TNO (The Netherlands) and FFI (Norway) are cooperating in extending a COTS Computer Generated Forces (CGF) tool with a Coalition Battle Management Language (C-BML) interface for executing C-BML orders and issuing reports. Due to the lack of satisfactory models for command and control (C2)/combat management in existing CGF tools, TNO and FFI have investigated the use of external agent frameworks. Two different modelling paradigms have been used: Belief-desire-intention (BDI) and Context-based Reasoning (CxBR). As part of this work a Low-level Battle Management Language (Low-level BML) has been created for communication between the C2/combat management agents and the CGF tool over High Level Architecture (HLA). The hierarchy of combat management agents decompose a C-BML order into Low-level BML commands and tasks understandable by a CGF tool. The agents also receive Low-level BML events reported by the CGF tool and make use of these for agent behaviour and C-BML reports. This paper presents the structure of Low-level BML, how it is used and the rationale behind it.


Abstract Purpose: To evaluate X-ray standards for the detection of odontoid fractures. Summary of background data: Cervical spine fractures are a common finding in emergency medicine, accounting for 1 – 3 % of injuries. Involvement of the C1 / C2 complex is found in 25 % of cases, affecting the odontoid peg in 55 – 80 %. Regarding the consequences of missed fractures, radiographic techniques built the groundwork for further treatment procedures. As standardized X-ray measurements have not been established, the incidence of unrecognized cervical spine fracture is expected to be up to 20 %. The establishment of X-ray-based guidelines is also limited by the presumed low specificity and sensitivity of distance measurements caused by rotational distortion which leads to a rising popularity of CT. Materials and Methods: 79 (age 60 ± 26 yrs) patients with lateralization of the odontoid process on conventional plain film radiography (anteroposterior, lateral, and open mouth odontoid process view projection) were examined. The distance between the odontoid process and lateral mass of C1, angles of vertical odontoid line and basis of C2 were measured in the ap view. In the lateral view, dorsal alignment and atlantodental distance were assessed. MDCT examinations were used as a reference. Discriminatory power test was applied to assess significance. Results: 8/79 (10.1 %) odontoid process fractures were found. Diagnosis was achieved on conventional radiographs in 6 patients. Neither distance and angle measurements between odontoid and C1 nor the dorsal alignment of the vertebral bodies differed significantly between healthy and affected patients. Conclusion: Decentralization of the odontoid process is not necessarily an indirect sign for its fracture. In patients with suspected injury of the odontoid process, an MDCT scan might be the method of choice to rule out a fracture. Key points: • Due to the wide physiological variety of odontoid process position, even a detailed metric analysis of cervical alignment and odontoid process angulation in X-ray scans is not able to facilitate the diagnosis of odontoid process fractures. • In the case of cervical spine trauma, which necessitate medical imaging, a primary MDCT scan should be the method of choice. Citation Format: • Keller S., Bieck K., Karul M. et al. Lateralized Odontoid in Plain Film Radiography: Sign of Fractures? – A Comparison Study with MDCT. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2015; 187: 801 – 807


Background: Small ruptured cerebral aneurysms (≤5 mm) account for the majority of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhages, and its clinical management remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of age-related complications on the outcome of patients with small ruptured aneurysm. Methods: A retrospective review was performed in patients with small ruptured aneurysms who underwent microsurgical clipping or endovascular coiling from September 2012 to December 2018. According to their ages, the patients were divided into the elderly group and the non-elderly group. Baseline characteristics, clinical complications, and outcome of patients were analyzed between the two groups. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors associated with the poor outcome of the elderly patients. Results: In the elderly group, 83 patients were treated with clipping and 50 were treated with coiling. In the non-elderly group, 188 patients were treated with clipping and 117 were treated with coiling. The incidence of neurological complications with neurologic deficit in the elderly group was significantly higher compared with that in the non-elderly group (P = 0.006). The elderly patients had a longer hospital stay (P = 0.032) and a poorer outcome (P = 0.001) compared with the non-elderly patients. A multivariate analysis showed that irregular aneurysms (P = 0.045) and ischemic events (P < 0.001) were independent risk factors associated with poor outcome in the elderly. Conclusions: Neurological complications with neurologic deficit, especially ischemic complications, were clearly more common in the elderly patients. Irregular small aneurysms or postoperative ischemic events should be paid attention as the higher risk of poor outcome in the elderly.


This paper will describe an interactive videodisc (IVD) approach to the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of early breast cancers through a series of eight case study simulations. The medical student/physician is provided with two means of instruction at each step of the simulation. Feedback is provided immediately for each student choice during the case interaction. The student also has access to reference material that is pertinent to each step in the case simulation that contains information and recommended options for the decisions that they must make.


On demand set up, fault tolerance and unconstrained connectivity are the major advantages of mobile computing, that's why it continues to enjoy rapid growth. In last three decades, tremendous improvement is made in the area of wireless adhoc network. Now a days ,one of the most attractive research topic is inter vehicle communication i.e. realization of mobile adhoc network .VANETs have been attracting an increasing attention from both industry as well as research communities .It requires reliable packet transmission, but rapid topology changing and frequent disconnection makes it difficult to design an efficient routing protocol. To disseminate the warning messages among vehicles to avoid accidents are sometimes a mission critical problem at some level. Therefore, this paper proposes a scheme that avoids the delay of communication that occurs due to frequent disconnection in routing. For this, the meta heuristic search i.e. ant colony optimization is combined with AODV and route repair strategy is applied to ACO.


In this paper, an improved digital signature is developed based on the famous Schnorr (1990) or Brickell-McCurley (1991) schemes. It is shown that both the new scheme and the previous two originals rely on the same security assumptions. The novel feature of this proposed signature is that it can be verified in a batch manner and the improved efficiency is approximately proportional to the number of signatures to be verified. >


[1] The ash clouds that belched out of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano last spring and dispersed over much of Europe, temporarily paralyzing aviation, were vast smoke signal warnings about the hazard that volcanic ash poses for air traffic around the world. At a 15 December news briefing at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, two experts with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) presented an overview of the damage airplanes can sustain from rock fragment– and mineral fragment–laden ash, an update on efforts to mitigate the hazard of ash, and an outline of further measures that are needed to address the problem. Between 1953 and 2009, there were 129 reported encounters of aircraft with volcanic ash clouds, according to a newly released USGS document cited at the briefing. The report, "Encounters of aircraft with volcanic ash clouds: A compilation of known incidents, 1953–2009," by Marianne Guffanti, Thomas Casadevall, and Karin Budding, indicates that 26 encounters involved significant damage to the airplanes; nine of those incidents resulted in engine shutdown during flight. The report, which does not focus on the effects on airplanes of cumulative exposure to dilute ash and does not include data since 2009, indicates that "ash clouds continue to pose substantial risks to safe and efficient air travel globally."


In-flight icing remains as one of the most persistent hazards for aircraft operations. The effect of icing on aircraft performance and safety has to be evaluated during the development and airworthiness certification process. The scaling method is a procedure to determine the scaled test conditions in icing wind tunnels in order to produce the same result as when the reference model is exposed to the desired cloud conditions. In this study, a scaling program is developed to provide an easy-to-use tool to the aero-icing community. The Olsen and Ruff 4th methods are employed for this purpose and the velocity is calculated by matching the dimensionless Weber number. To validate the program, the results are compared with the NASA scaling results. The scaling examples based on FAR (Federal Aviation Regulation) Part 25 Appendix C are also presented. Finally, a validation study using a state-of-the-art icing simulation code FENSAP-ICE is presented.


TMEM16F, an ion channel gated by high cytoplasmic Ca2+, is required for cell surface phosphatidylserine exposure during platelet aggregation and T cell activation. Here we demonstrate in Jurkat T cells and HEK293 cells that TMEM16F activation triggers large-scale surface membrane expansion in parallel with lipid scrambling. Following TMEM16F mediated scrambling and surface expansion, cells undergo extensive membrane shedding. The membrane compartment that expands the cell surface does not involve endoplasmic reticulum or acidified lysosomes. Surprisingly, T cells lacking TMEM16F expression not only fail to expand surface membrane, but instead rapidly internalize membrane via massive endocytosis (MEND). The T cell co-receptor PD-1 is selectively shed when TMEM16F triggers membrane expansion, while it is selectively internalized in the absence of TMEM16F. Its participation in this trafficking is determined by its single transmembrane domain. Thus, we establish a fundamental role for TMEM16F as a regulator of Ca2+-activated membrane trafficking.


Credit assessment of corporation borrower is the main means to control credit risk and asset risk management for commercial bank. The parameters of Logistic default model for the listed company's credit risk assessment are represented the state space form, Then the parameters are estimated by Kalman filter. The results show that the Kalman filter model can be obtained optimum results compared with Logistic regression model and the BP network model. Conclusions of this study enrich credit risk assessment system and strengthen risk management of chinese commercial banks.


Erythromycin (ERY) is a macrolide compound with a broad antimicrobial spectrum which is currently being used to treat a large number of bacterial infections affecting the skin, respiratory tract, intestines, bones and other systems, proving great value from a clinical point of view. It became popular immediately after its discovery in 1952, due to its therapeutic effect against pathogens resistant to other drugs. Despite this major advantage, ERY exhibits several drawbacks, raising serious clinical challenges. Among them, the very low solubility in water and instability under acidic conditions cause a limited efficacy and bioavailability. Apart from this, higher doses promote drug resistance and undesirable effects. In order to overcome these disadvantages, during the past decades, a large variety of ERY formulations, including nanoparticles, have emerged. Despite the interest in ERY-(nano)formulations, a review on them is lacking. Therefore, this work was aimed at reviewing all efforts made to encapsulate ERY in formulations of various chemical compositions, sizes and morphologies. In addition, their preparation/synthesis, physico-chemical properties and performances were carefully analysed. Limitations of these studies, particularly the quantification of ERY, are discussed as well.


