The unfolded protein response is responsible for the detection of misfolded proteins and the coordination of their disposal and is necessary to maintain the cellular homoeostasis. Multiple myeloma cells secrete large amounts of immunoglobulins, proteins that need to be correctly folded by the chaperone system. If this process fails, the misfolded proteins have to be eliminated by the two main garbage-disposal systems of the cell: proteasome and aggresome. The blockade of either of these systems will result in accumulation of immunoglobulins and other toxic proteins in the cytoplasm and cell death. The simultaneous inhibition of the proteasome, by proteasome inhibitors (PIs) and the aggresome, by histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) results in a synergistic increase in cytotoxicity in myeloma cell lines. This review provides an overview of mechanisms of action of second-generation PIs and HDACi in multiple myeloma (MM), the clinical results currently observed with these agents and assesses the potential therapeutic impact of the different agents in the two classes. The second-generation PIs offer benefits in terms of increased efficacy, reduced neurotoxicity as off-target effect and may overcome resistance to bortezomib because of their different chemical structure, mechanism of action and biological properties. HDACi with anti-myeloma activity in clinical development discussed in this review include vorinostat, panobinostat and selective HDAC6 inhibitor, ricolinostat.


The variation with the current i, of the intensity, I, of neon spectral lines emitted from low pressure positive column discharges has been studied as part of an investigation of excitation processes in these discharges. The results indicate that two-step excitation is important for many neon lines. Measurements of emission line profiles have been made using a pressure scanned Fabry-Perot interfermometer. High resolution absorption measurements have been made to give data on tha population densities of the lower excited states, and their variation with pressure and current, to assist in interpreting the intensity-current (I-i) results.


Anemia in adolescent girls is quite high, the incidence of anemia nationally is 21.7%. Anemia in adolescents if left untreated will continue into adulthood and contribute greatly to AKI, premature babies, and low birth weight babies. One way to prevent this can be done by consuming boiled chicken eggs and papaya fruit. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of boiled chicken eggs and papaya fruit on increasing Hb levels in anemic female students of SMP Negeri 22 Kerinci in2019. This type of research was quasi experiment design of one group pretest posttest design with a sample of 16 respondents, purposive sampling sampling technique using the GCHB easy touch instrument and observation sheet. Univariate and bivariate data collection using paired t test. The results of the study average hemoglobin before treatment is 10.456 gr / dL and after treatment that is 12.412 gr / dL. Paired sample t test obtained the average difference before and after treatment was 1.9563 gr / dL with p value = 0,000 l0.05. It was concluded that there was an effect of giving boiled chicken eggs and papaya to an increase in hemoglobin levels in anemic female students. Suggestions that female Kerinci Junior High School 22 Kerinci teachers who experience mild anemia to invite their students to consume boiled chicken eggs and papaya fruit as an alternative in dealing with mild anemia experienced by students


Helicoverpa armigera is a key pest in many vital crops, which is mainly controlled by chemical strategies. To manage this pest is becoming challenging due to its ability and evolution of resistance against insecticides. Further, its subsequent spread on nonhost plant is remarkable in recent times. Hence, decoding resistance mechanism against phytochemicals and synthetic insecticides is a major challenge. The present work describes that the digestion, defense and immunity related enzymes are associated with chlorpyrifos resistance in H. armigera. Proteomic analysis of H. armigera gut tissue upon feeding on chlorpyrifos containing diet (CH) and artificial diet (AD) using nano‐liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry identified upregulated 23‐proteins in CH fed larvae. Database searches combined with gene ontology analysis revealed that the identified gut proteins engrossed in digestion, proteins crucial for immunity, adaptive responses to stress, and detoxification. Biochemical and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction analysis of candidate proteins indicated that insects were struggling to get nutrients and energy in presence of CH, while at the same time endeavoring to metabolize chlorpyrifos. Moreover, we proposed a potential processing pathway of chlorpyrifos in H. armigera gut by examining the metabolites using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. H. armigera exhibit a range of intriguing behavioral, morphological adaptations and resistance to insecticides by regulating expression of proteins involved in digestion and detoxification mechanisms to cope up with chlorpyrifos. In these contexts, as gut is a rich repository of biological information; profound analysis of gut tissues can give clues of detoxification and resistance mechanism in insects.


In this paper, the basic condition that became the premise of the various political trends in the Meiji Restoration will be considered from the point of view of "sovereignty" and "nation." Researchers until now have been considered that the will of people in the Edo period is not reflected in society. They also have been considered that the Meiji Restoration was a democratic movement that opposed the dictatorship. It is, however, my argument that the aforementioned understanding is not correct. In recent years, researchers in the field of International Relations have reviewed the received theory that sovereign state system was established in the mid 17 th century in Europe and promoted the deconstruction of so-called the Myth of Westphalia. However, the matter they have denied is not external sovereignty, but internal sovereignty. In other words, in Europe, external sovereignty was established first, and the democratic movement of people and penetration of internal sovereignty had been advanced under this condition. A reverse process had been in progress in Japan. Of course, researchers recently have pointed out that there existed movements of goods, informations, and humen from abroad to the "mouth of the four" in the Edo period: Matsumae, Tsushima, Nagasaki, Ryukyu. However, "diplomacy" in that situation was thoroughly an indirect one and was not monopolized by the Tokugawa Shogunate. In other words, the power structure was decentralized. In the Meiji Restoration, councilor of Tokugawa Shogunate could not get a valid response to this contradiction and the government fell into chaos. In that time, it was more of how to produce external sovereignty and national will against the overflowing will of people than of how to increase people will against the dictatorship that was essential.


The White Rock Formation is the lowermost formation of the Rockville Notch Group, an assemblage of Silurian–Devonian rocks preserved in five areas along the northwestern margin of the Meguma terrane of Nova Scotia. The formation consists mainly of mafic and felsic metavolcanic rocks, interlayered with and overlain by marine metasedimentary rocks. Felsic metatuff has now been dated from four locations near both the bottom and top of the volcanic pile and yielded a narrow age range (with errors) of about 446–434 Ma. These dates confirm a 30 Ma hiatus after deposition of the Early Ordovician Hellgate Formation in the underlying Halifax Group. This hiatus is coeval with the "Sardian gap" in the Lower Palaeozoic of peri-Gondwanan Europe. The metavolcanic–metasedimentary assemblage is overlain by mainly metasiltstone with abundant quartzite and metaconglomerate lenses; some of the latter were previously interpreted to be Ordovician tillite, an interpretation no longer viable. New detrital zircon data from metasedimentary samples indicate that the major sediment sources for the White Rock Formation have ages of ca. 670–550 and ca. 2050 Ma, similar to ages from the underlying Goldenville and Halifax groups. A smaller population of Mesoproterozoic zircon grains indicates that the Meguma terrane interacted with a terrane composed mainly of Mesoproterozoic crust during the Silurian and Devonian. The occurrence of the "Sardian gap" and the detrital zircon record constrain the palaeoposition of the Meguma terrane to have been close to Cadomia and West Africa in the Early Cambrian to Early Silurian.


Traditional rock typing combined with an inferred depositional linkage for variogram-based simulation is a standard approach in carbonates. In the Tengiz Unit 1 platform, reservoir properties of carbonates as defined by Petrophysical Rock Types (PRTs) are the product of primary depositional facies and diagenetic modification that have separate spatial trends and interactions. Careful, multidisciplinary and targeted analysis is required to unravel such trends from the usually complex hard data sets, but is critical as an understanding of the trends forms the basis for reservoir modeling of the Tengiz Unit 1 platform. Depositional cycles in the Unit 1 Tengiz platform (Late Visean to Bashkirian) are made up of a succession of generally shoaling lithofacies overlying a sharp base with evidence for subaerial exposure and/or flooding. Systematic study of the diagenetic products of several sequences across the platform using petrography, stable isotopes and CL revealed that the diagenetic modification includes early meteoric dissolution and subsequent cementation, late burial dissolution and late burial bitumen cementation.. PRTs are designed to include spatial attributes of the combined stratigraphic, facies and diagenetic framework form the basis for the Multiple Point Statistics and Facies Distribution Modeling (MPS/FDM) simulation of the SIM08T Unit 1 static platform reservoir model. Of the six PRTs, one is linked to volcanic ash (PRT 1), one associated with bitumen (PRT 2) and four with increasing porosity (PRTs 3-6) where PRT 3 tight and PRTs 4-6 represent increasing reservoir quality with PRT 6 the highest quality. PRT maps and a vertical proportion curve were used to generate the facies probability cube and convolved with training images, specifying the spatial interrelationship, to generate a PRT realization. The revised sequence stratigraphic framework and integration of novel concepts in modeling the diagenetic overprint addressed the need for a refined understanding of the platform in preparation for the FGP miscible gas injection project. In addition, the extensive use of MPS/FDM modeling approaches in Unit 1 has resulted in a more realistic integration of both depositional and diagenetic trends in the Unit 1 platform.


Physicians must integrate care of populations with the care of individual patients to function optimally in today's health care environment. With this understanding, medical school curricula are increasingly addressing the skills and knowledge of public health along with those of clinical medicine. The University of Uah School of Medicine in 1997 revised its four-year curriculum to increase the teaching of topics needed by future physicians, including public health. This report describes one course in the curriculum, the Primary Care Preceptorship (PCP), a fourth-year, six-week required rotation that assists students in learning about the health needs of a community along with providing primary care for its individual residents. Students in the PCP spend approximately 60% of their time in clinical primary care and 40% completing a community health project. In the first year of the PCP, 32 students completed projects on clinical problems, 27 on community health needs assessment, 26 on patient education, and 15 on epidemiology.


