Background: Elevated serum ferritin (SF) is common in patients with myelofibrosis (MF) given the frequent red-cell transfusion requirements and impaired iron metabolism. The dysregulation of iron metabolism is associated with increased hepcidin levels which predict for inferior survival in patients with MF (Pardanani et al AJH 2013). High pre-transplant SF negatively impacts overall survival and non-relapse mortality in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) for hematological malignancies (Chee et al BMT 2017 & Yan et al 2018). However, the impact of elevated pre-transplant SF specifically on post-alloHCT outcomes has not been described in MF.
 Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients with MF undergoing allo-HCT at Mayo clinic Rochester, Arizona, and Florida from January 1st 2012 - December 31st 2019. We abstracted demographic and outcome variables to evaluate the impact of pre-transplant ferritin levels on post-transplant outcomes. We used a Receiver Operand Characteristic Curve to identify a pre-transplant serum ferritin (SF) of ≥ 1,123 ng/mL as the cutoff which best correlated with poor survival.
 Results: We identified 67 patients with MF who underwent allo-HCT during the study period with readily available data. Patients with a pre-transplant ferritin ≥ 1,123 ng/mL (n=18) had a median age of 59.4 years and were predominantly male (n=9, 50%) with primary myelofibrosis (n=12, 67%), had a DIPSS-plus int-2 (n=10, 56%) and high (n=6, 33%) risk categories and received a reduced-intensity conditioning (n=14, 78%) from a matched-unrelated donor (n=7, 50%) Table1.
 Patients with SF ≥ 1,123 ng/mL had a worse overall survival (OS) (median OS= 12.64 months [95%CI=6.08-19.20 months] vs. not-reached (NR) p=0.001). Patients with elevated SF had an increased non-relapse mortality (NRM) rate at 6 months (16.7%, [95%CI=0.4-37.2%]) vs 8.2%,[95%CI= 2.6-18.1%] p=0.021) and 12 months (33.3% [95%CI=13.0-55.4%] vs 10.4% [95%CI=3.8-21.0%] p=0.021)
 Patients with ≥ 1,123 ng/mL SF had a non-statistically significant higher rate of acute graft-vs-host disease grades 3-4 (28% vs 12.2% p=0.13) but similar rates of moderate to severe chronic graft-vs-host disease (31% vs 28% p=0.78).
 In the univariate analysis, SF ≥1,123 ng/mL and a Hematopoietic stem cell transplant comorbidity index (HCT-CI) ≥3 were associated with an increased risk of mortality (Hazard ratio [HR]=4.18 [95%CI=1.64-10.62] p=0.003] and HR=4.42 [95%CI=1.70-11.46] p=0.003, respectively). Both retained significance in multivariate analysis SF ≥1,123 ng/mL (HR= 2.80 [95%CI= 1.0-7.6], p=0.04)] and HCT-CI score ≥ 3 (HR 3.10 [95%CI= 1.12-8.62, p=0.03]) after adjusting for age, DIPSS-plus score, conditioning regimen intensity, donor type, CMV risk, prior use of ruxolitinib, and ABO mismatch.
 We grouped the patients into low, intermediate and high risk categories using SF level and HCT-CI scores as detailed in Figure 1. The risk category based on SF and HCT-CI was statistically significant in impacting OS and NRM in this cohort. The 12 month OS rate was lower in the high risk category (44.4% [95%CI= 13.6%-71.9%]) when compared to the intermediate (64.6%, [95%CI=39.7%-81.3%]) and low risk (91.9%, [95%CI= 76.9%-97.3%], p=0.0002) categories. Similarly, the 12 month NRM rate was higher in the high risk category (44.4%, [95%CI=11.0%-74.2%]) when compared to the intermediate (25%, [95%CI=8.7%-45.5%]) and low risk (5.3% [95%CI=0.9%-15.9%], p=0.0046) categories.
 Conclusion: In patients undergoing allogeneic SCT for myelofibrosis, serum ferritin ≥ 1,123 ng/mL is a predictor of high NRM and inferior OS. Combining ferritin serum levels with HCT-CI may help in better patient selection for allo-HCT in MF population. Larger patient cohort is warranted to confirm our findings.

 Kharfan-Dabaja: Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy. Shah:Dren Bio: Consultancy.


: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by the protozoon Leishmania infantum . Transmission of this parasite to hosts occurs mainly through the bite of infected sand flies. However, alternative infection routes have been hypothesized, especially in areas where the biological vector is absent. The exact time of infection and whether in utero transmission occurs have still not been fully elucidated . This report demonstrates molecular evidence of vertical transmission of L. infantum from a pregnant dog to the embryo. Samples (e.g. vulva, vagina, cervix, uterine body, uterine horn and ovaries) from a female naturally infected by L. infantum and from her embryo were molecularly analyzed by means of qPCR and cPCR followed by DNA sequencing. The gestational age was estimated to be 23±1 day. Through qPCR, the presence of L. infantum DNA was detected in all the samples analyzed (n=7), including the embryo, conversely through cPCR, only four samples (vagina, cervix, uterine body and embryo) were positive. This study demonstrated that transmission of L. infantum from a pregnant dog to the embryo might occur in the early days of pregnancy. In conclusion, this is the first report showing L. infantum infecting a canine embryo.


This contribution focuses on consolidation between arbitration and court proceedings in investment (or "investor-to-State") disputes, which are usually referred to arbitration pursuant to the forum selection clauses of the relevant Bilateral Investment Treaties ("BITS"). Before addressing consolidation in investment disputes, the experience gained in the same matter in international commercial arbitration will be considered. After a preliminary analysis, comparative observations will follow.


An embryonic ammonoid assemblage was discovered in a carbonate concretion recovered from a dysoxic, relatively offshore marine shale of Virgilian (Upper Pennsylvanian) age in Kansas, USA. The assemblage consists primarily of two species of the Goniatitina, Aristocerassp. and Vidrioceras sp., whose initial chambers (protoconchs) differ in size and shape. Microscopic observations of serial thin sections of specimens at different growth stages reveal the sequence of embryonic shell development starting with the formation of the initial chamber and ending with the synchronous secretion of a prismatic proseptum and nacreous swelliig (primary varix) at the aperture. The mode of occurrence of the embryonic shells of the two species in the concretion suggests that these ammonoids produced numerous small offspring, a reproductive strategy similar to that in many extant coleoids. □Ammonoids, embryonic shells, development, Carboniferous, Kansas.


. We show that adiabatic, super-Hubble, and almost scale invariant density fluctuations are produced by cosmic strings in a contracting universe. An essential point is that isocurvature perturbations produced by topological defects such as cosmic strings on super-Hubble scales lead to a source term which seeds the growth of curvature fluctuations on these scales. Once the symmetry has been restored at high temperatures, the isocurvature seeds disappear, and the fluctuations evolve as adiabatic ones in the expanding phase. Thus, cosmic strings may be resurrected as a mechanism for generating the primordial density fluctuations observed today.


During retinal development in mice the early stages of differentiating of ganglion, amacrine and horizontal cells are characterized by high diaphorase activity in the perikarya. The reaction in the ganglion cells, which start differentiation at day 12 of gestation when the layer of nerve fibres is developing, was first localized near the axonal end, but later, in the period of dendritic growth, it shifted to the scleral side. Amacrine cells were first detected on day 16, and showed a transient activity at the initial stage of their differentiation. A variety of large amacrine cells with long bifurcating processes appeared at day 7 after birth, and showed particularly high TPN diaphorase activity. The horizontal cells could be followed from the 16th day of embryonic life. Their activity increased during the period of formation of the outer plexiform layer. Along the outer limiting membrane diaphorase activity was marked from day 13 of embryonic life, and seemed to concentrate later in the rod inner segments. Activity in the bipolar cells first appeared at day 7 after birth, and increased therafter, coinciding with the period of synaptic development in the outer, plexiform layer. Activity in the Müller cells appeared around 14 days after birth, and was most pronounced in the inner processes and basal end feet. The sequential differentiation of retinal cells and cellular interrelationships during retinal histogenesis are discussed.


Purpose: To compare the early bone response to implants with dual acid-etched (DAE) and machined (MA) surface, when placed in the posterior human maxilla. Materials and Methods: Fourteen patients received 2 implants in the posterior maxilla: 1 DAE and 1 MA. After 2 months, the implants were retrieved for histologic/histomorphometric evaluation. The bone-to-implant contact (BIC%), bone density in the threaded area (BDTA%), and the bone density (BD%) were calculated. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was used to evaluate differences (BIC%, BDTA%, and BD%) between the surfaces. Results: In the MA implants, a mean (±SD) BIC%, BDTA%, and BD% of 21.76 (±12.79), 28.58 (±16.91), and 21.54 (±11.67), respectively, was reported. In the DAE implants, a mean (±SD) BIC%, BDTA%, and BD% of 37.49 (±29.51), 30.59 (±21.78), and 31.60 (±18.06), respectively, was reported. Although the mean BIC% of DAE implants value was almost double than that of MA implants, no significant differences were found between the 2 groups with regard to BIC% (P = 0.198) and with regard to BDTA% (P = 0.778) and BD% (P = 0.124). Conclusions: The DAE surface increased the periimplant endosseous healing properties in the native bone of the posterior maxilla.


Snow leopards are one of the least known large cats, the population of which has dramatically decreased. Their habitat loss was considered the main reason for the decline during the last decade, but their habitat preferences are still not well known. In this paper, we studied the winter habitat preferences of snow leopards in the Tomur National Nature Reserve (TNNR) in Northwest China during 2004–2005. We used sign surveys and transects to study the winter habitat selection of snow leopards. The results indicated that snow leopards showed a preference for habitat variabilities in slope aspect, vegetation cover, dominant topographical features, landform ruggedness and grazing status. We found that prey availability and dominant topographical features were the most important factors that determined the winter habitat selection of snow leopards. Our results supported the idea that the habitat preferences of snow leopards are a tradeoff between suitable habitat features and avoidance of potential human interactions.