Power reserves are usually scheduled in day-ahead unit commitment (UC) to minimize operating costs while maintaining system security. In applying basic UC (bUC) after a contingency, the system frequency may fall upon the activation of the load-shedding global control (under-frequency load-shedding or UFLS) limits. Small isolated microgrids are more sensitive to this issue due to their lack of inertia. Including dynamic considerations into the bUC problem can minimize UFLS activation and also avoid the need for the operator to later check the short-term feasibility of a bUC solution. These proposals are known as Frequency-Constrained UC (FCUC), although the implementation are very time-consuming. FCUC implementation will increase the system's operational costs, which should be calculated to estimate remuneration to the safety service based on the additional reserve provision. The electrical system of Gran Canaria island has suffered several episodes of greater blackouts in recent years. Shortly, there will be 242 MW of wind generation installed (26% of the thermal power installed on Gran Canaria). The main objective of this work is to improve the island system reliability by means of an FCUC formulation applied by the system operator in practice, including renewable sources. The results show that the frequency values remained within the admissible boundaries, but the system's operational costs increased by around 13%.


Endothelin-1 (ET-1) elicits a vasoconstrictor response via ET(A) receptors, whereas simultaneous activation of ET(B) receptors triggers the release of nitric oxide (NO), which may limit the constrictor effect of ET-1. Recently, stimulation of ET(B) receptors has been shown to increase the secretion of adrenomedullin (AM), a newly identified vasorelaxing peptide. The present study was designed to see whether AM can oppose the vasoconstrictor response to ET-1. In the isolated perfused paced rat heart preparation, infusion of ET-1 at concentrations of 1 nmol/l for 30 min induced a significant coronary vasoconstriction, whereas it had no effect on perfusion pressure at a dose of 0.08 nmol/l. N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 300 micromol/l), a potent inhibitor of NO synthase (NOS), did not change the perfusion pressure when added alone to the perfusion fluid but it unmasked the constrictor effect of ET-1 at both concentrations. In the presence of L-NAME, AM (0.03 to 1 nmol/l) markedly reversed the pressor response to ET-1 at both concentrations. Administration of AM (0.03 and 1 nmol/l) alone resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in perfusion pressure, which was not modified in the presence of L-NAME. In conclusion, the coronary vasoconstrictor response to ET-1 is markedly augmented in the presence of a NOS inhibitor. This constrictor response is substantially reversed by AM. Our results indicate that AM may serve as a paracrine modulator of ET-1-induced vasoconstriction independently of the NO pathway.


As part of an ethnographic design learning series, we use excerpts from learning discourses to map a path from disjunction in design learning toward a pedagogy of possibility. Illuminating the role of students as one where they often conform to the rules and procedures of 'others' these learner-to-learner, learner-to-teacher and teacher-to-teacher exchanges consider such diverse concepts as design orthodoxies, uncovering disjunction and disrupting hierarchies in design learning. We pose questions around voice, power and empowerment, advancing an idea of higher education vocabulary that includes such terms as self-confidence, hope, journey, energy, engagement, independence, being and becoming. Through this shift we conceptualise multiple design learning voices, building shared understandings of learners and teachers as active collaborators and co-producers. Moving toward a pedagogy of possibility that is about the not yet known, going beyond a focus on intellect to consider the commitment, openness, wonder and passion that are integral to design learning. We offer a perspective on how pedagogy might be revitalised through an ontological approach to higher education design programmes.


OBJECTIVES
To determine the concentrations of interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, and interleukin-8 in tissue homogenates of mucosal biopsy specimens from Helicobacter pylori-positive and -negative patients.

METHODS
In 43 consecutive patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, seven antral biopsies were taken; three specimens were used for cytokine determination and the remaining four biopsies were processed for H. pylori detection. Peripheral venous blood was collected and IgG to H. pylori was assayed by an ELISA technique.

RESULTS
Twenty-nine of 43 patients (67%) were histologically positive for H. pylori; all had chronic gastritis. The mucosal levels of interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 were significantly higher in H. pylori-positive patients than in the negative patients (p < 0.001). A significantly higher percentage of interleukin-8 was found in patients colonized by H. pylori with active superficial chronic gastritis (85.7%), compared to quiescent superficial gastritis (12.5%) (p < 0.01), and the median and range were, respectively, 400 (0-1000) and 0 (0-200) pg/mg protein (p < 0.001). In patients with active superficial gastritis, a significant correlation between interleukin-6 and -8 was found (p 0.01). No difference was found regarding the mucosal levels of interleukin-1 beta according to the presence of H. pylori.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest a possible pathogenetic role for interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 in H. pylori-associated gastritis.


Abstract. Earth and environmental mechanisms and phenomena are often physically finite dynamical causal processes and need more precise mathematical elaboration. Therefore this article at the beginning resumes the decomposition of general infinite circular causal relations with linear feedbacks to primary causal effects and to interactions among boundless effects and causes. In the sequel it reveals the mathematical model of general finite cause-and-effect interaction with non-linear feedback induced by finiteness of causal processes with exhaustible causal capacities. The study also uncovers that the reverse application of the mathematical model makes it possible to discover and to estimate the unknown ultimate causal capacities from relevant information of supposedly finite causal processes beyond the instant of observation. The article at the end demonstrates that the environmental relations among global climate change and ice mass losses monitored recently on Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets are plausibly finite dynamical climate processes in interaction with cryosphere.


The use of Nafion® as the hole extraction layer in polymer solar cells is demonstrated in this work. Inverted devices were built on plastic foil with the following architecture: PET/ITO/ZnO/P3HT:PCBM/Nafion®/Ag. The Nafion® was processed from a surfactant-free solution in alcoholic solvents on top of the active layer. Optimization of film thickness and annealing yielded fully functional devices with power conversion efficiency similar to others referenced, along with good operational stability.


For decades, Benjamin Franklin s "Poor Richard s Almanack" provided sage advice and commentary on eighteenth-century America. Now, a modern businessman reflectswriting as Benjamin Franklinon what America has become. Federal and personal debt are ballooning beyond sustainable levels. Our futures are being jeopardized. Partisan bickering and the entrenched powers of special interests have made it nearly impossible for a real leader to lead. Where is a good American to turn? How about to the man who wrote this timeless observation: A small leak will sink a great ship ? Ben is back! With his signature intelligence and wit (not to mention a good sprinkling of aphorisms both old and new), Benjamin Franklin, through Tom Blair, moves from the national deficit to Wall Street, from health care to marital bliss. The result is electrifying."


Hawking radiation remains a crucial theoretical prediction of semi-classical gravity and is considered one of the critical tests for a model of quantum gravity. However, Hawking's original derivation used quantum field theory on a fixed background. Efforts have been made to include the space-time fluctuations arising from the quantization of the dynamical degrees of freedom of gravity itself and study the effects on the Hawking particles. Using semi-classical analysis, we study the effects of quantum fluctuations of scalar field stress-tensors in asymptotic non-flat spherically symmetric black-hole space-times. Using two different approaches, we obtain a critical length-scale from the horizon at which gravitational interactions become large, i.e., when the back reaction to the metric due to the scalar field becomes significant. For 4-D Schwarzschild AdS (SAdS) and Schwarzschild de Sitter (SdS), the number of relevant modes for the back-reaction is finite only for a specific range of values of M/L (where M is the mass of the black-hole, and L is related to the modulus of the cosmological constant). For SAdS (SdS), the number of relevant modes is infinite for M/L ∼ 1 (0.2 < M/L < 1/(3 √ 3). We discuss the implications of these results for the late stages of black-hole evaporation. ∗ manu firstname.lastname@example.com † firstname.lastname@example.com 1 ar X iv :2 00 8. 00 42 9v 2 [ gr -q c] 1 M ar 2 02 2


Technology Readiness Levels are a mainstay for organizations that fund, develop, test, acquire, or use technologies. Technology Readiness Levels provide a standardized assessment of a technology's maturity and enable consistent comparison among technologies. They inform decisions throughout a technology's development life cycle, from concept, through development, to use. A variety of alternative Readiness Levels have been developed, including Algorithm Readiness Levels, Manufacturing Readiness Levels, Human Readiness Levels, Commercialization Readiness Levels, Machine Learning Readiness Levels, and Technology Commitment Levels. However, while Technology Readiness Levels have been increasingly applied to emerging disciplines, there are unique challenges to assessing the rapidly developing capabilities of autonomy. This paper adopts the moniker of Space Trusted Autonomy Readiness Levels to identify a two-dimensional scale of readiness and trust appropriate for the special challenges of assessing autonomy technologies that seek space use. It draws inspiration from other readiness levels' definitions, and from the rich field of trust and trustworthiness. The Space Trusted Autonomy Readiness Levels were developed by a collaborative Space Trusted Autonomy subgroup, which was created from The Space Science and Technology Partnership Forum between the United States Space Force, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Reconnaissance Office.


Objective. The relevance of the Th17 pathway in primary SS (pSS) is unclear. Published studies have relied on restimulating circulating CD161+ T cells in vitro for quantitation of IL-17–producing cells. While CD161 marks all IL-17+ T cells, it is also expressed by other Th subsets. The aim of this study was to directly analyse retinoic acid receptor–related orphan nuclear receptor (ROR)−&ggr; expressing and non-expressing subsets of CD161+ T cells to determine the relevance of the Th17 pathway in pSS. Methods. We quantitated the frequencies of both CD161- and ROR&ggr;-expressing T cells by comparative flow cytometry in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from a well-stratified cohort of pSS patients and control subjects. We also analysed the expression of antigen D–related HLA (HLA-DR) and CD161 in labial salivary glands from nine subjects undergoing a diagnostic biopsy. Results. While the frequencies of both ROR&ggr;+ and ROR&ggr;− subsets of CD161+ CD4+ T cells were increased in peripheral blood from pSS patients, the increase in the ROR&ggr;+ subset positively correlated with humoral manifestations of the disease (anti-SSA/SSB autoantibodies and hypergammaglobulinaemia), but not with disease activity, and vice versa for the ROR&ggr;− subset. An increased frequency of HLA-DR+ CD161+CD4+ T cells was observed in labial salivary gland biopsies from pSS patients, suggesting chronic activation of CD161+CD4+ T cells in the target tissue of the disease. Conclusion. In addition to pointing to CD161 as a marker of a pathogenic subset of CD4+ T cells in pSS patients, our data indicate that even though the ROR&ggr;+ (Th17) CD161+ subset might contribute to humoral manifestations of the disease, the ROR&ggr;− (non-Th17) CD161+ subset is the one associated with disease activity in pSS patients.