Experiments on rats have shown that during immobilization stress, there takes place an intense activation of the kallikrein-kinin system (KKS). The control animals do not show arteriovenous difference in the KKS values. Study of the time course of immobilization stress has demonstrated changes in the KKS values attesting to the system activation seen only in venous blood in the early stages of immobilization. With time activation of the kinin system is also seen in arterial blood, and by 24 hours of immobilization the arteriovenous difference disappears. Thus the arteriovenous difference in the KKS values, which occurs during immobilization stress indicates the compensatory role of the lungs in the early stages of immobilization.


BACKGROUND
The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is used to evaluate the degree of atherosclerosis and arterial distensibility, but its major limitation is that it is affected by changes in blood pressure (BP) during measurement. Recently, a new atherosclerotic index, the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), has been developed by measuring PWV and BP. CAVI is adjusted for BP based on the stiffness parameter beta and should measure arterial stiffness independent of BP. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of CAVI compared with baPWV, the reproducibility of the measurement of CAVI, and the effect of BP changes on CAVI and baPWV.

METHODS AND RESULTS
One thousand and thirty-three consecutive subjects undergoing health checkups were studied. CAVI was automatically calculated from the pulse volume record, BP, and the vascular length from heart to ankle. In this general population, both baPWV and CAVI demonstrated a positive correlation with age and systolic BP (SBP). CAVI showed a weaker correlation with SBP than baPWV. The measurement of CAVI demonstrated good reproducibility and was not affected by the increase in BP during measurement.

CONCLUSIONS
CAVI is a useful index of arterial distensibility and is not influenced by BP changes during measurement.


SUMMARY: An agar-diffusion method is described for the titration of Bacillus anthracis immunizing antigen and antibody. It is a sensitive and simple method that can be used for determining antigen concentrations in culture filtrates and for titrating antisera from animals and humans which have been immunized with the antigen. Marked improvements in yields of antigen in a defined medium and a hydrolysed casein - amino acids (Casamino) medium have been achieved with the aid of this assay method.


Apple cultivars display a self-incompatibility system that restricts self-fertilization and fertilization between cultivars bearing identical S-alleles. There has been considerable progress in identifi cation of S-alleles in apple in recent years and methods are now avail- able for the accurate S-genotyping of cultivars. Following a recently revised numerical identifi cation system for apple S-alleles, we present the fi rst extensive compilation of apple cultivars with their S-genotypes. This list contains data from our own investigations using S-allele-specifi c PCR methodology, including a number of new data, as well as published data from various other sources. Eighteen different S-alleles are discriminated, which al- lowed the determination of the S-genotypes for 150 diploid or triploid European, American, and Japanese cultivars. Many of these cultivars are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. Also included are a number of old, obsolete cultivars and a few nondomestic genotypes. We observed a wide variation in the frequency of S-alleles in the apple germplasm. Three S-alleles (S 2 , S 3 , and S 9 ) are very common in the cultivars evaluated, presumably as a result of the widespread use of the same breeding parents, and seven alleles are very rare (S 4 , S 6 , S 8 , S 16 , S 22 , S 23 , S 26 ).


We describe an effort in applying database technology to the VLSI design process. By mixing software tools, relational database concepts, sophisticated index management, and existing VLSI design tools, we have built a flexible, interactive VLSI design system that provides data independence and technology independence. Design tools are interfaced with a centralized database to form an integrated design environment.


Several reports have documented that malnutrition is frequently present in patients with maintenance haemodialysis therapy1–5. Signs of malnutrition in regular dialysis patients are reduced muscle mass assessed by anthropometric methods, low concentration of albumin, transferrin, and other liver-derived proteins, low alkali-soluble protein in muscle in relation to dry fat-free weight and DNA, abnormal plasma amino acid and intracellular amino acid profiles, similar to those found in untreated uremia, indicating that dialysis does not reverse these abnormalities. It is generally accepted that suboptimal nutritional status is associated with increased morbidity and may contribute to poor rehabilitation and quality of life. Cutaneous energy and other immune alterations strikingly similar to those observed in malnutrition have been documented in haemodialysis patients3,6,7 suggesting that protein-energy malnutrition may be a risk factor for infection and septicemia. Malnutrition is an important factor for morbidity and mortality in haemodialysis patients8 , 9.


Primary adrenocortical insufficiency, or Addison's disease (AD), results from an adrenal cortex hypofunction/dysfunction with a deficient production of glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids and androgens, and with high levels of both ACTH and plasma renin activity. The prevalence of AD is 110-144 cases per million population in the developed countries. Autoimmune AD is the most frequent etiological form in adult patients, accounting for about 80% of cases, followed by post-tuberculosis AD in 10-15%, the remaining 5% being cases are due to vascular, neoplastic or rare genetic forms. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is the most frequent form of AD in children and accounts for 72% of cases, whereas autoimmune AD is seen in around 10-15% of cases. The markers of autoimmune AD are adrenal cortex (ACA) or 21-hydroxylase autoantibodies (21-OHAbs) and they are present at diagnosis in more than 90% of cases. In autoimmune AD, the adrenal cortex is infiltrated by lymphocytes and plasma cells and the glands are sclerotic and reduced in volume. Autoimmune AD occurs mainly in middle-aged females, alone or associated with other (clinical, subclinical or potential) autoimmune diseases, giving rise to various forms of autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (type 1, 2 or 4). Replacement therapy with gluco-and mineralocorticoids is life-saving for patients with chronic adrenal insufficiency.


Weeds such as Cyperus rotundus L. dan Ageratum conyzoides L. release allelopatic compounds which can inhibit the growth of crops.  The aim of this study was to compare the inhibition of allelopatic compounds contained  C. rotundus L.  and A. conyzoides root exctract to Brassica rapa L.  growth. This study was conducted in a greenhouse  and was based on Completely Randomized Design with two factors. The first factor was type of root extracts (extract from either C. rotundus root or A. conyzoides root) and the second factor was concentration of root extract. Root extract concentrations added to growth medium of B. rapa L. 10 days after planting were 0, 100, 300 and 500 g/L respectifely. The addition of root extract was repeated every week until crop harvested. The results showed that there was not significantly different between C. rotundus and A. conyzoides roots extract to inhibit B. rapa growth.   Increassing of root extract concentrations from both roots increased inhibition of B. rapa growth.


With more and more new ideas and demands of architecture, it has become an increasing problem of the architecture lag, severely affecting the quality and efficiency of the architecture. The application of modern educational technology leads to the further research on architecture education reform. The paper explores the architecture education based on modern education technology of digital and internet. Through the experiment of construction of digitalized teaching management system and exchange teaching of the architecture design, this paper demonstrates the revolutionary effects of modern educational technology, which will inevitably serves as the non-substitute teaching method of the architecture education.


A cross-sectional study on bionomics of malaria was carried out in Kamlek village, Snuol rubber plantation, Kratie Province where the population had a high prevalence of malaria. Mosquitos were collected monthly between April to September 1998 from 18.00 hr to 6.00 hr by human bait and animal bait. Survey for larva breeding places was also performed. A total of 13 species of Anopheline mosquitos was collected, manly Anopheles philipinensis, An. aconitus, An. annularis, Ain. barbirostris, An. hyrcanus gr, An. jamesii, An. kawari, An. tesselatus, An. umbrosus and An. vagus. They were in various densities with the latter species being the most abundance. Among the vector species. An. maculatus was the most commonly collected with a density of 0.55 per man per night and peak biting was between 20.00 hr and 21.00 hr. The density of An. minimus and An. dirus were 0.11 and 0.74 per man per night with the peak biting time 24.00-01.00 hr and 20.00-21.00 hr respectively. Observation of host preference and feeding habit revealed An. maculatus to be exophagic, anthropophilic and 20 endophilic while An. minimus was both endophilic and exophagic and anthropophilic. An. dirus was endophilic and anthropophilic, these three species were not found positive for malaria infection. However, due to the limited time of survey and an exceptionally low rainfall in the rainy season, an inadequate sample was obtained for analysis. Therefore further investigation is required for at least a year for more information.


At least since Knight (1921), economists have suspected that the distinction between risk and 'uncertainty' might be important in economics. However, Savage (1954) showed this distinction is meaningless if agents adhere to certain axioms, which seem to be normatively compelling. Savage's Subjective Expected Utility (SEU) model became the dominant paradigm in economics, and remains so to this very day. Still, suspicions that the distinction matters never really died. The Ellsberg Paradox (1961) first raised doubts about the SEU model. Then, Gilboa and Schmeidler (1989) showed how to modify Savage's axioms so that the distinction does matter. In their model, agents entertain a set of priors, and optimize against the worst-case prior. Finally, Hansen and Sargent (2008) operationalized this new approach by linking it to the engineering literature on 'robust control'. My dissertation applies the Hansen-Sargent framework to the foreign exchange market. I show that if we think of market participants as confronting both uncertainty and risk, then we can easily explain several well known empirical puzzles in the foreign exchange market. The first chapter of my dissertation, entitled Robustness and Exchange Rate Volatility, was published in the Journal of International Economics in 2013, and is coauthored with my supervisor, Prof. Kenneth Kasa. This paper uses the monetary model of exchange rates. It assumes investors are aware of their own lack of knowledge about the economy. They respond to their ignorance strategically, by constructing forecasts that are robust to model misspecification. We show that revisions of robust forecasts are more sensitive to new information, and can easily explain observed violations of Shiller's variance bound inequality. The second chapter, entitled Model Uncertainty and the Forward Premium Puzzle, was published in the Journal of International Money and Finance in 2014. It studies a standard twocountry Lucas (1982) asset-pricing model. The main objective is to understand the determinants of observed excess return in the foreign exchange market. The paper shows that Hansen-Jagannathan (1991) volatility bounds can be attained with both reasonable degrees of risk aversion and empirically plausible detection error probabilities. Hence, excess returns in the foreign exchange market appear to be primarily driven by a 'model uncertainty premium' rather than a risk premium. The third chapter, entitled Robust Learning in the Foreign Exchange Market, was recently revised and resubmitted to the Canadian Journal of Economics. Following Hansen and Sargent (2010), it assumes agents cope with uncertainty by both learning and by formulating robust decision rules. Agents entertain two competing models, differing by the persistence of consumption growth. As in my previous paper, agents continue to doubt the specification of each model. It shows that robust learning can not only explain unconditional risk premia in the foreign exchange market, but can also explain the cyclical dynamics of risk premia.