In this paper, the authors focus on two primary governance mechanisms which can be considered as sources of support for startup companies: the company's ownership contingent and the company's management personnel. Based ondescriptive statistics from a sample of 416 Skolkovo start-ups from the 'Nuclear' and 'Space' clusters, and a Start-up-Barometer survey of 300 IT-entrepreneurs, this work provides new insights into ownership and management characteristicsof Russian startups and the interplay between these dynamics.The Russian venture market presents an interesting case of an emerging market with a number of successful startups ina challenging economic environment. The supply of venture capital for Russian startups is restricted by the presence ofsanctions and legal restrictions on the investments of financial institutions such as pension funds and banks. Therefore,similar to other developed and developing markets, the most significant source of investments for Russian startups isbootstrapping.In this paper we show that startups with different characteristics attract different kinds of investors, which is reflected inthe companies ownership structures. In particular, government development institutes are more interested in investingin nuclear-focused startups, while corporate investors tend to keep a higher level of control over startups compared toother investors. We also confirmed the presence of correlations between different types of owners: government development institutions, corporate investors, venture funds, and family members. Additionally, the size of equity share for alltypes of owners (except family members) was found to be negatively correlated with the CEO's share in the ownershipstructure.Although the purpose of the article is descriptive, it motivates further research on the sources of support of startupgrowth, including relative importance of such sources and their effects on startup performance.


Pregnancy outcomes following jet airplane shipment during pregnancy or before return to a breeding group were compared with outcomes that did not involve air shipment. For pigtailed macaques, long-tailed rnacaques, and baboons, viable offspring rates were not affected by air shipment or were slightly higher when animals had been shipped. However, pigtailed macaques placed in harem breeding groups following a jet flight produced fewer viable offspring if they became pregnant within 90 days than those taking longer to conceive after a flight.


Background and aims Although failed regional anesthesia is mostly attributed to technical issues, we report a case of local anesthetic (LA) resistance possibly due to voltage-gated sodium channellopathy. Methods A 26-year-old redhead gravida 2, para 1 (15 weeks of gestation) presented for elective placement of cervical cerclage. A single-shot spinal in the left lateral position was decided at L3-4 interspace. Noticeably, the patient failed to achieve adequate skin anaesthesia despite repetitive doses of lidocaine 2%. Free flow of cerebrospinal fluid without aspiration was obtained on first attempt and a spinal injection of 2.3 ml of 0.75% ropivacaine with 15 mcg of fentanyl was ultimately performed. Twenty minutes later, she reported no sensory or motor blockade. A second attempt of the same technique and dose was performed at L2-3 interspace, taking into consideration the possibility of a high sensory block along with hemodynamic instability. Ten minutes after the second attempt, the patient was asked if she felt any difference compared to before; warmth in her feet was reported but no sensory or motor block. The decision was made to proceed with general anesthesia. On questioning, she described repeated failures of LAs during her previous caeserean delivery, while she and her mother reported having insufficient anaesthesia during dental procedures. Results Inherited channelopathies due to genetic variations in voltage-gated sodium channels, the main site of action of LAs, should not be ruled out when confronting a failed regional technique. Conclusions Our red-haired parturient may be more resistant to LAs due to various mutations of melanocortin receptors as literature suggests.


We present a novel evolutionary computing based approach to medical image segmentation. Our method complements the image-pixel integration power of deformable shape models with the high-level control mechanisms of genetic algorithms (GA). Specifically, GA alleviate typical deformable model weaknesses pertaining to model initialization, deformation parameter selection, and energy functional local minima through the simultaneous evolution of a large number of models. Furthermore, we constrain the evolution, and thus reduce the size of the search-space, by using statistically-based deformable models whose deformations are intuitive (stretch, bulge, bend) and driven in-terms of principal modes of variation of a learned mean shape. We demonstrate our work through its application to corpus callosum segmentation in mid-sagittal brain magnetic resonance images (MRI).


Logistic regression (LR) and support vector machine algorithms, together with linear and nonlinear deep neural networks (DNNs), are applied to lending data in order to replicate lender acceptance of loans and predict the likelihood of default of issued loans. A two-phase model is proposed; the first phase predicts loan rejection, while the second one predicts default risk for approved loans. LR was found to be the best performer for the first phase, with test set recall macro score of 77.4%. DNNs were applied to the second phase only, where they achieved best performance, with test set recall score of 72%, for defaults. This shows that artificial intelligence can improve current credit risk models reducing the default risk of issued loans by as much as 70%. The models were also applied to loans taken for small businesses alone. The first phase of the model performs significantly better when trained on the whole dataset. Instead, the second phase performs significantly better when trained on the small business subset. This suggests a potential discrepancy between how these loans are screened and how they should be analysed in terms of default prediction.


AIM
Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) is a very frequent type of arrhythmia. Atrioventricular nodal reciprocating tachycardia (AVNRT) and atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia through extranodal accessory pathways (AVRT) are the most common types of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. We describe our experience in diagnosing these tachycardia by electrophysiological transesophageal study (ETS).

METHODS
Three hundred patients, 155 men and 145 women, (mean age, 37.2 +/- 16 years), with a history of palpitations underwent clinical evaluation and ETS. The clinical features of those with AVNRT and those with AVRT were compared.

RESULTS
Of a total of 300 patients, tachycardia was diagnosed only in 234, of which 136 (58%) had AVNRT and 98 (42%) had AVRT. AVNRT patients were older than those with AVRT (P = or < 0.004); patients with AVRT had palpitations earlier (P = or < 0.0001). Dyspnea and asthenia were the most frequent symptoms in the AVNRT patients (P = or < 0,02; P = or < 0.04). There were statistically significant differences between the two patient groups in Wencke-bach time (P = or < 0.05), ventricular-atrial (V-A) interval (P = or < 0.03) and period of induced tachycardia (P = or < 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS
ETS revealed important clinical and electrophysiological differences between patients with AVRT and those with AVNRT.


In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate non-degenerate parametric resonance in a torsional micro electro mechanical (MEM) oscillator with two interacting mechanical modes of oscillation. The parametric oscillation results from a displacement-dependent electrostatic force generated in both the modes of oscillation. There is a decoupling of the input and the output frequencies in this mode of operation where the system responds at the primary natural frequency when driven at the sum of the first two mechanical modes. This can be implemented in many commonly used MEM oscillator configurations including the cantilever beam geometry. In this mode of operation, single oscillator non-degenerate parametric amplifiers as well as resonant mode sensors based on the frequency selectivity of parametric resonance can be implemented.


This study was carried out to evaluate the potential effects of 90 days-long dietary supple- mentation of probiotic and yeast culture on immunity condition of lambs. Fifteen Rahmani growing male lambs (about 5 months old and 23.21±2.75 kg body weight) were randomly allo- cated to three equal groups consisting of 5 animals each. The animals in the first group, served as a control (group C), were fed a basal diet without any supplementation. The lambs in the second and third group were fed the basal diet supplemented with probiotic (group Y) or yeast culture (group YC), respectively. The probiotic consisted of live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisae) alone, while the yeast culture was composed of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the media on which it was grown. In group Y and YC, each lamb was supplemented daily with 0.5 g and 7.0 g of live yeast and yeast culture, respectively. Blood samples were collected before feeding the supplements and then every 15 days until the day 90th. Total and differential leucocytic counts, total protein, albumin, IgA, IgG and IgM levels were measured in blood. There were insignificant (p>0.05) variations in the levels of total and differential leucocytic counts and total protein among the groups throughout the experiment. However, significant differences (p⟨0.05) were found in globulin, IgA, IgG and IgM in both (Y) and (YC) groups, but the effect of yeast culture seems to be better than that of the probiotic. In conclusions, the obtained results indicate that the tested probiotic and yeast culture improve the immunological status of lambs.


Yahoo! Answers is currently one of the most popular question answering systems. We claim however that its user experience could be significantly improved if it could route the "right question" to the "right user." Indeed, while some users would rush answering a question such as "what should I wear at the prom?," others would be upset simply being exposed to it. We argue here that Community Question Answering sites in general and Yahoo! Answers in particular, need a mechanism that would expose users to questions they can relate to and possibly answer.
 We propose here to address this need via a multi-channel recommender system technology for associating questions with potential answerers on Yahoo! Answers. One novel aspect of our approach is exploiting a wide variety of content and social signals users regularly provide to the system and organizing them into channels. Content signals relate mostly to the text and categories of questions and associated answers, while social signals capture the various user interactions with questions, such as asking, answering, voting, etc. We fuse and generalize known recommendation approaches within a single symmetric framework, which incorporates and properly balances multiple types of signals according to channels. Tested on a large scale dataset, our model exhibits good performance, clearly outperforming standard baselines.


A Weiss field calculation has been carried out for antiferromagnetism in more complicated structures than the usual calculation allows and has been shown to give results more detailed and more consistent with experimental evidence on the magnetic properties of such structures than does the simpler theory.


The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of bullying among Cyprus elementary and high school students. The participants were 1645 students of both levels that completed the Revised Bullying and Victimization Questionnaire. The results show that 5.4% of the children are involved in such incidents as uniquely bullies, 7.4% of the children as uniquely victims, and 4.2% as bully/victims. In total, 17% of the GreekCypriot children are involved in some form of bullying and victimization. While boys are significantly more involved in bullying there are no significant differences in victimization. Age comparisons show that older boys are also more significantly involved in bullying but there are no age differences in victimization.


