Two grades of ground bovine bone were evaluated as potential alternatives to perlite in horticultural substrates. The bulk density of small and large bone-amended substrates was signifi cantly higher than equivalent perlite-amended substrates. Large and small bone increased the air-fi lled pore space of sphagnum peat. However, at 10% and 20% (v/v), neither size of bone resulted in as high an air-fi lled pore space as equivalent amounts of perlite. At 30% and 40%, incorporation of small bone resulted in a similar air-fi lled pore space as incorporation of equivalent amounts of perlite, and incorporation of large bone resulted in a higher air-fi lled pore space than incorporation of equivalent amounts of perlite. Water-fi lled pore space and water-holding capacities of substrates were inversely related to air-fi lled pore space. When placed in a moist substrate, mineral elements within the bone were able to leach into the substrate over time. Substrates amended with 40% large and small bone had signifi cantly higher concentrations of ammonium (NH4 +), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), and chloride (Cl–) than the 40% perlite-containing substrates. Substrates amended with 40% large bone had similar concentrations of magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), iron (Fe), and copper (Cu) while substrates amended with 40% small bone had higher levels of these elements than perlite-amended substrates. Substrate concentrations of nitrate (NO3 –), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and boron (B) were not different among the substrates after 4 weeks in the greenhouse. The pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and NH4 + levels of bone-amended substrates increased to levels signifi cantly higher than recommended and resulted in rapid mortality of 'Orbit Cardinal' geranium (Pelargonium ×hortorum), 'Cooler Blush' vinca (Catharanthus roseus), and 'Dazzler Rose Star' impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) plants grown in bone-amended substrates. Therefore, ground bovine bone was not a feasible alternative to perlite for use in horticultural substrates.


swelling and fragmentation of the axis cylinders, and irregularity, swelling and shrinking of the myelin sheaths, where the greatest degree of disturbance was found. These results were obtained by modern neuro-pathological methods, particular care being taken to fix the brains and cords as soon after death as possible. The changes seen were not severe, but it was considered that there was reliable evidence of a general disturbance of the central nervous system. It would seem, therefore, that an even closer parallel than before exists between black tongue in dogs and pellagra in man. The exact retiology of the canine disease appears to be rather uncertain. The diet of all the dogs contained rice polishings, which should have supplied vitamin B. The authors state also that lack of the thermostabile factor, known as B 2 or G, does not cause this syndrome, but that its appearance is due to the lack of some food factor frequently associated with vitamin B 2 , but as yet unidentified. Here we seem to have additional evidence that there is reason to believe that pellagra is due to deficiency of the vitamin B complex, though whether there is merely one fraction of this that is responsible, or some other outside influence is also at work, is not positively established. In view of the fact that pellagra is occasionally seen in Australia, as in other parts of the world, for its distribution is world-wide, the subject is of distinct interest.


Green effect is a phenomenon by which manufacturers apply themselves to environmental protection to obtain comparative advantages compared to their counterparts. Modern enterprises can form profitable green effect by greening of infrastructures, brands, marketing and culture, which contribute its development trend. Manufacturers of eco-industrial parks should be in line with the government to strengthen propaganda about environmental protection, to advocate green and civilized consumption and to enhance the proportion of environmentalists in consumers; to increase their own propaganda; national authorities should also set up and implement green label system to allow manufacturers of eco-industrial parks use these labels in their own products to facilitate the effective recognition of consumers. It is an effective way to access to their green effect and to achieve stability after the formation of green union by making green alliance parties gain the largest rents from the alliances which they are all likely to participate in.


The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is activated during many bacterial and viral infections, resulting in an increase in circulating glucocorticoid levels. This HPA axis activation and glucocorticoid response are critical for the survival of the host, as demonstrated by the fact that removal of the HPA axis (by adrenalectomy or hypophysectomy) or glucocorticoid receptor (GR) blockade enhances the severity of the infection and in some cases enhances the mortality rate. Replacement with a synthetic glucocorticoid reverses these effects by reducing the severity of the infection and provides protection against lethal effects. In addition, some bacteria and viral infections have been shown to affect the GR directly. These have been described and the implications of such an effect discussed.


PUBLIC HEALTHMOSCOW-- After more than 3 years of wrangling and delay, a $150 million loan from the World Bank designed to tackle Russia's burgeoning AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics might at last be on the verge of approval. It has been held up because Russian officials have refused to accept the TB treatment scheme prescribed by Western agencies. But in the past few weeks, negotiators from the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and the Russian Ministry of Health have apparently settled their differences.


Laboratory testing is a science professionally conducted with rigorous statistical analysis, quality control, and extensive oversight. Despite of considerable advancements, error originates from the laboratory investigations continue to increase multi-fold annually. Continuous quality improvement strategy through regulatory guidelines like (GLP) could serve as a key for error reduction. GLP is a easily understandable, internationally accepted quality system, a crucial code essential academic research. GLP has become a mandatory in the laboratories involved in clinical research particularly it serves as a solid standard for registration and regulatory research settings. GLP consist of information, managerial suggestions, rules exclusively designed to reduce bias, discrepancy of results, promotes mutually accepted data which serve as a helpful tool in ensuring laboratory staff integrity, data reliability, sensitivity and test specificity and help the laboratory researchers to avoid unnecessary repeating of laboratory tests. GLP was initially adopted by USA as US-FDA-GLP and was accepted by OECD and without modifying the essence of US-FDA-GLP, GLP was practiced globally. In this review, we discuss the applications, objectives, training needs and focus on the amalgamation of different GLP guidelines and their advantageous in the field of clinical research and academic research.


The position of the Brazilian government concerning population policy and family planning is described, with an emphasis on changes in such policies during the period 1963-1983. It is also shown how policy and practice concerning family planning have been linked to the evolution of economic development models and to state intervention in health programs. (SUMMARY IN ENG)


BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study is to evaluate, using a questionnaire developed by our research group, whether occupational exposure to physical, chemical and psychosocial urban stressors can lead to alterations in perceived stress in a group of both male and female outdoor workers. The study also examines possible correlations between the levels of stress as inferred from the scores of the questionnaire and the levels of certain stress-related parameters (prolactin levels, consumption of coffee, chocolate, alcohol and cigarette smoking).

METHODS
We evaluated a final sample of 480 subjects (342 male and 138 female). All workers included in the study were divided into three groups on the basis of scores of the questionnaire.

RESULTS
About 60% of workers showed a moderate or severe stress condition, with a statistically significant prevalence of female workers and younger subjects. There was a statistically significant correlation between the questionnaire score and the mean levels of stress-related parameters. The increase of perceived stress increases significantly the mean levels of prolactin and the consumption of coffee, chocolate and cigarettes. There was no statistically significant differences for alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSIONS
The results show that exposure to chemical physical and psycho-social urban stressors can influence perceived stress in outdoor workers. The questionnaire used in our research could be an useful instruments for physicians during the health surveillance visits


Selective Inhibition of Sintering (SIS) is a Rapid Prototyping process that makes parts in a layerbased method by using polymer powders. Current SIS machines accomplish this layer-based method by heating a fixed area of polymer powder. The current process is an area of concern because the entire fixed area of each layer is cured, resulting in large amounts of polymer powder being wasted. This paper explains the design of an automated, mechanical system that will mask off areas of polymer powder with heat-resistant fingers, allowing for the adjustment of the heated area in order to cure minimal amounts of polymer powder at each layer. Test results of a prototype model showed significant reduction in polymer powder usage. Selective Inhibition Sintering (SIS) has been proven effective in producing polymeric and metallic parts. Due to the low cost and high quality of SIS printing, the impact of SIS printing in the 3D printing industry could be disruptive. The potential of SIS is further extended to ceramics, an important but hard to print material, by the same mechanism of creating an easy-to-break sacrificial mold. Due to the high sintering temperature of ceramics, fluid based inhibitors delivered by inkjet printing tend to not be effective in SIS for ceramics. Accordingly, the new concept of inhibition by dry powder delivery is implemented. Preliminary experiments have shown the feasibility and ease of printing of simple ceramic parts. Additional experiments are underway to increase the possible part complexity and accuracy, and to optimize the sintering process.


M2M (machine to machine) applications involving intelligence to ubiquitous environment have been in existence for the past many years. However, its provisioning using mobile technologies raises a new security challenge. Security services such as authentication and key establishment are critical in M2M, especially for healthcare systems. We proposed a simple architectureM2M service to apply any hospital which considers mobility of doctors and patients. An efficient security scheme with dynamic ID-Based authentication using pairwise key distribution is applied in M2M system. It can be assured high security through security analysis under shared key attack and Sybil attack.


Why are there proper names in Shakespeare's dramatic works, but none in Shakespeare's sonnets? What roles do proper names (or the absence of proper names) play in these poems, and how are such roles related to the varieties of language used in the sonnets and Shakespeare's plays? Are the sonnets primarily concerned with description, or is their language chiefly performative? And how are these questions about language, proper names and genre conceptually related to the life of the author and the historical conditions under which the texts were produced? These questions provide a framework for the analysis of Shakespeare's sonnets in this book, which takes as the central condition of the sonnets the fact that their author was also the period's foremost dramatist. The sonnets are deeply informed by the player-poet's peculiar self-consciousness about his lowly social status. Despite the added sense of personal inadequacy and social taint that such self-consciousness about his profession brings to the poet's Petrarchan moments, as player-dramatist he is, nevertheless, able to bring to the poet's task an extraordinarily developed sense of language as a performative force. By focusing on such performative dimensions I seek to take forward an approach to language that began in the philosophical writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein and John Austin. It enjoyed some status within literary criticism and theory in the 1970s and 1980s, but has lately received less attention in the era of high historicism.