Security protocols are widely used in open modern networks to ensure safe communications. It is now recognized that formal analysis can provide the level of assurance required by both developers and users of the protocols. Unfortunately it is generally undecidable to certify whether a protocol is safe or not. However the automatic verification of security protocols can be attempted using abstraction-based approximation. For this purpose, tree automata approximations were introduced by Genet and Klay in 2000. In this paper, we propose an extension of their techniques making the approach efficiently automatic. Our contribution has been implementing in the TA4SP tool with a high level specification language as input format, providing positive practical results on industrial security protocols.


A large Oil and Gas pipeline gathering system is commonly used to transport processed oil and gas from an offshore platform to an onshore receiving facility. High reliability and integrity for continuous operation of these systems is crucial to ensure constant supply of hydrocarbon to the onshore processing facility and eventually to market. When such a system is exposed to a series of complex environmental loadings, it is often difficult to predict the response path, in-situ condition and therefore the system's ability to withstand subsequent future loading scenarios.In order to continue to operate the pipeline after a significant environmental event, an overall approach needs to be developed to — (a) Understand the system loading and the associated integrity, (b) Develop a series of criteria staging the sequence of actions following an event that will verify the pipeline integrity and (c) Ensure that the integrity management solution is simple and easy to understand so that it can be implemented consistently.For a complex loading scenario, one of the main challenges is the ability to predict the controlling parameter(s) that drives the global integrity of these systems. In such scenarios, the presence of numerous parameters makes the technical modeling and prediction tasks arduous. To address such scenarios, first and foremost, it is crucial to understand the baseline environment data and other associated critical design input elements. If the "design environmental baseline" has transformed (due to large events e.g. storms etc.) from its original condition; it modifies the dynamics of the system. To address this problem, a thorough modeling and assessment of the in-situ condition is essential. Further, a robust calibration method is required to predict the future response path and therefore expected pipeline condition.The study further compares the planned integrity management solutions to the field data to validate the efficiency of the predicted scenarios. By the inclusion of real field-data feedback to the modeling method, balanced integrity solutions can be achieved and the ability to quantify the risks is made more practical and actionable.© 2015 ASME


Objectives: To investigate the efficacy of bilateral 4-quadrant laparoscopic-assisted transversus abdominis plane (BLTAP) block in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Methods: This study was carried out at Private Medicabil Hospital, Bursa, Turkey, between September 2021 and March 2022. Patients were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=40, each): i) the standard analgesia (SA) group received the block and port-site infiltration with normal saline (NS); ii) the local anesthetic group received the block with NS and port-site infiltration of bupivacaine; iii) the unilateral laparoscopic-assisted transversus abdominis plane (ULTAP) block group received 2-quadrant block with bupivacaine on the right and NS on the left and port-site NS infiltration; and iv) the BLTAP block group received bilateral bupivacaine and port-site NS infiltration. Postoperative 1-, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-hours visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores at rest and during cough, opioid requirement, presence of nausea and vomiting, and satisfaction scores were recorded. Results: The one-hour VAS score at rest was lower in the BLTAP block group than in the SA and ULTAP block groups. The change in VAS score was higher in the SA group than in the BLTAP block group. During cough, the one-hour VAS score was lower in the BLTAP block group than in the SA group. There were no differences among groups in other parameters. Conclusion: Bilateral 4-quadrant laparoscopic-assisted transversus abdominis plane block technique is more effective than SA, local anesthetic infiltration, and ULTAP block in preventing early postoperative pain after LC. Clinicaltrials.gov No.: NCT04641403


In this paper, uniting the Yangtze Estuary, Hangzhou Bay and their adjacent sea , the 4 main tidal constituents M 2,S 2,K 1,O 1 are simulated using a non-orthogonal coordinate primitive equation model with high resolution. The semi-diurnal tides M 2,S 2 propagate from southeast into the Changjiang estuary and Hangzhou bay, but the diurnal tides K 1,O 1 propagate from north to south out of the Changjiang mouth. The tidal ranges decrease upstream in the South Branch of the Changjiang Estuary. The tidal ranges in the Hangzhou Bay and North Branch increase from the outer to the inner due to its funnel-shape. The simulated values of amplitude and phase of the M 2, S 2, K 1, O 1 tides are fairly consistent with the observations. Considering the river discharge, the 3-D current field is simulated. Combining with the observed data in Changjiang estuary from 15, February, 1996 to 1, March, 1996, the results indicate that the current velocity changed obviously in the vertical due to the bottom friction and vertical turbulent mixing. The current is asymmetric due to the river discharge, ebb current period longer than flood current period, the velocity of ebb current is stronger than that of flood current, but the situation is reverse in the flood current passage such as the North Branch.


Guinea pigs were exposed to 20 kHz for a period of 1 or 2 h, with and without an intermediate recovery period. Statistically smaller areas of damage were obtained after doubling the exposure time, especially without a recovery period. For a double exposure with a recovery period the areas of damage were the same as for the single exposures.


Objectives: The objectives of this study were to explore the association between shift work and the bone mineral density in a representative sample of Korean workers. Methods: he data from the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2009) was used. The participants were Korean workers aged 16 to 60 years. Logistic regression analysis was applied to determine the association between shift work and the bone mineral density after controlling for covariates using the SAS version 9.3 package program. Results: The blood vitamin D level in shift workers was significantly lower than that of day workers in both males and females. In male shift workers, shift work was significantly associated with a decreased bone mineral density in the femoral neck (odds ratio(OR) 1.42, 95% confidence interval(CI)=1.05~1.92) and lumbar spine (OR 1.53, 95% CI=1.09~2.15) compared to day workers. After controlling for covariates, this association was still significant. In the case of female shift workers, shift work was significantly related to a decreased bone mineral density in the total femur (OR 2.84, 95% CI=1.69~4.79) and lumbar spine (OR 1.58, 95% CI=1.12~2.24). After controlling for covariates, this risk was not statistically significant. Conclusions: The blood vitamin D level of shift workers was significantly lower than that of day workers. In male shift workers, shift work can decrease the bone mineral density in the femoral neck and lumbar spine. Prospective studies with information on the shift work intensity and duration and exposuredata to explain mechanisms will be needed.


Stage fright is a large problem even for college students, who have chosen an occupation direction where standing on a scene is a common occurrence. Stage fright can imply that individuals abandon occupation directions they are interested in and can impair performances and health. The purpose with this thesis is to examine whether there is any differences between teacher- and engineering students at the LTU, when it comes to stage fright. A first hypothesis is that stage fright is lower in the college program, where public performances happen regularly and in this case the teacher programs. A second hypothesis is that the teacher students apply coping strategies to a smaller degree and a third hypothesis is that stage fright is lower for men. A questionnaire was administered to four college classes. The results show that the engineering students experienced public speaking occasions as more stressful than the teacher students, which confirms the hypothesis. Moreover, it turned out that the teacher students applied more coping strategies than the engineering students, but the difference was not statistically significant and the hypothesis was rejected. Finally, the results show that women experience public performance occasions as more stressful than men, especially during the presentation act when they were exposed to more symptoms, which is in accordance to the hypothesis.


A new procedure for the separation, preconcentration and determination of cadmium as a chloro anion was presented by using the combined cloud point extraction (CPE) methodology and molecular spectrophotometry. The extraction process involved the conversion of cadmium (II) ion in acidic aqueous solution into chloro anion [CdCl 4 ] 2- complex and subsequently the hydrophobic ion-pair complex formed with crystal violet (CV) cation was extracted into the nonionic surfactant (Triton X-100) rich phase at a temperature above its cloud point (CPT). After phase separation, the surfactant-rich phase was diluted with ethanol and cadmium (II) ion determined by UV-Vis spectromphotometric technique at λ max of 449 nm. The optimization of complexation and extraction conditions was investigated. Thermodynamic parameters of CPE for solubilization process of the ion-pair complex in Triton X-100 were also considered. Under the optimized conditions, the preconcentration of a 10 mL sample gave preconcentration and enrichment factors were of 125 and 150 respectively. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 0.25-5 μg mL -1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995 and limit of detection of 0.042 µg mL −1 . The relative standard deviation for replicate determinations at (3) µg mL −1 level was of 2.68%. The proposed method was applied for the determination of cadmium in soil, vege Table s, plant leaves and water which gave satisfactory results relative to results obtain by AAS method Keywords: Cadmium chloro anion, Crystal violet cation, Triton X-100, Cloud point extraction, Spectrophotometry.


This paper examines a phenomenon largely overlooked in existing literature: as Bitcoin matures into a mainstream consumer payments system with the rise of intermediation and hosted wallet services, it is slowly transforming from a purely decentralized peer-to-peer currency into something that (ironically) more closely resembles the bank-intermediated payment systems of the past. This paper explains how this transformation creates complicated issues of loss allocation not anticipated by Bitcoin's founder. Further, it argues for the need of an effective legal mechanism to efficiently and fairly allocate losses between intermediaries and users. The first section of this paper will explain how Bitcoin transactions work when users manage their own personal wallets, describing both the transaction mechanics and risks of loss. Then, it will explain how hosted wallet services have changed these mechanics and risks, as well as why a set of loss allocation rules is necessary. Finally, the paper will recommend a set of loss allocation rules based on the policy rationales that drive rules under other existing payment systems law.


