Changing views and a changing ocean As a component of many biomolecules, nitrogen is a crucial element for life, especially in nutrient-poor environs such as the open ocean. Atmospheric dinitrogen gas (N2) is abundant but must be fixed by reduction to ammonia, a process limited to certain organisms and environments. Zehr and Capone review changes in our understanding of what marine microorganisms are fixing N2, where they live, and what environmental features influence their activity. N2 fixation is more widely distributed than previously thought, and we still have much to learn about the physiology and regulation involved. We now have better estimates of global- and basin-scale inputs and outputs, but questions remain as to whether the oceanic N cycle is balanced. New tools are enabling better understanding of ocean N2 fixation despite disruptive consequences from human activities, including ocean acidification and warming. Science, this issue p. eaay9514 BACKGROUND Biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation, the reduction of atmospheric N2 to ammonia, is important for maintaining the fertility of the oceans by providing biologically useful nitrogen to support primary organic matter production (i.e., carbon dioxide fixation). N2 fixation offsets the removal of combined nitrogen by microbial denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and export to the deep sea. For several decades, there has been a lack of consensus as to whether losses of N through microbial removal pathways are balanced by biological nitrogen fixation, along with other inputs such as atmospheric nitrogen deposition and terrestrial runoff. N2 fixation was also generally thought to be largely attributable to only two types of cyanobacteria—the free-living filamentous colony-forming Trichodesmium and the symbionts of diatoms, Richelia—both of which were found primarily in tropical and subtropical surface waters. Very little was known about when and where N2 fixation occurred, or whether there were more N2-fixing species not yet identified. Nor did we know much about the genetic capabilities and adaptations of the marine N2 fixers and how they acquired other nutrients required for their growth. Hypotheses based on biogeochemical models predicted that regional sites of N losses were linked to N2 fixation, suggesting a mechanism that could maintain the balance of the global ocean N budget. Understanding the balance of the N cycle in the sea has wide-ranging implications for past, current, and future foodwebs, as well as for the role of marine N2 fixation in the sequestration of atmospheric CO2 and the production and consumption of other greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide. With intensive research over the past several decades, many of these earlier suppositions have been displaced and supplanted by new models as our knowledge of the players and processes has greatly increased. Nonetheless, many new questions have arisen and old ones remain to be fully solved. ADVANCES Research on marine N2 fixation has been aided by the development of new technical and modeling approaches, including genomic and metagenomic analysis of natural populations, isotope geochemistry, and satellite remote sensing. Global surveys using high-throughput nucleic acid sequencing have uncovered novel organisms and provided new information about the diversity, global distribution, and phylogenetic affiliations of N2-fixing microorganisms (also referred to as diazotrophs). The known diversity of potential N2-fixing marine microorganisms has thus greatly expanded and now includes a free-living unicellular cyanobacterium (Crocosphaera), a group of novel unicellular cyanobacteria (UCYN-A) symbiotic with a unicellular alga, and many lineages of heterotrophic or photoheterotrophic bacteria. The cyanobacterial symbiosis is important in oceanic N2 fixation and is characterized by genome reduction and coevolution between cyanobacteria and their eukaryotic hosts. Heterotrophic marine diazotrophs are diverse but have not yet been definitively shown to fix N2 or to contribute substantially to water column N2 fixation. Benthic habitats and associations of diazotrophs with macroorganisms have also been identified. Large-scale biogeochemical controls (primarily the inputs and availability of phosphorus and iron) and physical controls on N2 fixation are beginning to be more fully understood, including how they vary across ocean basins. The local and global contributions of individual species are still not fully understood and remain difficult to assess, which presents important research challenges for the future. Observations and new assessments suggest that N2 fixation and N removal through denitrification (canonical and anammox) may be in approximate balance, although the stabilizing feedbacks, such as the extent to which input and removal processes are linked in space and time, are still debated. OUTLOOK There are likely to be yet more discoveries of novel organisms and a refined view of where and when N2 fixation occurs and is controlled, leading to a greatly improved predictive capability for global N2 fixation. Distributions of N2-fixing microorganisms and N2 fixation are expected to respond to chemical and physical alterations resulting from global climate change. Marine N2 fixers could contribute to the rapidly developing field of marine aquaculture and biotechnology. They have also been suggested as possible targets for upper-ocean fertilization to promote sequestration of atmospheric carbon. N2 fixation in the marine environment and changes in perspectives in recent decades. N2 fixation was largely attributed to Trichodesmium and Richelia (upper left). New organisms have been discovered by nucleic acid sequencing, including diverse cyanobacteria (the unicellular symbiotic UCYN-A and free-living Crocosphaera) and noncyanobacterial diazotrophs (currently uncultivated and not visualized). N2 fixation has been found in an increasing array of environments previously not believed to be important regions for N2 fixation, such as coastal regions and high latitudes. Previously, N losses were believed to exceed N2 fixation inputs, but whether the N budget of the oceans is balanced remains a matter of controversy. Trichodesmium and UCYN-A micrographs courtesy of R. Foster and A. Cabello Pérez Nitrogen fixation, the reduction of atmospheric dinitrogen gas (N2) to ammonia, is critical for biological productivity but is difficult to study in the vast expanse of the global ocean. Decades of field studies and the infusion of molecular biological, genomic, isotopic, and geochemical modeling approaches have led to new paradigms and questions. The discovery of previously unknown N2-fixing (diazotrophic) microorganisms and unusual physiological adaptations, combined with diagnostic distributions of nutrients and their isotopes as well as measured and modeled biogeographic patterns, have revolutionized our understanding of marine N2 fixation and its role in the global nitrogen cycle. Anthropogenic upper-ocean warming, increased dissolved carbon dioxide, and acidification will affect the distribution and relative importance of specific subgroups of N2 fixers in the sea; these changes have implications for foodwebs and biogeochemical cycles.


Determination of phenytoin in biological fluids is necessary due to its non-linear pharmacokinetics and narrow therapeutic index. A simple and rapid micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method was developed for simultaneous determination of phenytoin and its main metabolite, 5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin, in human serum. The separation was carried out using fused-silica capillary and UV detector at 214 nm. The background electrolyte consisted of borate buffer (10 mM, pH 10.5) with 50 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate as pseudostationary phase. The calibration graphs were linear at the concentration range of 5-30 mg/mL, and the detection limits for phenytoin and 5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin added to blank serum were 1.8 and 1.5 mg/mL, respectively. The obtained results demonstrated that the proposed method is suitable for the serum phenytoin analysis in terms of selectivity and simplicity.


This paper reports a comparative experimental study of large-scale coherent structures which are embedded in the turbulent fluctuations observed in a magnetized plasma device. The confining magnetic field is purely toroidal and has no rotational transform. Turbulent density fluctuations of two different plasma discharges are compared: thermionic discharge and inductive resonant wave heating. It turns out that fundamental features of spatiotemporal structures depend primarily on the plasma source and not on the magnetic field configuration. In the thermionic discharge plasma double-vortex structures and in the wave-heated plasma single-vortex structures are found. This can be attributed to the injection of mass and negative space charge in the case of thermionic discharge. The phase coherency is determined by the large-scale coherent structures. Phase shift of ≈π/2 between plasma potential and density structures changes in sign for the two different plasma sources.


A low-energy positron beam apparatus has been employed to study a device-quality silicon dioxide layer grown on silicon (100). The Doppler broadening of the annihilation photons, related to positron energies, showed features corresponding to annihilations at the surface, oxide layer, interface and Si substrate. Analysis of the data using the diffusion model resulted in a measurement of the oxide depth, the electric field in the Si and hence the charge at the interface.


Sections 215A to 215J of the Companies Act were enacted to facilitate the amalgamation or merger of Singapore companies. These provisions also enable an acquiror to achieve full ownership of the target company by indirectly buying out the shares held by minority shareholders, even if such shareholders have voted against the amalgamation at the shareholders' meeting. This author argues that the amalgamation procedure, as compared with the other forms of compulsory acquisition, may have the unintended effect of unduly favouring the majority shareholders at the expense of the minority shareholders. The problem is partially mitigated by the fact that the provisions allow for shareholders to apply to the court for relief if the amalgamation would lead to unfair prejudice. Alternatively, shareholders may bring a petition under section 216 of the Companies Act, on the ground that the amalgamation is oppressive, unfairly discriminatory or otherwise prejudicial to their interests. This article explores the circumstances in which the court would intervene and it is argued that the basis of any intervention is to ensure that the requisite shareholder approval is fairly obtained.


A new robust nonlinear controller that has the ability to enhance the transient stability and achieve voltage regulation simultaneously via excitation control for power systems is proposed. The structure of the controller is to add a proportional plus integral (PI) type voltage servo-compensator to the existing direct feedback linearisation (DFL) controller; a design procedure is proposed to guarantee the stability of the closed loop system in a possible working region. By using this robust nonlinear controller, direct measurement of the power angle for stabilising feedback control and calculation of the target power angle for voltage regulation are not necessary when employing the feedback linearisation technique. Performance analysis and simulation on a single-machine infinite-bus power system show that the proposed controller can retain the characteristic of the DFL controller and thus can enhance the transient stability as well as achieve voltage regulation of the power system.


We investigate the electronic eigenstates of graphene quantum dots of realistic size (up to 80 nm diameter) in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field $B$. Numerical tight-binding calculations and Coulomb-blockade measurements performed near the Dirac point exhibit the transition from the linear density of states at $B=0$ to the Landau-level regime at high fields. Details of this transition sensitively depend on the underlying graphene lattice structure, bulk defects, and localization effects at the edges. Key to the understanding of the parametric evolution of the levels is the strength of the valley-symmetry-breaking $K\text{\ensuremath{-}}{K}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ scattering. We show that the parametric variation in the level variance provides a quantitative measure for this scattering mechanism. We perform measurements of the parametric motion of Coulomb-blockade peaks as a function of magnetic field and find good agreement. We demonstrate that the magnetic-field dependence of graphene energy levels may serve as a sensitive indicator for the properties of graphene quantum dots and, in further consequence, for the validity of the Dirac picture.


