart and on the vasomotor centres. Clinically it can be investigated by exerting pressure on the region of its surface marking, which is just below the angle of the jaw at the upper level of the thyroid cartilage when the subject lies supine with the head raised and slightly retracted. Minor variations in the situation of the sinus become obvious to the experienced observer.


BACKGROUND Comparative research on the characteristics of filler products is limited, especially in the preclinical analysis of hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers. OBJECTIVE This study was performed to compare the preclinical characteristics, clinical efficacy, and safety of a new HA filler, IDHF-001, with Restylane SubQ in the treatment of nasolabial folds (NLFs). METHODS Viscoelasticity and injection force were evaluated. Ninety-one subjects were enrolled in this randomized, patient/evaluator-blind, intraindividual clinical study. Each subject was randomized to receive injections of IDHF-001 or Restylane SubQ in their left or right NLF. At 4, 8, 16, 24, 36, and 48 weeks, all participants were evaluated through Wrinkle Severity Rating Scale (WSRS). RESULTS The IDHF-001 showed higher viscosity (1,271 Pa·s), lower elastic modulus (G′; 611 Pa), and lower injection force (8.89 N) than Restylane SubQ (464.6 Pa·s; 674.8 Pa; 19.14 N). No significant difference in WSRS was detected between IDHF-001 side and Restylane SubQ side at 24 weeks (mean improvement in WSRS from baseline at Week 24—IDHF-001: 1.85 ± 0.61, Restylane SubQ: 1.88 ± 0.61). The noninferiority was sustained until Week 48. CONCLUSION The novel HA filler IDHF-001 shows suitable characteristics and tolerability, widening the selection possibilities for clinicians and patients in the treatment of NLFs.


The return of individual research results and incidental findings from biobanking research is a much debated ethical issue globally but has extensive relevance in India where the burden of out of pocket health care expenses is high for the majority. The views of 21 ethics committee (EC) members and 22 researchers from Bengaluru, India, concerning the ethics of biobanking research were sought through in-depth interviews using an unfolding case vignette with probes. A shared view among most was that individual research results which are 'actionable' or have 'clinical significance' should be returned to the sample contributors through their treating physicians. This was seen as an ethical obligation and a moral duty on the side of the researcher to "give back" to the person who contributed to the research. The challenges foreseen were that of resources, both financial and personnel, for the time and counseling needed to accompany the disclosure of results. Perceptions of 'ownership' appear to influence the concept of benefit sharing. While benefit sharing in financial terms was considered ethically challenging, certain researchers and ethics committee members made a case for "two way altruism" where the researcher in return for the altruistic 'valuable contribution', shares with the contributor/ community, benefits of the research which could include research findings, improved patient care, and more affordable access to the new diagnostic tests or products arising from the research. This defines the emerging ethic of "giving back" which goes beyond individual rights and ensures reciprocity and distributive justice.


Michael Murrin and James Nohrnberg are two of the most prominent Arthurian scholars of the past half century. Although neither works directly on Malory as a specialist, they share an interest in literary history, the influence of Arthurian literature, and the mythic structure that romances inherited from biblical and classical materials. This special issue of Arthuriana, based on work presented at two meetings of the Purdue University Comparative Prose Conference, highlights the influence on both scholars of both the Arthurian legend and the work of C.S. Lewis on myth. A meeting of the Comparative Prose Conference devoted to C.S. Lewis was held at Wittenberg University, November 1 and 2, 2007. Another meeting, an omaggio to Professors Murrin and Nohrnberg from their former students, was held in the Anniversary Drawing Room at Purdue University, November 5 and 6, 2009. Arthurian literature, as Professor Murrin explains in a passage in The Veil of Allegor y (1969), relies on the connection between myth criticism and allegory that Lewis' work often exemplified: Critics could identify myth and allegory because they recognized a basic kinship between them. A myth, like a metaphor or an extended allegory, is by definition open-ended: it invites interpretation. As Lewis demonstrates, a summary of the Orpheus myth-his descent into Hades in particular-evokes deep responses from anyone who hears it. This is true of allegorical tales as well. To take an example from Spenser: Saint George set out from the court of the Faerie Queene to kill a dragon in the Garden of Eden. The whole idea of reversing the Genesis narrative of the Fall is immediately arresting and demands interpretation. Or take an old romance like that of Huon, who on a journey from Paris to Babylon met the Fairy King Oberon in his magical wood and there received great gifts of power. The basic plot of an allegory must always be mythic. Where it is not, the poet has failed-has not succeeded in converting his tale into metaphor. (The Veil of Allegory, p. 99) Murrin's reference to C.S. Lewis and to a journey from Paris to the Middle East takes us to two areas of Arthurian studies that further connect this selection of papers. Lewis wrote a celebrated review of the Oxford edition that Eugene Vinaver edited after the discovery of the Winchester manuscript of Malory's masterpiece, and he never ceased promoting Malory as essential reading, but he also promoted those Italian redactions of chivalric and Arthurian romance by Boiardo and Ariosto, whose hero Orlando leaves Paris for the Middle East and its magical landscape, like Huon of Bordeaux before him. These romances, in turn, were the models for Spenser's Faerie Queene. In 'The Arthurian Torso,' the third section of the first part of The Analogy of The Faerie Queene (1976), Professor Nohrnberg turns to Prince Arthur, the figure who connects each book of Spenser's romance, and at once suggests his mythic elements: The multiple unity of The Faerie Queene has Arthur for its emblem. . . . His resemblance to the other knights turns up often. . . . It has more than once been suggested that Arthur was something of an afterthought on Spenser's part; he has been described as a device adopted late in the poem's composition to connect an otherwise disjointed Ariostan serial. . . . [But the] allegory presumes the possibility of a mind embellished with all the virtues that the poem celebrates. . . . Thus the once and future king in Spenser is the duodecimal or 'magnanimous' Arthur, in whose greater mind the virtues of all the other knights reside. . . . Spenser's knights might be said to rotate the service of virtue from legend to legend, while the stationless and free-lance Arthur functions once in each of their legends in their stead-like an itinerant Levite. . . . An obvious Arthurian symbol of completeness is the round table. In Malory, we read that Merlin devised it as a symbol of the wholeness of the world, or the unity of the Arthurian order. …