Due to methodological difficulties and limitations of applicability, a quantitative bonding analysis based on the theory of resonance is presently not as convenient and popular as that based on the molecular orbital (MO) methods. Here, we propose an efficient quantitative resonance theory by expanding the DFT wave function in terms of a complete set of Lewis structures. By rigorously separating the resonance subsystem represented by a set of localized MOs, this approach is able to treat large molecules, nonplanar π-conjugate systems, and bonding systems mixing both σ and π electrons. Assessment in 2c-2e systems suggests a new projection-weighted symmetric orthogonalization method to evaluate the weights of resonance contributors, which overcomes the drawbacks of other weighting schemes. Applications to benzene, naphthalene and chlorobenzene show that the present method is insensitive to the basis set employed in the DFT calculations, and to the choices of the independent Lewis set determined by Rumer's rule. Advanced applications to diverse chemical problems provide unique and valuable insights into the understanding of hydrogen bonding, the π substituent effect on benzene, and the mechanism of Diels-Alder reactions.


Redox-mediated ligand-transfer reactions between the cationic complex [Pd(η-C4Ph4)(Me2CO)2]2+ and the dianionic clusters, [Ru5C(CO)14]2– and [Ru6C(CO)16]2– afforded [Ru5C(CO)13(η-C4Ph4)]1 and [Ru6C(CO)15(η-C4Ph4)]2, respectively. The new clusters 1 and 2 have been characterised by spectroscopic techniques in solution and in the solid-state by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In 1 the ring is co-ordinated to a basal ruthenium atom of the square-pyramidal cluster framework, while in 2 the octahedral metal core of the parent complex has opened slightly through the elongation of one Ru–Ru bond. The reasons for this structureal change have been analysed using extended-Huckel molecular-orbital calculations.


This dissertation presents data processing techniques relevant to the acquisition, modeling, and inversion of self-potential data. The primary goal is to facilitate the interpretation of self-potentials in terms of the underlying mechanisms that generate the measured signal. The central component of this work describes a methodology for inverting self-potential data to recover the three-dimensional distribution of causative sources in the earth. This approach is general in that it is not specific to a particular forcing mechanism, and is therefore applicable to a wide variety of problems. Self-potential source inversion is formulated as a linear problem by seeking the distribution of source amplitudes within a discretized model that satisfies the measured data. One complicating factor is that the potentials are a function of the earth resistivity structure and the unknown sources. The influence of imperfect resistivity information in the inverse problem is derived, and illustrated through several synthetic examples. Source inversion is an ill-posed and non-unique problem, which is addressed by incorporating model regularization into the inverse problem. A non-traditional regularization method, termed "minimum support," is utilized to recover a spatially compact source model rather than one that satisfies more commonly used smoothness constraints. Spatial compactness is often an appropriate form of prior information for the inverse source problem. Minimum support regularization makes the inverse problem non-linear, and therefore requires an iterative solution technique similar to iteratively re-weighted least squares (IRLS) methods. Synthetic and field data examples are studied to illustrate the efficacy of this method and the influence of noise, with applications to hydrogeologic and electrochemical self-potential source mechanisms. Finally, a novel technique for pre-processing self-potential data collected with arbitrarily complicated survey geometries is presented. This approach overcomes the inability of traditional processing methods to produce a unique map of the potential field when multiple lines of data form interconnected loops. The data are processed simultaneously to minimize mis-ties on a survey-wide basis using either an l2 or l1 measure of misfit, and simplifies to traditional methods in the absence of survey complexity. The l1 measure requires IRLS solution methods, but is more reliable in the presence of data outliers. Thesis Supervisor: Frank Dale Morgan Title: Professor of Geophysics


Vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vips), which are secreted by some Bacillus thuringiensis strains during vegetative growth, exhibit high virulence to many pests. Vip3A proteins have been used commercially both in some bio-insecticides and in transgenic crops; however, compared with insecticidal crystal proteins, the mechanism of action of Vip3A is still unclear. In this work, we indicated that the fibroblast growth factor receptor-like protein (Sf-FGFR) from the membrane of Sf9 cells could bind to Vip3Aa. The interaction between Vip3Aa and Sf-FGFR was confirmed by pull-down assays and dot blotting experiment in vitro. The binding affinity between Vip3Aa and extracellular regions of Sf-FGFR (GST-FGFR-N) was determined by microscale thermophoresis assay (MST). Moreover, Vip3Aa-Flag could be co-immunoprecipitated with Sf-FGFR-V5 ex vivo. Furthermore, knockdown of Sf-FGFR gene in Sf9 cells resulted in reducing the mortality of those cells to Vip3Aa. In summary, our data indicated that Sf-FGFR is a novel receptor for Vip3Aa.


BACKGROUND: Spirometry tests with a bronchodilator response (BDR) in FEV1, a methacholine concentration that produces a 20% drop in FEV1 (PC20) ≤ 2 mg/mL, and a positive exercise test have high specificity for the diagnosis of asthma in children. However, the value of forced expiratory flow during the middle half of the FVC maneuver (FEF25–75) in spirometry has been questioned. The objective of this study was to relate the BDR in FEF25–75 of spirometry tests with normal FEV1 and FEV1/FVC to airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) to methacholine or exercise in children age 5–15 y with clinical suspicion of asthma. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of spirometry tests performed between January 2017–December 2019 in children age 5–15 y with diagnostic suspicion of asthma who had a methacholine and/or exercise testing within a period not exceeding 60 d between exams. RESULTS: The mean (± SD) age of the children was 9.04 ± 2.67 y, with a range of 5–15 y, and 56.17% were male. Of the 324 spirometry tests with normal FEV1 and FEV1/FVC, 66 (20.4%) tests showed BDR in FEF25–75. A total of 46.9% and 33.3% of the children with and without BDR in FEF25–75, respectively, had a PC20 value ≤ 2 mg/mL and/or a positive exercise testing (P = .039). CONCLUSIONS: Children with suspected asthma and normal spirometry, other than BDR in FEF25–75, had greater AHR than those without BDR in FEF25–75. BDR in FEF25–75 was not always accompanied by AHR to confirm the diagnosis of asthma, so this study suggests that assessment of FEF25–75 alone is not always reliable for ruling in or ruling out AHR in the setting of otherwise normal spirometry results in children with suspected asthma.


The addition of xylose to energy-depleted cells of Escherichia coli elicited an alkaline pH change which failed to appear in the presence of uncoupling agents. Accumulation of [14C]xylose by energy-replete cells was also inhibited by uncoupling agents, but not by fluoride or arsenate. Subcellular vesicles of E. coli accumulated [14C]xylose provided that ascorbate plus phenazine methosulfate were present for respiration, and this accumulation was inhibited by uncoupling agents or valinomycin. Therefore, the transport of xylose into E. coli appears to be energized by a proton-motive force, rather than by a phosphotransferase or directly energized mechanism. Its specificity for xylose as inducer and substrate and the genetic location of a xylose-H+ transport-negative mutation near mtl showed that the xylose-H+ system is distinct from other proton-linked sugar transport systems of E. coli.


In this study, the new asparagine grafted on the EDTA-modified Fe3O4@SiO2 core-shell (Fe3O4@SiO2-APTS-EDTA-asparagine) magnetic nanoparticles were prepared and their structures were properly confirmed using different spectroscopic, microscopic and magnetic methods or techniques such as FT-IR, EDX, XRD, FESEM, TEM, TGA and VSM. The Fe3O4@SiO2-APTS-EDTA-asparagine core-shell nanomaterial was examined, as a highly efficient multifunctional and recoverable nanocatalyst, for the synthesis of a wide range of nitrogen-containing heterocycles and biologically-active 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one derivatives under solvent-free conditions. It was proved that Fe3O4@SiO2-APTS-EDTA-asparagine MNPs, as a catalyst having excellent thermally and magnetic stability, specific morphology and acidic sites, can activate the Biginelli reaction components. Moreover, environmental-friendliness and nontoxic nature properties of the catalyst, cost effectiveness, low catalyst loading, easy separation of the catalyst from products and short time of reaction are some of the remarkable advantages of this green protocol.


In a vascular rehabilitation program, 28% of our frail elderly patients are unable to be tested with traditional progressive exercise protocols at program entry due to the high (2.0 miles/h or 3.2 km/h) initial treadmill speeds. The purpose of this investigation was to compare a new progressive treadmill protocol which has a reduced initial speed (1.0 mile/h or 1.6 km/h) to an established protocol performed at 2.0 miles/h (3.2 km/h) to determine the comparability and reproducibility of the new protocol. Eleven patients with arterial claudication performed three symptom-limited exercise tests in random order. Two tests used the new protocol while the remaining trial used the established protocol. Claudication pain was measured using a 5-point scale. Oxygen consumption, heart rate, minute ventilation, respiratory exchange ratio and blood pressure at peak exercise were similar among the three trials. There were strong intra-class correlations for peak oxygen consumption (r = 0.97), onset of claudication (r = 0.96) and maximum walking time (r = 0.98) between the two trials using the new protocol. There was also a significant correlation between the new protocol and the established protocol for peak oxygen consumption (r = 0.90) and maximum walking time (r = 0.89). The new progressive treadmill protocol represents a valid, reliable protocol for patients with arterial claudication. This protocol may be useful for testing patients with a low functional capacity so that clinically appropriate exercise prescriptions can be established and the efficacy of treatments can be determined.