As part of our research on local plants, including neglected horticultural crops to be rediscovered as culinary vegetables, we focused on Smyrnium olusatrum, a biennal herb used in cuisine for many centuries by Romans that has now been replaced by celery. We investigated the essential oil compositions of different plant organs collected in 18 populations of central Italy (Marche, Umbria, Abruzzo, Tuscany and Latium) by gas chromatography (GC) with a flame ionization detector and GC with mass spectrometry (MS) to identify the main chemotypes that occur. Owing to the presence of thermosensitive molecules such as isofuranodiene, curzerene and germacrone undergoing Cope-rearrangement during the GC run, a truthful quantitative determination of these constituents was accomplished by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD). Chemical data were supported by a chemometric technique in the form of principal component analysis, which allowed identification of chemical differences among organs. Furanosesquiterpenoids were the main fraction of the oils, with isofuranodiene as the most abundant in flowers and roots, furanoeremophil-1-one in leaves and roots and 1-β-acetoxyfuranoeudesm-4(15)-ene in fruits. To complete the phytochemical analysis, polar compounds such as chlorogenic acid, isoquercitin, 3-indoleacetic acid and saccharose were isolated from the ethanolic extracts of the plant by column chromatography and structurally elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance. More- over, a morphological and histochemical survey on the secretory structures was performed, with the special aim to localize the sites of terpenes biosynthesis in both above- and belowground organs. Overall, the results can be considered important in the light of the recent interest in neglected edible plants for botanical food supplements and functional foods market. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is, with a prevalence of 2% to 6%, one of the most common neurobehavioral disorder affecting children and adolescents, persisting into adulthood. Comorbidity and psychosocial circumstances enter into the choice of intervention strategies. Several agents have been demonstrated effective in treating individuals with ADHD. Direct or indirect attenuation of dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmission appears closely related to both the stimulant and nonstimulant medications efficacious in ADHD. However, important differences concerning efficacy and side effects exist both between and with the specific classes of agents like neuroleptics, antidepressants, antiepileptics, alpha-agonists, beta-blockers, buspiron, l-dopa, melatonin, pycnogenol, zinc, magnesium, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and homeopathy. Elucidating the various mechanisms of action of ADHD medications may lead to better choices in matching potential responses to the characteristics of individuals. We review the purported mechanism of action and available evidence for selected complementary and alternative medicine therapies for ADHD in childhood and adolescence.


Background Given their lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory properties, statins may have dual cardioprotective [1] and anti-rheumatic benefits [2] in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). These effects are expected to confer survival benefits in RA patients, at least similar to those observed in the JUPITER trial [1] among otherwise healthy individuals with low LDL-cholesterol but with elevated hsCRP (i.e., a 20% reduction in overall mortality). However, no relevant data are available in the field. Objectives To address this knowledge gap, we evaluated the impact of statin initiation on the risk of mortality among RA patients in a general population context. Methods We conducted an incident user cohort study with time-stratified propensity score matching in a UK general population database. Our primary definition of RA required an RA diagnostic code with at least one use of a DMARD [3]. We compared statin initiators and non-initiators among patients with a new diagnosis of RA between January 2000 and December 2012. The outcome of interest was all-cause mortality. To closely account for confounding by indication and potential calendar-time effects, we employed propensity score-matched cohorts of statin initiators and non-initiators within 1-year cohort accrual blocks. Propensity scores (i.e., the predicted probability of statin initiation) were estimated using 50 variables, including RA duration, demographics, socio-economic status, body mass index, lifestyle factors, comorbidities, medication use, and healthcare utilization. We used Cox proportional hazard models to calculate hazard ratios for mortality. Results Of 2,943 statin initiators, 432 died during the follow up period (mean=4.51 years), whereas among 2,943 matched non-initiators, 513 died during the follow up period (mean = 4.29 years) (Table 1). This corresponds to incidence rates of 32.6/1000 person-years (PY) and 40.6/1000 PY in the statin initiator and comparator groups, respectively. The baseline characteristics were well-balanced in the two groups. Statin initiation was associated with a 21% reduction in all-cause mortality (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.68-0.91) (Figure 1a). When we defined RA by its diagnosis code alone (not requiring DMARD use), the corresponding HR was 0.81 (95% CI 0.74-0.90). When we compared the unmatched cohorts to examine the effectiveness of our propensity score matching, the statin initiators (n=3,438) actually showed a 46% higher risk of mortality (HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.28-1.67) than non-initiators (n=3,438) due to confounding by indication (Figure 1b).Table 1. Hazard ratios for mortality associated with statin initiation RA diagnosis definition Diagnosis code and DMARD Diagnosis code alone Statin initiator Non-Initiator Statin initiator Non-initiator (N=2,943) (N=2,943) (N=6,401) (N=6,401) Death cases (n) 432 513 1027 1118 Mean follow up (Years) 4.51 4.29 4.57 4.34 IR (cases/1,000py) 32.6 40.6 35.1 40.2 HR (95% CI) 0.79 (0.68 to 0.91) 1.00 0.81 (0.74 to 0.90) 1.00 Conclusions Findings from this general population study indicate that statin initiation is associated with a survival benefit among RA patients, and its magnitude is similar to that shown in the JUPITER trial among non-RA patients [1]. References The New England Journal of Medicine. 2008. 359(21):2195-2207. Lancet. 2004. 363(9426):2015-2021. Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2008. 59(9):1314-1321. Disclosure of Interest None declared


A heterodyne receiver performs frequency down-conversion in two steps to relax oscillator and divider speed requirements. The receiver incorporates new concepts such as a current-domain quadrature separation method, a broadband Miller divider based on a passive mixer, and an inductor nesting technique that significantly reduces the length of high-frequency interconnects. Fabricated in 90-nm CMOS technology, the circuit achieves a noise figure of 6.9 to 8.3 dB from 49 GHz to 53 GHz with a gain of 26 to 31.5 dB and I/Q mismatch of 1.6 dB/6.5deg.


This paper reviews the literature on the portability of social security entitlements for migrant workers, who moved along North-North, South- North, and South-South migration flows. Portability of social security entitlements is the ability of migrant workers to preserve, maintain, and transfer benefits of social security programmes spatially and socially, among their families. The paper uses a gender perspective where possible as part of an intersectional approach. We find that North-North migrants have the best access to social protection and portability, due to generally higher income of migrants, the inter-governmental agreements and developed administrative capacities in the North. There is limited coordination between South/origin and North/destination countries on the portability of social entitlements (such as pensions) of South-North migrants. In general, these migrants are dealing with immigration discourses and discriminatory policies that treat them as second class citizens, even as they are providing much-needed labour to their host countries and contribute to their economy. This hinders bilateral agreements on social security portability. South-South migrants are seeing new regional mechanisms addressing portability. However, beyond legal agreements, many of the impacts of these mechanisms are not yet known. Knowledge gaps in the landscape of research on the portability of social security entitlements for migrant workers that future research should address relate to internal migration and South-South migration, the role of gender and other social identities, migrants' occupations as well as the legality of workers' immigration status.


-Following traumatic brain injury, the most troubling issues are often those associated with executive system impairment caused by prefrontal injury. In this article, the cognitive, behavioral, and communication challenges typically associated with executive system impairment are briefly reviewed, followed by discussion and illustration of an approach to intervention that highlights provision of customized supports in everyday contexts. Seven themes are identified that appear to be critical in effectively serving individuals with executive sys-tem impairment after TBI.


An adaptive control scheme for manipulators with redundant degrees of freedom is presented. The control purpose is to achieve a desired interaction force between the end-effector and the environment as well as to regulate the robot tip position in the Cartesian space. This control approach does not require measurement of the joint acceleration or the force derivative. >


Abstract This study investigates the factorial structure of a five-item questionnaire for student ratings of teaching (SRT) at a university setting. It features factor analyses of three large samples of data from a large Midwestern public university in the USA. Students completed the questionnaire at the end of courses. There were three campuses at the university, and thus three data sets in the study including an evaluation of a total of 27,693 courses with responses from a total of 1,087,652 students. An exploratory factor analysis with maximum likelihood extraction and varimax rotation was conducted to explore the factorial structure of the three data sets separately. The results indicated that there was only one factor explaining 80.99%, 77.18% and 84.94% of the variance in the Campus 1, 2 and 3 data sets, respectively. Thus, our results suggested that the data set in each campus was primarily unifactor. That the five-item SRT measure is unifactor across the courses in each of the campuses is a robust finding. Calculation of the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questionnaire indicated that the questionnaire had high internal consistency reliability (i.e. α = .94, α = .92 and α = .95 for Campus 1, 2 and 3, respectively).