Background The Department of Health End of Life Care Strategy (2008) recommends the delivery of high quality and accessible specialist palliative care. The Quality, Innovation, Prevention and Productivity (QIPP) programme highlights that patients should have access to services that our personalised, compassionate, effective and efficient. These drivers have led to a service improvement in our locality (pop. 300,000) with the development of a bi-monthly afternoon community clinical nurse specialist led palliative clinic. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate patient experiences / satisfaction when attending the clinic. There was also a review of the clinic impact on overall savings in travel time and mileage. Method Over a 2 month period, all patients attending the clinic were offered an opportunity to evaluate the clinic using a structured electronic questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on contentment with the quality, timeliness and location of the services received. Nine months of data was also collated regarding mileage costs and travel time savings. Results All nine individual clinic attendees, over the evaluation period, completed the questionnaire. All described that they were listened to; given the time they required and received clear communication. Eight felt the clinic was the appropriate location for their assessment. The service perspective is that the clinic also provides an ideal setting for patients to receive an appropriate introduction to the service. Over eighteen clinic sessions, 28 clinical assessments occurred, which provided more capacity than would have been possible in their home environment. The clinic has saved 18 h of travel time alongside a travel cost reduction of two hundred and ninety miles. Conclusion This pilot service improvement fulfilled the patient's needs, whist working within current resources of our service. A more in-depth research study is planned to explore this area further.


The restriction endonuclease (RE) technique was used to compare 172 meningococcal group A strains collected between 1969 and 1990, mainly from countries of the so-called African Meningitis Belt, the Gambia and Ethiopia. The 64 strains from various African countries (Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Morocco, Djibouti) were distributed within 3 main restriction enzyme patterns (REPs); the 77 Gambian strains fell into 5 REPs and the 24 Ethiopian strains into 2 such patterns. Several of the main REPs were formed by clusters of closely related clones. Clones, very similar to dominating REPs of the 1960s in Niger, Burkina Faso and Cameroon, were in the 1980s found to be strongly represented in the Gambia to the extreme west of the Meningitis Belt. One of the Gambian clones from 1983-86 was identical to an Indian clone recovered in New Delhi 1986-87. Another clone was detected in 1983 in the Gambia, in 1989 again in the Gambia as well as in Ethiopia, and in 1990 in Tanzania. Our results are largely in line with those of previous studies based on modern techniques of protein and isoenzyme electrophoresis. The RE method is useful mainly for the exact genotypic differentiation of closely related clones, and seems to be a valuable complement to phenotypic tools for epidemiological mapping of Group A meningococcal infection.


The petrophysical evaluation for Sabkha environment is very challenge due to high reservoir heterogeneity and complex mineralogy in addition to existing of multi-lamination that have various thickness ranging from 1 to 20 ft., also these kinds of reservoirs normally have very high formation salinity that impact as well the water saturation calculations.
 In 2018, a unique worldwide biogenic shallow gas reservoir was discovered in Onshore Abu Dhabi, UAE in Miocene Sabkha deposits while drilling a dedicated well for deeper reservoir, the average reservoir gross thickness is about 4500 ft. with hundreds of intercalations from Clay, Limestone, Dolomite, Marl, Anhydrite and Halite.
 This paper presents the detailed challenges for such reservoir regarding the petrophysical evaluation (including but not limited to porosity calculations, water saturation evaluation by different methodology, net to gross ratio, log and core data integration, definition of high potential spot for testing, etc..) Moreover, the way to manage and mitigate these challenges in addition to testing technology and results.
 So far Five dedicated exploration wells were drilled in this reservoir at which a complete set of logs were acquired in addition to collecting of core footage about 4560 ft. from two wells and analysis is ongoing, also Rigless testing was done for 3 wells. In general, based on collecting data the reservoir properties showed very tight reservoir (permeability < 0.01 md) with high mineralogy complexity as well as high formation salinity (+ 300 kppm). Good Total Organic Carbone is also measures across the reservoir that confirmed the ability to produce Microbial gas.
 As a results of the integrated study, the sweet spots across the reservoir were identified and tested, accordingly placement for horizontal development wells as well as stimulation technology are optimized