The proposed technique for phase improvement is based on the refinement of a so-called mixed electron density model. This model consists of two parts. The first is a partial stereochemically correct atomic model of the protein molecule related to the interpreted part of electron density of the unit cell. The second is an artificial atomic model describing the uninterpreted part of the residual electron density of the unit cell. The conventional free-atom crystallographic refinement of such a mixed model results in phase improvement. No attention is paid to the structural sense of the refined atomic positions of the mixed electron density model. This method of phase improvement has been applied for eye lens protein y-crystallin Illb at 2-7 A resolution. A starting partial model of the molecule contained about 56% of the total number of residues. Phase refinement is done in two stages. Each stage leads to a significant increase in the quality of the electron density map, so that the partial atomic model of the protein molecule can be improved and expanded.


Migraine: The Evolution of a Common Disorder , by Oliver Sacks, ed 2 (abridged), 220 pp, with illus, paper, $2.95, University of California Press, 1973. Background to Migraine encompasses the proceedings of the Fifth Migraine Symposium held in September 1972, by the British Migraine Trust. The volume is considerably longer than the four previous monographs. It contains 21 chapters, many reviewing and restating previously published material. However, the chapter on reactivity of the cerebral vessels adequately portrays current thinking on the two primary components of cerebrovascular resistance: (1) an intrinsic component within the brain itself that is not affected by nervous factors, and (2) an extrinsic component up to the level of the pial circulation where the sympathetic nervous system has a powerful influence. This would lend credence to the recent prominence of behavioral therapy for migraine. Of equal importance is the article by Professor Sicuteri of Florence, Italy, on "5-Hydroxytryptamine


Although pre-trained language models have remarkably enhanced the generation ability of dialogue systems, open-domain Chinese dialogue systems are still limited by the dialogue data and the model size compared with English ones. In this paper, we propose EVA, a Chinese dialogue system that contains the largest Chinese pre-trained dialogue model with 2.8B parameters. To build this model, we collect the largest Chinese dialogue dataset named WDC-Dialogue from various public social media. This dataset contains 1.4B context-response pairs and is used as the pre-training corpus of EVA. Extensive experiments on automatic and human evaluation show that EVA outperforms other Chinese pre-trained dialogue models especially in the multi-turn interaction of human-bot conversations.


ABSTRACT In Australia, 71% of agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are enteric methane (CH4), mostly produced by grazing sheep and cattle. Temperate low CH4 yielding legumes and herbs can mitigate enteric CH4 production, but system-level GHG emissions need to be considered. The aims of the study were to: (1) devise a framework to assess GHG reductions when introducing low CH4 yielding species; (2) assess mechanisms of CH4 reduction in temperate legume and herb species for Australia; (3) use a case study to demonstrate expected changes to system-level GHG emissions with the introduction of low CH4 yielding legumes; and (4) identify knowledge gaps and research priorities. Results demonstrate lowering emissions intensity (kg CO2-equivalent/kg product) is crucial to mitigate GHG emissions, but livestock productivity is also important. Several pasture species have anti-methanogenic properties, but responses often vary considerably. Of the species investigated biserrula (Biserrula pelecinus) has great potential to reduce enteric CH4 emissions, but in a case study its emission intensity was similar to subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) but higher than lucerne (Medicago sativa). We conclude that there are temperate legumes and herbs with anti-methanogenic properties, and/or high productivity that could reduce total CH4 emissions and emissions intensity of ruminant livestock production. There is also great diversity in some plant genotypes that can be exploited, and this will be aided by more detailed understanding of plant secondary compounds associated with CH4 reduction. This review suggests an opportunity to formulate pasture species mixtures to achieve reduced CH4 emissions with greater or equal livestock production.


As an electronic health record system is implementing in Korean health care sectors, concerns about key functionalities of electronic health record systems are increasing. The purpose of this study was to identify core functions and set the priority in electronic health record systems under the Korean contexts in order to assure and improve the quality of the systems. Methods: A survey was conducted using questionnaire developed by the study team based on literature review. The subjects were medical record administrators working at medical record department in general hospitals. Results: The response rate was 59.8%(55/92). The functions which more than ninety percent of subjects responded as necessary right now and/or in near future related to 'drug alert', 'clinical guideline', 'chronic disease management', 'automated real-time surveillance', 'coded data', 'result reporting', 'de-identifying data', 'disease registry', and 'provider-provider communication and connectivity'. Conclusion: The results showed the high prioritized functions were decision support and health information/data management.


ing and indexing services Nationalities Papers is currently noted in Geographical Abstracts: Human Geography, Geobase, Historical Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), International Political Science Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Zeller Verlag (fBZ/IBR) and America: History and Life. ISSN 0090-5992 © 2009 Association for the Study of Nationalities Nationalities Papers VOLUME 37 NUMBER 1 JANUARY 2009


The so-called animal turn in the humanities has given rise to an increased interest in the ways in which representations of animals shape human cultures. In Victorian studies, scholars have attended to the significance of domestic pets and other animals in the production of Victorian ideologies and subjectivities. Recent studies often point out the role animals played in the formation of Victorian domesticity. While these studies in general assign a key role to animal figures in the mediation of traditional domesticity, this essay explores the opposite phenomenon taking place in the Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell's Cousin Phillis, a novella in which pets and farm animals are prominent. In this work, the eponymous protagonist, a young woman living on a farm, falls in love with a cosmopolitan engineer. Rather than portraying Phillis as an ethereal angelic creature who would be typical of the ideal Victorian woman, Gaskell ascribes to her a passionate nature, though hidden behind a constrained facade. Phillis is partly able to express her deep-set emotions, including her interest in the cosmopolitan engineer, when interacting with animals. This non-traditional gender role becomes possible through the representation of birds and the family dog. Animals enable the imagination of a femininity that resists restrictive gender codes. The traditional association of animals with women has sometimes worked to denigrate the latter, but as Gaskell shows that this link also has an emancipatory potential.


Among a selected group of mouse strains susceptible to dietary obesity, those with an enhanced capacity forUcp1 and brown adipocyte induction in white fat preferentially lost body weight following adrenergic stimulation. Based on the generality of this mechanism for reducing obesity, a genetic analysis was initiated to identify genes that control brown adipocyte induction in white fat depots in mice. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was performed using the variations of retroperitoneal fatUcp1 mRNA expression in progeny of genetic crosses between the A/J and C57BL/6J parental strains and selected AXB recombinant inbred strains. Three A/J-derived loci on chromosomes 2, 3, and 8 and one C57BL/6J locus on chromosome 19 were linked toUcp1 induction in retroperitoneal fat. Although A/J-derived alleles seemed to contribute to elevated Ucp1 expression, the C57BL/6J allele on chromosome 19 increased Ucp1mRNA to levels higher than parental values. Thus, novel patterns of C57BL/6J and A/J recombinant genotypes among the four mapped loci resulted in a transgressive variation of Ucp1 phenotypes. Although the extent of the interchromosomal interactions have not been fully explored, strong synergistic interactions occur between a C57BL/6J allele on chromosome 19 and an A/J allele on chromosome 8. In addition to selective synergistic interactions between loci, variations in recessive and dominant effects also contribute to the final levels of Ucp1 expression.


Momentum densities of annihilating electron-positron pairs, positron lifetimes, work functions and binding energies as well as electron-positron enhancement factors at the surfaces of simple metals and cadmium are studied. The effect of electron-positron correlations on the surface-state positron annihilation characteristics is set out.


This study aims to explore the students' perception of the use of English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) in teaching and learning at SMA Negeri 1 Kota Gorontalo. This explorative qualitative study employed a purposive sampling method. This study involved 112 twelve-grade students from IPA, IPS, and BAHASA majors of SMA Negeri 1 Kota Gorontalo as the subjects.  This study utilized questionnaires for data collection, while the Likert Scale and Percentage Formula were performed in data analysis. The result showed that the students had positive perceptions of the three EMI types of perception: visual, auditory, and speech perception. The average results in visual, auditory, and speech perceptions were 70.96% ('strongly agree' category), 70.49% ('strongly agree' category), and 57.90% ('agree' category). Further study with bigger samples and different subjects is recommended since this research only focuses on students perception of the Use of EMI in Teaching and Learning at SMA Negeri 1 Kota Gorontalo.


This research is aimed at understanding the role of culture in the quality of the relationship between Portuguese exporting companies and their distributors in Angola. This study is particularly important because it is based on an analysis of exporting distributor pairs (matched pairs) i.e. Portuguese export companies and their distributors in Angola. This study aims to understand how culture has an impact on the quality of trade relationships established between companies in the internationalization of the business context. Also, note that in international contexts, the impact of the similarities/cultural differences on the relationship structures have not been particularly studied. In terms of methodology, we have chosen a qualitative analysis: five case studies of Portuguese exporting companies and five case studies of Angolan distributors were examined. Interviews with Directors/CEO of Portuguese exporting companies and boards responsible for export activities were carried out and the corresponding Angolan distributors in order to answer the research questions. The selection of the Portuguese companies was based on a list of the fifty largest exporters to Angola, provided by the Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal, EPE (AICEP) in August 2011. In general, the results show that culture has an impact on the quality of the business relationships between the Portuguese exporting companies and the Angolan distributors


After lunar explorations were restarted in 1990s, the world space advanced countries have been competing actively to preoccupy the Moon from the 2000s. Korea has been also conducting precedent study on lunar exploration to carry out that by ourselves in 2020. This study analyzed delta-V of various Earth-Moon transfer trajectories for minimization of fuel consumption. Through the simulation, the best Earth-Moon transfer trajectory for Korean lunar mission is suggested and it will be used as useful materials of Korean lunar mission.