Lower Cretaceous stratigraphy of the Rocky Mountain region is complicated by problems of nomenclature, lateral extent, correlation, and age variation of the Dakota group. Lower members of the Dakota group have three different relationships to the underlying Morrison formation: (1) in some areas the basal units were deposited in channels and are unconformable on the Morrison; (2) in many areas the basal units have an intertonguing facies relationship with the upper Morrison, and, (3) a regional unconformity at the base of the Dakota group is developed only in the Great Plains region. Regional time lines are necessary for an understanding of facies relations. Marine Jurassic formations define an approximate time line at the base of the Morrison in the northern part of the Rocky Mountain region. The Todilto limestone forms an approximate time line in the San Juan basin, but it can not be related precisely to the marine formations farther north. In the northern part of the region the boundary between the Upper Cretaceous and the Lower Cretaceous is placed at the top of the Mowry shale which is marked by the Clay Spur bentonite bed, an excellent time horizon. The marker bentonite of the Denver basin ("X" bentonite), 100-300 feet above the Mowry shale, can be traced throughout the Powder River basin of Wyoming where it marks the base of the Greenhorn faunal zone (Upper Cretaceous). The "X" bentonite bed, and in its absence, the base of the Greenhorn limestone form an excellent time line. Sediments of the Dakota group were deposited in a sea that advanced from the north and thus these basal sediments become younger in easterly, southerly, and westerly directions. Marine shales of the Thermopolis and overlying Mowry and Graneros formations of Wyoming and Montana were deposited contemporaneously with sandstones of the Dakota group farther south. The lower part of the Dakota group of Wyoming and Montana was deposited contemporaneously with upper Morrison sediments on the south. Over most of the Rocky Mountain region the Dakota group is Lower Cretaceous, but in deposits just south of the San Juan basin the upper part is as young as the Greenhorn limestone, a relation similar to that found in eastern Nebraska, at the type locality, where the Dakota sandstone is largely, if ot entirely, Upper Cretaceous. In Wyoming and Montana, sandstones of the lower Dakota group (Lakota, Fall River, Dakota, Cloverly, Cat Creek, and upper Morrison) produce oil in areas where distinctive, linear, thick sandstones are developed and are notably unproductive in areas of patchy, heterogeneous sand development. In eastern Colorado, the lower part of the Dakota group (Dakota, Lytle, "M", "O", "R", and "T" sandstones) is essentially non-productive. Significant oil production in the Dakota sandstone of western Colorado and the San Juan basin is found in areas characterized by linear sandstone development. "D" and "J" sandstones of the Denver basin produce petroleum from stratigraphic traps and the southeast limit of significant production coincides with the zero isopach of the Mowry shale. Oil production in the Muddy and Newcastle sandstones of Wyoming (equivalents of lower "J") is stratigraphically trapped in or near linear sandstone trends. Structural entrapments are present where linear trends cross structural highs. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1098------------


Huge amount of remotely sensed imagery data provide the possibility and challenges to extract knowledge from them. In this paper, we propose a model for using artificial neural networks to perform unsupervised learning on remotely sensed imagery. This model generates self-organizing maps (SOM) based on remotely sensed imagery and related data such as yield, nitrate, and moisture. It correlates these maps and projects these output into a SOM. In addition, it uses wavelets for data pre-processing. The model also derives important rules. The entire model is implemented as a distributed system using CORBA. Performance analysis shows the model is efficient and effective for performing clustering on remotely sensed imagery.


In the title monomer, [Cu(NO3)2(C24H16N2)2], the copper(II) cation is eight-coordinate within an octahedral-like polyhedron. The coordination polyhedron is formed by two chelating diphenylphenanthroline groups that define the highly distorted CuN4 equatorial plane and two weakly bound bidentate (chelating) nitrate groups in the apical or axial positions. The complex crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c; a twofold axis passes through the copper(II) cation and bisects the two nitrate ligands. This gives the molecule C2 point-group symmetry, rendering only half of the molecule independent.


Remote sensing image fusion technology (pan-sharpening) is an important means to improve the information capacity of remote sensing images. Inspired by the efficient arameter space posteriori sampling of Bayesian neural networks, in this paper we propose a Bayesian Generative Adversarial Network based on Preconditioned Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics (PGSLD-BGAN) to improve pan-sharpening tasks. Unlike many traditional generative models that consider only one optimal solution (might be locally optimal), the proposed PGSLD-BGAN performs Bayesian inference on the network parameters, and explore the generator posteriori distribution, which assists selecting the appropriate generator parameters. First, we build a two-stream generator network with PAN and MS images as input, which consists of three parts: feature extraction, feature fusion and image reconstruction. Then, we leverage Markov discriminator to enhance the ability of generator to reconstruct the fusion image, so that the result image can retain more details. Finally, introducing Preconditioned Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics policy, we perform Bayesian inference on the generator network. Experiments on QuickBird and WorldView datasets show that the model proposed in this paper can effectively fuse PAN and MS images, and be competitive with even superior to state of the arts in terms of subjective and objective metrics.


Abstract The microstructure of a scale formed on the ATI 718Plus superalloy during oxidation at 850 °C for up to 1 000 h in air was characterised using various electron microscopy techniques taking advantage of recent development and capabilities of energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The study shows that a protective multilayered Cr2O3 scale was formed on this alloy; the outer Cr2O3 layer was coarse-grained, while the inner one was fine-grained. Underneath, a thin layer composed of TiNbO4 as well as an internal oxidation zone that was a dozen or so micrometres thick and consisted of individual Al2O3 precipitates had formed. The growth of the Cr2O3 layer caused the appearance of a chromium depletion zone, in which the γ′ particles were not observed.


The purpose of the work was to study the effect of age on the degree of isometric strength restoration of the lower limb muscles in the long-term period after surgical treatment of adult patients with spondylolisthesis. 36 patients with spondylolisthesis of I and II displacement degree and 50 normal subjects at the age of 41-66 years were included in the study. Maximum moments of the femur and leg isometric strength were studied using dynamometric stands. The pain syndrome was evaluated in all the patients (VAS scale), as well as their functional condition (Oswestry scale). The investigations were performed before treatment and 75-99 months after surgical intervention. The presented reliable reverse correlation of the patient's age and the pattern and magnitude of changes in the strength of the lower limb muscles was identified in adult patients with spondylolisthesis in the long-term period after surgical treatment. At the younger age (41-59 years) positive dynamics of the muscle strength prevailed - an increase in 56,3% cases, conformity to the preoperative level was observed in 6,3% patients, a decrease in muscle function - in 37,4% cases. In the age-related group of 60-74 years the muscle strength growth was recorded only in 16,7% cases, there was no dynamics relative to the initial level in 8,3% patients, and a decrease in maximum moment of strength was observed in 75% cases. Thus, in case of large intervals of the follow-up period of the results of surgical treatment of adult patients with spondylolisthesis it is impossible to avoid evaluating the effect of age changes in muscles on the degree of restoring isometric strength of the lower limb muscles. As far as age increases, the reserves for muscle function improvement after surgical treatment are reduced significantly.


HfO2/porous nickel silicide (NiSi) hierarchical structures fabricated by metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) followed by a silicidation process and deposition of HfO2 by atomic layer deposition (ALD) have been. The as-formed porous structures are systematically investigated using etching solutions of various HF/H2O2 ratios and the manipulation of electrical double-layer (EDL) overlapping, leading to electrical charge-induced selective ion penetration in HfO2/porous NiSi hierarchical structures. Its desalination ability was examined, in which the ionic concentration of saline water can be reduced by 21% when a bias of 2 V was applied. In addition, the mechanical property of the as-formed porous NiSi membrane was estimated to have a flexural strength of 124.04 MPa. These porous NiSi membranes can be continuously operated for 18 h without loss of its deionization ability.


Seroprevalence of toxoplasma gondii, rubella virus, cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus infections (TORCH) and syphilis were determined in order to assess the immune/susceptibility status in Jamaican pregnant women in 1986. The positive rates were 57% (T. gondii), 69% (rubella), 97% (CMV), 91% (HSV), and 4.9% (syphilis), respectively. The rate of reactivity for syphilis ranged from 2.1% in Kingston and St. Andrew to 7.3% in rural parishes. The seropositivity rate for rubella was over 50% in all parishes, the highest being 85% in St. Thomas. The seroprevalence of T. gondii was lowest in Trelawny (37.5%). There were no significant differences in seropositivity of CMV and HSV infections between women from various parishes. The importance of seroprevalence of the TORCH group of agents and syphilis on perinatal morbidity and mortality in Jamaican women is discussed, and appropriate recommendations for prevention and control of congenital infections in Jamaica are suggested.


Quality of Service (QoS) of the implementation of an application can be defined as a function of the properties of the application and its implementation as observed by the user and/or the environment. Typical application and implementation properties include latency, throughput, jitter and the level of resolution. Many of the current and pending most popular applications, such as multimedia, wireless sensing and communications, security and PEBBs, have intrinsic relevant QoS components. Recently quality of service attracted a great of deal of attention in a number of research and development communities, and in particular in the network and multimedia literature. However, until now synthesis and CAD research did not addressed how to design systems with quantitative QoS requirements. Our goal in this paper is to outline foundations and framework in which QoS system design trade-offs and optimization can be addressed. We first identify and state in synthesis-usable way two currently most popular approaches to Quality of Service treatment: Q-RAM and DS-curve (demand/service). We discuss advantages and limitations of the two approaches. Next, we show how these two approaches can be combined in a new more comprehensive QoS framework. We also explain and illustrate using examples interaction between QoS and synthesis and compilation tasks. We conclude by identifying and discussing the future directions related to synthesis of QoS-sensitive systems.


Purpose of review This narrative review examines recently published research that examines the prevalence, underlying causes, and treatments for dementia among people with schizophrenia. Recent findings People with schizophrenia have high rates of dementia, compared with the general population, and cognitive decline has been observed 14 years prior to onset of psychosis with accelerated decline in middle age. Underlying mechanisms of cognitive decline in schizophrenia include low cognitive reserve, accelerated cognitive aging, cerebrovascular disease and medication exposure. Although pharmacologic, psychosocial and lifestyle interventions show early promise for preventing and mitigating cognitive decline, few studies have been conducted in older people with schizophrenia. Summary Recent evidence supports accelerated cognitive decline and brain changes in middle-aged and older people with schizophrenia, relative to the general population. More research in older people with schizophrenia is needed to tailor existing cognitive interventions and develop novel approaches for this vulnerable and high-risk group.


DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification and multiple factors interact to regulate the establishment and maintenance of DNA methylation in plant genome. Different methylation sites require different cytosine methyltransferases, which contribute to the modification of chromatin structure and mediate epigenetics with chromatin remodeling enzymes and histone modifying factors. DNA glycosylases can remove DNA methylation and alleviate silencing. The functions and interactions of DNA methylation regulating factors, the establishment, maintenance and removement mechanisms of DNA methylations are reviewed in this paper.


In the perspective of smooth capacity upgrades of legacy systems, we experimentally investigate the performance of one 100-Gb/s coherent polarization-division-multiplexed quaternary-phase-shift-keying (PDM-QPSK) channel inserted in a 10-Gb/s ultra-long-haul (ULH) wavelength-division-multiplexing system relying on nonzero dispersion-shifted fibers. The impact of copropagating 10-Gb/s nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) channels operating ULH distances onto the operational power range of the inserted 100-Gb/s coherent PDM-QPSK channel is analyzed. Moreover, the performance penalties brought by copropagating 10-Gb/s NRZ channels onto 100-Gb/s PDM-QPSK data are also analyzed depending on the number of channels in the multiplex and on the introduction of guardbands between both type of channels.


Abstract Introduction: Fractional resurfacing with an Erbium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Er:YAG) 2940 nm laser is an increasingly popular option for the treatment of the signs of facial photoaging, which include wrinkles as well as pigmentation issues and unwanted textural changes. Fractional treatment has produced favorable clinical responses, but with less complications and shorter recovery times than traditional laser resurfacing. This study was conducted to evaluate a fractionated Er:YAG treatment regimen of 1–2 higher fluence sessions with a multiple-pass technique. Materials and methods: Eight subjects with moderate to severely photodamaged facial skin received one to two full-face laser treatments. Multiple-pass (MP) treatment results were evaluated in terms of procedure time, discomfort, social downtime and effectiveness. A photographic evaluation, subject improvement assessments and a subject satisfaction assessment were performed. Results: An investigator's photographic review showed a 26–75% improvement in the signs of overall photoaging. Subjects treated with the MP technique exhibited a relatively short 3–4 day downtime and ratings of mostly moderate discomfort with the use of topical anesthetic cream only. Subjects treated with higher fluences demonstrated the highest average improvement in specific features of photoaging. Two laser treatments resulted in substantially higher improvement scores than those received just one laser treatment.


The temperature dependence for the reduction of the oxidized primary electron donor P680(+) by the redox active tyrosine Y(Z) has been studied in oxygen-evolving photosystem II preparations from spinach. The observed temperature dependence is found to vary markedly with the S-state of the manganese cluster. In the higher oxidation states, S(2) and S(3), sub-microsecond P680(+) reduction exhibits activation energies of about 260 meV. In contrast, there is only a small temperature dependence for the sub-microsecond reaction in the S(0) and S(1) states (an activation energy of approximately 50 meV). Slower microsecond components of P680(+) reduction show an activation energy of about 250 meV which, within experimental error, is independent of the oxidation state of the Mn cluster. By combining these values with measurements of DeltaG for electron transfer, the reorganization energies for each component of P680(+) reduction have been calculated. High activation and reorganization energies are found for sub-microsecond P680(+) reduction in S(2) and S(3), demonstrating that these electron transfers are coupled to significant reorganization events which do not occur in the presence of the lower S-states. One interpretation of these results is that there is an increase in the net charge on the manganese cluster on the S(1) to S(2) transition which acts as a barrier to electron transfer in the higher S-states. This argues against the electroneutrality requirement for some models of the function of the manganese cluster and hence against a role for Y(Z) as a hydrogen abstractor on all S-state transitions. An alternative or additional possibility is that there are proton (or other ion) motions in the sub-microsecond phases in S(2) and S(3) which contribute to the large reorganization energies observed, these motions being absent in the S(0) and S(1) states. Indeed charge accumulation may directly cause the increased reorganization energy.


This paper presents a fast motion estimator which can be used for real-time MPEG-4 encoding of arbitrarily shaped video objects. The approach is based on an existing algorithm which has already been applied successfully to format conversion. To exploit it for shape-adaptive coding, the algorithm has been adapted to the special properties of the MPEG-4 standard. With this new tool it becomes possible to encode arbitrarily shaped video objects (CIF, 25 Hz) in real-time with a MPEG-4 software encoder at a Pentium III 500 MHz. The real-time capability has to be paid by a slight loss of coding efficiency (about 0.2 dB in terms of rate-distortion measurements), compared to the MPEG-4 verification model.


Background Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) generally have the greatest impact if they are initiated early in the course of the disease. We hypothesized that greater cumulative exposure to DMARDs soon after RA diagnosis is associated with longer time to joint surgeries. Objectives To evaluate early exposure to DMARDs and time to joint surgery, comparing incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA) populations from Ontario (ON) and Quebec (QC). Methods Using a standard protocol, we performed population-based cohort analyses on new-onset RA patients in ON and QC from 2000-2013. Incident RA patients were followed from cohort entry until their first joint surgery, or were censored at death date, or the end of study period, whichever came first. We studied all recipients of public drug coverage, aged 66 years and older. Analyses were confined to "new users" for the drug of interest. We used Cox proportional hazards regression with time-dependent variables measuring duration of drug use (daily exposures in the first year of follow-up), separately for methotrexate and other DMARDs, adjusting for baseline age, sex, urban vs. rural residence, socioeconomic status, co-existing osteoarthritis (OA), comorbidities, prior joint surgeries, extra-articular RA manifestations, time-varying number of physician visits, and drug exposures (anti-TNF inhibitors, COXIBs, NSAIDs, systemic steroids). Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) along with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were estimated. Results Among 20,918 ON and 6,740 QC RA patients, 68% were female and the mean (SD) age was 75 (6) years in each setting. During follow-up, 2,201 (11%) in ON and 494 (7%) patients in QC underwent joint surgery, for a rate of 2 events per 100 person-years in both settings. In the multivariable analyses, greater exposure to methotrexate (HR 0.97 95%CI 0.95-0.98), and other DMARDs (HR 0.98 95%CI 0.97-0.99) within the first year was associated with longer time to surgery in both settings. The strongest independent associations with shorter time to surgery in ON and QC, respectively, included previous joint surgeries [HR=1.9 vs. 2.8], co-existing OA [HR=1.5 vs. 1.8], and greater exposure to NSAIDs [HR=1.2 vs. 1.3], and COXIBs [HR=1.1 vs. 1.3]. Conclusions Greater cumulative exposures to methotrexate and other DMARDs, within 1 year after RA diagnosis, were associated with longer time to joint surgeries in both ON and QC. Our coordinated approach across provincial data sources identified highly comparable and consistent findings. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Uncertainty and fear are realities patients often have to face in illness and hospitalization. Mishel has described how perceived uncertainty under these circumstances can affect the patient's coping strategies. The Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale (MUIS), along with a diagnosis-specific version of the MUIS, the Cardiovascular Population Scale, was translated into Swedish with the purpose of testing the usefulness of the scale on a Swedish coronary population. The sample included 60 patients, 40 males and 20 females, with coronary pain, cared for on two intensive coronary care units. The Swedish version of the MUIS seems to be in most instances a reliable instrument for measuring perceived uncertainty. Coefficient alpha was .82, compared with Mishel's reported .84. The reliability of the Cardiovascular Population Scale was .74. Study findings revealed that recency of prior hospitalization was significantly related to perceived uncertainty. Results point to the necessity of further validity testing.


RGB and depth cameras are extensively used for the 3D tracking of human pose and motion. Typically, these cameras calculate a set of 3D points representing the human body as a skeletal structure. The tracking capabilities of a single camera are often affected by noise and inaccuracies due to occluded body parts. Multiple-camera setups offer a solution to maximize coverage of the captured human body and to minimize occlusions. According to best practices, fusing information across multiple cameras typically requires spatio-temporal calibration. First, the cameras must synchronize their internal clocks. This is typically performed by physically connecting the cameras to each other using an external device or cable. Second, the pose of each camera relative to the other cameras must be calculated (Extrinsic Calibration). The state-of-the-art methods use specialized calibration session and devices such as a checkerboard to perform calibration. In this paper, we introduce an approach to the spatio-temporal calibration of multiple cameras which is designed to run on-the-fly without specialized devices or equipment requiring only the motion of the human body in the scene. As an example, the system is implemented and evaluated using Microsoft Azure Kinect. The study shows that the accuracy and robustness of this approach is on par with the state-of-the-art practices.


Recent works in the area of human robot motion showed that behaving in a human-like manner allows a robot to reduce global cognitive effort for people in the environment. Given that collision avoidance situations between people are solved cooperatively, this work models the manner in which this cooperation is done so that a robot can replicate their behavior. To that end, hundreds of situations where two walkers have crossing trajectories were analyzed. Based on these human trajectories involving a collision avoidance task, we determined how total effort is shared between each walker depending on several factors of the interaction such as crossing angle, time to collision and speed. To validate our approach, a proof of concept is integrated into ROS with Reciprocal Velocity Objects (RVO) in order to distribute collision avoidance effort in a human-like way.


This thesis is concerned with the well-posedness of the one-dimensional derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation (DNLS). In particular, we study the initial-value problem associated to DNLS with low-regularity initial data in two settings: (i) on the torus (namely with the periodic boundary condition) and (ii) on the real line. Our first main goal is to study the global-in-time behaviour of solutions to DNLS in the periodic setting, where global well-posedness is known to hold under a small mass assumption. In Chapter 2, we relax the smallness assumption on the mass and establish global well-posedness of DNLS for smooth initial data. In Chapter 3, we then extend this result for rougher initial data. In particular, we employ the I-method introduced by Colliander, Keel, Staffilani, Takaoka, and Tao and show the global well-posedness of the periodic DNLS at the end-point regularity. In the implementation of the I-method, we apply normal form reductions to construct higher order modified energy functionals. In Chapter 4, we turn our attention to the uniqueness of solutions to DNLS on the real line. By using an infinite iteration of normal form reductions introduced by Guo, Kwon, and Oh in the context of one-dimensional cubic NLS on the torus, we construct solutions to DNLS without using any auxiliary function space. As a result, we prove the unconditional uniqueness of solutions to DNLS on the real line in an almost end-point regularity.