BACKGROUND
There is a significant risk of negative outcomes for families when a parent experiences serious mental illness. Family-focused practice (FFP) emphasises the "whole family" as the unit of care and has been found to improve outcomes for service users and their families. Despite its benefits, FFP is not routinely implemented in UK adult mental health services. This study explores adult mental health practitioners' experiences and views of FFP within Early Intervention Psychosis Services in the UK.

METHODS
Sixteen adult mental health practitioners employed in three Early Intervention Psychosis teams in the Northwest of England were interviewed. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS
Five core themes were generated: (1) A limited understanding of FFP, (2) Our practitioners, (3) Our approach, (4) Our families and (5) Our services. Practitioners' understanding of FFP was limited and typically excluded dependent children. Practitioners' age, professional and personal experience, and preconceptions of families influenced delivery, and in turn, the engagement approach they adopted impacted families' responsiveness. The diversity and dynamics of service user families such as age, socioeconomic status, culture and stigma impacted FFP. An operational context characterised by insufficient resources reduced FFP; however, organisational structures such as leadership, clinical supervision and multi-disciplinary teams facilitated FFP.

CONCLUSIONS
FFP is not yet embedded within Early Intervention Services. Practice recommendations include agreeing on a formal definition of FFP and its scope; the development of FFP policy; clarity in relation to staff responsibilities and identities; the adoption of a collaborative approach which encourages service user choice and for time to be ring-fenced to prioritise FFP. Future research should ascertain service user and family views on the facilitators and barriers to engaging with FFP in Early Intervention Services.


This article examines the main drivers of French defense expenditure between 1960 and 2010. France has to balance with two contradictory issues: strategic constraint and budgetary process. We assume that nonlinear approach is suitable to evaluate the demand function. Our results support latter assumption and we use time trend as transition function. Economic factors play a major role and considering the nonlinear pattern, we show that, before 1983, economic growth is inversely related to defense expenditure whereas the opposite arises after this threshold. Strategic considerations exert a little impact.


By using forest resources inventory data and field investigation data, this paper studied the carbon storage, density, and distribution characteristics in forest ecosystems in Jilin Province of Northeast China. The total carbon storage in the forest ecosystems was 1827.293 Tg C, and the carbon storages in arbor layer, shrub-grass layer, litter layer, and soil were 439.152 Tg C, 5.195 Tg C, 45.600 Tg C, and 1330.466 Tg C, accounting for 24.1%, 0.3%, 2.5%, and 73.1% of the total, respectively. The carbon density in the forest ecosystems was 225.304 Mg C x hm(-2), with 54.352 Mg C x hm(-2) in arbor layer, 0.643 Mg C x hm(-2) in shrub-grass layer, 5.644 Mg C x hm(-2) in litter layer, and 164.666 Mg C x hm(-2) in soil. Different types of the forest ecosystems had a carbon storage varied from 9.357 Tg C to 959.716 Tg C and a carbon density ranged from 180.648 Mg C * hm(-2) to 254.627 Mg C x hm(-2), with the highest values in soil and the lowest values in shrub-grass layer. Overall, the carbon storage and density in the forest ecosystems were greater in eastern mountainous area than in central and western plains. In the Province, middle-aged forests had a greater proportion than the forests in other age classes, and thereby, a proper management of the present forests could increase the carbon sequestration of the forest ecosystems.


Let V be a vector space over the field F such that char(F) ≠ 2, and let V have a skew-symmetric nondegenerate bilinear form. Wonenburger proved that any element g of Sp(V) is the product of two skew-symplectic involutions. Let GSp(V) be the group of general similitudes with similitude character μ. We give a generalization of Wonenburger's result in the following form. Let g ∈ GSp(V) with μ (g) = β. Then g = t 1 t 2 such that t 1 is a skew-symplectic involution, and t 2 is such that and μ (t 2) = −β. One application that follows from this result is a necessary and sufficient condition for an element of GL(V) to be conjugate to a scalar multiple of its inverse. Another result is that we find an extension of the group , for q ≡ 3(mod 4), all of whose complex representations have real-valued characters.


Allergic asthma is a complex trait. Several approaches have been used to identify biomarkers involved in this disease. This study aimed at demonstrating the relevance and validity of microarrays in the definition of allergic asthma expression pattern. The authors compared the transcript expressions of bronchial biopsy of 2 different microarray experiments done 2 years apart, both including nonallergic healthy and allergic asthmatic subjects (n = 4 in each experiment). U95Av2 and U133A GeneChips detected respectively 89 and 40 differentially expressed genes. Fifty-five percent of the U133A genes were previously identified with the U95Av2 arrays. The immune signaling molecules and the proteolytic enzymes were the most preserved categories between the 2 experiments, because 3/4 of the genes identified by the U133A were also significant in the U95Av2 study for both categories. These results demonstrate the relevance of microarray experiments using bronchial tissues in allergic asthma. The comparison of these GeneChip studies suggests that earlier microarray results are as relevant as actual ones to target new genes of interest, particularly in function categories linked to the studied disease. Moreover, it demonstrates that microarrays are a valuable technology to target novel allergic asthma pathways as well as biomarkers.


To solve the problem which is complex in the open network environment this paper presents the dynamic multi-agent cooperative processing model combining mobile agents and computer supported cooperative work to process task mentioned above quickly and efficiently. Mobile agents which is dynamically created can load components from component library and migrate to the data's location according to the requirement. Cooperative manager decomposes task and controls the cooperation of mobile agents which work together for the task. The model applied in the network could reduce the complexity of the task and the execution time.


We calculated the hyperfine structure and the zero-field splitting parameters of divacancies in 3C, 4H and 6H SiC in the ground state and in the excited state for 4H SiC within the framework of density functional theory. Besides that our calculations provide identification of the defect in different polytypes, we can find some carbon atoms next to the divacancy that of the spin polarizations are similar in the ground and excited states. This coherent nuclear spin polarization phenomenon can be the base to utilize 13C spins as quantum memory.


Objective. To determine the antiangiogenic activity of Telescopium telescopium (Horn snail) extract using in ovo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay.
Methods. Methanolic extract of Telescopium telescopium was subjected to modified Kupchan partitioning. Four treatment groups – negative control, positive control (quercetin), test samples, and blanks – were used for the in ovo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. ImageJ software was used to measure average vessel diameter (DV) and total length (LT) to determine the degree of vascularization, percent inhibition, and antiangiogenic activity. Biochemical screening was done for the crude extract and the fraction with the highest percent inhibition.
Results. Butanol fraction showed the highest percent inhibition in both average vessel diameter (DV) (417.30% ± 300.83) and total length (L T) (44.21% ± 8.11). There was no significant difference in the antiangiogenic activity of both crude and butanol fraction compared with quercetin. Biochemical screening confirmed the presence of sterols and carbohydrates in both fractions.
Conclusion. Crude extract and butanol fraction resulted in positive percent inhibition values, indicating inhibition of angiogenesis. They were found to have no significant difference with quercetin in regard to their antiangiogenic activity. Sterols were assumed as the biochemical class of the antiangiogenic compound of interest.


Macrophages are involved in the progression of atherosclerosis by releasing pro-inflammatory cytokines. High levels of interleukin (IL)-18 are associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes and atherosclerosis. The present study aimed to investigate the association between IL-18, and high and fluctuating glucose levels in mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPMs), and to assess the involvement of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway in this association. The MPMs were exposed to 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32 mM glucose for 6 h, which was alternated to either 4/24 mM glucose every 1.5 h for 6 h, or to 32 mM glucose for 3, 6, 12 and 18 h. The expression and secretion levels of IL-18 were detected using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and ELISA, respectively. High levels of glucose increased the expression and secretion levels of IL-18 in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05, vs. 4 mM glucose). This increase was more important in the cells exposed to fluctuating 4/24 mM glucose every 1.5 h compared with the cells exposed to stable 24 mM glucose (RT-qPCR, 0.78 ± 0.05, vs. 0.66 ± 0.07; ELISA, 188.23 ± 20.32, vs. 143.16 ± 13.07 pg/ml; P<0.05). The expression and secretion levels of IL-18 increased 8 and 12 h following exposure to high-glucose, and then decreased at 18 h (P<0.05, vs. 3 h). Furthermore, SP600125, a JNK inhibitor, decreased the high-glucose-induced gene expression of IL-18 in a dose-dependent manner. Therefore, high and fluctuating levels of glucose may be associated with inflammation and diabetic atherosclerosis by regulating the expression levels of IL-18. The present study identified the JNK signaling pathway as one of the mechanisms underlying this association. Targeting IL-18 may be a novel therapeutic approach against diabetes-associated atherosclerosis.