Chlorine isotope fractionation during reductive dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) to cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE) by anaerobic bacteria was investigated. The changes in the 37Cl/35Cl ratio observed during the one-step reaction (TCE to cDCE) can be explained by the regioselective elimination of chlorine accompanied by the Rayleigh fractionation. The fractionation factors (alpha) of the TCE dechlorination by three kinds of anaerobic cultures were approximately 0.994-0.995 at 30 degrees C. The enrichment of 37Cl in the organic chlorine during the two-step reaction (PCE to cDCE) can be explained by the random elimination of one chlorine atom in the PCE molecule followed by the regioselective elimination of one chlorine atom in the TCE molecule. The fractionation factors for the first step of the PCE dechlorination with three kinds of anaerobic cultures were estimated to be 0.987-0.991 at 30 degrees C using a mathematical model. Isotope fractionation during the first step would be the primary factor for the chlorine isotope fractionation during the PCE dechorination to cDCE. The developed models can be utilized to evaluate the fractionation factors of regioselective and multistep reactions.


A reliable simple scheme for the rapid identification of certain species of oral streptococci has been developed and compared with biochemical and physiological results of 45 well known clinical isolates and stock strains. Moreover, a method for the determination of H2O2 production was tested. With selected reactions as for instance acid formation in mannitol and raffinose broth, hydrolysis of arginine and esculin, the production of peroxidase, and the resistance of bacitracin the species S. rattus, S. sobrinus, S. mutans, S. cricetus, S. ferus, S. milleri, S. mitis, S. sanguis, S. mitior, and S. salivarius were differentiated.


In the large top-mass limit, Higgs plus multi-gluon amplitudes in QCD can be computed using an effective field theory. This approach turns the computation of such amplitudes into that of form factors of operators of increasing classical dimension. In this paper we focus on the first finite top-mass correction, arising from the operator Tr(F ), up to two loops and three gluons. Setting up the calculation in the maximally supersymmetric theory requires identification of an appropriate supersymmetric completion of Tr(F ), which we recognise as a descendant of the Konishi operator. We provide detailed computations for both this operator and the component operator Tr(F ), preparing the ground for the calculation in N <4, to be detailed in a companion paper. Our results for both operators are expressed in terms of a few universal functions of transcendental degree four and below, some of which have appeared in other contexts, hinting at universality of such quantities. An important feature of the result is a delicate cancellation of unphysical poles appearing in soft/collinear limits of the remainders which links terms of different transcendentality. Our calculation provides another example of the principle of maximal transcendentality for observables with non-trivial kinematic dependence. §{a.brandhuber, m.m.kostacinska, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com ar X iv :1 80 4. 05 70 3v 3 [ he pth ] 3 0 N ov 2 01 8


Abstract : This report details the work completed in designing and developing a main rotor blade for the UH-1D/H Helicopter which would reduce the Army's blade- related helicopter costs. This cost reduction results from designing a blade with high repairability to reduce damage-related repair and scrappage costs, high survivability so that required repairs are minimized and low production cost so that the blade could be economically discarded in case of severe damage. The program was unique in that reliability and maintainability personnel had inputs to the designs from their inception in the comparison of candidate designs and the selection of the final design concept. A maintenance philosophy was developed for the blade, and the repair techniques developed were proven to be easy to apply, and structurally sound during fatigue and whirl testing. Thus, the blade was shown to be repairable after extensive damage, and the repairs required less time than is normally required for blade removal and replacement. During the design of the blades, components were evaluated for their durability under the extremes of the Army's operating environment prior to their incorporation into the final design concept, and the design was analyzed and projected to be no less durable than the present UH-1D/H blade. The survivability, acquisition cost, repair cost, and replacement costs were all used to predict the life-cycle costs of the new blade in comparison to that already in use. This comparison showed that a substantial cost saving could accrue to the Army as a result of employing this new design philosophy on helicopter blade acquisitions.


Since Panum (1) in 1851 found that protein separated from serum on dilution and the addition of acid, the most widely used means of defining the plasma proteins has been by describing their solubility behavior. Between 1859 and 1902 the work of Denis (2), Hammarsten (3), Burckhardt (4), Marcus (5), Kauder (6), Pick (7), and others established the definitions of these proteins as commonly used today. These definitions are based on studies of the solubilities of so called protein fractions separated from plasma or serum by .repeated precipitations and re-solution under specified conditions. The terms fibrinogen, euglobulin, pseudoglobulin, and albumin, if strictly used, should, therefore, designate the proteins separated by such procedures. Between 1890 and 1905 various attempts were made to measure the concentration of the individual proteins of serum by so called single fractional precipitation; that is, by determinations carried out on precipitates or filtrates from the first precipitation at specified salt concentrations. In 1901 Pinkus (8) published a method for estimating the serum prot'eins by such fractional precipitation with sodium sulfate at 37". His method assumed no overlapping of the precipitation


There are several reports available on neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) associated with risperidone but when a more stringent criterion is applied there are only a few. Report on challenge and rechallenge with various atypical antipsychotic drugs in re-emergence of post NMS psychosis is scanty. Our aim of presenting this is to highlight the differential response of various atypical antipsychotic drugs in the treatment of post NMS psychosis. This paper reports a young male with mild mental retardation who developed NMS on a low dose of nspendone. Eariierhe was on haloperidol 10 mg. which was stopped 10 days prior to initiation of risperidone therapy. Symptoms of NMS resolved within 36 hours with bromocnptine; but the patient relapsed to psychosis. Re-challenge with risperidone 1mg resulted in a dystonic reaction, with clozapine 12.5 mg he developed marked sedation, hypotension and urinary incontinence. Ultimately post NMS psychosis responded well to olanzapine 10mg and there was no recurrence of NMS. Olanzapine may be the better choice for the treatment of post NMS psychosis.


We present efficient and scalable parallel algorithms for performing mathematical operations for low-rank tensors represented in the tensor train (TT) format. We consider algorithms for addition, elementwise multiplication, computing norms and inner products, orthogonalization, and rounding (rank truncation). These are the kernel operations for applications such as iterative Krylov solvers that exploit the TT structure. The parallel algorithms are designed for distributed-memory computation, and we use a data distribution and strategy that parallelizes computations for individual cores within the TT format. We analyze the computation and communication costs of the proposed algorithms to show their scalability, and we present numerical experiments that demonstrate their efficiency on both shared-memory and distributed-memory parallel systems. For example, we observe better single-core performance than the existing MATLAB TT-Toolbox in rounding a 2GB TT tensor, and our implementation achieves a $34\times$ speedup using all 40 cores of a single node. We also show nearly linear parallel scaling on larger TT tensors up to over 10,000 cores for all mathematical operations.


PRCs combined with voltage-doubler rectifier can form a kind of high-voltage circuit topology, which are parallel resonant dual voltage converters (PRDVCs). Both voltage-doubler rectifier and transformer can boost voltage, which reduced turn's ratios and volume of the transformer, making it easier to produce. Thus it realized the miniaturization of high-voltage power supply. Output and control characteristic curves were given. Loss mechanism of PRDVCs was researched. By using optimization method the optimized working point was acquired. Conversion efficiency of different working points was tested and the validity of loss analysis and optimization design was proved.


Many testing and analysis techniques use finite state models to validate and verify the quality of software systems. Since the specification of such models is complex and time-consuming, researchers defined several techniques to extract finite state models from code and traces. Automatically generating models requires much less effort than designing them, and thus eases the verification and validation of large software systems. However, when models are inferred automatically, the precision of the mining process is critical. Behavioral models mined with imprecise processes can include many spurious behaviors, and can thus compromise the results of testing and analysis techniques that use those models. In this paper, we increase the precision of automata inferred from execution traces, by leveraging two learning techniques. We first mine execution traces to infer statistically significant temporal properties that capture relations between non consecutive and possibly distant events. We then incrementally refine a simple initial automaton by merging likely equivalent states. We identify equivalent states by analyzing set of consecutive events, and we use the inferred temporal properties to evaluate whether two equivalent states can be merged or not. We merge equivalent states only if the merging does violate any temporal property, since a merging that violates temporal properties is likely to introduce an imprecise generalization. Our generalization process that preserves temporal properties while merging states avoids breaking non-local relations, and thus solves one of the major cause of overgeneralized models. Thus, mined properties steer the learning of behavioral models. The technique is completely automated and generates an automaton that both accepts the input traces and satisfies the mined temporal properties. We evaluated our solution by comparing models inferred with and without checking mined temporal properties. Results show that our steering process can significantly improve precision without noticeable loss of recall.


Immunology![Figure][1]

Lipids in breast milk delay the transition from beige to white adipose tissue and protect against obesity.

PHOTO: LIFEBRARY/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Children who are breastfed appear to be at a lower risk for obesity later in life. One explanation is that breast milk may somehow prevent the premature transition from beige adipose tissue (BeAT) to white adipose tissue during childhood and adolescence. Yu et al. report that alkylglycerol ether lipids found in breast milk maintain the BeAT of infant mice. Adipose tissue macrophages metabolize these lipids into platelet-activating factor, which then induces macrophage release of interleukin-6, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling in adipocytes, and the development of BeAT. Although usually inactivated in adulthood, this pathway resurrects in obese adipose tissue, indicating a degree of metabolic flexibility that could be exploited for therapeutic applications.

J. Clin. Invest. 129 , 2485 (2019).

 [1]: pending:yes


Abstract:
Hamartomatous polyposis syndromes or Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is a hereditary autosomal dominant disease characterized by benign hamartomatous polyps and mucocutaneous pigmentation in the digestive tract. It occurs mostly in the small intestine during first decade of life but frequently in the colon and stomach. Only a few cases have been reported in the duodenum1. Polyposis syndromes are common cause of adult intussusceptions, with polyps acting as lead points. Adult intussusceptions are rare and is almost always associated with that lead point2. Although hamartomatous polyps are not pre-malignant, there is an increased risk of gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal malignancy, commonly involving the small bowel. Most patients of PJS presents with acute abdomen and diagnosed as intussusceptions, commonly entero-enteric type but colo-colic intussusceptions are rare in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome3. To the best of our knowledge, synchronous colo-colic intussusception association in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome has not been previously reported.