Abstract. To improve high-resolution numerical environmental prediction, it is essential to represent ocean-atmosphere interactions properly, which is not the case in current operational regional forecasting systems used in Western Europe. The objective of this paper is to present a new forecast-oriented coupled ocean-atmosphere system and its evaluation. This system uses the state-of-the-art numerical models AROME (cy43t2) and NEMO (v3.6) with a horizontal resolution of 2.5 km. The OASIS coupler (OASIS3MCT-4.0), implemented in the SurfEX surface scheme and in NEMO, is used to perform the communications between models. The evaluation of this system is carried out using 7-day simulations from 12 to 19 October 2018, characterised by extreme weather events (storms and heavy precipitation event) in the area of interest. Comparisons with in-situ and L3 satellite observations show that the fully coupled simulation reproduces quantitatively well the spatial and temporal evolution of the sea surface temperature and 10 m wind speed. Sensitivity analysis to OA coupling show that the use of an interactive and high resolution SST, in contrast to actual NWP where SST is persistent and at low resolution, modifies the atmospheric circulation and the location of heavy precipitation. When compared to the operational-like ocean forecast, simulated oceanic fields show a large sensitivity to coupling. Forced ocean simulations highlight that this sensitivity is mainly controlled by the change in the atmospheric model used to drive NEMO (AROME vs. ECMWF IFS operational forecast). The oceanic boundary layer depths can vary by more than 40%. This impact is amplified by the interactive coupling and is attributed to positive feedback between sea surface cooling and evaporation.


We have determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the coding region of the small subunit rRNA gene expressed by bloodstream stages of the apicomplexan Plasmodium berghei. It is 2059 nucleotides long. Elements contributing to its relatively large size are all concentrated in regions known to be variable in length among eukaryotes. In a phylogenetic tree constructed from pairwise comparisons of eukaryotic small subunit rRNA sequences, the apicomplexan line branches at a rather early point in eukaryotic evolution before any multicellular kingdoms had yet appeared.


The possibility to predict the spread of COVID-19 in Russia is studied. Particular goal is to predict the time instant when the number of infected achieves its maximum (peak). Such a partial prediction allows one to use simple epidemoics models: SIR and SEIR. Simplicity and small number of parameters are significant advantages of SIR and SEIR models under conditions of a lack of numerical initial data and structural incompleteness of models. The prediction is carried out according to public WHO datasets from March 10 to April 20, 2020. Comparison of forecast results by SIR and SEIR models are given. In both cases, the peak number of infected persons while maintaining the current level of quarantine measures is forecasted at the end of May 2020 or later. It coincides with the real data obtained in May-June, 2020. The results confirm usefulness of simple nonlinear dynamical models for partial prediction of complex epidemics processes.


The GREEN DENSITY transdisciplinary research and teaching project focuses on the Waldstadt sector, a strip of forest bordering the city of Bern. This strategic site, likely to host new inhabitants and jobs close to public transport, is particularly adapted to explore urban densification issues. The objective is to experiment, compare and evaluate diverse possible urban forms for the development of such a site. The process includes the elaboration of six urban and architectural visions from students' projects developed within Rey's studio at Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and their transdisciplinary multi-criteria assessment.


Hot strips are presently being rolled out with considerable thickness accuracy. This has been made possible due to superordinated control system comprising of adaptive setup model, monitor thickness control, automatic gauge control, tension and looper control, hydraulic gap control etc. The present work is, however, confined to modeling and simulation studies of hydraulic gap control system in the last stand of the finishing mill of a typical hot strip mill (HSM). The simulation results based on the model show that the system operates effectively to provide high thickness accuracy and good response behavior.


Rowe BH, Camargo CA Jr; Multicenter Airway Research Collaboration (MARC) Investigators. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006;117:53–58 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY. Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) has been shown to be an effective acute bronchodilator in both children and adults with severe acute asthma, yet little is known about its actual clinical use. STUDY POPULATION. Between 1997 and 2001, ∼10 000 patients were enrolled onto observational asthma studies in the Multicenter Airway Research Collaboration, which is part of the Emergency Medicine Network (EMNet), a collaboration of 140 mostly academic medical institution emergency departments (EDs) in the United States and Canada. In 2001, a survey was conducted of all site investigators regarding MgSO4 use in this patient group. METHODS. At the time of the study, physicians were unaware of the study and did not use a particular protocol at each site. Chart review was conducted on patients 2 to 54 years of age who were currently having an asthma exacerbation. Patients were managed at the discretion of the treating physician, and cases in which intravenous MgSO4 was used were identified. Pulmonary-function studies, usually peak expiratory flows (PEFs), were recorded as early during the ED evaluation as possible but were not attempted or recorded in all cases. The subsequent survey consisted of 2 parts: a preliminary survey of the use of intravenous MgSO4 in the hospital and a second part regarding interest in research in this area. RESULTS. From 10 169 ED visits, 9745 (96%) charts documented information regarding administration of MgSO4 for the patients while in the ED. Of these, 240 (2.5%) patients received this drug. The use was 10 times higher among patients who were subsequently admitted versus nonadmitted patients. No specific data as to the number of children so treated were presented. Logistic regression identified several factors associated with MgSO4 use: increasing age, female gender, past history of intubation, duration of symptoms <24 hours, higher initial respiratory rate, low PEF or missing PEF data, and greater use of β agonists and systemic corticosteroids in the ED. In response to the survey, site leaders listed severity and failure to respond to initial β agonists as factors that would prompt MgSO4 use. They disagreed with the use of MgSO4 in all asthmatic patients in the ED. Site leaders also described far less use of this agent both prehospital and in the ICU. CONCLUSIONS. Most ED physicians accept the efficacy of MgSO4 in acute asthma, but its use remains relatively uncommon. In both practice and theory, these physicians seem to restrict its use to patients with severe acute asthma. Patterns of use will likely continue to evolve as knowledge of the efficacy and safety of MgSO4 in acute asthma management disseminates. REVIEWER COMMENTS. Because the use of MgSO4 was so much higher in admitted patients, does this not beg the question as to whether it should be used even more aggressively in the ED and in the subsequently hospitalized child with status asthmaticus? Also, considering the apparent safety of MgSO4 in either the intravenous or nebulized form, should this drug be part of the outpatient treatment protocol for the child with relatively severe bronchospasm who first presents in the office of the pediatrician or allergist?


Ensemble selection deals with the reduction of an ensemble of predictive models in order to improve its efficiency and predictive performance. A number of ensemble selection methods that are based on greedy search of the space of all possible ensemble subsets have recently been proposed. They use different directions for searching this space and different measures for evaluating the available actions at each state. Some use the training set for subset evaluation, while others a separate validation set. This paper abstracts the key points of these methods and offers a general framework of the greedy ensemble selection algorithm, discussing its important parameters and the different options for instantiating these parameters.


Introduction: Menopause is defined as the last menstruation cycle in women. Estrogen concentration in menopausal women was decreased and altered the lipid metabolism profiles. Menopausal women reportedly have a high risk of cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes mellitus, and stroke. This study focused on the effect of the black-eyed pea diet on the lipid profiles in menopausal women.
Material and Methods: A randomized clinical study was performed to analyzedd the effect of the black-eyed pea diet on lipid profiles. Fifty-four menopausal women were selected as respondents and classified into two groups, black-eyed pea diet and placebo. Black-eyed pea diet treatment was performed by consuming black-eyed powder containing 67.5 mg of isoflavones and were monitored in week – 0 and week – 12 after treatment. Lipid profile of black-eyed pea diet and placebo in 12 weeks monitoring showed no significant value. After 12 weeks of treatment, total cholesterol and triglyceride were higher than before treatment.
Results: Interestingly, the black-eyed pea diet increased the HDL and lowered the LDL after 12 weeks of treatment.
Conclusion: This study concluded that black-eyed pea improved lipid profile, especially in elevating HDL level and decreasing LDL level in 12 weeks consumption.


REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY
Atrial fibrillation is a common equine arrhythmia. Quinidine alone, or with digoxin are common treatments. Studies on outcome in Warmblood populations in which duration of the AF is often unknown are limited.

OBJECTIVES
To identify the factors that are associated with the success of full treatment cardioversion with oral medication, and establish whether there are differences in these factors between institutions.

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective case series using patient records of Equine University Clinic of Utrecht University and Rossdales Equine Hospital, Newmarket.

METHODS
Forty-nine horses treated with quinidine were identified (29 Warmbloods, 20 Thorougbreds, 1 Anglo-Arabian). Details of signalment, history, duration physical examination and echocardiography including left atrial size and presence of mitral regurgitation were retrieved. Clinical details including mean weight, age and left atrial size were compared between clinics using independent samples t test. Association between variables and cardioconversion were evaluated in a backwards logistic regression using Akaike's information criterium (AIC) and odds ratios were calculated. Factors were sex, clinic, breed, mitral regurgitation, duration and poor performance. Covariates were age, weight and the size of the left atrium. Significance was set at 0.05.

RESULTS
Fifty-one horses (mean age 8.8 s.d. 4.5 years) were treated with quinidine sulfate, 18 also received digoxin. Eighty per cent converted to sinus rhythm. In 8 horses the known duration was less than 3 months. The only factor associated with successful treatment was the use of digoxin in combination with quinidine sulfate (odds ratio 12.4; 95% CI 2.61 and 91.85 according to AIC analysis).

CONCLUSIONS
In this retrospective case series, there is much potential for bias in the data; however, the use of digoxin in addition to quinidine was associated with improved conversion rates regardless of breed even though AF duration was unknown in most horses. Ethical animal research: Research ethics committee oversight not currently required by this conference: retrospective study of clinical records. Explicit owner informed consent for inclusion of animals in this study was not stated.

SOURCE OF FUNDING
None. Competing interests: None declared.