Background: Transcutaneous afferent patterned stimulation (TAPS) is a wrist-worn, non-invasive therapy delivering calibrated stimulation to the median and radial nerves. Previous randomized controlled studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of TAPS therapy in some patients with essential tremor (ET), but evidence supporting therapeutic benefits of TAPS versus standard of care (SOC) is lacking. This randomized prospective study evaluated the clinical benefit of adding TAPS treatment to SOC versus SOC alone. Methods: This randomized pragmatic trial recruited patients from a large health plan's Commercially Insured and Medicare Advantage population. All 310 patients received a TAPS device and were randomized 1:1 to either one month adding TAPS therapy to usual care (TX arm) or usual care with tremor assessment only (SOC arm). The pre-specified endpoints were changes in tremor power measured by motion sensors on the device (primary) and improvement in Bain & Findley Activities of Daily Living (BF-ADL) upper limb scores (secondary) between TX and SOC in all patients who completed the one-month study. Results: 276 patients completed the one-month study (N = 133 TX, N = 143 SOC). The study met the primary and secondary endpoints, with significantly reduced tremor power in TX compared with SOC (0.017 (0.003) versus 0.08 (0.014) (m/s2)2; geometric mean (SE); p < 0.0001) and greater improvement in the BF-ADL score in TX than SOC (1.6 (0.43) vs 0.2 (0.37) points; mean (SE); p < 0.05). No serious device-related adverse events were reported. Discussion: This trial demonstrates that adding TAPS treatment to SOC significantly improves tremor power and BF-ADLs in patients with ET compared to SOC alone over one month of home use. Highlights This study found that adding TAPS treatment to SOC significantly improves tremor power and BF-ADL scores in patients with ET compared to SOC alone over one month of home use. This real-world evidence study suggests that non-invasive TAPS therapy is a safe and valuable treatment option for patients with ET.


Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, pansexual, asexual, and/or nonbinary (LGBTQPAN) people are a vulnerable, yet understudied group in the American STEM workplace. Only recently have efforts been made to assess their workplace experiences and levels of representation in STEM. In this paper, we sought to explore the experiences of LGBTQPAN individuals in the astronomy and planetary science community. We conducted an internet-based survey of the workplace experiences of 474 astronomers and planetary scientists. We hypothesized LGBTQPAN women and gender minority respondents in our sample would observe negative remarks or directly experience verbal or physical harassment in higher proportion compared to cisgender, straight women, a more commonly studied group. We found support for this hypothesis. LGBTQPAN women and gender minorities also observed more homophobic and transphobic remarks from their peers, and were more likely to feel unsafe at work due to their race, sexual orientation, and gender identity, compared to cisgender, straight women. They were more likely to be verbally harassed due to sexual orientation and gender identity, and were fully twice as likely to be physically harassed due to gender or sex. Based on our sample, we suggest that LGBTQPAN women and gender minorities experience a more hostile workplace climate in astronomy and planetary science compared to cisgender, straight women.Keywords: gender minorities, sexual minorities, harassment, assault, planetary science, astronomy


For consumers, the water composition is indicated on a label attached to the water bottle. Reports about wrong label information were the motivation for this comparative study of the real content of 20 different bottled water brands from Saudi Arabia and 19 other brands from different countries in Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Europe. The pH, total dissolved salt (TDS) concentration, and concentrations of nine cations and anions were evaluated and bacteriological analysis was carried out to determine for all Saudi and international brands. Bottled water from all tested brands is safe for consumption. Furthermore, the determined analysis agrees with the water parameters indicated on the bottle labels, proving the labels' reliability. Statistical analysis also reveals that the drinking-water quality of the Saudi brands is comparable to international brands. Considering that bottled water consumption has increased, especially in geographic areas where drinking quality tap water is not available, quality control of bottled water becomes essential, aiming for correct information on the label to reliably inform the consumers and ensure human health.

 Key words: Bottled water, label, Saudi Arabia, brand.


The current study investigates whether there is variation among different types of control stimuli in code-switching (CS) research, how such stimuli can be used to accommodate heterogeneity, and how they can also be used as a baseline comparison of acceptability. A group of native Spanish–English bilinguals (n = 20) completed a written acceptability judgment task with a 7-point Likert scale. Five different types of control stimuli were included, with three types considered to be completely acceptable (complex-sentence switches, direct-object switches, and subject–predicate switches) and two types considered to be completely unacceptable (pronoun switches and present–perfect switches). Additionally, a set of present–progressive switches were included as a comparison, as their acceptability status is still actively debated. The participants as a whole exhibited the expected grammatical distinctions among the control stimuli, but with a high degree of individual variability. Pronoun switches and auxiliary verb switches were rated significantly lower than the complex-sentence switches, direct-object switches, and subject–predicate switches. These results show that control stimuli can also establish a baseline comparison of acceptability, and recommendations for inclusion in experimental CS research are provided.


Population growth in the city of Bandung has resulted an increase in problems that arise in people's lives, problems in government such as complicated bureaucracy make people reluctant to do the licensing process directly and prefer to use links or brokers. The concept of smart city is a solution to problems related to governance such as the accumulation of licensing and complicated bureaucracy. The Bandung City Government is continuing to implement the smart city concept, especially the smart governance. This effort is shown by listed the smart government program in the regional strategic plan. Bandung'government has put priority of public services in accordance with the laws and regulations, in order to realize the city vision and increase the general welfare. This study aims to determine the smart government index of Bandung city. Resource persons of this study are selected from quadruple helix area, namely government, business people, researchers and experts. The results of this study are the value of Bandung's smart governance index which is 69.41. This value shows that the implementation of Bandung's smart governance is bad, needs a lot of improvement, but still within reasonable limits Keywords: Smart city, smart governance, Bandung, Indonesia.


Software Defined Radio (SDR) is a flexible radio architecture programmed through software, which is reconfigured depending on the usage scenario. SDR consists of a programmable hardware base that is controlled through software [1]. The key attraction of SDR is its ability to support multiple standards on the same processor by changing the software only. SDR technology is also evolving to cognitive radio which is a new technology that allows spectrum to be dynamically shared between users. It offers the potential to change the way spectrum is used in systems and to substantially increase the amount of spectrum available for wireless communications. However, for this to be possible, it is necessary to have also an appropriate hardware. From the antenna design perspective, it is necessary to have a wideband coverage and a high level of reconfigurability [2]. Depending on the application it is also required high-directivity. Wideband antenna design, both low and high gain, are available but they does not guarantee the reconfigurability of the radiation pattern with a low-cost setup. In this context a novel active design of the Fabry-Perot antennas is proposed showing that a wideband tunability range (one octave) and strong capabilities of beam shaping and beam steering can be achieved.


William Rand Kenan Jr. (1872-1965) is best remembered throughout his native North Carolina as a major benefactor of his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But he was also a gifted scientist and business executive. In this first comprehensive biography, Walter Campbell charts Kenan's achievements in areas as diverse as chemistry, dairy science, media management, and railroad and resort development. While still a student at UNC, Kenan played an important role in the discovery of calcium carbide--the major component in the manufacture of acetylene--which led to the formation of Union Carbide Company. He later created the nation's largest and most advanced private dairy research farm at his home in Lockport, New York. In 1899, he became a consultant to Standard Oil cofounder and Florida developer Henry Morrison Flagler, who later married Kenan's sister Mary Lily. Following Flagler's death in 1913, Kenan successfully guided the vast network of Flagler businesses, as well as his own flourishing enterprises, through a tumultuous period that saw two world wars, a speculative land boom, and a depression. This biography offers new insights into Kenan's many successes as well as his disappointments, particularly his keen sense of having lived his life in the shadow of others. It also includes the first objective account of the widely reported rift between the Kenans and the family of Mary Lily's second husband, Robert Worth Bingham.Originally published in 1996.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.


Experiment of nano-capillary boiling phenomenon of graphene nano-based heat pipe on water as working fluids have been carried out. The coating process is carried out by performing an electrophoretic deposition process using graphene nanofluid. Graphene nanofluid was made by heating and stirring for 15 minutes in a solution consisting of graphene and distilled water with a fraction volume of 1%, then followed by an EPD process by dipping a copper pipe into a nanofluid which was given a platinum anode and 23 volt of electricity for 15 seconds. Boiling phenomena can be observed from the results of data retrieval through high-speed visualization cameras while observing thermal performance through temperature data retrieval. Based on the results obtained, the nanocoated heat pipe thermal performance is better than the uncoated heat pipe. The nanocoated heat pipe could handle higher heat flux as shown by the boiling curve at lower temperature difference between heat pipe surface and the saturated water, higher heat transfer coefficient about 215% than the uncoated heat pipe which indicates that the heat transfer phenomena occurred in nanocoated heat pipe is better than uncoated heat pipe. The bubble diameter that formed in the boiling process of nanocoated heat pipe is smaller and released faster than the uncoated heat pipe.


Due to an increase in the number of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease, issues relating to withholding and withdrawing of life-prolonging treatment (artificial hydration and nutrition) are in urgent need of discussion. In the ethical thinking, not only patient's autonomy (Value) but also scientific evidence (Fact) is important (= evidence based ethics). There are evidences in foreign countries that indicate tube feeding does not prevent aspiration pneumonia, does not prolong survival and does not reduce the risk of infection. In Japan, we do not have objective data on the efficacy of tube feeding. Artificial hydration and nutrition is implemented just for improving malnutrition without ethical thinking. To implement tube feeding appropriately for the end-stage Alzheimer's disease patients, an identification of objective evidence and prevalence of advanced directive in Japan are important.


A thin film of dielectric material on metal provides a simple and cost-effective platform for absorbing light of a specific wavelength that can be desirably tuned by tailoring the thin film thickness. This property of controlled absorption can lead to realizing various exciting applications such as absorbers and color filters. The primary concern, however, in using such multilayer configurations for color filtering is color purity, which is generally low as compared to patterned resonant structures that employ costly nanofabrication techniques. We report a practical design technique to achieve filters of cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY) with enhanced color purity, polarization-insensitive, and angle-insensitive functionalities. The design involves dielectric thin film layer sandwiched between an ultra-thin metal-layer and ground plane. We demonstrate several multilayer material configurations that provide advantages over the current state-of-the-art color filters in terms of color purity. The proposed devices can find applications in high-resolution color printing, digital imaging, holographic displays, and sensing.