Community cohesion in Britain has been an issue of policy concern in recent years in which the role of migrants in the UK has been scrutinised in terms of their sense of belonging, integration and their economic and social contribution to society. However, much of the existing literature, in this area relates to the experiences of low/unskilled labour migrants. This thesis redresses this imbalance and examines the experiences of overseas-trained South Asian doctors. It provides unique insights into the debates about integration, cultural identity and community cohesion based on an empirical study of overseas-trained South Asian General Practitioners who are elite migrants.A mixed method approach was employed that included secondary data analysis of the GP Workforce Statistics and in-depth interviews with 27 overseas-trained South Asian doctors in three different geographical locales in England with varying ethnic populations.The quantitative analysis shows that a significant and increasing proportion of NHS doctors continue to be overseas-trained South Asian doctors. It also provides evidence of geographical clustering with South Asian doctors being over represented in deprived areas with high and low ethnic minority concentrations. The case studies and interviews with the GPs reveal a complex intertwining of macro-, micro- and meso- structures in the migratory process, related, in part, to the legacy of empire and also to the inner workings and opportunities provided by an organisation such as the NHS. In order to overcome blocked social mobility within the NHS hospital structure, entry into General Practice appears to be an entrepreneurial step for overseas-trained South Asian doctors, also facilitated by regional NHS institutional structures like Primary Care Trusts. Evidence shows that doctors have integrated their cultural/religious values creatively in their adaptation to Britain importing innovation into their everyday experiences.The findings show that there are parallels to be drawn with the experiences of low/unskilled South Asians, in particular, in the area of structural integration. However, there is variation as to how these elite professionals approach issues related to socio-cultural integration thus adding a new dimension to our existing understanding of community cohesion in the UK.


In the Iliad the Greater Aias has a complicated relationship with the gods. His interactions with Zeus are markedly inconsistent, and no god physically intervenes on his behalf, although he spends more time on the battlefield than any other Greek hero. A close look at these issues shows that the strange nature of the gods' interactions, or lack thereof, with Aias reflect a conflict between two deities' feelings about the hero and the circumstances of the Trojan War. Zeus cares for Aias, but his promises concerning the Trojans and Hektor specifically frequently force him to work against the Greek hero. Athena, the Greeks' primary divine benefactor, hates Aias in the Iliad as she does in other places in the Greek literary tradition, but her desire to see the Greeks defeat the Trojans keeps her from directly acting against him.


Fault deformation mechanism and internal structure of fault zone are the basis of fault sealing and fluid migration along the fault zone. The inner structure and the controlling effect of the internal structure and the control of the oil and gas are studied. Pure sandstone in the formation of the non-consolidation, semi-solid rock, the deformation mechanism of the particle boundary sliding, resulting in the particle rotation and rolling, that is, particle flow. During the consolidation stage (porosity is more than 15%), the deformation mechanism is fractured, and the fault rock is the fractured rock, and the microstructure of the formation is fractured zone. During the consolidation stage (less than 15%), the deformation mechanism is mainly characterized by rupture, the fault core is the fault zone, and the associated micro structure type is fracture. The displacement pressure of fault rocks is related to the depth of the fault, the mud content of the fault rocks and the extent of the fault rocks. At last, the paper puts forward the model of controlling hydrocarbon in the fractured zone of sand and mud interbed formation.