The gas-deficient dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies present an evolutionary puzzle that we explore in 40 early-type and late-type dwarfs in the Local Group and nearby field. Although dSph's experienced star formation over extended time spans in their youths, today all but one are completely free of detectable interstellar material, even in the Fornax dSph, where stars formed in the last 100 Myr. Combining photometric and spectroscopic stellar metallicity estimates for red giant branches with high-sensitivity H I 21 cm line data from the literature, we show that the well-established offset in luminosity-metallicity relationships for dSph's and dwarf irregular (dIrr) galaxies exists also when confining the comparison to their old stellar populations: dSph's have higher mean stellar metallicities for a fixed optical luminosity. Evidently star formation in younger dSph's was more vigorous than in the youthful dIrr's, leading to more efficient enrichment. Dwarf galaxies, whose locus in the luminosity-metallicity diagram is consistent with that of dSph's, even when baryonic luminosities are considered, are the "transition-type dwarfs" Phoenix, DDO 210, LGS 3, Antlia, and KKR 25. These dwarfs have mixed dIrr/dSph morphologies, low stellar masses, low angular momentum, and H I contents of at most a few 106 M⊙. Unlike dIrr's many transition-type dwarfs would closely resemble dSph's if their gas were removed, as required to become a dSph; they are likely dSph progenitors. As gas removal is the key factor for such a transition, we consider the empirical evidence in favor and against various gas removal processes. We suggest that internal gas removal mechanisms are inadequate and favor ram-pressure stripping to clean the bulk of interstellar matter from galaxies to make dSph's. A combination of initial conditions and environment seems to support the formation of dSph's: nearby dSph's appear to form from small galaxies with active early star formation, whose evolution halts due to externally induced gas loss. Transition-type dwarfs, then, are dSph's that kept their interstellar medium and therefore should replace dSph's in isolated locations where stripping is ineffective.


Primary cardiac sarcomas are rare instances and only occasionally documented in the cytologic literature. Usually, the diagnosis of these rare lesions can be made at echocardiography, aspiration biopsy cytology, cardiac biopsy, and open cardiac surgery (intraoperative diagnosis). In this study, cytologic configurations and immunohistochemistry for 3 primary cardiac sarcomas (rhabdomyosarcoma, angiosarcoma, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma) were revealed. In rhabdomyosarcoma (right ventricle), the tumor cells exhibited an anisocytotic spindle-shaped nuclei with hyperchromasia and an obscure cytoplasmic margin. Vimentin and myosin were positive throughout the cytoplasm for the tumor cells. In angiosarcoma (right atrium), small clusters of anisocytotic spindle-shaped tumor cells appeared as vascular-like structures and hemosiderin-laden macrophages in many erythrocyte-rich backgrounds. Nuclei showed round to oval shape with hyperchromasia and prominent large nucleoli. Cytoplasm was obscure and elongated. Factor VIII related antigen and CD34 were strongly positive throughout the cytoplasm for the tumor cells. In malignant fibrous histiocytoma (right ventricle), the tumor cells exhibited oval to spindle-shaped and elongated nuclei and coarse granular chromatins with hyperchromasia. The nuclear margin was thin. A few small round nucleoli appeared. Elongated obscure and foamy cytoplasm was stained pale blue. Vimentin and α1-antitrypsin were positive throughout the cytoplasm for the tumor cells. This study elucidated the cellular characteristics and immunohistochemistry for cardiac sarcomas using imprint smears as an aid to cytopathologic diagnosis.


This study addresses the support provided by class staff in order to facilitate social participation of pupils with Down syndrome and peers in regular classes, and how they experience the interaction between the pupils. Data were collected through field observations of six pupils with Down syndrome in their class in mainstream schools, their six teachers and teachers' assistants. Qualitative interviews were conducted with the teachers and teachers' assistants. The analysis showed different support strategies, implying both environmental adaptations and individual support in order to facilitate peer interaction. A major finding was the role of the 'supported ego', mainly provided by teachers' assistants. This role accommodated to the differences between the pupils, by compensating for the cognitive difficulties (i.e., perceptions, understanding and agency) of the pupils with Down syndrome. We concluded that class staff strived to keep the class as one unit by creating opportunities for participation for all the pupils through different strategies depending on their role and responsibility.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the usefulness of current diagnostic criteria in the understanding of neonatal respiratory distress in a tertiary care hospital.

METHODS
We prospectively studied 2824 consecutive deliveries to determine the frequency of respiratory disorders of all types. We used definitions based on standard texts, with borderline cases being classified as having the disease in question.

RESULTS
Somewhat less than half of all symptomatic infants met textbook criteria for a respiratory diagnosis. Of this subset, the most common diagnosis was respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), followed by transient tachypnea of newborn (TTN), meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), pneumonia and others. The 323 infants who fit no standard diagnosis all had self-limited conditions similar to TTN. Most (52%) were well in less than 12 hours. Those still symptomatic after 12 hours differed from the definition of TTN by having a clear chest film (38%) and/or by requiring mechanical ventilation (10%). A slight revision of the traditional diagnostic criteria allowed classification of all these cases.

CONCLUSION
More than 50% of newborns with acute respiratory symptoms do not fit textbook definitions, even broad definitions which include borderline cases. The concept of TTN should be expanded to include cases with a normal chest film. In addition, we suggest adding the category "transient respiratory insufficiency of the newbom" (TRIN) for babies ventilated briefly but not demonstrably surfactant deficient or infected. This category probably includes infants with many contributing etiologies.


Introduction/Background Breast cancer is a situation that not only affects health but can also affect femininity. taking into account the case, it is feasible to use inconspicuous approaches in conservative surgery for breast cancer. Methodology We present different approaches for breast conserving surgery: lateral, periareolar, inframmamary fold, axillary, an other situations according to the breat shape, volume and the tumor location and volume. Results We present different clinical presentations performing less visible approaches in oncological breast surgery. The tumor location and approach, were as follow: Lower pole: inframammary fold. Upper pole: peri or para areolar approach. Near external quadrants: lateral, axillary or external approach of the inframmamary fold. Conclusion Using this technques, an oncoplastic result was achieve, with the aim of a better wellness in operated patients with breast cancer. Disclosure Nothing to disclose.


Synthetic polymers such as plastics exhibit numerous advantageous properties that have made them essential components of our daily lives, with plastic production doubling every 15 years. The relatively low cost of petroleum-based polymers encourages their single use and overconsumption. Synthetic plastics are recalcitrant to biodegradation, and mismanagement of plastic waste leads to their accumulation in the ecosystem, resulting in a disastrous environmental footprint. Enzymes capable of depolymerizing plastics have been reported recently that may provide a starting point for eco-friendly plastic recycling routes. However, some questions remain about the mechanisms by which enzymes can digest insoluble solid substrates. We review the characterization and engineering of plastic-eating enzymes and provide some comparisons with the field of lignocellulosic biomass valorization. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Volume 13 is October 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Objective To investigate potential abnormalities in subcortical brain structures in conversion disorder (CD) compared with controls using a region of interest (ROI) approach. Methods Fourteen patients with motor CD were compared with 31 healthy controls using high-resolution MRI scans with an ROI approach focusing on the basal ganglia, thalamus and amygdala. Brain volumes were measured using Freesurfer, a validated segmentation algorithm. Results Significantly smaller left thalamic volumes were found in patients compared with controls when corrected for intracranial volume. These reductions did not vary with handedness, laterality, duration or severity of symptoms. Conclusions These differences may reflect a primary disease process in this area or be secondary effects of the disorder, for example, resulting from limb disuse. Larger, longitudinal structural imaging studies will be required to confirm the findings and explore whether they are primary or secondary to CD.


In adult neurogenesis young neurons connect to the existing network via formation of thousands of new synapses. At early developmental stages, glutamatergic synapses are sparse, immature and functionally 'silent', expressing mainly NMDA receptors. Here we show in 2- to 3-week-old young neurons of adult mice, that brief-burst activity in glutamatergic fibers is sufficient to induce postsynaptic AP firing in the absence of AMPA receptors. The enhanced excitability of the young neurons lead to efficient temporal summation of small NMDA currents, dynamic unblocking of silent synapses and NMDA-receptor-dependent AP firing. Therefore, early synaptic inputs are powerfully converted into reliable spiking output. Furthermore, due to high synaptic gain, small dendritic trees and sparse connectivity, neighboring young neurons are activated by different distinct subsets of afferent fibers with minimal overlap. Taken together, synaptic recruitment of young neurons generates sparse and orthogonal AP firing, which may support sparse coding during hippocampal information processing.


The effect of BCG on the development of cell-mediated cytotoxicity (CMC) in the spleens of allogeneic tumor-bearing female (C57BL/6Jfemale x A/Jmale)F1 mice was studied. BCG-treated tumor-bearing animals elicited a stronger CMC response than did the untreated tumor-bearing animals. Furthermore, the degree of activation was dependent on the time, route of injection, and dose of BCG. Therefore, if the BCG was administered at suboptimal conditions, a less marked stimulation of the CMC resulted. A combination of a high BCG dose given iv 12 days before implant of P815 tumor cells and a low, second dose given at the time of implant produced the most marked activation of the CMC response. By the use of in vitro technique, the specific CMC was mediated mostly by T-cells, with macrophages making a less significant contribution.


Previous examinations of search under camouflage conditions have reported that performance improves with training and that training can engender near perfect transfer to similar, but novel camouflage-type displays [1]. What remains unclear, however, are the cognitive mechanisms underlying these training improvements and transfer benefits. On the one hand, improvements and transfer benefits might be associated with higher-level overt strategy shifts, such as through the restriction of eye movements to target-likely (background) display regions. On the other hand, improvements and benefits might be related to the tuning of lower-level perceptual processes, such as figure-ground segregation. To decouple these competing possibilities we had one group of participants train on camouflage search displays and a control group train on non-camouflage displays. Critically, search displays were rapidly presented, precluding eye movements. Before and following training, all participants completed transfer sessions in which they searched novel displays. We found that search performance on camouflage displays improved with training. Furthermore, participants who trained on camouflage displays suffered no performance costs when searching novel displays following training. Our findings suggest that training to break camouflage is related to the tuning of perceptual mechanisms and not strategic shifts in overt attention.