The results of a specific type of prosthetic reconstruction of the knee (total replacement arthroplasty) after resection of a sarcoma of the proximal part of the tibia in sixteen patients were retrospectively reviewed. The diagnosis was stage-IIB osteogenic sarcoma in nine patients, stage-IIB malignant fibrous histiocytoma in three patients, and stage-IB sarcoma of various types in four patients. The length of tibial resection ranged from 100 to 257 millimeters. Of the eleven patients who were available for functional examination (mean duration of follow-up, sixty-three months), three patients had an excellent result, seven had a good result, and one had a fair result. Of the five patients who were not available for functional testing, one who was doing well was lost to follow-up at eighty months, one had died of metastases at sixteen months, and three had had a secondary amputation for infection or for loosening of the prosthesis.


OBJECTIVE
To link congenital hearing loss with known loci to establish a platform for future research.

Methods
The cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2016 to March 2017 in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and comprised families with Pashtun ethnicity having at least 2 individuals suffering from congenital hearing loss. Deoxyribonucleic acid from whole blood samples was extracted by salting-out method. Amplification was done through touchdown polymerase chain reaction to see any possible linkage to already reported deafness loci. Linkage analysis was carried out using microsatellite markers for each locus. Genotyping of the samples was done and haplotypes were accordingly generated to either include or exclude the linked / unlinked regions.

RESULTS
Of the 4 families, family PKDF 1620 showed linkage with DFNB12/CDH23 (D10S1432, D10S606, and D10S1694) and family PKDF 1625 had linkage with DFNB3/MYO15A (D17S2196, D17S2207 and D17S2206). Families PKDF1623 and PKDF1624 showed no linkage with any of the prevalent reported loci in Pakistan .

CONCLUSIONS
Linkage to DFNB12 and MYO 15 showed heterogeneity of congenital deafness.


Forensic artists must overcome ingrained ideas of what the human face "should" look like in order to learn how to draw it realistically. Ironically, those ingrained images and perceptions tucked away in our minds present the biggest obstacles to realism. As a teacher of a forensic art class in anthropology at Northern Arizona University, I encounter students of varying degrees of artistic ability and background. I do not require that students have pre-requisite courses in art before taking my course because I believe that any student can learn to draw faces more realistically if they apply some basic forensic art techniques used in composite sketching combined with an understanding of facial anatomy. This article is about teaching Northern Arizona University students forensic art drawing methods, but it is also about the lesser-known aspect of doing composite sketches, such as applying cultural understanding and sensitivity when interviewing traumatized witnesses and survivors of crime. The result is a very holistic approach to composite sketching rather than a purely technical one.


Family interactional theory, primary socialization theory, the social developmental model, and differential acculturation theory inform a conceptual framework explaining Latina/o adolescent substance use. Structural equation modeling is used to empirically test structural relationships constituting risk and protective factors, as well as the influence of participation in Corazón de Aztlan ("Heart of My People"), a culturally competent substance use prevention program developed for Latina/o adolescents. Youth reporting higher conflict with family reported higher peer conflict, which was positively associated with greater youth substance use. Greater family substance use was associated with greater peer substance use, which was associated with greater youth substance use. Youth reported less substance use after participating in Corazón de Aztlan.


In this work we present a method to test the stability of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) exposed to UV. Photoinduced Absorption (PIA) in the second range was applied to dyedand undyed cells with a 405 nm probe laser. The pump source was a UV diode with an intensity of approximately 100 x the suns UV content. PIA was used to determine the influence of UV on the DSC cell for dyed and undyed cells. With this highly sensitive setup, we have shown the influence of H2O in the electrolyte, which causes faster triiodide depletion. We found that this method is very suitable to test the purity of electrolyte and, more generally, the DSC tolerance towards UV illumination. The method can be applied to optimize the device life time. A comparison to cells which have been aged in a UV chamber was made, where faster degradation of DSC cells with H2O in electrolyte was also observed.


As the applied fields of GIS are expanded to the transportation, developing internet-based applications for transportation information is getting attention increasingly. Most applications developed so far are primarily focused on guidance systems for privately-owned cars. Although some recent ones are devoted to public transportation systems, they show limitations in dealing with the following aspects: (i) people may change transportation means not only within the same type but also among different modes such as between buses and subways, and (ii) the system should take into account the time taken in transfer from one mode to the other. This study suggest the framework for developing a public transportation guidance system that generates optimized paths in the transportation network of mixed means including buses, subways and other modes. For this study, the Genetic Algorithms are used to find the best routes that take into account transfer time and other service-time constraints.


Cities disP Environment and Planning A (EPA) Environment and Planning B (EPB) Environment and Planning C (EPC) Environment and Planning D (EPD) European Planning Studies (EPS) European Urban and Regional Studies (EURS) Housing Studies (HS) International Journal of Urban and Regional Research (IJURR) International Planning Studies (IPS) Journal of Housing and the Built Environment (HBE) Journal of the American Planning Association (JAPA) Journal of Architectural and Planning Research (JAPR) Journal of Environmental Planning and Management (JEPM) Journal of Planning and Environment Law (JPL) Landscape and Urban Planning (LUP) Local Economy (LE) Local Environment (LEN) Planning Perspectives (PPS) Planning Theory (PT) Policy and Politics (PP) Progress in Planning (PIP) Regional Studies (RS) Town Planning Review (TPR) Urban Studies (US)


Dielectrophoresis (DEP) for cell manipulation has focused, for the most part, on approaches for separation/enrichment of cells of interest. Advancements in cell positioning and immobilization onto substrates for cell culture, either as single cells or as cell aggregates, has benefited from the intensified research efforts in DEP (electrokinetic) manipulation. However, there has yet to be a DEP approach that provides the conditions for cell manipulation while promoting cell function processes such as cell differentiation. Here we present the first demonstration of a system that combines DEP with a hybrid cell adhesive material (hCAM) to allow for cell entrapment and cell function, as demonstrated by cell differentiation into neuronlike cells (NLCs). The hCAM, comprised of polyelectrolytes and fibronectin, was engineered to function as an instantaneous cell adhesive surface after DEP manipulation and to support long-term cell function (cell proliferation, induction, and differentiation). Pluripotent P19 mouse embryonal carcinoma cells flowing within a microchannel were attracted to the DEP electrode surface and remained adhered onto the hCAM coating under a fluid flow field after the DEP forces were removed. Cells remained viable after DEP manipulation for up to 8 d, during which time the P19 cells were induced to differentiate into NLCs. This approach could have further applications in areas such as cell-cell communication, three-dimensional cell aggregates to create cell microenvironments, and cell cocultures.


Background Fluoroquinolone resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa may be due to efflux pump overexpression and/or target mutations. We designed this study to investigate the efflux pump mediated fluoroquinolone resistance and check the increasing effectiveness of fluoroquinolones in combination with an efflux pumps inhibitor among P. aeruginosa isolates from burn wounds infections. Materials and Methods A total of 154 consecutive strains of P. aeruginosa were recovered from separate patients hospitalized in a burn hospital, Tehran, Iran. The isolates first were studied by disk diffusion antibiogram for 11 antibiotics and then minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) experiments were performed to detect synergy between ciprofloxacin and the efflux pump inhibitor, carbonyl cyanide-m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP). Then to elucidate the inducing of multi drug resistance due to different efflux pumps activation in Fluoroquinolone resistant isolates, synergy experiments were also performed in random ciprofloxacin resistant isolates which have overexpressed efflux pumps phenotypically, using CCCP and selected antibiotics as markers for Beta-lactams and Aminoglycosides. The isolates were also tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of the MexA, MexC and MexE, which encode the efflux pumps MexAB-OprM, MexCD-OprJ and MexEF-OprN. Results Most of the isolates were resistant to 3 or more antibiotics tested. More than half of the ciprofloxacin resistant isolates exhibited synergy between ciprofloxacin and CCCP, indicating the efflux pump activity contributed to the ciprofloxacin resistance. Also increased susceptibility of random ciprofloxacin resistant isolates of P. aeruginosa to other selected antibiotics, in presence of CCCP, implied multidrug extrusion by different active efflux pump in fluoroquinolones resistant strains. All of Ciprofloxacin resistant isolates were positive for MexA, MexC and MexE genes simultaneously. Conclusion In this burn hospital, where multidrug resistant P. aeruginosa isolates were prevalent, ciprofloxacin resistance and multidrug resistance due to the overexpression of fluoroquinolones mediated efflux pumps has also now emerged. Early recognition of this resistance mechanism should allow the use of alternative antibiotics and use an efflux pumps inhibitor in combination with antibiotic therapy.


INTRODUCTION
Proper assessment of pain is imperative for the development of an effective pain management plan and is a core responsibility of nurses and healthcare professionals. This article describes the contents of Italian on-line bachelor's in nursing degree programs, with particular focus on pain management.

METHOD
A descriptive study was made on curricula published and available on-line in Italian Nursing Schools, and the concordance with the standards set by the Consensus Curriculum on Pain for Nursing ofthe International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP, 2015) was analyzed.

RESULTS
Of all the bachelor programs published on-line, 42.6% offered programs and courses specifically centred on pain education, while in general pain teaching seemed to be delivered as part of other topics. Results showed that the contents of the programs were partially in line with those suggested by the IASP. True is that on-line results may underestimate the actualdiffusion of pain education programs and topics in Italian Universities.