Objective: To study the effect of long non-coding RNA LINC-PINT on proliferation and apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells. Methods: Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expressions of LINC-PINT and miR-524-5p in normal osteoblast hFOB and human osteosarcoma cell lines HOS, MG63 and SAOS2 cells. The pcDNA plasmid, pcDNA-LINC-PINT plasmid, negative control siRNA (si-NC), si-LINC-PINT, negative control mimics (miR-NC), miR-524-5p mimics (miR-524-5p), pcDNA-LINC-PINT combined with miR-NC, pcDNA-LINC-PINT combined with miR-524-5p were transfected into HOS cells with liposome, respectively. The protein expressions of PCNA and cleaved-caspase-3 in the cells were detected by western blot. Cell proliferation ability was detected by 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The transcriptional activity was detected by double luciferase reporter assay. Results: Compared with normal osteoblast hFOB cell (1.00±0.08 vs 1.00±0.06), the expressions of LINC-PINT were down-regulated (0.18±0.01; 0.33±0.01; 0.42±0.01), while the expressions of miR-524-5p were up-regulated (2.65±0.23; 1.68±0.14; 1.51±0.13) in human osteosarcoma cell lines HOS, MG63 and SAOS2 cells, respectively. Overexpression of LINC-PINT significantly inhibited the proliferation (0.41±0.05 vs. 0.62±0.05 for 48 h; 0.57±0.05 vs. 1.06±0.09 for 72 h, both P<0.05) while promoted the apoptosis (25.28±2.15 vs. 9.01±0.17, P<0.01) of HOS cells. Knockdown of LINC-PINT or overexpression of miR-524-5p can significantly promote the proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of HOS cells. Moreover, miR-524-5p inhibited the fluorescence activity of wild-type LINC-PINT (0.31±0.03) in HOS cells when comparred with miR-NC (1.00±0.03) and was negatively regulated by LINC-PINT. Overexpression of miR-524-5p reversed the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis-promotion effects of LINC-PINT in HOS cells. Conclusions: Long non-coding RNA LINC-PINT can inhibit the proliferation and promote apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells through targeting miR-524-5p, which will provide a new target for the treatment of osteosarcoma.


Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is the major structural component of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), an innate immune response to infection. Antimicrobial proteins and peptides bound to cfDNA play a critical role in the bactericidal property of NETs. Recent studies have shown that NETs have procoagulant activity, wherein cfDNA triggers thrombin generation through activation of the intrinsic pathway of coagulation. We have recently shown that thrombin binds to NETs in vitro and consequently can alter the proteome of NETs. However, the effect of NETs on thrombin is still unknown. In this study, we report that DNA binding leads to thrombin autolysis and generation of multiple thrombin-derived C-terminal peptides (TCPs) in vitro. Employing a 25-residue prototypic TCP, GKY25 (GKYGFYTHVFRLKKWIQKVIDQFGE), we show that TCPs bind NETs, thus conferring mutual protection against nuclease and protease degradation. Together, our results demonstrate the complex interplay between coagulation, NET formation, and thrombin cleavage and identify a previously undisclosed mechanism for formation of TCPs.


Nanoplasmonic sensors based on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of noble metal nanoparticles have many advantages, such as real-time detection, no need for reagent labelling, and no use of complicated equipment. However, the nanoplasmonic sensors with two dimensional structures usually suffer from a low LSPR signal and thus low sensitivity due to the low density of the nanoparticles. In addition, complicated surface functionalization is always required to suppress the non-specific binding of the analyst to the substrate of the sensor, because the two types of surface, that is, metal and substrate surfaces, are simultaneously exposed to the reaction medium. To overcome these problems, an innovative thermal-induced method has been proposed in the present work, to construct three dimensional (3D) nanostructure of Ag nanocubes on both surfaces of the substrate by using the unique amphiphilic property of 2-diethylaminoethanethiol. The prepared nanoplasmonic sensor is highly sensitive due to the high density of 3D structure of the nanoparticles and the low non-specific binding since only one type of surface is exposed. To enhance the stability of the sensor, a thin SiO2 overlayer was formed on the surface without using an additional coupling agent. Furthermore, the Ni(II)-nitriloacetic acid (Ni(II)-NTA) complex was covalently bound on the surface, so that the regeneration and reuse of the sensor becomes easy. Therefore, the easy fabrication, high stability, and good reusability of this 3D LSPR sensor makes our method competitive for the development of nanoplasmonic sensors.


Fog computing extends the cloud computing paradigm by placing resources close to the edges of the network to deal with the upcoming growth of connected devices. Smart city applications, such as health monitoring and predictive maintenance, will introduce a new set of stringent requirements, such as low latency, since resources can be requested on-demand simultaneously by multiple devices at different locations. It is then necessary to adapt existing network technologies to future needs and design new architectural concepts to help meet these strict requirements. This article proposes a fog computing framework enabling autonomous management and orchestration functionalities in 5G-enabled smart cities. Our approach follows the guidelines of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) NFV MANO architecture extending it with additional software components. The contribution of our work is its fully-integrated fog node management system alongside the foreseen application layer Peer-to-Peer (P2P) fog protocol based on the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocol for the exchange of application service provisioning information between fog nodes. Evaluations of an anomaly detection use case based on an air monitoring application are presented. Our results show that the proposed framework achieves a substantial reduction in network bandwidth usage and in latency when compared to centralized cloud solutions.


The species of the tree genus Pterospermum Schreb. (Malvaceae: Dombeyoideae) in Malesia are revised. Twenty-six species of Pterospermum are recognised, six of which are new ( P. aureum S.K.Ganesan, P. borneense S.K.Ganesan, P. glabrum S.K.Ganesan, P. havilandii S.K.Ganesan, P. merrillianum S.K.Ganesan and P. zollingerianum S.K.Ganesan) and one ( P. grewiifolium Pierre) that is a new distributional record for Malesia. Identification keys are provided. All names are typified, and detailed descriptions of all species recognised are provided. Information on habitat, uses and conservation status is given for all species.