This study investigated beta-casomorphin 7 (BCM7) in yogurt by means of LC-tandem MS (MS/MS) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and use LC-MS/MS as the "gold standard" method to evaluate the applicability of a commercial ELISA. The level of BCM7 in milk obtained from ELISA analysis was much lower than that obtained by LC-MS/MS analysis and trended to increase during fermentation and storage of yogurt. Meanwhile, the results obtained from LC-MS/MS showed that BCM7 degraded during stages of yogurt processing, and its degradation may have been caused by X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase activity. As a result, the commercial sandwich ELISA kit was not suitable for the quantification of BCM7 in fermented dairy milk.


Rivers and Jones (1993) reported the locations of 21 place names in the upper San Antonio Valley and adjacent coast of Monterey County, California, that were noted by Salinan speakers in John Peabody Harrington's field notes from 1922 to 1932. Surface reconnaissance and review of recently completed archaeological survey reports have led to the identification of 11 additional Salinan places in the upper San Antonio Valley and refinement in the location of three others. Archaeological sites in the vicinity of named places tentatively suggest that Salinan settlements are marked by clusters of small middens and bedrock mortars.


The adrenocortical and hyperglycemic responses to hysterectomy were studied in five groups of patients receiving: general anesthesia (group I), general anesthesia + epidural analgesia extending from Th10-S5 (group II), general anesthesia + epidural analgesia extending from Th8-S4--5 (group III), general anesthesia + epidural analgesia extending from Th4--6-S5 (group IV) and epidural analgesia extending from Th4-S5 without general anesthesia (group V). The results showed that the cortisol response was abolished in group V, inhibited in group IV and normal in groups II and III. The hyperglycemic response to surgery was inhibited in groups II, III and IV, and abolished in group V. Epidural analgesia from Th4 to S5, preventing the adrenocortical and hyperglycemic responses to hysterectomy, and possibly also inhibiting other components of the endocrine-metabolic response to surgery, may have important applications in further studies of the physiologic significance of the endocrine-metabolic response to surgery.


The discussion about the use of information and communication technology within the educational field must focus upon the pedagogical problem. Before we define which is the best equipment or software to be used, we should ask ourselves: What, effectively, theses technologies, embodied mainly in the computer, bring as an advance qualitatively superior for the teachinglearning process? It is necessary to analyze the transmitter behavior face to the transmission of the contents and the levels of intervention of the student in the reception, production and circulation of knowledge so that we can have a factual idea of such technologies reach in the educational field.


Stable Isotope Labeling by Amino Acids (SILAC) is a commonly used method in quantitative proteomics. Because of compatibility with trypsin digestion, arginine and lysine are the most widely used amino acids for SILAC labeling. We observed that Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast) cannot be labeled with a specific form of arginine, 13C615N4-arginine (Arg-10), which limits the exploitation of SILAC technology in this model organism. We hypothesized that in the fission yeast the guanidinium group of 13C615N4-arginine is catabolized by arginase and urease activity to 15N1-labeled ammonia that is used as a precursor for general amino acid biosynthesis. We show that disruption of Ni2+-dependent urease activity, through deletion of the sole Ni2+ transporter Nic1, blocks this recycling in ammonium-supplemented EMMG medium to enable 13C615N4-arginine labeling for SILAC strategies in S. pombe. Finally, we employed Arg-10 in a triple-SILAC experiment to perform quantitative comparison of G1 + S, M, and G2 cell cycle phases in S. pombe.


The nitrite reaction of Griess1has been used fairly extensively for testing of the purity of water supplies. The test is based on the demonstration of nitrite produced in contaminated water through the reduction by bacteria of nitrate naturally present in the water. In the field of microbiology, the nitrite reaction is an accepted procedure for the study of nitrite-forming bacteria grown on culture mediums to which nitrate has been added. The reaction consists of the development of a red color in the presence of nitrite by addition of an acidic sulfanilic acid-α-naphthylamine reagent. The reaction is highly sensitive and results in the formation of azo-α-aminonaphthalene-parabenzene-sulfonic acid.2The formula of the color compound is given below. The nitrite reaction was discovered in 1879 by Griess, a German chemist, who employed a reagent consisting of sulfanilic acid and α-naphthylamine in dilute sulfuric acid. In his first publication Griess reported


A pulse shape analysis technique was implemented to determine the electron mobility /spl mu//sub e/ and the electron mobility lifetime product /spl mu//sub e//spl tau//sub e/ in cadmium zinc telluride detectors (CZT). The digital gamma finder (DGF-4C) a single-width CAMAC module produced by X-Ray Instrumentation Associates (XIA), was used to extract pulse height, pulse shape, and signal rise time information. Data analyses using the extracted information allowed measuring the /spl mu//sub e/ and /spl mu//sub e//spl tau//sub e/ in selected CZT samples. An almost linear relationship was observed for the signal rise time as a function of the inverse bias. This observed linear relationship was the basis for determination of /spl mu//sub e/ using a simple linear fit. The measured signal amplitude was also used to determine /spl mu//sub e//spl tau//sub e/ using the Hecht formulation. Repeated measurements confirmed the consistency of the method in determining /spl mu//sub e/ and /spl mu//sub e//spl tau//sub e/.


During the colonial and postcolonial periods, African states, including Tanzania, introduced detention without trial and deportation of some people as a strategy for maintaining peace and security. The assumption was that detainees and deportees threatened peace in their respective areas, that their detention and deportation would bring peace and stability, and that eventually they would change their behaviour and become good citizens. To respond to this perceived threat, the colonial and postcolonial governments enacted laws at different intervals from the 1920s to the 1990s. Several people were detained and deported in Tanzania under these laws. Using archival sources, documentary review, newspapers and oral information, this article examines the extent to which detention and deportation helped to maintain peace and security as well as change the behaviours of those who were detained and deported among the Kuria in Tanzania. It argues that the detention and deportation strategy created a peaceful environment temporarily but rarely changed the behaviour of the deportees and detainees. Unlike other places where detention and deportation were used to silence political elites who opposed the existing regimes, the detention and deportation strategy among the Kuria mainly targeted notorious cattle raiders whose undertakings instigated inter-clan conflicts.
'Tunakuweka Kizuizini kwa Usalama wako na Usalama wa Taifa'
(We detain you for your security and the security of the nation)


Mice are common models for the study of mammalian wound healing. However, the array of available phenotypes suggests that significant differences likely exist in the normal wound healing response between different mouse strains. It is therefore essential to understand the normal healing response for each mouse strain, anatomic site, and mechanism of injury when investigating the potential effects of therapeutic interventions upon the healing response. The objective of the present study was to characterize and compare the morphologic changes that occur in both the MRL/MpJ and C57bl/6 mice strains during the first 14 days following amputation at the midpoint of the second phalanx. Our results identify noticeable temporal and spatial differences between the two strains, particularly in the expression of CD34+ and CD133+ progenitor cells, the re-epithelialization of the wound and deposition of type I and type III collagen. Unlike other selected tissues in which MRL/MpJ mice demonstrate a capacity to completely regenerate lost tissue, the responses observed in this model of digit healing did not translate into a greater capacity to regenerate lost structures. Both mouse strains show a similar healing response by day 14.


Glioblastoma is a highly aggressive cancer associated with a dismal prognosis, with a mere 5% of patients surviving beyond five years post-diagnosis. Current therapeutic modalities encompass surgical intervention, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICB). However, the efficacy of ICB remains limited in glioblastoma patients, necessitating a proactive approach to anticipate treatment response and resistance. In this comprehensive study, we conducted a rigorous analysis involving two distinct glioblastoma patient cohorts subjected to PD-1 blockade treatments. Our investigation unveiled that a significant portion, 60%, of patients exhibit persistent disease progression despite ICB intervention. To elucidate the underpinnings of resistance, we characterized the immune profiles of glioblastoma patients with continued cancer progression following anti-PD1 therapy. These profiles revealed multifaceted defects, encompassing compromised macrophage, monocyte, and T follicular helper responses, impaired antigen presentation, aberrant regulatory T cell (Tregs) responses, and heightened expression of immunosuppressive molecules (TGFB, IL2RA, and CD276). Building upon these resistance profiles, we leveraged cutting-edge machine learning algorithms to develop predictive models and accompanying software. This innovative computational tool achieved remarkable success, accurately forecasting the progression status of 82.82% of glioblastoma patients following ICB, based on their unique immune characteristics. In conclusion, our pioneering approach advocates for the personalization of immunotherapy in glioblastoma patients. By harnessing patient-specific attributes and computational predictions, we offer a promising avenue for the enhancement of clinical outcomes in the realm of immunotherapy. This paradigm shift towards tailored therapies underscores the potential to revolutionize the management of glioblastoma, opening new horizons for improved patient care.