CONCLUSION
The Italian academic system does not seem to comply with any specific international standard. Only by interviewing the university administrative staff we may investigate the amount and type of pain education received by Italian healthcare undergraduates and the existing educational curricula and plans, as on-line information may be only partially complete.


This paper illustrates the results of an experimental study on the impact of a low cetane number (CN) oxygenated fuel on the combustion process and emissions of a light-duty (LD) single-cylinder research engine. In an earlier study, it was concluded that cyclic oxygenates consistently outperformed their straight and branched counterparts at equal oxygen content and with respect to lowering soot emissions. A clear correlation was reported linking soot and CN, with lower CN fuels leading to more favorable soot levels. It was concluded that a lower CN fuel, when realized by adding low reactive cyclic oxygenates to commercial diesel fuel, manifests in longer ignition delays and thus more premixing. Ultimately, a higher degree of premixing, in turn, was thought to suppress soot formation rates. Such compounds have the advantage to be stable in blends with fossil diesel fuel, to have a boiling point close to the diesel fuel range, and have the potential to be produced in a renewable way from lignin , which has a similar hexagonal hydrocarbon basis, albeit in polymer form. Lignin is currently a widely available second generation biomass waste stream, found in for example the paper pulp industry and cellulosic ethanol plants. In the present work, blends of diesel and cyclohexanone were tested in a LD single cylinder research diesel engine in order to evaluate its effects on the combustion process and pollutant emissions, employing both conventional (i.e. mixing-controlled) combustion (at medium/high engine loads) and premixed combustion (at medium/low loads). The results suggest that the combination of low CN and fuel oxygen appears to have a favorable impact on both fuel efficiency and overall emissions in premixed-mode. For mixing-controlled combustion, at medium/high engine loads, the negative effects of low CN (e.g. retarded combustion phasing) can be overcome with an appropriate calibration of the injection parameters. The high unburnt hydrocarbon emissions at low load, conversely, require a further development of the combustion system design, as well as the after-treatment device. Finally, to realize a more and more precise control of the in-cylinder air-fuel charge, before and during the combustion, the future PCCI fuels have to be tailored to the specific combustion process characteristics. In this framework, renewable low CN oxygenated fuels might function as an enabler for PCCI combustion engines.


Angular distributions of protons from the 179Hf(t, p)181Hf reaction were studied using 15-MeV tritons from the McMaster University tandem Van de Graaff accelerator. The reaction products were analyzed with a magnetic spectrograph and detected with nuclear emulsions. Since the 179Hf target ground state is the 9/2+[624] orbital, a strong L = 0 transition was expected to the 9/2+[624] bandhead in 181Hf, which was previously assigned at 68 keV. However, the only L = 0 transition observed was to a level at an excitation energy of 600 ± 5 keV, requiring that this new level be assigned as the 9/2+[624] state. An attempt to observe gamma transitions deexciting this level in a (t, pγ) coincidence experiment yielded negative results. This implies that the 600 ± 5 keV level either has a half-life of or decays to an isomeric level by means of a low energy unobserved transition. The irregular spacing of possible 9/2+[624] band members suggests that the 11/2+[615] orbital is located near the 9/2+[624] state and perturb...


Every year, approximately 1.4 million US citizens visit emergency rooms for traumatic brain injuries. Formerly known as an acute injury, chronic neurodegenerative symptoms such as compromised motor skills, decreased cognitive abilities, and emotional and behavioral changes have caused the scientific community to consider chronic aspects of the disorder. The injury causing impact prompts multiple cell death processes, starting with neuronal necrosis, and progressing to various secondary cell death mechanisms. Secondary cell death mechanisms, including excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, blood–brain barrier disruption, and inflammation accompany chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI) and often contribute to long-term disabilities. One hallmark of both acute and chronic TBI is neuroinflammation. In acute stages, neuroinflammation is beneficial and stimulates an anti-inflammatory response to the damage. Conversely, in chronic TBI, excessive inflammation stimulates the aforementioned secondary cell death. Converting inflammatory cells from pro-inflammatory to anti-inflammatory may expand the therapeutic window for treating TBI, as inflammation plays a role in all stages of the injury. By expanding current research on the role of inflammation in TBI, treatment options and clinical outcomes for afflicted individuals may improve. This paper is a review article. Referred literature in this paper has been listed in the references section. The data sets supporting the conclusions of this article are available online by searching various databases, including PubMed. Some original points in this article come from the laboratory practice in our research center and the authors' experiences.


The trend toward lower cost processors and sensors coupled with powerful signal processing, virtual sensors and intelligent sensors will enable intelligent devices to be readily available, adaptable and easily deployed. Strong business drivers requiring unprecedented levels of machinery reliability and uptime will drive the broad-scale deployment of this technology. Intelligent devices such as sensor-actuators promise to impact significantly next generation manufacturing systems of the 21st century


Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a type of cancer often found in oral cavity and the area of head and neck at about 90%. Based on the geographical incidence oral SCC (OSCC) has many types of different emerging. This case probably has connection with ethnic group, habit and social and economical condition. In East Java, the incidence is about 2.64% and it increases every year. The virus is known as one of the main factors that result in this disease. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has potential capability of carcinogenesis. EBV is the family of herpesviridae that can infect cell through the linking of CD 21 receptor of the epithel with glycol protein 350/220 of the virus capsule. After primary infection, the virus will form latent-gene in human cell. Periodically, the latent-gene product can disturb proliferation and apoptotic regulator. In Indonesia, the expression of EBV latent geneproduct in the OSCC has not been reported yet. This study wanted to know the expression of EBV latent gene product found in the OSCC. This study found 25 cases of OSCC in which 17 were infected by EBV. Detection of EBV infection could be done by insitu hybridization to identify RNA EBV (EBER). To find the expression of EBV latent gene product, immunohistochemical analysis was done. The conclusion was that the emerging of expression of EBV latent gene product in OSCC were latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1), EBV nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) and RNA EBV (EBER). They were 28.28%, 25.26% and 46.47%. It was suggested to do the following research on OSCC infected by EBV and the emerging of expression of EBV latent gene product with regulator gene of proliferation and apoptotic in OSCC.


Objective: To date, many brain-machine interface (BMI) studies have developed decoding algorithms for neuroprostheses that provide users with precise control of upper arm reaches with some limited grasping capabilities. However, comparatively few have focused on quantifying the performance of precise finger control. Here we expand upon this work by investigating online control of individual finger groups. Approach: We have developed a novel training manipulandum for non-human primate (NHP) studies to isolate the movements of two specific finger groups: index and middle-ring-pinkie (MRP) fingers. We use this device in combination with the ReFIT (Recalibrated Feedback Intention-Trained) Kalman filter to decode the position of each finger group during a single degree of freedom task in two rhesus macaques with Utah arrays in motor cortex. The ReFIT Kalman filter uses a two-stage training approach that improves online control of upper arm tasks with substantial reductions in orbiting time, thus making it a logical first choice for precise finger control. Results: Both animals were able to reliably acquire fingertip targets with both index and MRP fingers, which they did in blocks of finger group specific trials. Decoding from motor signals online, the ReFIT Kalman filter reliably outperformed the standard Kalman filter, measured by bit rate, across all tested finger groups and movements by 31.0 and 35.2%. These decoders were robust when the manipulandum was removed during online control. While index finger movements and middle-ring-pinkie finger movements could be differentiated from each other with 81.7% accuracy across both subjects, the linear Kalman filter was not sufficient for decoding both finger groups together due to significant unwanted movement in the stationary finger, potentially due to co-contraction. Significance: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic and biomimetic separation of digits for continuous online decoding in a NHP as well as the first demonstration of the ReFIT Kalman filter improving the performance of precise finger decoding. These results suggest that novel nonlinear approaches, apparently not necessary for center out reaches or gross hand motions, may be necessary to achieve independent and precise control of individual fingers.


In this note, we prove a mathematical theorem for the direct estimation of the source spectra of earthquakes using a single seismogram. Considering a combination of Fourier spectra, the effects of the "source term" and the "attenuation term" from a single seismogram can be separated. Using signal-processing techniques, such an approach may be expressed in terms of the estimation of the Wigner distribution.


A recent article advocated the adoption of a single standard for all land cover classifications. The authors argued that variations in classification were problematic, standards solve problems related to classification heterogeneity and land cover is the fundamental land variable. This letter challenges these arguments: 1. methods exist for integrating disparate data, many based around data semantics; 2. standards are themselves problematic as they are frequently revised (e.g. soils) and because they always lag behind current activities cannot represent the depth of knowledge held within a community such as land cover; 3. scientists working in other disciplines may view land use as the elemental variable driving many other processes and they construct land cover in a very different way. This letter argues that as most geographic data and especially land cover is a socially mediated construct (there are no agreed fundamental units), fixing a specific conceptualisation of land cover into the 'aspic' of a formal standard does not represent a scientific advance.


Do political scientists in a liberal democracy bear a special responsibility that goes beyond their academic pursuits? Ceaser, a scholar of American political parties, argues that they do, and he challenges colleagues and students to reexamine what they do as political scientists. He observes that liberal democracy is a compound of two elements not easily wed: constitutionalism and republicanism. The role of political science is to perform the "superintendent" function of keeping these parts together.


A cleistothecial fungus, known only from the shells of giant land snails of the family Rhytidae, is described as a new genus and species within Onygenales, Harorepupu aotearoa gen. sp. nov. Known only from the sexual morph, this fungus is characterized morphologically by a membranous ascoma with no appendages and ascospores with a sparse network of ridges. Ribosomal DNA sequences place the new species within Onygenales, but comparison with the known genetic diversity within the order linked it to no existing genus or family. It is the first species of Onygenales reported from the shells of terrestrial snails. This fungus has been listed as Critically Endangered in New Zealand and has been previously referred to as 'Trichocomaceae gen. nov.' in those threat lists.