Objective: To describe a distinctive syndrome of nonprogressive encephalopathy, normo- or microcephaly, and early onset of severe psychomotor impairment in 15 white patients, including two siblings and two first cousins. Methods and Results: MRI revealed bilateral cysts in the anterior part of the temporal lobe and white matter abnormalities with pericystic abnormal myelination and symmetric lesions in frontal and occipital periventricular regions. None of the usual inborn errors of metabolism/infectious diseases associated with leukoencephalopathy and bilateral anterior temporal lobe cysts were detected. Conclusions: These patients' clinical signs and cranial MRI abnormalities are strikingly similar and may represent a distinctive disease with autosomal-recessive inheritance: cystic leukoencephalopathy without megalencephaly.


This new edition is an unrivalled source of information and images covering the whole of modern astronomy. Its 130 articles written by experts form an absorbing panorama of information arranged by topic. Almost every page of the Atlas is richly illustrated with colour photographs, maps, and detailed diagrams. This reference book commences with a survey of the Sun and the solar system, followed by the stars and the Galaxy, and concludes with the extragalactic universe and cosmology. For this edition there are entirely new sections on the planets Venus, Neptune and Pluto, solar system debris, black holes and collapsed stars, active galaxies, galaxy clusters and cosmology. Many photographs have been replaced by improved images from modern telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope. An elaborate 24-page glossary and index has been added to increase the ease with which this sumptuous and lavish encyclopedia can be used for quick reference. There are substantial changes throughout the section on the Solar System. The material on Venus is re-written, to take account of the spectacular Magellan mission. The Mars chapter now includes the Phobos results. In the outer solar system new results on the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are included, as well as new photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope. There is also a new chapter on planetary climate change. The section on stars and the Galaxy now includes chapters on astrometry and protoplanetary systems, as well as many modifications to the existing texts on evolved stars.


COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted every athlete's daily routine. Considering the circumstances, their career, psychological and emotional well-being, as well as their health status will be greatly affected considering the abrupt end of the high-intensity training usually conducted. Through a carefully structured interview with the athletes, guidelines for remaining motivated and maintaining one's own psychological and emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and similar crises will be showcased.


Proactive deleveraging from all-time peak market leverage (ML) to near-zero ML and negative net debt is the norm among 4,476 nonfinancial firms with five or more years of post-peak data. ML is 0.543 at the historical peak and 0.026 at the later trough for the median firm in this sample, with a six-year median time from peak to trough. These deleveraging episodes are largely proactive, with debt repayment and earnings retention accounting for 93.7% of the peak-to-trough decline in ML for the median firm. Attenuated deleveraging, with ML staying well above zero, is the norm at 3,118 firms that are delisted due to financial distress within four years of peak. Leverage is path dependent, with the key to explaining whether ML is high or low at the post-peak trough being how high it was at the peak and prior trough and whether the firm has had only a short time to deleverage, e.g., due to distress-related delisting. The findings are consistent with proactive deleveraging to avoid distress and to restore financial flexibility, and are hard to reconcile with materially positive target leverage ratios.


This study proposes a novel multi-rate model predictive control (MPC) scheme for linear discrete-time systems subject to input constraints. The proposed scheme consists of two control layers, acting at two different timescales. At a slow timescale, the outputs associated with the slow dynamics are steered to their reference values while at a fast timescale, a shrinking horizon MPC regulator is designed to refine the control action computed at the slow timescale. The proposed control scheme shows to be particularly useful, not only to control systems with different open-loop dynamics but also in cases when the controlled variables are required to have different responsiveness in a closed loop. Simulation results on a fire tube boiler example are reported, which indeed show that different dynamics can be efficiently imposed on the controlled variables, i.e. the boiler pressure and the water level, in the presence of variations of the disturbance represented by the steam output flow rate.


Boost dc-to-dc converters have very good source interface properties. The input inductor makes the source current smooth and hence these converters provide very good EMI performance. On account of this good property, the boost converter is also the preferred converter for off-line UPF rectifiers. One of the issues of concern in these converters is the large size of the storage capacitor on the dc link. The boost converter suffers from the disadvantage of discontinuous current injected to the load. The size of the capacitor is therefore large. Further, the ripple current in the capacitor is as much as the load current; hence the ESR specification of the tank capacitor is quite demanding. This is specially so in the emerging application areas of automotive power conversion, where the input voltage is low (typically 12V) and large voltage boost (4 to 5) are desired. The first part of this thesis suggests multi-phase boost converter to overcome the disadvantages of large size storage capacitor in boost converter. Comparison between the specification of single stage and multi-stages is thoroughly examined. Besides, the average small signal analysis of N converters in parallel and obtaining an equivalent second order system are discussed. On account of parallel operation, the converters the design of closed loop control is a demanding task. Current mode control is essential to achieve proper current sharing among the stages. iv Design and implementation of closed loop control of multi-phase boost converter both in analog and digital is the topic of next part of the thesis. Comparison between these two approaches is presented in this part and it will be shown that digital control is more convenient for such a topology on account of the requirement of synchronization, phase shifted operation, current balancing and other desired functions, which are discussed in detail. A new direct digital control method, which is simple and fast, is developed. Two different realizations with DSP controller and FPGA controller are considered. In the last part of the thesis a novel soft switching circuit for boost converter is presented. It provides Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) for the main switch and Zero Current Switching (ZCS) for the auxiliary switch. The paper presents the idealized analysis giving all the circuit intervals and the equations necessary for the design of such a circuit. The proposed soft switching circuit is particularly suited for the tapped-inductor boost circuit with a minimum number of extra components. Extension of the method to tapped inductor boost converter addresses the application of Zero Voltage Transition (ZVT) to high conversion ratio converters. Extension of the method to multiphase boost converter shows that with less number of auxiliary switches, soft switching operation can be achieved for all interleaved switching devices. Several laboratory prototype boost converters have been built to confirm the theoretical results; the design methods are validated through simulation and experimental results.


Abstract Objective: Many experimental studies aim to assess the autonomic nervous system (ANS), but this is often hampered by interactions with anesthetic drugs. We aimed to evaluate whether isoflurane anesthesia is suitable for ANS evaluation in rats. Methods: Six Wistar rats were anesthetized with isoflurane (4 L/min, 2.5%). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) were measured at baseline and 20 min after sympathetic inhibition (propranolol, 5 mg/kg) and stimulation (isoproterenol, 2.5 mg/kg), and parasympathetic inhibition (atropine nitrate, 2 mg/kg) and stimulation (carbamylcholine, 0.4 mg/kg; acetylcholine, 0.1 mg/kg). Six additional rats were used to assess the effects of isoproterenol, carbamylcholine, and atropine nitrate in the absence of anesthesia. Results: Propranolol significantly decreased the HR and the SBP, whereas isoproterenol significantly increased the HR (all p≤0.01) in the isoflurane-anesthetized rats. However, the HR response to sympathetic stimulation was significantly reduced in the anesthetized compared to the non-anesthetized rats (p=0.03). Carbamylcholine and acetylcholine significantly decreased both the HR and SBP (all p<0.05) in the anesthetized rats, but the response to carbamylcholine administration was significantly more pronounced in the non-anesthetized rats (p=0.03). Atropine nitrate significantly increased the HR (p<0.001) in the non-anesthetized rats, but it had no effect on either the HR or the SBP in the presence of isoflurane anesthesia (both p>0.05). Conclusions: Isoflurane anesthesia appears to interfere with both components of the ANS and is therefore not an optimal approach for experimental ANS evaluation. Our data indicate autonomic receptors and/or post-receptor mechanisms as the most likely site for isoflurane-ANS interactions.


There are an increasing number of applications that support communications in network communities. As the architecture of these applications, cooperative distributed agents are suitable for adapting to dynamic changes in community organizations. We are developing a platform named Shine as a common base for implementing network community applications in a cooperative distributed architecture. The paper describes the platform's significance, requirements, and design policy. We also show an example of building a network community support system on top of the platform.


Nonlinear microscopy has become widely used in biophotonic imaging. Pulse shaping provides control over nonlinear optical processes of ultrafast pulses for selective imaging and contrast enhancement. In this study, nonlinear microscopy, including two-photon fluorescence, second harmonic generation, and third harmonic generation, was performed using pulses shaped from a fiber supercontinuum (SC) spanning from 900 to 1160 nm. The SC generated by coupling pulses from a Yb:KYW pulsed laser into a photonic crystal fiber was spectrally filtered and compressed using a spatial light modulator. The shaped pulses were used for nonlinear optical imaging of cellular and tissue samples. Amplitude and phase shaping the fiber SC offers selective and efficient nonlinear optical imaging over a broad bandwidth with a single-beam and an easily tunable setup.