Pomegranate (Punica granatum L. formerly in Punicaceae family) considered to be super food worldwide, belongs to the family Lythraceae. It is primarily cultivated in the Middle East, north and tropical Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Asia and Latin America. The medicinal potential of pomegranate is extensively mentioned in the ancient literature and also used in different system of medicines for a variety of ailments. The chemical constituents of pomegranate have increased the research concern of this fruit in the current years. It includes a variety of bioactive compounds such as quercetin, ellagic acid, punicalagin, pedunculagin, tannic acid, anthocyanins, rutin, catechin and polyphenols. These components of pomegranate possess antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, anticancerous, anti-mutagenic, cytoprotective, cardiovascular protective, anti-diabetic, anti-ulcerogenic, hepatoprotective, antibacterial and antifungal potentials. It can enhance the male fertility and also protect from the UV induced skin damage. Furthermore, it also illustrate the inhibitory effects on vital metabolic enzymes, stimulate cell differentiation and toxicological properties. The pomegranate also impedes with numerous signalling pathways, which include Bax, Bcl-X, Bad, ERK1/2, JNK, PI3K/AKT, mTOR, PI3K, MAPK and P38. The present review will extensively discuss the above properties of pomegranate and its extracts, supporting the rich nutritive and healthy advantages of the fruit belonging to the monogeneric family.


Fomalhaut A is among the most well-studied nearby stars and has been discovered to possess a putative planetary object as well as a remarkable eccentric dust belt. This eccentric dust belt has often been interpreted as the dynamical signature of one or more planets that elude direct detection. However, the system also contains two other stellar companions residing ~100,000 AU from Fomalhaut A. We have designed a new symplectic integration algorithm to model the evolution of Fomalhaut A's planetary dust belt in concert with the dynamical evolution of its stellar companions to determine if these companions are likely to have generated the dust belt's morphology. Using our numerical simulations, we find that close encounters between Fomalhaut A and B are expected, with a ~25% probability that the two stars have passed within at least 400 AU of each other at some point. Although the outcomes of such encounter histories are extremely varied, these close encounters nearly always excite the eccentricity of Fomalhaut A's dust belt and occasionally yield morphologies very similar to the observed belt. With these results, we argue that close encounters with Fomalhaut A's stellar companions should be considered a plausible mechanism to explain its eccentric belt, especially in the absence of detected planets capable of sculpting the belt's morphology. More broadly, we can also conclude from this work that very wide binary stars may often generate asymmetries in the stellar debris disks they host.


This article develops an understanding of coworking spaces as organizational phenomena. Based on an ethnography of betahaus in Berlin, we demonstrate how coworking spaces not only provide a sense of community but also pattern the work activities of their members. We theorize this finding by drawing on the emergent literature on organizationality. Our contribution is twofold. First, we challenge current understandings of coworking spaces as neutral containers for independent work. Instead, we show how coworking incorporates the disposition of becoming organizational. That is, coworking spaces can frame and organize work and may even provide a basis for collective action. Second, we add to research on organizing outside traditional organizations by drawing attention to the complex and shifting interplay of formal and informal relationships in such settings. In doing so, we inform current debates about new forms of organization and organizing.


We conducted comprehensive gene expression profiling (GEP) of primary pulmonary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma (n = 33) and compared the results to GEP of other B- and T-cell lymphomas and normal lymphocytes to identify novel markers and deregulated pathways. MALT has a prominent T-cell signature and a marginal zone/memory B-cell profile. Four novel transcripts were specifically overexpressed in MALT, and 2 of these, MMP7 and SIGLEC6, were validated at the protein level. GEP also revealed distinct molecular subsets in MALT. One subset, characterized by MALT1 translocations, showed overexpression of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-KB) pathway genes but also was enriched for chemokine signaling pathways. Another subset showed increased plasma cells and a prominent plasma cell gene signature. By analyzing several genes with very high ("spiked") expression in individual cases, we identified clusters with different biologic characteristics, such as samples with MALT1 translocations having high expression of MALT1 and RARA, samples with plasmacytic differentiation having high FKBP11 expression, and samples with high RGS13 expression tending to have trisomy 3 and reactive follicles. In conclusion, MALT subgroups with distinct pathologic features defined by distinct groups of deregulated genes were identified. These genes could represent novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets.


Steers and bulls under feedlot conditions and on an apparently adequate ration developed transitory signs of diarrhea and unthriftiness. One animal became recumbent. Sick and clinically normal animals in the group had elevated serum creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase enzyme values and degenerative changes in muscle fibers on biopsy. Feed analysis was carried out and the animals were monitored over several weeks by means of muscle biopsy and serum enzyme analysis as well as by postmortem examination at slaughter. Subclinical myopathy was found in several animals and was thought to be related to low vitamin E content in the high moisture corn ration.