Odontocete echolocation clicks have been used as a preferred cue for density estimation using single-sensor data sets, requiring estimation of detection probability as a function of range. Many such clicks can be very broadband in nature, with 10-dB bandwidths of 20-40 kHz or more. Detection distances are not readily obtained from single-sensor data. Here, the average detection probability is estimated in a Monte Carlo simulation using the passive sonar equation along with transmission loss calculations to estimate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of tens of thousands of click realizations. Continuous-wave (CW) analysis, i.e., single-frequency analysis, is inherent to basic forms of the passive sonar equation. Using CW analysis with the click's center frequency while disregarding its bandwidth has been shown to introduce bias into detection probabilities and hence to density estimates. In this study, the effects of highly broadband clicks on density estimates are further examined. The usage of transmission loss as an appropriate measure for calculating click SNR is also discussed. The main contributions from this research are (1) an alternative approach to estimate the average probability of detection of broadband clicks, and (2) understanding the effects of multipath clicks on population density estimates.


All publications mentioning samples from state of Sao Paulo were revised and 10 names of uncertain occurrence were excluded. All taxa included had samples from the state of Sao Paulo and are deposited in indexed herbaria. We found 1,324 bryophytes species, including nine Antocerotophyta, 740 to Bryophyta and 575 to Marchantiophyta. We checked at last one sample of these 1,000 names and 324 taxa was cited based on literature. One hundred thirty nine of the taxa recognized in this list have a single citation to present knowledge of the species, this is the type locality in the state of Sao Paulo. Prospects for bryophytes research in the next 10 years are mainly related to training of human resources for the preparation of the state bryophyte flora, providing tools for studies that use the taxonomic unit (species) as an object.


Microgrids have the potential to provide security and flexibility to power systems through the integration of a wide range of resources, including distributed energy storage, usually in the form of batteries. An aggregation of microgrids can enable the participation of these resources in the main system's energy and ancillary services market. The traditional minimum-cost operation, however, can undermine microgrid's ability to hold reserve capacity for operation in islanded mode and can rapidly degrade distributed batteries. This paper studies the impacts of various operational strategies from distributed energy storage plants on their revenues and on market prices, considering an array of microgrids that act in a synchronized fashion. The operational model minimizes the entire electric power system cost, considering transmission-connected and distributed energy resources, and capturing capacity degradation of batteries as part of the cost function. Additionally, microgrid-based, distributed batteries can provide energy arbitrage and both system-level and microgrid-level security services. Through several case studies, we demonstrate the economic impacts of distributed energy storage providing these services, including also capacity degradation. We also demonstrate the benefits of providing reserve services in terms of extra revenue and battery lifespan. Finally, we conclude that limitations in the provision of system-level services from distributed batteries due to degradation considerations and higher microgrid-level security requirements may, counterintuitively, increase system-level revenues for storage owners, if such degradation considerations and microgrid-level security requirements are adopted, at once, by a large number of microgrids, leading to unintended, non-strategic capacity withholding by distributed storage owners.


In this paper we present a hybrid path-following algorithm that generates inexact Newton steps suited for solving large scale and/or degenerate nonlinear programs. The algorithm uses as a central region a relaxed notion of the central path, called quasicentral path, a generalized augmented Lagrangian function, weighted proximity measures, and a linesearch within a trust region strategy. We apply a semi-iterative method for obtaining inexact Newton steps by using the conjugate gradient algorithm as an iterative procedure. We present a numerical comparison, and some promising results are reported.


. We prove that for every finitely-presented group G there exists a 2-dimensional irreducible complex-projective variety W with the fundamental group G , so that all singularities of W are normal crossings and Whitney umbrellas.


We study the multi-layered cake cutting problem, where the multi-layered cake is divided among agents proportionally. This problem was initiated by Hosseini et al.(2020) under two constraints, one is contiguity and the other is feasibility. Basically we will show the existence of proportional multi-allocation for any number of agents with any number of preferences that satisfies contiguity and feasibility constraints using the idea of switching point for individual agent and majority agents. First we show that exact feasible multi-allocation is guaranteed to exist for two agents with two types of preferences. Second we see that we always get an envy-free multi-allocation that satisfies the feasibility and contiguity constraints for three agent with two types of preferences such that each agent has a share to each layer even without the knowledge of the unique preference of the third agent. Using the switching point property we will prove the existence of proportional multi-allocation that is feasible and contiguous over 3-layered cake for n ≥ 3 agents and generalize this idea when the number of layers is odd and number of agents always greater than number of layers. We also show the existence of proportional multi-allocation that satisfies the feasibility and contiguity constraints over 2P -layered cake for n ≥ 2P b agents where a ∈ Z+, b ∈ Z+ ∪ {0} and P is prime. We further prove the existence of proportional multi-allocation over m′-layered cake for n′ agents ensures the existence of proportional multi-allocation over 2am′-layered cake for 2an′ agents where n′ ≥ m′, a ∈ Z+ and b ∈ {0, 1}.


The selenization of metallic precursors is a widely used and investigated technique for the fabrication of Cu(In, Ga)Se2 films on large areas. A vacuum process with Se supply from the gas phase can be a suitable way to achieve a homogeneous, fast and controllable selenization reaction. In this study in situ XRD measurements are employed to investigate the reaction path for this type of process. The experimental setup is based on a reaction box mounted at a white light beamline of the synchrotron facility BESSY. Diffraction signals as well as Kα fluorescence lines of Mo, In and Se can be measured with high time resolution via energy dispersive detection. To elucidate the influence of selenium on the metallic precursors upon heating a comparison of experiments with and without Se exposure is presented. For the Se-free process the phases In and a Cux(In, Ga)y-phase are detected at room temperature. The solid In phase melts according to its melting point at approximately 150°C, the remaining metallic phase melts at significantly higher temperatures of approximately 600°C. In the selenization process the metallic phases behave similar to the Se-free annealing process. The first detectable Se-containing phases are indium selenides. The indium selenides and the metallic diffraction signals vanish when chalcopyrite is formed. The Se fluorescence intensity was utilized to evaluate Se incorporation in the layers. Solar cells made out of absorbers from this kind of process exhibit fill factors of up to 72% and efficiencies up to 14%. The open circuit voltage was comparatively low with 535 mV and QE measurements confirmed a low band gap of approximately 1.0 eV. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) measurements on the cross section showed a significant Ga enrichment at the back of the film.


This article consists of two parts: a theoretical part concerned with fault detection schemes, and an application part dealing with cyber security of power systems. In the first part, we develop a tractable approach to design a robust residual generator to detect and isolate faults in high dimensional nonlinear systems. Previous approaches on fault detection and isolation problems are either confined to linear systems or they are only applicable to low dimensional dynamics with more specific structures. In contrast, we propose a novel methodology to robustify a linear residual generator for a nonlinear system in the presence of certain disturbance signatures. To this end, we formulate the problem into the framework of quadratic programming which enables us to solve relatively high dimensional systems. In the second part, the application is motivated by the emerging problem of cyber security in power networks. We provide description of a multi-machine power system that represents a two-area power system, and we model a cyber-physical attack emanating from the vulnerabilities introduced by the interaction between IT infrastructure and power system. The algorithm developed in the first part is finally used to diagnose such an intrusion before the functionality of the power system is disrupted.


Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a hereditary disorder related to adrenal glands, with a deficient production of hormones (cortisol and aldosterone) and an androgen overproduction. We describe the clinical course of a male infant presenting with dehydration and salt losing crisis, diagnosed as Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. After initial crisis management, the child was continued on replacement therapy. In the absence of routine neonatal screening, a high index of suspicion is essential for the diagnosis of CAH in males.


Amyloid fibrils found in various neurodegenerative disorders are also recognized as high-performance protein nanomaterials with a formidable rigidity. Elucidation of an underlying molecular mechanism of the amyloid fibril formation is crucial not only to develop controlling strategy toward the diseases, but also to apply the protein fibrils for future nanobiotechnology. alpha-Synuclein is an amyloidogenic protein responsible for the radiating filament formation within Lewy bodies of Parkinson's disease. The amyloid fibril formation of alpha-synuclein has been shown to be induced from the oligomeric granular species of the protein acting as a growing unit by experiencing structural rearrangement within the preformed oligomeric structures in the presence of an organic solvent of hexane. This granule-based concerted amyloid fibril formation model would parallel the prevalent notion of nucleation-dependent fibrillation mechanism in the area of amyloidosis.