Introduction The risks of ESD in the oesophagus are perceived to be high and consequences potentially disastrous. For this reason, EMR is the most common technique to resect early Barrett's cancer. However, the drawback of EMR is piecemeal resection with difficulties interpreting resection margins of cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate feasibility, safety, and outcomes of ESD in the endoscopic treatment of Barrett's neoplasia and to compare these with EMR. Methods All data was collected prospectively on a predesigned electronic database between 2006 and 2015. The database was interrogated by independent researchers blinded to the endoscopic procedures. Bleeding was defined as significant if patients required transfusion, endoscopic therapy or hospitalisation. Strictures were defined as significant if they were symptomatic or requiring dilatation. SPSS was used for statistical analysis of data Results 81 oesophageal ESDs were performed in 70 patients and 180 EMRs were performed in 112 patients during the study period. Table 1 demonstrates patient and lesion characteristics and outcomes following resection including deep R0 resection margin for cancer and histological outcomes. Lesion morphology and histology was significantly more advanced in the ESD group as compared to EMR.Abstract OC-011 Table 1 Barrett's patient and lesion characteristics Mean age Mean Follow up Mean Length (cm) IIa IIb IIc Is Mean Size (mm) EMR n = 180 69.2 6.5 5.7 44% 37% 6% 12% 24 ESD n = 81 72.4 1.6 6.1 37% 2% 23% 35% 33 p-value NS NS NS NS <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 NS Resection Outcomes R0 Cancer En bloc HGD Cancer Recurrence Bleeding Stricture EMR n = 180 73% 30% 42% 57% 12% 4% 4% ESD n = 81 82% 89% 8% 88% 4% 2% 2% p-value NS <0.01 <0.01 <0.01 0.03 NS NS The endoscopic cure rate in the EMR group was 81% with 19% of patients upstaged requiring radical treatment. In the ESD group the endoscopic cure rate was 87% with 13% of patients upstaged requiring radical treatment. Conclusion This is the biggest reported comparison of EMR vs ESD for Barrett's neoplasia. Proportionately more Is and IIC lesions were resected by ESD than by EMR which is reflected by significantly more cancers identified in the ESD group. Our data shows the safety and efficacy for ESD resection of Barrett's cancers but EMR still remains a standard therapeutic option for non-cancerous Barrett's neoplasia. This calls for a prospective RCT comparing ESD vs EMR for Barrett's cancer. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Coal deformation is one of the leading problems for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in coal seams especially with respect to different-phase CO2 injection. In this paper, a series of core flooding tests were conducted under different confining stresses (8–20 MPa), injection pressures (1–15 MPa), and downstream pressures (0.1–10 MPa) at 50 °C temperature to investigate the effects of coal deformation induced by adsorption and effective stress on sub-critical, super-critical, and mixed-phase CO2 permeability. Due to the linear relationship between the mean flow rate and the pressure gradient, Darcy Law was applied on different-phase CO2 flow. Experimental results indicate that: (1) Under the same effective stress, sub-critical CO2 permeability > mixed-phase CO2 permeability > super-critical CO2 permeability. (2) For sub-critical CO2 flow, the initial volumetric strain is mainly attributed to adsorption-induced swelling. A temporary drop in permeability was observed. (3) For super-critical CO2 flow, when the injection pressure is over 10 MPa, effective-stress-generated deformation is dominant over the adsorption-induced strain and mainly contributes to the volumetric strain change. Thus, there is a linear increase of the volumetric strain with mean pore pressure and super-critical CO2 permeability increased with volumetric strain. (4) For mixed-phase CO2 flow, coupling effects of adsorption-induced swelling and effective stress on the volumetric strain were observed but effective stress made more of a contribution. CO2 permeability consistently increased with the volumetric strain. This paper reveals the swelling mechanism of different-phase CO2 injections and its effect on coal permeability.


Abstract. A two-step procedure to calibrate the spectral sensitivity to visible light of auroral all-sky cameras is outlined. Center pixel response is obtained by the use of a Lambertian surface and a standard 45 W tungsten lamp. Screen brightness is regulated by the distance between the lamp and the screen. All-sky flat-field correction is carried out with a 1 m diameter integrating sphere. A transparent Lexan dome at the exit port of the sphere is used to simulate observing conditions at the Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO). A certified portable low brightness source from Keo Scientific Ltd was used to test the procedure. Transfer lamp certificates in units of Rayleigh per Angstrom (R/A) are found to be within a relative error of 2%. An all-sky camera flat-field correction method is presented with only 6 required coefficients per channel.


Drastic urbanization and manhattanization are causing various problems in wind environment. This study suggests a CFD simulation method to evaluate wind environment in the early design stage of high-rise buildings. The CFD simulation of this study is not a traditional in-depth simulation, but a method to immediately evaluate wind environment for each design alternative and provide guidelines for design modification. Thus, the CFD simulation of this study to evaluate wind environments uses BIM-based CFD tools to utilize building models in the design stage. This study examined previous criteria to evaluate wind environment for pedestrians around buildings and selected evaluation criteria applicable to the CFD simulation method of this study. Furthermore, proper mesh generation method and CPU time were reviewed to find a meaningful CFD simulation result for determining optimal design alternative from the perspective of wind environment in the design stage. In addition, this study is to suggest a wind environment evaluation method through a BIM-based CFD simulation.


Autologous cancellous-bone grafts are the current gold standard for therapeutic interventions in which bone-regeneration is desired. The main limitations of these implants are the need for a secondary surgical site, creating a wound on the patient, the limited availability of harvest-safe bone, and the lack of structural integrity of the grafts. Synthetic, resorbable, bone-regeneration materials could pose a viable treatment alternative, that could be implemented through 3D-printing. We present here the development of a polylactic acid-hydroxyapatite (PLA-HAp) composite that can be processed through a commercial-grade 3D-printer. We have shown that this material could be a viable option for the development of therapeutic implants for bone regeneration. Biocompatibility in vitro was demonstrated through cell viability studies using the osteoblastic MG63 cell-line, and we have also provided evidence that the presence of HAp in the polymer matrix enhances cell attachment and osteogenicity of the material. We have also provided guidelines for the optimal PLA-HAp ratio for this application, as well as further characterisation of the mechanical and thermal properties of the composite. This study encompasses the base for further research on the possibilities and safety of 3D-printable, polymer-based, resorbable composites for bone regeneration.


This study investigated the ozone formation mechanism and air mass trajectory via simultaneous air quality sampling around the coastal region of urban Kaohsiung. Vertical concentration profiles of O3 and its precursors (NO(subscript x) and VOCs) were sampled and measured at inland and offshore sites during eight intensive sampling periods. The intensive sampling periods were divided into three categories based on meteorological condition: the sea-land breeze period, the northeastern monsoon period, and the mixed period. Vertical profile results showed that the stratification of O3 was commonly observed at 40 out of 64 sampling sites accounting for 62.5% of the total O3 measurement. The results obtained from VOCs measurement indicated that the major species of VOCs was acetone, which accounted for 16.25-64.05% of total TVOCs- C2 in the offshore region, while the major species of VOCs in the inland region was toluene, which accounted for 6.41- 43.77 % of total TVOCs-C2. Backward trajectories showed that air pollutants emitted from land sources could transport to the offshore region, resulting in a high concentration of oversea NO(subscript x) and VOCs. Major species of VOCs with high O3 formation potential were found to be aromatics in the low atmosphere around the coastal region of metro Kaohsiung.


Higher eukaryotic development is a complex and tightly regulated process, whereby transcription factors (TFs) play a key role in controlling the gene regulatory networks. Dysregulation of these regulatory networks has also been associated with carcinogenesis. Transcription factors are key enablers of cancer stemness, which support the maintenance and function of cancer stem cells that are believed to act as seeds for cancer initiation, progression and metastasis, and treatment resistance. One key area of research is to understand how these factors interact and collaborate to define cellular fate during embryogenesis as well as during tumor development. This review focuses on understanding the role of TFs in cell development and cancer. The molecular mechanisms of cell fate decision are of key importance in efforts towards developing better protocols for directed differentiation of cells in research and medicine. We also discuss the dysregulation of TFs and their role in cancer progression and metastasis, exploring TF networks as direct or indirect targets for therapeutic intervention, as well as specific TFs' potential as biomarkers for predicting and monitoring treatment responses.


For environmentally oriented business decision-making, the linear mixed integer optimisation model of the business process with included possibilities for an integrated approach to environmental management is presented. Using this model as a scenario in decision-making simulations, managers can recognize and evaluate the consequences of their decisions on business performance and on the environment. Further, the measures of resource efficiency, as important measures of eco-efficiency in practice, are developed using the presented optimisation model. Finally, some application results are presented with a practical case, and development possibilities are also introduced.


The interview that follows revisits some of the theses developed by Alain Badiou concerning the revolts of the Arab Spring in his 2011 book Le Reveil de l'Histoire in light of subsequent events. The interview touches on a number of themes, including the relation between recent revolts and the on-going global economic crisis, and the way the reconfiguration of global value circuits impacts upon both tactical and strategic questions for rioters in Europe, North America and beyond. It also examines the way an analysis of the class composition of those involved in contemporary mass movements offers keys to understanding their failures and successes.


Cryogenic investigations of the trailing vortices of large future transport aircrafts have been performed on an aircraft half-model with different wing tip devices. The model has been installed in the cryogenic wind tunnel (KKK) of the German-Dutch wind tunnels (DNW) in Cologne. During the tests, PIV flow field measurements have been performed in addition to conventional force, moment, and pressure distribution measurements. The measurements of the velocity field gave an insight into important aerodynamic effects as, for example, the dependents of vortex strength with changing angles of incidence as well as the differences in the spatial vorticity distribution in the wake. The PIV technique offers special advantages for the investigation of those wakes at very low temperatures, but also yields to special experimental difficulties, which are also described in this article.


: High ionic conductivity has been recently reported in hexagonal perovskite derivative materials. These systems constitute a promising class of novel electrolytes for application in hydrogen-based energy technologies. Herein, we performed the first in-situ hydration neutron diffraction experiments and atomistic calculations for the determination of the water absorption and ionic conduction mechanisms in the dual-ion conductor Ba 7 Nb 4 MoO 20 . Our results demonstrate a re-markable mechanism of water uptake and proton incorporation, assisted by the ability of the structure of accommodating substantial stacking and anion disorder. Simulations show high dynamic and rotational flexibility of the variable coordination MO x units, a crucial factor in enabling fast ionic transport along the palmierite-like layers. Such flexibility contributes to delocalisation of the proton defects and to the creation of a frustrated proton sub-lattice with high proton mobility and low energy diffusion pathways. These insights provide design principles for the discovery of innovative ionic conductors crystallizing in related hexagonal systems or disordered oxide structures.