Objective—Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is a key enzyme in the pentose phosphate pathway that is a major source of cellular NADPH. The purpose of this study was to examine whether G6PD deficiency affects vascular oxidants and atherosclerosis in high-fat fed apolipoprotein (apo) E−/− mice. Methods and Results—G6PD-mutant mice whose G6PD activity was 20% of normal were crossbred with apoE−/− mice. Among male apoE−/− mice that were fed a western-type diet for 11 weeks, G6PD wild-type (E-WT), and G6PD hemizygous (E-Hemi) mice were compared. Basal blood pressure was significantly higher in E-Hemi. However, superoxide anion release, nitrotyrosine, vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1, and inducible nitric oxide synthase immunohistochemical staining were less in E-Hemi compared with E-WT aorta. Serum cholesterol level was lower in E-Hemi, but aortic lesion area was decreased in E-Hemi even after adjusting for serum cholesterol. Conclusions—Lower NADPH production in G6PD deficiency may result in lower NADPH oxidase-derived superoxide anion, and thus lower aortic lesion growth. The association of higher blood pressure with lower serum cholesterol levels in this mouse model is indicative of the complex effects that G6PD deficiency may have on vascular disease.


In this paper, we present an unsupervised learning framework for analyzing activities and interactions in surveillance videos. In our framework, three levels of video events are connected by Hierarchical Dirichlet Process (HDP) model: low-level visual features, simple atomic activities, and multi-agent interactions. Atomic activities are represented as distribution of low-level features, while complicated interactions are represented as distribution of atomic activities. This learning process is unsupervised. Given a training video sequence, low-level visual features are extracted based on optic flow and then clustered into different atomic activities and video clips are clustered into different interactions. The HDP model automatically decide the number of clusters, i.e. the categories of atomic activities and interactions. Based on the learned atomic activities and interactions, a training dataset is generated to train the Gaussian Process (GP) classifier. Then the trained GP models work in newly captured video to classify interactions and detect abnormal events in real time. Furthermore, the temporal dependencies between video events learned by HDP-Hidden Markov Models (HMM) are effectively integrated into GP classifier to enhance the accuracy of the classification in newly captured videos. Our framework couples the benefits of the generative model (HDP) with the discriminant model (GP). We provide detailed experiments showing that our framework enjoys favorable performance in video event classification in real-time in a crowded traffic scene.


A 39-year-old man presented with lifelong palpitations, a mildly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, and incessant tachycardia. Electrocardiography revealed a regular, one-to-one supraventricular tachycardia with superiorly directed P-waves and a long R–P interval. The differential diagnosis of the tachycardia, response to invasive electrophysiologic maneuvers, and treatment with catheter ablation are discussed.


The swarm intelligence literature frequently asserts that swarms exhibit high levels of robustness. That claim is, however, rather less frequently supported by empirical or theoretical analysis. But what do we mean by a 'robust' swarm? How would we measure the robustness or – to put it another way – fault-tolerance of a robotic swarm? These questions are not just of academic interest. If swarm robotics is to make the transition from the laboratory to real-world engineering implementation, we would need to be able to address these questions in a way that would satisfy the needs of the world of safety certification. This paper explores fault-tolerance in robot swarms through Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and reliability modelling. The work of this paper is illustrated by a case study of a wireless connected robot swarm, employing both simulation and real-robot laboratory experiments.


Flavonoids are ubiquitous groups of polyphenolic compounds present in most natural products and plants. These substances have been shown to have promising chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic properties with multiple target interactions and multiple pathway regulations against various human cancers. Polyphenolic flavonoid compounds can block the initiation or reverse the promotion stage of multistep carcinogenesis. Quercetin is one of the most abundant flavonoids found in fruits and vegetables and has been shown to have multiple properties capable of reducing cell growth in cancer cells. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) therapy remains a challenge for hematologists worldwide, and the outcomes for patients with both disorders continue to be poor. This scenario indicates the increasing demand for innovative drugs and rational combinative therapies. Herein, we discuss the multitarget effects of the flavonoid quercetin, a naturally occurring flavonol, on AML and MDS.


Insecticidal activity of the ethanolic extract of seeds of Ocimum sanctum and leaves ofMadhuca indica was determined against mustard aphid Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.), a key pest of Brassica oil seeds and vegetables. The shade dried crushed seeds of Ocimum sanctum and the shade dried leaves of Madhuca indica were extracted with ethanol by soxhlet glass extractor to get the aphidicidal principals, the residue thus obtained was diluted with glass distilled water to prepare the required concentrations (2, 3 and 4%) of the extract. The test solutions were sprayed separately on the potted plants infested with counted number of third instar nymphs and adults of apterous viviparous females. Both the extract were found to be effective aginst mustard aphid. Seed extract of Ocimum sanctum caused complete motality after a maximum period of 48 hrs. at 4% concentration. The leaf extract of Madhuca indica causes 100% motality at a concentration of 4% after 96 hrs. O. sanctum seed extract was found to be most effective thanM. indicaleaves extract. The lower concentrations viz. 2.0 and 3.0% were also effective but required more time to cause complete mortality. The present study, therefore indicated the ethanolic usefulness ofO. sanctum and M. indica extracts in the management of L. erysimi population.


Hydrogen is an almost ideal fuel and its wider use will result in an improvement in the environment due to factors including decreased air pollution. Hydrogen is the element of greatest abundance in the universe; however, its production from renewable resources remains a major challenge. The papers presented within this volume enhance and expand upon presentations made at the "Workshop on Biohydrogen 99", Tsukuba, Japan. The contents evaluate the current status of Biohydrogen research worldwide and consider future research directions. Contributions from leading international experts cover the breadth of Biohydrogen R and D, from production to genetic engineering and molecular biology. This volume is designed to be a resource for researchers and other professionals who wish to obtain an overview of Biohydrogen R and D.


Objectives Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a human pathogen and a major cause of hospital-acquired infections. New antibacterial agents that have not been compromised by bacterial resistance are needed to treat MRSA-related infections. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial activity ofethanol extract of Haedokgeumhwa-san (HGH) which prescription is composed of korean medicine against MRSA. Methods The antibacterial activity of HGH extract was evaluated against MRSA strains by using the Disc diffusion method, broth microdilution method (minimal inhibitory concentration; MIC), checkerboard dilution test, and time-kill test; its mechanism of action was investigated by bacteriolysis, detergent or ATPase inhibitors. The checkerboard dilution test was used to examined synergistic effect of ampicillin, oxacillin, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, gentamicin and norfloxacin in combination with HGH ethanol extract. A time-kill assay was performed a survival curve which was obtained by plotting viable colony counts depending on time on bacterial growth. Results The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ethanol extract (HGH) ranged from 1,000 to 2,000 μg/mL against all the tested bacterial strains, respectively. We are able to confirm that HGH extract has potentially strong antibacterial activity. In the checkerboard dilution test, fractional inhibitory concentration index of HGH in combination with antibiotics indicated synergy or partial synergism against S. aureus. A time-kill study showed that the growth of the tested bacteria was considerably inhibited after 8 hr of treatment with the combination of HGH with selected antibiotics. For measurement of cell membrane permeability, HGH 250~1,000 μg/mL along with concentration of Triton X-100 (TX) and Tris-(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane (Tris) were used. In the other hand, N,N-dicyclohexylcarbodimide (DCCD) and Sodium azide (NaN3) was used as an inhibitor of ATPase. TX, Tris, DCCD and NaN3 cooperation against S. aureus showed synergistic action. Accordingly, antimicrobial activity of HGH was affected by cell membrane and inhibitor of ATPase. Conclusions These results suggest that Haedokgeumhwa-san extract has antibacterial activity, and that HGH extract offers a potential as a natural antibiotic against MRSA. (J Korean Med Rehab 2015;25(2):1-13)


This article examines visitor interactions with and through a physical/digital installation designed for an open-air museum that displays historic buildings and ways of life from the past. The installation was designed following the "Assembly" design scheme proposed by Fraser et al. (2003), and centered around five principles for the design of interactive experiences. We discuss how the Assembly framework was adapted and applied to our work on the installation called Reminisce, and we then present qualitative data gathered through the shadowing and naturalistic observations of small groups of visitors using Reminisce during their exploration of the museum. Through these data excerpts, we illustrate how interaction occurred among visitors and with the assembly. We reflect on the guiding principles of the adapted Assembly framework and on their usefulness for the design of place-specific interactional opportunities in heritage settings. Results from the empirical study show that the adapted Assembly principles provide HCI (human–computer interaction) researchers and designers with ways in which to flexibly support collocated interactions at heritage sites across artifacts and locations in ways that both complement and enrich the physical setting of the visit and its character.


The incidence of tonsillitis that is unresponsive to penicillin therapy is leading to concern. This phenomenon has been linked to a change in the core tonsil bacteria, in particular beta-lactamase production. To date, the only way to identify the presence of these resistant microbes is at tonsillectomy. In this prospective study, we performed fine-needle tonsil aspiration in 34 patients (mean age, 7.6 years) before tonsillectomy. The bacteriologic nature of the aspirate was compared with that obtained from culturing the tonsillar surface (in situ) and core of the resected tonsils. The bacteriologic findings of the aspirate corresponded closely with those of the tonsil core (qualitative and quantitative comparison), while the superficial swab was of limited value in predicting the core bacteria. Based on this study, tonsil fine-needle aspiration may have a place in the treatment of recurrent tonsillitis.


At the lecture Alfabetização e Letramento – TeoriaS e PráticaS, which integrated the program of the online event Abralin ao Vivo – Linguists Online, Professor Magda Soares presents the concept of literacy that has been guiding the strategies used in the Preschool and first grades of Elementary School in Lagoa Santa (MG, Brazil) and has led to the city's successful experience. This review presents fundamental aspects of this conception, which, according to Soares, is centered on giving attention to the child's cognitive and linguistic development while guiding their process of learning the written language. The lecturer presents some of the main psychological and linguistic theories that offer important scientific evidence about the initial learning of written language. Soares argues that children must learn the alphabetic writing system whilst assimilating the social uses of reading and writing. Some of these theories are recovered in this review. It also highlights divergences between the conception of literacy presented by Magda Soares and the one currently proposed by the Brazilian federal government.