Abstract 1302 Introduction: T-cell large granular lymphocyte (T-LGL) leukemia is a rare, clonal disease characterized by the expansion of mature CD3+CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells. It is often associated with autoimmune disorders and immune-mediated cytopenias. Our recent findings suggest that up to 40% of T-LGL patients harbor mutations in the STAT3 gene (Koskela et al, NEJM, 2012). In the remaining T-LGL patients, the pathogenetic mutations are not known. Methods: To identify additional somatic mutations, we chose two STAT3 mutation negative T-LGL leukemia patients for exome sequencing. CD8+ T-cells were used as test cells and matched CD4+ T-cells as control. The exome was captured with the Nimblegen SeqCap EZ Exome Library v2.0 and the sequencing was performed with the Illumina HiSeq2000 sequencing platform. Candidate somatic mutations were identified with a bioinformatics pipeline consisting of BWA for sequence alignment, Samtools for alignment filtering and Varscan for somatic mutation calling. Results: Index patient 1 was diagnosed with T-LGL leukemia at the age of 70 and a TCR repertoire assay revealed one minor T- cell clone in the leukemic sample (Vβ7.1: 28 %). Exome sequencing revealed 10 nonsynonymous nucleotide variants with p-values lower than 0.01, of which the tumor suppressor gene Protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) receptor T (PTPRT) had a variant frequency of 14%. PTPRT has previously been found to reverse Tyr705 phosphorylation on STAT3, a modification associated with STAT3 deactivation. In this novel mutation, a highly conserved hydrophobic valine residue is converted into methionine (V995M). The mutation occurs in the cytoplasmic part of the protein, within the tyrosine-protein phosphatase 1 domain. The PTPRT V995M mutation may thereby affect STAT3 activity by reducing dephosphorylation of Tyr705, thus increasing the expression of STAT3 target genes. Index patient 2 was a 40 year-old male with untreated T-LGL leukemia. A TCR repertoire assay showed one predominant T-cell clone in the leukemic T-cells (Vβ13.2: 70%). Exome sequencing revealed 8 nonsynonymous nucleotide variants with p-values lower than 0.01. The missense mutation K436E in Angiopoietin-2 (ANGPT2), presenting with the lowest somatic p-value (1,06−09) and highest variant frequency (34%), was the most relevant candidate involved in the pathogenesis of leukemia. The mutation occurs on the surface of ANGPT2 within the well-conserved fibrinogen C-terminal domain. This domain binds the receptor TIE2 and the change in the polarity induced by K436E mutation is likely to affect the binding of TIE2 by ANGPT2. Overexpression of ANGPT2 has previously been shown to confer an adverse prognostic factor in other forms of leukemia. While these mutations appear biologically relevant and exciting, we have not yet seen them in other LGL patients screened so far (n=80). Conclusions: Somatic mutations in the PTPRT and ANGPT2 genes may represent rare genetic causes for T-LGL leukemia. Screening for these mutations in a larger cohort of patients is warranted. The mutation in the PTPRT gene is particularly exciting as it may directly impact the STAT3 pathway, which is a common pathogenetic event in T-LGL leukemia. Inactivating mutations of the PTPRT gene may have the same functional consequence as activating mutations of STAT3 in LGL patients. Disclosures: Koskela:Novartis: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; Janssen-Cilag: Honoraria. Kallioniemi:TEKES-FiDiPro: Research Funding. Porkka:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding. Maciejewski:NIH: Research Funding; Aplastic AnemiaM Novartis: Honoraria.


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common prevalent cancer types worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) have been demonstrated to play crucial roles in the development, metastasis and drug resistance of CRC. In the present study, a strikingly elevated expression of miR-552 was determined in CRC tumor tissues and cells by a miRNA profiling analysis. Importantly, the gene of A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease (ADAM) family member 28 (ADAM28) was identified as a target of miR-552, which was further validated in terms of genetic dual luciferase report assay. Furthermore, an inhibition of miR-552 in LOVE and LS174T CRC cells by transducing miR-552 inhibitor (antagomiR-552) with a lentiviral vector exhibited an ability to reduce cell proliferation, migration and clonogenicity. Moreover, both LOVO and LS174T cells stably expressing miR-552 inhibitor displayed a decreased ability to develop tumors in a murine xenograft model in vivo. In contrast, a knockdown of ADAM28 by short hairpin RNA could reverse the antagomiR-552-induced inhibition of metastatic features of CRC cells in vitro. These results suggested that miR-552 is an oncomir able to promote CRC metastasis in part through a mechanism of targeting ADAM28, which may be a novel target for CRC treatment and warrants for further investigation.


This work presents the study of the reduction in battery stresses by using supercapacitors (SC's) in a 500 kVA rated UPS. We aim at investigating the optimal SC-battery combination versus the SC's cost. This investigation is threefold; first, supercapacitors and battery models developed using Matlab/Simulink® are presented and validated. Second, the architecture and the simulation of the designed system combining the two types of storage devices are shown. The study emphasizes on UPS autonomous running for grid faults lasting few minutes, the supercapacitors supply the transient demand of power and the battery is responsible for the smoothness requirement of energy. Third, extensive simulations are carried out to determine the gain in battery RMS current, the gain in energy losses, the energy efficiency and the elimination rate of surge load power. These four performance parameters are determined by simulation and then analyzed. They reflect the potential decrease in battery stresses due to the SC's. A thorough analysis involving optimal study proposes to draw the optimal SC's number and filter constant from the variation of the aforementioned parameters versus the cost of the SC's.


Protein diets deficient or enriched in DL-methionine were studied for the effect of methylation of nuclear components in subadult and adult outbred albino male mice given N-nitrosodimethylamine. After the mice were fed diets for 6 days, they were given ip injections of [14C]N-nitrosodimethylamine (5 mg/kg body wt) and killed 45 minutes later. Liver nuclei were isolated; incorporation of 14C into nuclear proteins and methylation of DNA and RNA were determined. In the subadult and adult animals the nuclear protein content was diminished by shortage of a single essential amino acid. Incorporation of 14C into the total protein was reduced. The reduction amounted to 55% in the subadult and 23% in the adult animals. Neither an age-dependent nor a diet-dependent change in the specific methylation of DNA and RNA was observed. Analysis of methylation of DNA and RNA was observed. Analysis of methylated purine bases showed an age-related rise in O6-methylguanine in the adult as compared with the subadult mice.


Developing open government by local government is cumbersome. Many local governments have no policies or are struggling to develop policies enabling to create value from open data. Policy-making is challenging due to the wicked nature of many policy problems, unclear objectives, and the involvement of diverse stakeholders. At the same time governments are opening their policy-making processes for participation by citizens and private companies. The goal of this paper is to present the structure of a game to increase the understanding of open-data policies by local governments. Open Data Policies are aimed at making public data available to be accessed and used by civil society. The game participants can experience the implications of various policies. This should help them to developed better policies.


Doxepin is a tricyclic antidepressant that is widely prescribed for the treatment of mild depression. In this study, hair samples collected from a patient receiving 25 mg of doxepin daily were analyzed. Doxepin was administered to the patient for 4 months (June 15 to October 15, 1996). Five hair samples were collected: 1 and 3 months after doxepin therapy began and 1, 3, and 5 months after drug therapy ended. Solid-phase extraction was employed to isolate doxepin and its major metabolite desmethyldoxepin from the hair matrix, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for quantitation of both drugs. Six-point standard curves (0.25-20 ng/mg) were prepared for both compounds with an internal standard (doxepin-d3). The standard curves for doxepin and desmethyldoxepin were linear over the range reported and had correlation coefficients of 0.984 and 0.985, respectively. The limit of quantitation for both analytes was 0.25 ng/mg of hair. In addition, the replicate analysis of control hair preparations was performed at two levels (2 ng/mg and 15 ng/mg) to determine intra- and interday variability. Doxepin and desmethyldoxepin were not detected in the patient's sample collected 1 month after doxepin therapy began. The samples collected 3 months after doxepin therapy began and 5 months after drug therapy was terminated had detectable amounts of doxepin and desmethyldoxepin. The highest concentrations of doxepin (mean, 0.59 ng/mg) and desmethyldoxepin (mean, 0.40 ng/mg) were found 5 months after doxepin therapy began, which was also 1 month after the patient had stopped using the drug. Five months after doxepin therapy was terminated, the drug and its metabolite were still present in the patient's hair. The concentration of doxepin in hair was always significantly higher than the concentration of desmethyldoxepin.


A model is proposed to account for the properties of the colour centres produced by irradiation by X-rays in quartz. The hyperfine structure of the paramagnetic resonance spectrum shows that each centre is associated with an aluminium atom, and the model puts the aluminium atom at a silicon site in the lattice with the unpaired electron in a localized orbital on one of the nearest oxygen atoms. The axes of the 'g' tensor and the variation of g with direction are predicted unambiguously, as is the axis of the quadrupole interaction. The magnitude and axes of the magnetic hyperfine structure are not predicted, but they are explained in terms of the model. The energy levels deduced theoretically using the paramagnetic resonance data are used to give a tentative interpretation of the optical absorption spectrum. Finally an account is given of the effects to be expected if there is an interaction between the two different colour centres that can be associated with a particular aluminium atom.


Using the density-functional theory and the non-equilibrium Green's function method, we investigate the electronic transport properties and rectifying performances of four different molecular devices based on different end groups from the same D-B-A molecule. The results show that the end groups can significantly affect the rectifying performances of such molecular rectifiers, because the end groups can influence the coupling effects between the molecule and the electrodes, thus changing the delocalization of molecular orbitals, and further changing their transport properties and rectifying performances. More interestingly, it is found that the rectifying directions and working mechanism for all of our studied systems are in disagreement with ones proposed originally by Aviram and Ratner. This property can be rationalized through the asymmetric shift of molecular levels under biases of different polarities.


Modern healthcare organizations try to leverage their IT infrastructures to enhance the efficiency of processes and the quality of patient services. The flexibility of the IT infrastructure is a critical factor in the process of establishing strategic and operational value. The authors examine how applied principles of Conceptual Independence (CI) in information systems (IS) influence the flexibility of IT infrastructures. Furthermore, it is presumed that IT outsourcing plays a role in IT flexibility. The second question asks whether IT outsourcing configurations change when CI has been applied or not. Quantitative and qualitative data have been collected in 9 mental healthcare organizations. Findings – based on integration of the data with a mixed-method approach - suggest that the healthcare organizations that apply the principles of CI are better equipped to adapt their IT infrastructure to changing demands, requests and needs. Likewise, results suggest that they have changed the government of IT outsourcing thereby increasing IT flexibility even further.