Gene expression profiling has been widely used as a tool to characterize genome-wide changes in expression level in various cancers. Expression profiling is generally used to identify specific genes with altered expression or to identify patterns that distinguish cancer subtypes. More recently, several approaches to use expression data to identify interactions between genes or build cancer-specific networks have been described. We have previously demonstrated that cross-species gene expression analysis can be used as a tool to identify oncogene-specific alterations in gene expression. Cross-species analysis is useful for this because it allows for filtering of noise inherent in human gene expression analysis. The identification of an oncogenic Kras-specific gene expression signature was accomplished using this approach. A central focus of our laboratory has been to use this and other oncogene-specific signatures to identify new critical downstream pathways necessary for oncogene function. Using several computational approaches, we identified several upstream transcriptional regulators of our previously identified oncogenic Kras signature. We hypothesized that some of the transcriptional regulators represent specific dependencies that are required for Kras to function as an oncogene. Thus, inhibition of the transcription factors could uncover novel synthetic lethal interactions specific for cells that express oncogenic Kras. Using an shRNA pooled library, we have confirmed one such synthetic lethal interaction betweeen oncogenic Kras and the Wilms-tumor 1 (Wt1), a gene known to function as a tumor suppressor in some contexts. Loss of Wt1 induces senescence in primary cells expressing oncogenic Kras. Human non-small cell lung cancer cells expressing oncogenic Kras also become senescent when Wt1 is knocked-down using shRNA. Thus, synthetic senescence is induced on Wt1 loss in oncogenic Kras expressing cells. A role for Wt1 in Kras-driven oncogenesis was further confirmed using a mouse model for lung cancer in which a mouse carrying a conditional Kras allele was crossed a mouse carrying an allelel that allows for conditional deletion of Wt1. The biological signficance of this intereation was further demonstrated by using a "Wt1 "high" or "Wt1 low" signature to classify human NSCLC gene expression profiles. This allowed us to determine that human tumor samples that express oncogenic Kras and express high levels of Wt1-regulated genes have a worse prognosis compared to samples expressing oncogenic Kras but having low low level of Wt1-regulated genes. In human NSCLC cell lines, loss of Wt1 leads to significant upregulation of the cell cycle regulator p21. Wt1 appears to regulate p21 levels posttranscriptionally, as p21 mRNA levels did not change. Further studies to elucidate the mechanisms leading to p21 upregulation upon Wt1 loss are underway and preliminary results will be discussed. To take these studies further, we began by generating a more refined Kras-specific signature using FACs-sorted tumor cells from the LSL-KrasG12D mouse model crossed to a fluorescent reporter. We have used this mouse-generated Kras signature for cross-species analysis using a much larger NSCLC dataset than was possible in our previously published studies. We then applied the ARACNE algorithm to identify transcription factors that regulate this Kras-signature. Using this approach, we have identified other transcription factors that are potential regulators of oncogenic Kras. The fact that Wt1 once again was identified as a regulator of oncogenic Kras using this novel method suggests the validity of this approach. Preliminary results testing the functional significance of these transcription factors for Kras-driven oncogenesis will be discussed. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr SY01-03. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-SY01-03


The theory of the three-phase to three-phase matrix converter is dealt with and its switching angles equations are presented. Matrix converter operation is based on the calculated switching angles. Modelling and numerical simulations of converter loaded with passive (R, L) and active (induction motor) loads are performed. Simulation results are presented.


At the residential level, devices which are in place now and expected in the future have the ability to provide reactive power support. Inverters which connect distributed generation such as solar panels and pluggable hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to the grid are an example. Such devices are not currently utilized by the power system. We investigate the integration of these end-user reactive-power-capable devices to provide voltage support to the grid via a secure communications infrastructure. We show how to determine effective locations in the transmission system and how to control reactive power resources at those locations. We also discuss how to determine reactive support groups which parallel the regions of the secure communications architecture that is presented. Ultimately, our goal is to present how the Smart Grid can allow the utilization of available end-user devices as a resource to mitigate power system problems such as voltage collapse.


The dielectric films consisted of the barium titanate (BaTiO3) powder particle and the polymer were fabricated using the sodium chloride (NaCl)-flux treatment to investigate the effect of the molten salt on the dielectric properties of the BaTiO3 particles. The BaTiO3 particles for the NaCl-flux treatment were prepared by calcining the mixture of the BaTiO3 and the NaCl at the various temperatures. The NaCl-flux treated BaTiO3 particles showed the smooth surface and high crystallinity compared to the non-treated BaTiO3 particles, because the BaTiO3 particles were recrystallized by NaCl-flux treatment. In addition, high dielectric performances of a 20% increase in the dielectric constant, a 40% decrease in the dielectric loss, and a 280% increase in the dielectric strength were achieved. The dielectric films of the NaCl-flux treated BaTiO3 particles could induce the high dielectric performances due to the improvement of the crystallinity with highly packing density.


Introduction: Automotive Gas Station's (AGS) workers are exposed to risks such as chemicals, physical risks, explosions and violence. Gas Stations are also on rivers, lakes and oceans, in boats without propulsion, classified by the National Petroleum Agency (NPA) as Floating Gas Stations (FGS). The Amazon region concentrates 95.0% of the FGS in Brazil, and they are fundamental for the transportation of people, cargo and services. Objective: Intervene in the risks associated with the health of FGS's workers, through an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional approach. Method: The study is qualitative and the methodology is an intervention research with the use of adapted checklist and interviews. Results: Specificities of FGS, irregularities found, worker's interviews and measures to mitigate the risks are described. Certain irregularities are similar to those reported for the AGS, added to others resulted from the specificities of the FGS. Precarious environments, conditions and work processes were found and there were reports of complaints related to benzene intoxication. Conclusions: AGS have been the subject of research and interventions, but there are no publications about FGS, specific legislation and actions to minimize the risks. The study generated collective learning and institutional cooperation to protect and improve workers' quality of life.


Spontaneous mutations that perturb myelination occur in a range of species including man, and together with engineered mutations have been used to study disease, normal myelination and axon/glial inter‐relationships. Only a minority of the currently defined mutations have an apparently simple pathogenesis due to lack of a functional protein. Mutations in the myelin basic protein gene lead to a lack of protein, resulting in changes in the structure of myelin, which can be rescued by transgenic complementation. The pathogenesis of autosomal dominant and X‐linked mutations affecting either oligodendrocytes or Schwann cells is more complex. Point mutations may act in a dominant negative manner and gene dosage is clearly linked to phenotypic change. Mutations in regulatory genes, such as those encoding transcription factors, can also disturb myelination by selected cell types. Other less‐well studied and unexpected consequences of myelin mutations, such as seizures in mutations affecting genes expressed in Schwann cells and axonal changes associated with dysmyelination, are also considered. With the major developments in gene mapping and cloning it is now relevant to study mutations in a variety of species with the real prospect of defining their molecular basis. Examples are given of unusual, but potentially useful, uncharacterised mutations in dog and bovine.


The removal performance and mechanism of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution was studied for a novel micro-nano particle kraft lignin biochar (BC) pyrolyzed at 400 to 700 °C. The physicochemical properties of BC were determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results illustrated that the BC had irregular microand nanoparticles with abundant pore structure and high BET surface area (111.1 m/g). The FTIR results showed that the lower pyrolysis temperature resulted in more oxygen-containing functional groups. The Cr(VI) adsorption capacity decreased with the pyrolysis temperature increasing from 400 to 700 °C, and the maximum percentage removal of Cr(VI) for BC obtained at 400 °C was 100% at pH 2, which suggested that the removal efficiency was mainly dependent on functional groups. Kinetic analysis demonstrated that Cr(VI) adsorption on BC fit well to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption data was well fitted with the Langmuir isotherm models, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 37.2 mg/g at 298K. The BC could be reused twice with Cr(VI) removal of 63.91% and was suitable for Cr(VI) contaminated waste-water treatment.


Abstract. Recent studies have shown that organic aerosol (OA) could have a nontrivial
role in atmospheric light absorption at shorter visible wavelengths. Good
estimates of OA light absorption are therefore necessary to better estimate
radiative forcing due to these aerosols in climate models. One of the common
techniques used to measure OA light absorption is the solvent extraction
technique from filter samples which involves the use of a spectrophotometer
to measure bulk absorbance by the solvent-soluble organic fraction of
particulate matter. Measured solvent-phase absorbance is subsequently
converted to particle-phase absorption coefficient using scaling factors.
The conventional view is to apply a correction factor of 2 to absorption
coefficients obtained from solvent-extracted OA based on Mie calculations.
The appropriate scaling factors are a function of biases due to incomplete
extraction of organic carbon (OC) by solvents and size-dependent absorption properties of OA.
The range for these biases along with their potential dependence on burn
conditions is an unexplored area of research. Here, we performed a comprehensive laboratory study involving three solvents
(water, methanol, and acetone) to investigate the bias in absorption
coefficients obtained from solvent-extraction-based photometry techniques as
compared to in situ particle-phase absorption for freshly emitted OA from
biomass burning. We correlated the bias with OC∕TC (total carbon) mass ratio and single
scattering albedo (SSA) and observed that the conventionally used correction
factor of 2 for water and methanol-extracted OA might not be extensible to
all systems, and we suggest caution while using such correction factors to
estimate particle-phase OA absorption coefficients. Furthermore, a linear
correlation between SSA and the OC∕TC ratio was also established. Finally, from
the spectroscopic data, we analyzed the differences in absorption
Ångström exponents (AÅE) obtained from solution- and
particulate-phase measurements. We noted that AÅE from
solvent-phase measurements could deviate significantly from their OA
counterparts.


While block cipher design is relatively mature, advances in computational power mean that the keylength of block ciphers, upon which the security relies entirely, becomes less resistant to cryptanalysis over time. Therefore, the security for a block cipher with a particular keylength typically is seen to last for at most some decades. One common approach to strengthen a block cipher's security is based on increasing its keylength. In the literature, two strategies have emerged: multiple keyed multiple encryption and multiple keyed XOR sandwiching. Known attacks on these such as Meet-in-the-Middle(Merkle and Hellman, 1981; van Oorschot and Wiener, 1991; Lucks, 1998) and Related-Key (J. Kelsey and Wagner, 1996; Choi et al., 1996; Vaudenay, 2011; Phan, 2004) attacks, show that Triple Encryption is significantly weaker than a brute-force attack would suggest, especially for block ciphers with small keys, such as the Data Encryption Standard (DES). This paper provides a comprehensive analysis on the security of the XOR sandwiching paradigm against known attacks for the case of multiple keyed triple encryption, without loss of generality, using DES as the underlying block cipher. In particular, we focus on DES-XEXEXEX variants, based on 2-Key and 3-Key Triple-DES, which involve performing the XOR for key-whitening before and after each encryption with an additional 64-bit key. One of the conclusions to be drawn from this work is the increased strength obtained from the XOR sandwiching paradigm while requiring little in terms of additional computational resources.