. As a special field of information warfare, electronic countermeasures (ecm) is closely related to training new combat force command talents and supporting the generation of new quality combat effectiveness. At present, as to promote college education focusing the combat, closing the forces, personnel training requirements of electronic countermeasures must be focused on fighting and command, which could establish the teaching orientation by practical requirements, optimize the teaching content by actual combat ability, build the teaching platform with practical conditions, and reform the teaching mode in the practical form. The teaching transformation will be promoted at the new starting point.


The six Painleve equations (PI–PVI) were first discovered about a hundred years ago by Painleve and his colleagues in an investigation of nonlinear second-order ordinary differential equations. During the past 30 years there has been considerable interest in the Painleve equations primarily due to the fact that they arise as symmetry reductions of the soliton equations which are solvable by inverse scattering. Although first discovered from pure mathematical considerations, the Painleve equations have arisen in a variety of important physical applications.

The Painleve equations may be thought of as nonlinear analogues of the classical special functions. They have a Hamiltonian structure and associated isomonodromy problems, which express the Painleve equations as the compatibility condition of two linear systems. The Painleve equations also admit symmetries under affine Weyl groups which are related to the associated B¨acklund transformations. These can be used to generate hierarchies of rational solutions and one-parameter families of solutions expressible in terms of the classical special functions, for special values of the parameters. Further solutions of the Painleve equations have some interesting asymptotics which are use in applications. In this paper I discuss some of the remarkable properties which the Painleve equations possess using the fourth Painleve equation (PIV) as an illustrative example.


A 55-year-old white woman with a greater than 25-year history of Crohn's disease developed disseminated aspergillosis following combination therapy with Methylprednisolone, azathioprine, and infliximab. The patient was hospitalized 11 days after initiation of infliximab for respiratory symptoms and developed respiratory failure, coma, and died. Postmortem examination revealed disseminated Aspergillus fumigatus involving multiple organs. This case demonstrates that combined treatment with infliximab, methylprednisone, and azathioprine may induce severe immunosuppression and depressed cellular immunity, leading to severe opportunistic infections. Given the increasing use of antitumor necrosis factor agents, physicians should be aware of the risk of opportunistic infections and be vigilant about diagnosing and aggressively treating these infections to reduce the risk of disseminated disease.


Children aged 9 and 12 years performed a task requiring attention to the "relevant" component of two-component stimuli, after which they were given a test measuring either of two types of incidental learning: (a) recognition of the other, "incidental" component of each stimulus, or (b) association between the incidental and relevant components. In each of two experiments the principal variables were: (a) exposure time per trial of the initial, or central task (6 vs. 12 seconds), and (b) number of trials of the central task (8 vs. 16). Doubling the exposure time per trial improved central task performance to a greater degree at age 12 than age 9 but increased incidental learning only at age 9. Adolescents apparently redirect their attention from incidental to relevant stimulus information during the period of stimulus inspection on each trial. Doubling the number of trials, however, had little overall effect at either age level, indicating no developmental difference in the way children alter their manner of attention deployment across trials. Recognition and association measures of incidental learning did not produce markedly different patterns of results. A 4-minute filled interval prior to the recognition test in Experiment 1 had little effect on the recognition scores.


Reminiscence as a mental and social process gains more meaningfulness when people get older. In this paper, we present a study of the needs and potential of a reminiscence digital tool to support well-being of seniors living at home. The results show that whilst reminiscence is perceived important social and family activity for the seniors, and they are quite familiar with using computers and Internet in their daily life, there still are challenges for the seniors to utilize digital tools for reminiscence. In particular, digital tools should support better the social aspects of reminiscence.


Mammalian RNase H2 is a heterotrimeric enzyme consisting of one catalytic subunit (A) and two accessory subunits (B and C). RNase H2 is involved in the removal of a single ribonucleotide embedded in genomic DNA and removal of RNA of RNA/DNA hybrids. In humans, mutation of the RNase H2 gene causes a severe neuroinflammatory disorder Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS). Here, we examined the activity and stability of six recombinant human RNase H2 variants bearing one AGS-causing mutation, A-G37S (Gly37 in the A subunit is replaced with Ser), A-N212I, A-R291H, B-A177T, B-V185G, or C-R69W. The activity of A-G37S was 0.3-1% of that of the wild-type RNase H2 (WT), while those of other five variants were 51-120%. In circular dichroism measurement, the melting temperatures of variants were 50-53 °C, lower than that of WT (56 °C). These results suggested that G37S had decreased activity and stability than WT, while other five variants had decreased stability but retained activity. In gel filtration chromatography of the purified enzyme preparation, WT migrated as a heterotrimer, while A-R291H eluted in two separate peaks containing either the heterotrimer or only the A subunit, suggesting that some AGS-causing mutations affect the heterotrimer-forming stability of RNase H2.


Acknowledgments Chronology Chapter 1: Why Ukraine? What is the Maidan, and what made it top news around the world? How and why did Russia annex the Crimea from Ukraine? Why did fighting break out in eastern Ukraine in the spring of 2014? Why did the Ukrainian crisis cause tensions between Russia and the West? Chapter 2: The Land and the People What is Ukraine's geographical location, and what natural resources and industry does it possess? What is Ukraine's demography and ethnic composition? Who are the Ukrainians and what is modern Ukrainian national identity? Is it true that Ukraine is split into pro-Western and pro-Russian halves? How large is the Ukrainian diaspora, and what role does it play in North American politics? Chapter 3: The Making of Modern Ukraine Was Ukraine always part of Russia? What was the medieval state of Kyivan Rus and was it a Russian or Ukrainian polity? Who were the Cossacks? Is it true that Ukraine was "reunited" with Russia in 1654? Who was Ivan Mazepa and why is he considered a "traitor" in Russia? What were Russia's imperial policies in Ukraine? Did the Austrian Empire govern its Ukrainian lands differently? What happened in the Ukrainian lands during the revolutionary turmoil of 1917-20? Why did the Bolsheviks create a Ukrainian republic within the Soviet Union, and how did they determine its borders? What was the Holodomor (the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33) and was it genocide? As one of the Soviet Union's main grain-producing areas, the Ukrainian SSR suffered Is it true that all the Ukrainian lands were united in a single polity for the first time under Stalin? What is Babi Yar, and how did the Holocaust unfold in Ukraine? Who was Stepan Bandera and what was the Ukrainian Insurgent Army? What were the Soviet policies in Ukraine during the postwar period? Who were the dissidents, and how did they contribute to the collapse of communism? Why did the Chernobyl accident happen, and what was its impact on Ukraine? Chapter 4: Ukraine after Communism Did the Ukrainians have to fight the Russians in order to secede from the Soviet Union? What is the Commonwealth of Independent States? When and why did Ukraine give up its nuclear arsenal? What were Ukraine's relations with the West and Russia in the first decade after independence? Did the presidents of independent Ukraine promote a united national identity? What religions came to prominence in Ukraine after the Soviet collapse? How did independent Ukraine become an inefficient economy and a paragon of crony capitalism? Who are the oligarchs? Is Ukraine dependent on Russian gas supplies? Chapter 5: The Orange Revolution and the EuroMaidan What did the two recent revolutions in Ukraine (2004 and 2013-14) have in common? Why did mass protests against President Kuchma develop in the early 2000s, and who led them? What sparked the Orange Revolution in 2004? Was Yushchenko poisoned and were the culprits ever prosecuted? How was a peaceful resolution reached in the winter of 2004-5? Did the victors of the Orange Revolution manage to create a new Ukraine? How did Viktor Yanukovych return to power, first as prime minister and later as president? Why was Yulia Tymoshenko imprisoned? What caused the new popular revolt in late 2013? What role did the Ukrainian radical right play in the protests, and what symbols did they use? What led to the high number of casualties on the Maidan in 2013-14, as opposed to 2004? Where did Yanukovych escape and how was the transfer of power formalized? Was either of the two Ukrainian revolutions the result of a Western conspiracy? Chapter 6: Russia's Annexation of the Crimea and the War in the Donbas What shared characteristics led the Crimean Peninsula and the Donbas region to become conflict zones? What was "New Russia," and why did President Putin revive this concept? Who are the Crimean Tatars? Why was the Crimea transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954? Did the Crimea try to separate from Ukraine in the 1990s? Was there a previous conflict between Russia and Ukraine over the Black Sea Fleet, and how was it resolved? Why was Russia able to take over the Crimea so quickly and with so little resistance? How is the Crimea being absorbed into Russia? Was the Donbas historically a Russian region? Is it true that a separate republic existed in the Donbas during the revolutionary era? Did the Donbas stand out among other Ukrainian regions during the late Soviet period and the post-communist transformation? Why did the armed conflict with the new Ukrainian authorities start in the Donbas and not in other eastern regions in the spring of 2014? What polities did the separatists create in the Donbas and why did Russia not annex them outright, as was the case with the Crimea? Why did the Ukrainian army perform poorly compared to the pro-Russian forces in the Donbas? Under what circumstances was the Malaysian Airlines passenger flight shot down over the Donbas on 17 July 2014? What has been the human cost of the armed conflict in the Donbas? Chapter 7: Building a New Ukraine in a Globalized World What sanctions did the West introduce against Russia, and did they work? Did Western diplomatic mediation assist in the de-escalation of the conflict in the Donbas? How should the results of the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine be interpreted? What was the composition of the new Ukrainian government, and what were its first steps? What are the consequences of Ukraine's Association Agreement with the EU? Has the Ukrainian crisis sparked a new Cold War? Notes Further Reading Index


This review provides a synthesis of the scholarship that has sought to expand understanding of educational marketing practice in schools. The following research questions guided this review: (1) what are the common themes and characteristics that emerge from research about marketing in schools? (2) What remains underdeveloped in the characterization of the school marketing and what are the topics for future research? Based on 25 studies identified as pertinent for the current review, the following topics are discussed: marketing perceptions, marketing planning, marketing strategies, and promotion. The chapter concludes by providing an analysis of the limitations of the current research and discussing future directions for research on school marketing.