Encephalopathy in a common neonatological sense is a term referring to a complex of clinical symptoms occurring in term infants in the first days of their life as a result of hypoxic-ischemic lesions. However, if we accept the encyclopedic definition of encephalopathy as a vast or multifocal brain lesions caused by a variety of factors, we may use the term to describe all patients with traumatic, hypoxic or toxic brain lesions, and therefore also newborns at different levels of maturity. Contrary to term newborns, in which case the hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy are mostly intrauterine, for preterm infants there is a number of factors which destroy neural tissue postnatally The occurrence of those factors is often influenced by elements of essential intensive care. The article describes the most common biochemical disturbances and clinical causes.


Abstract : Data processing of Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratory flight test satellite signal measurements has been performed to illustrate the phase effects associated with ionospheric irregularities. Measurements are available at 250 MHz satellite signals traversing ionospheric heating induced irregularities, barium ion cloud irregularities, and polar and equatorial irregularities. For each of these environments displays of amplitude, phase difference standard deviation, phase difference histograms and phase power spectral density are given. The results of ionospheric heating measurements imply that underdense heating produces large scale irregularities with fluctuation levels that are conceivably larger than overdense heating fluctuations. The barium measurements from the CASTOR releases by Max Planck Institute in March 1979 near Peru show no barium associated phase effects. Because of the 275 km release altitude it is expected that the associated phase effects should be difficult to resolve. The phase difference histograms from the strong fading observed in the solar and equatorial measurements illustrate the importance of the non-Gaussian nature of the phase to communications. Binary phase-shift keyed (BPSK) irreducible error rates greater then minus ten to the 3rd power are predicted for these environments based upon their similarity with band-limited Gaussian noise. (Author)


There has been a recent trend toward the use of lifecycle analysis (LCA) as a decision-making tool for the automotive industry. However, the different practitioners` methods and assumptions vary widely, as do the interpretations put on the results. The lack of uniformity has been addressed by such groups as the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), but standardization of methodology assures neither meaningful results nor appropriate use of the results. This paper examines the types of analysis that are possible for automobiles, explains possible pitfalls to be avoided, and suggests ways that LCA can be used as part of a rational decision-making procedure. The key to performing a useful analysis is identification of the factors that will actually be used in making the decision. It makes no sense to analyze system energy use in detail if direct financial cost is to be the decision criterion. Criteria may depend on who is making the decision (consumer, producer, regulator). LCA can be used to track system performance for a variety of criteria, including emissions, energy use, and monetary costs, and these can have spatial and temporal distributions. Because optimization of one parameter is likely to worsen another, identification of trade-offs is an important function of LCA.


The modern communications is one of the most critical elements of modern cultures depicted in the 21th century. All of the recent civilizations depend on electronics and communication. Mobile wireless communication system is identified by ability to transfer information without using any current carrying conductor. The wireless fidelity WI-FI is the first step towards the adoption of IEEE802.11 standards which include the "IEEE 802ac" and "IEEE 802.11ad" sets. There standards permits wireless throughput rates in the gigabit levels. In this paper, a discussion of these standards will be detailed


People using the distance education system are students as well as consumers who use the services. In this sense, determining satisfaction with the use of this service is vital to the success of the system. The aim of this study is to determine the relationships between perceived utilitarian performance, expectation confirmation and learning satisfaction structures in universities that have been switched from formal education to distance education at a time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through online forms, 416 students who have entered the distance education system were reached. The data obtained were analyzed by following the basic principles of SEM and mediation effect steps put forward by Baron and Kenny. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that the level of expectation of distance education had a partial mediation effect on the relationship between perceived utilitarian performance and learning satisfaction. Results are important because they are a pioneer in the field. In addition, the results of the research were put forward by discussing with the developing literature and in this direction provided suggestions for the field professionals. As of March, 2020, the department of physical education and sports, which continues its education in the normal semester and does not have a distance education program, had to switch to distance education due to the COVID-19 pandemic and closed the spring semester in this way. In this context, a total of 416 students studying in various departments of PES and attending distance education courses were reached online. The research form was created through Google forms and delivered to students who took courses via e-mail.

 Key words: Education quality, perceived benefit, distance education experience, perceived satisfaction.


This study determined the prevalence of parasites on some common fruits and vegetables from major markets in Ede Town, Osun State, Nigeria. A total of two hundred and forty six (246) samples of fruits and vegetables were examined by sedimentation technique after washing using normal saline. The overall parasite prevalence was 37.4%. The highest rate of parasitic contamination (46.7%) was recorded in pineapples (Anana comosus) while oranges (Citrus sinensis) were the least contaminated (16.7%). For vegetables, African spinach (Spinacea oleracea) was the most contaminated (77.8%) while the least contaminated (2.2%) was celosia leaf (Celosia argentea). Ascaris lumbricoides was the most (21.7%) frequent parasitic contaminants on fruits and vegetables followed by Balantidium coli (19.6%) and then Hookworm (13.0%). Entamoeba histolytica and Strongyloides stercoralis had the same percentage of occurrence(12.0%) while Fasciolopsis buski (2.2%) was the least parasite found. The highest number of parasites was found in Timi Market with 46.2% fruits and 66.7% vegetables contaminated. Since eating raw fruits and vegetables is a potential source of transmission of intestinal parasites in the study area, it is important that consumers are educated on the need to always ensure proper washing of their fruits and vegetables.
Keywords: Fruits; vegetables; parasitic contamination; Ascaris lumbricoides; Ede Markets


Objective The aim of this study was to determine cephalometric factors that help predict favorable soft-tissue profile outcomes following treatment with the Class II Twin-block appliance. Methods Pre- and post-treatment lateral cephalograms of 45 patients treated with the Class II Twin-block appliance were retrospectively analyzed. Profile silhouettes were drawn from the cephalograms and evaluated by three orthodontists in order to determine the extent of improvement. Samples were divided into a favorable group (upper 30% of visual analogue scale [VAS] scores, n = 14) and an unfavorable group (lower 30% of VAS scores, n = 14). Skeletal and soft-tissue measurements were performed on the cephalograms and an intergroup comparison was conducted. Results An independent t-test revealed that the following pre-treatment values were lower in the favorable group compared to the unfavorable group: lower incisor to mandibular plane angle, lower incisor to pogonion distance, point A-nasion-point B angle, sella-nasion line (SN) to maxillary plane angle, SN to mandibular plane angle, gonial angle, and symphysis inclination. The favorable group had a larger incisor inclination to occlusal plane. Moreover, the favorable group showed larger post-treatment changes in gonial angle, B point projection, and pogonion projection than did the unfavorable group. Conclusions Class II malocclusion patients with a low divergent skeletal pattern and reduced lower incisor protrusions are likely to show more improvement in soft-tissue profile outcomes following Class II Twin-block treatment.


The Member States of the European Union (EU) are missing billions of Euros each year as a result of cross-border VAT fraud. After its introduction, the current VAT system appeared to contain flaws and proved to be vulnerable to fraud. Tackling VAT fraud since then has become serious business within the EU. Despite the fact that there seems to come no end to new measures to combat fraud, so far though those measures seem not to be very effective. In June 2013, the European ministers again agreed on some (temporary) measures to combat fraud. Do these new measures make sense? And will they lead to an effective European approach to VAT fraud?


Renewable energy technologies present a distinct set of challenges for human problem solving and decision making. Solar car racing typifies opportunities for human factors engineering to support human performance in renewable energy domains, for example through computer interface design. Derivational and topographical adequacy are introduced as useful considerations to guide development of representation-aided interfaces and system instrumentation requirements. Implications for generalizability to emerging renewable energy applications are discussed.


Many researchers are quite skeptical about the actual behavior of neural network learning algorithms like backpropagation. One of the major problems is with the lack of clear theoretical results on optimal convergence, particularly for pattern mode algorithms. In this paper, we prove the companion of Rosenblatt's PC (perceptron convergence) theorem for feedforward networks (1960), stating that pattern mode backpropagation converges to an optimal solution for linearly separable patterns.


Measurements of the water content of the stratum corneum were made on the flexor side of the forearm in healthy male volunteers using direct current resistance and alternating current (1.5 and 15 kHz) electric impedance measurements, capacity measurements and measurements of transepidermal water loss. In addition, infrared-spectroscopic investigations were made using a Frustrated Multiple Internal Reflection device on unstripped skin, then on the same skin area after five and ten strippings with adhesive tape. The tests showed (except for the measurements of transepidermal water loss) all of the aforementioned test methods led to relevant measurement values. While the direct current electrical resistance measurement yielded data on the water content of the most superficial layer of the stratum corneum, it was found that the capacitor measurements gave results from the deep layers of the stratum corneum. With the alternating current impedance measurement method, both superficial and deep layers of the stratum corneum were taken into account. Comparative measurements of direct current resistance and infrared absorption after occlusion treatment revealed that under certain circumstances using both methods can lead to contradictory results.


The study was designed to investigate the effect of different rates of poultry manure on the growth and yield of fluted pumpkin ( Telfairia occidentalis Hook F.) the treatment rates were; 0t/ha, 5t/ha, 10t/ha and 15t/ha poultry manure. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design replicated four times. The parameters measured were number of leaves, total leaf area (cm2), number of pod per plant, weight of pod per plant (kg) and number of seeds per pod. The result showed that 10t/ha poultry manure performed better than the others in both growth and yield parameters, followed by 15t/ha while the plants in control plots gave the least performance. It is therefore recommended that 10t/ha rate of poultry manure should be applied to fluted pumpkin for optimum growth and yield in the study area. Keywords : Poultry manure, Telfairia , Growth and Yield


Human action recognition in video is one of the most widely applied topics in the field of image and video processing, with many applications in surveillance (security, sports, etc.), activity detection, video-content-based monitoring, man-machine interaction, and health/disability care. Action recognition is a complex process that faces several challenges such as occlusion, camera movement, viewpoint move, background clutter, and brightness variation. In this study, we propose a novel human action recognition method using convolutional neural networks (CNN) and deep bidirectional LSTM (DB-LSTM) networks, using only raw video frames. First, deep features are extracted from video frames using a pre-trained CNN architecture called ResNet152. The sequential information of the frames is then learned using the DB-LSTM network, where multiple layers are stacked together in both forward and backward passes of DB-LSTM, to increase depth. The evaluation results of the proposed method using PyTorch, compared to the state-of-the-art methods, show a considerable increase in the efficiency of action recognition on the UCF 101 dataset, reaching 95% recognition accuracy. The choice of the CNN architecture, proper tuning of input parameters, and techniques such as data augmentation contribute to the accuracy boost in this study.


Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between exercise time and musculoskeletal problems and to determine the appropriate amount of exercise for children in both lower- and higher-grade levels of elementary and junior high schools. Materials and Methods: Mark-sheet-type questionnaires were distributed to and collected from all elementary and junior high schools in two cities. We collected 22,494 questionnaires in total. The relationship between exercise time and musculoskeletal problems was analyzed. The χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analyses. Results: The mean exercise time in school, in addition to physical education time, was 3.1 hours per week. In 56% of the children, the exercise time was less than 2 hours per week, and in 13% of the children, the exercise time was more than 10 hours per week. Although the rate of sports injury increased with an increase in exercise time, the duration of one-leg stand (a test of balance and muscle strength) also increased with an increase in exercise time. The cut-off values for sports injuries in boys/girls were 2.9/2.9 hours, 4.0/2.9 hours, and 7.5/4.2 hours in lower grade elementary school, higher grade elementary school, and junior high school, respectively. Conclusions: Although an appropriate amount of exercise improves one's physical health and ability, excessive exercise leads to musculoskeletal problems. Approximately 7 hours/week of exercise is recommended for junior high school students. In elementary school, the exercise time should be carefully decided as the musculoskeletal system of the students is still immature.


Although tyrosine-phosphorylated or activated STAT3 (pY-STAT3) is a well-described mediator of tumorigenesis, its role in thyroid cancer has not been investigated. We observed that 63 of 110 (57%) human primary papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) cases expressed nuclear pY-STAT3 in tumor cells, preferentially in association with the tumor stroma. An inverse relationship between pY-STAT3 expression with tumor size and the presence of distant metastases was observed. Using human thyroid cancer-derived cell lines [harboring rearranged during transfection (RET)/PTC, v-RAF murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF), or rat sarcoma virus oncogene (RAS) alterations], we determined that IL-6/gp130/JAK signaling is responsible for STAT3 activation. STAT3 knockdown by shRNA in representative thyroid cancer cell lines that express high levels of pY-STAT3 had no effect on in vitro growth. However, xenografted short hairpin STAT3 cells generated larger tumors than control cells. Similarly, STAT3 deficiency in a murine model of BRAFV600E-induced PTC led to thyroid tumors that were more proliferative and larger than those tumors expressing STAT3wt. Genome expression analysis revealed that STAT3 knockdown resulted in the down-regulation of multiple transcripts, including the tumor suppressor insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7. Furthermore, STAT3 knockdown led to an increase in glucose consumption, lactate production, and expression of Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF1α) target genes, suggesting that STAT3 is a negative regulator of aerobic glycolysis. Our studies show that, in the context of thyroid cancer, STAT3 is paradoxically a negative regulator of tumor growth. These findings suggest that targeting STAT3 in these cancers could enhance tumor size and highlight the complexities of the role of STAT3 in tumorigenesis.


Experiments on a flexible-beam impact oscillator are described in which the spatial structure of typical motions is explored. The beam is held in a fixed mount with clamped-free boundary conditions, and the beam is driven by impacts between its free end and a sinusoidally driven impactor. Bifurcation diagrams using impactor frequency and offset as the bifurcation parameter are obtained using a computer-driven data acquisition system. The dimensionality of the system is studied by analysis of delay-reconstructed time series of experimental data. Valid delay reconstructions are obtained using mutual information and false nearest neighbour algorithms, and the correlation dimensions is estimated for the resulting experimental attractors. The relation of these topological characterizations of the system to the spatial structure of the vibrations is studied using two-point spatial correlation measurements and the proper orthogonal decomposition. It is shown that over 90% of the mean square response amplitude is captured by the first proper orthogonal mode for the cases examined and that the spatial coherence measurements can be used to distinguish between responses with similar dimensionality.


Mixtures of methane and oxygen behave in a reproducible manner at temperatures of 440 to 520°C and initial pressures of 100 to 350 mm when reacting in Pyrex vessels freshly cleaned with hydrofluoric acid. The apparent order of the reaction ranged from 2∙3 to 2∙6 and the overall activation energy from 29 to 41 kcal/mole. Analyses of the products formed have been made, together with measurements of pressure change. Formaldehyde is formed from the commencement of the reaction including the induction period, but its concentration reaches a maximum near the stage where the pressure rise is a maximum, and then falls off. Hydrogen peroxide is also formed, less rapidly in the earliest stage, but its rate of formation overtakes that of formaldehyde and it reaches an even higher concentration. No other peroxides were detected, nor was methanol found. Hydrogen was present in the gaseous products. These observations are not in full accord with some of the conclusions derived from earlier investigations.


Twenty-five yearling growing intact sheep were arranged in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five treatments and five replications. The experimental animals were supplied teff straw as basal ration. Different levels of sesame cake were supplemented in various treatment groups i.e. T1 (150 gm wheat bran, 0 gm sesame seed cake DM/day) being control group, T2 (150 gm wheat bran, 150 gm sesame seed cake DM/day), T3 (150 gm wheat bran, 200 gm sesame seed cake DM/day), T4 (150 gm wheat bran, 250 gm sesame seed cake DM/day) and T5 (150 gm wheat bran, 300 gm sesame seed cake DM/day). The experiment was conducted for 90 day of feeding trial and 7 days of digestibility trial. There was significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in total dry matter intake (TDMI), total organic matter intake (Total OMI) and total crude protein intake (Total CPI) with increase in level of supplementation. There was significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05) crude protein (CP) content in the feces of the control group as compared to the different of level sesame seed cake supplemented groups. There was significant difference in DM, OM and CP (p ≤ 0.05) digestibility between supplemented and control groups. The control treatment had significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) feed conversion ratio than the supplemented treatments and lower (p ≤ 0.05) feed conversion efficiency as compared to the highest level sesame seed cake supplemented group (T5). Higher (p ≤ 0.05) average daily body weight was gained in sheep supplemented with highest level (T5) of sesame seed cake group than the other supplemented groups and the control treatment. There was increasing trend of body weight gain from control to higher level of supplementation i.e. T1 (7.8), T2 (60.0), T3 (63.2), T4 (72.8) and T5 (77.8). There was increasing trend of slaughter weight (SW), empty body weight (EBW), hot carcass weight (HCW), dressing percentage on slaughter weight base and empty body weight base and rib-eye area with increase in supplementation of sesame seed cake being higher (p≤0.05) value for T5 followed by T4, T3, T2 and T1. The size of heart, liver with gallbladder, reticulo-rumen, small intestine, total fat, tail, kidney and total edible organic component (TEOC) were significantly (p≤0.05) affected by supplementation. Sheep supplemented with sesame seed cake had significantly higher (p≤0.05) visceral fat, and tail than the control treatments. There was a significant difference (p≤0.05) due to supplementation on blood, spleen and pancreas, skin, testicle and penis, feet, head without tongue and total non-edible offal component (TNEOC%).The results of the present study showed that supplementation of 300gDM level of sesame seed cake (T5) increased body weight gain and enhanced carcass parameters which is potentially more beneficial and economically feasible than the other levels of supplements and the control group. Strategic feeding with locally available feed resources will improve efficient use of nutrients by sheep.


The efficacy of aqueous and freeze dried (FD) antigen was evaluated by direct agglutination test (DAT) for sero-diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. A total of 16 samples collected from 5 confirmed Kala-azar (KA) cases, 6 cases 2 each of filariasis, malaria, leprosy and 5 non-endemic healthy subjects were used in determination of cut off titre of both the antigens in DAT. A 1:800 for aqueous and 1:400 dilution for FD DAT antigen was found as cutoff values for differential diagnosis of KA cases from control subjects. Both antigens revealed 100% correlation in terms of sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of KA cases and healthy subjects at these titres. Using both antigens and the cut off titres, sera from 26 individuals collected from different categories of leishmaniasis viz. Kala-azar pre-treatment 10, Kala-azar post-treatment 10, HIV-KA co-infection 1 and PKDL 5 were evaluated by DAT. Both the antigens showed equal sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of different categories of leishmaniasis. The study concludes that though aqueous antigen showed equal sensitivity and specificity but FD antigen which is stable at 56oC do not require cold chain whereas aqueous antigen is unstable at room temperature and require proper cooling to retain its antigenic activity as studied in between day 1 and day 14, so the FD antigen should be used for routine diagnosis of KA cases particularly in field condition.


Should everyone go to college? College graduates, especially STEM graduates, earn more than non-college graduates and are on average more productive than those not attending college. That does not mean, however, that a traditional baccalaureate degree is optimal for everyone, nor that most students should pursue STEM disciplines for financial reasons (for example, biological science majors on average earn less than many non-science majors). There are several risk factors in pursuing a degree, including high dropout rates, and those with mediocre academic preparation are particularly susceptible to having poor college outcomes. For some, non-degree postsecondary vocational training may be a better option.