Consider a spectrally sparse signal $\boldsymbol{x}$ that consists of $r$ complex sinusoids with or without damping. We study the robust recovery problem for the spectrally sparse signal under the fully observed setting, which is about recovering $\boldsymbol{x}$ and a sparse corruption vector $\boldsymbol{s}$ from their sum $\boldsymbol{z}=\boldsymbol{x}+\boldsymbol{s}$. In this paper, we exploit the low-rank property of the Hankel matrix constructed from $\boldsymbol{x}$, and develop an efficient non-convex algorithm, coined Accelerated Alternating Projections for Robust Low-Rank Hankel Matrix Reconstruction (AAP-Hankel). The high computational efficiency and low space complexity of AAP-Hankel are achieved by fast computations involving structured matrices, and a subspace projection method for accelerated low-rank approximation. Theoretical recovery guarantee with a linear convergence rate has been established for AAP-Hankel. Empirical performance comparisons on synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate the computational advantages of AAP-Hankel, in both efficiency and robustness aspects.


Abstract. The present contribution falls within the framework of the actions envisaged by the "SMART Bethlehem – Sustainable Management And Renewal of Technology in the City of Bethlehem" (2022 – ongoing) research project, scientifically coordinated by the University of Pavia and co-founded by the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development (AICS). Among the main objectives of the cooperation project is the sustainable urban and territorial development of the Bethlehem area by means of multi-scalar activities, mainly focusing on refurbishment and energy optimisation of a few relevant municipality buildings. A test case implementation of the HBIM methodology was then carried out on the Peace Center, an iconic building facing the "Manger Square" in close proximity to the "Nativity Church", aiming to validate the proposed systematisation of a scan-to-BIM approach focused on the development of an optimised data repository for the planned operation and maintenance activities. An ECO-Systemic workflow is presented, organised in five recursive steps. Starting from a SLAM-TLS integrated digital survey (3DS), the federated sub-models that comprise the overall project are geo-referenced (GEO) within a shared coordinate system (FSC) environment, thereby providing the basis for the subsequent architectural modelling of the built asset (ARC) and the associated enhancement of the level of information (LOI).


Vaccination is carried out as an integrated effort to maximize the target of achieving vaccination to reduce mortality, break the chain and achieve herd immunity. Herd immunity can be achieved if the vaccination coverage is 60% -70%. However, until now, there have been many challenges in increasing the coverage of this vaccination. The Government has made various efforts to maximize the achievement of vaccination, but until now, the vaccination has yet to reach the target of 80%. Various factors and obstacles cause this, so a concrete strategy is needed to overcome them. In addition to regulations from the Government, a socio-cultural approach strategy is also needed considering that Indonesia is a country with various ethnicities and beliefs, so perceptions and acceptance of vaccination are also different for each region and society.


Seafood is an important source of dietary protein worldwide, especially for coastal and island dwellers who now comprise 70% of the world's population. Besides being high in protein and providing 40% of the world's protein intake, seafood is low in cholesterol and saturated fatty acids and contains unique long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Two seafood PUFAs, eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) inhibit platelet aggregation and reduce mortality from myocardial infarction (MI) and ischemic stroke. Although the United States (U.S.) scientific community has recommended a Mediterranean-type diet, based on beneficial PUFAs in seafood, the European scientific community has cautioned that the increasing methylmercury levels in seafood may counteract any cardioprotective effects of PUFAs and actually increase risks of MI. This review describes the health benefits of seafood consumption and makes recommendations for the safe selection and preparation of seafood. In addition, this review describes the burden of seafood-borne diseases, separates seafood-borne toxic, heavy metal, and pesticide poisonings from seafood-borne infectious diseases; and makes recommendations for the management and prevention of seafood-borne illnesses. With the exception of some of the toxic seafood-borne illnesses, most seafood-borne infectious diseases, heavy metal poisonings, and pesticide poisonings can be prevented by careful selection and preparation of fresh seafood and adherence to weekly seafood consumption advisories, especially for those at highest risk of methylmercury poisoning, such as women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or of child-bearing age, and children age seven and younger. A balanced diet combining protein from a variety of sources, including carefully selected and prepared seafood, along with natural antioxidants from fruits and vegetables is recommended to prevent seafood-borne diseases and to promote health and longevity.


Background In Latin America (LA), men who have sex with men (MSM) are the population most affected by HIV, crack/cocaine production and trafficking routes are well-established, and local consumption has risen sharply in recent years. Yet, drug use and associations with sexual risk behaviours among MSM remain largely unexamined LA despite being recognised as important drivers of HIV transmission in the USA. Variation in crack/cocaine consumption within LA is also unknown. Methods Data from participants self-identifying as MSM and aged 18 years and older in recent (2006−2009) respondent-driven sampling (RDS) studies using similar survey methodologies in nine high-population cities in Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras (N=2081) were pooled and analysed in a multilevel statistical framework to increase statistical power to evaluate past 12-month crack/cocaine consumption (CC). CC prevalence was estimated by study site, adjusting for sampling weights incorporating personal network and population sizes. Logistic, multilevel models identified correlates of CC, adjusted for intraclass correlation within levels defined by study site and recruitment chain, and partitioned variance in CC among levels. Results CC prevalence was 21.7% (95% CI 17.4 to 26.7) in the pooled sample and varied significantly across cities from 0.1% in Cochabamba, Bolivia to 44.5% in Ceiba, Honduras. In multivariate analysis, daily alcohol consumption (adjusted OR [AOR]=4.0), sexual debut of ≤ 12 (AOR=3.1) and 13−17 (AOR=1.9) years old, self-identifying as transexual/transgender/transvestite (TTT) (AOR=2.2), age 18−22 (vs >40) years (AOR=2.0), having a stable female partner (AOR=1.8) and ever purchasing sex (AOR=1.6) were associated with CC (p<0.05). Significant city-level random effects expressed as AOR were 5.4 (SE=1.3) and 2.7 (SE=1.3) in Ceiba and San Pedro Sula, Honduras, respectively and 3.4 (SE=1.2) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Of the total variance in CC, 29.3% was associated with unobserved differences among cities. Associations between CC and condom use at last sex, and recruitment chain, were non-significant (p>0.1). Conclusions CC prevalence among MSM, and variation among cities in LA, are considerable. Associations with frequent drinking and sexual risk Behaviours likely compound HIV transmission risk among MSM and to female partners. Substance abuse prevention and treatment for MSM are needed, particularly among TTT, and in Honduras and Argentina.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common adult leukemia remains incurable despite advancements in treatment regimens over the past decades. B-cell receptor (BCR) mediated signaling is well recognized for its central role in the pathogenesis of CLL. Small molecular inhibitors targeting BCR signaling pathway and its downstream PI3K/AKT pathway are currently investigated in clinical trials because of their ability to induce apoptosis or block protein interactions in CLL cells. However, variability in pathological conditions and genetic aberrations render these small molecule inhibitors not equally effective in all CLL patients and highlights the need for individualized treatment options. In this pilot study, we analyzed differential protein expression of 18 CLL patient and 6 normal B-cell samples using reverse phase protein array (RPPA). RPPA enables us to study the proteome as well as phospho-proteome of CLL samples. When probed with 167 monoclonal antibodies RPPA revealed distinct protein expression patterns between CLL and normal B-cells. RPPA data was analyzed by unsupervised hierarchical clustering and CLL patient samples were clearly separated from normal B-cell samples. Proteins of BCR and downstream PI3K/AKT pathway such as SYK, LCK, PDK1, AKT, RICTOR, mTOR, TSC1, TSC2 and p70S6K were all upregulated in CLL samples. Harvesting the full potential of RPPA to study phosphorylation changes, we observed an increase in PI3K pathway activating signals such as PDK1-pS241, p70S6K-pT389, 4EBP1-pS65 and 4EBP1-pT70 suggesting a cell proliferative mechanism. There was also decrease in inhibitory signals such as RICTOR-pT1135. Pro-apoptotic factors BID, BAX, Caspase 7-cleaved and ANXA1 were poorly expressed in CLL samples compared to normal B-cells suggesting a defect in apoptosis mechanism is predominant in CLL samples. As previously reported, we have seen overexpression of anti-apoptotic factor BCL2. BIM isoforms, BIM-EL and BIM-L were overexpressed in CLL compared to normal samples; however the ratio of BIM-EL to BIM-L was higher in normal B cells compared to CLL cells. For the first time, we generated a comprehensive BCR protein and phospho-protein expression profiles in primary CLL samples. Our results reveal novel anti-apoptosis and cell proliferative mechanisms in CLL and potentially identified new therapeutic targets in CLL.

Citation Format: Satish Kumar R. Noonepalle, Austin Shull, Farrukh T. Awan, Leah Pei, Zhiyong Ding, Huidong Shi. Profiling signaling pathways in chronic lymphocytic leukemia using reverse phase protein array. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 5180. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-5180


ABSTRACT Rotaviruses infect mature, differentiated enterocytes of the small intestine and, by an unknown mechanism, escape the gastrointestinal tract and cause viremia. The neonatal rat model of rotavirus infection was used to determine the kinetics of viremia, spread, and pathology of rotavirus in extraintestinal organs. Five-day-old rat pups were inoculated intragastrically with an animal (RRV) or human (HAL1166) rotavirus or phosphate-buffered saline. Blood was collected from a subset of rat pups, and following perfusion to remove residual blood, organs were removed and homogenized to analyze rotavirus-specific antigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and infectious rotavirus by fluorescent focus assay or fixed in formalin for histology and immunohistochemistry. Viremia was detected following rotavirus infection with RRV and HAL1166. The RRV 50% antigenemia dose was 1.8 × 103 PFU, and the 50% diarrhea dose was 7.7 × 105 PFU, indicating that infection and viremia occurred in the absence of diarrhea and that detecting rotavirus antigen in the blood was a more sensitive measure of infection than diarrhea. Rotavirus antigens and infectious virus were detected in multiple organs (stomach, intestines, liver, lungs, spleen, kidneys, pancreas, thymus, and bladder). Histopathological changes due to rotavirus infection included acute inflammation of the portal tract and bile duct, microsteatosis, necrosis, and inflammatory cell infiltrates in the parenchymas of the liver and lungs. Colocalization of structural and nonstructural proteins with histopathology in the liver and lungs indicated that the histological changes observed were due to rotavirus infection and replication. Replicating rotavirus was also detected in macrophages in the lungs and blood vessels, indicating a possible mechanism of rotavirus dissemination. Extraintestinal infectious rotavirus, but not diarrhea, was observed in the presence of passively or actively acquired rotavirus-specific antibody. These findings alter the previously accepted concept of rotavirus pathogenesis to include not only gastroenteritis but also viremia, and they indicate that rotavirus could cause a broad array of systemic diseases in a number of different organs.