In order to investigate the relationships between Italian wild boar and major pig breeds, we studied the genetic variability of four wild boar populations in Italy (Arezzo, Pisa, Parma, Bergamo) using a 533-bp fragment of the mitochondrial control region. Sixty-nine wild boar samples were analysed, allowing the identification of 10 distinct haplotypes, which involve a total of 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Phylogenetic and network analyses were performed also considering several sequences of wild and domesticated forms available in the databases. The Bayesian phylogenetic tree and the Median-Joining network analyses show three main groups: the Italian (IT), European (EU) and Asian (AS) clades. The IT clade corresponds to the Maremma endemic wild boar population and also includes Sardinian individuals, while the EU and AS groups include wild boars as well as domestic pig breeds. Only two individuals from Pisa cluster in the IT group, whereas two haplotypes from Bergamo cluster in the AS group and all other samples cluster in the EU clade. These findings suggest that in Italy wild boar populations have a mixed origin, both EU and AS, and that an interbreeding between wild and domesticated strains has probably occurred. Eight of the 10 wild boars coming from the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Regional Park (Pisa) belong to H2 and H3 haplotypes, and cluster into the EU clade, suggesting that this regional park is not anymore exclusive of the endemic Maremma wild boar.


This erratum corrects the listing of authors for the above paper published in this journal. The authors' list should also have included "Dr. Eliana C. Martinez, M.D., Ph.D., from Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore," and the authors list should be read in the correct order as previously mentioned.


Class participation can be difficult to obtain when lecturing to a large group of students. Interactive lecture methods can help bridge the gap between faculty and students as well as increase class participation and satisfaction among faculty and students. The authors discuss various methods that may be used to increase student interaction.


Severe slugging, which could induce large-amplitude pressure and flow rate fluctuations, is a major and expensive problem in multiphase transportation systems of offshore oil production system. To avoid such problem is a basic requirement for flow assurance management. This study is an experimental and numerical investigation of severe slugging in a relatively long pipeline-riser system. A series of experiments on two-phase, air-water flow in a flexible Sshaped riser were carried out. The experimental system has a 114m long horizontal pipeline connected to a 19m long pipe which is inclined to −2degree from horizontal, followed by a 15.3m high riser operating at atmospheric end pressure. Four types of flow patterns were found and characterized by the pressure fluctuations at the bottom of the riser. A flow patter map for the prediction of severe slugging was developed based on the experimental results. The detailed characteristics of severe slugging such as pressure fluctuations, liquid holdup, under different gas-liquid superficial velocities were provided. A transient model to predict the flow behavior in the pipeline-S-shaped riser system was developed based on an existing model (OLGA). The modified model, which was tested against new experimental results obtained in this study, showed that the four types of flow patterns observed in the experiment were predicted with acceptable discrepancies. The flow pattern map was obtained using present model, as well as the detailed characteristics of severe slugging. In addition, the reasons for the difference between experimental and numerical results were analysed in this article. The motive of the numerical studies was to identify the areas that could not be reproduced by the present model and to give some suggestions for future models.


This study reports on the implementation of the Council of Europe's "Tool for Quality Assurance of Education for Democratic Citizenship in Schools" in Romania. It was designed along the following questions: 1. Who organises the implementation project? What kind of agency or cooperation of agencies? 2. How is the agency financed? How was/is the project financed? Does the agency have any mandate by the state? How many persons are involved in the project on the side of the agency and what are their duties? 3. How do you find and select the participating schools? 4. What is offered to the schools in terms of training, supervision, financial support etc.? 5. Why do schools participate in the project? How is the decision to participate made on the school level? 6. Who is involved in the schools: All or a group of teachers? All or a group of students? Parents? Principals? What are the respective tasks of these people? How large is the workload? What chapters of the Tool are used by the schools? 7. How do schools deal with evaluation results gained from the project? Can you see consequences on the school level? 8. What do schools have to deliver to agencies? 9. What is the relevance or added value compared to national educational politics? 10. How is the project evaluated by the agency (or by other organisations)? How did the working procedures within the project change after evaluation of the first field trial? (DIPF/Orig.)


The Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA), which governs relations between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group and the European Union (EU), will expire in the year 2020. While the three pillars of this framework addressing political dialogue, development cooperation and trade are generally considered to have served their purpose well, there are clear signs that significant changes within the ACP group, the EU and the wider international landscape demand a different articulation of the relationship. A tacit understanding among Europeans is that the ball is in the ACP's corner in terms of defining and determining their own future as a group and its relationship vis-a-vis the EU as such. However, a momentum needs to be built for the coming 2015 revision of the Cotonou Agreement with a view to a plausible post-2020 scenario, in which the EU also needs to set out its own desires and priorities in giving shape to the cooperation. In previous years the EU Member States increasingly "outsourced" the management of the partnership to the European Commission, but there is a gradually growing recognition that the CPA is presently the principal functioning vehicle guiding EUAfrica relations. European perceptions on the future of the Cotonou Agreement point to two sets of arguments, namely: Reasons to do away with the ACP-EU partnership: Weak rationale to keep a common framework with these very different regions, combined with weak evidence of the development of an ACP identity or intra-ACP trade; Decreasing relevance of ex-colonial ties, particularly in the context of an enlarged EU, but also more generally of the agreement's strong focus on official development assistance; Poor track record in shaping joint positions and interventions at international fora. Elements in the partnership deemed worth preserving: Legally binding nature that favours political dialogue as well as predictability and strategy ownership in development cooperation; A relatively strong performance of the European Development Fund (EDF) compared to other EU development cooperation instruments, combined with its multi-stakeholder approach to the design and management of development strategies; Potential alliance for global public goods provision. Despite the fact that there is not yet an official position from the EU nor its Member States on what should happen after the CPA expires, European actors (European Commission, European Parliament, Member States) seem to be inclined to move towards a more regional approach of the Union's external relations while maintaining the valuable aspects of the present setup. While the EU's declining strategic interest in the Caribbean – and especially the Pacific – is no secret, too rejectionist a stance towards the cooperation framework by EU Member States could seriously harm the promotion of their values and interests in Africa. The EU would currently seem most inclined to preserve key elements of the CPA in a "light version" of the current ACP-EU agreement, by transferring those elements into separate EU regional strategies towards Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, or a combination of both. European policy discussions on this matter are also long overdue, given that the preparations for the third revision of the CPA in 2015 will be a key "warming-up session" for the negotiations for post-2020. The EPA negotiations have seriously and negatively affected ACPEU relations in the recent past and could also harm the EU's own position and trade with Africa in the medium- to long term if continued in the same manner.


Background Neuropsychiatric disease has polygenic determinants but is often precipitated by environmental pressures, including adverse perinatal events. However, the way in which genetic vulnerability and early-life adversity interact remains obscure. Preterm birth is associated with abnormal brain development and psychiatric disease. We hypothesised that the extreme environmental stress of premature extra-uterine life could contribute to neuroanatomic abnormality in genetically vulnerable individuals. Methods We combined Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from 194 infants, born before 33 weeks of gestation, to test the prediction that: the characteristic deep grey matter abnormalities seen in preterm infants are associated with polygenic risk for psychiatric illness. Summary statistics from a meta-analysis of SNP data for five psychiatric disorders were used to compute individual polygenic risk scores (PRS). The variance explained by the PRS in the relative volumes of four deep grey matter structures (caudate nucleus, thalamus, subthalamic nucleus and lentiform nucleus) was estimated using linear regression both for the full, mixed-ancestral, cohort and a subsample of European infants. Results The PRS was negatively associated with: lentiform volume in the full cohort (β=−0.24, p=8×10−4) and the European subsample (β=−0.24, p=8×10−3); and with subthalamic nuclear volume in the full cohort (β=−0.18, p=0.01) and the European subsample (β=−0.26, p=3×10−3). Conclusions Genetic variants associated with neuropsychiatric disease increase vulnerability to abnormal deep grey matter development and are associated with neuroanatomic changes in the perinatal period. This suggests a mechanism by which perinatal adversity leads to later neuropsychiatric disease in genetically predisposed individuals.


Angioedema is the swelling of the mucosal membranes as a variant of urticaria induced by hereditary C1 esterase inhibitor enzyme deficiency, certain foods, or drugs. Herein, we report the case of a 23-year-old woman, with mild-moderate acne presenting with widespread facial angioedema on the 2nd day of systemic isotretinoin treatment. The patient had taken no drugs other than isotretinoin in the preceding days and had no known food allergy. Her angioedema was resolved after the isotretinoin was discontinued. We want to draw the attention of dermatologists to this rare adverse allergic effect of isotretinoin which is frequently used in the treatment of acne vulgaris.


Ever since Moore revived the gospel of certainty, philosophers content with commonsense have tried to provide a perspicuous formulation of its merits. Neither Moore nor his ablest successors have completely fulfilled this task, and although few philosophers would take up Wittgenstein's challenge, "Just try ——in a real case ——to doubt someone else's fear or pain", many would disagree that if one does he will "find these words becoming quite meaningless". The psychological conviction that men have in many beliefs is philosophically trivial, but the suggestion that sceptical claims are meaningless seems simply false. The problem for advocates of commonsense is that there is no evident room between psychological indubitability and logical necessity, uninteresting 'subjective' certainty and unattainable 'objective' certainty. Only by describing linguistic stringencies intermediate between psychological and logical ones can this problem be overcome. In Philosophical Papers Moore frequently claims to 'know with certainty' that many empirical propositions are true.