BACKGROUND: Krüppel-like factor 13 (KLF13), a member of the KLF family, is involved in the development of immunological diseases and tumor progression. However, the expression patterns and potential functions of KLF13 in prostate carcinoma are still unknown. Here, we aimed to study the roles and mechanisms of KLF13 in prostate cancer. METHODS: The expression levels of KLF13 was detected by Immunohistochemistry in prostate tumor tissues and the paired non-tumor tissues. The effects of KLF13 up-regulation was tested by performing CCK8, cell colon formation, flow cytometric analysis and measurement of tumor proliferation in nude mice. Signaling pathway was analyzed by Western blot. RESULTS: The current study, for the first time, found that KLF13 was downregulated in prostate tumor tissues as compared to the paired non-tumor tissues. The overexpression of KLF13 dramatically inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by suppressing the AKT pathway in human prostate cancer cells. Moreover, the ectopic expression of KLF13 efficiently delayed the onset of PC3 xenografts and inhibited the tumor growth in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: KLF13 functions as a tumor suppressor protein in PCa, and the pharmacological activation of KLF13 might represent a potential approach for the treatment of prostate cancer.


This article provides new measures allowing comparing within-country differences in current fertility behavior in Europe. By mobilizing data from the European Union's Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), we measure the educational gradient of female period fertility for a large set of European countries. A semi-retrospective approach serves to observe fertility behavior of cohorts that are currently at childbearing age, while at the same time recording the educational level correctly. Bayesian statistics allow us to obtain credible intervals for the age, educationand parity specific birth probabilities for each country. These birth probabilities are then combined into a multi-state life table in order to obtain parityspecific and total birth intensities by education. A post-stratification of birth probabilities leads us to be consistent with national fertility estimates, enabling international comparisons for specific groups (e.g. highly educated women) or for particular dimensions of fertility behavior (e.g. childlessness). This analytical set-up allows us to reveal if there are significant differences between education groups in fertility behavior within each European country and in how far these differentials vary between European countries. More precisely, we answer the question if –all birth orders combined– heterogeneity in period fertility behavior is larger among the higher or the lower educated across Europe. In addition, we show for which parity the heterogeneity between education groups is the largest. This study is based on data from Eurostat, EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions [2011,2012,2013]. The responsibility for all conclusions drawn from the data lies entirely with the authors.


The main aim of personalised Information Retrieval (IR) is to provide an effective IR system whereby relevant information can be presented according to individual users' interests and preferences. In response to their queries, all Web users expect to obtain the search results in a rank order with the most relevant items at the lowest ranks. Effective IR systems rank the less relevant documents below the relevant documents. However, a commonly stated problem of Web browsers is to match the users' queries to the information base. The key challenge is to return a list of search results containing a low level of non-relevant documents while not missing out the relevant documents.To address this problem, keyword-based search of Vector Space Model is employed as an IR technique to model the Web users and build their interest profiles. Semantic-based search through Ontology is further employed to represent documents matching the users' needs without being directly contained in the users' specified keywords. The users' log files are one of the most important sources from which implicit feedback is detected through their profiles. These provide valuable information based on which alternative learning approaches (i.e. dwell-based search) can be incorporated into the IR standard measures (i.e. tf-idf) allowing a further improvement of personalisation of Web document search, thus increasing the performance of IR systems.To incorporate such a non-textual data type (i.e. dwell) into the hybridisation of the keyword-based and semantic-based searches entails a complex interaction of information attributes in the index structure. A dwell-based filter called dwell-tf-ldf that allows a standard tokeniser to be converted into a keyword tokeniser is thus proposed. The proposed filter uses an efficient hybrid indexing technique to bring textual and non-textual data types under one umbrella, thus making a move beyond simple keyword matching to improve future retrieval applications for web browsers. Adopting precision and recall, the most common evaluation measure, the superiority of the hybridisation of these approaches lies in pushing significantly relevant documents to the top of the ranked lists, as compared to any traditional search system. The results were empirically confirmed through human subjects who conducted several real-life Web searches.


A hypothesis derived from social comparison theory was tested through 3 experiments. Ss were required to predict their performance on a novel task after a good or poor model had actually completed it, The experimental situation was varied in the respect of Ss' experience on that task (Exp . ‡T), of the information about Ss' ability (Exp. ‡U), or of the degree of the information enhances or threatens Ss' self esteem (Exp. ‡V). With no experience or information, Ss predicted higher perform ance when the model was good than he was poor . But when Ss had experienced the task or received information about abilities, model had no influence . While Ss were influenced only by the good model when the information enhanced their self-esteem , the poor model had strong influence when their self-esteem was threatened .