A new form of sandwich construction, consisting of two relatively thin steel plates with a concrete infill, has been developed for use in the construction of submerged tube tunnels. The paper summarizes the recent investigations into the potential for this form of construction and outlines the advantages of the system. Interim design rules for rapid sizing of double skin composite sections and the planned model test of a complete tunnel cross-section are also briefly described. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD 864118.


Canine uterine and ovarian diseases are common in countries where prophylactic ovariohysterectomy is not generally performed and clinical work-up is commonly confined to ultrasonography of the female reproductive tract. Although increasingly used in veterinary practice, there is a lack of computed tomography (CT) data on either the normal or abnormal appearance of these organs. In this prospective, descriptive and comparative study, CT images of the uterus and ovaries of 22 bitches with no clinical signs of reproductive organ disease were examined. CT was compared to ultrasonography and the level of agreement between both was analyzed. The results indicate that it is feasible to evaluate the entire uterus and ovaries using CT. In this study, a range of cervical, uterine horn and ovarian appearances are described and illustrated. Although native CT failed to detect uterine cystic lesions, other CT characteristics were linked to cystic endometrial hyperplasia, warranting ultrasonographic examination. In general, CT can be used to approximate ultrasonographic measurements.


Support vector machines have demonstrated excellent results in pattern recognition tasks and 3D object recognition. We confirm some of the results in 3D object recognition and compare it to other object recognition systems. We use different pixel-level representations to perform the experiments, while we extend the setting to the more challenging and practical case when only a limited number of views of the object are presented during training. We report high correct classification of unseen views, especially considering that no domain knowledge is including into the proposed system. Finally, we suggest an active learning algorithm to reduce further the required number of training views.


The response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and wild oat (Avena fatua L.) to barban (4-chloro-2-butynyl-m-chlorocarbanilate) was studied as influenced by plant morphology and air temperature after application. Growth of wheat and wild oat seedlings was reduced by barban at 0.3 μg and 0.6 μg applied to the first node, respectively. Barban application to the base and midpoint of the first leaf blade required a lower dose to reduce wild oat growth than wheat growth. Increased tillering occurred from barban injury to the main culm in wheat. Wheat and wild oat susceptibility to barban increased as the post-treatment temperature decreased from 32 to 10 C. Barban selectivity for wild oats in wheat was greater at 27 and 21 C than at 16 and 10 C.


The involvement of women in politics is important, because women have special needs that can only be understood best by the women themselves. If the women's problems is entrusted to the representatives who do not have the perspective of a female problem, it is almost certain that the policy issued is not sensitive to women's issues. Currently the representation of women is still low, not least in the province of Riau. But the low or lack of women's representation in the legislative agenda does not mean the strengthening of gender equality or gender mainstreaming (PUG) neglected. Interesting traced the existence of women legislators in Riau Province area totaling 18 people from 65 people to the Province, seven women sitting in Pekanbaru, and six women in Kampar truly representative of women in the province of Riau. The study concluded Women legislators in Riau Province is very sensitive and understand the problems and issues of gender/women, but because there is still minimal cause many obstacles encountered in achieving gender equality.


The examples from Kosovo and Metohia attempted to point to some problems in the domain of hydrogeographic regionalization. The river water regime, especially the phase of high flows which marks this regime, has been the topic of almost all researches which treat water resources of drainage basins. However, the thing that has not been achieved till now is the unique solution by which the classification of rivers would be made according to this feature. On this example it has been shown that even some older methods, based on genetic analysis of hydrograms and of global type, as well as some recent ones, with lot of quantitative entry and regional approaches, cannot with certainty answer all the challenges which river regimes bring with themselves. This work shows that apart from climate, orographic and physiognomic features of drainage basins, the periods of data processing and the analysis of individual intra-annual series of discharges are very important as well. Discretization on time periods shorter than one month, as well as elimination of the extreme values of discharges in the longtime series is recommended for the future research.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine drivers' willingness-to-pay (WTP) tolls using data from a survey of drivers in the Hampton Roads region of Southeastern Virginia. The theory of planned behavior is applied to understand the different factors contributing to WTP tolls. The study measures different dimensions of WTP, offers a two-stage approach that aligns correlates of WTP tolls in logical sequence, and assesses the role of price information (toll rates) as an anchor heuristic in WTP.

Design/methodology/approach
Three WTP measures are elicited via contingent valuation method using three survey questions that incorporate different price information. The study tests the role of price information as an anchor heuristic. WTP is analyzed using a two-stage decision process. Drivers first decide whether, in-principle, to support tolls, followed by the amount they are willing to pay (maximum and peak amounts). Three regression models are run to test the impact of ability to pay on amount WTP, impact of in-principle WTP on maximum WTP, and impact of maximum WTP on peak WTP given an anchor toll rate.

Findings
Attitudes supportive of tolls and the ability to pay are predictors of in-principle WTP, while in-principle WTP predicts amount (maximum and peak) WTP. Price information, as an anchor heuristic, reduces variability in amount WTP and conditions the amounts WTP.

Originality/value
The value and originality of this study lie in the application of the theory of planned behavior to study WTP tolls, the use of contingent valuation, and the effect of anchor heuristics.


Background: Due to little attention to the combined effect of diabetes and pregnancy on mother an infants microelements in literatures. This study aimed to compare newborns growth parameters, Apgar score, the cord blood zinc, magnesium, calcium and phosphor between pregnant women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted in Hamadan city, Iran, during 2013-14. Gestational diabetes considered as exposure and 20 women with gestational diabetes were individually matched with the 20 non-diabetic pregnant women in terms of the variables age, number of pregnancies, and type of delivery were included in this study. The cord blood and mother vein blood samples were taken immediately after delivery. Results: The mean of newborn's head circumference was 34.85±0.9 cm and 33.90±0.97 cm in mothers with gestational diabetes and non- diabetic mothers respectively (P<0.05). The mean of cord blood calcium was 9.81±0.6 mg/dl in the exposed group and 10.23±0.4 mg/dl in the control group (P<0.05) and these figures for zinc were 79.05±13.1 mg/dl in the exposed group and 86.96±11.6 mg/dl in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: This prospective cohort study showed the imbalance of some micronutrient in cord blood of mothers with gestational diabetes in comparison to non-diabetic mothers. Therefore in pregnant women with gestational diabetes should be more attention to be paid the concentrations of microelements.


Patterns of hospital use, both in general and under the Medicare program, are known to vary significantly among the census regions of the United States. In trying to explain what accounts for these variants, researchers have examined a host of socio-economic, demographic, hospital-level, an other characteristics of the health care delivery system. Their explanations, however, are often divergent, temporally based, and equivocal in nature. In this article the authors measure some of the more important differentials in Medicare admissions, lengths of stay, and days of care, with data taken from between 1974 and 1977, and we illustrate the importance of "geographic forces" in accounting for variations in use. A review and comparative analysis of explanations offered by other researchers is used to help us both identify what these geographic forces are comprised of and suggest several new methodological strategies for studying the uneven use phenomenon.


Transmission channels underlying modern dense storage systems, e.g., Flash memory and magnetic recording (MR) systems, significantly differ from canonical channels, like additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels. While existing low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes optimized for symmetric, AWGN-like channels are being actively considered for Flash applications, we demonstrate that, due to channel asymmetry, such approaches are inadequate. We introduce a refined definition of absorbing sets, which we call general absorbing sets of type two (GASTs), and study the combinatorial properties of GASTs. We then present the weight consistency matrix (WCM), which succinctly captures key properties in a GAST. Furthermore, we show how to customize the WCM definition such that it suits other special subclasses of GASTs. Based on these new concepts, we then develop a new, general combinatorial code optimization framework, which we call the WCM framework, and demonstrate its effectiveness on the realistic highly-asymmetric normal-Laplace mixture (NLM) Flash channel. Moreover, we show that our framework can be customized to optimize non-binary LDPC (NB-LDPC) codes for other asymmetric channels, channels with memory (incorporated in MR systems), and canonical symmetric channels. For all the channels we have simulated NB-LDPC codes over, the codes optimized using the WCM framework enjoy at least 1 order, and up to nearly 2 orders of magnitude performance gain in the uncorrectable bit error rate (UBER) or the frame error rate (FER) relative to the unoptimized codes. Our simulations also show that codes optimized for symmetric channels are not the best choice for asymmetric channels.


The aim of the research is to analyze the different aspects associated with the motivation and benefits of certified ISO 9001 companies in Portugal. A total of 426 certified Portuguese companies were surveyed. The response rate was equal to 61.03 percent. Our results suggest that the main motivation for certification were "improvement of quality", "improvement of company image", "marketing advantage", "give empowerment to workers / capturing workers knowledge" and "cost reduction". The main benefits that Portuguese companies have gained from the referred certification have been, among others, the improvement of "procedures", beneficial effect on the "company's image", the improvement of quality products/services, increase of the "customer satisfaction", improvement of "on-time delivery"; improvement the "morale" of workers' increase in productivity and decrease of "production costs", among others. The surveyed firms belong only to the Minho region of the north of Portugal. This paper aims to provide a contribution to the research related to the motivation and benefits associated to the quality management systems. The selection of the motives and benefits were validated through statistical analysis and the relationship between expected and perceived benefits was discussed. Keywords : Quality Management Systems (QMS); ISO 9001; Benefits of certification; Portugal.