Author(s): Yang, W; Chandrasena, RU; Gu, M; Dos Reis, RMS; Moon, EJ; Arab, A; Husanu, MA; Nemsak, S; Gullikson, EM; Ciston, J; Strocov, VN; Rondinelli, JM; May, SJ; Gray, AX | Abstract: © 2019 American Physical Society. Control of structural coupling at complex-oxide interfaces is a powerful platform for creating ultrathin layers with electronic and magnetic properties unattainable in the bulk. However, with the capability to design and control the electronic structure of such buried layers and interfaces at a unit-cell level, a new challenge emerges to be able to probe these engineered emergent phenomena with depth-dependent atomic resolution as well as element- and orbital selectivity. Here, we utilize a combination of core-level and valence-band soft x-ray standing-wave photoemission spectroscopy, in conjunction with scanning transmission electron microscopy, to probe the depth-dependent and single-unit-cell resolved electronic structure of an isovalent manganite superlattice [Eu0.7Sr0.3MnO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3]×15 wherein the electronic-structural properties are intentionally modulated with depth via engineered oxygen octahedra rotations/tilts and A-site displacements. Our unit-cell resolved measurements reveal significant transformations in the local chemical and electronic valence-band states, which are consistent with the layer-resolved first-principles theoretical calculations, thus opening the door for future depth-resolved studies of a wide variety of heteroengineered material systems.


In this paper, classical isometric helicoidal and rotational surfaces are studied, and generalized by Bour's theorem in three dimensional Euclidean space. Moreover, the third Laplace-Beltrami operators of two classical surfaces are obtained.


Using preemption threshold scheduling (PTS) in a multi-threaded real-time embedded system reduces system preemptions and hence reduces run-time overhead while still ensuring real-time constraints are met. However, PTS offers other valuable benefits. In this paper we investigate the use of PTS for hard real-lime system with limited RAM. Our primary contribution is to prove the optimality of PTS among all preemption-limiting methods for minimizing a system's total stack memory requirements. We then discuss characteristics of PTS and show how to reduce average worst-case response times. We also introduce a unified framework for using PTS with existing fixed-priority (e.g. rate-or deadline-monotonic), or dynamic-priority scheduling algorithms ( e.g. earliest-deadline first). We evaluate the performance of PTS and our improvements using synthetic workloads and a real-time workload. We show PTS is extremely effective at reducing slack memory requirements. Our enhancements to PTS Improve worst-case, response-times as well


The activity concentrations of radionuclides in the sand and soil samples collected from Kuakata seabeach of Patuakhali district in Bangladesh have measured using a high resolution high purity germanium (HPGe) detector of relative efficiency 40%. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were found in the sand samples of Kuakata seabeach varied from 2.82 ± 4.89 to 87.96 ± 4.45 Bq.Kg–1, 21.72 ± 16.27 to 290.93 ± 18.15 Bq.Kg–1 and 26.24 ± 0.35 to 852.05 ± 142.15 Bq.Kg–1 respectively. For soil samples the activity concentrations of corresponding radionuclides were found to be 20.98 ± 3.96 to 42.92 ± 4.76 Bq.Kg–1, 59.25 ± 15.62 to 144.34 ± 18.52 Bq.Kg–1 and 570.43 ± 100.3 to 1165 ± 166.27 Bq.Kg–1 respectively. The average absorbed dose rate due to radionuclides in sand was estimated to range from 51.84 to 246.55 nGy.h–1 with an average of 98.33 nGy.h–1. Also the average absorbed dose rate due to radionuclides in soil was estimated to range from 76.63 nGy.h–1 to 142.36 nGy.h–1 with an average of 110.04 nGy.h–1. Radium equivalent activities were calculated for the analyzed samples to assess the radiation hazards arising due to the presence of this radionuclide in the samples. Most of the calculated radium equivalent activities are lower than the limit set in the OECD report (370 Bq.kg–1). The measured representative level index values for the investigated samples varied in the range 0.8 to 3.75.


Summary: The cerebellum is known to have an inhibitory effect on seizures. Nevertheless, cerebellar dysplastic lesions can be epileptogenic. A 4‐month‐old infant had paroxysmal facial contractions; tachypnea and nystagmoid eyeball and tremulous movements were occasionally combined. These evolved to stereotypic clinical patterns and frequencies, which increased despite administration of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a mass arising from the superior cerebellar peduncle, although video‐scalp EEG monitoring revealed no abnormal findings. Positron emission tomography with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose revealed focal hypermetabolism in the same area identified by MRI. A depth electrode implanted in the mass revealed focal spike‐and‐wave discharges. The lesion was partly removed; pathologic diagnosis was ganglioglioma. Because of incomplete seizure control and residual tumor visible on MRI, a second operation was performed. After complete excision of the tumor, the patient became seizure free without AEDs. This case confirms the presence of seizure originating from the cerebellum and emphasizes the need for the complete removal of an epileptogenic lesion.


A stimulating introduction to the key debates and dimensions in media studies, this Reader is a valuable resource for first level students. Posing questions about the nature of culture in modern society, it looks at the historical development of the various media, their relationship with modernity and the critical commentaries that have evolved as a result of their public and private presence. The readings encompass a wide range of media forms, from television, radio, film, magazines, newspapers and advertising to emergent and changing media forms focusing on media production, media texts and media reception. The comprehensive selection of both short and complete extracts is set in context and linked throughout by means of an engaging, student-friendly commentary, a set of questions to promote discussion and suggestions for further reading, making this an essential introduction to studying of the media in its public, private and popular forms.


Given a category, one may construct slices of it. That is, one builds a new category whose objects are the morphisms from the category with a fixed codomain and morphisms certain commutative triangles. If the category is a groupoid, so that every morphism is invertible, then its slices are (connected) groupoids. We give a number of constructions that show how slices of groupoids have properties even closer to those of groups than the groupoids they come from. These include natural notions of kernels and coset spaces.


It has been shown that it is possibility to control magnetoresistance by light. The use of light-sensitive banana-shape molecules has been suggested as an engine for varying the thickness or spacer between the magnetic layers. The spacer is filled by a conducting polymer with copper-like conductivity (with inserted bent molecules), ensuring the proper interlayer exchange coupling, which is necessary for transition from a ferromagnetic to an anti-ferromagnetic ordering (and inverse) when the thickness of the spacer changes.


Abstract This retrospective study was conducted to determine if infants born prematurely despite prophylactic maternal progesterone treatment during pregnancy may still benefit from its adjunct properties and have decreased neonatal complications. 248 women treated with vaginal/intramuscular progesterone during pregnancy and 2519 controls who gave birth to a preterm newborn (24 + 0–36 + 6 gestational weeks) at a tertiary medical centre in 2012–2019. The primary outcome measure was neonatal infectious composite outcome. Secondary outcome measures were other maternal and neonatal complications. Compared to controls, the study group was characterised by lower gestational age at birth (35.0 ± 2.66 vs. 36.0 ± 2.23 weeks, p < .001), lower birth weight (2294 vs. 2485 g, p < .001), higher rates of neonatal infectious composite outcome (27.82 vs. 21.36%, p = 0.024), NICU admission, periventricular leukomalacia, and mechanical ventilation. The higher neonatal infectious composite outcome is likely associated with the lower gestational age at birth in this high-risk group and not the progesterone treatment per se. IMPACT STATEMENT What is already known on this subject? Several randomised controlled trials have shown that progesterone administration in pregnancy significantly reduced the rate and complications of preterm birth. A recent study reported that vaginal administration of progesterone during pregnancy was more effective than intramuscular administration in decreasing vaginal group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonisation. This finding raises the question of whether progesterone treatment may have additional benefits besides preventing preterm birth and may reduce neonatal complication rate in preterm infants. What do the results of this study add? This is the first study examining the impact of gestational progesterone exposure on outcomes of preterm infants. The primary objective was a composite measure of infectious neonatal outcomes. Newborns who had progesterone exposure on average had lower gestational age, lower birth weight and higher neonatal infectious composite outcome. The significant difference is explained by lower gestational age. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Progesterone is widely used to prevent preterm birth, and may have important additive effects even when prematurity is not avoided. Although the findings did not support our initial hypothesis, they warrant further examination with larger cohorts.


Six commercial petroleum oil (PO) adjuvants differed in their enhancement of imazethapyr phytotoxicity to green foxtail and kochia but not to redroot pigweed, when imazethapyr was applied postemergence at 17 g ha–1. Imazethapyr at 5 g ha–1 plus 27 combinations of three oils and nine emulsifiers reduced kochia growth by 61 to 88%. Optimum emulsifier concentration in a PO adjuvant ranged from 15 to 20% (v/v). All PO adjuvants tested produced fair to excellent oil-inwater emulsions with imazethapyr; however, emulsion stability did not correlate with weed control.


The aim of the paper is to analyze economic convergence of the Western Balkan countries towards the European Union member states with two types of measurement methodology, sigma and beta convergence. Sigma convergence measures the dispersion of real per capita GDP among the countries and beta convergence is based on the neoclassical growth theory. The main hypothesis of the paper is that the recent financial crisis has negatively affected the convergence process of the Western Balkan countries towards the twenty-eight member states of the European Union (EU-28). The relationship between selected macroeconomic variables and the rate of per capita GDP growth are econometrically tested. Sigma and beta convergence are estimated for the period 2004-2013 and two sub-periods: 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The empirical findings support the hypothesis of economic convergence. The negative effects of the crisis on per capita GDP growth are confirmed, resulting in a slower convergence process. Dissimilarities between the growth patterns of the analyzed groups show the considerable heterogeneity of growth, i.e. the convergence clubs.


We present poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) based microfluidic systems for biophotonic sensing applications. The fabrication of the devices is based on thermal nanoimprinting and thermal bonding of polymer substrates. We integrate and encapsulate distributed feedback (DFB) organic semiconductor lasers based on tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminium (Alq3) doped with the laser dye 4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6-(p-dimethylaminostyril)-4H-pyrane (DCM). Deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography is used to induce waveguides into the PMMA, guiding the laser light to embedded microfluidic channels. Light of the integrated lasers is efficiently coupled into the waveguides by introducing a topographical step.