Outbreaks of short beak dwarf syndrome caused by novel goose parvovirus (NGPV) have been prevalent in China since 2015, resulting in a high mortality rate of ducks. Herein we evaluated differences between two NGPV strains: Muscovy duck-origin (AH190917-RP: MD17) and Cherry Valley duck-origin (JS191021-RP: CVD21) NGPV. Both of them showed certain level of pathogenicity to primary duck embryo fibroblasts, Cherry Valley duck embryos and ducklings. CVD21 showed comparatively stronger pathogenicity than MD17. Only CVD21 caused obvious cytopathic effect (CPE), characterized by cell shedding; further, the virus titer of MD17 and CVD21 was 102.571 ELD50 (i.e., median embryo lethal dose)/0.2 mL and 106.156 ELD50 /0.2 mL, respectively, and the mortality rate of CVD21- and MD17-infected Cherry Valley ducklings was 100% and 80%, respectively. In addition, CVD21 had a greater influence on the growth and development of ducklings. Futhermore, we found that MD17 could infect Muscovy duck embryos and produce lesions similar to Cherry Valley duck embryos, but it could not infect Muscovy duck embryo fibroblasts (MDEFs,) and Muscovy ducklings. MDV21 had no infection to MDEFs, Muscovy duck embryo and Muscovy ducklings. We then sequenced the complete genome of the two isolates to enable genomic characterization. The complete genome of MD17 and CVD21 was 5,046 and 5,050 nucleotides in length, respectively. Nucleotide alignment, amino acid analysis, and phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that MD17 showed higher homology to goose parvovirus (GPV), while CVD21 demonstrated stronger similarity with NGPV. Moreover, the two isolates shared 95.8% homology, with encoded proteins showing multiple amino acid variations. Our findings indicate that Muscovy ducks seem to have played a crucial role in the evolution of GPV to NGPV. We believe that our data should serve as a foundation for further studying the genetic evolution of waterfowl parvoviruses and their pathogenic mechanisms. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The rural market of India is fascinating and challenging at the same time. It offers large scope on account of its sheer size. And, it is growing steadily. Even a modest growth pushes up the sales of a product substantially, in view of the huge base. It is attractive from yet another angle. Whereas the urban market is highly competitive, the rural market is relatively quiet. In fact, for certain products, it is a totally virgin market. Simultaneously, the market also poses several problems and hurdles. The firms have to encounter them squarely and put in a great deal of effort, if they have to get a sizeable share of the market. Efforts to capture the market with due thought and focus on the constraints with streamlined strategies to overcome the same will tend to define the path ahead for rural marketing in India.


Discusses some misconceptions concerning the status and significance of specific heat in black-body radiation in equilibrium. An extension list of references is provided to indicate the various positions adopted by different authors on this issue. The way in which simple mathematical manipulation of thermodynamic formulae may lead to unphysical results for radiation in equilibrium is indicated and a consistent derivation and interpretation of the specific heat for black-body radiation is presented.


Climate change, like many other pressing issues in today's society, is being scrutinized by the linguistic community as well under the subcategory of Eco linguistics. In this context, the present study tries to illuminate this new field by critically or Eco linguistically analyzing Greta Thunberg's most recent (selected) speech. In particular, by using the theoretical framework given by Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional discourse model, the study analyzes the way how Greta draws on different linguistic devices or adopts highly selected use of language to convey an ecologically beneficial perspective and ideology. It also examines the use of figures of speech in her speech and it explores how the selection is made for conveying an ecologically beneficial perspective. The findings revealed her careful selection of vocabulary items, use of direct and dominant language, extensive use of metaphors, ironic expressions and lack of euphemistic expressions. Besides that, her use of conjunctions adheres to coherence, her inductive style of argumentation focuses on reasoning. The findings showed the use of transitions throughout her speech between pessimistic and optimistic expressions. The result presented that her manipulation through the use of sensitive and emotionally triggered words have influenced people to a great deal to the point of shaping their distinct ideology regarding climate change and thus to pursue an agenda based on action. The study also provides implications to develop understanding of climate related discourses as it stresses the role which language or linguistics play in encouraging and influencing people to safeguard the systems that sustain life.


ABSTRACT The glycoprotein (g) complex gH/gL represents an essential part of the herpesvirus fusion machinery mediating entry of cell-free virions and cell-associated viral spread. In some herpesviruses additional proteins are associated with gH/gL contributing to the cell tropism of the respective virus. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) gH/gL forms complexes with either gO (UL74) or proteins of the UL128-131A gene locus. While a contribution of UL128-131A to endothelial cell tropism is known, the role of gO is less clear. We studied the role of gH/gL-associated proteins in HCMV replication in human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Deletions of UL74 alone or in combination with mutations of the UL128-131A gene region were introduced into bacterial artificial chromosome vectors derived from the endotheliotropic strain TB40/E. Deletion of UL74 caused a profound defect regarding virus release from infected HFF and HUVEC. Large numbers of capsids accumulated in the cytoplasm of infected HFF but failed to acquire an envelope. Clear cell type differences were observed in the cell-associated spread of the UL74-defective virus. In HFF, focal growth was severely impaired, whereas it was normal in HUVEC. Deletion of UL131A abolished focal growth in endothelial cells. UL74/UL128-131A dual mutants showed severely impaired reconstitution efficiency. Our data suggest that gO plays a critical role in secondary envelopment and release of cell-free virions independent of the cell type but affects cell-associated growth specifically in HFF, whereas UL128-131A contributes to cell-associated spread in HFF and HUVEC.


OBJECTIVE
To construct the adenoviral vector containing human Bcl-2 gene and to study the expression of the gene in the spiral ganglion cells (SGC) in vitro.

METHODS
Human Bcl-2 cDNA obtained from the plasmid pUC-CAGGS/Bcl-2 was cloned into the plasmid pAdTrack-CMV. Then, pAdTrack/Bcl-2 was cotransferred with adenoviral backbone vector into E. coli strain BJ5183. The recombinant adenoviral plasmid was identified by restriction analysis with Pac I and transfected into HEK293 cells to package and amplify recombinant adenovirus particles which would be identified by Electron microscope. After the adenovirus infected the rat spiral ganglion cells, the expression of Bcl-2 gene was detected by Western Blot and RT-PCR.

RESULTS
The recombinant AdEGFP/Bcl-2 plasmid was correctly constructed and confirmed by restriction endonuclease analysis. The viral particles in HEK293 cells were identified by Electron microscope. RT-PCR and Western blot showed that Bcl-2 gene was exactly transcripted and expressed in transgene SGC.

CONCLUSIONS
The method based on homologous recombination in bacteria is simple and high efficient. The recombinant adenoviral vector containing human Bcl-2 cDNA was constructed and the transgene SGC expressed human Bcl-2 gene in vitro successfully. It provided foundation for the further study of protection for the impaired SGC by hBcl-2 gene.


In this paper, we proposed a voltage scaling technique with multiple supply voltages for low-power designs. We considered the path sensitization as well as releasing the clustering constraint applied in the CVS (Clustered Voltage Scaling) technique. Our technique operates the gates with the lowest feasible supply voltages and then uses an existing path selection algorithm for optimization. Experiments are conducted on the ISCAS85 benchmarks and the results show that about 20% power on average can be further reduced by our technique in comparison with the CVS technique.


Peat is a neglected and viable energy resource for the Atlantic coastal states. Russia, Finland, and Ireland are now producing electricity from peat-fired plants. The coastal states have peat deposits that could be used for the production of energy on a variety of scales. In North Carolina plans are underway for the construction of a 120-MW electrical plant and for the mining of peat to be used as fuel for local industries. The coastal states probably have about 5 billion tons of moisture-free peat representing about 100 quads of energy. The U.S. Department of Energy has a program that is currently reevaluating the peat resources of the country. In the coastal states peat has accumulated in the past 10,000 years in swampy depressions of a variety of origins: (1) depressions associated with glaciation, (2) depressions on the younger coastal terraces, (3) stream backswamps, (4) Carolina bays, and (5) tidal marshes. The largest and purest deposits are in the coastal terrace swamps in the Everglades of Florida, the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia, the Albemarle-Pamlico swamps of North Carolina, and the Dismal Swamp of North Carolina and Virginia; but all coastal states have some deposits. A typical, high-quality southern peat is highly decomposed and contains 85 to 90% water, 5% ash, 0.2% sulfur, and 10,000 Btu/lb on a moisture-free basis. The northern peats are more fibrous and have a slightly lower heating value. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1664------------


We generalize Roe's index theorem for graded generalized Dirac operators on amenable manifolds to multigraded elliptic uniform pseudodifferential operators.
This generalization will follow as a corollary from a local index theorem that is valid on any manifold of bounded geometry. This local formula incorporates the uniform estimates that are present in the definition of our class of pseudodifferential operators which is more general than similar classes defined by other authors.
We will revisit Spakula's uniform K-homology and show that multigraded elliptic uniform pseudodifferential operators naturally define classes in it. For this we will investigate uniform K-homology more closely, e.g., construct the external product and show invariance under weak homotopies. The latter will be used to refine and extend Spakula's results about the rough Baum-Connes assembly map.
We will identify the dual theory of uniform K-homology. We will give a simple definition of uniform K-theory for all metric spaces and in the case of manifolds of bounded geometry we will give an interpretation of it via vector bundles of bounded geometry. Using a version of Mayer-Vietoris induction that is adapted to our needs, we will prove Poincare duality between uniform K-theory and uniform K-homology for spin-c manifolds of bounded geometry.
We will construct Chern characters from uniform K-theory to bounded de Rham cohomology and from uniform K-homology to uniform de Rham homology. Using the adapted Mayer-Vietoris induction we will also show that these Chern characters induce isomorphisms modulo torsion.