Ischemia-reperfusion induced extensive gastric mucosal injury and an increase in chemiluminescence activity of neutrophils obtained from the portal vein in hemorrhagic shock rats. CV-3988, a selective antagonist of platelet activating factor (PAF), significantly reduced the gross and histologic gastric damage, and the increase in chemiluminescence activity of neutrophils. These results suggest that PAF generated on hypoxia might stimulate oxygen radical production by neutrophils, resulting in the occurrence of gastric injury in hemorrhagic shock rats.


We propose a new conductivity model of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) interconnects considering the influence of temperature. For each shell of MWCNT interconnects, it may present the property of ballistic transport or may suffer from acoustic photo and optical phonon (OP) scattering depending on their mean free paths (MFPs) and the wire length. Furthermore, since the MFPs are proportional to the shell diameter, five regions exist in the wire length in which the factors influencing the conductivity are determined. Thus the conductivity is modeled in five cases according to their lengths, and the final obtained model is a 5-piecewise function. By using this model, the influence of temperature on the conductivity is examined and analyzed. It is shown that the conductivity demonstrates different, changing behaviors with the increase of temperature in the five cases. Additionally, the influence of OP scattering on the conductivity does not need to be taken into account at room temperatures, whereas this influence will produce a decline region in the conductivity at high temperatures.


The 3D quasi-static displacements during and following an earthquake provide a wealth of information on the internal structure and rheological properties of the Earth. If an earthquake occurs in a region that has shallow-viscosity zones inside the crust or at the top of the mantle (asthenosphere), then post-seismic displacements of the crust on the order of millimeters per year are possible. These can be detected by means of permanent GPS stations in the years following a faulting event. In this paper we systematically study the influence of viscoelastic simulation model restrictions on co- and post-seismic deformation. Examples include stratification of the Earth model, modeling of the seismic source, influence of compressibility, effects of position and viscosities of shallow low-viscosity layers. It will be shown that some of these model restrictions or assumptions can have non-negligible influences on the simulated 3D co- and post-seismic displacements.


Laser desorption from ZnO and AgO produces small bare metal cluster ions. Laser desorption from a ZnO/AgO mixture produces an enhancement of the silver cluster ion signal with complete suppression of the zinc signal. The chemistry of Zn/sup +//sub 2/ indicates IP(Zn/sub 2/) = 9.0 +- 0.2 eV and D/sup 0/(Zn/sup +/--Zn) = 0.56 +- 0.2 eV. The reactivity of Zn/sup +//sub 2/ with alkenes and alcohols is characterized by displacement of a zinc atom and formation of Zn/sup +/--B (B = alcohol, alkene). The silver cluster ions are produced with excess kinetic energy; however, collisional cooling is achieved by trapping the cluster ions in a static pressure of argon. Charge transfer reactions indicate IP(Ag/sub n/) 1.73 eV.


A fluorimetric method for quantitative analysis of two B-lactam antibiotics ampicillin and cephalexin has been developed, based upon the production of fluorescent derivatives formed by alkaline hydrolysis with 2N NaOH and heating at 100°C. The rate of formation of fluorescent material is enhanced by addition of formaldehyde in the buffer. The fluorescent compounds exhibit uncorrected excitation and emission spectra at 345 and 420 nm respectively. The structural similarities between the side chains of ampicillin and cephalexin and their identical fluorescent spectra suggest that both the antibiotics could be forming a similar fluorescent derivative. Although the precise chemical identity of the fluorescent derivative has not yet been determined, there is evidence to suggest that it may be the diketopiperazine derivative (Cohen, An assay procedure based on these observations pennits detection of less than 0.1 gg/ml of ampicillin and cephalexin in aqueous solution and plasma. Because of greater sensitivity, the proposed method is more suitable for clinical studies of these antibiotics than the previously described acid hydrolysis method for ampicillin (Jusko, 1971). The results obtained with the fluorimetric assay have been compared with the results obtained in microbiological assay. The fluorimetric assay has advantage over microbiological assay in terms of ease and speed of performance, reproducibility and sensitivity.


The necessity of urban regeneration is recently increasing because of the deterioration existing urban area and the slowdown of new development operations. The urban regeneration is differentiated from other private operations by its public characters, which is the basis of public support. This character demands verification of the adequacy for public finance support by monitoring urban regeneration planning and operation. Therefore, this study aims to show the monitoring indicators and its application in legal system for urban regeneration through the examination of foreign countries cases. London, San Francisco, and France urbanism regulation and planning system show the measure for introducing urban regeneration monitoring system into Korean urbanism institution. This study is significant by suggesting the circulation structure of urban regeneration by linking planning, operations and monitoring phases. The monitoring system permits improvement of urban regeneration by clarifying objects and ameliorating efficiency by continuos observation and application of its evaluation.


The last guidance on screening for the detection of congenital dislocation of the hip was published in 1969. Since then, results of various research studies have become available. The Standing Medical Advisory Committee and the Standing Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Committee agreed that the 1969 guidance needed to be reviewed and a Working Party was set up to recommend good practice in screening for this condition. This report has been accepted and endorsed by the full Committees. This handbook is concerned only with screening for congenital dislocation of the hip and offers no advice on the clinical management of the condition. Congenital dislocation of the hip encompasses varying degrees of instability, subluxation and dysplasia of the hip joint and should no longer be regarded in terms of simple "dislocation". The term is strictly speaking therefore inaccurate but is being retained because of its long standing usage. Congenital dislocation of the hip (referred to in the following paragraphs as "CDH") is defined as "a congenital deformation of the hip joint in which the head of the femur is (or may be) partially or completely displaced from the acetabulum. The term embraces secondary hip dysplasia whether or not hip instability or dislocation persists" A glossary of terms used is at Table 1. It is estimated that in 15 to 20 per 1,000 live births there is evidence of hip instability at birth. However, in a large proportion of these cases the signs resolve without treatment in the first weeks of life. This does not guarantee normality however. Approximately 10% of unstable hips will persist to show classic signs of dislocation in infant life while a further 10% are likely to show evidence of dysplasia and/or subluxation. It is clinically impossible to detect every CDH at birth. It is also impossible to identify those babies whose hips will not recover spontaneously. There must therefore be continuing surveillance at least until the child is seen to be walking normally. Guidance on how to undertake examinations for CDH at different ages is at Annex A. It is important that all health professionals who have responsibility for newborn babies and young children are: (1) aware of risk factors suggestive of CDH; (2) alert to the signs suggestive of CDH; (3) alert to observations made by parents; (4) able to ensure that all infants are screened in the way described in following paragraphs. Accurate records should be kept whenever and wherever the examinations are carried out-at hospital, at home or elsewhere. As outlined later in this handbook, a number of people from different disciplines are involved in screening for CDH. The statutory authorities and training bodies are invited to review training needs in the light of the recommendations contained in this handbook.


Some of the most widely studied polymorphisms in psychiatric genetics include variable number tandem repeat polymorphisms (VNTRs) in SLC6A3, DRD4, SLC6A4, and MAOA. While initial findings suggested large effects, their importance with respect to psychiatric phenotypes is the subject of much debate with broadly conflicting results. Despite broad interest, these loci remain absent from the largest available samples, such as the UK Biobank, limiting researchers' ability to test these contentious hypotheses rigorously in large samples. Here, using two independent reference datasets, we report out-of-sample imputation accuracy estimates of >0.96 for all four VNTR polymorphisms and one modifying SNP, depending on the reference and target dataset. We describe the imputation procedures of these candidate polymorphisms in 486,551 UK Biobank individuals, and have made the imputed polymorphism data available to UK Biobank researchers. This resource, provided to the community, will allow the most rigorous tests to-date of the roles of these polymorphisms in behavioral and psychiatric phenotypes.


The transneuronal effect of bilateral, dorsal funicular lesions (T 12) on the frequency of boutons on cells in layer IV of hindlimb cortex was studies. Adult rats were utilized 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days postoperative (DPO), and tissue was processed for the light microscopic visualization of silver‐impregnated boutons (Rasmussen method). Bouton counts were taken on soma, or along 5‐ and 10‐μm segments of proximal dendrite branching from soma. The soma diameter also was measured on those neurons chosen for bouton counts on the circumference of the soma. Statistically significant, increased afferentation on soma and proximal dendrite occurred during the first postlesion week relative to longer survival times; bouton counts on the proximal dendrite showed a trend (not statistically significant) toward increases above normal. These data mirror similar, consistent increases in bouton counts reported in thalamic ventroposterolateral nucleus of these same cases. At 14 DPO, bouton counts on the soma decreased below normal (P<0.005) and, except at 60 DPO, remained so through 120 DPO (P<0.025). Bouton counts on the proximal dendrite also decreased below normal at 14 DPO (P<0.005), thereafter exhibiting either periodic (along 5‐7μm) or extended (along 10‐7mu;m) periods in significant decreases from normal. Correlations in lesioned cases between the number of boutons on the soma and either bouton counts on proximal dendrite or soma diameter were positive and statistically significant (P<0.005 in all correlations). Possible anterograde (via the dorsal column‐medial lemniscal system) and/or retrograde (via the corticospinal tract) transneuronal mediation of these effects in hindlimb cortex is discussed.


Crizanlizumab is a recent FDA approved humanized IgG2 anti-P-selectin antibody to decrease the frequency of vaso-occlusive crisis VOCs in Sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. Inclacumab is a full human IgG4 monoclonal antibody that selectively targets P-selectin. Anti-cell adhesion effects of Inclacumab were first reported in patients with cardiovascular disease. Two phase 3 clinical trials are evaluating the efficacy of Inclacumab in SCD patients to reduce VOCs