This report finds that Aboriginal people experience both illness and death from heart disease at higher rates and at a much earlier average age than non-Aboriginal people, underscoring the urgency to direct efforts 'upstream' towards primary prevention and earlier, community-based detection and intervention. Overview This report primarily draws on research looking at disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Western Australians in cardiovascular health and health care, conducted with funding from three research grants, the most recent known as the Bettering Aboriginal Heart Health in WA project. The methods used have included interviews, reviews of hospital records, analyses of linked hospital and mortality data, and literature reviews. Part I of the report primarily comprises summaries of the studies along with Key Findings and Recommendations arising from the research, while Part II details 'Strategies for Action' incorporating input from stakeholders and other strategic  documents. The research initially centred on coronary heart disease, with statistical analysis of state-wide WA data, to determine the occurrence, comorbidities and outcomes for Aboriginal people, including age, sex, and geographic distributions. The team is now also studying other heart conditions such as heart failure and abnormalities of heart rhythm (dysrhythmias). Key heart conditions covered in this report are briefly explained in boxes in the relevant sections. Qualitative research was undertaken on the experiences of both the Aboriginal people affected by these illnesses and the health professionals involved in their care. This research aimed to understand the barriers and enablers of quality care provision and to promote optimal models of care. These original research projects were supplemented with critical reviews of published literature, resulting in stand-alone publications on the topics of interest. The BAHHWA project has had significant input from a number of key partnerships, including with the Heart Foundation, and the Cardiovascular Health Network and Aboriginal Health Division of the WA Department of Health.


Abstract : The study examines a series of principles that may effectively mitigate technological hazards within the Air Transport System. These principles are: precise design criteria and verification of the standards which relate to an airplane's operating environment; quality control in manufacturing with high levels of performance in design, construction, inspection, and maintenance of the system; periodic testing and evaluation of equipment and human elements to meet performance standards; training and education of key managers and operators in emergency procedures with emphasis in new systems and multi-problem hazards; establish communication modes linking key elements with institutions in the system to mitigate, respond, and recover from emergencies; a system of reporting incident and accident investigations in a prompt manner to allow for a coordinated recovery; and the system must be regulated, audited, and demonstrated frequently to protect public interest, including proper liability. these principles are then analyzed in three areas in which successful hazard mitigation will reduce the effects of increased technological applications. these topic areas include: Design, Construction, Inspection, and Maintenance; System Development and Operation; and Liability and Regulation. the study concludes that with the rapid development in high technology and with its subsequent rapid application to our National capability, technological hazards converge onto a wide variety of societies' activities. The report suggests that successful mitigation of technological hazards can be achieved through utilizing the previously outlined principles within the total air transport system environment. (Author)


Abstract The positional disorder of Mg2+ and Al3+ cations between the tetrahedral and octahedral sites in natural MgAl2O4 spinel has been investigated by 27Al MAS NMR at room temperature and in-situ high-temperature 27Al NMR spectroscopy up to 1600 °C. The inversion parameter describing the disorder, x, where x stands for the positional disorder between Mg and Al cations in Mg1-xAlx(MgxAl2-x)O4, increased with temperature. Below 1100 °C the inversion parameter, x, can be determined from MAS NMR measurements of quenched samples at room temperature. Above 1100 °C, x was estimated from the peak position in the high-temperature 27Al NMR spectra up to 1600 °C. The observed dependence of x with temperature was fitted using the model of O'Neill and Navrotsky (1983). The coefficients of the model obtained are α = 35 ± 5 kJ and β = 232 ± 5 kJ, which are approximately equal in magnitude and opposite in sign. The x values observed in the present investigation are in agreement with the model. However the introduction of an additional entropy term, ΔSD, improved the fitting. ΔSD reduces the entropy of disorder relative to a random mixing model. This would reflect either a nonconfigurational entropy contribution or short-range Mg-Al order because of local charge balance. On the other hand, above 1400 °C a narrow peak appeared at about 60 ppm. This peak became narrower with increasing temperature up to 1600 °C. This behavior might suggest that a rapid exchange process among the fourfold-coordinated Al sites occurs in this temperature range.


Background: The lifetime prevalence of prolonged vulvar pain ranges from 3% to 28% among premenopausal women. Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD), often accompanied with various degrees of vaginismus, is the predominant cause. We explored the association between birth-related events and the risk of developing PVD/vaginismus during adulthood. Methods: We identified all women born in Sweden between 1973 and 2001 and categorized those with and without a diagnosis of PVD/vaginismus between 2001 and 2016 (during ages 15-43 years). Nationwide registry data were used to estimate the association between health during infancy (preterm birth, low birth weight, small for gestational age [SGA], Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration [APGAR] scores <7, and pain exposure during infancy) and the onset of PVD/vaginismus later in life using an event probability model. Results: Of the 1,359,315 women born in Sweden during 1973-2001, 9,247 were diagnosed with PVD (n = 6,648), vaginismus (n = 3,567), or both (n = 969). Preterm delivery <37 weeks (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.26), low birth weight <2,500 g (aOR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.12-1.36), extremely low birth weight <1,500 g (aOR 1.41, 95% CI: 1.10-1.82), and SGA (aOR 1.20, 95% CI: 1.08-1.34) were factors associated with developing PVD/vaginismus. APGAR scores <7 or pain exposure during birth or infancy was not associated with PVD/vaginismus. Advanced maternal age, higher educational attainment, and being born in Sweden were associated with having a female offspring diagnosed with PVD/vaginismus. Conclusions: In a population of Swedish women 15-43 years of age, adverse health at birth was associated with developing PVD/vaginismus later on in life.