The structure of farms, farm households, and the rural communities in which they exist has evolved markedly over the last century. Historical data on a range of farm structure variables—including the value of agricultural production, commodity specialization, farming-dependent counties, and off-farm work—offer a perspective on the long-term forces that have helped shape the structure of agriculture and rural life over the past century. These forces include productivity growth, the increasing importance of national and global markets, and the rising influence of consumers on agricultural production. Within this long-term context of structural change, a review of some key developments in farm policy considers the extent to which farm policy design has or has not kept pace with the continuing transformation of American agriculture.


In silico methods for immune epitope prediction have become essential for vaccine and therapeutic design, but manual intra-species comparison of putative epitopes remains challenging and subject to human error. Created initially for analyzing SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, comparative analysis of variant epitope sequences (CAVES) is a novel tool designed to carry out rapid comparative analyses of epitopes amongst closely related pathogens, substantially reducing the required time and user workload. CAVES applies a two-level analysis approach. The Level-one (L1) analysis compares two epitope prediction files, and the Level-two (L2) analysis incorporates search results from the IEDB database of experimentally confirmed epitopes. Both L1 and L2 analyses sort epitopes into categories of exact matches, partial matches, or novel epitopes based on the degree to which they match with peptides from the compared file. Furthermore, CAVES uses positional sequence data to improve its accuracy and speed, taking only a fraction of the time required by manual analyses and minimizing human error. CAVES is widely applicable for evolutionary analyses and antigenic comparisons of any closely related pathogen species. CAVES is open-source software that runs through a graphical user interface on Windows operating systems, making it widely accessible regardless of coding expertise. The CAVES source code and test dataset presented here are publicly available on the CAVES GitHub page.


Abstract Evaluating the bonding strength at the interface between two layers is an issue of considerable practical interest for a wide variety of engineering applications involving coatings, such as thermal protective ceramics coated on engine blades. Spallation under laser driven shock loading is one of the experimental means to test interface debonding. However, numerical simulations are usually needed to infer a quantitative value of the bonding strength from such tests, where the coating free surface velocity is usually the only measurable variable. In this paper, the analysis of the propagation and interactions of compression and release waves leading to spall fracture in a shock-loaded material is detailed, then it is extended to a substrate-coating system. Different cases are considered, depending on the acoustic impedances of the substrate and coating materials and on the duration of the loading pressure pulse with respect to the wave transit time through the coating thickness. In each case, the interfacial strength can be analytically estimated from the velocity variations without resorting to numerical models.


With the continuous development of China's real estate market and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the home buyers' demand for emotional experience has been constantly aroused, thus making emotional experiential marketing more important in customer behavior. In the era of pursuing personalized experience, experiential marketing has become a powerful means for enterprises to achieve stRung competitiveness. It is usually connected with the creation of an atmosphere, an environment and a situation, the completion of a process and the making of a commitment, and sometimes it needs a customer's active participation. This paper is based on Vanke's real estate marketing, first gives a detailed introduction to the real estate experience in terms of the experience economy, experiential marketing and emotional experience, and then analyzes the application of experiential marketing in real estate marketing from product experience, user-friendly experience, scene setting experience and theme interactive experience to discuss how experiential marketing is implemented in Vanke's real estate, learn from it and provide reference of effective experience for future researches.


Empathy is a multifaceted and complicated construct, encompassing several subprocesses and relying on diverse neural networks. In the current study, I focus on cognitive empathy, one facet of empathy that includes the process of taking another person's perspective and the ability to accurately identify his or her emotions. Frontal lobe regions underlie many social and emotional processes and may be critical for cognitive empathy. Specifically, injuries to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) result in wide-ranging emotional and behavioral disturbances that may in part reflect deficits in cognitive empathy. Additionally, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is critical in emotion regulation and many higher-order cognitive processes, suggesting a contribution of this region to emotional functioning when cognitive abilities are implicated. In the current study, cognitive empathy was examined in six patients with OFC damage, six patients with DLPFC damage, and twelve control participants. Participants completed an extensive assessment of cognitive empathy, including self-report measures of the process of taking others' perspectives and performance-based measures of the ability to accurately identify others' emotions (also referred to as empathic accuracy ). Additionally, relationships between cognitive empathy and neuropsychological performance on executive function measures were examined in patients. On self-report measures, both patient groups endorsed lower levels of cognitive empathy, but these scores were not associated with executive functioning. In all measures of empathic accuracy, OFC patients were indistinguishable from control participants, suggesting that socioemotional deficits seen in this patient group cannot be attributed to an inability to discern the emotions of others. However, DLPFC patients showed extensive impairments on empathic accuracy measures. Among patients, associations between neuropsychological performance and empathic accuracy were strongest on a task with static stimuli requiring patients to detect small changes in emotion. Results demonstrating preserved empathic accuracy in OFC patients are in contrast with previous work suggesting damage to this area results in extensive socioemotional deficits. Furthermore, these data suggest that understanding others' emotions relies on lateral frontal lobe regions, which are critical for tasks that require a blend of cognitive and emotional abilities.


Game theory provides a solution to the problem of finding a set of optimal decision-making strategies in a group. However, people seldom play such optimal strategies and adjust their strategies based on their experience. In this paper, the game theory research of human-computer and human- human were investigated, and the ultimatum game was used in the experiment. The game theory of human-computer random, human- computer intelligent, human-computer (human) and human-human were investigated in detail. We found that the ERPs of proposer were significantly more negative on trials when decision maker chose the disagreement project compared with ERPs of proposer when decision maker chose the agreement project, there is obvious FRN at about 250ms.


1 IntroductionIt is well accepted by now that translation between two languages is very much a matter of cultural transfer and mediation. Developing translation competence in students is intrinsically connected with learning both the source language and the target language culture. According to Nida (1964), linguistic and cultural differences identifiable between the source language and the target language are equally important, and cultural clashes between the representatives of the respective groups are more difficult to handle by the translator than the differing linguistic structures or inherent patterns. The translation activity is dependent on a sound knowledge of both languages and cultures, people's traditions, rites, beliefs or behaviours. This is the reasons why educators, especially when it comes to training translators, have to develop appropriate programmes that aim at developing both linguistic and intercultural competences in the two languages, along with proactive attitudes, as well as sound knowledge of history, economy, and politics of the countries or ethnic groups involved.At the Faculty of History and Philology, University of Alba Iulia, there exist BA and MA programmes in Romanian language and literature and English language and literature. During both BA and MA degree programmes, students have translations courses on their curricula. However, the focus of the programme is on developing the linguistic competence, while attempting, across the curriculum, to develop the intercultural competence, through various activities interspersed in the set syllabuses. The task of the translations instructor is so much more challenging, as the syllabus provides only two to four hours per week for this course. Students also need to develop translation competence and skills, alongside linguistic competence, which is taken to represent "knowledge of and ability to use, the formal resources from which well-formed, meaningful messages may be assembled and formulated" (CEFR 2001: 109). This linguistic competence, also different from the knowledge and skills required to cope with the social dimension of language use and/or the meaning and language use that account for the peculiarities of the speaker, the addressee and other contextual features is necessary, but not sufficient.2 Literature ReviewCulture is inseparable from language, as we mentioned above. Along the same lines, Toury (1978) also mentioned that a translator is faced with at least two languages and two cultures / cultural traditions and patterns. The inherent cultural aspects that are found in a source text must be treated with utmost care in order to find the most appropriate rendering into the target language, employing the right techniques.Although there exist very few studies on translation competence development, one should mentioned in this context, i.e. Campbell's (1998) research based on applied linguistics methodologies. He analysed translation competence of non-native speakers' translation from their mother tongue into English. His subjects were native speakers of Arabic, studying translation and interpretation at an Australian university. Following his data analysis and interpretation, Campbell designed a three-layered model of translation competence:1) textual competence (the ability to produce TL texts with "structural features of formal, written English") (p. 73). Evaluation benchmarks are nominalizations, type/token ratios, word length, passives, prepositional phrases, etc.;2) disposition (translators' behaviours in choosing different words when contracting TL texts). The parameters he advances are: persistent vs capitulating; and prudent vs risk-taking. Combinations of the above categories will create four types of disposition:a) persistent and risk-taking;b) capitulating and risk-taking;c) persistent and prudent;d) capitulating and prudent;3) monitoring competence, consisting of two sub-categories: self-awareness, and editing. …


The paper summarises recent progress in a long-term programme of research on an integrated approach to the management, md real-time control of water quality in river basins. The focus of this progrmnme is the development, md application of simulation models for the dynamic behaviour of wastewater treatment plants, and in-stream water quality. The model for the latter is based on a multiple continuously stirred tank reactor (MCSTR) approximation of fluid and solute propagation along a river system. Results are presented for the identification (calibration) of this model with reference to field observations from the River Cam in eastern England. These results illustrate the benefits of significant changes to the hydraulic basis of the model (relative to earlier applications). They also provide a good test of the model's capabilities in respect of solute transport, md the biochemical interactions among the five state variables of water quality, i.e., biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, ammonium-N, nitrate- N, and chlorophyll-a. The model is applied to the assessment of management and real-time control strategies for attenuating the adverse effects on stream water quality of storm sewage surges passing from the sewer network and through the wastewater plant. The assessment includes the coordinated manipulation of in-stream hydraulic structures to improve controlled performance.


Abstract : A cost/benefit type analysis was performed on the CONUS physical distribution system for Army Class IX items to evaluate the impact of expanding the number of depots in which stocks are positioned. By positioning stock closer to the eventual customer, savings in second destination transportation cost and time were evaluated. However, those savings were offset by increased nonrecurring cost (start up costs) and recurring costs such as first destination transportation costs and supply depot operating costs. As the number of stock positioning points increases, total supply cost increases significantly. Therefore the existing distribution network is considered best at this time. However, because of less-than-perfect stock positioning, there is a considerable volume of shipments crossing geographical depot service boundaries which, if reduced, could significantly reduce total supply cost and time. Keywords: Cost analysis, Stock positioning, Inventory control, Stock control, Economic analysis, Physical distribution.