Wireless sensor networks have become increasingly popular due to their wide range of applications. Energy consumption is one of the biggest constraints of the wireless sensor node and this limitation combined with a typical deployment of large number of nodes have added many challenges to the design and management of wireless sensor networks. They are typically used for remote environment monitoring in areas where providing electrical power is difficult. Therefore, the devices need to be powered by batteries and alternative energy sources. Because battery energy is limited, the use of different techniques for energy saving is one of the hottest topics in WSNs. In this work, we present a survey of power saving and energy optimization techniques for wireless sensor networks, which enhances the ones in existence and introduces the reader to the most well known available methods that can be used to save energy. They are analyzed from several points of view: Device hardware, transmission, MAC and routing protocols.


This paper has analysed data on WWOOF in Japan, and shown how WWOOF activities in Japan have the potential to and are facilitating new social development. This new social development is fourfold. First, in opportunities for new organic food produce markets. Second, that it is social development with a nationwide reach. Third, that it constitutes bottom-up social development, thereby requiring no cost to or dependence on government. Forth, that it constitutes reciprocated voluntary support between disparate groups of people, including that between rural and urban populations of all age groups, involving no monetary exchange.


Protein phosphorylation is a key mechanism in several cell functions such as cytoskeletal protein regulation and cell contraction. A critical event of agonist-induced cytoskeletal reorganization of endothelial cells (EC) is the phosphorylation of myosin light chains (MLC), which catalyzes by MLC kinase and triggers EC contraction and permeability Biochemical counterpoint to MLC phosphorylation, ie, MLC dephosphorylation, catalyzed by MLC phosphatase (MLCP), has received much less attention in studies of EC barrier regulation. To evaluate the role of MLCP in EC barrier regulation we cloned MLCP targeting subunit 1 (MYPT1) from pulmonary endothelium. Purpose The purpose of our study was to ectopically express MYPT1 construct in pulmonary EC with and without thrombin stimulation in order to examine the role of MLCP in EC cytoskeletal regulation. Methods: cDNA encoding MYPT1 was generated from bovine pulmonary artery EC (BPAEC), then it was subcloned into pcDNA3.1 vector using KpnI. and Eco RI. restriction sites. BPAEC grown on coverslips were transfected with resulting plasmid and stained for actin, diphospho MLC and c-myc-tag., and slides were analyzed by Nikon video-imaging system. Level of MYPT1 expression was analyzed by Western immnoblotting with c-myc-tag-specific antibody. Summary of Results As expected, thrombin (100 nM for 5 min) induces significant increase in ppMLC staining and F-actin stress fiber formation indicating EC contraction. Surprisingly, however, MYPT1 overexpression has no effect on the level of either basal or thrombin-induced MLC phosphorylation or stress fiber formation. Overexpressed MYPT1 was diffusively distributed in the cytoplasm and did not co-localize with stress fibers. These data indicate that expression of MYPT1 alone is not sufficient to affect thrombin-induced cytoskeletal rearrangement in EC and further, more complex studies are needed to evaluate the role of MLCP in EC barrier regulation.


We introduce a novel approach for modeling performance oriented distributed and parallel applications based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML). We utilize the UML extension mechanisms to customize UML for the domain of performance oriented distributed and parallel computing. A set of UML building blocks is described that model some of the most important constructs of message passing and shared memory parallel paradigms which can be used to develop models for large and complex parallel and distributed applications. We illustrate our approach by modeling a parallel many-body physics application that combines message passing and shared memory parallelism.


Library of Profesor Ivan Samoylovych (1737–1783): Historical Destiny and Book Characteristic The library of the teacher and gymnasiarch of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy Ivan Samoilovych (c. 1737–1783) is a little-studied aspect of the history of the KMA and an extraordinary phenomenon in the domestic historical library science. Until now, it has not been the subject of independent historical and library research. Samoilovich was the teacher of rhetoric, poetics, and German. The main source base for the study of his library is the registration list concluded after the death of the owner in 1783, which numbered 1,147 items, and old prints which are now stored in the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine in the department of libraries' and historical collections and in the collections of the rare books department. The bibliographic analysis of the library fund showed that the composition of the book collection reflects the professional activity of the owner and the range of his intellectual interests. The topics of the books cover a wide range of interests: editions of grammars, dictionaries, works used for translations from Latin and German, works on public speaking, works by ancient authors and European humanists of the Renaissance, works on philosophy, logic, theology, natural sciences, general and church history, pedagogy, library affairs, and


This study aim was to assess the effects of rebamipide on the mechanism of histamine release and biosynthesis and release of leukotrienes caused by mast cell activation. We purified mast cells from guinea pig lung tissues by the use of enzyme digestion, the rough and the discontinuous density percoll gradient method. Mast cells were sensitized with IgG1 (anti-OVA) antibody and challenged with ovalbumin. Mast cells were also stimulated with A23187 and the intracellular Ca2+ level was measured. Histamine and leukotrienes were measured by automated fluorometric analyzer and radioimmunoassay, respectively. The intracellular Ca2+ level was analyzed using a confocal laser scanning microscope. Protein kinase C (PKC) activity was determined by protein phosphorylated with [γ-32P]ATP. The phospholipase D activity was assessed by the labeled phosphatidylalcohol. Mass 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) was measured by the [3H]DAG produced when prelabeled with [3H]myristic acid. PLA2 activity was determined by measuring the arachidonic acid released from the labeled phospholipids. Rebamipide decreased the releases of histamine and leukotrienes, and completely blocked Ca2+ influx during mast cell activation by antigen-antibody reactions. It also decreased the release of histamine and leukotrienes during mast cell activation by A23187. The PKC and PLD activities were also decreased by rebamipide in a dose-dependent manner. Rebamipide inhibited the mass DAG production and PLA2 activity during mast cell activation. The data suggest that rebamipide inhibits intracellular signals and blocks Ca2+ influx in mast cells activated by specific antigen-antibody reactions, which in turn inhibits histamine release and leukotriene generation.


Heat stress is one of the most important environmental pressures especially in tropics which reduce sexual performance by affecting whole vital system. Garlic () as an effective pharmaceutical plant has been proposed for increasing resistance against stress. Current research was carried out to study the effects of garlic hydroalcoholic extract on reproductive hormones in female mice under heat stress. Fifty female mice were studied in five groups and ten replications. Experimental treatments were control group (normal situation without receiving extract),0, 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg of body weight of extract for thirty days in term of 4 hours daily heat stress. Blood samples were taken at the end of experiment period and estrogen, progesterone, FSH and LH hormones were measured. Obtained data were analyzed using SPSS program. Heat stress reduced all sexual hormones significantly (p<0.05) in zero group but FSH and LH amount were increased by 400 and 800 mg/kg doses. Estrogen and progesterone amounts were increased significantly in 200, 400, and 800 mg/kg groups and were about control group. Considering the results, extract can be effective under heat stress and neutralize negative effects of stress by affecting pituitary gonadal axis and ovarian secretion.


How might social work education promote activism? And why is this a core responsibility for all social work educators? This chapter will explore these questions through a critical synthesis of the literature, arguing that social work education should be explicitly critical in nature if it is to prepare practitioners to meet the universally espoused activist goals of the discipline (see for example Baines, 2011; Macfarlane, 2016; Fenton, 2014). Critical social work is "part of a progressive political project . . . which begins with a rejection of contemporary social arrangements and seeks to establish another more equitable and just state of affairs" (Gray and Webb, 2013: 10 quoting Gray, Stepney and Webb, 2012). Such a transformative project necessitates activism. The chapter shows how neoliberalism has undermined the role of activism in social work but suggests that critical social work education can reinvigorate opportunities for critique and action. The paper presents students' voices from two research projects, emphasising the components of social work education that had been formative in their development as activist practitioners...


Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is currently ongoing, and there have been significant efforts in the development of COVID-19 vaccines. However, the neutralizing antibody titers in vaccinated individuals are reported to progressively decrease over time. Japanese pharmaceutical companies have published the results of Phase I and II studies on the safety and efficacy of different vaccines. Final clinical trials will be conducted with the aim of practical application by March 2023. To effectively utilize vaccines developed by Japanese companies, the efficacy and safety of a booster dose (i.e., third vaccination) must be evaluated among individuals who have received three doses of different vaccines. Methods: This protocol describes a study that aims to examine the effect of a booster dose of "KD-414", a novel Japanese inactivated vaccine, on antibody titers among participants involved in a previous study. Volunteers in this protocol will be recruited from participants in the previous study and immunized with KD-414 after obtaining consent. The antibody titers, before and after immunization with KD-414, among participants who previously received two doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine, will be comparatively analyzed. Discussion: The reactogenicity and immunogenicity of seven different COVID-19 vaccines including an inactivated vaccine as a third dose after two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BNT162b2, has been tested previously, and found to be superior to control (quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine) regardless of which vaccine had been received during the initial course. This suggests that many types of third booster doses are efficacious. It is anticipated that this study will provide evidence of the safety and immunogenicity of KD-414 as a booster vaccine, which will have profound public health implications.