CD44, a transmembrane receptor for hyaluronic acid, is comprised of an extracellular domain (ECD) and intracellular domain (ICD). CD44 is implicated in various adhesion-dependent cellular processes, including cell migration, tumor cell metastasis and invasion. Here, we have generated constructs for knockdown of CD44 corresponding to ECD and ICD as well as to selectively overexpress either ECD or ICD. CD44 knockdown resulted in a more than 50% reduction in cellular adhesion, migration, and invasion as determined by MTT, wound closure and Matrigel assays in glioblastoma xenograft cell lines (4910 and 5310). Zymography analysis of conditioned medium from CD44 knocked down 4910 and 5310 cells showed decreased gelatinolytic activity of MMP-9; however, western blot analysis of cell lysates did not show any change in MMP-9 expression. Based on these results, we sought to further determine the relationship of CD44 with MMP-9, which is known to play an important role in cellular adhesion, migration and invasion. Immunoprecipitation analysis of cell lysates from 4910 and 5310 cells revealed an interaction between CD44 and MMP-9. Of note, siRNA-mediated knockdown of MMP-9 resulted in inhibition of CD44 cleavage. Selective overexpression of ECD or ICD with downregulation of endogenous CD44 showed that ECD expression was able to recover cellular adhesion and gelatinolytic activity of MMP-9. In contrast, as seen in the MTT assay results, ICD overexpression recovered cell growth but not adhesion or MMP-9 gelatinolytic activity. Taken together, our results suggest the interaction between CD44 and MMP-9 plays an important role in maintaining cellular growth, adhesion, invasion and migration in the glioblastoma xenograft cell lines 4910 and 5310. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 515.


The week-end conference on "Research in Movement" convened August 10-12, 1973, at Nonington College, near Dover, Kent, England. Five lectures beginning with an evening session on Friday, August 10, featured the paper on "Ergonomics," by.Dr. Nigel Corbett (Industrial Engineer, Birmingham University), which was read and discussed by Mr. S. Madeley. He oriented the assembled movement researchers to the fact that "measurement of motion" is of particular concern to physiologists and scientists since the World War II demanded immediate practical solutions (how to survive in a jungle, speed and weightlessness in flying, etc.). Now it is vital that the job be fitted and programmed to the worker. He cited research by Alberg (1968) on tests and models of tasks (52 experiments); by Spitzer & Hethinger (1970) on static work involving large body movement and force factors; by Laban (1950) as utilized in Britain by Paddy McMasters who analyzed filmed worktasks. The research at Birmingham University focused on three types of actions: weight, breath, reaction-time factors for which examples were set-up each with four tasks for eight different people. The pilot studies are continuing and yielding results, corroborating that movement actions can be successfully measured. On Saturday, August 11, the next three lectures enthralled everyone. The Principal of Nonington College, Miss Ellinor Hinks, spoke on "Educational Gymnastics". Her invention of special equipment created and designed for the exploration of total body movement techniques, conceived and housed in a unique space-gymnasium, is highly effective in training young people who concentrate and inventively achieve far more than pure motor skills. Two films of her work "Movement in the Making, I & II", demonstrated her new method. As films, they superbly illustrate the physical potentialities of movement with this new type of apparatus (the films can be rented or purchased).


Categorical perception was investigated in a series of experiments on the perception of melodic musical intervals (sequential frequency ratios). When procedures equivalent to those typically used in speech-perception experiments were employed, i.e., determination of identification and discrimination functions for stimuli separated by equal physical increments), musical intervals were perceived categorically by trained musicians. When a variable-step-size (adaptive) discrimination procedure was used, evidence of categorical perception (in the form of smaller interval-width DL's for ratios at identification category boundaries than for ratios within categories), although present initially, largely disappeared after subjects had reached asymptotic performance. However, equal-step-size discrimination functions obtained after observers had reached asymptotic performance in the adaptive paradigm were not substantially different from those initially obtained. The results of other experiments imply that this dependence of categorical perception on procedure may be related to differences in stimulus uncertainty between the procedures. An experiment on the perception of melodic intervals by musically untrained observers showed no evidence for the existence of "natural" categories for musical intervals.