Despite the fact that the last three decades have witnessed the rapid development of rural tourism (RT) in China, which is being promoted by the Chinese government as an important new type of tourism due to its special role in revitalizing China's rural economy, there is still little knowledge about the economic impacts of RT on Chinese rural communities in terms of socio-economic development and regeneration. Accordingly, this study represents an attempt to address this issue by examining the Poverty Alleviation through Tourism program and 'Nong jia le' (Happy Farmer Home) tourism within the Chinese context. The findings not only confirm the widely held importance of RT, as expected, but also identify the problems and challenges relating to the sustainable development of RT in the future. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Burdens and resources of nurses working in the specialist palliative care: an explorative cross-sectional study Abstract. Background: For Germany, there are no studies so far which compare the burdens and the resources of nurses working in the specialized palliative care settings.

AIM
The aim of this study was to analyse and compare burdens and resources of nurses working in palliative care wards, inpatient hospices and in specialized outpatient palliative care services.

METHOD
In 2015, nurses from the referred settings in Rhineland-Palatinate were invited to complete a self-developed questionnaire on burdens and resources. Contingency tables, Kruskal-Wallis tests and regressions were calculated.

RESULTS
149 nurses (response rate: 34.5 %) participated in the survey. Nurses working in palliative care wards indicated higher values in all types of burdens than nurses working in hospices and specialized outpatient palliative care. Nurses in palliative care wards and hospices reported emotional burdens as the most stressful factor, while nurses working in specialized outpatient care services expressed the highest levels of burdens in patient-related areas. An association between the experienced amount of burdens and having acquired an additional qualification in palliative care was determined (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) for burden due to organizational conditions: 2.56, CI: 1.06 - 6.19; aOR for burden due to support for family members: 2.99, CI: 1.06 - 8.46). The three settings in our study differ in terms of the availability of the resources family, group supervision and additional qualifications.

CONCLUSIONS
This study provides an insight into the burdens and the resources of nurses working in palliative care wards, hospices and specialized outpatient palliative care services in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Future preventative measures should be tailored to the respective settings.


D-Aspartic acid is abundant in the developing brain. We have identified and cloned mammalian aspartate racemase (DR), which converts L-aspartate to D-aspartate and colocalizes with D-aspartate in the brain and neuroendocrine tissues. Depletion of DR by retrovirus-mediated expression of short-hairpin RNA in newborn neurons of the adult hippocampus elicits profound defects in the dendritic development and survival of newborn neurons and survival. Because D-aspartate is a potential endogenous ligand for NMDA receptors, the loss of which elicits a phenotype resembling DR depletion, D-aspartate may function as a modulator of adult neurogenesis.


We propose a P-HEMT structure with a strained InSb barrier inserted and investigate its resistivity against plasma-induced fluorine damage with Hall measurements and a SIMS evaluation. The fluorine intrusion into the active layers of the P-HEMT during the RIE process was greatly suppressed by the ultra thin InSb barrier layer and the values of the carrier density and electron mobility improved by 43% and 35% from those for a conventional P-HEMT. After thermal annealing, the number of accumulated fluorine atoms in the δ-doped layer also decreased and the carrier density and electron mobility improved by 36% and 11% from those for a conventional P-HEMT. This indicated the strained InSb barrier was very effective in suppressing the plasma-induced fluorine damage in the P-HEMT.


Objective: To investigate the expression and prognosis effect of methylation-regulated SLIT3 and SPRCL1 genes in smoking-related lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: The expression levels of SLIT3 and SPARCL1 in cigarette smoke-induced malignant transformed cell (S30) and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) cell lines were measured by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR). Datasets of mRNA expression, DNA methylation and patient information data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Altas (TCGA) database. The mRNA expression levels of SLIT3 and SPARCL1 were validated in LUAD tissues. The 10-year survival curve of LUAD patients with different smoking history was plotted, and the correlation between mRNA expression level and DNA methylation level of LUAD patients was further analyzed. S30 cells were treated with 5-azacytidine (5-aza), an inhibitor of DNA methyltransferase, to analyze the methylation regulatory mechanism of SLIT3 and SPRCL1. Results: The qPCR results showed the significant down-regulation of SLIT3 and SPARCL1 in S30 cell and four LUAD cell lines (SLIT3: 0.493±0.134 and 0.041±0.014, 0.161±0.023, 0.277±0.055, 0.035±0.005; SPARCL1: 0.507±0.131 and 0.453±0.045, 0.420±0.040, 0.153±0.035, 0.430±0.050; all P<0.01). Bioinformatics analysis showed that SLIT3 and SPARCL1 were low expressed in LUAD tissue (8.12±1.58 vs 10.84±0.69 and 11.46±1.06 vs 13.57±0.67; both P<0.001) compared with adjacent peritumoral tissues, and expression levels of SLIT3 and SPARCL1 were significantly correlated with smoking history (both P<0.001). Non-smoker with high expression of SLIT3 and SPARCL1 was associated with better prognosis among LUAD patients. There was a significant negative correlation between promoter methylation and mRNA expression level of the two genes (r=-0.208, -0.574; both P<0.001). 5-aza treatment significantly up-regulated the expression levels of SLIT3 and SPARCL1 genes in S30 cells (2.137±0.281, 3.657±0.882; both P<0.01). Conclusion: SLIT3 and SPARCL1 can be regulated by DNA methylation and down-regulated in LUAD tissue, which has important prognostic significance on the smoking-induced LUAD patients.


O-Acetyl-L-serine sulfhydrylase (EC 220.127.116.11) activity was shown to be very high compared with O-acetyl-L-homoserine sulfhydrylase (EC 126.96.36.199) activity and L-cystathionine cleaving activities, in an extract of cells of an alkaliphilic bacterium grown in a synthetic medium. The synthesis of the first enzyme was repressed by approximately 55% by both L-cystine and L-djenkolic acid added to the medium at a concentration of 0.5 mM, but L-methionine (1 mM) and S-adenosyl-L-methionine (0.5 mM) affected it to lesser extents. Its enzyme activity was inhibited by 25% and 12% by methionine (10 mM) and S-adenosylmethionine (5 mM), respectively. The enzyme was purified from the extract through ammonium sulfate fractionation, heat treatment, and chromatography on columns of DEAE-cellulose, Sephacryl S-300, and Octyl Sepharose CL-4B with a recovery of 21%. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with sodium dodecylsulfate of the preparation obtained finally showed its homogeneity and the molecular mass of 37,000 Da for dissociated subunits. Gel filtration of the enzyme on a Sephacryl S-300 column showed an approximate molecular mass of 72,000 Da, suggesting that the enzyme was comprised of two identical subunits. The enzyme catalyzed the β-replacement reaction with O-acetylserine as a substrate, and showed no reactivity to other O-substituted amino acids tested. The reaction proceeded best at 40°C (when tested at pH 7.5), and at pH 6.5 (at 40°C). The enzyme kept 90% its activity after incubation at 65°C (at pH 7.5) for 30 min, and more than 90% after 30 min incubation at pHs 7-12 at 30°C. The enzyme had a K m of 4 mM for O-acetyl-L-serine and a V max of 37.0 μmol/min/mg of protein, a very low value compared with those of other organisms. However, the content of the enzyme in the extract was calculated to be approximately 3.5% total protein. Sensitivity of the enzyme to carbonyl reagents was very low, although it was shown to have pyridoxal 5′-phosphate as a cofactor by examination of its absorption spectrum. Sulfhydryl reagents tested showed no inhibition. The novelty of this enzyme among analogous sulfhydrylases purified from other organisms was discussed.


This study investigates the Business Process Management (BPM) maturity and process performance of the Dutch Department of Defence (DDoD). Like any other organisation, defence departments use BPM to manage their daily business processes. Despite using BPM, the organisation has never undertaken the initiative to analyse its BPM Maturity level and process performance. This paper presents the first results of such a study and compares this to similar military organisations, non-profit organisations and other organisations in the private sector. The DDoD BPM Maturity index score of 2.66 is similar to that of peer organisations. The study provides some suggestions for research and practical implications for further Business Process Maturity development of the DDoD organisation.


When the guinea-pig ventricular muscle was exposed to hypertonic solution, duration of the action potential (APD) initially increased and then progressively decreased. To investigate the mechanism underlying this phenomenon, the preparations were perfused with the hypertonic solution under various experimental conditions. At low stimulus rates (0.1-1/min), the initial prolongation of APD was prominent while the later shortening of APD developed slowly, thereby suggesting that the effect of hypertonic solution on APD is dependent on the muscle activity. A pronounced shortening of APD occurred when the osmotic challenge was made at reduced [K]o (2 mM-K), at reduced [Na]o (50%-Na), and at elevated [Ca]o (5.4 mM-Ca). Lowering the temperature from 36 to 26-27 degrees C nearly abolished the development of APD shortening. The resting potential and the maximum rate of rise (Vmax) of the action potential changed little even when APD was rapidly shortened during the osmotic challenge. Thus, the mechanism of APD shortening is though to be independent of the factors determining the resting potential and Vmax. Mn ions (1-2 mM), verapamil (5-10 microM), and Ba ions (0.05-0.2 mM) had no effect on the hypertonicity-induced changes in APD. In partially depolarized preparations, hypertonic solution increased the duration of Ca-dependent slow action potentials without producing any parallel increase in their upstroke velocity. It is postulated that the initial prolongation of APD in response to hypertonicity is a direct result of cell dehydration. The later shortening of APD is probably derived from certain changes in the cell condition which developed secondarily to the cell dehydration. In these changes in APD, the slow Ca current seems to play a small role.